Growing Old Without Apology – Reflections on Aging

It isn’t in the books, the lectures, or the health columns. It arrives with creaking joints, distant memories, and a quiet moment on the back deck, where you suddenly realize you’ve been watching the same tree grow for thirty years. That’s the kind of moment Joel Smith leans into in his reflections on aging.

In a culture obsessed with youth, Some Observations and Opinions offers a rare voice of unapologetic maturity. Smith isn’t here to give advice or chase longevity hacks. Instead, he writes honestly about being in his eighties, about being grateful, irreverent, observant, and yes, occasionally stoned. Aging, for Smith, is not just a medical process or a slow fade. It’s a vantage point.

He looks back with no grand nostalgia, but with a kind of seasoned realism: he’s survived trends, presidents, heartbreaks, and hurricanes. Now, surrounded by nature, birdsong, and an occasional raccoon, he invites the reader to slow down and listen.

If you’ve ever wondered what it really feels like to grow old, not the tragedy, not the comedy, just the truth, you’ll find something rare here: a perspective that doesn't apologize for the years.