The Provocateur
I’ve emphasized this a few times in newsletters before, but there’s a reason our generation is restless and so different from the ones that have preceded ours. I really believe it has something to do with growing up in the 60s and 70s, which produced a striking number of cultural transformers. Folks like Bowie and Jagger, like Grace Jones and Patti Smith.
Or, in the case of writer and comedian Annabelle Gurwitch, the Ramones, who came to Ft. Lauderdale in the late 1970s and blew her mind.
“Even as a teenager I knew the music was really about something else, it was challenging social norms,” she says. “I’m really trying to challenge ideas and one of the ways I’m doing that is by embracing this age.”
Because of the career she’s fashioned on TV and in film, and as an NPR commentator, her platform is a more public one than most. She’s addressed aging on the stage as a comedian, and in writing in books like I See You Made an Effort in 2014 and her newest,Wherever You Go, There They Are. Gurwitch’s message is quite simple: Things change; we’re all getting older (her rheumatologist referred to her recent arthritic diagnosis as “old lady hands”), but what are we going to do about it?
“If I did get a tattoo, I would get it right under my C-section and it would read ‘Under New Management’,” she says. “Things have changed—everywhere—but that doesn’t mean I’m not still throwing down the gauntlet and having a better life than I’ve ever had. I have a chance at this point of my life to fail even bigger than I’ve failed.”
She refers to it as “aging with a vengeance.” It involves her working harder, and in a more focused way. She mentors younger writing students, for example. And she maintains her thirst for new music and listening to the same bands her son listens to—which drives him crazy.
“But I got him an internship at a PR company that represents the bands he likes,” she says. “So, YAY mom.”
And as someone with a gift for words and their expression, she’s very particular about one she won’t use. “The idea of retirement is so completely anathema to me,” she says. “With my work, what I’m always hoping to do is be useful to society and to contribute and reflect the personal into a greater cultural zeitgeist. And I don’t see an end for that.”
We certainly hope not.
Annabelle’s new book is out April 18th, and she has an extensive tour coming up that you can learn about here. She would love to meet as many AGEIST followers as she can, so check out her show, and say hi afterwards. She is one very funny woman.
The ideas expressed here are solely the opinions of the author and are not researched or verified by AGEIST LLC, or anyone associated with AGEIST LLC. This material should not be construed as medical advice or recommendation, it is for informational use only. We encourage all readers to discuss with your qualified practitioners the relevance of the application of any of these ideas to your life. The recommendations contained herein are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. You should always consult your physician or other qualified health provider before starting any new treatment or stopping any treatment that has been prescribed for you by your physician or other qualified health provider. Please call your doctor or 911 immediately if you think you may have a medical or psychiatric emergency.