June 17, 2024
On this beautiful partly sunny Monday, June 17, 2024, our teams were free to go wherever they chose and then meet in Yokohama in the evening. I embarked on a trip to the open-air museum, an experience I enjoyed so much. Between the captivating sculptures and paintings, colors, and delicious food, this visit stands out as a parallel experience to our focus on our older adults. One place at the museum stood out: Pablo Picasso’s exhibit. The incredible work he delivered and kept delivering even at 91 was fascinating for an older adult. If the museum allowed taking pictures, One would have accumulated hundreds of photos from this amazing exhibit. The stillness of things, big and small, facilitated time for deep thought and reflection on the various art in the museum.
It was amazing how many artists represented at the open-air museum were older adults at the time they were acknowledged. In their productive years, they seemed invincible. Yet, as they grew older, they kept being productive and never yielded to being sick, tired, weak, or the like. They continued to produce incredible art, and one can enjoy seeing them displayed as a testament to hard work despite old age.
In the evening, we, friends, decided to head to Tokyo and ride the Shinkansen, i.e., the Japanese bullet train, which was quite the experience. We made it from Tokyo to Yokohama in 15 minutes, which generally took about an hour. That was incredible efficiency. Connecting all parts of Japan via a fast-speed train can facilitate family visitation and intergenerational connection, a cardinal component of maintaining older adults’ ME-BYO. We experienced one of the fastest on-the-ground modes of transportation in the world.
Daniel Z. Mansour, PharmD, AGSF, BCGP, FASCP
MS Palliative Care Student
UMB Graduate School
Photo: The only picture allowed to be taken inside the Picasso Exhibit at the Open-Air Museum