How old would you be

If you didn't know how old you are?

I learned something interesting about my friend Dave earlier this week.  His wife and daughter told me that he loves to have squirt gun "fights" with his grandchildren.  They reported that he gets just as excited and animated as they do.   Family friend Spencer (also an adult) joins in with just as much enthusiasm as Dave, I was told.

I knew Dave really enjoyed his grandchildren, but I had not heard much about his participation in the squirt gun fights.

So, how old would he be?  In that context at least, Dave would be less than ten years old.  Having fun with your grandchildren  ----- ageless  ----- for both of you.

Leroy "Satchel" Paige was credited with the "If you didn't know . . . " quote a number of years ago by a lady named Sally Eggleston when she did some customer service training for our company.  You will find it below, in the whole list of quotes from "The official Satchel Paige Quote Page" Click Here for the Website   Paige was the oldest major league rookie at age 42 (1948) and played in the majors until he was 59, later entering the Hall of Fame.  Learn more by following the link above.

Anyway, age is at least partly a state of mind and you can make yourself as old, broken down, and resistant to change and new ideas as you want.  Or you can embrace new ideas, different ways of doing things, and new technologies.  I sat next to a young man on a plane a couple of weeks ago who observed "You must not be too old.  You have a smart phone." 

The wisdom of Satchel Paige:

"Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter."  (first attributed to Mark Twain)

"I ain't ever had a job, I just always played baseball."

"I don't generally like running. I believe in training by rising gently up and down from the bench."

"I never rush myself. See, they can't start the game without me."

"I use my single windup, my double windup, my triple windup, my hesitation windup, my no windup. I also use my step-n-pitch-it, my submariner, my sidearmer and my bat dodger. Man's got to do what he's got to do."

"If a man can beat you, walk him."

"It's funny what a few no-hitters do for a body."

"My feet ain't got nothing to do with my nickname, but when folks get it in their heads that a feller's got big feet, soon the feet start looking big."

"One time I snuck a ball on with me and when I went to winding up, I threw one of them balls to first and one to second. I was so smooth I picked off both runners and fanned the batter without that ump or the other team even knowing it."

"The only change is that baseball has turned Paige from a second class citizen to a second class immortal."

"There never was a man on earth who pitched as much as me. But the more I pitched, the stronger my arm would get."

"When a batter swings and I see his knees move, I can tell just what his weaknesses are then I just put the ball where I know he can't hit it."

"Ain’t no man can avoid being born average, but there ain’t no man got to be common."

"I never threw an illegal pitch. The trouble is, once in a while I would toss one that ain’t never been seen by this generation."

"Just take the ball and throw it where you want to. Throw strikes. Home plate don’t move."

"They said I was the greatest pitcher they ever saw…I couldn’t understand why they couldn’t give me no justice."

"Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you."

"Don't pray when it rains if you don't pray when the sun shines."

"How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?"

"Money and women. They're two of the strongest things in the world. The things you do for a woman you wouldn't do for anything else. Same with money."

"Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching."

"You win a few, you lose a few. Some get rained out. But you got to dress for all of them."

"My pitching philosophy is simple; you gotta keep the ball off the fat part of the bat."

"Mother always told me, if you tell a lie, always rehearse it. If it don't sound good to you, it won't sound good to no one else."

"Don't eat fried food, it angries up the blood."




-30-