Stay young by making sure you don’t let the old man in!

Clint Eastwood is 91 years old, and he’s been acting since 1955. He’s been directing for half a century since Play Misty for Me – and he released his latest movie in the latter half of last year.

If you’ve seen Cry Macho, you can also see he’s slowed down – although he still throws a punch and rides a horse better than a man three or four decades younger.

But it’s his philosophy regarding old age that is even more inspiring than his stellar career.

A couple of years back, he was asked how he planned to celebrate his 88th birthday.

“I am going to start a new movie,” he replied.

“What keeps you going?” he was asked.

“I get up every day and don’t let the old man in.”

And therein lies the secret – Clint doesn’t know or acknowledge that he’s 88 or 91 or any age other than the one he clings to in his head.

He may well be the oldest man to both star and direct a major motion picture – but the former Mayor of Carmel has no time for retrospection because there’s more work to be done.

Not everyone can be so philosophical of course because physical and mental health can bring the most optimistic of us to our knees.

But if you think young, you might just pull it off.

I’ve an aunt and uncle who deliver the Meals on Wheels around their part of South County Dublin, volunteering a day or two a week to bring hot food to old people who cannot easily get out of their own home.

Both my aunt and uncle are comfortably into their eighties; it’s just that they don’t think like that.

Of course they minded themselves during Covid, but as far as the Meals on Wheels logistics went, this must meant leaving the meals on the porch and ringing the doorbell before moving back a safe distance so as not to compromise the recipient.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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