Today I visited an assisted living center where I have gotten to become friends with some of the residents. After we sang, "The Hammer Song", Melanie told me about when she saw Peter, Paul and Mary in concert years ago. This led to talking about Pete Seeger and I mentioned he was still alive and still making music in his 90s. Then Helen said she is 93 and we all agreed she didn't look it. All of this led to talking about aging and I said I thought it was a shame that so many people talk so negatively about getting older. Then Melanie said, "it's a privilege". And when I asked her why, she said, "because we have wisdom." And then I remembered the quote above and told it to her and she said, "yeah that too." I feel lucky to have elder friends who inspire me. I don't dread my elder years because like the saying goes, it is a privilege denied to many.
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