Friday group at Edmonds Senior Center
Plenty of “isms” are hitting the fan at this time, but the “senior”
focus is gathering far more momentum now than ever before. As both current
presidential candidates are older than most have been, an influx of bias about
being long in years is raging through the country.
Thanks to the gents running for this high office, it’s a
perfect time to face this prejudice and rip away some false belief systems as
well as to recognize more of the pluses.
Right now, a massive focus is on all the things we dislike
about the elderly, fear for ourselves in advanced years, or disrespect in
general. And I’m getting weary at the level of disrespect for two men who
are/have been presidents.
Both of them have been caught “wandering” around the White
House gardens and their ages have been attributed to this. For Pete’s Sake!
Can’t a guy stroll around his house, enjoying some time outside? In younger
presidents, this just wouldn’t be noticed or mentioned.
Reagan had Alzheimer's, but neither Biden nor Trump have
been so diagnosed. They both are evincing some common realities of
higher years. And let us not forget that experience and learning are a big part
of those years.
A psychologist once joined one of my Write about Your Life
classes. He informed us that aging actually improves long term memory while
borrowing from the short term. He said, “The brain knows it’s stuffed with a
lot of memories and information, so it makes that choice. Yes, we leave a room and go to the
next wondering why we did that, but then we suddenly recall the names of all
our grade school teachers.”
I saw this effect many times in classes. I was jealous as a
younger person, wishing I recollected as much of my life as my students, and
I’ve been surprised and delighted since 60 to have these experiences
myself.
But back to the presidents: We tend to slow down as our body
vehicles mature. I don’t know about you, but like both of them, I’ve noticed my
response time at 74 has slowed. It’s not that I don’t know the answer to your
question or how to perform some occasional computer chore or where to find the
swimsuit I haven’t used for a couple of years. Those tasks are well within my
ability, though a younger me would have leapt to do them faster.
Though our “response time” is slowed, most people find ways
to offset this issue. For example, Trump, wiggles his fingers and says
nonsensical words like bing, bong, and boom. Whether he’s recognized it or not,
he’s effectively “buying time” until he knows what he wants to say. Biden also
gives himself space with phrases like “I really mean it.” And both of them use
jokes and personal stories. These strategies are used by a lot of politicians
and others who speak to crowds, including teachers and ministers.
I’ve noticed that all the people passing judgment on the
“guys” are not giving any credit for misspeaking to being extremely,
extremely busy. A load of problems to solve and things to recall can overwhelm
anyone’s mind. I’ll never forget going into my GRE (Graduate Record
Examinations). The monitor laughingly told us that many people forget how to
spell their own names on these papers. Feeling pressured and having a mind
jammed full of details can do that to people at any age.
Again, for Pete’s Sake! One is running the country, dealing
with wars, and campaigning while the other one is campaigning and going to
numerous trials.
The flourishing of ageism at this time is similar to the
realities of sexism booming when Hillary Clinton was running to be the first
woman president. In a poll at that time, people were asked which they would be more
likely to vote for—a black man or a woman. The outcome was much higher for a
man, even though some people specified that they didn’t want a man of color,
but better a man than a woman.
So, briefly: Being older has been recognized as making the
majority of people happier, smarter, and kinder. I love the idea of an
experienced person running my country…not just the father of a country, but the
grandfather.
Here’s the list of my suggestions for a better memory:
1)
Lists help.
2)
Asking for more response time is fair.
3)
A cup or two of blueberries a day helps me.
4)
Adequate sleep, healthy food, and a bit of
exercising helps me.
5)
Notes to self in my mind help. For example:
Self, look around a lot when driving and don’t forget the password opens the
browser.
6)
Memorizing anything is said to help (names of
all your plants, a new language)
7)
Encourage synapses (those lovely connections
between thoughts) by socializing for conversation, hobbies, and movement.
Finally, yes, I’m sold on my guy for the top job, but I’m
never pleased to see such a raging fire of prejudice against aging and those
who have attained any particular number of years. Whomever you want to win,
speak out against age prejudice. If we are lucky enough to reach senior years,
we want to spend that time without having to fight such a pointless bias. Facts
are that many, many successful leaders through history have led till their 80s,
90s, even 100s…like those in the Senate, the House, and the Supreme Court who
typically die in their boots.
by Ariele M. Huff
My mother Pat and my granddaughter Moira
