Jim Dunstan’s Farewell Poem

An Old Man’s Prayer

‘Lord, thou knowest better than I know myself, that I am growing older

Keep me from getting talkative and particularly from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject, on every occasion

Release me from craving to try to straighten out everybody’s affairs

Make me thoughtful, but not moody, helpful but not bossy,  With my store of wisdom it seems a pity not to use it all, but thou knowest, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end

Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally it is possible I may be mistaken.  Keep me reasonably sweet – I do not want to be a saint, some of them are so hard to live with, but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the Devil!

Help me to extract all possible fun out of my life – there are so many funny things around us, and I don’t want to miss any of them

Amen’