“1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;”
Ecclesiastes 12.1
I’m struggling, but not from COVID-19 fears. Although I passed the sixty threshold a while back, it still feels strange to be thought of as older. Acknowledging some diminished capabilities is one thing, but to be suddenly thrust into the “elderly” class with one foot in the nursing home is a bridge to far.
I’ll make the point with a personal illustration. I farm. I do this largely on my own with some seasonal help. I’ve been thinking that it may be time to upgrade the grain handling equipment to require less shoveling on my part, in particular my bins with pits. The auger is cumbersome and heavy; shoveling the last three or four hundred bushels to the auger while standing on a sloping pit surface with slippery footing is concerning.
It would be nice to remedy this situation, but I would not be grateful if the Farm Service Agency passed new regulations prohibiting all farmers over the age of sixty from shoveling wheat. On one hand I don’t want to be ungrateful for the concern that is expressed, and the policies that have been enacted for my supposed benefit, but honestly, those kind of well meaning regulations lead to unintended consequences.
It feels threatening to arbitrarily be stripped of certain freedoms by virtue of a single criteria, age. Those of us over sixty are suddenly a homogenous group who all share the same capabilities and risk assessment by virtue of age alone. This is foolishness. Americans are freedom lovers. Don’t say you care about me too much to allow me to make these choices. Give us the facts, let us weigh them and make informed choices.
It may be true that most “elderly” people should not shovel grain or navigate in bins with uncertain footing. As a general policy, it might even be wise. I’m quite certain that both the shoveling and operating in this environment, as I have for years, would not be a recommended practice for most of the population of the USA. I’m just as certain that shoveling wheat each year has kept me in condition to make this choice for myself, and to continue this practice at my present age of sixty-seven. I look forward to continuing to do so until I decide differently.
“Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken…”
Ecclesiastes 12.6
