Caught on Midday.

Yes. I listen to speeches in my car from time to time. I'm not going to do a lot with these words, just that Harold Kushner (America's Rabbi, apparently. How awesome is it that I have a rabbi though I am not Jewish?) said some good things:

Stuff that applies to the class I just took:

He was talking about age and aging, and one of the great inferences he made is that with baby boomers aging, we might actually begin to see age in this country. We do not have a society that is particularly down with aging. It leads, inevitably and frighteningly towards thoughts of death.

America's rabbi has two things to say about aging and dying. He says we must end "the war between the generations". The elderly must stop being annoyed with the noisy chaos of youth and the young must "stop seeing the elderly as an obstacle...but see them as people with stories to tell."

Yes. and thank you.

On the big D: "Do not be afraid of death. People about to die are not afraid of dying...but of having wasted their lives...Go to the cemetery. Tell me if you find one headstone that reads 'really good salesman', 'very effective CEO', 'really good with numbers', 'always drove a new car'. No. You know what the headstones say at the cemetery: 'Beloved husband and father', 'cherished wife, mother and grandmother', 'dear friend'. If you have achieved that you don't need to have achieved eminence in any other area of life."

It can probably seem a little trite, but it really struck home with me today. Also, I hope my headstone says "dear friend." (And also that it has Egyptian-style cats on either side of it.)

Kushner finished his talk with a quote from William James: "Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create that fact."

Bring it on home.