On aging…Part 1

Growing old gracefully. No easy task, but manageable—dare I say it, even joyful. At least up to this point.

I turned __ on July 4. One of my old mates from High School wished me a happy birthday with a couple of pics from way back. I’ve included them at the end of this stack if you’re at all curious.

Anyway, he got me thinking about past birthdays and how cool it was to be born on Independence Day. (America 250: Happy Birthday to the greatest experiment in liberty and freedom in the history of our world, btw.) I dialed into the “Way-Back Machine”—remember—Mr. Peabody on the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show—to the 1950s. Our family came together every Fourth of July at Centinela Park in LA to watch fireworks and celebrate…well…me!

If you lived in Southern California in the 1950s or ‘60s, you might’ve tuned into Sheriff John’s Lunch Brigade, a beloved kid’s show. John Rovick, the show’s host on KTTV from 1952 to 1970, would pick as many as 100 kids’ names submitted by parents who were celebrating their birthdays that day.

Sheriff John would wish them a Happy Birthday and sing “The Birthday Party Polka.”

“Put another candle on my birthday cake, my birthday cake, my birthday cake. Put another candle on my birthday cake, I’m another year-old today…”

I used to love this. Take a listen:

I’m another year old, indeed. I remember when my mother was my current age, she’d come out from the bathroom and say, “Mikie, I look in the mirror, and I don’t recognize the person who’s staring back. But I feel the same inside as I did when I was eighteen.” Well, I didn’t then, but now I understand all too well the physical representation of the years that have passed without my permission.

Another old friend texted on my birthday with a simple question: “What happened to us?”

That’s simple. Many more years have passed than we have ahead of us.

Perhaps you’re at the same stage as Karen and me. Or maybe you’re really just getting started—building a family, a career, a future.

As I look toward that future, I’m actually much more comfortable in my skin than I used to be. Even though, like my mother, I’m a little flummoxed by who’s staring back at me in the mirror.

Like everyone, life has thrown us some curve balls.

A huge breaking ball: we’ve had contact with our 45-year-old daughter only three times in the last 15 years. A huge sadness in our lives.

Another: After a very successful corporate career, I’ve pursued my life’s dream to become a novelist. I LOVE WRITING historical fiction! But…

I’ve yet to land a book on the New York Times Best Seller List or have one of my books recommended by Oprah Winfrey.

I keep reminding myself…there’s still time!

But in the meantime, Karen and I seek after joy every day we are blessed to live.

King Solomon, purported to be the “wisest man who ever lived,” is thought to have written the Old Testament book called Ecclesiastes. This, and two other books by Solomon, is considered “wisdom literature.”

In Ecclesiastes, he takes 12 chapters to review his life’s pursuits and grand achievements and calls them “…meaningless…like chasing after the wind.” We might use the old colloquialism, “Here today, gone tomorrow.” Then he makes an interesting distinction.

Everything “under the sun…” is pure vanity.

So…what? We shouldn’t strive in this life?

King Sol would say, root your pursuits over the sun and they will have great value.

I want to finish well. To grow in wisdom instead of merely growing older. To love Karen more deeply. To serve the people God has placed in my life with the same grace He’s given me. To write stories that matter. To leave behind something more valuable than another birthday.

How do we make sense of this world and finish well? That’s what occupies my thoughts these days. Perhaps you’re asking the same questions.

If so, maybe Solomon still has something to teach us.

What privilege it is to be alive in America today—and, by God’s grace, to have another candle on the cake.

(P.S. If you’re curious about the historical novels I’ve been writing in retirement, you can find them by searching “Mike H. Mizrahi” on Amazon.com)

By the way…I turned 75 on our nation’s 250th birthday.

A group of seven young adults, some smiling and hugging, pose outdoors. One person is holding a guitar. The image appears faded and vintage, with greenery in the background.
Two young men sit in a wood-paneled room; one plays a guitar while the other smiles at the camera. There is a lamp, a dresser with decorations, and an old TV in the background.
Three people sit at an outdoor table eating and drinking. They appear to be at a casual gathering or picnic. There is food, plates, and soda cans, including 7UP, on the table. Other people are in the background.