For seniors, world changes as they age

This generation not only can't remember '69, they can barely read about it

I have been re-reading "The Stand," by my favorite author, the fright-master himself: Stephen King. One of the main characters in the book is musician Larry Underwood, a good guy who really grows a lot during the story. Anyway, I was reading about how he saw the world "before" the epidemic that wiped everyone out, and then "after" -- and those worlds didn't look alike. And, the change in the world changed Larry and who he was and what he believed in.
The good news of the day: There is no epidemic that's going to wipe anyone out (knock wood).

But, the world and how it looks nonetheless changes as someone travels beyond a certain point in their life, as they grow older. For me, that change was as profound as the world looking one way when I was 39 or 40, and entirely different as I knock on the door of 50.

Here are some things that I have learned:

1. Businesses do not want to hire seniors to do much else than manual labor, regardless of education or experience, unless the senior is really well-entrenched in an industry or company;

2. My body has changed and it is never going to be as resilient as it was even 10 years ago, let alone 20 years ago;

3. If I could work, very few people are going to put any stock in any "career" notions I have;

4. Other than the U.S. Government and some wonderful organizations that help seniors, my age makes me the last person companies or younger people deal with in a professional setting; and

5. My concerns about my health care and ordinary things in my life are looked at as an old man's ranting and not as a legitimate concern sometimes. It doesn't matter how reasonable or even-toned I am, or how organized I am about my complaint.

People my age and older know this. If they have some money, then they do not, obviously, get this treatment. If they do not then they will.

Americans, as a people, worship youth and despise age. Americans do not believe, by and large, in learning from history, its own or others' apparently, because it is a nation rooted in right now. There are remarkably few historic markers in the U.S. too, when compared with someplace like Greece or Ireland, for instance. Because Americans want whatever is next and, in my opinion, a clear majority would happily sacrifice the battlefield at Gettysburg in favor of the biggest shopping mall ever built or some other notable fact about a new shopping Mecca to consumerism.

It is how we are. The Russians would never have blundered into Afghanistan again. It took some truly dimwitted people to actually recreate the American Vietnam experience in not one Southwestern Asia nation, but two. And, this came after a decade worth of lessons learned available from our 'partners in peace' the Russians. In some ways, the country I love so much is as dumb as a bag of hammers, but it's home.

So, the historic, the vintage, the things that are older in our society -- including its people -- are so much loose recycling to get put on the corner. And, I am among that loose recycling, like everyone else I went to school with aside from those who hit it big.

People my age are not in the world they have known for a half-century here in America. They now live in another America: colder, with fewer opportunities and ready to discard them at the drop of a hat. It can be a place easy to find loss, humiliation and broken pride. So, whatever you do, folks, don't lead with pride. Because people our age aren't supposed to have pride unless we have an Audi parked in the driveway of our suburban, white community and own a timeshare in one of those "Saint" islands somewhere in the Caribbean.

At no time in the history of the American republic has there been such a disparity between whom is rich or poor. The middle-class is a fond memory, not a demographic force anymore. Poverty is rampant. Rich people get richer, young people get the jobs and we older people, refugees of the one-time middle-class, are adrift on our ice flow. This society and our families want us to disappear into the Northern Lights somewhere if we can no longer serve them by our little money, our muscle doing their manual labor for a generation that is physically weak and impotent or we are grateful for the scraps we are thrown like bad dogs in the corner.

Thank God I was a U.S. military veteran. Thank God. Through the Veteran's Administration system I have found a refuge from all the crap. I am treated for my many illnesses and injuries by the VA. I am supported by the VA. I even live on the grounds of a VA. And, it is a place almost devoid of young people, and there are certainly no businesses here except for VA-related ones or Starbucks, so I can forget the outside world exists if I wanted to; and I could do so for the rest of my natural life -- comfortably.

A modern day senior community? Maybe, maybe not

At some point I will probably leave here with my honey and re-enter the 'world' through taking a place at a senior community somewhere in Florida. I seek a community where my age is not an issue, where I am not discriminated upon by anyone because of it and there is the simple grace that comes along with living next to people from my generation and older ones, for whom the world seemed to spin a little bit differently before.

I loved the America I served all my life-long before everything changed with my age. I love the America I live in now, after I perpetrated the crime of living too long. America is fated to relive its mistakes over and over again, it seems, as a consequence of its preoccupation with the first 30 years of its peoples' lives. History is eradicated in favor of...I don't know...reality shows? Perhaps this is the natural order here in the States, though.

Since I cannot change minds and have long-since gave up on fighting the tides or chasing after windmills I will do the most reasonable thing I think I can: find a place where I can be free in fact as well as in principle. Yes, this is about freedom: either someone is or they are not.

So long as a person lives in a place where their freedom is inhibited by prejudice, institutional violence by corporate entities, institutions of higher learning disparaging their hopes and dreams and bias in the area of consumerism -- then one is not free. They are living upon their knees, in a way people -- especially Americans -- were never intended to do.

Senior communities are not all bad, at least I hope. Sometimes, someone just wants the simple pleasure of belonging again...unencumbered by anyone else's notions or prejudice. Ironically, it is only among each other that such freedom is found by seniors. And, ultimately, it is the El Dorado I have sought for a few years now.

What is the old expression: You can't fight City Hall forever? I agree. Unlike Stephen King's character Larry Underwood, I do not have to face raving bands of Satanic worshippers and devils. Myself and every older person in this country do have to bear up against a society that discourages us at almost every turn, so let me take that back -- maybe the monsters Larry deal with might look worse in appearance but, ultimately, a monster is a monster no matter how well they are dressed, how much they smile or how frequently they patronize you. Hey, Larry...pass a club this way when you get a chance.

Anyone, thanks for stopping by and listening to the ranting of an old Mets fan (still hopeful about the upcoming season). It's a pleasure writing this column, and thanks for coming everyone. Until next time, see you later, alligator!