Srinivasan speaks at the 2nd annual Age of Celebration to honor Glastonbury residents aged 90 plus
Today State Representative Prasad Srinivasan attended the 2nd annual Age of Celebration event to honor Glastonbury residents who are aged 90 plus. The event included remarks by Srinivasan, a presentation of a citation from Town Council Chair Sue Karp and an impressive performance by a ukelele band.
Srinivasan’s remarks can be found below.
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It is a pleasure to be here this afternoon joining in the celebrations.
Living to the fullest- that is what life is about. I am looking forward to having the opportunity to talk to you later today and learn from you your secrets to a long life. Yes, I am a physician- I know the theory, but you have walked the walk and I am looking forward to my conversations with you.
Life is complex, and we each may have different value systems, but then, some values have stood the test of time and are part of life itself. Taking the time to smell the roses. I am sure that what you all have in common is that over the years, you’ve had numerous occasions to smell the roses. Life can have a very fast pace, but each one of us is in the driver’s seat. We decide at what speed we want to move life. I hope that as you reflect back on your wonderful life, you would have had many, many moments that you’ve paused and taken the time to enjoy the surroundings and that precious moment. I try to do that as much as I can.
In everyone’s life, some rain has to fall. My life has been no exception, and I’m sure neither has yours. In those difficult periods, how we handle ourselves and not let the situation drive us is important. We become who we all are from life’s experiences, and more important, how we learn to deal with them and learn to move forward. As you reflect on the past years, I hope that the hurdles on life’s way were something that you were able to overcome and move on and made you a better person.
In life, one is always learning, no matter what age one is. Learning from life’s experiences, our own and others is an ongoing, continual process that never ends. I vividly recall like it happened yesterday an incident that will always be an eye opener for me. I was sitting in my office, in my consult room with a patient, a lady in her mid-eighties. While we were discussing her medical problem, the intercom buzzes and I’m told my daughter is on the line. I replied back, “Tell her I’ll call her back later”. My patient chastised me for that, and taught me an important lesson in life. “Take that phone call”, she said, “your daughter will be that age only once in her lifetime. Answer her question and then share that with your patient. They will see the human side of you. They will see that you are not a robot and that you have family and feelings.” I was stunned, but I did exactly what my 80-year-old patient advised me to do. My daughter was pleasantly surprised when I called her back, and I answered her question as to what was my choice of color for her prom dress. I shared that with the patient. She came over and hugged me and I can see that as it happened yesterday. We are always learning.
It has been a privilege for me and an honor to represent you all at the state assembly. I want to thank you very much once again for giving me this opportunity. I am always available to discuss the new laws with you at a mutually convenient time. As you know, I have office hours frequently in the Glastonbury Welles’s Turner library. You and your family members can definitely make an appointment to see me. From now on, to the end of the year, you and your family can reach me once again at a mutually convenient time, to discuss issues that are of concern to you. Things you like for us to look into. I can take your suggestions and ideas to the appropriate committees and let them work on it through the appropriate channels.
Walking down memory lane here in Glastonbury has been quite an experience for me. My family and I moved to Glastonbury about 30 years ago. So much has changed; so much is different in the past 30 years. I wonder when you all walk down memory lane, for those of you who have lived such a long part of your life in town, what a change, what a difference? We will always miss that small corner of Glastonbury that no longer exists, but in the big picture, things have changed definitely for the better. Our communications, our services have improved significantly over the years. But I hope the one thing that’ll always stand the test of time and never change will be how we care for each other, how we care for each other and our families and how we will go the extra mile for each other.
I wish you all a wonderful year ahead and I look forward to seeing you all here next year.
