by Pat Nordman

Now that I am galloping toward the twilight, I'm trying to pay more attention to these excellent precepts for old age given us by Dr. Frank Crane:

1. I will not try to act nor dress nor talk so as to make people think I am younger than I am.
   

2. I will not pretend to be young, nor be angry when called old, nor ashamed of my age.
   

3. I will not complain of being old.
   

4. I will not continually remind people of my old age to secure their sympathy, or to hear them say I am not so old after all or do not seem so.
   

5. I will not form the habit of indulging in reminiscences.
   

6. I will be particularly careful not to repeat the same anecdote over and over.
   

7. I will not complain of the present and claim the past was much better.
   

8. If I am deaf, weak-eyed, lame, or otherwise afflicted, I will not advertise my infirmities, but avoid obtruding them upon the notice of others as much as possible.
   

9. I will not talk of myself, my work, my achievements, even of my mistakes, any more than necessary.
   

10. I will speak cheerfully or keep still.
    

11. I will never indulge in cynicism, never sneer at youth and will always try to appreciate what younger folks do.
    

12. I shall concede my life's triumph to be growing triumphantly, victoriously old.
    

13. In a word, I shall try to adjust myself to old age, as well as to all other facts of life.

    Pat Nordman