How do we see the world as we enter our sixties, seventies and eighties? My younger self saw a vast winter tundra, undistinguished, criss-crossed with tracks of a passing creature no longer in sight.
Approaching, then entering that landscape, I see the brilliant diversity within the white and the gray, a thousand different shades, sparkling when they are caught in the light.
In the pieces below, Crow’s Feet writers explore the unique experiences they encounter when they age, the slowing down that allows them to savor details, the energy that propels them to keep moving ahead.
“Climbing the ladder of eternity, a valuable relic to the modern world.” That’s how poet Mark Tulin describes one man as he edges into his second century in Eternity’s Ladder.
In this week’s edition of Crow’s Feet, writers examine what it means to forget, what it means to remember, and how to define the parameters of a good life as we age.
We also welcome two new contributors, Megan Houston Sager and Greta Dias. Enjoy the read and share it with a friend!
Do you fear a loss of cognitive functioning at an early age? That’s what happened to Jack Herlocker after he suffered a brain injury in his 20s. Since then, he has developed strategies to manage his forgetfulness but, in his first contribution to Crow’s Feet, he shares his concerns about how he will handle the decades to come.
Crow’s Feet editor Nancy Peckenham shines a spotlight on a remarkable new report from the World Health Organization that concludes that ageism, just like racism and sexism, unfairly stigmatizes people and robs them of their worth.
Finding meaning in old things, old…
I imagine the spirit of the original owners among my heirlooms.
I was working in the teeny office space I’ve carved out in the back of our Sprinter van when my husband got on a business staff call. Sheer lack of space means that I hear virtually every word said in these meetings and this week’s conversation fascinated me.
Each week the staff meeting opens with an ice breaker to try to bridge the gaps among staff members scattered around the country. This week staffers were asked to find something in their homes that was older than they were and…
Yes, and it’s bad in many ways for people around the globe
Have you been having memory problems recently, can’t remember a word or a name? While this is considered a normal part of aging, now the World Health Organization (WHO) is reporting that negative ageist stereotypes can be tied to memory decline.
This conclusion is part of a groundbreaking report from the World Health Organization that concludes that stereotypes about older people can predict detrimental changes in the part of the brain that stores memories and cause plaque and tangles to form.
More broadly, the report says ageism can…
To rob my self-esteem
I was huffing and puffing up the side of a southern Utah butte yesterday, my heart pounding in my ears. I stopped to catch my breath when the thought occurred to me to stop and turn back down right there. But I continued. The view from the top would be beautiful and I did not want to be a quitter before I reached my goal. …
Julia E Hubbel has been a contributor to Crow’s Feet since its inception nearly two years ago. This week, Julia hit one out of the park in her essay that explores the intersection of white privilege and aging. Losing privilege, she explains, doesn’t come easy to those who have grown accustomed to it.
From across the pond (the great Atlantic Ocean), in Scotland, Thewriteyard describes her own experience as a new mother and wife transplanted to East Africa and concludes that there is no way to ignore white privilege.
In other pieces, Mark Starlin introduces his new cartoon characters Walt…
Her portrait at that age looks nothing like mine.
There’s a cultural shift in motion, gaining momentum, poised to make a lasting impact. I’m referring to the shift in how people view aging, a transition away from fear to realizing the freedom a lifetime of experience can bring.
I know the fear of aging was buried deep inside me when I was young, really young. I remember when I was five years old I visited my paternal grandmother, tiptoeing around her lace curtains, careful not to disturb the china figurines. My grandmother wore her grey hair in short tight curls…
“What if there was a miracle pill that reversed all the effects of aging and gave you back the body of a 25-year-old? Would you take it?” Mary DeVries answers this question and explores what it means to age in the first piece in this week’s digest of Crow’s Feet stories.
Dive in to all 15 stories and check out how people are coping with their body changes, protecting their parents, and experiencing a creative burst later in life.
Spread the word… share this newsletter with a friend!
This week on Crow’s Feet you will find that writers are still grappling with winter, the winter of life. We’re thinking of our parents as they become truly elderly and reflect on the afterlife.
We’ve also got humor, a power that helps us navigate through life, and we have hope.
Spread the word… Share this newsletter with a friend!
Nancy Peckenham
TV, print and online journalist. Mother, wife, sister, daughter, friend, adventurer, history-lover. www.crowsfeet.life and www.ivebeeneverywhereman.us
