Following Your Dreams at 92 by Fred Olds and Margo L. Dill
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You are never too old to do anything. Really! Read that sentence again because it is important--if you are reading this post and you’re 25 or you’re 95 and you have a dream? You. Are. Not. Too. Old. If you want to play a musical instrument or become a travel blogger--if you want to make a TikTok video or you want to find a new job--you are not too old.
Let me tell you about the amazing Fred Olds. He is a children’s writer and a mystery writer. He has not always been a writer--he’s retired from the Postal Service. But he has always been a storyteller, and when he retired, he decided to put those stories on the page. Then he had his first book published traditionally at the age of 91 by my publishing company, Editor-911 Books.
Well, since he’s a writer, and since he can do anything, we will let him tell you his story. You will find it inspiring!
FRED: Well, at 92, a lot of life’s water has flowed under my bridge; so with that in mind, a fair question might be, what to say and where to begin? And perhaps as good a place as any would be a bit of how and when many of my stories originated.
When our kids were little (they are 18 months apart) and bedtime came around, like most kids, there were the usual whining protests and “foot-dragging” excuses. Then once tucked under the covers, there was always a final plea of, “Dad, tell us a story.”
Now this old dad really hasn’t any special storytelling talents, just a treasure trove of depression era childhood experiences. Those, coupled with an active imagination and little or no conscience when it comes to the embellishment of my stories, created tales about ordinary pets--my dogs became superheroes like Lassie and Rex. To further convince you of my no-talent confession, I can honestly say that the kids were never awake to hear the story endings!
I love examples. To me, an example (like a picture) is worth a thousand words of explanation. And the following is an example of how my favorite children’s story, “The Hobbling Hermit,” (currently a part of Read-Aloud Stories with Fred Vols. 1 and 2) originated.
One morning, while crossing the local McDonald’s parking lot for a “senior coffee,” I passed the restaurant’s dumpster and noticed a bearded, homeless man poking around in its contents.
Now to me, writing children’s stories is all about imagination and what-ifs.
What if this homeless man was a hermit with a beard so long that he had to tuck it under his belt to keep from tripping on it? What if he eked out his living scavenging the city dump for little things he could sell, and what if he came upon a discarded purse with a sassy, little mouse napping inside and poked it? What would happen next? Now I had the beginnings of a story, and with some imagination and a bit of embellishment, I was on my way; you can see the possibilities were endless. And that’s about all there is to writing a story.
So I say to all you “wouldbe authors,” don’t put your dream off any longer, start now and “Go, write, win!”
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As you can see, even in this blog post, Fred is humble and a true storyteller at heart. He told a story to explain how you can do anything. And you can--age, race, gender--none of it matters. What matters is believing in yourself and working hard to accomplish your goals. Like the old saying goes, “Age is just a number.”
