Social Security (Book) - 1/24/2021 6:06:53 PM
Four old crotchety "old coots" that still have something to offer: Clarence, Max, Henry and Serge, are tired of feeling like "inmates" in their senior citizen home, "Prudent Paradise," but they call hell and decide to change things, including the name. Social Security is their new home and their motto is "I intend to enjoy my twilight years," and, boy do they...with a bar, co-ed rooms, and every freedom they can think of, especially freedom of speech. Crotchety is "an adjective used to describe an ole person" who is in their "golden years" and hate it and life but also seem to think that they have more to say and others need to listen. These four have much more to say and Social Security becomes their platform. "Social Security" is the stage for these old men to vent and rant about all sorts of topics, such as capitalism defeating communism, prescription drug manufacturing being a highly lucrative business with almost no competition, 9-11, Enron, and the mark of the beast (666) vs implants. Within their speeches to each other and others are "gems," little nuggets of truth, such as: "man used the Word of God as both a source of Pleasure and Peace and as a tenant of Fear and Damnation," or "Evil is but wrong living as it is "live," spelled backwards," also "Ironically, the churches promote bingo, while the states are obsessed with more and more lottery revenue, not to mention taxes," and finally, "Fear is life's greatest mystery while Faith is its greatest secret...Fear is inferior to Faith as it is nothing more than a lack of Faith." Among these "mini-articulations" the men, who show they are all still functioning, well-thinking older gentleman, quote some famous characters like: T.S.Eliot, Chief Justice Burger, Gandhi, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Kahlil Gibran, and James Madison, too name a few. "Social Security" is a well-written book that includes social commentary mixed with love, death, romance, crime, drama and freedom for senior citizens to live the way they want too. Robert J. Karpie has a writing style that hooks the reader. I read "Social Security" in one setting as it grabs the reader from the beginning as you find yourself rooting for the four "old coots" and their dreams. The author's view into the world of the geriatric mind-set is outstanding. I highly recommend "Social Security."
