A new column ” I’m thrilled that my writing will have a new home. One can write secret diaries, paint and never show anyone, dance or play a musical instrument alone, or one can have a stage on which to perform, a gallery to exhibit one’s work or a newspaper to share one’s thoughts and feelings. Sharing one’s work makes one vulnerable to criticism and even rejection, yet it is the reaction of others that can validate a work. The purpose of writing is to inform and possibly touch someone; it is to share an idea, something seen, heard, read or felt. It is to not be alone.
I always read the back cover of books that talk about the author, wanting to know where that person is coming from (metaphorically). In case you do too, I’ll start with the more concrete: I was born in Paris from Russian parents and came to the United States as the war in Europe was escalating. I went through Ellis Island, learned English and became American. Beverly Hills High School, Scripps College, a master’s in social work at age 40, a Ph.D. at 50. I’m a late bloomer. I taught the first course on “Women in Management” in the country at the University of New Hampshire, wrote textbooks and humorous verse, was on the business faculty of San Diego State University, traveled the world lecturing on cruise ships and am currently working on my 18th book.
I’ve been married, divorced and remarried, with five children and seven grandchildren, with my share of failures, disappointments and grief, and now live happily with my husband with a balcony overlooking the ocean, at the White Sands of La Jolla, a retirement community.
I am a formerly young person, and now that I am in my early 80s and have wrinkles and gray hair, I can relish an adventurous past, an uncertain future and an exciting present ” for I have PMZ, post-menopausal zest. We do grow wiser with age, becoming more philosophical and knowing how to have more fun. Growing older provides us the freedom to be more detached from insignificant events, more involved with larger issues and appreciating the humor of the events we witness on a daily basis. A lifetime of experiences has paved the way for us to trust our hearts as well as our heads, expressing with confidence what we know to be true.
Youth thinks it knows
Old age knows to think
It is important for us to live fully each day, postponing nothing, appreciating our health, our family and friends. Whether we are working or not, living with a significant other or living alone, there are still things to learn, new sights to see, books to read, new friends to meet and family to care for and be cared by.
When I was young
I knew the answers
As I grow older
I know the questions
My grandchildren seem to be text messaging all day long; even as they are talking to me, they are e-mailing their friends. If I ask, “What are you writing,” they will say, “I’m telling my friends that I’m talking to my grandmother.” Although my writing here is not exactly text messaging, it is another form of communicating, just a bit longer.
This column will be my home, and I invite you in. You can write to me care of this paper, and I will answer, or write the paper directly.
A community newspaper is like a family’s newsletter ” who is doing what, what fun things are in store or what bad things happened. So look for me every second week, writing about whatever I have found interesting or thought worthwhile, and also every fourth week in the Senior Section. In the meantime”let’s celebrate today.