**Doubtom**

The inter-monsoon months of January to March and April is very dry and windy in Alor Star. This is the time nature repairs itself after months of incessant rain. Yours Sincerely's (Y S ') little plot of land around the house has been rejuvenated. It has renewed itself and turned green and colorful. The lawn matures and the plants start to flower, and this is a delight to the eyes.

It is sad that human life does not follow this order. We do not rejuvenate but deteriorate. Some faster than others. It is said that there are four stages of of humankind: infancy, childhood, adolescence and obsolescence !

Although many aged people get their " second childhood," it comes with mental infirmity as a consequence of old age. Leo Rosenburg says, " First you forget names, then you forget faces, then you forget to pull your zipper up, and then you forget to pull your zipper down." Many say that the aged are wise, but let us face fact squarely, Y S always maintains that " Grey hair is the sign of old age, not of wisdom." Growing old is mandatory; growing wiser is not.

It's a paradox that the ideas of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the ideas of growing old doesn't appeal to anyone. One just cannot live long without growing old!

" Tell me not, in mounrful numbers, life is but an empty dream! For the soul is dead that slumbers, and things are not what they seem. Life is real ! Life is earnest ! and the grave is not its goal; Dust thou art; to dust returnest, was not spoken of the soul. - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Before the skin wrinkles, before the knees ache, before the eyes blurr, before the heart ....eee...ee..e......... enjoy life. It is God's gift. There's plenty of time to be dead. The tragedy of life is not that it ends too soon but we we wait so long to begin it.

Remember that the only thing you live to regret are the risks you didn't take.