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Creative Aging Expert
September 2008
In This Issue
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Civic Engagement is Fun!
While traveling in California, I met an eager
crop of senior volunteers.
Texans Pete and Jean were Campground Hosts at
Dorst Campground in Sequoia National Park. As
their children were growing up, they
cris-crossed the U.S. and Canada in their RV,
staying at many beautiful parks. In
retirement they decided to give back by
volunteering at national parks across the
country. Not only were they hosting one
section of the campground, but also
registering campers. Jean was quick to lend
me her Western bird book to help me identify
some strange new birds. The park gave them a
free spot for their RV and two days off each
week to explore the marvelous sights in
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.
Driving up Route 1 along the rugged Pacific
Coast, I stopped at an overlook where
Elephant Seals were resting. I was greeted
by Docent George Larson, a retired high
school history teacher who wore a lapel pin
celebrating his 700 volunteer hours. Three
days of training offered by the non-profit
organization, Friends of the Elephant Seal,
and research on seals on the Internet enabled
him to answer my many questions. He also had
assembled a photo book of highlights in the
seals' lives to share with interested
onlookers. George was one of 80 volunteers
who give this site daily coverage - driving
over two hours one way from Bakersfield one
day every week year-round! George also gives
presentations at schools and churches.
Staying at the Pigeon Point Lighthouse Hostel
in Pescadero, CA I met Pamela, a senior
volunteer at the lighthouse gift store who
found the opportunity in an ad. Twice a
week, Pamela drives from her home an hour
away. The store has become a very important
part of her weekly doings and has piqued her
interest in the history of lighthouses. Her
jacket displayed a collection of buttons from
lighthouses she and her husband had visited
all over the country.
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Ted Roszak's New Book Serialized on Second Journey Web site
Ted Roszak, author of The Making of a
Counter Culture published 30 years ago,
has written a sequel, The Making of an
Elder Culture. Commercial publishing
houses have not been interested in publishing
it (even though he is a successful author of
20 books), believing that boomers don't read
books about aging! So Second Journey has
agreed to serialize it on their Web site
beginning in October in four installments of
three chapters each. They describe it as "an
extraordinary and masterful work of social
commentary by an astute, engaged and
visionary writer." In October go to
secondjourney.org/Roszak.htm.
Here's an excerpt from the foreword to give
you an idea of what's ahead.
And no, boomers - the best educated, most
widely traveled, most innovative
generation we have ever seen - are not too
frivolous to face the dilemmas of
longevity. On the contrary, I believe they
will, in growing numbers as the years
unfold, recognize that the making of an
elder culture is the great task of our time, a
project that can touch life's later years
with nobility and intellectual
excitement.
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Growing Older - Feeling Sad Reply
I only got one reply to last newsletter's
story about a 60-year-old woman depressed
about aging. It was from Noreen, who said,
"I just turned 58 and, for the first time, I
am feeling anxious and a little depressed
about this whole aging thing. Although you
couldn't have convinced me on this at 25, the
best decades of my life - my 40s and 50s -
are coming to an end. And did they ever fly
by!! But I am grateful for my excellent
health and that I still look youthful... and I
am determined to make this next decade a time
of adventure, success, love and excellent
health. Besides 60 is the new 40!!"
Right on, Noreen - lots of adventures ahead
of you. Go for it. But 60 isn't the new 40
- it's the new 60. We just have to get used
to it.
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What's Wrong with Aging?
This piece was referred to in the Sept 1st
Human Values & Aging Newsletter a publication
of AARP. It is taken from a web log about
topics and issues discussed in the book,
Human Odyssey: Navigating the 12 stages of
life by Thomas Armstrong. news.aarp.org.
There's been so much in the news lately about
anti-aging remedies from anti-wrinkle cream
to human growth hormone that I just wanted to
speak for the pro-aging side. What's wrong
with aging? I see the faces of elderly
people who have decided to deny their aging
with chin lifts, botox injections and facial
implants, and I get this creepy feeling
inside. Why are they avoiding the natural
wrinkles, creases, bumps and sags that come
with growing old?
I've always felt that there's something
beautiful about the faces of aging people.
When I was a child, I'd see these photos of
older Native American leaders in the National
Geographic, and even at that young age I felt
a deep beauty in their faces. I'd look at
the faces of my grandmother and
great-grandmother (who I was privileged to
live with for a year) and be in awe. In some
ways I get the same kind of feeling when I
look at ancient trees.
It seems that people in our youth-oriented
culture have lost touch with the deep
meanings that collect around being old. It's
as if they wanted to eliminate autumn and
winter from the four seasons. It's as if
they were saying, "let's get rid of the
hideous autumn foliage, and withered leaves,
so everything can be green all the time."
There's a life-denying quality to those
artificially stretched cheeks and foreheads;
a kind of tension there that wants to pretend
time doesn't exist. But it does. What a
great honor it is to be part of this
mysterious life process that unfolds, that
has been unfolding for as long as there have
been living things!
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Training the Brain at Delaware Senior Centers
Working with several other organizations, the
Delaware Senior Centers have developed a
three-part strategy to raise awareness of the
importance of mental fitness as a key element
in overall well-being and healthy, active
aging. The Time of Your Life program,
funded by AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, is
targeted to boomers who want to remain
vibrant as they get older and to senior
adults interested in maintaining or improving
their overall mental functioning.
This program includes: Brain Boosters
for small groups and individuals in senior
centers and community settings.
Toolkits for organizations that
include general information about mental
fitness, an Internet guide that lists free
mind-flexing Web sites, games that stimulate
different parts of the brain, meditation
resources and books. Orientation to
program
implementation, newsletter articles,
evaluation tools and quarterly feedback.
Food for Thought is a second program
offered in the evening at several sites in
the county. A brain-healthy meal and a
presentation with discussion give
participants the opportunity to socialize
with lively conversation. Topics have ranged
from the Alzheimer's Association's
Maintain Your Brain program and a
debate on the death penalty to a cooking
demonstration and a history lesson on
African-American schools in Delaware.
This information comes from the July 2008
Senior Center Voice of the National Institute
of Senior Centers. For more information,
visit wilmingtonseniorcenter.org
or call the Center at 302-651-3400.
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Cell Phones for Seniors
I'm hard-of-hearing, so I have difficulty
hearing on most cell phones and often have to
ask friends to do my hearing for me.
Recently I bought a phone with a speaker
phone button that makes it so loud, I annoy
the people around me! But now I can hear on
my own. Another cell phone mentioned in an
earlier newsletter is the Jitterbug, which
"doesn't play games, take pictures, or give
you the weather." Developed with Samsung,
it's for people who want a "simple cell phone
experience." It has large buttons, a volume
up/down button on the cover, and is
hearing-aid compatible. For more complete
information, go to jitterbugdirect.com
or call 1-866-540-0297.
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Help in Giving Up Driving
Did you know there are such people as driver
rehabilitation specialists? They are
professionals who can evaluate an older
person's ability to operate his/her vehicle
safely. To learn more or to find a
specialist in your area, visit
www1.aota.org/olderdriver. Another resource
is the Family Conversations with Older
Drivers Web site at thehartford.com
You can download a very instructive free
brochure, or order one by mail, that provides
very good information on helping an older
driver give up the car keys. A "Getting
There Worksheet" and a "Warning Signs" page
offer helpful, specific guidance on how to
have these difficult and sensitive
conversations.
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Workshop with Dene Peterson: Creating Community for the 50+ Set
I know this is short notice, but in case you
live in the DC area, I wanted to inform you
of a very interesting workshop to be held
Saturday, September 13, in Gaithersburg, MD
from 2-4:30 p.m. led by Dene Peterson,
founder and developer of the acclaimed Elder
Spirit Community in Abingdon, VA. Cost is
$35. If you are pondering what kind of place
you want to live in as you grow older, this
workshop may stimulate some creative
thinking. It is a rare opportunity to meet
and talk with Dene about how YOU can create
the community you're looking for.
Attendees will look at the traditional
concepts of eldering, wisdom, leadership,
dignity and ritual - all within the context
of "aging in place in Community." Learn
about how this community has evolved
principles that enliven and enrich the years
in the second half of life. Learn how you
can organize a community based on these
principles AND learn about a new community
under consideration in Clarksburg, MD.
To register online, visit
intentionalcomm.meetup.com,
or
call 703-663-3911, or e-mail Ann
Zabaldo.
To learn more about The Abingdon community,
go to elderspirit.net.
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Make It Happen! Plans
After a wonderful month on the West Coast
hiking the high Sierras in Sequoia National
Park, exploring the rugged Pacific coastline
along Route 1, and experiencing San
Francisco's wonders, I am back home and
raring to go. Will keynote the Coliseum
Health System of Macon, GA Women's Symposium
September 27, and the Virginia Recreation and
Park Society's Senior Resource Group's Fall
Conference on Senior Programming, Therapeutic
Recreation and Aging on November 14. In
between, I will entertain the Old Dominion
Appalachian Trail Club with a slide show of
my three-month bicycle tour of Ireland, Wales
and England. It's good to be back in the groove.
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Emily Kimball
3220A West Grace Street
Richmond, VA 23221-1306
(804) 358-5536
Fax (804) 358-2415
web: TheAgingAdventurer.com
email:
etkimball@aol.com
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