Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Presbyterianism (aka Geriatrics)


"I’m only going to the party
because the suicide
attempt
failed "

Practically,
the old have not
very important
advice to give to
the young, their
own experience
has been so partial,
and their lives have
been such miserable
failures. (HDT)

“Meanwhile, blood supply to
pulp and roots of teeth atrophies,
and the flow of saliva diminishes;

gums tend to become inflamed
and pull away from teeth, exposing
the base, making them unstable
and elongating their appearance,
especially the lower ones.

Scrupulous dental care can help avert
tooth loss, but growing old gets in the
way. Arthritis, tremors, and small strokes,
for example, make it difficult to brush and
floss, and, because nerves become less
sensitive with age, people may not realize
that they have cavity and gum problems
until it’s too late.”

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/04/30/070430fa_fact_gawande

Lower old age
(also known as
presbyterianism):
& if I
weren’t here now
I wouldn’t be
delight-juggling
sense, nonsense
& no-sense-at-all:
calling them my
mothers of invention
because I can and
younger chrysalic
stages must resist
in their efficient
attention to peer
pressured details
and the necessity
of getting things
done.

Idios Daemon, my personal
guidance counselor & paraklete,
recommends what-the-hell you
only live once if that & you’re
walking on 3 legs now: say
what you’ve got to say, say it,
& say what you said for crying
out loud.

Age is no better, hardly so well
qualified for an instructor as youth,
says Henry, for it has not profited
so much as it has lost. One may
almost doubt if the wisest man has
learned anything of absolute value
by living.

No comments:

Post a Comment