Chess for Oldtimers --- Good Idea !

Betty White, Cloris Leachman, Judi Dench, Carl Reiner, Bob Newhart, Mel Brooks -- all performers in their 80's and 90's, all still sharp as tacks ... even if they don't play chess... sure gives me hope. 

Thanks for the post about some of the stars that have been around for quite a while. Recently I read that Dick Van Dyke had his 90th birthday a few weeks ago and he also seems to be doing quite well.

 An interesting quote from Elia Kazan: " The real challenge is not simply to survive. Hell, anyone can do that. It's to survive as yourself, undiminished."

A thought for the day from the writer Freya Stark: " On the whole, age comes more gently to those who have some doorway into an abstract world --- art or philosophy or learning --- regions where the years are scarcely noticed and the young and the old can meet in a pale, truthful light. " Yes I like that statement very much. 

Me, too, very much.  I hesitate to even comment on the quote -- seems like gilding the lily.  

I’ll just add that it reminded me of Dylan Thomas’ very different, very fierce image of a good death, and I like seeing both approaches so beautifully expressed.  In the right situation, I can have just as much fun being fierce as the next person, and it does sound so very strong and noble to "Rage, rage, against the dying of the light!”  Still, there’s something to be said for seeking out "regions where … the young and the old can meet in a pale, truthful light,” before one chooses to “go gentle into that good night.”

Thanks for the nice post Motherinlaw.

Motherinlaw: Re the quote from Freyda Stark ( & an abstract world ) I've  been very lucky to have had an interest in Classical music since my early teens. I was able to obtain a small transistor radio back then and it was great to listen to a local radio show entitled " Concert Hall " ( I think it was on from 8 PM to 10 PM five days per week ). The beautiful music did indeed seem to transport me to another world, if only for two hours at a time. A couple of years later I got my first portable record player and of course my first LPs featured Classical music. I often feel a bit sad for people who are not able to enjoy listening to music by Mozart & Beethoven ( & the other Great Composers ).  

youtube is available to all, baddy.

Thanks for the post AlCzervik. I was also thinking of those people who have never listened to very much Classical music and thus never became interested in any of it.

"classical" seems to be the base for all music. everything seems to have spawned from it, whether it's country, rock, rap, blues, etc.

i agree, though, that there is a small percentage of people that listen to it nowadays. for example, where i live, there is no classical radio station (don't get me started on radio stations).

Oh, come on, AlCzervik -- that's not Fair  --- Why Can't we get you "started on radio stations?"  I know some of us would love to get you started on radio stations ... so can we? please? 

Thanks for all of the new posts. We are a bit limited in the choice of radio stations in this area as well but some years back I bought a Satellite radio with a boom-box attachment for use in the house and I enjoy that system a lot.                         

Marie Curie once wrote: " The older one gets, the more one feels that the present must be enjoyed; it is a precious gift, comparable to a state of grace ".

Jim Croce:  "There never seems / to be enough time / to do the things you want to do / once you find them..."

https://youtu.be/BBiPUOPf8iY

Thanks for the info Motherinlaw.   ---   A cute item from Writer Victoria Holt: " Never regret. If it's good, it's wonderful. If It's bad, it's experience ".  

I hope so.

Boy, have I had a lot of "experience!" ;-D

Great comment, elLeNoe!  

I'm 72, and you've described my experience in chess the past few years beautifully.  I still get a kick out of my good game days, when I seem to "think deeper."  And I can usually say "the heck with the bad games" on those days when, for some reason, my mind just doesn't want to "go there."

In recent years, in fact, I've been practicing that exact attitude not just in chess, but to life in general.  And I've been doing pretty darn well at that, too ......... at least, on my "good days." ;-) 

@ Huey

Olivia DeHavilland!

I watched "Gone with the WInd" about a month ago, and I was just fascinated that she was still alive, and could have been watching the movie at the same time.

She was still working, at least until a few years ago - she narrated a PBS show on Alzheimers, and I believe she was 96 or 97 at the time.

Thought at first you thought I was Olivia DeHavilland... then realized quickly you were answering the trivia question .... instead of responding to my elegantly worded meaningful exchange with elLeNoe .... alas .... sigh ...;-)