National Network for Equitable Library Service

"Where there is stress, or receding hairlines and liver spots, there is humor." —John McPherson More than one third of the world's population is officially over the hill, while the rest of us are quickly approaching its summit. Be it the ritual hazing of new residents at Spring Meadow Retirement Center that requires retirees to drink 25 shots of prune juice, or the oxymoronic humor involved in the publication of the "1st Annual Swimsuit Edition of Aging Today," octogenarians, centenarians — even those younger and in between — all agree, John McPherson's comic mastery finds humor in life's most everyday act — namely, aging. McPherson's Close to Home cartoon panel features a zany cast of malpracticing medics, denture-less dentists and cynical civil servants. Culling more than 100 aging-specific black-and-white and full-color panels, McPherson creates the ultimate ode to getting older.