Bird Droppings December 23, 2025

I do wonder about getting older.

“Age is an issue of mind over matter.  If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” Mark Twain

I find myself using my age to my advantage when the little girl at the Kroger register asks if I’m a senior citizen. I carry my AARP card with pride when it gets me 15% off my hotel stays or car rentals. One of my favorites, however, and unfortunately true at times, is: “What did you say your name is?” It seems I cannot remember, or I gave you what grade yesterday; it seems folks at my age cannot remember too well. Sadly, with 1500 students in the school, I do not always remember everyone, and I have my days when I play the “Where Did You Come From? ” Routine with kids in my class. Are you really in my class?

“Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years.  We grow old by deserting our ideals.  Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.” Samuel Ullman

I was standing in the hall at an elementary school the other day, doing an observation, when a student stopped by. It has been many weeks since I took photos of the kindergarten Thanksgiving parade, and the teachers put them up. I recalled, by chance, one photo of a ladder with students walking by. It got me thinking.

“When climbing any ladder, some of the steps can be hard, but to get to the top, you still have to make them.”  docbird

For me, at seventy-six today, it was easy to look back and recall. It was about this time, almost twenty-five years ago, that I was at an away football game and experienced something that led me, a few days later, to get serious about Bird Droppings. I felt an overwhelming anguish and even mentioned to a friend standing beside me, it was as if I saw the angel of death. At that moment, a dear friend was in a car accident many miles away, and eventually that night died. The next morning, when I returned from the hospital, I had a quote from Aerosmith attached to my computer: “Life is about the journey, not the destination.”

“You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair.” Douglas MacArthur

A very great man once said this as I look at the words’ faith, doubt, self- confidence, hope, and despair. What powerful barometers are for us as humans? These could be gauges for our souls and humanity’s concern for humanity.

“In youth, the days are short and the years are long; in old age, the years are short and the days long.” Nikita Ivanovich Panin

“The years teach much which the days never knew.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

I wrote a few days back that someone I would want to meet is Ralph Waldo Emerson. I am amused at how, when in high school, I passed him by so easily, now I read daily.

“Inflation is when you pay fifteen dollars for the ten-dollar haircut you used to get for five dollars when you had hair.” Sam Ewing

“Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.” Mark Twain

The various pieces of the aging process, and I find it amusing how so many fight aging with tooth and nail. Various anti-aging drugs and concoctions plaster the TV and media, and one of my favorites is the smile exerciser on QVC (not that I watch QVC). I happened to be watching, and this particular couple invented a rubber-band mouth exerciser to reduce facial wrinkles and demonstrated it during the sales pitch. It reminded me of someone who artificially smiles with a big grin. One good one is Tai Chi and the Great Transformations.

“Youth is a wonderful thing.  What a crime to waste it on children.” George Bernard Shaw

Sitting watching my sister with grandchildren and my mother and mother-in-law with their grandchildren, I might argue with Shaw, especially now, as I am a grandparent as well, for it is the youth that brings vitality to the aged.

“A man’s age is something impressive; it sums up his life:  maturity reached slowly and against many obstacles, illnesses cured, grieves and despairs overcome, and unconscious risks taken; maturity formed through so many desires, hopes, regrets, forgotten things, and loves.  A man’s age represents a fine cargo of experiences and memories.” Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

I was at a barbecue stand, reading hot sauce labels one afternoon. Tabasco sauce is made on a small island in Louisiana, where the peppers are aged in oak barrels in vinegar. My nephew was a waiter for a long time while in college and ended up getting a job at The Capitol Grill in Buckhead. He was learning the wine list, showing my wife and me the nearly four pages of wines, many of which were near my age, and of course, those had the most value. I really like this age and value and increased worth.

“Live as long as you may, the first twenty years are the longest half of your life.” Robert Southey

Talking with and dealing with teenagers daily, I can see that it is harder to remember my own teenage years or even watching my own children as they deal with the angst of teenagedom

“A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.” John Barrymore

The day I stopped seeing regrets as hindrances, as boulders in my pathway of life, my journey gained meaning. These encumbrances became lessons to endure, furthering my journey.

“The first sign of maturity is the discovery that the volume knob also turns to the left.” Jerry M. Wright

I am often amused when a teenager pulls alongside while I am driving, with bass fully loaded and stereo blasting, so all you hear is the throbbing of woofers ready to blow. Some cars equipped with hydraulic shocks can emulate the bouncing tunes in time. I wonder what music is being heard. It amuses me when I play certain Native American drum and flute pieces; students question my sanity, yet it is nothing more than a quiet, throbbing drumbeat versus the ear-numbing bass of modern pop music.

“When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it had happened or not; but my faculties are decaying now, and soon I shall be so that I cannot remember any but the things that never happened.  It is sad to go to pieces like this, but we all have to do it.” Mark Twain

Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain, would also be on my list of those I would like to meet, along with Ralph Waldo Emerson. There are so many great writers and speakers throughout history, but these two, for me, stand out.

“Everyone is the age of their heart.” Guatemalan Proverb

An interesting use of “heart”: what it refers to is not the muscle that drives blood through our bodies, and as the advertising business reminds us, needing Lipitor, Advicor, and/or Benicar, or this or that, to keep functioning. The heart is that inner piece of us some call the soul. Many authors have written bestsellers on this subject, including Gary Zukav, Thomas Moore, and others.

“There was no respect for youth when I was young, and now that I am old, there is no respect for age – I missed it coming and going.” J.B. Priestley

A bit of humor, we earn respect at any age, that credibility and impression can be a significant factor as we go through the pathways of life and love. I find that the lack of respect for students often gives poor teachers trouble. I always enjoy the comments of teachers demanding respect from their students. That is earned and demands respect; usually, it leads to conflict. I recently attended a conference with Dr. Sutton, and several books on Oppositional Defiant students sit by my desk. Adding to the excitement across the room, two students are leaving.

“I still have a full deck; I just shuffle slower now.” Author Unknown

Trying to keep up with three sons, two daughters-in-law, and a grandbaby can be a task. Fortunately, they also like sitting still occasionally and are on their own now. I have many former students and non-students who passed through my room with babies and youngins, and watching them now as parents is fascinating. Many of these kids were in trouble in high school and are now moms or dads. Some are extraordinary parents, and one or two I am concerned about.

“The first half of life consists of the capacity to enjoy without the chance; the last half consists of the chance without the capacity.” Mark Twain

“It’s sad to grow old, but nice to ripen.” Brigitte Bardot

In my day, Brigitte Bardot was the poster girl, the Pamela Anderson of the 1960’s. It is interesting how she is, in so many ways, still a beautiful woman; I like that word “ripen.” I sometimes disagree with her animal rights activism, which can go overboard.

“Old age is fifteen years older than I am.” Oliver Wendell Holmes

“Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing.” Oliver Wendell Holmes

The author of Sherlock Holmes enjoyed life; he sipped each drop and tasted it to the fullest. As often as I see thoughts from authors and poets, for a moment, a glimpse of who they were and are. I told my wife no grandbabies till I’m 60. Granted, I should be talking to my sons, but every time we are around a baby and one of my sons is nearby, their mom looks at them and seems to imply she wants one too.

“Age is opportunity no less than youth itself, though in another dress, and as the evening twilight fades away, the sky is filled with stars, invisible by day.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Morituri Salutamus

The moon is still blazing away, or I should say reflecting away well halfway, as it is waning in the morning sky in these early hours. When available, stars scattered about light the night, Orion is just over my house a few hours back. I liked this illustration showing how, at night, we see the stars, but during the day, they are invisible. As I age, many things that were insignificant in youth now become crucial.

“There is still no cure for the common birthday.”
John Glenn

Our former Senator and astronaut, John Glenn, has embraced aging and made being a senior citizen cool. A movie from a few years back, Space Cowboys, with Clint Eastwood, featured aged former astronauts and test pilots who get their chance to show their worth. We do get older day by day, but it is in the heart.

“Everyone is the age of their heart.” Guatemalan Proverb

I cannot say enough about this, and it is so true. My friends, please today keep all in harm’s way on your mind and in your heart and be sure to give thanks always. namaste.

My family and friends, I do not say this lightly,

Mitakuye Oyasin,

(We are all related) docbird