Older People – An Attractive Image?

So how can older people present an attractive image to the younger generations, become role models rather than being viewed as a potential social burden? We cannot try to force feed them our life experience, but if we can show an open-minded, forward-looking attitude, rather than condemning the modern way of life, it is a start.

Think positive, maybe seek out ways of helping the less privileged, many charities will welcome us with open arms. Trying to find ways to meet the challenges of climate change and population growth, which will have an immense impact on our grandchildren’s future lifestyle, offers the chance to become involved and work alongside people of all ages.

The opportunities to contribute to society are endless; we can all find something useful to do in one way or another, depending on our abilities and inclination. Doing things for and with others and really participating in team-work can break down age barriers and give everyone a new view and respect for each other’s generation.

If around all that you still have the time, take up a new hobby too. Make sure that it is something that you will become passionate about; do whatever it is with passion and then share your passion with others. Enthusiasm is very infectious.

From Images© by VM.  Shared with the author’s permission.

Brains Of Older People

Brains of older people are slow because they know so much. People do not decline mentally with age.  It just takes them longer to recall facts because they have more information stored in their brains, scientists believe

Much like a computer struggles as the hard drive becomes fuller, humans can also take longer to access information.

Researchers say this slowing down is not the same as cognitive decline.  The human brain works more slowly in old age, said a doctor, but only because older people have stored more information over time. The brains of older people do not get weak.  On the contrary, they simply know more, but just may not be able to access the information.

Also, older people often go to another room to get something and when they are there, they stand and wonder what they came for.  It is NOT a memory problem.  It is nature’s way of making them do more exercise.*

Grandma Nature

*Editor’s note: *I believe that Grandma Nature is showing some humor!

Aging Today

Do we sit back with complacency and let others decide what we should be like as we age?

I believe we do. That is why reference to aging most often refers to being a burden on society, illness, loss of mobility, loss of memory, and dependency.

To be a senior, mature, and an elder is rather something to be proud of. It indicates we have lived and experienced years of lessons from living. We are wise and capable of even greater contributions to the world because of these years of living.

Proof of this is easy to find. Look at former leaders like Nelson Mandela, Jimmy Carter, and Mary Robinson; or actors like Clint Eastwood, Robert Redford and Judi Dench; or Maya Angelou, Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton…

Today we are proving that there is indeed life after 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 and even 100! We are still running marathons, teaching, producing films, inventing, composing, leading, raising grandchildren, and making significant contributions in all areas of society.

It is time for us to stand in our own significance to speak out for what older people truly represent for society.

Bonnie Fatio

Bonnie Fatio interviewing Silvia Glatthard in Sardinia

What an amazing woman!  It seemed natural to continue this interview with Silvia Glatthard as we sat on the patio of mutual friends in Sardinia.  So we sat in the sunshine as she shared her passion for skiing which is just as strong at 80 as it was at 10.

“I was born in Interlaken, Switzerland.  We lived in the mountains so I began skiing when I was little.  I liked it a lot.  My father was one of the first skiers there.  He would take me to other mountains near by where we would have to walk up maybe two or three hours or more with the skis on the shoulder.  That made me love the nature, the snow and the skiing.  Very different from today, there was no chair lift.  We had to hike up when we wanted to ski down.  Then when I was about 10 my parents went to Murren for vacation in Springtime.  That’s where they had one of the first T-bars in the world.  So we went up and down the whole day.

I started competition when I was 17.  I started on the Swiss Championships in the Junior Class and it just happened that I won the downhill and the slalom.  Then they thought that I may be material for the National Ski Team.   Before I was 18 I participated on the Swiss National Ski Team at the Olympics in St. Moritz.  (The 1st Winter Olympics after the war in 1948)   Since I was the youngest I was a replacement and the forerunner in the Ladies Downhill. – I opened the slope for the race.    In 1950 we went to the World Championships in Aspen where I was in good form until I broke my leg just before the races began.

That was also where I danced with Gary Cooper.  Part of the team went to a bar one afternoon and there was Gary Cooper at the bar with a pretty woman.  I was so forward that I thought it would be something to dance with him, and with encouragement from my friends I went and asked him to dance.  So we had a little dance.  Someone took our picture and it was in a Swiss newspaper.  That was in 1950.

Then there were the Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway.  There was no medal for me.  I am a specialist in the downhill, staight and fast.  There the downhill looked more like a Giant Slalom because it was in the woods and there were too many turns.  I finished 15th.  In international races I finished 4th several times, but that was my best.  I was on the podium several times in Switzerland as 2nd or 3rd, but not in the Olympics.

I still like to ski.  It’s a healthy sport. You’re out in the nature.  I love the snow and that chilly, crispy air, and I like the movement.  As soon as I stand on a pair of skis and they begin to move this is a special feeling for me.  You go; you move; you glide on the snow.  It’s very different from walking.  Today I ski as often as possible, but only when I have a good view, not when it is foggy or snowy.  It’s a bit dangerous for older people.  I go when the sun is out.  I become more prudent as I get older.

My husband was a skier also.  He was a Swiss champion in 35 and later captain of the Swiss Ski Team at the Olympics for all the ski disciplines.  In Aspen in 1950 he was at the Olympics with us as the only official.  He had to do everything.  Train, organize, meetings…  I knew him several years before as the big chief of the sport.  Then in Aspen he took me as his secretary because I was good in office work and we got closer.  We married in 1951.  He was 20 years older than me and I always respected him.  I loved him and I respected him.  We worked together in the business always.  He always took me with him when he visited customers.  We were selling sporting goods wholesale and later we had a little retail sport shop.  We have 3 boys and I am now a proud grandmother of 8 grandchildren, 6 boys and 2 girls.

We represented Kneissl skis from Austria to all customers in Switzerland for 20 years until the owner decided that they should have their own firm in Switzerland.  That changed the system and it was quite hard for us.  We had such great relations with the customers.  It happened when my husband was 70 and he wasn’t ready to retire.  He also started to build a hotel with 50 rooms when he was 65.  Sherpa Tenzing, the first climber on Everest, was a friend, so we named the hotel Sherpa Hotel.  He came to see us often.  Several Sherpa also came and my husband trained them in Alpine mountaineering.

I’ve been a widow for 7 years now.  My husband was nearly 93 when he passed away and I was able to do everything for him when he got ill.  A couple years were not easy, but I managed very well so that helped me a lot to be reasonable and to be thankful for everything we had together when he passed away.  I thought I had to expect this a little bit, but you never know what happens.  But since he was so much older than me this was the way it was, but I miss him very much still.”

How we feel inside is what is really important.  So why do we give so much weight to outside appearance?

This morning Maggie and I had breakfast at the Grove City Main Street Diner.   As we looked around us we wondered if any of the people eating at nearby tables were here for our class reunion.  The guy behind us looked rather familiar, though seemed too old to be from our class.  Eventually Maggie asked him if he was here for the reunion.  “Nope”, he said.  When Maggie added that we wondered if he was from our class of 1960, he all but jumped out of his chair insisting, “Certainly not.  I graduated in 1969!”

Oops!  Will the classmates we meet for drinks this evening seem even older?.

Of course when Maggie and I look in the mirror, we see ourselves as dynamic, fun loving, relatively healthy and even sensuous.  Is that why we see others as older?  The older people we saw this morning probably think of themselves as dynamic and active too.

And that’s really all that matters! – How we feel on the inside.

Bonnie Fatio

Are you practicing safe sex?  Are you using preventive measures to avoid HIV/Aids or other Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD)?

In the United States it is estimated that almost 20% of all people with HIV/Aids are 50 years of age or older.  Some reasons for this may include:

• Older people tend to be less informed about HIV/Aids than younger people.
• In fact, older generations tend to speak less about sex in general than younger generations.
• Most medical professionals do not usually ask older people about their sex lives or their usage of drugs.
• Although they are increasing, there still are very few programs to educate older people on how to prevent HIV/Aids and how to recognize the symptoms.
• There are more women than men in retirement settings and men have sexual relationships with multiple women. – And few are tested for HIV/Aids.

It is normal to remain sexually active.  It is also essential to keep sexual relations safe.  Find out how you can prevent HIV/Aids and STDs.  –  And practice safe sex!

For more clear basic information: HIV/Aids 101

Recent research indicates that AgeEsteem begins when we are children.  The relationships we have with older people, the language we hear adults use to describe older people, and the images that we see illustrating older people begins in childhood.  It impacts our attitude about aging throughout our life – and even contribute to our longevity.

Those who are raised with a positive image of aging and who embrace it with AgeEsteem will live longer, happier lives.

How do you feel about growing older?

Research is showing that our attitude towards aging strongly influences how we actually age – and the confidence, or lack of confidence, that we have.

What kind of relationship did you have with older people when you were a child?  Our attitude towards aging and being older apparently takes root in our childhood.  Did you have old people in your life?  How did those around you refer to old people?

All of this influences how we feel about ourselves today and will continue to color our attitude as we grow older.

Having AgeEsteem and seeing our present age as a happy, fulfilling stage of life adds 7 years to our life.