I don’t know if you saw it recently, but two political leaders in the Congress from different political parties who are over 80 years of age fell and were injured. Apparently, mother nature doesn’t care if you are a Republican or a Democrat when you are getting old.

Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat, who is my age, fell on some stairs at a palace in Luxembourg where she was commemorating with other members of Congress the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. Some say that she tripped because she still wears spike heels…but that, as far as I know, has not been confirmed.

The Republican who has made similar news is Senator Mitch McConnell who fell in the Senate and apparently bruised his head and face pretty badly. McConnel has been in the news over the past year with other slip-ups attributed to his advancing age.

So, just to re-emphasize…aging is not partial to your political affiliation. Father time doesn’t care if you are a Republican or a Democrat. He just keeps marching on and includes everybody.

Some in my family think that I shouldn’t write about getting old…but I sort of look at it as an obligation. Older people can learn from others going through it, and younger people might benefit by knowing what is coming.

There is nothing wrong with aging. Everyone ages. But, not everyone wants to deal with or embrace its reality. We were meant to age.

Also, I have never met anyone who is getting older who at one time wasn’t younger. This may sound a bit like a Yogi Berra quote, but it is the truth.

A reverse way to state it is: “old bones don’t get young.” I am living proof of that. When you are my age, over 80–it is probably time to give up some things…like downhill skiing on black diamond slopes.

When my parents were this age, nobody had ever heard of knee, hip or shoulder replacements. Now, it is uncommon when you don’t know somebody who has just gone through one or is scheduled for surgery to have a new joint implanted somewhere in their body.

The “fool’s gold,” of course, in having this done is that the new, artificial joints are being added to old bones. A “new” hip or knee may well improve your mobility and reduce pain. But, be not fooled–they are not the only things wearing down in your body.

I have repeated before in this column advice from my doctor who always tells me when I have a physical exam: “Just slow down and live within yourself!”

Not bad advice, I would say, for all Republicans or Democrats who have been around for seven or eight decades. Mother nature is totally bipartisan. Respect and enjoy these later years.

And, if all else fails, as the old country song says: “Nail your shoes to the kitchen floor, get up and bar the door, and thank the Lord for the roof’s that’s over you!”

Rolland Kidder is a Stow resident.