Submitted by Linda Vander Groef
The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged
us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when
a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled,
little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.
She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty - seven years
old. Can I give you a hug?"
I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she
gave me a giant squeeze. "Why are you in college at such
a young, innocent age?" I asked. She jokingly replied, "I'm here to
meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of children, and then retire and
travel." "No seriously," I asked. I was
curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.
"I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting
one!" she told me. After class we walked to the student union building and
shared a chocolate milkshake. We became instant friends. Every day for the next
three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop.
I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared
her wisdom and
experience with me. Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and
she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled
in the attention bestowed
upon her from the other students. She was living it up.
At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet.
I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the
podium. As she began to deliver her
prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor.
Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply
said "I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is
killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me
just tell you what I know." As we laughed she cleared her throat and began:
"We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we
stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and
achieving success. "You have to laugh and find humor every day."
"You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.
We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!"
"There is a huge difference
between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in
bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn
twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a
year and never do anything I will turn eig
