Maybe it’s just good marketing, but it’s easy to understand how a movie like “Young@Heart” can become a minor hit in these times of economic and political woe. The documentary follows a chorus of senior citizens as they prepare for an annual concert in New England.

But this is no ordinary group of aging singers. Under inspired direction, they bring the house down with their versions of rock, punk and soul music. And when they shout out the James Brown tune “I Feel Good!”, you can’t help but echo their sentiments.

I’m fortunate to be part of a group that shares the “Young@Heart” ethos. At the writers’ club that I attend monthly in Downey, I’m just a piker at 58.There are a handful of other members my age, but the real stars are the people in their 70s and 80s.

Like Stanly Hoffman. Just turned 80, Hoffman has released a CD of rap songs that will curl your hair. His lyrics take on all manners of topics – politics, sex, drugs, inequality, recidivism. And he doesn’t shy away from blue material.

Don’t believe me? You can hear parts of the tracts at www.cdbaby.com/cd/kwayzer. Hoffman goes by the name of Kwayzar (his rap form of “quasar”), and if you log onto the site, his fish-eye mug will stare back at you from the CD cover.

And we have other leading lights. Rosalie, our vice president, is a gifted poet who continues to be one of the most active participants in the Downey community despite a heart condition and a recent knee operation.

Jack, a retired community college English professor, has written a moving autobiographical novel about coming of age as a Jewish boy in anti-semitic wartime England. His book remains unpublished, but he continues to write.

Anna, an opera librettist, writes edgy one-act plays that we put on, and the other Rosalie entertains us with first-rate popular songs that she composes and has recorded by professional singers.

Officially, I’m president of the group, but all that means is that I preside over the meetings. I remind people of upcoming contests; I ask for volunteers to bring refreshments; and I read a chapter or two from published authors for inspiration.

The real leaders are the Rosalies, Jack, Anna and Stan and others of their age group. Like the “Young@Heart” singers, they have more to teach us than we can ever learn. And despite the conventional wisdom of the times, I find it worth every minute, even if it means missing another episode of “American Idol” or, heaven help us, a Lakers playoff game.

Ralph Cohen is a freelance speechwriter and president of Writers’ Workshop West. He can be reached at rcohensb@aol.com. The club meets every third Tuesday from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at the Downey High School library.



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Published: November 14, 2008 - Volume 7 - Issue 30