A young man who was an avid golfer found himself with a few hours
to spare one afternoon. He figured if he hurried and played very fast, he could
get in 9 holes before he had to head home. Just as he was about to tee off, an
old gentleman shuffled onto the tee and asked if he could accompany the young
man since he was golfing alone. The young man was simply not being able to say,
“No.” So he allowed the old gent to join him. To his surprise, the
old man played fairly quickly. He didn’t hit the ball far, but plodded along
consistently and didn’t waste much time. Finally, they reached the 9th fairway
and the young man found himself with a tough shot. There was a large pine tree
directly in front of his ball and directly between his ball and the green.
After several minutes of debating how to hit the shot, the old man finally
said, “You know, when I was your age I’d hit the ball right over that
tree.” With that challenge placed before him, the youngster swung hard and
hit the ball high! Unfortunately, it was not high enough. It hit right smack
into the top of the tree trunk and it rattled its way back to earth where it
thudded on the ground and came to a stop not a foot from where it had
originally lay. The old man offered one more comment: “Of course, when I
was your age, that pine tree was only 3 feet tall.”

There are a lot of things that we could do when we were younger
that, for whatever reason, we may not be able to do now. Then again, there are
some things we can do now that we couldn’t do when we were younger.

Those who are younger should use their strength and enthusiasm to
serve mankind. Those who are older should make use of their experience and
wisdom. Together, what a great team they make!