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Maine’s ‘Lobster Lady’ who fished for nearly a century dies aged 105

theguardian.com

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Re: Maine’s ‘Lobster Lady’ who fished for nearly a century dies aged 105

#41

Post by parpfish »

bell-cot wrote: post #18
ulf-77723 wrote: post #13

The article states that a raising amount of people in the US still work, albeit their age and it feels a little strange to me. Ginny, probably got so old because she was working and had a purpose every day. Being 100 and still capable of working is a blessing

> Being 100 and still capable of working is a blessing A much under-appreciated blessing. At any age. Over the past half-ish century, I've visited any number of elderly relatives and friends who were living in the US's long-term care facilities. However bright the decor, or kind the care staff - there is a very bleak "people whose ability to do anything useful has died, waiting for the rest of death" aura to them.

Over my life I have learned “you must be useful to be valued” and I’m desperately trying to unlearn it.

Reason one is that I should learn to chill out and relax.

Reason two is that I know old age will hit me very hard once I feel “useless” and I should prepare for that

Re: Maine’s ‘Lobster Lady’ who fished for nearly a century dies aged 105

#42

Post by hackeraccount »

Aeolun wrote: post #6
havaloc wrote: post #2

It always seems it's a fall that ends it, I wonder if she could have made 100 years on the water if she hadn't fell. What an inspiring life!

It’s not the fall. It’s the enforced idleness afterwards.

Yeah. My Grandmother lived a pretty long time but she had a boarder named Lillian who at 95 was still walking 2 or 3 miles to the store every day. One day her daughter gave her a lift and managed to get into a fairly minor accident. (My Dad claimed that the daughter was herself too old to be driving.)

Anyhow Lillian broke an ankle. Went to hospital. And there was some complication. And then another. And 2 weeks later she's passed away, never having gotten out of the hospital.

I think people - especially when you're old - are more like sharks then not. If you don't keep moving nothing good happens.

Re: Maine’s ‘Lobster Lady’ who fished for nearly a century dies aged 105

#43

Post by gwbas1c »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #38

I just lost my Mom, at 97. We would go to lunch on Tuesday and then grocery shopping. She'd talk of the family and where they all were and what they were doing - it was MY day to catch up. The last Tuesday we got back and she said "That was too hard. I think that was the last one." I agreed, and thought I'd call her next tuesday just the same and see if she'd changed her mind. But there was no 'next tuesday'. Anyway,…

They seem to know.

After my mother passed, I found an old essay talking about when her father (my grandfather) passed. She wrote that the last time we saw him, he seemed to know something was up, and then died that night.

My other grandfather figured it out after a blood test determined that he only had a few days left. His kids (including my dad) weren't going to tell him. He was 102 and otherwise healthy. Then, he wheeled himself across the nursing home into the meeting with the social worker, and announced the funeral home, church, and cemetery that his arrangements were with. He had such a big smile too. He "won" and couldn't ask for anything more.

Re: Maine’s ‘Lobster Lady’ who fished for nearly a century dies aged 105

#44

Post by dfxm12 »

ulf-77723 wrote: post #13

The article states that a raising amount of people in the US still work, albeit their age and it feels a little strange to me. Ginny, probably got so old because she was working and had a purpose every day. Being 100 and still capable of working is a blessing

growing number of Americans who extend their working days well past the typical retirement age as the cost of living in the US has soared, wages have stagnated and many therefore have been unable to save.

Calling this a blessing in the larger context is unconscionable. The USA is the richest country in the world. If someone needs to work into their 100s, it is a sign of failure from our political leaders.

Additionally, "working" and "having a purpose" should not be conflated like this. These are separate things.

Re: Maine’s ‘Lobster Lady’ who fished for nearly a century dies aged 105

#45

Post by kakacik »

parpfish wrote: post #41
bell-cot wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Being 100 and still capable of working is a blessing A much under-appreciated blessing. At any age. Over the past half-ish century, I've visited any number of elderly relatives and friends who were living in the US's long-term care facilities. However bright the decor, or kind the care staff - there is a very bleak "people whose ability to do anything useful has died, waiting for the rest of death" aura to them.

Over my life I have learned “you must be useful to be valued” and I’m desperately trying to unlearn it. Reason one is that I should learn to chill out and relax. Reason two is that I know old age will hit me very hard once I feel “useless” and I should prepare for that

People can be properly useful till their last moment. Caring friend, loving reliable family member - those mean endlessly more than some senior position in some corporation that come and go and with enough distance to see things are mostly meaningless.

You don't need to rewire your core, just look things from right perspective.

Re: Maine’s ‘Lobster Lady’ who fished for nearly a century dies aged 105

#46

Post by complianceowl »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #38

I just lost my Mom, at 97. We would go to lunch on Tuesday and then grocery shopping. She'd talk of the family and where they all were and what they were doing - it was MY day to catch up. The last Tuesday we got back and she said "That was too hard. I think that was the last one." I agreed, and thought I'd call her next tuesday just the same and see if she'd changed her mind. But there was no 'next tuesday'. Anyway,…

[dead]

Re: Maine’s ‘Lobster Lady’ who fished for nearly a century dies aged 105

#47

Post by aaronax »

delichon wrote: post #20
julian_t wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some people lived through amazing change. My grandmother was born in the late 1890s in rural Wales, and died at 95. She remembered electricity coming to her village and the visit of the first motor car, the arrival of radio and telephones. She saw men land on the moon and towards the end of her life went to the USA on a 747. Yet when she was a girl she lived with older farm workers who had never been more than ten mi…

My grandfather was born in the 1890s. He watched the first moon landing with us. He had tears in his eyes and said "when I was a boy I carried flint and steel to start a fire".

When I was a boy I had to call the library to get the definition of a word that was not in my family's dictionary. 39 years old now.

Re: Maine’s ‘Lobster Lady’ who fished for nearly a century dies aged 105

#48

Post by 0xdeadbeefbabe »

parpfish wrote: post #41
bell-cot wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Being 100 and still capable of working is a blessing A much under-appreciated blessing. At any age. Over the past half-ish century, I've visited any number of elderly relatives and friends who were living in the US's long-term care facilities. However bright the decor, or kind the care staff - there is a very bleak "people whose ability to do anything useful has died, waiting for the rest of death" aura to them.

Over my life I have learned “you must be useful to be valued” and I’m desperately trying to unlearn it. Reason one is that I should learn to chill out and relax. Reason two is that I know old age will hit me very hard once I feel “useless” and I should prepare for that

Why not learn how to catch lobsters?

Re: Maine’s ‘Lobster Lady’ who fished for nearly a century dies aged 105

#49

Post by bloppe »

dfxm12 wrote: post #44
ulf-77723 wrote: post #13

The article states that a raising amount of people in the US still work, albeit their age and it feels a little strange to me. Ginny, probably got so old because she was working and had a purpose every day. Being 100 and still capable of working is a blessing

growing number of Americans who extend their working days well past the typical retirement age as the cost of living in the US has soared, wages have stagnated and many therefore have been unable to save. Calling this a blessing in the larger context is unconscionable. The USA is the richest country in the world. If someone needs to work into their 100s, it is a sign of failure from our political leaders. Additionall…

I agree that it's unconscionable to consign a centenarian to unwanted labor, but the article says this is not the case for Ginny.

Also, wages in the US have not stagnated at all. Wage growth in the poorest quartile has outpaced inflation and that of the other 3 quartiles.

Perhaps this is a bit of projection by the British Guardian.

Re: Maine’s ‘Lobster Lady’ who fished for nearly a century dies aged 105

#50

Post by bell-cot »

parpfish wrote: post #41
bell-cot wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Being 100 and still capable of working is a blessing A much under-appreciated blessing. At any age. Over the past half-ish century, I've visited any number of elderly relatives and friends who were living in the US's long-term care facilities. However bright the decor, or kind the care staff - there is a very bleak "people whose ability to do anything useful has died, waiting for the rest of death" aura to them.

Over my life I have learned “you must be useful to be valued” and I’m desperately trying to unlearn it. Reason one is that I should learn to chill out and relax. Reason two is that I know old age will hit me very hard once I feel “useless” and I should prepare for that

Yes. But there is a very long and winding gray spectrum between a belligerently entitled layabout, and "your daily work output no longer excuses your continued consumption of our oxygen, meatbag".
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