I enjoyed your essay very much. I too have acknowledged my own internal ageism at times. I'll soon be 70, and live in Florida (not the Florida of Mr. Grayson's description) where I find myself socializing more with a younger group than those my own age. I don't do it on purpose, I think it's because there are fewer older folks and greater diversity in Jacksonville than in most towns in FL. Thank you for sharing!
This was a wonderful article that I could relate to. But I have to say that as a native New Yorker who's lived in a lot of other parts of the U.S., any age party of people who live on the Upper West Side and the West Village is going to be better for what I''d call people like me and Kate Walter than it would be if you were going to an old party in much of the country. The West Village and East Village are not The Villages, Florida, where the most horrible old people in the U.S. live, and more of this country -- I have a home in another, better country -- is like The Villages than it is like Manhattan.
Every city, town and community in America, including NYC has its good and bad. Why are the people of The Villages, Florida the most horrible old people in the U.S.? Because they voted for Trump? They're not all Trumpsters. If that's not it, I would love to know why these people are the most horrible.
Thanks for "Behind the Mask," the best pandemic memoir currently out there. And it's very much a New York book although I think people who are not familiar with what you call "the epicenter" (which it is/was) would love it, too.
Wow. Thank you, Richard, for this great compliment about my pandemic memoir. In Behind the Mask, I wanted to convey what it was like in Manhattan from March 2020 to June 2021. Within a few months, my life completely changed. I went from having a great social life to being very isolated. "The Old Party" is a flashback to the holiday season before the pandemic as I contrast my lively life before the lockdown to a lonely Christmas alone. Writing became my salvation. And I felt it was important to document this unprecedented event from a personal point of view and analyze what I learned.
Oh boy, you are making me confront my own ageism, and I’m 75!
Great piece Kate. Thank you for your honesty and essential perspective.
I enjoyed your essay very much. I too have acknowledged my own internal ageism at times. I'll soon be 70, and live in Florida (not the Florida of Mr. Grayson's description) where I find myself socializing more with a younger group than those my own age. I don't do it on purpose, I think it's because there are fewer older folks and greater diversity in Jacksonville than in most towns in FL. Thank you for sharing!
This was a wonderful article that I could relate to. But I have to say that as a native New Yorker who's lived in a lot of other parts of the U.S., any age party of people who live on the Upper West Side and the West Village is going to be better for what I''d call people like me and Kate Walter than it would be if you were going to an old party in much of the country. The West Village and East Village are not The Villages, Florida, where the most horrible old people in the U.S. live, and more of this country -- I have a home in another, better country -- is like The Villages than it is like Manhattan.
Thanks for your comment. Believe me, I'm grateful to live in the West Village
Every city, town and community in America, including NYC has its good and bad. Why are the people of The Villages, Florida the most horrible old people in the U.S.? Because they voted for Trump? They're not all Trumpsters. If that's not it, I would love to know why these people are the most horrible.
Great piece. Love the way you ended it! Perfect.
Thanks for "Behind the Mask," the best pandemic memoir currently out there. And it's very much a New York book although I think people who are not familiar with what you call "the epicenter" (which it is/was) would love it, too.
Wow. Thank you, Richard, for this great compliment about my pandemic memoir. In Behind the Mask, I wanted to convey what it was like in Manhattan from March 2020 to June 2021. Within a few months, my life completely changed. I went from having a great social life to being very isolated. "The Old Party" is a flashback to the holiday season before the pandemic as I contrast my lively life before the lockdown to a lonely Christmas alone. Writing became my salvation. And I felt it was important to document this unprecedented event from a personal point of view and analyze what I learned.
They smell really bad.