Life in Ye Olde Folks Home

I was just talking to my daughter about the new Netflix comedy, “A Man on the Inside,” starring Ted Danson as a widower of one year entering a retirement home. ` “Did it hit kinda close to home?” she asked.

You think?

Let’s start with the opening scene, with Ted Danson in his PJs, on his side of the bed even though he lives alone.

My heart. It’s been three plus years, but that’s me. It’s hard to erase habits of 47 years.

The series has been described as “We’re all going to die, plus jokes,” due to its rather cavalier attitude towards death.

Mike Schur, the creator of the series, begs to differ. He describes it as, “We’re all going to die, so live the best life you can as long as you can… plus jokes.”

He hopes that your reaction will be to realize, “I need to call my Mom.”

At any rate, that’s how it is here. All the guys here gather around one table for breakfast every morning, with lots of laughter and good-natured ribbing… two of us have passed on in the three years I’ve been here.

It happens. I know it must sound macabre to you young’uns, but we’ve had some time to get used to it.

The show presents the trip to The Neighborhood—their memory care unit—as something almost as dire. We’ve seen a number of us take that trip, too, and it’s commonly understood that certain of the residents here are soon to follow.

Remember the adage, “There are no atheists in foxholes?” There are few here, as well. Christian belief is rampant, with the only uncertainty being whether one is in the Catholic or Lutheran camps. This is Minnesota, after all.

Does this sound depressing? It’s not. I love this place, and A Man on the Inside is a rather fun sampler of what life here is like.