Hats off to AARP for debunking another myth about retired people. The conventional wisdom about the way retirement affects married couples goes something like this: Once the husband and wife find themselves stuck in each other’s company every minute of every day, they drive each other crazy and fretfully yearn to return to work. Independent researchers for AARP - The Magazine did a phone survey of more than 1,00 retirees between the ages of 55 to 75 years old. What they discovered is that relationships remained as strong as they had been or became even stronger once these people retired. In fact, 74 percent of the respondents said they were happier in retirement than they had been when they were working. A second honeymoon but with a different twist from the first. This time around, however, the joy of sex seems to be replaced by the joys of traveling, eating out, exercising, volunteering, pursuing their hobbies and what else, but surfing the Internet. Go figure, reaching the big “O” is now replaced with shopping on-line at the big “O.” Read more »
I have spent many Sunday mornings sitting in front of my computer searching for Baby Boomers who blog. Sure, there is the Eons website to consider, and Get Rich without Working websites, but I am looking for 60+ people who have embraced the power of the Internet and created their own pages. As I have struggled to put forth this masterpiece (it is to me), I have realized that what comes so easily for children of the 21st century has been a difficult journey for me and now I wonder how many others who are my age deal with the challenges of blogging. I have recognized that my language is not the techno-centric English of this generation, but instead, the archaic language of black and white TV shows and rock and roll music. Yet, I am a ’60s flower-child who believes that growing old doesn’t have to boring and to stay in touch with the universe means that we have to adopt or adapt the most current modes of communication. After all, when Ma Bell put telephone lines into our small rural community, my mother didn’t hesitate. She was among the first to request a home phone - even if it meant sharing a party line with our gossipy neighbor. Am I alone in these uncharted senior citizen waters or are there others out there that feel the need to take ownership of the Internet? Has anyone put Creating a Blog on their Bucket List? While I am still trying to figure out what role I want this to play in my life, I feel this strong need to get prepared.