Is age slowing you down?

We are not as young and quick-witted as we once were. Our responses start to slow down, even as young as after the age of 30. And we don't think or process information as efficiently when we reach middle age and beyond.

As much as you think you can perform certain functions just as fast now as you ever could, statistics would dispute that. One area that it doesn't pay to take chances or cling to old beliefs about our abilities is regarding you and your spouse's safety.

For instance, how fast do you think you could react to a sudden galley fire? Fast enough to stop it before it spread to the rest of your RV? Don't guess. Try a timed practice drill.

Have your spouse shout fire (don't do this in a crowded campground). Jump from your chair, rush to free the fire extinguisher from its wall mount (while your wife screams (not too loud) and reacts with feigned panic to create an atmosphere of chaos (which will likely be the case in a real emergency and will affect your thinking and efficiency), release the trigger, and--here, just pretend--pull the trigger while aiming the extinguisher at the virtual blaze. Call out to your spouse to stop the stopwatch.

Now do it again. And again. After a few times--admit it, your reaction time from start to finish decreased, didn't it?--it will be planted more firmly into your hippocampus, or hippopotamus, whatever that part of your brain is called that stores memories.

This means that if the real thing happens, your chances are now much better of getting the fire out before it's too late.