This article is about Maurice Franklin, a wood turner who is now in his 90s, having only left his lathe to fight in world war II.
From the article:
“Are you happy?” I queried, provocative in my eagerness to seize this opportunity of learning something about being a nonagenarian. “I’ll tell you why I am happy.” said Maurice, with a grin of unqualified delight and raising one hand to count off his blessings, “I’ve got a wonderful family and wonderful children. I’ve been successful and I’ve got an appetite for life, and I’ve eaten every day and slept every night.” Maurice was on a roll now. “I was going to write a book once,” he continued, “but there’s no time in this life. By the time you know how to live, it’s over. This life is like a dress rehearsal, you just make it up as you go along. One life is not enough, everyone should live twice.”
Read the whole thing – it’s excellent!
It reminded me of one of my favorite books, Harpo Speaks, the autobiography of Harpo Marx, another virtuoso. Here’s a passage from that book:
I can’t remember ever having a bad meal. I’ve eaten […] in the finest restaurants in Paris, but the absolutely most delicious food I ever ate was prepared by the most inspired chef I ever knew – my father. My father had to be inspired, because he had so little to work with.
I can’t remember ever having a poor night’s sleep. I’ve slept in the mansions of the Vanderbilts and Otto H. Kahn and in the Gloverville jail. I’ve slept on pool tables, dressing-room tables, piano tops, bathhouse benches, in rag baskets and harp cases. I have known the supreme luxury of snoozing in the July sun, on the lawn, while the string of a flying kite tickled the bottom of my feet.
I can’t remember ever seeing a bad show. If I’m trapped in a theatre, and a show starts disappointingly, I have a handy way to avoid seeing it. I fall asleep.
This is the attitude we must cultivate in life, if we want to be happy.
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