Earlier this month, Dick Van Dyke celebrated his 100th birthday and met the milestone with pleasure, as he has no fear of dying.
The legendary singer and dancer has opened up about aging and mortality, while assuring us that fear is not part of the equation. Appearing on Good Morning America, Van Dyke did admit that he does “think about death, but is “not afraid of it.”
“Death doesn’t really frighten me,” Van Dyke said, adding, “although I’d like a lot more life!”
The legendary performer explained that many fear death, as they believe the person dying is aware of what is happening. However, he acknowledged that he has “no idea” what comes next and prefers not to dwell on that.
Meanwhile, his outlook on things also extends to how he approaches the process of aging. Van Dyke published an essay last month in The Sunday Times. In it, the centenarian candidly described the frustrations of growing older, writing, “It’s frustrating to feel diminished in the world, physically and socially.”
While explaining the difficulty of travel when older, he admitted that most visits are now held at home in Malibu. With his typical humor, Van Dyke described himself as “a stooper, a shuffler and a teeterer.” On that note, he quipped, “My sight is so bad now that origami is out of the question.”
View this post on Instagram
Growing up, I hung around a lot with my grandparents and great-grandparents, and I did a lot of stealth observing. I watched their stoops get stoopier over time, heard their voices get cracklier and thinner. I picked up their old-timey intonations and jargon.
Swiping your way through his Instagram account, his humor is plain to see, and despite all his challenges, Van Dyke stressed that aging has not dulled his sense of joy or curiosity. In fact, it is due to his outlook that he has attracted an unexpectedly wholesome Internet movement.
After reaching the amazing age of 100, someone started a Change.org petition, calling on LEGO to update its famously listed age range of 4 to 99. Meanwhile, despite the fact that this is mostly symbolic, supporters argue the guideline unintentionally excludes those rare folks like Dick Van Dyke, while sending the wrong message about creativity later in life.
View this post on Instagram
In the petition, it is argued that creativity should not expire with age, while pointing to the cognitive, emotional and social benefits of hands-on play. One supporter of the petition wrote, “I care about this issue because my papa had dementia and when we put Legos together with him we finally saw a smile we haven’t seen in years and it helped his memory somewhat come back.”
So far, the petition has attracted 85 signatures.
