Hey Bruce, Shut Up and Sing

Far be it for me to tell someone when to retire. I am 72 years old and just starting a bookkeeping service. But, there are certain jobs that people want to hold onto forever, and they really should make room for younger people and fresher talent.

Here are the 5 oldest members of Congress, their age and when their current term expires:

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) — ~92 years old Current term expires: January 3, 2029 (elected 2022).

Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY) — ~88 years old (Dean of the House) Current term expires: January 3, 2027 (House terms are 2 years).

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) — ~88–89 years old Current term expires: January 3, 2027 (she has announced she will not seek re-election).

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) — ~87–88 years old Current term expires: January 3, 2027.

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) — ~86–87 years old Current term expires: January 3, 2027 (he has announced retirement at end of term).

Everyone ages at different rates and may lose some physical or mental abilities, as evidenced by Joe Biden, for his four years in office. Maxine Waters has not been seen in the Capitol for months, and it was discovered that Jamie Raskin was voting for her by proxy. This is not doing the job the voters wanted her to do. Pack up, go home, and enjoy the remainder of your life, and let some fresh blood take a shot at solving the problems of the country.

The world of entertainment is in a similar situation where the old clan doesn’t want to unplug the microphone, and people are still willing to spend ridiculous amounts of money to see them in concert. Bruce Springsteen is 76, a mere youngin’ compared to Mick Jagger at 82. Both are still performing, but for different reasons.

Jagger because he can still dance and sing up a storm on stage. Bruce because he is using his microphone to blast Trump to the cheers of his audience. At a recent concert in Boston, Bruce’s fans spent upwards of $3,000 a ticket to listen to him rant as he read his hard-hitting, hateful soliloquy off a teleprompter. Bruce is angry, wants to share that anger with his fans, but cannot tell them why he is angry if the teleprompter fails. At what point is it fraud and a rip-off of his audience when they are paying for the memory of Bruce Springsteen, and getting the ghost of Bruce?

I am on the downside with many more yesterdays than tomorrows, and I am still writing nearly every day, with close to 2,000 published articles, but if someone wants to partake of my work, they can read it for free. I am not ripping them off for thousands of dollars, getting paid for the talents of a past life. As Laura Ingraham titled her book on this subject years ago, “Just shut up and sing,” or, in the case of Bruce Springsteen, just call it a day, and move on.

Author’s note: Graphic created by GROK AI