Education is NOT the learning of facts but the training of the mind
to THINK. -- Albert Einstein
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, and have a couple of kids...' '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 experiences 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 eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take
any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in
change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we
did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are
those with regrets.’ She concluded her speech by courageously singing 'The
Rose.'
She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in
our daily lives. At the year's end, Rose finished the college degree she had
begun all those months ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in
her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute
to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all
you can possibly be.
When you finish reading this, please send this peaceful word of
advice to your friends and family, they'll really enjoy it!
These words have been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.
REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL. We
make a Living by what we get. We make a Life by what we give.
God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage. If God brings you
to it, He will bring you through it. Pass this message on to 7 people. You will
receive a miracle tomorrow (if you don't think so....look out your window when
you wake in the morning and think about it)
If you choose not, then you refuse to bless someone else.
'Good friends are like stars'.... You don't always see them, but
you know they are always there.
