This is 90: Carpenter, Author, Publisher Lloyd Kahn Responds to The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire
"I view the world through the eyes I’ve always had. Ages 18, 35, 50, 75, 90, the view hasn’t changed."
From the time I was 10, I’ve been obsessed with what it means to grow older. I’m curious about what it means to others, of all ages, and so I invite them to take “The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire.” (*The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire is exclusive to Oldster Magazine. ©Sari Botton)
Here, Lloyd Kahn responds. -Sari Botton
PS If you’re enjoying the work I do here at Oldster, please consider supporting it by becoming a paid subscriber. 🙏
Lloyd Kahn is a natural builder and writer. In the mid-‘60s, Lloyd Kahn quit his job in the insurance business and began working as a carpenter, first building post and beam houses, then geodesic domes. In 1968, he became the shelter editor of The Whole Earth Catalog, which led him to publish two books on dome building and then, in 1973, the book Shelter (which went on to sell 350,000 copies). Lloyd’s been writing ever since. In his latest book, The Half-Acre Homestead: 46 Years of Building & Gardening, he covers his own work for the first time, and that of his wife Lesley, in building a house and creating a garden in the seaside town of Bolinas over a 46-year period. He publishes the Substack newsletter Live From California with Lloyd Kahn.
—
How old are you?
I recently turned 90. Last year I wrote a Substack post entitled, “The Final Lap: What It’s Like to Be 89—My Last Decade,” which had a huge response.
Is there another age you associate with yourself in your mind? If so, what is it? And why, do you think?
I view the world through the eyes I’ve always had. Ages 18, 35, 50, 75, 90, the view hasn’t changed.
Do you feel old for your age? Young for your age? Just, right? Are you in step with your peers?
I feel my age, but there is the same reaction from 100% of the people who learn how old I am: surprise, often incredulity.
What do you like about being your age?
Wisdom, accumulated experience, memories of “back then.”
I feel my age, but there is the same reaction from 100% of the people who learn how old I am: surprise, often incredulity.
What is difficult about being your age?
Loss of mental and physical abilities.
What is surprising about being your age, or different from what you expected, based on what you were told?
Still having physical abilities I thought would be gone now. Like skateboarding.
What has aging given you? Taken away from you?
Given: a span of time to look back upon and from which to compare present realities.
Taken away: again, physical and mental abilities.
How has getting older affected your sense of yourself, or your identity?
A sense of being—if you’ll forgive the self-aggrandizement factor—extraordinary for my age.
My favorite age was 50-65 or so, because I still had physical and mental strengths that were not so diminished. This was undoubtedly helped by having spent 20 years editing a series of fitness books—stretching, running, and weight lifting—and hanging out with world-class athletes. I was a competitive runner for over 20 years, did triathlons, paddle races, went to aerobic dance classes (often the only guy in classes full of women), cycling and surfing.
What are some age-related milestones you are looking forward to? Or ones you “missed,” and might try to reach later, off-schedule, according to our culture and its expectations?
I’d been looking forward to being 90. Being able to tell people that. Ninety is way older than 89.
My friend Louie, when he was 88-89, used to tell people he was 90; he said, “The chicks liked it.”
Check out this recent Substack video interview with Lloyd Kahn:
What has been your favorite age so far, and why? Would you go back to this age if you could?
Ages 50-65 or so, because I still had physical and mental strengths that were not so diminished. This was undoubtedly helped by having spent 20 years editing a series of fitness books—stretching, running, and weight lifting—and hanging out with world-class athletes. I was a competitive runner for over 20 years, did triathlons, paddle races, went to aerobic dance classes (often the only guy in classes full of women), cycling and surfing.
Is there someone who is older than you, who makes growing older inspiring to you? Who is your aging idol and why?
Actually, I guess no one now that my friend Louie is gone.
What aging-related adjustments have you recently made, style-wise, beauty-wise, health-wise?
Quit surfing, not stretching as much as I should…
I’d been looking forward to being 90. Being able to tell people that. Ninety is way older than 89.
What’s an aging-related adjustment you refuse to make, and why?
Not quitting skateboarding, not giving up working out, not giving up exploring the world and reporting on what I find…
What turn of events had the biggest impact on your life? What took your life in a different direction, for better or worse?
The ‘60s counterculture, marijuana, LSD, rock n roll, Buddhism, Taoism, dozens of things from the ‘60s revolution.
I have a very long list if you are interested — several pages in my book Live From California.
What is your number one regret in life? If you could do it all over again, what is the biggest thing you’d do differently?
Nothing, because everything, mistakes, tragedies, all have led up to this point.
What is high up on your “bucket list?” What do you hope to achieve, attain, or plain enjoy before you die?
A robust life.
I believe in the concept of “death with dignity,” and will voluntarily pull the plug when things become hopeless. Two of my closest friends did this, and their passing was peaceful and elegant. I’m not afraid of death; it’s part of life.
Is there a piece of advice you were given, that you live by? If so, what was it, and who offered it to you?
Nope.
What are your plans for your body when you’re done using it? Burial? Cremation? Body Farm? Other? And what do you expect to happen to your “soul” or “spirit” after you die?
Don’t really care. I won’t be here then.
I believe in the concept of “death with dignity,” and will voluntarily pull the plug when things become hopeless. Two of my closest friends did this, and their passing was peaceful and elegant.
I’m not afraid of death; it’s part of life.
What’s your philosophy on celebrating birthdays as an adult? How do you celebrate yours?
No parties, especially no “happy birthday song,” which I hate. Although for the 90th, my kids got a blues band to play at the local saloon, and a reasonable amount of people invited.
And at the risk of being politically incorrect or otherwise inappropriate I will say that Lloyd sounds like a total stud, and no pun intended, given his work as a carpenter.
As someone about to enter her 80s, and usually the oldest person in Pilates, I treasure reading a guy in his 90s.