Rewind and unplug
A boomer reminds us of the small stuff
By Ed Lange
What this article is not about. This recollective diversion is not about the big stuff from days gone by. You will read no reminiscences here of the Red Scare, the Civil Rights Movement, segregation, racism, anti-Semitism, feminine inequality, Viet Nam, assassinations, the Bay of Pigs, the Korean War, or the nuclear arms race. Those significant passages were the big stuff that we all sweat over. This little mosey through memory recalls the adage, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” So, fasten your seatbelt—which you wouldn’t have had in the 1950s—and we’ll hit the road together to revisit momentous trivia.
My father, “Pop”, came home from Europe sometime late in 1945 after he and a few million other guys defeated Hitler. I took my first breath late in 1946 when the population of the United States numbered about 141 million—less than half of today. Yes, it was a very different world back then.
Life at school
At school, girls always wore skirts or dresses, and we called all grown-ups sir or ma’am. Boys wore corduroys and dungarees were so strictly prohibited that on the very last day of ninth grade (the last day of “junior high school”) when a bunch of us got together and wore jeans, we were all sent home to change. Polio was the scariest of anything and was made even scarier by photos of kids in “iron lungs”, so we all lined up for polio shots and almost didn’t mind getting them. Good kids were chosen to serve on the “Safety Patrol” and got to wear white Sam Browne belts while they kept order in the school yard. Bad kids got swatted by teachers for misbehavior. Kids of all kinds cut quarter-size holes in the top of cigar boxes, and if you could drop a marble through the hole from a standing position, you won five marbles, but if you missed, cigar-box-kid kept your marble. Fear of the A-Bomb and the H-Bomb inspired such terror that people built bomb shelters in their basements, and at school we had “duck-and-cover” drills during which we curled up in a fetal position under our desks or out in the hallway away from the windows. But, even we kids knew that if an A-Bomb hit we were goners anyway.
Years and years later, when I went off to college, everyone in the freshman class wore beanies which we had to tip to upperclassmen whenever they demanded, “Tip it, Frosh!” A few years after that, I wore a steel helmet as an infantry grunt in Viet Nam. Talk about irony.
Life at home
At home, the milkman delivered milk in glass bottles and in the winter a column of frozen cream popped the paper top out of the bottle. We sprinkled sugar on the frozen cream and ate it as ice cream. The Freihofer man delivered door-to-door in his bread wagon pulled by a horse that we fed sugar cubes and grass. We always hoped Mom would buy doughnuts or cinnamon crunch buns from his big basket of goodies, but she always just bought bread. Mom washed clothes in a washing machine that had a wringer on top and hung the clothes to dry on an outdoor clothesline that always squeaked when the rope went through the pulleys. But the clothes always smelled like sunshine. Every now and then the coal man came by. He swung the chute out from the side of his truck to send a cascade of black coal and dust schussing down into our cellar coal bin to stoke our furnace to heat our house. But even so, Jack Frost visited magically in the night to paint our single-pane windows with leaves and flowers of ice crystal. I miss them. The iceman came by until electric refrigerators replaced ice boxes, and the ragman came by calling out “Rags, rags, any old rags” until rags stopped being recycled. I wonder, did neighborhoods disappear when the delivery men stopped coming by to draw people out of their homes?
As I was the eldest son, my clothes were always new – mostly overly large so I could “grow into them.” But my two younger brothers rarely got to wear anything but hand-me-downs. Funny, I don’t hear much about hand-me-downs anymore. And I don’t know whether fathers still read the Sunday funnies to their kids before going out with the whole family for a Sunday drive in the Studebaker, the DeSoto, the Nash Rambler or the Hudson. But, I do know that doctors don’t make house calls anymore in any kind of a car! I suppose that when the population doubles in less than my lifetime, you can’t realistically expect doctors to come to your bedside with their little black bags anymore.
Entertainment
Only people at least my age will believe this, but when I was a kid we walked to the Madison on Saturday morning to see a couple of cartoons, an episode of a serial and a feature – all for 25 cents. And whatever happened to all those tragic songs that mourned – in stories of deep teen anguish – the death of a true love? “Teen Angel”, “Running Bear and Little White Dove”, “Tell Laura I Love Her”, “Leader of the Pack”, “Ebony Eyes”, “Patches”, etc. Aren’t teenagers today afraid their boyfriend or girlfriend will die?
There isn’t much point in revisiting the staggering history of television, because it’s so well known. But, someone who deserves mention is the television repairman. Yet another guy in a uniform who came to your house with a toolbox full of tools, gizmos and vacuum tubes! In the early years, televisions “went on the fritz” with annoying frequency (no pun intended). As often as not, the problem was the death of one of the many vacuum tubes the “TV set” needed to work. So, the television repairman came to your home, turned around the mahogany console television, and puttered around in the archeological dust of the TV chassis while the whole family prayed that he wouldn’t utter the dreaded words, “I’ll have to take it to the shop.”
Travel
Remember when the high beam button was on the floor of the car? The shifter on the steering column? Car tires with inner tubes? Hitchhiking used to be a common mode of travel, and at 16-years-old, I hitched to Cincinnati and back. Route 9W and Route 20 were the main roads to New York City and Syracuse before the Thruway. And there really was a time that gas stations were also garages instead of mini-marts.
Only 50 years ago, Pan Am took delivery of the first American jetliner, a Boeing 707, and last year, there were 30 million commercial flights in the United States. I was 20 when I took my first flight and politely declined the meal because I thought I had to pay for it and didn’t have much money. Today, I would have had to pay after all.
Miscellaneous
One Halloween my older sister got famous. Back when cigarette commercials still aired on television (in black and white), Old Gold featured great big dancing cigarette boxes. Sis wrote to them and they actually sent her one of the full-size costumes – for nothin’! The Old Gold cigarette box covered her from the top of her head to the top of her legs and off she danced into Halloween glory.
Once upon a time all stores were closed on Sundays and the destination of those family drives was the countryside or to visit friends instead of going to the mall. When the circus came to town, it performed in tents erected by elephants. The “Big, Green Swings” in Washington Park that sat four people at once were loved by everyone who ever rode in them.
Soda fountains
Drug stores used to have soda fountains. Oh boy, soda fountains! Those wonderful, once-in-a-while extra-special-treat places, where the soda jerk wore a white jacket and white paper hat and stood behind a white marble counter. Where tall glass jars with metal tops held white paper straws. Where clean white paper cones were inserted into shiny metal bases to hold whatever blissful yumminess you finally decided to order after long, rapturous minutes of “I-want-everything” indecision. Where a single dip cone cost a dime, a double-dip cone cost twenty cents, and where you were given the huge metal canister in which the malted milkshake was made, so that you could parcel out your scrumptious treat little-by-precious-little so that it would last forever while you spun around on the red stool (and probably kicked your brother). But oh my, where have the glorious ice cream sodas gone? Today, thick shakes, blizzards and flurries, seem to have replaced that irreplaceable summertime treat. But I remain on my personal quest to find the best ice cream soda in the land. Sadly, very few young people who staff ice cream stands have any idea how to make them anymore. There are even some who have never heard of them! But still, I search.
Rarely seen anymore are the interior architectural treasures of the Capital Region’s bygone days: the vast maps of the world painted on the ceiling of Albany’s main post office on Broadway (probably by WPA workers), the incredible murals in the State Education Building that we marveled at while our footsteps echoed in its hallowed halls, the cozy comfort and security of the Harmanus Bleeker Library filled with its precious books and history. The soaring magnificence of Union Station in downtown Albany (now Kiernan Plaza), where many of us soldiers who left the Capital Region for Viet Nam boarded a train – just as our fathers had a generation before us. Some things – and people – may be gone, but they’ll never be forgotten.
Ed Lange is the former Artistic Director for NYSTI in Troy. Three of his plays were finalists for national Audie Awards, one in which he won an award. His articles have appeared multiple times in national magazines: Sail, Soundings, American Theatre and Dramatics.
Planning for a
healthy retirement
For many baby boomers it seems like just yesterday they were grooving to the new sound of the Beatles, but this year the first wave of boomers turns 62—making retirement just around the corner. Retirement can mean more time to spend with family and pursue a favorite hobby, but it also means an increased focus on health care needs. Advance planning can help baby boomers ensure that they can focus on enjoying retirement instead of worrying about their health care.
A focus on early prevention, including annual tests for certain cancers and heart disease, a healthy diet and exercise are an important start to staying healthy well into the golden years. Ensuring that physicians can continue to care for senior patients under Medicare is also a critical action for aging boomers, as the government health insurance program for Americans 65 and over has long been a source of comfort for seniors who otherwise wouldn't have health coverage. Planned payment cuts to physicians may make it harder for new Medicare patients to get physician care in the coming years.
Baby boomers nearing retirement age should consider steps to take now to help ensure a healthy, happy retirement.
Prevention
“As the boomers age, they have an increasing role to play in their health care," says Dr. Edward Langston, Board Chair of the American Medical Association. "One rule of thumb is to have regular discussions with your physician to ensure that you understand and agree with your health care goals."
At age 50 it's important to start annual exams for colorectal cancer, and men should have a prostate exam. For those boomers who weigh less than 154 pounds, screenings for osteoporosis should start at age 60. It's also important to start annual exams with a physician before you reach Medicare age to:
• Monitor and discuss blood pressure, cholesterol, needed vaccines and tests to monitor or prevent disease.
• Identify activities and goals to address healthy eating, physical activity, tobacco use cessation, moderating alcohol use and attention to stress and mood.
• Discuss screenings needed to prevent and/or monitor degenerative or chronic disorders in vision, hearing, bone density, cancer and obesity.
Access to health care
Already, about 30 percent of current Medicare patients have trouble finding a new primary care physician, and the government predicts a shortage of 85,000 physicians by 2020. The huge influx of baby boomers into Medicare begins in three years, while the government plans nine years of steep Medicare physician payments cuts that begin this July.
"A full sixty percent of physicians say this year's Medicare cut will force them to limit the number of new Medicare patients they can treat," says Dr. Langston. "We're very worried about what this cut will do to seniors' access to care now and to the huge influx of baby boomers who will soon begin relying on Medicare."
Congress has the power to replace the cuts with payment updates that reflect medical practice costs—allowing physicians to continue to care for current and future Medicare patients. A bill that would address this problem was recently introduced in the U.S. Senate, and the American Medical Association is urging Congress to act on the Save Medicare Act of 2008 (S. 2785). More information is available at www.patientsactionnetwork.org.
"Planning for a healthy retirement is the best way to make it a reality," says Dr. Langston. "I encourage baby boomers nearing retirement age to take preventive action now to prepare for a long, healthy life and to ensure that their physician will still be there for them when they begin relying
on Medicare."
Courtesy of ARA Content
Fitness for
baby boomers
By Judy Torel
From 1946 to 1964, 76 million babies were born to couples reunited after the end of World War II. Known as the Baby Boomer Generation, this group accounts for one-third of the entire population of the United States!
This means that many of us (I am in this group!) are moving into the second half of our lives and we expect to live well into our 80s and beyond. The tail end of our group is now approaching 50 (with many of us already there) and many others have already reached our 60s.
As a group, there is extreme variation in fitness levels. Some of us are accomplished athletes competing in triathlons and marathons and are competitive within our age groups. Others are interested in beginning a fitness regime to remain active in retirement or to participate in an active lifestyle with our children or grandchildren.
No matter what fitness level we have already achieved, there are common themes that all Baby Boomers would do well to apply while working towards achieving or maintaining a high level of fitness, health and well-being.
It’s no longer about looking like a “hottie”
Well, this is a little misleading! We all want to look our best and the baby boomer generation is no exception. As a matter of fact, boomers are all about aesthetic enhancement surgeries and anti-wrinkle creams and the like, because as a group we want to look and feel young.
The average boomer recognizes that the metabolism is not what it used to be when we were 20. Both men and women will do well to focus on feeling sustained with high energy rather than trying to get your body fat down to 15-20 percent! As we age, the healthy level of body fat increases for both men and women. Forty-year-old women’s body fat should be in the 23-27 percent range; and women in their 50’s should be at a healthy level of 25-34 percent. For men, the days of single-digit body fat are gone along with their twenties. Instead, 40-year-old men are looking at a healthy body fat range of 18-24 percent; in their 50’s this increases to 27 percent.
Fitness programs should include cardiovascular exercise as a way to regularly oxygenate the cells of the body so that they remain as youthful as possible and put less emphasis on burning off every last inch of body fat.
Research is now showing that as a species, human beings put body fat around the midsection after 40, even if they never had it there in their younger years. This is true for both men and women, which means it has less to do with menopause and more to do with the normal process of aging.
This doesn’t mean that we can’t work to slow the process of increasing body fat and accumulation around the middle through watching portions of food, engaging in regular cardiovascular exercise and doing strength training several times a week. Keeping our focus on increasing energy for life will keep us motivated and adherent to our fitness programs as we battle the body fat changes associated with aging. Leave being a “hottie” to your children!
Be kind to your joints!
Just because we are older, doesn’t mean that we can’t participate in high impact activities. Watch any marathon around the country and you will see that the number of participants in their 40s, 50s and beyond is staggering. So, while you don’t have to give up running or strength training, you should also incorporate more cross-training into these high-impact workouts.
For instance, if you are a runner, rather than run four to five days a week as is recommended for marathon training, it is a good idea to run three days and use the non-impact elliptical machines on the other two days. Put the ramp down to flat and it simulates the running movement in a way that will still condition your muscles in the muscle pattern utilized in higher impact activity, while saving your joints in the process. Using the treadmill in place of running on the road pavement is another way to save your joints. Also, running on trails or on grassy stretches next to the pavement are ways to get your running in while being friendly to your joints.
If lifting weights is your thing, make sure that you are not skimping on the full range of motion in order to get the heavier lift. You will do better to go to a lighter weight so that you can achieve a full stretch at the end point of the exercise. In this way, you are enhancing flexibility while simultaneously maximizing muscle strength and size. You should also make sure to follow principles of periodization in your lifting regime. This means adapting a lifting schedule of progressively heavier weights for three weeks followed by one week of active recovery using lighter weights. In this way you reap the positive adaptations of increased lean mass and strength, while avoiding chronic injuries associated with constantly using the same weight loads.
Incorporate recovery time
Although there is a natural decrease in the maximum amount of oxygen a human can utilize as we age and there is a natural decrease in lean body weight (muscle) too, this doesn’t mean that you should stop trying to push yourself to your highest potential in sport and exercise.
Many baby boomers are achieving new PR’s (personal records) in 5K races and other events. But, what goes with these performances is the need for more recovery time for the muscles and joints. In our 20s we may have been able to go out all night and party and then get up and run a race on Saturday morning. In our 40s getting adequate sleep (eight hours) becomes critical for the body to repair and rebuild from the trauma of races and workouts. In addition, taking days off from our sport or workouts is also necessary for the recovery process.
If taking a day off from working out makes you feel like you are losing your fitness, then mix lighter intensity workout days with higher intensity workouts so that your body has a chance to absorb the training effects without getting injured.
Strength training is a must!
As a general rule, all Baby Boomers need to engage in strength training. As we age, we lose muscle weight and our bone density decreases. This is partly due to the fact that our culture has moved into the age of service and communication and away from careers involving physical energy expenditure. Our bodies still need to be moved and have resistance forces applied in order to maintain our lean mass and bone density.
Since we aren’t getting resistance forces in our everyday lives then we MUST simulate it through a strength training program. If you have not been doing any exercise for years, then it is extremely important that you start out with light to moderate lifting loads in order for your joints to become stable and strong enough for you to move up to the heavier weights.
The heavier weights (what you can only lift for 4-8 reps) are necessary to build muscle mass, but it is best to give yourself a full six weeks of light to moderate weights done in 12-15 rep sets at first. This way, your joints will be able to handle the heavier loads and you won’t be sidelined from an injury right at the beginning of your strength training program, which is what happens to many when they first start a weight lifting program.
So, as Baby Boomers, we most definitely can (and should) be engaging in fitness activities that will enhance our physiques, but we are better served to focus on improving our quality of life by how we feel in our bodies. l
Judy Torel is a therapist/personal trainer with a Master’s degree in psychology. She is certified through the American College of Sports Medicine as a fitness trainer and works out of Planet Fitness and Deb's Sweat Shop Extension. She can be reached at JTOREL2263@yahoo.com.
Music for the ages
By Julie Rigg
Retirement years can offer more opportunities to focus on hobbies and interests, and if music is in your future it can only be a positive. A recent medical study suggests that listening to quiet rhythmic music may help to lower blood pressure. It has many benefits for our well–being and it involves most of our senses. Patients in the study coupled the listening with controlled deep-breathing exercises.
As we age, it seems that some of our faculties begin to slip. Music can be a catalyst to keep these slipping faculties in check, and can serve as a creative and/or social outlet. Whether you enjoy a good movie theme song or the tunes played at the grocery store, chances are you enjoy music on some level. Whether by playing an instrument, singing or listening to cardinals crooning away, music surrounds us everyday in a myriad of ways.
Mary Jane Hughes, a music teacher with the Bethlehem Central School District, has been a violinist since the fifth grade. In her experience, she finds that learning music helps both children and adults with time-management skills. Hughes, 51, also teaches adult violin classes through continuing education and finds that, "the students had a better appreciation for the difficulty of learning the violin and worked very hard."
A majority of her adult students chose to take music classes later in life as a way to revisit lessons they took in childhood or to simply try something new.
According to Hughes, learning the violin as an adult may be more complicated than other instruments, not to mention a slower process, especially if one is new to music. A group setting may be better for beginners, "since students can see their peers 'getting it', which offers much more incentive to keep learning, while also offering social and entertainment factors." Private lessons allow for more time and may be appropriate for advanced study.
Genoveffa Vitale, an instrumental music teacher also in BCSD, believes that learning a musical instrument as a child may be easier since brains are blank slates.
"[It] promotes teamwork, improves self esteem, and as kids see improvement they succeed more often," said Vitale. “And with an influential teacher, it's something you'll love the rest of your life.” Not to mention, she added, the fact that it involves both sides of the brain.
These statements can be applied to adult learners. As an adult, picking up any form of music can seem a bit daunting. For example, learning a string instrument might be difficult at first since you may not have the flexibility and dexterity in your hands. But take heart; a little patience and a lot of passion for any skill can go a long way.
Barbara Poole, 52, an elementary school music teacher in the East Greenbush Central School District, says that taking up music as an adult allows you to "find a whole new side to things and yourself…music is something that is intrinsic in all of us.”
She suggests that learning the piano may be good for adult learners because it involves a little bit of everything musically and it may be an easier instrument to learn if you've had little or no previous music lessons. As for the type of music, Poole suggests first learning crowd-pleasing standards, such as Broadway show tunes.
In addition to teaching, Poole also sings at weddings and is a choir member with Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Schenectady.
“Music has made my memory sharper and certainly de-stresses my life. But it’s so nice to be able to have something that you can give to others on special occasions. It makes others happy, not just the musician.”
Self-taught chord organist since 1961, 72-year-old Ron Smail of East Greenbush, believes his involvement with music has helped him with everyday life, and the part he enjoys most is the continuous challenges. "I'm in a better mood and happier when I'm playing".
With retirement offering time to pursue new activities, Hughes admits that she's looking forward to those years since she'll have more time to play the violin and guitar and may even take more private lessons.
Even if music isn't your cup of tea, the next time you're enjoying a movie just imagine what the entertainment factor would be like without music in the background. What would "Jaws" be like without that repeating rhythm of doom?
So, let the music carry you through your 50s, 60s and well beyond. Whether you decide to take up an instrument or simply enjoy an outdoor summer concert, music just may lengthen your years, not to mention give your brain a little something to do without you having to think about it.
Julie Rigg is a freelance writer living in Delmar with her husband and son. She also works at Audubon International and is taking guitar lessons
Finding
love online
Whether you live near or far, technology has a major impact now on how you connect to those you care about. Keeping in touch with your loved one 24/7 has never been easier. Send an email, make a web video, go online and chat, create your own blog, send a romantic text message—the ideas are as endless as the technology.
However, even for those who are tech savvy, finding love can still be a problem. Technology can play a key role here, too. For those looking to start their love story, online dating or what is now known as Dating 2.0—a combination of web video, text messaging, and social networking—can help you expand your dating horizons.
Your dating pool is now only limited by the amount of effort you put into it, says Dr. Belisa, a renowned clinical psychologist and relationship columnist. With millions of Americans joining the online dating scene, Dr. Belisa offers these five tips to give you a serious leg up on the competition:
1. Write a winning profile.
Have friends of the opposite sex review your profile before posting it. Let them give you feedback on odd words that may turn off another person or help you find other phrases that may help you turn them on.
2. Know your competition.
Check out who you are up against. Browse through the online personals and review who your competition is.
3. Don't be boring. Use your thesaurus.
Why say you're nice 10,000 times? Say you're terrific, fabulous, intriguing, romantic, stimulating, fascinating. Go online and check out your thesaurus or use the old–fashioned book. Keep your profile interesting or your potential mate is going to lose interest and check out someone else who sounds more exciting and interesting than plain old Mr. Nice Guy.
4. Don't wing it.
Take the time. This is love! Don't rush the profile. You may want to come off as being laid back, but even a calm and cool persona takes some effort.
5. Went on a date and it fizzled out? Ask why.
It's okay to ask for feedback. You can always learn from your mistakes.
So, after you connect with someone special, how do you navigate the new social technology to take your relationship to the next level? Dr. Belisa says that even if you are getting help with your writing, one of the most important things is to make sure you sound passionate. Don't forget to combine this new social technology with old school romance and tradition. Send a handwritten note after an all-night emailing session.
Another option, floral experts say, is to go with a time-tested favorite: fresh flowers. You can easily send flowers anywhere using a national service such as 1-800-FLOWERS, and make a very positive impression on your potential mate. Combining the old with the new only makes your point stronger.
Just be careful you don't fall in love too fast. Get to know the person on the other end of the computer well before you decide you are a match made in heaven. Just because you have similar interests, doesn't mean you are soul mates.
Connecting to the ones you love is no longer about signing a card and tossing it into the mail. Technology lets you connect and push the limit on creativity. Whatever is in your head or your heart can be sent in a second. And with all this technology you don't even have to wait for Cupid to aim an arrow, you can do it yourself!
Courtesy of ARA Content
Traveling with
your grandkids
Some grandparents do it to be fair to all the siblings. Some grandparents do it so cousins get to know each other. Some grandparents simply love having all, or at least a group of their grandchildren together while on a vacation. However, unless your grandkids are twins or same-age cousins, you should consider the challenges—and pleasures—that age differences create before planning that big trip with the grandkids.
"When first considering a trip with your grandkids—before you even mention it to them—decide how many children you can handle at one time," says grandparents.com travel writer, Sue Poremba. "Also, decide with which age group of grandchildren you'd be most comfortable."
As a grandmother herself, Poremba loves to take her grandkids to the beach come summertime. But she'll only take those ages 7 to 13. She learned that she can neither physically keep up with younger grandchildren, nor keep late enough hours to properly supervise the older teens.
Other savvy travel with multiple grandkids tips:
Don't plan around only one child's needs
or interests.
Dining is a good example. Although it might be easier to feed a messy six-year old at a kid-friendly restaurant, if that's all you do, you'll miss out on local cuisine and the chance to give older grandchildren a new experience. Aim to vary your dining experiences each day. Try to let each grandchild choose at least one restaurant during a trip.
Give some freedom
Teenagers need some freedom. On days without scheduled plans, try giving teens the opportunity to sleep late while you enjoy breakfast with the younger kids. Before the trip, consult with the parents on what each child is—and is not—allowed to do.
Don't expect babysitting services
While older grandchildren should be expected to help out with younger grandkids, don't forget that they, too, are on vacation. Try and balance your requests for help with little ones with this knowledge. Asking the older children to help supervise the younger kids at meal time or during fast-moving activities are reasonable requests.
Divide and conquer
Plan some activities suited for one grandparent to attend, so the other grandparent can rest. Or, break into two groups and meet up later. Amusement and theme parks, where each grandparent may accompany a different age group to appropriate rides, is one example. Pick a time and place to regroup over lunch.
Plan down time into each day
Traveling can be exhausting and even older grandkids need an opportunity to unwind. Try to plan some downtime into every vacation day. Encourage grandchildren to pack some items specifically geared toward a quiet break, like books, magazines and portable video games.
For more travel tips and other grandparenting advice, visit www.grandparents.com.
Courtesy of ARA Content
Seeking a new
job opportunity in your Boomer years?
Updating your skills is essential for success
By Dan Moran
The job landscape is changing for boomers, and having the right skills to grow and survive is essential.
Over 33 percent of today’s work force is classified as “boomers” (born between 1946 and 1964). Unlike years past, there are endless job opportunities for boomers, quite a contrast from just a few years ago when the thought was that once you reached 50, it was over for you.
Employers today are courting boomers in record numbers. Rather than being second class to younger workers, boomers are the strong and powerful part of the workforce and in strong demand. Companies large and small have recognized that boomers represent a workforce that is dependable, responsible and resourceful—and are not “high maintenance” employees.
If you are a boomer and seeking a new opportunity, it is very important that you perform a “check-up” of skills and tools you need to compete in today’s workforce. You may be competing with not just a younger job candidate, but one of your “age peers”.
Please consider the following recommendations:
Time for a skills “check-up” and assessment
It is critical that you keep your skills current. Make a list of the tangible, hands-on talents you can offer, such as customer service, sales, operations, administration, technology, etc. Next, make a list of the skills you feel you need to acquire or those you could brush-up on.
Consider utilizing new technologies in learning, like online programs, to speed the process along. As you complete skills training, congratulate yourself and include them on your resume.
It was quite well known with those that I worked with that my Microsoft Excel skills were in need of tune-up. I completed a course a few years back, but made the mistake of not using what I learned (if you don’t use it, you lose it). I was the guy putting numbers in a spreadsheet with a calculator in one hand, not relying on formulas and driving those I worked with nuts!
Over one holiday break, I committed to “re-learning” Excel and am now very comfortable with the program, which is a must-have for anyone running a business.
Embrace technology – and be “savvy”
Nothing will “date” you more than a lack of technology skills. It isn’t cute anymore to say, “Oh, I don’t touch computers – I will blow them up” or other statements that show you have not progressed with time. You can have the best experience, personality and shine in the interview, but without technology skills, you will find it difficult to beat any other candidate to a new opportunity.
What technology skills are almost absolutely essential?
• Searching the Internet with Internet Explorer
• Sending and receiving email
• Understanding Microsoft Windows operating system (or Vista)
• Using Microsoft (MS) Office products: Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook (or Outlook Express).
If you find you are in need of training or tuning-up on one or more of these programs you can consider:
• Online tutorials (most programs have a tutorial in the program)
• Specialized online training programs
• Classroom training (one or two days) through local computer training schools.
• One-on-one training through computer mentors and consultants (sometimes the best choice for the boomer who may want individualized attention and direct training).
Things to never say that are dead giveaways that you have yet to embrace technology:
“Can you fax that to me? It’s easier than email.”
“I have an email address – but never check it.”
“What’s Windows?”
A few other recommendations:
• Have a profile on the business-to-business social networking site www.linkedin.com (it is free – and essential!).
• Have a “professional” email address. An email address like 2hot2handle@XXXX.com isn’t going to make the best impression.
Look in the mirror
You are judged on your appearance within three seconds, before you even say a word. Now is the time to update your wardrobe and look the part. A quality men’s or women’s clothier can provide ideas, as can a personal wardrobe consultant who specializes in working with you to create the right image within your budget.
Beyond your wardrobe, be mindful of your hair and personal grooming. Think sharp always—and look sharp always.
Make your best impression – on paper
Throughout your years, you have likely amassed a number of experience and skills that are transferable to a new career or job. Many make the mistake of presenting an older format, dated, chronological resume (which many refer to as a tombstone) rather than a document that “sells” your skills, qualifications and experience. Remember, you have 5 to 15 seconds to grab the reader’s attention—do so with your best impression. If you have difficulty writing about yourself or documenting your skills and strengths, seek a professional to help —it makes a world of difference.
Be seen—and network, network, network
Networking continues to be essential and even more important for boomers seeking opportunities. Developing and maintaining a deep network of contacts is an excellent resource at any stage in one’s career; but very important as one enters the boomer years when the prime, just-right opportunities are usually found through networking and not through advertised job sources.
In addition, bringing your talents, skills and passion to community service is another excellent way to “brand” yourself. Being involved on a board or helping to chair a not-for-profit event is excellent exposure, not to mention you are giving back to the community.
Last—understand generational differences and embrace change.
Generation X, Y, the millenniums—each generation is different in some manner. Understanding the generational differences as a boomer, and knowing how to work with those of different generations, is important to your success and is a critical skill to master. Many companies are asking boomer employees to mentor younger staff members, which has been very successful. In other words, try to fit in, adapt to change, listen and learn.
Boomers are a powerful force today in many respects. Take advantage of this position, and go after your dreams. As Winston Churchill once stated, “Never, never, never give up.”
Dan Moran is president & founder of Next-Act, a career management & transition firm located in Colonie. He specializes in helping people make career choices and seek new jobs. He is also a Certified Facilitator for Get Hired Now! and Get Clients Now! Programs, which help those in career transition and companies get results. He mentors managers & executives as they navigate their careers and achievements. You can reach him at 641.8968 or dmoran@next-act.com or visit www.next-act.com.
Age with grace
By Mary Beth McCue
Now more than ever, people are realizing that their lifestyle ultimately affects their core cellular levels which enhance and preserve four areas of their being: physical, emotional, spiritual and energy.
One very important area you need to understand in the connection between nutrition and aging is that of methylation and the role of food and nutrients in relation to this process. Methylation is a process essential for proper function of almost all of your body’s systems; and it occurs billions of times every second.
It helps repair your DNA, it controls homocysteine (an unhealthy compound that can damage blood vessels) and it supports the detoxification of toxins in the body. Methylation also helps maintain healthy mood and keeps inflammation down in the body.
Without proper methylation, you can be at higher risk for conditions like: osteoporosis, diabetes, certain cancers, depression, general mood and other behavioral disorders, dementia, stroke and cardiovascular disease.
You need optimal levels of the B vitamin family to keep methylation running smoothly. Incidentally, many people do not have healthy B vitamin levels.
You can look at your methylation process to see how it is functioning by:
• A complete blood count analysis.
• Analysis of your homocysteine levels. The normal level is less than 13, but the ideal level is likely between 6 and 8.
• Serum or urinary methylmalonic acid. This is a more specific test for vitamin B12 insufficiency. Your levels may be elevated even if you have a normal serum vitamin B12 or homocysteine level.
• Specific urinary amino acids. These can be used to look for unusual metabolism disorders involving vitamins B6 or B12 or folate, which may not show up just by checking methylmalonic acid or homocysteine.
How to optimize your methylation process
• Eat more dark leafy greens daily. They can be found in: bok choy, escarole, Swiss chard, kale, watercress, spinach, and dandelion, mustard, collard or beet greens.
• Get more Bs in your diet. Please get this checked; if they are low, supplementation is needed. Good food sources include sunflower seeds and wheat germ (vitamin B6); fish and eggs (vitamin B 6 and B12); cheese (B12); beans and walnuts (vitamin B6 and folate); leafy dark green vegetables; asparagus, almonds and whole grains (folate) and liver (all three).
• Minimize animal protein, sugar and saturated fat. Too much animal meat directly increases homocysteine. Sugar and saturated fat deplete your body’s vitamin stores.
• Avoid all processed foods
• Avoid caffeine
• Limit alcohol to three drinks a week
• Don’t smoke
• Avoid medications
• Keep the bacteria in your gut healthy by taking probiotic supplements
• Check your need for enzyme support
• Take supplements that prevent damage from homocysteine (antioxidants) and that help support methylation (like magnesium and zinc). Supplement to help support proper homocysteine metabolism. Talk to your health care practitioner to determine the best doses and forms for you. Some examples are:
• Folate (folic acid): Amounts can vary based on individual needs, from 200 mcg to 1 mg. Some people may also need to take preformed folate (folinic acid or 5 formylTHF) to bypass some of the steps in activating folic acid
• Vitamin B6: Take 2 to 5 mg a day. Some people may need up to 250 mg or even special “active” B6 (pyridoxyl-5-phosphate) to be most effective. Doses higher than 500 mg may cause nerve injury
• Vitamin B12: Doses of 500 mcg may be needed to protect against heart disease. Oral vitamin B12 isn’t well absorbed; you may need up to 1 or 2 mg daily. Ask your doctor about B12 shots
• Betaine: This amino acid derivative is needed in doses from 500 to 3,000 mg a day, depending on the person
As you can see, you can make a sustainable difference in how you age and actually how you can reverse aging–every day until the rest of your life.
Mary Beth McCue is an integrative dietitian & certified nutritionist. Since 1985 her focus has been to teach people how to live healthy happy lives by being best informed about their unique state of health and how to improve upon it with proper foods and nutrients. She works at The Roosevelt Baths & Spa in Saratoga. For more information visit www.sipn.info/mccue.htm, email SaratogaNutrition@earthlink.net or call 257.6530.
Boomer memories
What is your favorite Boomer memory? Dancing at the Swiss Inn.
Which TV parents did you want as your own? The Andersons (Father Knows Best).
What is your favorite vacation memory? Echo Lake (Long Pond) near Willsboro, NY.
Who was your teenage crush? Pat Riley.
Michele, Rotterdam
What is your favorite Boomer memory? What is a memory – I am over 50 .. can’t remember crap.
Which TV parents did you want as your own? The Adams family – Mortica was hot!
What is your favorite vacation memory? Thinking Lake George was on the other side of the country – and my parents never told me I was wrong.
Who was your teenage crush? Vikki – who else?!
Dan Moran, Troy
What is your favorite Boomer memory? Playing outside until the street lights came on with all my friends from the block in Burgh. Each family had at least for kids!
Which TV parents did you want as your own? Ward and June Cleaver. I always wanted my mother to wear pearls.
What is your favorite vacation memory? Atlantic City with my cousins. The boardwalk, the ocean, the boys.
Who was your teenage crush? Too many to count, but Bobby Sherman was up there.
Vikki Moran, Troy
What is your favorite Boomer memory? Going to see Joni Mitchell at SPAC and sitting way up front.
Which TV parents did you want as your own? I never thought about it, but the Beaver had such stable and refined parents. That family just seemed to have it all together.
What is your favorite vacation memory? Going to New York City for the first time and seeing a Broadway play, taking the subway, eating Chinese food and shopping. It was amazing.
Who was your teenage crush? Rich Fletcher – cute boy in my class. It was unrequited love!
Judi, Delmar
What is your favorite Boomer memory? Playing tag or waffle ball outside until the street lights came on.
Which TV parents did you want as your own? Darrin & Samatha Stevens.
What is your favorite vacation memory? Going camping for three weeks at a time to Heartstone Campground in Lake George with 3-4 other families from South Troy because our fathers were on “shut-down for two weeks from Norton Company”.
Who was your teenage crush? Bobby Sherman.
Mary Alice Russo, East Greenbush
What is your favorite Boomer memory? Christmas morning receiving a shiny new (used) Schwinn bicycle. It got stolen the following summer.
Which TV parents did you want as your own? Not a couple, SKY KING and his niece, Penny.
What is your favorite vacation memory? Camping with the family in a tent on Turtle Island in Lake George when we were hit by a hurricane and the boat we had rented to take us to the island broke free and sank!
Who was your teenage crush? Real person: Sandy. Celebrity person: Annette Funicello.
Ed Lange, Delmar
What is your favorite Boomer memory? Going swimming at a local beach where I grew up during the day and having my Dad join us on his way home from work for a cookout. On the way home, he would hang his swimming trunks on the radio antenna and they would blow in the breeze as we drove. It always looked like there was an invisible man riding on the car hood.
Which TV parents did you want as your own? We only got two channels growing up on our black and white TV. We could watch a sportman’s show from Watertown, NY or Hockey Night in Canada in French. So the choice for TV parents would be two large mouth bass or Gordy Howe and the rest of his missing teeth family.
What is your favorite vacation memory? Vacation – what was that? Growing up in a large family of 12, vacation would have been anytime when you got to go to some one’s house who didn’t have smaller brothers and sisters and cable TV.
Who was your teenage crush? In fifth grade, I sat behind the class brain and was hopelessly in love with his thinking ability. We were not allowed to talk or pass notes in class so I decided I would let him know how I felt using my creative talents. I borrowed a tube of my mother’s lipstick, flame red, and leaned over my desk and drew a pair of lips on his white collar. The teacher saw me do that and had me suspended from school for three days. After that, she moved his seat and our love affair ended. He was much more attracted to his math books than some girl who had a crazy creative streak. I never recovered from that crushing blow and became too busy to have any serious teenage love affairs.
Melody D. Burns, Glenmont
What is your favorite Boomer memory? I have many happy memories as a child, but what I remember the most is that we almost always did things as a family, and when I say “family” I mean with grandparents, aunts, uncles, a gazillion cousins, and it also often included friends and neighbors. I think we did a picnic or dinner almost every week at my grandparents’ house on Kinderhook Lake in the summer, and at night all of my cousins and my sisters and I would catch lightening bugs and play hide and seek while our parents sat around and socialized. I often got to spend the night in my Nana’s spare bedroom and I loved listening to the crickets and other night sounds as I went to sleep with the windows open.
Which TV parents did you want as your own? Why George and Jane Jetson, of course! Their kids got to fly around in cars all by themselves!
What is your favorite vacation memory? We always went camping because it was all my parents could afford with one salary and three girls to raise (mom was a stay-at-home wife and mother as most moms were back then). We went camping every year though, faithfully, because my parents felt it was important to all of us. I loved making S’mores over the fire every night before curling up in my sleeping bag.
Who was your teenage crush? I was totally “in love” with Donnie Osmond!
Michelle Mattiske, Waterford
What is your favorite Boomer memory? Seeing the Yankee greats like Mantle, Maris, Berra, Ford, Skowron in the 1960 World Series from the 3rd base seats.
Which TV parents did you want as your own? Ozzie and Harriet—I really wanted Ricky’s hot rod. Harriet was okay, Ozzie was a goof ball.
What is your favorite vacation memory? Cross country motor trip from Long Island to Laredo, Texas, then to Wyoming and back to Long Island.
Who was your teenage crush? Patricia Kelley.
Dale M. McKim Jr., Wilton
What is your favorite Boomer memory? The drug store soda fountain.
Which TV parents did you want as your own? Jim and Margaret Anderson (Father Knows Best)
What is your favorite vacation memory? Waterskiing on nearby lakes.
Who was your teenage crush? FABIAN.
Linda B. Mappes, Troy
What is your favorite Boomer memory? My family's first TV set—a six inch screen housed in a box the size of a stove. We were first in the neighborhood to have color—a plastic film lines with colors of the rainbow that fit over the screen.
Which TV parents did you want as your own? Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, probably because I wanted a horse so badly. I entered every contest and was absolutely certain that I would be the winner of Trigger's offspring.
What is your favorite vacation memory? Family vacations were at a premium because my father owned his own business and could not take time off. One memory that I still have is being sent to a cousin's camp on Cazenovia Lake for two weeks and, in particular, watching with my nose at the grate of an upstairs bedroom heat register as the adults partied downstairs, dancing and singing along to Patsy Cline records.
Who was your teenage crush? Johnny Mathis, what more can I say? There wasn't a teenage girl around who didn't fall in love all over again listening to that romantic tenor voice pull at your heartstrings – "Chances Are" / "The Twelfth of Never" / "Misty" / "Heavenly" / "Moonlight Becomes You", to name but a few. They don't write (or sing) them like that any more.
Sandy, Latham
What is your favorite boomer memory? Mickey Mantle’s 500 home run on Sunday, May 14, 1967. I sat in section 13 with my friend Freddie Foran in the old Yankee Stadium. We took a bus and two trains to get to the stadium. It was a rainy day.
Which TV parents did you want as your own? – The Cleavers.
What is your favorite vacation memory? – Spending Labor days in the country on our Great Aunt’s farm. Being from NYC that was always a favorite of ours.
Who was your teenage crush? – Susan Conlon
Andrew Piegare, Glenmont
What is your favorite boomer memory? The space program and moon landing 1969.
Which TV parents did you want as your own? Ricki and Lucy Ricardo.
What is your favorite boomer vacation memory? Riding cross country with my family, sandwiched between my older siblings, not allowed 'to touch' so often laying across the back dashboard of my dad's Plymouth Fury! No seatbelts!
Who was your teenage crush? Bobby Sherman
Camille Allen, Latham
What is your favorite Boomer memory? The music. The music wasn't just a thing of entertainment, it was who you were even when you were not listening to it. When these artists appeared with lyrics and sounds that you could relate to it was like the struggle to express yourself was finally over! It was so rewarding to be able to identify with others who understood your innermost feelings and were able to put it out there through music for all to hear.
Which TV parents did you want as your own? The parents of Jeff on "Lassie". The way they looked at him and his dog was so endearing. I wanted to be the female version of Jeff and live in the cozy, functional farmhouse, go out on my own with Lassie and rescue the latest poor soul who was clutching a branch after falling into the raging river 10-feet away from the treacherous waterfall!
What is your favorite vacation memory? Summer 1972; 18 years old. I was one of about 10 friends who rented a place in Hampton Bays for the summer. The feeling of freedom and fun started the minute we got into our cars and made the drive out on the Long Island Expressway from Queens in search of beach, beer, band and boys. That was when the beautiful beaches of the Hampton's were affordable and it was truly a place for beach lover's not status lovers and when you actually tanned in the sun.
Who was your teenage crush? Richard Chamberlain as "Dr.Kildare". For 60 minutes once a week I was absorbed in his spell.
Diane Piegare, Glenmont