Over-50

Frank Lautenberg: How old is too old?

Entrenched New Jersey politico Frank Lautenberg is being challenged.  The issue is his age.  Lautenberg is 89 and even those who have supported him in the past and present wonder about his ability to do the heavy lifting a U.S. Senator has to do in the future.

POLITICO reports that the Quinnipiac poll shows that Newark Mayor Cory Booker has the edge for the 2014 election, at least right now.  Those interviewed favor Booker.  The issue is how old is too old for public office.

That's what responsible professionals have to ask themselves.  It's not a pretty issue.  For example, I wonder if a plum full time position were offered to me if I still have the endurance to put in 80 or more hours weekly on a sustained basis and perhaps have to factor in travel.  Currently I put a lot of hours and do travel but, because I am self employed, can configure my schedule for "recovery" time. After two sets of grim deadlines, I only put in a few hours yesterday, went to my zen meditation practice for two hours, and slept this morning until almost 9 A.M.

How old is too old is not only an issue for voters and organizations.  It's also an ethical one for us to pose to ourselves before we tell the world we can take on a new challenge.

Daniel Inouye: The over-50 lose another giant

Daniel Inouye fought for the country in World War II which put his fellow Japanese-Americans in interment camps.  He didn't hold a resentment, although he certainly had the right to. 

Today, Inouye died at the age of 88.  His war career was behind him and what most will remember will be his commitment to the U.S. Senate.

One tragedy of aging is losing the giants who showed us how to be our better selves.  When they are all gone, who will deter us from our innate Baby Boomer self involvement?

Animal Adoptions: Those over-70 are starting new pet families

The ethical issue bouncing around "senior" circles has been if we should start another pet family after our last animal companion passes over.  I live in a senior citizen complex of 1400 units so I have a big sample to informally poll.  Until recently, most of those I spoke to said that when the last pet dies, that's that.  No more pets.  The loss is so painful and the daily upkeep expensive.

Then new findings have been coming in.  The woman who moved here from the south after her company cut her loose at 62 from her management job has added a second dog.  She couldn't be happier.  The couple in my building just lost their cat.  Today at 4:30 P.M. they are meeting up with the siamese cat rescue group to bring home two seven year cats whose reproduction days are over. The woman who had adopted them had a baby and that baby is allergic to cats.

This trend is wonderful news for all the animal companions which need homes. Meanwhile, every evening at 9:15 a resident of five buildings over goes to a sheltered part of the complex to feed, nurture, and administer medications to six strays.  She already had had them neutered and spayed.

Over-70: Starting a new pet family

Sure, in our wills we can specify how our animal companions should be treated.  But people are people and they might or not do right by our pets.  So, as we age more of us are deciding not to start a new pet family when our current animal companions pass over. 

As THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE reports, Bob Vetere, president of the American Pet Products Association, wants to change that trend.  He is promoting, for example, the health benefits of having pets, especially after 70. 

Jerry Sandusky's Conviction: Victory for every Baby Boomer molested when society played innocent

Jerry Sandusky liked boys.  But he could have liked girls.  So many of us Baby Boomer females were prey to his kind.  The men who molested us were respected, so much so that instinctly we knew not to tell.  We also knew that if we did tell in those Eisenhower days of innocence no one would believe us.  They were struggling to regain some sense of normalcy  after a global economic depression and a world war.  The prevailing meme was happy talk.

It wasn't until I was in therapy at the age of 58 (Download Geezerguts) that someone, anyone had asked me if I had been molested. That requires some special kind of healing.  My heart goes out to "Sandusky's Boys."

Matthew Kluger, 51, Won't Have to Worry about Finding Work

In midlife, the only worry is not just finding work.  Lawyer Matthew Kluger, 51 who had worked at brandname firms such as Skadden, Arps, will be a guest of the state for 12 years.  Federal Judge Katherine Hayden, who sentenced him for insider trading, sent a strong message that those who undermine trust in the system will receive severe punishment, reports Bloomberg. 

This shows us the smart business sense of following our boy scout (and girl scout) ethics.  Most of us don't understand the law as much as lawyers like Kluger to cook up schemes on how to break it to gain a monetary advantage.  But even if we did we simply aren't programmed to do that. 

As business continues to pick up for some of us, it's a relief that we can take advantage of our ethical and legal opportunities and not lose it all to a 12 year sentence in the slammer.

Greg Smith: Made it big, can bring it all down

Once you've made it or lost it, you are positioned to cross that line from ordinary professional to hero.  Having made it big on Wall Street, Greg Smith had the option of outing his former employer Goldman Sachs as not giving a damn about investors.  He did that in the influential THE NEW YORK TIMES. 

Wall Street will feel the blow.  Just how much an effect Smith will have depends on how well and how quickly the spin masters can address and neutralize his contentions. 

The point is that we aging professionals are in the catbird seat to become game-changers.   It's our call if we want to become heroes or not.

When Revolutions Happened in Person

During the Counterculture, we had to show up in person to be heard.  Now, we can become part of the bottom-up movement from our laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

The word is out that Citibank played cute with customers.  I took a look at that for financial information company Motley Fool.  Here you can read all about it.

Occupy Wall Street: Maybe not staying power of counterculture

We grew up and joined the establishment.  But not before we were re-educated in values by the counterculture leaders.  We brought those ideas about how it should be into our work.  No surprise, many of us became independent contractors because we wanted to shape our professional life.

The counterculture messages took because the movement endured, at least until the grim early 1970s recession.  With beads and free concerts and plenty of post-pill sex, leadership knew how to address all the pleasure points to have us hang around.

Not so with Occupy Wall Street.  The chill has come to air.  How may will hang out in tents, even if they wanted to.  Also the economy is picking up, with 2.5% GDP growth projected for 2012.  So, it's no surprise that OWS's performance art on New Year's eve at Zuccotti Park fell flat.  In NEW YORK Magazine, Azriel James Relph reports there were only 500 participants.  About 68 were arrested.

Instead of OWS, we might embrace Rick Santorum, who combines the reality of Blue Collar values with establishment know-how.

Bosses [Clients Too]: When they're not doing so hot

It happens - and is happening more often in this turbulent economy - that the boss or the client is in trouble.  The issue directly impacts us because our income is dependant, in whole or part, on that authority figure.  In BLOOMBERG BUSINESS WEEK, Liz Ryan covers that sensitive matter.

The focus here, unless we are a type of Mother Teresa, is how we are to navigate the situation, w/o harm to ourselves.  There's usually peril in attempting to "help" the boss or client with strategic or tactical guidance.  Sure there are times they request that, but, as most of us know from experience, anything we do or say can blow up in our face.  The best course of action is to recommend calling in a consultant.

For self-survival, we remain in public and private loyal.  No chatting up the situation with anyone in the loop.  We do what we are assigned to do.  We ask the boss or client if there is anything else we could be doing.  And we present ourselves in a positive light to those who could "save" us if the current regime falls and/or help open other opportunities for us.

Of course, we nose around for what's out there in terms of full-time, part-time, and/or consulting assignments.  If this is a client, you bet we scramble to replace that account.  In most cases, the business is a good-bye.  We the vendor are perceived as tainted goods and when the client is gone so are we.

This is not a time for compassion.  It's save-our-own source of income.