take advantage of being a senior citizen as often ass possible

till I’m eligible to collect Social Security. It will not be enough to live on, so I won’t be able to truly retire, but I will be able to cut back on the work I do for income, which means more time for the work I do as a volunteer plus a little extra money to donate to causes I believe in.

I’m thinking along the lines of $10 a month to each of five nonpolitical organizations, starting with my university and the program that took me to Greece in 1972, maybe my college fraternity, and probably a couple of environmental programs. I really like the idea of giving continually and it will be so nice to finally be in a position to do so.

One of our local casinos has created a special offer on Tuesdays for seniors who register with their Player’s Club – $3 off on any movie at their Cinemark 18-plex on Tuesdays. Combine that with the standard matinee discount for seniors and I can now watch a first-run film for just $3 every week. Yesterday I saw Real Steel with Hugh Jackman. I’m already planning to make this part of my weekly routine.

I now have a reduced fare ID for riding the bus. This means much greater mobility. Instead of buying a 24-hour ticket 5-8 times a month for $5 each, I’ve got a 30-day pass for just $30. It provides unlimited access, even on the “restricted” routes along the Strip and the Express buses that typically have surcharges.

I can tell you that it sounds a lot naughtier than it really is.

I twisted my right knee a week ago… not badly enough to keep me from walking, but it hurts when I move it in certain ways and there has been some swelling. Back in the day, I would have just ignored it, gutted it out and waited till it healed, which (of course) takes longer if you don’t give it any attention.

Well, a couple of days ago I thought, “I’m a senior. I can look like a gimp and everyone will think its normal.” So I bought a knee brace. The girl at the pharmacy let me try it on before I purchased it and my joint felt soooo good, I just left it on and wore it home, even though I was wearing shorts. It wasn’t cheap, but I think its going to turn out to be a good investment. Getting older means aches and pains. I’m sure I’ll have opportunity to use it again in the future when this episode passes.

_{BTW… for the swelling, I’ve been using a bag of frozen peas I always keep in the freezer to use as an ice pack. Love that feeling when the joint gets numb.}

Yesterday I saw the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and paid only $7 as the “senior” ticket price.

Getting older brings with it a variety of benefits, not the least of which are discounts on movie tickets and meals at certain restaurants. Here are some of the milestones of living many years (at least in the USA).

50 – Eligible for AARP membership/discounts
55 – Senior housing access, some retail discounts
60 – Discounted bus passes, other retail discounts
62 – Eligible for minimum Social Security benefits
65 – Retirement, full Social Security & Medicare benefits

Ah, so much to look forward to. This afternoon I’ll be attending an AARP webinar on getting the most out of Social Security. I just hope the current system lasts long enough to take advantage of it.

Last evening I attended a town hall regarding the redistricting of our county. The venue was the East Las Vegas Community/Senior Center. It’s within walking distance from my apartment, but I had never been inside before. What a lovely facility. A bunch of teens were practicing mariachi music in the courtyard as I walked in. So festive! After the meeting, I stopped by the front desk and inquired about their services. They have plenty, including dance lessons, morning walks, Texas Hold’em Poker nights, picnics… It only costs $2 to become a member, so I joined and got a photo ID card and LeisureLink number. I am now a card-carrying “Active Adult.”

about getting older is you can make a complete fool of yourself and nobody minds. Last Saturday night I tried Contra dancing with some friends. Almost everyone there was over 50, and it didn’t matter that we made lots of mistakes. Good laughs. Lots of fun. Very tiring.

Worth sharing here, although I didn’t have no @$%! Atari 2600. I had Tinker Toys and Lincoln Logs and an Erector Set. If you are 40, or older, you may appreciate this:

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking five miles to school every morning…. Uphill… Barefoot… BOTH ways…yadda, yadda, yadda

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on my kids about how hard I had it and how easy they’ve got it!

But now that I’m over the ripe old age of forty, I can’t help but look around and notice the youth of today. You’ve got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia! And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don’t know how good you’ve got it!

1) I mean, when I was a kid we didn’t have the Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!

2) There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter – with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox, and it would take like a week to get there! Stamps were 10 cents!

3) Child Protective Services didn’t care if our parents beat us. As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our ass! Nowhere was safe!

4) There were no MP3’s or Napsters or iTunes! If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself!

5) Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and @#&$ it all up! There were no CD players! We had tape decks in our car. We’d play our favorite tape and “eject” it when finished, and then the tape would come undone rendering it useless. Cause, hey, that’s how we rolled, Baby! Dig?

6) We didn’t have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called, they got a busy signal, that’s it!

7) There weren’t any freakin’ cell phones either. If you left the house, you just didn’t make a damn call, unless you went to a pay phone and spent a dime… real money! And you couldn’t receive calls. You actually had to be out of touch with your “friends”. OH MY GOSH !!! Think of the horror… not being in touch with someone 24/7!!! And then there’s TEXTING. Yeah, right. Please! You kids have no idea how annoying you are

8) And we didn’t have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your parents, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, the collection agent… you just didn’t know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

9) We didn’t have any fancy PlayStation or Xbox video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like ‘Space Invaders’ and ‘Asteroids’. Your screen guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination!!! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen.. Forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!

10) You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your ass and walk over to the TV to change the channel!!! NO REMOTES!!! Oh, no, what’s the world coming to?

11) There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I’m saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-bastards!

12) And we didn’t have microwaves. If we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove! Imagine that!

13) And our parents told us to stay outside and play… all day long. Oh, no, no electronics to soothe and comfort. And if you came back inside… you were doing chores!

14) And car seats – oh, please! Mom threw you in the back seat and you hung on. If you were lucky, you got the “safety arm” across the chest at the last moment if she had to stop suddenly, and if your head hit the dashboard, well that was your fault for calling “shot gun” in the first place!

See! That’s exactly what I’m talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You’re spoiled rotten! You guys wouldn’t have lasted five minutes back in 1970 or any time before!

Regards,
The Over 40 Crowd

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