I have a hard time figuring out how old or young many people are, so I don’t fault the Lee’s Summit truancy officer who recently stopped and questioned my daughter as she was walking near Lee’s Summit High School.
After a few awkward inquires about where she was going and why she wasn’t in school, my daughter pulled out her driver’s license (she’s 27) and a wallet-size card that proved she was a licensed doctor of pharmacy.
Teresa Dowlatshahi
Lee’s Summit
The fact that the Kansas City Area Development Council “has launched ... a multimedia marketing plan aimed at helping local corporations recruit and retain that coveted 25- to 34-year-old age group” sickens me (4/22, Business, “KC listens to ‘creative class’.”).
Society continues to exalt the young without any regard for the middle-aged, who are in dire need of jobs to support ourselves. I bet I have more talent in my little finger than the “creative class” the KCADC is marketing
I am tired of seeing the focus on young adults when there are so many others whose talents and skills go unrecognized.
I recently toured the set of a soap opera. I told the tour guide that they need to incorporate overweight, unattractive, older actors into their scripts. He replied, “We’re into creating fantasies, and it wouldn’t work.”
I responded, “If you want a real fantasy, have a love story between a fat, ugly, older woman with a handsome, comparably aged, wealthy man.”
Kansas City and the rest of the world need to recognize that those of us with wrinkles should be recruited and retained for all we are and all we know.
Nan Lorenz
Kansas City
It’s time for our government to confront the growing problem of Alzheimer’s disease with a meaningful investment in research to find a cure. Now is the time to find ways to protect the health and productivity of 78 million baby boomers whose lives will soon be at risk for Alzheimer’s disease. If nothing is done, Medicare and Medicaid will be devastated by the high cost of the disease.
Earlier this year, Congress passed a bipartisan appropriation bill (HR 3043) that allocated $30 billion for the National Institutes of Health, reversing years of erosion in the nation’s research investment. Included in that total was a modest $16 million increase for research on Alzheimer’s disease — the first increase in three years. Unfortunately, this legislation was vetoed.
Congress is currently working with the president on a compromise to fund health, education and other programs. Research dollars are at risk. Please urge Congress and the president to appropriate $30 billion for the National Institutes of Health to step up the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. Visit www.alz.org to learn more about how you can make your voice heard in Washington.
Michelle Niedens
Alzheimer’s Association, Heart of America Chapter
Prairie Village
Do you have a friend or family member in a nursing home, and do you have time to call on the person? It is a difficult time for the residents, especially during the holiday season. Even if you are a stranger, just a greeting, handshake and a smile will tell them we care. It will be rewarding for you.
Beth Crane
Shawnee
Norence A. Nelson, in his letter “Costs affecting retirement” (11/3), is absolutely right.
I don’t think Democrats or Republicans really like raising taxes. I think that everyone agrees that cutting taxes is a relief.
Does anyone remember the tax rebate that George W. Bush promised and delivered to the American people? I certainly do, because exactly nine days after the promise was made, another promise was made to residents of Johnson County. In effect, the rebate that was promised was taken away by the county appraiser, who raised the taxes I paid on my house by nearly exactly the amount I received from the federal government.
“Re-appraisal,” they called it. Legal robbery, I call it.
If, as Republicans say, it’s my money, why couldn’t I have a chance to keep it?
Michael Knight
Fairway
In response to Betty Heath (8/28, Letters, “Age and sexuality”), I did a modest bit of research myself and cannot find any commandment that starts, “Thou shalt not...” and continues on to ban sex.
Some extrapolate the commandment against adultery to cover all sex outside of marriage, and still others take it to ridiculous extremes (such as masturbation and fantasy), but that’s not what adultery means.
Betty, do you remember being a teenager? You were undoubtedly a sexual being. You had sexual thoughts, and you probably acted upon them. You are, after all, a mammal, and our primary biological imperative is to reproduce. Those hormones are strong for a reason!
So, as a thinking and compassionate society, do we embrace our sexuality, teaching our young ones how to avoid the pitfalls and enjoy the positive aspects in a supportive and healthy atmosphere? Or do we try to psychologically associate this powerful biological urge with imaginary hellfire and damnation (yet simultaneously with wealth and power via the media), and feed them misinformation contrary to scientific knowledge, causing lifelong confusion, frustration and self-revulsion?
Looks like a no-brainer to me.
Katje Sabin
Kansas City
As I see it, people should be far more concerned about children having sex than about seniors having sex (8/23, A-1, “Age doesn’t dim sexual intimacy, study finds; It remains a regular part of life for Americans in their 70s and even 80s, medical journal reports”).
It seems that in the young population — age 12 to, say, 18 — there are very few who think there is anything wrong with having sex with as many partners as they want to.
I just wonder what part of “Thou shalt not…” do they not understand? Venereal disease, unwanted pregnancies, abortions. People, and not just adults, have been subjected to sex so much that nothing shocks them anymore. And that is our fault.
Betty Heath
Kansas City
Oh, for crying out loud! Once again, I am subjected to the connotive use of the word “grandmother” as a white-haired, little old lady, completely harmless (and maybe even a little daft).
Oh, come now, wasn’t that the image conjured in your mind when you read Thomas Friedman’s June 1 column, wherein Haleh Esfandiari was described no less than four times as a “grandmother” (Opinion, “Insecure Iranian regime is tough on grandmas”)? Her husband was mentioned once, but we were given no information on his status as a grandparent.
I find this blatant stereotyping of elderly women extremely offensive.
Mr. Friedman’s point would seem to be that it’s ridiculous and paranoid to consider her guilty of espionage, because, after all, she’s a “grandmother.” His use of this word has nothing whatever to do with the fact that this woman has grandchildren; rather, everything to do with his implication of the diminished physical and mental faculties of women, especially as they grow older. What’s next — so easy a grandmother can do it?
Mary Schopper
Gladstone
Change takes commitment
I read with sorrow Sunday’s Associated Press story about Kansas Neurological Institute and the alarming results of the Department of Aging survey (9/17, A-1, “State survey details injuries and neglect”). While I am appalled by the events described in the survey, I have to dispute the idea expressed in the last paragraph that these problems are typical of those found in large multi-bed institutions.
“Replacing large hospitals with individualized treatment in community settings” as suggested in your story sounds like a great idea but doesn’t seem possible in a society that has abdicated its responsibility to education in general and can’t or won’t provide the assets needed to protect our most vulnerable citizens, institutionalized or not.
KNI’s problems can and do occur in nursing homes, hospitals, schools, day-care centers and private homes. They can and should be fixed. Nothing would be gained and much would be lost by closing KNI. As a former director of public information at KNI, I have nothing but respect and fond memories for the residents and the employees who care for them.
Kathy Hall Tomei
Overland Park
Consequences, not retraining
I am writing regarding the article that appeared in your Sunday edition reporting on the incidents of abuse and neglect at the Kansas Neurological Institute.
Perhaps the institute’s superintendent, Ray Dalton, could elaborate on precisely what method of training he felt was sufficient to “re-educate” the caregivers who intentionally harmed their patient by giving him hot sauce and then laughed at his suffering?
I’d be interested in knowing how Dalton trained that level of cruelty out of those employees.
This was gross abuse and depraved indifference, and the caregivers who perpetrated the act should have been fired and prevented from ever again working in direct patient care.
Kansas Department of Aging spokesperson Barbara Conant commented that the findings were “very serious.” In my opinion, that is an understatement. This situation was sickening and needs to be dealt with more harshly than it apparently was.
Jessica Jaffari
Jeffeson City
Thank you for Rick Montgomery’s “Warning: Watch out for boomers” (7/16, A-1). He capably outlines positive and negative implications for an aging population. What seems to be missing is a sense of urgency with respect to local challenges.
Unless we get busy now, Kansas City will not be prepared to deal with the potentially calamitous impact of a huge demographic shift over the next 20 years, nor will we be positioned to take advantage of resulting rich opportunities
The Foundation on Aging, a local nonprofit organization, believes growing older means living with dignity and choice. It also believes in the power of community to effect change. Through the good offices of Kansas Congressman Dennis Moore and the Administration on Aging, the foundation was awarded a grant to work with community partners to prepare a regional strategic plan for aging.
Scheduled for release in September, the plan was developed based on metrowide input. It contains innovative proposals to deal with challenges facing our rapidly aging population: transportation, care giving, housing, civic engagement and public awareness.
By working together, we can prepare to meet these challenges and to make Kansas City a national model for addressing life-stage issues and a great place to grow older.
Daniel H. Stern
Board member, Foundation on Aging
Leawood
