Robin Evans, January 12, 2009

A study at York University showed that while people might decry racist comments, they seldom confront the speaker. Lead author Kerry Kawakami emphasized that just because a black man was elected president doesn’t mean we’re done with racism. New studies are underway to determine whether this lack of action is due to timidity or unconscious racism. Unconscious attitudes, like bacteria, are something we all carry. Some are harmless; others aren’t. Malcolm Gladwell touched on this in "blink," his 2005 book about the instinctual – unconscious – decisions we make all the time. They’re informed by many things: our upbringing, culture, environment, our temperaments, our fears. No, Obama’s election does not mark the end of racism, but it has dragged the issue further out of the closet. Remember when no one talked about divorce in the family, alcoholism or mental illness? If we’re going to overcome the cultural illness that is racism, it might help to uncover our own unconcious biases. If you’re willing to look deeper in your own closet, check out this site.

Tom Murphy, January 1, 2009

Like the illusionists in a gaudy lounge show, Las Vegas has always thrived on manipulating the perception of reality. Gamblers go there to strike it rich but usually lose most of what they had. Beautiful women seek fame but are lucky to win a spot on a cheesy chorus line. As long as more suckers kept coming, the image of glitz and fast money remained. There were jobs,  and those workers could buy housing. But now the good times are fading. Gamblers have other options, like the Indian casinos in their home states. The tight economy is limiting travel. And home prices have crashed faster in Las Vegas than in almost any other American city. One can attribute the slide to the all-in mentality of sin city, but what happened in Las Vegas isn’t staying in Las Vegas this time. Across the US, jobs are vanishing, money is tight and home values are back to 2004 levels. Obama will try to restore some luster with a big government jobs program, but it’s a gamble with long odds given that spending is what got us into this mess. It’s time to leave the magic show and face reality: yet another economic bubble has popped. It’s time to get back to the hard work of getting by with a more modest lifestyle – one that doesn’t require sleight of hand or Lady Luck to succeed.

Robin Evans, December 10, 2008

When my generation was ready for sex, birth control pills landed. When we needed to expand our horizons past suburban mediocrity, professor Timothy Leary was there with LSD. Things have come to us when we needed it pretty much ever since. And we’ve kept up with changing times: We embraced the brave new online world – boomers are the largest online audience. We may be older but we still think young. So when aging hits us in the face – or the knee joint or the 401K or health insurance, we expect there’ll be a solution, soon if not now. When our skin began to lose its glow, retail shelves were soon filled with collagen serums and exfoliating creams. Most of us expect to see unversal health care – when it will help us the most. That’s the attitude we’ll have on board when ever more things begin to decline. And because there are so many of us, in many cases, solutions will come. But not in all cases. At some point, we won’t be able to escape discomfort, hardship, loss. So at some point, soon if not now, perhaps my generation will foster a new attitude about looking and feeling old. Get your lap quilts ready.

Robin Evans, November 20, 2008

There’s been a lot of talk about how Americans are going to have to rise to the challenge of the days ahead by: conserving water and fuel; saving more but spending without getting into debt; and soldiering ahead with patriotism despite unemployment, health insurance that costs as much as a mortgage, and fears of the world blowing up (Hmm. That would take care of a few things, wouldn’t it?).  Also, as a particularly photogenic Republican governor likes to say, we must brace for taxes. In California, the governor has broached raising the sales tax by 1.5 percent, and raising other taxes on vehicles, appliance and furniture repairs, golf and veterinarian services, and tickets for sporting events and amusement parks. The state may also hike taxes on alcohol; smokers got whacked long ago. We must all embrace tax hikes for the betterment of society. As for me, I don’t play golf (I have and know how, but it’s too expensive and takes all day anyway). I don’t drink that much (and have found some relatively cheap favorites). I’m not a sports freak and have no kids, so don’t need amusement parks. But veterinarian services? I once took in my parakeet with a cold, left it overnight for tests, came back to find it had died. I still had to pay $400. And just keep the T-men away from hair styling and coloring, Cheez Whiz and Triscuits and it’s all fine, just fine.

Robin Evans, October 23, 2008

"Barbaric" might be your first thought upon hearing that an Afghan university student was sentenced to 20 years in prison for broaching the subject of women’s rights under Islam. Better than the death penalty a higher court overturned, but a spine-tingling reminder of things out there more frightening than a recession. It might be emotionally easy to condemn Islam, but it’s just a vehicle for control in a largely poor country that’s fearful of change. Still, it’s good to keep in mind amid the changes wrought by our generation’s economic turmoil that embracing fear and finger-pointing can lead down a very dark path.

Robin Evans, October 14, 2008

My generation’s addiction to the media is nothing new. But as the vortex of economic fear has widened, an interesting shift has taken place. People of all ages are not simply looking for safe comfort in reality TV, Internet updates on celebrities, or click-magnets like Top 10 Ways to "Revive Your Relationship" or "Drop 10 Pounds in 30 Days." Instead, they’re fixated on rapidly changing economic developments and trying to figure out – even as our leaders do – how this happened and how we can recover. Traffic on Yahoo’s political and financial sites went up nearly 30 percent with the bad news about Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch. People are so caught up in keeping up – online, on TV, on radio, on the mobiles – that it’s eating into their other activities. It’s understandable. It’s their savings slipping away as the stock market unravels, their tax dollars that will be used to float this leaky ship. So this obsession with learning about the economy isn’t necessarily a habit that ought to be broken. Americans are learning that the government some think should just get out of the way – and has for eight long years – is actually us. We’ve been rudely aroused, but we’ll be a lot better at being a government of, by and for ALL the people if we keep paying close attention.

Robin Evans, October 10, 2008

Even as I find myself getting frustrated at my 84-year-old mother’s confusion with operating her cell phone, her computer, the several different medications she has to give her cat every day, I realize that I, too, can get overwhelmed by information and distracted. So you’d think I’d be easier on her. No, because I worry about her. She’s a nine-hour trip away. But I’ve just learned there is something very important I can do that could improve her functional ability, or should I say NOT do: Talk down to her, or around her, like I did when the vet was explaining her cat’s complicated medical situation. I could’ve made a phone call later. Studies are showing that elderspeak – treating older adults like children – can actually hurt elders. accelerating aging’s effects. And as boomers’ face the same aging challenges, it bears repeating: treat others as you would want to be treated.

Robin Evans, September 23, 2008

There’s a sort of perverse pleasure that some of in my generation are taking as the "D" word surfaces and the media actually uses the word "nationalize" to describe the government bailout of Wall Street. Forget the Recession that nobody in power ever admitted we’re in. The sheer scale of the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression precludes any suggestion that the world’s best hope still lies in free-market capitalism. The emperor’s wardrobe is unquestionably revealed to be empty. The moving shells in the market casino have been lifted to reveal not just empty space, but an abyss. And it’s so deep and so frightening that we’re being forced to confront fundamental beliefs about how we achieve economic well-being for the many, not just the few. We’re going to have to face our own complicity in this shaky house of get-it-while-you can and find things other than cheap goods to fill our lives. I take pleasure in that.

Robin Evans, September 13, 2008

I’m beginning to think you could sell a vast number of middle-class Americans the Brooklyn Bridge – on credit, of course. Once again, many people seem poised to vote against their own economic self-interest. That seems unthinkable given the fact that most Americans over 60 think these are the worst economic times they’ve ever seen. The shiny political bauble that is Sarah Palin seems to have blinded many once-disgruntled Republicans to the continuing cascade of corporate meltdowns, made possible in large part by banking and energy trading deregulation championed by John McCain’s recently resigned campaign co-chair. Sen. Phil Gramm may be gone, but the anti-regulatory forces in the corporate-cozy Republican hierarchy are not. The trickle-down ideology that keeps taxes light on big business is not. Meanwhile, ordinary working people already financially battered are told they have no choice but to bail out big business or risk an all-out economic collapse. The eagerness with which many Americans have embraced Palin perhaps is a sign of how deeply they need escape from bad news. Maybe they find comfort in a no-nonsense hockey Mom who’s "just like us," a cheerleader for her god and family values. But she also satisfies the need for a rescuing savior. She’s a glam hero – lipstick, high heels and swept-up hair – who’s ready to take on her mission without blinking. Once again, I see people willing to hock their future for small comforts in the present.

Robin Evans, August 30, 2008

Caring for a loved one who’s elderly, disabled or has a chronic illness is heart-wrenching enough. Add the merry-go-round of securing dependable in-home caregiver assistance and it’s absolutely soul-sapping. The Caregiving Project for Older Americans recently awarded a dozen community colleges grants to develop or expand caregiver training programs. Given the size of the boomer generation, it’s a no-brainer growth industry. The problem is the pay for providing services of sometimes the most intimate nature is valued less than picking up the garbage. Despite work by unions to raise the wages of in-home healthcare workers, too many still earn below the poverty level. Most are women, middle-aged or older and/or single mothers, according to union figures. So, they have support issues of their own. And that may explain why there’s such turnover in the profession, why it’s so hard to find someone who’s always available. Increased training will only go so far. It needs to be matched by a recognition of the work’s value in our aging society as well as efforts to raise compensation and benefits – to give the caregivers the financial stability we need them to have to help us.

Robin Evans, August 19, 2008

Americans are generally horrified at any hint of a clamp-down on free speech, including artistic expression. And so, a request by Islamic youth in Malaysia to cancel a concert by Avril Lavigne. because her moves are too sexy, will likely be seen by many as archaic and further evidence of this religion’s antipathy to women. Neither the Malaysian government nor Lavigne have made any decisions yet, but Christine Aguilera, another top pop star skipped the country during her Asia tour last year, as did Beyonce. Gwen Stefani kept her date but begrudgingly put on extra clothes. What I want to know is why musicians feel their performance is more important than their music? Even in the United States, the definition of pornography depends on the standards of the local community. What’s acceptable activity in San Francisco may not fly in Des Moines. So why can’t these pop icons just tone it down for another culture? Perhaps they think they’re taking a stand for freedom. Or maybe they suspect their music on its own isn’t enough.

Robin Evans, August 15, 2008

Unlike my colleague Tom Murphy, who’s still got his duds from the ’60s, ready for a fashion rerun, I long ago cleared out my long denim  skirt with hand-embroidered heron, my paisley tights, tube tops and mini-skirts. Maybe if I had Madonna’s job I would’ve kept them. But I don’t. And even though as a San Franciscan, I feel a certain obligation to stay hip, I have had to realize, as a friend recently  told me, "you’re not Twiggy anymore." And I’m reminded of a neighbor who, tired of attracting younger but less commitment-worthy men, aged her wardrobe to fit her years. I have no idea if it worked. Still, I love those stretch-denim, hip-hugging jeans. And those baby-doll tops cover any overflow.  But I’m just happy to be a part of the hippie generation that is evolving into the demographic-busting boomer  generation. I’m confident that savvy retailers will figure out what we want and provide it for us. I just wish they’d hurry up with the longer sleeves on T-shirts.

Robin Evans, August 12, 2008

More men are moving into retirement homes because they’re living longer. And that’s likely to change things at the old homestead. I presume for the better because right now, according to the story, they’re populated by a "sad sorority" of widows who pass their days watching each other decline. Perhaps with the introduction of testosterone to the senior roster, those ladies who apparently have been boring each other to tears over endless craft projects and bingo will now have men to liven things up. They can talk about cars instead of cooking, knives instead of knitting. Men could explain to them the proper rules of bingo. With men around, the women might even be open to a game of pool or poker. Voila. No more sad sorority but a Greek gala.  The differences between men and women may be the butt of many jokes, but they’re also some of the same things that create interest – and excitement. And I’m all for that, wherever you are.

Robin Evans, August 4, 2008

As RA’s Cecily O’Connor reported, the AARP’s latest list of the healthiest places to retire looked at a variety of variables, including availability of health facilities, affordable housing and options for exercise and volunteer and recreational activities. Yet three of the top five – Ann Arbor, Mich., Madison, Wis., and Fargo, ND – are places where the average high temperature never gets above freezing for at least three months of the winter, the average low is below freezing for at least five months and average annual snowfall ranges from 35 to 44 inches. I suppose digging out from under a snow drift could count as exercise. Maybe shivering or teeth chattering burns up calories. I was recently in Phoenix, (not on the AARP list but another popular retirement city), where the temperature was about 106 by noon. You get your exercise there slathering on 45+ sunscreen before going out to pick up the mail or sweating off those extra calories in your oven-baked car. In such climates, all but the fittest or most heat tolerant might just volunteer to stay indoors and puzzle over how to pay the heating or air conditioning bill. As boomers begin to experience the physical limitations of aging or the loss of friends and loved ones, such extremes of weather can add to the risk of isolation. And that’s not a healthy picture.

Robin Evans, July 15, 2008

Caregiving is hard. Losing the one you’re caring for is harder, as Cecily O’Connor reported in her story. One woman talked of how sad she was because she and her father had gotten closer than ever before. He told her many things he had kept to himself until then. That’s not uncommon. My dad was like that, too. And when he was near death in hospice, unable to speak, I told him many things I would not have had the nerve to otherwise. He had a temper, you see. Which is one of the things I advised him to get control of in his next life. Oh, and sitting there day after day, holding his hand, watching his immobile face, I went into great detail about my Buddhist faith. And I chanted for him, right there. And joked that he would never have put up with it otherwise. We had joked a lot – it was a great cover for a lot of family pain. Now, reading about the woman whose father just died, I, too, feel sad – that it should take the specter of death to allow the heartfelt exchange for which we all yearn.