Old Age

"The world stands aside," said David Jordan, "to let anyone pass who knows where he is going." This applies to those, who learn where they are going late in life as well as for the young. At age 53, Margaret Thatcher became Britain's first female prime minister. At 64, Francis Chichester sailed alone around the world in a 53-foot yacht. At 65, Winston Churchill became British prime minister for the first time and started the epic struggle against Hitler. At 72, Golda Meir became prime minister of Israel. At 75, Ed Delano of California bicycled 3100 miles in 33 days to attend his 50th college reunion in Worcester, Massachusetts. At 76, Cardinal Angelo Roncalli became Pope John XXIII and inaugurated major changes in his church. At 80, Grandma Moses, who had started painting in her late 70s, had her first one-woman exhibit. At 81, Benjamin Franklin skillfully mediated between disagreeing factions at the U.S. Constitutional Convention. At 80, Winston Churchill returned to the House of Commons as a member of parliament and also exhibited 62 of his paintings. At 96, George C. Selbach scored a 110-yard hold-in-one at Indian River, Michigan. And on his 100th birthday, ragtime pianist Eubie Blake exclaimed, "If I'd known I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself."