The moral you brought up about not worrying about age and living in the moment was a good one. It is definitely an important part of the story. I think it contradicts the message about love. Personally, I think it was foolish for Florentino to waste his life waiting for Fermina. He didn't get to enjoy every moment every moment of his life and instead became afraid of growing old without her. He only lived in the hope he would one day be reunited with her. I'm not sure if Marquez was trying to portray Florentino's actions as foolish or admirable.
Now to discuss the message I thought Salinger was trying to send to the reader.
Throughout the book, the reader witnessed the negative effects of Holden's lack of motivation and his attempts to be someone he wasn't: an adult. In addition, I saw the depression and loneliness that resulted from Holden's lack of interest in school, and the way he alienated the people around him. His judgmental behavior did nothing but cause him pain and make him even more insecure because he only had one person who he could trust: Phoebe. Because all we see from Holden's actions are negative results, agree with you: I think Salinger was trying to tell the reader to not judge people. There is so much more to people than what they appear. Almost everyone Holden met was a "phony." It is highly unlikely that they were truly no deeper. Holden himself could seem like a phony because he judges other people for being phony, yet lies all the time. Because the story is told from the first person, the reader can get inside Holden's head and see the depth in his character. We are able to sympathize with him and understand that he's not superficial. Why should the other people be any different? I think this is the point that Salinger was attempting to make. Using the first person helped her make her point clearer because as the reader, I had the ability to see Holden's thought process and understand not only him, but that there is much more to the people around him than their superficiality.
Using the third person for Love in the Time of Cholera helped the reader see from more than just Florentino's perspective. Although he was the main character, the third person writing style allowed the reader to understand the other points of view (Fermina, Dr. Urbino, etc.) and know more than just what one character knew. I think that each writing style was important to the different stories: each of them would have been much different if they had been written from a different perspective.
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