Loved this post. But rejoice, Laurie! Unless they know you've had your second Saturn Return, they can't classify you as an Elder. And if you are, it is a privilege, as it implies 'the wisdom of the elders.' There's some truth to that...I am 75. Inside, you never feel age as my father told me. He was still a teenager (apparent to me and my mother ;)) even though he was 80. But I think the categories need a change because many are getting to live longer than those in the Celtic dark ages. Maiden Mother Crone (Elder, no longer producing offspring) don't cover it. I like Maiden, Mother, Matriarch and Mystic. The last is when they finally stop coming to you with their problems to solve and you get to do your own true thing with more peace.
The wisdom of the matriarchs is real to me, even though the language forces us all into the not/mother polarity. More and more women are stepping into their 50 feet tall selves and saying, No, to … whatever. As Helen Mirren famously said, we should all say fuck off a whole lot more. 🫨
Yes, true! Now we are saying it with actions, too. I've been deep into pre Christian celtic writing a trilogy on the life of the Druid Priestess. Their teaching was seen in the apple, cut across the equator, to reveal the 5 pointed star of the seeds. The white flesh represented the maiden, the red skin the womb of the mother, and the dark seeds, the wisdom of the Crone. We have those cycles (and one more) with or without childbearing...I agree.
I was wondering why I shuddered at "elder." I'm almost 86 and I wake up feeling - not elderly. But old and tired and enthusiastic if the dog is happy and if my writing, which I have time for now and use it, is going well. I'm not wise, and I'm not labelable. I'm also not bored very often. These are the same reasons that keep me from reading "Oldster." (Except, grumpily, if Laurie Stone has a piece in it.) Being my age, and poor, I no longer have to claim I know anything, or say, "I only write for money." I write for me. And read for me. And take a walk and cook dinner . . . and I don't give an aardvark's ass how old you are.
My favorite line: “Get up, schmendrick,” you call out to her, “You’re Ingrid Bergman, you could eat Charles Boyer in one bite and not need to spit out the bones.” Followed by the observations about twelve-year-old girls and little heels.
2. “I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun. I put them on and went out of the room.” ― Raymond Chandler
Using Chandler’s model of “I needed” and “what I had,” create your own two lists and see where it takes you.
Buckets of gratitude for this post--in the category of "I thought it was just me"--when I got tagged "Elder"-and WORSE "Seniors for..." !!!!!! I was unduly prickly. And was doing a bit of stomping around myself. But now, (and thank you!) I'm just laughing.
I’m a former professor of English who had this poster up in my university office for many years, directly opposite my desk so that I could look up at it for inspiration whenever I found myself wading through thickets of turgid scholarly prose or meeting with truculent colleagues. (I think my husband gave it to me for my birthday one year?) I always wished it said “Attack of the 52 foot woman” — I’m 5 foot 2 — but otherwise it was perfect. Thanks for the memory!
This is very entertaining. I got the invitation to the Elder Zoom and had to remember how old I was. It seemed impossible. Because sometimes I'm still the 12 year old. You and Richard are quite the team! 🤩
Laurie, I was also a kid when I saw "The 50 Foot Woman." I think it came out shortly after "The Amzing Colossal Man," which I suspect was made for $5.00 (terrible special effects). But, it's interesting to consider the psychology behind those movies. It was the 50's and the threat of the atomic bomb and what radiation could do to you. Now we have other toxic things to worry about - especially in the state of our union. Thank you for a delightful read.
Thank you for our longing for the space between the soles of our Mary Janes. I'm writing about my 12 year old self right now, and it does involve heels.
It features a clunky old car cell phone as an apparent symbol of how obsolete we "elders" are.
Kamala's campaign has an apparent strategy of dividing people up into identity teams. Stick to your own kind. White dudes. White women. Elders. It's the stay in your lane campaign.
Loved this post. But rejoice, Laurie! Unless they know you've had your second Saturn Return, they can't classify you as an Elder. And if you are, it is a privilege, as it implies 'the wisdom of the elders.' There's some truth to that...I am 75. Inside, you never feel age as my father told me. He was still a teenager (apparent to me and my mother ;)) even though he was 80. But I think the categories need a change because many are getting to live longer than those in the Celtic dark ages. Maiden Mother Crone (Elder, no longer producing offspring) don't cover it. I like Maiden, Mother, Matriarch and Mystic. The last is when they finally stop coming to you with their problems to solve and you get to do your own true thing with more peace.
I don't think "wisdom" is a real thing, and if it is, I promise you I don't have it and hope I never will. xxL
The wisdom of the matriarchs is real to me, even though the language forces us all into the not/mother polarity. More and more women are stepping into their 50 feet tall selves and saying, No, to … whatever. As Helen Mirren famously said, we should all say fuck off a whole lot more. 🫨
Yes, true! Now we are saying it with actions, too. I've been deep into pre Christian celtic writing a trilogy on the life of the Druid Priestess. Their teaching was seen in the apple, cut across the equator, to reveal the 5 pointed star of the seeds. The white flesh represented the maiden, the red skin the womb of the mother, and the dark seeds, the wisdom of the Crone. We have those cycles (and one more) with or without childbearing...I agree.
I was wondering why I shuddered at "elder." I'm almost 86 and I wake up feeling - not elderly. But old and tired and enthusiastic if the dog is happy and if my writing, which I have time for now and use it, is going well. I'm not wise, and I'm not labelable. I'm also not bored very often. These are the same reasons that keep me from reading "Oldster." (Except, grumpily, if Laurie Stone has a piece in it.) Being my age, and poor, I no longer have to claim I know anything, or say, "I only write for money." I write for me. And read for me. And take a walk and cook dinner . . . and I don't give an aardvark's ass how old you are.
Lots of love, comrade. xxL
Blessings, Laurie. You inspire and delight me.
Same! There’s a different number people put on me but who cares?
This sounds wise to me, sorry.
My favorite line: “Get up, schmendrick,” you call out to her, “You’re Ingrid Bergman, you could eat Charles Boyer in one bite and not need to spit out the bones.” Followed by the observations about twelve-year-old girls and little heels.
This is a great prompt!
2. “I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun. I put them on and went out of the room.” ― Raymond Chandler
Using Chandler’s model of “I needed” and “what I had,” create your own two lists and see where it takes you.
Buckets of gratitude for this post--in the category of "I thought it was just me"--when I got tagged "Elder"-and WORSE "Seniors for..." !!!!!! I was unduly prickly. And was doing a bit of stomping around myself. But now, (and thank you!) I'm just laughing.
There is no such thing as "unduly prickly." xxL
😁!!!
I’m a former professor of English who had this poster up in my university office for many years, directly opposite my desk so that I could look up at it for inspiration whenever I found myself wading through thickets of turgid scholarly prose or meeting with truculent colleagues. (I think my husband gave it to me for my birthday one year?) I always wished it said “Attack of the 52 foot woman” — I’m 5 foot 2 — but otherwise it was perfect. Thanks for the memory!
I love this!
This is very entertaining. I got the invitation to the Elder Zoom and had to remember how old I was. It seemed impossible. Because sometimes I'm still the 12 year old. You and Richard are quite the team! 🤩
Thanks!
Laurie, I was also a kid when I saw "The 50 Foot Woman." I think it came out shortly after "The Amzing Colossal Man," which I suspect was made for $5.00 (terrible special effects). But, it's interesting to consider the psychology behind those movies. It was the 50's and the threat of the atomic bomb and what radiation could do to you. Now we have other toxic things to worry about - especially in the state of our union. Thank you for a delightful read.
Love the idea of being a 50-foot woman! Time to stomp around the office and shake things up a bit 😉
Loved this! I chuckled. I understood. I felt it in my 56 year old bones.
Love Ingrid! Just read The Big Sleep, another Raymond Chandler feast of great sentences.
Thank you for our longing for the space between the soles of our Mary Janes. I'm writing about my 12 year old self right now, and it does involve heels.
Here is the link to this grotesquely condescending event. https://thirdact.org/events/elders-for-kamala/?fbclid=IwY2xjawEdDL1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHTkCtoCd3i6sFvKfqwzcX9uXPwkUX6ZtkoHDd5BIipObyOP9JHSZ6tw-DQ_aem_sFWZq1yF66zCUd8xaCvwag
It features a clunky old car cell phone as an apparent symbol of how obsolete we "elders" are.
Kamala's campaign has an apparent strategy of dividing people up into identity teams. Stick to your own kind. White dudes. White women. Elders. It's the stay in your lane campaign.