Reaching the Big 50 Part 2

Yep, I continue to observe and everything around me seems to be notoriety pointing to "oh you must be over 50".

I went on an interview recently and speaking with the interviewee whom I knew, he started discussing how it appears the way corporate sees things that they're trying to push out people of age only to bring in the youth. Which I understood his point, but that's not what this post is about. Although his thinking is what this is about. See everyone is under this conception that 50 marks the end of an era for life and you need to be somewhat put out to pasture to graze until you merely ready to keel over and you slip into the next world.

It was interesting to hear him talk. Yea this wasn't the traditional interview, like I said I knew the person I was interviewing with. He explains how he has to work at least another 15 years, how so and so has 30 years here how and how he suspects that person will go another 5 years and be gone. Same thing for Bubba and John. Everyone is just getting old. OK what is the definition of old I ask you?

Dictionary.com defines old as 1. far advanced in the years of one's or its life. Merriam-Webster defines old as a : advanced in years or age b : showing the characteristics of age . So does this definition type cast all people once they reach 50 as being old? To old for a healthy lifestyle?

I never gave it a second thought in my forties of what old meant or that things would slow down in that era. Not until I reached 50 did I start hearing so much rhetoric about being old. Commercials, shows, the media, insurance ads, etc. Today being at my age, I still feel no different than I did when I was 30 and in some cases probably younger.

Ever notice how sensitive women get when they are reaching the Big 50? It's like shoot me please. We have become a society of putting labels on everything. Ads trying to draw the younger crowd to buy certain things. Media as stating things like the consumer buying power is within the younger generation between this age and that age. Is it because people of that age era spend more freely so they captivate the audience by saying a certain age range?

In the case of 50 and older being old in the work force. Why is it people don't see it as and aging workforce but government does? But in the same breath they say social benefits won't be paid until 62 1/2 and continually speaking about raising it to 70 whereas people are expected to work and be vibrant through their golden years?

I never considered my parents as old when they hit 50. I just thought they were more experience at giving advice that I could utilize. From a standpoint of ladies hitting the Big 50, I see many ladies that look better now than they did in their 50's and many are healthier today. Heck back in my 20's and 30's some women looked way worse than women of the age of 50 and above. So why do we have to continually stigmatize people with a label?

Is statistics so clear that they have narrowed it down to the point where they absolutely know that you're going to start dieing when you hit the 50 number? Believe it or not, from the time we get out of our mother's womb we begin dieing. If the government was totally sold on these statistics wouldn't it make more sense to say let's give social benefits to people when they hit 50? Why prolong it if you know I'm doomed to die within that era? I know lots has to do politically by trying to make one believe they're dieing but you must work until what we feel is a good age to call it quits if you want to be eligible to collect your benefits. There's a separation in what people believe and the way statistics portray the individual growing older.

Are we living in a New World where we will create social economic issues that will push people to die by the time they reach 50? Are we so concerned that anything younger is what the world is all about?

It's just in my opinion that I think we're missing something here. That there is no balance between social economical times of being 50 and being anything else younger. What would truly happen if we quit focusing so much on certain age groups and focus more on life itself? What would happen if we balanced out the age groups and not cater to one more than the other one? Could it be if we really quit type casting and setting particular ages as being the ultimate time to deteriorate that people would do more, be more and live a much healthier lifestyle with no worries about when is it actually time to be considered a senior citizen? It just doesn't make much sense to stigmatize a group that has so much to offer who's continually learning and contributing to a betterment of life.

It's something that haunts me the way society sees things and really it all stems not from the youth, but from advertisements, government depictions, and what a select group is made as the deciding factor. Grow old with dignity not dis-spare and let's quit worrying about type casting the cast that doesn't really care what you think of them as long as they have bounce, let them continue to bounce!

Putting the Bull Out to Pasture Before It's Time

I was watching an old Bonanza show today and what I watched seemed to be exactly what is happening in the world around us with people of age. It's amazing that even the show of back in those days depicted the thoughts we're all under today. And yes even back in the 60's when Bonanza was being filmed it was the same ordeal.

What this story was about was an aging Sheriff in Virgina City, Roy Coffee. The title was "No Less Than A Man". He was up in age, carried no gun and believed you didn't need a fast gun to keep order. The town differed in opinion. They felt he was to old to do the job of maintaining proper order and wanted him gone. But the only way to get rid of him was the town had to vote Adam and Ben Cartwright from the city counsel since they were backing ole Roy. Once they got Adam and Ben out then they could fire Roy.

As the story goes they had a gang coming to town. The Wagner gang who was notorious about robbing the banks in the territory, molesting women and anything they felt like doing. Anyway throughout the show you saw Adam and Roy installing bars over a building's windows and nobody understood what was going on and thought Roy and Adam was crazy as in "what the hell are you doing"? The town people were worried and dazzled about "what will we do when this gang comes to town"? Roy had no worries and suggested the towns people let him do his job. But with no support they rallied against him and put together a somewhat mob to protect the inner city.

To cut to the chase, Roy had no support other than the Cartwrights. When the gang got to town they saw no one was on the streets and thought maybe it was a trap and then noticed the Sheriff (Roy) standing outside the bank. They road up to him, stepped off their horses and asked, "hey ole man you don't carry a gun anymore", and "where's all the people". Roy stated he ordered everyone off the street because he didn't want anyone getting hurt, and no as he exclaimed, "I do not carry a gun, because we don't want anyone getting hurt, so go on,get what you came after and be on your way". The gang thought that was pretty smart coming from and ole coot. So they preceded into the bank and started the search for the money.

No money could be found and started questioning the banker and forced him to open the vault. Still no money as the leader walked out and figured we'll go and kick that Sheriff's butt and he'll tell us where the money is. The banker grabbed the vault door and pulled it closed and locked himself in. Well the gang couldn't get to him, he was locked inside this steel box and no one knew the combination. As they approached the door to the outside, Sheriff Roy ran to the door, closed it and barricaded it with a bar that was installed outside locking them inside. They tried the windows only to find out the reason Adam and Roy was putting up bars were because they were putting them up on the bank. The gang couldn't get out. No door, no windows so lets just start shooting at the Sheriff who was hiding behind a wagon. Then last but not least they realized we're wasting ammunition. At that point good ole Old Roy hollered to them "you can't go nowhere, you can keep shooting until you run out, you can stay in the bank for a week, a month, but you're not going anywhere. Now throw out your guns, it's over". Yep it was over and the ole gezzard Sheriff Roy Coffee caught the entire gang without force, no guns and by himself.

Now the moral behind this show and what my comparison is, is simple. The town was Upper Management/Corporate, they wanted the underlings (the Sheriff) fired (fired/laid off)and replaced with a quicker gun(Youth) because youth was quicker on the draw. However the Cartwrights knew better about Roy. He had what most older workers have today that most youth haven't had yet; and that management and the corporate world is overlooking; experience.

In the end the town (Management/Corporate) admitted they made a mistake and didn't realize that sometimes experience speaks louder than someone with a sharp wit or in this case a quick gun.Sometimes that experience if given a chance can prove to steer a company right toward the direction they've been wanting to go. Sometimes you really have to quit thinking the worst about people growing older. Wisdom, knowledge, experience and believing in what could be may be exactly what you need. It's not always the appearance of youth that brings fresh ideas, but knowing that you have; someone dependable that cares about the job in Roy's case the town, the employees and company, as Roy stated (the family)and is willing to use that wisdom and knowledge to benefit not themselves but to continue the path of the company's (the family's)success.

Have We Really Sunk This Low

You know there was a show once called Soylent Green where by the age of 60 your number was pulled and you were required to go to a certain place where your demise ended with you being turned into fertilizer, hence the name Soy (Soil) Green?

With so much hype about age discrimination and society being big on youth, maintaining your youth we have simple gotten away from reality. Now I am not writing this to show any sort of rage against youth because like everyone else I do not want to grow old either. I try to take care of myself so I can be agile, have good health although I probably need to lose a good 20 pounds but I read so much about how post, blogs, the news, commercials, advertisements are always saying do what ever you need to do to remain young. Now we know age discrimination has always been around as far back probably since cave dwellers. Nevertheless, it appears it is becoming so in depth with society that employment is suffering. Good people with mounds of experience, great minds and wonderful talent is being put out to pasture because they are simply depicted as an ole cow. Now you’re being told how to appear for job interviews and I am not talking about dressing for success or making sure your shoes are shined nor what color blouse to wear. You are being told to dye your hair, wear trendy accessories and front a big fake. Therefore, we are being taught that lying is ok.

Were we not taught as we were growing up to be who we are and not try to be someone we were not? We were also taught never to lie. Lying just leads to trouble and eventually you will be caught. Look around in social relationships, online dating, reading people’s profiles what is the one thing that majority of lookers are saying? If you are a liar stay away, I am not into liars. I want someone honest. However, when you awake in the morning to go to that job interview you spend numerous hours prepping to become the biggest gimmick. To appear to be someone what you are not.

Now lying has taken on a different form. Once you have the job and you no longer want to dye your hair and the grey starts appearing or you simply did not have the time to do it this time, you are now showing your true self. Not to mention most people can tell within a few years of different genres, what era you stem from. Maybe you do keep up with certain trends, but let us face it, you cannot hide everything about where you came from, and the era you grew up. You might be able to fool the fool when interviewing, but just like a resume, if you put something down that might be stretching it, you will eventually be found out. I'm not saying it is wrong to keep up with trends if you so feel you need to, but it is like chasing a lie, you are forever having to cover it up and the wondering when can I ever be who I really am. In a comment posted, someone stated well once you get the job and you decide to let the gray show and the situation arises that you are older and something is made of it like losing your job, then you have a case to head to court. Do people really think the company will admit that they canned you because you were being fake? Not in a million years. You will never know the true reason. Who in their right mind would even begin to say “Mr. Jones, we need to remove you from your position because you have gray hair or you just are not who you said you were during the interview.”

My thoughts are plain and simple. Even though I‘ve been told I look younger than I really am, I am not going to lie about whom I am. Accept me or tell me I am just too old. People need to take America back. Things have changed without a doubt, but when you have to start playing fairytales just to keep a job, we have definitely stained our morals.

In addition, if that is the case everyone coming in the door will be hiding something. Is that the kind of company you want to work for, never knowing who is hiding something? One lie leads to another and another and you are always fighting to cover it up. It is what we been taught all our lives. So now, since we are deviating from what we have been taught we need to start teaching our kids in a different light, "it's ok to tell a lie!" Little white lies despite where and how they are used will eventually haunt you. I am not the kind to jeopardize or dignify the world by changing who I am and tossing my my ethics and moral standards. Then that is just me!

I was in a hiring position at one time, and the way I see things is if someone is going through all that trouble to be fake to get a job, how fake are they going to be at portraying and having the true ability to perform that job. Their attitude would have been compromised also. Their thoughts might very well be, "well I got away with it then, how much more can I get away with, if I just fake it!"

Say what you want folks as we do live in a different age, but we (society) are the only ones that can change things, if we want! What is next you are now 50 and you are trying to look forty. What will the genre do when they say we do not want 30 year olds, so they start trying to be something they are not? I have always had this thought that if Hollywood can produce a movie about it; it is not to far from being factual. Eventually we all lose.

I think the bigger question should be asked, what society is going to do when 10% unemployment becomes 20%, 30%. Someone will have to take care of these people or we will simply move into what we see in other third world countries. Is that what society is itching for. Greed so bad that only a certain few have everything and we let everyone else suffer? I was told that is what capitalism is all about. Is it really? To allow so many to suffer for so few to be rich?

In a technological perceptive country that is considered #1 in the world, someone will have to feed these people, whether it is corporations or the government. Even with Obamacare, you are still required to pay something, as I understand in order to obtain it. If that is the case, if I understand it correctly, who is going to pay for all these people that are unemployed, living on the street, running up to cars begging for food? Sounds far fetched, but so was landing on the moon back in the 40's and 50's but it happened!

Society is so worried about projecting youth. Where will wisdom come from? The world was not made by simply recreating the wheel each time you thought of an idea. Wisdom is what has allowed us to be where we are today. I am not saying this against the youth. We need to cherish our youth that is our future, but does youth have wisdom to foresee what could happen if we do the wrong thing? Does youth have anything to fall back on and someone to question when they should be moving forward? Who will they ask if we coral all the people that are 40 and over who might have experienced exactly what they are going through? Oh, I forgot we can just Google it!

I am not discounting thoughts or theorems on what is being projected out in society. Moreover, yes I realize we have to do our part or we will not be able to survive within our society. All I am trying to say is if we do not wake up as it was stated by Japan during the bombing of Pearl Harbor…"All we did is wake up a sleeping giant." Well society’s sleeping giant by today’s standards is disregarding the old, more room for the new. However, who creates the age line. Today anyone over 40 and definitely 50 is being considered old. Who keeps up with the scale of where old begins and where young ends? Someone commented to me on the wisdom factor and that there are many older people who appear to be wise but are nothing but old people who will not change their ways. And young people are not stupid they surely can think for themselves without the help from older people. Why some of this is true and yes, there will always be old geezers who think they are wise and will not change, and there are many young adults that brings future to the dismay, but if we do not learn or manage stability and equality, we will encompass bigger problems down the road.

Whether one wants to believe that or not. What we are dealing with is the quiet before the storm. We may be smarter than we were before the evolution of the civil rights and the woman’s movement, but that does not mean just because the majority agrees with things the way they are that things cannot change.

Those that seem to be making the rules as we play need to keep in mind they too will reach the avenues we're up against and then they will not have anyone to blame but themselves because they made the rules!

Generations have changed, I agree it is the way it is today, but it can change. If everyone continues to believe this is the way it is yes it will stay this way. How did we get to the realm we are at now before this type of social stigma came about? Someone or rather a portion of society, a group, something or whatever was bold enough to take a stand, said things have to change we are heading in a bad or indifferent direction, we want it to change, and this is where we are now. Just like the 60's and 70's and no I don't reminisce in the ole days as I can say I do keep up and believe and support technology; I'm just using as an example. People stood up to what they believed in. They stood on their beliefs. Now people see it as instead of standing up, I will just fit in. Good leadership has fallen, now we have a bunch of followers who appear to be leaders but they do not know which end they are following, the head or the tail. They have laws behind them to keep them at an advantage.

By no means am I saying anyone owes me anything so give me a job at my age. No, I am responsible for my own destiny. Nevertheless, within different types of turmoil come different reactions from people. There's a discussion on linked in, "How would you change the economy without creating a revolution!" Despite what we may believe in today’s cultured society, sometimes history does repeat itself to come to some sort of stabilization.

As I stated, I do not disagree with the facts of what today depicts, I personally prefer to be challenged on my own merits, not on what someone thinks I should be. I am a bad fit when it comes to faking things!

Lastly, I want to go back to the wisdom comments that I made and the response I received, as we do not need old wisdom. I am not a genius, scientist, or professor, but if what has been said about wisdom in the response I received “we do not need stereotypical old sage wisdom“, then why do we spend so much money going to college to learn from the old to bring light of the future? We are typically building new theory off old theorems. Without old theorems, we really would not be doing much of anything just reinventing what has already been invented, formulas, disease control, engineering philosophy, court cases (case studies), medical miracles,(transplants, etc.). Without the wisdom from these folks before us that spent the time and many given their lives fighting bureaucracy to derive at what we have been able to expand on today just exactly where would we be? Maybe I am wrong, but it is a thought to ponder.


Here's a site that talks about the need the future has for employing those of age and how companies will be welcoming them. Let's hope it comes to pass.

http://www.trainingfolks.net/publications/pub_013/Mature_Workforce.html