Quote: growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional (1987 June 17)

Garson O'Toole adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM
Tue Jan 10 06:19:22 UTC 2012


The "QUOTE ... UNQUOTE" website for the BBC Radio program has posted
the following query (dated July 2011):

Q4293  'Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional' was
something written in a 1994 book by Elaine R. Davis.  Any earlier
offers?

Here is a cite a few years earlier. The attribution is vague and may
be rhetorical.

Cite: 1987 June 17, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, From The Gulf To Dormont
by Tom Hritz, Page 4-W, Column 1, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Google
News Archive)

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VOlRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ym4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6187,5362642&

[Begin excerpt]
My pal Harvey is forever reminding me that while growing old is
mandatory, growing up is optional.
[End excerpt]

I first found this cite several months ago, and now the obvious
queries do not match the text in the Google News Archive. Several of
the major full-text databases are remarkably flaky. I recommend taking
screen shots and saving links when gathering data. The link above does
lead to the correct newspaper page as of January 10, 2012.

(The above citation and other cites relevant to "Quote … Unquote"
queries are also being sent directly to Nigel Rees.)

Garson

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