My last
blog was about writing in a laundromat in Port Townsend. We go there every year for the Festival of
American Fiddle Tunes. (The
festival is in the city, not in the laundromat.
Just in case you were wondering.)
The first
time we attended, about a dozen years ago, the highlight for me was a guy named
Bob McQuillen. As I recall the story,
his hobby for many years had been playing piano for contra dances (think New England
square dances) in Maine. After retiring
he decided to try his hand at writing a fiddle tune suitable for dancing and by
the time I heard him he had written hundreds.
(Note for non-folk music fans.
Trust me, we WILL get around to mystery fiction.)
I remember
thinking it was great to get to see the old guy, because who knew how long he
would be around?
Jump ahead
to the 2012 Festival and there he is, the iron man, age 84 anf still performing. He now as fifteen volumes of Bob’s Notebooks, each of which contains
100 original fiddle tunes. As near as I
can tell the only concession he has made to his age is asking his collaborators
what key they want to play the tunes in, and then writing them down so he gets it right.
One day I
saw him lifting tablecloths, peeking at the spaces where people had stored
instrument cases, obviously hunting for something. He noticed me watching and grinned. “Lookin’ for my coffin!” What a character.
But Bob
was not the oldest teacher at the festival.
I think that honor went to 94-year-old fiddler Elmer Rich. In this video you will see him, somewhat younger, playing the mandolin. He switched to fiddle when someone stepped on
his mando long ago.
Now here’s
the kicker, Elmer lives in West Virginia.
To come to Washington state for the festival he flew for the first time. Well,
why not? I mean, if you don’t fly at
ninety-four when will you fly?
Respecting
our elders
And now to
the point of the story. Those of us who
write fiction are lucky, like musicians, that in many cases we can keep going
way past retirement age. I decided to
take a look at some of our elder statesmen.
I’m sure you can add some I missed.
Each of the numbers below indicates the author’s age (within a year)
when the last novel was published.
ED MCBAIN
79
GLADYS
MITCHELL 83
AGATHA
CHRISTIE 83
ERLE
STANLEY GARDNER 84
NGAIO
MARSH 87
REX STOUT
89
DICK
FRANCIS 90 (but his last few books are co-credited to his son Felix.)
Stout deserves special honors, I think, because
his last novel was one of his best. How
often does that happen?)
And ELMORE
LEONARD is still going strong at 86. Can
anyone beat that? .
