As Days Go By

As Days Go By

I put research, paintings and poetry on my Blogs[1]

It makes me happy that my info goes around the world

I love to teach which I learned as a firstborn child in our family.

Helping others is my goal of life.

 My career was as; a university professor.

Now that I’m retired, I’m thankful for the Internet

As a teenager and young adult I was an athlete

Now I like to follow sports on television.

If I had the money I would travel around the world

And try to understand what we humans are all about

I wish we humans would learn to do unto others

As they would have them do unto them.

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[1] Artwithwrinkles.blogspot.ca and Retirement: Third Age New Beginning (larryand.blogspot.ca)

Living Alone in Old Age

The Problem of Living Alone In Old Age: A vignette

Katherine is in her mid 80’s and lives alone just of a bus main road.  Two years age local children mounted a series of attacks on her house: stink bombs through her letterbox and so on. “I got to the point where I didn’t bother answering the door.  They were forever taunting me.  I felt under siege.  When you are on your own, all you can do is lock up and go to bed.”  When she found two boys smashing her gas meter, they ran off laughing.  Cars were driving past but no one stopped.  A constable came and promised to keep an eye on the children.  There was an article about it in the local newspaper. Katherine read it and felt even more humiliated.

That was two years ago.  A week ago, Katherine was wakened by a loud noise of something landing on her roof.  It was a brick and her heart sank.  Could it be starting all over again? “ I know that it’s just vandalism. They think, “She’s a silly old fool. She won’t be able to run after us.”   She thought to herself perhaps I should phone the police again.  But where does it all end?  I’ve been here a long time. I don’t want to move.”

What do you think??

The Friendship of Canada and the USA

 The Friendship of Canada and the USA

While you may in winter be cold
This country is of me
It's a place where all take hold
Sweet land of liberty

So with the days of snow
And with the sun days of bright
Peace is the way we try to go.
If justice is abandoned we will fight

We are friends of out neighbour USA
All of us live in North America
Quite a few families live each way
And we will always be together.

Manifestatons of Ageism

Manifestations of Ageism[1]

Ageism can be manifested in many different forms.  At a systematic level, laws and policies may be made without regard to the needs of older adults, or service cuts may have a disproportionate impact on older adults.  Ageism may take the form of “granny bashing” in the popular press (blaming many of society’s current economic worries on older adults).  It can be reflected in media where older adults are portrayed as uniformly poor (and consequently perceived potential drain on society) or as a uniformly well of group who are unconcerned about the need of others.

Ageism may be more commonplace in economic and political literature where demographic shifts in the population are characterized as portending a future health crisis or “age wars” with you and old fighting over their share oaf social and health services.  Ageism and age discrimination are abased on social fears, and social response expresses those fears.

It has been suggested that there can be both internalized and externalized ageism.  Internalized ageism refers to the extent to which older adults take on the social norms that devalue or marginalize older persons.  They may do this at the individual level by acting in ways that reinforces the youth norm – battling the obvious and visible markers of aging such as grey hair or wrinkles. Internalized ageism may also be manifested by denial of any commonality with others in a cohort, such as the familiar objection of an eighty-five year old woman or man who vehemently does not want to be associated with “all those older people”.

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[1]   This Post digs deeper into the process of Ageism

About Happiness Beyond Work

Happiness: The measure of Life Beyond Work[1]

Happiness: Enjoy it while you have it… for it is sure to slip away.  This is my own opinion, and it is also supported by a great deal of research;  Happiness is an exlperience, not an asset tht you can lock up in a safe.  Happiness comes, and we enjoy it; it goes, and we can remember it.  It is fortunate that happiness comes , and we enjoy it; it goes, and we can remember it.  It is fortunate that happiness does come and go.  For one thing, constant  happiness ruins a good thing.  You may have heard the tale that new workers in a candy factory are urged to eat as much as they want because the managers have learned that people quickly tire of too much candy……

Who enjoys a bottle of wine more?  The person who lives wine and haves a great wine every evening or the person who loves wine and has it once or twice a week?  Over time the, the every-evening great wine becomes expected and routine.  While still delicious, it is no longer special.  The every-so-often great wine remains a treat to be savored and brings a smile.  Eventually the every-night great wine loses it’s impact.

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[1]  The above material was found in the Book Beyond Work produced by Bill Roiter

ISBN 978-0-470-84094-8

Children's Perceptions of Ageing

Children’s Perceptions of Ageing[1]

“From an early age, children are on the way to developing diverse and complex social perceptions of age.  As our review indicates, children’s age attitudes entail differential feelings, beliefs, and behavioral expectations about older adults and their stereotypes differ along several dimensions.  Children typically perceive typically perceive older adults negatively along dimensions that reflect their activity and potency, and sometimes their affect, whereas they more often perceive older adults positively along evaluative dimensions that reflect their social goodness.   Contrary to the common expectation that attitudes differ cross-culturally, research suggests that children’s negative attitudes toward older adults are universal. However children’s attitudes do vary with their age and social class and with older adult’s gender.  The question remains as to what mechanisms account for children’s attitudes.

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[1]  Material of this post was gathered from the book; Ageism: Stereotyping and prejudice against older persons. Page 93.  ISBN 0-262-14077-2  I was edited by Todd D. Nelson  It's and excellent book.