POMPANO BEACH, FL—Moments after successfully sending her first text message from her new smartphone Tuesday, 75-year-old Eleanor Brodeson is said to have felt immense relief at the knowledge she had surmounted the final technological advancement of her lifetime. “Oh, there, I think I’ve got it,” said Brodeson, who, after investing considerable time and mental energy learning how to use a new cable remote, multiple touchscreen devices, her car’s keyless ignition system, and various versions of Windows over the past decade, reportedly felt a deep serenity and contentment at realizing she could coast through the rest of her days without having to absorb any new technological skills or master any more gadgets. “I just press ‘send’ and then I’m finished, right? That’s it? Wonderful.” At press time, Brodeson was locked out of her phone.

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Until I retired. Then I said, “the hell with it”. And I realized I didn’t owe anybody anything, that I had pretty much done everything I needed to do, and most of what I wanted. I was reasonably secure and in pretty good shape. I didn’t have to wait any more. I also realized it wouldn’t last forever because sure enough, sooner or later the other shoe always drops, for everybody.

Do I regret anything? Sure, I’m not married to a 20 year old leggy Vegas showgirl, I don’t have a home observatory or a blue water yacht, but other than that, I’m doing OK.

Life is good. I live like Pharaoh.

Here’s the trick. You need to recognize each phase when it happens. If you don’t realize that you’ve reached contentment, you’ll never be able to appreciate it.

It ain’t easy, folks, this movement from one phase to another. But when it happens, take a breath, and realize that you change, people change, and what you want changes.

It’s pretty cool once you get there.

The only thing you have to worry about is all the stupid and mean things you did when you were younger and didn’t know any better.

“Stupid” can be forgiven. “Mean” cannot.

I am slowing down and listening to what my experiences really have to say.

Isn’t this what getting older means?

But you’re lucky. You can blame The System. I have no one to blame but myself.

“Harvest” had just come out. I was, coincidentally,

twenty- four years old.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYUgGs9IStY

After that, for a while I followed the path of least resistance, doing that which may have not held much interest for me but which did pay the bills.

Then I started doing what was interesting, trying to be the best I could at it, and did very well. And I can say the last 20 or 25 years I would have paid to do what I was doing.

And now, as I get older, I find myself having to struggle to maintain an interest in very much. I think the reason is that my concentration span is fading, which almost rules out new things, and the older things I’ve learned are quite enough, thank you.

I have a couple of friends with whom I maintain a close contact, one a magazine editor and fishing guide and the other a defense attorney who specializes in capital cases. I enjoy kibitzing to the extent I can, and following their progress and problems to the extent I can.

And many things take too much energy anymore for what I get out of them.

As I got older I learned to like what I was doing, a conscious effort which yielded positive results.

Your point’s a good one though. In pretty much every organization I’ve ever been part of, you couldn’t swing a coffeemaker without hitting someone’s agenda. The most bitterly political organization I’ve ever seen from the inside: a hospital.