De Senectute

"As I give thought to the matter, I find four causes for the apparent misery of old age; first, it withdraws us from active accomplishments; second, it renders the body less powerful; third, it deprives us of almost all forms of enjoyment; fourth, it stands not far from death."

Cheerful old bugger, that Cicero!

However it is my 'body less powerful', no doubt, which prompts me to post the illustration above. How can it be that it is of concern to me that my temporary replacement for the closed Café Schwabing is closer to where I live, that it involves a stroll of less than half a kilometre?  It used to be that long walks were an unalloyed joy. As recently as ten years ago I looked forward to my summer break at Cap d'Agde, where it was my habit to circumambulate the sprawling naturist compound not once but twice daily, with two of the five kilometres  finding me stepping calf-deep in the sluggish surf to make the exercise even more stimulating.

Dégringolade sounds so much nicer than 'collapse' or 'decay'.