Home Project #3

Well, the attic closet project is just about done; all I lack is to paint some trim and fill it up with the overflow from the downstairs closet.

It’s not my first home renovation project but I still learned a few things that probably would have it made it go a lot easier and quicker. It just goes to show you that old dogs can still learn a new trick or two; that no matter how much experience you have, there always something new to learn.

My young daughter is now seven months old and it’s amazing to watch her figure things out. She’s trying new foods and it won’t be long before she starts crawling or even walking. I can just imagine what experiences lie ahead for her and what things she will probably be teaching me. And I can’t wait to share some of my wisdom with her knowing that, if she’s anything like me as a kid, she probably doesn’t want to hear.

You can’t go through life without gaining some experience, and it’s this experience that makes us older guys (and gals) valuable. We have the knowledge on how to get things done and to train the next generations that will replace us.

I was having a beer with a friend I had worked with some time ago. He was then and still is a compressor service technician. John is now well in his 60’s and enjoys what he does with no desire to do anything else. His biggest complaint is that his supervisor is decades younger than him. And having grown kids of his own, he sometimes finds it hard to accept direction from this guy.

I can relate to this. All the people that have authority and I once respected for being my senior are all now younger than me. Doctors, police officers, bosses: most all are younger than me.

There’s no doubt that most of these young punks are probably smarter than me. But do they have the life experiences I have? Does their job title or education give them enough knowledge and experience to make decisions over me?

Now matter how much you study; no matter how much school you have, you only learn by doing and experiencing what you have been taught. And this is true at any age. I can watch a YouTube video or take a class on sewing tomorrow, but that won’t make me a tailor till I actually sew a suit.

This is true for elected officials as well. Though half of Congress is currently over the age of 65, 2018 brought in a wave of 30-somethings and even a 29-year-old from New York. Congress has been getting older (currently the oldest in history) due to the lack of term limits but this also means that we’re facing a youth movement in the very near future. That means that a bunch of thirty and forty-year-olds will decide the fate of the country.

Hopefully this will bring in some fresh ideas and energy, but it makes me wonder what will happen due to a lack of life experiences. Has a forty-year-old (this now makes me feel incredible old to even contemplate this) experienced enough challenges in his lifetime to understand and appreciate the challenges of his constituents; to have lived some history their self? 

We’ve had a few young Presidents in our Country’s history. Theodore Roosevelt became the youngest at 42 after the assassination of McKinley; Kennedy was elected at 43. Clinton and Obama were also in their 40’s when they were elected. These were arguable some very smart guys and I’m sure quick learners, facing some incredible challenges that shaped our Nation.

Article II of the Constitution requires that the president be at least 35 years old. But can you image how insane it would be to have a 30-year-old as the leader of the free world? No matter how charismatic a person may be, there’s simply a lack of years to have any kind of qualifying experience.

We haven’t had a Commander in Chief with active duty military experience since Bush Sr. Not that’s necessarily a requirement to be president, but it probably comes in handy to oversee to greatest and one of the most active military powers in the word.

On the flip side, I guess there no actual requirement to act your age. We have geriatric leaders that act like impertinent teenagers. I’m not ready to have you call me “sir” or take advantage of my senior discount at Denny’s. I have a young daughter to keep up with and still many adventures for us to go on.

I’m far from being old. But I do have a valuable amount of experience to share.