In the Land of the Very Old, Part Two

Editor’s note: Sam Toperoff, who died in June at the age of 90, wrote this piece earlier this year as a sequel to “In The Land of the Very Old,” a Sunday Long Read Original essay published in January. That piece, enormously popular with SLR readers, was Sam’s way of delivering his observations and wisdom on aging in a clever, thoughtful format. Following the reception of that piece, Sam put together additional thoughts in this essay, which The Sunday Long Read team has lightly edited and is publishing here as a tribute to our friend, Sam.

1. Calling Dr. Toperoff, or The Taste of Chocolate

A writer fully engaged in a project does not sleep well. Ideas, some of them crazy, percolate and won’t let you turn down the heat. It’s usually about two in the morning. You wonder if it’s even an idea worth losing this much sleep over, but there’s not much you can do about it. Finally the question becomes, Do I get out of bed, go over to the desk and write it down?