Friday, January 03, 2003

YOUNGER MEN (part two) By now it should be easy for you to fascinate younger men.  Face it, and take advantage.  You've been handling life and all its complicated situations for so long that it's practically second nature.  On your worst day, in fact, you can manage anything better than the average 22-year-old can.  On your best day you are a wonder to behold.  All that is difficult for the young is easy for you.  And the young are really impressed.    Take entertaining.  By now you've done it all so often and so well that you can pull it off in your sleep.  A simple salad with sourdough bread, bacon quiche, dry white wine, chocolate fondue, and coffee ground from fresh beans--for you, your young man, and four close friends.  The fireplace is blazing and the stereo is soft in the background.  Your friend, The Lawyer is discussing the Supreme Court's view on privileged information with your friend, the Newpaper Editor.  Their spouses are having a heated debate regarding capital punishment (they have both spent considerable time gathering signatures on positions with opposing aims).  You, the gracious hostess, bring out the brandy and steer the conversation to whether or not Albee is making a comeback.  Naturally your young friend will sit through all this with his mouth mentally open.  He can't help but be in awe of your ability to entertain, of your more accomplished friends, of your exceptional taste, and grace.  You have provided him with an evening he will not be able to provide for himself for at least another decade.  But for you, it is just another Saturday night.  (to be continued) 3:01:25 PM    comment []

"...wickedly informative handbook for the upbeat over-forty woman, peppered with great tips on everything from how to conduct an affair with a suave older man, to how to make a neat profit in real estate--everything I've wanted to know since I was thirty-five.  The wit is so salty, the style so kicky, I'd read this delicious book even if I weren't quoted in it."  Rue McClanahan 8:42:46 AM    comment []

EXCERPT FROM "HOW TO GET A MAN AFTER YOU'RE FORTY" In her chapter titled "Men You May Never Have Considered," my co-author, Barbara Lochner, writes about "Younger Men" as objects of desire. …Honestly, what's so bad about considering someone younger than yourself? Men do it all the time. And do you think they feel uncomfortable and embarrassed about it? No. When a 45-year-old-man has a 25-year-old woman in tow, he does everything in his power to publicize it--up to and including marrying the child. The gray Wolf is not concerned that Little Red Riding Hood shows up at his company's picnic in a black see-through that all his employees truly see through. He does not expect her to know the difference between Bach and Beethoven. He does not expect her to know that a merger is not the same as an acquisition. He does not expect her to shape up the swimming pool service, get his umbrella recovered, take the car in for its 5,000 mile checkup. He does not expect her to be very bright or very successful. She need not know how to cook, clean, entertain, or even find her way downtown with any certainty. All she need be is young and, even better, beautiful. If by chance the child can function as an adult, her "old man" often looks upon it in the same way that Dr. Johnson looks upon dogs walking on their hind legs and women preaching from the pulpit. The wonder is not that they it well, but that they do it at all. If a youthful companion is perfectly okay for him--perfectly okay to date, live with, even marry--then why is a youthful companion not okay for us? In his advice to young men, Ben Franklin wrote that all young men should consider the advantages of the older woman. He listed several reasons, the last of which was "They're so grateful." I'm pretty angry at Ben for that--he did not finish his homework. If he had been less a chauvinist, he would have followed through with similar advice for older women on considering young men. The best reason could only be "They are so impressionable." They are a piece of cake. They are easy. And they should be considered--for the same reason that older men fall back on younger women. Suppose you have a job that demands hard work and serious thought, in which you have far-reaching decisions to make, competition to deal with, seminars to teach or attend, planes to catch and meet, possibly you also have children to raise and educate and a home to manage. Whew! Or, on any lesser scale, almost everyday is filled with frustrations, worry, demands, and there is no letup in sight. Wouldn't it be nice--isn't it even necessary?--for you to spend some time with a person who is satisfied with your mere presence, with your smallest gesture, your gentlest sigh? I give you the younger man. (To be Continued)   8:22:57 AM    comment []