Chapter 13
The Midlife Rebirth
Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.
—Mark Twain, author
He was just shy of his 56th birthday when he first took political office as Governor of California. He was less than a month away from turning 70 when he was inaugurated as the 40th President of the United States, the only one in history to have been divorced and remarried. During his Presidential reelection bid, the old-timer faced a contender 17 years his junior who was determined to make the incumbent’s age an issue in the campaign. In the now-famous 1984 debate between then-President Ronald Reagan and opponent Walter Mondale, the “Gipper” (Reagan’s nickname based on a role he played during his earlier acting career) quipped, “I will not make age an issue in this campaign. I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”1 Reagan was reelected to four more years in office and remains the oldest person to occupy the highest position in the United States, retiring at the age of 77.
She was 49 years old when her first cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, was published. Her popular television show, The French Chef, debuted when she was 50. Eighteen years later, Julia Child founded The American Institute of Wine & Food to “advance the understanding, appreciation and quality of wine and food,” fulfilling her lifelong passion.2
Grandma Moses began painting at 75. Laura Ingalls Wilder was 65 when she started writing ...
