I won't keep you in suspense. Her name is Judith Viorst. She is a witty, urbane, insightful and no-bull fiction and non-fiction author and poet. And she is slightly older than me -- which means that everything I am feeling, she has already felt before and put into words.
If you don't know Judith Viorst, 84, you are in for a profound awakening. Google her. Her magnetic children's books like Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day grace kids' bookshelves everywhere. And she is no slouch in the self -help section either.Necessary Losses is a necessary read.
But my favorites books from Judith are the books she has written as she survived and thrived during each decade of her life: Forever Fifty and Other Negotiations. Suddenly Sixty and Other Shocks of Later Life. I'm Too Young to be Seventy and Other Delusions. Her take on marriage, parenting, friends, hair, and weight offer fresh -- but utterly recognizable -- perspectives.
And her newest book doesn't disappoint either. Wait For Me - the Irritations and Consolations of a Long Marriage. She finds the patches of common ground in marital relationships of extended duration. How extended is not precisely defined. But who cares?
Ever wonder what the toughest vow of all is? It's not to go on a diet tomorrow, swear off chocolate forever, or be less snippy to your son's girlfriend (whom you secretly and not-so-secretly would like him to ditch). Nope. "The hardest vow of all," says Judith is the "until death do us part."
Who hasn't heard one's spouse repeat the same tired jokes over and over again? Who hasn't waged constant war over closet space? Who hasn't listened maddeningly to our partner's snoring and contemplated -- just for a second -- smothering him or her into oblivion?
As our minds constrict, our waist expands and our kids urge us to downsize, we begin to deal with both the monotony and wonders of a long marriage. And we continue to conjure up images of what lies beyond for the two of us. Judith Viorst wanders through this same murky terrain in her newest book -- with insight, good cheer and affection.
"Everything I write about humorously, I've lived through tearfully," she once told me during our 90-minute, face-to-face chat some years ago. She's spent her adult life transcribing her un-enhanced routines and rituals into sentences and stanzas. And the reader benefits from her provocative probing into the bottomless mystery of human behavior. Or, at the very least, into a best friend's kitchen window.
"In every marriage more than a week old, there are grounds for divorce. The trick is to find, and continue to find, grounds for marriage." Quotes like this from famous and not-so-famous people are sprinkled throughout Viorst's entries as an added bonus.
Do you and your spouse meet nightly in a half sleep shuffle on the way to the bathroom? And is this often in lieu of engaging in wild sex in the wee hours of the morning in your own king size bed? Do you grapple with the maddening monotony of decades-long matrimony, at the same time recognizing the wondrous joy of same? This book will sing to you.
By the way, Wait For Me goes on sale October 20.
Also, if you'd like more Judith, written excerpts of our 90-minute conversation are posted on my website: www.irisruthpastor.com.
Betty White
AP
Doesn't it seem like Betty White has been around since David torpedoed Goliath with a slingshot? Our favorite golden girl is only 94 though. Even though Miss Betty White began her career in the 1940s on radio, and later appeared on late night talk shows and game shows (including "Password") in the 50s and 60s, she wasn't really a household name until, at the age of 51, she began playing "The Happy Homemaker" Sue Ann Nivens on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (1973-1977).
Morgan Freeman
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Who doesn't love Morgan Freeman? This Academy Award winner paid his dues and then some. Freeman worked for several years as an actor, but really came into his own playing chauffeur Hoke Colburn in "Driving Miss Daily" at the age of 52 (although he was 50 when he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in the film "Street Smart").
Sharon Osbourne
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Heavy metal vocalist Ozzy Osbourne has been famous for over 40 years as lead singer of the English band Black Sabbath. His wife, Sharon, however, did not become a household name until their family reality show "The Osbournes" premiered on MTV in 2002. Just barely 50, Sharon became a media darling, which opened up many doors. She went on to become a judge on "America's Got Talent" and has been co-host of the CBS daytime show "The Talk" since it debuted in October 2010.
Regis Philbin
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Regis Philbin was comedian Joey Bishop's sidekick on the ABC television show "The Joey Bishop Show" from 1967 to 1969 and hosted his own local talk show -- "A.M. Los Angeles" -- from 1975 to 1983. But his name wasn't exactly on the tip of our collective tongues until he became a daytime staple with Kathie Lee Gifford in 1988 on "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee" when he was 57. His vibrant, caustic, yet fun-loving personality pushed him over the top sometime after the show began to gain in popularity with daytime viewers.
Abe Vigoda
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Born in 1921, Abe Vigoda captured the role of Salvatore Tessio in the film "The Godfather" in 1972 at the age of 51. His next big role came in 1975 when he signed on to play Sgt. Phil Fish on the television series "Barney Miller." And that's when Vigoda -- who passed away in 2016 -- really became a household name.
Tom Bergeron
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Sure, Tom Bergeron became the host of "Hollywood Squares" in 1998 and of "America's Funniest Home Videos" in 2001, but he didn't really become widely known until joining the wildly popular "Dancing With the Stars." The amiable host was 50 when the show premiered in 2005. After more than 20 seasons as host, it appears he's a keeper.
Mike Wallace
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Maybe Mike Wallace was well-known in some hard-core news circles, and perhaps he was on a first-name basis with a few news junkies many moons ago, but it wasn't until he laid his groundwork as a superb gotcha reporter on "60 Minutes" which he did from 1968 (after he turned 50) until 2008 -- that his star really began to shine. This well-respected news journalist sadly passed away on April 7, 2012 at the age of 93.
Samuel L. Jackson
Gabe Ginsberg via Getty Images
Born in 1948, Samuel L. Jackson appeared in more than 100 films before the age of 40. However, it was only after he landed the role of a hitman in "Pulp Fiction" in 1994 that his star really began to shine. For this performance, Jackson received a Best Supporting Actor nomination.
Andy Rooney
Getty
Andy Rooney is another personality that seems to have been around since the beginning of time, and we're all glad to have been the recipients of his off-the-wall satirical takes on human nature. In 1978, at the age of 59, Rooney began his "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney" segment on the CBS news show "60 Minutes," continuing through 2011. He made us laugh, he made us cry, he made us think. It doesn't get better than that. Rooney died on November 4, 2011 at the age of 92 only a few weeks after his last appearance on the show.
Joy Behar
Getty
Joy Behar was 54 when she was cast as one of the original members of "The View," which made its debut in August 1997. A few years before that, you could catch Behar doing hilarious stand-up comedy on television. But she only became a household name sometime after "The View" became a must-see, daytime television talk show.
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