Every year at this time, it is customary to review the successes of the past months. But with two years of Covid-19, anything resembling a success is very elusive. Trying to develop a plan for the future with Covid still powerful amounts to wishful thinking.
When one is young, the “future” always seems to be almost an infinite spread of time. But for senior citizens, it seems closer to times that have passed. What is left is very tenuous. The New York Times recently reported that one out of every 100 Americans 65 or older has died from Covid-19. Consequently, anyone 80 or older is certainly living on borrowed time.
The challenge for elders, then, is to use the waning years to great advantage. That is more easily said than done, because we now live in a virtual world. The old-fashioned idea of solid existence has been replaced by digital elusion. I remember when the fantasies first began in journalism, and it became no longer possible to trust photographs. In litigation, there had to be evidence that a picture was not photoshopped or actually created by merging electronic images.
The speed of the changes is not too fast for the young. We elders will have to plod along, applying the judgment and wisdom acquired during a much more thoughtful time.
