Book Review: Serenity at 70, Gaiety at 80, by Garrison Keillor

My first cousin, my elder by two whole months, a retired physician in Kentucky, sent me a copy of this wonderful little book (a bit short of a hundred pages) by Mr. Keillor. We both love his writings and clever wit, and this book is another example of these, as well as a bit of a slapdash effort. My notes slip and slide across three pages as a testament to some paragraphs with nearly unending sentences (see pp. 24 and 25 for starters). But there are super clever references to classic writings and modern books and poetry. Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne" is mentioned where "he touched her perfect body with his mind." Yo-Yo Ma and "Beep-Bop-a-Lulu, she's my baby" are racked up - side by side. The Everly Brothers' "Bye-Bye Love" is in there too. It reminds me of a pathetic little summer romance I sort of had with a girl visiting from somewhere in Maryland... her grandfather lived directly across the street from "my house" in Princeton, West Virginia.  We advanced to hand-holding and at the very last moment, I attempted a misplaced little kiss. The day her family car pulled out to return home, I blasted that song out on a really crummy record player on my front porch ... a Wanna-Be-lover's lament. Hey, it just doesn't get any better than that!

Keillor covers walking in NYC, with some terrific remarks about a subway ride, getting off at 42nd Street to hear a string quartet playing Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (a little night music) with the observation that "Mozart in the subway is a miracle." True enough.

Four chapter are included, and in some ways the writing gets better, more relaxed type of better, as Keillor proceeds. He seems to love getting older and mentions at one point that "I had to live to be old before I could appreciate what a paradise this is." He has some terrific humor and Chapter 4 stood out for me. Along the way the book veers from his love of baseball to Biblical quotes (a good one from the Book of Acts stood out). As an eighty-one dude now, I loved the comment that "old age is the cure for self-importance. " Truer words are hard to find.

 

Jim George

Austin, Tx

 

 

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