The Misanthrope’s Corner

THANK you for the birthday gifts, including the four low-tech alarm clocks, one of which, as my vigilant post office noted, arrived ticking. We have given “white noise” new meaning and rewritten an old adage: “Be careful what you wish for; NR readers might send it to you.”

The arrival of my 66th birthday finds me confronting a hard fact: I’m turning into an odd duck. There are some who would not regard this as a new development, but I refer to the psychological changes said to come with advancing age.

About the Author

Florence King

Florence King was a contributing editor of National Review.

THANK you for the birthday gifts, including the four low-tech alarm clocks, one of which, as my vigilant post office noted, arrived ticking. We have given “white noise” new meaning and rewritten an old adage: “Be careful what you wish for; NR readers might send it to you.”

The arrival of my 66th birthday finds me confronting a hard fact: I’m turning into an odd duck. There are some who would not regard this as a new development, but I refer to the psychological changes said to come with advancing age.