Wonderful piece by the Times on Old Masters.
I dig this from Lewis Lapham:
Now I am 79. I’ve written many hundreds of essays, 10 times that number of misbegotten drafts both early and late, and I begin to understand that failure is its own reward. It is in the effort to close the distance between the work imagined and the work achieved wherein it is to be found that the ceaseless labor is the freedom of play, that what’s at stake isn’t a reflection in the mirror of fame but the escape from the prison of the self.
[Photo Credit: Robert Capa]
speaking of...
I hope to be vertical, let alone this good at ANYTHING, at 94 years old.
http://www.newyorker.com/news/sporting-scene/best
Many of us never overcome ourselves long enough to make a big impact on the world at large. But I imagine there's a certain amount of survivor's guilt for a majority of those who do, whether or not they care to admit it. So many things to juggle when you get old.
That was really good stuff. I hope all of these folks keep on keeping on for many years. However, Supreme Court Justices ought to retire at 70 and pursue some other hobbies.