80 Years Old and Still Going Strong!

Dorothy Dimitre makes some excellent point here on what it means to be an 'older' woman in today's society.

Real Life: Some respect, please, for women of a certain age - Inside Bay Area

She makes a lot of sense here:

"In our culture where youth is worshipped and aging is dreaded like the plague, we have a lot going against us. God forbid that a woman should display a wrinkle or a gray hair that indicates that she may be older than she wishes to appear. Young women have it drummed into their heads that they must do anything to avoid appearing "mature." Therefore the multibillion dollar diet, cosmetics and plastic surgery industries exist.

Despite our age, my friends and I feel we still have a lot to offer. We aren't ready to fade into the wallpaper."

have a lot to offer. We aren't ready to fade into the wallpaper.

You tell 'em Dorothy!

Women Delay Retirement in the U.K.

Women in the U.K., like their American counterparts, are having to postpone retirement according to a recent article:


Tens of thousands of women delay retirement amid recession - Telegraph


The article states:

The number of females over the age of 60 in work has jumped during the past year as they struggle to cope with the rising cost of living.

Women tend to have less money than men in retirement because of career breaks taken to have children often mean they miss out on building up the required contributions needed to benefit from the full state pension.

Laith Khalaf, a pensions expert at wealth managers Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Women are more likely to have a broken career history to look after a family and so they will be more likely to feel the squeeze at retirement as a result of the recession.”

This is a familiar story for women caregivers. Also mentioned in my article:

Women and Retirement: "The Big Mistake"

Where is the movement to keep younger women from following this path? Or, to make care-giving more profitable for women?

Recognizing a "Good" Thing

A recent article by Michael Schneider, posted on Variety.com, cites a new study which shows TV viewing audiences for the major networks are graying. The article: TV Audiences Are Growing Older, reports:

The networks still preach adults 18-49, but the Big Three are all expected to post median ages above 50 this fall -- with Fox not too far behind.

According to a recent study by former Magna Global EVP Steve Sternberg, the broadcast networks as a whole have once again grown older than ever. The five broadcast nets' average live median age this year -- in other words, not counting DVR usage -- was 51.

The question is…why is it reported as a bad development? As Schneider says:

If there was any silver lining for the nets, it's that DVR usage attracted a much younger audience, helping temper their shows' median ages somewhat.

The silver lining is that the major networks still have viewers! And guess what…the TV world has been coveting the 18 – 40 age group for almost 30 years, and HOW OLD ARE THEY NOW?

Boomers especially are products of the TV Age from the 1950’s until now. Boomers are sticking with the networks while younger folk abandon them. And, most importantly to their bottom line -- Boomers buy the products advertised on the networks!

Some appreciation PLEASE!

Don't Make Me Have to Put Down My Cane

Seniors are getting a little fed up with not being taken seriously. They are ready to march and protest…just like in the sixties! Senior voices WILL be heard!

Check out this story of Senior protest in Los Angeles:

Police were called on a group of retirees who refused to leave Sen. Dianne Feinstein's West Los Angeles office until she talked to them about health care reform.

Los Angeles police Sergeant Rich Brunson said Thursday that police lured the group of seven outside somehow, then locked the building's doors behind them.

Brunson had said earlier that eight people were being taken into custody, but corrected himself after getting new details from officers on the scene.

A spokeswoman for the 55- to 87-year-old activists said they arrived at Feinstein's office around noon and remained in her conference room more than six hours.

Feinstein spokesman Gil Duran says staff offered the retirees an in-person meeting with the senator during a Los Angeles visit next week but that they demanded to speak with her immediately.

Bet there will be a lot more of this in the months and years to come!

Will Boomers Spend Again?

Have we Boomers reigned in our spending for good? This has been the subject of many articles the past few months as the American economy languishes because WE have put our wallets away for all but the necessities. Okay... so Boomers alone don't drive the economy...but we DO represent a big chunk of it. Take a peek at what a recent Businessweek article on msnbc.com says about our spending habits:

When 79 million people — nearly a third of Americans — start spending less and saving more, you know it won't be pretty. According to consulting firm McKinsey, boomers' conversion to thrift could stifle the economy's hoped-for rebound and knock U.S. growth down from the 3.2 percent it has averaged since 1965 to 2.4 percent over the next 30 years. "We would have gotten here in 5 or 10 years as boomers retire, but we pushed it up," says Michael Sinoway, managing director of consulting firm AlixPartners. "Now [companies] are scared things won't come back." And that's why everyone from Mercedes to Nordstrom to designer Vera Wang are scrambling to remake themselves for the Incredible Shrinking Boomer Economy.

Yep. High end for me these days is Target.

Not so long ago, boomers were never going to die. Filled with a self-confidence born of unprecedented prosperity, many thought rising markets would assure their future. If the economy faltered, well, it would rebound more strongly than ever, as it had so many times before. And so boomers spent — and borrowed — as if there were no tomorrow.

So Boomers won't live forever? Bummer. One of my Boomer friends recently mentioned that it had finally hit her that she's not going to get out of 'this one' alive...and by 'this one' she meant LIFE!

One things for sure, our legacy to America is going to last a good, long, time!

Remembering Dad

Lessons from Dad -- Learned and Not Learned!

What did you learn from your dad and/or father figures?

I learned a lot from my dad, uncles, and male role models (but not as much as I COULD have). Read on....

10 Things Dad Taught Me

(that I listened to)

1. Always keep your car in working order.
2. Take the time to set the table before you eat.
3. 2 or 3 good friends are better than 20 phony ones.
4. Never date a guy who won't meet your family.
5. If you invite someone to your house, have food.
6. Show up at family get-togethers, even if it's for a little while.
7. Your mom may not always make sense, but respect her anyway--she's still your mom.
8. Don't leave the sink full of dishes overnight.
9. Always have your OWN money.
10. Let your children know they are loved.

10 Things Dad Taught Me

(that I WISH I had listened to)

1. You don't need more than 1 or 2 credit cards.
2. A phone call should never take over 20 minutes.
3. Always have carfare (or airfare) to get home.
4. Don't change jobs just for more money.
5. Check the expiration dates on your food items.
6. You can't do everything at once.
7. You will wear yourself out if you burn the candle at both ends.
8. Worry never solves anything.
9. When you cook, fix enough for more than 1 day.
10. Take the time to read directions.

Alzheimer's Patients May Face Cuts

A recent report in the L.A. Times describes the plight of Seniors in California, particularly those afflicted with Alzheimer's:

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing to shut down the state's adult day healthcare centers, which provide services to help the elderly continue living at home. Also eliminated would be a program that funds Alzheimer's care at these and other centers. The governor would end home care for all but the neediest, and eliminate programs that help families of the elderly navigate the complicated system of care and get some respite.

"We are talking about a devastation of the safety net for these families that wasn't really robust to begin with," said Debra Cherry, vice president of the Alzheimer's Assn.'s Southland chapter. "Without any community support, these families are going to crumble."

Schwarzenegger said he does not want to hurt patients or their families, but the financial crisis leaves him no choice but to make wide-ranging cuts".

The Alzheimer's Association of America just released a new report-- 2009 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures. Some of the stats:

• As many as 5.3 million people in the United States are living with Alzheimer’s.
  

• Alzheimer's and dementia triple healthcare costs for Americans age 65 and older.
  

• Every 70 seconds, someone develops Alzheimer’s.
  

• Alzheimer's is the seventh-leading cause of death.
  

• The direct and indirect costs of Alzheimer's and other dementias to Medicare, Medicaid and businesses amount to more than $148 billion each year.

As more Californians enter the 65 and older age group Alzheimer's rates will soar. As reported by the study:

"...between 2000 and 2025, it also is clear that across the country, states and regions are expected to experience double-digit percentage increases overall in the numbers of people with Alzheimer’s. Compared with the numbers of people with Alzheimer’s estimated for 2000, the South, Midwest and West are expected to experience increases that will result in 30–50 percent (and greater) increases over the 25-year period. The increased numbers of people with Alzheimer’s will have a marked impact on states’ infrastructures and healthcare systems, not to mention on families and caregivers".

It is clear that the time is NOW to start discussing options for an aging populace suffering from dementia. Not all solutions will be...or can be...based on government funding. (As our current budget crisis shows us here in California.) Cash- and time-strapped families are going to have to provide more care giving to elderly relatives--with little support. What about dementia patients who don't have families or in-home support?

Like so many of the challenges we are facing these days...not a pretty picture.