Welcome! (… and how’d we ever get to this point?)

This blog was born from shock, horror, tears and laughter, as I and my friends and family started reaching senior citizen status.

We were amazed to find we were becoming invisible! We found some people on the street whose eyes started sliding right over us as if we weren’t there. Who knew you could become a ghost while still alive?

We were amazed to discover people (mainly doctors and pharmacists — but others too) who all but started patting us on the head in condescension. Who started dumbing down what they told us. Who looked impatient at explanations from us that are no longer than ones we gave when we were younger — which were attended to.

We will never forgive Mitt Romney for saying (in effect) that half of all Americans are living on the dole — with no acknowledgement that the social security benefits that seniors today are receiving are those they previously paid to the government.

We finally know, at a gut level, that nobody gets out of here alive. And we’re learning that old age isn’t for sissies. Life gets harder as you age.

But we’re learning how to live the years we still have in a manner that is best for us. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs shows “self-actualization” at the top of the pyramid, after safety, love, and esteem. Maslow thought few people ever get to self actualization, but I disagree. Those of you still young should take heart that it becomes more possible as you age.

• You know yourself better.
• You understand what makes you happy and what makes you sad.
• Your decades of experience gives you wisdom — in life and in work.
• And, frankly, you’re less willing to take shit from anyone.

Come join us!

The more voices, the merrier. Come share your experiences/feelings to the benefit of us all.

• Let’s uncover problems for seniors and work to fix them.
• Let’s expose ageism to the spotlight of shame that is rightfully there for racism and sexism.
• Let’s find ways to make our later years as healthy as possible.
• Let’s find more opportunities for us to contribute to the world.
• Let’s make a difference for the generations after us — one-on-one and/or on a larger scale.
• And let’s have fun doing it!

Contributing Author Guidelines

Author bio
Marlene Jensen is a 70-year-old full-time marketing professor. Previously she was a VP at CBS and ABC and spent decades as an entrepreneur and pricing author/consultant. Sadly, none of these prepared her for the onslaught of marketers who now think her daily interests/needs consist solely of hearing aids, wheel chairs, adult diapers, medi-alert buttons, medications, and bath tubs you walk into.