Never, ever too late

A World War II veteran proved it’s never too late to make your dreams come true or reinvent yourself after embarking on a career as a children’s book author at age 95.

Baker decided to become a writer after purchasing his first computer and being urged by his son to write down the stories he had once told his children for his granddaughter.

Baker wrote his first-ever children’s book, “The Silly Adventures of Petunia and Herman the Worm,” which was published in 2018, just after Baker’s 95th birthday. The book, per his son’s suggestion, is based on the stories he used to tell his kids about a worm named Herman.

His second book, “Oscar the Mouse,” followed two years later, inspired by a white rat someone had gifted him as a kid.

His third book, “Oscar Goes to the Vet,” was published last year, just before Baker turned 101.

Baker enlisted in the Marine Corps at 19 in 1942 — months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. After leaving the service in 1947, Baker joined the US Coast and Geodetic Survey — now the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, where he worked for three decades until he retired.

Now he is a children’s book author.

After living for nearly a century without a computer or the desire to write, Baker has transformed himself into an author.

I meet a lot of people who tell me that it’s too late to chase a dream. Too late to make a change. Too far down the road to start something new.

I am no Sam Baker, but…

I started college when I was 23 years old.

I became a teacher when I was 28 years old.

I published my first novel when I was 38 years old.

I took the stage for the first time to tell a story when I was 40 years old.

I performed stand-up for the first time when I was 46 years old.

I published my first book of nonfiction when I was 47 years old.

I performed my first solo show when I was 52 years old.

My timeline certainly isn’t as extreme as Sam Baker’s timeline, but then again, I’m not 95 years old yet. But I plan to continue to find new things and relentlessly reinvent myself.

You can, too.

It’s never too late. Please, don’t ever think otherwise.

You can find his books at sambakerbooks.com or on the usual online booksellers.