A Canadian study has found that about half of elderly patients prescribed common medications to help them sleep while in hospital are taking the drugs at least six months after discharge because they have become dependent on their snooze-inducing effects.

The sleeping pills, known as benzodiazepines, include brands such as Valium and Ativan. They’ve been linked to such serious side-effects as daytime sleepiness, cognitive impairment, injuries from falls and motor vehicle collisions.

Dr. Chaim Bell, a scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) in Toronto, and lead author of the study, said this week: “An … often overlooked issue is that long-term use of benzodiazepines can lead to dependence.”

Source: Canadian Press

Foxy Lady

Sexy, fashion-conscious blue-haired beauty, 80s, slim, 5′4″ (used to be 5′6″), searching for sharp-looking, sharp-dressing companion. Matching white shoes and belt a plus.

Long-Term Commitment

Recent widow who has buried fourth husband, and am looking for someone to round out a six-unit plot. Dizziness, fainting, shortness of breath not a problem.

Serenity Now

I am into solitude, long walks, sunrises, the ocean, yoga and meditation. If you are the silent type, let’s get together, take our hearing aids out and enjoy quiet times.

Winning Smile

Active grandmother with original teeth seeking a dedicated flosser to share rare steaks, corn on the cob and caramel candy.

Beatles or Stones?

I still like to rock, still like to cruise in my Camaro on Saturday nights and still like to play the guitar. If you were a groovy chick, or are now a groovy hen, let’s get together and listen to my eight-track tapes.

Mint Condition

Male, 1932, high mileage, good condition, some hair, many new parts including hip, knee, cornea, valves. Isn’t in running condition, but walks well.

Memories

I can usually remember Monday through Thursday. If you can remember Friday, Saturday and Sunday, let’s put our two heads together.

Thank you to Victoria Withenshaw of London, Ontario Canada for passing these items along to our blog. Oh, incidentally, she’s looking for “a nice gentleman.” All her moving parts are definitely in good order. And she’s a great person, too.

The reality is that we live in a youth-oriented society instead of a society for all ages. Demographic silos pitted age groupings against each other, especially in the workplace.

Although many provinces and territories have eradicated mandatory retirement, seniors who want to, or have to work still face this obstacle in parts of our country. For example, this is the case in federally regulated industries such as banking, communications and transportation.

CARP does not believe in mandatory employment. In fact, CARP promotes in the “carrot” of incentives rather than the “stick” of enforcement to engage older workers. When they are part of the labour force, the economy and government coffers benefit as well as the individual. Not only do older workers pay taxes, they put money back into the economy by spending on goods and services which, of course, stimulates productivity.

Canadians are living longer, healthier and more actively than ever before. Clearly for many of them the loss of meaningful activity, along with low income and social isolation, can contribute to physical and mental conditions. Working helps maintain quality of life and independence for them.

However, the mindset of employers, older workers and other employees must change if we are to dispel myths and attitudes about age that have taken on a life of their own.

What a mistake and a waste to buy into ageist stereotypes, prejudices and discrimination! Older people are not necessarily frail, slow or sick. They are able to learn new information and skills. In fact, they bring with them life experience, work expertise, commitment and a passion for life long learning. To quote former U.N.

Secretary-General Kofi Anan, “the whole world stands to gain from an empowered older generation, with the potential to make tremendous contributions to the development process and to the work of building more productive, peaceful, and sustainable societies.”

This dynamic must be nurtured for the benefit of individuals, the workplace and society. Matching the skills of older Canadians with the jobs that have to be filled in a broad and creative manner is the way to go — for example, recognizing that a person can apply a skill set in one field to quite another field. Of course, this requires vision, imagination and thinking outside the box.

Some jobs can and should draw on non-professional experience such as the skills implicit in homemaking or a trade that has been a hobby, like carpentry, cooking, artwork or volunteer activity.

Among those who are frail, either physically or mentally, many are still capable of activity, even if at times limited.

For example, they can work from home with modern means of technology and communication. Their contribution can still be significant – for employers and for themselves. If call centres for Canadian services can be located in India, and they are, as we know, then workers can be stationed in their own homes.

Canada, like the rest of the world, is experiencing an unprecedented demographic evolution that will see one in four Canadians 65 and older by 2030. At the same time, the current lower birth rate has already created a smaller cohort of younger people and a shortage of workers to replace the retiring War Babies (born between 1939 and 1945) and Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1965). Immigration alone cannot fill the gap between supply and demand. Older workers are needed.

CARP recommends a federal/provincial/territorial national strategy to create an environment that embraces older workers – including anti-ageist policies, flexible hours (for those who need it), training and re-training, etc.

The value of older workers is beginning to be recognized. Now it’s time for government and businesses to take action.

From CARP’s website, www.50plus.com

A friend of mine opened his wife’s underwear drawer and picked up a silk paper wrapped package: “This, - he said - isn’t any ordinary package.”

He unwrapped the box and stared at both the silk paper and the box.

“She got this the first time we went to New York eight or nine years ago. She has never put it on, was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is it. He got near the bed and placed the gift box next to the other clothing he was taking to the funeral house; his wife had just died. He turned to me and said:

“Never save something for a special occasion. Every day in your life is a special occasion”.

I still think those words changed my life.

Now I read more and clean less. I sit on the porch without worrying about anything.

I spend more time with my family, and less at work.

I understood that life should be a source of experience to be lived up to, not survived through. I no longer keep anything. I use crystal glasses every day. I’ll wear new clothes to go to the supermarket, if I feel like it.

I don’t save my special perfume for special occasions, I use it whenever I want to. The words “Someday” and “One Day” are fading away from my dictionary. If it’s worth seeing, listening or doing, I want to see, listen or do it now. I don’t know what my friend’s wife would have done if she knew she wouldn’t be there the next morning, this nobody can tell. I think she might have called her relatives and closest friends.
She might call old friends to make peace over past quarrels. I’d like to think she would go out for Chinese, her favorite food. It’s these small things that I would regret not doing, if I knew my time had come.

I would regret it, because I would no longer see the friends I would meet, letters that I wanted to write

“One of these days”.

I would regret and feel sad, because I didn’t say to my brother and sisters, son and daughters, not times enough at least, how much I love them.

Now, I try not to delay, postpone or keep anything that could bring laughter and joy into our lives. And, each morning, I say to myself that this could be a special day. Each day, each hour, each minute, is special.

If you got this, it’s because someone cares for you and because, probably, there’s someone you care about.

If you’re too busy to send this out to other people and you say to yourself that you will send it “One of these days “, remember that “One day” is far away or might never come. No matter if you’re superstitious or not, spend some time reading it. It holds useful messages for the soul.

Don’t keep this message. Send it out to as many friends as possible. You’ll be happy that you did.

As a result, the problem of elder abuse remains largely hidden behind closed doors. Canadian research indicates that between four and ten percent of older adults experience some kind of abuse or neglect.

“World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (held Juen 15 this year) is an opportunity to raise awareness of the abuse of older adults as a means to prevent and combat all types of elder abuse,” said The Honourable Marjory LeBreton, Leader of the Canadian Government in the Senate and Secretary of State (Seniors) .

“We must find ways to show Canadian seniors that elder abuse exists, that it is not tolerated, and that there is help available in our communities to cope. This includes finding ways not only to help victims, but to prevent abuse before it happens.”

Canada’s new government is addressing the problem of elder abuse, in all its ugly forms, through a variety of actions:

* The National Seniors Council was created in March 2007 to advise the Canadian government on seniors’ issues of national importance. Canada government has asked the Council to focus some of its first efforts on finding ways to raise awareness of elder abuse and to combat it.

* Budget 2007 announced the expansion of the New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP) by $10 million per year, with a portion of the new funding to be used for education about elder abuse and fraud. To date, the NHSP has funded more than 1,700 projects, benefiting more than 100,000 participants in more than 430 communities across Canada.

* The Family Violence Initiative (FVI), coordinated by the Public Health Agency of Canada, consists of 15 member departments, and promotes public awareness of the risk factors of family violence, and the need for public involvement in responding to it. The FVI has identified the abuse of older adults as an issue warranting specific attention in the context of family violence. The FVI theme for June is elder abuse, and it is highlighted in the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence’s E-Bulletin.

* The Canadian government participates in the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Working Group on Safety and Security for Seniors, which has developed materials to help promote awareness of abuse and neglect of older adults. These resources may be found on the Canadian Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse’s Web site at www.cnpea.ca.

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day was first declared last year by the World Health Organization and the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse. It is an opportunity to raise awareness of the abuse of older adults as a means to prevent and combat all types of elder abuse.It is also an opportunity to recognize the local, provincial, territorial and federal partnerships that promote the safety, security and well-being of seniors. In Canada, elder abuse has become a priority issue for all levels of government.

Elder abuse exists in many ugly forms – whether it is physical, emotional, verbal financial, or even sexual. Many seniors do not report abuse. They often feel isolated and afraid to speak out. As a result, elder abuse remains largely hidden behind closed doors.

The Canadian government is already taking action to help raise awareness of the existence of elder abuse.

Budget 2007 announced a $10 million dollar increase to the New Horizons for Seniors Program, from $25 million to $35 million. Some of this additional funding will be used to combat elder abuse and fraud, and invest in community programs to raise awareness.

The government also recently established the National Seniors Council to advise the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, the Minister of Health, and Minister LeBreton on issues of national importance to seniors.

As Secretary of State for Seniors, she has asked the Council to first focus its work on two hugely important issues: raising awareness to combat elder abuse, and providing support to low-income single senior women.

“We need to work together to stand up for those who have helped build this country to make it what it is today,” she told her fellow Senators. “World Elder Abuse Awareness Day offers the opportunity to change attitudes and behaviours when it comes to the abuse of older adults.

“I ask that all Honourable Senators work to help our Government reach out to our seniors’ communities so that we can break down the wall of silence and show Canadians that elder abuse exists, that it is not tolerated, and that there is help available in our communities.

For more information, please contact Office of the Secretary of State (Seniors) James Maunder 613-943-0756 or Human Resources and Social Development Canada Media Relations Office at 819-994-5559; web site: www.hrsdc.gc.ca

Here is an actual letter that was sent to a bank by an 86 year old woman.

The bank manager thought it amusing enough to have it published in the New York Times.

Dear Sir:

I am writing to thank you for bouncing my check with which I endeavored to pay my plumber last month.

By my calculations, three nanoseconds must have elapsed between his presenting the check and the arrival in my account of the funds needed to honor it.

I refer, of course, to the automatic monthly deposit of my entire pension, an arrangement which, I admit, has been in place for only eight years.

You are to be commended for seizing that brief window of opportunity, and also for debiting my account $30 by way of penalty for the inconvenience caused to your bank.

My thankfulness springs from the manner in which this incident has caused me to rethink my errant financial ways.

I noticed that whereas I personally answer your telephone calls and letters, — when I try to contact you, I am confronted by the impersonal, overcharging, pre-recorded, faceless entity which your bank has become.

From now on, I, like you, choose only to deal with a flesh-and-blood person.

My mortgage and loan repayments will therefore and hereafter no longer be automatic, but will arrive at your bank, by check, addressed personally and confidentially to an employee at your bank whom you must nominate.

Be aware that it is an offense under the Postal Act for any other person to open such an envelope. Please find attached an Application Contact which I require your chosen employee to complete.

I am sorry it runs to eight pages, but in order that I know as much about him or her as your bank knows about me, there is no alternative.

Please note that all copies of his or her medical history must be countersigned by a Notary Public, and the mandatory details of his/her financial situation (income, debts, assets and liabilities) must be accompanied by documented proof.

In due course, at MY convenience, I will issue your employee with a PIN number which he/she must quote in dealings with me.

I regret that it cannot be shorter than 28 digits but, again, I have modeled it on the number of button presses required of me to access my account balance on your phone bank service. As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Let me level the playing field even further.

When you call me, press buttons as follows:

IMMEDIATELY AFTER DIALING,

PRESS THE STAR (*) BUTTON FOR ENGLISH!

#1. To make an appointment to see me

#2. To query a missing payment.

#3. To transfer the call to my living room in case I am there.

#4. To transfer the call to my bedroom in case I am sleeping.

#5. To transfer the call to my toilet in case I am attending to nature.

#6. To transfer the call to my mobile phone if I am not at home .

#7. To leave a message on my computer, a password to access my computer is required. Password will be communicated to you at a later date to that Authorized Contact mentioned earlier.

#8. To return to the main menu and to listen to options 1 through 7.

#9. To make a general complaint or inquiry. The contact will then be put on hold, pending the attention of my automated answering service.

# 10. This is a second reminder to press* for English.

While this may, on occasion, involve a lengthy wait, uplifting music will play for the duration of the call.

Regrettably, but again following your example, I must also levy an establishment fee to cover the setting up of this new arrangement.

May I wish you a happy, if ever so slightly less prosperous New Year?

Your Humble Client

Remember: This was written by an 86-year-old woman.

Ya just gotta love us “seniors”!

Thanks to Victoria from London Canada for passing this item along to me.

Thanks to Victoria from London, Ontario Canada for passing along this “Senior Moment” story from her 80-year-old uncle. “It’s a good one,” she said, “Enjoy.”

A very self-important college freshman at a recent football game decided to explain to a senior citizen sitting next to him why it was impossible for the older generation to understand his generation.

“You grew up in a different world, actually an almost primitive one,” the student said, loud enough for many of those nearby to hear. “We, the young people of today, grew up with television, jet planes, space travel, men walking on the moon, our spaceships have visited Mars. We have nuclear energy, electric and hydrogen cars, computers with light-speed processing and…,” pausing to take another drink of beer.

The senior took advantage of the break in the student’s litany and said, “You’re right, son. We didn’t have those things when we were young … so we invented them. Now, you arrogant little f..t, what are you doing for the next generation?”

People within hearing distance burst into loud applause.

“I love senior citizens,” Victoria said.

Price said he and his Cherokee Cowboys backup band had been playing concerts across Canada, with the London concert marking their 30th day on the road. His son, Cliff Price, opened the show with several guitar pieces and pleasant, slow-paced singing.

Ray Price was neatly dressed in an elegantly tailored charcoal gray suit with decorative embroidery on the front of his jacket, along with a white shirt and bright reddish western-style tie. He also wore his trademark deep reddish leather cowboy boots.

Despite a slight stoop in his shoulders, reflective of his age, the native of rural east Texas belted out many of his hit songs during his one-hour on stage. His voice was strong and melodious as he sang some of his Greatest Hits, including Crazy Arms, City Lights, I’ll Be There If You Ever Want Me, Half A Man, Heartaches by the Number, Release Me, My Shoes keep Walking Back to You, Soft Rain, Burning Memories, Touch My Heart, Crazy, and You’re the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me.

Women came to the front of the stage to snap photos of Price and his band. Two older women gave him flowers and cards, with one gushing, “I love you.” Price replied, “I love you, too, dear.”

During the past year Price was honored for his nearly six decades as a top American music performer during the opening of For the Good Times: The Ray Price Story, a Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum exhibit in Nashville, Tennessee. The exhibit, paying tribute to Price’s career and enormous impact and influence, opened in the Museum’s East Gallery last August 4 and remained through June 2007.

He launched his fifty-seven-year career with his first Dallas recording session, in January 1950, for Bullet Records. His currently active schedule involves performing upwards of 100 concerts a year.

Growing up during the Depression Era, he divided his time between doing back-breaking work on his father’s farm in Perryville, Texas, and attending grade school in Dallas, where his mother lived after his parents went their separate ways. His mother designed clothes for department store Neiman-Marcus. She later designed his first stage costumes, which helped her son stand out as a fashion-forward country star. Price wore colorfully embroidered, rhinestone Nudie suits in the 1950s and elegantly tailored dress suits from the 1960s on.

His mentor Hank Williams helped him get his first Grand Ole Opry performance and later became his roommate. “I loved Hank,” Price commented during his London, Ontario appearance this month. “He was a brother to me. I still miss him. I never do a show without doing a Hank Williams song, and I tell people I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him.”

Price’s recording of “For the Good Times”, written by Kris Kristopherson, brought him back to #1 on the charts and won him his first Grammy and CMA (Country Music Association) awards.

Today, he continues to perform and to oversee work on his sprawling ranch and farming operation in Mt. Pleasant, Texas. Ray Price is an active senior citizen who doesn’t let advancing age interfere with his desire to keep doing what he loves best – entertaining audiences of all ages.

Pat Moauro is a former veteran journalist, and currently a writer and editor specializing in seniors’ issues. For more articles check his website at maxxseniorslife.com

Rarely do you see anyone with gray hair in their 60s, 70s or older, with the possible exception of an aging Ed McMahon, the late Johnny Carson’s sidekick, still extolling the virtues of a specially built shower for seniors.

Are most companies and businesses in the U.S. and Canada ignoring older consumers?

Are advertising and marketing messages being directed mainly at those in the 25- to 34-year-old age range?

Klaus Rohrich, President of Taylor/Rohrich Associates Inc., a firm specializing in the conception and marketing of adult-lifestyle communities, thinks there is a bias in favor of younger consumers. He adds that marketers may sometimes even look at ages 35 to 49, but as a rule the 25- to 34-year-old market is the most favored.

Mr. Rohrich notes that in Canada these two market segments combined currently account for about 45 per cent of the population. However, their combined spending power falls far below that of the 50-plus age group. The 50-plus age group currently accounts for close to 32 per cent of the total population; comprises 42 per cent of the adult population; accounts for about 55 per cent of all discretionary spending; and, owns upwards of 80 per cent of all the personal wealth held in our financial institutions. Yet, they are rarely targeted in advertising.

Mr. Rohrich notes that the number of 20- to 49-year-olds will remain relatively static during the next decade. “What will change is the number of individuals described as “mature” (over the age of 50) will increase by one-third over the same time period. By the year 2026, the 50-plus demographic will eclipse the 20 to 49 by a substantial number (30 to 42 per cent), and that’s when the problem of older purchasers will make itself most evident.”

Why are the 50-plus consumers apparently being largely ignored?

“First of all, there isn’t a great deal of sex appeal in mature people (Candice Bergen notwithstanding), and one of the driving motivators in most marketing efforts aimed at young buyers is sex,” Mr. Rohrich notes. “Older purchasers buy their products on very specific, well-reasoned considerations, whereas younger buyers just want what they want when they want it.”

As well most marketing executives in today’s corporations are in the same age range as the people to whom they’re appealing, i.e. 25 to 49. “Thus, there is a huge lack of objectivity among these executives.”

However, Mr. Rohrich predicts that the time will come when advertisers discover older buyers and begin to seriously look at that market, particularly as aging, self-indulgent “Baby Boomers” cross that 50-plus threshold. “Until then they will continue to pursue that 25- to 34-year-old buyer whose discretionary spending power remains at just under $10,000 per year.”

Adapted from an article in Active Adult Magazine: activeadultmag.com

Pat Moauro is a former veteran journalist, and currently a writer and editor specializing in seniors’ issues. For more articles check his website at maxxseniorslife.com

To realize the value of ten years: Ask a newly divorced couple.

To realize the value of four years: Ask a graduate.

To realize the value of one year: Ask a student who has failed a final exam.

To realize the value of nine months: Ask a mother who gave birth to a stillborn.

To realize the value of one month: Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.

To realize the value of one week: Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize the value of one minute: Ask a person who has missed the train,

bus or plane.

To realize the value of one second: Ask a person who has survived an accident.

To realize the value of a friend or family member: Lose one.

Time waits for no one.

Treasure every moment you have.

You will treasure it even more when you can share it with someone special.

(Found on the Internet)