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When I took a course in geriatric psychology in about 2009, the categories of old age seemed more simplistic than this
https://opentextbooks.concordia.ca/lifespandevelopment/chapter/9-3-age-categories-in-late-adulthood/
but in any version, I am in the "young old" category. I'm in pretty good shape physically (knock on wood) so now is supposed to be the time to plan for later. My younger sister is already seriously looking at retirement communities. Trying to guess how early to put oneself on a waiting list is confusing. I want to be in a place or supportive community by 85 (a long way off) but not anytime soon. I noticed a lot of sign-carrying people on the T on Saturday after yet another protest (that one was connected with International Women's Day) and most of the protesters seemed to be women somewhat older than I am. I first heard the expression "tennis shoe ladies" in the mid-1970s about elderly (white) women protesters/do-gooders. I wanted to be one, and that would still be a goal. On Saturday, it seemed that they were more like sensible boot ladies. Were there any people at the protest who had been bused in from a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) (a jargon term) in addition to those on the T? Maybe not.
I think of the care needed in old age a lot, but the disturbing story of the deaths of Gene Hackman, Betsy Arakawa, and the (I don't know the name of) dog has brought it to front of mind.
This is from wikipedia
>>In the final months of his life, Hackman's neighbors in Santa Fe, New Mexico, noticed that his health appeared to be declining, and he and Arakawa ceased communicating with family and friends. Arakawa died in their home around February 11, 2025, from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Hackman did not seek help; authorities believed he was unable to comprehend her death due to his Alzheimer's.[99] Hackman died in the home around February 18, at which point his pacemaker recorded an abnormal rhythm. He died from severe heart disease, complicated by advanced Alzheimer's disease and kidney disease.<<
Arakawa was a good bit younger than Hackman, loosely speaking the age of his children. That doesn't mean she should have been a sole caregiver through his heart and mental problems. Nobody should be a sole caregiver. He seemed to have been estranged from his children (by his choice? Were they mad about the age of their stepmother?) but he died with lots of money in the bank and they could have had paid help if they didn't want to leave the home. A talk I attended many years ago said that you can plan ahead or you can react to a crisis. In this case (thousands of miles away, people I didn't know) it seems like they didn't do either one, really, and the ceased communicating part indicates pretty much the opposite of dealing. Was it some sort of denial? I don't want that to be me.
In the meantime, in can be fun to have had a longish life and be aware of change over time. Some things are good, some are bad, some just are. I don't think in my childhood someone would have brought a container with lunch to a public library 1 and calmly heated it up in the small appliance he also brought.
The storage container was plastic. Plastic existed in my early childhood, but food wasn't stored in it, I don't think. There weren't laptops to be using while thoughtfully eating a hot lunch. I was there in theory to work on my Korean homework2. Would Hallyu3 have been imaginable when I was first doing any kind of homework in the early 1960s?
I'm not sure we had homework until 3rd grade. That has changed too.
1 https://www.cambridgema.gov/Departments/cambridgepubliclibrary/Locations/oconnellbranch It's been there since 1897, so it has seen a lot of changes as well.
2 I did some Korean homework, but also read all (with some skimming and skipped pages) of "The Love of My Afterlife"
by Kirsty Greenwood, a British romantic comedy/mystery that was on the table of new books near where I was working.
When was the last time I read a book in one sitting? I can't recall. I do recall jogging by The Serpentine in London, which was an activity that happened once in the book. Was that 2013? Time does pass.
3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Wave I find some of the pronunciation rules in Korean frustrating, to say the least. 한류 is an example of that - if one were sounding it out letter-for-letter it would sound more like Hahnlyu but the n doesn't get pronounced because of (reasons).
https://opentextbooks.concordia.ca/lifespandevelopment/chapter/9-3-age-categories-in-late-adulthood/
but in any version, I am in the "young old" category. I'm in pretty good shape physically (knock on wood) so now is supposed to be the time to plan for later. My younger sister is already seriously looking at retirement communities. Trying to guess how early to put oneself on a waiting list is confusing. I want to be in a place or supportive community by 85 (a long way off) but not anytime soon. I noticed a lot of sign-carrying people on the T on Saturday after yet another protest (that one was connected with International Women's Day) and most of the protesters seemed to be women somewhat older than I am. I first heard the expression "tennis shoe ladies" in the mid-1970s about elderly (white) women protesters/do-gooders. I wanted to be one, and that would still be a goal. On Saturday, it seemed that they were more like sensible boot ladies. Were there any people at the protest who had been bused in from a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) (a jargon term) in addition to those on the T? Maybe not.
I think of the care needed in old age a lot, but the disturbing story of the deaths of Gene Hackman, Betsy Arakawa, and the (I don't know the name of) dog has brought it to front of mind.
This is from wikipedia
>>In the final months of his life, Hackman's neighbors in Santa Fe, New Mexico, noticed that his health appeared to be declining, and he and Arakawa ceased communicating with family and friends. Arakawa died in their home around February 11, 2025, from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Hackman did not seek help; authorities believed he was unable to comprehend her death due to his Alzheimer's.[99] Hackman died in the home around February 18, at which point his pacemaker recorded an abnormal rhythm. He died from severe heart disease, complicated by advanced Alzheimer's disease and kidney disease.<<
Arakawa was a good bit younger than Hackman, loosely speaking the age of his children. That doesn't mean she should have been a sole caregiver through his heart and mental problems. Nobody should be a sole caregiver. He seemed to have been estranged from his children (by his choice? Were they mad about the age of their stepmother?) but he died with lots of money in the bank and they could have had paid help if they didn't want to leave the home. A talk I attended many years ago said that you can plan ahead or you can react to a crisis. In this case (thousands of miles away, people I didn't know) it seems like they didn't do either one, really, and the ceased communicating part indicates pretty much the opposite of dealing. Was it some sort of denial? I don't want that to be me.
In the meantime, in can be fun to have had a longish life and be aware of change over time. Some things are good, some are bad, some just are. I don't think in my childhood someone would have brought a container with lunch to a public library 1 and calmly heated it up in the small appliance he also brought.
The storage container was plastic. Plastic existed in my early childhood, but food wasn't stored in it, I don't think. There weren't laptops to be using while thoughtfully eating a hot lunch. I was there in theory to work on my Korean homework2. Would Hallyu3 have been imaginable when I was first doing any kind of homework in the early 1960s?
I'm not sure we had homework until 3rd grade. That has changed too.
1 https://www.cambridgema.gov/Departments/cambridgepubliclibrary/Locations/oconnellbranch It's been there since 1897, so it has seen a lot of changes as well.
2 I did some Korean homework, but also read all (with some skimming and skipped pages) of "The Love of My Afterlife"
by Kirsty Greenwood, a British romantic comedy/mystery that was on the table of new books near where I was working.
When was the last time I read a book in one sitting? I can't recall. I do recall jogging by The Serpentine in London, which was an activity that happened once in the book. Was that 2013? Time does pass.
3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Wave I find some of the pronunciation rules in Korean frustrating, to say the least. 한류 is an example of that - if one were sounding it out letter-for-letter it would sound more like Hahnlyu but the n doesn't get pronounced because of (reasons).
