Something to think about...and give an opinion...

[palides2021]

Our so-called "living quarters" on this ship is a deck down below with less than five feet of headroom — an area with little ventilation and often not even enough space to place buckets for human waste. Some of us have been branded with hot irons and restrained with shackles. The closeness of the place, so crowded that each of scarcely has room to turn ourselves, is suffocating. And the heat! The air is so thick with humidity from sweat that it's unfit for respiration. And don't get me started on the crème brûlée in this place! It's unfit for human consumption!

I'm not sure how to read this. There were ships (brought me and my family over from Greece - had bunk beds and were easy to walk around), and then there were ships (brought other immigrants over from other parts of the world), and then there were ships (slave ships - perhaps you meant this?)......

 

[Packerjohn]

Sure we're all in the same boat. However, some of us in that boat have deep pockets and others have no pockets due to the fact that they have nothing to put in them.

 

[Tish]

I like it!

 

[jujube]

We're not in the same boat.......we're in the same storm.

Some of us are in yachts. Some of us are in rowboats. Some of us are just treading water, trying to keep our heads up.

This applies to financial as well as emotional conditions. There is more than one way to drown.....

 

[Jamala]

Well....I am puzzled by this assumption.. since we all come from different places, we are different and that is why the world is so interesting.
No, imo, we are not in the "same boat" thank you very much .
If that were so then I would have to make quite a few of my fellow passengers walk the plank LOL

 

[Marian]

I see this quote in a whole different way!
It instantly brought to mind a thought I had when I joined the senior center and became friends with so many wonderful people.
We all came from different walks of life. Some people were highly educated and had high powered careers, some had little education and were just scraping by. Some were healthy, some not. Some were lonely, some had a wide circle of family and friends and yet here we were all together, all elderly now, all pretty much in the same boat, living out the final chapter of our lives, yet all together, supporting each other through this journey and none of the stuff of our younger lives….the amount of money we made, or the amount of education we had… seemed to make much difference anymore. We were all in this together!

 

[officerripley]

I see this quote in a whole different way!
It instantly brought to mind a thought I had when I joined the senior center and became friends with so many wonderful people.
We all came from different walks of life. Some people were highly educated and had high powered careers, some had little education and were just scraping by. Some were healthy, some not. Some were lonely, some had a wide circle of family and friends and yet here we were all together, all elderly now, all pretty much in the same boat, living out the final chapter of our lives, yet all together, supporting each other through this journey and none of the stuff of our younger lives….the amount of money we made, or the amount of education we had… seemed to make much difference anymore. We were all in this together!

That sounds so wonderful. I wish that our area had a seniors center. (All we have is a place that tries to help with senior problems, such as care, places to live, rides, etc. Which is great but it'd be nice to have a center for seniors to socialize & have fun; I think we never have had something like that since this is a university town and most things are geared towards the students?)

 

[Jace]

@0fficerripley.. is there a community center..
That a room could be reserved for a senior group meeting weekly to interact with different ideas?

 

[officerripley]

@0fficerripley.. is there a community center..
That a room could be reserved for a senior group meeting weekly to interact with different ideas?

There is a community center but they're having real staffing issues like a lot of other places around here. (Their facilities are really expensive to rent also.) I've lived here a long time and a strong underlying theme of this place seems to be like that of the old American Wild West: "Oh, you're wanting to enjoy yourself, huh? All we got around here are bars and churches; so take your pick."

 

[Happy Heart]

Some row the boat forward, others are anchors attached to the boat.

 

[Magna-Carta]

I see this quote in a whole different way!
It instantly brought to mind a thought I had when I joined the senior center and became friends with so many wonderful people.
We all came from different walks of life. Some people were highly educated and had high powered careers, some had little education and were just scraping by. Some were healthy, some not. Some were lonely, some had a wide circle of family and friends and yet here we were all together, all elderly now, all pretty much in the same boat, living out the final chapter of our lives, yet all together, supporting each other through this journey and none of the stuff of our younger lives….the amount of money we made, or the amount of education we had… seemed to make much difference anymore. We were all in this together!

Good.

This is really good to see. Bringing our own experiences to the discussion for all to see. Experiences that others may have never been part of, and perhaps not been able to see until or if they later experienced it.

In a way, I think, hearing other people’s experiences can help many of us comprehend something before we find ourselves in the same or similar situation. And then might give us a different perspective as we enter a similar situation.

Do you think the things you describe here also had a level of empathy? If not from the outset, then as the people at the senior centre started to get to know each other. Then started to develop into something really significant. Then perhaps in part some level of empathy becoming a driving force for most at the centre? Because they felt they truly were/are in the same boat?

Or were you seeing something else?

 

[BC Flash]

re Officer Ripley's post #32:

"I think we never have had something like that since this is a university town and most things are geared towards the students?}"

Does the University have 'humanitarian" type courses (ie dealing with aging population, health care, social contacts, etc). Perhaps a "seniors" center could be incorporated into their studies. The population everywhere is aging and there is a need for health care professionals and workers to deal with the aging population.

 

[officerripley]

re Officer Ripley's post #32:

"I think we never have had something like that since this is a university town and most things are geared towards the students?}"

Does the University have 'humanitarian" type courses (ie dealing with aging population, health care, social contacts, etc). Perhaps a "seniors" center could be incorporated into their studies. The population everywhere is aging and there is a need for health care professionals and workers to deal with the aging population.

Does the University have 'humanitarian" type courses (ie dealing with aging population, health care, social contacts, etc).

The university does offer a few (expensive) courses dealing with stuff like driving while elderly, how to use your smartphone, stuff like that but nothing for socializing. I think the consensus among the therapeutic community here is that of how one therapist put it to me when I asked her if she knew of any kind of groups that were for socializing, fellowship, friendship, companionship, etc. and she replied with a smirk--yes, it really was a smirk--"Oh, you mean [using air quotes] 'just folks.' No, I don't know of anything like that."

A few years back, the univ. did offer a course that I was mildly interested in (feminist science fiction IIRC) but found out it was going to be very expensive to take, more than what I wanted to budget for. I sent an email to them, asking, since there are a lot of seniors on low or fixed-incomes in this area, had they ever considered lowering the cost for these courses directed at seniors. The response I got back was that I could apply for their special, low-income enrollment. In other words, their attitude is no we won't lower costs to help all seniors who might need it and therefore reduce some of the stigma attached to being low-income; no, those of you who want it bad enough can beg for a handout. I realize that having the university here with its highly paid employees means that we've got a good-sized "1 percent", wealthy population who have no clue what it's like being low-income but still: Phooey on that.

 

[Marian]

Good.

This is really good to see. Bringing our own experiences to the discussion for all to see. Experiences that others may have never been part of, and perhaps not been able to see until or if they later experienced it.

In a way, I think, hearing other people’s experiences can help many of us comprehend something before we find ourselves in the same or similar situation. And then might give us a different perspective as we enter a similar situation.

Do you think the things you describe here also had a level of empathy? If not from the outset, then as the people at the senior centre started to get to know each other. Then started to develop into something really significant. Then perhaps in part some level of empathy becoming a driving force for most at the centre? Because they felt they truly were/are in the same boat?

Or were you seeing something else?

I think that almost all of the people attending the center were looking for friends. It gets more and more difficult to make new friends as we age, I think. But the Senior Centers are full of people looking for that connection with others who are also elderly. There are a lot of widows and widowers who attend and some develop new romantic relationships. They don’t have to be alone anymore.
I attended 5 days per week. I loved it so much. The big attraction for me was fitness classes all geared for people 60 and up. There’s something there for everyone. They have art classes, ballroom dance, yoga, zumba, strength training, walking groups, biking groups, stained glass, jewelry making, card games, some put puzzles together, foreign language classes,book clubs, trips… both local and to other states or countries, plays, tai chi, bocci ball, singing groups, you name it, you can probably find it At one of our Senior Centers. You meet people with like interests or you can learn something brand new.
In my county alone, there are 21 Senior Centers! They are run by county government so lobby them!