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Don’t Turn Your Back October 22, 2021 by Maggie Sullivan - As recently as 1982, the late Robert Terry, MD, a groundbreaking neuropathologist working specifically on Alzheimer’s disease, was quoted in the Washington Post, saying: All diseases are depersonalizing to some extent. But you’re still human…But a person with a serious…
In the Land of Postadulthood October 15, 2021 by Marc Blesoff - Last month, I returned to the place where I grew up, to the lake where swimming had been banned earlier this summer. The cyanotoxins had cleared, so every morning I went for a swim and a kayak ride. This year,…
I Want to Be Alone, Not Lonely October 13, 2021 by Pepper Evans - There was a time when I could outlast every guest at a party. And though I gave up the bar scene decades ago, for the longest time you could still think of me as Pepper “Last Call” Evans. As I…
Ageless, Clueless … I goofed September 22, 2021 by Ashton Applewhite - During my book tour, I often closed readings with a passage about aspiring to agelessness, declaring it a form of age denial. A woman at Powell’s Books in Portland, OR, said, “Saying you’re ageless seems like saying you’re color-blind,” and…
Following Doctor’s Orders—Reluctantly September 14, 2021 by David Astley, Guest Blogger - My heart specialist has a wicked sense of humor. Every six months when I visit her for my checkup, I walk through the door of her consulting room and she says: “Wow, you are still here. I thought you’d be…
Me and We August 19, 2021 by Marc Blesoff - A few weeks ago, my granddaughter and I took a summertime walk to the local market. On the way home, the afternoon sun was at our backs. In front of me, I saw the shadow of an eight-year-old girl and…
Stop Me if I Told You This Already August 18, 2021 by Pepper Evans - For a while now, I’ve felt as though I’m not firing on all cylinders. I have no complaints about my health; I just feel like I’m not my old self. Not the well-oiled machine of yesterday. I’m more tired than…
At What Price Is Your Good Death? July 22, 2021 by Pepper Evans - I’m watching out my kitchen window as cars come and go from my neighbor Tony’s house. Last month, Tony celebrated his 89th birthday, and family came out of the woodwork. Last week, he left the hospital to die at home…
Hours of Angst July 20, 2021 by Marc Blesoff - I was just this side of asleep. I was lying in bed, early morning, remembering my just-waking thoughts. I had realized two really good points regarding a thorny concept I’d been pondering for weeks. It was a breakthrough and very…
Learning from the Women’s Movement’s Mistakes July 14, 2021 by Ashton Applewhite - Here’s an excerpt from Ageist? Sexist? Who, Me? How to Start a Consciousness-Raising Group Around the Intersection of Ageism and Sexism (out later this spring from the Old School Clearinghouse). It’s about how women with privilege have left other women behind in the…
Have a Ball June 25, 2021 by Pepper Evans - When a 70-something friend went to a podiatrist for foot issues, the prescription for alleviating the pain—mostly in her arches—involved a golf ball. Not to walk the links with her clubs, but to massage foot muscles by rolling her bare…
The Father: Dementia from the Inside June 17, 2021 by Maggie Sullivan - The Father has received much attention and won two (in my opinion well-deserved) Academy Awards. It engages viewers as no other movie about dementia has because they experience the effects of the disease the way the person living with it…
The Old Normal June 11, 2021 by Marc Blesoff - Marc Blesoff was a criminal defense attorney for 35 years. Six years ago, he began facilitating Conscious Aging workshops. He says that helped him melt the armor he’d built up as a defense lawyer. He’s a founding member of A Tribe…
The Home Health Care Dilemma June 3, 2021 by Flora Davis - In 2008, my husband, Mike, fell down a flight of stairs and suffered a disastrous brain injury. Afterward, he was like a five-year-old trapped in an 80-year-old body: he was impulsive, talkative, mischievous, stubborn and convinced—no matter how many times…
Can Artists Help Us Combat Hate and White Supremacy? May 25, 2021 by Paul Kleyman, Guest Blogger - In 2016, PBS’s Next Avenue named writer/editor Paul Kleyman an Influencer in Aging, recognizing his long career. After 20 years as editor of the American Society on Aging’s newspaper, Kleyman became director of the Ethnic Elders Newsbeat at New America…
Aging from the Heart May 22, 2021 by Marc Blesoff - Aging from the heart doesn’t happen to everyone, but it can. I think it’s happening to me.
The Year of Letting Our Hair Go Gray May 14, 2021 by Ashton Applewhite - Six year ago, on an escalator coming out of a weekday movie matinee, I had a wild idea. Despite the fact that the entire audience was older, I spotted only one gray-haired woman. Covering the gray, I realized, is a…
A Diagnosis in Search of a Disease? May 11, 2021 by Flora Davis - Back in 2016, my doctor told me I was prediabetic: my blood sugar level was above normal, and if I didn’t do something about it, I could wind up with type 2 diabetes. That scared me. I know what a…
Getting the Jab May 7, 2021 by Pepper Evans - My phone rings, my laptop pings—proof that I remain popular with the many, many websites and organizations that took my information so I could get the COVID-19 vaccine, or “the jab,” if you listen to BBC radio, into my arm…
Cashless? April 14, 2021 by Pepper Evans - As part of my job assisting older people to live independently, I pay their bills by check, as requested. But I’m in my 60s and I rarely write a check for my own bills. I pay them online either at…
Dementia: A Diagnosis Too Often Delayed - Last year, a bank officer phoned Kelli Brown’s brother with a concern: a lot of money was going out of their 87-year-old father’s bank account. Their father, a retired accountant, lived alone in Cincinnati. He seemed to be functioning well…
The Pooled Income Trust - By the time my parents were in their mid-80s, they had gone through their savings and were living off Social Security. My mom received around $1,700 per month and my dad, who often worked as an independent contractor, received around…