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He Wants the Law to Change His Age December 5, 2018 by Flora Davis - A 69-year-old man has petitioned the courts in the Netherlands for the right to say he’s 20 years younger than his actual age: he wants his birth certificate altered to show that he was born in 1949 rather than 1969.…
Books to Give or to Keep, 2018 December 3, 2018 by Pepper Evans - I am an unapologetic bookworm, and it’s that time of year when I’m asked to recommend books for gift lists. My first love is fiction, but I enjoy deviating for an interesting memoir or something new in nonfiction. Each of…
Becoming an Informed Patient November 24, 2018 by Pepper Evans - My health care provider admonishes me for my excess weight and lack of exercise, but my lab results have been no cause for alarm. So I was taken aback when she called after my last exam...
The Future of Words November 20, 2018 by Flora Davis - As an editor, I have to pay close attention to the way words keep evolving. I hate some recent changes but I love others. First of all, there’s the way so many words these days begin their lives as friends,…
Less Ageism = Less Dementia. It’s That Clear November 13, 2018 by Ashton Applewhite - What affliction do Americans fear most? Alzheimer’s disease. I’m one of them, but facts comfort me. Abundant new data shows that our fears are way out of proportion to the threat—and that those fears themselves put us at risk.
Out with the Old October 27, 2018 by Pepper Evans - I was recently given a generous monetary gift to splurge on something that made me happy. After much deliberation, I decided to refresh the long-ignored state of my domicile, to make it a sanctuary for me and the new chapter…
I’m Not Dead Yet October 16, 2018 by Flora Davis - When you reach my age (83) and don’t hear from friends for a long time, you don’t assume they’re just too busy to get in touch. You wonder if they’ve died.
At the Heart of Dementia: A Challenge to Truth October 11, 2018 by Maggie Sullivan - Alec, whose wife had Alzheimer’s disease, had heard that people in the later stages of dementia often ask for their mothers. Nevertheless, the day Hilary asked him, “Where’s my Mom?” Alec was taken aback. Because they had always been completely…
Why It’s Just Fine to Fail at “Successful Aging,” Part 3 September 21, 2018 by Ashton Applewhite - More about what’s wrong with the concept of “successful aging”—a topic explored in Parts 1 and 2 and in Successful Aging as a Contemporary Obsession: Global Perspectives (2017), a collection of essays edited by Sarah Lamb. What else is problematic…- Why It’s Just Fine to Fail at “Successful Aging,” Part 2 September 20, 2018 by Ashton Applewhite - Part 1 of this series of blogs argues that, as a model for growing older, “successful aging” leaves ageism unchallenged or contributes to it. What else is problematic about “successful aging”? There are some insightful answers in a collection of…
- Why It’s Just Fine to Fail at “Successful Aging,” Part 1 September 18, 2018 by Ashton Applewhite - Eleven years ago I started a writing project about people over 80 who work. Upbeat! Inspirational! Safe! I didn’t realize it at the time, but it epitomized an approach that has dominated gerontology since the 1980s: “successful aging”—also known as…
Old-Lady Day September 5, 2018 by Pepper Evans - Ageism, according to the World Health Organization, is “the stereotyping and discrimination against individuals or groups on the basis of their age; ageism can take many forms, including prejudicial attitudes, discriminatory practices or institutional policies and practices that perpetuate stereotypical…
Lost and Found August 24, 2018 by Flora Davis - I was thinking recently about some of the things I’ve lost as I’ve grown older. But since I’m basically an optimist, after a while I also began to consider the good things I’ve found. I decided to make a list…
The New Yorker’s Ageist Take on Ageism August 22, 2018 by Ashton Applewhite - I’m a lifelong New Yorker addict, so when I heard they were running a piece on ageism, I got excited. That was a mistake. Tad Friend’s article in the November 20th issue, “Why Ageism Never Gets Old,” is glib and…
Where’s the Fire (Extinguisher)? August 1, 2018 by Pepper Evans - Some 40 million fire extinguishers sold between 1973 and 2017 were recently recalled, prompting me to check not only mine but those in homes where I am helping people live independently. In almost every case, the fire extinguisher was affected…
Is It Just Human Nature to Dread Aging? July 26, 2018 by Flora Davis - Is ageism inevitable? Is it just plain human to dread old age—and to disparage older people? That’s the conclusion writer Tad Friend comes to in a New Yorker article called “Why Ageism Never Gets Old.” Friend’s article deftly describes how…
When Things Aren’t What They Seem July 20, 2018 by Maggie Sullivan - One day at the Alzheimer’s day program he attended, Herman suddenly got up and left the room. As he charged down the hall and out the front door, Wendy, the program’s director, ran after him calling, “Herman, stop!” She caught…
If the Shoe Fits June 22, 2018 by Pepper Evans - Many years ago I worked for a sarcastic boss with a wicked sense of humor. He loved to tease, and even when I was the target, I found him funny. Once, noticing that I had small feet, he said it…
Going Steady Later in Life June 15, 2018 by Flora Davis - I see them in my retirement community all the time: couples who are almost always together. There’s an easy intimacy between them—sometimes they hold hands or he drapes an arm over her shoulders.
The Workplace Needs #MeTooAgainstAgeism June 7, 2018 by Margaret Morganroth Gullette - The #MeToo movement is mainly about work situations, and so it should be. Being treated like a skirt—or a headless skirt, depending upon the level of vileness—by a male boss or peer can ruin a workplace...even a life.
Senior Centers Are Evolving - The first time Sue and Mike Miller visited their community’s senior center in Portage, MI, several years ago, they found a few people playing pool or bridge—and decided it wasn’t for them. But the couple tried again in 2022, when…
The Upside and Downside of Being Owned by a Cat - I love my cat, but until now, I hadn’t thought of her as a way to stay healthy. In fact, when I first brought Velvet—a small, feisty black kitty—home, I thought of her as a dog substitute. My beloved dog…