Adulting, Misconceived by Dean Gloster

 

            When my brother Mark is asked, “Where did you grow up?” he answers, “I never grew up.” Dear reader, Mark is in his 60s.

            But he’s right. Unlike treasury bonds, not all of us exactly mature after 30-plus years. That was the first of my two huge misconceptions about adulthood—that it’s mandatory for those who age into it.

Mark, skiing with me in Utah, but his outfit was so loud they could hear it in Colorado.

            That’s the best way to dodge the trap of adulthood: Neoteny, which is to retain lifetime curiosity, playfulness, a desire for creative expression, an openness to new experiences, and other mostly positive juvenile characteristics as an adult. To stay childlike.

            Of course, there’s also another way to avoid true adulthood. Instead of staying childlike, some stay childish and immature, retaining negative traits inappropriate for adults: In the U.S., our current President has been losing wars with algae and reality, hosting cage fights on the White House lawn, and—as writer Charles Rammelkamp put it in the Baltimore Sun— “making up puerile nicknames worthy of a middle schooler on a playground.”

            Two can play that game, Mango Mussolini.

Okay, fine: Bronzer Buffoon

            My second big misconception about adulthood was that, as adults, my generation and the ones that followed would be mature and informed enough to remember that the authoritarian racist white supremacists were the bad guys and the Nazis were not to be emulated.

Yes, Stephen Miller, Elon Musk, Pete Hegseth and fellow enablers: Y’all are the baddies.

            My father enlisted in the Navy during WWII to fight the Nazis and their allies.

Dean Francis Gloster. I miss him.

            Now our government increasingly lurches to the right to resemble the authoritarian regimes we fought, and we attack our own democratic allies with tariffs—and, in the case of Canada and Denmark/Greenland, Presidential threats of invasion. The Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. (part of the Smithsonian) used to have this handy takeaway in their gift shop summarizing the hallmarks of an authoritarian fascist regime:

            They stopped selling it, however, early in Trump’s first term. Another hallmark of authoritarian regimes is that national museums can’t tell truths that reflect poorly on the regime or its current leader. 

            Last month, the head of the Smithsonian announced his retirement at the end of this year, after Trump threatened to have all federal agencies stop cooperating with the institution unless he stepped down. His successor will be appointed by a board which now includes Chief “Justice” John Roberts and alleged Vice President J.D. Vance.

Vladimir Futon, Trustee

Where We Go Next

            Next week, we have a profoundly important mid-term election. Let’s pick the side that’s not in favor of masked federal ICE agents who murder us with impunity. Please vote.

ICE agent Jonathan Ross, the alleged killer of Renee Good

            Just as important, though, let’s not become immobilized by grief or rage. Prior struggles—women’s rights, gay rights, the civil rights movement—made progress even when for long periods it seemed like progress was impossible. Let’s stay open and creative and playful even in these difficult times. Write on.

Cherry blossom on Fuji Volcano, Japan by Arcepello

My go-to metaphor for being creative in these disruptive times

            Dean Gloster is a former stand-up comedian and a former law clerk at the U.S. Supreme Court. His YA novel DESSERT FIRST is out from Merit Press/Simon Pulse. His YA short stories and science fiction short story (co-written with Jay Cherrie) are in Spoon Knife 6: Rest Stop Spoon Knife 7: Transitions and Spoon Knife 9: Numbers from Autonomous Press. He wrapping up a YA novel about opposing evil. (Which we should all do.) He is guest co-editing the next Spoon Knife anthology from Autonomous Press on the theme “Bounce” with a submission deadline of July 1, 2027. You really should submit, which you can read about here: (https://autpress.com/2026/07/call-for-submissions-spoon-knife-12-bounce/ )

He also makes periodic anti-authoritarian posts on Bluesky, where he is @deangloster.bsky.social