In 1988, at the age of 58, my father was laid off from his job as a lighting engineer at GTE Sylvania. Thus began his forced retirement.

My mother worked two more years and left her job in the school system on her own terms.

Both had vastly different experiences exiting their jobs.

My father’s lay off came as a surprise. With a lump in his throat, he asked HR how long he had to finish up his projects. They told him there was no need, his job was done, and he could go. It was a tremendous blow. He had worked 21 years for the company, and this was not the way he expected to finish his work life. For the remainder of his days, he carried a sense of shame about the experience.

My husband and I became recent victims of check fraud.

Our story begins a month ago when I wrote a check out to a company who will be doing some work for us later this year. The contract required a 10% deposit at the time of booking.

I mailed the check by depositing it in a US Postal Service collection box, (those blue boxes you can find throughout our community.)

I clearly missed the CBS News report on theft issues that have prompted the USPS to advise Americans to avoid depositing mail in blue collection boxes or leaving it in their own unlocked mailboxes for a carrier to pick up. Instead, the agency is now recommending that patrons come inside their local post office to securely send mail.

Recently, a female friend asked me if there is a book she can read to learn about the things she should be doing to plan now that she is getting older. She mentioned that she has other single female friends of varying ages, who are also wondering the same thing. 

The responsibility of planning for our future can be daunting, especially when you may not have close family to lean on for support, and the belief that we’ve covered all our bases is often a misjudgment.

As a society, we are not very good at thinking and planning for what may happen in the future.

I began by asking my friend what she had done around (what I consider to be) the two most important planning tools. First, I asked her if she had designated a medical power of attorney – someone her doctors could confer with if she were very sick or hospitalized and needed help in sorting out her medical options.

Early in my career working with older adults, it was my strong belief that if a person needed help, and we were able to offer it, it should be provided.

However, several times our efforts were not met with acceptance. There was the senior who refused home delivered meals even though, after his hospitalization, he was unable to shop and cook for himself. And the single woman with a recent dementia diagnosis who did not want to share it with anyone. And the gentleman who had fallen many times and had been hospitalized for his injuries, refusing to use a walker.

Discussing the benefits of our suggestions did not convince them.

I will be attending two celebrations of life this month.

The first is for my friend Margaret.

I wrote about her in one of my recent columns, about her surprise 90^th birthday party with 50 of her friends and neighbors. Margaret died in December, a week before she was scheduled to go on a trip to Africa.

I am comforted by the thought that people got to celebrate her 90^th birthday with her.

The other is for a 50-year-old work colleague who was killed by a stray bullet. He leaves behind a wife and children. His death is senseless, tragic, and shocking.

I add to this something which I have been unable to write about thus far, because it’s been too painful;

How old is too old for working at a job? Last week a news story hit my inbox and it really got me to thinking about age and retirement.

The article noted that Target Corp. abandoned its mandatory retirement age of 65 for its CEO, Brian Cornell. Cornell is 63.

There were two things that interested me about this story.

The first is, I know Brain. I worked with him when he was at Tropicana and I was with Dole Packaged Foods. Tropicana had bought the licensing and distribution rights to Dole refrigerated juices, and I was part of the transition team working with Brian.

Since 2014, when Cornell took the Target CEO job, sales at the national retailer have

I’ve been thinking a lot about retirement lately.

One of our amazing staff members, who has been with Senior Concerns for the last 13 years, retired last month. It just doesn’t seem real.

I always thought of Dana as young. Certainly not the person to retire before me.

Dana has wonderful reasons for retiring. A year ago her husband retired from a more than 20-year career in public service. She has her son’s wedding to help with and some long-awaited travels plans that were postponed because of COVID.

She and her husband also have plans to build their dream home.

Dana’s retirement hit me like a knock on the side of the head.

Recently I sent a survey to several Silent Generation seniors who are between the ages of 76 and 93. A great deal has been written about their beginnings as a cohort, but my goal was to understand their thoughts and feelings as they pertain to some of the more recent cultural changes in our society.

The Silent Generation is the demographic group after the Greatest Generation (1901 to 1927) and before the baby boomers (1946 to 1964). They were raised during a period of war and economic depression.

Many lost fathers or older siblings who were killed in World War II. Many of the men of the Silent Generation served in the Korean War.

While it’s impossible to say all individuals of a certain generation possess the same qualities,

Recently I noticed the ATM in my grocery store had been removed. I was a bit baffled by the decision, and a bit annoyed.

The location was convenient. I could combine my shopping trip with banking. One stop, two chores accomplished.

What I did not think about at the time is the safety and security that an in-store ATM offered me. The next closest ATM is in a bank branch, a newer building in the far corner of a shopping center.

A few Sundays ago, around 6 p.m., I parked my car and entered the vestibule of the bank to use one of the two ATMs there. I looked around at my surroundings and realized there wasn’t a soul in sight, no foot traffic or even cars driving by.

Early on, when COVID vaccine appointments first became available for seniors age 75-plus, the online application asked the user to select their insurance. Most seniors have Medicare and selected that option. Next, they were instructed to upload a copy of their Medicare card.

Calls were coming in to Senior Concerns: “I am trying to make an appointment for a vaccine. Can you tell me what upload means?”

Seniors who used to schedule an in-person appointment to receive no-cost assistance in preparing their tax returns at Cal State Northridge are now being asked to make an appointment on the website, and on the day of their appointment they will receive an email with a private, encrypted link to HIPAA Zoom.

More calls came in: “What is an encrypted HIPPA Zoom?”