The Song of the Swan and the Inevitability of Aging

The Song of the Swan and the Inevitability of Aging

Commentary by Pete Haug | FāVS News

The swan song symbolizes “a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement.” The metaphor dates from before the third century B.C.E. It comes from an ancient belief that, just before death, swans sing a beautiful song. I won’t speculate on the beauty of this column, but it is my swan song as I retire from the Moscow-Pullman Daily News Opinion Page. Retire, not die.

In 2015, I was one of 13 “Town Criers” who began contributing quarterly columns for two years. It was so much fun that I asked Editor Lee Rozen whether I might continue with an occasional submission. He agreed and I did. Those intermittent columns became biweekly commentaries, and I’ve loved sharing thoughts in those pages. To those who’ve commented, a warm “thank you.”

Two factors influenced my decision to retire. I recently turned 88, and for several years I’ve been going blind with age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness among elderly. For me, some days are more “visible” than others, depending on fatigue and other factors. Deterioration is gradual, but I no longer want biweekly deadlines that I might not be able to meet. However, I’m still hoping to submit occasional columns for Editor Craig Staszkow’s approval.

For years, my laptop’s tiny screen has been augmented by increasingly larger external monitors. Images are hard for me to decipher, but enlarged typefaces are still clear. Because my eyes are sensitive to light, white backgrounds, with low-contrast gray or blue fonts, are impossible. A black background with white characters works fine.

Sixty-two years ago this month, I entered professional journalism, editing a small-town suburban weekly newspaper. My first job after college was a “flack,” journalists’ pejorative for “publicity agent.” Going from flack to editor taught me much about newspapering.

Our printshop produced wedding and graduation materials, advertising flyers and the Honeoye Falls (New York) Times. Melted lead, “hot type,” lines of reversed characters created by Linotype machine were arrayed in columns of type on metal trays, called galleys. Columns were inked and pressed onto narrow sheets of newsprint to create printed galley proofs for proofreading.

Each week I took galley proofs home, where Jolie helped proofread. Next morning I’d return them to the printshop, where the publisher and others would correct errors, then lock columns into steel forms that housed a full page. Page-proofs were then re-checked for errors.

The first time my boss checked a page-proof from my “corrected” galleys, I thought he’d had a nosebleed. His red-ink correction marks were more than abundant! My proofreading improved fast. After several months I moved to the major regional newspaper in Rochester, New York. Later I returned to “flackdom” briefly at a university.

Then I changed direction to complete a doctorate in systems ecology, followed by decades of natural resource protection and ending with 11 years teaching English in China. I “retired” in 2007. But “Once you get printer’s ink under your fingernails,” printers say, “you never get it out.” It’s true. Writing served me well through many careers. My experiences earned me the gig on the Daily News in “retirement.”

In 2020 I started writing for FāVS News, Spokane’s “faith and values” internet outlet. As the name suggests, the site focuses on spiritual and faith-related news and commentary. As a Baha’i, I share ideas about my faith from a personal understanding and perspective, trying not to judge other belief systems. To access these posts, search on: “favs news haug.”  My Daily News columns have also discussed principles for addressing sociopolitical issues in our increasingly divisive and divided world.

Such division is opposed to my belief in the essential unity of humankind. Throughout millennia, humanity has evolved socially toward increasing enlightenment, with unified — not uniform — perspectives on many issues. Some cultures, including our own, are moving away from historic suppression of women. Succeeding generations recognize women’s rightful role in society: attaining equivalence with men.

Yet we continue, prisoners of our culture. As children, we often accept, without question, attitudes and behaviors we grow up with. We adopt the mentalities and prejudices of family and friends because accepting them is less risky than questioning.  But not questioning values that repress humanity impedes progress toward a just, peaceful, productive civilization.

I’ve been grateful for the opportunity to share thoughts like these with readers. I’d also like to thank Daily News Publisher Nathan Alford and family for the opportunity. Writing seems to have slowed my mental aging. I hope to continue, albeit sporadically, for as long as I’m able.

The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. FāVS News values diverse perspectives and thoughtful analysis on matters of faith and spirituality.