How Old is Too Old to Be a Leader?

As a Baby Boomer, I have the mindset that you're never too old to set new goals and accomplish your dreams.  You know what they say, "Age is nothing but a number," and "Live your life and forget your age."  

Well Donald Trump is changing my attitude about how old is too old to do certain things--in this case TOO OLD to be President of the United States.  This man was born in 1946, making him a part of the first way of the baby boomer generation.  The year he was born, Jim Crow laws were in full effect. One month after his birth, two black couples were murdered by the KKK in Monroe, GA.  It is interesting to note that in 1927, Trump's father, Fred, was reportedly arrested during a KKK riot in Queens, NY.  Exactly what role he played is unclear although #45 vehemently denies his father had any ties to the Klan back then. (Washington Post article)

The point I'm trying to make here is growing older doesn't always make you wiser.  Many older people get stuck in their ways and in their past.  Some become senile.  Some are resistant to change--always referring back to the 'good ol' days' and wanting to 'Make America Great Again!'

#45 is a 70-year-old man who grew up in a golden bubble, where he was immune to the struggles of everyday Americans---especially minorities and immigrants.  The world he lives in has little tolerance for those who truly need a helping hand.  Yes, he vowed to take care of his supporter base but since he has no real connection to or understanding of them, he is going to rely heavily on white nationalist Stephen K. Bannon (age 63) to guide him along. And if I may say so, Bannon looks like he truly came out of rural white America. 

The behavior of #45 makes one question if he is mentally all there.  Some psychiatrists have actually come out and said he exhibits signs of mental illness.  Perhaps, he is on the road to dementia, since his own father developed Alzheimer's late in his life.   His temperamental behavior at press briefings leads me to believe he's just cantankerous, which is an adjective to describe old people.  

Whatever the case might be, he is too old to be in office and, personally, I think it's time to revisit a portion of the Constitution:

Age and Citizenship requirements - US Constitution, Article II, Section 1

• No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United States.

LIMIT the age you're able to run to 60.

When an Ex Dies

We got news today that my ex-husband died. My daughter called, overwhelmed with grief, to let me know. He apparently died alone and had been dead for a few days before his body was discovered.  I wasn't quite sure how to process the news since we haven't been on speaking terms in several years. And even though we lived in the same city our paths never crossed.  So tell me, how is an ex-wife supposed to feel when her ex-husband dies? 

Sure, we had some great times during our 17 years together.  We were the married "buppies" before the word became a trend.  We lived and loved hard. But living fast and free got old after awhile.  Our marriage did not end well.  It took me a long time to get over his adultery and other lies. I had to move on and, thankfully, I did.  

So right now, I'm just not sure how I should feel.  I know that the death of someone with whom you have had a difficult relationship can be harder to deal with, and the grief reaction more complex.  

Over the next several days, perhaps months, I will reflect on the good times we shared.  I will go through old photo albums and remember the fun family trips we took. Then I will also be reminded of why I left him and then I will return to the present---to the true love I now have.

Every man's life ends the same way.  It is only the details of how he LIVED and how he died that distinguishes him from another ~Ernest Hemingway