Yesterday I had the pleasure of presenting Flickr to the Computer Club of the West Vancouver Seniors Centre.
Hard to believe, but I hadn't done any public demos of the system before, so wasn't quite sure what to expect. But Tibor, who runs the club had contacted us to see if we'd be interested in telling a bunch of senior geeks about Flickr. Cat couldn't do it, so I stepped in.
I'm so pleased I did. Not because of Flickr, but because the whole experience reminded me of something. To be around people who have released all the baggage that we seem to carry about grudges, revenge, pecking orders, ladders to climb and other things like that is sweet relief. True smiles and generosity, physical contact without sleaze, politeness, and genuine gratitude.
People say that as we age there is a gradual return to the child-state in which we entered the world. People say that children are innocent. Perhaps with age we care less about power or struggle and care more about compassion and connection.
Yesterday was the first time i'd been amongst 40 people over 60. I have to say I felt pretty comfortable there. I even said "crappy", and nobody batted an eyelid.
There's venerable, and then there's approachable.