2020 Top 10 Posts

Image by Josh Mazgelis via Creative Commons

Each December of the life of this blog, I post a list of the ten posts composed over the year that received the highest views. 

Because of the global pandemic, many of my posts posted this year focus on SARS-CoV-2 (the virus) and COVID-19 (the disease). 

Four of the ten posts in this year's Top 10 do come from topics more typical for my blog: three book reviews regarding aging and one preview for a conference on aging. 

Here is the list in descending order of views (most viewed first): 

1. Virtual MAIA Every Thursday in August. 23 June 2020.  LINK

2. Podcasts about COVID-19. 1 July 2020.  (and SARS-CoV-2). LINK

3. Books about Epidemics and Pandemics.  31 May 2020. LINK

4. Coronavirus, Ageism, Ableism and More. 1 March 2020.  LINK

5. This Chair Rocks: Book Review. 7 January 2020.  LINK

6. MacKay's Swiss Cheese Virus Defense. 31 October 2020.  LINK

7. Settings that Heighten Risk for SARS-CoV-2 Transmission. 12 June 2020. LINK

Posts by KDA hosted by Segullah

 

Sometimes I want to find a post published on the blog Segullah, and there isn't an easy way for me to search for posts by authors.  I must note that there are several writers who are more gifted than I am.  

Many of the women who write for Segullah write with greater lyricism, insight, and spirit.  

Nevertheless, sometimes I want to reread one of my posts there (to witness to my own better angels). I often give myself great advice; now if I would only follow it consistently. 

Segullah is a faith-based blog where women often write in a way that blends details from their daily lives with quotes or allusions to scriptures and other devotional writing as well to references to literature and culture--high culture and low culture.  

(The shared faith is through membership within or proximity to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.) 

So a Segullah post may refer to Jesus, Jane Austin, burnt cookies, and Lisa Simpson. 

2023 Posts: Ongoing--or Transitioning to New Faith-Based Projects?

112. February 17, https://segullah.org/blog/traits-of-come-follow-me-podcasts/

111. January 20, 2023 https://segullah.org/daily-special/free-range-saint/

2022 Posts: My favorite 2022 post is the one published in June

110. November 18, 2022 https://segullah.org/daily-special/promoting-unity-through-interfaith-interpath-efforts/

109. October 21, 2022 https://segullah.org/daily-special/parables-read-from-multiple-perspectives/

108. August 12, 2022 https://segullah.org/daily-special/free-range-saint/

107 July 15, 2022  https://segullah.org/blog/inspiration-in-a-vocation-al-setting/

Photo by Teton via Creative Commons

106. June 17, 2022. https://segullah.org/daily-special/loving-a-person-with-npd-can-you-hug-a-porcupine/

105. May 20, 2022.  https://segullah.org/daily-special/agency-and-stewardships-challenged-by-dementia/

104. February 18, 2022. https://segullah.org/daily-special/comfort-in-those-in-need-of-comfort-dump-out/

103. January 21, 2022. https://segullah.org/daily-special/looking-for-living-sages-diverting-from-diversions-to-roads-less-taken/ 

2021 Posts: My favorite 2021 post is the one published in April

102. December 17, 2021 https://segullah.org/daily-special/teaching-nursery-children-about-the-nativity/

101. November 19, 2021 https://segullah.org/daily-special/addressing-halloween-impoliteness-increase-compassion/ 

100. October 15, 2021 https://segullah.org/daily-special/elder-kopischke-prayer-alone-cannot-address-many-mental-health-needs/

Global Aging, 2nd Edition: Book Review

Published 13 December 2019.

I earlier this year, I selected Springer's Global Aging textbook in order to teach a class on global aging for Fall 2021. This 414 page book contains a lot of information about aging by using examples from dozens of countries. 

Here is the Table of Contents: 

1. Our Aging World 
2. The Study of Global Aging 
3. Demographic Perspectives on an Aging World 
4. Aging Environments 
5. Health Patterns and Behavior 
6. Health Care Systems 
7. Long-Term Services and Supports 
8. Older Workers 
9. Retirement and Pensions 
10. Families 
11. Caregiving 
12. World Religions and Aging 
13. Global Aging and Global Leadership

Additionally, each chapter concludes with one or two essays that are--for the more part--focused specifically on one country. 

Downhill (2020): Film Review

 

Released 14 February 2020.

How do couples in long-lasting relationships manage the shift in dynamics that inevitably happen over time?

Downhill (2020) directed by Nate Faxon and Jim Rash present a narrative that addresses this and other questions about love at midlife. Their film is an adaptation of a 2014 Swedish film Force Majeure.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell play Billie and Pete Staunton who are vacationing with their two tween boys at a ski resort in the Swiss Alps.

Because of the film’s title and the preview, I watched the film with an eye for weaknesses in the marriage, finding both couple contributing to some dysfunction: Pete is not invested enough; Billie is overly invested in managing every detail.  

(Spoilers ahead.)

Mackay's Swiss Cheese Virus Defense

This is just a detail.
Keep reading to view
Mackay's entire C19 infographic.

People from all vocations are seeking ways to address the current COVID-19 Pandemic.  

Researchers are verifying that we benefit from adopting MULTIPLE MITIGATION LAYERS in order to reduce the spread of viruses. 

As a gerontologist, I am reading about the vulnerabilities that older adults face if they become infected with SARS-CoV-2. 

As a university teacher, I am guiding my students to write papers based on peer-reviewed, scientific articles about the virus and the resulting disease. 

And as a family member, I am constantly seeking information on how to protect myself and my family. 

By following scientists and medical professionals on Twitter, I read information about SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 before the mainstream media brings information from medical research to the lay reader. 

Here is my Twitter list of 200 plus COVID-19 stakeholders. 

This is where I discovered Ian M. Mackay, PhD, who uses his expertise as a virologist on his Twitter account @MackayIM Mackay has a PhD in virology from University of Queensland where he now works as an adjunct associate professor. 

COVID-19 Neologisms and When Old Words Were New

 

image by jovike. 

As a college instructor who has been teaching classes English departments since the 1980s, my observations about aging often focus on word choice, etymology, usage, technical terms for phenomena observed by people in aging bodies, and evolving definitions:

• Generation Jones-er as a specific term for younger Boomers
• Gerotranscendence as type of wisdom often associated with advanced age
• Gray vs Grey in the context of my age-correlated changes to my hair color
• Grounded as my focus word for inviting greater calm and maturity
• Midlife defined not by age but by a variety of milestones
• Older Adults as the preferred term replacing senior citizens, etc. 
• Vollendungsroman a literary term for a novel of completion or fullness 

Consequently, my curiousity was piqued when I saw @MerriamWebster share a link to their Time Traveler search tool. 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler

Keep the Home Fires Burning during a Pandemic

I'm spending way too much time in my office. 

Most of my posts take an objective tone--whether using a first person or third person narrator.

Today, I am going to dispose of my usual "let's present some research" approach. 

Instead, let me testify of the value of keeping the home fires burning. 

On with the Butter: Book Review

 

Inspired by her mother's resilience and sense of adventure, Heidi Herman has written On with the Butter: Spread More Living into Everyday Life. (2020, Hekla Publishing). 

The gist of the book can be summed up in an Icelandic saying that translates roughly to "On with the Butter!" It's similar to the British saying, "Carry on," but contains a bit more zest, particularly as embodied by Herman's Icelandic mother. 

Disclosure: I have received a complimentary copy of Herman's book in exchange for a fair and honest review. 

Heidi has a long career as a writer of various genres, but this book was part of a collaboration with her mother to enumerate nearly one hundred activities that can help older adults remain engaged and joyful. 

The book, however, is not just a list. It conveys an outlook on life that is an invitation to find happiness in the moment rather than being bogged down with one of life's many challenges. 

Even though I am many years younger than Ieda, the author's mother, I appreciate the suggestions for engaging in life when some people might suffer depression due to role loss and struggle with how to re-engage in life. 

I still teach classes at two universities; however, I experienced a slump when all of my children launched in August of 2019. True, I only have two children, but having them both fire me as their mother was quite a shock. 

Instead of looking back at what is missing, I am inspired to engage more fully in the moment by reading narratives about Iada's adventures followed by checklists for having an adventure of my own.

For example, in Chapter 5, "Take the Scenic Route," Herman describes a road trip she and her mother took through some of the smaller roads that connect I-80 and I-25. In doing so, Ieda convinced her daughter to stop at the Mormon Handcart Museum that documented the 1,300 mile trip of handcart pioneers. 

Check the Data: COVID19 Dashboards

 

Image by WonderWhy7439.

As a gerontologist (and a mortal), I am taking a keen interest in the COVID-19 (C19) pandemic. 

These are some of the tools I use frequently. 

In an effort to mitigate the risk of contracting the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-19), I consult various dashboards that evaluate the risk factors for countries, states, or counties based on one or more of the following criteria: 

• Cases of C19 by number or per 100K or per capita
• Testing rate by goal, per 100K or per capita
• Hospitalizations by number or percentage of capacity
• ICU beds and/or ventilators by number or percentage of capacity
• Death by number or by percentage excess from prior years. 

This is the web page I check first. 

Harvard Global Health Institute maintains a map of the US that is easy to scan for severity of risk by county: green, yellow, orange and red.  

HGHI's Risk Level dashboard also provides the number of new cases per day (on a 7 day moving average) for the state. If you click on the state, you can find the county information, too. This is important, because counties within a state can vary. 

For example, Florida as of August 1, 2020 reports these rates for new C19 cases:

• The state of Florida reports 43.6 new cases per day per 100,000
• Glades County, FL reports 8.3 cases per 100,000
• Jefferson County, FL reports 168.5 cases per 100,000

Teaching Gerontology Classes at UE

UE's Mascot is Ace, the River Gambler

I've had the good fortune of teaching part-time at the University of Evansville, which is a liberal arts university located in the tristate area of Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois.

I was giddy when the chair of sociology hired me to teach their series of gerontology classes.

(I also teach at USI; I previously taught at WSU.)

Podcasts about COVID-19

Image by Menage a Moi.

We are still learning about the coronavirus (aka COVID-19 or SARS-COV-2).

I usually read as a way to digest information. 

However, I have been exploring podcasts as a way to learn about the current pandemic. 

By using various search terms on Spotify, I found more than 50 podcasts that include COVID-19 content.

There are many more episodes about the virus / the pandemic within existing podcasts.

To date, I have listened to at least one episode (often more) of 50 podcasts dedicated to SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19.

If you only have 30 minutes a week to listen to a podcast about the pandemic, I HIGHLY recommend listening to Dr. Daniel Griffin, MD / PhD of Columbia University present his clinical report via TWIV (This Week in Virology).  

Here is the Link to all the TWIV episodes. 

Scroll until you find the most recent one by Dr. Griffin. 

Here is a list of some of  his publications via Google Scholar 

Here is the team behind Parasites without Borders, including Dr. Griffin. 

I present to you my Top 10 Podcast about SARS CoV-2 (the virus) and COVID-19 (the disease).

Last Update: 4 August 2021 

I found these podcasts (listed alphabetically) on Spotify, but many are also available in other places. 

Virtual MAIA Every Thur in August 2020

Every Thursday in August 2020 at 12 noon Central

For a dozen years, the Mid-American Institute on Aging & Wellness has hosted keynote and concurrent sessions on an array of topics to promote health and wellness across the lifespan.

MAIA secured a fantastic line up of speakers this year who agreed to present online due to the constraints presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is a great introduction to MAIA
because registration is FREE
for many attendees this year. 

VIDEO Introduction (from 7/14/2020 runtime 4:30 min) 

Click the blue word "VIDEO" above
to play the video

Settings that Heighten Risk for SARS-CoV-2 Transmission

Photo by diofw

Because I want to better understand the risk factors for coronavirus (aka COVID-19 the disease, SARS-COV-2 the virus), I wrote a post in April about biological risk factors such as obesity and diabetes. I'm adding to that post as new risk factors are announced (such as blood type).

Basically, these elements increase risk of COVID-19 transmission:

• Being INDOORS (less ventilation of fresh air, more risk)
• Being in a CROWDED space (closer to people, more risk)
• LINGERING in that space over times (more time, more risk)
• Being in a county with a HIGH INFECTION RATE (more community infection, more risk)
• Being in a crowd WITH TRAVELERS from many other locations (more counties, more risk)
• Being in a crowd where people PROJECT THEIR VOICE OR BREATH by talking, cheering, yelling, crying, booing, singing, panting, coughing, sneezing (more people exhaling forcefully with high frequency, more risk)

The date of this post is June 12th, but as I read news stories and scholarly studies, I will be adding information about settings that are high risk factors for transmission.

Books about Epidemics and Pandemics

I've decided to channel some of my nervous energy about COVID-19 into reading books about pandemic directed at the lay reader. I do read news stories and scientific updates, but it's hard to see the forest from the trees right now. 

By looking at the work of epidemiologists narrating how they have addressed various outbreaks over the last 100 years, I can learn something about how people respond to contagions that cause epidemics and pandemics. 


Here's my list in reverse chronology.

WHO Global Aging Report

Photo by Wendy North.

I'm spending May developing a university course on the topic of Global Aging and Health Care. Textbooks are always a few years behind current data. However with COVID-19, the information about the health of older adults is rapidly becoming outdated.

Even with COVID-19, the world's population is aging. Do countries have support services in place to assist them? 

The health of older adults is interwoven with other dimensions of their location--their country's economics, politics, military conflicts, population pyramids, migration patterns, and available health care services, just to name a few.

Nevertheless, I am striving to learn the "lay of the land" about global aging by surveying reports by major stakeholders such as WHO, UN, UNESCO, OECD and others.

I'm starting by reading the World Health Organization's report Global Health and Aging (published in October 2011).

Here are the highlights with some responses based on the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Plague: Book Review

Published in 1947.

Albert Camus wrote The Plague, a novel about a plague occurring during the 1940s in Oran, an Algerian town.

I decided to spend the month of April 2020 reading this novel, given the way that COVID-19 aka coronavirus has dominated the attention in most venues--from international news to dinner table conversations.

The book has 30 chapters, so I was able to focus on a chapter a day.

Reading a fictional account gave me the opportunity to gain a little distance from my own experience. 

The two main narrators of the novel--Dr. Rieux and Mr. Tarrou--record their response to Oran's plague.

Camus' novel does not strive for historical or scientific accuracy. Instead, it is an exploration of the meaning of suffering, the meaning of life, and how people create purpose.

For a more detailed summary, see my Goodreads Review, which is more about describing each "tree" (chapter summaries) and not so much about "the forest." Also, the GR review contains over two dozen direct quotes. 

Risk Factors for Severe Cases of COVID-19

Image by Pariswestren via Creative Commons

I have been hesitant about posting, because I feel as though all interest is about COVID-19 aka the coronavirus, but I'm not an infectious disease specialist, an epidemiologist, or a community health expert. But I am reading about this every day.

Travel and contact with an infected people are chief risk factors, but what other risk factors are emerging?

Tomie dePaola and Strega Nona

Strega Nona first published in 1975.

Yesterday, the world lost a great storyteller-illustrator-artist, Tomie dePaola, who was 85. He died due to complications from a fall. I have probably read about a dozen of his books to my children when they were little, but that's just a small portion of his life's work.

"His writing career spanned over 50 years during which he worked on more than 270 books. Close to 25 million copies of his books were sold worldwide, and were translated into over 20 languages." Source. 

Over the years, I have thinned out my books, so I went from owning about five of dePaolo's books to owning just one: the first Strega Nona book, published in 1975. He went on to write ten more books that feature this wise, ageful, Italian grandmother. 

Coronavirus, Ageism, Ableism and More

I am a digital native within Twitter. I generally follow accounts related to gerontology.

Over the last month, I have been alarmed by how many people downplay the potential impact of COVID-19 aka coronavirus because it "ONLY" affects older adults and those with underlying medical conditions.

Only.

The dismissive language comes not only in the comments to the news outlets but within the language of the media as well.

It's disheartening to read hundreds of responses that convey an underlying ageism and ableism.


(I have also read a lot of responses from the rank-and-file that express xenophobia and/or racism. However, others are better equipped at parsing the origins and implications of those forms of prejudice, which are equally abhorrent.)

I'm alarmed that  many feel emboldened to devalue populations of older adults and people with illnesses.

Books about Aging: M through Z

It's time to split a post from 2012.

Each year since then, I've been reading a dozen or so titles related to aging and listing them in that prior post.

The original post "Books about Aging" expanded to ten screens of titles, so I decided to divide it.

The most recent adds in this half are Elizabeth Strout's Olive Again (2019) Review and  Mary Pipher's Women Rowing North (2019). Review

The book I revisit the most often is Richard Rohr's Falling Upward (2011). Review

They all have merit; they all have their intended audience. I hope that you find a good read for you from the titles below.

Books about Aging: M through Z

Olive, Again: Book Review

Published 15 October 2019.

Elizabeth Strout has extended Olive Kitteridge's life into another novel, Olive, Again (2019), and I am delighted.

Not all of the chapters focus on Olive, but we do learn more about her and her interactions with her love interest, Jack Kennison; her son, Christopher and his family; a couple of former students, including a famous poet; and a few of her age mates.

True to her character, Olive is cranky, cynical, and outspoken. She also displays compassion for people in her odd little way.

Her adventures move her and her associates into late life with many of its challenges:

loneliness, the oddities of remarriage in late life, the complexities of decades' long marriages, the conflict between expectations and realities, estranged adult children, dealing with hardships such as depression, illness, infidelities, and such.

As with Olive Kitteridge, some of the chapters focus on other residents of Crosby, Maine--some of whom are much younger than Olive. There are a significant number of characters in their teens, 20s and 30s. We get glimpse into the lives of an adolescent house cleaners, and young adults who are home health care nurses, and a very pregnant woman attending a baby shower.

Some of the most salient moments from this novel include the many times that people end up offering each other comfort and kindness even though they don't have a lot in common or they only have a tenuous connection.

“The way people can love those they barely know, and how abiding that love can be, even when — as in her own case — it was temporary."

Almost everyone is carrying a heavy burden, and most people feel alone and overwhelmed.  Nevertheless, there are moments of hope and grace that emerge from the pages of the book.

As a gerontologist, I was happy to see many of the characters as people in their 60s, 70s and 80s--people who were still capable of growth and development.

Related: 

Olive Kittridge: Book Review
Books about Aging

Elderhood: Book Review

Published 11 June 2019.

Geriatrician Louise Aronson published a book recently that serves as a great overview for the field of gerontology.

Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimaging Life was published on June 11, 2019.

UPDATE: Aronson's book was a finalist for the Pulitzer this year!

My Goodreads Review

Aronson presents 464 pages of observations about the aging process and health care in the US.

Yes, she has a medical degree; however, her outlook on aging comes very much from a humanities standpoint.

First, her book is structured like a memoir. She does talk about aging; however, she also includes a lot of autobiographical detail in chronological order.

Second, her book discusses case studies in a way that foregrounds the qualitative elements of the human experience, such as relationships, emotions, values, bias, limited perspective.

By even making this observation about her vocation, Aronson declares her preference for the more philosophical side of medicine.

Third, her book brings in a lot of material from non-medical sources. She quotes from works of literature, philosophy, psychology and sociology.

For example, this is how she frames the way physicians choose a specialty:

"How doctors choose to spend their careers may depend in part on their tolerance for ambiguity and complexity, and their interest in questions that lend themselves as much to philosophy, psychology, and sociology as to science and statistics." (p. 159)

This Chair Rocks: Book Review

Published 15 March 2016.

Ashton Applewhite is a force to be reckoned with.

Author, speaker, and advocate, Applewhite has become renown over the last few years as a significant critic of ageism.

However, she does not merely tear down ageist policies, programs, policies, and attitudes.

Applewhite also describes in rich detail the ways age contains strength, wisdom, sexuality, fun, and creativity.

I have observed Applewhite's work over the last several years by watching her TedTalk, reading her blog, reading several interviews in major magazines and news outlets, following her on Twitter, and even meeting her after hearing her give a keynote address.

I finally sat down to read her book, This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism. 

Happy 8th Blogoversary

Photo by postbear.

Today marks 8 years since I launched this blog, The Generation Above Me.

Happy Blogoversary to TGAM!

Over the last eight years, The Generation Above Me has garnished over a million views of its 425 posts.  

I have several posts on these topics:

• cognition
• nutrition
• exercise / fitness
• films
• books
• caregiving
• spirituality

Bias towards the Humanities

I do have a master's in gerontology, earned from 2010 to 2012. However, I taught college English for over three decades (composition, rhetoric, literature, linguistics). But I also lean into a the social sciences a bit. I am also interested in psychology, sociology, communications, education, religious studies.

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