The Daring Airborne Elderly
�SALINA, Kan. Mar 3, 2005 � Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett, 60, on Thursday became the first person to fly around the world solo without stopping or refueling 67 hours and 23,000 miles after taking off in his spindly-looking, experimental jet.�
Yet another senior citizen does something spectacular involving flight.
Less than a year ago, 63-year-old Mike Melvill flew his SpaceShipOne rocket into space (and history).
To my utter astonishment, I didn�t stay young forever. I�m in my mid-forties now, dealing with high blood pressure, a hip that is paying me back for all of those sports I used to recklessly engage in, and a face with enough wrinkles to look like it has worn out three bodies.
However, I have kept one part of my body young through intense exercise: my brain.
My employer insists upon two weeks of IT training for each staff member every year. That means that I have to clear my mind and spend a week at a time tackling extremely technical subjects. Most recently, I went to Dallas for Linux server administration.
True, it�s not daredevil flying, but cramming knowledge into my 45-year-old head about subjects like software installation, user permissions management, and fixing corrupted system files forces me to get back to the basics of schoolwork: after-school study, the taking of notes, and practicing what I learn.
What I really enjoy is that fact that these week-long technical classes, while dominated by youngsters who don�t remember President Carter, invariably have students there who are ten, twenty or more years my senior.
So maybe we aging Boomers aren�t all making the evening news, but many of us are still working hard at keeping that most complicated muscle that is the brain limber.
Who knows? Maybe I�ll take up flying myself when I grow up.
