Have you ever been guilty of looking at others your own age and thinking, “Surely I can’t look that old?” I guess that’s human nature, and denial!
Here’s a little story that demonstrates the point. While waiting for her first appointment in the reception room of a new dentist, a woman noticed his certificate, which bore his full name. Suddenly, she remembered that a tall, handsome boy with the same name had been in her high school class some 30 years ago.
Upon seeing him, however, she quickly discarded any such thought. This balding gray-haired man with the deeply lined face was much too old to have been her classmate.
After he had examined her teeth, she asked him if he had attended the local high school.
“Yes,” he replied.
“When did you graduate?” she asked.
“In 1971,” he answered. “Why?”
“You were in my class!” she exclaimed.
He looked at her closely and then asked, “What did you teach?”
Nursing home not answer:
A disgruntled senior came up with this tongue-in-cheek idea: “With the average cost for a nursing home reaching
atrocious levels, there’s a better way to spend our savings, when we get old and feeble.
“Just check on reservations at Hotels in the Yellow Pages for a ‘combined long-term-stay discount and a senior discount.’ It beats the nursing home price by a mile, plus, you get:
• “Laundry service and special TV movies. Plus, they
provide a swimming pool, a workout room, a lounge, washer, dryer, etc. Most have free toothpaste and razors and all have free shampoo and soap.
• “They treat you like a customer, not a patient. A small tip per day will have the entire staff anxious to please.
• “For a change of scenery, take the airport shuttle bus from the hotel and eat at one of the restaurants there. While you’re at the airport, fly somewhere. Otherwise, the cash keeps
building up.
• “It takes months to get into decent nursing homes. Hotels will take your reservation today. And, you’re not stuck in one place forever. You can move from hotel to hotel, or even from city to city.
• “TV broken? Light bulbs need changing? Need a mattress replaced? No problem. They fix everything and they apologize for the inconvenience.
• “And no worries about visits from family. They will always be glad to see you. And they will probably check in for a few days mini-vacation. Plus, the grandchildren can use the pool.
“Clever, eh?”