I get a lot of "great advice" but who doesn't need a helping hand (or a ride) a bit more?

[usonian]

I got a text message the other day from a friend, a little bit junior to me, full of "helpful" advice, all of which is valid, but it's quite a long list, I'd have to print it and post it on the fridge to remember all the items.

Happy Senior Citizens Week!

What should you reduce?

1. Salt
2. Sugar
3. White flour
4. Dairy products
5. Processed foods
6. Arguments
7. Unnecessary disputes

What should you eat?

1. Vegetables
2. Lentils
3. Peanuts/Legumes
4. Dry fruits
5. Cold-pressed oils (olive, coconut)
6. Fruits
7. Anything bitter from nature
8. Swallow your sorrows and move forward

Try to forget these three things:

1. Your age
2. Your past
3. Your complaints
4. The hurts caused by relatives

Take special care of these:

1. Your family
2. Your friends
3. Your positive thoughts
4. A clean and happy home
5. Saving enough resources for possible tough times ahead

Adopt these habits:

1. Always keep smiling
2. Exercise regularly
3. Maintain your weight
4. Even if your tongue is not sweet, learn to speak sweetly
5. Develop the habit of listening to others

Six lifestyle habits to follow:

1. Don’t wait until you’re thirsty — drink water regularly
2. Don’t wait until you’re exhausted — rest on time
3. Don’t wait until you fall sick — get regular check-ups
4. Don’t wait for miracles
5. Believe in yourself
6. Always stay positive and think of a bright future
7. Don’t sit in one place for too long

Do you have friends aged 47 to 90? Then make sure to send them this message!

On the other hand, I KNOW all these things. I've heard them all before, and maybe you have too. I actually follow a few. Very few. But how about a little payback in a tangible and supportive way for us, instead of just advice?

I’d print it up on a card, but I’d just lose it

Some ideas, and DU lets me edit past posts, so I can add to it, and hope that. you will create lists of your own.

Things that friends and family can do.
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* Stay in touch via messages, email, DU. Anything but toxic “social media”.
Staying in touch helps keep memory sharp, and as I was recounting various jobs and why I stayed or quit, with my daughter, she was intrigued by interesting tidbits she never knew, because she was too young to understand at the time. Now, they’re relevant.

* Have discussions with like-minded friends. Everyone involved will gain new insights. Sharing is caring. Most discussions I’ve been involved with lately have fizzled. I had a fabulous conversation going, when we were the only two participants in a zoom discussion group, with a guy who died from a very rare disease, and that discussion ceased.





Things that businesses et. al. can do
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Some of these are way speculative and in my “things for entrepreneurs to create” file.

* Anything to help low vision (and that’s a giant problem) One periodical I get has some white text on a bright yellow background. Solution: I wrote them. Waiting …

* Finding things, whether in the home or at local stores (whose inventory varies, as in “Stuff comes and goes at Trader Joe’s”) or even online (which is tough for many people since online stuff is largely bogus scams bolstered by SEO and now, overrun by AI ) Home and food and medicine inventory (data to be private and not fed to sellers, thank you.)

* Exoskeletons. This technology is already old. What’s the hang-up? Other mobility?

* Backpacks that have gyroscopes built in to stabilize people.

* Fall mitigation. TBD

* Finding real help nearby, trusted people, not “pay to get referrals” right now, as in “I’m in a jam”. Includes tech advice. And spares to loan.

* Filtering email and websites for scams and malware.

* Any sane noncommercial alternative to “social media”. (That’s a larger issue but very important in my mind,)

* That opens the matter of getting important, pertinent, personal and timely news and situational awareness rather than noise. (See above)

* Creating secure family communications to bust AI-generated phony ransom calls (and more)

* Simple robotics, of the “bring your slippers and reading glasses” sort. Cellphone, too. Seems it’s always charging when I need it.

* Oh, and since I’m in the foothills, places to go when there’s an evacuation, power is out, and cool places to hang out.

* Loan seasonal stuff - Christmas trees (artificial), serving pieces, cookware, or even medical things like walkers, wheelchairs as needed and recycle them rather than letting them waste space when not needed. I met “The Wheelchair Guy” who raised money for wheelchairs for the needy. (Ken Behring)

A "small" wish list.
Santa ??????