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Very well said Jukesgrrl. As a childfree person by choice who has moved to a new city, I am trying to seek new friends. I find old geezer stereotypes apply to women with children who, as you say, are still consumed by their children's wants and needs and can't stop talking about it.
So I too fit the curmudgeon stereotype when I politely edge away they launch into their long winded conversations about these subjects at the senior center. But they fit the stereotype of the constant whining about the kids not calling or the kids not raising the grandchildren right or the kids not saving their money. This leads to the "What's wrong the world?" complaints.
The one childfree friend I have made in my new city takes classes and going to events that interest her. I don't hear her complaining about anything. This was true also of the friends I left behind in my former city. I don't know about the bitter, unpleasant women without children Talleysmom is meeting but I have found just the opposite. With these women there is far less complaining and far more living.
I have an aunt in her mid 50s approaching retirement age and she is consumed by her stepson and his little boy. The stepson is a cop and works shift work - his wife works a mix of days and evenings. Needless to say, they use my aunt as free child care. Aunt's husband/biological dad to stepson died a couple of years ago, and it seems like she attempts to fill the void her husband lost with the grandbaby to the point she seems far older than she is.
The stereotype about retirees driving Mercurys or Buicks is definitely out of date. I see a lot more Camrys than anything else in the retirement communities.
Very well said Jukesgrrl. As a childfree person by choice who has moved to a new city, I am trying to seek new friends. I find old geezer stereotypes apply to women with children who, as you say, are still consumed by their children's wants and needs and can't stop talking about it.
So I too fit the curmudgeon stereotype when I politely edge away they launch into their long winded conversations about these subjects at the senior center. But they fit the stereotype of the constant whining about the kids not calling or the kids not raising the grandchildren right or the kids not saving their money. This leads to the "What's wrong the world?" complaints.
The one childfree friend I have made in my new city takes classes and going to events that interest her. I don't hear her complaining about anything. This was true also of the friends I left behind in my former city. I don't know about the bitter, unpleasant women without children Talleysmom is meeting but I have found just the opposite. With these women there is far less complaining and far more living.
I think you might just chalk it up to individual differences in these women, with children/grandchildren, or not.
No, actually, you would be amazed how many seniors do not own or use a computer. Just yesterday I was looking up a part for an older man at work and he said "How do you know how to use a computer at your age !" I told him I had to learn and that it opened up a whole world of information to me. He scoffed and said he couldn't ever learn to use one........and that happens all the time. I will be showing a customer something on the computer and they say they didn't realize a computer did those kinds of things.
The area I live in (Florida) has a lot of people my age and older, and a good percentage of them can't use a computer, or else they say their wife uses one to email the kids back home and that is about all they do with it.
Don
So true! My father-in-law, who was 90 at the time, was complaining about computers. He said they were just d--m typewriters! I tried to explain in simple terms how one can look up anything on a computer and learn about the world, etc. and that they were not simply typewriters. I'm sure he did not believe me, even though he was in very good shape mentally and physically.
Other younger seniors I know (men) seem to be afraid of computers. I think they are worried they'll look foolish if they make a mistake. Remember when computers used to post the message, "You have committed a fatal error..."??
The stereotype about retirees driving Mercurys or Buicks is definitely out of date. I see a lot more Camrys than anything else in the retirement communities.
Ten years ago in Florida, I used to see lots of tiny little old people driving great, big Cadillacs!
The stereotype about retirees driving Mercurys or Buicks is definitely out of date. I see a lot more Camrys than anything else in the retirement communities.
Camry and Corollas dominate most of the retirement communities that I have been around. They are durable and reliable ..... much like Buick and Oldsmobile USED to be.
The stereotype about retirees driving Mercurys or Buicks is definitely out of date. I see a lot more Camrys than anything else in the retirement communities.
Ford dropped the Mercury brand some years ago, so if any retiree is driving a Mercury, he or she has a very old car. Camry has been the best selling passenger car in the United States for some years, so it is popular with a spectrum of age demographics.
I think the Camry is a perfect car for the stereotypical retiree. It is bland but competent, sort of like a refrigerator or a washing machine, an appliance to get you from one place to another. People who really like driving for its own sake do not normally drive Camry's.
Ford dropped the Mercury brand some years ago, so if any retiree is driving a Mercury, he or she has a very old car. Camry has been the best selling passenger car in the United States for some years, so it is popular with a spectrum of age demographics.
The last Mercury models were produced in 2010 so there are plenty of them out there. And given the durability of the Grand Marquis and the Milan, they will be out there in quantity for at least another ten years.
The last Mercury models were produced in 2010 so there are plenty of them out there. And given the durability of the Grand Marquis and the Milan, they will be out there in quantity for at least another ten years.
Thanks for the clarification - I was thinking it was longer ago than that when Mercury was discontinued. So I need to modify my previous statement: Anyone driving a Mercury is driving a five-year-old or older car. Therefore, Mercury's will be less and less common as time goes on.
Thanks for the clarification - I was thinking it was longer ago than that when Mercury was discontinued. So I need to modify my previous statement: Anyone driving a Mercury is driving a five-year-old or older car. Therefore, Mercury's will be less and less common as time goes on.
Mercury sales and the number of models started declining around 2005 or so until the end. Their marketing managers made some effort to relaunch the brand into California in the 2003-2007 time frame but was largely unsuccessful.
A five year old car in Arizona or California is not really considered old as generally, it is not exposed to a lot of road salt. With AZ's vehicle license tax which is based upon the market value and age of the car, I am greatly incentivized not to buy a car for a long time.
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Computers
