Ask Me Anything

Warning: I may not know the answer

Image by Steve Buissinne on Pixabay

When I was a mere child of 30, I envisioned my 60s and beyond as a time to dispense my hard-earned wisdom like so many Pez candies, with hordes of eager learners lined up to partake. Surely this was my reward for surviving menopause and all the other outrages of aging!

Well, gang, here we are. I’m 66 years old and I’m still waiting for someone (anyone!) to ask me for a pearl (or even a Pez) of valuable info. For this I blame Google mostly, that impossibly vast repository of knowledge (interspersed with nonsense). Why ask Granny or Gramps about How Life Works when the real experts are just a keystroke away? And I confess that, even if I was asked, I’d probably flub my response.

That said, here are a few nuggets I DO want to share…freely borrowing wisdom from others…

Works every time:-)

But seriously…

Commencement speeches are filled with advice for the new grads. I’ve enjoyed several such speeches in person, from folks including Admiral Michael Mullen (Evan’s Naval Academy graduation in 2008) and Angela Lansbury (Sheridan’s Masters from Manhattan School of Music in 2009).

Here’s an excerpt from writer George Saunders’ wonderful speech about kindness, given at Syracuse University in 2013.

PODCAST: Wiser Than Me

Hooray for Julia Louis-Dreyfus! She is tapping into the GREAT wisdom of older women on her fabulous podcast Wiser Than Me. I listen to these amazing ladies on my morning walks and am always inspired. Several women (including Carol Burnett and Jane Fonda) shared “No is a complete sentence” as something they learned the hard way over their lifetimes. Listen up, everyone (especially women, ESPECIALLY me): if you need to say “no” to something, please stop with the qualifiers (“I’m so sorry!” “I feel terrible about this!” “I promise I’ll do it next time.”) We’re allowed to turn things down sometimes, just because!

CONCERTS AT THE BEACH: If you ask me about worthwhile activities this week at the Delaware shore, I wholeheartedly recommend Sheridan’s “Celtic to Classical” concert series, running tonight through Thursday. Sher has been presenting concerts down here since he was just 18 (his “Lewes Chamber Music Festival” ran from 2003-2007; “C2C” is now in its seventh year). If you’re in the area, do join us!!

BLOG PREVIEW: Aiden and Peter have a picture book A Street Through Time that wonderfully illustrates the same place over thousands of years. What era are we in now? For a certain young Seyfried, it’s The Stone Age (again). Why? Find out tomorrow at Working Title

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

Talk about words of wisdom!

Let’s try to make ALL of our encounters with others, world-changers this week!