Brace for the charge of the gray brigade

It was the numbers that caught my attention when I was reading a recent news story on Clint Eastwood making a film about the pilot who landed the US Airways flight on the Hudson River in New York after a flock of geese knocked out both the plane's engines.

Eastwood is 85 years old. The pilot, Sully Sullenberger, who carried out the miracle landing in January 2009, was 57. The plane's three attendants who herded the passengers to a safe rescue on the wing were aged 51, 57 and 58, respectively.

It's one instance that shows the old do have value. But there are many other instances. Remember too that Hillary Clinton, who may be the next US president, is 67.