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Turn in Your Keys, Mr. President
I firmly believe that Oldegoats are an ignored segment of society. In part, it may be our own fault. We must speak out more frequently about public matters that concern us, particularly when it concerns a peer. This, and not partisan politics, is why I wrote this letter.

Hey JoeAs a fellow octogenarian, I have felt the pain of your age-stiffened muscles, your embarrassment at failing to temporarily remember a name erased from your age-shrouded memory, and your fear after unintentionally saying something concocted by your age-bedeviled brain.To borrow a phrase from you, here's the deal, Joe. We both know that no cure exists for these conditions,  that they will grow inevitably as you age, and that we octogenarians will continue to lose control over mind and body. If we believe otherwise, we have a delusion, like the mythical Fountain of Youth or a delusion of grandeur. You must know that scores of historians will be analyzing and rating your performance as President. Going forward, you face three determinative scenarios First, give up the keys immediately by announcing that you will not run, be praised by historians, and thanked by most Americans. If you require support, listen to LBJ’s March 31. 1968.speech announcing that he would not run for a second term.  Second, run and lose and be scorned by historians and cursed by many Americans.  Third, run and win. Ironically, this may be the worst-case scenario. Certainly, it is the riskiest for you and the country. All agree that the current treacherous domestic and international seas require precise navigation. Bluntly, your deteriorating mental and physical conditions likely will cause you to be incapable of successfully guiding this country. The historians will scald you, and I can't imagine how Americans will demonstrate their despair. If you doubt that icould happen, read about the pathos and chaos of Wilson’s last two years in officeafter he suffered a stroke  during his second term.I have heard that you have excellent handlers who can assist you with decision making. However, this runs contrary to the style of leadership used successfully on ships for millennia and sanctified as presidential by this time-honored statement “The President is the captain of the Ship of State “. The ship's captain has the duty, power, and authority to make all critical decisions. The crew (or group of handlers) carries out his orders. Americans want a mature leader, not a committee, as President.As an octogenarian, I have had two give-up-my-keys experiences. With due respect, I do not infer that they are anywhere near as important as yours, Mr. President One occurred shortly after I began my practice. I was befriended by an older lawyer who was a name partner in a respected Madison law firm. I learned that he had been a good trial lawyer but was now relegated to small claims court and family court commissioner hearings. Over time I noticed that he often forgot a necessity such as a pen or legal pad. I gave him what he needed but felt a bit bad for his clients because they weren't getting the representation that they needed. One time he came to a hearing without his client’s file or even his client’s name. I didn't see him again and later learned that his partners had had taken his keys by forcing him into retirement. The second happened about 35 years later when I realized that it was time to turn in my keys to my successful career as a trial lawyer. It happened this way. I was waiting in the courtroom to speak to the judge about an uncontested matter. As I listened to two talented young lawyers perform on behalf of their clients, I realized that they were as quick as I used to be. In other words, I realized that I had lost the proverbial step that separates the adequate from the very good. I realized that I no longer could give my clients the high-quality representation that they deserved in court.So, Joe, here's the deal. You need to admit that you have lost a step and no are no longer capable of giving Americans the high- quality performance that they need and expect from their President. If only for your own legacy, you need to follow the multitude of American men and women who every year , for different reasons, turn in their keys. Let’s do this thing, Mr. President. Turn in your keys.Respectfully,Dan BellFounder, oldegoats.comdan@oldegoats.com 

 
NEVER QUIT ON YOURSELFIn 1959, Lieutenant Coronel William H. Rankin, a Marine pilot, ejected after his jet lost power at an elevation of more than 45,000 feet while flying over a thunderstorm. He lived to tell the most amazing and inspirational first-person  story that I have ever heard.IT IS A MUST READ. It’s message: never quit on yourself.Here is the link to the reprint.https://loa-shared.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/static/pdf/Rankin_Man_Thunder.pdf
Here are the proper credits for the reprint.The Library of America • Story of the Week Reprinted from Into the Blue: American Writers on Aviation and Spaceflight (The Library of America, 2011), pages 382-98. Copyright © 2011 Literary Classics of the U.S., Inc. From The Man Who Rode the Thunder (1960), pp. 150–63, 170–80. Copyright © 1960 by William Rankin. Reprinted by permission of Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved