Six decades ago 1954, the movie Three Coins in the Fountain was released. At one level, it was a love story about three secretaries tossing a coin into the Trevi Fountain in Rome. The movie created the legend that if one threw a coin in the fountain, that person would return to Rome. If one threw two coins, one would fall in love. Finally, if one threw three coins, one would soon get married.

Because of the movie, locals and tourists started throwing coins into the Trevi Fountain. The city council of Rome collects all the money tossed into the fountain annually and donates it to a Catholic charity to help the homeless and poor in Rome. The charity gets around $1.7 million annually.

Trevi Fountain

In my previous article, I wrote about two other old men: Trump and Biden. Each of them threw coins not in the Trevi Fountain but in the Fountain of Life. They were both driven, although what drove them were polar opposites. Trump was driven by an extreme egotistical narcissism. Biden’s drive was to help those who weren’t wealthy. Trump’s mindset was himself. Biden was into reaching out to others.

This article is about the third old man. This essay explains what motivates me as an 81-year-old man. Our journey down the yellow brick road of life is a product of things that have happened to us, primarily negative.

Two things changed my Weltanschauung. The first trauma was moving from an above-average student at Collins Track Elementary School in a lovely middle-class Pennsauken, NJ community to Mt. Lebanon, PA. Mt. Lebanon was the wealthiest town in Western Pennsylvania and the 19^th-best school in the country. My father wanted to provide the best education for his sons so they could do well in college. His sacrifice resulted in me learning two things in Mt. Lebanon. I was dumb and poor.

I hated that feeling, but it also drove me. I have a college education, a master\'s, and a doctorate. I have taught at various colleges and universities in the past three decades. I retired from teaching two years ago. That curse of feeling dumb turned out to be a blessing.

The other trauma was dancing with death two in the same year. I fell off a ladder, causing a subdural hematoma, which is bleeding in the brain. The neurologist said to my family before beginning surgery that I had a 50/50 chance of making it through the surgery.

I also had prostate cancer. After the surgeon removed my prostate, he told me that my cancer had metastasized outside my prostate. I spent four months taking an experimental drug and two months of daily radiation. In both medical situations, I have recovered fully. Doing the dance taught me that my clock is ticking.

Feeling dumb and door and dancing with death were both curses that became blessings. Okay, so you think that Campbell was lucky. Period. My response is that you didn’t move into Mt. Lebanon just before junior high and didn’t dance with death.

So, what is Campbell doing at 81? I’m writing articles and caring for my Irish Setter, who has also done two dances with death. I am also assisting Ti Ti, my oldest granddaughter, to go to college in the States. I see education as an essential part of life for all people, especially those born in a developing country like Myanmar. Myanmar is also a military dictatorship.

In closing, allow me to share my mantra with you: “It is in giving that you get.” Again, that sounds like an oxymoron. Each of us has a limited amount of time in this world. All of us will someday die. We are fortunate to be alive. The question is, how are you living your life? The more you give of your time, talent, gifts, money, or things, the richer you will be. If you don’t buy that statement, allow me the opportunity to warn you before it is too late. How will the world view you when you go belly up? Remember that it is in giving that you get.