Jenny Allen: Would Everybody Please Stop?

A few weeks ago, I came across Jenny Allen’s reading her essay “Would Everybody Please Stop?” on the New Yorker Radio Hour and I couldn’t stop laughing. Her humor on words such as iteration, my admin, sweet spot, and deplane are spot on. We need to stop using them and go back to the original words.

Her book with the same title is a collection of humorous, heartfelt essays, which appeared in various publications including the New Yorker. Her piece on college dining hall’s food gives me nostalgia. In my days as an undergraduate student, I loved dinning at La Salle’s cafeteria. At dinners, I usually went for second or third plates. “It’s About Time” is another piece I can see myself in the future. She writes:

I live alone. These things happen. Your children grow up, your husband leaves, and then you are one. This is a happy story, I promise, but I do need to say this: Get ready. You may be next. And if you are, please, please try to remember what I am telling you now: You know how you never have enough time? You will have it.

Hopefully, my wife won’t leave me, but our children will grow up and have their own lives. After reading her advice, I will be fine. I will know what to do with my time. Thanks Ms. Allen for all the enlightenments you have shared with us in this book.