Being Silly is being a good role model for grandchildren

We were walking after Supper and my friend said to be, I love being silly with my grand kids and when I travel,  but my wife wants me to tone my being silly down. He then went on to say that as his grandchildren grew he perhaps should act more "grown-up". 

I replied that what we need more of in the world is being silly and not taking ourselves too seriously. I said that his grandchildren will have others that will want them to act their age. I said that they need a role model in their lives that shows them it is all right to have fun and to be spontaneous and to enjoy life and that being "silly'" is acceptable.

I hope that I never outgrow the joy I have when I act "silly" with my friends or my grandson. It has taken me 65 years to get back to this stage in life where I can be "silly" without feeling ashamed or embarrassed. I may make others feel embarrassed but, in my mind, that is their problem. 

Life is fun and we need to set good examples for our grandchildren. So as Boomers we need to learn to play and to be as excited about life as when we were four years old.

Stories

A lazy Sunday in July, and I am travelling down memory lane, looking at my graduation yearbook and reading the bios of my classmates. We have changed in appearance but perhaps not in our visions and ideals.  All of the people who responded to the request for Bio's that came with our invite to the 50th reunion, seemed to have had good lives. Everyone had a story that was short and capsulized their lives into the allotted number of words. 

Everyone wants to have their story told, to be remembered by their family and friends, and to have whatever legacy carried forward, Stories are written to be shared, and it is our responsibility to retell those that we witness, not only for our own sake, but for the benefit of others. Stories change people. They shape entire cultures. Stories also plant ideas, create emotions, stimulate thoughts, and teach lessons because they are the connection between how we think and process the world. 

Humans tend to think in narratives regardless of what we’re doing. Personal stories and gossip make up the majority of your conversations. 

So why are stories important to the fabric of our lives? I think it is because they bring us together in ways that share our common experience.  That is why I enjoyed reading the stories from my fellow high school grads. We were the first wave of Boomers, we had a unique place in history and so it is fun to read about their stories and to see what shaped our common experiences.

However, sometimes stories just there to entertain us and then are gone while other stories persuade, inform, or inspire us to take action or to change. 

When we tell a bedtime story to our children, we are also enriching them with our own experiences and securing the power of words in their imagination. And we often replay important parts of our lives that we perhaps overlooked or forgot. What have you done to make sure your story is told?

Wine for drinking

My wife and I bottle our own wine, because it is cheaper and the quality is just as good as the store bought wine. So, I was interested in what the bestselling wines were in B.C.'s commercial liquor and wine stores. It was interesting to discover what is most popular with wine drinkers.

Of the five best selling commercial wines in the province there are a few things that stand out:

• The group is comprised of three reds and two whites. 
• Three are single varietals and two are blends. 
• Four can be found under $10 (before tax) in commercial liquor and wine stores. 
• Three are Canadian wines. Two are imports. 
• Three are available in bag in box format. 

"Sweet" wines, particularly reds, are gaining much more acceptance these days especially among the younger generations.  

The most significant thing that becomes apparent, and not surprisingly, is that a large portion of wine purchasers in British Columbia clearly appreciates value, a decent product at a good price point. Here is a chart of the best sellers and what you get using a wine kit. 

Commercial Best Seller Wine Kit Description Jackson Triggs Proprietor's Selection Cabernet Sauvignon A bold, medium-bodied red wine with rich black fruit and hints of spice. Excellent to partner with rack of lamb. Copper Moon Malbec Malbec makes wines of great power and character, with blackberry, plums, tar, red pepper, sweet cherry, spice, licorice and deep bittersweet chocolate, or espresso. Serve with game meats. Apothic Red Winemakers Blend Unoaked and off-dry, Enigma brings intense fruit aromas and notes of black cherry, coffee, chocolate and vanilla. Pairs well with pretty much everything from pizza to pasta and a particularly great match for meats like ribs or chicken with sweet and sticky marinade. Peller Estates Proprietor's Reserve Pinot Grigio A zippy, dry white wine with floral notes on the nose and plenty of fruit on the palate. Amazing for sipping and a perfect wine to accompany a picnic. Hardy's Stamp of Australia Riesling-Gewurztraminer Floral notes and apple crispness with perfumed headiness of lychee, rose petals, and hints of passion fruit. A great off-dry wine for sipping and excellent to serve with Asian cuisine, soft cheeses, oily fish and especially smoked salmon.

Five year plans

I was at the Annual General Meeting of SHARE Family Services and I was talking to a couple of younger attendees about careers and moving on. The CEO of SHARE after five years was moving on to a different position. When I was younger I moved or changed my position about every five years. I was lucky to have worked in a large organization, so I could move easily, but others are not so lucky and have to change career paths in new organizations. The CEO stated that he believed it was important to renew about every five or so years, and that was one of the reasons he was leaving. A big loss for SHARE but a huge gain for the new organization. 

Another discussion about moving, a younger man talked about the fact he had been hired five years ago to run the company and had agreed to only a five year run, which was ending. The problem was that the organization had seen its sales increased 41/2 times during his tenure. He wanted to move and take care of other goals and dreams he had set for himself, while the owner of the company did not want him to leave. He was not sure what he was going to do, but would soon make a decision.

Another discussion revolved around the taking of a new position running a large organization and the excitement that the woman felt at the incredible opportunities she saw as well as the huge obstacles, the organization faced. She had been on the job for three weeks, so there was some discussion about the honeymoon period. I could see the wheels turning as a couple of people talked to her about working together (both were in the same field, just a different city) to help each other.

As I watched and listened to the younger members (people in their 40's)  of the  society I was impressed by their optimism and their faith in themselves and the fact they believed they could and would make changes. 

I think the idea of change is scary for some people, but I believe change should be embraced. If you retired and you are stuck in a static situation, you have the power to change it. Take the initiative, plan for the next five years, but plan for new and exciting opportunities. Volunteer, learn to sing, play an instrument or travel to a new location. Boomers are changing the face of retirement and that is a good thing. 

Financial Literacy for Senior Citizens:

Financial Literacy for Senior Citizens: Protection from Victimization by the National Coalition for Family and Consumer Sciences Education highlights some interesting trends and ideas:

Statistics show that baby boomers today control more than $13 trillion in assets is which more than 50 percent of total U.S. household investment assets (Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance, 2008). Projections also show that nearly one in every six Americans will be 65 or older by the year 2020 (Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance, 2008). By the year 2030, nearly 20 percent of the U.S. population will be ages 65 and holder.

Also, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), approximately  five million senior citizens fall victim to financial abuse each year and to address this major problem, the SEC organized a Seniors Summit to raise awareness of this very issue (Securities and Exchange Commission, 2008). Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) must play a proactive role in educating senior citizens in regard to wise investment as well as in protecting them throughout their employment and retirement. 

One article in USA Today indicated that while people 60 and older make up 15 percent of the U.S. population, they account for about 30 percent of fraud victims (Chu, 2006). It is also important to note that the number of fraud victims may even be higher due to the fact that many do not report suspected fraud out of shame and embarrassment and fear that they may be seen as unfit to handle their own finances. In 2005, consumers 50 and older comprised one-third of total fraud and one-fifth of all identity theft complaints among those who reported their age (Chu, 2006).

To compound the problem, the current financial crisis is fueling a frenzy of aggressive and unethical sales tactics. According to the North American ecurities Administrators Association (NAASA), one of the top 10 threats to Sinvestors is senior investment fraud. Seniors have built up a lifetime of savings and thus continue to face investment fraud by con artists who are peddling investments that are either fraudulent or unsuitable for the elder’s particular financial needs (North American Securities Administrators Association, 2005). Another result of the looming financial disaster was seen in the popularity of phishing and identity theft, where advances in technology proved to be extremely innovative. 

One article by the USA Today acknowledged this fact by indicating that the number of malicious programs circulating on the Internet tripled to more than 31,000 a day in mid-September, coinciding with the sudden collapse of the U.S. financial sector (Acohido and Swartz, 2009). Protecting senior citizens from such financial victimization is critical. If the elderly population does not have an advocate, potentially millions of older people could come dependent on other family members or government assistance.

One example of an excellent resource that extension agencies can utilize is Texas Tech’s “Red to Black” Web site, which provides examples of prevention measures that can be taken in order to prevent identify theft. Examples of these simple actions include the following: (Texas Tech University, “Red to Black,” 2009).

• Shred all documents with personal information, to include bank statements, receipts, canceled checks, credit card offers, medical bills, and insurance documents.
• Keep your PINs in a secure place – away from your checkbook, ATM, or debit cards.
• Do not carry your social security card in your wallet or purse, as these items can be stolen.
• Ensure that password protection exists for credit cards, bank accounts and phone accounts.
• Be careful with whom you share your personal information, especially your social security number. Do not give personal and financial information over the phone.
• Receive a free credit report once every four months from one of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. By utilizing each agency once per year, one can rotate agencies every four months. (www.annualcreditreport.com)
• Carefully review financial statements