Boomers power up by aging in place

Aging In Place and Universal Design expert and consultant Louis Tenenbaum is liberally quoted in this piece from The Washington Times:

Cover story: Boomers power up by aging in place
Carisa Chappell
The aging-in-place movement has become big with 89 percent of people older than age 50 wanting to remain in their own homes indefinitely, according to a recent AARP survey …

"One of the issues with older clients is getting into and out of a house," Mr. Tenenbaum said. "There are a number of ways to achieve the no-step entry, including integrating a lift into the landscaping … Mr. Tenenbaum said the bathroom can become a scary place for elderly people because it often is wet and has hard surfaces. He said such features as a no-step shower and tub and toilet grab handles are important.

Check out Louis’ AGING IN PLACE GUIDE blog.

More: a sample chapter from The Silver Market Phenomenon:

Universal Design – Innovations for All Ages by Oliver Gassmann and Gerrit Reepmeyer (PDF)

Ask the Brains: Is Midlife Crisis a Myth?

Scientific American has a monthly column, Ask the Brains.  The mag hands off questions to experts.  Here’s one I liked:

Is Midlife Crisis a Myth?

David Almeida, professor of human development and family studies at Pennsylvania State University, responds:
Many people expect that midlife brings forth inevitable crisis, but that idea is not supported by social science.

Makes mincemeat of this featherbrained campaign (and plenty of others):

Passat's Midlife Crisis
I was tipped off to Passat’s tongue-in-cheek web site by Steve Hall’s top-notch, often troublemaking blog, Adrants (rated way up there in some recent marketing/advertising blog poll)…

People generally get better.

I’m … umm … sitting somewhere, leafing through AARP Magazine.  There’s a wonderful, down-to-earth interview with Toni Morrison. 

A bit of it is perfect for the blog.  I convince myself that it’s worth doing something I never do anymore: actually type-in a chunk of a magazine.  (My rule: if I can’t copy and paste, forget it.)

The magazine is carried to my office, the page gets dog-eared, marked up, plopped and propped - and I almost start banging away. 

Then I decide to do something smart. I go to the AARP site and there’s the interview, ready for ethereal snatching. 

What got me all hot ‘n bothered:

Q: Do you find you’ve become more creative as you’ve gotten older? Oh, yes. I’m much, much better with creative things—people generally get better. They just know more.

Q: Your mind certainly seems to have stayed fertile. Yes, but what’s really important is humor—the way you see through things. And I don’t mean just “Ho, ho, ho!” but real irony about the diabolical nature of things. If you don’t have that, you just collapse.

I’ve blogged about this a bunch of times:

Old Masters and Young Geniuses

What Kind of Genius Are You?

Baby boomers are smarter than you think

Trust Your Gut

And there’s this NYT piece:

Older Brain Really May Be a Wiser Brain

Wiser, smarter, funnier, more creative.  Even if only half-true, only partially true - think of all the talent out there not being used in advertising (and hundreds of other creative industries).

Again (and again and again): Diversity = Productivity.

Vacation Home Swaps

Grabbed this from The Toronto Sun vacation section:

Home swaps made for zoomers
By ILONA KAUREMSZKY
Q: My husband and I are what they now call "zoomers" -- active Baby Boomers. We are looking for budget alternatives to the usual hotels and B&Bs. We don't camp and I would never consider hostels.
A: Home exchanges are growing in popularity and for "zoomers" it could just be the ticket for alternative accommodations …

Years ago in the first edition of my book I suggested this as one of many selling points for Active Adult Communities. An excerpt:

And I talked about it in 2006 at the NAHB Building For Boomers Symposium.

Study shows love improves with age

No big surprise to me – or to most people on the sweet side of fifty:

Professor Amanda Barusch, who teaches social work and community development, found the people she surveyed "consistently reported that love improved with age," the Salt Lake City Tribune reported.

The article:

U. researcher says love grows sweeter with time
As for the sex, it's more fun, relaxed and low-pressure. The older the instrument, as they say, the sweeter the music. On the other hand, maybe you and your partner don't miss particular acts of intimacy at all. Why not explore love's selfless side rather than just physical thrills?

It’s all in a book published by Oxford University Press:

Love Stories of Later Life
A Narrative Approach to Understanding Romance
Amanda Smith Barusch
"This book dispels any notion that only young people enjoy romance. In a fun and engaging read, Barusch weaves cases with the most cutting-edge academic information on love in a thrilling tale about how love changes with age. The book is potentially transformative, as Barusch uncovers how in many respects the best is yet to come. Although the content appeals to a broad audience and includes experiential exercises to enhance readers' awareness about their own experiences, scholars and practitioners from all health professions should read this book."--Virginia Richardson, Professor, The Ohio State University College of Social Work

What’s amusing about the press coverage: anybody over fifty is automatically a Baby Boomer …

An Otago University professor investigating love and romance among baby boomers aged over 50 says her initial scepticism turned to fascination … she found a wide range of romantic experience when she interviewed 91 people aged 51 to 97 …