|
Creative Aging Expert
July 2007
In This Issue
|
Help for Solo Travelers
Travel for single seniors is big business
today. The Travel Industry Association
reports that single travelers make up almost
25 percent of the U.S. traveling public.
Whether you are interested in solitary
travel, want to meet compatible traveling
companions, or have interests in various
types of group travel, there are plenty of
organizations and specialized tours to
satisfy your needs.
A great place to start is the Connecting Solo
Travel Network, an international organization
that provides tips, advice, and resources for
single travelers in a bimonthly newsletter,
as well as a "Single-Friendly Travel
Directory," which lists tour operators and
resorts with special offerings for solo
travelers. The annual membership fee is $35.
Visit cstn.org or
call 800-557-1757.
Savvy Senior, Jim Miller, Richmond Times
Dispatch, April 16, 2007
Back To Top
|
The Power Years
Today, increased longevity, much higher
levels of health and vitality, and the
assumption of continued personal growth have
redefined the Boomer generation's
expectations of their retirement years. This
new chapter of life is becoming a period of
renewal and reinvention, marked by personal
wisdom, accumulated wealth, skills honed over
the course of a career, and a sense that this
is not a time of decline but instead, the
beginning of what authors Ken Dychtwald and
Daniel Kadlec call the "power years."
The Power Years: A User's Guide to the
Rest of Your Life (2005, John Wiley
Publishers) is about how to prepare today for
those later years, which are bursting with
potential. The authors provide an optimistic
blueprint for what to expect in the areas of
health, jobs, lifestyles, investments, and
relationships. They describe how things will
be so different from today as to be
unrecognizable. The Power Years
serves an excellent guidebook for boomers as
they approach what used to be retirement
years, offering useful and up-beat advice on
how to get ready for what can be the best
years of one's life.
Positive Aging Newsletter, July 11, 2006
Back To Top
|
Oxford University's Institute on Aging Study
Oxford University researchers interviewed
more than 21,000 people between the ages of
40 and 79 in 20 countries. They found that
people in their 60s and 70s continue to play
a vital role in the economy as many report
feeling healthier and choose to reject a
quiet retirement. "The future of old people
is not penury or dependence. They have
become turbos rather than the brakes of our
community," said Clive Bannister, managing
director of HSBC insurance which asked
Oxford's Institute on Aging to conduct the
study so it could learn about consumer
behavior. Of 70 to 79-year-olds in the
U.S., 72 percent - more than the global
average - reported feeling in good health,
and one-fifth still continue to work.
Richmond Times Dispatch, April 28, 2007
Back To Top
|
Bikers Do It All!
While participating in Bike Safari in Live
Oak, Florida, in May, I met Barbara and
Richard from Bay City, Michigan, who rode a
tandem bicycle. Traveling in a van, they
carried their bicycle, golf clubs, tennis
rackets, and enough paraphernalia to keep
them happy on the road. Interspersing
recreational exploits with visits to friends
and attending weddings, they were really
enjoying their retired life. When home
Barbara volunteers at a hospital where she
works with babies in need of cuddling. Their
van converts into their bedroom, when
necessary, thus avoiding costly hotel bills.
In June, I rode Bike Virginia and who should
show up again but Barbara and Richard, full
of life and energy from their exciting
retirement adventures. They inspire me!
Back To Top
|
Affordable Travel Club, Inc.
Barbara also told me of a travel club they
belong to that allows them to stay in host's
homes which include breakfast for as little
as $20 a couple, or $15 a single. Members of
the club also open their homes to hosting
other club members. Hosts orient visitors to
their area but have no further
responsibilities. For more information check
out: affordabletravelclub.net.
Back To Top
|
Live Longer in Japan or San Marino
A study by the World Health Organization
(WHO) based on 2005 statistics found that "a
boy born in San Marino, a tiny republic
surrounded by Italy, will likely live to age
80, the world's longest male expectancy." San
Marino men, whose life expectancy tied with
Japanese men's last year at 79, added a year
to their longevity to outpace Japan. Men in
the U.S. have a 75-year life expectancy.
Females in Japan, who traditionally lead the
world records for longevity, have a life
expectancy of 86 years. Women in the U.S. are
expected to reach 80.
Richmond Times Dispatch, May 26, 2007
Back To Top
|
Ladies of the Mon Risqué Calendar
Twelve women in their 70s and 80s, giving
sultry looks and sexy smiles to the camera,
posed at historical sites in Monongahela,
Pennsylvania. These women decided to bare it
all - or almost all - to create a
charity-driven calendar. "One of the
advantages of being old is that you can do
anything you want and get away with it," said
80-year-old Lois Phillips, who as Miss
September was photographed in the back seat
of a 1968 Mercury convertible.
The calendar was the brainchild of
80-year-old Lorys Crisafulli, who was
inspired by the movie Calendar Girls,
in which British women publish a nude
calendar to raise money for cancer research.
"I thought, why don't we do that in
Monongahela?" she told the Pittsburgh Post
Gazette. "We need something to put us on
the map, to get us going." A former 5th grade
teacher, Crisafulli is about to become better
known as Miss January as she lounges in a
black convertible covered in pearls holding a
champagne glass in one hand and dangling
slinky white sandals from the other.
It is liberating to see older woman freeing
themselves from stereotypes and worries about
how their older bodies look! I have decided
to give this calendar to some of my older
woman friends for Christmas. To read learn
more about the calendar, visit
post-gazette.com/pg/07161/792330-58.stm.
To order a copy of the 2008 calendar, visit
cityofmonongahela.com/mon_city_MAHS_calendar.htm
Back To Top
|
Encore by Marc Freedman
Marc Freedman, founder and CEO of Civic
Ventures, has just published Encore:
Finding Work that Matters in the Second Half
of Life. This book is a must read for
all people approaching retirement age and
trying to figure out how they want to spend
their next 20-30 years of healthy living.
Don't be put off by the reference to work.
Whatever you plan to do, this book will give
you many ideas about approaching life in a
way that is deeply satisfying - finding
passion, purpose, and perhaps pay.
Freedman points out that our culture is in an
"awkward" transition phase right now. "The
old norm for this period of living is in
rapid eclipse and the new dream remains to be
shaped. Studies show that 60 percent of 50
to 59-year-olds are reordering their
priorities to put social purpose and impact
front and center." He quotes a United
Nations report that says the top three
socioeconomic issues of the 21st century are
Global Aging, Global Warming, and Global
Terrorism.
The Duke University Center for Demographic
Studies determined that "the active life
expectancy," defined as the number of
disability free years an individual could
expect at age 65, is now approaching 14 years
and will increase to 17 in less than a
decade. With this extended period in the
life cycle, something new is being invented
between the traditional mid-life years and
careers and true retirement and old age. "It
is a development that is distinct,
significant and historic," observes Freedman,
who thinks it a mistake to see this time as
more of mid-life, an updated version of
retirement, or the new old age. "Sixty isn't
the new 40. It's the new 60," he
exclaims.
This period of our life will become what we
make of it as we enter uncharted waters.
Management guru Peter Drucker says that "the
best way to predict the future is to create
it." "Encore pioneers," as Freedman calls
them, are doing just that. They are looking
to fill this new period with personally
fulfilling work that makes a difference in
our world. He points out that planning for a
10, 20, or 30-year stage of life is different
qualitatively as well as quantitatively from
planning for a 5-year retirement. Slowly,
new infra-structures are surfacing to help
seniors transition into meaningful futures.
One example is the proposed "Boomer
Transition Center" at Gateway Community
College in Phoenix, Arizona. Other similar
programs are under consideration by several
institutions. Many more changes are needed
to help encore pioneers succeed.
Encore brings together the latest
writings on this new, challenging, and yet to
be defined period of life. By following the
stories of several encore pioneers, we learn
about the obstacles as well as the joys in
finding purpose in our retirement years. The
book has a helpful appendix listing questions
to consider about retirement years and
resources that allow readers to examine
different fields of interest and unique ways
of entering them.
Back To Top
|
Fall Schedule
There will be no September newsletter as I
will be on the West Coast from mid-August
until late September visiting relatives,
participating in an eco-bike tour in Oregon,
and exploring coastal California. Expect the
next issue in November. For potential
clients - I carry my schedule with me and
return all phone calls from the road.
E-mails will be harder to access in a timely
fashion. Thank you for your patience.
Back To Top
|
If you do not wish to receive this
newsletter, please
click on the SafeUnsubscribe link below and
unsubscribe.
Back To Top
|
Emily Kimball
3220A West Grace Street
Richmond, VA 23221-1306
(804) 358-5536
Fax (804) 358-2415
web: TheAgingAdventurer.com
email:
etkimball@aol.com
|
|
