eastsussexeye: Old & Young

The Story So Far ...

We said farewell to our work friends at the RSPCA and BBC on 14 September, farewell to our families on 3 October, and set off for Africa to save cheetahs, decorate school buildings, and look around a bit. After a trip home for Christmas, we headed for South East Asia on 6 January -- where we were stunned by Qatar and Cambodia, taught novice monks in Laos, and acted as security guards at an Elephant Festival. It was back home for four weeks to look after John's dad, before we tangoed our way through five South American countries in fifteen days. We then snooped our way through New Zealand, dipped our toes into Fiji, drove-thru California and were home from home with family in Vancouver.

Now, we are home itself. Fulfilled, happy, and ready to earn the respect of our friends and family by knuckling down and earning some money once again ...

Saturday, 30 October 2010

Old & Young

It's my father's birthday on Tuesday. He'll be 88. Yesterday, we both fired up our laptops, plugged in our webcams and had a video-chat via Skype. This evening we Skyped Henry's parents. I'm hoping to Skype my mother later this week.

It's giving me hope that old (sorry, Mum) may be the new young. I've been very struck in recent weeks by the gymnastics that some more senior citizens will practice to make the most out of life. Of the 28 volunteers I've met this month at the PAWS Cheetah Rescue project, 12 have been 40+, or within a whisper of it. Three have in fact been in their sixties, at least four in their fifties. I think it's fair to say that the amount of effort they've put in during bush chopping or wood dragging (in 30c+ heat) has given many of the under '30s pause for thought as they rested beneath a sycamore tree.

I'm not declaring that when I'm 88 I'll be out there with my heavy duty gloves, taming the weld. But I hope, at least, I'll be video-conferencing someone who is.

John