Old Athletes? - Hmm

 This morning I listened to an enthusiast, not a senior, lauding the aged that are athletes. She went on saying in her young voice, that keeping "fit" was the way to fend off old age. Well, maybe. But I know that, no one other than a very few aged people beyond eighty are able to participate athletically, for various reasons.  Listening to those in their twenties and forties who "study" the aged and tell them what is best, makes me sad. The aging athletic experience, is simply not true statistically. A few are touted by the media as "all".  The "all you have to do is" crowd, cheerfully spout about old people and that it is a case of "use it or lose it". Well, I have news for them. The  true rendition is "lose it and find you can't use it".  The body rules in aging. No matter how you once could run or skip or jump, your body may come up with a "can't do that any more" issue. Also, many of us don't have access to easy and simple transportation to get to the pool to do the easy exercise classes in the water or sit in the hot tub with all the other very able lucky sorts.  It applies to other venues as well: bowling, golf, skating, hiking and so on. Getting there is half the problem. Taking public transportation lost its appeal long ago as reports of abuse of the elderly appeared. The best place is home for most of us. Yes, you do lose your physical capacities and that is factual. A few don't, but most do. There are however, exercises that are possible and good and easy ways to do them. Chair yoga may be a joke to some, but it is one way of enjoying using your body no matter how it fails you. It is true that you should move about as much as you can but if so, find your way to do so, that won't hurt you. I love to dance to music in my weird way every morning as I prep for the day. You don't need a lot of space to glide about using every joint and muscle as you move to music. And what about mental exercise? Some elders are super mental athletes. Try to beat them at Scrabble or chess or the daily crossword or even Wordle and you're on! Reading athletics is another sport that elders have the time and energy to excel in. These are truths.