Crack the Code: Book Review

Published November 5, 2018.

Louis Bezich combines reading, research, and personal experience to write a book for men 50 plus on how to adopt healthy behaviors.

His title reveals his dual content. Crack the Code: 10 Proven Secrets that Motivate Healthy Behavior and Inspire Fulfillment in Men over 50. 

Bezich doesn't just give evidence-based facts about healthy lifestyle choices--diet, exercise, stress management. He also discusses the psychology of changing one's habits.

Consequently, he includes information from psychology alongside information from the health professions.

The book includes not only research from scholarly journals but interviews from case studies conducted by the author. The reader gets to "hear" the experiences of mature men taking control of their health.

The Land of Steady Habits: Film Review

Released September 14, 2018.

I'm approaching sixty, and I've been watching a number of marriages among my friends disintegrate when their children reach young adulthood.

The Land of Steady Habits is a 2018 film based off a 2014 novel of the same name. Ted Thompson is the book's author, but it's Nicole Holofcenter who writes the screenplay, directs, and co-produces the film.

This film reminded me of Cheever's "The Swimmer," and--indeed--Thompson's novel has been noted to capture the same ennui of Cheever as well as Updike--but with a 21st Century style.

The film features sixty-something Anders Harris who has decided that his conventional life in the Connecticut suburbs lacks meaning. In order to inject his life with passion, authenticity, and purpose, he quits his job in the finance world of NYC, divorces his wife, and moves out of his suburban home and into a condo.

All this freedom doesn't produce the happiness he expected.

Diminished Capacity: Film Review

Released 2008.

I viewed Diminished Capacity (2008) a few years ago, but I'm revisiting it today, given that the "MacGuffin" or plot device for this film is a 1908 Chicago Cubs baseball card.

[Listen to Alfred Hitchcock explain the film term "MacGuffin."]

This quiet little film featuring Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick and Virginia Madsen.  The title refers to the cognition problems experienced by two of the three main characters.

Broderick plays Cooper, a Chicago newspaper reporter who experiences a traumatic brain injury by being too close to a bar fight.

Alda plays Cooper's Uncle Rollie, a mature man who is living with some form of neuro-degenerative disease, probably Alzheimer's Disease.  The movie poster gestures to one of Rollie's odd habits--his method of creating poetry by having fish tug on fishing lines attached to typewriter keys.

Madsen plays Charlotte a recently divorced woman who still lives in Broderick's home town in rural Missouri, the same town where Uncle Rollie lives.  She's raising a tween son.

The Song of Lunch: Film Review

TV Movie aired Oct 2010

Based on a narrative poem by Christopher Reid, The Song of Lunch (2010) depicts two people having lunch together.

What makes lunch interesting?

In 50 minutes, we get more than enough material to reflect on how past relationships invite us to scrutinize or present selves.

The two people--played by Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson--are former lovers who haven't seen each other for fifteen years.  She left him for someone else.

What makes their break up painful?

It's hard to know how she feels because the poem--providing the voice over for the action--takes his point of view.  His feelings are complex, but know that his biggest aspirations are to be a famous poet.  He works reviewing manuscripts for a publishing house.

Her husband is a successful novelist.

Ouch.

People in midlife who read and perhaps write poetry will be the ideal audience for this film. Fans of Rickman and Thompson might brave this atypical film genre (the script taken entirely from a poem). The language is quite ornate. The attention to interpersonal and intrapersonal dynamics are laser sharp.

A Full Life: Book Review

Published 7 July 2015.

Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, has a breadth of experience spanning 90 years.

Carter has written more than two dozen books over the last four decades, but A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety (2015) has the broadest scope.

Even though much of the subject matter of this memoir has been covered in more detail in previous book, this telling stitches together an entire life's worth of memories.

It's the perfect book to read first for readers unfamiliar with Carter. It covers his life before, during and after serving in the White House.

Readers can then choose which of his other books to read for great detail and analysis.

Here are the chapter titles for A Full Life:

• Introduction
• Archery and the Race Issue
• Navy Years
• Back to Georgia
• Atlanta to Washington
• Life in the White House
• Issues Mostly Resolved
• Problems Still Pending
• Back Home
• Acknowledgments / Index

The Field: Film Review

Released 20 December 1990.

Richard Harris gives an outstanding performance in this play-turned-film The Field (1990).

Harris plays Bull McCabe, and Irish farmer, who has worked in the same field for decades. Unfortunately, the field belongs to a widow. McCabe hopes to purchase "his" field when the widow makes the decision to sell.

Supporting cast members include Sean Bean (McCabe's son), Brenda Fricker, (McCabe's wife), John Hurt (McCabe's not-too-bright sidekick), and Tom Berenger (a wealthy Irish-American who wants to buy and develop some real estate in Ireland).

For 107 minutes, I watched Bull McCabe beg, borrow, steal and more in order to get what he really wants.

McCabe explains a number of times and in a number of ways why his late life should unfold in the way he desires. He has his logic.

To avoid overt spoilers, I will remain vague, but if you read any further, the concepts discussed will color your viewing. 

O'Horten: Film Review

Released 27 December 2007
in Norway

I have seen O'Horten (2007) on several "films about aging" lists, but just didn't get around to viewing it until now.  It's a film from Norway available with English subtitles.

Directed by Bent Hamer, this film offers viewers of all ages some great insights into the tensions between following a routine and deviating from routine.  

O'Horten is pensive and alternates between being sad, touching and amusing. 

The story starts with the title character, Odd Horten, wrapping up 40 years of employment as a railway engineer.  Horten is a 67-year-old man of habit.  

Quite literally, Horten has stayed on the same path for decades. Conducting a train makes symbolizes his pronounced character trait. 

We observe Horten being understated, reserved, and methodical in the days leading to his retirement.  Once he is done working, things take a dramatic turn.  One could say that his life falls off the rails. 

The bulk of the film is filled with vignettes of what happens to Horten when he doesn't have a work routine to organize his life.  

The Memory of Old Jack: Book Review

Published 1 January 1974.

The Memory of Old Jack by Wendell Berry is one work of fiction of many set in the same town with recurring characters.
 
Even though Berry was only 39 years old at the time that he published The Memory of Old Jack in 1974,  the author does a remarkable job depicting the challenges and opportunities of advanced age.

(Note: It's Wendell Berry's 81st birthday today!) 

The novel features the life and perspective of Jack Beecham as it unfolds in a single day in 1952.

Born in 1860, Jack has a lot of memories at 92 of Port William, Kentucky, a place he's lived his entire life.  At his age, he's experiencing a little dementia, but I believe this is more a literary device for Berry than a valid medial diagnosis.

Jack's advanced age and his tendency to be easily confused means that almost every person, place or thing sends him into a reverie.  This is how one dawn-to-dusk day can trigger a life time of memories to fill an entire novel.

Berry's work is grounded in a love and appreciation of nature and family farming, so it's no wonder than much of the book is a love letter to the land.  Old Jack spends the bulk of his outdoors, so his memories are filled with images of working the land and observing nature in great detail.

The Wise Merchant: An Elder Tale

Photo by Chrissy H.

This story with Jewish roots is part of a series about elder tales.

Hats for Statues: An Elder Tale from Japan

In an elder tale, an older adult serves as the protagonist of the story rather than a minor character.

Elder tales give older adults the focus or the "starring roles," making these characters more rich, complex and nuanced than the stock character "little old man/lady" allows.

This post is part of a series on elder tales.  The main character in an elder tale is an older adult who is the hero or focus of the story. Often the conflict is resolved because of their hard-won wisdom instead of some magical intervention--even if that wisdom is symbolized by a fantastical event or object. 

The source for this tale comes from Allan B. Chinen's collection In the Ever After: Fairy Tales and the Second Half of Life. Willmette, IL: Chiron Publications, 1989. Chinen cites his source as G. Friedlander's The Jewish Fairy Book. New York: Stokes, 1920.   I could not find a separate source for this tale.

Here is my retelling of "The Wise Merchant":

Essays after Eighty: Book Review

Published 2 December 2014.

Poet Donald Hall somehow manages to write in a way that is both ornery and lyric.

For decades, Hall published acclaimed poetry.  He even served for a year as the Poet Laureate. Then as he grew older, he found that poetry "abandoned" him.

Since writing is his way of being in the world, Hall began writing essays and publishing them in a variety of venues: The American Scholar, Slice, Playboy, New Letters, and the New Yorker.

I found it delightful to imagine sitting with him in his farm house in New Hampshire.

Hall describes the life of a poet, the women he's loved, his enjoyment of food and smoking, his age-related challenges, and the nature that surrounds him.

And while I would never ask him about his wild, scraggly beard, he does offer a compelling narrative about this beard and two previous ones.

I invite you to "sit" with Hall by reading his essays. Here are the titles of the essays collected here and a couple of quotes from each:

Last Vegas: Celebrating Immaturity?

I'm very interested in how Hollywood represents older adults.  Consequently, I've watched well over 100 films featuring people from late midlife on.

I ask myself while viewing these films, "How do these films hold up ideals for the viewing public? What roles do older adults play in our society?  What struggles do they have? What strengths do they have to offer in solving their own  problems and helping others to solve theirs?"

When I learned that Last Vegas (2013) was released on DVD, I rented it, eager to see how Douglas, De Niro, Freeman and Kline portray childhood friends reuniting for a bachelor party.

Giving the setting and the occasion, I should have expected this glorification of pleasure. But I was still disappointed.  It looked like a frat boy outing.

Novels about Older Men Facing Death

Photo by Macomb Paynes.

Because I spent decades as an English teacher before becoming a gerontologist, I am interested in reading novels about older adults.

Novels featuring people in late adulthood address a number of themes: exploring mature love, renegotiating relationships with adult children, adjusting to age-related health challenges, role loss upon retirement, finally chasing a long-suppressed dream, reframing one's past, transmitting a legacy to the rising generation and more.

The characters in these novels have the advantage of decades of experience.  I view them as experienced mountain climbers, taking in the view of the valley below.

From their vantage point of late life, they have insights about their own life to mull over. And they have greater perspective about the circle of life to share with others.  If others will listen.

I am happy to recommend the following novels for people seeking to better empathize with mature men and to more readily accept the wisdom they have to offer. Sometimes it's easier to listen to the advice of a stranger than to one's own grandfather or father.

Gender Differences in Midlife / Late Life Spirituality

Photo by Su-chan. 

Are women more naturally spiritual than men? Are older people more spiritual than younger people?  And as a result, are mature women the most spiritual of all?

As a child, I remember seeing the Norman Rockwell picture "Sunday Morning," which depicts a mother marching out the door with three children. They are all dressed in their Sunday best.

In the foreground is the father, slinking into his chair and hiding behind the newspaper. He's in his pajamas, robe and slippers. The lone boy casts an envious glance at his father.

Rockwell is playing off the stereotype that men are more resistant about formal church worship than women. But is there empirical evidence of this?

Movies about Mature Men Preserving Power

Photo by dlholt. 

Do you think action heroes can only be played by movie stars in their 20s or 30s?  

Think again. I'm seeing several films that show feats of strength by men in their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and beyond.

Films featuring seasoned heroes can serve to inspire mature movie goers to achieve at work, at home, in civic organizations or on running trails.

[Last Updated October 1, 2015 to add Dying of the Light (2014). 

Organized in reverse chronology, with most recent films first.

Mr. Holmes (2015).  Sherlock Holmes (played by Ian McKellen) is in his 90s.  Father Time may have him on the ropes, but Holmes still has formidable abilities. More importantly Holmes still has the opportunity for growth and development as he reviews his last case and in so doing reviews his strengths and weaknesses and asserts meaning and purpose for his life.   Trailer. 

Chef (2014).  Jon Favreau plays a chef at midlife fed up with cooking for someone else, so he quits and starts his own business.  He tests out new equipment, new recipes, a new staff and explores former relationships while driving his food truck across several states.  Yes, male midlife takes a road trip.  Trailer. 

Dying of the Light (2014).  CIA agent Evan Lake (played by Nicolas Cage) might have Frontotemporal Dementia, but he's not going to let his supervisors tell him what he can or cannot do despite his increasing problems controlling his aggression and accessing his memory.  

Begin Again (2013).  While the film might focus just a tiny bit more on Kiera Knightly's character, it does depict in great detail Mark Ruffalo's character in a midlife reconsideration of career and relationships.  A young songwriter serves as this broken down record director's muse while still very much directing her own life course. 

Skyfall (2012).  James Bond chases bad guys, beds exotic women and comes out alive after several unbelievable fight scenes and numerous breathtaking chase scenes.  Not only does Bond have to fight a super bad guy, he has to fight injuries to his body. In addition, as long-term employees with a lot of seniority, he and M. have to fight ageism at the office.  That's a battle on three fronts, four if you count self-doubt. Trailer. 

Hear We Go! Gender and Hearing Loss

Photo by Simon James

Age is the strongest predictor of hearing loss. A population-based study of 3,556 participants in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin showed the hearing loss in increasing percentages by age bracket:

21% of 48-59 year olds
44% of 60-69 year olds
66% of 70-79 year olds
90% of 80 to 92 year olds

(Data adapted from Table 5)

Aging is often a gendered experience. As women age, they are at greater risk of living alone, being in poverty, suffering from depressing and developing certain physical problems such as osteoporosis, hypothyroidism, and fibromyalgia. Men, however, experience a greater risk for hearing loss. There are various hypotheses for why men are at greater risk. Men often participate in recreational activities and occupations that have high decibel levels, including military service.