At 93, Bill Saltzer is still an active man. Up until last winter, he was living alone in the house he had shared with his wife until she passed away several years ago. But his children were worried about him and had been urging him to move into an assisted living facility. He fell while shoveling and hurt his back. After that, he decided maybe his kids were right. In the latest episode of Conversations About Aging, a Catching Health special series, he talks about his decision to move and what it’s been like for him. He also reminisces about his time in the Marines during World War II.
Listen to my conversation with Bill
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Read a transcript of our conversation
A few pictures
Who’s next?
Conversations About Aging airs every other Monday. My next conversation is with Mary Hamblen, who’s 98 and living in the same assisted living facility in Gorham as Bill Saltzer. She moved in, primarily, because she has macular degeneration and it was getting harder to see. Mary is originally from Westbrook, Maine and it was fun for me to learn that the last house she lived in used to belong to a relative of mine. She had a lot of great memories to share about Westbrook. She also talked about the challenges of losing your eyesight but trying to make the best of it. And wait until you hear what kind of car she used to drive … at the age of 90!
Suggestions?
If you have any suggestions for people I should consider interviewing or you’re aware of a helpful aging resource in your community, let me know. In addition to the podcast, I intend to blog about what various communities, organizations, and individuals are doing to provide age-friendly services, support, and connection here in Maine. The best way to get in touch is to send me an email. Thank you!
Please share the podcast with friends, family, on social media, everywhere. You’re also welcome to become a member of our Facebook group Conversations About Aging.
It seems I have been avoiding thinking about getting older. Now that I am 65 I can’t get around it. The question becomes how to live life fully, be healthy, and prepare for what’s ahead. You can only prepare so much for what might come. At this time for my husband Thomas and me, a pension is not enough, and I am still at the point of making my dream come true as an artist. It’s how to hang on to our home. How to pay taxes. This means I need to hustle because my husband can’t. It is hard to because my children are not local. I have a wonderful field of Daisy’s all about my house because we don’t have the belt on the lawnmower. This has called in a Cooper Hawk who loves the lawn as is because it means a possible lunch for him or her. And we have an owl and groundhog I am less pleased with so the hawk is welcome. That sounds mercenary. The lack of mowing because Thomas can’t, and I was away for two years helping my daughter get her LPN. She could not do it without help because of her son having Diabetes 1. That left Thomas alone and working. Now I am back I work to sell my art work___ I have to set aside the things that concern me to function and have hope. And it can be lonely for want of seeing kids who are busy with all they do. The world slows down when you’re older into a different pace, and it becomes a matter of what can I do at this point in time to be viable and have interest in life, how do I make freinds?