The Glenn points out an article about how the Armed Services are appreciating their older recruits. I seem to remember when I was a kid reading that the average age in the Army in WWII was somewhere in the 40s.

There is a truism that I can't place my finger on exactly, which goes something like, "the old and cynical will always triumph over the young and idealistic." It may simply be that those who are older are less apt to risk themselves foolishly. When I was twenty I thought I was invincible. I would also street-race in the middle of the night with people I had never met. It's a wonder that I lived to grow up. When you are older, your mortality weighs more heavily on you, and your probably more apt to call in an air-strike than stick your head up when you shouldn't.

No offence meant to anyone young and in the military. Remember, I'm just old and cynical.