I am 72 years old, and considered a Pensioner and Senior Citizen in Australia with a few well earned entitlements like travelling all day every day including weekend in public transport like bus, train and ferries all for a flat Aud $2.50 per day. Assuming you go galavanting every day of the month all you need is a max of Aud $75. Australian Medicare system IMHO is the best in the world and all subsidised medicines cast max $6 for a full course per month. If a patient has multiple morbidities that need a lot of medications within a matter of few months he would have crossed the threshold after which all medications are free for the calendar year. I belong to this category sadly but feel fortunate about it as one medicine prescribed but for Govt Subsidy costs Aud $5000 a month. For the movie buffs Seniors can watch any movie any time for reduced rates and Tuesdays are seniors day and it costs even less. On a Tuesday at the movies it is not uncommon to see only grey haired people at the cinemas.If you get there early and have time on your hands you can create a discussion with the other grey haired as what the right spelling for grey is? If it out to be gray...Most Indians speak the British English so lets agree grey is the correct spelling; to hell with the yanks.
The not so exciting bit about becoming a senior is how long you can manage on your own at home as sooner or later if you do not kick the bucket you end up in a nursing home, which is like joining a queue to the Pearly Gates of Heaven.
Let me go back in time to the last century and try and remember retired men and how they lived in a country like India
Basically all these men toiled from age 20 to age 60 majority of the men working for monthly wages and the slightly better off ones calling it a salary. The rich and affluent seldom made it to age 60 thanks to affluence. Five days a week all they did was wakeup, eat breakfast and go to work and make it back home after sunset have dinner watch a bit of TV or read books and back to sleep and wake up the next day to continue this torture.and then suddenly he gets told you have to retire. This means one has all the time on his hands to do as he pleased but with a pittance of a pension a fraction of his pay. Very few men really get to save money and most savings are splashed in elaborate wedding for their sons and daughters leaving the coffers virtually empty. One definitely cannot enjoy life with very little money and the need to cover health expenses in old age as the body ages and fails every one...
The day a man retires he is lost not knowing what hit him. He knows nothing other than working. His presence at home during the day is not really welcome as no one in the family has ever known him at home during the day. The mens wives have also aged and are in no mood what soever to cook, breakfast, lunch and dinner three meals a day seven days a week. I am not talking about the modern day yuppies where both husband and wives work.
Retirement starts to friction in marriage as the wives are used to total independence during the time the husband was at work five days a week.
The same women who condemned husbands who went off to play Gold on week ends saying the men did not care enough for their families do an about turn and coax the retirees to go and play golf of visit the library. Do anything you want but please do not sit at home and be a pain in the back side.
Yes this is what happens to retirees generally they become Pain in the back sides to the rest of the family with an exclusion, dog lovers have a constant companion sitting at your feet and praying you will take him out for a long walk or will throw a few crumbs his way.
Men at the most flip through headings in news papers majority are not avid readers. Most retired men receive books as presents for their Birthdays. They say Thank You, flip through the Book and promise themselves they will read but seldom do.
The smart one go for walks to meet their mates for coffee, or potter around in a garden if they have cultivated this interest enjoy a siesta in the after noon. a small percentage go to the gym or swimming pools. Another good pass time for retirees in the last century was to watch DVDs of old Classics like Ben Hur, Ten Commandments, Cleopatra, Guns of Navrone etc etc.
But at the end of the day retired men were reduntant and neither the family nor the society had any real use for them and this made the retirees believe it was time to become spiritual and even become a Sanyas abandoning current lives and seeking enlightenment under the pipal tree and in some ashram full of Sanyasis.
Todays retirees in the 21st century are different with a totally different set of problems. To start with though there is no Country for Old Men anywhere in the World.
In the 1960's and 70's men hardly reached retirement age; most men just dropped dead like flies from my own personal experience.
Fast forward to 2020 (almost there now). For the fisrt time in their lives men have the free time on their hands to gossips like their wives did when the men were at work. You go to a Place like Burwood Shopping centre, it is a meeting placed for retired old men mostly the Greeks. I actually saw one retiree do the Zorba the Greek Dance with the mates clapping gleefully. No shortage of food for these old men from Kebabs to fish and chips and burgers to sushi they have the lot available.
Then there are retirees who are home birds pottering around in their gardens all day and do some cooking occasionally.
Modern retirees have a new pass time. Social Media. These days youngsters are saying that face Book and Twitter are for older people with computer skills with youngsters switching to Instagram.
The Most formidable modern tool for Senior Men is Undoubtedly "Whatsapp"
The minute I wake up in the mornings I am looking for my Smart phone first before I find my glasses. I am ahead of most of my friends time wise except ones in New Zealand or Tokyo the land of the rising sun. This means I get to read all messages and forwards that were received when I was asleep from the rest of the world, 300 of them and 60% being my buddies are retirees.
Most of these old buggers are lazy and send one good morning forwards a day but read everything that lands in their in-box. I realise I and a few others have become the main stay for the masses by constantly feeding them forwards of forwards.
I like to add my own touch and text comments as a prelude to the awesome forward received from another friend.
This is the modern dilemma for a Retiree in the 21st century. "To Forward or Not to Forward"
The heart says Oh This is beautiful. Dont be selfish. Just share it. and the head says " Respect peoples privacy and their time. No one has the time to read all your forwards. Not all are retirees you know. " To do or not to do is the question". There is a constant flow of forwards from my 300 Whatsapp contacts and if I do not forward something I like straightaway an hour later I cannot remember who sent the one I liked and want to share..
Even amongst retirees some are Grumpy Old men who even complain about forwards and I have to fend myself saying it was a mere forward of a forward and not my creation.
A modern retirees biggest Gift these days is Whats app. It is absolutely FREE and helps you stay connected with family and friends who care 24/7. As for the ones who do not care, jst get rid of them from your whatsapp. a Permanent Flick.
Whatsapp is such a boon to oldies that there is no need to be scared of Nursing homes. Instead of being cooped up at home you are in an old persons home but only physically as we now have to smart phone and WiFi connections to stay connected with the world 24/7
If you are in a nursing home suffering from sever dementia or Alzeimers or Parkinsons disease Nursing homes need not scare us any more as we wont even remember what we had for breakfast or your best friends name. All these neurological diseases are designed to ease the pain of the elderly waiting to say Good Bye to life on this earth. To the youngsters and outsiders it might look terribly painful to see their loved ones in nursing homes. If the brain is malfunctioning then it is no bother.
The not so exciting bit about becoming a senior is how long you can manage on your own at home as sooner or later if you do not kick the bucket you end up in a nursing home, which is like joining a queue to the Pearly Gates of Heaven.
Let me go back in time to the last century and try and remember retired men and how they lived in a country like India
Basically all these men toiled from age 20 to age 60 majority of the men working for monthly wages and the slightly better off ones calling it a salary. The rich and affluent seldom made it to age 60 thanks to affluence. Five days a week all they did was wakeup, eat breakfast and go to work and make it back home after sunset have dinner watch a bit of TV or read books and back to sleep and wake up the next day to continue this torture.and then suddenly he gets told you have to retire. This means one has all the time on his hands to do as he pleased but with a pittance of a pension a fraction of his pay. Very few men really get to save money and most savings are splashed in elaborate wedding for their sons and daughters leaving the coffers virtually empty. One definitely cannot enjoy life with very little money and the need to cover health expenses in old age as the body ages and fails every one...
The day a man retires he is lost not knowing what hit him. He knows nothing other than working. His presence at home during the day is not really welcome as no one in the family has ever known him at home during the day. The mens wives have also aged and are in no mood what soever to cook, breakfast, lunch and dinner three meals a day seven days a week. I am not talking about the modern day yuppies where both husband and wives work.
Retirement starts to friction in marriage as the wives are used to total independence during the time the husband was at work five days a week.
The same women who condemned husbands who went off to play Gold on week ends saying the men did not care enough for their families do an about turn and coax the retirees to go and play golf of visit the library. Do anything you want but please do not sit at home and be a pain in the back side.
Yes this is what happens to retirees generally they become Pain in the back sides to the rest of the family with an exclusion, dog lovers have a constant companion sitting at your feet and praying you will take him out for a long walk or will throw a few crumbs his way.
Men at the most flip through headings in news papers majority are not avid readers. Most retired men receive books as presents for their Birthdays. They say Thank You, flip through the Book and promise themselves they will read but seldom do.
The smart one go for walks to meet their mates for coffee, or potter around in a garden if they have cultivated this interest enjoy a siesta in the after noon. a small percentage go to the gym or swimming pools. Another good pass time for retirees in the last century was to watch DVDs of old Classics like Ben Hur, Ten Commandments, Cleopatra, Guns of Navrone etc etc.
But at the end of the day retired men were reduntant and neither the family nor the society had any real use for them and this made the retirees believe it was time to become spiritual and even become a Sanyas abandoning current lives and seeking enlightenment under the pipal tree and in some ashram full of Sanyasis.
Todays retirees in the 21st century are different with a totally different set of problems. To start with though there is no Country for Old Men anywhere in the World.
In the 1960's and 70's men hardly reached retirement age; most men just dropped dead like flies from my own personal experience.
Fast forward to 2020 (almost there now). For the fisrt time in their lives men have the free time on their hands to gossips like their wives did when the men were at work. You go to a Place like Burwood Shopping centre, it is a meeting placed for retired old men mostly the Greeks. I actually saw one retiree do the Zorba the Greek Dance with the mates clapping gleefully. No shortage of food for these old men from Kebabs to fish and chips and burgers to sushi they have the lot available.
Then there are retirees who are home birds pottering around in their gardens all day and do some cooking occasionally.
Modern retirees have a new pass time. Social Media. These days youngsters are saying that face Book and Twitter are for older people with computer skills with youngsters switching to Instagram.
The Most formidable modern tool for Senior Men is Undoubtedly "Whatsapp"
The minute I wake up in the mornings I am looking for my Smart phone first before I find my glasses. I am ahead of most of my friends time wise except ones in New Zealand or Tokyo the land of the rising sun. This means I get to read all messages and forwards that were received when I was asleep from the rest of the world, 300 of them and 60% being my buddies are retirees.
Most of these old buggers are lazy and send one good morning forwards a day but read everything that lands in their in-box. I realise I and a few others have become the main stay for the masses by constantly feeding them forwards of forwards.
I like to add my own touch and text comments as a prelude to the awesome forward received from another friend.
This is the modern dilemma for a Retiree in the 21st century. "To Forward or Not to Forward"
The heart says Oh This is beautiful. Dont be selfish. Just share it. and the head says " Respect peoples privacy and their time. No one has the time to read all your forwards. Not all are retirees you know. " To do or not to do is the question". There is a constant flow of forwards from my 300 Whatsapp contacts and if I do not forward something I like straightaway an hour later I cannot remember who sent the one I liked and want to share..
Even amongst retirees some are Grumpy Old men who even complain about forwards and I have to fend myself saying it was a mere forward of a forward and not my creation.
A modern retirees biggest Gift these days is Whats app. It is absolutely FREE and helps you stay connected with family and friends who care 24/7. As for the ones who do not care, jst get rid of them from your whatsapp. a Permanent Flick.
Whatsapp is such a boon to oldies that there is no need to be scared of Nursing homes. Instead of being cooped up at home you are in an old persons home but only physically as we now have to smart phone and WiFi connections to stay connected with the world 24/7
If you are in a nursing home suffering from sever dementia or Alzeimers or Parkinsons disease Nursing homes need not scare us any more as we wont even remember what we had for breakfast or your best friends name. All these neurological diseases are designed to ease the pain of the elderly waiting to say Good Bye to life on this earth. To the youngsters and outsiders it might look terribly painful to see their loved ones in nursing homes. If the brain is malfunctioning then it is no bother.
