Mariner is older than most folks. Old enough, in fact, to look back on that time when a person suddenly becomes old – retired from career, lifelong friends and family are disappearing, maybe even die, institutions that were the core of society back in the day are not mainstream anymore, children and grandchildren are off living that life an old person remembers with melancholy.

Humans, by their nature, are born and raised to be collaborative. Each person contributes to the sustenance needed by themselves and their family and even, in these modern times, needed by God and Country. It is natural for a person to take on a role that contributes to others as well as to themselves.

But what to do when that role disappears, when that role is no longer meaningful to the day-to-day world, when the role a person played in life has become passé? The answer is to keep it going. Remember the old days when a person had to look for a job or go hungry? Remember when parents had to move to a new region and it meant having to find new friends at school? Remember when the company laid off people and they had to start over?

It’s that time again.

No one does this job for the new oldster. The oldster must make a concerted effort, often taking a year or two, to find a new way to collaborate with fellow humans. Most adjustments relate to known skills and social behavior but don’t overlook something completely new.

One of mariner’s old friends had a career working 40 years in the offices of a large corporation. When he retired, he became a carpenter specializing in refurbishing home attics. Word-of-mouth recommendations kept him busy full time.

Mariner’s wife, a career librarian and author, has established a busy day by working whenever needed at the town library, belonging to writers and readers clubs, is active in her church, maintains a visiting network with friends who go back to her childhood in the town, remaining on a daily contact basis with lifetime friends and her children, participating in art and exercise programs – and still takes care of mariner!

A couple mariner knows are retired from running a grocery store. The wife makes artistic refrigerator magnets and sells them at town fairs across the midwest, saying that the fair sales and a tax write off pay for their vacation.

For most new oldsters, collaborative participation comes from continuing the skills and behaviors of their lifetime. For example, carpenters can continue their trade by taking on smaller projects that full time contractors find unprofitable. Hobbyists who knit, make jewelry or create artwork of any kind can use their hobby by connecting with small stores, charitable organizations and selling at fairs and yard sales.

New oldsters with a background in humanities may have to be a bit more creative to find a way to use their skills. Search politics, religion, social work or presentations in retirement homes, charity organizations, community and local government organizations. History has many famous examples of old folks becoming authors – social media is waiting.

If the new oldster is sitting in a recliner watching television and scrolling games on the smartphone, get off your ass and find a new collaboration. Otherwise, depression, loneliness and boredom will be the new lifestyle.

Ancient Mariner

The visiting season approaches. Be sure to have bags packed for visits and pantries full for visitors. The holiday season is upon us. Shop early, especially if the reader plans to use the US Postal Service. Mariner has lost some plants due to a three-week delivery time. The US Postal Service would appreciate it if readers would mail greeting cards instead of using internet resources – mail early! On a related matter, if the reader is using a mail-in ballot, don’t wait until the last moment.

An interesting side note: The largest group of people moving to Florida today are foreigners. Perhaps evidence that global warming isn’t just an American issue. On the other hand, with 20 wars raging around the globe, decent neighborhoods may be hard to find.

To those suffering the news broadcasts, the coverage is so iterative that almost any reader can write copy for the next broadcast. There are a very few news agencies that don’t chase the common, gossipy news. Mariner recommends ProPublica.com; other issues are growing in the nation’s large societal map.

However, one news story to which readers should be paying close attention is the disruptive activity no matter who wins the Presidential election. More and more sitting judges, both liberal and conservative, are giving fair warning. From the AP:

“Judges at Washington’s federal courthouse have punished hundreds of Capitol rioters since 2021. Before recently sentencing another to prison, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton said he prays Americans accept the outcome of next month’s election, but expressed concern that Donald Trump and his allies are spreading the same sort of conspiracy theories that fueled the 2021 attack.”

Mariner has read other reports that suggest organized resistance groups have been in training since the last election.

One more seasonal flavor to add: Book early and do research and training before engaging in airports, airplanes, trains and traffic jams.

Have a wonderful holiday season! Really!

Ancient Mariner