I am sitting on the front steps of my 96-year-old mother’s home. It’s my first visit in 18 months and long overdue, as is the haircut which was item No.1 on her to-do list.

I had a recent conversation with someone one-third my age who was angry at Boomers like me for screwing up the world. While being cordial to me, she used all kinds of stereotypes to describe my generation, much like how many people my age typecast Gen Z.

I’m writing this on a Delta flight sitting next to an 80-year old woman. This woman smiles at me. I smile back and then, meekly, turn to my lap which isn’t all that interesting. Connecting with a stranger, randomly assigned to you in the air is a truly liminal experience, right?! Especially when you know you have three hours ahead of you.

Chip’s Note: This guest post comes from one of MEA’s Activists in Residence, Evelyn Reynolds, who just spent a couple weeks with us in Baja. We first became aware of Evelyn through ageism activist Ashton Applewhite and Evelyn’s Huffington Post essay, “Aging While Black.”

Currently, we’re in a collective transition that may be more profound than anything I’ve seen in my life. People are quitting jobs and changing careers. They’re moving from their homes or apartments. Ending relationships. Taking up new spiritual interests.

I love this simple, 90-second artistic cartoon called Side Effects that amplifies the idea that the carers of the world need love and support, too. Enter Fido! Watch the video, and you'll understand.

I have a fetish for words (and people) that are making a comeback. Recently, I imagined that “conviviality” was one of those words. Ngram showed that it’s used three times as much today than it was forty years ago.

Ted and I have a thing goin’ on. I’m a binge-watch virgin. At 60, I’m embarrassed to write that. Didn’t really understand the phenomenon until way too many MEA alums said I needed to watch the Ted Lasso Apple+ comedy series featuring an American college football coach who becomes a British pro soccer/football coach.

I remember that time. That time when I was up against the wall, living a life of "have-to’s."

Death, you strike with unpredictable disrespect. You take the ones we never expected to leave.