The Old Age Debate (Not Political)

If you didn't know, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will square off this Thursday night in a debate of old men that most people ten years ago would not have thought possible.  President Biden is 81 and President Trump is 78.  According to stats from one year ago, only 6% of people in the United States make it to age 80, but the real number could be more than that.

I don't know your age, but I'm almost 64.  Could I stand upright for ninety minutes and debate someone about sports or politics knowing that 60 million or more people were watching? Yes, with some serious preparation I think I could do it. Would I be able to do it fifteen or twenty years from now? I would hope so, but I'm sure that would be very, very difficult.

What we are going to watch on Thursday are two people who were elected President of the United States, an extremely significant accomplishment. They want to show us that over the next four years they will be able to lead our country in one of the most difficult and demanding jobs that exist.  

Just for fun, I googled, "Famous Accomplishments Later in Life," and this what I got below. It was  written by Molly Edmonds and Becky Striepe.

1. Laura Ingalls Wilder published, "Little House in the Big Woods." It was turned into the television show, "Little House on The Prairie."  She published her first book when she was 64.  (I beat her by one year.)

2. Benjamin Franklin signed  "he Declaration of Independence" when he was 70 years old.  He was one of the most accomplished people in the history of our county. (Is 70 old anymore?)

3. Nelson Mandela was 75 when he was elected President of South Africa. (I show off his picture on a bill in my car all the time.)

4. Bill Wilson started Alcoholics Anonymous when he was 40. (How is that later in life?)

5. Mother Theresa received the Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 69. (I'm five years from that age.)

6. Julia Child was 51 when her television show on cooking began. (51 is not 78 or 81.)

7. Peter Mark Roget published the first edition of Roget's Thesaurus when he was 73. (He could have run for President of The United States, but he didn't.)

8. Doris Haddock at the age of 89, walked 3,200 miles between Los Angeles and Washington D.C. to raise awareness for campaign finance reform and she did it in 14 months. (Finally, someone old accomplished something!)

9. Ray Kroc at the age of 52, started working with the McDonald brothers to build his McDonald's fortune. (52 is not later in life, he lived until he was 82.)

10. Grandma Moses began to paint when she was 72. (I guess I could start painting)

There has to be some Americans who have made a difference in their eighties.  You get to decide in November who you want to vote for, but I think they are both too old. Still, watching them debate Thursday, at the ages of 81 and 77, is pretty remarkable.

Winston Churchill, pictured above, was elected Prime Minister of The United Kingdom in 1940 at the age of 66 and in 1951 at the age of 77.  He served until he was 81 years old. 

You can say President Biden and President Trump are a lot of things, but neither of them are a Winston Churchill.