North of 65
Age is the Final Frontier
The idea for this Substack hit me after the day I got laid off from my job as Washington Columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. It was my 71st birthday.
But wait, I thought, I’m not done yet. (I expect to follow my parents by living into my 90s. Maybe I’m wrong, but do me a favor and don’t tell me.) But at 71, am I still employable?
Aging is different than it was when I was younger. Kids didn’t really “see” people over 65. Old people dressed like old people then. They’d grab you by the arm and talk too much about the past and second cousins I’d never meet.
Then one day you realize that you’ve joined the group which a younger you dismissed too severely. You are getting old - and you will be judged on how you age.
No judgments here. This is a place where seniors can kvetch, commiserate and smile. Sure, there will be posts on economics, thorny legal questions and health, but mostly North of 65 offers a place to share what works for you, and what doesn’t. I am aiming for a light touch, while acknowledging aging’s painful moments.
Relax. I have no use for the “I’ve lived to my eighties so let me tell you the lessons I have learned” approach. No lectures here, just an invitation to lounge in an interactive space where fellow seniors share the sweet parts and the rough patches of getting old.
Please join me and other seniors and share what works for you, and what does not. You may be living in your long-time home. You may have moved to an over 55 community. You may have moved in or near family. You may be working a job you don’t love and find physically challenging just to make ends meet. This is a place to share how your life decisions worked out.
Rules of the road:
Posted essays are free for all to read. I plan on posting twice a week, but I’ll be checking in to respond to comments more frequently.
If you want to comment — and I truly hope you do because the comments are what will make this Substack sing — subscribe.
(I will start charging for membership, which will offer the ability to comment, when I figure out how to do it. But no worries, everyone gets a senior discount.)
Try to keep comments succinct. No more than 250 words. There will be room for follow-ups.
Also, please include your first name, your age or age cohort, and your living situation. And feel free to recommend a subject.
Now tell everyone how you feel about being North of 65.
And don’t forget to subscribe, and recommend this Substack to friends.
And don’t forget to subscribe, and recommend this Substack to friends.
I forgot to follow your directions for providing information. So sorry. I am going to be 71 in 12 days. Married nearly 48 years to my nearly 79 yr old love of my life. We were both educators for high school kids in Northern CA, and simultaneously owned a small sheep ranch. We retired and moved the ranch et al to SW Idaho in 2009. David is an energizer bunny! But he now sticks to a 4 hr workday, unless it is lambing time. We doze in our recliners, too. Two grown kids and 4 grands, ages 10, 10, 12, and 16. Two here and two in NE. I love to drive tractor! We are 10 miles from a small town where David volunteers in the Ag Dept (FFA) and I write grants for the program with the young Ag Teacher. We scored $3 million and the community now has a brand new Ag building to replace the one built at the end of WWII. We sell show lambs to 4H and FFA members for fair. Love having kids around! We are seldom grumpy. 😂 We also have Koi, chickens, cats, dogs and horses.
Debra, my theory is that we as old as we act. So you and I are still competing to be about six years old.