This is in response to the Sept. 4 piece “Second attempt at marriage loses some charm.” The writer says: “Honestly, at 85, I’ll just be pushing for a Social Security check and mobility scooter” and then “at 85 does it really even matter? Before you know it, you’ll be in your nineties, with nothing to show for it besides a receding hairline and a Life Alert.” I find this very insulting to old people and would ask that your editors screen for this sort of thing in the future.
I use the word “ageism” to describe the reality that in our culture everything young and new is good, and everything old is bad. She has nothing good to say about being old. Many old people, like me, enjoy being old, and women, especially, feel older and bolder. Let’s hope that she meets some old people who have more concerns than Social Security, mobility scooters, receding hairlines and Life Alert.
Jan Griesinger is a 70-year-old Athens resident.
