There was this guy who lived across the street from our house. We lived in a humble Detroit neighborhood. He would often be sitting on one of the two steps that led up to his house as I came home from middle school. He would shove over and we would stare out into the busy street, much of the time in silence. A car would go by and in detail he would explain everything about the car. He would talk about the person who designed the car’s engine or suspension system. His stories were about using your head, commonsense persistence, trial and error, and finally figuring it all out. I wanted to be old and wise like him. To this day I get the feeling of awe when I think about sitting there with that man. I saw no weakness, infirmity, or surrender in old people when I was young. And I don’t see weakness, infirmity, or surrender as an age thing today. Lots of young and old people have surrendered to drugs, alcohol, video games, work, overeating, bigotry, hate, biblical laziness and sloth, or the five principal Kleshas of Buddhism, namely: attachment, aversion, ignorance, pride, and jealousy. Age was not the caus …