Old age matters

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BY HERBERT VEGO
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DURING my lecture on news writing before the young reporters of Bombo Radyo-Iloilo, I confessed that I was a “young once” in a den of young ones; that I had walked with the Bombo reporters of the 1980s – like Dan Dolido, the father of Bombo Don; and the late Eddie Suede, who coined the word “Bombo” to refer to their radio network.

Old age positively matters because, like vintage wine, the old sage may even be preferable to the young.

“Look at me,” says a father to a son in a song, “I am old but I’m happy.”

One of the blessings that only we senior citizens enjoy is the privilege of paying less for many things, especially food and medicines – no VAT, with 20 percent discount.

A few mornings ago, I entered a fast-food restaurant to eat breakfast consisting of pandesal with hamburger and egg plus coffee worth P52. Not bad. Because of my senior citizen’s ID, I paid only P36.40.

Honestly though, I would rather not get sick than buy discounted “maintenance” medicines. Ask those on “maintenance” and they will tell you that despite their discount privilege, they save no money for pleasurable options – say, travel and entertainment.

Old people need not be discarded. Old but healthy men reflect deathless character and pricelessness – just like the old masters’ paintings, diamonds, old silverware, old furniture, old coins, old books, aged wine and vintage cars. Greece and Egypt thrive because of tourists who flock to see the ruins of past civilizations.

We don’t usually lament the loss of a new thing; we cry over the breakage of an antique plate or flower base.

There are old books that are so packed with wisdom that they keep their authors alive in our hearts. Among them are the Bible and the writings of old Greek philosophers like Plato, Aristotle and Socrates, which require new translations from generation to generation.

It surprised me to learn that “old” is an old word with a “young” undertone, derived from an Indo-European root that means “to nourish.” No wonder even an infant could be one-month “old”.

Unfortunately, when contrasted to “new,” “fresh,” or “young,” the “old” narrows its meaning to “stale,” “worn” and “dying.”

It is often only in old age that we cherish the memories of our youth. We love to look at our old pictures and reminisce and share with the young the memories of the “good old days when we were young.” How we regret not having preserved most of our old photographs!

In the final analysis, however, let the Bible remind us that, whether young or old, dust we all are and to dust we shall return. There could be no adventure without traveling from youth to old age.

Take the case of one of the most famous Americans, Benjamin Franklin, whose picture appears on all US $100 bills. He was already 81 in 1787 when he was elected to the Constitutional Convention that would frame the Constitution of the newly-created United States of America.

Wow, I still have 14 more years to catch up with Franklin of that era. At 67, this journalist refuses to retire; there is “forever” in writing, which could prevent Alzheimer’s disease.

The people who fear old age think of it as gateway to the graveyard. The truth, however, is that death does not choose between the old and the young. To quote Abraham Lincoln, “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count; it’s the life in your years.” (hvego31@gmail.com/PN)
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