It’s an age thing, I suppose But again this week in conversation with a man my own age, I was bemoaning how time seems to fly past more quickly nowadays. Days turn into weeks, months and years at an alarming rate.

It was prompted by a couple of things at very different ends of the age spectrum. Firstly, on Sunday our 11-week-old grand daughter Eva Rose Rafferty was baptised at Rossorry Parish Church in a lovely ceremony. Aside from the fact that it seems only a couple of years since her mum, Sarah, was christened, it was when the photo went up on the church Facebook page that my cousin, Argel Crane commented that Sarah was “the spit” of her auntie Colleen, my sister. (Are you keeping up with these connections?).

Point is, the circle of life is spinning quickly through generations.

Then on Tuesday, I met my friend Joe Keenan and he reminded me that this Saturday it is eight years since the passing of his uncle Jim, whom I remember fondly. We had some great times at Enniskillen Rangers. Eight years!

Life moves on fast.

They say age is just a number, and it’s a truism that we should enjoy life as it’s far too short. I remember attending an event addressed by Paul Kane, of the Over the Hill music collective. He spoke with some humour about using music in workshops with those suffering from Dementia. One of the songs was “Secret Love” by Doris Day, and Paul engaged people in a care home by asking if any of them had ever had a secret love. “Not yet,” said one 87-year-old resident!

Life ain’t over till it’s over. But it’s getter harder in many ways for older people.

It’s estimated that today in the United States, an incredible ten thousand people will celebrate their 68th birthday, and that will happen every day for well over a decade; so the age profile of America is increasing all the time. It’s what one commentator described as the “silver Tsunami” because many of these people won’t have enough money in their bank account or pension to see them through the years that science is giving them.

Inequality on this side of the Atlantic is happening as well, even if both countries are among the world’s wealthiest. And not just among the senior generation. But in the US it’s two men aged in their 70s who are probably going to fight it out to become the next President, and interestingly, they come from very different ideological perspectives.

Although there’s a long way to go, it’s looking increasingly likely that Bernie Sanders could get the Democratic party nomination to go head to head with Donald Trump. Some Democrats are nervous about that, considering Sanders to be unelectable, and indeed in the land where dollar is king who’d have thought a 77-year-old white-haired Socialist with two stents would be a serious contender for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC?

But as Trump boasts that he’s got the economy booming, Sanders has touched a nerve with those not enjoying its benefit. In the major city of Charlotte, North Carolina, an auto dealer has been kind enough to let homeless people (some with children) sleep in his unsold cars at night. Perhaps even more startling is that most of them vacate the cars by 7.30 in the morning…….because they’ve got jobs. But can’t afford a home.

Stories abound, apparently, in America of people of all ages struggling financially in a fundamentally unfair society.

Is it the same this side of the pond? An indicator is that for the first time in 100 years, life expectancy ages in many parts are decreasing, or at least petering out. With advances in medical science and greater affluence over the years, the life expectancy age had been going up all the time before now.

Maybe this was always going to happen, after all the lengths of our days couldn’t keep increasing for ever.

But doctors say that the figure is a barometer of the health of the country. With pension age edging towards 68 and the loneliness factor becoming ever more common among older people, the question must be asked if the less caring face of society is particularly hitting this age group.

But there’s more to it, especially as last year the then Health Secretary in Britain, Jeremy Hunt admitted that cuts in social care went too far, and many people believe that the deteriorating health of the population is directly linked to austerity.

Statistics show, too, that when it comes to general health and life expectancy rates, there’s a stark difference between well-off areas and deprived regions. And it’s not just the elderly, because the stats also show that health issues are hitting the elderly, the poor and the newborn.

Many of us are doing Ok, thank you very much. Maybe not rich, but enough to do. But there are far too many struggling to make ends meet.

It’s happening closer to home; and Fermanagh and Omagh Council deserves credit for an initiative in hosting a conference on poverty. Remarkably, the Council’s Community Plan 2030 shows that over a fifth of the population in the area are living in “absolute poverty.” And according to the Trussell Trust, Fermanagh is seeing a 159 per cent increase in the use of food banks. The cost of living is increasing while wages are not, and the benefits system has had a negative impact on people receiving them, the Fermanagh Trust has pointed out.

The Trust, whose director Lauri McCusker addressed the conference, has done valuable work in researching the root causes of poverty in this area and what can be done to help those affected. Their report is due out in the Spring.

Worldwide, in very rich and poor countries, the divide between the haves and have nots seems to be increasing.

I often wonder if the way we treat the elderly is a symptom of a less caring world; then again, I wonder what sort of world my generation is handing down to the next.

I mentioned the phrase “the circle of life”, and when I do in my head I hear the wonderful song of that name, written by Elton John for the Disney animated movie “The Lion King.”

It refers to life’s “stampede” and the lyrics contain the line “You should never take more than you give.” It’s not a bad mantra for people of all ages.