HOPE

While watching the news on television, it is easy to get depressed. The world is in such a dreadful place right now as the numbers of the sick and the dead grow daily. The pandemic has us all in its grip and seems unwilling to let go. But it will. It has to.

            Why? Because even in our darkest hour we must not forget that this too shall pass. I was reminded of that truth while walking around the lake where I live. The buds on the trees are now clearly visible and they sing their ode to the newness that spring brings. In a very few short weeks the leaves on the trees will be totally open and May flowers will have burst into the brilliant colors we might have begun to believe would never reappear. But they will be there as they have always been every spring. 

            I remember my mother saying how afraid she and all those around her were during the dark days of the Second World War. While communications were far from being as sophisticated then as they are today, people listened to the radio every day for news from the battlefields of Europe and the Pacific. I am sure newscasts then must have been as, if not more, upsetting than those we experience in our current crisis especially for those who had loved ones at the front.

            Each generation seems to face a disaster of one stripe or another. In our current one, while we might be worried about family and friends we can’t see in person, we are so very fortunate to have means of seeing and conversing with them with our various devices. They are just a click away, aren’t they? It should make us all grateful that we have rays of love in the darkness.

            Our modern communications also means that we can easily be there to help with donations for those who are hurting due to a lack of funds. And also to express our gratitude and love to the frontline workers risking their own health by taking care of all those who need attention.  While we may never be able to fully repay them, we will always remember their courage in giving us hope.

            Hope, the world’s quiet faith.

           

When are you a Senior?

Or to put it another way, when does one go from boomer to senior? As we know a boomer is someone born between 1946 and 1964. So when exactly does one cross the barrier to being a senior?

While COVID-19 is limiting our lives, in many areas older individuals are being protected through special efforts. One of these is giving seniors a chance to shop for groceries early in the day before the general public can gain access. In the area where I live, a 67-year-old retired gentleman who needed groceries joined the line-up of older people at his local store one morning recently only to be turned away because he was too young. He was told that people become seniors at 70, not before.

            That prompted me to conduct a survey--not especially scientific—to find out at what age people think a person becomes a senior. While some people gave the traditional retirement age of 65 as their answer, others considered that one specific age is not necessarily the right answer because of variables.

            I found some of the opinions very interesting. One of those was that a senior is a senior when benefits from the community can be accessed. So, in other words, the word senior is adaptable. If a person can get a discount at a store, at a hotel, at a restaurant, etc. at age 60, he or she will gladly accept being a senior. Or do you become a senior when strangers begin calling you Sir or Ma’am?

            People can become members of AARP at age 50. Is anyone a senior at that age? I think no one would say yes, yet it’s certainly not too early to start getting benefits from an organization dedicated to helping people in myriad ways as they age.

            Personally, although not at this time of crisis, I take advantage of age discounts all the time and have been doing so for years. Why not? These can add up over the course of a year. Even if senior discounts are not posted, I ask and it has been my experience that merchants and service providers are eager to provide them. They know that loyalty is sure to follow.

            Then there are some people who fight age as long as they can and avoid getting discounts rather than admit they might be closing in on their senior years. It does not change things in any way. It’s simply a way of delaying the inevitable.

            While the moniker senior is just a word, anyone who first hears it in relation to them can be taken aback until they get used to it. I am now in my senior years and have made peace with it. I mean there comes a time when you can no longer get away with saying that you are almost the same age as your children.

Nature, in its wisdom, sees to it.

Heroes

Not all heroes wear capes, some wear masks, especially the super heroes like doctors, nurses, and other health-care personnel who take care of all those who suffer in our current crisis. We owe them a debt, and the question is: Will we ever be able to repay them?

            We also have to salute and thank the not-so-young retired care workers who have returned to work to help ease the pain. They are certainly special heroes.

            The difficult period we are now experiencing has resulted in our seeing the best of humanity, but also, regrettably, the worse. In addition to front-line workers, the best can certainly be seen in all those who are making sure the food supply is not interrupted and that grocery stores remain open despite the new reality. There are also those who are working in food banks so that those who have no food left can survive along with their families.

            The worse is certainly seen in those who use the current situation to defraud others. And those who endanger all of us like the fellow who tested positive for corona virus and then went to spit on an ATM. Fortunately, such things are few and far between.

            One thing the pandemic is teaching us is that we are all in this together, and that we must care for each other if we want life to return to normal. However, I believe the new normal will not be like the normal we have been enjoying for most of our lives. I think it will be a normal with restrains because, while we will have seen serious danger and adapted accordingly, the end result will be a certain feeling of unease as we march forward. We will no doubt be keeping a close eye on the world around us in case the invisible enemy lifts its ugly head again.

At least for a while, but we should not forget that this too shall pass.

Generations

Do you really know the monikers for society’s generations? If not, what follows could be of interest.

Post-Millennial Generation

Those born in 1997 and since

Ages now: 23 or younger

Millennial Generation

Those born between 1981 and 1996

Ages now: 24 to 39

Generation X

People born between 1965 and 1980

Ages now: 40 to 55

Baby Boom Generation

Those born from 1946 to 1964

Ages now: 56 to 74

Silent and Greatest Generations

People born in 1945 or earlier

Ages now: 75 and older

(PEW Research Center)

Invisible Enemy

Those of us with decades of living behind us have faced a variety of enemies. However this time the enemy is not a terrorist but rather a dangerous and invisible foe with no respect for age or status and with its sight on the whole world. It targets anyone and everyone, everywhere. The fear today is that we may succumb, not to bullets as was the case in previous conflicts but to the invisible enemy that has taken over our lives.

The terrible upshot of fear is a feeling of helplessness, of impotence as the invisible enemy facing us continues to progress. However, we cannot give up. We must strive together to slow it and eventually beat it by isolating ourselves from the outside world so that our enemy can no longer feed its ferocious appetite. We must all stick together, while staying apart, so the enemy has no choice but to simply give up as its connecting chain disintegrates.

As humans, we are social beings but we have proven that we can also adapt as needed. Currently, the empty streets seem to indicate that we are learning to live differently, to pay attention to those around us. Even if isolation goes against our nature we adapt because that’s the road to survival. Humanity has conquered a lot worse than isolation in its history. Even when apart we are fortunate that our modern communication ease has made it possible for us to keep family, especially the older members, and friends close by. To interact. To calm each other’s anxieties. To write poems. To play games. To sing to each other, but most of all to laugh together.

Fighting an invisible enemy is a war we did not expect, a war with many casualties but with an amazing number of heroes. Certainly the health-care professionals that go above and beyond in providing care as well as the retired doctors and nurses who have returned to jobs that make a difference in controlling the enemy all deserve our respect. Because of them we can look forward to the light at the end of the tunnel.

Let’s thank them and pray for them.

Stay safe.