On The Agenda by Lore Segal, 2023
The magic trick:
A rare glimpse into the lives of the very old
What a triumph, this story. Published last week at the ripe old age of 95. And Segal even reads the audio version for The New Yorker.
It’s clearly not some draft pulled from her archive, written in 1983. It’s about our times – wokeness and COVID make appearances. Even more crucially, it’s about being 95; it’s about being very old. And that might not sound all that remarkable at first blush. But read the story. Spend 20 minutes with these characters. It’s shocking how fresh this look into the daily lives of the aged – from the aged’s point of view – feels; how rare this particular insight comes our way.
And that’s quite a trick on Segal’s part.
The selection:
“Hi! We’ve brought sushi,” Ruth said, and Farah said, “Bessie and Ilka are on their way up. Hope might come a bit later. What’s going on? Talk to us.”
They seated themselves around Bridget’s table. She said, “It’s the stupid nerves before giving a talk. I’m on this panel on Wednesday and I have to give the opening statement. This is stuff I do all the time.”
“But public speaking is famously nerve-wracking,” said Ruth, the retired lawyer. “I used to worry weeks ahead, and then only one week, and later one day, then just for the five minutes before going on, until I learned to just be nervous.”
“And I’m frazzled by all the things I haven’t got done around the house,” Bridget said.
“Like what, for instance?”
“Like . . . I can’t remember—and I don’t know how to find—the name of the guy who washes my windows, so I can’t call to find out when he is supposed to come. Hope, hello!” she greeted the latecomer. “Sit down. Have sushi.”
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