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I know…we all miss the “simpler
times.” They were times when a
group of young people would spon-
taneously gather at someone’s home,
hang out and listen to music, play
games, and of course, order pizza.
Perhaps the biggest decision would
be plain, sausage or pepperoni, and
as we waited for the delivery person,
we knew the pizza would be fresh
and delicious. If, as you are reading
this, you are thinking those days are
gone, may I remind you that there is
a “simpler time” for those of a “cer-
tain age,” and the pizza is just as
fresh and delicious!
As teens we couldn’t wait to be
mature enough to “begin our lives”
and these gatherings were great
ways to travel together into the next
decades. Whether we were facing
college, the business world or learn-
ing a trade, we had it all ahead, and
it was so very exciting! Our cama-
raderie came from the creating of a
lifestyle we could call our own. From
there, our pizza parties came com-
plete with families, conversation
about work, children and the econo-
my. There were times when the kids
ate their pizza in the “playroom,”
while the parents added wine or beer
to theirs in the dining room, happy to
share adult conversation. As ever, the
pizza was, fresh and delicious.
With our children grown and rais-
ing children of their own, our pizza
party takes on a new and different
camaraderie, and it has the potential
to be fantastic! No longer facing the
same pressures of raising children,
finding work, building a business,
jockeying for position, those who are
in their 70’s, 80’s and 90’s are enjoy-
ing somewhat of a rebirth socially,
and they are thrilled with their new
lifestyle. For many, that new lifestyle
is in a community with others of the
same age, but whether or not that is
your choice, clearly most of the 70,
80
and 90-somethings are enjoying
their new freedom and sharing more
than pizza together. Still reeling from
the recent storms and the feeling of
being disenfranchised in our private
dwellings, consider, in contrast, how
the residents of the new “communal
living” were able to depend upon
having their friends and companions
right in their very own extended
home…very comforting! The pizza
delivery person may have had a diffi-
cult time enduring the travel condi-
tions, but when the pizza arrived,
you can be certain, it was fresh and
delicious.
Whether you or your parent or
grandparent are traveling the road to
a new social environment, or still liv-
ing on their own, some of the truest
words spoken are that “people who
need people, are the luckiest people
in the world!” Barbra Streisand sang
the song so beautifully, and although
at the time, I thought of the roman-
tic implications of the song, I have a
new/renewed mental image when I
think of her haunting voice…we
need much less than we think, and
have so much more than we will ever
need. “Things” are less relevant, the
appreciation for the days’ beginnings
and the days’ ends have ever so
much more value, and one thing is
constant as we mature…put togeth-
er a group of similarly-aged people,
add some hot pizza, and the out-
come will be fresh and delicious!
THE PIZZA PARTY
By: Ellyn Mantell