For me one of the secrets of happiness is to have some elders in your life and really connect. They need not be relatives. As a child of much older parents, I'm now 62. I sometimes panic knowing this older generation is slowly dropping off. This book is a wonderful tribute. So called "old people" just really want to be heard and seen like anyone else. Keep curious and you yourself will always be young at heart.
1
John Leland, I enjoyed everyone of your articles immensely. I think I knew Helen Moses in my youth, I am now 82. I grew up in Spring Valley NY and Helen knew my mother and other Waltzer relatives. I would have read all the stories even if I did not think I knew Helen. My motto is to keep getting older, but not old. Thank you for your stories. Reading these stories enhances my desire to keep active and productive. Also to enjoy resting, as we do slow down a bit over the years and deserve it.
3
Read "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle. It is based upon Buddhist wisdom. We suffer from too much past and future. The key to happiness, as these elders have learned, is living in the present. It's the only place, really.
4
What a great article - THANK YOU! I'm a middle-aged woman with MS and have been trying to decide "what next?" Based on your experiences and wonderful articles, I'm going to be talking with a senior center about volunteering there, even though I'm now eligible to be a client! The ideas that we are never too old to learn, have fun, and be happy are SO important.
I know that maintaining a positive outlook has made a big difference in my health. For every crabby, whiny "woe-is-me" geriatric person with health challenges that I know, I know at least a half dozen who choose to focus on the silver lining approach. Their lives (and mine) are happier, more productive, less painful, and just plain BETTER for doing so... and dare I mention longer, too? I think you are on to something; spread the word. Your ex must be a bit mashuganah ...
2
I often say, "The answers are in the nursing home." (I'm on year 4 as a nursing home employee. I can't quit it.)
4
This is all very nice, having a good attitude, innate resilience, and optimism. But, it's mostly luck--genetics and biochemistry. I understand that this article is about the author's personal inspiration, and that's fine. But let's recognize that "cherry picking" the happy old gives a false impression and sets an implicit standard for joyful aging. It ignores the many people with intractable chronic depression, anxiety, and/or pain. For them, the glass isn't partially filled, it's broken. Don't get me wrong. I'm glad there are happy elderly, but it's sad that many are not.
5
Today I backtracked through the NYT archives to read as many of the articles in Mr. Leland's series as I could find. His subjects' stories are humbling and inspiring, and his own story in this "Insider Piece" really affected me.
This all evoked Tracy Kidder's 1993 book Old Friends, which likewise gave me a healthy comeuppance about the lives and experiences of older people. My lesson from Kidder's book and Leland's work is that we humans are fundamentally the same throughout the course of our lives.
I sent a copy of Kidder's book to my then 95-year-old grandmother, a retired librarian and voracious reader. Later, I asked her whether Kidder got it right in his depicting the personal perspectives and social lives older people living in a nursing home. She said, "Why would you think we'd be any different than anyone else just because we're old?"
Indeed.
8
And the good news is that there is no need to wait for old age. Living in the moment is something we can do at any point--just like the reporter did
7
One more trait that may be relevant. Ability to stop struggling against what is not within our control.
15
Wonderful! Can't wait for the book. I have spent the last 35 years working as a psychologist in nursing homes. People have said the same to me "doesn't that depress you". Of course there is sadness, but the resilience, stories of wonderful lives lived and the inspiration far outweighs the negative.
6
I work in an older adult community, and it is a joy. Uplifting people, smiles, hugs, friendship, love, and life with all its challenges. Best kept secret, I guess.
5
My hope is that many young folks read the article AND the comments. Together they will form invaluable advice for their future. At 87 and 83 we still travel the world throughout the year. Our advice is simple: do everything in moderation, stay active, and most of all maintain a positive attitude!
13
At KIttay House in the NW Bronx, seniors average about 83,including four or five already at 100, and still attending meals and,or,activities.One, Edna Nelkin, now ninety-seven, plans to to put on her second productiion in three years,despite MD in both eyes. It will be a reading by other residents of her published autobiographical books and poems. Others are in the choir which does three or four programs each year.
5
Wonderful to read your article and looking forward to your book. It reminds me of my conversations I had with my dad as he approached 94. And the spectacularly sacred month and then week as he left his body. As others have said, getting to know the reporter behind the story is always an added bonus. What takes center stage are the stories and the wisdom that comes through when people have lived a full life.
4
It is my nature to be happy, that's all. Not my health (which is terrible), or my wealth (which is non-existent), nor power or fame, bring me happiness. I am an optimist by nature. It is a gift of birth.
It developed over the years of my life, and I am so thankful.
My husband is never happy. He seeks a perfection that will never happen, and so he always falls short in his own eyes. He resents the success of others, seeing that as somehow taking away from him.
Married 55+ years, with such different temperaments is very enlightening to me. I cannot help him see our life and events as I do. We live in very different realities.
My glass is not only half full, it is made of crystal, and filled with champagne.
I do nurture my nature, however, with meditation and exercise, with medications that help relieve my pain (which is chronic).
28
am so happy for you.
1
Thank you, this is lovely.
11
Beautiful tribute to your subjects! I've enjoyed reading your articles, and at the age of 68, I have discovered that same happiness of which they spoke. Aging can be a beautiful thing for those of us fortunate to experience it. Thanks for sharing this adage!
11
I miss my mother terribly. Her hands that used to thump me when she was upset living within the confines of an unhappy marriage became gnarled with the passage of time. She allowed me to massage lotion into each finger. She gave me tissues to dry my tears in the midst of a decline that resulted in her transition on 2/12/2016 at 92 years of age. She continues to teach me that ultimately the application of unconditional love is sustaining. Mommy, I miss you.
21
I loved this series. Searched for each new article. I had my favorite person but I liked them all. I am 84 and felt like a young person when reading your columns. I can hardly wait for the book. Is it too early to preorder it? These people you described made me feel motivated to keep on keeping on.
15
I love this piece, the opportunity to get to know the reporter behind this insightful series. If we are lucky, we learn and grow from our work and the opportunities given to cross paths with distinct individuals with their own perspectives. Sometimes those encounters are frustrating or less fruitful, but often create wider understanding of how we might be in our own lives.
7
When I was young, spending time with the old relatives was the absolute worst. So boring and mind-numbing and no escape for hours.. Now what I wouldn't give to be able to hear their stories. But of course it's too late.
11
Mr. Leland, Thank you for this wonderful series. In a youth-obsessed culture, one of the dirty little secrets is that becoming older is a great experience. While I regret the effects of gravity and a slowed metabolism on my body, I find that I am very emotionally liberated by wisdom and not caring about what others think. I would never "go back".
I do not claim to be free of anxiety, but I certainly have more perspective on it now than when I was younger; I also have more control over my life. And thanks to your work, my new mantra for 2018 is from Fred Jones: "Happiness to me is what's happening now".
23
As I approach the "Social Security Retirement Age" I have learnt to reflect on each day. May have been a bad day, a good day, or a blah day. But try to find at least one happy thing that occurred; may lead to other happy things for that day, week, month. Little things mean a lot: personal photographs (didn't have my iPhone with us) like this morning my pup's pawprints on newly fallen snow.
Good Attitude will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of bad attitude. (Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers).
Jus' sayin' ...
12
What a lovely article and series. Thank you! I lived with my grandmother after college and loved getting to know her, learning to cook a chicken so it would last all week, and talking about everything. She had a stroke that left her paralyzed on one side and unable to talk until she died at 95, but she was able to communicate and was a huge part of our lives. She brought such love and joy to all of us, and "chose to be happy."
7
Someone — I don’t remember who — said it takes a lifetime to become young. Thank you for your articles, which certainly support that claim.
18
I love this reporting series.
12
Growing old is the "worst thing" that can happen. For women, beauty is still currency, so aging is especially devastating. As a culture, we try to airbrush, laser, and put away every trace of aging, even housing the aged away from families and into assisted living communities so we don't have to see them. Ageism in the workplace is rampant, much more so than gender discrimination, but we can't talk about it. Talking about it would mean confronting our own mortality. Yet, ironically, as this author points out, the old are who we really need to see and hear. They have so much to teach us if we let them. Can't wait to read the book.
19
I don't know, dying young seems worse than growing old. Aging stinks, but better than the alternative. Perhaps the aged are not hidden in assisted living communities, but are there because they need assistance. Thank goodness there are people willing to provide it! Although it's way too expensive for me, I'm glad some will be taken care of.
7
John you have done a service to all of us, in the honesty and findings of your interviews. Thank you so much for that!
8
Many are grateful and engaging but some are not -- harder to appreciate but worth the effort.
2
Some old people are really cool. I worked for an old lady as a teen and I loved listening to her talk. I adored my old, addled grandfather. On the other hand . . .
*
What’s beautiful is really listening to people talk — any people. When we get past our defences and insecurities, to who we really are, that’s meaningful. Some old people have winnowed and developed themselves, gaining great wisdom.
But some old people are just cranky misanthropes.
8
"But some old people are just cranky misanthropes."
Maybe they're depressed. Maybe they're abandoned by their children and relatives. Maybe they have intractable pain. Maybe...well maybe a little compassion and care is needed. Do you have it in you?
A wonderful and warm reflection on aging and life.
Thank you, John.
May I share some other thoughts on growing old. I recall several years ago reading about a study undertaken to determine why some people were more able to cope with aging than others. The investigators identified four traits
in this group.
The first trait was maintaining a sense of humor about life. The second was the ability to adapt to changing circumstances. The third was a commitment
to a cause-----playing a musical instrument, exercise, reading, stamp collecting.....whatever, just a lasting and keen dedication to a specific interest.
These struck me as being not unexpected and predictable. But the last trait was not intuitive and I did not anticipate. And that was the capacity to accept loss ---- loss of a job, loss of income, loss of function, loss of a body part, loss of friends, spouses or other family members.
Let us all hope that we grow older in good health with these four traits and the remembrance that happiness is a choice we make!
****A Connecticut physician
52
In a country that worships youth, it takes chutzpah to grow old with such grace and dignity. Bravo to these lovely elders.
12
Mr. Leland, you have discovered something many of us working with older people have discovered. Did you know that geriatricians - doctors who specialize in the care of the elderly -- have been shown in studies to be among the most satisfied doctors, ahead of higher-paying and perhaps more "glamorous" specialties? This was especially highlighted to me when I was in training during my palliative care/ hospice rotation. People would routinely ask me if it were depressing and I would answer NO. In fact, it was quite uplifting on the whole as patients discussed and acted on what made their lives meaningful during their last months and days.
Physician satisfaction links:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19758454
8
I had this self-same experience writ small just yesterday! At a local gas station I was waiting behind an elderly gentleman who seemed to be having some trouble completing his transaction at the gas pump. I got out to see if I could help, and met Mr. Farrar, 97 years young, who actually just wanted a receipt for his purchase because, as he said, he still "keeps track of what I spend, you know." We only spoke for a few minutes - where we live, the weather - but by the time he drove away with a jaunty wave, I realized that he had helped me far more than I him - that I was smiling after him, watching him go, wanting to know more about his life, and somehow deeply cheered. Yes, this moment, right now: happy. Thank you, Mr. Farrar. And Mr. Leland.
26
Your gratitude is contagious, Mr. Leland. Thank you for this.
7
Older folks see their days are limited so they more easily ascribe to Zen Buddhism's tenet of living in the present.
Some older folks also are better at knowing how excessive attachment leads to needless suffering.
Life is meant to be lived and loved, not feared. Certainly don;t worry about the past since it can't be changed and forget worrying about the future... it's not here yet. So as Ram Dass reminded us all...
Be Here Now.
12
This reminds me of Robert Browning writing,
" Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be, the last of life for which the first was made".
10
You sold me! Where do I buy the book to finally get a chance to read about people, not just what I reall of my past 74 years, This book might show the Times that they need to change their metrics when listing books by age of reader, like a new category.
7
I'm so inspired by and in awe of my elderly mom and her neighbors at her vibrant senior housing residence here in the Boston area. They have reinforced in me, and exhibit daily, that in life--even in our "older" years--there are no "last," but rather there are "next" phases, accomplishments, goals, and achievements. Always, and each and every day. The day that we fail to feel or attempt that--well, then is truly the point when we stop living. Otherwise, each new day is a chance at a fresh adventure, and further growth and memories.
8
What a wonderful story! Thank you for your kindness and sharing how these elders influenced you. As a middle aged woman, what you wrote about finding happiness in the now spoke to me. I appreciate the NYT’s Support your series on these 6 men and women. Bravo to all!❤️
7
Love that feel-good story. Reminds me of the time my aging mother asked me: "Can't they find something better for you to do?" She was referring to my occupation as a journalist covering the crime beat. We must embrace our dear seniors. They are a wealth of information. Good job John!
4
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed your series. One day, if we are very lucky, we will grow old. Thank you for illuminating the complexities and dignities (and sometimes indignities)of these individuals.
3
Right now, yes I am happy.
I like Fred Jones, my kind of guy. Positive, and alive.
4
For the last few years of his life, Santa Fe artist Bill Georgenes, who just passed away at 88 years of age, was house bound and could only move around his home/studio in a wheelchair.
Georgenes studied at Yale with Josef Albers and was friends with several of the Beat poets.
He was the happiest and most productive artists I ever met.
His life was like a novel, filled with adversity, but his conclusion was to be happy.
To see a short inspiring film on Bill, follow this link.
https://vimeo.com/21864776
6
a tiny boy - seeing wrinkles on my neck - pronounced 'wow - you're really OLD !'
I replied 'yes - and if you're lucky - one day you can get to be old too !'
7
At the risk of sounding grinchy, presenting older people as especially noble and wise can be as ageist as presenting them negatively.
Age is the most irrelevant demographic. One of the wisest people I know is a guy in his early 30s and I've known him since he was 27 and wise. I know a remarkable woman in her 30s who survived ovarian cancer with grace, who holds down a job, has a social life and devotes her spare time to animal rescue; she's got a great attitude and sense of humor. I find these people just as admirable as those closer to my own age.
And you can just read this newspaper to see a lot of unbelievably stupid 70-year-olds running the country.
Happiness is a choice ... until you lose the things you value most. For some of us, that's our independence and ability to engage intellectually. Even with a good diet and exercise, anyone can become disabled, locked in an institution in constant pain, losing privacy, or more. You're ignoring the significant percentage of people who suffer abuse in nursing homes, suffer from indifferent caretakers, or get rejected from opportunities for well-paid employment.
So let's celebrate people who know how to find happiness at *any* age. But for a more accurate picture, read Never Say Die by Susan Jacoby.
And when I go to the gym, engage in a social activity, or work with a client for my business, I don't want to be seen as a wise elder or remarkable person. I want to be just another person, judged on my capabilities.
12
Totally agree. I find this series, and especially the headlines --"warm, cranky, funny" -- patronizing, ageist, and offensive. Can you imagine an article about how fun-loving any other group of people are? Replace "old" with black or Jewish.
It's also ridiculous to lump the people in the series together. One is a renowned filmmaker who is still working. Others sit around playing board games. They have nothing in common other than age.
2
Exactly.
1
I love these anecdotes and share the feelings. Wonderful...
19
Over the years, I've had students ask if my work in geriatrics is depressing, after all, all of my patients are old and they all die. In fact, I'm with Mr. Leland: it is a privilege to hear about their lives, often see incredible resilience, and bear witness with them through so much living history. Sure, there's loss and decline but also fascinating complexity, wisdom, and humor.
77
life affirming.
30
At age 91 I have one tricky way to feel happy--whatever your present mood, just fool your brain with a nice big smile on your face.
56
Congratulations. You found one of the best aspects of being a reporter, which is to get to know and listen to people, disregarding for a time the thoughts racing around in your own head. I envy your experience, but I also know I have had a number of great ones as a reporter, too. I chose to spend a lot of time (too much) covering government in Washington, DC, but the great pleasures, in the main, did not stem from getting to know the powerful, those who measure their words for impact and who, for a time, are bold face names in the news. No, people leading so called ordinary lives have a lot to contribute and share.
I will always remember the man who talked about dying. Perhaps he is the one you mention in this article, a person who always mentioned dying. As I remember the quote, he said something like, "It will be great when I die. The only problem is I won't be alive to appreciate that I finally died."
Part of what I take from this series is that we spend far too much time worrying about what we are doing and whether or not we are accomplishing things. You know, those goals out there. The oldest of the old seem to have put aside the massive anxiety of youth and the nagging doubts of middle age and have settled into a contentment based not on money, things, or position in life, but just in being themselves and experiencing daily life. Three cheers for them!
45
These articles have paired so well with my expensive therapy. I’ve really loved them and have shared them widely.
9
Beautiful.
Thanks.
9
Such a great article. I've often thought many of my most favorite people on the world are the most elderly ones I know. Their wisdom, perspective and appreciation for life have a way of making me feel grounded and blessed to have them in my life and emptier when they are gone. Thanks for sharing this wonderful experience.
18
I’m a young senior at 70 - and like many contemporaries eat well, exercise regularily and I mean lifting weights, biking, swimming, and running. I still work (a PhD at 65) and started a new business - I’m not alone- to younger people - take care of yourself and life will take care of you! Scientifically proven!
34
Reading this I immediately recognized I was happy as I was reading it, sitting
around with my beloved waiting for the super storm tomorrow here in New England, while digesting the spicy chicken curry and rice we just gulped down.
No need to wait. It's here and now. :)
31
Enjoy the storm!
1
I loved this more than almost any article I've read in the Times for a long while. Thank you.
42
Beats the alternative.
10
The few times I get to sit and chat with someone who is in their later years are always way more rewarding to me than I think to them. I hope I half half the wisdom of the folks profiled here in 30 years from now. Thank you, John Leland, for this series.
14
Since I can remember, my 90 year old mother (now living in Boca, where else?) has told me, "enjoy every minute, because when you get old, time goes so fast." To this day, she says that to me every time we talk.
I never believed her. Now, I'm 65-she was so right.
28
Apparently, life is what we make of it. What a superb thought.
14
Lovely and so true, spend some time with older people and it will make you young again!
9
My father lived until he was almost 87, on his own until a brain tumor was discovered, then he spent 7 weeks in hospice. He took that in stride and with peace, like he had lived for many years by that point.
What I was most struck by - probably from when my dad was in his late 60's and certainly by how he handled a death diagnosis - was that he had an enjoyment of life regardless of circumstances and in fact, sometimes in spite of them. He wasn't financially set (he worked until 77 and even in retirement had some financial challenges) and had medical issues (severe osteoporosis, among others) but I think he knew what it meant to surrender to life - to accept the good, the bad and the in-between, and enjoy each day, even hour, as it came.
I hear this same theme in Mr. Leland's writings.
38
Nice story. I recently lost my mom in 2017. Enjoy your time with her, and keep up the nice writing! Best to you.
12
Thank you John Leland for sharing your thoughts about the lives of the aged aged, At 92 I've learned that every day isa gift of God-- given to me so that i can continue to enjoy life--its ups aand downs,its pleasures and the pains for one more day. . I miss those family and friends who have gone but I appreciate the young lives that surround me and I share their bright hopes for the future. As they say in Italy--centi anni--may you live a hundred years
31
Cara Gemma, Grazie tanto!!
After a decade of caring on and off for my elders I only wish when I began that I knew then what I know now. I could have used a 'road map' to help navigate the many pitfalls of memory loss, dealings with doctors, lawyers, care givers, insurance companies, assisted living, and the proverbial folks who gave their well intended but usually somewhat clue less advise from afar.
Watching over and caring for a loved one (a once worldly wise parent) as they slowly lose cognition is very painful, and more often than not very frustrating. The balancing act of assisting while allowing for their dignity and as much autonomy as possible, was always the goal, but always a struggle to the end.
Lucky for me, my partner's anthropologist father, was my last encounter with caregiving and all thats entailed in the subsequent moves from home to assisted living to hospice care and struggles of losing the autonomy of driving.
Unlike the past experience, it got better as time when on and I vicariously got to live out some of his amazing experiences through his fascinating stories while helping disperse with his years of books and anthropology provenance.
When we lost him, at the grand old age of 92, I knew that I made a difference in improving the quality of his life in those last years and he improved mine. The experience was a lovely gift after my former experience of watching the decline of a parent and a long sad spiral at the end of a life once well lived.
32
Mr. Leland,
Thank you for this great series. As someone in their late 20's, the reminder to be patient and to be happy in the moment is incredibly helpful, and relieving.
Wishing you the best,
Kevin
91
What an inspiring, profound piece of journalism! Keep writing! Im following you now, and so will my friends!!
6
My own mother, who survived pogroms, Revolution, World Wars, poverty and The Great Depression seemed to grow happier with old age. She used to say "The first 50 years are the hardest". When I was young I thought that was funny until I passed 50 and understood what she meant. Now in my 70's I look forward to growing happier with age as she did.
116
I so appreciate these columns by John Leland, especially when he includes his personal life. There's something deeply restorative in reading about the way he writes about the elderly. It's a reminder that things can be better, mentally, as we age, and a reminder that there are many elderly people out there, and if we are lucky, we'll be one of them.
As someone said, "Growing old: it's the only way to live."
77
You let out the secret we who work with older adults know. Blessed is what I feel, every darn day.
70
My husband and I are friends with a couple in which the wife, 72, valiantly manages an ongoing illness, and the husband, 86 and spry as ever, still chops all the wood to heat their farmhouse. They both read voraciously, keep up with current events, participate in several community and professional organizations, and travel to exotic places several times a year. And they laugh a lot. They may be our best-humored friends... of any age.
They're an inspiration (and excellent company) in so many ways. They've seen a lot in their lifetimes, and when the conversation turns (as it often does) to the dismaying political climate, they remind us that such ugliness has occurred before, and ultimately will pass -- especially if we help that to happen.
Thank goodness for older people. And for John Leland's appreciating and writing about them.
147
Beautiful! Thank you John Leland. I agree. My parents are sick and elderly - and being around them helps me be grateful for these healthy middle-aged years I do have. I'm more in reality that this game does come to an end - and not always a very pretty or lovely one...but it's a richer, fuller experience I'm getting.
36
One of the great consolations of getting older is that we find there is more to laugh about. Like our current President and the condition of the country right now.
41
"Don't you get depressed spending time around old people?" Well if that doesn't say it all, right there, about our warped perceptions about aging, and death. Americans as a whole have been taught to fear aging, and with that, death. Our language is rife with these constant messages, about which we don't give a second thought.... 'line-reducing face cream', 'hair color that covers the grey', 'I'd rather be dead..." (the underlying implication being that the situation the person finds themselves in is so bad, that they would actually prefer to die, which of course, any rationale person should strive to avoid at all costs)....'death and taxes', 'I'm so happy to be alive', 'when you reach a certain age you become invisible to society' (...if you believe that, it becomes self-fulfilling). Etc.
Americans need to change their thoughts about aging. They need to stop fearing death so much....to try and 'avoid' it at any/all costs by way of needless, repeated, painful, costly 'life-saving' measures taken on terminally-ill or very elderly patients. We need to stop assuming that society won't care about us once we are old. We need to stop assuming that the elderly are all alike, or are boring, etc. It is only once we change our mentality that we can then 'see' the elderly around us, and WANT to engage them versus pretend we don't see them (if only because we FEAR that which we SEE before us).
44
Hi Lisa, This is not just an American issue (and actually I look on seniors in the States and find that they're doing very well for themselves). I have lived in France forever, and realize that it's tough to be elderly here these days. There's no longer any social network, and it's even hard to get medical care (since we've run out of doctors).
I admire the author's discovery and honesty about what he learned.
Best regards, Cecilia
19
I agree that it's not just the US, but my sense is that this mentality about trying to 'avoid' aging and death is much more pronounced here, though I could be wrong...
2
But it's true that society won't take care of us, and bills being written by Republicans right now would make it even worse. Better to recognize the severe deficit of our national social network and try to improve it.
8
Tomorrow is a possibility. Yesterday may have regrets. Today is all that counts. And, as this article's author has learned, you have a choice: be happy or be unhappy. Be with others. Or be alone. Take your pick. Just try to remember where you left your glasses.
116
Great and great thanks. I am not that old yet, and while "happy" might not define the ultimate or even the penultimate to me, I believe in acting like I am. Lipstick helps, it's not like on a pig, and a spritz of scent helps, too. My income has dropped severely, and the struggle to try and keep afloat takes most of my energy. The resilience of those who are facing old age with humor, dignity, grace and yes, humor, inspires me. Thanks for the story.
50
Mr. Leland's mother is ageist. I enjoy his writing, but he should call her on her ageism. What would the reaction be if she talked about African American interview subjects in the same way she talks about senior citizens?
9
She's 89, she has every right to say that. Why try to find something negative in a great piece?
52
I agree that it's a great article, but her comment speaks to a common bias.
4
me: Hey You, you choose to find a negative in what is really such a kind sweet open heart tale of discovery. You chose to find fault where there is inspiration. I will be 80 in three days. I chose to make it.
11
This is beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
26
That is a lovely tribute to your seasoned subjects. I had been a volunteer visitor to an elderly woman at a nursing home who passed away last year at age 94. I still think of all the things she taught me and look at her example of joy despite her confinement to a wheel chair. We have so much to learn from the examples of those who have lived longer. I hope you will stay connected to this population. Good luck with your new book!
45
Bottom line I believe in the equality theory of life, ie, the good and bad equal out in this life or in another dimention if you are non religious or heaven if you religious.
E. Erickson wrote a version of my belief in his stages of life, ie, the good and the bad in each.
People may feel sorry for seniors because of their limitations and frail health, but in their own way they are happy without the stress of family, job, relationships etc.
13
Fantastic. Full of truth and a guideline for us all.
28
Thank you for your writings. I intend to read them all and look forward to seeing your new book.
My father, born 1924 in the Bronx, is my inspiration for living to be 100. He will celebrate turning 94 this month!
He has taught me to recognize there is bad in the world but to see the best things that life brings us.
Your stories weave threads through so many lives of a generation we are too soon saying goodbye to. We are all more alike than we are not. Our connections teach us everything we need to know about ourselves.
Thank you for being a good listener and letting us meet six wonderful people.
Hopefully like them we will always have something to give to the next generation.
3