[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 17840-17841]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             GROWING OLDER

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I feel compelled to address head on, I mean 
head on, the news stories in recent weeks that have pointed out the 
shocking discovery, yes, shocking discovery, that I am growing older. 
Did you get that? Shocking discovery that I am growing older.
  I find it no surprise, but then I have had some time to become 
accustomed to the increasing distance between the year of my birth and 
the current date. I may not like it, but as Maurice Chevalier put it:

       Old age is not so bad when you consider the alternative.

  A recent Associated Press story ran in West Virginia's Charleston 
Daily Mail. The headline read: Dramatic change in signatures shows that 
age is catching up with Senator Byrd. The newspaper offered as proof 
the signatures on my Senate financial disclosure forms from last year 
and this year. It is true that this year's signature looks like I 
signed it in a moving car. Some days, the benign essential tremor that 
I have had for years now is worse than on other days, just as it is for 
the approximately 5 million other people in the United States who 
suffer from similar tremors. It is annoying, but it is hardly evidence 
that I am at death's door.
  Nor should it come as a surprise that I use canes to help me get 
around or that I am not always as fast as I once was. I am not aware of 
any requirement for physical dexterity in order to hold the office of 
U.S. Senator. The often grueling hours working in the Senate requires 
are tough on far junior Senators, and I am no longer one of the younger 
Senators.
  But to worry in print that I have missed one vote this year? Really. 
Out of more than 18,000 votes in my career, to miss one vote or two 
votes every now and then is surely excusable. Even old people can be 
allowed a sick day or two now and then, can't they?
  That is really the crux of the matter. In this Internet-savvy, media-
infused culture, we have forgotten that people do get older, even, dare 
I say it, old, old. Television is full of pretty young people. The few 
white-haired heads that one sees on television are made up and 
glamorous. Off camera, though, most bear little resemblance to their TV 
persona.
  In a culture of Botox, wrinkle cream, and hair dye, we cannot imagine 
that becoming older is a good thing, an experience to look forward to, 
a state worthy of respect. If I were 50 years old and used canes due to 
some injury or had a disease-related tremor, the newsletter stories 
would be about my carrying on despite my adversities. But my only 
adversity is age. Age.
  In real life, the lucky ones among us do get old. We move down the 
steep slope, to the far right of the bell curve of age. The really 
lucky ones, and I almost count myself among them, get to be aged, into 
their nineties or even older, a distinction that I think is naturally 
paired with the wisdom borne of experience. We do get white hair, yes. 
And we do get wrinkles. And we move more slowly. We worry about falling 
down because we do not bounce up the way we used to.
  Our brains are still sharp, but our tongues are slower. We have 
learned, sometimes the hard way, to think before we speak. I hope, 
however, that what we have to say is worth the wait.
  Many good things are worth the wait. Grandma Moses did not take up 
painting until the age of 75. She painted some 1,600 paintings, 250 of 
which she painted after her 100th birthday. Michelangelo was still 
working on frescos and sculptures when he died at the age of 89.
  Age is no barrier to accomplishment. When the spirit and the mind are 
willing, the creative juices continue to flow. I like to think that I 
still have a few things left on my to-do list. I also like to think 
that someday our rapidly aging society will get over its fear and its 
denial of aging. We had better get over it quickly because the 
demographics tell us our senior population is rapidly growing.
  If my colleagues still show deference to me, as the news article 
reported, I hope it is due to my experience, my position as chairman of 
the Appropriations Committee, and my ability as a Senator. If they are 
patient with me as I turn the page, I hope that is an example of the 
Golden Rule; that they show patience with my minor adversities of age 
as they hope that someday others will show to them.
  After all, the Senate is not exactly full of spring chickens. You 
better believe it. It is not supposed to be. The Senate was designed to 
give age and experience a chance to flourish, and the rules give slower 
speakers--the rules give slower speakers a chance to be heard.
  Five percent of Senators date from the roaring 1920s. All of them 
served in World War II. The Senate will truly lose a great generation 
when they decide, if ever, if ever, to retire.
  Almost a quarter of Senators date from the 1930s, including many 
seasoned committee chairmen and ranking members. I am sure my younger

[[Page 17841]]

colleagues on the Appropriations Committee appreciate the opportunity 
to play a larger role as appropriations bills move through the Senate, 
as the recent articles reported.
  As I have gotten older, I have learned to have great trust and great 
respect for my colleagues, many of whom I have worked with for many 
years. Why is that decried as a bad thing? Why should not these fine 
Senators, now in their fifties through their eighties, get to spread 
their wings while the old wise Byrd watches?
  Abraham Lincoln once rightly observed:

       In the end, it's not the years of your life that count. 
     It's the life in your years.

  My only adversity--my only adversity is age. It is not a bar to my 
usefulness as a Senator. I still look out for West Virginia. I still 
zealously guard the welfare of this Nation and its Constitution. I 
still work every day to move the business of this Nation forward, to 
end this reckless adventure in Iraq, and to protect, to preserve, and 
defend the Constitution of the United States against all those who 
would reshape it to suit partisan agenda. I will continue to do this 
work until this old body just gives out and drops. Do not expect that 
to be anytime soon.
  I believe all ages and all occupations should be part of a truly 
representative body. I also believe society works best when the energy 
and idealism of youth, youth, youth, pairs with the experience and 
wisdom of age.
  America is the land of opportunities. I don't think our some 36 
million citizens over the age of 65 are disqualified from participating 
in the life of the country that we--we--helped to build. Our country 
rejected those kinds of arbitrary barriers long ago, and this Senator 
loudly and proudly rejects them now.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The senior Senator from Alaska is recognized.

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