Posts Tagged ‘aging gracefully’

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INTERNAL JOGGING

August 11, 2009

Many years ago a newspaper reporter asked the already senior Lionel Barrymore “Is acting as much fun as it used to be?”  The famous actor replied “Listen, when you are 75 years old, nothing is as much fun as it used to be.”  Now, let’s not jump to conclusions.  Barrymore did not say that there was no fun at 75, only perhaps not so much as in younger years.  Probably any man that age today would ratify that conclusion.

It’s a blessing that senior citizens can have fun which increases optimism and a good mood.  Fun works its magic by releasing tension and by prompting laughter.

Countless generations have sensed the value of laughter, but it was Norman Cousins who discovered that laughter can treat human ailments.  He called it “Internal Jogging.”  Like external  jogging and other physical exercises, it stimulates the cardiovascular system and promotes the secretion of endorphin, the body’s natural narcotic.  It lifts mild depression and brings a new sense of ease and well-being.

Mr. Cousins was a well-known intellectual in the middle of the last century.  He can truly be labeled a “Renaissance Man” at home in many fields of learning including medicine.  To find out more about him look for his book “Anatomy of An Illness” still on sale in book stores.

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YOU NEVER LOOKED BETTER or POLISHING THE GOLD OF THE SENIOR YEARS

February 17, 2009

Part I

Recently, it seems that whenever I see someone after an absence of a year or two they often say “V‏irgil, you never looked better.” Probably they are referring to the three stages of life i.e. youth, middle age, and ‘you never looked better.’ That made me feel good for a time until the day my sister and I were rummaging through a box of photos that our mother collected, and there was my high school graduation picture, the kind that is sent to the relatives whether they want it or not. Reluctantly, I admit that I looked better then than now. Probably when people comment favorably on your appearance, they are being polite and in effect are saying “You don’t look so bad for somebody your age.”

Time affects everything on earth. The purpose of this modest composition is to mention the vexations of the senior years and the ways of making them yield contentment and satisfactions.

People look on age differently. Ask a little boy how old he is, and he is likely to reply “Oh, I’m eight and going on nine.”This enthusiasm implies that he is eager to age and grow up fast. Ask a mature man how old he is, and if he replies, you are not likely to hear “Oh, I’m forty-nine and going on fifty. HOORAY!”

There is another strange thing about the passage of time: the closer we get to a certain age the younger it becomes. For example, a ten-year old thinks twenty-five is ancient, but a person of sixty does not consider seventy old. Time also causes some seniors to change their opinions of advanced age. Women, primarily, but not always, are coy about age revelation until the eighth or ninth decade. Then, many seem to delight in boasting “Oh, I’m 87″ or a similarly advanced age.

A wit suggested that for men there are four stages in senior progression. He overlooked women probably because discretion is the better part of valor. A man knows he is a senior in the first stage when he forgets names. In the second stage he forgets faces. In the third stage he forgets to zip up, and in the fourth stage he forgets to unzip.

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YOU NEVER LOOKED BETTER or POLISHING THE GOLD OF THE SENIOR YEARS

February 13, 2009

Part II

There are less calamitous ways of recognizing the passage of time. A man knows he’s a senior when he comes home late at night, and his wife is no longer suspicious. Or, he is with a group of various ages, and younger ones are debating about undertaking a project. One moans “I don’t know if I should do it.” Another says “Go ahead, you’re young only once.” The senior blurts out “When was that?”

The most alarming indication of age, however, is the day he opens the little black book and discovers that all of the telephone numbers in it belong to doctors. Doctors and seniors have a symbiotic relationship. They need each other. It’s like the bee and the flower. The bee lives on the nectar from the flower, and the flower needs the bee to scatter pollen so it can reproduce. It resembles the song of two generations ago: “Love and Marriage, Love and Marriage, They Go Together Like a Horse and Carriage. Dad Was Told by Mother You Can’t Have One Without the Other.”

Almost everyone agrees that modern medicine has done much for seniors. The increased longevity of today is due mainly to the work of medical science. I have had contact with all kinds of doctors and with generally satisfactory results.  Recently,  I was counting the various kinds of specialists I’ve seen over the years and believe the number would be eligible for the Guinness Book of Records. And then a the widow of a cousin in Arizona told me that in his illness they had 35 doctors. Well, at least they received bills from 35 doctors!

I’m so used to regular doctors’ appointments that the first day of a month upon turning the appointments page to see what is written in those little boxes and not seeing an appointment with some kind of doctor or dentist, I begin to feel odd, a little woozy and then rush headlong to the telephone yellow pages to the section titled “Physicians.” Do you realize that there are 72 such pages in the Dallas directory? A few of them are devoted to just one specialty, the kind that will modernize your face and restore its high school look. I then follow the advice of the telephone company commercial of years ago to “let your fingers do the walking.” Mine trample over those pages in search of a suitable doctor and often develop finger fatigue, even a sprain!

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YOU NEVER LOOKED BETTER or POLISHING THE GOLD OF THE SENIOR YEARS

February 11, 2009

Part IV

During a visit at another senior center I saw a man who was slyly close to an attractive young employee.  He seemed to whisper something in her ear.  She turned and pushed to the side and angrily shouted “Oh, you’re interested in only one thing.”  And then she had to tell him what it was.

One afternoon I visited an elderly gentleman in his home, and on walking in I noticed something in his ear.  Getting closer I remarked “Why, you have a suppository in your ear.”  In a sign of recognition he put his hand to his forehead and gasped  “Now I know where I put my hearing aid.”

In managing our senior years we can use the word cope, popular several years ago, but still useful.  Obviously most seniors cope fairly well.  After all, we’ve had years to learn how.  As an aid to coping in our daily routines, let’s keep in mind the well-worn slogan “Attitude is everything.”  It affirms that  thinking can make it so, a principle advocated in cognitive therapy,

We can all lament the disappointments in our lives.  We may not have achieved our youthful ambitions.  But we can be certain of one thing!  We have reached a certain age!  We have a birth certificate (or driver’s license to prove it).  Recently, I had a disquieting thought.  Maybe they made a mistake on my birth certificate.  Maybe, I’m really ten years younger.  The initial ecstasy vanished on thinking about the consequences.  I would have to return social security and company pension payments as well as discounts received from McDonalds, the airlines, movie theaters etc.   Even more troubling would be a mistake made in addting ten years to the actual birth date.   It’s better to stay where I am and think about Mark Twain’s comment:  “I’m an old man. and I’ve known many troubles, but most of them never happened.”   Here are two troubles that probably never happen to anyone.

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YOU NEVER LOOKED BETTER or POLISHING THE GOLD OF THE SENIOR YEARS

February 8, 2009

Part VII

The hapless senior caddy in the last paragraph of Part VI should not be downcast.  He gets a lot of exercise walking and carrying the bulky bag, and this benefits both body and mind; but, in addition, he should stimulate his brain, not to build gray matter, but to promote cognitive acuity.  Recently it was determined that mental acrobatics do not actually build brain tissue.

Several years ago a neurologist recommended three activities for mental stimulation and alertness, i.e., playing the game of bridge, studying and speaking a foreign language, and studying and playing a musical instrument.  All require concentration and memorizing.  Later, other authorities suggested working crossword puzzles, attending lectures, and reading somewhat complex books.  They do not recommend first grade reading books  such as “My Dog, Spot”  where the young scholar reads “I have a dog.  His name is Spot.  He is a good dog etc.”  Every reader of this blog with childhood memories could finish writing the book in high style.

In making this presentation to senior groups in the past I, along with perhaps everyone else, suggested that the computer can stimulate thought processes, and this recently was confirmed by a published opinion that working with a computer is probably the best way to preserve an active mind.  No one has confirmed my opinion that writing whether with paper and pencil, word processing or email is also an excellent way to augment the thought process, but I believe it is.

Seniors interested in preserving both mind and body should remember the old axiom “Use it, or lose it. “Only seniors who maintain an ample schedule of intellectual pursuits have a reasonable chance of warding off or delaying mental and emotional stagnation that often attacks in the later decades.

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YOU NEVER LOOKED BETTER or POLISHING THE GOLD OF THE SENIOR YEARS

February 7, 2009

Part VIII

So far we’ve considered two Ms as guides for seniors:  movement or motion and mind or mental activity.  Some health advisors believe the third M, mixing or socializing, may be even more important.

In a study of seniors several years ago to determine the incidence of colds and flu during the fall and winter months researchers came to a surprising conclusion.  People who lived alone or isolated lives were more likely to suffer from contagious diseases than those who mingled with others or moved in crowds.  It seemed that staying away from carriers did not protect them and, and the isolated were even more vulnerable to a few germs than the active people exposed to multiple coughs, sneezes.  The theory was that their immune systems were weakened by feelings of loneliness and depression.  In 2008 this theory was confirmed which buttresses the importance for socializing.

Reading that prompted, me to visit an isolated gentleman, not to catch a cold or the flu, but to provide some mixing for him, and for me, too.  Upon entering his house I noticed something protruding from his ear and said “You have a suppository in your ear.”  “Oh,” he exclaimed, ” Now I know where I put my hearing aid.”

The people on the Japanese island of Okinawa are famous for their health and longevity.  Their diet of fruits, vegetables and seafood may play a part, but their social cohesion may be even more decisive. Their proverb “One cannot live without the support of others,” can be adopted by all humanity, but according to social scientists there is a bonding in Okinawan society that is not found in the West or elsewhere.  Social groups called “connecting circles” hints at this cohesion.  Another activity is ” meeting for a common purpose.”  While Americans may claim that their meetings have a common purpose, different participants often offer diverse agendas.

Notwithstanding the Okinawans, Americans are basically sociable.  Mingling with others lifts our spirits, and as an added bonus, strengthens our immune systems.

As the parting paragraph to this lengthy treatise, I will mention the positive attitude of the man whose 99th birthday party I attended.   While leaving I grasped his hand and said “I sure hope I can come back next year and help you celebrate your 100th birthday.”  He gazed at me for a few seconds and remarked “I don’t know why you can’t.  You look healthy enough to me.”

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