annsepstein@att.net

How Old Are They? Lyle and Eleanor Gittens

At 108 and 107, Lyle and Eleanor Gittens are the world’s oldest living married couple. They met at Clark Atlanta University, where Lyle whispered to Eleanor that she was his “SP” (college code for “Secret Passion”), and married on June 4, 1942. Asked how they stayed married so long, Lyle credits “Mutual love and support” and Eleanor adds, “You have to like the other person, not just love them.” Read Who Cares? about the struggle for dignity at Woodruff Home for the Aged, “a lively place where old people go to die.” Learn more about the book and its characters, aged 9-90, in NOVELS.

Liking, not just loving, each other since 1942

Woodruff Home for the Aged, a lively place where old people go to die

More Microfiction Published: Going Nowhere

50 Give or Take published another piece of my microfiction, titled “Going Nowhere” so if you’re feeling lost and even GPS can’t help you find your way, navigate to this super short read! Sign up to receive and submit your own ultra-short stories, free, at 50 Give or Take.

Feeling lost? When even GPS can’t help you find your way . . .

Why writers write: “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” – Albert Einstein

What I’m Reading: The Slip

My Goodreads and Amazon review of The Slip by Lucas Schaefer (Rated 3) – The Skip. I wanted to like The Slip by Lucas Schaefer after the New York Times described the author as a “bold new voice” and his debut novel as “potent.” I thought a novel about the cold case of a missing teenage boy, set in a Texas gym, would be a cathartic substitute for my urge to punch something whenever I hear the news these days. Instead, forcing myself to finish the book in case I’d missed something the reviewer had seen, I found a tangle of people and tropes. As a novelist myself (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), I don’t care if my characters are likable, but they must be engaging. Schaefer’s are tiresome. Even promising tales dead-end, like leads in a cold case. The author occasionally offers astute social commentary, and he invites readers into the world of boxing gyms, whose bag-punching rhythms he captures. Too bad the book itself doesn’t produce that same dynamic effect. Unless you like flabby narratives, I advise you to give The Slip, the skip.

Pull your punches and skip The Slip

Why writers read: “Writing is a difficult trade which must be learned slowly by reading.” – André Maurois

How Old Were They? P. T. Barnum

P. T. Barnum was 60 years old when he started his first traveling circus in 1871. He collaborated with W.C. Coup & Dan Castello to create “P. T. Barnum’s Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan, and Hippodrome,” which eventually became the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. In addition to being a showman, Barnum served two terms in the Connecticut legislature and was mayor of Bridgeport. Read Who Cares? about the struggle for dignity at “a lively place where old people go to die.” Learn more about the book and its characters, aged 9-90, in NOVELS.

P. T. Barnum was an entertainment and political showman

Woodruff Home for the Aged, a lively place where old people go to die

How Old Were They? Balamurali Ambati

Balamurali Ambati was 17 when he became the world’s youngest doctor. Born 29 July 1977 in India, his family moved to Buffalo, New York when he was three where, according to his parents, he was doing calculus at age four. Ambati began his medical studies at New York University’s School of Medicine at age 14 and three years later became a licensed physician, specializing in ophthalmology. Read Who Cares? about the struggle for dignity at “a lively place where old people go to die.” Learn more about the book and its characters, aged 9-90, in NOVELS.

The “eyes” have it: World’s youngest doctor trained as an ophthalmologist

Woodruff Home for the Aged, a lively place where old people go to die

How Old Were They? James Harrison

Australian James Harrison retired as a blood donor at age 77, after 1,173 donations, a Guinness world record. He’s credited with saving the lives of over 2.4 million babies. Known as the Man With The Golden Arm, James’s blood produces a rare antibody which cures the otherwise fatal Rhesus disease in unborn children. His blood has also been used in the development of a medicine, known as anti-D, which, it is hoped, will banish the Rhesus disease in children forever. Read Who Cares? about the struggle for dignity at “a lively place where old people go to die.” Learn more about the book and its characters, aged 9-90, in NOVELS.

James Harrison, Man with the Golden Arm, blood donor to millions

Woodruff Home for the Aged, a lively place where old people go to die

How Old Were They? Mario Andretti

Mario Andretti began racing at 13. Born in Italy in 1940, he entered his first auto race when his family was living in a refugee camp during WW2. His love of racing accelerated after his family moved to the U.S. in 1955, where he made his professional debut. Andretti went on to win numerous Formula One, Indianapolis and Daytona 500, and Grand Prix titles. Read Who Cares? about the struggle for dignity at “a lively place where old people go to die.” Learn more about the book and its characters, aged 9-90, in NOVELS.

Mario Andretti began racing at age 13 in a refugee camp during WWII

Woodruff Home for the Aged, a lively place where old people go to die

What I’m Reading: By the Waters of Paradise

My Goodreads and Amazon review of By the Waters of Paradise: An American Story of Racism and Rupture in a Jewish Family by Clare Kinberg (Rated 5) – The Ties That Break. The titleBy the Waters of Paradise: An American Story of Racism and Rupture in a Jewish Family by Clare Kinberg is a summation of the multiple angles brought to bear on the author’s search for an unknown relative. Kinberg sets out to “find” her father’s late sister, Aunt Rose, who was banished from her Jewish family and close-knit St. Louis community for marrying a black man. Her personal search also becomes a historical investigation of race and religion in the last century, strands which Kinberg interweaves in a smooth and provocative narrative. With so much of the story untraceable, she draws on empathy and her own experience being married to a mixed-race woman and raising two black daughters, to imagine what life was like for Aunt Rose, her entrepreneurial husband Zeb Arnwine, and the black lakeside community in Michigan where they settled and opened Zeb’s Bar-B-Q joint. Examining the racism in her family helps Kinberg trace her own abhorrence of the tribal bigotry that poisons all of society. Likewise, she reconciles her faith with the racism and misogyny in Judaism by naming it, acknowledging its role in scripture, then writing new stories that teach alternative lessons on how we are commanded to treat people. As a fiction writer myself (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), who creates characters as well as their stories, I admire Kinberg’s inventiveness. She reconstructs a credible life that connects her to the past and the present. Her accumulated knowledge and persuasive storytelling will accomplish the same for readers attempting to patch holes in their own histories.

Finding ourselves by reconstructing our ancestors

Why writers read: “If you want a new idea, read an old book.” – Ivan Pavlov

How Old Were They? A. A. Milne

A. A. Milne was 33 years old when he created the fictional teddy bear Winnie the Pooh, which today celebrates the 100th anniversary of its 12/24/1925 publication as a children’s story in London’s Evening News. “Winnie” is named for a stuffed bear Milne had bought his son, Christopher Robin, at Harrod’s Department Store, and a bear they’d seen at the London Zoo. Milne went on to publish four volumes of Pooh books, all illustrated by E. H. Shepard. Milne explains the name in the first’s book’s opening chapter: “His arms were so stiff … they stayed up straight in the air for more than a week, and whenever a fly came and settled on his nose he had to blow it off. And I think – but I am not sure – that is why he is always called Pooh.” Proud of the books when he was young, the real Christopher Robin came to resent his father for exploiting his childhood. Read Who Cares? about the struggle for dignity at Woodruff Home for the Aged, “a lively place where old people go to die.” Learn more about the book and its characters, aged 9-90, in NOVELS.

Winnie the Pooh has been translated into many languages, including Latin

Woodruff Home for the Aged, a lively place where old people go to die

How Old Were They? Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin’s notable accomplishments occurred early and late in his life. He established the first public library at age 25 and the first official fire department at age 29. He was 70 when he signed the Declaration of Independence, the oldest Founding Father. In the intervening decades, he was a printer and publisher, shopkeeper, author (Poor Richard’s Almanac), inventor (he designed a heat-efficient stove and bifocals), scientist (experimenting with electricity), and diplomat. He died in 1790 at age 94. Read Who Cares? about the struggle for dignity at “a lively place where old people go to die.” Learn more about the book and its characters, aged 9-90, in NOVELS.

Benjamin Franklin left a mark from his 20s to his 90s

Woodruff Home for the Aged, a lively place where old people go to die