Kim Rossi

Wonderful Story of Books, Friendship, Human Kindness

I miss older adults. There was a real comfort in having grandparents, older aunts and uncles (my Dad married late in life and didn't have me until he was 40, so his brothers and sisters always seemed "old" to me.) I've just met a wonderful couple in town who are in their 80's. They've written a series of books, which I'll tell you about later. They fill a void for me. They are vibrant, intelligent, engaged, interesting and I haven't heard word one from them about aches, pains, fake body parts or doctors' advice.

Read this, I hope you'll feel good too:

From the NYT today: Stephanie Sandleben, a yoga instructor with tattoos on each shoulder, just finished Chapter 19 of Tina Brown’s biography of Princess Diana. Sara Nolan, a 28-year-old graduate student, is 30 pages into a Rumer Godden novel. Mark Kalinowsky, 48 and a real estate broker, has long since stopped reading; he just comes to chat.

These three disparate characters are part of a ragtag crew that cycles through the worn one-bedroom Murray Hill walk-up where Elizabeth Goodyear, who recently celebrated her 101st birthday, is confined, after two knee operations. A lifelong lover of books, Ms. Goodyear lost her sight about four years ago, but in its place has acquired something far more precious: a roster of readers who stop by regularly, bringing with them dogs, gifts from their international travels and offerings of dark chocolate, the elixir she has savored daily since she was 3.

Read the full story HERE.