There's a fantastic article in this month's AARP magazine. What a pity you can't hear me chuckling aloud, as I write. When the first suggestion that I join came by mail at the "youthful" age of fifty-two, I was outraged. Tossed it in the trash and never looked back. Well, that is till I hit my sixties.
Now, with seventy in the not-too-distant future, I'm lovin' their cover stories with the likes of R.R. SuperStar (Robert Redford) and Bob Dylan, to name just a couple. Hey, 'tis good company I'm growing old with, wouldn't you agree? See for yourself, in this (link) fabulous interview with Mr. Dylan, whose profound poetry owns a huge part of my music library, along with you-know-who-else. Read what he has to say about past life, current existence, aging towards the future and music. Here's a sampling:
Interesting comments from Mr. Dylan, often realistic and applicable. But STILL, I'm passionate. I have to be…
Consider Uncle Neil, a little family reference here. Please understand, I was teased mercilessly about my fan-ship, back in the day. Even after my boys enjoyed a couple live concerts with us, circa 1980-something, they couldn't stop about Uncle Neil. Admittedly, they are in good-natured disbelief that we're STILL traveling long distances to see Unc in concert. But they are happy for us. Unlike some disgruntled fans who seem to have nothing better to do than complain…
If ever there was a disgraceful fan board, his is it. Sadly, the naysayers have taken comment-control and want the energy of the seventies back for his current world tour, even though many say they're not attending. They want longer, cheaper concerts. They want smaller venues. In the next breath, they want huge, packed arenas. They practically demand setlist changes. They want personal choices. "Where does he come off singing this or that?" Jeesh… cut the guy a break...
Not that he needs defending. He's a success story STILL in the making, at seventy-four years old, long qualifying for AARP. :-) It's a miracle he's not sitting on a couch, croonin' his tunes from a home studio, rather than embarking on yet another tour. So what if he chooses songs according to what he's comfy with. Why complain, Fans? If you don't like it, stay home. But, please don't disparage the man, after all he's contributed to the soundtracks of our lives. That hurts. STILL, here's what I say:
As one ages, life has a way of becoming one big "Used to..." You know - "I used to do this or that." In my own case, I used to alpine ski all day long and then come home, change and go out for a five-mile jog. Yep, the good ole days. With that in mind, consider ND. His operative word? We've heard it in concert many, many times. You know it.
STILL. At 74. STILL.
