The Girl Watchers Club
Lessons from the Battlefields of Life
by Harry Stein
List Price: $13.95
Pages: 352
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0060936401
Publisher: Perennial
Harry Stein is the author of eight previous books. The New York Times Book Review called his recent memoir, How I Joined the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy and Found Inner Peace, "a wickedly funny and moral book." He has also written for numerous publications, including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times Sunday Magazine, Playboy, GQ, and Esquire, for which he created the "Ethics" column. He lives in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.
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Q: How did the Girl Watchers vote in the recent elections? Were they, in this way, typical of their generation?
HS: I have a pretty good idea that the surviving Girl Watchers -- two have died since I began working on the book -- split their votes; Stuart Walzer and Harry Handler voting for Kerry, Earl Godfrey for Bush, and my father-in-law, Moe Turner, voting (yes), Libertarian. In this way, statistically, they are not quite typical of their generation, which tends to vote slightly more Republican. On the other hand, their voting patterns do make them more or less typical of Californians. But the larger point is this: these are people who can differ fundamentally on politics and not let it interfere in the least with their personal relations, even when an election is as bitterly contentious as this last one was. In that sense, they very much reflect the values of a generation that tends to put the well-being of the country ahead of passing parochial concerns.
Q: How do they feel about the war in Iraq?
HS: As noted above, to a man they disapprove of the handling of the war. However, they do differ on the magnitude of the threat posed by Islamic radicalism; with someone like Earl certainly believing that this country must pursue an aggressive policy against those committed to destroying us. But, again, what's most telling is that their conversations on even this subject are unfailing civil and even good humored.
Q: How did immersing yourself in the Girl Watchers' lives change you? Have they inspired you to live differently? How?
HS: Being around the guys certainly put things in perspective for me. These are people who are not rattled by life's minor tribulations, the sorts of things (a traffic ticket, a foul-up at work) that for many people can ruin a day. To a man, they focus on the larger things -- most notably, family and friendships. And after a while, being around people like that, seeing how extraordinarily well such a worldview works in maintaining one's happiness and well being, it made me a little more like them. But, to be honest, I'll never match them in this regard.
Q: You do not seem to have a very high regard for your generation, the Baby Boomers. However, no generation can be all bad. What contributions do you think can be attributed to Baby Boomers?
HS: It's true, I have a fairly low regard for my own generation. What contributions have we made? Well, in one sense, that's easy: we've given the world technological advances that a couple of decades ago would have seemed beyond imagination. For instance, is it even possible to conceive of life today without computers? And I also credit us with an emotional openness that our parents lacked, and an ability to face certain problems that previous generations lacked -- not only the big ones, like racism, but deeply personal emotional issues. The problem -- and, yes, here I go again -- is that, even in this way, we tend to overdo it, focusing on ourselves to the point of self absorption and not nearly as much as our forebears on the greater good.
Q: We as a culture use the language of war (such as "battle cancer") in everyday life. After studying and listening to a generation of men who actually lived through war, does our politicians' and pundits' use of war as metaphor affect you? Do you think this everyday use belittles the Girl Watchers' experiences or is it an accurate and powerful use of language?
HS: Actually, that never occurred to me. We do tend to over dramatize, don't we? On the other hand, in a crowded culture, with everyone and every thing screaming for attention, I suppose that's inevitable. I guess if it doesn't bother The Girl Watchers -- and none of them ever said anything about it -- it doesn't bother me.
Q: As one of the Girl Watchers points out, if it weren't for their hard work and sacrifice in the war, the world would be a completely different place than it is today. Beyond the political landscape, what is the single most significant contribution of the Girl Watcher's generation?
HS: I would have to say that their most significant contribution has been the attitude with which they imbued the country: a kind of unflagging optimism which I truly believe is more evident in America than any other place on the planet. That is something that's hard to quantify, but it has contributed enormously to our collective well being.
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Excerpted from The Girl Watchers Club © Copyright 2012 by Harry Stein. Reprinted with permission by Perennial. All rights reserved.
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