Happy old-timers

There was a documentary on television yesterday about people 90 years and over whose well-being has been tracked since the 1980s. These old men and women walked, swam, dived, enjoyed ball-room dancing and a little romance, played bingo, and gave the appearance of being happy. Yet one man, who talked about spending happy hours looking through his photo album with his wife and reflecting on his life, was quite distressed when he failed a psychological assessment that required him to remember three words for a few minutes. His short term memory was impaired. I found this documentary very distressing. I don't plan to take up bowls, golf, ball-room dancing or participate in bingo. I don't plan to drink red wine every day to prolong my life. What I treasure is my mind. So far it seems to be working reasonably well, even if names and titles of books keep dropping out. But the prospects for the future are not good. If I hang in long enough some form of dementia is bound to get me.