Larry Weiss was hired as a driver for a "hippie" expedition company in the late 1960s. Driving across Iran with World War II-vintage maps often meant the team was lost. Now in his 80s, he feels a similar sense of driving without a roadmap.
First, I have to tell you a true story about maps. It may seem a bit far afield from the main event, turning 80, but I promise this story will wham! bang! collide with turning 80. In 1969 I was a wild and crazy guy in my early 20s careening around Europe to see what I could see. I was running out of money and decided to head to London from France thinking the job opportunities there would be better.
I am compelled to note here that the border crossing was, uh, kind of rough. The English border guards decided that I was part of a gang attempting to smuggle cars into England and we narrowly avoided being thrown into the slammer. They eventually let us go but impounded the cars. It turns out I was part of a gang of car smugglers, but I didn't know it until the border guards asked for a bunch of paperwork we didn't have. I thought I was just helping fellow revelers in a bar drive some cars. What's the world coming to when you can't trust a couple of guys in a French bar?
To continue this nonlinear story, after I found a place to stay in London for a while (OK, yes, with the friendly car smugglers) I decided to scan a local newspaper for possible employment. And there it was, the dream job. Encounter Overland was sort of a hippie expedition company that drove "tourists" from London to Calcutta. The bone-jarring trip took about three months sitting on a bench seat in the back of a refurbished military truck squeezed in with maybe eight or 10 other crazies who would pay good money to do this. Usually, they camped in tents by the side of the road and ate a lot of canned food packed in the truck from London.
Encounter Overland was looking for driver trainees. I applied and was hired. Then I found out that the driver trainee shakedown expedition was not from London to Calcutta but rather was from London to southern Iran where they had never driven before. So off we went across Europe, Romania, Turkey, and into Iran and then south across the Great Salt Desert, or Kavir Desert.
Don't worry. We had maps of Iran. These were great big WWII-vintage maps, maybe 4 or 5 feet square, that the expedition leader would spread out over the hood of the truck so we could have a look. Then he would confidently point to some red dots and squiggly lines and announce that there was the route. Next morning, off we went.
But the fact is we were usually lost. Some of the "roads" were actually narrow dried riverbeds with high embankments. We couldn't turn around so we just meandered around the desert hoping it wouldn't rain. The Great Salt Desert was actually a lake with a thick layer of salt on it. Unbeknownst to us, just before we arrived there had been a torrential rainfall so the lake had risen and dissolved the salt layer from underneath. The front end of the truck broke through and nearly sank into the lake. Ill prepared, usually lost, I had an astounding adventure.
Now, back to turning 80. A lifetime of bad maps, careening from one university to the next, one job to the next, one state to the next. Periodically dropping out over the decades to find myself in Mongolia or North Korea or southern Iran. Red dots and squiggles. I tried, but I just could not follow that map.
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote: "To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." In my experience that was true in Iran and I think it will be even more true in my 80s. Good genetics, a loving family, accidental happenstances that led to modest financial security. I was just lucky.
To be clear, I don't advocate hurtling into our 80s propelled by luck and intuition. It could go very wrong. Not much time to correct. Still, though, it worked for me for decades. But I have to say I am a bit concerned looking forward. Perhaps there are better maps as we wander into our 80s. See for example:
"Letting Go, Aging Well, and Finding Unexpected Happiness" By Katharine Esty. "This invaluable guide will help the historical number of eightysomethings live fulfilled, happy lives long into their twilight years."
"Honest Aging" by Dr. Rosanne M. Leipzig. "Leipzig, an expert in evidence-based geriatrics, highlights how 80-year-olds differ from 60-year-olds and why knowing this is important for your health."
"How to Age with Grace: Living Your Best Life in Your 70s, 80s, and Beyond" by Bobbi Linkemer. "Answers the ten most pressing questions older adults ask to help them live well now and prepare for the years ahead."
Bon Voyage!
Lawrence D. Weiss is a UAA Professor of Public health, Emeritus, creator of the UAA Master of Public health program, and author of several books and numerous articles.
