I’ve always welcomed the idea of getting older.
While seeing other people worrying about advancing age — the 30-year-olds included — I always looked forward to getting older — “it’s a part of life, so what the heck”, I thought to myself. “Let’s see what’s out there.” I’m inquisitive — ok, nosy — about what’s around the corner.
When I was a kid—maybe 10 years old—I started The Adventurers’ Club, with kids around my own age on my ‘block’ (street) in Brooklyn. We got permission from our parents to walk together, unsupervised, within a 10-street perimeter, and so we would excitedly yell to each other to look at the birds, houses or flowers we liked. Back at my house, we drew pictures of our experiences, and invited our folks to hear our stories.
Now, at age 84, as the Founder and Executive Director of the Legacy Film Festival on Aging presenting its 11th year of films on Aging, I’m still curious to hear and see other people’s adventures --albeit of growing older, from other places near and far -- stories told to us from the viewpoints of our creative filmmakers.
Personally, there’s one notch of experience most of us never foresaw: the 2020 Covid 19 epidemic. Added to that in 2020, I suffered a stroke that paralyzed part of the left side of my body, and has rendered me permanently unable to navigate walking independently.