On 'Serenity':
It’s a 90-page self-published masterwork about the inexorable decrepitude that accompanies old age — but, more importantly, also the manifold pleasures that accrue as you arrive there. Serenity at 70, Gaiety at 80 is a playful yet deeply felt meditation that ought to be a standard in the literature of human aging.
Continuing: this newer one stands apart for its singular focus on aging and, too, Keillor’s lack of major regrets, because what’s the point? You learn from experiences and hope to do better in your remaining days, which are fewer, and therefore exponentially more precious, with each rising sun. That’s Keillor’s thinking. And yes, mine too. I have scribbled notes on practically every page of Serenity at 70. It is wise and witty and also mordantly funny in the way that only a transcendent humorist could pull off. It is perhaps even more effective if you can imagine the author’s distinctive baritone reading it aloud in the long, languid sentences for which he is known. Here we are, mid-book: “Maybe I have 10 more years. What a gift. A whole decade to enjoy clocks ticking, fresh coffee, a walk in the park, deep-fried cheese curds and chili dogs, singing ‘Under African Skies’ with a tall woman, the pictures on my phone of my wife and my daughter …” He then sprints into a roundabout telling of his life these last couple of years. (The book was written during the COVID-19 lockdown.) Doctor Keillor is here to help us fathom what is happening to our bodies and our minds as we journey toward our inevitable demise. Is there anyone with a more reassuring bedside manner when addressing the subject of aging? Hard to imagine. “Now I’m over it,” he writes of the various stupidities that excite young people today, things such as hot-beverage cups “with smartass sayings on them.” Bah! “Life itself is good enough. Big things don’t bother me, little things make me intensely happy just like Green Stamps made my mother happy.” It may appear as if ol’ Doc Keillor has devolved into the neighborhood’s good-natured fuddy-duddy. But he does not give a fig — because he is, after all, Garrison Keillor, whose high-profile career has been an exercise in defying what’s popular today for the sake of exploring the verities that matter. After all, his Lake Wobegon characters have been profoundly out of step with much of tech-modern America for a long time, but they are faithful to their Lord and they are decent, and Keillor understands that his audience glories in those attributes above all others. More than anything, Keillor’s Serenity at 70 is a Baedeker to traveling the dead-end road ahead. It is almost certainly bound to be a short road, actuarially speaking. Accept the fact: your odds of making it to 100 are not so great. Therefore, per Doc Keillor, wallow in the tiny everyday pleasures still available to you. Wake up every morning, accept what’s imperfect and unfixable, and adjust accordingly. Most of his guidelines are detailed in the chapter titled “Rules of the Game.” There are 23 rules. “Walk carefully. Look where you’re going. Stabilize yourself.” That’s one, and there are other minor ones much like it, each accompanied by anecdotes and explanations. Then comes rule number 13, which stands above the others: “Get out of the way. You’re old and slow. Don’t be an obstacle.” If this suggests a man resigned to stepping back from life, it’s not that at all. More a realization — repeated throughout Serenity — that each generation gets its time in the spotlight. Be realistic, he says; move aside gracefully; resist anger. Speaking of his career, the author writes, “it used to be about me and it isn’t anymore.” If you find yourself warmly embracing most of Keillor’s rules, I call your attention to the final one, number 23: “Pay no heed to someone else’s rules, especially if he has numbered them.” Ah! The author’s counsel, concludes the author, “is less useful than what you’d get out of a gumball machine.” So, Keillor is winking at us, albeit not with malicious intent. He is an entertainer, and his particular style has ever been to score serious points without allowing too much unpleasantness to undermine the fun. What he is going after is laughter with meaning. Read the full column >>> Serenity at 70, Gaiety at 80 is EXCLUSIVE to our store! Get the softcover book >>>Get the eBook >>>Have Garrison read it to you >>> | 
