When I'm old I won't need much. I plan to have my family with me or nearby, my children successful and/or happy. I hope for vision strong enough to still read the books I so dearly love. And with a body that does not betray me when I still need it.
I have little intimate experience with the elderly; very limited familial experience especially, and that has coloured my impression of the idea of aging in an obscure light. Unpleasant it seems to me at best, hellish at the worst. I feel an intense rush of hope when an old person smiles.