The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-08-29

tells us that in order to keep young in mind and body one must have some work 10 do in which one has an interest. Lack Ing this. the brain begins to decay and we have the dreadful example with which we all are familiar-elderly people whose minds have given way and who have be- come mere animals. swayed by the in- suncts and the impulses of the moment"
 Perhaps because l am well along in years myself am peculiarly interested in anything pertaining to means for keeping young. l attribute much of my own health and vigor to the fact that have always found the world and all 1t con tains of absorbing concern and have never suffered from boredom. So I am eager to make converts to my theory that age is largely within ones own control On this account am happy to find myself backed by so eminent an authority as Dr. Thompson.
 For longer than can say have be- lieved in every one keeping a fad of some Kind in good working order. Riding a hobby has always impressed me as one of the best forms of mental and physical exercise, and the breed of the hobby seems Of less moment than the necessity of hav- ing one strong enough to carry one away from daily and wearing cares.
 To drop the metaphor, let me ask those who have kept their eyes open if they have not observed the same state of af- fairs as that commented upon by the cor respondent from whose letter have just quoted. Have you not seen the dreadful examples !" to which she refers-persons who have aged suddenly and pitiably when their active occupations have ceased? Have you not known, as have, cases of men who have retired from busi- ness with the expressed purpose of talk ing well earned rest after hard work Ing life, and who have, In popular phrase, gone all to pieces as soon as they had nothing to do but sit about and read the papers? Have you not seen old ladies who had always been brisk about their work. who were forced by well mean- ing relatives to delegate their duties to others and take life easy" and who have sunk into apathy and depression? Depend upon it, pr. Thompson is right We all need vigorous interest to keep us youthful in mind and body when the years gather thick upon us.
 l recall the case of one woman knew who had always been busy wife, mother. sfid s3aopsekeeper Even after her hus- bands death and the marriage and de- parture from home of several of her chil. dren she kept comparatively young and brisk until the time when her last child married. Then 1t seemed hardly worth while to keep up the home just for herself. and she went to live with her married daughter.
 Her occupation wa gone. She had noth- ing to do but to sit at leisure, sew a little, read a little, chat a little. She had no hobby or fad to absorb her mind she felt that she was not of real use in the home. Before many months she dropped into form of melancholy, and those who loved her best felt 1t was blessed release when a little later she slipped quietly out of life. She was not old enough to be tired of living; she simply lacked an interest which would have given her power of re- sistance 10 disease.
 The truth Is that many of our elderly men and women are like man of whom read not long ago and who had slaved hard all his life with the one aim in view of some day having time to read and study. When he was about 60 he had achieved his aim; he could retire from &C., tive business to his library and devote hmself to the books he had yearned for. And then he found that he had forgotten how to read! All his powers had been given to the problems of business; he could no longer concentrate his mind on matters of the intellect; the printed page - could not hold his attention. After month trial he left the leisure for which he had struggled and went back to the work to which he had accustomed him. self
 This may seem an extreme instance but believe there are more like it than most of us appreciate. l have heard many per- sons say they had been so busy all their lives that they had forgotten how to rest |" l envy you" one woman said to an Mother in my hearing last summer. The enc to whom she spoke was just starting tor the woods with no means of occupa- ton but pair of field glasses. " You will go and sit on rock in the shade and watch birds and study plants all the morn- ing and be perfectly happy. If went off like that with nothing to read and no one to talk with l should be bored to death. D
 'But the woods are so beautiful and there are so many things to watch, pro- tested the other.
 "I don't care. l would be misera bic like that unless actually had something to do.'
 Unfortunate as is such state of mind b1 such common occurrences that the possi- hility of being bored on one Is of great i'm bortance. But when it comes to the mat ter of what one is to do day in and day out as one approaches age the problem becomes serious How many of us are supplying ourselves with occupations which will save us from boredom in our later years?
 l know a number of such persons. One of the first who comes to my mind is a retired banker. When he reached point 4, where his strength forbade him to keep long office hours. he turned his attention 70 cabinet making. He had always had fondness for this sort of work, but no time in which to practice it. He set up his lathe and other tools in an empty attic room. and there he passed many happy and busy hours. The articles he made were wood boxes, linen chests. clothing racks, book rests. and shelves. and each piece was so well designed, so carefully finished that he soon had market for them among his friends and acquaint- ances. He was not dependent upon the money he made by it, but as his means