I was at a brillant lecture from a 75 year old on (among other things) the environment

It was Justice William O. Douglas of the Supreme Court in 1973. I was in college, and I had never seen a sitting member of the Supreme Court before, so I thought I'd take in the lecture.

Among other things, he spent a lot of time warning about pollution, saying the Volga in Russia was already an "open sewer," and our own rivers would follow if we didn't do something about it.

I don't recall a lot of details, as this was 46 years ago. But I do remember three things--wondering if his warnings on the environment would ever be heeded, wondering how long we would last if they weren't, and being impressed at how aware and sharp he was at age 75. For this reason, although I am no proponent of only elderly people leading our government (after Clinton and Obama, actually prefer it the other way around), elderly leaders who are in decent health and compos mentis have never scared me. I was 21 when I heard Douglas give his lecture, and I'm 67 now, so I've a little time to reflect on it.