No More Grumpy Old Men; We All Know the Statistics: We're Living Longer and Having More Fun While We're Doing It. What the Figures Don't Reveal Is a Mood Swing Affecting Men of a Certain Age. Howard Jacobson Pays Tribute to the New 60-Something Male ... Mister Nice Guy

Summary

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Nobody seems quite sure what to make of us - men of my generation who show no inclination to act our age, to grow old gracefully, or to make way for the ambitious blokes snapping at our heels. Where once we would have been content to snooze in our armchairs and receive grandchildren, we now run marathons, paraglide across the Atlantic, snort coke, fall injudiciously in love, and at the slightest suggestion from our bodies that they would appreciate a rest, lash them into life again with whatever rejuvenation pills happen to be on the market. Are we an inspiring spectacle, or are we a joke?

It's important to draw a distinction between men of this complexion and those, a decade or so younger, who read Harry Potter, wear bling jewellery, and when they aren't throwing up in foreign capitals are to be found jigging in their retro blazers at a school disco designed to indulge their nostalgia. My lot are not obsessed with reliving our childhoods in this way; we simply find ourselves with more time and vitality on our hands than we expected, and now wonder where that leaves us philosophically.

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Extract

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No More Grumpy Old Men; We All Know the Statistics: We're Living Longer and Having More Fun While We're Doing It. What the Figures Don't Reveal Is a Mood Swing Affecting Men of a Certain Age. Howard Jacobson Pays Tribute to the New 60-Something Male ... Mister Nice Guy

We are not trying to recapture our youth or to grab a piece of someone else's. To be frank, we don't much care for the condition of being young in any of its aspects, but are not, on this account, to be confused with those...

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