I remember the Gray Panthers....they did a great job. Are they still with us? Here's something you should know: in my prior job, we did a lot of research on shopping and paying habits of elders. Guess what? The over 65 market spent $3 trillion dollars annually in purchasing items: from homes to cosemetics. THAT IS HUGE! Yes it was prior to the economic downturn but we have economic power if we stick together!

Being laid off has been a great gift. I was insulated from having to deal with a lot of ageist issues while working and getting a good salary, and great benefits.

Now, the truth prevails. I am one with you. Everything happens for a reason...now I have a mission

When a huge segment of society is relentlessly shoved aside, pacified with pills, laughed at, seen as has-beens, ask yourself:

who benefits?

When people known as the "Greatest Generation" are ignored, why?

When an 86 year old sweetheart woman I met last night at a volunteer dinner..tearfully tells me, a perfect stranger,that her kids pushed her out of her home and into a senior living complex, I feel like crying.

They convinced her she was being "selfish" to stay alone in her home, even though she was managing well.

The woman told me she never wants to see her home again. Too many emotions attached to the place where she raised two children, felt love, security, had a car, did her own shopping and lived a full life.

Whatever we do to seniors, it shall be done to us.

Remember that.

We are in a great position to turn the degradation of seniors around, if and when we gather strength in numbers and use our collective heads for more than hat racks.

Gray Panthers. I'm going to research that group.

Now, not yesterday,is the time to collaborate, educate, show respect for all generations, and get the job of living peacefully between generations done.

I would rather bump myself off than be forced into a senior living complex against my wishes.

Seniors hate losing their cars. Is there a way seniors could still drive an electric vehicle in a special senior lane?

Is there a way a private company could provide door to door transportation for seniors at a low cost?

Didn't we put a man on the moon? Can't we use our creative brains to come up with solutions that would include seniors in every aspect of life?

This ageism thing is a rock in my shoe that won't go away.

And the ageism is within me, too. A friend took me to her tai chi class at the senior center. The teacher was terrific, the price was right, the place close to home, the people in the class delightful. The problem? My shock on seeing my "older" classmates. Joining them triggered instant negative feelings: Oh, I can't be here, I'm too young, too this, too that. In the class, some people had breathing machines, limited range of motion, and signs of increasing fragility and dependency. (These signs have haunted me since watching my mother succumb to dementia in her early eighties... and marking her 98th birthday tomorrow). Fears appeared to dominate my negative feelings. What to do with my own stuff? Share honestly, join the conversation at TGB, and embrace me today.

Thanks for this post. Ageism was the initial catalyst for me starting to write a play on ageing--which turns out to be a musical. The play covers various kinds of ageism (and offers some creative responses). It also explores the pervasive imitation of youth and the deeper value of aging as a stage of human development through dramatic vignettes and songs. I am hoping to have it ready for production very soon, and it's my intention to use it as a vehicle for social education and change.

When will Madison Avenue 'get it'? We elders have more spendable cash, more time to spend it, and time to read up on the products. Then why is all the advertising tilted toward the young? Could it be that our wrinkled faces can't compare with that ditzy Miss California they are obsessing about?

I guess it's up to us to educate them. Every time you see an ageist piece, call the guilty advertiser or media and complain loud and long.

Sophronia...

The TGB (Time Goes By) Bias Test is just something I invented a few years ago when I first started writing about the casual ageism that turns up every day in newspapers, magazines, television shows, movies, blogs and general conversation.

It's everywhere, but few people believe ageist language is important and I wanted a dramatic way to show that ageism is as destructive as sexism and racism.

Not so long ago, referring to women of all ages as "girls" and to blacks using the N word was common and people thought nothing was wrong with it.

During the civil rights movement, blacks insisted that the N word was prejudicial and demanded the use of black (some prefer African-American). Women followed suit and insisted on women for grownups. It has made a difference for both groups.

Sometimes, however, I think we go too far with the latter. I too frequently see such newspaper descriptions as "the 15-year-old woman." I don't think there should be an official cutoff for the use of "girl," but some writers need to be more sensible.

Enjoy reading this article on ageism, a topic about which you write so well.

I think the term John finds so offensive is one I've heard and find so distasteful -- "geezer" not geiser. It's a very derogatory term applied to aged males for insulting purposes. Have never understood why use of that term can be acceptable here as humorous and why so many other offensive ones said with similar humorous intent are not acceptable. ;-)

I've been sensitive recently to numerous instances when the term "sweetie" was repeatedly used when addressing me by a well-meaning middle-aged woman. I don't think she was from the South or I could more easily have accepted it, as in my experience Southern service people often use such terms to people of all ages and I long ago became used to it there.

I grew up exposed to and just naturally respectful toward aged people. We always gave our seat to older people on public transportation. Some months ago when traveling on such a transport a trio of young people made no attempt to do so for me. Maybe I didn't look old enough.;-) One young girl was occupying a seat with special limited designation though she clearly did not meet the criteria. A middle-aged looking Hispanic woman saw me clinging to a rail and being jerked around with rapid stops and starts and after a while offered me her seat. I had noticed her earlier, asleep in the seat and thought she appeared quite fatigued even after she awoke. Right or wrong it crossed my mind based on her attire that she had probably had a long day working in some menial underpaid task. Though the ride was none to pleasant for me I thought I could endure and she probably deserved to sit, so I smiled broadly, thanked her, but gestured I was okay. The young people wouldn't have noticed that interaction. Had I really felt like I needed to sit, or had I been having a longer ride, I wouldn't have hesitated to accept her kind offer. The young people didn't appear to be the type I wanted to confront and they were very aware of my presence next to their seat. Had my ride been longer I probably would have kindly asked if I could sit a bit. Might have been interesting if I had done it anyway, but I didn't want a situation at that particular time, and I was alone.

It has taken some time for society to catch up with the fact that people are living much longer.

For a time older people who lived in city environments away from children and grandchildren were going to warmer climes each winter with bumper stickers saying "I am using up my children's inheritance."

There didn't seem to be any reason for them to stay around. Their role as mentors and wise members of the tribe evidently was over.

I hope that when this depression hits everyone that we can come back to appreciating us older people once more and old people can find ways to interact with younger people.

As it is, first time parents are raising children alone without the experienced calmness of olders and old people are shed from society as a curse.

For myself, I am reaching out to the youngers in my family with frequent family gatherings throughout the year. I am sharing my story and my husband's story with not only the family but the world since we both published our memoirs.

In June I will appear on the Open Mike comedy stage here in Seattle as I need to hear laughter again since my husband died early in April.
I think I am the oldest standup in Seattle at age almost 89. Life isn't over yet, not by a long shot.