Harold Davis was born over his father's saloon on the Lower East Side in New York City. He was a practicing lawyer for more than 65 years.At the age of 91 he moved to a senior residence and began writing this journal as a way to keep in touch with friends and family and also, it is clear, as a way to come to grips with a radical change in his life.At first he was appalled by what he saw as the physical ugliness of his elderly fellow-residents, but after a few weeks he had an epiphany of sorts and realized there was beauty, intellect and talent inside their time-ravaged shells.