She Danced Naked at Woodstock. She Dated Serpico. At 93, She’s Not Done

 

 

 

" Betty Gordon is perhaps the world’s most unlikely first-time children’s book author.

For decades she lived at the center of a bohemian New York that has long ago faded into mythology. A glamorous and witty feminist — friends describe her as a modern-day Mae West crossed with Dorothy Parker — Betty mingled with artists, writers and entertainers. She even had a romance with one of the most famous undercover cops of all time.

But it was not until a couple of years ago — when she was in her early 90s, mostly homebound, in ill health and nearly destitute — that she began cranking out the story of Phoebe, the cat who wanted to be a dog. It may seem an odd way to start a writing career, but Betty had her reasons.

“My heart was breaking,” she recalled. “I had to do something.”"

READ THE STORY BY DAVID WALSTEIN