British Stuff . Christmas . Friendship . Introspection
‘Tis Better to Give than to Receive
On December 13, 2021 by Speranza
A number of Christmases ago, an elderly friend of mine that I have known for many years invited me in for a snifter of Baileys’ Irish cream. As I was shedding my coat and stamping the snow off my boots at the door, she was already ranting about the price of cheese, the rudeness of that woman at the bank and the tardiness of a new letter-carrier who also had the audacity to cut across her lawn. In December. If you are imagining a sweet-natured, gentle older lady please stop now. This person once literally chased one of those conserving-energy types with a clipboard up to the corner of the street, shouting the F word and advising him not to come back.
And, I remain very confident that he did not.
Darkness . Public Library . Tales from the Public Library . The General
Curmudgeons Moving Amongst Us
On July 1, 2016 by Speranza
Working with the public over the years has allowed me a broad spectrum view of the descent into crabbiness that affects many people over the age of say, 47. I am not speaking of having an off day here, health crises, true depression or enduring a blue funk.
This is something different.
I believe it’s a habit as much as a condition that some people (usually men, there, I said it) fall into after a certain age and ironically, there is nothing more aging than becoming a Grumpy Old Man in your forties.
Nothing.
For some reason, the bleakness often seems to be accompanied by a sense of certainty about how dreadful life is: the Middle East conflict is beyond hope and can only escalate, check; obsessiveness about the worst weather on record which may be happening tomorrow (and, if it doesn’t, it’s easy to slide that rage right over to the deficient meteorologists for getting it wrong) check; life has passed them by, now that their movie-star good looks have faded and every time they exit a chair or sofa they insist on making a loud “Ack!” or whooshing sound just to be sure that everyone within a few feet knows it, check; taking every opportunity to tell bored, often appalled young people that they should enjoy life now because once they get a) married b) become saddled with kids c) buy a home d) become older than about 22, it’s basically downhill and will be over all too soon. (This kind of torschlusspanik doom should not even be referenced to the young since they are in no place to truly comprehend it), but you know, check.