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No More Old Cats? April 6, 2017 by Flora Davis - The other day, I was hunting online for new canned foods to try out on my unbelievably picky cat, and I couldn’t help noticing all the options for “senior cats.” There didn’t seem to be anything at all for “old…
Whose Vision Problem Is It? March 27, 2017 by Pepper Evans - I recently saw a feature in a magazine about an item so intriguing that I was compelled to investigate the retailer’s website. I left my comfy reading chair to go to the computer with the intention of making a purchase.…
Let’s Put Films to the Applewhite Test March 24, 2017 by Ashton Applewhite - Invented by the sharp American cartoonist Alison Bechdel, a movie passes the Bechdel test if at least two women talk to each other about something other than a man. Low bar, right? Yet surprisingly few movies pass it. I propose the…
Accepting Losses, Discovering Gains March 22, 2017 by Maggie Sullivan - After my mother came to live with me, I gradually took on more and more of her care. By the end of the first year I was doing what any Alzheimer’s caregiver does. I bathed her, helped her dress, handled…
A Good Death March 9, 2017 by Flora Davis - While I was trawling the Internet one day, I came across this comment on the blog of a jazz musician: “I’ve often joked that every musician’s secret fantasy is to die on the bandstand, at a ripe old age and…
Save the Planet, Harm your Family? March 2, 2017 by Pepper Evans - I like to think of myself as being more open to new ideas at midlife, willing to change some practices in the name of progress. I have, for example, taken greater personal responsibility in the reduce, reuse, recycle realm. A…
Where Medicare Fails February 20, 2017 by Flora Davis - A friend of mine was hospitalized recently. What really worried her, she told me the day before she went in, was not the procedure she was about to have but her medical bills if the hospital decided not to admit…
In the Fight against Bigotry, Where Does Ageism Fit In? February 15, 2017 by Ashton Applewhite - I wake these days remembering that something awful has happened. Reality assembles itself, and I feel worse. The multicultural, egalitarian, globalized society I hope to inhabit is under assault. Bigotry is ascendant. Racism, sexism, homophobia, religious intolerance—pick your prejudice!—are sanctioned,…
Mom’s Bridge Club February 1, 2017 by Pepper Evans - Lately I'm reading a surprising number of memoirs written by adult children about their experiences with their parent(s) as they age. I find myself identifying so often with the authors' stories.
Preserving Autonomy against the Odds January 27, 2017 by Maggie Sullivan - When the doctor diagnosed my mother with probable Alzheimer’s, he also told her, “I want you to stop driving.” He said her reflexes and judgment weren’t good enough. By that point in her disease, my mother had trouble following conversations,…
The Trials of a Top Dog January 12, 2017 by Flora Davis - We live in a hierarchical society. Which is too bad because I’ve never wanted to be anybody’s boss or to order anyone around. That mindset may be fairly common among women of my generation—I’m in my 80s. The one time…
Action—Global and Local—against Ageism December 19, 2016 by Ashton Applewhite - October [2016] brought me two very different gigs—one on the world stage and one in a Brooklyn community center. The first was at the United Nations on October 6 to celebrate the 26th International Day of Older Persons. It was…
Books to Give or Keep in 2016 December 5, 2016 by Pepper Evans - It’s that time of year—when I am asked to recommend books I’ve read to friends who are working on their gift lists. I primarily seek out new fiction, but I enjoy deviating for an interesting memoir. Each of these books…
Deep Reading December 2, 2016 by Flora Davis - I’ve spent my life immersed in a warm bath of fiction. I always have one novel going and another waiting. On the rare occasions when I have no new book on hand, I feel slightly panicky. Scientists have discovered that…
Does She Still Recognize You? November 11, 2016 by Maggie Sullivan - An acquaintance I ran into at the supermarket stopped me with that question. It was one I got frequently when my mother was in the later stages of Alzheimer’s. The question made me uncomfortable. It seemed intrusive coming from someone…
Getting over the Cold Shoulder November 10, 2016 by Pepper Evans - About a year ago I had a pain in my shoulder that didn’t go away. I am still not sure what caused the problem but it started with a tingling and got progressively worse. Over a period of a few…
An Ounce of Prevention? Maybe November 7, 2016 by Flora Davis - I’ve always figured that the fewer medications I take, the better. If there’s something wrong with me and a drug can help, I might not have much of a choice. But dose myself daily to prevent something that might never…
New Names for Today’s Households October 22, 2016 by Pepper Evans - As I wrote in a previous blog about older kids returning to live with their parents, it really wasn’t that long ago that it was OK, respectable even, for a young adult to live at home until marriage. Then it…
Think Old People Will Tank the Economy? That’s Just Plain Wrong October 19, 2016 by Ashton Applewhite - Many economists agree that, as the number of boomers leaving the workforce swells, younger workers will shoulder ever-greater burdens. Social Security will be bankrupted by all those lazy old people! Medicare exhausted! These dire predictions of economic turmoil are biased,…
Reverse Mortgages: An Age-Old Bid for Security October 7, 2016 by Flora Davis - What scares most Americans more than dying? The possibility that we’ll outlive our savings. There have been times in my life when that’s worried me. In my worst moments, I even imagined ending up as a bag lady. What does…
We Age in Bursts - In his early 40s, Vinny Minchillo noticed he needed to work harder in the gym just to maintain his usual level of strength. Then, when he turned 60 a few years ago, he noticed a big change in flexibility. “I…
On the Unsung Pleasures of Very Long Friendships - I made my first real friend when I was 11 and she was 12. Marsha moved in on the block. Soon after, her mother saw my mother in the backyard and said she had a daughter about my age. My…