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A GOOD AGE - NEVER TOO OLD TO TRY

If the kids can do it, maybe we can, too.And so, Betty Fish and Judy Moriarty set out across the "monkey bridge," one careful step at a time.

It's another story from the "never too late" school of life. It comes from a recent trip I took to Thompson Island in Boston Harbor. I joined a class from UMass-Boston's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI). The group has been exploring some of the 34 islands in the Harbor Islands National Park - an exciting and unique Boston resource.

As we walked the trails, our leader, Suzanne Gall Marsh, spoke about the island's history and the Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center. The nonprofit educational group puts people of all ages in challenging situations where they can develop teamwork and confidence. Fake A Lange & Sohne Watches The outings are not just for children; corporations also send managers there to learn leadership skills.

When young people explore the island, they wear high rubber boots and go out into the marshland. They have to cross an inlet over a rope bridge, called the "monkey bridge" because it requires agility and balance.

We happened to go past the bridge on our walk. I glanced over at the ropes, assumed I would not even try to cross it and kept walking. Fish and Moriarty rose to the challenge.

"Ringling Brothers just called," one class member called out as each one ever so deliberately stepped their way across and back. The rest of us watched, joked, snapped photos and cheered.

Later, I mentioned that they had good athletic ability. Fish said she appreciated that because she never would have thought of herself as athletic when she was younger. In school, she said, there was no real physical education emphasis, no brown hobo handbags sports encouragement. It was similar for Moriarty.

A few years ago, in their early 60s, both of these enterprising Hull residents began to try new outdoor challenges and water sports. They are discovering new things about themselves - almost their own Outward Bound home schooling.

"We are grateful," they said of these new endeavors.

I admire them for their courage and attitude, the willingness to try new things without worrying about failing.

It doesn't matter how we find our opportunities in life, the important thing is to try. For some, the challenges are more inward, spiritual, intellectual. To each, her own.

For more information about Outward Bound summer programs in sea kayaking, sailing and climbing, go to thompsonisland.org.

For information about the OLLI program, go to olli.umb.edu.

For Boston Harbor Islands things to do, making leather sandals go to bostonharborislands.com/things-do.

Reach Sue Scheible at , 617-786-7044, or The Patriot Ledger, Box 699159, Quincy 02269-9159. Read her Good Age blog on our website.

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