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Fear of Falling April 8, 2014 by Pepper Evans - My sister-in-law took a tumble down a few steps the other day, ending up in the ER with a badly sprained ankle. Claire is my age, mid-50s, and she is in good physical health. She even does Italian folk dancing…
Finding ‘Modest Delight’ in Asking for Help March 27, 2014 by Ashton Applewhite - When I moved to a Brooklyn neighborhood with a median age of around 23, I said to myself that it would be time to move again when I could no longer hustle up the subway steps as fast as the…
Who’ll Be in Charge When We Die? March 26, 2014 by Ashton Applewhite - The lines used to be drawn more sharply for me when it came to assisted suicide, now more often called “aid in dying.” After all, I had in-the-trenches experience. My mother was a charter member of the Hemlock Society, the…
Why Ageism Matters March 17, 2014 by Ashton Applewhite - In 2007 I started interviewing people over 80 who were in the workforce. At the same time, I was reading and writing about longevity. To my surprise, the more I learned, the greater the discrepancy that emerged between my grim notion of late life and the lived reality.
Recalculating My Expiration Date March 16, 2014 by Flora Davis - At 79, I’m old enough to understand that I’m not immortal. Put it this way: I don’t take out five-year magazine subscriptions, but I’m still willing to buy green bananas. I might have to rethink my position on magazine subscriptions. …
The Art of Shopping, According to the Woman Who Wasn’t Born Yesterday February 9, 2014 by Margaret Morganroth Gullette - When I was young, everyone I knew felt some dissatisfaction when trying on clothes. Some of us found it excruciating. I used to say, “The scream came from the dressing room.” Point of purchase was supposed to be a romantic…- The Art of Dressing, According to the Woman Who Wasn’t Born Yesterday February 9, 2014 by Margaret Morganroth Gullette - When I was young, I used to be so anxious about what to wear that, in the morning or before a party, my room would be strewn with discarded outfits. The mess outside exposed the mess inside—how inadequate I felt,…
What Not to Say to Someone Who’s Grieving October 23, 2013 by Flora Davis - A few months after my husband died, a friend said to me, “I’m glad you’re feeling better and moving on with your life.” She meant well, but her remark made me acutely uncomfortable because grief still washed over me in…
Passion Is Contagious, Part 1 October 9, 2013 by Margaret Morganroth Gullette - The sex scene in the film Still Mine (2013) made me want to get in the sack with my husband. We haven’t been married as long as the fictional couple in question, who have racked up over 60 years together.- Passion Is Contagious, Part 2 October 7, 2013 by Margaret Morganroth Gullette - I try to see current movies featuring old actors whenever the actors are famous for their art, or the writing and direction promise to offer us real news about later life. Sometimes—often—I am disappointed. Producers choose sentimental, implausible or burlesque…
Stalked September 25, 2013 by Pepper Evans - News reports alleging that the NSA has been collecting mobile-phone data have brought to mind a creepy feeling I sometimes get when I am online. Someone is “reading” my mail and likely yours too. Email, that is, as well as…
Emily, You Remind Me of Someone September 16, 2013 by Pepper Evans - Sometimes fiction is so spot-on believable, I am convinced the author must have walked in the shoes of a particular character. I recently read Emily, Alone (2011) by Stewart O'Nan and have come to believe that he was once an 80-year-old widow.
Fifty Shades of I Know Not What September 12, 2013 by Pepper Evans - It's been in the headlines of weekly magazines, on the television talk shows, in the book clubs. I am talking about E.L. James's best-selling novel, Fifty Shades of Grey (2012). And just when I thought we were so over that, the movie casting calls, and the speculation and hype that go with that, seem to be never ending, putting the provocative book in the news again. 
Are Men an Endangered Species? September 12, 2013 by Flora Davis - Why is it that almost everywhere on the planet women outlive men? And how come that’s been true for centuries, at least in Europe, even though childbirth used to be a really risky proposition? These questions grabbed me while I…
Good News for Those with Chronic Conditions May 16, 2013 by Flora Davis - In 2008, my husband pitched backward down a flight of stairs and suffered a brain injury that cost him his sense of balance. Despite the walker he reluctantly used after that, he often fell, and I was told that if…
Pain in the Bag December 10, 2012 by Pepper Evans - Ok, we can have it all—but must we carry it all? Noticing that I use a very small purse, my daughter’s chiropractor commented that I wasn’t likely to need her services for the many aches and pains caused by women’s…
Characters I Almost Missed September 28, 2012 by Pepper Evans - “You will get paid to read and review current fiction if it has a compelling story with an aging protagonist.” Sounds like a good news-bad news joke, right?
Watch Your Language! September 24, 2012 by Flora Davis - Never use the word old. That’s the advice everyone gives us, but it’s hard to follow on a website devoted to the subject of aging. Most Americans in their middle and later years are turned off by terms like old people and old age and by most of the euphemisms that stand in for them.
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…