Rose

[Guest guest]

(Thought some wld like to read this)

Rose

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, 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

experience

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 the 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

years

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.

_________________________________________________________________

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[Guest guest]

When I went to community college, in a retirement town, we had four

students like this lady. They were couples, one in their late 80s or

90s, and the other couple in their late 60s and 70s.

The first couple took classes together, mainly humanities, and held a

full-time course load. When asked why are they still going to school

they'd reply: " We can die here or at an old-folks home. " Over one

summer the husband did die, and his widow still went to school the

next year, but she also died before the semester ended. They were

such a fixture on campus, I'm sure their ghosts are still sitting in

English Lit or US History.

The second couple, the wife had a dream of becoming a superior court

judge and didn't get started until she was 68. She had a long list of

careers under her belt already, from racing sailboats to being an

Fortune 500 executive. Her husband was in my art class and we became

fast friends. He took classes because he was tired of being home

alone while his wife went to school. My mother was incredibly

impressed with her and would often say " I want to be her when I grow

up! " I don't know if she ever became a judge but knowing her she

probably did.

Thanks for sharing this. It brought up some very pleasant memories

for me. :-) And goes to show, you're never too old to start living

life.

~ Kassandra

> (Thought some wld like to read this)

>

>

>

> Rose

>

> 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.

>

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