Never Too Old

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“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” ~C.S. Lewis

All too often, people approach retirement as the “tired” saga in the final chapter of their lives. Nowadays, we are finding more seniors who are kicking into a whole new gear in their lives. They are not the senile creatures people make them out to be. Blending traditional with the modern, seniors are bringing a renewed and innovative way of getting out of the perceived rocking chair and taking on new challenges with a wave of velocity and veracity never before seen. Do not allow your age to define your ability or potential by anyone, including yourself.

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The Vile of Violence

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Violence. Unjustifiable violence. It is not okay. Sickening. Disgusting. You can’t help but think about if you were an innocent victim of violence. But, what if your mother, father, grandparent, or elderly neighbor was targeted just because of their race, creed, or culture? This simply breaks my heart to even think about it.

Ugh, sometimes I hate watching the news, but without it, I would not be aware of important local, national, and global events. There has been an unimaginable uptick in violence against certain communities of color and culture. What is even more horrifying is that we are seeing videos and pictures showing seniors being brutally attacked for no reason. It just makes me sick to my stomach!

I watch in horror as I see reports of Asian Americans being violated so horrifically due to propaganda. Now, I don’t care what a person’s race, creed, culture, or age is, violence is violence. A lot of this type of violence that we are seeing a surge in, is being perpetrated and spurred by such corruptible and despicable disdain, ideologies, preposterous rumors, conspiracy theories, and prejudice.

Just because individuals are of a particular descent, and all of us fit that category, none are more superior or inferior than the next. I have experienced and been a recipient on the opposite end of stupidity, prejudice, and ignorance before, and for whatever reasons, I don’t give it the time or the energy to ruminate about it. Yet, I know I have to rise above such horrors, although as unfair as it may seem, I’m no worse off than many people I know or the myriad of stories I’ve heard who faced such “isms.” If I don’t see my way through it, I will be consumed by it.

But for those attackers, who show no mercy or remorse for those they have victimized, I have to pose this question. What if someone did this to you as you were simply trying to go about your everyday activities, working hard and bothering no one, and then suddenly someone catches you off-guard, attacks, and brutally beats you just because of the way you look, or your creed and culture? Imagine if you were a harmless and helpless senior citizen. Then ask yourself, whose life matters?

Will There Ever Be a Boom of Babies Again?

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I am a member of the generation known as the Baby Boomers. We are generally known as the people born from 1946 to 1964, during the post–World War II baby boom. We have certainly witnessed some incredible life-changing events during our lifetime. Some were extremely painful and tragic, and many were victorious game-changers.

Before throwing us Baby Boomers out with the bathwater, under the bus, or feel sorry for us, there is so much more life we have within us, so much creativity and purpose to learn from. Don’t pity us for the gray hair or slowing down just a little. Pull out your pad and pencil, sit a spell, and record the recipe for first-hand living, learning, and survival.

There is no reason to pity old people. Instead, young people should envy them. It is true that the old have no opportunities, no possibilities in the future. But they have more than that. Instead of possibilities in the future, they have realities in the past – the potentialities they have actualized, the meanings they have fulfilled, the values they have realized – and nothing and nobody can ever remove these assets from the past. – Viktor E. Frankl

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Don’t Be So Quick to Dis Boomers. We Still Rock Baby!

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Value. Everyone has worth regardless of how much they possess. Each generation has its critical opinions about the generation that is older than them and can be a little dismissive of the generation that follows behind them.

Recently, we’ve seen some scathing comments on social media about those old fogies, the Baby Boomers, being out of touch with life and relating to the new generations. Boomers have been getting a lot of heat because of some of the suggestions and advice they’ve been giving that younger generations deem antiquated. Bah humbug and hogwash! While I am a member of the Boomer generation, I am far from being an uninformed old fogie as well as many of my other fellow Boomers.

The generations following the Boomers should learn to learn from them. We are tech-savvy, even when we aren’t drenched in digitization 24/7, we still like to savor solitude and engage in continued educational pursuits. We still love curling up and reading a good hard copy of a book as well as the occasional good read through an e-reader or audible book. We still love to cook homemade meals as well as engage in dining out and experimenting with different cuisines. We still love the challenge of crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, Soduku, Mahjong, playing checkers and chess, as well as enjoying many other leisure pursuits just like everyone else.

Now, while many of us Boomers may not always be seduced by using digital devices as frequently as the generations following us, we still love challenges for building cognitive skills. Check the history books and read about our contributions, inventions and innovations, our advocacy for Mother Earth and those laws made because of the causes we fought hard for, like voting rights for example. We know a lot, as we should, through more years of experience and we’ve learned by making many mistakes and not repeating these errors erroneously.

I wish I had some of my elders and parents here with me now, to ask advice regarding some even tougher things I have come to face at this juncture of my life. I wish I could sit down and talk to all those who have since passed away about oodles of questions I am now confronted with and how to apply some of the things they heeded when problem-solving.

My heart aches and breaks as I think about them no longer being here and the questions I so want to ask, that I won’t be able to. For those who are dissing the Baby Boomers, thinking we are out of touch with the reality of life, if you are blessed to live long enough, as long as we have been around, you will be faced with and feel the same type of criticism you threw at those endearing old fogies who are no longer able to explain the complexities of how you got to the point of how you came to be. We all have a purpose as long as we have breath in our bodies.

While there is mad respect given by many Gen X, Gen Z and Millennials to Boomers, there are some who don’t, but we can’t lump everyone into the same bag just because they are under a particular generational category or tribe. Some of us Boomers were off the rails when we were younger too. Yet to disregard our contributions to the world, our families and society is a mistake. We have value and worth and a bunch of crazies in our generation too, but to get respect, one must give it.

So, to all of you youngins, don’t be so quick to diss us Boomers. Don’t be too premature to clap back and go on the attack from the advice we genuinely give before knowing and heeding the facts. There is so much to learn and gain from us, just as much as you teach us the new lessons of your generation. This is the sign of the times…our time! Let humanity ring with togetherness and love. #BoomersRock