This has nothing to do with Italy or France. It’s just a musing of mine on this post-election morning.
Today, as happens on many days, I looked in the mirror only to realize that I’m one day older. This aging thing—let’s call it ongoing maturation—is a constant, and it does encourage one to look for examples of how it might be done with more grace and meaning.
Since 2005, when Janet Champ and I wrote and published our book on aging, Ripe, I’ve been “collecting” women I admire. I bring them into myself by drawing them in their older age. Then, I tuck them into the back of my head, and pull them out when the occasion calls for support. Politicians have their lawyers. I have my secret army of smart females. Since Obama was supported largely by women, I thought I would ask some members of my supporting, advance team to give him some advice on the years ahead. This is what they had to say:
Toni Morrison on holding office: “As you enter positions of trust and power, dream a little before you think.”
Jane Goodall on negotiation: “Change happens by listening and then starting a dialogue with the people who are doing something you don’t believe is right.”
Josephine Baker on foreign policy: “I like Frenchmen very much, because even when they insult you they do it so nicely.”
Susan Sontag on climate change: “Anything in history or nature that can be described as changing steadily can be seen as heading toward catastrophe.”
Julia Child on delivering the State of the Union address: “Drama is very important in life: You have to come on with a bang. You never want to go out with a whimper. Everything can have drama if it’s done right. Even a pancake.”
Diana Vreeland on style and the veto: “Elegance is innate. It has nothing to do with being well dressed. Elegance is refusal.”
The Daily Cure 
What happened to your post? It disappeared!
I don’t know! Try again! I noticed something weird when I was writing it, too. I published it. Then I saw something I needed to edit, so I did that. But it showed up as not-yet published (which is weird), so I published it again. Please let me know if you can see it now?
It’s here and it’s good – thanks!
Thanks Janette! How are you? Any trips to Italy in your future? Don’t want to miss you next time…
Not anything planned – yet. Just got back from almost a month in India and am recuperating from that and busy sorting through 2500 photos!
Wil you post them online somewhere? I’d love to see them. Your photos of Italy were beautiful. Oh! Would you be up for a guest post now and then on this blog? I’d love it if you’d consider it…just based on your memories of being here, picking a topic, publishing some of your images,etc.
I will be posting the photos of India and I’ll let you know when they are up. Seriously, I did take 2,500! Every moment seemed like it belonged on the pages of National Geographic.
I would love to share some of my Italy memories and photos, but I am not a writer!
being the president is a job that seems to accelerate aging. be glad you’re not the president. i am. though i think you’d be a GREAT president.
I would be a shitty president, but thanks anyway!
I think the president would really enjoy this!
Maybe he would….hmmmm, that gets the wheels turning…Thanks! (I just read your pumpkin blog. I loved it. I’m going to read it to my children.)
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