golden?

There is a lot of talk this being the “golden age.”

The context is that it is gold to be old. The term was coined by Madison Avenue to sell us something, I fear.

This age remind me more of my old friend Damocles. (Remember taht I never met some of my best friends.

Damocles was a king and he had a general who was a bit envious (I may get the details wrong here, but I’ll get the punch line). So the King invited the General to a dinner.

The dinner had everything, entertainment (dancing girls I am sure), great food and too much to drink most likely. The General was really liking this thing.

Then the wise king asked him how he was doing and the answer was all smiles. The king pointed over their heads and there was a heavy battle sword hanging from a single thread. It could fall at any moment.

“That,” said the king, “is what it is like to be King.”

It is also what it is like to be old. A neighbor is a bit older than me, and he had a stroke a while back. Left him badly damaged. We were talking about a mutual acquaintance and how healthy he was. Neighbor said: “In 30 minutes, he could be like me.”

That is old age.

BTW, happy new year everyone.