Dying is a matter of slapstick and pratfalls. The ageing process is not gradual or gentle. It rushes up, pushes you over and runs off laughing. No one should grow old who isn't ready to appear ridiculous.
John MortimerRead
The aging process is not gradual or gentle. It rushes up, pushes you over, and runs off laughing. No one should grow old who isn't ready to appear ridiculous.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Aging can be a sudden and jarring experience, often leaving one feeling unprepared for its challenges.
In this quote, John Mortimer reflects on the abrupt and often humorous nature of aging. He suggests that the process of growing old is not a slow, manageable transition, but rather a forceful event that can catch people off guard, provoking feelings of absurdity and the need for a light-hearted perspective. Mortimer's words encourage acceptance of the ridiculousness that can accompany aging and imply that one should embrace this stage of life with an open mind rather than resistance.
Themes
AgingAcceptanceHumorLifeRidiculousness
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of embracing life at all ages.
More from John Mortimer
All quotes →Writing about the indignities of old age: the daunting stairway to the restaurant restroom, the benefits of a wheelchair in airports and its disadvantages at cocktail parties, giving the user what he described as a child's-eye view of the party and a crotch-level view of the guests. Dying is a matter of slapstick and pratfalls. The aging process is not gradual or gentle. It rushes up, pushes you over and runs off laughing. No one should grow old who isn't ready to appear ridiculous.
John MortimerRead
I'd been told of all the things you're meant to feel when your father dies. Sudden freedom, growing up, the end of dependence, the step into the sunlight when no one is taller than you and you're in no one's shadow. I know what I felt. Lonely.
John MortimerRead
There are lots of similarities between being a writer and a lawyer: to tell a story to a jury, hold their attention, make them laugh, make them like you. But what makes being a barrister less satisfying than being a writer is, finally, that it's about what someone else wants you to say.
John MortimerRead
I refuse to spend my life worrying about what I eat. There is no pleasure worth foregoing just for an extra three years in the geriatric ward.
John MortimerRead
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