As of September 30, 2021, the oldest living person was Kane Tanaka of Japan at 119. She is only four years shy of breaking the record of the oldest person ever, which currently belongs to Jeanne Louise Calment of France, who lived to be 122. Supercentenarians are still uncommon, although the numbers of people—more women than men as it turns out—who live from ages 100 to 122 are growing.
My boyfriend Jerry Siegel lived till seven weeks shy of his 99th Birthday. We all just mourned the death of Betty White, who was within reach of her 100th Birthday.
These people who break through to extreme older age are still the exception. But we as a species are living longer. In 2020, life expectancy at birth was 77.0 years for the U.S. population. Compare that to 73.7 years in 1980. You’re likely to live longer than your parents, and your children will likely live longer than you. Records are made to be broken. That is the history of human progress. Read more
https://katzcreativebooksandmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ghostwriter.jpg397400adminhttps://katzcreativebooksandmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/katz-logo-1.pngadmin2022-03-18 16:19:212022-03-18 16:19:21Supergenarians Give Us Hope for Living Longer—and Better
It was a balmy Saturday on August 29, 2020, when I set out to celebrate my 80th birthday. My thoughtful daughter Heather had a surprise for me: the arrangements she made would allow me to experience the top item on my Bucket List. A luxury car was about to take the two of us and my executive assistant Layla from the Upper West Side of Manhattan to a Dairy Queen in Union, New Jersey. I was so excited!
The friendly, talkative driver, hearing us chatting away about the outing from the back seat, was confused. Looking at us through his rearview mirror as we crossed the George Washington Bridge, he questioned: “Excuse me asking, but are you seriously going to a Dairy Queen to celebrate your 80th birthday? Before I could answer, he hastily added: “Not that you look 80. I’d have guessed years younger! But there’s got to be more exciting things you could be doing to celebrate such a big milestone.”
First, I look 80, or at least my version of it. I’ve observed that there’s no one catch-all way to “look one’s age.” How we “look” varies across a broad spectrum. For example, my late lamented 99-year-old boyfriend was long, lean, still sexy to me, and sharp as a tack. Jerry lit up any room he was in till his last day on earth—at age 99—in his villa in Casa de Campo while we were enjoying cocktails. That’s what we want to aim for, to light up the world, or at least our corner of it—and go out (preferably fast, as he did), with a smile on your lips and love in your heart. So, considering this, I don’t put too much worry into whether any of us “look our age” or not because there is no one standard—or certainly shouldn’t be.
I’m in my 80s. Eighty-one, to be exact. Do you ever wonder what older people like me — and maybe you — are supposed to be doing? Taking a much-needed nap, perhaps? Soaking our dentures while trying to remember where we put our eyeglasses—which are most likely on top of our heads?
I reject the idea that our lives have to grow smaller as we grow older. They can expand. Eighty-somethings can write a bestselling book, a play or a symphony; give a lecture to a packed university auditorium; run a company; invent the next technological breakthrough — all while maybe also being a grandparent. We oldies might be volunteering our time and experience to help others succeed in their own lives. And, we may even be browsing through dating sites seeking new vistas for love in our next big act three after the death of a partner, a divorce or maybe a lifetime of being single.
All this only touches the mere surface of who we are — a collective, accomplished, fully-alive group of us in our mid-70s, 80s, 90s, and even 100s — and what we are up to! And this is why I decided to start writing this CelebrEighty column and opening up a community discussion.
In the weeks, months, and (universe willing) years ahead, I plan to share my experiences—personal, professional, and perhaps even romantic. I invite you to join me in each of these discussions, sharing your experiences and perspectives. I plan to dive in and explore such topics as:
Dating at Eighty and Beyond
How Our Adult Children Welcome Our Wisdom — or Not
Who We See in the Mirror and How it Reflects Our Inner Selves
https://katzcreativebooksandmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ghostwriter.jpg397400adminhttps://katzcreativebooksandmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/katz-logo-1.pngadmin2022-03-18 16:08:342022-03-18 16:08:34Are You 80+? Please CelebrEighty With Me
Today, as a businessperson, if you are not an author, you lack a certain credibility.
Authoring a book has become the must-have for big media placements, speaking opportunities, and bigger clients, not to mention your chance for grabbing that elusive brass ring, a bestseller. Hey! You just never know!
https://katzcreativebooksandmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ghostwriter.jpg397400Judy Katzhttps://katzcreativebooksandmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/katz-logo-1.pngJudy Katz2020-03-04 17:01:552020-04-24 22:10:18Writing Your Book: A Ghostwriter’s Perspective
Think of life as a round circle, like a pizza pie. One slice of the pie is your area of core competence, perhaps even genius. It’s what you do so well. Next to that slice is another slice of equal size, what you know you don’t know. For example, I know I cannot add, subtract or cook anything edible.
Then there’s the rest of the pie, the three-quarters of things in life that we don’t even know we don’t know anything about. In that mysterious realm, for most people, lie the secrets to successful book writing, publishing and marketing.
Supergenarians Give Us Hope for Living Longer—and Better
My boyfriend Jerry Siegel lived till seven weeks shy of his 99th Birthday. We all just mourned the death of Betty White, who was within reach of her 100th Birthday.
These people who break through to extreme older age are still the exception. But we as a species are living longer. In 2020, life expectancy at birth was 77.0 years for the U.S. population. Compare that to 73.7 years in 1980. You’re likely to live longer than your parents, and your children will likely live longer than you. Records are made to be broken. That is the history of human progress. Read more
CelebrEighty at Dairy Queen
The friendly, talkative driver, hearing us chatting away about the outing from the back seat, was confused. Looking at us through his rearview mirror as we crossed the George Washington Bridge, he questioned: “Excuse me asking, but are you seriously going to a Dairy Queen to celebrate your 80th birthday? Before I could answer, he hastily added: “Not that you look 80. I’d have guessed years younger! But there’s got to be more exciting things you could be doing to celebrate such a big milestone.”
First, I look 80, or at least my version of it. I’ve observed that there’s no one catch-all way to “look one’s age.” How we “look” varies across a broad spectrum. For example, my late lamented 99-year-old boyfriend was long, lean, still sexy to me, and sharp as a tack. Jerry lit up any room he was in till his last day on earth—at age 99—in his villa in Casa de Campo while we were enjoying cocktails. That’s what we want to aim for, to light up the world, or at least our corner of it—and go out (preferably fast, as he did), with a smile on your lips and love in your heart. So, considering this, I don’t put too much worry into whether any of us “look our age” or not because there is no one standard—or certainly shouldn’t be.
Read the full article on SilverDisobedience.Rocks
Are You 80+? Please CelebrEighty With Me
I’m in my 80s. Eighty-one, to be exact. Do you ever wonder what older people like me — and maybe you — are supposed to be doing? Taking a much-needed nap, perhaps? Soaking our dentures while trying to remember where we put our eyeglasses—which are most likely on top of our heads?
I reject the idea that our lives have to grow smaller as we grow older. They can expand. Eighty-somethings can write a bestselling book, a play or a symphony; give a lecture to a packed university auditorium; run a company; invent the next technological breakthrough — all while maybe also being a grandparent. We oldies might be volunteering our time and experience to help others succeed in their own lives. And, we may even be browsing through dating sites seeking new vistas for love in our next big act three after the death of a partner, a divorce or maybe a lifetime of being single.
All this only touches the mere surface of who we are — a collective, accomplished, fully-alive group of us in our mid-70s, 80s, 90s, and even 100s — and what we are up to! And this is why I decided to start writing this CelebrEighty column and opening up a community discussion.
In the weeks, months, and (universe willing) years ahead, I plan to share my experiences—personal, professional, and perhaps even romantic. I invite you to join me in each of these discussions, sharing your experiences and perspectives. I plan to dive in and explore such topics as:
Dating at Eighty and Beyond
How Our Adult Children Welcome Our Wisdom — or Not
Who We See in the Mirror and How it Reflects Our Inner Selves
Gifts to Give Now and Those to Leave to the World
Why the Fear of Death is In Fact Fear of Life…
Read the full article on SilverDisobedience.Rocks
Writing Your Book: A Ghostwriter’s Perspective
Then the e-mail address.
Next, the website.
Today, as a businessperson, if you are not an author, you lack a certain credibility.
Authoring a book has become the must-have for big media placements, speaking opportunities, and bigger clients, not to mention your chance for grabbing that elusive brass ring, a bestseller. Hey! You just never know!
Read more
My Heart Bleeds for Innocent Would-Be Authors
Think of life as a round circle, like a pizza pie. One slice of the pie is your area of core competence, perhaps even genius. It’s what you do so well. Next to that slice is another slice of equal size, what you know you don’t know. For example, I know I cannot add, subtract or cook anything edible.
Then there’s the rest of the pie, the three-quarters of things in life that we don’t even know we don’t know anything about. In that mysterious realm, for most people, lie the secrets to successful book writing, publishing and marketing.
Read more