When reading a novel that grips me deeply and refuses to let me go until the last page, I latch on to the main character and adopt their point of view.
Great piece. I relate to much of it. I think you’re putting a two things in the same bucket: A sense of dislocation from aging paired with a sense of impending doom. The first is the slow culture shock that comes from watching my world become a foreign country.
The second is fear. My fears are similar to yours. They’re well founded, but it’s also common for men to become more fearful as we age. One of the horrors of the MAGA era for me has been watching men my age turn terrified and mask their fear with rage.
One of your topics that I like when you write about it is your Jewish identity. Happy Rosh Hashanah! We’re surely not the first generation of men to feel these things, and faith has some comfort and guidance for guys like us I reckon.
David, so much of what you say resonates. However, we as humans have been at the doorstep of doom before - the Civil War, the Great Depression, the Industrial Revolution, the black plague, the rise of Third Reich, AIDs, 9/11. I could go on. Most people are good at heart and want what’s best for themselves and others. In my mind we must hold on to that faith, control what we can, and continue to demonstrate caring and kindness whenever the opportunity arises. A perfect solution, no. But I think we will collectively persevere and face these challenges together.
I haven’t read either of these books but identify with their themes as I age. The fictional character who’s haunted me most is Holden Caulfield because, in my changing perspective on him, I see the arc of my life. As a snarky, self-absorbed teen, I nodded along with him in adoration. I came to see him as the stunted architect of his problems. He saw the worst in everything and turned his back on the best.
I've been reading your essays every Saturday morning for years. This one is your best.
We're the same age, and men at 64 wrestle with the same things. Your reading of Anton Chigurh as the evil loose in our own world is what finally made me understand why that film won the Oscar. It lands harder now than it did then.
And I'm now seriously considering having my windows professionally washed.
Great piece. I relate to much of it. I think you’re putting a two things in the same bucket: A sense of dislocation from aging paired with a sense of impending doom. The first is the slow culture shock that comes from watching my world become a foreign country.
The second is fear. My fears are similar to yours. They’re well founded, but it’s also common for men to become more fearful as we age. One of the horrors of the MAGA era for me has been watching men my age turn terrified and mask their fear with rage.
One of your topics that I like when you write about it is your Jewish identity. Happy Rosh Hashanah! We’re surely not the first generation of men to feel these things, and faith has some comfort and guidance for guys like us I reckon.
David, so much of what you say resonates. However, we as humans have been at the doorstep of doom before - the Civil War, the Great Depression, the Industrial Revolution, the black plague, the rise of Third Reich, AIDs, 9/11. I could go on. Most people are good at heart and want what’s best for themselves and others. In my mind we must hold on to that faith, control what we can, and continue to demonstrate caring and kindness whenever the opportunity arises. A perfect solution, no. But I think we will collectively persevere and face these challenges together.
I haven’t read either of these books but identify with their themes as I age. The fictional character who’s haunted me most is Holden Caulfield because, in my changing perspective on him, I see the arc of my life. As a snarky, self-absorbed teen, I nodded along with him in adoration. I came to see him as the stunted architect of his problems. He saw the worst in everything and turned his back on the best.
I've been reading your essays every Saturday morning for years. This one is your best.
We're the same age, and men at 64 wrestle with the same things. Your reading of Anton Chigurh as the evil loose in our own world is what finally made me understand why that film won the Oscar. It lands harder now than it did then.
And I'm now seriously considering having my windows professionally washed.
Stories about "Davids" are dangerous to read...and live up to...