Laughing at memes, writing through the pain, and tinkering at 86

A Q&A with Ramona Grigg, writer, activist, and gutsy woman

“I like the idea of being bold. I think it comes more easily after you’ve lived a life. You know what you’re capable of and you’ve grown a thick enough skin to not care as much what others might think.” -

Ramona Grigg

As you may have heard, I’ve recently created a space for [B]old Women. If that’s you, please introduce yourself! My hope is that we can turn an informal discussion into a community for support and sharing for women writers in their 60s, 70s, 80s. There is no age qualification to participate, younger women are also very welcome, but I believe that older women share similar concerns (and delights) about old age. Please join below:

Calling all [B]old Women: please introduce yourself!

Q&A with [b]old woman Ramona Grigg

I don’t have a scientific method for choosing [b]old women to interview, but when I first met Ramona (or Mona, as she calls herself), I knew she was someone to get to know better. First of all, she’s very prolific, which I admire. She’s got two Substacks,

Writer Everlasting

and

Constant Commoner

and keeps up with both. Previously, she wrote a political blog, Ramona's Voices, from 2009 - 2021 (from Barack Obama’s inauguration to Joe Biden’s). Mona describes herself as “an essayist, a writer of things, an activist, a widow, an old person. Humor when life warrants it.” She’s ardently interested in both politics and the human condition. Some might describe her as feisty, but that word has a slightly pejorative sound when used for an old person. Instead I’ll say that she’s gutsy and inspirational, which is the perfect definition of a [b]old woman.

DW: You’ve written that you are “now blogging from the boonies, where the air is clear, my heart is beating, and my BS meter works just fine.” Tell us about that. Where do you live and how does that impact your life and your writing? Describe the view from your writing desk.

RG: Right now I live on an island in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, but in less than a month I’ll be moving ‘below the bridge’ to Petoskey, a resort town on Lake Michigan.  I can look out the window from my desk and see pine trees and the bay. Often I’ll see a couple of deer families that make our neighborhood home. Looking out that window you would never know there was civilization around. It’s going to be quite different when I move into a town! I’m curious to see if my writing will change when I become a townie. But this is an all-important election year so as the months go on, so will my anxiety level, and I’ll be writing more political pieces, hoping my BS meter has come along with me.

Ramona Grigg

DW: What does [B]OLD AGE mean to you?

RG: I’m 86 years old but I don’t dwell on my age unless someone or something reminds me. I’m tired of hearing about how old Joe Biden is, for example, without also hearing about his energy, his stamina, and his many accomplishments. We don’t all age the same. Some people are old at 60. He’s doing just fine–and so am I. I like the idea of being bold. I think it comes more easily after you’ve lived a life. You know what you’re capable of and you’ve grown a thick enough skin to not care as much what others might think.

DW: Has your writing life (the process, the topics) changed as you’ve moved into [b]old age? 

RG: I suppose it has. I’m freer now, I have more time on my hands, and while I miss my husband terribly (he died two years ago), I love that I can live alone with fewer distractions, and it definitely has given me more time to get better at the kind of writing I do now.  My writing has become more personal. Friendlier. As if I’m talking among friends and not just readers. I think I came to that when I gave up the idea of becoming either rich or famous or both.

DW: How would you describe your sense of humor?