Dr. Steve Mason

“We make some of our greatest gains when we see old things in new ways.”

Contact Dr. Mason by email at drsbmason@aol.com

Single Seniors

Since Baby Boomers have now become senior citizens, there’s a problem that didn’t exist generations ago.  How do mature individuals go about meeting other mature individuals for love and/or companionship?

The good news for women is that they live longer.  That’s also the bad news.  There are many more women looking for men than vice versa.  And because males fall apart sooner, there’s now the concept of a nurse with a purse.  How many new brides past retirement age suddenly find themselves reemployed as caregivers?  Why this should be so isn’t known.  Do men work harder and so wear out sooner?  Or maybe they live more recklessly…not attending to their health while driving faster, smoking more and drinking to excess.  Or perhaps it’s because females are Mother Nature’s default position?  Embryos start out female so males are a kind of hybrid and maybe just naturally doomed to a shorter, less healthy life.

Anyway, all that aside, how do older ladies go about meeting older gentlemen?  One tip is to look around for possible mates only when you’re doing something you truly enjoy.  If you like cats and antiques, keep your eyes open at cat shows and antique shops.  That way you’ll already have something in common with anyone you meet.  Of course you’ll see lots of men at a baseball game but how much do you really want to learn about batting averages and stolen bases?  One woman told me that because men seem happiest around food, she never misses an opportunity to sit near one at an eatery and ask about the chicken.

Then too, you might want to consider visiting areas with high male to female ratios.  Alaska comes to mind but so do snow drifts and polar bears.  After visiting up north, one lady told me the odds are good but the goods are odd.  Considering such cultural differences, my friend in Brittan (author Anthony Pardoe) tells me that while the ratio isn’t all that good, the society is such that it’s hard to meet available women.  My wife, who knows about such things, says Tony is a real catch.  Tall and handsome with humor and a full head of hair, he can fix a roof, iron a shirt, play a tune and do a dance.  Unfortunately, in the UK, mature women learned that grandmothers didn’t try to meet grandfathers.  It simply isn’t proper.

Of course, match making has now become big business complete with singles’ cruises, on-line chat sites and, of course, senior newspapers with PERSONALS for Men and for Women.  But while it may have gotten more professional, don’t let anyone tell you it’s gotten any easier.  Past a certain age the women still outnumber the men and because the male of the species isn’t much rewarded for acquiring social skills, the pickings can be slim.  For that reason, carrying a casserole to a widower might make sense.  At least you know he’s been house broken.

And should you think I’m taking this lightly or that my approach is flippant, you’re dead wrong.  I can trot out all sorts of statistics showing that most humans do best and feel best when they’re in a happy relationship.  But who would doubt that?

Look At It This Way

It’s been said that a woman can manage much better without a man than vice versa.  I can’t disagree.  I was between wives once for about six minutes and didn’t like it at all.  So if you’re a woman on the loose (AWOL) and content with your situation, don’t let anyone talk you out of it or tell you about what you really need in your life.