Turning Seventy

 

I might have been in junior high when I started listening to Oliver! This musical adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist was written by Lionel Bart and first produced in England in 1960. That’s according to Wikipedia; you can look up all the details there. I loved the music; I still do. I believe we read the novel in my English class. As a project, I made a diorama of the death of Bill Sykes, using a little six-inch mannequin that was an advertisement for a sleeping aid. Some pharmaceutical company sent it to my dad, the doctor. Believe it or not, I still have Bill hanging in my office.

One of the songs in Oliver! was a lament by Fagin, “I’m Reviewing the Situation.” As the aging criminal/gang leader is thinking of getting out of the crime business, he sings, “What happens when I’m seventy? Must come a time – seventy. When you’re old and it’s cold and who cares if you live or you die.” As a seventh-grader, the idea of being 70 was too remote to be imaginable.

 In the fullness of time, I turned 70 on November 8 this year. I don’t have any real wisdom or pithy thoughts about this, but I did start thinking about other songs that deal with age. Six years ago, I posted the link to the Beatles song, “When I’m Sixty-four” on my Facebook page. That may be the best-ever age-related song. Here are a few others: “It Was a Very Good Year,” by Frank Sinatra. “Hey Nineteen,” by Steely Dan. “On the Edge of Seventeen,” by Stevie Nicks. “At Seventeen,” by Janis Ian. I like all these songs; they’re oldies but goodies.

I Googled “songs with ages in the lyrics.” As it turns out, there are quite a few. Some I’ve heard and do remember: “I’m Eighteen,” by Alice Cooper; “Sweet Little Sixteen,” by Chuck Berry; “You’re Sixteen, You’re Beautiful, and You’re Mine,” by a lot of people. “Sixteen Going on Seventeen,” by Rogers and Hammerstein. And there are tons I have not heard! I might have heard “Fifteen” or “22” by Taylor Swift; maybe not.

I guess I’d have to note that there are a whole lot more songs about people in their teens and twenties; not so many about older folks. Maybe the grim reality of turning 30 takes away all the music.

As I write this, we’re coming to the close of the tumultuous year 2021. My sweet sister Helen passed away in January. The world has staggered under the threat of COVID-19. I am still angry about the January 6 assault on the Capitol. I continue to be bumfuzzled (to say the least) about prevailing beliefs regarding the “stolen election,” the so-called reasons for not getting vaccinated, the polarization of opinions to the point of violence. And then there’s the unending literal violence. I quit listening to the news months ago and limited myself to reading the Dallas Morning News. Nowadays, I have cut that down to the letters to the editor. Everything else makes me depressed and frantic.

On the other hand, my sweet friend Sara beat the hell out of her cancer this year and she’s doing great. We had a baby grandson in August, and learned about a baby granddaughter coming in April. I retired from the church Library, and people sound like they respected what I achieved during my seven years. John and I have made great strides toward downsizing and moving to Plano; we have secured a great apartment we’ll move to in March 2022. I have read more than 100 books and audiobooks this year.

Turning 70 in November felt like an accomplishment. I guess in view of so much tsuris around us in the world today, getting to 70 and feeling good about it is something to celebrate.

On that final note, I hope and pray that YOU may celebrate this year and all the good things around you. Don’t forget: Christmas is about God Almighty Himself breaking through time and space to become human and demonstrate His righteousness, His mercy, and His love. Gloria in excelsis Deo. Come Lord Jesus.