Serenity at 70, Gaiety at 80
Why you should keep on getting older Created just for fans as a keepsake from Garrison and available only in our store, this wonderful gem on aging will have you bursting at the seams from laughter! Shipping begins the end of November. Here is a short preview:
“My life is so good at 79 I wonder why I waited this long
to get here,” writes Mr. Keillor. “I look at the front page
of the paper and think, ‘Not My Problem.’ The world
belongs to the young, I am only a tourist, and I love being
a foreigner in America. I enjoy it as I would enjoy Paris or
Copenhagen, except I mostly know the language. I don’t
know who famous people are anymore and I’m okay with
that. You learn that Less Is More, the great lesson of
Jesus and also Buddha. Each day becomes important after
you pass the point of life expectancy. Big problems vanish,
small things make you happy. And the worst is behind you
because you lack the energy to be as foolish as you might
otherwise be.
“We arrive at old age by luck; virtue is not crucial. Luck
is crucial. If you took time to plan your life carefully,
you’d be 90 by the time you turn 25. So aim for adequacy.
Be good enough.”
With a chapter of 23 rules for aging, including
“Enumerate your benefits,” “Enjoy inertia,” “Get out of
the way,” “Tell your likely survivors absolutely not to use
the words ‘A Celebration of Life’ (you already did that
yourself), “Don’t fight with younger people; they will be
writing your obituary,” and finally, “Ignore rules you read
in a book. Do what you were going to do anyway.”
Also including the Five Stages of Aging, for those who like
lists, and Mr. Keillor’s account of 24 hours in a New York
ER, in which he saw clearly his own good fortune and
also got an EEG and a lesson in contentment from Bob
the Buddhist. And a few poems for no extra charge:
Every day is a beautiful gift,
Tender and precious and swift.
The light and the sound,
The sky and the ground,
Every hour cries out to be lived.
Though I may be over the hill,
Still I think I can and I will.
I’ve forgotten just what
I can and will, but
They remain a goal of mine still.
Every year I pass the date
When my balloon shall deflate.
My mom entered heaven
At age ninety-seven,
And I aim to reach ninety-eight.
Be the first to get the book >>>
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Small talk as the instrument of civility A male nurse did a blood draw on me the other day, and as he tied the rubber strip around my upper arm, I said, “I’ve had this done about seventy times, you’re competing against some of the best, and you know that women are better at it than men. They have the kindness gene. Men are inherently aggressive. In your unconscious mind, you’re stabbing an enemy.” He laughed, a genuine hearty laugh — I’ve been in the business a long time, I can tell genuine from forced — and stuck me and said, “I’m afraid that was only a C plus. You made me self-conscious.” He chuckled.
In my old age, I believe in small talk as the conduit of civility. I got this from my dad who, though he was a devout Christian, loved to pass the time of day with strangers. The dictates of our faith commanded him to witness to them about Jesus and quote “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” but he didn’t, he talked about the weather and cars and his boyhood on the farm and ordinary things. This was curious to me as a kid, his friendly chatter with sinners. It’s still impressive to me today....
Go to Garrison Keillor and Friends on Substack
to read the rest of THE COLUMN >>> Become a member of THE BACK ROOM on our Substack page for exclusive access to News from Lake Wobegon stories, Post to the Host columns, writings, excerpts from unpublished works, previews of other works and a second weekly column |
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This week on "A Prairie Home Companion" It’s a weekend for remembrances this Saturday, as we head to Murray, Kentucky, and the CFSB Center on the campus of Murray State University to recall the life and music of the Father of Bluegrass music, Bill Monroe. An impressive line-up of Bill's musical colleagues and friends joins us, including “Blue Grass Boys” alumni: fiddler Bob Black, singer-guitarist Tom Ewing, bassist Mark Hembree, fiddler Bobby Hicks, singer-guitarist Peter Rowan, mandolinist Roland White, and banjo player Blake Williams. Also joining in the celebration, fiddler Stuart Duncan and singer Kathy Chiavola along with our own Rich Dworsky and Pat Donohue. Plus, a few kind words for our dear friend and colleague Tom Keith. Listen to the Show >>>Like our Facebook page >>> More about this week’s featured guests
For decades, Tom Keith provided sound effects and character voices for A Prairie Home Companion. A St. Paul native, Keith performed with Garrison Keillor beginning in 1976. With vocal gymnastics and a variety of props, he created creaking doors, footsteps, barking dogs — even elephants.
Here is part of an interview with Tom Keith conducted before Tom’s untimely death in October of 2011.
How is it that you came to work with Garrison Keillor?
I first started working with Garrison when he began doing his Prairie Home Morning Show in 1974. I think that was the year. It was the third time he did a daily morning show on MPR. I was the engineer on duty at that time of morning. I had never heard the earlier shows but I first heard about Garrison when I was taking a comedy class at the University of Minnesota and our class had to critique an article he wrote for The New Yorker. I told him about that and he asked me what I thought of the article and I said, “It was OK.” Read the full guest interview >>>Get Tom Keith: Sound Effects Man >>> Grammy™-nominated Pat Donohue (guitar) is a native and resident of St. Paul, Minnesota. He is a National Finger picking Guitar Champion and an innovative songwriter, with a stack of albums to his credit on Red House Records and Bluesky Records. His songs have been recorded by Chet Atkins, Suzy Bogguss, and Kenny Rogers. He performed on A Prairie Home Companion as a regular member of The Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band for almost two decades.
Here is part of an interview with Pat Donohue from a few years back.
What does a workweek for The Guy’s All-Star Shoe band look like? When do you start discussing and rehearsing the music for each week’s show?
While we all work on our own aspects of the show throughout the week, we generally get together on Friday afternoon and rehearse what we’ve brought in for a few hours. Then Garrison joins us and we rehearse the songs he wants to do with us. If there is a guest artist making use of our band, we will also rehearse their tunes with them. Then on Saturday, we go through the things that are likely to be on the show for most of the day. Then the scripts are rehearsed, dinner is eaten, and the show goes on.
With A Prairie Home Companion, you have gotten the chance to pick with some legends: from Chet Atkins to Sam Bush and Brad Paisley. What is the best or most useful piece of advice you have received? Or what is the best piece of knowledge that was passed on to you?
One of my favorite tips is from Chet Atkins, who told me that if you make a mistake, you should make it again later in the tune so that people think you meant to do it. It sounds funny, but I have used this trick. Read the full guest interview >>>Get Radio Blues >>> |
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This week on "A Prairie Home Companion" It’s a weekend for remembrances this Saturday, as we head to Murray, Kentucky, and the CFSB Center on the campus of Murray State University to recall the life and music of the Father of Bluegrass music, Bill Monroe. An impressive line-up of Bill's musical colleagues and friends joins us, including “Blue Grass Boys” alumni: fiddler Bob Black, singer-guitarist Tom Ewing, bassist Mark Hembree, fiddler Bobby Hicks, singer-guitarist Peter Rowan, mandolinist Roland White, and banjo player Blake Williams. Also joining in the celebration, fiddler Stuart Duncan and singer Kathy Chiavola along with our own Rich Dworsky and Pat Donohue. Plus, a few kind words for our dear friend and colleague Tom Keith. Listen to the Show >>>Like our Facebook page >>> More about this week’s featured guests
For decades, Tom Keith provided sound effects and character voices for A Prairie Home Companion. A St. Paul native, Keith performed with Garrison Keillor beginning in 1976. With vocal gymnastics and a variety of props, he created creaking doors, footsteps, barking dogs — even elephants.
Here is part of an interview with Tom Keith conducted before Tom’s untimely death in October of 2011.
How is it that you came to work with Garrison Keillor?
I first started working with Garrison when he began doing his Prairie Home Morning Show in 1974. I think that was the year. It was the third time he did a daily morning show on MPR. I was the engineer on duty at that time of morning. I had never heard the earlier shows but I first heard about Garrison when I was taking a comedy class at the University of Minnesota and our class had to critique an article he wrote for The New Yorker. I told him about that and he asked me what I thought of the article and I said, “It was OK.” Read the full guest interview >>>Get Tom Keith: Sound Effects Man >>> Grammy™-nominated Pat Donohue (guitar) is a native and resident of St. Paul, Minnesota. He is a National Finger picking Guitar Champion and an innovative songwriter, with a stack of albums to his credit on Red House Records and Bluesky Records. His songs have been recorded by Chet Atkins, Suzy Bogguss, and Kenny Rogers. He performed on A Prairie Home Companion as a regular member of The Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band for almost two decades.
Here is part of an interview with Pat Donohue from a few years back.
What does a workweek for The Guy’s All-Star Shoe band look like? When do you start discussing and rehearsing the music for each week’s show?
While we all work on our own aspects of the show throughout the week, we generally get together on Friday afternoon and rehearse what we’ve brought in for a few hours. Then Garrison joins us and we rehearse the songs he wants to do with us. If there is a guest artist making use of our band, we will also rehearse their tunes with them. Then on Saturday, we go through the things that are likely to be on the show for most of the day. Then the scripts are rehearsed, dinner is eaten, and the show goes on.
With A Prairie Home Companion, you have gotten the chance to pick with some legends: from Chet Atkins to Sam Bush and Brad Paisley. What is the best or most useful piece of advice you have received? Or what is the best piece of knowledge that was passed on to you?
One of my favorite tips is from Chet Atkins, who told me that if you make a mistake, you should make it again later in the tune so that people think you meant to do it. It sounds funny, but I have used this trick. Read the full guest interview >>>Get Radio Blues >>> |
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This week, during this month of giving, we have sent a special newsletter request to all subscribers to The Writer's Almanac. We receive a small amount of money from Amazon for the sale of books that we promote and also a bit of money from Spreaker (our podcast platform) for advertising placed at the end of the podcast. But the majority of support comes from TWA listeners. The response has been terrific, raising $25,000. We are hoping to raise another $15,000 to cover expenses through May 2022. Please consider making a donation to support this mission-driven program. Prairie Home Productions is a for-profit company so it is not considered a charitable contribution, though we sure appreciate your kindness. Donate via PayPal (please log in to your account before clicking this link) "Buy” a donation in our store Or make a check out to Prairie Home Productions and send to: Prairie Home Productions P.O. Box 490610 Blaine, MN 55449 |
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