Senior Living --- The elusive golden years

 Bookemdano's Senior Moments In Time...

Where have the golden years gone?

Is the senior citizen lost in the shuffle of the current times? A time of unrest. It seemed like it was just the other day when the golden years were a destination for the elderly — a light at the end of the road where old-timers go to live out their final years… comfortable in their surroundings.

Yes, there are a select few out there that made all the right moves — the ones who invested and created a nest egg allowing them to be comfortable and spend their final hours, days, months, and, if they have their health intact, maybe years and are lucky enough to wake up every morning and contemplate their day in the sun — a day filled with a trip to the golf course or the tennis courts…or better yet a cruise on their yacht around the bay.

But that is not the majority. Most seniors find life, in this current ongoing turmoil of unrest full of obstacles: the coronavirus; the prices at the grocery store; the cost of gas just to get across town to visit the grandchildren…well you name it, the hurdles are endless and the “old legs” fail to reach the first hurdle much less clear the obstacles ahead as they try to maneuver around every turn.

In fact, for most seniors, there is no track. Instead, they live in senior housing…their rent is calculated by how much social security they receive every month — the amount set long ago by the powers-to-be who handle the job without thinking about what year it is. It could be the 60s, the 70s the 80s, the 90s…or 2022 when an increase to their monthly income has suddenly risen sixty dollars, which allows them to buy an extra loaf of bread, maybe some extra butter, or maybe five gallons of gas that will get them that special visit to see their grandchildren.

Take it a step further. There is no ride across town. Chances are the majority of seniors are living in a box consisting of 600 square feet with a bathroom, a small kitchen and a refrigerator filled with “enough stuff” to get by until the next check comes — a check that is 30 days away, but to them that second Wednesday of the month never comes.

Take it a step further. They may be living on the streets. Or worse? The mask didn’t help them either. They now have found themselves in the hospital trying to breathe. How could that happen? For two years, they have remained in their small domicile. Maybe they have been lucky enough to have their groceries delivered. Maybe they haven’t seen their family for a year…maybe two. After all, the coronavirus has been with us since March 2020!

The “Golden Years” is no longer golden.