Why “Old Lady at Sea”

I never really liked reading books by Ernest Hemingway. Too macho for me. Too much Tarzan on steroids and alcohol debauchery. And the bulls, OMG, the bulls.

Yet, oddly enough, I did enjoy The Old Man and the Sea. There was a thread of interwoven tenderness in his description of Santiago. Or at least that’s how I remember it.

Originally, I wanted to call this project Old Lady and the Sea. But I was told, rightly, that not many people today know who Hemingway was. So, Old Lady at Sea it is.

“Old lady” carries a lot of baggage. It is often used as a put-down, something to be shrugged off or laughed at. But for me, the label holds something entirely different: wisdom, perseverance, humility, solitude, and ageing. That is why I am proud to be an Old Lady. Because that is who I am.