We are debating about the exact date of the rollout, due to various factors.  Among them being a larger rollout then I could have foreseen years ago.

Conventional wisdom is that Time + Experience = Wisdom.  Hopefully  I have gained some. Part of that wisdom comes from the people that have joined our staff, classes I have taken, advisors who have given their time and expertise.  They are the reason why we are moving forward in such a focused manner.

With support coming from new directions, Goldenboomers.com has an opportunity to help a large population in a number of unique ways. We are still looking for people interested in partnering with Goldenboomers.com.  For us to be the site we wish it to be, means we are open to other points of view and other skill sets.  As always, if you are interested in age related issues, please contact Peter@goldenboomers.com.  Together we can make a difference, no matter in which part of the world you are from!

Slowly the talk becomes one of better care.  Comparing hospital and doctors.  Organ recitals once  deemed to be the territory of the old and infirm take on a more serious note.

I am not quite sure when mom’s direction changed from conquering cancer to one of just being able to maintain.   And then after a long fight, we had a long talk about letting go.  So it came as no surprise when she told me that she wanted to stop taking heroic measures.  The pain is intense. The payoff was just not there.  Chemo had flooded her body with toxins that just were not doing their job.

Instead of going to the hospital to be taken care of for a few days (getting a transfusion) she has opted to direct
her own script and put the play into the last act. I am fortunate as I work with seniors (with the framework of a continuing care retirement community.)  It is not unusual for us to have residents who have exhausted all medical avenues (and themselves) and decide to put quality of life over medical nightmares (with little chance of success.)

This experience has helped me with this situation. Mom and I had a heart to heart and she told me what she had planned….The bottom line is that it is her life and I cannot argue the point.  To make matters worse is that she lives over   10, 000 km (6,200 miles) away. I can only support her decision. For her it was a question about pain.  Cancer has robbed her of the peace and quiet that she lived for.  Now her life is a daily battle that involves daily dressing changes, pain and greater immobilization.  For a free spirit and great walker, her life has dimmed down to pain, constant reoccurring open
wounds and drugs.

Would anyone of us, when faced with those choices, think any differently?  I think not. Perhaps at 53, I might have considered it. But then the odds might have been more in my favour.  However at almost 93 we will be faced with a
different set of values. So now we wait. There will be a time when I will be called to her house and spend the last hours of her life with her.  It  would be an honour to do so.

The unfortunate part is, once again, the distance. Will I get there in time?  I have  already talked to various agencies and airlines.  But no one has an idea how to get me on an emergency standby at the drop of the hat.

That is the way it goes.  Time will tell if I am successful in getting there in time.   In the meantime, she is as full of life as always.  Telling her about the antics of the dog, or of the fresh fruit in the trees gives great pleasure. Her pleasure is mine as well.

Final note:
We received a call in July to get over there right away.  My sibling and I would spend  the next five weeks at her bedside. I spent nights there as well.  The hospice gave me a roll-a-way bed from which I would have many conversations with mom.  But as time went on, she seemed to gain energy.  Finally we had to go back to our families and jobs.  We knew, however, that
we’d seen her for the last time.

On Saturday, September 3, she passed away.  After all the time and reality, we had gone through, it came as no surprise.  Up to the end, she directed her finale.

Rest in peace, Annemarie Marquardt.  Or as we knew her, Mom…Thanks for the memories, you were a courageous and strong woman. And the faith you had in me and the Goldenboomers Project was inspirational. I am honoured that I am your son.

What makes the situation even more difficult is that she lives about 7,000 miles (11,000 km) from my home in the United States. As the only son, I have always wanted to care for her during her declining years.  As she has so often pointed out to my sister and myself is that it is our fate to be separated by  distance. She is in a great hospice (St. Marianus in Bardowick, Germany) where  her every need is taken care of. Unfortunately I will not be with her when she goes.

The five weeks went fast, in a flurry of time either at her bedside (they gave me a roll-away so I hold her hand at night) as well as taking care of her apartment. Monday, I left on the long flight back. I went right back to work (I have found that      traveling east to west, chasing the sunlight has always been easier for me) getting hugs from a multitude of seniors where I work almost as soon as I came in the door.

At some point in the future I would like to discuss (with your input) the differences in how we care about our parents as they near this point.  Culturally we noticed some differences. The different way that we look at life and death is an important part of who we are and I am curious as to how we view that stage.

Welcome to a new member of the Goldenboomers
family…   

Because accountability is an important cornerstone of Goldenboomers.com, I’ve invited Andreas Kalkowski to the GBI team.  He is a pastor in a largely mixed population (culturally and age wise) suburb of Hamburg, Germany.  He brings insight, humor and the ability to work with different groups of people with no judgment.  I appreciate that that about him and welcome him to Goldenboomers!

    Somehow though, something nagged at me….it just didn’t feel right.  So I checked into this sort of spamming.  Did it really exist or was it detrimental?  After all some of the comments seemed quite complimentary…..

    Well, to make a long story even shorter (my wonderful wife might not believe that this might be possible from me!)  these spammers are called content spammers….they might leave nice comments in the hopes that you will click a “like” feature in your blog.  From there they can use the power of links to push their sites higher in the ratings….

    Needless to say I checked all the IP numbers and indeed find that everyone is a content spammer.  To make matters even worse is that I had commented on the empty words a content spammer had left for me…..after all they were relevant and understandable. 

ARGH! 

    So if you are a “newbie” like me, be wary about “liking” an article within your blog….sometimes they come in in dribbles and sometimes in drabs.  Check their IP numbers.  Just because their names sound promising doesn’t mean anything….all the information is contained in their IP number.

    In short, don’t make the mistakes I made…..and I imagine that I will make more before the dust settles and Goldenboomers.com can provide a services which many people have indicated they would like to see.  People who are not content spammers because I know and trust them.

     Imagine my satisfaction when I opened the local Sunday newspaper and found a full page article written by a Walter Hamilton of the L.A. Times titled “Making aging in place compute; Technology to help senior citizens stay in their home gets a test-drive in Portland. “ 

     The aging in place paradigm seems to be the wave of the future of aging and there are companies that have thrown their hat in the ring to garner the marketing opportunities that such a positive retirement avenue can garner.

    Intel (whom I had written about years ago) has put together a first rate team exploring ageing and sees this as a worldwide marketing opportunity.  Together with General Electric, Intel has formed Intel-GE Care Innovations.  Studies are being conducted at the Oregon Center for Aging & Technology at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in Portland.  Intel has partially funded the studies.

    “Many believe that baby boomers will give “aging in place” the critical mass it needs to become fully established.  The number of Americans ages 65 or older will hit 71.5 million in 2030 – more than twice as many as in 2000 – and represent nearly one-fifth of the total U.S. population, according to the Administration of Aging, a unit of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.” (http://www.registerguard.com/web/business/26442411-41/rutherford-care-aging-intel-technology.html.csp)

   At the present time is seems that the baby boomer/ goldenboomers are more intent on finding better housing situations for their parents. However it could well be a dry run for our aging years. 

    For the GE-Intel collaboration (and there are others such as the MIT AgeLab) this is just the vanguard of what will surely be a shift in thinking how we age.  

    “Gerontologists say aging in place vastly improves the quality of life for seniors and is a lot cheaper for society than group homes and institutions.”

     The Times They Are a-Changin’ and on a global basis, aging and more specifically aging in place will only get better.  

    Here is the link for Eric Dishman’s blog.  He’s the health policy director at the Intel-GE Care Innovations and has much to say.

http://blogs.intel.com/healthcare/2011/03/oregons_opportunity_for_innovating_aging_a_city_club_follow_up.php

Sammi Mendenhall Casting is actively casting retirees for a national TV ad campaign. The goal of the commercial is to document the first few days or weeks of one’s foray into retirement. 
To be considered please fill out the attached questionnaire and email back no later than JUNE 29th.

(BREAKDOWN)
*National TV ad campaign
*Seeking people that retired in May, June or are retiring in July 2011.
*Ages 55-70, and residing anywhere in the country.
*All ethnicities and occupations.
*Individuals may also be recently semi-retired (switching into a new, part-time job)
*There is pay
*Travel is not required

If selected for the ad campaign, the retirees “story” may then be featured in a documentary.
Please call 347. 449. 4303 with any questions and for more information. 
CASTING CLOSES WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29TH.

    Recently a friend mentioned that there are job opportunities for people in our age group.  People who look, well, normal.  Granted once we’ve retired we might not want to have a normal job.  Perhaps we must.  There might be a dozen reasons why we cannot have “normal” jobs. But there are some jobs that are unique and that might appeal to our sense of curiosity.  They do not qualify under the heading of the words “normal jobs”

     Now I have known that for years this friend has children who have been working their way towards acting careers from doing extra work. He mentioned that there was a demand for extras from all demographics.

     After years of experience, his wife who had gained a degree in the School of Knocks of Movie Extra Work for Kids,” started an agency devoted to connecting people with the right sources and getting them on the wide (or narrow) screen.  He mentioned how a word of mouth “meet and greet” recently turned into a large event surpassing their expectations.

     It got me thinking.  After all there are many movies, adverts, (okay, commercials!) being filmed in a variety of formats all over the world.  I did a search on the internet and looked for “seniors as movie extras.”  The result took me by surprise. There were 135,000 results. The search took me from the U.K where they need 1,761 extras (a smaller percentage being seniors, naturally) to Ron Howard needing extras in Chicago, who are hockey fans or at least could dress as though they were.

     I have heard of seniors who plan trips around a casting call for extras.  Spend a few days keeping a wary eye open for some star (and get paid for the experience!) and then enjoying the rest of your vacation.

     What a deal!   It isn’t as though you will get rich doing this.  But heck for a day or two you can enjoy an experience that few people have had, earn a bit and perhaps eat a nice catered meal!

     After all what is wrong with that? Take a look at it.  If you are aware of a movie being shot in your area, then perhaps you’ll hear about a casting call.  It could be fun!  If you do and are successful let us know, we’ll be happy to share your experiences with others.

     Now about that Talent Management company that I mentioned before…  I will tell you more about them in the future.  If you are interested, drop me an email and I will be happy to send you their address.  They have experience, knowledge and more importantly, they are the real deal.   No Botox here, just pure unvarnished experience.

     Since I put this together a few weeks ago something popped up on the internet.  Although it is too late at this point to take part in this, but here it is:

CASTING BABY BOOMERS!!

Thursday, June 9 7:00p

at Mendenhall Media, Seattle, WA

Ad Campaign Casting Baby Boomers!

Casting “Real People” Retiring This July Or August.
All Professional Backgrounds, Between The Ages Of 60-70.

If Selected, You (And Potentially Your Retirement “Story”) Will Be Featured In A National Ad Campaign. To Be Considered, Please Email The Following Information By June 14th:

-name
-occupation
-age
-geographic location
-retirement date

     People are realizing that we are a major market and are taking us more seriously.  It is up to us how we approach this responsibility. We have made an impact before, now we can help dictate how the market treats us, as well as those coming up behind us.

    The whole project was done in the equivalent of about three days.  Today, the last day was the final installation of the panels (seven) the laying of the conduit from the just above the main breaker box to the ridge line of the house, installing the through roof fitting, pulling the wires, installing a new meter and cleaning up. Toss in a shower or two and lots of sun…..suffice it to say the our neighbors got to see the system function as advertised before I came home from work. 

     But watching the meter spinning in the late afternoon was well worth it! 

    So now I have a (roughly) 20 X 8 foot (6 m X 2.4 m) rectangle of panels on the roof.  That alone doesn’t seem so much when one considers the size of the roof, but it will provide about a third of our power over the next 25 years.  Even if the amount of electricity produced is less over the years, our needs will go down as the children leave the nest and we get older. 

    As for me, I am very happy.  I have always wanted to do this.  This time the time was right. We’ll save money, shade the house and do the right thing.

With a good, experienced crew, the team from Solar Assist moved quickly to install the panels on our house today.  I came home and the first row of seven panels was done.  I must admit that they had a late start due to the moisture on the metal roof.  It needed to dry first as it like a skating rink up there with just a bit of moisture!  So tomorrow the last seven panels are installed and the wiring is finished.  Monday the inspection takes place and theoretically, it can be activated on Tuesday.

     I have wanted to do this for a long time.  I have a fascination with alternative forms of energy, be they solar, or wind power energy sources or electric cars. I am really happy with the addition of a solar array to our house.