I'm there. Not all that pleased about it, not all that concerned either. Whether I like it or not, I am not going to live forever, and from what I can see, the best days are far behind me.
Bullshit on the idea of golden years. We have created a mythos where old folks are somehow immune from the vagaries of the world, where they are to be protected by years of savings and a benevolent government. The truth of the matter is that most folks didn't
- bother to save in the first place, choosing instead to live in the now.
- couldn't save, as they didn't make enough money to get by and salt stuff away.
- Life blindsided them with deaths, divorces, bad business deals, unemployment and other such things which drained them.
- any number of other reasons.
So now we have the standard life. Where old folks gotta scramble harder than the other folks. Now, in the mythical past, a lot of these would be taken into multi-generational households, where they would have a valued place that they could deal with, even with their physical limitations. But that is past, state lines and a society that has atomized families has removed that option for a lot of folks.
So, I think that a lot of us boomers better get used to the idea of working 'til we drop. Oh some of us will retire according to the Madison Avenue dream world. I raise my glass to these folks. They are extraordinarily blessed.
No comments:
Post a Comment