By Ernie McCray
Although I’m 86 years of age
I never
thought much about
what growing old
would actually be like,
that I would someday be in an
age group
that’s laughed at,
made fun of
in comedy routines
and on late night TV shows
and on a sitcom or two.
Now, I have to say I laugh too.
Because comedy nibbles at truth.
But I’m seeing jokes
about what we geezers
can and cannot do
blending into a societal attitude.
Like take what President Joe Biden is going through
after mumbling and bumbling
and looking confused
as he tried to give forth with his views
in a presidential debate,
making folks, me included,
wince and flinch
in a frenzy
every time he would speak -
but, at the same time,
I can identify with him
because, as an old-timer like him,
there are moments when I
don’t walk as easily as I once did
or talk as smoothly as I used to,
and some times
when I’m trying to make a point,
I just can’t find the word I want to use.
But none of that really affects
me doing what I have to do
and the same is true
for Biden
who, despite his blunders on CNN,
has run our country well time and again
in troubling times,
something he can continue doing
because he knows how to lead,
how to work with people who have
varying insights and points-of-view
that can help him pursue
reducing crime
and protecting rights
and keeping prices low
and preventing inflation
and keeping the peace
and maintaining relations with other nations
and making decisions regarding immigration
and military operations
and so many other goings-on.
Matters that have grayed his hair
and wrinkled his face,
making him look a lot older
than he would look
if he had aged at a regular pace.
But, now, if you looked at Donald J,
the other guy in the race,
you would notice that he took the stage
at the presidential debate
not looking much older in age
than he did
when he was president
and you’d have to conclude
that although he caused a myriad of problems,
he didn’t address a single one emotionally
going through his term with essentially
no wear and tear,
spewing lies
as though he was some kind
of robotic fibbing machine,
keeping with that routine
in the debate,
failing to answer a single question.
And, not so surprisingly,
in comparison to how Biden
has been treated,
his age has hardly been mentioned
and hardly anyone has asked him to
drop out of the competition.
So, it seems that we American citizens
have to ask ourselves:
Does age really have anything to do with this
or are we ready to give up on democracy
which is at the top of Trump’s
to do list?
Oh, do we ever need a way
to fix this.