Tag: aging

Boomer Icons, Deep Thinkers Offer Advice on Aging (Fall 2017)

· 1 Comment ·

From when we’re born until we die, everyone ages. But, after the advent of the youth-driven Baby Boomer era, getting older (remember Hope I Die Before I Get Old and Don’t Trust Anyone Over 30) was considered a bad thing. Now Baby Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) are the ones getting – dare we say it – old. And just like they have done at every stage of their lives, Boomers are reinventing and redefining what it means to age.

Today, 65 might not be the new 35, but it certainly isn’t our grandmothers’ 65.

In an ongoing collection of articles I’ve written for Booming Encore, I’ve culled good ideas about getting older in the 21st Century from some of the best known boomer icons like Jane Fonda and from some lesser-known, but equally important thinkers on the issue like Mortimer Adler, the author of War of the Roses.

You can read the ones that interest you here by clicking on their titles. Happy, healthy, harmonious aging everyone …

Jane Fonda Talks About the Power of Aging 

Perspective on Aging from Author Warren Adler, Now Age 92

The Most Important Lessons on Aging from The Classic Tuesdays with Morrie

 

Reflecting on the Puzzle Pieces That Make Up My Life

· Leave a comment ·

By Dave Price – Senior Writer

This article 1st appeared in Booming Encore

As is happening much more frequently as I get older, death has removed two more big pieces of the interlocking personal jigsaw puzzle that depicts my younger, pre-adult years.

In the last week of May, former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jim Bunning died at age 85 in his home state of Kentucky, where after his professional baseball career he served as both a member of the House of Representatives and the United States Senate.

One day later, death claimed Gregg Allman, the 69-year-old singer and Hammond B-3 organ player for the hugely popular Southern rock jam band the Allman Brothers, which was founded in 1969 by his brother, the legendary rock guitarist Duane Allman.

Bunning and Allman represented two of my major early passions – sports and rock music. And both had provided a special personal bond for members of my family and me.

To keep reading this article, click here.

Men’s Challenges with Aging: Blame John Wayne

· Leave a comment ·

John-Wayne-238x238

By Dave Price – Senior Writer

This article 1st appeared in Booming Encore

If you are or know a male Baby Boomer who is having an extremely hard time aging, there’s a good chance that the Waynes – or more specifically, John Wayne and Bruce “Batman” Wayne – may be greatly to blame.

While it’s true that the idea of what exactly is a man has been changing over recent decades, much of the sense of masculinity in the mid-20th Century was established and reinforced through the codes of western movies and their stars such as John Wayne and the behavior of then-contemporary fictional heroes such as Batman and James Bond.

Here’s a look at five of those you-must-be-this-to-be-a-real-man concepts which were integral parts of the portrayal of the alpha male embedded in the entertainment of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, the early shaping decades for Baby Boomers.

To keep reading this article, click here.

The Perils of Aging for Men

· Leave a comment ·

Older-Man-Portrait-238x238

By Dave Price

This article 1st appeared in Booming Encore

I’ve never been big on birthdays.

Since I was young, March 26th has really just been another day in the year for me.

But on my last birthday I arrived at what most people consider a significant aging milestone.

I turned 65.

With the exception that I would now be eligible to use the Medicare card the U.S. government had sent me earlier in the month, 65 didn’t seem any different than 60, when I started a 4-year stint as a DC-based educational consultant. Or than 64 when I decided to devote myself to freelance writing. Or than 59 (when I retired from my instructional career in education after 30 years) for that matter.

To keep reading this article, click here.

For Baby Boomers, the Stairways to Heaven Are Changing

· Leave a comment ·

 

This article 1st appeared in Sixty and Me

When it comes to funerals, many Baby Boomers are literally thinking outside the box.

Of course, that really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Those born between 1946 and 1964 have been constantly reinventing most life stages as they have been passing through them. So why should death be any different?

Over the next few years, you should be prepared to encounter a whole different array of extremely personalized funerals.

To continue reading this article, click here.

When It Comes to Aging, Don’t Drop the Soap

· 1 Comment ·

They told me one day I would feel old, but I just refused to believe them.

Age 30. Then 40 – 50 – 60, now 64. Nope, not old.

Grey hair. White hair. Thinning hair. Definitely more hair in my ears and my nose than on the growing bald spot on the back of my head. Still didn’t feel old. Besides, that’s what small scissors are for.

An expanding stomach. Creaking bones. Getting up at night to pee. Still no significant difference.

Hey, I thought, maybe I’m impervious to aging and its supposed ravagings.

But then today all that changed.

I had to face the fact that maybe I really am old.

What happened, you ask?

Well, I still use bar soap.

To continue reading this article, click here

Could Reading Be a Key to Living Longer?

· Leave a comment ·

This article 1st appeared in Sixty and Me

Remember when teachers told you reading was good for you? They were right. And now reading is even associated with living longer.

Researchers at the Yale University School of Public Health have discovered that book readers have a “significant survival advantage” over those who don’t read books.

The findings of the Yale study are now appearing in Social Science and Medicine. They how that people over 50 who read up to three-and-a-half hours a week were 17 percent less likely to die over the 12 years of follow-up. Those who read more than that were 23 percent less likely to die than non-readers.

Continue reading this article