Don Cook

OK.  We made it. By that I mean that we have lived long enough that the world considers us "Senior Citizens". Personally, I'm offended by the term.

I'm old enough to remember when Eisenhower first ran for president, but young enough that I didn't vote for him. I remember that it was around that same time that we had A-bomb drills in school where we would practice what to do in case of nuclear attack by the dastardly Russians. Here’s how the plan worked: Put your head under your desk and cover your eyes. End of plan. I'm certain that pesky A-bomb blast and subsequent radiation couldn't penetrate the half inch of wood that was my desk top and I would be totally unharmed. What were we thinking?

So, yes I’m getting older and have lots of memories, both good and bad. Does that mean I now need special housing? What does it really mean to be a "Senior Citizen" when it comes to housing choices? More on that in a moment.

I still play tennis with the skill level I had at 25. I wasn't good then either but now I have a better racquet. Love throwing around a baseball or football with the grandkids. I go to the gym from time to time though not as much as I should, perhaps. I go out to eat, to the movies and enjoy a wide range of entertainment. My golf game is as good as it ever was (lousy) and doesn't seem to suffer just by my addition of another birthday. So what have I done to deserve to be called old just because I am not ready to start pushing up daisies? You want to call me a Senior Citizen? I say "Bah, humbug"!

Then there is the flip side of the coin. People I don't even know treat me with respect that as yet is unearned by any interaction with them. I'm OK with that, go ahead and be nice to me and I'll be nice right back. I'm also OK with getting into the movie theater for less money than the yuppie standing behind me. I get a discount on my property taxes. There's even a day at Kohl's department store that charges me less just because I haven't left the planet yet. I will take their offer without questioning their motives. In fact, when you look around, there are lots of perks available to us just because we were born within a given time frame.

Here's the best thing I've found since sliced bread (which according to Wikipedia became commercially viable in 1928): Active Adult Communities. These are entire developments where there are age restrictions in place that allow me to own (or lease) a beautiful single family home and live and socialize with people my own age. The residents are people who share my common history and display a similar pride of ownership. Some are retired and move to these communities for all of the planned activities, others just want to get away from neighborhoods that have not aged quite so gracefully.

The key word in the name of these areas is “Active”. Golf, tennis, biking, hiking, swimming, aerobics, weight training and just about anything else you can think of to do. All of these activities are usually right on site with no extra fees other than the HOA dues. Some have guarded entrances and full time security as an added benefit. It’s like retiring to a resort community without having to actually retire. In fact, most residents still work full time.