It’s a joke so old, I don’t remember the punch line. A guy stands up in a town hall meeting and shouts a number.  People around him laugh. A second person calls out another number and again those present break into applause. The community is so accustomed to one another, they’v

The government wants people to work into their 70s to relieve social security’s debt obligations.  But doing so has numerous effects, most dramatically on the young.  When older workers prolong their employment, younger ones can’t find jobs or are forced to take those with low w

Brain training with games,  I wrote in an earlier blog, (Blog 9/17/15) showed little evidence the activity could make our thinking sharper.  The skills learned weren’t transferable to other activities, the argument went.   Despite these conclusions, some researchers continued wi

Aging is a stealth process.  We hardly recognize it’s at work until we see surprise in the eyes of someone we’ve bumped into after many years.  “You’re Caroline Miller, aren’t you?”  Have I changed so much, I wonder. Apparently I have.  Come to think of it, so has the

Earlier this month, I appeared on a community cable program.  The host, known as Dr. Don, interviews local people whom he imagines others will think interesting.  He’s in his 90’s and has been doing the series for 15 years.  An hour of talk about myself is a challenge, even for

Last month the “rent” at my retirement center went up 4%.  That’s greater than the living increase from my social security and pension income.  Being retired and living off fixed benefits, I’m wondering how I should anticipate further increases, particularly if I proved to b

I know what dehydration means, especially among the old.  More than once, I’ve sat in a local hospital’s emergency room while my ancient mother has needles stuck in her veins to restore bodily fluids.  She never was good at drinking water.  A cup or two of heavily sugared tea i

“What do you want to do when you grow up?”  The question is one we often ask children, but how often do we hear an equally important question asked of those facing retirement?  “What do you want to do as you grow old?”  The question never occurred to my father a

A former student came to visit me at the retirement center this week.  As we sat down over coffee he managed a cheerful, “Wow, for 81, you look great.”  I gulped twice. First, I wasn’t  81 and second, I hate that caveat, “for your age.”  At almost 81, it�

On the way to the gym at my retirement center, there’s a table with a small basket resting on it.  Sometimes the basket is empty.  Sometimes it isn’t  When it isn’t, it’s full of condolence cards addressed to the family of a resident who has died.  As yet I know so few peo