As I drove to my pharmacy one recent morning, I noticed that many of the pedestrians along my route were elderly people. I watched how they walked — some upright and spry, others stooped, heads down, shuffling, moving slowly.
Some used a cane or a walker. Some had a companion who helped them on their way.
As I parked my car and got out to walk into the pharmacy, I became one of them. Just another old person walking.
At the other end of life, in infancy, we watch for a baby’s first steps. This is universally celebrated as a big moment.
But a person’s last steps are never celebrated.
***
There is a role for old people in our society that is often overlooked, and that is what we see when we look out at the world around us.
We see not only what is there now but what used to be there. We remember what is gone and what has been replaced.
To a certain degree, we can see where things are going based on where they have been.
It’s context and we might be able to provide some.
But in the eyes of those much younger than us, we may have always been old — only old. So they may think we don’t know about the kinds of things that concern them.
Heartbreak, for example, we may know a thing or two about that. Losing someone you love can lead to excruciating pain. We know about that.
We also know that better times will come, and that while you may never fully get over certain losses, the world has ways of making things right again.
Just wait and see.
HEADLINES:
Trump says U.S. must ‘respond’ after Iran shoots down helicopter over Hormuz Strait (CNBC)
U.S. Launches Strikes on Iran to Retaliate for Downed Helicopter (NYT)
Netanyahu and Trump are at odds over the war they started together (AP)
Five takeaways from the primaries in Maine and South Carolina (WP)
Trump Previews Fall Strategy With Baseless Claims of California Vote Fraud (NYT)
Who is Lesley Groff, Jeffrey Epstein’s former assistant being interviewed in House probe? (PBS)
House Passes G.O.P.’s $70 Billion Immigration Bill (NYT)
Americans’ morals hit a puritanical streak (Axios)
Hilton Beats Steyer to Win Second Spot in California Governor Race (NYT)
Trump to meet House speaker as pressure mounts over surveillance law deadline (Guardian)
Platner Wins Maine Senate Primary After a Turbulent Stretch of His Bid (NYT)
The real reason Bill Pulte was named director of national intelligence (The Hill)
The spectre of gen Z socialism is haunting the world … according to the Economist (Guardian)
More women getting shut out from senior positions in Trump’s second term (WP)
Iran’s lakes are vanishing: Satellite images show a deepening water crisis (Al Jazeera)
A Mayor, Her Boyfriend and China’s Mysterious Propaganda Machine (NYT)
Risking little of their own money, the US president and his sons have added at least $2.3 billion to the family fortune from their main crypto ventures, while the investors they’ve wooed have taken a $2.3 billion hit. Read our special report. (Reuters)
No set. No actors. No cameras. (BI)
He’s the expert on deepfakes. Can this Berkeley professor keep up with AI? (SFC)
Apple Has Another Go at A.I., but Don’t Call It a Reinvention (NYT)
Doctors Warn Air Fryers Not A Substitute For Human Companionship (Onion)
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