My Kindle has become one of
my favorite electronic devices. I carry it everywhere with me in my purse &
thoroughly enjoy some interesting, semi-mindless reading when I have a few
minutes. Lately, I’ve been reading a series of books about six girlfriends who
met in college but are now in their mid-twenties, beginning their careers &
finding love.
In one of the books they were
having a discussion at their girl’s night out about “hot older guys”. They went
on to extol the hotness of several “older” celebrities – namely George Clooney,
Brad Pitt & Hugh Grant. Huh???
Now, I totally agree with
the high degree of hotness of all of these men. My favorite is George Clooney,
who I first discovered many. many years ago on the old “Roseanne” sitcom &
then loved as Dr. Ross on “ER”. And Brad Pitt was a mere child when he had a
small role in “Thelma & Louise” playing a hot cowboy who slept with Geena
Davis’s character then absconded with her money. Hugh Grant has that attractive,
boyish charm which has come across in many of the romantic comedies in which he
has starred.
BUT, COME ON – OLD??????? I sat there staring at my Kindle screen as the
20-somethings went on about how they were really “hot” for “old guys”. They
commented that any one of them could be their father, which was true. But what
the hell? These are hot, YOUNG guys
in my world. In fact I just looked up their ages & they are 52, 50 &
53, respectively. Geez, I would be accused of robbing the cradle if I was
involved with any of them at my current age of 63. Of course, since there isn’t
a snowballs chance in hell of that happening, I’ll happily stick with my own 58
year old “hot old guy”!
Every generation probably
has its hot older guys. The ones that come to mind for me are Robert Redford,
Clint Eastwood & my favorite, Paul Newman. I remember reading this anecdote
about him several years ago.
One morning
a woman vacationing in a small New England
town where Paul Newman often visited got up early to take a long hike. Afterward
she decided to treat herself to a double-dip chocolate ice cream cone at the
combination bakery/ice cream parlor.
There was only one other patron in the store. Paul Newman was sitting in the corner having a doughnut & coffee. The woman's heart skipped a beat as her eyes made contact with those famous baby-blues. The actor nodded graciously & the star struck woman smiled demurely.
“Pull yourself together,” she chided herself, “You're a happily married 45 year old woman with children, not a teenager!”
The clerk filled her order. Her purse slung over her shoulder, she took the double-dip chocolate ice cream cone in one hand & her change in the other. She went out the door, coolly avoiding even a glance in Paul Newman's direction.
When she reached her car, she realized that she had a handful of change but her other hand was empty. Where's my ice cream cone? Did I leave it in the store? Back into the shop she went, expecting to see the cone still in the clerk's hand or in a holder on the counter or something. No ice cream cone was in sight.
She looked over at Paul Newman. His face broke into his familiar warm friendly grin & he said to the woman, "You put it in your purse."
There was only one other patron in the store. Paul Newman was sitting in the corner having a doughnut & coffee. The woman's heart skipped a beat as her eyes made contact with those famous baby-blues. The actor nodded graciously & the star struck woman smiled demurely.
“Pull yourself together,” she chided herself, “You're a happily married 45 year old woman with children, not a teenager!”
The clerk filled her order. Her purse slung over her shoulder, she took the double-dip chocolate ice cream cone in one hand & her change in the other. She went out the door, coolly avoiding even a glance in Paul Newman's direction.
When she reached her car, she realized that she had a handful of change but her other hand was empty. Where's my ice cream cone? Did I leave it in the store? Back into the shop she went, expecting to see the cone still in the clerk's hand or in a holder on the counter or something. No ice cream cone was in sight.
She looked over at Paul Newman. His face broke into his familiar warm friendly grin & he said to the woman, "You put it in your purse."
