The year ends. A year begins. Time to look back and ahead. Looking back to see if we have any regrets. I’m reminded of a line from a song which goes,”…regrets, I ‘ve had a few, too few to mention…” I agree. Looking ahead we ask what are the challenges of ’04 ? Thinking about it reminded me that I am in my 75th year of time and it brought to mind a quote from Samuel Johnson, “At Seventy Seven it is time to be in earnest” I first saw this quote in a book entitled “To Be In Earnest”. It is a “fragment of an autobiography” by P.D.James. She is one of my favorite detective fiction writers along with Graham Greene and John LeCarre. Her investigator is Adam Dagliesh, a poet and former Scotland Yard Director. She wrote a semi-diary or biography that covered her 78th year in time. She used part of the quote I mention above as her title. I could not locate in Boswell’s life of Samuel Johnson where or to what the quote related. To be “in earnest” about what? The fact is that he never lived to seventy-seven, he died shortly after reaching seventy-five years in 1784. Reading his life indicates he was in earnest at all times in literate and interesting conversation. He loved words and loved using them. He certainly earnestly pursued that goal. He didn’t wait until he was seventy-seven to “be in earnest” about that. So I can’t tell you what Samuel Johnson wanted us to be in earnest about but I do know it made me think about what I should be in earnest about. It is knowing and understanding why I am here. What is the “time” for? Is” time” the period in which all my life is included, or is there more than ‘time’? I want to be in earnest about learning the answers, since implied in Johnson’s reference to ‘at seventy-seven’ is clearly that we have little ‘time’ left to learn. I am sure that I know the answers, but I want to bring them back for reassertion and assurance as the time to be able to know them better expires.
The only knowledge I have of Samuel Johnson I got from Boswell’s biography. I never read anything written by Johnson. I know he created a dictionary but what other literature I have no idea. P.D. James was a fan of Samuel Johnson and a member of the Johnson Society of London. In fact on the anniversary date of his death December 13th in 1997 she laid a wreath with the society on his grave in Westminster Abbey. In that talk she called him “…this country’s greatest man of letters: Samuel Johnson, moralist, essayist, lexicographer, critic, poet, genius of both the written and spoken word.. (his) legacy of literature is his lasting memorial.”
Boswell uses conversations, sayings, and letters of Johnson to make up most of the book. In fact, it is this method of exposition of a life that made Boswell’s book the classic biography. It changed the way biography was written in that Boswell’s Johnson came alive to all who read it. He created a whole new kind of biography and it became a model for future writers of that genre. About ‘time’ Johnson said a great deal and I particularly liked his comments on immortality. It came about after Goldsmith lamented to him how difficult it was to get literary fame while you live. Johnson said, ” It is difficult to get literary fame, and it is every day growing more difficult. Ah, Sir, that should make a man think of securing happiness in another world, which all who try sincerely for it may attain. In comparison of that, how little are all other things! The belief in immortality is impressed upon all men, and all men act under an impression of it, however they may talk, perhaps, they may be scarcely sensible of it.”
P.D. James’ praise of Samuel Johnson and her placing him above all English writers including Shakespeare was really a surprise. In fact in one of the Sundays this month in the New York Times Book Review is a review of three new books on Shakespeare who is referred to therein as “the most venerated figure in all English letters”. I have seen Johnson quoted in innumerable places. His quoted adages remind me of the book of the Proverbs in the Bible. His quotes seemed to fit right in with those sayings. But now to hear him referred to, by a writer I respect, as the ‘country’s greatest man of letters..an essayist,poet,and genius of the written and spoken word” is impressive and astonishing. It beckons to me to learn and read more of his writing.
As a further incentive to be ‘in earnest’ in what I undertake was the death of two who were younger than I. One was the wife of a friend and the other the father of a wonderful young lady and friend. Both deaths could be described as sudden and occurred in the first few days of January. One as church member kept June busy in her job as leader of the “Helping Hands” committee who provide food and refreshments for those attending a memorial service. They had both services on the same day, one in the morning which we attended and for which June had no responsiblity; the other in the afternoon which she did have to handle.
Speaking of time reminds me of some people who inquire how we ‘retired’ people, spend it. Since we have no fixed obligations such as employment or professions to use it, what do we do with it? The inference usually being that we have lots of time to do whatever we want or do nothing at all. Well, it is true we do — almost whatever we want– except when bad weather or some illness seems to deter us. Yet, over the years since our so called ‘retirement’ began we have added more and more activities, like being volunteers, joining programs of learning, etc. to such an extent that we are far from sitting the rocking chair on the porch and gazing at the sunset.
On Wednesday of this week (1/14) June had a day — fortunately not typical — but not far from usual either. After breakfast around 8 AM I drove her to the police station in downtown St.Petersburg. It is it only police station. She was going there to be fingerprinted. She laughed on the way while commenting that she never was fingerprinted in her whole life before coming to Florida. Since then she has now been fingerprinted twice! I added she was probably never in a jail either but has been there at least twice working with kairos, a program of helping inmates get back to a real life with the help of Christianity. After a visit to the police I took her to work as a volunteer at the Alpha House. It is home and community for unwed mothers as they try to help them get a new beginning for themselves and their child. It was for her work with children that she had be required to be fingerprinted. The other time it was required was for her prison work. She was at Alpha House until I picked her up at 3 PM. Arriving home she began to get ready to leave at 4: 15 PM to help in preparing and serving dinner at Church – a regular Wednesday night event. The dinner and cleanup ended probably around five or ten minutes before seven o’clock. Then she was off to choir practice. Upon arriving home around 9PM as she closed the door behind her I heard her ask “Am I home?” I happily advised her “Yes!” So much for the belief that retirees just sit around and talk about their health.
My time is spent in doing things like writing these notes, chores outside and inside the house, attending study groups, reading, painting (by the numbers only), playing some piano, being June’s chauffer on some occasions, enjoying Junes great cooking ( and then promising to walk more tomorrow because of it), and thanking God often for the blessing of our life especially being here in Florida this month. The living is easy and the weather most of the time cooperative. I now only play the piano the first and third Monday and Tuesday for 45 minutes at the nearby Nursing home. At times I am discouraged especially after hearing the playing at church and elsewhere by more talented people. I need to remind myself often due to my limited talent that it still gives joy to some people. So I go back and do it again. I reminded at those times of doubt of Father Pat’s story about his attempt to get a musical group together for Chapel service while a chaplain in Germany. He learned of a talented piano player who did not answer the call. He questioned him and found he was not willing to partake since his talent was so much greater than the task required! Pat was glad that some people came to serve regardless of what talent they had since the person and all concerned were thus better for it.
A man of words like Johnson reminds me of a contemporary “man of words” William Safire who writes a weekly column in the NYTimes Sunday Magazine entitled “On Language”. This weeks he had a reference to the god Janus, for whom January is named. He is the two faced god of the Romans placed on both sides of the gates to a city, one facing forward and the other back. Mr.Safire then refers to words that are ‘janus like’ in that they are used for opposite meanings. He gives some simple but startling examples: “sanction” means either ‘approval’ or ‘punishment’; “oversight” meaning either ‘watchful care’ or ‘silly mistake’; “awful” which has travelled from awe inspiring (now awesome) to ‘really miserable’…When you say “It’s all downhill from here”,you could mean “From now on, it’s going to be easy..Contrariwise, when you say that or “It’s downhill all the way”,you cold mean the opposite.”It can only get worse from now on” So as the author of “The Meaning of Everything” commented in his history of the Oxford dictionary …English unlike other languages continues to grow and somewords or phrases in opposite directions!
This year 2004 marks the beginning of the 12th year of my writing one of these ramblings a month. Since 1994 I have limited them to four pages with this font. All of, which reminds me that if they were bound together they would make a book of 402 pages, so aren’t you glad I only keep them to four! Pax Tecum!