One Old Gigolo Counsels Another

You take care now, Harold, and don't slip on the ice looking for a good bookstore on the streets of Chicago. Print is dead, Harold, and it's being waked in empty bookstores. Soon all bookstores will be dead, Harold, and then you will have no good reason to go out on the ice. At our age, Harold, ice can be lethal so take my advice and do as I do: Walk head down even if there's no ice so you can avoid not only the ice but also the women disgruntled with men. Believe me, Harold, they're out there armed with bumbershoots. They prowl the streets now more than when we were young and dashing and making them angry. They haven't forgotten us. So for God's sake, Harold, go out for a walk but bundle up and take your cane and walk with your head down. Do you believe in God, Harold? I hope you do because at our age, Harold, ice or a woman could be the chariot that takes us over the moon faster than we'd like. Donal Mahoney