Early Bird: A Memoir of Premature Retirement

I've always had an affinity for "older" people, and wondered what it would be like to live with them on a regular basis - see what happens when they are in their own habitat, as it were. So this book stuck out at me. I loved the way the author noticed, and picked up on even the smallest things. I suppose that's the job of a writer, but he so clearly described and articulated even the simplest everyday things about retirement, like the art of playing sports with arthritis, or the romantic lives of his retired folks, and he portrayed such a clear picture. In our culture youth is revered above all else - and I was struck even by how the older folks thought of themselves as "young old" or "old old", and how they could be mean and catty about things like looks and body type - it seems so ingrained in people, I suppose. But this book showed how retirees are the same people they were forty years ago - which gives me hope for my own retirement in 40 or so years. Touching, funny, and, I expect, true.

Since I live in South Florida, the mecca for East Coast senior retirees, and work in an office building directly across the street from a huge Century Village senior citizen complex, I have always wondered what it would be like to live the South Florida retirement lifestyle. Rodney Rothman, who prematurely retired at the ripe old age of 28 after losing his job as a television show writer, moved into a Boca Raton Century Village retirement condo, determined to try out retirement forty years early. We meet Rothman's roommate, a shy retired piano teacher whose only companions are her condo-prohibited pets. We learn about his new friend Amy, a raunchy 93-year-old former stand-up comedian. We watch him play bad golf with Artie, a former heroin dealer who is uncertain about what to do with the rest of his life. Then add anecdotes about his shuffleboard, club, and pool buddies, and Rothman paints a fascinating picture of what it's like to grow old. He also throws in details about his own personal concerns, such as finding a Nice Jewish Girl, convincing his family and friends that he's not crazy for what he's doing, and deciding how and when he will reenter the work force. Rothman did his homework, having read up on the physical, mental, and social concerns of the elderly. As he compares the differences and similarities between the lives of the young and old, he provides an interesting interpretive twist from the refreshingly witty point of view of a twenty-something. In many ways, he claims, the elderly are a lot like their teenage counterparts. They form the same cliques and have the same concerns about fitting in. Old men, who left their immature behavior behind when they married, regain it at this stage of their lives and have primarily women on their minds. Old women are still the giggly, gossipy girls they were in high school. Although I expected this book to be exaggeratedly funny a la Laurie Notaro, instead I found a lower-key, yet still hilarious, memoir that demonstrates a surprising amount of compassion for the elderly. I enjoyed this book and highly recommend it as a laugh-out-loud yet moving account of the golden years, South Florida style. Eileen Rieback

By the time I had read about 5 pages, I thought to myself, "Hmmmm, he's got a straight guy David Sedaris vibe to him." Well into his adventures in retirementworld, the Sedaris vibe proves to be a good thing. His take on the golden years is hilarious, honest, and not condescending. He has genuine affection for some of these folks, genuine disdain for some, and he's even envious and physically attracted to others. That's how REAL life goes -- it can be cruel, interesting, boring, hilarious, and delicious (or bland if you're at a cheap buffet eating scrod). I'm now loaning my copy of the book to all my friends.

EARLY BIRDS is a great read. Rothman, an ex-Letterman head writer and writer for the late great TV series UNDECLARED decides that, after his TV show is cancelled, he will move to Florida and try retirment for a while. He moves into a retirement community as a roommate to a piano teacher with two cats and a parrot. Wackiness ensues. The book follows Rothman's adventures learning to get up early, joining the various clubs in the village, going on gambling cruises, meeting all sorts of interesting characters (from an ex-stand up comic, a "sultry" divorcee, and an ex heroin dealer turned real estate agent), and finally, trying to find people his own age. It is very entertaining, you won't want to put it down.