Life in the Boomer Lane would love to take credit for having thought up that clever title, but it came from elsewhere. The words are true. We are becoming old. Our country is becoming old. The world is becoming old. If you are on Facebook regularly, you may have believed that the world is filled with babies and toddlers. Their delicious little looks bombard you every single day. No one posts photos of old people, unless they have just passed on or unless it is Mother’s Day.
But the opposite is true. Time Magazine reports that, for the first time in history, the number of people over 60 exceeds those under 15. This phenomenon has, apparently, crept up on us. We were simply too busy focusing on the babies flashing by on Facebook, the barely post-adolescent children who walk the fashion runways, and the popular media that relentlessly touts youth. We completely neglected to notice that there are way more of us than there are of them.
Time Magazine has noticed. They have posted a bunch of fascinating articles about aging called “Beefed Up.” Whoops, that was actually another article, which compared popular hamburgers. The aging article is titled “The New Age of Much Older Age.” It’s worth reading. Or, you can bypass the pieces and simply allow LBL to tell you what to think about them. There is so much material contained in the articles, that she will be writing several posts, based on the different areas of aging written about in the magazine.
Areas covered will be living longer vs living better, cures for aging (yes, science is actually becoming successful at this), the best place to be old, timelines of aging in body parts, how outlook changes aging on the cellular level, the value of brain games, the best diet for aging, and who is expected to win the Oscars. Whoops, again LBL must apologize. She flipped one page too far in the magazine. But she was gratified that Time predicted that Eddie Redmayne would win for The Theory of Everything and Julianne Moore for Still Alice.
Stay tuned. Not for an analysis of the Oscar wins, but for whatever brilliant bits of info about aging LBL can glean and then pass on to loyal readers. A word of caution: As the days go by between aging posts, you will be aging. Best take notes or print out all the posts. Otherwise, your brain, like Julianne Moore’s in Still Alice, might take you to places you never intended to go. You might refer back to the posts at some time in the future, see only the reference to hamburgers, and go out and drive to the nearest beef -on-a-bun emporium. You will never learn about aging, but you might score a really tasty meal.
Life in the Boomer Lane 
Harlon
February 18, 2015
Brilliant, thoughtful and informative piece of writing, to which I could also relate. Thanks for elevating a demographic!
Life in the Boomer Lane
February 19, 2015
Wow, thanks Harlon. I’m overwhelmed. Yes, the aging of the population is a force that must be acknowledged, on so many different levels.
btg5885
February 18, 2015
Renee, to answer the headline, my wife looks far better than this old husband. There is a significant macro trend supporting your points. The World Economic Forum partnered with Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development to poll business, government and education leaders regarding the most significant macro trends. One of the top ones is the aging of people. While it is getting worse here in the US, it is far worse in places like Japan, Greece, etc. This is a key concern for Greece’s economic woes as they can not afford the financial commitments made to retirees.
So, you are on point with your observations and the data supports it. This is why we need to make some changes now to dampen future cost implications. In the US, the costs are already impacting cities and states with unfunded pensions. Well done, BTG
Life in the Boomer Lane
February 19, 2015
The aging of most world populations must be addressed. It impacts on everything. Interesting sideline: Many of the countries that are engaged in the most mayhem now, also have the youngest populations.
lauramacky
February 18, 2015
Thanks for the reminder. 😛
Life in the Boomer Lane
February 19, 2015
You are welcome, Laura. I’ll keep doing so.
marianowrites
February 18, 2015
Your posts are always hilarious, way to go LBL 🙂
Life in the Boomer Lane
February 19, 2015
Thanks, Mariano. And thanks so much for reading. I value every single person who takes the time to read anything I write.
Gail
February 18, 2015
All these topics arouse my interest. I’ll be on the lookout for your posts! (aging, not the Oscars)
Life in the Boomer Lane
February 19, 2015
Stay tuned, Gail.
Elyse
February 18, 2015
I’m going to go with your summaries, LBL; otherwise I’ll get too old with so much Time (Magazine, that is)
Life in the Boomer Lane
February 19, 2015
Ah, I do love when people leave it up to me to tell them what to think. What power. Who needs money and fame?
Nancy Blue singer/songwriter
February 23, 2015
Do you know if there is a site called “Old is the New Black”, or who did think of the term?
Life in the Boomer Lane
February 27, 2015
I wish I were that creative. I saw it first on fannykarst.com. She sells tee shirts with those words. But after your comment came in, I Googled the term, and others have used it. BTW, I ordered the tee shirt.