Monday, March 06, 2017

"Keep Moving" by Dick Van Dyke


KEEP MOVING and other tips and truths about aging by Dick Van Dyke

                I loved reading this book. It is part memoir and part “how-to” on the art of aging. Van Dyke’s writing is optimistic, positive, energetic, filled with humor, and sprinkled with wise reflections on getting older. Van Dyke was 89 years old when he started writing the book. He is in good health, sharp of mind, and happily married to a woman over four decades younger than him.

                Here is what he shares in answer to the question, “So what do I think really matters.

                                1} Family and Friends
2} Questions (Always questioning about the meaning of life. Questions like; What can I   do to help? How can you be so sure? Am I using my time productively? Am I ok with myself? If not, why? Is my heart open?
                3) Music
                4) Books
                5) A Sense of Humor

Throughout the book the reader is treated to little examples of the author’s creativity and humor. An example is this limerick titled “A Separate Plot”.

There was a young man from Dallas
Who overdosed on Cialis
His body was laid
To rest in the shade
With a separate plot
For his phallus.

The final chapter of the book is a recent conversation between Van Dyke and his best friend, Carl Reiner, who is three years older than the author. Very funny. Finally, this poem.

The Thing That Lasts
The one thing that persists
From childhood through
Whatever age you are right now
Is the love we feel for one another
And still feel even more today.
Love is the thing that lasts.
You feel it more than the aches and pains.
You remember it when other memories fade.
You crave it when you have no taste
For anything else.
You pick it up when you feel weak.
It’s on your smile in the morning
And in your dreams at night.
It’s what you carry around with you every day.
It’s what you take with you.
It’s what you leave behind.
Love is the thing that lasts.
That makes it all worthwhile.

I wouldn’t trade a minute of it.