31: Cinema and Ageing
A Note to Readers: We're experimenting with a new format today - some readers have told us that two essays per issue might be too much, and that the twice-monthly frequency might be too little...
So going forward we'll publish weekly (most of the time), and each issue will contain one essay, accompanied by a shorter piece highlighting three things the other one wants to share. Gareth and Kathleen will alternate essays and "three things" pieces, so you'll usually hear from each of us in every issue.
We're always glad to hear from you, so keep in touch - the Soul Telegram community is growing, and we're grateful!
Kathleen Norris on AGING: FANTASY AND REALITY
I learned a lot about aging when my parents, both aged 80, sold their house and moved into a senior living place. They’d made a realistic assessment of their changing needs and decided they needed a place where assisted living was available. I was able to visit nearly every day and found that my parents were much happier in their new situation than those whose children had forced the move on them. My parents gladly took advantage of new opportunities, enrolling in a tai chi class for beginners, using a small but well-equipped gym (for the first time in their lives), and participating in many of the excursions and social events that were made available each week. As my dad was only partly retired from many years as a musician in Honolulu, he was able to line up entertainers for special occasions. Musicians who had late night gigs on New Year’s Eve were glad to perform for a group of appreciative seniors from 6-9 PM. (The clocks in the multi-purpose room had been reset so that 9 PM read 12 midnight).
I believe that my parents’ move added good years to their lives. But I also had friends whose parents rejected the idea of giving up their independence in favor of living in a place surrounded by “nothing but old people.” One friend, a high school classmate who finally managed to get his mother out of her house after she’d had too many frightening falls there, said he was sorry she hadn’t made the move sooner. And she agreed: to her surprise, she loved her new home. I treasure a memory of her dancing the hula — something she’d begun to learn around the time she learned to walk — at one “Pau Hana” (after work) party on a Friday afternoon.
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