Trees provide the signs with circular rings (is that a redundancy — is there any other type of “ring” except a circular one?) upon cutting it down. Can a tree tell a lie? Can it whittle away (yes, the pun is intended) a few years, like humans do, and make a few of those rings disappear so that it shows off its youth as opposed to the stodgy old fogey which the dead stump presupposes? And, if it could, what would be the motivation?
Humans, of course, possess, harbor, retain and regretfully manifest all sorts of motivations — some simple, often complex, others with unknowable intentions. On a simple, fundamental level, that of vanity — of wanting to remain relevant in this youth-centered culture where the signs of age make for irrelevance. Other motivations — of psychological turmoil where one’s appearance of youth has been relied upon for advancement in employment, acceptance among others; and still others, of wanting to hold on to a semblance of the metaphorical fountain of youth.
Plastic surgery can hide the inevitable ravages of age; dying one’s hair; working out; eating well; and yet, somehow, we all succumb to the inevitability of Father Time — whether by mere mortality or, illnesses which begin to develop.
Yes, we live longer than ever, now, but have our bodies adapted in this short time-span of forced evolutionary progress? Have the cellular structures adapted to longevity when disease and malignancy await to take advantage of our weakened state by age?
For Federal employees and U.S. Postal Service workers who “feel the signs of age” because of a medical condition which impacts one’s ability and capacity to perform all of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job — when, the job you occupy is a challenge for the healthiest of individuals, or for that young whippersnapper you once were, but are not now — you may need to consider initiating a Federal Disability Retirement application under the FERS system through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
For, in the end, no matter the attempts to subvert and avoid the signs of age, it is nevertheless the natural inevitability of our lives, no matter the artificial attempts to disregard it.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill
Lawyer exclusively representing Federal and Postal employees to secure their Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
OPM Disability Retirement, Et Cetera… 