A thoughtful and personal response to a potentially trivial news item. Reminds me of Jennifer Roback Morse’s story of her mother-in-law’s death. How we grow old, and with whom, is not trivial. And, of course, money can’t buy respect, or love.

Stephen McAlpine

Maybe Bill and Melinda are not talking about that weakness aspect, but I suspect that must be something of it, given how the rich and powerful often view themselves. The ageing process is unkind to us all, but for those used to power, the decreasing presence of it in our bodies is confronting. That’s what made Martin Scorcese’s The Irishman such a terrific movie. Seeing powerful, frightening men turned into weak, frightened men, now dependent on nurses and priests and medications simply because of the ravages of time, was remarkably sobering.