A Life Well Seasoned With Faith And Gratitude

Eloise Copeland, 72, is not afraid.

Despite these uncertain times, in which panic is the watchword of the day, she neither frets about the future nor expresses regret about the past.

"I try to enjoy each moment and don't take anything for granted," said Copeland, who worked as a supervisor in the child support division of D.C. Superior Court for 32 years before retiring two years ago. "I've had a knee replacement and surgery for cataracts, but despite my aches and pains, I feel blessed just to wake up each day."

If anyone should be worried about the economic crisis and the rising cost of health care, Copeland should. But her attitude toward life could hardly be more upbeat. Her outlook is brighter and more optimistic than some who still have their whole lives before them.

Listen to Copeland and other wise elders in our midst. Learn what it takes to find solace amid the storms.

"I don't worry about things I can't control," Copeland told me yesterday at a Thanksgiving luncheon sponsored by the Seniors Jet Setters Club of Bladensburg.

The club, founded eight years ago at the Bladensburg Community Center, is made up of seniors who have so many places to go and people to see that they don't have time to whine. Their events calendar, "Groov'n With the Jet Setters," features bowling nights, tai chi classes, senior driving seminars, health conferences, shopping trips and weeklong visits to other states.

"Old people like to get out and have fun. . . . Oops," Copeland said. She had let the O-word slip out but quickly corrected herself. "I mean, seasoned people enjoy coming out."

Seasoned, as in "tried and tested," as in "been there, done that," as in worldly wise and qualified to teach the young and restless a thing or two about life.

Consider the special challenges faced by the nation's growing elderly population.

A study scheduled to appear in the January issue of Harvard Law and Policy Review found that one in 10 U.S. senior citizens is living in poverty. Moreover, the rate of bankruptcy among those 65 or older has more than doubled since 1991, largely because of the rising cost of health care.

Copeland has reasons enough to become a worrywart, if that's what she chose to become.