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Very Pinteresting August 26, 2016 by Pepper Evans - Lonely? Can’t find your best girlfriends, not even on Facebook? Don’t despair; I know where they all went. They are on Pinterest (pronounced like interest, only starting with a p, pin-trest). What, you ask, is Pinterest? It’s sort of an…
Homesick August 15, 2016 by Pepper Evans - Two friends of mine recently experienced something you don’t hear about often: grieving the loss of their childhood homes. For people who spent a long stretch of their formative years at a single address, the childhood home is a repository…
Six More Questions about My New Manifesto Against Ageism August 12, 2016 by Ashton Applewhite - Since the publication of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism (2016), I’ve been asked a lot of questions. Are you curious about why I've become an Old Person in Training?
He Was His Own Miracle August 10, 2016 by Flora Davis - There’s an article elsewhere on this website that expresses doubts about something I believe in. There’s no scientific evidence, it says, that thinking positively can keep you healthy or that being determined to fight back against an illness can help you…
Scammed! A Warning July 18, 2016 by Flora Davis - That day in December, my bursitis had flared up and I’d lost a filling, but what really bothered me was that my computer wasn’t working and I felt stupid. I’d fallen for a scam. What’s more, I’d just read an…- Six Questions about My New Manifesto Against Ageism July 18, 2016 by Ashton Applewhite - Since the publication of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism (2016), I’ve been asked a lot of questions. Are you curious about why I find aging so damn interesting?
Retire? Never! July 15, 2016 by Flora Davis - When I was in my 30s, a friend asked whether I was saving money for retirement. I laughed. As a single mother with two small children, I could barely keep my head above water financially. No, I told her, I…
Avoiding Drug Interactions Just Got Easier July 8, 2016 by Pepper Evans - My mom had a great relationship with her regular pharmacy. In addition to getting prescriptions filled, a visit there included a dedicated, professional woman assembling our nonpharmacy shopping list so Mom could go to the back of the store and…
An Ageless Tradition July 8, 2016 by Flora Davis - Balloons were drifting around, bumping against the ceiling in my living room, buoyed by helium and the generosity of friends. The previous weekend, they had thrown a baby shower for me. It may have been the first time in history…
Oh, to Be 70 Again June 27, 2016 by Flora Davis - Oh, to be 70 again with the rest of my life opening up in front of me. When I was 70, I was working for a foundation and thought it the best job I’d ever had or was likely to…
Droneliness June 22, 2016 by Ashton Applewhite - Concerned about an onslaught of enfeebled old people? Don’t worry, robots will take care of them! American techno-optimism knows no bounds, and so-called “age-independence” technologies are proliferating like crazy. But in a profoundly ageist culture, the implications can be disturbing.…
Drinks on Me June 17, 2016 by Pepper Evans - I am not a big drinker. Most days, I need to remind myself to drink liquids to stay healthy and hydrated. A normal part of aging, I have learned, is that I don't register thirst the same way I did…
When Behavior Speaks June 13, 2016 by Maggie Sullivan - I sat with my mother and her caregiver, Aliza, one afternoon in the Alzheimer’s unit of the nursing home. With my mother between us, Aliza and I chatted about the hot weather we had been having. All of a sudden…
Oh, America! How Obamacare Finished Off Breaking Bad June 10, 2016 by Margaret Morganroth Gullette - Any just society must reduce the despair occasioned by dire medical conditions. This was one lesson, oddly, that could be drawn from the TV series, Breaking Bad.
May Day Surprise May 24, 2016 by Pepper Evans - We are often reminded of the importance of keeping social as we age; isolation has proven to be hazardous to healthy aging, while friendships engage and stimulate us.
Regarding Alzheimer’s May 19, 2016 by Maggie Sullivan - An empty shell. Doesn’t know who he is. Violent. Doesn’t recognize family members. Unable to communicate. The negative stereotypes and exaggerations of Alzheimer’s disease abound. Even the harrowing descriptions of Alzheimer’s meant to increase our sympathy—robs its victims of dignity,…
Aging in Place: Is It a Pipe Dream? May 11, 2016 by Flora Davis - On surveys, most older Americans say they want to age in place: to stay right where they are in the home they’ve lived in for years. Whenever I hear that, I wonder whether they realize just how difficult that can…
80 and Counting May 9, 2016 by Flora Davis - I’ve turned 80 and it’s a little scary. I’m healthy and still working, but I’m well aware that medical problems began for many of my friends once they were in their 80s. In many ways I’ve changed since I was…
Yo, Am I Ageist? May 6, 2016 by Pepper Evans - Unless you are Peter Pan, one day you’ll be old. I don’t want to experience discrimination because of a date on my birth certificate. I don’t want people to lump me into a one-size-fits-all assumption based solely on my age.…
Age Is Just a Number April 20, 2016 by Flora Davis - I live in a retirement community that’s age-restricted: you have to be at least 62 to move in. A 50-something friend asked me the other day why on earth I would want to live in a place that has only…
Time, Fast and Slow - When she graduated in 1996, Amy Forbus’ four years at Hendrix College felt like a miniature lifetime. College had been the biggest undertaking of her life thus far. But when she returned to the same liberal arts school in Arkansas…
Tough Break - My long-time friend of over three decades is an avid exerciser and has been as long as I have known her. She has a gym membership (maybe two) and attends classes daily. Her reasoning was not to look good in…