The genesis of The Varicose Vigilantes occurred at a restaurant in San Diego. Every morning I would walk down to my local Denny’s, order coffee and grand slam breakfast, and begin writing on my laptop. If you have been to a Denny’s more than once, you may have noticed that they are a magnet for senior citizens.
Now and then I would enter into conversations with the senior patrons. I asked them about their lives and listened eagerly. During these talks, I began to notice an exceptional correlation between attitude, their perceived health, and how old they seemed to me. I realized that aging was as much mental as physical. Having something to live for and maintaining an upbeat attitude are critical to staying “young.”
This was a message that had to be heard.
As we age, it is easy to fall into life patterns that sap our energy and enthusiasm for life. We might stop exercising; we eat or drink too much. We stop socializing. We stop buying pets. There are dozens of ways that we allow ourselves to get old. And once that happens, it becomes increasingly difficult to recapture the excitement of living.
We hear these things all the time, but they don’t sink in. We don’t internalize them. I wanted to write a book that delivered this important message in a way that would sink in and might change my readers’ lives. I succeeded with this wonderful, action-packed comedy.
I have received dozens of emails saying how this book was a life-changing event. The Varicose Vigilantes has motivated readers to begin exercising, to become more social and become more involved in their communities. One reader excitedly told me how this book got his 87 year old dad reading again. Many readers have expressed how this book, along with my others, have connected multiple generations within the same families — regenerating bonds that had been lost over the years.
In The Varicose Vigilantes, our heroes are seniors. They have checked into “The Final Rest,” a retirement community where people live until they die. The residents sit around, marking time by playing cards, board games and watching television. They complain to each other, ruminating about the good old days. They are rusting in place, both mentally and physically.
The one thing that the residents look forward to is Jaime Crandall — a young singer who performs for them every Thursday. On Thursdays, The Final Rest becomes transformed. The residents become active; they awaken from their doldrums, climb out of their wheelchairs and dance. When Jaime is kidnapped by drug dealers, and the police do nothing, the residents must break the chains of age and get things done. In their quest to save Jaime, they must overthrow a mob kingpin, take down a white slavery ring, and foil a global terrorist plot that would make 9/11 look like a picnic. They also form a global organization that galvanizes seniors everywhere. The book is edgy. It is inspirational. It is exceedingly funny.
The Varicose Vigilantes delivers the important life message that I learned in my Denney’s conversations — much of the aging process is mental. The right attitude is critical to a happy, healthy and long retirement life. It delivers this message in a brilliant way that we all can hear and enjoy.
