Still Waiting for the Golden Years: Living with Old People

Quoting the U.S. Census Bureau's article, "Sixty-five plus in the United States:"

America's elderly population is now growing at a moderate pace. But not too far into the future, the growth will become rapid. So rapid, in fact, that by the middle of the next century, it might be completely inaccurate to think of ourselves as a Nation of the young: there could be more persons who are elderly (65 or over) than young (14 or younger)!

According to the Census Bureau's "middle series" projections, the elderly population will more than double between now and the year 2050, to 80 million. By that year, as many as 1 in 5 Americans could be elderly. Most of this growth should occur between 2010 and 2030, when the "baby boom" generation enters their elderly years. During that period, the number of elderly will grow by an average of 2.8 percent annually. 

I do not think of myself as "elderly." But to most people under the age of 30 or so, I am positively ancient. I passed the Census Bureau's definition of elderly a very long time ago. However, one indication of my age is that many of people I have known for years are dying off and the pace of die-off seems to be increasing. When we return to Utah, we will be living in a state where the number of people in the Census category, i.e. over 65, is under 12%. In some states, like Florida, the percentage is over 14%.

I guess I will start thinking about being old when I decide to slow down and take life easy. Hmm. That is not likely to happen. So, when will I be old? One thing I can tell is that all the intense activities of my youth are culminating in a bundle of physical consequences that translate into pain. I have to guess at which of the injuries is presently causing pain; falling off of cliffs, avalanche, car accidents major and minor, skiing accidents, or just all around falls. At least I don't have any basketball or football injuries, just rock climbing, spelunking, water and snow skiing, and years of hiking on rough trails. When I fall, it is usually pretty spectacular.

Both of my parents died from dementia-related diseases so there is always a possibility that I will start having those kinds of problems. Basically, one of the major issues with getting older is that you start associating with old people. Old people are a lot easier to get along with than young people. At least they can relate to your challenges and viewpoint. But, as I have mentioned before, becoming old in the United States is essentially becoming invisible. I can literally have people walk into me because I am so invisible.

One thing I do not have to worry about is looking for a job. I have more than three strikes against me. Not just my age, but also my former occupation as an attorney and my advanced degrees. I don't think I could even qualify as a Walmart greeter. Plus smiling at people all day would probably drive me over the edge.

One of the major benefits of old age is that you have a better idea of what you like and what you don't like. In my case, another benefit is that I have been so many places and done so many things that I don't feel compelled to travel or make up for lost time. So, I will just keep writing and teaching as long as they will read and listen. That makes up for the age, by the way.