Issue 348
The Age Debate in Politics
There has been a flurry of “how old is too old?” stories in the meejah recently, including the withdrawal of Mr Biden’s candidature, the youthfulness (?) of the Republican nominee (one D Trump, aged 78), and the new Govt’s proposals to compel members of the House of Lords to retire at 80.
HT Richard Gisborne for drawing my attention to a lovely article by Mr Robert Reich on the occasion of the 248th birthday of the United States of America (falling shortly after Mr R’s own 78th birthday). Some gems include --
- “In 1900, gerontologists considered ‘old’ to be 47. Today, you are considered ‘youngest-old’ at 65, ‘middle-old’ at 75, and at 85, you are a member of the ‘oldest-old’”
- “An elderly friend once told me there were four ages to life: youth, middle age, old age, and ‘you look great!’"
- A handy tip (from Ted Kennedy) for remembering names –“If a man is over 50, just ask ‘how’s the back?’ and he’ll think you know him”
- “When I get together with old friends, our first ritual is an ‘organ recital’ – ‘how’s your back? knee? heart? hip? ….”
(The Ed is ashamed to say he wasn’t previously aware how distinguished Mr Reich is; he served as Secretary of Labor to President Clinton, and later as an advisor to President Obama).
Mr R has recently reached the hard decision to give his last university lecture, and concludes that “getting too old to do a job isn’t a matter of chronological age; it’s a matter of being lucid enough to know when you should exit the stage before you no longer have what it takes to do the job well”.
Wise words – which could be applied also to “when is the right time to leave your business?”. Views vary according to one’s personal vision; some business owners want to sell out at 50, others to carry on as long as possible hem hem …. (although it is an uncomfortable shock for some to realise that one way or another, you are going to exit your business -- whether vertically or horizontally week).
If you belong to those who don’t want to carry on indefinitely, it’s wise to realise that planning to sell, or pass on, your business takes a lot longer than most people realise – up to five years’ planning is a reasonable time frame in most cases – which means that a decision has to be taken well before it’s actually time to stop.
How can be sure you’re taking that decision at the right time? Well …. how would it be if you had access to a group of seven other independent business owners, who you meet every month, and who will not only give you a different perspective, but also robust feedback, support, and advice, with no axe to grind? You could share your thoughts with them and ask for their advice …. if this sounds attractive, you know where to come!
Quirky News You Might Have Missed
Enough serious stuff – time for some odd items you may have missed while enjoying the sunshine/watching the Olympics/dodging thuggish protesters...
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A research team from Cambridge Uni tells us that eating broad beans can be a cure for the blues (the mood, not the music – please keep up – Ed)
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This month's Optimism Award goes to the (unnamed) man who tried to smuggle 104 (!) live snakes from Hong Kong to mainland China by secreting them in his underpants (brings tears to your eyes....)
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The Victoria Line is officially the hottest line on the Underground (just thought you might want to know that)
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According to (yet) more essential research, the humble goldfish has apparently been much maligned – far from having a short memory, apparently they can remember things for up to eleven months (which must mean they get very bored?)
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Whilst some people seem to have difficulty distinguishing left from right (You Know Who You Are), in some parts of the world they don't even have the appropriate words. In Bali, they give directions by saying "towards the mountain", "towards the sea", "clockwise round the shore", or "anti-clockwise round the shore", whilst a tribe in Oz called the Guugu Yimithirr (sounds like one of those unfortunate unintentional text messages) use compass points rather than left and right – "you have an ant on your SouthEast leg"...
Time for Columbo Corner...
Columbo Corner
The census, carried out every ten years, is well-known to be a fruitful source of information – but sometimes, one regrets that it doesn't come with explanatory footnotes. It has been compulsory to record your occupation since the 1841 census, but unfortunately, the meanings of some of the occupations on record in the 19th Century have been lost in the mists of time. These include Budget Bummer, Spilch Dealer, Horse Marine, Oliver Man, Piano Puncher, Butt Woman (no comment – Ed), and Brazil Maker (definitely no comment – Ed) .... Answers on a postcard please.
Enjoy the sunshine!
Cheers for now,
Tom
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Final words of wisdom (not mine)
“Bodily decrepitude is wisdom” (W B Yeats)
"Conservative, n. One who is enamoured of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal who wishes to replace them with others" (Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary)