Life in the Last Quarter
Or the Winter of Our Content ~ The Literary Version
I’m a hop, skip, & jump from 75 so “I Only Want to Live Till the Age of 75” shouted at me from my daily Medium feed.
You can read Donnette Anglin’s excellent article here.
Intrigued by the topic, I Googled “wanting to die at 75” and found Ezekiel J. Emanuel’s “Why I Hope to Die at 75.” It, too, is worth a read.
Donnette is 52. Ezekiel was 57 in 2014 when his essay was published in The Atlantic.
Both articles described the feared and real challenges of the last quarter or winter of our lives.
And were on my mind three days ago when I went to an Emeriti Colloquium at the college I taught at for 33 years and retired from in 2018.
Over 75
The speaker was Harland and he is the fellow in bib overalls in the first picture.
Harland taught English and his talk was about growing up on a farm in northwest Minnesota.
He’s in costume and still teaching.
Harland is 96.
That’s him in dark glasses at 18 sitting next to his father.
When asked what he was looking at, Harland answered “I suppose life beyond the farm.”
Will was making a point.
He grew up in a rural upper midwest community in the 1930s and 1940s.
He was describing how threshing rings (groups of families) planned card parties and other social gatherings that helped build community.
Will taught religion and is 90.
Larry was explaining how a 1940s thresher machine worked.
He is a biologist and in his eighties.
Ruth is intense, even in repose.
She taught French and Italian and is my co-teacher in a Life Long Learning Course we will teach this fall on The 1619 Project.
Ruth is 78.
I don’t remember the point Dave, another biologist, was making.
Maybe that’s because 20 years ago, as a college Vice President, he gently chided me for a snarky remark I made about the college’s poo-bahs.
I hope to lose my snark, when I turn 75.
Dave is 85. Thank goodness former administrators never fade away.
That’s me in the red cap among the 30 people who attended Harland’s talk.
I’m going to be 73 and my partner Rebecca is 71.
Most of those attending were over 75.
The Last Quarter is where the game is won
Anglin and Emmanuel are right about the challenges of growing older.
I fear old age too.
But
At what age are there no challenges?
Raise your hand if you want to be 16 again.
No one understands the difficulties of life in the last quarter more than those who are still playing.
As I looked at Harland’s audience, there was evidence everywhere.
Wheel chairs, walkers, canes, drooping heads, and at least one napper — sorry, Harland.
Yet.
They were there.
Still vital.
Sharing wisdom, experience, and stories.
And Presence.
Because no one lives in the moment better than perennials.
Afterword
The phone holder below was carved by Jim, another biologist, who started these Emeriti colloquia eight years ago.
Jim is a hop, skip & jump beyond 80.
