食事
この４月で、私は８９歳になった。高齢者だ。５月は同級生の集まりが多かった。小中高と大学、会合が一週間に２回という週もあった。同級生なので当然皆ほぼ同い年である。久しぶりに顔を合わせると、年の取り方、老化の進み方に随分差がある。私は幸せなことに一番若い。
何故だろう。いわゆる勤め人をしたことがないからかも知れない。４人の子供達、６人の孫と、人並みの人生だった積りなのだが、何故か若い。　理由・原因はともかく、会合の場で際立つのは、食事、食べ方、量である。生き物は、食べて出す。活動に見合った食事をすることが生活の基本だ。「食べられない」とか、「食が細くなった」とか、老人の会話ではよく出る話題だが、実は大切なテーマなのかも知れない。

To eat
I reached 89 years old this April. An old man. In Japan, we keep the so-called class meeting after graduations. Primary school, middle school, high school and university, we try to tighten comradeship. I had many meetings in May. The people gathered at the old class mate’s meetings were same age. However, there were quite difference in old age performances. Fortunately, I was the youngest both in performance and appearance.
I don’t know why. Perhaps since I have worked alone not being an employee. I have 4 children and 6 grandchildren. I think myself having had rather common pattern of life but I look much younger than the other mates of mine. Apart from the reasons or the causes, the fact I recognize is that how I eat, my manner to eat and the volume I eat. We, the living creature, must take food and excrete. The basic activity of our life is to eat after the needs of one’s life. “Less appetite” and “loss of appetite” these are very common topics in the daily conversation of old people, but the topics mean very serious content.