The man who spent forty-two years at the Beverly Hills Hotel pool (1993)

Reactions to the piece and writing

• Many found the article unexpectedly absorbing and “sumptuously written,” especially given its seemingly trivial subject (a man at a pool) that becomes a portrait of a life and era.
• Some felt the narrative was meandering and “all over the place” like an 87‑year‑old’s conversation, but others saw that wandering structure as exactly what gives it its charm.
• A few readers admit to skimming or only wanting a last‑paragraph summary, while others argue that here the journey, not the “facts,” is the point.

Irving Link’s later life and routine

• Commenters link to a detailed LA Times follow‑up: after the Beverly Hills Hotel closure he recreated a similar ritual at another luxury hotel, complete with carefully scheduled breakfasts, barber visits, poolside calls, and low‑stakes gin rummy.
• He never returned to the renovated Beverly Hills Hotel; he ultimately lived to 101.
• The follow‑up emphasizes his discipline, politeness, “creature of habit” lifestyle, and a philosophy of giving more than he got.

Marriage, work, and family dynamics

• Several are struck by the line that he’d “walk back home to his wife and two children” after days at the pool with young actresses.
• One follow‑up piece suggests he and his wife were effectively separated for years but “stayed married for the children,” sparking debate on whether this truly benefits kids.
• Commenters share personal anecdotes: staying together “for the kids” can create a toxic model of relationships; others emphasize the security of two‑parent households.

Health, sun, and longevity

• Some wonder how decades of sunbathing affected his health; others note he reached 101 and often used shaded cabanas, complicating simple narratives about UV danger.
• There’s a mini‑debate on skin cancer vs. vitamin D, with contrasting experiences from high‑UV environments (e.g., Australia) vs. elsewhere.

Eggs and 1990s nutrition culture

• The line “back in the days when people ate eggs” triggers a long thread on 1990s dietary advice: eggs and fat demonization, low‑fat products, the food pyramid, and later reversals.
• Commenters criticize past nutrition “science” and media hype; some now default to simple heuristics (less processed food, balanced diet) and deep skepticism of trending health claims.
• The egg aside also spawns a tangent on current egg prices and supply shocks.

The New Yorker and magazine culture

• Discussion clarifies that The New Yorker has long been national/international in scope, despite its name; only the front matter is NYC‑specific.
• Commenters reminisce about the 1980s–1990s prestige tier for short fiction and essays: The New Yorker, Harper’s, The Atlantic, and Playboy, with notes on Playboy’s serious literary and design ambitions.
• Several contrast this carefully edited, paid long‑form journalism with today’s click‑driven, ad‑supported media ecosystem.

Place, belonging, and cultural change

• One thoughtful thread sees the hotel as a “place with durable meaning”: being there meant being part of a larger American story, and Link became a fixture within that narrative.
• Commenters contrast that with today’s “theme park to its former meaning” venues—dominated by tourists and selfies—where people feel less like they belong and more like they’re harvesting images and status.
• Some read Link’s life as representing a lost kind of rootedness and social role tied to a specific place.

Lifestyle, work, and envy

• Reactions to his decades by the pool range from admiration (“better than spending life in an office”) to wry criticism (“avoiding his wife and kids is why he lived to 101”).
• Several note that what looks like idleness was also his “office”: he brokered deals, networked, and lived off relationships and reputation.
• There’s light humor around his name fitting his connecting role (“Link” as nominative determinism).

Meta: AI, summaries, and readers

• A user‑written one‑paragraph summary of the article is praised and prompts discussion of wanting built‑in browser summarizers and of Firefox/Safari/AI tools already doing this.
• Another criticizes AI‑style summaries for ending with boilerplate “poignant meditation” clichés, wishing for more honest negative appraisals when warranted.
• Brief side discussion on HN demographics: mix of people who read the piece when it came out in 1993 and younger readers who weren’t yet born, reinforcing the community’s wide age spread.