I Wish I Had Written This

The Lonely Death of George Bell, by N. R. Kleinfield. It is so astoundingly good I wondered how a writer this great could have escaped my notice. I’m still shocked, but I did discover that he wrote a book I read over 30 years ago, The Biggest Company on Earth. It’s about AT&T and I was working in telecommunications at the time. This was pre-divestiture and they were the only game in town. So yeah, working with AT&T was a bit of a nightmare (I liked some of the people though). I honestly don’t remember what I thought of the book overall, I just remember learning some interesting things about the company. And the bigness of them.

Anyway, read the story I linked to. I’m using it for inspiration for the book I’m writing now.

A statue on the building across the street from the statue I posted the other day. She (or he) looks as miserable as the other guy. And pissed.

OppositeStatue

Stacy Horn

I've written six non-fiction books, the most recent is Damnation Island: Poor, Sick, Mad, and Criminal in 19th-Century New York.

View all posts by Stacy Horn →

4 thoughts on “I Wish I Had Written This

  1. Read it Saturday. I wonder sometimes if that could be me at the end. I’m an introvert and don’t have a wide circle of friends. Would anyone notice or would I end up like George Bell? I hope not at least for my cats sake.

  2. I worried about the same thing! But that was the one thing I thought was a shame about the article, although I don’t think it’s the writer’s fault. Everyone who lives alone (like me) is going to worry. And some will feel bad about their lives. I don’t think living alone is anything to feel bad about! No life is perfect and I never feel lonely, personally. Never. I’ve felt lonely at times, living with people though.

    I don’t really care if people don’t notice right away if I die. Like you, my only concern would be for my cats.

  3. Fascinating article. I live alone, no kids either. But I have 3 younger sisters, and one checks on me via phone at least every other day. I’m sure one would show up at my door, if I didn’t answer. On the other hand, if they were deceased and/or unable to check on me, then I might end up likewise. And I wouldn’t mind that, except if I had pets (which I currently do). Your book sounds interesting, can’t wait for it!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Share via
Copy link
Powered by Social Snap