歪歪漫画

I saw a picture of America last weekend. A pontoon boat was parked in front of our shore on Lake Julia for several hours. A mom and dad, four children and a grandfather were in the boat.

The grandfather wasn鈥檛 fishing, he enjoyed watching his grandchildren catch fish, and mom and dad helped take the fish off the hooks for the kids. The scene was about American as apple pie. 

Undoubtedly, these children will live to see the dawning of the year 2100. The parents and grandfather will be gone by that time. The children will probably see their parents in a nursing home, and they, too, may end up in a nursing home. 

In 1950, 8% of the American population was 65 or older. Today, that number has risen to 22%. Every time I go to church or go out to eat, I say to Kathy, 鈥淭here sure are a lot of old people here.鈥� She says, 鈥淛oin the crowd.鈥� 

Need a job? Go to any nursing home and ask them if they can put you to work. Nearly 30% of 14,000 nursing homes surveyed in March 2022 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a staffing shortage. However, other research indicates that as many as 95% of nursing facilities in the U.S. are understaffed.

Are nursing homes needed? Roughly 70% of people age 65 and older will need some long-term care during their lifetime. I may need it. You may need it. The parents in the pontoon boat will need it. 

Both of my parents passed away in nursing homes. I also had a grandmother, grandfather, great-uncle, uncle and mother-in-law die in nursing homes, not to mention several aunts. 

My wife and I have been conducting a Sunday service in nursing homes for almost as long as we have lived in Bemidji (nearly 40 years). I hope the residents look forward to our coming. I look forward to trying to brighten their day a little. You鈥檙e right; I always start or end with a riddle or joke. 

A Sunday 歪歪漫画 teacher asks her students about where they think God lives. One student replies, 鈥淕od lives in our bathroom.鈥� The teacher asks him to explain. The boy says, 鈥淓very morning, my Dad knocks on the bathroom door and says, 鈥楳y God, my God, are you still in there?鈥欌��

As you know, thanks to science and medicine and better long-term care, we are living longer. You could make an argument for not living so long. It is costly. Many people do live in pain. Some have no one to care about them except the nursing home staff. We lose some of our dignity when we enter a nursing home.

On the upside, life is worth living as long as we can smell the roses. Smell is our most vital sense. Attached to smell are vivid memories. Not too long ago, I brought a sprig of lilac to the nursing home on a Sunday and had the residents smell it. It brought smiles to their faces.

No doubt many of them could remember a lilac bush in their yard or giving a bouquet to a teacher, or when their mother put lilacs in a vase on the dinner table. 

How long can we expect to live? Since 1900 the global average life expectancy has more than doubled and is now above 70 years or more for men and about 80 for women.

In the past 100 years, Americans have enjoyed an overall gain of nearly 25 years in life expectancy at birth. Twenty-five years is a lot of extra time. My father retired at 62 and almost lived to be 102. He enjoyed every minute of it. 

鈥淗ow does education play a role in longevity?鈥� You probably were thinking I thought you would never ask. More highly educated individuals live longer lives, and evidence suggests that educational attainment is a fundamental cause for good health. Education means greater intelligence, which translates into longevity. 

From early childhood, research shows links between access to education and better health. Now you know another reason we need to graduate 100% of our youth 鈥� people with a high school diploma live longer. 

Children born today will live longer than any other generation. About two-thirds will live past 80, and one-third past 90. Almost one in 10 girls born now will live past 100.

According to the Health in Aging Foundation, the average age of a nursing home resident has reached the 80s, with almost half of nursing home residents over 85. Women live longer than men, so the average nursing home resident is a single female.

What is a good nursing home? Quality nursing homes offer a variety of activities, entertainment, and faith-based services, not to mention, of course, excellent health care and good food. The overall atmosphere or ambiance of the building is of equal importance 鈥� kind of like a family riding in a pontoon boat. 

Riddle: What do you call a fish with no eye's? Answer: Fsh. Taking nursing home residents for pontoon boat rides is an eye-opening experience. 

Thanks to Red Lake Transit for putting up 100% posters in their office building. 

John R. Eggers of Bemidji is a former university professor and area principal. He also is a writer and public speaker.