She even used the word “Jeepers”

The photo of the wrinkly old woman in a man’s dress shirt, sitting at her desk, smiling above an opened bottle of Samuel Adams made me stop before I turned to the comics. The title of the newspaper article was ‘Joy of Drinking’ no mystery to author. The book review captured me with the second paragraph:

Smiling, Barbara Holland offers her visitor a choice: “You want to go outside and get pneumonia or stay in here and get lung cancer?”

I have no idea who Barbara Holland is but I love her. Throughout the interview, she’s as blunt and uncensored as her unrevealed age has given her the license to be. “How old ARE you?” asks the reporter.

“None of your (bleep) business,” she says. She bursts out laughing and then her happy cackle turns into a nasty cough. She fights it with another sip of wine, then talks about her book.

The book reportedly is a lighthearted discussion of man’s historical interest in alcohol. Barbara says she wrote the book as a protest against the decline of social drinking and the rise of broccoli, exercise, and Starbucks.

"I was getting sick and tired of being lectured by dear friends with their little bottles of water and their regular visits to the gym. I’m not really in favor of health and fitness. "

But isn’t it good to be healthy?

"I suppose so, but it’s largely a crapshoot. The ghost of my sainted mother hovers around, talking about how self-centered it all is. They’re always thinking about themselves – how far I ran, how much I can bench-press, how I ate three servings of broccoli. For heaven’s sake, get over yourself."

Wow, what a fascinating perspective on today’s obsession with health! It never occurred to me that my constant awareness of what I’m eating, whether I’ve gone to the gym today, how I feel at the top of the hill on my walk, all keep me constantly aware of…me. Yes, I believe I’m being too self-absorbed here. Break out the wine, pastrami sandwich, and chocolate cake. It’s time to celebrate altruism!