Staying Young

I stopped by a coffee shop during a stroll through a coastal town in the Pacific Northwest. The morning rain had stopped, and the sun was coming out between the clouds.

I thought it best to put my camera away; it would have looked conspicuous dangling from my neck while I waited in line to order a latte.

I set my backpack on a bench, unzipped it, and placed the camera inside. A well-dressed gentleman passed by and noticed what I was doing.

“Wow! That’s a lot of equipment!” the man remarked with a smile.

“Carrying it around helps keep me young,” I joked.

The man, who was probably in his mid seventies, added, “Well, let me tell you this. Anything you do that helps keep you young is worth doing.”

“Thank you,” I said as I pondered the wisdom of this off-the-cuff comment. I repeated the man’s words and added, “I’m going to remember that for a long time.”