Jezebel: elderly

Woman Still Working At 100

Margaret — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:20:00 EDT

Yesterday, Astrid Thoenig celebrated her 100th birthday... at work. For the past 30 years she's been the receptionist at the family-owned Thornton Insurance Co. in New Jersey. "I don't feel old, and I don't think old," she said. [AP]

86-Year-Old Beats Burglar, Makes Him Cry

Margaret — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:20:00 EDT

When Gwyneth Davies of Wales caught a man breaking into her kitchen on Friday night, she hit him four times with her metal crutch and made him sit on a stool until the police arrived.

Officers found the 26-year-old man weeping on the stool and arrested him. Though she has recently suffered a broken hip and ribs, pneumonia and shingles, the widow of 20 years says this proves she is able to take care of herself. "Why should old women be looked down on? I think it is terrible the way people look down on you," she said. "I have been brought up with men, and I am very independent and able to stand up for myself." [The Daily Express]

A 70-year-old Indian woman has reportedly...

Margaret — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 11:20:00 EST

A 70-year-old Indian woman has reportedly given birth to her first child, via IVF treatment. "We've been longing for a child since we married many years ago, but it didn't work for us," said Rajo Devi, whose husband is 72. "For decades we've had to put up with gossip because we've remained childless, but those sad days are now over," she said. Devi is the second 70-year-old Indian woman to give birth after IVF treatment this year, but it is unclear whose egg and sperm were used in the treatment. The couple says they are not concerned about coping with a young daughter so late in life. "We have a large family and there will be plenty of helpers," says Devi. [The Daily Mail]

Image via Flickr.

The last survivor of the Titanic is selling...

Margaret — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 09:40:00 EDT

The last survivor of the Titanic is selling off mementos of the disaster to pay nursing home fees. Millvina Dean, 96, was 2 months old when she arrived in New York with her mother and brother after surviving the sinking of the ship. Dean sold a wicker suitcase full of donated clothes the family was given when they arrived in the city, as well as rare prints of the Titanic and letters from the Titanic Relief Fund, raising $53,906. Dean has lived in a nursing home in Southampton, England since she broke her hip two years ago. She was one of 706 people rescued by the steamship Carpathia on the night of April 14, 1912. Her father was among the 1,500 who died when the Titanic hit an iceberg. [Tucson Citizen]

Do You Know How To Talk To Old People?

Dodai — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:20:00 EDT

The population of this country is growing older, but we don't really know how to treat older people. Researchers from Yale studied the health effects of negative perceptions of aging and found that the way we speak to older people is unbelievably important. According to the New York Times, the scientists found that when nurses used phrases like "good girl" or "how are we feeling?", patients were more aggressive and less cooperative. It turns out that people don't like being treated like infants. Makes sense, right?

And it's not just nurses: One 77-year-old woman interviewed claims that when she goes to restaurants with a younger friend, the server will ignore her and only speak to the younger person. Isn't it strange that we treat people of a certain age as either demented or invisible?

In the Times, Ellen Kirschman, a 68-year-old police psychologist in California, says she hates when people call her "young lady," because she finds it "mocking and disingenuous." She says: "As I get older, I don’t want to be recognized for my age. I want to be recognized for my accomplishments, for my wisdom."

In many cultures, respecting your elders is the norm; we're living in a society that trumpets 50 as the new 30 and prizes youth and "anti-aging" above all. But humans are living longer, and that means growing older. We'd better learn how to speak to our elders, since soon, we'll be in their shoes — whippersnappers become old folks one day, if they're lucky.

In ‘Sweetie’ and ‘Dear,’ a Hurt for the Elderly [NY Times]

The Czech Republic may not have Dancing...

Margaret — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 18:15:00 EDT

The Czech Republic may not have Dancing With the Stars, but the country has fallen for a group of ten full-figured grandmothers, aged 57 to 72, who make up the "Mazoretky", or Majorettes of Horni Lhota. The amateur dancers perform a flirtatious French can can while dressed in fringe-trimmed bloomers with bills tucked into their black fishnets. The group has struck a chord in the former Eastern bloc state, where standard of living for growing elderly population is declining. The women say their mission is to "laugh and make people laugh" as demonstrated by their habit of wearing adult diapers under their tutus for their rendition of "Swan Lake." "We would be too bored if we only took care of our husbands, our grandchildren and our homes," said 64-year old dancer Jarmila, whose spouse thinks she is "completely crazy, at my age, to dance in public in such outfits." [Breitbart]

Awesome Aussie Grandmas Perform Sex Pistols Song

Margaret — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:40:00 EDT

In the video above, a group of Australian women over the age of 80 perform the 1977 song "God Save the Queen" by The Sex Pistols, which was originally titled "No Future" and banned by the BBC. It's part of artist Christoph Büchel's exhibit "no future" at the Sydney Biennale 2008. The ladies were given an open gallery space and told to rehearse the song whenever they wanted. Modern art would probably be a lot more exciting if every gallery featured a group of grannies performing punk rock.