People are often surprised when they hear that I am taking German lessons. Why in the world would I be studying at my age? When I try to explain my wish to appreciate one of the most important European languages through its classical literature, most people remain rather puzzled. Who in the world would care about such childish things at my age? But when I add that it is well known that the study of any language helps keep the brain in good shape, everyone I talk to perks up. Everything is perfectly clear quite suddenly. Now even German makes perfect sense. And it is precisely my age that explains it all.