I would like a little more clarification on the point about John McPhee being 89. Are you surprised because he is still writing for TNY at age 89?
What's to be clarified? I'm surprised to learn that the man is 89 years old, period. I did not know he was that old. I was never that interested in him to look him up, but from the nature-y topics I remember him writing about, I assumed he was my generation--possibly even younger--so that it came as a surprise to me to learn that he is of my father's generation.
Same. Although I would have guessed him to be in his 70s. Maybe even late 70s, but not 89 for sure. It's not related to his personal characteristics, it's that I don't feel like I started hearing about him that long ago (I mean, long ago but not
that long ago). Also, I don't think I've ever seen a picture of him.
I mean, he writes about things that happen in rugged places, which I suppose you could consider are slightly more likely to be written by youngish writers, but obviously not necessarily. Plus, even the fact that he's working, period, is a bit unusual at 89. But not unheard of.
A year or two ago Christopher Plummer, now 90, stepped into some role that was scheduled to be played by some actor who was #MeToo-ed out of it. As I recall, he was said to have been prepared in three weeks. And just last week I just saw a movie
(Knives Out) in which Christopher Plummer played a key role and was great.
The longtime famous sports columnist at my newspaper is still working at 99. He comes in with a walker and a nurse, and gets help from some younger guy typing up his columns. But he's hanging in there, which is good because I might still be there at 99 myself. He started at the newspaper at 25 and the paper is 150 years old, so he has worked there for almost half its history.
On Facebook the other day, I saw a woman at least in her 60s and possibly over 70 say she didn't support Bernie as president (though would vote for him if he's the nominated Democratic candidate) because she didn't think he'd live through his term(s). I pointed out that according to actuarial tables, at Bernie's age, 78, your life expectancy is over 9 years, so statistically he's likely to make it through two terms.
I'm still amazed, though, that people over 60 have a hard time getting hired for just about any job in the world ... except the one job that's presumably the most important in the country. It's not that we should have younger candidates, it's that people should stop being ageist and thinking people who are 60 and beyond can do all kinds of great work.
Topic: In the New Yorker... (Read 2434607 times)