“This country is all under shock, they population is all gone to America.” These words, taken from a letter dated January 23, 1853, were written by my great-great-grandfather from the town of Portumna in Ireland.
They speak for themselves.
What It’s Like
“I don't feel like an old man; I feel like a young man who has something the matter with him.” – Bruce Bliven
Redefining Senior Moments
At a dinner for age-beat journalists in Las Vegas, I found myself sitting next to a gentleman from Toronto. He was there because he is the CEO at a media company engaged in family caregiving.
Making conversation with this new acquaintance, I started to tell him about meeting a notable philosopher from his country. This philosopher is an emeritus professor who happens to be teaching a course at Harvard during the current semester and I hope to interview him, while he is here.
Surveillance Cameras
Cameras looking at you, wherever you go.
That may be all right for Londoners (they have some 500,000 surveillance cameras) but not for me and my fellow residents in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
This, at least, is what our City Council has unanimously decided, much to my relief.
The council did so after listening to repeated testimony, often eloquent, from ordinary citizens concerned about civil rights and privacy.
Running for Office
One of the privileges of being a candidate when I ran was being invited to the home of a local academic deity. As he smiled down at me from a great height, I was given a vicarious sense of what it means to be truly eminent.
That experience helped motivate me during the occasional dark days when my electoral prospects lost some of their glow.
Phil
On Phileas J. Fogg, a cat long since departed from earth's shores:
He demonstrates a kind of self-possession difficult to ignore. Though he cannot say so in words, he signals an entitlement to be honored. It's as if he has established certain rights which cannot be violated with impunity. Sometimes he vindicates these rights by complaining to the management.
Pool Confrontation
Recently, at the pool where I swim every day, I was forcibly reminded of a hazard that sometimes comes with advancing age.
On that Saturday the pool was crowded, requiring swimmers to share lanes. Following protocol, I asked a man swimming in a lane near the wall if he would split it with me. He agreed and I jumped in without incident.