Hi Julia, I have missed reading from you for a bit. Always good, juicy, honest, and fun. I agree with your points. I am lucky to live to hear the ocean roar, and the sea lions bark all year round, far enough away from fires yet not clear of potential earthquakes. i would add if you live with disability, reach out, find support groups, inclusive communities, and SING your heart out—or create your own, as we are doing - for singing around a fire pit under the stars. Thank you.
I'd love to live near the sea. In Spain we don't live far from it - only thirty minutes, so pretty good! And I use our pool all year round, even when it's super cold in winter. But I would love a sea view!
The most annoying part about this is that most people will NEVER look past the headline and the article because they are still far too trusting of media outlets these days. I don't take a thing at surface value. Instead, I'm always 'asking questions of the text' as I teach my students to do. Of course, one drop of common sense from the reader should refute this idea that moving somewhere else can prevent dementia when the whole thing doesn't even work that way.
Yes, simplistic approaches to avoiding problems (dementia) with likely causative factors will usually attract eyeballs (sell copy). Seems that we, present company excluded, prefer simple.
Why is that?
The craziness of 21st century 24/7 lives in a nation which elected a felon, rapist, and all-around crazy narcissist leads to wanting simple answers. Wanting less stress. Wanting and perhaps needing more $. Wanting control, wanting a peaceful existence. Sorry for the journey down a slightly off-topic RANT.
I do have two stories to share regarding one of those causative factors: protecting your noggin!
First story:
One of my NPS Ranger friends will be 65 next month. She's lean, loves hiking and biking, doesn't smoke, does drink wine regularly. She reads s lot of books, listens to NPR and doesn't have a TV. She's a widow with several close friends with whom she socializes regularly. As a Ranger, she spends much of her working days standing, walking and talking (giving tours of the many building that are a part of Independence National Park). She's doing all of the "right things" to honor her body and brain as she ages.
When she bikes she always wears a helmet. That helmet saved her life, so she was told by an ER physician, about three years ago. She was riding her bike on a city street with trolley tracks (which she decided to cross over while riding instead of getting off the bike and walking across the tracks). Her front wheel got stuck between the steel track and the road, catapulting her head first over the handle bars onto the road, hitting her head on a rail. She was knocked unconscious from the impact. Luckily for Joanne, a pedestrian on the sidewalk pulled her to a sidewalk and called 911. Her bike was mangled as were a few bones, requiring surgery. She's ok now.
Second story:
My spouse Peter (81 years old) fell backwards, hitting his head on our sloping, concrete driveway about 5 years ago. He was trimming a small tree on our sloping front lawn. He said he lost his balance wielding that long hedge trimmer. Our neighbor, from across the street, saw the mishap and helped Peter up. He was a little disoriented for a few minutes...no ER visits needed.
I am not certain if that incident was **the** cause of Peter's NPH (normal pressure hydrocephalus) or if it was just 'aging.' I do know that head trauma is indeed one of those causes. As an fyi: balance and gate issues (and falling) are symptoms of NPH! Parkinson's Disease share those same symptoms...
Where I am. I'm a New Englander, passed through Texas before I landed in Kentucky. I understand Kentucky isn't ideal for me but I got married here and unless she agrees, we won't move again (we're both 82) So we're here. happy and living well. Does where we are matter? Nope!
Lot of wisdom in that Bruce. While I most definitely may need to move because of finances, and most assuredly need to downsize if not leave the country, it's always and forever what we make of where we are.
I put this in the category of, "Coffee is bad!" / "Coffee is good!" | "Wine is bad!" / "Wine is good!" and on and on it goes...(sigh).
Thank you.
Hi Julia, I have missed reading from you for a bit. Always good, juicy, honest, and fun. I agree with your points. I am lucky to live to hear the ocean roar, and the sea lions bark all year round, far enough away from fires yet not clear of potential earthquakes. i would add if you live with disability, reach out, find support groups, inclusive communities, and SING your heart out—or create your own, as we are doing - for singing around a fire pit under the stars. Thank you.
I'd love to live near the sea. In Spain we don't live far from it - only thirty minutes, so pretty good! And I use our pool all year round, even when it's super cold in winter. But I would love a sea view!
The most annoying part about this is that most people will NEVER look past the headline and the article because they are still far too trusting of media outlets these days. I don't take a thing at surface value. Instead, I'm always 'asking questions of the text' as I teach my students to do. Of course, one drop of common sense from the reader should refute this idea that moving somewhere else can prevent dementia when the whole thing doesn't even work that way.
Exactly.
Yes, simplistic approaches to avoiding problems (dementia) with likely causative factors will usually attract eyeballs (sell copy). Seems that we, present company excluded, prefer simple.
Why is that?
The craziness of 21st century 24/7 lives in a nation which elected a felon, rapist, and all-around crazy narcissist leads to wanting simple answers. Wanting less stress. Wanting and perhaps needing more $. Wanting control, wanting a peaceful existence. Sorry for the journey down a slightly off-topic RANT.
I do have two stories to share regarding one of those causative factors: protecting your noggin!
First story:
One of my NPS Ranger friends will be 65 next month. She's lean, loves hiking and biking, doesn't smoke, does drink wine regularly. She reads s lot of books, listens to NPR and doesn't have a TV. She's a widow with several close friends with whom she socializes regularly. As a Ranger, she spends much of her working days standing, walking and talking (giving tours of the many building that are a part of Independence National Park). She's doing all of the "right things" to honor her body and brain as she ages.
When she bikes she always wears a helmet. That helmet saved her life, so she was told by an ER physician, about three years ago. She was riding her bike on a city street with trolley tracks (which she decided to cross over while riding instead of getting off the bike and walking across the tracks). Her front wheel got stuck between the steel track and the road, catapulting her head first over the handle bars onto the road, hitting her head on a rail. She was knocked unconscious from the impact. Luckily for Joanne, a pedestrian on the sidewalk pulled her to a sidewalk and called 911. Her bike was mangled as were a few bones, requiring surgery. She's ok now.
Second story:
My spouse Peter (81 years old) fell backwards, hitting his head on our sloping, concrete driveway about 5 years ago. He was trimming a small tree on our sloping front lawn. He said he lost his balance wielding that long hedge trimmer. Our neighbor, from across the street, saw the mishap and helped Peter up. He was a little disoriented for a few minutes...no ER visits needed.
I am not certain if that incident was **the** cause of Peter's NPH (normal pressure hydrocephalus) or if it was just 'aging.' I do know that head trauma is indeed one of those causes. As an fyi: balance and gate issues (and falling) are symptoms of NPH! Parkinson's Disease share those same symptoms...
Exactly. Yet we seem to still want to believe we can skip the work and skate past potential bad news.
"What’s your ideal location?"
Where I am. I'm a New Englander, passed through Texas before I landed in Kentucky. I understand Kentucky isn't ideal for me but I got married here and unless she agrees, we won't move again (we're both 82) So we're here. happy and living well. Does where we are matter? Nope!
Lot of wisdom in that Bruce. While I most definitely may need to move because of finances, and most assuredly need to downsize if not leave the country, it's always and forever what we make of where we are.