People are getting to be so young!

So here we are in March 2014. This is a bit of a milestone month for me. I will be turning 60. I'm okay with that, but some days I am amazed how young some people are getting. Of course, people don't "get young". It's just that as I go about my day to day work meeting different people in different walks of life, I come upon some very talented and very interesting people ... and they are so YOUNG! It takes everything I have to shake hands with them, instead of giving them a gentle pat on the head, as you might with a child. Well, it's not really like that. But it is how I think sometimes. I ran into one of these people last week, who is so young and fresh-faced you might think he is a teenager. But this fellow is a mining engineer who is in charge of a billion dollar gold mining operation and oversees the jobs of hundreds of people. Sometimes I walk into an office or a building and ask to see the see the boss. Many times I am surprised to find that the "big boss" in these situations is often a young person, younger than my own children. I am confident that I act properly but I sure hope my face or mannerisms don't give anything away. I believe in the idea that in these days of very strict working conditions, you don't get to be the boss unless you have exceedingly good qualifications. That being said, I work in a situation where most of my fellow reporters, colleagues in the news business, are also young. And as expected, they make a lot of rookie mistakes. I don't bother pointing out the mistakes, as I am confident they realize when they have done something wrong. I do however make a point of complimenting them when they do something really well. It sure makes the day go better.