By Lois Requist When I was a kid, older people often told me that I was experiencing the best time of my life, so I should enjoy it. Even then, some part of me wanted to respond, “Really? This is as good as it gets?” What was my life then? We were poor, and unlike […]
Voice of the Village; Technology: It’s going to change how we age
By Judie Donaldson I just returned from a vacation with my family at Lake Tahoe, which is about as beautiful and serene a setting as I have known. But, while I was there, I noticed something curious. I observed that my two daughters and two sons-in-law––all of whom are professionals with demanding jobs––were completely free […]
Voice of the Village: Have you ever made an attitude adjustment?
By Judie Donaldson How many times, if ever, have you made a significant change in your life? Have you gotten rid of a seriously bad habit? Have you transformed your attitude toward someone from negative to positive? Have you eliminated a bias? When I was young, I thought that you could just decide to change––and […]
Voice of the Village: What is aging better? How do you do it?
By Lois Requist Recently, I attended the Northern California launch of Village Movement California. It was exciting to see and hear what is going on statewide. If you’ve followed the Village Movement, you may know that it started in Boston in 2001 and has spread across the country since. There are over 200 “virtual” villages […]
Mrs. B’s Blather: What are some rules for old people?
These were written by a child living with her old Aunt Millie. She wrote a list of rules that should be followed based upon her observations, here they are: 1 Do not suck in soup or other liquids. 2. Do not chew with your mouth open. 3. Don’t talk while you are chewing. 4 Try […]
Voice of the Village: Growing older keeps changing
By Lois Requist It’s probably not surprising that the village movement began 17 years ago, started by some women in Boston who realized that as they aged, they needed a support system to make living at home possible, practical, and even joyous. The senior population is growing at a rate of 10,000 per day in […]
Voice of the Village: What does it mean to be old?
By Lois Requist So many jokes and stories are told about old people and women—blondes in particular—that even if you’re old and/or blonde, you may buy into the assumptions that are made about you. Of course, racial stereotypes have been in our society longer than we have and getting rid of them isn’t easy. We […]
Voice of the Village: Aging and attitude
By Lois Requist Special to the Herald Last week, you may have seen Judie Donaldson’s remarks here about the revolution in aging. That got me to thinking. I grew up in Idaho, around quite a few older relatives—aunts, uncles, grandparents. They didn’t move so fast, in fact sitting down may have been what they […]
Mrs. B’s Blather: What are the signs that you are getting old?
Of the many signs of aging, the one that clearly shows that the world has noticed you are over 65, is when you start receiving catalogues from Better Senior Living, Healthy Living, Feel Good Store, Carol Wright Gifts, Harriet Carter and Dr. Leonard’s, to name a few. At first you throw these catalogues away, feeling […]
Matt Talbot: Life, death and middle age
“The word nostalgia is learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of nóstos, meaning ‘homecoming,’ a Homeric word, and álgos, meaning ‘pain, ache’” –Wikipedia Nostalgia is the besetting fault of middle age, and I am not immune to infection by its sweet melancholy. I sometimes find myself driving by my old middle school in the […]