OLD AT 91
“La vieillesse est un naufrage.”
—Charles de Gaulle
1.
In high school I met M, who grew up to be an innovative sculptor. We rode the same school bus. He now has advanced Parkinson’s.
M has always been a truth-teller.
A few months ago he made it to Santa Cruz, helped by two grandsons. I drove down to meet him—my closest friend for 75 years—and to show him Lang Lang on You Tube playing the adagio in “The Emperor.”
We talked about art and parents and Albert Camus, and I reminded M that nearly everyplace he’d ever gone, he’d been well-liked.
M said, “I couldn’t help it.”
