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No Respect

5/28/2016

The other day I was leaving the drugstore and I offered my basket to a middle aged woman coming in the door. She said, “Thank you, darling.” I did not like this. I have not been a “darling,” a “sweetie,” or a “precious” in many years, i.e. when I was a little girl. Why do people feel the need to denigrate female seniors in such a way? Do male seniors have people doing this to them, calling them “darling” or “honey?” Well, it needs to stop.

We are not children or feeble minded. We do not need to be treated delicately. This woman would not have included the "darling" if I was 45 years old. She would have just said, “Thank you.”

I think the problem is that people in general do not respect us seniors. They think we have lost our marbles and have no sense since we have gotten older. All of us will think a little more slowly at some point in time, but just because we have gray in our hair does not mean we are feebleminded.

I can understand why extremely young people are disrespectable because they have no idea how much we know and how little they know. They think they know it all and act accordingly. This is both ignorance and youth. But those people who have moved beyond those 20’s need to be more respectful.

I am an individual who takes care of me (and my dog). I might walk with a cane, but that does not mean I am stupid. That just means I have a bad foot. I might move slowly because of arthritis, but that does not mean I am stupid, either. Unfortunately some seniors do lose their minds when growing old, but do not assume all of us have, if we are functioning ok in the outside world. Give us the respect we deserve and do not call us little demeaning names. Just say “thank you.”

Thank you for reading this.

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Food Banks

5/24/2016

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It has come to my attention that many seniors are visitors to the local food banks. They worked hard their whole lives and saved for their retirement, but catastrophe struck and wiped out everything. All that is left is their Social Security and that can be a small amount once medical expenses, housing, and other costs cut into it. Food takes a back seat in the scheme of things. So they contact a food bank.
Not everyone can qualify for a food from a food bank, but most seniors who have to rely on Social Security do. There are many churches that have certain days that people can pick up food, and there are days when an organization will just give away food on a first come first serve basis. The crowds can be massive, because some of these do not require appointments. In the furor to get there some of the younger recipients mob the place, and it is a hard place to enter for deserving seniors.
There is the Manna Food Bank sponsored by the United Way. They do have requirements for receiving food, and they also require appointments. This is good for seniors to keep them from being pushed out of the way.
Donating to food banks of any kind is good. Whether it is the Post Office collecting food, a school having a food drive, or any kind of donation given by those “who have” to those who do not, is a good thing. My message here is to those who GIVE.
Some of the seniors I know had to swallow their pride and go to a food bank because they did not have anything to eat. Imagine my surprise when I was told that many of the food products had expiration dates from 6 months earlier to one whose food expired 2 years ago. This is not the food banks’ fault because there food is not on their shelves that long. This is the contributors’ attitudes that are at fault.
Why do they think that people who are hungry should have expired food? If they would not eat it, why do they think someone else should? This attitude, I think, completely destroys any charitable idea that these people think they have. They are not charitable – they are greedy, selfish, and so many other words that I could call them.
I just hope that if you read this and contribute food in the many food drives, you will be truly generous and not give no-name brands or generic brands or worse still “expired” goods to the drives. This action defeats the whole “charity” idea and reveals who you really are.
So please, it is better to give only ONE great item, than to give all of those junk brands or “expired” food products. Remember you will be a senior one day and might be in the same situation. Or if you are already a senior, one good illness can change your whole life. Be generous – not petty - not selfish.

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A New Phone

5/14/2016

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I have not bought a “new” phone since it came out years ago, mainly because I did not have the money to purchase it or pay for using it. As you already know, I am a senior citizen on a fixed income, as so many of my friends are. They, however, have sprung for a new phone and are using it with all the minute and data costs.
Because I do not like to be behind the times (too far), I have considered finding a way to get one. I am tired of telling people that I do not text or cannot text with my landline phone. I do have a cheap cell phone, but I use it only for emergencies or when the cable is out (my landline phone operates off the cable).
I do not know which one to get so I have been watching the ads on TV. The first one I saw was for a phone that was “shiny, pretty, and green” (their words). The next ad I saw was of a man (perhaps a famous one) who kept pouring expensive champagne on his phone and it still worked. There were two of these. The last one I saw was with two men on a subway, and they were launched into all kinds of adventures with their phone. I am assuming this ad involved games of some kind.
Well, after this “research” I have decided I do not need a new phone. I guess I have gotten too old to spend money recklessly or to participate in all the great new adventures of the young. I do not need a shiny, pretty green phone if it is expensive. I cannot afford expensive champagne so I do not need a special phone to pour it on. And I do not play games on a computer so I do not need a phone that allows me to play them on it.
I will keep my boring phone to use in emergencies, and my friends who have the expensive phones will have to call, since I do not text. I guess I am revealing my age. I spend my money on food, housing, and my old Pekinese. It is tough being a senior sometimes.

Oh, and if you are reading this on your special phone, thank you.

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Mr. Robert Socks

5/1/2016

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Mr. Robert Socks is my 10 ½ year old Pekinese. His familiar name is Bobby Socks. He weighs about 15 pounds, and I keep him cut like a Pug for his comfort when I can afford it. He is very persnickety but loves everyone he meets – people or dog alike. He is also especially fond of cats.

My former husband and I rescued Bobby when he was a year old and his master turned him over to a rescue operation. He was this little adorable bundle of fur with such a sweet personality. (He did not know he was a Pekinese, yet). At a year old his eyes had not been taken care of, and he was blind in one and the other had an ulcer on it.

We got two dogs at the time, Bobby and a little Shih Tzu named Courtney, so the dogs would have each other when we were out and about. Bobby became my husband’s dog and Courtney became mine. They had been “foster” buddies at the same house.

Bobby Socks was very much my husband’s dog because my husband spoiled him horribly. He was so spoiled after a year that he found his inner Pekinese. He hated me. I think it was because he was a one person dog and he felt I was competition for his master’s affection. I was bitten by his razor sharp teeth many times when I disciplined him. I even had to go to the doctor for an infected dog bite and take a shot and pills for a while. I had to move him off the bed at night when he was standing over me one morning, at my throat, with his teeth barred.

Well, long story short, a divorce happened and both dogs came to me for care. Courtney was wonderful and her brother was a “sh*t.” He took a very long time to accept that I was master of most things. He still was a Pekinese and thought he was King. We have struggled along for years and he has finally accepted that I am the person who feeds, walks, and takes care of him. Over the years he has become affectionate with me, occasionally walking over to lick me or wagging his tail when I pet him. When Courtney died he became a sweet little dog who missed her terribly.

He has travelled with me, learning that it is not scary to ride in a car, and now, he doesn’t scream like a banshee the whole time. He even likes to go to the vet or groomer.

Now he is getting pretty old and cranky. He does not want to walk where I do – he plops his butt down and will let the collar choke him rather than go with me. He rarely sits with me, although he is close by in the same room. However, when company comes, he wags his tail, licks their toes or rubs his face on their shoes, sits by them and glares at me. One day, when the door was open to my apartment while I spoke to someone, he walked out and started heading to a neighbor’s apartment, a man coincidentally. He did come back at my insistence, but he grumbled the whole time and was quite reluctant.

He has changed – I think he has fallen out of “like” with me. Just this morning, as most past mornings, he refused to come to the bed, as he used to do, and let me pet him when I wake up. This has been going on for a while, now. I think he wants a divorce. Oh, no- another man gone.

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No Respect

Food Banks

A New Phone

Mr. Robert Socks

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