It seems a shame to me that things we have written a year ago are now hidden in the archives and forgotten. I was just going back through the Late Life Crisis archives and found postings that most of you would not have read. At the time they ran, a lot of the readers commented. So, let's revisit one of them.

 

It is my observation, and please don't jump all over me about this, that the closer many people get to the end of life, the more religious they become.

I saw this happen with my father who, though active in the Congregational Church, was not really a believer. When he was reaching the end of his life, he said to me, "Son, I am changing my mind about my religious skepticism." 

 Forgive my criticism, but I have observed, in my many church affiliations, that there are a lot of church goers who are going through the motions of religiousness but who are really there for the social life. The marvelous thing that happens over time, though, is that the true meaning of what they are hearing in the church services every Sunday begins to penetrate their souls. I think this acceptance accelerates as we get into our Late Life.

After all, we are getting closer to experiencing the final truth. We want to be closer to our God.

 

Let's talk about that matter of universal interest, money.  Money becomes a bigger issue in Late Life because income is more limited and there are unexpected expenses - mostly relating to health.

 

A person certainly can't live on social security income alone. At least, not what we call living. Even when this is combined with the pensions some of us have, it still doesn't give us much financial wiggle room. Those pensions that looked so good way back when one started qualifying for them have a lost a lot of their buying power by the time one starts drawing them.

 

Then there are the health expenses.  There are gaps in the the Medicare or HMO coverage that can jump up and bite.  Like being responsible for 10% or hospital costs and finding that hospital charges are phenomenal. And how about the teeth. In late life teeth can present a lot of problems and Medicare sure doesn't cover dentistry. Nor do some HMOs.

 

Yes, by late life we have accumulated most of the material things we need.  The car is paid for, the house is furnished.  But one day we notice that the carpet is wearing out, some of the plumbing needs replacement, the car  now has 110,000 miles and doesn't sound too good.

 

So, in aggregate the debits exceed the assets at times. So, what do we do? 

 

We put stuff on the credit cards is what we do.  I figure that when I die the credit card companies can't collect, so I win!

 

But an awful lot of us opt to find paying work.  That, of course, is the best path to follow. Not only does it bring in needed income, it is good for the mind and morale to be doing productive things.

 

Oh, I didn't discuss the option of saving during ones' lives so there is a nest egg accunulated. Sorry but there are two snags here.  The first is, how much can you put away when daily living is taking all your money? The second is that investments can go bad. 

 

Well, that is my effort at being dismal today.  Read it and weep!

 

 

 

Ruthie just send me some pix she took during our July 4 family mania gathering down at their place.  I kind of like this one of Penny and me.  But there is something missing from this picture.  Think a minute .... 4th of July... hot... picnic. Want to guess what should be in this photo?

I do the grocery shopping for our family and I must say that I have come to enjoy it. On rare occasion Penny will come with me.  Penny is blind, you know, so she grabs the handle of the shopping card and pushes.  I hold onto the front and guide us.

 

But when I shop alone I am a speed shopper. I have the location of every item on the shopping list in my mind and put this list in order of product placement. Then I zoom up one asile and down the next - no doubling back.

 

The main slow-down is when Penny wants a new item that I have never bought before. Sometimes it can be hard to find and, in extreme cases, I have to go to the service desk and ask where it is located. Bummer!  That destroys the speed plan for the day. 

 

In the Jewel supermarket where I shop there are, of course, a lot of mothers with little kids.  They get to ride in special push vehicles that look like trucks or wagons.  But there are also a lot of late lifers.  This includes people who need the power carts. But a lot of us blast our way through the store just like the young ones. Some of them move painfully through the aisles - and when they get to the checkout stand it takes a long time for them to find the money in their purses or to write a check.

 

But, wonderful guy that I am, I am patient. At least I appear to be.  Actually, I am grinding my teeth and thinking "Get with it!"

 

There is an option at checkout, I can take the self-checkout lanes. If  there aren't produce items that need to be looked up on the screen, this can be a time saver.

 

What is the this thing I have about speed shopping?  Hey, folks, I only have a limited amount of time left in my life and I am not going waste any of it on routine chores!

What's this all about? Well, it all starts with the thought that there is a niche open that some of you who are wondering what to do in your later life might find interesting.

 

My thinking about this started about a year ago when I was surfing the blogs and found that there is a world of creative talent among bloggers. I mean excellent writers and photographers.  As a former manager of advertising agencies I had always been on the lookout for creative talent and developed an ability to find and employ them.

 

One of the writers I spotted was Kit Kat and we began communicating with each other. So, here it is about a year later and my associate, Marcos, at Loop Consulting Group agreed that our business has grown to the point where we need another writer. So, I got in touch with Kit Kat and asked if she was interested in becoming a free-lance writer for Loop.  She said definitely yes and agreed that she would do some sample writing gratis to prove her capability. Her work has been excellent from the start and now she is on her first assignment to write the content of an enewsletter for a Loop client.

 

Then there came the need for photography.  We had the need for an appealing picture of a hungry child for one of our enewsletters.  I immediately thought of Cheryl at  LostandDangerous.  The pictures she was posting on her blog took my breath away.  Knowing she had just retired as CEO of a support group for those with addictions I had an idea she had done a lot of photos of her clients and their families. So, I asked her if she was interested and she sent me a bunch of excellent pictures.

 

So, here is where the big light bulb went on over my head. There is an opportunity for someone to establish a business being a talent representative for people have demonstrated their abilities in ther blogs.  Of course to succeed in this business it would require good judgement about what is talent and what is not. Also, it would be necessary to promote the business by getting in touch with advertising agencies and companies that use such talent.

 

I would do it myself if I didn't have so much on my plate. So I am offering this idea for free to anyone who is interested. I'd be happy to offer advice to anyone who is interested. My email is lustigco@msn.com

I think I will do that to you all - Again! The following was posted in Late Life a year ago and a lot of the readers said it was a laugh.

When it comes to the constipation issue, late life is a gassy era. One may be bound up but the system is busy generating methane. It has to get out and, oh, what a relief it is! I try to be discrete about this type of release, but Penny's hearing is so acute she can hear dust fall. If I cut one while in my office at the back of the house, Penny, who is on the other side in the kitchen, will call out, "I hear a barking spider!" A barking spider, indeed! Well, women can gloss over bodily crudities with such euphemisms. By the way, women never fart, you know. Penny tells me that they only fluffy. But in all the years we have been together I have never heard her fluffy. It is really kind of unnatural.

Yesterday Penny and I joined the extended family - about 24 in all - down at in-laws Ruth and Gary's farm in Lincoln, Illinois. It was the usual madhouse, with toddlers pushing toys across the floor, adults laughing it up - and trading stoires about recent events,dogs barking, etc..

 

Ruth and Gary's daughter, Lindsey, and son-in-law, Jeff,  were there on  a layover on the grand departure tour before they leave for Jeffs home in New Zealand where they will be staying indefinitely.

 

Ruth and Gary's son, Noah, and wife, Jen, were there from Boston.

 

Ruth's brother Fred's two daughters were there. Anna and her husband James were down from Minnesota. Sarah was there from (I forget, somewhere in Illinois) where she is a pastor.

 

And then there was the latest generation.  These are the great grandchildren.  Anna's children and Noah's kids. We were missing my great grandkids as they could not come up from Tennesee. These great grandkids are the one-to-four-year-olds who eventually will be carrying on the family tradition of togetherness.

 

It sort of shocks me when I hear my kids called grandpa and grandma. Yeah, Gary's mother, Louise, and I are in the rarified atmosphere where we are looking at the fourth generation.

 

And to add to the excitement, it was Gary's birthday. Yes, he blew out al the candles and got his wish.

 

So, there we were eating and drinking, sweating and swatting bugs and enjoying ourselves.  It was what I classify as a traditional family fourth.

 

We call it family mania which describes the whole noisy, sometimes frantic, atmosphere of these gatherings. But we wouldn't want it to be any different.

 

So, happy birthday, U.S.A.!

Because some of you readers seem to be interested in the social ventures of Late Lifers, I will tell you about our date night last Friday.

 

We broke the pattern.  No Yankee Doodle and no Ozark House.

 

Our friends, Lorrie and Jerry who we usually meet at the Ozark were out of town so we decided that we would take advantage of a gift certificate that Penny's son, Hudson, had given her the Christmas before last. How's that for holding on to a goodie?  It was for Biaggi's, an upscale Italian restaurant that be have visited before and liked very much.

 

We arrived at 5:15 which was the only time they had open until 7:45. You gotta think that this place is a success! Our server was Donna who was very pleasant and attentive. Penny and I had a martini which we sipped slowly while we caught up with each other on our day.  Then we ordered the eggplant scallopini.

 

Just delicious!  And relatively healthy, too.

 

Penny wanted to do the tip and she gave Donna a really big one.  Because Penny appreciates the tips she gets at her work, she is generous with others for whom tips are important. She always gives the tip in cash - allowing the server the option to not report it on income tax, if she wishes.

 

Then, the next day she called the manager of the restaurant.  When he answered he was kind of defensive -  as if he was anticipating a complaint.  Penny told him the we had a wonderful meal and an excellent server. The man was sort of stunned - and greatly appreciative.

 

Well, that's Penny. She is just the very best.

 

Once again, home early where we watched a rental movie.

 

Whoopie! A big Friday night!