Homophobia in Retirement Homes: A round-table discussion.
Interview by Gary Geyer “Let Life In” (www.LetLifeIn.com) organized another round table discussion with older gays and lesbians. Their ages were between 58 and 73. Our topic was homophobia and its presence in senior facilities. Some spoke from experience, others from hearsay. LetLifeIn.com: You’re all heterosexual, right? I’ve heard that’s the assumption being made when [...]
HIV / AIDS Over Fifty: What you need to Know
Edited by Gary Geyer Outrageous and upsetting news! Data from the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) shows that the cumulative number of AIDS cases reported in adults 50+ years quintupled between 1990 and 2001. By the end of 2000, almost 19% of persons living with AIDS were 50 years of age or older. Three distinct [...]
For Those 50+, Gambling is all Fun and Games. Wanna’ Bet?
By Gary Geyer Here’s an interesting statistic: According to a Forbes magazine article, Americans “lose more money gambling than they spend on movie tickets, theme parks, spectator sports and video games combined.” Hey, but gambling is fun. For most people 50+, gambling is entertainment, pure and simple. It’s a chance to escape with friends, get [...]
Boomer and Senior Suicide on the Rise
By Gary Geyer Here’s some shocking news: Baby Boomers are more prone to committing suicide than any generation before them. To make matters scarier, boomers are approaching their senior years facing a fact that seniors have the highest suicide rate of any age group (and that rate grows even higher as we get older). Those [...]
A Grandparent asks Why Must Arts & Humanities Lose Out to Technology?
By Carol Hutcheson Someone once remarked that the only certain thing in life is change. We know that the education is different from what we experienced. However, with the big push for better test scores, new methods and new curriculum, we shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bath water. Technology has taken front row [...]
Heroes of the Media: The Killers of our Grandchildren
By Carol Hutcheson I was horrified by the mass killings on the Virginia Tech campus. l While the act was decried by the shocked media, in the very same breath the media showed photos of the killer in a bold defiant pose, guns in both hands, which gave the killer exactly what he had hoped [...]
Being Gay or Lesbian and Past 50
By Gary Geyer. Once upon a time there wasn’t a gay rights movement. Gays and lesbians were harassed by the police and ridiculed by most everyone else. Many kept their homosexuality a secret. That was only thirty five years ago, in 1969, (the same year as Woodstock), gay activists took a stand at the Stonewall [...]
Alcohol and Retirees: Abuse or Misuse?
By Gary Geyer Ah, the good life. Playing a little golf, sitting on the veranda, having a drink or two. Sounds wonderful. Unfortunately, that drink or two could turn out to be a problem. Those changes in life that retirement brings, at first glance seem to be what we’ve worked our whole life to achieve. [...]
Adopting a Child When you are Past 50: Older,Wiser, and Warming Bottles
By Joanne Cronrath Bamberger While playing with her daughters at a Chicago-area park recently, Karen Muller experienced what has become a rite of passage for a growing segment of adoptive parents. Pointing to her kids, a child asked, “Are you their grandma?” Chronologically, she could be. But 56-year-old Muller didn’t even add “mom” to her [...]
What Do You Know? We’re A Demographic!
By Linda Meyers and Gary Geyer Well, it has finally happened. Those advertising people on Madison Avenue have realized that those of us over 50 are worth talking to. We are on their radar. Now that we are a demographic, they have to re-think how they market their products. If you haven’t noticed, most advertising [...]
Understanding & Caring for Lesbian and Gay Older Adults
Interview by Gary Geyer “Understanding & Caring for Lesbian and Gay Older Adults” is the name of a training system aimed at direct care providers for the elderly. It is an important tool for those who work both in the community and in institutions such as nursing homes and assisted living facilities. What follows is [...]
