Taking away the car keys
Getting old demands acceptance of necessary losses
When I took my mother's car keys away, she cursed at me. I'd never heard my sweet, churchgoing mom use language like that in my life, but she couldn't accept that at 85, her fading vision, hearing, and memory made her unsafe at any speed. I was reminded of the day Mom followed me to the door, shouting "Give me those #@ $&%! keys back," when Joe Biden spent several weeks insisting against all evidence that he was fit to serve four more years. Giving up the most powerful and prestigious job in the world, obviously, is more painful than losing access to the Camry. But the denial and the anger are fundamentally the same. Getting old, I've found, demands a succession of surrenders. You can accept these losses with some grace and rueful resignation — or go to war with the inevitable. Pro tip: You can't win.
I'm still more than a decade from Biden's stage of life, but if I put on my glasses, I can see the shape of it on the horizon. Behind me, the path is long and littered with losses large and small. Joints worn out from years of running, basketball, softball, and typing take turns complaining, and the mirror reveals a graying old guy I sometimes do not recognize. Too many loved ones and friends are gone. Last year, after 22 years as editor-in-chief of this magazine, I stepped down from full-time work so I could have more time to travel, to enjoy our new home in our new community, to kayak and cycle and walk and play more, to savor the passing days and sunsets over the river. Fortunately, I still get to continue to contribute to this fine magazine. It's worked out as I hoped, but the surrenders continue. The best strategy, it appears, is to accept them and fall back behind a new line of defense, and prepare for the next assault. I know how you feel, Mr. President. When they come for my car keys, I suspect I, too, will curse.
This is the editor's letter in the current issue of The Week magazine.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
William Falk is editor-in-chief of The Week, and has held that role since the magazine's first issue in 2001. He has previously been a reporter, columnist, and editor at the Gannett Westchester Newspapers and at Newsday, where he was part of two reporting teams that won Pulitzer Prizes.
-
Maha Kumbh Mela: world's largest religious festival gets under way in India
In The Spotlight Politics of Hindu nationalism has cast a shadow over event touted as biggest ever gathering of humanity
By The Week UK Published
-
North Carolina Supreme Court risks undermining its legitimacy
Under the radar A contentious legal battle over whether to seat one of its own members threatens not only the future of the court's ideological balance, but its role in the public sphere
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Codeword: January 14, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
'The proudly backward were validated by self-loathing Western intellectuals'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Elon Musk's support for AfD makes waves in Germany
Talking Point The tech billionaire has faced a vocal backlash after backing far-right movement shunned by mainstream parties
By The Week UK Published
-
Jimmy Carter honored in state funeral, laid to rest
Speed Read The state funeral was attended by all living presidents
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
US considering ban on Chinese drones as international tensions grow
In the Spotlight The decision will ultimately be made by the incoming Trump administration
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
'The scene runs as intended the vast majority of the time'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Biden resettles 11 more Guantánamo detainees
Speed Read In an effort to reduce the number of prisoners held in Guantánamo Bay, Biden transferred 11 Yemeni detainees to Oman
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden signs boost to Social Security for public workers
Speed Read The president signed the Social Security Fairness Act into law, expanding retirement benefits for millions
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Is the US testing China's 'red lines' on Taiwan?
Today's Big Question And how will Trump change the U.S.-China relationship?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published