Sometimes I am embarrassed at how satisfied I am with my life.
I’m 85 years old.
My doctor has just told me I’m in good physical shape. Actually, he said, “wonderful” shape.
I am surrounded by the people I love. I live in fabulous houses, spectacular enough to be featured in national magazines, yet comfortable enough for someone who values “comfortable” above “beautiful.”
My kids are healthy and apparently happy. And the same for my 10 grandchildren.
I work out in the woods, clearing brush with a tractor and three chain saws.
My wife of many years is a spectacular person, and a great partner.
I had a great ride as editor of a great newspaper. I was lucky enough to fight in a war I believed in and work in a profession I believed in.
I’m still ensconced at The Washington Post. Some people refer to me as a stop-on-the-tour of the paper, but I’m still there.
The day I “retired,” after 29 years at the Post, I accepted a job offer from the governor of Maryland, and became the chairman of the Historic St. Mary’s City Commission. That’s a museum on the site of Maryland’s first capitol, founded in 1637.
I’m chairman of a special committee of an international news organization that takes me to Ireland, South Africa and Asia every year. I’m on a couple of boards of directors. And I’ve written a memoir that sold more than 200,000 copies. I've just embarked on a new writing project.
What’s not to be satisfied about? Good friends are dying at an unseemly rate, but that’s just about it.
Benjamin C. Bradlee is vice president-at-large of The Washington Post. He was executive editor of The Post from 1968 through 1991. His memoir, "A Good Life: Newspapering and Other Adventures," was a best-seller. His wife, Sally Quinn, is co-moderator of On Faith.
