10 | JANUARY 9 • 2020 

Views

but they don’
t bother me. 
The truth is I’
m starting to 
find them relevant and even 
oddly interesting. I’
m even 
starting to develop a bit of 
camaraderie toward those 
graying, happy AARP folks 
in the photos. They’
re no 
longer abstract strangers to 
me, and they’
re far more 
relatable than the silly young 
celebrities I see on TV or on 
the Grammy’
s. Those AARP 
folks are becoming my new 
peeps.
We want to believe that 
wisdom comes with age, but 
I know too many older peo-
ple who disprove that theory. 
I’
m no exception to that 
although I am starting to 
accept who I’
m not and what 
I no longer wish to try. It’
s 
my “process of elimination” 
approach to living. I’
m no 
longer doing lots of things 
I used to do but no longer 
enjoy. The list is quickly 
getting longer and involves 
everything from snorkeling 
to sit-ups to going to Detroit 
Lions games. I look forward 
to adding many more items 
to the list in the future.
I recently heard a few Ted 
Talks that turn the notion of 
age and wisdom on its head. 
There are a number of talks 
from brilliant children with 

topics ranging from pancre-
atic cancer to nuclear fusion 
to advanced programming. 
One of them, from a 12-year-
old child prodigy named 
Adora Svitzak, is titled 
“What Adults Can Learn 
From Children” and has 
been viewed by 5.5 million 
people. These videos remind 
us that wisdom comes in all 
ages, and there is much that 
adults can learn from the big, 
bold and creative dreams of 
children.
So as much as I want to 
make conclusions about 
wisdom and aging, the only 
thing I know for sure is that 
the search never ends, no 
matter how old one gets. The 
writer Percy Seitland once 
wrote, “
A man of 97, unless 
he’
s a fool, has no mes-
sage.” I’
m not sure if that’
s 
a depressing message about 
ignorance or a positive one 
about acceptance.
My plan is to make that 
assessment for myself on my 
97th birthday. Preparing for 
that day is the gift I’
m giving 
myself on this momentous 
birthday. 

Mark Jacobs is the AIPAC Michigan 
chair for African American Outreach 
and co-director of the Coalition for 
Black and Jewish Unity.

TURNING 65 continued from page 8

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