Bob Burnett: Turning 72


On Feb 8 we incited 72. Which doesn’t seem like a large deal, yet we remember that my father and grandfather were still operative when they were 72. In 1957 my grandfather was doing a books for a family business in Newport Beach, California. He didn’t demeanour aged yet he dressed aged – he typically wore fibre ties and a plaid shirt that didn’t compare his plaid sports coupler — and he changed slowly, as if he was in consistent fear of falling. When my father was 72, in 1983, he was offered genuine estate in Morro Bay. He didn’t demeanour aged either, yet he was starting to delayed down, by that time he had survived dual critical heart attacks.

Like my father and grandfather we demeanour younger than my age. But we have a oppulance of not operative and we am physically some-more active than they were. we don’t consider my 72 is as aged as theirs.

I demeanour like my grandfather, that doesn’t disturb me since we didn’t like him really much. Harry Izenour was a peremptory Republican, a Nixon supporter, and a male that didn’t aspect opposite opinions. My fast memories of him are warnings of a comrade threat and, after a exhilarated domestic discussion, his branch off his conference aide.

My father and grandfather were sell merchants who owned their possess businesses. They came from a “keep your nose to a grindstone and your shoulder to a wheel” propagandize of American morality. “Treat others sincerely and they will provide we fairly.” They believed in a Horatio Alger speculation of American life, “If we work hard, we can turn whatever we want; arise as distant as we want.”

In many ways, my life has been a perfection of their dreams. This is utterly loyal of my father, who was really unapproachable of what we achieved in a Silicon Valley – even if he didn’t always know what we was doing.

But we are opposite in several ways. we am most some-more political, partially since we done a time to be an activist. we am a child of a sixties and we am constantly indignant that women, people of color, a poor, gays and lesbians, folks with disabilities, and many others, don’t have a same privileges that white group are accustomed to. we trust that a democracy is threatened by fascism. My grandfather was fearful by communists; we fear Republicans.

If we let myself, we could be indignant all a time. I’ve schooled to be clever what we write about and occasionally write on certain topics (such as Israel and a Palestinians) since if we did we would maintain resentment. we select not to be indignant any day. (That’s one of a changes in my life: I’m not as indignant as we once was.)

There’s another disproportion between me and my father and grandfather. we have a some-more grown clarity that we should live one day during a time. I’m most some-more endangered about vital in a benefaction moment. (I’m not certain my grandfather ever deliberate this.)

Being a Quaker has helped me concentration on being here, now. So has my wife, Kathy. Years ago, we saw Thich Nhat Hahn pronounce to a tiny entertainment in Santa Cruz. He had a companion, Sister Pho, whose shortcoming was to ring “the bell of mindfulness” and move Hahn behind to a benefaction moment. Kathy serves a identical duty in my life; she gets my courtesy and brings me behind to a benefaction moment.

For Christmas we got an Australian Shepherd puppy, Milou; a intelligent dog that requires a lot of exercise. We take dual prolonged walks any day. It’s given me a new appreciation for, and viewpoint on, Berkeley. I’ve never been to a internal park during 9:30 during night and seen a full moon beyond and listened a raccoons rustling in a ivy (and had a puppy run to me for protection). Milou has helped me to be in a benefaction impulse and conclude that we live in dual pleasing places.

Music also helps. That’s another disproportion between me and my father and grandfather. Since a fifties I’ve desired listening to song of all kinds. Blues. Jazz. Rock. Americana. Music kept me grounded and alive.

When my grandfather was 72, he suspicion his life was over. Even yet he lived another dozen years, he diminished. When my father was 72, he began to fear that his life would be over before he had done arrangements for my mother, a formidable person. Amazingly, he lived another twenty-one years and died 4 years after my mother.

Now we am 72. Unlike my father and grandfather, we don’t consider my life is over or that we am starting a prolonged decline. we design to live utterly awhile longer yet we comprehend this final theatre is not about longevity so most as peculiarity of life. So we have come to conclude certain things that urge a peculiarity of my life:

Daily exercise
Living in a benefaction moment
Loving family and friends
Writing
Staying intent in politics
Listening to music
Working on a nation property
Recognizing how sanctified we have been
Loving Kathy

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