This article was a hoot. Ideas & Trends: Throne Occupied; Try a Comfy Recliner. Prince Charles, the author tells us, has recently turned 60. So, amongst and between other monikers, his latest handle is Boomer.
King, apparently and alas, still eludes him.
The basic gist of the article, as I interpreted it, was while Charles has been the brunt of jokes for the better part of his life, wiling away his time gardening, puttering and christening ships, the best is yet to come. After all, at some point, unless his mother out lives him, he will be King. Just think, a new career
when he is in his 70's, or 80's. As the author of the article, Ms. Pennebaker so aptly puts it, "do you have bigger plans for your own 80th birthday than a coronation?"
So this got me thinking.
As I consider what the ensuing years are going to look like for me, I'm pretty certain that a coronation doesn't seem to be in the cards. Unless, of course, that Prince does come.
So I did a little exploration of who were the delayed (nice term, don't you think) achievers.
In the fast food world we have Colonel Sanders (KFC) and Ray Kroc (McDonalds). Artists and scientists, Grandma Moses, Darwin (who wrote his first book in his fifties) to name a few.
I am pretty realistic about my latent talents.
Maybe I could be Clara Pella. She was in her 70's, I believe, when she achieved immortality by uttering the line "Where's the Beef?"
Okay, maybe not.
But I'm working on it. Pretty clear a comfy recliner is not part of my plan.
2 Responses
Should we take advice from Rita Levi-Montalcini, the Italian neurologist who won a Nobel prize in 1986 who has just turned 100. Far from retired, she plays an active role in domestic politics, campaigns for women’s rights in Africa and still flies to scientific conferences around the world.She doesn’t attach much significance to her birthday. “It just so happened that I ws born 100 yars ago, merit had nothing to do with it… The secret to life is to keep thinking. And to stop thinking about ourselves”
I think that many Boomers will be achieving into their 60’s out of necessity. Due to job loss, 401K loss ect, many of us will have to re invent our careers. It’s either that or live on Social Security. The thought of living on dog food into my 80’s seems some what distasteful.