FROM THE CREATOR OF AFSEE: Advocates For Senior Equality & Enrichment ®

KOOPERSMITHin' #17

A Look @ How Pop Culture Ages Best
By: ASK: Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith
Koopersmith's Global Communications
"People read what Adrienne writes about..."
Chicago, IL USA

askoopersmith@hotmail.com


DateLine: Friday, January 11, 2008


TOPIC LINE: 5 Foibles and Ironies of Aging

Imagine Minnie Mouse & Poppin’ Fresh, the Dough Boy at 101.

As the Friday, January 18, 2008 Anniversary Date approaches, marking the 6TH Anniversary of AFSEE: Advocates For Senior Equality & Enrichment ®, the persisting Ironies that accompany the Aging Process continue to annoy and haunt me.

After all, it was 6 years ago that I founded AFSEE ® after being angered by a Statistic I read in one of my favorite local Magazines that stated their Readership were those Individuals between 25-49.

In January of 2002, I was revving up to turn 50 in 7 short Months. Then, suddenly, it was as if my undivided Allegiance and Support were no longer needed! So this is what ‘they’ mean by being ‘over the hill.’ I finally knew. After all, there is Strength in Numbers, especially so when headlines report about all the Newspapers and Magazines (that due to ‘a dwindling Readership’) are steadily folding because of a decrease in happy, smiling Faces of all Ages reading their Pages. Turning away Readers (seasoned pros as myself) seemed ridiculously ironic and all my Fellow Fiftygenarians would wholeheartedly agree.

CREATIVE RAGE @ ITS FINEST: Luckily for Mankind and the AAL: Annals of Aging Literature, that enraged (as in: ENcouRAGED) me enough to launch AFSEE: Advocates For Senior Equality & Enrichment ® which is a select Series of specialized Stories & Scripts that deal with and focus on the 6 W’s of Aging, including:

Who
What
When
Where
Why &
Whatever

about getting Old(er).

The Irony still exists that We are not giving and/or providing Seniors (with) The Jobs they have earned and/or more qualified to fill. Every 7 Seconds One fearless and mighty American turns 50. It may not be a silly idea to buy stock in candlewick companies with growing numbers as these! The BabyBoomer Demographic is expanding as never before and appears as a takeover. The Scales are tipping. As We loom in Front of a Recession (although I have personally thought we’ve been living in Depressed Times for at least a Decade)

- with so many Americans out-of-work,

- barely getting by,

- not able to save for ‘Old Age,’

- experiencing the deterioration of the once ‘Middle Class,’ or

- on the brink of losing their Jobs (and subsequently their homes) on a monthly basis,

BabyBoomers are routinely finding it extremely difficult to live on what they are making, if they are ‘making’ anything at all. Two can no longer live ‘as cheaply as one’ especially so if there are other Family Members (as children and parents in the equation). It has been hand-to-mouth for the Average American Family for 15 years now which accounts for growing crime, domestic violence, the break-up of families (divorce), drug dependency, escalating drop-out rate, etc. The Burden is moreover compounded by those BabyBoomers who double as care-takers for their Aging Parents (which is a Blessing, of course) but without the Financial Means and Security to do. It is a struggle for them to be in ‘Two Places at One Time’ especially so if they do not live together or within close proximity. Added to this surmounting Dilemma (where there is ‘No Way Out’) is supporting the(ir) own Children (if classically ‘Married with Kids’) which also demands (without a thanks most times) an extraordinary Percentage of one’s most productive daily hours that could be put to better use, if childless.

THE CONFLICTING IRONY BETWEEN LIFE & DEATH ISSUES:

We cry if an Grandparent, old(er) Family Member or Neighbor dies (even a beloved Family Pet Dog or Cat).

We cry if a young Child dies.
We’re a Nation of Cry Babies.

WHERE’s THE RESPECT? We bemoan the Fact that when Somebody dies young (between 1 Day through 18 years), they did not get The Chance or Opportunity to fulfill their Goals and live a ripe, long and productive life. Yet, many old People are shunned, not associated with and even forgotten once they enter their Twilight or even pre-Twilight Years. INSERT: There are Exceptions We could name, of course. However, that’s not Today’s Hot Topic.

Too many Ironies still exist in the ‘Age of Aging’ as I refer to this Era, even upon the 6TH Year Anniversary of AFSEE ®.

The great Aspect about the Mating of Aging + Science is that when Medicine enters the Picture, Life can be prolonged with better and much healthier Possibilities, making each Day more and more enjoyable, productive and do-able. The Stigma of Aging is lessening, but not quickly enough even with ‘Boomers’ (who’ve had The Reputation of being ‘Movers and Shakers’) entering The Scenario.

THE BURNING CANDLE CYCLE:

‘The Fountain of Youth’ is being discovered under a Cosmetologist’s Knife.”

Quote of: ASK
Tuesday, January 8, 2008 – 7:54 AM

“Although swelling Numbers of People (both Men & Women) are hiding behind Cosmetic Surgery to look younger, their CET: Collective Experience Threshold will seep on through once the Retalin, Botox, Desonate or Juvederm wears off or their face falls to pieces (which may very well be the case in the years-to-come APS: After Plastic Surgery). If you’re a ‘Sponge’ to new Educational and Techno Possibilities (as most People are who ‘soak up’ all the Knowledge they can), then, a 15 year old Child cannot hold a Candle to 45 year old Adult as a 45 year old cannot hold a Candle to an 85 year old Person. Looks mature; Skill, Experience and Education remain…hopefully, in tact.”

Quote of ASK:
January 7, 2008 – 11:14 AM CST

By looking too young, your Credibility is shattered. The Experience(s) you bring to ‘The Table’ will be questioned if you’re a baby-faced Novice. That could be problematic in the Job Force and in the course of a serious Accident. So much for blowing one’s bluff.

Aging is what it is. It’s part of ‘The Cycle’ – of Nature. Besides considering the Alternative (of Death & Dying), after I gracefully matured, I realized a few important Pointers that were incremental to ‘The Bettering of Me.’ I realized how tasty Fruits & Vegetables really were for my Diet when I was 19 in 1971. If youngsters consumed more Fruits & Veggies, the American Obesity Problem would be dissolved or, at least, ‘lighter’ by 50 lbs. per Person for the now-looming American Fat Crises. Aging is one Process. Maturity is yet another. Sometimes, they just don’t link-up. My other Maturity Pointers will be discussed in future AFSEE ® Compositions/Editions and after more ‘kick-into gear.’

On Wednesday, January 9, 2006 at 4:45 AM, I turned 55 Years and 5 Months old, sadly suspecting now that half my Life is over. Being upbeat and hopeful, I’m assuming ‘The Best is yet to come…’

Benefits of Aging are surfacing every Day as more and more relevant Breakthroughs make Headlines. Keeping an Open Mind to Change and Progress is necessary no matter what The Odds. This is quite recognizable by the growing Number of Seniors who are now learning all they can about Computers. PC-friendly Machines are available on the Open Marketplace as Artificial Intelligence has taken over every single Facet of our Lives. Personal Computers do not discriminate. Even the most techno-illiterate Individual knows enough to step up to the Keyboard to figure out and reconfigure the Wonders of High Technology, that will, of course, aid in keeping his/her Mind active, wearing off and keeping to a minimum any Mind-loss Degeneration and adding more interesting Years to his/her Life.

Relationships come and go. Now in the 21ST Century with People living longer, fuller and quality Lives, secure Relationships rise to different Levels of Caring. It’s no longer ONE MATE – ONE LIFETIME OR ELSE as the 1950s portrayed. ‘The more the Merrier’ and if one Relationship sizzles out, sours or bellies-up, it’s no longer stigmatic or taboo to move on to the next, or next or yet another. ‘Curling up and dying’ is no longer the route out. It is ‘out’ completely. This World is not the place for Cowards. The Mindset is registered on Green-for-Go with all motors purring. The priceless Value of Old(er) Age is that Relationships vary and getting to know more People is an enlightening and refreshing Pursuit for all your Daily Encounters. Consider Aging like going into a Candy Shop for your entire Lifespan and tasting all the different Sweets from every jar there.

The last confusing Irony about Aging is that it’s a Numbers’ Game. What is it now? 50, 55 or 62 to be considered a Senior or Seniorita? From AARP to State Governments, no one knows for sure and can decide upon the correct answer. However, since the Numbers seem to get ‘lower’ the Older ‘we’ get, it does show that the Marketplace is constantly fluctuating to reflect that significant Change as We approach each New Decade. The older one gets, Seniority seems to be pushed 'further back' as Sociologists are now touting:

"55 is the New 35."

Considering 10,000 years ago, Cave Man (Neanderthals and Fred Flintstone) was lucky if he lived to be 33, then We have some figurin’ to do here, Lucy.

As I had said 1,650 Words before: After all, there is Strength in Numbers. As the Days come and go, wax and wane, ebb and flow, the Reassurance is in knowing that something important is gained for each of us.



CONTACT INFO:

ATTN: Syndication Companies
TV Networks
Aging Conferences:

For those Parties interested in publishing ASK’s AFSEE Writings embodied in this Campaign and/or to book an Appearance/Interview with her, direct your email to:

askoopersmith@hotmail.com

for any and all Inquiries. AFSEE ® Monthly Articles reflect her timely Insights & Viewpoints on pertinent Aging Issues and are highly relevant to today’s Babyboomer’s concerns and those they touch.

©2002-2008. Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.