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Article: STAYING SHARP MAINTAINING GOOD MENTAL HEALTH VITAL AS WE AGE
- Article from:
- Evansville Courier & Press (2007-Current)
- Article date:
- June 29, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 Evansville Courier & Press (2007-Current). Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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It is probably safe to say that the Baby Boom generation, the
first wave of which is just now contemplating senior citizenship,
will follow the words that poet Dylan Thomas wrote to his dying
father: "Do not go gentle into that good night."
But raging against the dying of the light, as Thomas urged his
father to do, is going to mean "a significant shift in the paradigm
about what it means to get older in this culture," said Kathy
Elpers, associate professor of social work at University of Southern
Indiana.
Aging in our culture historically has meant decline. Turning 65
and retiring has signaled the end of a productive life - of being
"put out to pasture," said Elpers, who teaches courses in ...