[rubicon]

To my friends and neighbors:

One of the many problems with advancing age, not old age please, is there is too much to read about the end of life. Books and articles about dying are in vogue, but I could not finish Dr. Atul Gawande’s best- selling “Being Mortal”. I do not want to know how much my brain is shrinking or why my teeth will fall out. Spare me.
I am comforted by the realization that everyone is getting older and so we are all in the same boat. My contemporaries share my experiences, and they have the same fears and many of the same limitation as I do.
I am still excited by good books, and try to persuade others to read what hfriends and neigas thrilled me. But many of us do not want to be pushed. We prefer to discover good books on our own.
My interest in sports, baseball, of course, remains strong, though it is narrower than it used to be. I no longer watch hockey or boxing. But I never miss the world Series, or the Masters, in part because of the captivating natural beauty of the Augusta golf course. Despite a football lineage, my dad was an NFL official, I rarely watch the second half of the Super Bowl. The games are too long, and the half time shows are a bizarre remainder of music I do not understand . Why is there so much jumping up and down?
I spend most of my time in the company of my cherished wife. I think there is truth in the old line that old marrieds tend to resemble each other as time goes by. I enjoy visits with friends as well, but I have a rule : None of us can speak more than three sentences about medical news . I am certain my problems have limited interest, and so I fib a lot when I am asked how I am doing.
To me old age seems to be the art of keep going. Speed and direction are not important. Movement is. I swim but slowly. I barely walk. I write, but with an acute knowledge that my values and opinions are outdated. I still think duty, honor and country should be the national mantra. I know better.
The very best thing about growing older is that I no longer try and change anyone’s mind. I can easily accept disagreement from friends and even critics. I also have long surrendered any hope of impressing others, or of being impressed by them. In these final innings I want to stay at bat, even if I know that I cannot expect to get a hit.
I am not selling anything nor am I buying . I want only to be at peace and in normal discomfort . Age make life simple until it does not.
Yes the rear view mirror is where I get most pleasure. There I can run and jump and shag high fly balls in the many sunny baseball fields of my youth. There are still those joyful memories of good times and old pals and long dead family and friends . that is what is left now, and that has to be fine with me.

By Fay Vincent CEO Columbia Pictures, VP Coca-Cola Commissioner MLB 1989-92 WSJ 2/25/2016

[Nucky]

What a beautiful way of looking at things. I think to be happy is to accept the things we can't change instead of wishing things were going our way when they won't. I can identify with so much in this letter. I must say I think I'm in the top of the 7th and hoping for extra innings. I love the rearview mirror but only for a quick look, half steam ahead. Thank You for posting this you made my day.

[Challenger]

Nice post ! As for me -- top of the 8th, and still swinging. Lots of fades and shanks but a modicum of decent shots. Life for us would not be nearly as good at this juncture if we still lived up north.
Because of the Developer's vision, drive , greed or whatever, We are able " to be"--- for a few more mostly pleasant years.

[JGVillages]

Life in The Villages gives me the desire to be in a long long extra inning game.

[CFrance]

Rubicon, is this a quote from somewhere, or did you write it? Either way, those are perfect words live the rest of our lives by.

Thanks for the post. You have really made my day.

[OpusX1]

Very nice. We are definitely on the back nine, just dont know if we're putting on twelve or teeing off on eighteen.

[onslowe]

Rubicon, We've never met but I see you through your many posts here. You are a person of substance and character. Your selection of that piece by Fay Vincent is indicative.

I nodded my head slightly so many times during the reading of his (and I guess your) thoughts.

Among things that come to my mind is a comment by a wise person in my life. "Why can't we just enjoy a canoe ride… why does it always have to be a race?" I have good friend here who really enjoys his sport of choice in TV. He says he has found like minded guys who play for the love of it, for laughs and for relaxation. They are all refugees from other groups dominated by 'alpha males' and sports 'Nazis.'

Thanks for taking the time to share this article with those who'd be otherwise deprived of some beautiful and very important thoughts.

[jojo]

We do need a like button on TOTV. Thanks Rubicon for sharing this insightful piece. It gives pause for reflection.

[kcrazorbackfan]

Excellent post. Since I'm on the downside of life, and living in the best place on this earth, my only real concern is what kind of America (much less the world) will my kids and grandkids will grow up in.....

[Topspinmo]

I feel I'm in the top of the 7th on the injured reserve list. After brain tumor any timely amount of reading gives me migraine with what little brain cells I have left.

[rubicon]

Fay Vincent wrote much about what we all feel much of which has been repeated one way or another by village residents. He has accomplished this with realism and clarity about this stage in our lives. And yet he posit the dignity of seniors in our society.

I appreciate realism, candor and clarity. There are far too many spin doctors in our society today.

Personal Best Regards:

[VApeople]

I agree with everything you guys have said. I am 70 and I am the happiest I have ever been in my entire life.

I think we reach our maximum maturity at 50, and then we start to get younger and become more child-like. I see little kids in grocery stores with their parents, and they seem to be amazed at all of the types of food on the shelves. When I go out each day, I am kind of the same way. I smile at the people I meet in Wal-Mart, say a few kind words to the server at Panera's, and in general enjoy everything I see and do. I am glad I have come to realize how wonderful it is to be alive.

[2BNTV]

Wise words and I like the little victories like waking up, above grass.

I also do my best to live the words of this poem.

Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be critical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.

[Buffalo Jim]

I wake up each day and say " Oh Boy ! Another great day in The Villages ! "
No Staff Meeting , No Budget Meeting , No Memos , No Deadlines , the whole day is mine !
What a gift ! and a new one is waiting to be opened each morning !

[rubicon]

Originally Posted by Buffalo Jim

I wake up each day and say " Oh Boy ! Another great day in The Villages ! "
No Staff Meeting , No Budget Meeting , No Memos , No Deadlines , the whole day is mine !
What a gift ! and a new one is waiting to be opened each morning !

Buffalo Jim: All of what you mentioned I embraced because I learned well how to work and loved it and little of how to play.

The only thing I do not miss is the office politics.

But we adjust, we learn, we move forward and we embrace all that is the most important in our lives...and we do so with little regret least the present becomes lost to us.