The Books

The Retired Kid

by Jon Agee

One Potato Review

Eight year old Brian has finally (has precociously?) reached his limit, between babysitting and violin and school buses leaving without him, and announces he’s heading for Florida. Of course nobody takes him seriously, and soon enough Brian is hanging out at ballgames and swing dancing and watching documentaries, but he’s also listening to Tex go on about his hip replacement, and flipping through photos of grandkids with Myrtle. They’re a welcoming bunch, these octogenarians at Happy Sunset, still active, but they’ve earned their reminiscence already, and it’s probably no coincidence they’re spending the autumn of their lives in a state without autumn, because who needs the drama?