Turning Eighty

As the old saying goes: ‘With age, comes wisdom.’ I guess the word ‘recognition’ could just as easily be substituted in my case. If one can remain open to the world around them, there’s still a lot to be seen and heard; whether it’s accepted or not…is another blog entirely.

This generational differences between myself and the rest of the world didn’t raise its head and nudge my consciousness until I was recently interviewed by a reporter from our local newspaper, the Desert Sun. Brian, the newspaper’s Arts and Culture Reporter had contacted me to talk about my latest play ‘Widow’s Waltz.’

The theme of the play was such that he thought it sounded different from the usual fare produced in the Valley. Whether that was a fair comparison or not, we met at Koffi, another local caffeinated establishment and talked at length about the play, the venue (Script2Stage2Screen) that was producing it and play-righting opportunities in the Valley.

At the end of our lengthy conversation, I asked him about his impressions of today’s Palm Springs since he’d been a reporter here for more than fifteen years. When he began talking about the ‘creatives from the coast’, remanences of Old Hollywood still lingering in the shadows and the uniqueness’ of the place, I realized his take on Palm Springs (as it is today) was a different world than the one I existed in.

Of course, that shouldn’t have come as a total surprise. Brian was born in 1980, about the same time as my own two kids. When he spoke of ‘ancient times’ he was referring to the turbulent 60’s, the war in Vietnam and social and political upheavals run rampant in our otherwise staid and comfortable world.

OMG, I asked myself. Am I really that old? I guess the answer is yes if I’m willing to admit it. A lot of generations have started to come up through the ranks since I began my formal journey in the 1940s.

If Family history is any indication of generational acceptance then I might be in trouble. My Mother never did admit her age and perhaps that’s her flotsam I’ve inherited. My mother worked until late into her sixties, remarried after being single for thirty plus years and never looked back.

She and her husband danced two or three times a week until their late seventies then continued playing cards well into their late eighties.

She was quite verbal in her distain for those old people who complained a lot or wouldn’t get off their duff and ‘do something’ besides watch TV and go to church on Sunday. While on the surface that seems understandable, my mother also insulated herself from world events, local politics, and generational changes with the younger set.

Hers was an insulated, encapsulated walled-off world of her own where only the like-minded dare to tread. Unfortunately, that brought her unwanted stress and discomfort as the world changed and evolved around her sheltered life. I don’t want to repeat that same performance.

I realize that to fully live in this world, one must be prepared to learn and understand the newer generations that are (for the most part) ruling it today. Most of our lives are now in the past and the future is rapidly closing in. To appreciate what we have, we have to embrace what’s there… whether we understand it or not.