The media are making a big deal about the earliest Baby Boomers turning 65. I’m not there quite yet (I’ll be 64 this month), but I do consider myself to be in the good company of the 70 million Boomers born between 1946 and 1960 or thereabouts. Some days I feel completely over the hill, other days still atop it but on the verge of being shoved over the edge. At least in terms of advertisers, there seem to be two dynamics working for or against people my age.
For: This is the prime time of life if we’ve made the right choices in investments, health maintenance, marriage partners, etc., and since we’ve been lucky enough to have gotten this far, we should be ready for a life of semi-leisure involving travel and grandparenting (hence the pitches from travel companies, for example). Against: We are subjected to endless commercials for Viagra, Celebrex, walk-in bathtubs, and nursing homes.
Wherever you are in life’s continuum toward hopefully a soft landing in old age, I applaud you for getting there. Though Boomers generally may have started out with more opportunities than any other generation in history, not one of us has escaped such challenges as war, economic downturns, divorce, deaths, job loss, and business failures, perhaps even run-ins with the law. Chances are you “young-uns” (if you are bothering to read this) will not be spared, either. Don’t let them turn you around.
Despite all the efforts Boomers have devoted to raise awareness about injustice, about the stubborn injustices that continue to drag down even such a democratic society as the United States—among those, corporate and government corruption and sexual, racial, and economic inequality—we haven’t completely figured on the persistence of one terrible inequity: ageism. When my hair turned gray in my 40s, I found it exceedingly tough to find a decent job. Not that I need a job now, thankfully, but lately I have become acutely aware of how the digital revolution is rapidly making me nervous and irritable in the face of constant re-adaptation. In the mid-’90s, I actually was at a crossroads whether to learn and use the Internet. Some members of my generation never did learn.
If you are starting to look and act old to adults who seem so young they should still be in high school, I fear you are in danger of becoming invisible to a population of trendsetters. And I see no benefit in that image. For now, at least, I choose to forestall the obvious signs of serious aging. I’m getting my teeth fixed, staying physically active by playing tennis, and embarking on a series of lectures to civic groups on a variety of subjects that will convey my age-won, multi-disciplinary abilities and insights. There are advantages to experience, provided the wisdom gained along the way is conveyed to make the journey easier for others. The presentations are free, and I’m happy to provide a list of topics if you ask.
Philosophically, at times I’d rather not make such an effort, but this doesn’t seem to be a society where people can grow old gracefully very easily. Fortunately, the Central Coast has a large population of seasoned citizens like me, and I remain in steadfast good company. Yet in the town where I live, the density of 55-plussers is even greater than the region as a whole, so I am constantly reminded I belong to, let’s face it, a generation on the way out.
But I still feel strongly compelled to give back. There are many, many ways Boomers have learned to do this and made headway, and I heartily encourage you to explore them all.
Maybe your path is turning toward a new career, one with the most satisfying reward: civic contribution. I know I’ve reinvented myself numerous times, and can do so again. It’s just a little harder when you think you’re not taken quite so seriously as you once were.
Bill Seavey is the author of the books Crisis Investing and Entrepreneuring, People’s Guide to Basic Solar Power, and Moving to Small Town America. He has made presentations to Rotary International, Cal Poly’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, and HopeDance seminars. Contact him via the opinion editor at econnolly@santa mariasun.com.
This article appears in Feb 10-17, 2011.