I recognize these actors!

Shows for older folks, plus my Athens music story and more shareables

Well, the weekend edition of the Shed is a Monday edition … I had a couple of longtime friends come through town on Friday and Saturday and I spent some of my normal writing time hanging out with them. When you have a chance to catch up with old friends, do it.

Some good news to start the day: My oral history of Athens music for Garden & Gun is now online! I still hope you pick up a hard copy of the magazine if you can … the layout and design in the print version is awesome, and we should do what we can to support beautiful, well-written magazines such as G&G. But I’m thrilled the story is available for everyone.

I mentioned at some point that I have a couple of deleted scenes involving Bill Berry and Mike Mills of R.E.M. … I think I’ll hold off on those for a moment and let the main story stand alone for a bit. But I’ll definitely post those tidbits soon.

***

We had an unusual and exciting TV experience last week … we watched a series where we were actually familiar with most of the actors.

The show is called THE BOROUGHS. It’s on Netflix and it’s really good. The executive producers—the Duffer brothers—were the creators of STRANGER THINGS, and the best way to describe this new show is “STRANGER THINGS with senior citizens.” It’s set in a New Mexico retirement community where everyone seems happy and content … and odd events happen in the night.

It’s got a top-notch cast—Alfred Molina, Bill Pullman, Alfre Woodard, Geena Davis, Clarke Peters (Lester from THE WIRE) and a couple of other stars who pop up in later episodes. What’s the common thread in that list? They’re all over 70.

Hollywood is so famously youth-obsessed that you don’t see many movies and TV shows featuring older actors. THE GOLDEN GIRLS comes to mind right off, and the movie COCOON. But even they performed some sleight of hand: None of the Golden Girls were old enough to qualify for Medicare when the show began—Rue McClanahan was just 51*. And Wilford Brimley was only 49 when COCOON started filming—so young that the Brimley/Cocoon line became a meme.

*Also, Bea Arthur was more than a year older in real life than Estelle Getty, who played her mom on the show.

I do wonder, though, if the explosion of available slots on streaming services makes it easier to land a show with older stars. Michael Schur’s show A MAN ON THE INSIDE, starring Ted Danson (who’s 78), has been a hit on Netflix for two seasons. The first season is a mystery set in a retirement home, and both seasons have featured older actors such as David Strathairn (77) and Sally Struthers (78).

The other night we also watched REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES, a Netflix film based on the bestselling book by Shelby Van Pelt about a lonely cleaning woman at an aquarium who befriends an octopus. (Just roll with it.) Sally Field (79) is the star. There are also a couple of connections with THE BOROUGHS—Alfred Molina voices the octopus, and Lewis Pullman (Bill’s son) plays a key role.

We also watched the documentary MARTY, LIFE IS SHORT about how Martin Short (76) built a life in comedy despite multiple tragedies in his personal life. I did not know until Alix told me that he is now apparently dating Meryl Streep! She’s also 76, fyi.

Alix and I are in our 60s now, and I for one have long been the cliché of the clueless guy who can no longer identify any celebrity on the cover of People magazine. (Assuming there still is a People magazine.) It seems obvious to say this, but folks our age and beyond are still creating, still romancing, still cracking jokes, still making music, still wrestling with the big issues of the world. It’s nice to see that reflected once in a while in the shows we watch.

THE BOROUGHS also provided a key data point in a long-running debate. If you’re a Bruce Springsteen fan, you might know there’s some dispute over exactly what Bruce sings in the first line of “Thunder Road.” Some people hear:

The screen door slams, Mary’s dress sways

Others hear:

The screen door slams, Mary’s dress waves

It has been fairly well established over the years that Bruce wrote “sways”—his manager has confirmed this—but the debate has shifted to what the word SHOULD be. My dear friend Joe Posnanski has carried the flag for “waves” for years. He is wrong. “Sways” is far better. But I love his passion.

I bring all this up because “Thunder Road” appears in THE BOROUGHS—in fact, there’s a moment when Alfred Molina sings it. We happened to have the subtitles on when this happened:

I sent the screenshot to Joe. He was not thrilled.

And just to complete the circle: Bruce Springsteen is 76.

I hope you don’t have to be a senior citizen to enjoy this edition of the Writing Shed. If you like it, please consider sharing it with others. That’s how you can help our community grow.

10 things I wanted to share this week:

1. My latest column for SouthPark magazine (and its sister publications statewide) is on the glory of North Carolina minor-league baseball.

2. My friend Jeremy Markovich kept hearing North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis use the phrase “stupid on stilts.” Jeremy wondered: Where the hell did that come from? When Jeremy wonders things, amazing stories result. (North Carolina Rabbit Hole)

3. Here’s the great Matt Crossman on how the NASCAR traveling circus—fans, crews and drivers—found common grief in Kyle Busch’s death. (The Adventurous Life)

4. Two more newsletters you should check out … the brilliant sportswriter Howard Bryant starts off with a post that covers everyone from Rafael Nadal to Whitey Bulger. And my friend Brian Hay is writing about all kinds of music over at The Greatest Show, Man.

5. One more friend doing great work: Greg Lacour takes a look at the Levine family, which founded the Family Dollar stores and has donated untold millions to philanthropic efforts. Now, though, Family Dollar is owned by private equity—which undermines some of the same people the Levine’s donations are trying to help. (The Assembly)

6. A new book I can’t wait to read: Austin Kleon’s DON’T CALL IT ART, about rediscovering your creativity by reconnecting with your inner child.

7. Oliver Burkeman has a fascinating writing tip: Take a chunk of your writing, print it out, delete it, then type it back in from the printed version … and when you do, you’ll revise it for the better along the way. I’m going to try this sometime soon. (The Imperfectionist)

8. The 40 most rage-inducing problems in tech, by the great Brian Phillips. I looked through the original Bluesky thread that led to this story and it made me want to throw my phone in an ocean and live in a cave. (The Ringer)

9. Another loss for those of us who loved the 1980s Atlanta Braves … RIP Bob Horner, one of just 21 players in Major League history to hit four home runs in a game. (The cruel kicker: the Braves lost.) He also played a big role in the infamous Braves-Padres brawl of 1984 … he was injured at the time (Bob was often injured) but came down from the press box to defend pitcher Pascual Perez from the Padres’ dastardly Champ Summers. This is a WILD video.

10. I’m not sure how this happened but I’ve been on a Pat Benatar kick … her stuff from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s still sounds tasty to me. Her voice plus the guitar from her husband, Neil Giraldo, is a near-perfect pairing. His solo at the end of “Heartbreaker” is spectacular.

Upcoming events

June 24: I’ll be interviewing Denise Kiernan about her new book OBSTINATE DAUGHTERS, 7 p.m., at Park Road Books in Charlotte.

Have a great week, everybody.

—TT

My books DOGLAND and THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM are available in all formats pretty much everywhere books are sold.