At 85, there’s no longer any beating around the bush: My grandpa is old. He’s also one of the most active people I know.
He founded his small village’s carnival club in 1961. Then, he was its president for almost 50 years. He still supports every event and attends many of them in person. He also still writes articles for the local newspaper, another gig he’s held for many decades. He must have published hundreds of them at this point.
When, recently, my aunt got married, grandpa got some custom paper with flowers on it and, using Word on his computer, printed the food and drinks menu for all the guests. During prep, they realized the holders for the menu cards they had bought were too wide. He grabbed some cardboard coasters, bent the edges at the bottom, and stuck them in-between the food and drink menus. Voilà—a beautiful, two-sided menu on every table.
After dinner, I sat there, looking at it. It really struck me. This menu card was just…amazing. So I’d like to take a moment and spell one thing out loud and clear: Old people can make cool things. Just because our contributions grow smaller, maybe a bit quieter in our later years does not diminish those contributions one bit—and it’s never too late for an old dog to surprise a youngster with a new trick.
If I’m lucky, one day, I will be old—and you bet I’ll still make cool things.
