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Never Too Late for a Good Shave January 26, 2023 by Marc Blesoff - Last week I noticed that I was running really low on shaving cream and I made a mental note to buy some more. That reminded me of when and how I bought the almost-empty tube in the first place. It…
How Dry Eye Am January 20, 2023 by Flora Davis - I’ve just spent a couple of hours on my computer, and the words on my screen are beginning to blur. I have something called dry eye disease (DED), as do quite a few of my friends. Sixteen million Americans have…
Why Are Nursing Homes So Depressing? January 17, 2023 by Maggie Sullivan - Parents beg their children, and spouses entreat each other, “Promise you’ll never put me in a nursing home!” It’s a promise hard to refuse and harder to keep. Newcomers to the Alzheimer’s caregiver support groups I lead often will make…
Can You Afford to Die? January 10, 2023 by Pepper Evans - My two sisters, two brothers and I knew our mother’s condition was terminal. Together with her, we gathered to have a painful conversation about her final wishes. Grieving for a loved one is acutely hard enough; the last thing anyone…
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day: It’s a Thing. It Shouldn’t Have to Be December 21, 2022 by Ashton Applewhite - World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, which was launched in 2006, falls on June 15. That happens to be my mother’s birthday, which I find darkly amusing and which probably has something to do with my ambivalence around the event. It’s…
Ageism: A Public Health Issue December 13, 2022 by Marc Blesoff - Smoking cigarettes causes cancer. Secondhand smoke does too. Most people read this and think, “Duh. Everybody knows that.” It wasn’t that long ago when people smoked cigarettes on airplanes. Do you remember when the people sitting at the table next…
Books to Give or Keep, 2022 December 1, 2022 by Pepper Evans - Silver Century regularly recommends books—fiction, nonfiction, memoirs—that reflect our mission through a positive portrayal of aging or that offer insight from thought leaders in the field. Here are some of our favorites for holiday giving or to save for the…
Can’t See the Stars During the Daytime November 11, 2022 by Marc Blesoff - I just finished reading a really good book, entitled Breaking the Age Code: How Your Beliefs About Aging Determine How Long & Well You Live (2022), by Becca Levy, PhD. I recommend it. It is about Levy’s groundbreaking research at…
Memory Hacks November 8, 2022 by Flora Davis - When I was young, I could memorize epic poems with ease and recite the Gettysburg Address years after I learned it in school. I seldom forgot the names of books I’d read, the films I’d seen or who starred in…
Is Old Age Overrated? October 14, 2022 by Flora Davis - Yes, that’s a joke. It has to be, in a culture where most people expect the worst of their later years. But that wasn’t me. I launched myself into my 70s and 80s with gusto. Lately, though, I’ve been wondering…
Paper Books, E-books, Audiobooks—It Really Doesn’t Matter Which, Just Read October 7, 2022 by Pepper Evans - MRIs show what we have learned over the millennia—reading has a positive impact on brain health. The National Institute on Aging recommends reading books and magazines to keep your mind engaged as you grow older. Good news for me—I’m a…
‘Age Against the Machine—Ending Ageism in the Workplace’ September 23, 2022 by Ashton Applewhite - That’s the kickass-if-I-say-so-myself title of my new talk, which debuted earlier this month, in real life, at the annual conference of the Financial Planners Association. The catalyst was my pre-event call with the organizers. “There’s grousing from our older members,…
Confessions of a Worrywart September 21, 2022 by Flora Davis - My mother used to do what I call “prophylactic worrying.” In the late afternoon every weekday, she’d worry about my father, who was driving home on a busy highway where there were lots of car accidents. She once admitted she…
Old Is Beautiful September 9, 2022 by Marc Blesoff - Last month, Joni Mitchell performed a 13-song set at the Newport Folk Festival. It was her first time back to Newport in 53 years. It was her first, full-length, live set in over 20 years. It was her first public…
Keep Up! August 12, 2022 by Pepper Evans - When chatting with others, do you ever struggle to feel “in the know”? This is how I’ve been feeling about my place in society lately. The world is changing, and I don’t want to be left behind. My daughters do…
Ageism Affects Us, Both Physically and Mentally August 8, 2022 by Ashton Applewhite - Ageism affects how our minds and bodies function, and not in a good way. We’ve known that for a while, thanks in large part to the work of Yale’s Becca Levy, PhD, whose groundbreaking work, Breaking the Age Code: How…
Cool It July 16, 2022 by Pepper Evans - I don’t like summer. There. I’ve said it. Seaside, poolside, outdoor activities—not my thing. I hibernate in the summer. An unseasonably hot day in May caused me to miss out on a community Spring Fling arts-and-crafts event I looked forward…
Just the Facts July 12, 2022 by Flora Davis - In this age of online falsehoods and conspiracy theories, it’s sometimes hard to figure out what’s true and what’s not, so I was fascinated when I read about a study done early in the pandemic. It set out to determine…
Percolating Conversations June 21, 2022 by Marc Blesoff - One of the ongoing workshops that I facilitate is an all-men’s group. For the last several years, once a month, eight of us get together. Camaraderie, angst, disagreement and humor circulate around the general topic of aging. It is a…
The Paradoxes of Aging June 17, 2022 by Ashton Applewhite - I recently came across a passage about contemporary aging so concise and insightful that I had to post it. It’s from a review by eminent gerontologist Thomas Cole of Aging and the Art of Living (2012) by Jan Baars. We…
Living with Disabilities - Until a few years ago, doctors told Deanna Mann, 85, she was “healthy as a horse.” She lived independently in an apartment and enjoyed playing bridge with friends twice a week. Then one leg suddenly swelled up. The other followed…
Gallows Humor - I live in a retirement community, and when somebody turns 90 here, we like to celebrate. A few months ago, a friend had a 90th birthday party that made me envious. I’m just 88, but I announced that I too…