Are "the golden years" a scam? anchor

 Folks keep living longer, and companies that cater to independent and assisted living seniors grow in kind. When we considered independent living in retirement after Harriet's heart attack, I was overwhelmed by how many facilities there were in the Portland area. We ended up touring 38 places (free lunch!) before making a choice.

All of these places have a similar message in a style that ranges from enthusiastic to exaggeration to hype. At the Vineyard Place website you can read, "We are completely dedicated to making sure you or your loved one have fun, exciting days and nights full of life!" Your golden years await you!

You find pop culture embracing the same rosy view, especially in music. Here's Kenny Rogers singing about how wonderful it is to grow old together:

https://youtu.be/8LXKm1CJ998?si=dnhUBrTjYTw6jTCD

But there are dissenters. Harvard math professor Tom Lehrer, whom I consider the best satirist since Jonathan Swift, brings his dark and politically incorrect sensibility to a very different view of growing old together:

https://youtu.be/8NOZH0y7VxE?si=ISMYIodiHTuCjQlu

Susan Jacoby, a favorite investigative journalist of mine, recently wrote a book about this issue, called "NEVER SAY DIE: the Myth and Marketing of a new old age." A reviewer wrote that if old age is not for sissies, neither is Susan Jacoby.

https://a.co/d/dgvdexJ

Here is Jacoby talking about her book:

https://youtu.be/qpPxlRrL_ZQ?si=-GAjbPp-wKgPZiVq

Do I feel like I'm living my golden years? No. But I also feel blessed. Mentally and physically, I could be so much worse.

Perhaps ironically, Harriet and I have never been closer. We married late in life, both with busy college teaching careers and artistic lives. We spent a lot of time "passing in the night." The highlight of our year was usually camping at Flathead Lake in Montana before school began. 

Now we are together 24/7 and spend a lot of time sitting on the couch. No complaints! If not golden, I'm willing to call them "the silver years."

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