Gripe of the Day page 563

[Saoirse]

lol. i can see just not caring about STDs past a certain age. youth is gone, most of your life is behind you, why not?

[cori93437]

lol. i can see just not caring about STDs past a certain age. youth is gone, most of your life is behind you, why not?

Well... from what I understand some of them are pretty painful and gross...
Gonorrhea and Herpes for instance. Bleh!

But as far as worry about reduction in fertility from Chlamydia, weirdness of Syph, shorter life from HIV/AIDS... probably NOT high on their list as they are pretty close anyway.

[Saoirse]

hmmm...good point.

[cori93437]

It's actually an awesome community to visit.

I mean... we all see our grand parents a certain way for instance.
And I think that like most of us, there is probably a 'way' that they act with family, and that they may express themselves differently when with peers.

I've been to restaurants with bars in them there and myself, and anyone with me and husband were by far the "kids" in the place.
You see groups of old ladies chatting like teenagers and glancing to the bar where a group of old fellas is sitting together.
It's nice.
They are exactly the same... just grayer.

Some things surprise you on occasion... like a guy with his portable oxygen tank sitting at the bar with buddies cutting jokes.

I'm sure when the family comes to visit they see him sitting around his house, and he says "Oh, you know... sometimes I play golf." (Everyone drives a Golf cart! The whole town is designed to function with golf carts in mind... they even put a golf cart overpass over a major hwy.)

In many ways I'm sure that it's healthier for them to have that independence for as long as possible!
These communities have all sorts of daily activities... swimming, yoga, aerobics, bird watching, painting, Movie nights, dancing nights...
There are a lot of married couples too of course... and there are activities for both couples and singles.
People socialize a lot there... like constantly!
And if they get where they can't live alone there is an assisted living apartment section they can move to.
Of course there are all sorts of specialists docs in the immediate area too...
Not a bad place... just feels a bit odd if you aren't used to being the youngest person all the time. The age range is about 55-60 up to 80-85 for the people you typically see.

[Saoirse]

i think that's pretty awesome. old people need to have fun, more so than anyone else i think.

[cori93437]

i think that's pretty awesome. old people need to have fun, more so than anyone else i think.

For sure.
I think it's a shame that the way things are done for older people so often reduces the time they can spend with peer groups.

I think they feel less valued as a person and loose their sense of self. It's really downhill once that happens.

[magicmerl]

Gripe of the Day: Snow. It is snowing right now.

[Lynna]

Personally, I think it is because the person in front of me is driving way too freaking slowly. Then again, perhaps it is just this town where apparently "Speed Limit 35" means "No faster than 20" Not that I tailgate much to be honest, but it is frustrating when I can ride a bike faster than most idiots in this town can drive.

I was driving at least the speed limit.

On the way home yesterday, everyone seemed to be confusing the brake pedal with the gas pedal (or just couldn't find the gas pedal) and going 5 mph under the 50 mph speed limit on a major road.

[namelesswonder]

I have to say I don't really understand why people get confused/angry with traffic. It happens. There are a lot of people on the road, people get nervous and slow down, which slows everyone else down, it precipitates (not the rain kind) etc. When Boyfriend and I travel, I drive in the city areas/traffic hours because while boring, the stop and go does not make me angry. And personally I think that everyone has been guilty of rubber-necking at LEAST once.

GotD: Yesterday was actually an okay today, but today I am depressed. Having felt so much better just 13 hours ago makes me feel that much worse.

[Owly]

For sure.
I think it's a shame that the way things are done for older people so often reduces the time they can spend with peer groups.

I think they feel less valued as a person and loose their sense of self. It's really downhill once that happens.

I count myself lucky to have a number of elders in my circle of friends. I'm maybe unusual in that my social circle includes people from people in their late teens right on up to people in their 80s. I had a great time on the weekend carpooling to a meeting with a group of older members of an organization I'm involved with--I was the youngest person in the car by more than 30 years. I ended up having coffee with a couple of the women who were in their 70s, and I was reminded again that older people have incredible humour and wit and a lifetime of great stories and wisdom. Oh, and the old ladies I know are definitely not uninterested in sex!

Our culture is so messed up around how we treat elders. A lot of the "Blue Zone" cultures are ones where people are valued and included in the community as they age and where elders are people who are honoured and respected.