Jane Fonda just got plastic surgery, and on one level that’s her business, but on another level, it’s stunningly dishonest. [Read more…]
Poor Jane Fonda. Poor Us.
Are Boomers Ready to Share the Pain?
That’s the question asked by life coach John Agno here. I was inspired to pick up the thread.
Every age group, every industry, every lobby is going to be required to give up something for the future of the country. If you were going to give up something, what would it be?
Would Bill Gates or Warren Buffet notice if they couldn’t draw monthly SS checks?
Would giant multinational industrial-agricultural complexes (formerly called “farms”) forego crop subsidies?
Would the Pentagon give up the latest multi-billion-dollar surgical strike plaything?
Here’s another opportunity: greater transparency in the health industry would cut costs. Of course, lobbyists (and bought politicians) sneer and say, “Consumers aren’t going to shop around for the best surgeon when they have a heart attack!” Of course not. But there are other things we could shop around for, if we had the chance. Routine testing for example: mammograms, colonoscopies, treadmill – you get the picture.
Recently, I needed abdominal surgery. I had to get a CT scan, and my copay was 100% (I buy my own insurance and it’s the best I can qualify for in the current market; I am not on Medicare.) The cost was $2850 out of pocket. There’s another hospital forty miles away that is also highly regarded, and I have PPO insurance so I could have gone there for the test. I tried to find out what they charged for a CT scan, but they couldn’t tell me. I pursued it from department to department, and here’s what I ended up with: The cost depends on which doctor is on staff that day, and what technician, and what their personal pay rates are, and how long it takes, and…and…and I gave up.
So just try to find out what they charge. You can’t, and maybe you don’t want to. For example, if you have “regular” insurance (e.g. group coverage through an employer, or Medicare) you may not feel the urgency of this issue, but the way things are going in health care, you soon will.
“Cut earmarks! Cut waste and fraud!” Sure. That’s always a good idea, but it amounts to about 1% of the problem. Medicare, Social Security, and defense are the only cuts that will matter.
I worked for thirty years in a corporate setting. I paid into Social Security. Shouldn’t I insist I get mine? Well, I did pay in, and it helped cover Mom and Dad in their golden years. And I got real lucky and ended up at this later part of my life being blessed financially. So if they want to do means testing – ouch! ouch! ouch! – alright, darn it. Cut my “entitlement.” Let the folks who weren’t as lucky or blessed have my share.
Remember the 1960s and 1970s, fellow Boomers? We were strong, we defied the status quo, we defied the older generation who seemed so calcified, so sure of themselves, and so unwilling to bend. Now we’re that generation. I know that, with the Great Recession, there’s way too much pain out there right now, and I don’t want to add to it, but if you are lucky enough to be getting by comfortably, what might you do, fellow Boomer?
Old is Good (Part 2)
I feel left behind when I see those up-and-comer headlines, like “40 Under 40!” listing young people who are expected to set the world on fire. [Read more…]
Old is Good (Part 1)
You’re going to get old. Even if you refuse to accept this fact, and you sweat at the gym, and jump out of planes and run marathons and get “work” done and look better than anybody in your age group, you’re still going to get old, and then you’re going to die.
Okay, so that’s a bummer.
But what if this fact didn’t scare us? Maybe if we could accept the realityof mortality, we could relax and enjoy our lives more.
And just maybe then we could stop measuring ourselves against the gold standard of “youth”. Sure, young people are pretty, and they seem awesome because of what you imagine their potential to be. But old people – yes, that’s you, and I’m not saying it as an insult – are to be valued for things other than looks.
For example, my adult kids get all dramatic about human behavior, because they’ve never yet had to deal with certain types. They look to me for answers, and I have those answers. Sometimes I actually sound wise – but compared to a 30-year-old, that’s not so hard. They’re cute but they haven’t been around as long. Stuff scares them. They lean toward overreacting, but I throw out the lifeline and reel them back in and they’re grateful. And they’ll learn, becoming stronger and wiser, and then their smiles will become wrinkled and their hair will fall out.
Pretty soon, if they’re lucky, they’ll be as old and wise as me.
Eat, Drink, and Die Quickly
My dad drank a lot, ate like every meal was his last, and wouldn’t exercise – not even to do the minimal therapy after knee replacement. He died of a massive stroke at 83. No lingering in a rest home, no extended decline. WHAM. Dead. And it was, to be frank, a blessing. He had been losing some of his abilities in such a way that portended a rough future for him and my mother.
So it makes you wonder. Would I be better off living more piggishly and dying suddenly like him, or doing my healthy program and living out my very elderly years in a rest home, like the women in my family tend to do?
If you’re a health professional, you’ll say, “you don’t know if you’re going to be lucky enough to die suddenly. You might die slowly and painfully.” True enough.
If you read this blog regularly, you know I’m all about finding balance. So for me, here’s the answer: I want to feel well for as long as possible, and that means moderation, meditation and exercise. Nothing’s perfect, and we don’t know what the future holds. But for all the pain it caused us to lose Dad, the way the old hedonist died sure was a blessing. He said he would never go to a rest home, and that “they’re going to have to carry me out of my house feet first.” That’s exactly what happened. If there’s a heaven, he’s up there laughing at us.
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