Just My Opinion

Instead of noticing the fresh air, azaleas or budding trees, I was intently listening to my friend, who was sharing what she had just learned — the secret to maintaining her sanity.

A result of this technology-based era, and the new and/or improved products and services that come with it, is an over complication of bills for everyday expenses such as cable, phone, Internet, fuel, electric and other household utilities.

As movie legend Bette Davis said, “Old age is no place for sissies.” Those of us navigating this path are all too familiar with the losses and financial and health challenges that confront us with each day.

It seems there’s a universal truth in the “Mom always liked you best” quip Tommy Smothers directed at his brother Dick. Studies over the last few years show that parents do have favorites among their children.

When I was young, my friends and I would poke fun at those wacky old aunts who talked about their maladies. Now we are just as inclined to share the most intimate details of our health issues at every opportunity.

My birthday present to myself was to turn a blind eye to calories. So I ate and drank (no driving) with reckless abandon.

Our 78 million demographic is worth its weight in gold — $15 trillion in global buying power by the end of this decade.

We are learning that the pool of family and friends available to take care of us in old age will be less than half as deep as it is today.

While many older Americans delayed retirement or re-entered the workforce during the recent economic downturn, besides the obvious financial incentives, an unexpected benefit might be the delay of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

As a typical age-denying boomer I was floored to hear the oldest members of my cohort are eligible for full Social Security benefits. It just isn’t possible that the generation that coined the phrase, “Don’t trust anyone over 30,” is now in its golden years.