Seth Barnes Dec 3, 2008 7:00 PM

Here's how you know you're getting old

At a conference in Pittsburgh last month, I got an elevator to come downstairs and looked at the guy in it with me.  I had a vague feeling I knew him...

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At a conference in Pittsburgh last month, I got an elevator to come downstairs and looked at the guy in it with me.  I had a vague feeling I knew him, but no name came to mind, so I probed a bit.

"Were you a speaker here?" I asked.

"Not this time.  Hi, I'm Lanny Donoho." He stuck out his hand.

I clapped my hand to my head.  Lanny and I have known each other for about 17 years, mostly by email.  "Lanny, we're a couple of idiots! I'm Seth Barnes!" I said.

Lanny is one of the most influential people in the country with 20-somethings.  He's the guy we partnered with in Africa two years ago.

"How is your ministry going?" I asked.

"Unbelievable," He said. "We took 300 to Africa last year and we'll take 1000 this year!"

"We need to talk," I said and got in my waiting car to the airport.

The sad thing is, as I get older, these kinds of incidents seem to happen more frequently. I suppose I could mark the passage of time with the frequency with which they happen.  I get it from my mother - she loves to tell stories of her forgetfulness.

Can any of you relate? How do you know you're getting old?

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