Time In A Bottle

Okay, I admit it. I’m fast. Wait, that doesn’t sound right. I do things fast. Most things. It’s not so much that I’m rushing it’s just my normal speed. I’ve got a lot to do and there’s only so much time in a day. With a society that has express lanes for cars and groceries, I’m obviously not alone.

But why are we all in such a hurry? Where are we ultimately headed?

After a week in Boca Raton, Florida I’ve had to adapt. My grandparents are 91 and 87, and everything they do is S.L.O.W. Very slow. It takes a day or two of adjustment, and I try to walk with less pep in my step, take my time washing the dishes, and even attempt to drive the speed limit. “No need to rush,” Papa says, as I wait impatiently to pull out onto a busy street. “So it takes another minute. What’s your rush?”

“Yeah,” I think, “what is my rush?” Whether I move quickly or not, I will still arrive in Elderlyville, USA in the same exact amount of time. And while I’m definitely not in a hurry to get there, I know it’s inevitable. Unless.

Aside from eating healthy and exercising regularly, is there anything else we can do to prolong our time here on earth? Anti wrinkle creams tout keeping you young on the outside, but those lines have nothing to do with how long we get on this planet. Time is our most precious commodity, the one thing we cannot trade on the stock market and the one thing many of us take for granted. But not all.

While at temple with my grandparents for the New Year, an elderly man was called up to the bimah to read from the Torah. My grandfather excitedly said to me, “He just got married three weeks ago. He’s 92. His bride is 90.

“It’s not over till it over,” Nana chimed in.

The night before I was leaving Florida, a friend of my grandparents came by to visit. Her name was Lee. Lee is from Brooklyn. She loves to travel and still works part time as an office assistant. She walks with a straight posture, wears hip clothing and high heels. She’s an avid reader, swims every morning and even has a boyfriend. Her boyfriend is 64. Lee, who has a daughter that’s 67, is 91.

“It’s partly her attitude,” Nana says of Lee’s longevity. “And that keeps her young.”

Hhmm, maybe there is a secret.