By Rick Banas of BMA Management, Ltd.
As Father Terry Keehan launched into his homily at Midnight Mass at Holy Family Catholic Community in Inverness, Illinois, he showed a photograph of a man dressed in ordinary street clothes.
The man had been a child prodigy violinist. His accomplishments since have included winning a Grammy Award, appearing on Sesame Street, and playing the sound track on the 1998 movie “The Red Violin,” which won an Oscar for the Best Original Score.
Joshua Bell was in Washington, DC, to perform at the Library of Congress. While in town, he agreed to be part of a social experiment organized by the Washington Post newspaper. The experiment was conducted just days after Bell had performed at a sold out theatre in Boston, where the cost of a seat averaged $10000 a pop.
Dressed incognito, Bell looked like a typical street performer. His violin case, into which he had tossed a few dollar bills, was open at his feet as he stood against a bare wall in the Metro subway station. For about 45 minutes during rush hour on a Friday morning in January, he played the same Bach pieces that he had performed several days earlier in Boston. He played the songs on his violin that was hand-crafted in 1713 by Antonio Stradivari.
Nearly 1,100 people passed by while he played, yet only a half-dozen stopped to listen. The one who paid the most attention was a three-year-old boy.
Unfortunately, the nature of the experiment did not allow the Washington Post to determine how much of the lack of interest was due to people having to rush to get to work, their lack of appreciation of Bach, or stereotypes about street performers versus internationally-acclaimed virtuosos of the violin. One certainly does not expect to hear someone the caliber of Joshua Bell performing incognito in a subway station on their way to work in the morning.
But research does suggest that stereotypes and perceptions have an impact.
We have been told for years about the power of positive thinking when it comes to achieving success, and a report published in March of 2010 by The Boston Globe on the boston.com website cites a growing body of research that suggests that “our negative perceptions about our elders may have adverse affects on our long-term health.”
Negative images of aging can increase stress while positive images can be calming, the article goes on to say.
Despite the fact that we have experienced dramatic increases in life expectancy and are finding that people tend to not only be living longer but healthier, ageism and negative stereotypes of aging tend to be common. Words such as “senile,” “feeble” and “old-fashioned” tend to be much more commonly used when talking about seniors than words such as “distinguished,” “sage” and “wise.” We quite innocently make fun of the aging process with “Over the Hill” jokes and parties.
A comment posted earlier this week on the list of the Funniest People of 2010 on the Huffington Post provides a perfect illustration. The comment was about Betty White hosting Saturday Night Live on Mothers’ Day weekend. The first part of the comment was highly complimentary. “She did quite an impressive job.” My complaint is that they had to add “for a 90-year-old,” implying that our expectations of a 90-year-old should be so much less than those of a person who is younger.
To help dispel some of the negative images of aging that seem to be more pervasive than the positive ones, let me cite the following examples of just some of the people that I had the privilege of meeting in person or learning about this past year:
- Bernice Bruner, a resident of our Heritage Woods of Flora affordable assisted living community in Flora, Illinois, who was a Garden-of-the-Month Club winner two years ago at the age of 99.
- Manny Shellist, a resident of our Heritage Woods of Bolingbrook affordable assisted living community in Bolingbrook, Illinois. Manny took up wood carving at the age of 92. Four years later, at the age of 96, he carved the Gettysburg Address into an eight-foot high display that has been at the Lincoln Museum in Springfield, Illinois. At the age of 98, Manny continues to spend a portion of almost every day pursuing his new found hobby.
- Ernie Henkel, a resident of our Eagle Ridge of Decatur affordable assisted living community in Decatur, Illinois. Earlier this year, Ernie was honored as the Outstanding Individual Bowler in the First Annual Supportive Living Wii Bowling Tournament. She bowled games of 256 and 244. Ernie is 92 years of age and legally blind.
- Raymond DiGirolamo, a 90-year-old resident of our Heritage Woods of South Elgin affordable assisted living community in South Elgin, Illinois. The former runner is now jogging the halls at Heritage Woods thanks to a program called “Fit & Strong” that he participated in at the community this past fall.
- Olga Kotelko, who is setting records in the shot put, high jump and 100-meter dash in the world master track championships. Olga is in her 90s.
- Hazel McCallion, the 88-year-old Mayor of the sixth largest city in Canada. The former professional women’s hockey player has served as Mayor of Mississauga for the past 31 years. Remarkably, Mississauga not only has NO DEBT, the City has low taxes and more than $700 million in reserves.
My resolution as we head into 2011 is to help dispel the negative stereotypes and focus on the Power of having Positive Attitudes toward Aging.
All affordable assisted living communities managed by BMA Management, Ltd. are certified and surveyed by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. All assisted living communities are licensed and surveyed by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
“BMA Management, Ltd. is the leading provider of assisted living in Illinois
and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”
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