Vintage Mature

As the nation’s population matures (e.g. grows older), I’ve learned we have a need to address our elders in more respectful terms.  For one thing, we don’t refer to them any longer as “elders.”

The Chief hereby has created a number of more appropriate terms to refer to…well, the aged.

• A record in 78rpm – still producing great music!
• A 1965 Buick Riviera: hard-bodied, beautiful symmetrical lines and a finely-tuned engine.
• An 1896 Stanley Steamer – original and classic.
• Hurricane Camille – dangerous, yes, but you set the standard for power.
• A 12^th century Germanic castle – you’re battered and cracked, but still standing strong and steady.
• A 50-year-old oak tree – you’ve been here for so long, but you give the best shade.
• An ancient Mayan pyramid – buried beneath centuries’ worth of jungle growth, but you’re still here and impressive!
• A 5,000-year-old Chinese vase – large and cumbersome, but still gorgeous, ornate and looking great in the sunlight!
• A corner diner people have visited for decades – still there and always serving great food.
• A 1995 Microsoft pc…ok, maybe not a good reference.
• That old red brick home at the end of the street – people have called you the spooky house because you’ve always been there, but they just don’t know how wonderful you really are.
• A grand hotel – filled with love and memories and more than a few stories to put people in their place.
• The Grand Canyon – a little wide and rugged, but still strong and vibrant.
• A giant redwood – old, yes; craggy, yes; but nothing has knocked you down!
• A 19^th century decanter set – been here so long people forget how beautiful and vital you really are.
• A quilt grandmother made – you’re not just meant to sit in the closet; you keep us warm and feeling loved!
• A book published a lifetime ago – a bit tattered and wrinkled, but always providing some good tales.
• An early motion picture – okay, black and white with no sound; yet amazing and marvelous.
• A Roman aqueduct – seemingly old and useless, but the fools don’t know you!
• Earth’s moon – yes, ancient and far away, but still here and still vital.

My Yorx electronic clock/radio that my parents bought for me when I began high school in 1978.  It still functions, and I still use it!  Over the past 20 years I’ve gone through 4 cell phones.