PRIME TIME
Older Americans Month 2017:
Something For Us To “AOL” About
By Barb Armijo
I
am glad to see the Administration
for Community Living continuing to
celebrate Older Americans Month, and
I’m even more pleased to hear the theme
for this year: Age Out Loud (AOL).
Though I fit the demographic – I am an
older American – being hip to current pop
culture is something I strive to do so as
not to be ridiculed by my adult children. If
you are thinking that AOL still stands for
the name of an email provider, get that out
of your head right now because that was
so 1990s.
AOL is intended to follow in the
footsteps of other popular abbreviations
like Laugh Out Loud (LOL) and Shaking
My Head (SMH) and Talk to You Later
(TTYL). We’re older, wiser and we can
keep up with the text, Facebook and
Twitter vernacular. That’s cause for great
AOL celebrations.
Each May, the Administration for
Community Living celebrates me and
all those like me who know that while
we age, we do not have to take a back
seat to the younger generation, that our
voices are still valuable and that many of
us continue to contribute to society well
past traditional retirement age. The ACL
campaign involves providing adults with
resources to help them find new hobbies
and adventures, support for those seeking
career changes, knowing their legal rights
when it comes to parental/grandparental
rights and other issues. All the resources
can be found at www.acl.gov.
According to the Social Security
Administration, a larger share of
Americans age 60 or older continues to
work. From 2000 to 2015, the labor force
participation rate among 65- to 69-year-
old men rose nearly a quarter; among
women it rose nearly half. Labor force
participation is also up among 60- to
64-year-olds, particularly women. Even
Americans age 70 or older are working
more.
Working longer and delaying Social
Security claiming can boost workers’
retirement security. The longer they wait
to claim, the larger their monthly Social
Security benefit will be. The longer they
work, the more they can save — and the
fewer years they’ll need to make their
retirement savings last.
Older Americans also fall in love.
Some of my friends found true love many
years ago and have remained smitten
with their spouses. Others found, lost and
found love again in later life. No matter
where we are in that “love space” we
know what it’s like, and I root for my
friends and family to find and keep falling
in love.
I know this will be difficult for
younger Americans to fathom if they
are only thinking about their parents
or grandparents, but yes, we older
Americans are still enjoying sex. It is
often thought that people lose interest
in sex as they age, but a new study
published in the New England
Journal of Medicine finds that
assumption is untrue. A survey
of Americans ages 57 to 85
found that a majority of older
adults are sexually active, view
intimacy as an important part
of life and are willing to talk
about it.
Even as we age, many of us
are independent, travel when
we can and have an amplified
voice even with technology
moving quickly to try to take
us down.
I’m not the best “texter” in
the world, but I don’t shy away
from it either, even when I
make embarrassing typos. My
most recent boo-boo was a text
to a contractor who was doing
repairs to my house. I typed:
“I’ll be a ho by 4,” when really
meant that I would be home by
4 p.m.
The younger Americans
May 2017
5
in my life will never let me live that
one down. But hey, I’m still in the
technological game, and I know what a
tweet and a snapchat are, and I know my
way around YouTube. We should not be
sold short on being older Americans in a
modern world.
Helping you move forward, in Reverse.
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at the University of
New Mexico brings the challenge and excitement of academic
discovery to adults age 50 and better. Join the Osher Lifelong
Learning Institute at UNM for only $20 and participate in engaging
courses, lectures and special events.
Upcoming OLLI Member Classes:
Albuquerque in the Time of Tuberculosis
When the World Ended
Uniquely Made in New Mexico
When the World Ended
Happiness and the Art of the Optimal
A Sampler of Women Artists - Part Two
In Love with God: Francis and Clare
It’s All Quiet on the Western Front: An Examination of WWI
Anthropological Genetic History: Viriathus,
the first National Hero of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain)
May 2
May 2
May 2
May 2
May 6
May 12
Jun 5
Jul 29
Aug 4
For more information, 505-277-6179 or [email protected]
505-277-0077
ce.unm.edu/olli
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