Helen Hayes, the Grand Dame of American Theater, and one of only 12 who have won an Emmy, Tony, Oscar and Grammy award, lived to be 93 years old and never heard of Botox. I look at her face now and I think she is one of the most beautiful women ever.
I think it must have been in the 1980s, when I was in my 40s and she in her 80s, that I saw her on TV in a lovely film. I don't remember the name, but I remember how amazed I was that someone with that many wrinkles could look so absolutely beautiful. And from that moment on, I stopped worrying about my own wrinkles.
My point is that we need to stop being so afraid of ageing. Old age is beautiful ~ I have always felt that way. I'm so disappointed in all these actresses and celebrities who are ruining their looks with facelifts and Botox, who all begin to look alike, who no longer are able to express emotions in their films. Some do it when they are really young; I can only imagine their insecurities. And some do so much one can no longer recognize them (an example: Liza Minnelli at the Oscars this year, I had no idea who she was). To me, this is sad and tells more about our values and our insecurities than we perhaps want to know.
I never paid much attention to Willie Nelson until I worked at the donkey rescue, where the owner loved Willie and often played his songs. As I listened, I began to fall for this guy's music. I bought his 16 Biggest Hits CD and it became my road trip album. I play it all the time and sing along, although I can't sing,
I know Willie smokes a lot of weed and has problems with the IRS, but you gotta love his music and the way he keeps going at his age. Wrinkles and all.
Note: Debra, Ladyfi and others, for the past three days I have been unable to leave comments on Wordpress blogs. I have no idea why this is and will try to resolve it next week after the A to Z Challenge is over.
If anyone has any idea of what is going on, please let me know.
Someone I forget who once called wrinkles as the road map to your life. I LOVE that. My road has been well travelled and I am OK with that. HUG B
ReplyDeleteI don't mind the wrinkles on my face as much as I mind what is going on with my hands. Sometimes I look at them and can't believe they are mine. Those hands that have lifted and carried those who I have loved all these years can barely open a bottle of water.
ReplyDeleteHi Inger - you're so right. Helen Hayes had a beauty that shone through all those wrinkles.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to age and see these lines. It's a reminder to be thankful that you've lived a long life. Most actresses do seem to be insecure.
Willie Nelson is good, too.
Hi Inger, accepting our own wrinkles is wise. I think that having wrinkles is a privilege because, some don't even get to live that long.
ReplyDeleteI remember loving to look at my grandmother's wrinkles. It made her special. I love the brown skin spots on her hands.
My hands are looking older too with thin skin that has lost elasticity and joints that are getting stiffer.
Helen Hayes was beautiful even with her wrinkles.
Happy weekend.
Hugs,
JB
My wrinkles came earlier than most folk, proof positive that sun worshiping is not good for your skin. My skin looks like that of a ninety year old. Wrinkles do add character and that 'completed' look. When you see movies and pictures from long ago, the actors look as if God hadn't finished them yet.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the botox and all the things they are doing to themselves.. and Willie sure doesn't mind his wrinkles... we like his music to
ReplyDeleteno idea about the comments on wordpress.. did you try it with another browser?
helen hayes really was a remarkable beauty! as was katherine hepburn. i love my laugh lines and gray hairs. not so sure i love the sagging skin, however. :)
ReplyDeletei like willie nelson for his support of farmers/ranchers.
Willie's devotion to farmers/ranchers tells me that I knew I was right to be a fan!!!...:)JP
ReplyDeleteTruly beautiful people look their age! And when Willie dies, I'l bet it's because he was out playing on the road again. Or maybe not. (He was often in good company: Waylon, Johnny, and Kris, and, of course, Jessie.)
ReplyDeleteBlessings and Bear hugs, Inger!
Hi Inger - certainly your picture of Helen Hayes shows a woman who is content, has good genes and has been fortunate .. but regardless of her wrinkles is happy. So important not to worry about the outer layer the inner one is the one that counts ..
ReplyDeleteMy voice has wrinkles too - had those since I was but a very youngie!! Can't sing for toffee ...
Willie Nelson - just some very happy songs .. like you I now love his work .. cheers Hilary
I always liked Willie Nelson music and yes, Helen Hayes was a truly beautiful woman! Have a good weekend.
ReplyDeleteThe seasons of your life leave their marks. The thoughts of your soul also leaves their traces.
ReplyDeleteThat is why Helen Hayes had such a lovely face -- it beamed with the love and compassion in her soul.
As a young boy, I studied the laugh lines in my teacher's face and the frown grooves in my step-father's: I decided that since the lines were coming, I wanted them to be laugh lines not frown lines. So whenever I caught myself frowning, I would force a smile -- and find myself laughing at myself and smiling for real.
I love many of Willie's songs. There is a song that, for me, explains the love of my McCord for his Meilori, HAND ON THE WHEEL:
At a time when the world seems to be spinnin' hopelessly out of control,
There's deceivers an' believers an' old in-betweeners,
That seem to have no place to go.
Well, it's the same old song, it's right an' it's wrong,
An' livin' is just somethin' that I do.
An' with no place to hide, I looked in your eyes,
An' I found myself in you.
Have a special weekend, Roland
I think trying to kill wrinkles is the worst thing that we can do, lots of plastic surgery takes away the character of the face, where beauty really lives - there are some people I think who look better older than they did when they were younger - Sean Connery in Highlander compared to his James Bond days is one of them, and I remember seeing Helen Hayes playing in Agatha Christie movies as a kid - I always loved her, her eyes were always so alive. :)
ReplyDeleteSophie
Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles - A to Z Ghosts
Fantasy Boys XXX - A to Z Drabblerotic
I have a French friend who says that there are two ways for women to age - thin and shrivelled up or plump and juicy!!! lol I think the latter is much preferable and that way the wrinkles will look like a life well lived :)
ReplyDeleteFil
Fil's Place - Old Songs and Memories
I completely agree with you. I'm so disappointed in our shallow, youth-glorifying society. And the way they keep air brushing women in ads to make them abnormally slim is disgusting.
ReplyDeleteShe was a favorite of mine also. She really set the bar high for aging gracefully. I feel so badly for those poor stretched out people who fight aging with a doctors knife.
ReplyDeleteI like some of Willie also. Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain for one.
They both are graceful and gorgeous. You made the "W" word very special by choosing, these two. I am enjoying talented people with creative blog writing. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteYou chose two wonderful nominees for wrinkles. Both filled with talent. Fortunately Willie Nelson is "on the road" with his music.
ReplyDeleteOh, Judi Dench and Maggie Smith--both amazing and beautiful women with wrinkles and talent. Just thought of them!
ReplyDeleteLots of wrinkles here!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Willie Nelson song is "Stardust".
We just need to keep those nice big smiles on our faces and not worry so much about how we look. Everyone looks different...and we all get old, or at least hope, too! A very good post my friend! Hugs from your 'older' friend! heehee!
ReplyDeleteShe is a beauty indeed. Wrinkles can't hurt good cheekbones.
ReplyDeleteI'll never look that good but I'm not tempted by Botox or plastic surgery. I feel sorry for those whose careers make them feel they have to look forever young.
I think we are about the same age, but Helen Hayes doesn't ring a bell with me. I can't place her.
ReplyDeleteI do like Willie Nelson's music, have listened to him for years.
Just came across your blog and I like your header picture. I live in the Blue Ridge mountains. Always thought I'd settle down out west but it didn't happen.
Have always been a fan of Willie Nelson.....he is a legend.
ReplyDeleteI am getting used to my wrinkles, what else can I do but accept them as a sign of aging. Our culture is obsessed with staying young looking. Heaven forbid someone ages gracefully, wrinkles and all.
For a grand look at grand wrinkles, see Philomena and Judi Dench
ReplyDeleteI am concerned, however, about a lesion on her left cheekbone and hope she has had it checked ( I am sure she has, just sayin')
Judi Dench is a Godess
Many "beautiful people" are beautiful because the radiate inner light and spirit
Good advice here. It is extremely hard for most of us to grow old gracefully.
ReplyDeleteWillie is a bit of a poet, too, and writes his own songs. He has been writing songs since his country music days. I started to like him when he got his braids and helped FarmAid etc.
ReplyDeleteHis personal tastes don't affect his product, any more than the artists of the late 1800s and their absinthe. I have several of his albums too, Inger.
BTW - I'm trying to remember to say your name with the soft G when I think of you. I owe you an email. Haven't forgotten. . .
I say embrace your age! I personally dislike seeing older people who have had so much botox and surgery to try and look younger, because it makes them look worse! Helen Mirren is an older lady who I think is beautiful too
ReplyDeleteNice post.
ReplyDeleteWrinkles are dignified--I've always thought so. I mind them a great deal less than white hairs...but that's probably because I got my first ones (stress induced) at 22. Talk about premature aging...
ReplyDeleteTrue Heroes from A to Z
I have always loved old Willie. I know he has his faults, but he has his good ones too.
ReplyDeleteAnd Helen Hayes - was a great actress - her son - I can't remember his name - is the good looking guy on one of the SCI's.
I am not a fan of plastic surgery or botox. People usually end up looking worse than when they started. Aging is a natural process and we just need to accept that!
ReplyDeleteI love, love, love Willie Nelson. I am sure I could even fall in love with him with those long braids and all those wrinkles. I am a bit crazy but I find him a bit sexy!! And I agree totally with you. Lets all just age and leave the young look to the young people
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post, Inger!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. Helen Hayes and Willie Nelson get old beautifully.
I like so much to visit a blog named Advanced Style. The owner is Ari Seth Cohen, and he wrote this about his blog: "I roam the streets of New York looking for the most stylish and creative older folks. Respect your elders and let these ladies and gents teach you a thing or two about living life to the fullest. Advanced Style offers proof from the wise and silver-haired set that personal style advances with age."
The link of that blog is: Advanced Style.
Dear Inger, I don't know about other cultures in other countries all over the world, but here in the States, youth is the be-all and end-all. Age seems to be the enemy. And yet aging has brought me the contentment that is the crown of being human.
ReplyDeleteThe wrinkles on my face are fine, but I do admit to not liking the dark reddish bruises that have appeared under my eyes. I know they've come because my skin is thinning and so the blood vessels under the skin are clearer, but when I look in the mirror I see someone who looks ill!
Thanks for writing so beautifully about Helen Hayes and Willie Nelson. They are both favorites of mine also. She was lit by an inner joy. Peace.
Shoot -- I didn't finish my comment. Helen Hayes indeed had at least one facelift. Easy to prove too. Just look at any photos or film of her pre-1960 or so. Her eyebrows almost TOUCH her upper eyelids. But not after about 1965-68 or so. Her eyebrows in this photo at the top of the page are CLEARLY much, much higher than they were when she was in her 30's.
ReplyDelete