A Long and Winding Road

This is the path to the studios at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. I've walked it for over forty years, starting during the summer of 1982, when I first arrived as a writing fellow.

 

And so now, I am currently the oldest fellow, surrounded by writers and artists and composers in their twenties and thirties. A few in their forties and fifties. But still, they're young! And, oh my goodness, they're so talented, so inspiring, especially to someone like me who's been around the block a time or two. Or five or six or seven or eight.

 

Just call me Grandma Jamie. Actually, I prefer the moniker--Fellow Emeritus--the wise old professor.

I like being old. And I don't want to pretend I'm not old. In fact, I am leaning into this age thing, because it has some delightful benefits. The younger fellows are super-nice to me. Maybe it's because they think I'm not long for this world.

 

Just kidding! I plan to stick around for a while yet.

 

The other day, a poet commented on how I was very good at yoga. (Yes, we practice Ashtanga yoga here at VCCA.) I replied that this shouldn't be surprising because I've been practicing yoga for over fifty years. She looked at me, full of wonder. Fifty years. Incredible.

 

Even to me, it seems incredible.

 

Creative Friends--don't let a number stop you from fully living your life. Be brave and a little adventurous. Open your heart to the unexpected opportunities. Most importantly, be generous to those who are just now beginning their journey. This is not about simply offering up your hard-won wisdom, but rather it's about being a good role model. In the immortal words of Marilyn Monroe--we all get old and we all lose our looks in the end. In order words, no one gets out of Planet Earth alive. So, before you go, make sure you follow the camper's creed and leave this place a little better than you found it.

 

With gratitude to Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and all my fellow artists throughout the decades.

 

Love,

Jamie