Learning at the Library

For me, the highlight of this busy fall has been the talk I gave with Sydney Bacon at the Toronto Reference Library. Sydney (pictured above) is 100 years old and is one of the book’s role models. There were over 80 people in the audience and Sydney’s wise and witty take on life had them spellbound. Here are some questions he was asked:

Q. Should you tell your age?

A. No – it’s irrelevant. What matters is who you are as a human being.

Q. What is important in life?

A. From the age of 62 I have lived Polonius’ advice to Hamlet: to thine own self be true.

Q. How do you keep your mind so sharp?

A. I accept whatever stage I am at, and make the most of it. And I never stop making friends.

Talking with Sydney forces us to throw away our assumptions about aging.