HILLSPEAKING
from The Anglican Digest
MICHAELMAS A.D. 2007
AGES! Not Ages as in Age of Enlightenment or Age of
Discovery. Certainly not Middle Ages (I am long past that).
Not specifically your age or mine, although mine may creep in as we go
along. Rather, age as it is associated in our culture and
folklore. Books address the matter: Life Begins at 40 and Never Trust a God Over 30. Magazines are devoted to the subject. Songs are written about it.
Why I have been thinking about particular ages as I walk
the Silver Cloud Trail, I don’t know. In any event, I
have been thinking about specific ages and what they mean — or have
meant — in the conduct of our daily lives.
We think about the “terrible 2s” and the “troublesome 3s.” For most of my generation and that of my children, being 6 meant we could start school. Nowadays that has been moderated somewhat by Head Start and kindergarten.
Being 17 or 18 meant high school graduation
(Hillspeak’s General Manager and his wife recently joined their former
schoolmates in celebrating their 50th reunion). Depending upon where you lived, 18 also meant that you could legally drive your own or your parents’ car.
At 21, happy day, you were, in the eyes of the law,
no longer a child, but an adult. Among the dubious “benefits” of
having reached that age you could be sued, all on your own, in a court
of law. In my father’s generation, and in some respects mine, 40 meant you were over the hill when it came to getting a job.
Only a few years back when one reached 65, by
government fiat, one was retired. Modern medicine, technology,
and economy have conspired to make that a chimera. Here at
Hillspeak we have a General Manager and a Trustees’ Warden who are well
beyond that – and a Managing Editor who is hot on our heels.
What I call twin-digit ages have always fascinated me. We know what 21 connotes, but what about 22, 33, 44, 55, 66, 77, 88 (you have found me out)?
Perhaps 11 years from now I’ll review this whole issue of
ages to see how it relates to Hillspeak and its ministries then.
©SPEAK, INC
805 CR 102 - EUREKA SPRINGS AR 72632-9705
PHONE: 479-253-9701
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