Ah'm gettin' old

...It has been “Let’s Examine Europe” week on National Public Radio.  Europe as an entity came to be after WWII.  I’ve never seen it as an entity comfortable with itself, but it has worked for the most part, and changed with the demands of the times...  This last incarnation is showing big cracks, and noise about its future is at audible decibels in the press.  I was listening to the radio one morning this week when some Italian official, while making some point I don’t remember, said something that resonated with me.  He said that developing countries are new and full of optimism while Europe is old and pessimistic.  I thought to myself, shit, I’m getting old.  But then I was always pessimistic...