Lilalia, a gifted artist who blogs at Yum Yum Cafe, sent me a link to a short, Guardian UK video interview with crime writer, P.D. James, a decades-long favorite of mine.
The occasion of the interview was Ms. James's 90th birthday earlier this week on 3 August. It is a smart discussion about some of her books and her primary protagonist, Adam Dalgliesh. When asked if there would be another Dalgliesh story forthcoming, Ms. James replied that their might be but, she added, acknowledging her age, “I hate the idea of dying in the middle of a book.”
The Guardian UK website does not allow embedding of their videos so you'll need to visit the site to see the interview [8:39 minutes]. Here is a screen grab from it.
Unlike childhood when stages of growth can be predicted to the week – sitting up unaided, walking, talking, etc. - old age develops in individuals at dramatically different rates. Some people, depending on genes, lifestyle, health and dumb luck, become decrepit at a relatively young age. Others, like Ms. James, defy cultural stereotypes of 90-year-olds.
Take a good look at Ms. James and watch her on that video. She could easily be taken for what people commonly think of as a 65- or 70-year-old, both physically and cognitively. What is important here is that she is not exceptional, exempt from debilities of extreme age for being an accomplished writer or any other special circumstance. Old age is a great leveler.
Many elders live to the age of Ms. James and beyond as well as she has and there will be more as the elder population increases due to the advances, during that past hundred years, in health care and understanding of it. Nevertheless, Ms. James is not the cultural expectation, which is in need an adjustment.
From time to time on this blog, we discuss and laugh about our decreasing stamina, aches and pains that have no apparent cause, and lament the minor vagaries of getting old such as wrinkles, loose skin, hair loss, weight gain, etc. while being grateful too for the invention of cataract repair and replacement joints. No one reaches their upper decades without some kind of affliction.
Old age, as most of life, is a crapshoot. No matter how well we have cared for our health through the years, on any day we can be struck with debility. But what P.D. James, being more publicly visible than most 90-year-olds, represents is that the majority of people who reach great age remain – within the context of waning strength - capable, productive contributors.
The reason we don't see more of them is that it is generally believed this is not so.
TIME GOES BY | Mistaken Cultural Expectations of Elders
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