Moral?

After my15 minutes of fame being on tv, plus a wonderful vacation on Nantucket, I’m back to where we left off. We were talking about husbands-- the good the bad and the ugly.

I think we all-- and this is true for both men and women--panic a little about aging, especially those of us who grew up in the ‘60’s youth culture with the mantra “never trust anyone over 30.” Let’s face it: youth rules. Every other article in a women’s magazine is about botox, restylane or Juvederm. And, the models in fashion magazines are mostly 15. The average age for retirement for a model is 24, though there seems to be a recent demand for more “sophisticated” models aged 25 and older, probably because we baby boomers are reluctant to buy skin care products from a girl who’s not old enough to legally order a martini.

It’s kind of natural that when a guy faces 50, he is desperate to hang onto his youth. Normal men buy a sports car or a motorcycle, or maybe take up playing the guitar and that’s enough to help them cope. But, others can’t stop short of abandoning all the trappings of their former life--wife, house, responsibility-- and need to find another woman to start over with. Often, she’s younger, but most important, she’s new and exciting.

I was recently introduced to a couple--he’s 60, she’s in her early 50’s. Fifteen years ago, they were neighbors and each was happily married, she with three kids, he with two. Somehow, they developed a riveting attraction and ditched their shocked spouses for one another. He gave her a massive diamond, they married the day their divorces were final, he moved into her house, and a year later they had a child, bringing the total to 6 kids between them. When I met them, they were holding hands, thrilled about spending a week alone together on a tiny island with no electricity off Nantucket. I can’t figure out if there’s any moral to this story.