Being Old?

The title “Are You Old? Infirm?, Then Kindly Disappear” found in the December 17, 2017 edition of The New York Times featured the life of an 82-year-old female with post-polio syndrome, which forced her to use a wheelchair. A few years ago she went shopping for a mattress at a mall. She claimed her legs were so weak that she had to use a wheelchair. In fact, a friend had to push her around that day. According to her, the wait for service was unusually long and she became invisible. She turned radioactive in that people looked over her, around her, and through her. People also withdrew from her and she thought maybe it was because they thought she wanted something from them. This woman also called doctor offices the worst because the receptionist, seemed to address her as if she wasn’t there; thinking she didn’t have an appointment; didn’t have a medical card; and didn’t have a brain. Frank Bruni, the writer, wondered if this treatment toward an older woman being in a wheelchair and so forth was widespread and he noted how cruel it was. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 2 million Americans use wheelchairs for daily activities and 8.5 million depend on canes, crutches or walkers. With a population aging, we have roughly 50 million Americans age 65 and older that represent about 15% of our population. I don’t know if this woman’s experience and perception applies to other older females in a wheelchair. At this point in time, I have very little or no contact with individuals in wheelchairs. I do, however, encounter people on the trail that have devices held in their hands to stabilize their walking. In fact, today, there were two women with dogs that carried these devices. I did not have any trouble chatting with them. As a rule, I don’t like to be around “Old” individuals. An old individual is one that continuously talks about their disease and/or their illnesses. They also refer to events that they did in their past. Sometimes they also comment about what they have to do. A number years ago, I had a conversation with my mother about moving from her apartment into a retirement facility. She said she didn’t want to be around old people. Mother lived to the young age of 93. Taking my mother’s advice, 99% of my friends are younger than I am. If someone that I encounter wants to dwell talk about their illness, etc. I excuse myself and leave. The conversation regarding illnesses can be a real downer and simply depressing. On New Year’s Day, for approximately the eighth year in a row, my friend Tony, 12 years younger; and another friend Chris 18 years younger than me, ran the Resolution 10 mile trail run. I’m aware of my performances over the years, as that is important to me. I wrote a recent post about grinning, while running, to improve oxygen flow. During runs, we periodically laugh, joke and tease each other. The grinning is good because it also relaxes facial muscles, which is normally were we hold our tension. In fact, during this New Year’s run, I took part in a selfie with three very young women. After the run, we hooked up again, congratulated and laughed with each other. Like I’ve said before, “keep moving” as you’ll have more enjoyment.