1967
Word has reached me that you will celebrate your seventieth birthday in June of this year; and it has occurred to me that you might care to hear from one who has shared that experience. I want to congratulate you on having performed a difficult task with honor.
Also I want to tell you that I was seventy years old sixteen years ago, and that I have found the years since seventy to be better in various ways than the years before. I think this may be true of anyone who outlives the "three score years and ten" if he has learned something of the fine art of letting go without regret.
My wish for you is that you may live as long as you want to live, and that you may want to live long. As for death, there is very good reason to believe that it will be a wonderful adventure.
J. G. N.
John G. Neihardt
A man whom I don't know, wrote asking me to say a word to his father, who had long been an admirer of me, and will soon be 70 I thought you might want the reply.
JGN
