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    The Last Word

    Words of Wisdom About Aging

    Physical and Emotional Health and Well Being

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    “Old age is no joke, but it can feel like one.”

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    — Calvin Tomkins, renowned writer for The New Yorker, covering art and artists for the magazine. In December of 2025, he wrote a piece for The New Yorker entitled, Becoming a Centenarian. Tomkins died last week at the age of 100.

    “I have such fond memories of growing up—even when it was hard or painful or ugly. I want fond memories of growing old, too.”

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    — Writer Corey Buhay, in her essay for Outside magazine, explaining why she chooses growing old rather than pushing the boundaries of longevity.

    “Friendship is like money, easier made than kept.”

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    — Samuel Butler, A Victorian- era English novelist, essayist, and critic, and author of such enduring works as Erewhon and The Way of All Flesh

    “It annoys me when people say, ‘Even if you’re old, you can be young at heart!’ Hiding inside this well-meaning phrase is a deep cultural assumption that old is bad and young is good. What’s wrong with being old at heart, I’d like to know? Wouldn’t you like to be…

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    — Susan Moon, an American writer, editor, and teacher of Zen Buddhism. Her books include This Is Getting Old: Zen Thoughts on Aging with Humor and Dignity and Alive Until You’re Dead: Notes on the Home Stretch

    “When you lose someone you love, they never really leave you. They just move into a special place in your heart.”

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    — Catherine O’Hara, Canadian comedic actress known for her roles in such classic movies as Home Alone, Best in Show, and the hit television show, Schitt’s Creek. O’Hara died this past week at the age of 71

    “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”

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    — Anne Frank, a young Jewish child hidden from the Nazis in the Netherlands, whose diary of her time spent hiding was discovered, providing a remarkable view of her life and thoughts during the occupation. She died in a concentration camp in 1945