This past week along with Christmas catalogs I didn’t request, pitches for supporting this cause or that, came three – three – mailings for moving into a “senior living” community. After I added them to the recycling pile, I wondered, how did these places know my age? The amount of information businesses and companies have about us should give us pause. It is a bit scary.
Gerontology and its cousin geriatric medicine emerged at the dawn of the 20th century when the average life span was 47. Elie Metchnikoff, a microbiologist coined the term gerontology in 1903, and suggested we should eat more yogurt to extend life, much like the early Dannon Yogurt commercials.
But it was Ignatz Nascher, New York doctor, who came up with the idea of a specialty medicine which he called geriatrics. Voila! A whole host of specialties for older persons emerged, not to mention the “senior living” businesses that harass me with their pitches. I’ll just stick to yogurt, exercise and useful work. Besides, I’m planning my 2025 spring garden.
Prayer for the Day
From too much love of living, wrote the poet,
But you, O God, know what limits we want to break;
The spring of our lives do become autumns,
As we strive to maintain both strength and hope.
Be with us, whether young or old, as we bear witness,
Seeking to be your servants in a fragile world.
In the name of the One who is always with us,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
You can’t help getting older, but you don’t have to get old.
George Burns, American radio/TV personality (1896-1996)
Aging is not lost youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength
Betty Friedan, American feminist writer (1921-2016)
O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds,
So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me,
Until I proclaim your might to all the generations to come.
Your power and righteousness, O God, reach the high heavens.
Psalm 70: 18-19