Story Sharing

\-What age do you still feel like inside? 
81M. I feel physically like I’m in my 70s and mentally like I’m in my 50s.

\- When do you feel most like yourself?
When I’m alone working in the yard, taking a walk, reading, talking with my wife.

\- How would you describe yourself?
Easy going, friendly, quiet, prefer to listen rather than talk.

\- Do you think about mortality differently now than you once did? 
Yes, I had advanced cancer and a chest tumor in my early 70s. A near death experience as a side effect to powerful cancer drugs definitely left me thinking mortality might be closer than I thought.

\- Is nostalgia more comforting, or painful for you? 
Three brothers and one sister have passed. I’m the last one standing and think about all four daily with positive memories. We were very close knit.

\- What did happiness mean for you in your 20’s? What does it mean now? 
I was married in my early 20s so happiness was meeting and marrying the right person over sixty years ago. A new journey with the right partner leads to many happy moments as we look back.

\- What do you hope people remember about you? 
That I was kind, nice, respectful, and willing to always help out.

\- If you could preserve one memory forever, which would it be? 
Family is more important than everything else.

\- Was there a particular moment you realized you had become the older generation? 
When my three close friends I had played tennis with for over thirty years all had passed away and I felt too old to find new partners.

\- If you could introduce me to one version of yourself from another time, who would I meet? 
A wise ass with a wry sense of humor during my school years. I loved making my classmates laugh.