In this regular weekend feature you will find links to news items from the preceding week related to elders and aging, along with whatever else catches my fancy that I think you might like to know. Suggestions are welcome with, however, no promises of publication.
Let's Write a Book Together George Phenix of Blog of Ages, describes himself as a “recovering journalist.” Apparently that journey is a work in progress; he has an idea for a book and we are part of it.
“...a book of short essays, 250 words or fewer – on aging,” says George. “Any aspect of aging: retirement, grandchildren, health, love, shoe laces, regularity, pill boxes, sports, money. Anything. Even oblique references. Mood pieces. Make us think, help us feel...Send me your essay. If enough of you want to play, maybe we can write a book together. Seriously.
Picture it: a small book with one, short essay per page about what it's like to get old written by elders for everyone - one of those gems you can dip into anywhere and find something enlightening and thoughtful. I love this idea and urge you to join in.
Click over to George's blog for more information. And if there are enough essays, he will do what he can to make publication a reality. To get you started, here is George's essay:
Like most people, I have a fondness for sunup and sunset - and for the special light that shines up the world at both ends of the day. Our primordial feelings probably go all the way back to the caves when the changing light re-wrote the rules of safety every day.
As I sit on the front porch, I feel like a co-conspirator with the sun. The changing light continues to fetch up feelings that long ago I quit trying to understand – and now just enjoy.
The dusk gently reminds us who controls the night. And from the primeval forest across the street, the cottonwoods launch fuzzy, feathery things that float gently on the air currents and look for sex. Watch them catch the thermals rising from the still-warm sidewalk. Ohh.
In the first light of morning, the animals take charge. Birds, mostly, announcing a positive take on another day. The biggest wild critter on the block is the rabbit, if you don't count the mailman. Urban rabbits have developed two personalities - at the same time both fearless and tenuous. Truth is, as long as the Mississippi rolls through the cities, so will the rabbits. They rule the spring gardens.
At last, I am beginning to understand the sweet pleasures in the invitation: “come sit a spell.” I love this porch.
You can leave your essays in the comments section at George's blog. Here's the link again.
A Movie Mashup This, together with her two submissions posted here last week, clearly indicate that Cowtown Pattie of Texas Trifles is spending way too much time on YouTube. But she does have a knack for finding the good stuff.
This is a trailer for a movie called Ghost Busters as if it had been produced in 1954. Take a look – it is so well done you can hardly tell it's a fake. And it's funny. And you will recognize some movie clips from long ago. You can find out more about how it was created here.
Public Plan According to a recent Harris Poll [pdf], 68 percent of Americans support a public plan in a health care reform bill. If that is not a mandate for Congress, I don't know what is.
Embarrasingly Dumb Elders Susan Gulliford of Hillsborough NJ Journal writes to say, “I detest how those opposing health care reform are using seniors. And, sorry, but we should be old enough to know better.”
Accompanying her note was a link to a Huffington Post story by Bob Cesca about the large number of anti-health care reform protesters who are elders. He relates this story from Republican Representative Robert Inglis of South Carolina:
“Someone reportedly told Inglis, 'Keep your government hands off my Medicare.'
“'I had to politely explain that, actually, sir, your health care is being provided by the government,' Inglis told the Post. 'But he wasn't having any of it.'"
This is not the first time I've seen or heard elders making asses of themselves about Medicare not being a government program. Look for more on this subject next week in these pages.
Health Care For Everyone I found this over at Norm Jenson's One Good Move and thought you might like it too.
How Old Do You Feel, California? A new Pew survey says more people 65 and older who live in western U.S. say they don't feel old (78 percent) than those who live in other regions (67 percent).
Saying you don't feel as old as you are is, of course, an oxymoron. Since no one has ever been as old as they are now, however they feel is how it feels to be that age. What they usually mean to say is that they don't feel as old as ageist stereotypes depict them. More on the survey here.
Elderwoman Newsletter Marian Van Eyk McCain keeps the elderwomanblog and she also publishes a monthly, The Elderwoman Newsletter, the latest edition of which is now available here. It is filled with essays, quotations, art, humor, photography and more all related to best thought on getting old.
Or, not necessarily. This photo made me laugh; it reminds me of Bill Weatherstone who is writing an ongoing series about his wife's Alzheimer's disease at The Elder Storytelling Place.
Well Done, Senators! Hurray for our new Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor who was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday and will take her seat on the high court in a few weeks. If you remember, she was on President Bush's short list a few years ago, but didn't make the cut.
She is the 111th justice since the founding the United States and the third woman to hold the position. Justice Sotomayor was a neighbor in New York City for many years. I am so pleased - politically and personally.
Boys' Choir – Not What You Expect Lia of Yum Yum Cafe send along this video. I'm not going to give it away by telling you what it is. Just watch. You'll love it.
Let's Write a Book Together George Phenix of Blog of Ages, describes himself as a “recovering journalist.” Apparently that journey is a work in progress; he has an idea for a book and we are part of it.
Picture it: a small book with one, short essay per page about what it's like to get old written by elders for everyone - one of those gems you can dip into anywhere and find something enlightening and thoughtful. I love this idea and urge you to join in.
Click over to George's blog for more information. And if there are enough essays, he will do what he can to make publication a reality. To get you started, here is George's essay:
You can leave your essays in the comments section at George's blog. Here's the link again.
A Movie Mashup This, together with her two submissions posted here last week, clearly indicate that Cowtown Pattie of Texas Trifles is spending way too much time on YouTube. But she does have a knack for finding the good stuff.
This is a trailer for a movie called Ghost Busters as if it had been produced in 1954. Take a look – it is so well done you can hardly tell it's a fake. And it's funny. And you will recognize some movie clips from long ago. You can find out more about how it was created here.
Public Plan According to a recent Harris Poll [pdf], 68 percent of Americans support a public plan in a health care reform bill. If that is not a mandate for Congress, I don't know what is.
Embarrasingly Dumb Elders Susan Gulliford of Hillsborough NJ Journal writes to say, “I detest how those opposing health care reform are using seniors. And, sorry, but we should be old enough to know better.”
Accompanying her note was a link to a Huffington Post story by Bob Cesca about the large number of anti-health care reform protesters who are elders. He relates this story from Republican Representative Robert Inglis of South Carolina:
This is not the first time I've seen or heard elders making asses of themselves about Medicare not being a government program. Look for more on this subject next week in these pages.
Health Care For Everyone I found this over at Norm Jenson's One Good Move and thought you might like it too.
How Old Do You Feel, California? A new Pew survey says more people 65 and older who live in western U.S. say they don't feel old (78 percent) than those who live in other regions (67 percent).
Saying you don't feel as old as you are is, of course, an oxymoron. Since no one has ever been as old as they are now, however they feel is how it feels to be that age. What they usually mean to say is that they don't feel as old as ageist stereotypes depict them. More on the survey here.
Elderwoman Newsletter Marian Van Eyk McCain keeps the elderwomanblog and she also publishes a monthly, The Elderwoman Newsletter, the latest edition of which is now available here. It is filled with essays, quotations, art, humor, photography and more all related to best thought on getting old.
Or, not necessarily. This photo made me laugh; it reminds me of Bill Weatherstone who is writing an ongoing series about his wife's Alzheimer's disease at The Elder Storytelling Place.
Well Done, Senators! Hurray for our new Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor who was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday and will take her seat on the high court in a few weeks. If you remember, she was on President Bush's short list a few years ago, but didn't make the cut.
She is the 111th justice since the founding the United States and the third woman to hold the position. Justice Sotomayor was a neighbor in New York City for many years. I am so pleased - politically and personally.
Boys' Choir – Not What You Expect Lia of Yum Yum Cafe send along this video. I'm not going to give it away by telling you what it is. Just watch. You'll love it.