ElCool43 DNO's blog: "Stories of "Old folks""

   The  first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled,  little old lady beaming up at me with a smile  that lit up her entire being.. 

   She said,  "Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven  years old. Can I give you a hug?" I  laughed and enthusiastically responded, 'Of  course you may!' and she gave me a giant  squeeze.. 

  "Why are you in college at  such a young, innocent age?"  I asked. 

  She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet  a rich husband, get married, and have a couple  of kids..."

  "No seriously," I asked, curious what may have motivated her to take on this challenge at her age.  

  "I  always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!"  she told me. 

   After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake. We  became instant friends.. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and  talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom  and experience with me..  

   Over the course  of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she  easily made friends wherever she went. She loved  to dress up and she revelled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She  was living it up.  

   At the end of the  semester we invited Rose to speak at our  football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on  the floor. Frustrated  and a little embarrassed she leaned intothe  microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so  jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me!  I'll never get my speech  back in order so let me just tell you what I  know."

   As we laughed she cleared her  throat and began, "We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to  staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose  your dreams, you die. We have so many  people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!  There is a huge difference  between growing older and growing up. If  you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing,  you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a  year and never do anything I will turn  eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older.  That doesn't take any talent or ability.

   The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity  in change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but  rather for things we did not do.   The only people who fear death are those with regrets. She concluded her speech by courageously  singing "The Rose". She challenged each  of us to study the lyrics and live them out in  our daily lives.

   At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those  months ago. One week after graduation, Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over  two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who  taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.  

These words have been  passed along in loving memory of ROSE. 

REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY.  GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.

We make a living by what we get. We make a Life by what we give. 

God promises a safe landing, not a calm  passage.    

If God brings you to it, He will bring  you through it.   

"Good friends are like stars.   You don't always see them, but you know they are always there."

Written by an anonymous / Unknown Author

Sent to me, by a friend of nearly 35 years, a few days ago.

Thank you, Bill

Breakfast It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80's arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am. I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would be able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound. While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's Disease. As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him In five years now. I was surprised, and asked him, "And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?" He smiled as he patted my hand and said, "She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is." I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, "That is the kind of love I want in my life." True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of: all that is ... all that has been ... all that will be ... and all that will not be. With all the jokes and fun that are in e-mails, sometimes there is one that comes along that has an important message. I had to share it with you all. The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have. (Amen to that!) Oh, by the way, peace is seeing a sunset and knowing who to thank. I received this from my sister. I don't know where she got it. I would like to believe it was a story about MY father and mother. I hope you share this with someone you care about. I JUST DID

An older, white haired man walked into a jewelry store one Friday evening with a beautiful young gal at his side. He told the jeweler he was looking for a special ring for his girlfriend. The jeweler looked through his stock and brought out a $5,000 ring. The old man said, "No, I'd like to see something more special." At that statement, the jeweler went to his special stock and brought another ring over. "Here's a stunning ring at only $40,000" the jeweler said. The young lady's eyes sparkled and her whole body trembled with excitement. The old man seeing this said, "We'll take it." The jeweler asked how payment would be made and the old man stated, "by check. I know you need to make sure my check is good, so I'll write it now and you can call the bank Monday to verify the funds and I'll pick the ring up Monday afternoon," he said. Monday morning, the jeweler phoned the old man. "There's no money in that account." "I know," said the old man, "But let me tell you about my weekend! Don't mess with Old People