Stan Geiger

A New Existence

I love watching old TV shows from the 1970s. Movies, too. I can go back to the '60s or forward to the '80s as well. I guess part of the reason is I lived through those times. It's kind of fun to get a dose of the good old days. But I also enjoy the oldies because they provide a snapshot of the day; they are recorded history.

I remember, some time back, watching an episode of an '80s show called 'Kate and Allie.' A teenager in the show was doing a school project; she was videotaping the family in action. She was carrying around this big ol' honkin' camera on her shoulder that had a cable that ran to a suitcase she had to lug around as well. What a hoot.

Nowadays, I guess you just take the phone out of your pocket and let 'er rip.

There was a time in the '70s when trucking was a big deal. There was a show called 'Movin' On' that had a short run on TV. I watched an episode of it the other day. The two truckers that were the star characters in the show, Sonny and Will, went into a seafood restaurant to grab some chow. Over the entrance was a hand-painted sign proclaiming "FREE OYSTERS!" Beneath that, in smaller print, the sign read, "To any 80-year-old man accompanied by his father."

I got a chuckle out of that.

When I was a boy, in the '60s, one had to walk a long mile to find anyone past the age of 80. People in their 90s were virtually nonexistent. Things didn't change much as we moved into the '70s.

A couple of years back, for my birthday, my sister gave me one of those little booklets full of facts about the year of your birth. My year was 1958. The average lifespan in that year was said to be 69.6 years.

Today, the average lifespan is bumping up pretty close to 80. Add to that the fact that the biggest population bubble in America's history is approaching old age.

Changes to elderly entitlements have to take place. If you want to know why, you don't have to look much beyond the end of your nose.

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