Wilbur and Floyd are two men who are great examples of how to age with your integrity in place. Both men are family men with older children and grandchildren who are deeply in love with life and their family. They are respected wherever they go. They are kind, honest, gentle and still have eyes that can look right through you.
I haven’t seen Floyd in probably 20 years and a few months ago we were in Sam’s buying a 10 gallon bucket of pickles (ha) and I see Floyd. I walk up to him and he calls me by name and ask how we are doing. Floyd is probably 82-84 years old and has piercing blue eyes. He looked at me as though I was the only one in the room and focused on our conversation like I was someone important. That my friend, is a gift, an anointing and a privilege to be around someone like that.
Wilbur and I served together as ushers at church and he was always the same gentle soul. When you talk to him there is an inner strength that is ever present and you know he is someone you can trust.
It is always been said that if you really want to know the character of a man, just look at his wife’s face. Is she at peace, happy, safe and fulfilled in life? You can read all this in a moment when you look into her eyes. Both Wilbur’s and Floyd’s wife’s were all of these things.
A person as a great example is not defined by wealth, status or title. Those definitions are usually a very wrong reason to look at someone as being a good example.
The older I get the more I love to see people age well and continue to be the same person. I believe aging well should be a goal for us all and doing so while you remain the same person with the same integrity. I saw this guy at a hotel conference that was easily 70 years old and he had a drink in his hand, jell in his died black hair and had his shirt unbuttoned to try an show off God knows whatever he thought he was showing off. He looked like a bone head and a lying, cheating theft. He thought he was cutting a big wake but he actually looked like someone you could not trust. I suspect if you could have met his wife, you would see a very unhappy and very unfulfilled woman.
Mac Collins was a US Congressman from Georgia and a friend of mine. Mac owned a concrete business where I live. I went up to Washington to see Mac one time at the Congressional building and when I went in, I could tell he was the same person in Washington as he was at his concrete business. People trusted him and he honored their trust. He had a plaque on his desk that read “Be Real.” Mac was real and he did keep it real.
In life I think it is really great to meet people that keep it real and don’t try to be someone they are not. You may be able to fool a lot of people but your family always can see through it. Being real is one of the greatest things you can do for yourself and your family. KT