Not long after retiring from the District Attorney's Office to become the Director of Turning Point, our domestic violence and sexual assault services program, our local newspaper published a small article on the growing numbers of retirees entering second careers.  No writer was given a by-line.  It was a brief wire report.  The gist of the article centered around "Boomers" whose formative years were in the late 1960s.  The article noted a growing trend among graying boomers to end one career and begin a second, often in the arena of social services.  The author opined that my generation was returning to its level of social consciousness originally experienced in the days of our idealistic youth.On Sunday, July 20, 2008, Nicholas Kristof, a columnist for the NY Times, wrote a column entitled, "Geezers Doing Good".  It's worthy of being shared.  It appears below in its entirety. 

Op-Ed Columnist

Geezers Doing Good

Prior to publishing his novel "East of Eden", John Steinbeck published an essay entitled "What is the world’s story about?"  It was later included in the novel as chapter 34.  It is considered to be the pivotal section of "East of Eden" by many literary analysts.

There are many notable passages in "East of Eden".  As a prosecuting attorney I turned to a number of them for use in closing arguments in serious cases.  Since the choice between good and evil is a central theme to "East of Eden", Steinbeck said much regarding mankind’s struggle to choose between the two.

Below is Steinbeck’s essay, "What is the world’s story about?"  I believe this speaks to us today as powerfully as when Steinbeck originally published it in 1952.

      “A child may ask, ‘What is the world’s story about?’  And a grown man or woman may wonder, ‘What way will the world go? How does it end and, while we’re at it, what’s the story about?’

      I believe that there is one story in the world, and only one, that has frightened and inspired us, so that we live in a Pearl White serial of continuing thought and wonder. Humans are caught - in their lives, in their thoughts, in their hungers and ambitions, in their avarice and cruelty, and in their kindness and generosity too - in a net of good and evil. I think this is the only story we have and that it occurs on all levels of feeling and intelligence. Virtue and vice were warp and woof of our first consciousness, and they will be the fabric of our last, and this despite any changes we may impose on river and mountain, on economy and manners. There is no other story. A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have only the hard, clean questions: Was it good or was it evil? Have I done well - or ill?

      Herodotus, in the Persian War, tells a story of how Croesus, the richest and most favored King of his time, asked Solon the Athenian a leading question.  He would not have asked it if he had not been worried about the answer.  ‘Who,’ he asked, ‘is the luckiest person in the world?’  He must have been eaten with doubt and hungry for reassurance.  Solon told him of three lucky people in old times.  And Croesus more than likely did not listen; so anxious was he about himself.  And when Solon did not mention him, Croesus was forced to say, ‘Do you not consider me lucky?’  Solon did not hesitate in his answer.  ‘How can I tell,’ he said, ‘You aren’t dead yet.’  And this answer must have haunted Croesus dismally as his luck, wealth and kingdom disappeared.  And as he was being burned on a tall fire, he may have thought of it and perhaps wished he had not asked or not been answered.*

      And in our time, when a man dies - if he has had wealth and influence and power and all the vestments that arouse envy, and after the living take stock of the dead man’s property and his eminence and works and monuments - the question is still there: Was his life good or was it evil? - which is another way of putting Croesus’s question. Envies are gone, and the measuring stick is: ‘Was he loved or was he hated? Is his death felt as a loss or does a kind of joy come from it?’

      I remember clearly the deaths of three men. One was the richest man of the century, who, having clawed his way to wealth through the souls and bodies of men, spent many years trying to buy back the love he had forfeited and by that process performed great service to the world and, perhaps, had much more than balanced the evils of his rise. I was on a ship when he died. The news was posted on the bulletin board, and nearly everyone received the news with pleasure. Several said, ‘Thank God that son of a bitch is dead.’

      There was a man, smart as Satan, who, lacking some perception of human dignity and knowing all too well every aspect of human weakness and wickedness, used his special knowledge to warp men, to buy men, to bribe and threaten and seduce until he found himself in a position of great power. He clothed his motives in the name of virtue, and I have wondered whether he knew that no gift will ever buy back a man’s love when you have removed his self-love. A bribed man can only hate his briber. When this man died the nation rang with praise and, just beneath, with gladness that he was dead.

      There was a third man, who perhaps made many errors in performance but whose effective life was devoted to making men brave and dignified and good in a time when they were poor and frightened and when ugly forces were loose in the world to utilize those fears. This man was hated by the few. When he died the people burst into tears in the streets and their minds wailed, ‘What can we do now? How can we go on without him?’

      In uncertainty I am certain that underneath their topmost layers of frailty men want to be good and want to be loved. Indeed, most of their vices are attempted short cuts to love. When a man comes to die, no matter what his talents and influence and genius, if he dies unloved his life must be a failure to him and his dying a cold horror. It seems to me that if you or I must choose between two courses of thought or action, we should remember our dying and try to live that our death brings no pleasure to the world.

      We have only one story. All novels, all poetry, are built on the never-ending contest in ourselves of good and evil. And it occurs to me that evil must constantly respawn, while good, while virtue, is immortal. Vice has always a new fresh young face, while virtue is venerable as nothing else in the world is.”

                                                                                            --John Steinbeck, 1952

*Croesus was King of Lydia in Greece between 595BC-547BC.  He was considered to be the wealthiest man in the ancient world and is the origin of the phrase "as rich as Croesus".  During the war between the Greeks and the Persians, it is said that Croesus consulted the oracle at Delphi.  He asked if he would be successful if he launched a campaign against Cyrus of Persia.  The oracle responded that if he launched his campaign a great empire would fall.  When he asked whether he should seek an ally in his campaign against the Persians, he was told he should seek out the most powerful city state in Greece for their help.  Croesus chose Sparta and begain his campaign against Cyrus in 547BC.  Of course, the campaign failed.  The empire that fell was his own.  Croesus was captured by Cyrus and according to legend was burned alive on a funeral pyre which is the incident alluded to by Steinbeck in the passage above.  Croesus' mythological fate was written of by the poet Bacchylides approximately a hundred years after the fact.  In truth, it is not known how Croesus died.

In my journal "Sullivan’s Travels" I told of the death of my cat Riley.  Today a dear friend sent me the following prayer, "Journey’s End".  

It is from the memories of Riley’s life and his unselfish love that we will find comfort as the passage of time gradually eases the ache with which we are now filled by his absence.

July 1, 2008

Well...I suppose I’ve acknowledged my age today by joining AARP.  However, I’m hardly retired.  I’ve only completed one career and hope to be very active in my second professional life for many years to come.

I was in Mobile, Al, last week for the Alabama Coalition Against Domestic Violence quarterly meeting.  I’m the first and sole male director of a domestic violence and sexual assault services program in the state.  It’s a rather unique position.

While in Mobile a week ago, I met an attractive younger woman, Gay Watson, an AARP representative in Alabama.  She was manning a Divided We Fail display at the hotel where I was staying.  The National Democratic Party was holding a thirteen southern state caucus the same time the Coalition was in town and Gay had set up shop outside the hotel, lobbying the largely partisan crowd.  We spoke about society’s shift away from retirement and the growing trend of people finishing up one career and beginning a new one.  Gay teasingly told me I could be her poster boy for today’s AARP member.  So, a few days later, here I am--a new member of AARP.  

Tuesday, July 2, 2008

We have a small staff here at Turning Point although we have existed since 1979.  Besides me there is a domestic violence counselor, sexual assault counselor, outreach education coordinator, a court advocate, and an office manager at our administrative office.

Our safe shelter is in a separate confidential location for purposes of safety for our residents and staff who work there.  At the shelter we have a director of domestic violence services, a case manager, a children’s advocate and a house manager.  Of course we’re open 24/7 and the phones are answered 24/7.

We depend on community volunteers and staff as backup to bring women into shelter when they call for help.  Many times law enforcement officers bring abuse victims directly to the shelter from taking a report of domestic violence.

We’re the second oldest domestic violence shelter in Alabama.  We began as one room in a local hospital which was hardly adequate to address the needs of domestic violence victims in our community.  Today we have a two story home with a full basement and can accomodate up to thirty women and children at any given time.

Our goal is to provide emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence.  Residents may stay up to sixty days.  Although the average stay is much shorter than you would imagine.

One of the unusual aspects of domestic violence relationships is that the victim returns to the abusive relationship as many as five to eight times before finally making a permanent break.  Why?  Well, people have written books on it.  And the reasons are many and often complicated.  In a nutshell, women in abusive relationships often grew up in a home where domestic violence occurred.  Not surprisingly abusive men also grew up in a similar home.  It is often learned behavior for both the victim and the perpetrator.

Men who batter are masters of control.  The attentive male who courts a woman relentlessly and sweeps her off her feet into a quick marriage or living relationship engages in behaviors to isolate their significant other from systems of support including friends and family.  The man will often tell a woman it is not necessary for her to work outside the home.  After all, he’s in charge and he will provide. 

Once children enter the picture the situation becomes more complicated.  Batterers use children as a way to keep women in abusive relationships--by threatening to get custody of the children and not allow the mother to see them.

And, abusive men promise to change their bad habits when women indicate they have had enough and are ready to leave.  We see a vicious cycle of abuse followed by earnest apologies, a blissful honeymoon period and a gradual return to abusive behavior.

Unfortunately, some women never escape.  As a prosecutor I tried multiple domestic violence homicides.

Do you know someone trapped in a dangerous and abusive relationship?  Have you been hurt in a domestic relationship?  Help is available. Visit the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence at:  http://www.ncadv.org/contactus.php  for a list of domestic violence coalitions in your state and others. 

If you need immediate assistance, dial 911.

Or call The National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Operated by the Texas Council on Family Violence.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Oprah Winfrey calls Gavin de Becker the nation’s leading expert on violent behavior.  In his best selling book, "The Gift of Fear" , Gavin de Becker addresses ways to spot even subtle signs of danger before it’s too late.  He does not believe that violence is unpredictable, but that we can learn to recognize signs of danger by learning to trust and act on our but instincts.  Sound dramatic?  You bet it is.  However, this is a man who knows of what he speaks.  I’d recommend this book for anyone in today’s society.  From the jacket blurb:  "A date won’t take no for an answer.  The new nanny gives a mother an uneasy feeling.  A stranger in a deserted parking lot offers unsolicited help...Learn to spot the danger signals others miss.  It might save your life."

Friday, July 4, 2008

It is a quiet holiday here.  It is hot as you would expect and there is a threat of thunderstorms today.  We have no major plans for the day.  I'm a bit under the weather with an earache teamed up with a sinus infection.  Fortunately I got to the "Doc in a box" yesterday and got started on a strong antibiotic.

NPR is playing its usual 4th programming.  The Gershwin is especially nice, as always.

Saturday, July 5th, 2008

Heavy thunderstorms this morning with good rain.  Last year was a hard drought.  We may be recovering from it with this year's increased rainfall.

I had a visit with our four young Mormon missionaries this morning.  They are extraordinary young men.  They have been visiting with Martha Jo and I for about a month now.  They first appeared at the Talbot's store my wife manages and asked her if we might have any work they might do around the house.  They look for chances to perform physical work such as they would do if they were at home.

In her typical fashion, Martha Jo told me the evening after their visit with her that she had met four of the nicest young Mormon missionaries and they were coming to dinner on Saturday.  My initial reaction was "Huh???"  But I've become accustomed to collecting characters through Martha Jo's random encounters with so many people.  She never meets a stranger.

Meeting with the young men is always a pleasure.  They are smart, very articulate, and well grounded in their habits and beliefs.  It is somewhat curious that four young men who do not appear to have been shaving for very long should all be called "Elder". *chuckle*

We have learned much about the Church of Latter Day Saints and have visited with the boys at their Church where two of them spoke to the congregation two Sundays ago.  I am the cook in our family.  I have enjoyed cooking for the young men when they visit with us.

This evening I prepared a southern dish for the boys--"Hoppin' John".  This is a dish prepared with blackeyed peas, onion, tomatoes, bacon, sausage and rice.  I rounded out the meal with roast chicken, cornbread and key lime pie for dessert.  As Sunday is "first Sunday", a day of fasting for them, they packed it away.

Martha Jo wheedled their first names from the boys.  Elder Jackson is "Derek".  Elder Coleman is "Danny".  Anway is "Tyler" and Beckford is "Kennard".  All are a long way from home.  Jackson and Coleman are both from Idaho.  Anway is from Arizona and Beckford is from Jamaica with a wonderful Caribbean accent.

Each young man is on mission for two years.  They are only allowed to call home twice a year--on Easter and on Mother's Day.  However, they are able to write.  And writing includes e-mail.  Coleman is the newest on Mission.  He's clearly homesick.  Martha Jo's and my relationship is a good one--good for them and us.  I think we give them a sense of home and we have been good listeners for them.  They run into so much rejection from people to whom they attempt to give their message.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

This morning our cat Riley is very sick.  He was out of sorts last night and clearly did not feel well.  He had no appetite and was very withdrawn.  We took him to an emergency pet clinic and were told that he might possibly be in liver failure.  Riley is only six years old and has never been sick before.  The vet recommended that we take him to the Veterinary school at Mississippi State University in Starkville and we did.  Riley is dehydrated and lethargic.  He takes no water or food.  MSU will do blood work, give fluids, and perform diagnostic tests.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Calls at three in the morning are never good.  We lost Riley.  During a transfusion Riley went into cardiac arrest.  Efforts at CPR were fruitless.  The Vet asked my wishes and I told her to let him go.  The school staff will perform a necropsy to determine the possible source of the liver failure.  Because of Riley's catastrophic decline there is the possibility of exposure to some toxin.  It is important to learn if that is the case, because we have a two year old female cat remaining--Tallulah.  Both Martha Jo and I are terribly upset.  Riley was a loving cat and a wonderful companion to both of us.  Tallulah has walked the house calling for him and looking for him.  We will all feel Riley's loss for a considerable time.  I miss him terribly.