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Originally Posted by eweissenbach
It was mostly an interesting read, and not nearly as sensational as I had been led to believe by some. I think his contention that age segregation is troubling and pervasive is a bit flawed, and it is not as though it is a national obsession. He also seemed to contridict many of his own theorums throughout the book. What I found most disconcerting were his frequent profiles of alleged Villagers he encountered throughout his stay. I am not questioning his journalistic integrity, but I found most of those a bit outrageous, unbelievable, and stereotypical. His reported conversations and observations did not read like people talk, or act, in my world.
Glad I read it, and did help me understand the genesis of retirement communities in general, and TV in particular. His rather unflattering portrayal of the Morse clan and their dictatorship did not shock me, and in fact, was about what I had envisioned. The first morning of the first visit we made to TV I was sitting on the lanai and remarked to my wife that "it was nice of the Morses to have the bird chirping piped in for our enjoyment".
Actually, I am more ready to move to TV than I was before I read the book, whatever that says about me!
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I agree. His profile of alleged villagers had all the hallmarks of "typecasting" which no doubt they were. Real individuals, I don't think so.
He suggested that people who live in retirement communities were abandoning their families. He seemed to think that grandparents owe free baby-sitting service to their offsprings' brew. Yet, he expressed no similar outrage about people his own age moving-- along with said grandchildren-- to different cities from their parents.
He also expressed a more generalized outraged that retired people whose own kids had left the nest didn't want to dwell among other people's kids. That outrage struck me as immature, bratty and a wee bit hilarious, as I suspect he'll grow out of it.
His key message seemed to be: Imagine the nerve of retired people thinking they deserved a peaceful and rewarding life after working hard for so many years and raising a family. Selfish, he called us. Ironically I saw him as he saw us: selfish and entitled. Who knows. Maybe we all are.
On another note, the book was entertaining and an easy read and hopefully made him some money.