Back in May I interviewed Judi Bonilla, a San Diego gerontologist, as research for my articles about modern old age for Bay Alarm Medical. I also read tons of articles about seniorhood and society’s response to its own greying. These leftover notes have been sitting around on my computer since then, so I figured… let them see the light! I didn’t organize this stuff into an actual article, so your interest may be limited if you’re not already obsessed with aging. If you happen to be writing about this, feel free to use the material! Just link back to me. Or get in touch — whatever.
I claimed that I wasn’t a podcast person, but I was wrong. As it turns out, I enjoy listening! This is a well-timed discovery because I just acquired a commute.
Most recently, I played an episode of Neighbors while walking the dog. Neighbors is about connecting “ordinary” people — of course, the hidden point is that each of us is quite special. (Trite but true.) The episode “Purpose” is part of Neighbors’ series of interviews with homeless people, called “Sans Houses”, which producer Tasha Lemley has been conducting since 2006. I was particularly struck by Cowboy, who recited this poem:
“The old man used to speak
of the portraits he’d seek,
now he lives in a room
where they pay by the week.
His saddle’s all tattered;
his pony’s gone lame;
his bones always ache
when the sky feels like rain.
I know his last mountain’s two flights of stairs
and his saddle’s turned into an old rocking chair.”
After reciting the last couplet, Cowboy said, “I don’t wanna be like that, you know? I don’t wanna lay up in that room and die layin’ up in the bed. You know, I wanna go out in a gunfight or something.” A little later he explains, “I’ve always been active, in whatever I did. If it was wrong or right, I was active doin’ it, let me tell you what!”
I love that line. “If it was wrong or right, I was active doin’ it, let me tell you what!”
Let me tell you what: I’ve only listened to one episode of Neighbors so far, but I deem it worth my aural attention.
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