Dreams have no deadlines

As a 90-year-old astronaut blasts into space and a man in his sixties becomes a modelling sensation, Helen Coffey finds that living life to its fullest is not just for young people

- Helen Coffey

Morgan Freeman was 50 when he got his big acting break. Julia Childs was the same age when she scored her own cooking show. And Raymond Chandler had his first detective novel published at the grand old age of 51. These are the positive “it’s never too late!” stories regularly wheeled out to inspire us when we realise that, contrary to what we’d like to believe, it’s looking highly doubtful we’ll make it onto any “30 under 30”, “40 under 40”, or even “50 under 50” lists.

Now, there’s a new – and arguably even more remarkable – example to add to the pantheon. At the age of 90, the first ever Black astronaut candidate has finally made it into space. Ex-air force captain Ed Dwight, selected but then ultimately passed over by Nasa in 1963, became the oldest person to reach the edge of space on 19 May, courtesy of a Blue Origin flight.

“I thought I really didn’t need this in my life but now I need this in my life,” he said after the rocket touched back down to Earth. “I am ecstatic … It was a life-changing experience. Everybody needs to do this.”

Dwight’s achievement may not be within reach for most of us, but he’s the latest in a recent spate of heartening stories charting people’s pursuit of their dreams into middle-age and beyond. Like the 63-year-old who recently shared his experience of becoming a male model after retirement, having discovered that a post-career lack of purpose was giving him anxiety.