Ready To Retire in Margaritaville?
No. 1/February 9, 2022
This is the first issue of NewScan, a biweekly briefing on news relevant to readers of The EndGame. NewScan is one of the bonus features available when you convert from a free to a paid subscription.
Like a Cheeseburger in Paradise
Singer, songwriter, and entertainment brand Jimmy Buffett has opened the first of what promises to be a chain of Latitude Margaritaville retirement villages. If you envision retirement as a party-hardy escape to the 1980s, this could be the place for you. Read more at AARP Magazine.
Long Term Care Costs
Are you a fan of the horror genre? Prepare yourself for a piercing scream when you find out what long term care will cost you. Genworth, a company whose products include long term care insurance, maintains a Cost of Care Survey that projects expenses for in-home care, homemaker services, home health aides, assisted living, adult day care, and nursing homes. The numbers are computed by state and projected 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 years out. Example: in 2031 in Baltimore, Maryland, a private room in a nursing home is pegged at $18,129 per month. (Scream!) Read more at Genworth Cost of Care Survey.
Special Amenity: Grandparents on Demand
Greensburg, Indiana, population 11,228, really wants to entice new residents to settle there, and among the incentives is a service called Grandparents on Demand. Tami Wenning, director of the Decatur County Community Foundation, and her husband Dan have offered to be available for babysitting or as a surrogate on Grandparents Days in school. Other incentives are $5,000 cash, gift cards to the farmer’s market, co-working space and YMCA membership for a year, and other goodies. Read more at On Demand
Warning: 3G Tech About To Be Obsolete
Seniors who still use flip phones or other devices that operate on 3G wireless technology are in for a rude surprise. AT&T, T-Mobile (including Sprint), and Verizon are shutting down their 3G networks this year to clear bandwidth for the latest network, 5G. Other devices affected include older home security systems, smartwatches, medical alert bracelets, and medical devices. Read more at Senior Planet.
Anti-Ageism Movement Kicks Into Gear
Activists determined to end ageism have launched Changing the Narrative, a strategic communications campaign designed to broaden awareness of ageism and change how people think, talk, and act about aging. Among the campaign activities: a line of anti-ageist birthday cards, action for age-friendly workplaces and age-friendly healthcare, intergenerational conversations on ageism, and a poetry contest. Read more at Changing the Narrative.
When I Forget a Word
My thanks to David Cramer and Ruth Crystal, who sent me this poem by Mark L. Levinson that gives me a cheerful perspective on forgetfulness. Reprinted by permission.
When I forget a word, I like to think
it’s needed elsewhere. From my home it
speeds like an illuminated license plate
into an unknowably long darkness.
Seldom does it return it way it left,
but rather, like the eight of clubs you signed
which the magician, after many jokes,
finds in the ankle of your girlfriend’s boot,
it greets me from a newspaper column.
“So did you miss me? Were you at a loss?
Or were you happy with my synonyms?”
It’s not that I begrudge the roving word
the right to finish its adventure, but
I’d rather have remembered by myself.
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This was really sharp, Don. Very informative and entertaining.
Okay. There are some horrific financial stats in that one. I have about 10 years to hit the jackpot with my writing or else I’ll need to offer grandparenting services around the clock! Love the anti-ageism movement and the poem. With regards to the poem, in this house, we have words in two languages going AWOL on a regular basis.