Post by dex on Apr 26, 2020 8:22:30 GMT -5
providencejournal-ri.newsmemory.com/
MY TURN
Churchill in his autumn years
By Daniel F. Harrington
These are curious times for the elderly. The pandemic demands their years be magnified and actions restricted. Perhaps a look back at the challenges the great Winston Churchill faced in the autumn of his life might provide some perspective and a few chuckles among those graced with gray.
Firstly, be encouraged. Churchill reached the pinnacle of his career (prime minister of Great Britain) at age 60 and blossomed from there, serving in public life until the age of 84.
Churchill never expected to live long. “It is terrible to think how little time remains,” he said on his 25th birthday! He exercised little, drank heavily, smoked cigars perpetually and ate like a teenager — yet lived to be 91. His secret? He had a few.
Constant activity, particularly in the golden years, was critical. Discovering the muse of painting late in life, he poured himself into the hobby. “Blessed are the painters, for they shall not be lonely,” he memorably said. Many of his works were met with critical acclaim.
He indulged his wanderlust. Churchill frequently visited Sicily, Morocco and the French Riviera. He was the guest of honor on Aristotle Onassis’ yacht Christina some 16 times. He also treasured the camaraderie of pets. At age 80 he was given a parrot named Toby that became his constant companion for six years – until the budgerigar abandoned him in Paris.
He adored his wife, Clementine, and continually exchanged endearing notes with her. “Here is a letter in my own paw,” began one. “Dearest one I place myself at your disposal & intend to take a walk in the park hand in hand,” went another.
He worked. “I make my living by my pen and by my tongue,” he declared, and wrote, edited and lectured throughout his “retirement.”
He exercised his wit. When a colleague belittled him by saying within earshot “the poor fellow can’t understand a thing that’s going on,” Churchill shot back, “Yes, and they say he’s quite deaf, too!” When a reporter asked him in 1960, “What do you think of the prediction that women will rule the world Churchill never expected to live long. “It is terrible to think how little time remains,” he said on his 25th birthday! He exercised little, drank heavily, smoked cigars perpetually and ate like a teenager — yet lived to be 91. His secret? He had a few.
in the year 2000?” Winston replied, “They still will, will they?”
He had his challenges. He soldiered through a series of strokes and a broken hip in his final decade, and like many, felt the strain of his relationships with his adult children: “I love Randolph,” he said of his son, “but I don’t like him.”
His faith and perspective sharpened with age. “An old and failing life going out on the tide after the allotted span has been spent and after most joys have faded is not a cause for human pity,” he reflected. With regard to the Heavenlies he said this: “I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter!”
Finally, a tale for the ages. Not long before he died, Churchill was discovered alone in a room by his private secretary, who observed him gazing into a tank of tropical fish, a hobby Winston cherished his whole life. Undetected, the secretary then heard Churchill softly say to a pretty Black Molly swimming above him: “Darling, I do love you … I would make love to you if only I knew how.”
Churchill’s life beautifully authenticates the platinum axiom revealed by Cary Grant as Dudley the angel in the film “The Bishop’s Wife”: “The only people who grow old were born that way to begin with.”
Tip of the wing, then, to all who find themselves in lonely spaces, who gaze through seas of blurry glass and long to rejoin a world of masked smiles.
Daniel F. Harrington (danielfharrington@ yahoo. com), a monthly contributor, is president of Chartwell Wealth Management in Rumford. Special thanks to Richard M. Langworth CBE.
MY TURN
Churchill in his autumn years
By Daniel F. Harrington
These are curious times for the elderly. The pandemic demands their years be magnified and actions restricted. Perhaps a look back at the challenges the great Winston Churchill faced in the autumn of his life might provide some perspective and a few chuckles among those graced with gray.
Firstly, be encouraged. Churchill reached the pinnacle of his career (prime minister of Great Britain) at age 60 and blossomed from there, serving in public life until the age of 84.
Churchill never expected to live long. “It is terrible to think how little time remains,” he said on his 25th birthday! He exercised little, drank heavily, smoked cigars perpetually and ate like a teenager — yet lived to be 91. His secret? He had a few.
Constant activity, particularly in the golden years, was critical. Discovering the muse of painting late in life, he poured himself into the hobby. “Blessed are the painters, for they shall not be lonely,” he memorably said. Many of his works were met with critical acclaim.
He indulged his wanderlust. Churchill frequently visited Sicily, Morocco and the French Riviera. He was the guest of honor on Aristotle Onassis’ yacht Christina some 16 times. He also treasured the camaraderie of pets. At age 80 he was given a parrot named Toby that became his constant companion for six years – until the budgerigar abandoned him in Paris.
He adored his wife, Clementine, and continually exchanged endearing notes with her. “Here is a letter in my own paw,” began one. “Dearest one I place myself at your disposal & intend to take a walk in the park hand in hand,” went another.
He worked. “I make my living by my pen and by my tongue,” he declared, and wrote, edited and lectured throughout his “retirement.”
He exercised his wit. When a colleague belittled him by saying within earshot “the poor fellow can’t understand a thing that’s going on,” Churchill shot back, “Yes, and they say he’s quite deaf, too!” When a reporter asked him in 1960, “What do you think of the prediction that women will rule the world Churchill never expected to live long. “It is terrible to think how little time remains,” he said on his 25th birthday! He exercised little, drank heavily, smoked cigars perpetually and ate like a teenager — yet lived to be 91. His secret? He had a few.
in the year 2000?” Winston replied, “They still will, will they?”
He had his challenges. He soldiered through a series of strokes and a broken hip in his final decade, and like many, felt the strain of his relationships with his adult children: “I love Randolph,” he said of his son, “but I don’t like him.”
His faith and perspective sharpened with age. “An old and failing life going out on the tide after the allotted span has been spent and after most joys have faded is not a cause for human pity,” he reflected. With regard to the Heavenlies he said this: “I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter!”
Finally, a tale for the ages. Not long before he died, Churchill was discovered alone in a room by his private secretary, who observed him gazing into a tank of tropical fish, a hobby Winston cherished his whole life. Undetected, the secretary then heard Churchill softly say to a pretty Black Molly swimming above him: “Darling, I do love you … I would make love to you if only I knew how.”
Churchill’s life beautifully authenticates the platinum axiom revealed by Cary Grant as Dudley the angel in the film “The Bishop’s Wife”: “The only people who grow old were born that way to begin with.”
Tip of the wing, then, to all who find themselves in lonely spaces, who gaze through seas of blurry glass and long to rejoin a world of masked smiles.
Daniel F. Harrington (danielfharrington@ yahoo. com), a monthly contributor, is president of Chartwell Wealth Management in Rumford. Special thanks to Richard M. Langworth CBE.
