Enjoy Every Minute

Verses of Wisdom from a Theater Veteran

March 9, 2010

By Jim Young

Be glad you are old and contentious
Be glad you can rant and rave
It’s the last chance to be obnoxious
Before you go to your grave

While people are trying to please you
And tend to your every need
Enjoy whatever they will do
Including getting you peed

You say you are old and unwanted?
Have nothing to give to the world?
Hey! Face up to life. Be undaunted
Live it up! Let the future unfurl

You’re entitled to your share of pleasure
Spend all of the money you can
Make up for the lost hours of leisure
Become a great jitterbug fan

Don’t make it an important issue
When things go wrong in your brain
When your legs start to buckle beneath you
And you have to lean on your cane

Getting old is just part of the living
To live a long time isn’t bad
Accept what anyone’s giving
While you’re here, they’ll always be glad

Jim Young was founding chair of Cal State Fullerton's Theater and Dance Department and an associate vice president for Academic Programs. He wrote this poem in 2005.