So the definition of mortality says that it is the “state of being subject to death” which I would assume all living things are. But some things seem to last longer than others, and by that I mean human beings as well as the animals and plants we share this planet with. (Two sentences with improper endings according to my old-school learning, but what’s a new-age writer to do.) Anyway, before I begin telling you what I have been thinking about, I have to report that the second serving of my blueberry pancakes was just as good as the first even after having been frozen all week. At least one of my readers will be glad to know that fact.
This topic came to me because so many times when scanning the obituaries, I find myself thinking “I hadn’t known they were still alive” and I have heard other people express that same sentiment. And then there was a posting by someone of a lot of dead people who had lived quite long lives, and I started to think we should acknowledge and celebrate them before they finish up.
I started my list of idols of mine which includes quite a few women, so then I talked to other people to add some men to my list, including the young man who was the clerk at the wonderful second-hand store I stopped at yesterday. [That actually resulted in my thinking about the word “stranger” to denote someone I don’t know. Surely we could come up with a better description because of the connotation of the root “strange.” Many of the world’s problems could be ameliorated if we adopt the attitude that the unknown person is a friend we haven’t met yet. Somebody famous said that, but I’ll save this rabbit hole for another post.] I also discussed the topic with my darling this morning and added another famous man to the list. So here we are:
People Who Are Still Alive (in random order):
Me 78; Gloria Steinem 89; Angela Davis 79; Margaret Atwood 84; Jane Fonda 86; Susan Sarandon 77; Kareem Adbul-Jabbar 76; Mick Jagger 80; Morgan Freeman 86; Clint Eastwood 93; Dick Van Dyke 98; Ian McKellen 84; Hank Williams, Jr. 74
Here’s to keeping on!
I was happy to read that you enjoyed your defrosted pancakes
I had similar musings myself:
https://open.substack.com/pub/oldandintheway45/p/bad-santa-6-years-later?r=3qbw9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Here, here! As a graduate of the once top rated California public school system, I can tell you there’s nothing wrong with your grammar in the first paragraph. I’d have misspelled several words saying that if not for spellcheck. So speaks I with the math gene, not the English gene.
You can add Sir David Attenborough 97 to that list. Still narrating and producing as of earlier this year.
I’d attribute all good health and longevity to the blueberry.
Oxford, Nova Scotia is Canada's wild blueberry capital, complete with the giant blueberry statue. (I was even photographed hugging it.)