It occurred to me that I was once as smart as you are now. That kind of reminds me of a line from an old hippie tune: “I was so much older then, I am younger than that now.” The song is My Back Pages by Bob Dylan, though I am much more familiar with the Byrd's rendition.

The point is your wisdom, your pain, your exquisite, your blistering, your excruciating, your explosive, your uniquely you experience has been the experience of most people who have gone through your stage of life. Some missed parts because they skipped their youth and went right to work, or to war, etc., but mostly we've been there. I've been there.

So when my 56 years is trying to look out for your next sixty or seventy, you might want to give it some more weight.

Anyway, love you all. I have to go pick up Oma now.