In the past I’ve held prestigious titles familiar to the world of advertising and business: Creative Director, Marketing Manager, President, and Chief Executive Officer. As the new retiree quickly learns, however, the lofty nameplates no longer apply when you bring your working career to a close and move from the corner office to a corner of your converted second bedroom. The challenge is to avoid the label of “Old Person” by staying vital and actively involved in the flow of life rather than idling on the sidelines. The title I’d like to assume is “New Archetype,” a description of a retired businessperson who has successfully put down a revitalized underpinning on which to build his self-esteem.
The difficulty lies in replacing the old means by which one gained his “props.” Primary to the process is going inward, adding a more kindly, spiritual component to your outlook on life rather than looking only to the external and material rewards of “power” and clout. The New Archetype is compassionate, without ego (a continuing struggle) and teaches by example, obtaining reward by standing in the wings taking pleasure from accolades earned by the young men and women who call him their mentor.
I started writing after reading still another disappointing novel, thinking to myself, “I could write a better book than that turkey.“ Having just turned 73, facing the vicissitudes of getting older, I had a mother lode of relevant material. The stories in “73” revolve around an essential theme: “When old age hits you can either fall down or hit back.” Living in a celebrity-worshipping culture that regards people in their seventies like old cars ready for the junk heap, I write about heroes and heroines who refuse to look at the odometer (and a few definitely too old to drive!). What stands out is the cumulative impact of the collection taken as a whole – when the reader closes the cover on the final story he or she definitely will know and feel what it’s like to grow old, struggling to resist becoming irrelevant in a youth-oriented society. I’m currently working on a follow-up to “73” entitled “Bottom of the Ninth,” which continues the theme.
Writing is a welcomed change after a four-decade career in marketing and advertising working for several of America’s leading agencies. The field has changed considerably since I was a young copywriter. My goal was to write headlines that lit a light bulb over the readers’ noggins. (The one I always tried to emulate was the famous Volkswagen ad…”Did you ever wonder how the man who drives the snowplow gets to the snowplow?”) That’s what I try and do with my short stories – invite the reader to participate in the process.
