Betty Gordon, 94 and Crushing It.

Here's a heartwarming story. Even more than heartwarming, this story speaks to beginning a new year and aging gracefully, which Lord knows, we all want to do.

The New York Times did a story about Betty Gordon last July, when she was 93, and on Christmas published an update as she celebrated her 94th birthday... and the publication of her new self-published book, her first I might add and hugely successful. Gordon is a woman who moved to NYC when she was in her 20s, and lived the life she dreamed about-- associated with the art world, theater, and she was definitely very cool. Of course she had her ups and downs; read her story, she definitely "lived the life."

From the outside looking in, despite medical and financial challenges, she was doing really well into her 90s. Why is that? I don't have the answer, but I am sure that her thinking and caring outside of herself, her continued involvement with friends, and still at 93/94 having the confidence to try things that she had never done before, and to devise a plan to help a friend. In short-- she wrote and self-published the aforementioned book--it is a children's book, Phoebe the Cat and Her Curious Dog Dream, on one condition: that her friend Ian Spence illustrate it. Spence, an illustrator by profession, was worse off than Betty--he had hit the skids, and suffered drug abuse and extreme anxiety. His life was in shambles. Betty convinced him to agree, and cutting to the chase, the book, published in July, has been extremely successful--which is great for them both financially, and in addition, Spence turned his life around. There's more to the story-- a project they are working on together now, about Betty's life which includes "dancing naked at Woodstock and having an affair with Frank Serpico," and she was also married to  jazz saxophonist Hal McKusick. You should definitely check it out, but for me the real story is that of her being 94, unafraid, living life, starting new things, and caring about a dear friend—and acting on it. Food for thought as the new year approaches. As David Waldstein put it in his Christmas article:

"On Dec. 14, Ms. Gordon and Mr. Spence celebrated Christmas at her apartment. He gave her the new hardcover edition of the book they produced together, the one that she wrote, and that saved his life."

We can all do something great.