When I wrote my first blog on June 4, 2015, I had no idea about the road forward—how many I would write, how frequently I would post, where I would get my ideas. I just sat at my computer and started writing. I posted erratically for the first two years. My life was busy, I had a partner, my children still needed me, I had to steal time from my hectic life to write. But I wrote steadily, enlisting help with the actual posting from my loyal publisher, Steve Switzer. Before I realized it, nine years had flown by, and I had written and posted almost 300 articles. I’m still at it and still loving it.
The following is a review of some of the work I have done over the years. These are not necessarily the best articles, or the most popular. The selection is random.
https://www.stilltheluckyfew.com/hello-world/ , posted June 4, 2015
The Lucky Few are those of us born between 1926 and 1945. If that includes you, WWI bypassed you, and you came of age just in time to miss WWII. But that’s only part of it. You were the first generation to be indulged as children, you became teenagers just as the western world was emerging from the depression, and later, from the privations of a devastating war. As you were growing up, you were privy to an explosion of wealth and economic stability, when western economies had just started to bloom. When you graduated, the world teemed with opportunities. You could have your pick of jobs. Like Woody Allen said several years later, all you had to do was “show up”.
https://www.stilltheluckyfew.com/where-they-are-now-3/, posted June 9, 2015.
Did the Lucky Generation, having reaped the benefits of the most lucrative times in history, leave behind a better world? It’s not over ’til it’s over, as Yogi Berra said, and this generation, always lucky, is lucky enough to have a few years left to contribute to the changes in force today.
In The Gift of Years Joan Chittister observes,
“We leave behind for all the world to see the value system that marks everything we do. People who never asked us directly what we valued in life never doubt for a moment what it was. They know if we cared for the earth because they watched us as we seeded our flowerbeds and gardens. They know what we thought of people of other creeds by the language we used and the lives we connected with. They know the depth of our spiritual life by the way we treated those around us and what we thought of life and what we gave our lives to doing.”
https://www.stilltheluckyfew.com/dont-call-me-dear/, posted June 30, 2015.
When does the word “Dear” mean something other than, “I like you and want to convey my affection.” Possibly when you are a small, old person, standing in flats because your feet hurt too much to wear heels, making you look even smaller and frailer than you really are, and much to your chagrin someone calls you “dear”. And when you object, the clerk says,
“Well, that’s your problem. I certainly didn’t mean to offend you by addressing you in such a nice, kind way.”
“Well. Nooooo. I am not offended. I simply want to let you know that older people are grown adults who deserve to be addressed in an adult way.”
“Well, if I called you a silly old woman, would you feel better?”
“OK, now I’m offended.”
Over time I hope to do my part in breaking down these stereotypes in my own life. When someone calls me “Dear”, (or sweetie—much worse), I now say:
- “You might not think so but calling me “Dear” is not a compliment. It actually is condescending, so please don’t do it.”
- “We usually call children, or spouses “Dear”, and since I’m neither, please don’t address me as “Dear.”
- “If I was a policeman, a doctor, or your teacher, would you call me “Dear?”
https://www.stilltheluckyfew.com/ouch-must-be-a-change-in-the-weather/, posted Oct. 4, 2015
In this blog, I attempted to offer advice about how to maintain flexibility and good health during changes in the seasons:
Remember when your great-aunt or grandfather walked around some days so stiff and sore that they could hardly get around? Yet, on other days, they were full of bounce and energy. Are they putting us on, we wondered?
Turns out they probably weren’t. Lately we have learned that as the barometric pressure in the atmosphere changes, the barometric pressure in our joints changes as well. In a Harvard Medical School study of the weather’s effects on chronic pain patients, it was discovered that among all people interviewed about their chronic pain, two-thirds said they were pretty sure that weather seems to affect their pain. Most of them reported that they could actually feel the changes even before the weather changed.
This doesn’t seem to happen until we are older. As we age, and the joints and connective tissues start to break down, the pressure in the joints sometimes reacts. This pressure is actually barometric pressure, or the weight of the air pressing against the surface of the earth. Any change in pressure can trigger joint pain or headaches in some people. When we are younger, our joints are well lubricated and connective tissues are strong and working well, so we don’t notice changes in barometric pressure.
https://www.stilltheluckyfew.com/ships-that-pass-in-the-night/, posted August 6, 2015
Following is blog I wrote reflecting on the nature of relationships:
In the summer of 1959 I discovered a book, Bonjour Tristesse that radically altered my idea of relationships. Francoise Sagan, a young eighteen-year-old author, spoke about what it felt like to give yourself over to love, in this case, not a lover, but her father. Hers was an obsession which led to jealousy, and a shattering experience that broke her heart, and sent her on a dangerous course.
A vulnerable and impressionable eighteen-year-old myself, I devoured her book, and allowed it to colour my relationships with other people, male and female. Until then, my main relationships were my sisters, my parents, and my schoolmates. After reading Sagan, I allowed myself to think in terms of having a deeper relationship—possibly a love affair.
It was a valuable lesson to learn at eighteen—that I could feel so much, and lose so much, and still go on. I now know that all these early experiences prepare us for the losses we face as we grow older, and our circle of loved ones inevitably diminishes.
“It’s funny. Looking back, none of it seems to matter now, those moments of yearning, craving to belong with people I thought mattered. No more fragments of glass, pieces of a broken mirror you can’t put back together and wouldn’t want to even if you could.”
― Rebecca Harris, Be the Death of Me (2013)
https://www.stilltheluckyfew.com/the-longevity-explosion/, posted September 27, 2015
In this blog I commented on the long lives the Lucky Few enjoyed:
Long life is our greatest achievement. We, the Lucky Few, have lived longer than all previous generations. In “Redesigning Long Life“, the Stanford Center on Longevity reports,
“Over the next 30 years, the US population age 65+ will double from 40 million to 80 million, and the share of old people will increase from 13% to 20%. By the time the last baby boomer turns 65 in 2029, one in five Americans will be age 65 or older. By 2032, there will be more people aged 65 or older than children under 15.
North Americans born today have a possible lifespan a full 20 years more than some of us born in 1925. We have already lived much longer than the “greatest generation”, the cohort that preceded us.”
https://www.stilltheluckyfew.com/no-virginia-sixty-is-not-the-new-forty/, posted November 15, 2015
This excerpt from November 15, 2015, presents a tongue in cheek view of aging:
You’ve all seen them: the headlines, the advertising and articles designed to make you buy into the idea that aging is bad, and the boomer generation must stay young forever.
Sixty is the new forty!
You’re not getting older, you’re getting better!
15 ways to look and feel younger!
Five tips to stop the dreaded middle-age decline.
This super star model is 62, but easily passes for 39.
And this, my favourite:
“8 signs the incontinence aisle isn’t far off!”
These slogans and headlines are culled from our contemporary literature—blogs, news items, and advertising that are the vanguard of our current thought. They urge us to deny the power and reality of aging. They admonish us to look and act young, and if we can’t, at least don’t look and act too blatantly, obviously old!
On one hand, they tell us that aging is horrible, it will diminish us, make us weak and ugly. We must fight it at all costs!
On the other hand they tell us that it isn’t that bad, if we just look at the bright side, if we just use nicer words, if we can just stay sweet, compliant, invisible.
Truth is, we live in a deeply ageist culture.
https://www.stilltheluckyfew.com/culling-your-relationships-as-you-age/, posted August 20, 2015
This blog below, posted on August 20, 2015, offers a more serious view on aging:
As we age, we focus on the time we have left. We tend to be more judicious about who we spend our time with. So, unconsciously, we start to prune our relationships. We say “no” to a casual friend who wants to meet us for coffee, and who we know takes an inordinate length of time to tell personal stories about others. We cancel a meeting or an outing with groups that we have outgrown. We think twice before we write that commitment in our calendar, weighing other demands on our time, and choosing to meet with people closest to us.
Given the countless studies that reference the need to stay socially engaged as we become older, it’s important that we recognize when it feels better to limit our social obligations and be alone. As with everything in our lives, we need to find balance in our relationships. Limiting ourselves to two or three close friends may be the best recipe for peace of mind and a contented life.
https://www.stilltheluckyfew.com/the-value-of-our-memories/, posted July 7, 2015
I have frequently written reflective blogs on memories. Here’s a favorite one, published on July 7, 2015. It is illustrated with a photo of me, standing in front of our Model A Ford, and holding a cake, baked by my mother for my 9th birthday:
Millions of thoughts and images pop in and out of our minds every second of every day. These are, or soon will be our memories—some recent and some from long ago. As we grow older, long-ago memories become dimmer, and some may take on the qualities of a dream. We may question whether what we remember really happened. Or we might recall fleeting scraps of the memory, and unsuccessfully struggle to bring them into focus. We might have the vague fear that it might be the beginning of Alzheimer’s, but it usually isn’t, we tell ourselves, everyone has this happen as they age.
In another memory, I am climbing up an incline, carrying a tin pail. It is a summer evening, and my parents are both with me. My mother says something—I can remember the tone of her voice—it is young and clear. I would give anything to recall what she said. Why did I remember that scrap of my experience? What was significant about it? Of course, I will never know.
This small memory is unimportant in the larger scheme of things, and certainly in my own life. But it is important in that it is part of the mosaic of our times. Many in my generation climbed a small incline on a country road or field at some time, carrying a tin pail, most likely at berry-picking time. The larger picture reveals what is not shown—the big, clean sky, the densely forested expanse, the people pausing in their workday to say a few kind words to their child, who stays with them while they work.
Through the years, my siblings and I frequently discussed these memories when we were together, checking them over and over for accuracy and emotional overlay. We do less of this as we age and come to terms with our background and childhood. But still, I’m reluctant to relegate them to the back corners of my mind. I don’t know what purpose they serve, but I still go back to my early days, and simply remember.
All photos are from my private collection.
I think none of us know how far blogging is likely to take us. Yours is a good overview – I identify with the barometric pressure issue. Some details I have skipped for later.
I enjoyed writing this post, Derrick. It’s sometimes a good idea to look back. I know some bloggers have written for a longer time than I have, but nine years seems long to me!
Great blogging memories, Diane.
It has been a great ride, Anneli! I look forward to posting every week. Thank you for being a loyal reader!
My pleasure, Diane.
A very interesting look at your back catalogue, Diane, most of which were from before I followed your blog so I hadn’t seen them before. I hope you continue to enjoy blogging and keep at it!
Nice comment, Clive! I have followed you for a long time as well. And yes, I will continue blogging—I love it!
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