| In May and June, juniors become seniors, and seniors graduate. Graduating seniors think about continuing their education, finding good paying jobs, and taking care of their future. Juniors think about becoming seniors, saving money for the extra costs ahead (clothing, proms, etc.), and wondering about what's in their future. In 1939 when I became a senior at the Los Angeles High School, I anticipated being in the group that lorded over all the other students -- that was the school tradition. I don't know about the girls, but for the boys, it meant that we could wear corduroy pants; non-seniors could not wear "cords." We didn't call that being "cool"; we called it being "jazzy." Non-seniors who wore "cords" were "pantsed"; seniors would surround the unfortunate, take off his "cords," and run them up the school flag-pole. We also had senior ditch day when seniors took off a designated day without letting the school staff know, and hoped not to get caught. So, students looked forward to becoming seniors. I remember one senior ditch day when I thought I'd be caught and be disciplined by my parents. The streetcar, called the L-line, ended and started right in front of L.A. High. A friend and I paid our fares (a dime apiece) and rode all the way downtown; it must have been four or five miles. We went to a movie (a dime apiece) and were enjoying ourselves when all of a sudden, all the lights went on. A truant officer got up on the stage and said that he wanted all truants to leave the theater. A number of school kids got up. My friend and I scrunched down in our seats and hoped no one would see us. We were lucky that no one did. Now that I think about it, we were fortunate not to have been involved in any kind of a gang, as were some of our friends. When I was in Los Angeles City College, one of my friends who was trying to get out of a gang was killed. That was in the school daze world. In the world of today, people grow older and older (when they don't succumb to the alternative) and eventually reach the so-called "Golden Age." They become Senior Citizens. Some "baby boomers" who now are turning 65 don't like the term and would like to use substitute expressions. But the fact is, they are getting older and are or will be having experiences that are both good and not so good -- arthritis, increased memory lapses, more time to sleep or relax, quality time with grandchildren, travel to places read about or others have talked about, gardening, shopping for items not really needed, wondering whether retirement savings (bank balances, Social Security, 401(K), Roth or other IRA) will be enough to meet anticipated and non-anticipated expenses, fearing extended long-term care expenses, etc., etc., etc. Well, my wife and I try to minimize such concerns, perhaps in Pollyanna fashion, so I won';t continue with this line of thought. However, next month, I'll review points about long-term care as related to those of us in Wisconsin. |
| Becoming seniors: Time of joy or time of worry by Paul H. Kusuda |
 |
 |