Amusement is rarely a word associated with aging.
After all, the great majority of those who have passed their three-score-and-ten years face physical ailments, declining mental powers, and the certainty that they are sailing ever closer to the end of life.
Though a relative newbie to this milestone, I find myself fitting right in with this hoary crew. Every couple of months or so, some new and often mysterious injury afflicts me. This week, for instance, an inexplicable pain in my ankle has me shuffling around the house in the mornings. The pain disappears by noon, only to clamp down hard when I wake the next morning. My mental faculties remain intact, though I may require several minutes for the name of the lead actor in “Gladiator” to float from my brain to my tongue. And I’m aware, naturally, that I am a great many steps closer to the grave than I was 20 years ago….