Published: June 25, 2008 04:52 pm         

Study: Senior citizens not as grumpy as you think

Mt. Olive Senior News by Dixie Kuykendall

The North Jefferson News



As reported in the June 2008 issue of Senior Journal, the accepted images of senior citizens being grumpy old men and women was challenged by the release of new research showing these older people are just as happy with their social lives as are the youngest adults.

This research, examining the links between people’s age and their social satisfaction, has turned up some surprising results. The younger adults engaged in a lot more social activities, but were no happier with their social lives than older adults.

The report states that despite older people engaging in fewer social activities with others and spending more time alone each day, they are just as socially satisfied as their younger counterparts.

The reason for this social resilience seems to rest with how older and younger adults perceive their social activities. Research suggests that if a young person and an old person have the same experience, the older adult is likely to find it more uplifting.

Older adults appear to see the good things in life more easily and are less likely to be upset by the little things that go wrong. As a consequence, their daily experiences bring them just as much satisfaction as younger adults, even if they have lost friends or a spouse, or if they can no longer get out as much as they would like.

This may be the wisdom of aging, the ability to experience everyday life as uplifting.

Or, perhaps we have just learned to count our blessings!



Mt. Olive special senior

Certainly never could be called a “grumpy old man,” Ned Tankersley can always be found smiling.

A long time resident of Mt. Olive, his love is gardening and he is quite good at it. He can always earn a “thank you” hug from the ladies for his fresh produce.

He says that he is a farmer at heart. A special memory he has is when he was called on to teach World War II Veterans “on the farm” training in Cullman County.

Ned worked many years as a Railway Mail Clerk and served as postmaster in Mt. Olive for 11 years. He lost his wife of 56 years in 2002. He enjoys his son and daughter and four grandchildren.

At the young age of 86, Ned keeps busy — he attends Beachwood Baptist church and serves on the board of the Mt. Olive Community Center. He also enjoys water exercise with the senior group at Jefferson State.

When asked what he likes about the senior center, he quickly replied, “I don’t have to fix my own lunch!”