I don’t know about you, but I sometimes wonder what getting old is all about. The whole notion seems strange to me. Why do I find myself taking a nap in the afternoon? Those little bumps and bruises that show up on my body — where do they come from? Why don’t people speak a little louder . . . and maybe talk a little more slowly? And most of all: who is that stranger staring back at me from the mirror?

     When I’m confused about life, or questioning what’s happening to the world, I usually go back to the writers and philosophers who guided me earlier in life. So here are a few quotes about Aging from people smarter than I am. Some of them are funny, some inspirational, some comforting. And . . . maybe you have a favorite quote of your own?

     “The older we get the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.”  — Will Rogers 

     “To get back to my youth I would do anything in the world except Exercise, get up early, or be respectable.”  — Oscar Wilde

     “Old age is like a plane flying through a storm. Once you are aboard there is nothing you can do about it.”  — Golda Meir

     “The older I get, the more clearly I remember things that never happened.”  — Mark Twain

     “Always be nice to your children, because they are the ones who will choose your Retirement home.”  — Phyllis Diller

     “Getting old is like climbing a mountain. You get a little out of breath, but the view is much better!”  — Ingrid Bergman

     “You can live to be a hundred, if you give up all things that make you want to live to be a hundred.”  — Woody Allen

   “It’s paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn’t appeal to anyone.”  — Andy Rooney

     “The older I get, the better I used to be.”  — Lee Travino

     “I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a lot more as they get older, and then it dawned on me — they’re cramming for their final exam.”  — George Carlin

     “I don’t feel old. I don’t feel anything until noon. Then it’s time for my nap.”  — Bob Hope

     “I have reached an age when, if someone tells me to wear socks, I don’t have to.”  —  Albert Einstein

     “When your friends begin to flatter you on how young you look, it’s a sure sign you’re getting old.”  — Mark Twain

     “The idea is to die young as late as possible.”  — Ashley Montagu

     “You don’t stop laughing when you grow old, you grow old when you stop laughing.” — George Bernard Shaw

Tom Lashnits Writer, Blogger