“MORE THAN ME”

“MORE THAN ME” documents former SNL cast member Jim Breuer’s cross-country comedy tour, accompanied by his 84-year-old dad. Not surprisingly, film segments featuring Breuer’s stand-up routines and the travails of weeks of touring thousands of miles by bus produce plenty of hilarious moments. What is surprising -- because it so unexpected -- is how incredibly poignant and inspiring it is to witness Breuer use humor and compassion to care for his dad as his health deteriorates. Watch the film's trailer. And then you will want to order the DVD.

HOW OLD WOULD YOU BE?

HOW OLD WOULD YOU BE? Satchel Paige famously asked, maybe rhetorically, “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?” Research suggests that most healthy adults would answer 10 to 15 years younger than their chronological age.

Coming at the question of optimal age from a different angle, consider this: Assume you are perfectly healthy and can reasonably expect to remain healthy for another 20 years, what would be your ideal age? Would you opt for the advantage of wisdom that comes with age, or the youthful opportunities to influence the unknown?

Please share your comments.

MORE THAN WE’LL EVER KNOW.

MORE THAN WE’LL EVER KNOW. There are things we know, things we don’t know, and things we don’t know we don’t know. Our formal schooling, continuing education and professional development ably cover the first two things, assuming we apply ourselves. It’s the third type of things, those which we haven’t even given a thought, that through scientific research and happenstance have the most profound influence on expanding our knowledge base.

Paradoxically, our goal should always be to be open-minded enough to acknowledge how little we really know. It was from this humble perspective that the Roman rhetorician Seneca wrote, “There will come a time when our descendants will be amazed that we did not know the things that are so plain to them.” Such as … how best to age well into the future.

WHAT’S IN A NAME: ESKATON?

WHAT’S IN A NAME: ESKATON? What do a defunct vanity record label, a neighborhood of Dhaka, Bangladesh, and a French rock band have in common?

Each shares the name “Eskaton,” the same as the aging services provider in Northern California (www.eskaton.org).

Liberally translated from ancient Greek, “Eskaton” means “dawn of a new day,” which aptly represents an organization with a vision to transform the aging experience.

As for the origin of the other uses, it might just be the alternate explanation -- that it is a cool sounding word.