The Old Coot has a face for radio

[By Merlin Lessler] 

I was putting some books on a shelf in my office the other day and noticed that the actual book covers were drab – title and author, and that’s it, a plain wrapper. But the slick removable cover the publisher put over it was colorful, eye-catching and exciting. 

“Don’t judge a book by its cover,” used to be a common saying, extrapolating that advice to, “We shouldn’t judge people by how they look.” 

Hardly anyone follows that adage; it’s in exile. People, and books, as publishers well know, are commonly judged by how they look. 

Take the news, weather, and commentary people on TV. Producers certainly think, in fact know, that their looks are important. It’s human nature. And, it affects a lot more than TV hiring; most companies do the same, consciously or unconsciously. 

The saying, “he has a face for radio,” says it all.

One of the lessons that we old people learn, starting about when we get our first Social Security check, is that we’re judged, or ignored, by how old our “cover” looks. 

I’m well acquainted with the judgment, but I use it. “Would you let me go ahead of you in line? I’m in my 80’s?” It gets me through TSA in the fast lane without taking off my shoes, jacket, or belt and onto the plane ahead of the line, especially when I use a cane, which I really need in a slow-moving line or on an excessively long and hurried race from one gate to another. 

And, I get senior discounts automatically. I don’t have to ask. My “cover” does it for me. It’s not all bad, this being an old coot thing.

Comments? Send to mlessler7@gmail.com.