Photo via VisualHunt
If you’re younger than eighty, you might be in for a pleasant surprise as to what lies ahead. Things might be better than we ever imagined.
I say this after watching a trailer for Carl Reiner’s new documentary on aging. Reiner—who I’ll always think of as Meathead’s dad—is 95, and he’s loving life. The film looks absolutely inspiring. I love the look of wonder on the faces of these 90-year-olds who are dazzled by the fun they’re having.
You might say Oh sure, they’re rich and famous. Why wouldn’t they be having fun? But.
I see the same look of wonder on my friends, who are poor and unknown. Maybe there’s something we don’t know.
The movie is on HBO, which I don’t subscribe to, but it says on the ad that you can stream free for a month. I might subscribe just to watch it, and then cancel. Here’s the trailer:
Here’s a link to the full story, which includes Norman Lear, Mel Brooks, and Jerry Seinfeld. And here’s a link to the Vanity Fair article about the movie.
FASHION UPDATE: You’ve probably seen this chick everywhere lately. She’s Lyn Slater, and she’s not a model, or she didn’t used to be. A professor at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Social Service, she was discovered, because, well, look at her. So now she’s become a professional model and celebrity of sorts, I guess because nobody expects older people to look this good. She comes by it naturally; all her life, she’s been a fashion iconoclast. Now she’s a style icon. More power to her, and to us. If you want to learn more about her, here’s her website.
Lilian Braun, Author
Are you happy with your life as an older person? Rhonda Hetzel is, and she has a great, calm, empowering outlook. You might want to check out this post, which is inspiring and uplifting. I loved it.
June 20 is the birthday of Lilian Jackson Braun, author of the The Cat Who… series of children’s books. Lilian was 53 when she published the first of her thirty books, and 94 when she published her last. As a writer, I hope I have chosen a profession/hobby/passion I can continue until my very last years, so she’s inspiring.
Henry Miller (1891 – 1980). Photo by Larry Colwell/Anthony Barboza/Getty Images)
I can’t remember if I told you this already 😉 but here’s some good news that dementia rates are falling.
And lastly, the late Henry Miller, actor and author, wrote about being eighty. This article contains inspiring and motivating excerpts.
I hope I’m not overwhelming you with links, but you could bookmark this post and read it later. Mainly, I wanted to share evidence of a hypothesis of mine: that there is something rich in aging, something gratifying, that we younger people might not be aware of. Something that would offset any fear of mortality in favor of enjoying the increasing bounty of the coming days. Enjoy.
Traveling and just got the chance to read your blog. I can’t wait to watch this documentary when we get home in July. I love the woman who started running at 67. There’s hope for me yet. People thriving in their 90s! Love it! I pray I get to be one.
I enjoy your blog on healthful aging, Lynne, and am grateful for it. Thank you.
Next week will be what would have been my father’s 100th birthday. He passed 4.5 years ago, and had the same indomitable spirit and zest for life, that these young oldsters have, right to the end. I can only aspire to follow in his footsteps. Like Carl Reiner, my dad would always say he checked the obits every morning to make sure he wasn’t in there!
What a blessing that you had him with you long enough for him to show you how to do it. I feel that way about my mom. She is showing me how to age well. I’m sorry for your loss. He made it a long way.
Boy oh boy Lynne, you make me want to be coaching into my nineties just like my grandpa did. At times I get discouraged with my aches and pains, but your blog always makes me feel that I am NOT getting older, I am getting better.
Wow, Pat, thanks! That makes me feel really good. Sometimes I don’t know what to say to Mom, she suffers constantly. And being 92, there are other issues, like losing siblings and friends. She says there are so few people her age around anymore, people who remember the things she remembers. In so many ways, she is a trooper. And yet, she is happy to be alive—somewhat mobile, and sharp-minded. Her strategy is to allow the bad thoughts in just enough so they don’t balloon from being ignored, but then to distract herself and move on. What a fine example she is. You are, too. Because of that car accident in your youth I know you suffer. But you persevere. You’re like Mom in that way, Pat, and thus you are still coaching. Us.
Oh so sweet, Lynne. I will try to keep that in mind on my bad, awful, grouchy, slouchy, miserable why I am here days. ha Your mom is a trooper. I am seeing how hard it is with my parents to watch them struggle to get around and lose friends and relatives every week. But like you, my sibs and me are trying to help them as much as possible (even long distance) and like your mom they are aging with dignity and setting such a fine example.
I think part of it is the mere fact that the old, old can look back to their decades of living in appreciation and wonder. They feel that it is an immense privilege to have been given the gift of long life, knowing how many of the people they knew did not make it. Many of them feel obliged to record their memories in some way, and to pass on their wisdom to coming generations.
Yes, the old old can feel proud. They persevered. We’re working on one member of our group, an 88-year-old, to record her memories. She has had so many fab experiences. She’s reluctant, though.
Don’t ever feel as if you’re overwhelming us with positive news about aging, Lynne! Bring it on! You’re a wonderful messenger.
I appreciate that, Roxanne. More than you know.
Thanks for all the positive news (and great links). Your blog post made my day.
I’m so glad to hear that, Sandy! I am having a little trouble with my blog, and my website guy and I are tearing our hair out. So it’s good to hear some good news.
Hi Lynne! You know I agree with you in all this. We actually started watching the Carl Reiner Documentary tonight….haven’t finished it yet but am inspired by how amazing people can be in their 90s. That’s everything I plan to be when I get there. I think it is like so many things in life….we can focus on the people who inspire us or we can focus on the “fears” and bad news that sometimes occurs. The choice of our focus is up to me. Thanks for your inspiration! ~Kathy
And thanks so much for saying so, Kathy.
I visit once a week with my 95 year old uncle. One time I asked him if he hurt or ached, and he said, “sometimes, but not normally.” He said that most days he wakes up feeling like he is in his 40s, then he wonders how he ever got to be in his 90s. My uncle is bedridden now, because he had severe polio as an eighteen month old child. He walked with braces and on the side of one foot for the rest of his mobile life, which was until about five years ago. He now has Post polio syndrome and can no longer walk. He’s my hero because he never complains and is always upbeat and fun to talk to. His memory is amazing. He remembers when there were no paved roads in our Florida county and when they paved the first road which ran in front of his boyhood home.
Hi Cindy, there must be something about getting older that gives some of us a kind of strength. Your uncle definitely models that. What an inspiration!