zeke
Trail Wise!
Peekaboo slot 2023
Posts: 9,894
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Post by zeke on Dec 27, 2016 11:02:43 GMT -8
I like this size better.
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rebeccad
Trail Wise!
Writing like a maniac
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Post by rebeccad on Dec 27, 2016 11:32:20 GMT -8
I agree with davesenesac that we risk diluting ourselves too much if we create too many sub-forums. I'd rather just mix it up. I'm also not a fan of age-based segregation anyway. Of course, some things like the Menopause thread are, in a sense, age-based--but we kept that with the other women's threads...
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Post by hikerjer on Dec 28, 2016 6:30:10 GMT -8
You guys are all making me feel old.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2016 6:52:08 GMT -8
I still work full-time, but would be interested in a retiree thread. I get frequent junk mail from AARP.
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Post by autumnmist on Dec 28, 2016 7:52:35 GMT -8
@scottmc, wait'll you turn 65 and/or sign up for Medicare. Every year at enrollment time your mailbox will have solicitations from Humana and other Medicare supplemental/advantage insurers. You'll get junk mail and calls from would-be suppliers of scooters, back braces, medical alert devices and who knows what.
AARP is one of the worst offenders, providing subscriber names to the entities with which it affiliates for solicitation purposes.
As to the thread, maybe this is the retiree thread and we already have one?
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rebeccad
Trail Wise!
Writing like a maniac
Posts: 12,709
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Post by rebeccad on Dec 28, 2016 21:09:30 GMT -8
As to the thread, maybe this is the retiree thread and we already have one? Looks like! And I'm fine with that! AARP is one of the worst offenders, providing subscriber names to the entities with which it affiliates for solicitation purposes. They also manage to offend all their potential members by beginning to solicit when you turn about 40. Last thing I wanted in my 40s was some outfit drumming into me that I was getting old! Idiots.
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Post by starwalker on Dec 28, 2016 22:07:20 GMT -8
AARP and I never crossed paths. However, I would like to find some co-hikers who are older like I am, 66, and still like to hike, but can't put in the miles we used to. Although it isn't the miles, it's the MPH.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2016 6:36:03 GMT -8
As to the thread, maybe this is the retiree thread and we already have one? Looks like! And I'm fine with that! AARP is one of the worst offenders, providing subscriber names to the entities with which it affiliates for solicitation purposes. They also manage to offend all their potential members by beginning to solicit when you turn about 40. Last thing I wanted in my 40s was some outfit drumming into me that I was getting old! Idiots. Think I started receiving their junk mail when I turned 50 (which still seems kinda young for that, to me), and get about one or two solicitations a year since. Also getting periodic solicitations from "retirement specialists" for "free dinners" at which they will no doubt be pimping annuities!
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Post by autumnmist on Dec 29, 2016 7:27:13 GMT -8
AARP also presents a view of older living that isn't always realistic. It frequently emphasizes travel, with photos of the "beautiful people" in great shape, exploring exotic places. Not all retirees have access to that level of discretionary income. I think that image they promote is part of their pitch to seniors - grow old, do everything you did when you were younger, relying on generous funding and great health, which a lot of seniors don't have.
I've decided to start exploiting all the retirement specialists by attending the free dinners, with a notebook in which I've discreetly hidden either a gardening magazine or some other project I'm working on, pretending to take notes while sketching garden designs or to do lists. This deception could also be done with a tablet or i-Pad.
If the dinners turn out to be rubber chicken dinners, though, I'll forego this opportunity to be enlightened by these retirement saviors.
Another scam that's perpetrated on the elderly are the so-called "veterans' seminars". I discovered this at the first rehab center where we took my mother for therapy post femur fracture. The pitch is that they're providing information to qualify for vets' benefits, which admittedly can be a complex process. And all this is free! What a bargain!
What they don't reveal is that it's illegal to charge to provide this kind of "counseling", it can be obtained with the free assistance of the military service organizations such as VFW and American Legion as well as local County VA departments, and they're actually knowledgeable about the multi levels of services provided by the VA.
After struggling with VA forms, multiple calls and conflicting advice, we went to the local County VA (a department within the County government) free service. A knowledgeable staffer completed and submitted the application in less time than I had spent researching and contacting VA hospitals and services. The app was e-mailed to the American Legion, which took it from there. My father was qualified for service connected disability and began receiving benefits in about 4 months.
What the commercial outfits don't reveal is that for some levels of VA assistance, income is a factor, especially if you're already getting a different level of serivce (such as service connected disability).
And of course they generously offer to review your asset portfolio. Then come the recommendations (as @scottmc described) of how to restructure assets to benefit these wonderfully, generous and allegedly knowledgeable "free" services they provide as well as the equally valuable recommendations of how to maximize return on your portfolio.
Of course they're going to charge management fees or placement fees to put veterans into these products, some of which like the annuities are probably not even age appropriate.
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Post by autumnmist on Dec 29, 2016 7:30:21 GMT -8
starwalker , maybe this thread can address the issues of older backpackers who still want to hike but not as far or fast. It might also address how to manage rapid response if a parent needs emergency help. That's been one of my priority concerns. Even though I have backup planned for an emergency, there's always the possibility of needing to quickly get back to the main roads and over to a hospital. And that means I always need to be in an area where there's cell service in case I get one of those frantic "I fell and can't get up" calls from my father. And BTW, Medic Alert services are wonderful; I wouldn't be without the one we have.
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Post by bradmacmt on Dec 29, 2016 7:32:01 GMT -8
I'm not in favor of segregating the senior discussions. I think that hikers of all ages can learn from the adjustments and compromises we all make as we age. This.
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Post by autumnmist on Dec 29, 2016 9:16:27 GMT -8
rebeccad , bp2go , and zeke , Suggestion: Keep the threads in this forum, but start new threads as "Senior issues: [specific topic]" ? That would keep the threads here in this forum, but also provide some separation so the topics don't become lost in a multi-issue threads. If so, I've got one I'd like to start on looking for home care agencies with either former military ownership or some former military staffers. Anyone who's been involved in hiring home care knows that there are a lot of considerations, compability being an important one. Another is being comfortable with personal hygiene issues and assistance by a stranger for those issues. And those are true for home therapy as well.
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texasbb
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Post by texasbb on Dec 29, 2016 9:42:56 GMT -8
Suggestion: Every time someone suggests a new forum, kill an existing one instead. Like most of these websites, this one is way too diluted already, and I think that hinders good info exchange. We really need only two forums: 1. Trailhead Register 2. Hiking/Backpacking Stuff </cynical>
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bp2go
Trail Wise!
California
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Post by bp2go on Dec 29, 2016 9:47:41 GMT -8
Keep the threads in this forum... I thought it would be best to simply change the title of the thread, clear out a few comments that don't apply, and let it continue as it is. No new sections, no sub forums,, it is already doing what it needs to do. I can appreciate the desire to share info on AARP or home-care or how to keep active while leaving a parent to wait for your return (been there, done that) but this is a backpack forum, and while older people are coming out of the woodwork (!) the many conversations are related so it's all good. Even the diabetes thread is pertinent to share tips on staying active with a serious disease! So while there are lots of side-bar aspects of being backpackers, I think this thread is serving its purpose. At least that's my opinion for now.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2016 10:17:25 GMT -8
I've decided to start exploiting all the retirement specialists by attending the free dinners, with a notebook in which I've discreetly hidden either a gardening magazine or some other project I'm working on, pretending to take notes while sketching garden designs or to do lists. This deception could also be done with a tablet or i-Pad. If the dinners turn out to be rubber chicken dinners, though, I'll forego this opportunity to be enlightened by these retirement saviors. You've got more will power than I do. I just stay away. Stay very, very far away.
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