Done with Panache!

Longevity... a long life, a long individual life, there's something to be said for longevity. Although for some reason, we tend to celebrate those who get cut down, or cut themselves down early. Think James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Ian Curtis, Kurt Cobain, David Foster Wallace, Jim Morrison, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Holly, Nick Drake, Heath Ledger, etc.  There's nothing quite like a young dead rock star, or dead young movie star. We remember their youth, we lament their lost potential, we romanticize their short lives, and give them some kind of immortal status, just because we remember them.

But there is something to be said for living a long life. If you are an individual, it's kind of appealing to do your best to maximize your years. Now, maybe longevity is really a matter of good luck, or good genes, or being cautious and timid. Or, well, we really don't know.  Why does someone die early, and someone else live into a ripe old age? I mean, we can come up with a million reasons, stray bullets, cancerous cells, pure bad luck... but does that really explain why someone gets cut short, and someone else doesn't?

And how many of us really want to be old and decrepit? I mean who wants to be frail, lame, creaky, hooked to a ventilator, clinging to a life with all their might?  

There is a guy in our neighborhood, an Asian guy, he's 80 years old. He looks like he could be in his 50's, he's slender as a reed, he has snow-white hair, but he's limber, bright, alert, full of energy. He is a long-distance bike-rider. I was talking to him a couple days ago, we were sitting at a coffee shop, he had just completed a 35 mile bike ride. This guy is my new hero. I mean, hell, he's 80 and he's more fit than people I know in their 20's, 30's or 40's. And he has a style, a grace, a gravity. Yes, longevity, done with panache. It can be done.  Remarkable...!