I read David Sedaris’ newest book Happy-Go-Lucky practically in one sitting. The compelling way he writes just makes me want to keep reading story after story until I’ve finally got to get up and do something (else) productive like make dinner.
I love hearing about what his siblings are up to, and how his husband Hugh is terrorizing them all with his moods and amazing cooking.
While he was writing this book, the pandemic happened, and every night after midnight he’d venture into NYC to prowl around. He felt safe from COVID when there were almost no people on the street. (And frankly, I don’t think he was all that worried about catching COVID after reading that he had dinner parties multiple times a week with varied guests…)
The terrible shame about the pandemic in the United States is that more than nine hundred thousand people have died to date, and I didn’t get to choose a one of them. How unfair that we lost Terrence McNally but not the guy on the electric scooter who almost hit me while he was going the wrong way on Seventh Avenue one sweltering afternoon in the Summer of 2021. Just as I turned to curse him, he ran into a woman on a bicycle who had sped through a red light while looking down at her phone. Both of them tumbled onto the street, the sound of screeching brakes all around them, and I remembered, the way you might recall a joyful dream you once had, that things aren’t as bad as they sometimes seem, and life can actually be beautiful.
There are more stories about COVID, his father’s death, getting together with his siblings at the Sea Section, and bits and pieces of life in his 20s. It’s a great read – recommended.
