One of the better things about turning 80, Bob Dylan told the New York Times’ Opinion staff in a feature published Sunday, “is that you outlive the clocks that have been chasing you.” But, the singer added, one of the worst is you realize that time stands still and, “We’re the ones that move.”
Dylan joined Liza Minnelli, Robert De Niro, Gloria Steinem, Art Garfunkel, and Dionne Warwick in reflecting on the age on the same day Donald Trump hit it.
“The best thing about being 80 is that you outlive the clocks that have been chasing you. It’s freedom from that lie that anything was ever under control. You don’t chase the parade anymore,” Dylan said. “You’re an old king from some vanished country. You’re harder to program. You’re not rushing to become anything and you’re not haunted by things that you did. You’re haunted by how little of it really mattered in the way you thought it would.”
“The worst thing about being 80 is that you still want to say yes to everything, but the world moves without asking. The old fire in your heart still tells you to do this and that, but your body says we already did it,” he continued. “Also, nothing surprises you. It sounds like a luxury but it’s not, and also you’ve run out of illusions. People treat you like either you’ve solved something or you’ve lost something, and you haven’t. You see life repeating itself everywhere.”
“The really worst part about being 80 is that you find, at last, you’ve got an understanding of something that might have altered everything in the past, had it come at a time when something could still be altered. When you’re young you think that time moves forward. At 80 you know that it doesn’t, it stands still. We’re the ones that move.”
Gloria Steinem offered her own take on the best part of turning 80: “With the needs of work and family more in the past, it’s likely we have some of the immediate pleasures of childhood again, from appreciating pets and nature to seeing family members and friends blossom in unexpected ways. For example, my friend who was a makeup artist has opened a great bookstore.”
The worst? “Losing people you love.”
When asked if she had advice for Trump, she kept it brief: “Resign.”
Trump has not yet acknowledged his birthday. On Sunday he announced an apparent ceasefire with Iran via Truth Social.
