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The
Virtues of Aging |
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- We are not alone in our
worry about both the physical aspect of aging and the prejudice
that exists toward the elderly, which is similar to racism or
sexism.
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- What makes it different
is that the prejudice also exists among those of us who are either
within this group or rapidly approaching it.
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- When I have mentioned
the title of this book to a few people, most of them responded,
'Virtues? What could possibly be good about growing old ?'
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- The most obvious answer,
of course, is to consider the alternative to aging.
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- But there are plenty
of other good answers--many based on our personal experiences
and observations.
by Jimmy Carter
Former (39th) President
of the United States
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LARGE PRINT
Paperback
ISBN:
0375704604
160 pages
Pub 10/98
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Paperback
ISBN:
0345425928
140 pages
Pub 10/98
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Hardcover
ISBN:
0345428269
140 pages
Pub 11/98
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Audio
Cassette(s)
ISBN:
0787117994
Unabridged
Pub 10/98
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Excerpt
Even before leaving the White House, Rosalynn and I received
a notice from the American Association of Retired Persons that
we were qualified for membership, but we considered ourselves
too young to face the stigma of senior citizenship.
However, once back in Plains the point
was to be driven home most firmly and clearly.
We live 120 miles south of Atlanta and
habitually drive back and forth to The Carter Center and to Emory
University, where I am a professor.
One morning we left our house quite early
and stopped to eat breakfast in Thomaston, Georgia, about halfway
to Atlanta.
There were four of us in the car, and
we all ordered about the same thing. But when the waitress brought
my bill, I noticed that it was less than the others.
Perhaps seeking credit for being an honest
customer, I called her back and began to tell her that she had
made a mistake. An older farmer, dressed in overalls, was sitting
at a nearby table and apparently overheard my conversation. He
looked over at us and called out in a loud voice,
"Your bill ain't no mistake, Mr.
President. Before eight o'clock they give free coffee to senior
citizens."
A wave of laughter began at our table,
and it still resonated through the restaurant as I paid my bill
and hurried back to the car.
For several weeks afterward, every time
we approached Thomaston I knew that someone would say, "Why
don't we stop here for breakfast? There's free coffee for some
of us!"
In the years since returning home, Rosalynn
and I have been through some severe tests and have struggled
to find the best way to retain our self-confidence, evolve and
interesting and challenging life, and build better relations
with other people. As we've grown older the results have been
surprisingly good.
The first time I fully realized how much our lives had changed
was when I approached my seventieth birthday. In one of her hourlong
special interviews, Barbara Walters covered all the aspects of
my life, from the farm to submarienes, from business to the governor's
mansion, service in the White House, and from president back
home to Plains. Then she asked me a question that required some
serious thought: "Mr. President, you have had a number of
exciting and challenging careers. What have been your best years?"
After a few moments I responded with absolute certainty: "Now is
the best time of all." She was surprised, and asked, "Why?"
I fumbled with some thoughts about time for reflection, spending
more time with my family, and a chance to correct some of my
former errors. Afterward I realized how inadequate my glib, thirty-second
answer had been, and I discussed with Rosalynn how profoundly
different--and pleasant--was the reality of our senior years.
This book is my expanded attempt, based on our personal experiences,
to answer that question--to describe, in effect, the virtues
of aging.
It is clear that in some ways Rosalynn
and I are not typical, having been the First Family of a great
nation, a special status that cuts both ways, with benefits and liabilities.
But in almost every aspect of life, our challenges have been
similar to those of tens of millions of families who face the
later years with a mixture of problems and opportunities, doubts
and anticipation, despair and hope. We've had to address a common
question: How could we ensure that our retired years would be
happy, and maybe even productive?
Excerpted from The Virtues of Aging by Jimmy
Carter. Copyright© 1998 by Jimmy Carter. Excerpted by permission
of Library of Contemporary Thought, a division of Random House,
Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced
or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Author Biography
Jimmy Carter (James
Earl Carter, Jr.), thirty-ninth president of the United States,
is the author of thirteen previous books. In 1982 he became University
Distinguished Professor at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia,
and founded The Carter Center, which addresses national and international
issues of public policy and attempts to promote democracy, protect
human rights, and prevent disease and other afflictions. In 1991,
President Carter launched The Atlanta Project (TAP), a communitywide
effort to attack the social problems associated with poverty.
He also teaches Sunday school and is a deacon in the Maranatha
Baptist Church of Plains. For recreation, he enjoys fly-fishing,
woodworking, jogging, cycling, tennis, and skiing.
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