Growing Old and Liking It
The title of a new book by Betty Friedan was incorrect in Judy Mann's column yesterday. It is "The Fountain of Age." (Published 9/16/93)</br></br>Over dinner at my father's house this summer, he referred to his granddaughter as "Kathy." My daughter shot me a "Where is that coming from?" look.</br></br>"Dad," I said. "Katherine's name is Katherine. She can't stand being called `Kathy,' and she won't even answer to it." "How would you like a hundred dollars, Kathy?" my father asked without skipping a beat. My daughter's jaw dropped, and we all burst out laughing. He'd won that round, hands down.</br></br>Those of us in the younger generations of my family look upon our patriarch with wonder: We admire his endurance, his sharpness. He continues to go to French class once a week. He has a lively social life. We consider him exceptional. We ought to be thinking of him as a trend setter.</br></br>Born when the average life expectancy was 46 years, he is part of that remarkable generation of people who have pushed it up to nearly 80 years. This group of people is redefining aging, and it is no surprise to find Betty Friedan in the vanguard. At 72, she has just published "The Fountain of Youth," a book on which she has spent a decade working. It will liberate us from the tyranny of youth as surely as "The Feminine Mystique" liberated women from the calcified gender role of mother/sex object.