Why Aging Education?

June 9, 2015 Leave a comment

Recently, someone asked me again why I continually give of my time to aging education. It is a simple question really, with a complicated answer. Why do any of us give with our time, talent and treasure? To help make another’s life better, of course!

Typically, as a former salesperson, I know to find the customer’s needs, and fill them. Learn what someone desires, and give it to them. Know that a question needs an answer, and give it. We must do anything we can to quench the thirst for knowledge in the aging arena. That was our mandate in our Gerontology Masters Program, Give aging education wherever, whenever and however you can to our aging tsunami of 78 million Americans. Teach them to build their own networks to aging quality. There will not be enough care for all of us in the future.

For too long doctors didn’t give answers with transparency, government only answered what absolutely needed to be answered, families have kept their problems behind closed doors. None of these practices have served to educate our aging population.

The internet has opened a world to “stay-at-homes”, the under-educated, and the under-estimated. We can Google any question we have and get peer-reviewed and evidenced-based research articles. we read them and can make educated decisions. There isn’t any reason to not educate ourselves on the aging matters of the day. We don’t need to rely on Wikipedia like many of our youth have in the past.

Aging education outreach is another way to socialize with other aging persons and learn at the same time. Whenever there is an opportunity to attend a program on any aging subject, it behooves us to go…and learn of our future. We want to age at home and have an excellent quality of life so let us arm ourselves with the tools of our new trade…aging!

Thanks for reading!

Kindest Regards with warmest Aloha,

Laura ;-))

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Social Media=A Generation of Aging Press Writers

August 29, 2014 Leave a comment

Ok, so I’m not sure if anybody really missed me blogging lately but for the last several months, let’s just say that life got in the way. Not just life was in the way, but so was social media. Who knew ten years ago that I would have spent so much time on Facebook in 2014? That my friends would too? Maybe it is because we, as Baby Boomers, are a generation used to instant gratification. We can be in touch with our friends at the drop of a sentence. Not just a sentence, but a bullitt sentence at that.

Years ago when I was being taught to write press releases, I learned that the most you can say in as short a sentence that you can use, would get printed, since advertising space was at a premium cost. Even though we don’t pay to use Facebook, per se, we are all so short of time to live our daily lives and keep up with social media, that we have to keep it short to get our points across.

We are anxious to know and see what all of our friends and family are doing. We want to see what the next generation behind us is doing. We know they are on social media. We may not have the time or inclination to go and visit them, nor do they have the time for us with their equally, if not more, busy lives. So, armchair travel through social media is perfect. I got to see one nephew do the ALS Ice Challenge before anybody knew what it was. The graduation photos of another were priceless. A former classmate’s new baby is literally growing up in front of my eyes through her photos. Who knew that when we were first putting tin foil on the television antenna ears to get better reception, that we would be seeing our friends on safari in Africa as they were experiencing it? This is all news, as it happens!

Here is to the new generation of aging press writers! Keeping us informed, keeping us current, and keeping us visible!

Thanks for reading! ;-))

Filed under ABC News, Aging, Business, Communication, Facebook, Family, Gerontologists, Gerontology, NAPG, newspapers, public relations, Rotarians, Rotary, Uncategorized, Writers Tagged with , ,

Laura Guluzzy, M.A. Gerontologist/9-11 Survivor

September 12, 2013 1 Comment

Laura Guluzzy, M.A. Gerontologist

Me, 12 years after surviving 9-11. I believe that I was spared because I had more work to do and a long life to live. I became a Gerontologist so that I could help further the quality of life for today’s seniors.

We Gerontologists believe that the first person to live to 140 is 60 years old today. Are we ready for the aging tsunami that includes you? The choices we make will determine how well we age. Are you ready for old age survival?

A basic understanding of gerontology should be in everyone’s perview so that we will do our best to stay healthy, and independent in our aged years. Eating healthy food including green leafy vegetables help. Staying hydrated with any exercise that you can do, even simply rotating your shoulders and ankles while watching TV can help keep the blood flow, and walking is truly good, breathing fresh air and keeping those joints moving. Swimming is also beneficial. Stay independent by your very mobility through good balance and gait to reduce the possibility of falls.

Are you ready?

Thank you for reading 😉

Filed under 9-11 Survivor, ABC News, Aging, Alzheimer's, Business, Caregivers, Committees, Communication, Doctors, Education, Family, Gerontologists, Gerontology, Health, Intergenerational, NAPG, newspapers, Nursing, Parents, Rotarians, Rotary, Senior Citizens, Seniors, Uncategorized Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

Aging Reflections, Fiscal Tiff and Lucky 2013!

December 31, 2012 Leave a comment

Thinking back on the past year on aging issues many things come to mind.

The forming of the Non-profit Foster City Village has been a long and time-consuming process. The rewards will be great for Foster City’s aging population who need services that allow for their aging in place with dignity and grace. I will stay on in an active role as a member of the Advisory Board. Aging transportation services are expected to roll out in the next couple of months. Memberships are available now. The website is: www.fostercityvillage.com. We are seeking funding for help with the start-up and appreciate any input from anyone interested in supporting our aging population to remain safe at home.

In other matters, important discoveries were made in aging medicine. One such discovery was in being able to detect the Alzheimer’s gene 20+ years in advance of getting the disease. According to ABC News, it is an important discovery for doctors to begin prescribing drugs earlier that may help stave off its progression, like Lipitor.The National Association of Professional Gerontologists has news and weblinks on other issues pertaining to aging on their website at: www.napgerontologists.org

The news has been so full of disasters and tragedies over the last year. The U.S. Congress has been so unbelievably insensitive having not settled before the holidays, the “Fiscal Cliff” with their “Fiscal Tiff” leaving us all to wonder over our Special Occasion Dinners. What the h_ _ _ !!! When I think of the San Francisco Giants game that my husband and I attended this past year and two separate families had kids behind us who had to go hungry because their parents couldn’t afford to buy hot dogs at the game, it is sad. Their parents told them they would eat when they got home. That would have been around 10:00pm. We would have bought them some if we had the cash ourselves. America’s favorite past time and no hot dogs for kids! It is shameful.

We are all learning to adjust to having less. Senior citizens in many cases are relying on food sales and day-old pastry items to feed themselves. So we have all three generations (perhaps five) hungry in the Bay Area, seemingly one of the wealthiest places to live. What the h_ _ _!! Let’s hope that it is a lucky 2013!

Filed under ABC News, Aging, Alzheimer's, Children, Doctors, Family, Gerontologists, Gerontology, Government, Health, Intergenerational, Lipitor, NAPG, Rotarians, Rotary, Senior Citizens, Seniors, U.S. Congress, Uncategorized Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

Dinner of the Seven Fishes for an Older Generation

December 14, 2012 Leave a comment

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It used to be that when the Sicilian custom of the Dinner of the Seven Fishes was held on Christmas Eve, it was so it would pass the time for waiting to go to Midnight Mass. Today, many of our seniors go to bed before they could possibly stay up to go to Midnight Mass. Having said that, last year after our own Dinner of the Seven Fishes, I was in bed by 10:00pm myself and I am not yet quite in the senior category, at least by Social Security standards.

Speaking of Social Security, I sure hope it is there by the time I need it since I have been paying into it since I was 15 years old. This Baby Boomer, at least, wants what I was promised. I am concerned that the promises made to our generation by the generations before us will not be kept. We must also promise the generations after us that they will be covered too. Conditions need to be assessed now and provisions put in place so that worthy American citizens get the respect they deserve and the quality of life they expect in the latter years.

Watching our nations elders lose their retirement in stock dives is, and has been extremely disconcerting. That is why I agree that the wealthiest Americans should step up and help pay for Seniors in their retirement years. Companies that can help out should also, after all many of them were built buy the very seniors that can’t afford to put food on their tables judging by the rise in Food Stamps usage.

So as you enjoy your Christmas Eve dinner, even if it isn’t the Dinner of the Seven Fishes, think of the senior citizen, possibly diabetic (judging by the rise in Type II Diabetes), that may be eating day-old pastry picked up for free at their local community center, and remember our duty to protect our citizens, especially the nation’s elders.

Thanks for reading 😉

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When An Old Friend Dies, “An Ageing Badge of Courage”

August 17, 2012 Leave a comment

Death is never easy for the person that is dying, of course, nor the family and friends engaged in the process. It is especially poignant for friends that have made a significant difference in our lives. One such friend is currently in hospice as we wait for the inevitable end. We are no longer allowed to visit at the family’s request and those were also his wishes, we were told, and we respected it.

My last visit was last week. He gently told me that he hadn’t realized that he had such an impact on many of our lives. There had been a steady stream of visitors while he held court in the VA Hospital, truly a palace of hospitals. They all told him how he had touched their lives, and many were significant. Though he was terminally ill, he remained jovial and in unbelievably good spirits. He told me that the doctors couldn’t believe how his mental stability remained so healthy, while his body failed. I believed it.

This dear man has been a warrior, a pundant, and a fierce newspaper writer. He is a Rotarian and an author. Though he is in and out of consciousness now, his philosophy has been to always ask a person about themselves, and remembered what was important to that person, and ask them again when he saw them later. He liked to make people feel friendship, and happy, and loved. He was of great assistance to others when they needed his help. For me, he told the local newspapers to “print her stuff” when I was writing press releases for work and charity. And, they did since he had requested it. Once when I wrote an article, he critiqued it so rigidly that it almost wasn’t mine anymore but he encouraged me take the credit because he wanted me to learn to write better. I think I do because of him. He said to look for the good whenever you can because people really do want to hear what is good. It made me smile since he wrote publically very critically of politicians using the many historical references that he was so famous for. Learning from this person in his eighties, was a gift he gave to many. How lucky we were to sit with him and bask in the glow of his knowledge.

He remembered to me how much he enjoyed dancing with his wife as if he would be seeing her soon. I touched his knee as I gave him the new Rotary pin for the year, and left it where he could see it. When I was walking out the door he quietly said, “Come again anytime, I am always glad to see you.” I am sure that he said that to everyone that visited him. I would expect nothing less.

As we wait for the end, we still consider the living that he touched, made better, and changed us for his having been here. His grace in dying should be a lesson to us all to not regret anything as we live our best life, and be thankful that we lived it.

The ageing process is inevitable and all generations should understand and expect it bravely. We shouldn’t let the fact that someone is old or infirm deter us from making contact to enjoy their company and learn from them. We should look at their wrinkles and gray hair as an “Ageing Badge of Courage” and try to be like them…because we inevitably will.

Thanks for reading;)

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A Stunning Elder Interview

August 14, 2012 1 Comment

Today, I will focus on something that I personally experienced recently, within my 6 month job search efforts. I will preface it by saying that I always seem to get the interview, make it to the final 2 or 3, and then they hire the other person who happens to be younger for reasons that vary greatly. The other person already has their Master’s degree or speaks Mandarin, or something else. I AM starting to think it has something to do with my age;)

To say that the interviewer was stunned when she saw me would be a mild assessment. I looked lovely if I do say so myself, in my soft pink pearls and blouse with elegant matching scarf. I had some fun socks and patent designer loafers on with black pencil slacks. My attire was entirely appropriate for the job at hand so I know that wasn’t what was stunning her.  At 58 years of age, I had adhered to all of the advice from headhunters, friends, business associates, and my college professors to not reveal my age in my resume. Of course my resume shows that I graduated in 2011 with a Bachelor’s of Science and that I am in my 2nd year of graduate school so why shouldn’t there be an assumption that I am in my 20’s, or 30’s, and surprised to see me standing there in front of her? Why, because then it would be “Agism” and getting people to realize that is the first step to appreciating what a seasoned new hire could offer, and get past it.  

To be clear, the person that interviewed me when I introduced myself was only momentarily stunned, immediately got past it, and recovered professionally and courteously. I thought about the look on her face when she first saw me and at first I didn’t know what the look represented until later during the interview by some of the questions she asked. She was deft at getting the answers she needed without really asking. I was impressed. We ended up having one of the longest interviews I have had with many commonalities between us. She had me take an integrity test with over 150 questions on it that made me smile since I am a Rotarian and live by the 4-Way Test, “Of the things we think, say, or do, is it the truth; is it fair to all concerned; will it build goodwill and better friendships; and is it beneficial to all concerned?” The test was like many we studied in undergraduate work so it was fine.

I left liking her very much, and with a good feeling, knowing that I could help her reach the company goals she had set. With my high energy and previous experience in the same field, the job would be an excellent fit. Over 90% of their clients are seniors and with my Gerontology training, it would be a bonus to them. She did give me the salary range and said I would be hearing from her soon. If the opportunity passes, that’s fine too since I would only want to work for a company that appreciates the grace and wisdom of an experienced employee that appreciates intergenerational workplaces and can pass it on to their customers and other staff members. I will remain optomistic and hope that she sees the potential in hiring me, a stunning, seasoned 58 year old, if I do say so myself.

Thanks for reading;)

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