The author told a certain story of what aging should look like. And for a long time, a million people bought into an "old age" story filled with leisure and relaxation.
It captures the bright, optimistic view of life that he conveyed in every conversation and throughout his writings. Each successive vignette opens the door ever wider to his expansive curiosity and sincere interest in everybody with whom he came into contact. Not only did he share of himself easily, but also he was a supreme listener, fascinated with the smallest of details. After all, for him, learning was everything.
The discipline that we know as History has its origins in stories-stories that capture lessons of life and hand them down from generation to generation. Rich in humor, they are tales of love and hope, happiness and sadness, success and failure, good and evil, and countless other aspects of everyday life. Triumph and human frailty are often key themes.
The author was a career educator and historian who approached each day with enthusiasm and a big smile on his face. Not a morning passed without an in-depth read of his beloved New York Times. And this "citizen of the world" embraced life to the fullest, crisscrossing the globe multiple times over. But Not For Lunch chronicles many of those travels. And yes, The author loved to tell stories.
