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 Now
that “old” is being re-defined,
And life spans extended to lengths once inconceivable.
Being Grandpa and Granny isn’t what it used to be.
They talk of the “swinging sixties.” I know. I’ve been there.
If the trend continues (barring unexpected disasters) there will be
more Americans OVER 60 than UNDER 18 in a dozen years
or so.
Maybe you noticed that most of us aren’t using the word “old”,
until our mid-seventies.
Even “senior citizens” sounds a bit patronizing, and unless I’m
reading the tea
leaves wrong, we seniors (CQ?) have no intention of going quietly
into the night.
Times have changed. Happy hour is not a nap.
Life expectancy, barring fatal accidents, has been growing steadily
and
now averages close to 78 years .In fact, the fastest growing
demographic group
in the country today are centenarians.
Ten years ago, in a surge, 40-thousand Americans joined the century
club.
According to recent Census Bureau estimates, membership will top
210,000 by
2020, and 834,000 by 2050.
One centenarian, just entering the golden circle, joked: “one
advantage is
there’s very little peer pressure.” Another, reflecting on
birthdays: “we don’t
bother with candles, we just build a bonfire in the middle of the
cake.”
Even the most cautious scientists expect new drugs, gene therapy,
and upgrading
health care will accelerate longevity. Lifestyle changes and
financial factors will
also improve. What’s more, researchers say, the chances of being
incapacitated
at an older age will continue to go down.
But it isn’t a yellow brick road. We have barely begun to consider
the impact.
What this means, and how it will work, are pure speculation.
Insurance
companies are amazed at the rapid changes. They are especially
concerned about
a crisis in long-term health care.
Other key concerns are longevity’s effect on social security,
retirement,
insurance policies, educational opportunities, far-reaching
implications
for pensions, and broad impact on employers. Pension schemes are
already struggling with large funding deficits.
Wrong guesses about the problems ahead could have powerful
consequences.
Four generations of one family alive at the same time may become
routine.
Five generations, common. Six generations, not unknown. Family trees
might
sprout more bright blossoms, or harvest more rotten apples.
Even now, network television seems to have gotten the message about
recurrent
complaints that there’s less and less for aging viewers to watch. TV
should get over
its fixation that the 18-to-49 coveted consumer group is the only
one out there.
In thinking about it, a longer lifespan brings a host of bizarre
questions to
my mind -- bizarre, but not un-asked.
Will the boss ever retire? Will some men still not act their age?
Will women ever
admit theirs? Will people stop driving voluntarily? Will products
carry lifetime
warranties? Career criminals with rap sheets as long as both arms?
Nip-and-tuck
surgeries part of the Guinness Book of Records?
How many familiar diets will return again and again under new names?
Finally,
there’s sure to be difficulty remembering “who’s who” among your
living relatives.
What are chances of you ever knowing them all?
“I’d like you to meet my 94-year old baby sister.”
Single marriages during a lifetime?
An elderly couple appears before a judge in divorce court.
“You’ve been married 62 years. And now, you want a
divorce?”
The wife turns to the judge and says, “Look judge, enough
is enough.”
It’s likely that great-great grandpa Sid won’t be telling grand
children “well, when I
was your age, I, I, I…
“What were you saying, Grandpa,” “Forget it, I have.”
Would you believe Hallmark cards wishing a “Happy 100th”?
.........................................................................................................................
Gene Farinet, an award winning veteran newsman, spent much of his long
career at NBC News as a writer and producer working with Frank McGee,
Ed Newman, John Chancellor and Tom Brokaw, covering space, politics
and special projects everywhere in the world.
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