Do you want to make it to 75?

[Constantbee]

Well, William Bolcom was 80 and evidently still going strong when he wrote Saturday night’s Opera on Three (Dinner At Eight), whatever you thought of it. Well, I liked it So, there’s hope for the rest of us yet.

Came across an interesting - and fairly reputable - paper the other day about longevity in the creative professions: rock musicians, both males and females, live shorter lives than other people (I think we all knew that, didn’t we?) Male Nobel laureates, academics, conductors and scientists tend to live longer. Among females the highest average age of death is reached by conductors, harpists, harpsichordists and violinists. Hmm Older lady harpsichordists? Presumably the physical demands of the instrument are more manageable for the ageing female frame? The concert schedule is probably less demanding, too. Everything to play for, then although I tend to subscribe to the Jane Fonda view that ageing well depends on good genes and lots of money

[Serial_Apologist]

Hmm Older lady harpsichordists? Presumably the physical demands of the instrument are more manageable for the ageing female frame? The concert schedule is probably less demanding, too. Everything to play for, then

Having a lot of pluck in what they play probably helps - not to hammer the point home...

[Mal]

I just read Atul Gawande "Being Mortal", which gives great insight into "what matters in the end". Some take away messages:

Most doctors are pretty useless at helping you deal with "certain death". If a doctor says to me, "you probably only have x months/years to live", I'll be getting in touch with the nearest hospice asap to help me with my descent into that dark kingdom, and not leaving it to doc (unless he's a Gawande!)

Doctors are also fairy useless at helping you decide which procedure to follow after a tricky diagnosis. They either act like God, "You will have this operation 'cause I know best", or baffle you with a profusion of technicalities and impossible choices: "you could have chemo, radiation, or this experimental drug, what do you think."

Gawande indicates a better way - find out the bottom line of what a patient wants to help guide the choices. If he's prepared to be paraplegic because "listening to classical music and reading" are what he *must* be able to do, then it might be best not to risk the operation that has 50% chance of death, 50% chance of life without paralysis. For someone who *must* be able to play golf, the choice might be to have the op.

[Nick Armstrong]

Michael Caine, who on being asked what it was like to be 80 replied "Better than the alternative", is 86 today.

[johncorrigan]

I'm happy to stick around as long as I'm wanted to be honest. I like John Updike's poem about death - 'Perfection Wasted'.

Perfection Wasted

And another regrettable thing about death
is the ceasing of your own brand of magic,
which took a whole life to develop and market —
the quips, the witticisms, the slant
adjusted to a few, those loved ones nearest
the lip of the stage, their soft faces blanched
in the footlight glow, their laughter close to tears,
their tears confused with their diamond earrings,
their warm pooled breath in and out with your heartbeat,
their response and your performance twinned.
The jokes over the phone. The memories packed
in the rapid-access file. The whole act.
Who will do it again? That's it: no one;
imitators and descendants aren't the same.

John Updike

[Dave2002]

It’s not just the lack of time left that’s worrying, it’s the achieving important stuff and retaining enough marbles for the journey. Joking aside (!!!), this forum should be held out as an example of the sort of engagement, opinions aside of course, that society needs to embrace. Inclusive, diverse, open to challenge and knowledgable.

Yes, but who decides what’s important? You? “Society”, “Posterity”, future generations, HMG, Parliament, Donald Trump?

Maybe have a vote on this, followed by a seemingly never ending discussion.

[Serial_Apologist]

Yes, but who decides what’s important? You? “Society”, “Posterity”, future generations, HMG, Parliament, Donald Trump?

Maybe have a vote on this, followed by a seemingly never ending discussion.

It's what you pass on, together with how successors receive it. In my case, a generally unknown treasure trove of wisdom - well, that's what I like to think: literature covering all the world's problems with solutions on offer, including books on art, horticulture, environmentalism, architecture, psychology, politics and philosophy; family photo albums and slides; a large collection of vinyl, mainly C20 music and modern jazz CDs, cassettes, DVDs, with equipment for playing it all on; a complete early C19 Shakespeare edition; three keyboards; piano music dating from Bach to Messiaen, including all the Beethoven sonatas; and this computer, containing personal writings among other unmentionables.

[oddoneout]

Yes, but who decides what’s important? You? “Society”, “Posterity”, future generations, HMG, Parliament, Donald Trump?

Maybe have a vote on this, followed by a seemingly never ending discussion.

The current style seems to be have a discussion, then endless votes...

[Dave2002]

The current style seems to be have a discussion, then endless votes...

Indeed!

Things to do while one still can ....

For me I'm still trying to get to grips with a few things - playing one or more recorders to a better standard, similarly for other instruments, trying to get computers with midi interfaces to work, but if I croak tomorrow probably nobody will notice. Some people will want to do things for others "before they go" - but the motivation for that may vary. Religious people will believe that it's a good thing to do, others may also do that - but there's perhaps/arguably less reason. Where the motivation for doing things comes from I don't know, and it must depend on the individual.

[Padraig]

Here is a man who made it to 75. Ivan Cooper was a hero of the Civil Rights movement in Northern Ireland.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-foyle-west-45049734