tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3615090486175644658.post1545307832352169570..comments2023-10-25T06:19:20.288-07:00Comments on A Walker in the City: Writings by Peter Anastas: Becoming an Old Man: Thoughts on Turning Seventy-SevenPeter Anastashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372139385565530486noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3615090486175644658.post-88140238528104624172014-11-07T10:31:11.347-08:002014-11-07T10:31:11.347-08:00Leonard Creo! How great to hear from you after al...Leonard Creo! How great to hear from you after all these years! I've thought about you so many times. I do remember the C melody clarinet, swapped for your old car, which my brother and I tooled around Rocky Neck in all during that summer of 1959. And how hospitable you were to me in Rome during those incredible years we were in Italy. I loved the film about you, your walking and your art. Those Manchester U students did a beautiful job. The minute I heard your voice I knew it was you. I'm back in Gloucester. It's not the same as during those halcyon Rocky Neck years, but there is still much of the old character left to enjoy and write about. Tanti auguri PietroPeter Anastashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08372139385565530486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3615090486175644658.post-56485593281362206892014-11-02T10:09:40.548-08:002014-11-02T10:09:40.548-08:00Search your Gloucester memories and if you find a ...Search your Gloucester memories and if you find a c melody clarinet..... that will be me.<br />Still painting....and happy to find you still writing.<br />Enourmously enjoyed your essay. Increasingly aware of the subject.<br />Two years ago got hooked into a Video , Google :CREO DOCUMENTARY .<br />..only because as a Painter I can only paint it or talk it ...and these students from Manchester University happened to film it.<br />The magic , wonder and great satisfaction is that I am still painting and you, dear Peter , are still writing.<br />walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10582962475491303546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3615090486175644658.post-77471751703231951592014-10-26T15:38:16.290-07:002014-10-26T15:38:16.290-07:00The fear of aging brings deeper, more existential ...The fear of aging brings deeper, more existential worries, less about my physical wellbeing and more about mortality. I worry not so much about dying as about not being able to complete my work through debility. I’m haunted by the books I have not yet read and I’m equally fearful about those I still want to write. How is it that the life of my mind has come into such focus as I never experienced when I was younger? Is it true that the fear of death concentrates one’s attention?<br />--Peter Anastas<br /><br />We have done lots of things, liberating time and energy:<br /><br />conquered the cravings for chocolate which visited every month<br />no more cake baking<br />no more energy spent in regret and digestion<br /><br />resolved depression<br />after years seeking the right pill and the right doctor<br />perhaps having waited for the invention of the medication that works<br />no more hours spent at my best friend's, suffering and commiserating<br /><br />let go of helping others <br />probably our parents have passed <br />probably our children have moved on<br /><br />stabilized our living situations<br />moved to our final home<br />paid the mortgage<br /><br /> found a spiritual path that satisfies<br /> let go of Catholicism<br />delighted in Zen and found its rules distasteful<br /> delighted in the I CHING, absorbed the behavior I cling to, and moved on to<br /> TAO, which finally makes sense, after years of effort and previous studies, to a point at which I can save considerable energy and stress by LIVING TAO every day by<br /> accepting situations I cannot affect<br /> not fussing about other people's behavior <br /> slowing down to notice nature<br /> thinking such thoughts as:<br /> the slow driver ahead of me may not feel well, <br /> have a car full of noise,<br /> need her cell phone for an emergency, <br /> be saving us both from an accident we would encounter if driving faster<br /><br />So in old age we have more time, energy, and freedom from unresolved issues. We can focus our minds more satisfactorily and can appreciate our gains. As a ninety-nine year old friend remarked: "Staying alive is a lot of work!"<br /><br />Melissa de Haan Cummings<br />26 October 2014<br />6:00-6:30 p mAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04522802905177023452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3615090486175644658.post-67903896911385306822014-10-25T10:53:53.644-07:002014-10-25T10:53:53.644-07:00TO PNA: ON AGING
Your essay turned me on. mainly...TO PNA: ON AGING<br /><br />Your essay turned me on. mainly because of how we differ in our mid-seventies.<br /><br />Physically, I feel sorry about the wrinkles and the sagging triceps and belly. But, spending four hours a day at exercise, hatha yoga! and physical therapy to minimize spreading arthritic impingements at the dominant shoulder muscle, the cervical and thoracic spines, and a tight right piriformis, I do muse upon the amazement of the Tufts medical students who cut open the old skin to discover the body of a teenager! I ascribe this to forty-five years of yoga, ever grateful to the childhood friend who lent me her 33rpm record and took me to my first group of classes at the Central Square, Cambridge, YMCA, taught by a BU student who grew up in Nepal watching his mum meditate at 4:30 in the mornings.<br /><br />Otherwise, I hope to prolong this happy place with endless exercise, tennis doubles, enjoyment of my two grandsons, now eight and seven, study of the Tao, walks through Lane's Cove where I chat and laugh with those who love it, walks in Dogtown, endless hours in the warm sun on the rocks at the cove, writing about the amusing people in my life, and discovering new writing through Peter. <br /><br />These mid-seventies are the most peaceful years of my life. They began shortly after college, when a friend asked me who I was. startled by the question! I replied: "A girl from Cambridge, Massachusetts. Who are you?" She stated: "Nancy Rapport." Amazed, I began the search to define myself, afraid that the inside was a black, hollow emptIness. I began to discard occupations that would interfere with the search for who I was inside. I began to write my history, then to write poems when they demanded my attention. I read voraciously trying to discover what "real" people did and thought during times of emptiness. Gradually, character and definition arrived. Today I no longer strive to be or do more than take each day as it is, taoistically, and be who I am, nevermind the mood or display of self. Accepting the mood or display, happy to be able to identify it. I do ask myself what I really feel in order to accept it, not try to force it into something else. The beauty of Tao. Grateful to have left behind times of stress and failure, although the failures do still hurt.<br /><br />Thank you for generating these thoughts through your thoughts.<br /><br />25 October 2014<br />9:00-11:00 a m<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04522802905177023452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3615090486175644658.post-65686079147623353632014-10-25T06:34:06.638-07:002014-10-25T06:34:06.638-07:00ON AGING
Your essay turned me on. mainly because ...ON AGING<br /><br />Your essay turned me on. mainly because of how we differ in our mid-seventies.<br /><br />Physically, I feel sorry about the wrinkles and the sagging triceps and belly. But, spending four hours a day at exercise, hatha yoga! and physical therapy to minimize spreading arthritic impingements at the dominant shoulder muscle, the cervical and thoracic spines, and a tight right piriformis, I do muse upon the amazement of the Tufts medical students who cut open the old skin to discover the body of a teenager! I ascribe this to forty-five years of yoga, ever grateful to the childhood friend who lent me her 33rpm record and took me to my first group of classes at the Central Square, Cambridge, YMCA, taught by a BU student who grew up in Nepal watching his mum meditate at 4:30 in the mornings.<br /><br />Otherwise, I hope to prolong this happy place with endless exercise, tennis doubles, enjoyment of my two grandsons, now eight and seven, study of the Tao, walks through Lane's Cove where I chat and laugh with those who love it, walks in Dogtown, endless hours in the warm sun on the rocks at the cove, writing about the amusing people in my life, and discovering new writing through Peter. <br /><br />These mid-seventies are the most peaceful years of my life. I no longer strive to be or do something admirable to the world..just take each day as it is, taoistically and be what seems admirable to me, which is who I am, nevermind the mood or display of self. Accepting the mood or display, happy to be able to identify it. I do ask myself what I really feel in order to accept it, not try to force it into something else.<br />The beauty of the Tao. Grateful to have left behind times of stress and failure, although the failures do still hurt.<br /><br />Thank you for generating these thoughts through your thoughts.<br /><br />25 October 2014<br />9:00 a mAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04522802905177023452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3615090486175644658.post-504377872912959662014-10-24T15:59:44.248-07:002014-10-24T15:59:44.248-07:00Dear Friends, I greatly appreciate your thoughtful...Dear Friends, I greatly appreciate your thoughtful responses. I hesitated before posting this essay, but I am glad that I overcame my fears.Peter Anastashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08372139385565530486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3615090486175644658.post-54214453716890456352014-10-24T15:07:55.676-07:002014-10-24T15:07:55.676-07:00interested in your idea that writing helps us find...interested in your idea that writing helps us find out who we are becoming..the great urge to write precedes our becoming..wouldn't you think the oooosite would reflect reality? A fabulous piece, P! Thank you for sharing that with us.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04522802905177023452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3615090486175644658.post-36427622037145590602014-10-24T07:48:01.325-07:002014-10-24T07:48:01.325-07:00Peter, I'm pleased you took the time to unfold...Peter, I'm pleased you took the time to unfold the concerns you have as you grow older, and in such a beautiful way. I know they are unique to you, in many ways. The words you want immediate access to may not be the same words I stumble for. But I do find good solace in this lovely piece because it does summon a sense of community — those I know and respect also engaged in this complicated process. Thank you all, and, especially Peter.Rae Padilla Francoeurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12947478286024083573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3615090486175644658.post-61827937820250472832014-10-23T18:45:49.838-07:002014-10-23T18:45:49.838-07:00Thank you, Peter. That was a lovely piece. I joshe...Thank you, Peter. That was a lovely piece. I joshed you about being aghast at approaching 77, but I did too then. Now I'm 81, and 77 seems like spry youth. But I take pleasure in all the things that Joy and I can still do, and don't worry greatly about the ones -- like riding a bicycle, for instance, that no longer seem wise. And I know, to my dismay, that I'll never own another boat -- but know too, that I am happy to be liberated from all the chores and anxiety that go with having one. I do seem to read too many books about aging and how to cope with it, but still think I do so to give encouragement to others who fear the grim reaper more than I. I'm so glad another book is on the way. My Anastas shelf is looking quite respectably populated these days, and it's gratifying to know another installment is on the way. Write on!Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14696171315051272361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3615090486175644658.post-42767486725014884952014-10-23T17:43:25.946-07:002014-10-23T17:43:25.946-07:00Thanks, Lois. This is why we write.Thanks, Lois. This is why we write.Peter Anastashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08372139385565530486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3615090486175644658.post-52141780758529888092014-10-23T17:10:56.583-07:002014-10-23T17:10:56.583-07:00What a clear-eyed look at what we all face, wheth...What a clear-eyed look at what we all face, whether we're willing to do it head-on, as you have here, or not. Thank you for providing your readers a glimpse into your colorful life and into the life of your mind- a warm and stimulating place, no matter how old you think you are.Lois A. McNultyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09510097466808738176noreply@blogger.com