This is an encyclopedia of thoughts about growing older--both whimsical and serious--followed by poems that ponder how to age with grace. The book was begun during a week-long "writing marathon" with fellow writers in the French Quarter of New Orleans, where things grow ever more vivid as they grow older--old customs, old words (like "lagniappe"), old ways of understanding the river of change. This book contributes to my mission as Oregon's poet laureate: to serve readers with diverse perspectives through the lens of poetry and lyric prose.