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Bonnie Jo Campbell

“But once people were forced to conform to a rigid schedule, any mysterious use of time made their spouses suspicious. The old men who belonged to the old fraternities began to die off, and the next generation of men feared that gathering in costume to share secrets would be seen as foolish. Many of the old men, upon retirement, moved away somewhere warm without having managed to pass on any wisdom, and those who tried to share what they knew found their sons had grown angry and unable to listen. The old men felt their virility waning, and they were left confused about what it meant to be men. They were terrified of their own womanish inclinations in old age, toward gardening and cooking, terrified of the way their eyes filled with tears at the sight of small children. The only thing they had known for sure was work, and because they were no longer farmers, work no longer made sense.”

Bonnie Jo Campbell, The Waters: A Novel
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The Waters: A Novel The Waters: A Novel by Bonnie Jo Campbell
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