Fairness Gene?

The road to my local grocery store is closed for a few weeks, causing me to have to take a detour--which takes me right past "Roland's Golden Memories Retirement Club". There ain't no "club" about it, folks. It's a home. Be it assisted living, nursing, or whatever, it's a place where old people go to live because they can't live on their own anymore. And it makes me angry. Whoever named the place has done a horrible disservice to the aging!

Retirement club? C'mon people! Who are you trying to kid? A club is a place where people choose to go to have a good time with other people of the same interests. It's not a place to live just to be where employees are paid to take care of you because you can't do it anymore. And this particular place is also not just a "club" for retirees. It's a euphemism for invalids and old age, and living out your last days/weeks/months/years. (Pick one.) We no longer refer to places as "old folks' homes" or "nursing homes" because they have negative connotations, but calling a place a "retirment club" just smacks of condescension, and I hate it. "There, there, Grandma. We don't want you to feel bad about where we are sending you, so we'll just call it a retirement club." Ooookay.

What offends me more, however, is the "Golden Memories" part. The implication is that people who live to a ripe old age have only memories left. They are no longer productive members of society, so let's talk about their lives as if living in the past--the memories of what they no longer can do or have. GOLDEN memories...the good old days. What an insult! If I get to the point at which all I have to live for are my golden memories, just shoot me. If I can't contribute something to my community or my family, there is no longer any need for me to stay alive. I admit that I write much in this blog about my past experiences, mostly as a history for my daughter and grandchildren, but not as if that's all I have left. I try not to be a complainer, but honestly, MANY of my memories are FAR from golden. Many of them hurt like hell and can cause me to weep years and years later.

Perhaps Roland's is trying to imply that their institution hopes to supply golden memories for old folks in their waning years. Maybe I'm just being too sensitive. I always have had an overgrown fairness gene. I have no qualms about the need for such places--just what they are called. I'm not resisting growing old, myself....just resenting it. Society already shows a zillion times over that we "seniors" no longer count. I just hate seeing it on a sign outside a building that houses old people! I think we should start calling the hereafter "God's Heavenly Retirement Club". (BYOB!)