Here we are again, back with our nose to the grindstone. Before I begin to get into the letter I really want to take the opportunity to thank all the editors and publishers who do take the time and make space available to publish this letter. From the comments I receive, seniors appreciate it.
Going to make an effort to keep this initial letter after the summer break nice and lighthearted. There will be time enough later in the year I think to get really serious.
I think it was sometime in 2011, I was invited to go to Biggar, where they had a different centennial celebration planned. There they had invited all the people 90 years and older to attend and talk about their life experiences and eventually some of these stories may find themselves in print in a book. It was the brain child of the Saskatchewan Seniors Mechanism and I have to say it was a great idea. During the time I spent there I managed to talk to quite a few of the invited older guests and what they had to say was so very interesting. One elderly lady spoke to me about her age and her health and although, with a kind of knowing smile she had lots to say about the health care system, she attributed her age and health to her diet and her life in general as a younger woman. No packaged and instant food then, no genetically altered foods then, nearly all the staples such as flour, oatmeal and sugar came in large sacks and these sacks in turn were turned into items of clothing. No time to be bored, no tv, no tweeting, other than the birds, no texting, no cell phones, actually her family didn't have any phone, but they did have a small wet battery radio which only broadcasted later in the evening. Every one gathered around it to listen to the news and some of the radio plays. Otherwise it was just a lot of hard work and a lot of good times spent with family and friends.
The same was basically repeated at a centennial celebration I recently attended at Blaine Lake, minus the special over 90 celebration. Blaine Lake senior center was also celebrating their grand re opening after a great deal of hard work in which the center was completely remodeled and rebuilt from the ground up. A tremendous example of seniors working with and for seniors with the community rallying around to help. Such a great job, the seniors and community of that town have a lot to be proud of.
At another club I attended, I was talking to another older person and she told me also that she did not attribute her good health to the good health care. She told me it was all to do with brown paper and vinegar which she said she used regularly on any and all of her complaints and it seemed to work just fine. However, when she went away to refresh her coffee cup her neighbor told me how that worked. It was true that she had some vinegar and she had lots of brown paper but you had to realize where that brown paper came from . It all had the markings of the local liquor store on it. So I guess good health comes in different packages.
Talking about good health reminds me that information of supplementary health benefits (optical, dental etc) can be obtained from either your own local doctor or a phone call to the Ministry of Health. That information should also be available now at your own senior center along with other information. It is also on the seniors web site for those who have internet access. Seemingly there are still big differences between knowing and obtaining, for in most circumstances each and every senior has to be able to provide proof of need, which basically boils down to how much income you have.
From a distance it could be seen that good health belongs to only those who can afford it, and for the rest of us it will depend on whether or not we qualify for assistance. It makes you think that by the time you have filled out all the forms that are required to prove that you can get whatever financial assistance is needed, you possibly may no longer need it for one reason or another.
No matter what the dieticians tell us it requires a healthy income now a days to eat "healthy" and the costs continue to rise. Unfortunately for a large number of seniors their pensions do not seem to increase in the same proportions that the cost of living increases does. From all reports it appears that it is not going to get better in the future so once again seniors are going to go back to stretching a dollar. They have done it before and in the opinions of the Finance Minister and his pals they will have to do it again. I guess the more things change the more they stay the same.
No matter what, we as seniors have to continue to stay active, smile a lot, have fun and try to stay healthy.
