Just need to rant... don't need to go down the rabbit hole..!
This started out as a rant to what I saw as ageism in a comment. Since I’ve not been totally on an even keel all day because of pain levels, I erased my comment and decided to write this. Hopefully you’ll be understanding.
I was forced into retirement 3 years ago (I'm 67 now) due to disability, work which I loved doing, and which should have been covered by the ADA... *especially* since I worked for the DoD. Since then, my pain meds have not only increased in price (tho the generics have aged), but every year brings new obstacles to overcome in my search to keep functioning and on my feet.
I read today HSA is gonna ramp up keeping illicit opiates out of the U.S. Okay… bad journalism strikes again, I hope, tho… middle of the article sounds like they were going to work on reducing supply of all opiates in the U.S. And then we moved on to the Government Shutdown. Quite a few comments left about us old people voting idiotically/republican. Okay… that one, I admit, got my goat. That’s the one where I started to leave a comment.
I'm married to a man 5 years older and much less physically able than I am. I was the main breadwinner for this family all our married lives, lot of good that did. I'm a woman. and I watched my male IT friends make 30K+ more than me each year for doing the exact same job as me, simply because I was female (this was before the DoD). If you don’t know what that does to that SS check when you draw it, look into it.
I have 9 cats and one dog who's as big as a pony. I've been a true blue democrat my entire life; my first vote was cast for Jimmy Carter. I was also in one of the first flights of female "law enforcement officers...LE" (as they called us at the time) in the United States Air Force.
I’m a veteran who was very proud to work for various Army Colleges creating, designing, and troubleshooting distance learning curriculum for my Reserve and National Guard brothers and sisters in the field. You do not know how deep the hatred and the word “traitor” is branded in my heart against *rump. And, whether you’re in combat or just in Basic Training the person beside you is your best friend. It doesn’t make any difference the color, sex, gender, or faith. Whatever you’re into, you’re in it together.
I currently live in a small city with a military post, and this is an active military retirement town. Although most of the retirees around here are officer types, even *I* wouldn't be so bold to say they could afford a shut down! (and believe me, they made a hell of a lot more than my pay grade! lol)
Thing is, there's a lot of older people around me for blocks around... some I check on to be sure they're okay. I don't ask if they're R or D but from the looks of their homes, I'll bet the majority are D. Our area has been badly gerrymandered. And besides, just because our bodies have seen better days, it doesn't automatically turn us into Republican nincompoops!*
Pray tell…. How in the hell am I going to feed myself and my hubby, plus the critters, plus the ferals I look after, as well as the older people I check in on? It's already been getting tighter than hell around here because of an unexpected complete car breakdown and a $4000 bill to fix the other one. And now I've got THIS to worry about?????
The other day, one of the women I check in on... who has 2 cats herself, gave ME a half case of Fancy Feast to help me. Kinda hurt my pride, but I accepted it willingly and gratefully; I knew where it was coming from in her heart.. she knew from her neighbors (our best friends) what the car bill had done to us.
So.... if you see an older person out there, just realize they may be even more blue than you when it comes to voting.
A good many of us old women got the younger ones the freedoms we all just lost. Think how *we* feel when you realize how much work it took to achieve that victory the first time?!
And many, many of the men and women you see may be Reserve or National Guard troops (that is, if they can get moved thanks to Tuberville). They left jobs and family and went straight into military life (some having only been in training gigs before). That’s how this pacifist stayed so long in doing that job. These people were yanked out of “normal life” and put into kill or be killed situations. Can you imagine how terrified you would be? What would you not do for them?
Like I said, part of this OP is a rant that was started towards a comment today. I erased that and decided to expound a little more. I needed some relief, I guess. I took one hell of a hard fall last night, and I think it’s jiggled a few of those remaining brain cells I’ve got left. I was hit with how little it would take to see my own mortality flash before my eyes. Kinda scary… especially for my husband.
We’ve got an old, torn up massage chair that must weight 500+ pounds. 3 years ago I was able to wiggle it, inch by inch, into the laundry room to get it out of the way. Of all the useful things we left behind in the last move, we made sure to move that damnable chair! (LOL) Anyway, I was pulling on the headrest to pull the top of the chair forward with all my strength and might when I guess my hand just flew off it… my arthritis or sweaty leather the cause, I’m not sure.
Chevy Chase couldn’t have executed a better fall!!!! Straight as a plank I went down on the hardwood floor, my extruding tailbone taking the first and full brunt of 95 pounds of dead weight. Needless to say, sitting was out of the question and laying down wasn’t all that comfy. It wasn’t until I went to bed I discovered the quarter sized goose egg on the side of my head. No, I didn’t head to the ER. I knew I hadn’t broken anything; and, having a script for pain meds, they wouldn’t have given me anything, anyway.
Unfortunately, I used the last of those yesterday… out til Friday. Of course. Don’t you always do something stupid just before your meds run out?! (LOL)
I’m not a happy camper, and I hope I haven’t offended anyone when I responded to comments because of it. I really have tried to keep a sense of humor. I keep having this Chevy Chase moment flash thru my mind and it makes me giggle.
It also reminds me that one of these days there could be a not so funny fall waiting for me. You younguns’ out there don’t have any idea of what it’s like to be this age and yet still feel inside like you did when you were in your 20’s.
The Spirit is invincible; it’s a let down when you realize the body just ain’t gonna let you, tho. Believe me, calling anyone a “republican” or “conservative” just because they’re old isn’t the worst hurt in the world… but it may get a rambling response like this every once in a while. Be prepared… because one of these days, I’ll lay odds you lay your hand to type one as well.
Be well, be brave. May you never hunger, may you never thirst. May love ever find you.
*of course, depending on your experience, YMMV.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Except for the husband, you are telling my story, and I'm sure the story of many older, retired women. This post resonates with facts of life we deal with on a daily basis. 
I retired from the federal government last year, and to be honest, between Social Security and my defined retirement, we do okay. My wife is still working full time at a good job, so that helps as well. We'll see how it goes when she retires next year. My point here is not to make you feel bad, I've had some extremely serious medical issues since I retired. It seems as we enter our mid-sixities, the parts seem to fall off. That's the part of your rant that I can really identify with. Everything we've done to our bodies up until age 50, we seem to pay for after that. All I can say is for you to hang in there. Everything in life seems to work itself out some how. At least, that's been my experience. Is it easy getting older? Oh, hell no. But at least we're on the right side of the grass.
