Soon, I will be 67. I once thought 67 to be old until I turned 65, at which point I recalibrated old to 90.

Unfortunately, the larger world hasn't followed my lead. Younger people often treat me as if I'm contributing to the overcrowding of the planet. Head-hunters, seeking organizational presidents, phone not to recruit me, but rather to seek prospects in their 30s and 40s. My grandchildren say they hope I don't die soon so we can have more fun together. They think I'm rich because I sometimes buy them things their parents won't.

An underlying assumption associated with the upper years is that we old guys are out of energy, out of ideas, out of innovative courage. And I can appreciate this generalization. I mean, I wouldn't have named a church Mosaic or written a book called The Gospel According to Tony Soprano or turned a sports arena into a "sanctuary." Apparently 67-year-olds do not do these things. OK, Oral Roberts might have, but he's the only ...