My husband and I are happy-go-lucky retirees. The daily news no longer enthralls us; whether on TV, online, or in the daily newspaper, disaster after disaster unfolds, provoking anxiety and crushing our emotions. The current fad endlessly recycles shameful claims and dishonesty designed to cast aspersions and ruin the reputations of those on the opposite side of the divide. It’s all deplorable.
But we haven’t disengaged from life. At this age and stage, we’ve reached equanimity. We have well-honed filters that help us ignore the acrimony and noise.
We seek knowledge elsewhere, about eclectic and interesting things.
For both of us, reading is a longtime skill, a hobby, a habit that refreshes and renews our minds. It broadens our knowledge, sometimes rearranging our points of view. We learn from characters’ struggles, troubles, and triumphs. We gain empathy and grow.
We neither live our lives with our heads underground – like an ostrich – nor with our heads in books.
We don’t book swap because we like different genres. He’s a power-and-politics guy, with David Baldacci as a favorite author. My taste is more eclectic – and, I think, interesting – with the mystery genre as a favorite because of the puzzle component. Further, the bad guy always gets his/her due. I tend to follow authors I’ve met at their signings and book talks. The warmth of a personal relationship hooks me.
My husband and I aren’t book snobs, believing that only cover-to-cover knowledge enriches. We enjoy several long-established TV shows for their eclectic and interesting content. Shows like 60 Minutes, GPS by Fareed Zaharia, and Sunday Morning. While we miss Stephen Colbert – the man who helped us through the protracted home stay during the pandemic – we stay tuned to the satire of The Daily Show and Saturday Night Live. Many favorite TV programs are on our local PBS station, and we make donations accordingly.
My husband will be forever enthralled by college football, where the game and its outcome are always eclectic and interesting, unlike the pros. I don’t mind his Saturday preoccupation. Sometimes I watch and cheerlead; sometimes I read; and sometimes I write.
While we are both avowed extroverts, addicted to social gatherings, these private and home-based interests underpin our eclectic and interesting lives.
What about you?
Even college sports are so different now.
You have to know what’s going but not be obsessed by the news or it will drive you crazy. Especially as it’s hard to get just news since so much of it is slanted.
Getting the news hourly on the radio is more than enough for me, although I also get newsletters from a trusted newspaper (the Guardian), on a range of topics to keep me up to date with what I’m really interested in.
And as an avowed introvert, I often surprise myself by talking to everyone when I occasionally go out!