All Hail the 70'

It’s official. The 70s are going to be the best time of your life. Even if AARP didn’t come out with a recent survey that indicated people in their 70s were the happiest, I myself was feeling pretty darn happy, just so you know.

You can click the link for the AARP/National Geographic “Second Half of Life Study, but the bottom line is that people in their 70s are in one description, “doggedly optimistic” about their life and the future. Keep in mind, these people were interviewed post-COVID and they are still thinking positively about their lives and what’s ahead. Thirty-four percent of adults 80-plus and 27% of those in their 70s report they are “very happy,” compared to 21% of those 60 to 69, 18% of those 50 to 59 and 16% of those 40 to 49. According to the survey: 90% of respondents in their 70s said they were happy, compared with 81% in their 60s and 80% in their 40s.

Some observers have noted people in their 70s might be referred to as Generation X, for the lack of attention that they receive. It’s all about people in their 60s who are on the cusp of retirement, or people in their 80s who are beginning to face physical and cognitive limitations. You could say we’re the Rodney Dangerfield Generation, since we don’t get any respect.

How do we account for this extraordinary level of happiness? The simple, unscientific answer is that we’re boomers. Our generation is known for its sense of optimism and willingness to explore new things. These are people who flocked to San Francisco for the Summer of Love and hitchhiked to Woodstock without much more than a few dimes in their pockets. Now we are hitting the road again to see and do things we’ve not done before. As one observer put it, the seeds of being boomers in their youth are now growing into a sense of tranquility that other generations can only aspire to gain.

I congratulate you if you are 70+ and reading these words. You’ve made it, found more happiness than most, and can just focus on enjoying the years ahead. For those not yet 70 –  the best is yet to come.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. You can also visit his author page here. His newest mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is also available on Amazon.

Best of BoomSpeak

2006. Remember where you were or what you were doing? I had to stop and think about where I was living and working. Oh, right. I was the Creative Director at DesignConcept and had this idea that since everyone was blogging about something, it might be a good time to create a blog devoted to being a baby boomer. It had a funny name at first, but then we settled on BoomSpeak because that seemed to fit for a blog that would give boomers a voice and an opportunity to express their thoughts on growing up and aging as boomers. We thought it might make money by selling ads. Ha! Another fantasy crushed!

Thanks to longtime contributor Harpeth Rivers for suggesting that we put out a collection of the best of BoomSpeak. As I note in the subtitle, I think they are all great or I would not have put them in the blog in the first place. Thanks also go to all our faithful readers and contributors for sticking with us for the long haul, and to Jim Fanzone @ DesignConcept for the cover art.

It was surprising to scroll through our online archives and realize how many contributors we have had in sixteen years. We selected what we thought were the best posts and that was not easy — there were so many gems. You have our most sincere gratitude for selflessly allowing us to share your words and thoughts.

We hope you find this BoomSpeak anthology entertaining, and thanks again for coming and going along for the ride.

If you ever contributed a piece that we published, you might find it in this anthology. A sneaky way to get you to buy the paperback or Kindle version?? Yeah, so what? It would be the first time there was any monetary profit to putting out this ezine for 16 years.

Click here to order your edition, and thanks again for being part of the BoomSpeak experience. Much appreciated.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. You can also visit his author page here. His newest mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is also available on Amazon. Best of BoomSpeak is now available in paperback and Kindle on Amazon.

Muscling In

We’re melting. Well not really melting, more like shrinking. No, shrinking isn’t the right term either. We have muscles, but they are slowly wilting.

Wilting is a better word. But the actual loss of muscle mass is a bit scary. Starting at age 40, 8 per cent of our muscle mass just disappears. If that wasn’t bad enough, the research indicates that we then continue to lose another 8 per cent each decade.

Stay with me now. That means you lose 16 per cent of muscle mass by age 60, 24 per cent by age 70, and 32 per cent by age 80. When I see these numbers, I start to imagine that we’re going to be just skin and bones in our 80s. Come to think of it, that’s what our parents did look like in their 80s.

Are we going to just take this lying down? Because we’re just too weak and lacking enough muscle to stand up? NO!

Okay, maybe. If we do nothing to change the course of this wilting muscle mass phenomenon, we will be limp noodles that can barely pick up a cup of java in the morning (a loss of unparalleled magnitude for many).

Or, and you know what’s coming, we pick up the free weights and start lifting. And the TV remote does not qualify as a free weight. We are talking about those little barbells that come in 4, 6, 8, 10, 12-pound varieties. You lift them up out to the side, over your head, and in any other approved motion. Some people even use water bottles if they don’t want to bother with the free weights. AARP has loads of info on strength training.

The objective is to keep the muscle mass you have, not to end up looking like Popeye. Not that the Popeye look would be so bad, it’s just over the top when you’re 80 years old.

Boomers are getting butt lifts, neck lifts, breast lifts, cheek lifts, hair plugs, and a raft of other procedures that are generally designed to tighten up their bodies. Spending all that money and time on these procedures without addressing diminished muscle mass means they could still end up being a bag of bones.

If you want to lift something for a better body, go out and get some free weights. Tell them Popeye sent you.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. You can also visit his author page here. His newest mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is also available on Amazon.

You Can't Make Us

 

We’re not moving. Do we have to say it again? You can’t make us.

Two out of 3 adults aged 55 and older plan to stay in their current homes and age in place. Quite a departure from the retirees that preceded us. They largely downsized or moved into one of those “adult” communities.

It’s not helping the housing shortage either. Thanks to rising home values, many boomers can afford to stay right where they are.

It helps if you’re in a reasonably sized house all on one floor. Some boomers are going to being facing some substantial renovations if they hope to age in place. When AARP surveyed homeowners last year, 70% of them indicated they would need to modify their bathrooms to reduce shower steps and add grab bars. The same percentage indicated that their homes had other significant accessibility issues, both inside and out. Making those renovations could entail a substantial cost, but on the upside, it will make the house more valuable to the next batch of boomers when the time comes.

Hell, we’ve already replaced almost all the doorknobs with levers, so we must be halfway there. Now we just need to screw handrails to every doorway and hallway, and we will be set. Wait a second. We will need brighter lights too. Oh, yeah, and one of those smart thermostats so we don’t have to mess with little dials. And smart showers and smart doors and blinds. Check. And one of those bathtubs with a door on it. Check. Medication reminders. Check. Medical alert for fall detection. Check.

This is starting to add up to some serious spondulix! But that’s okay. Because remember we’re not moving. They can’t make us.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. You can also visit his author page here. His newest mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is also available on Amazon.

8 Reasons Why

I tend to be wary of online articles that try to snag your eyeballs with such wonders as “10 Ways to Lose 25 Pounds” or “12 Neighborhoods In (insert your town here) Where You Have a Good Chance of Getting Mugged” or “5 Ways To Be a Better Lover.”

It’s not the topics per se – it’s the way they have quantified it that gives me pause. Ten ways to lose 25 pounds when 2 or 3 ways that really worked would be sufficient. But I digress. Often. Unrepentantly.

8 Reasons Baby Boomers Are Clogging Up Divorce Court.

There. That’s the one that stopped me short. The gist of the article is that when boomers hit certain milestones such as a parent passing away or turning 65 or some other life transition, it can trigger divorce action.

Here’s some reasons why. Life expectancy is increasing. Do you really want to spend another 25 years with him/her? Hmm, at least one of you is thinking. Hadn’t really thought about that one.

How about those boomers on their second marriage? Yeah, you. If the first marriage didn’t work out, there is a higher probability that the 2^nd might not either. The US Census Bureau keeps track of this sort of thing and they say 60 percent of second marriages and 73 percent of third marriages will end in divorce.

Let’s pick up the pace here. The kids are gone and on their own, I’m out of here! Heard that one? How about we’re set with our assets so let’s split them and then split. Or you’ve tried a half dozen communication strategies and none of them are working, otherwise known as falling out of love.

Some couples just don’t want the same lifestyle anymore and their values have changed. Why pretend that you agree? Adios.

Infidelity? There’s 2 kinds. One partner is cheating with a honey/sweetie on the side. Or one partner is cheating with the finances. Either way, one of you is unfaithful and that’s grounds for divorce.

Lastly, the relationship has become abusive, verbally, or physically. Sorry if you didn’t see that very big downer coming, but it is a real reason why many boomers end up in divorce court.

Now you can see why I tend to steer clear of articles that open with “8 Reasons Why…” You are better off reading the ones that promise to tell you the “50 Best Places in the U.S. To Retire.” It’s just their way of forcing you to look at 50 online ads for stuff you don’t want, but at least you won’t end up in divorce court.

Unless you can’t agree on the best city in which to retire.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. You can also visit his author page here. His newest mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is also available on Amazon.

Your Robotic Friends

I knew this day was coming. I joked about it years ago in a BoomSpeak post. Now it’s here. The robots have arrived in nursing homes. In Minnesota, 16 robots will soon be dispatched to 8 nursing homes around the state.

Before the pandemic, there wasn’t exactly a groundswell of interest. That was then. After 200,000 nursing home residents or workers died of the coronavirus, minds were changed. Three hundred nursing homes have closed. It’s harder and harder to hire caregivers to work in nursing homes. More than 400,000 workers at long-term care facilities have left the profession. People don’t want to work there and don’t want their elderly relatives to reside there.

Technology had already begun to fill the gap even before the pandemic arrived. Touchless meal delivery, video doctor consults, and home monitoring devices have grown in popularity. The next step is robots reminding us to take our meds, socialize with us, and pick us up when we fall. And don’t laugh –– smart toilets can monitor our meds and nutrition.

Japan is once again way ahead of us when it comes to the use of robots for assisted living environments. They had to be pioneers because they have the world’s oldest population and a limited labor pool.

While the robots will not replace human caregivers anytime soon, Covid-19 has opened our minds to the potential for robots to supplement the functions of human caregivers, and in some cases, perform these functions in a safer manner that prevents potentially deadly human contact.

I still have this image of a nursing home resident sitting in a robotic bathing conveyance that operates somewhat like an automatic brushless carwash. The suds come down and the gentle spray applies the water, then those floppy sponge things dance around a bit, followed by a gentle spray rinse, and then a warm blow dry. Pretty sweet when you think about it. Hardly any effort and you’re in and you’re out. Maybe not as personal as a human performing the service, but then again, maybe we’re not going to want personal bath services.

All I’m saying is that maybe Robby robot is about as personal as we’d like when it comes to some nursing home tasks.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His mystery novel, Head Above Water, is available on Amazon and Kindle. You can also visit his author page here.

The 2030 Problem

Hey everyone – they have named a new problem exclusively for baby boomers!

Oh, the excitement.

Demographers have projected that there will be a major eldercare bomb arriving in 2030. What to do, what to do?

First off, society needs to acknowledge that in a repeat of the original boom, there will be another boom coming that will impact eldercare.

How does society prepare for this boom? For starters, we need a payment and insurance system that can handle eldercare better than what we have now, because the numbers are going to be staggering. Two, we need to be proactive in keeping aging boomers as active and healthy as possible. Three, make sure eldercare is more easily accessed. And four, the tough one. Try to change the way our culture views the elderly, so that aging boomers are integrated into community life.

Something sounds very familiar about this scenario. That’s right! It’s similar to climate change. We are getting the early warnings that a storm is coming (I refrained from the term shitstorm, but there it is), and the question as always is will we do anything about it and will we react in time. Short answers: nope and nope.

The penalty for not acting is what some might call dire. A reduced workforce on top of higher costs for eldercare could force the economy to take a major hit, or an economic shock. In many first world countries where national health insurance programs are already in place, the social safety net will most likely be able to absorb the added costs associated with the 2030 problem. Not so in the U.S. Long term care costs in the year 2000 were $120 billion. In 2030, that figure is projected to be $270 billion.

The only note of optimism here is that generally speaking, boomers are in better health now compared to their parents when they were the same age. So maybe the analysts have not factored that into their calculations. Maybe.

Back to what to do. Take care of yourself, exercise, eat well and buy long-term care insurance. And support efforts to make eldercare more accessible. We’re all going to need it.

Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. You can also visit his author page here. His newest mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon here. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is available on Amazon.