Monday, March 21, 2011

Seventy - and not a bit wise.....

When German-Austrian actor Curd Juergens, a towering green-eyed beau, turned sixty he decided to write (or have some 'ghost' write) his autobiography. The title: "Sixty Years - and not a bit wise". This must have been at least some thirty five years ago.

I was still quite young then, and thought: 'Well, if
Curd Juergens isn't wise at that age, he would surely mature further, and be blessed by wisdom at seventy'. Being a sanguine hedonist who ate, drank, smoked, and fornicated excessively, he didn't make it, and died at age 67 - thus, I'll never know what he would have been like at my age.

What I know is this: I wasn't wise at sixty, and I have to confess that now, at seventy, I am still as far away from being a wise man as I was in my youth...

It took me almost all my adult life to realize that in order to be sagacious when you are old you had to be already sagacious as a youngster.


Most people mistake experience for wisdom. Big mistake! Grey hair means nothing. In fact - many, if not most, grey wolves and she-wolves are fools because they always were - and, hey, I am NOT excluding myself from the pack!!

What I became during the voyage on that Ship of Fools that has been my life is a grouchy old fart, aggressive, intolerant, impatient, not too pleasant to be with, and whatnot - all rather flattering attributes I have heard from family members and close friends, people who know me well, and, incomprehensibly, still kinda like me.... :-)

As a small kid I was gentle and charming, so I was told - look at that little boy, and see what became of him:



1943
(2 1/2 years old)


Oh, the ravages...........


2011
(seventy years old)

...... of time.



Happy birthday to me - and, particularly, to my beautiful, faithful, and indulgent wife Karin, also born on a 21st of March.


Karin





Justify Full

7 comments:

David Ulloa said...

Happy Birthday to you both!!! But the gifts of this day are all ours - to have a gumpy old man and his beautiful bride with us today. =)

xo

Unknown said...

Happy bday mom and dad...good post! And I could not agree with you more. A picture is worth more than 1,000 words. Maybe little Wolfie will change all that in July.

Love you guys...

DaShark said...

Love you Wolf!

About the wisdom... let us be the judge of that - and lemme tell 'ya altes Haus, you pretty much rank up there with the very best, at least in my book - which doesn't mean that yer not a total nutter as well! :)

Machetjut, Mike

Jupp said...

Oh Wolfi, you just took away all hope and illusions I had for my old age. Now I know that I'll die just as stupid as I was at birth.
Happy Birthday, you old fart. I look forward to seeing you this fall at Tiger Beach.
How did your wife manage to survive all those years with you and remain as beautiful as she looks?
All the best and many happy returns to both of you.

lyn nelson said...

Happy Birthday Dearest Wolfer and Karin!

So Wolfer, if you are so grumpy how come people around you laugh? How come your many friends love you so much? And why do those Tiger Girls seem to connect with you as no other? Well, wisdom or not you are the best....and who cares about wise? Being an old fart is more fun anyway.

Love you both, my dear friends.

xoxo

Wolfgang Leander said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Wolfgang Leander said...

Thank you all for your very kind and comforting words - they made my day, my birthday!! :-)