Retirement Talk
WHAT to do with the rest of your life? |
|
|
Episode 164 No One to Talk To
“We don’t talk to anyone”, said Rena, a nine-three year old
friend. We were sharing a dinner at a mutual friends house with his 85 year old
mother. Both of these women are now living in an extended care facility. My
friend likes to get his mother and former neighbor out for dinner often. They
come to his house. But these older folks are living a daily life of silence.
This is Retirement Talk. I’m Del Lowery.
I guess their life is not really being lived in silence, but
it is being lived with no one who will listen to them. There is sound in their
lives: television and the hum of staff moving throughout the facility. But
there are no conversations between residents. There are no jokes. There are no
stories. There is a dismal silence hanging over the halls and rooms. Even the
well-lit and well-furnished dinning room is blandly silent. Four people sit at
small tables where conversation should be happening, but it isn’t.
I’ve noticed the same silence in my local coffee shop among
the elderly. They sit alone and gaze out the window. After engaging several in
conversation over the years one problem is obvious. They are starved for
someone to listen to them. It’s the same for folks in the extended care
facility.
I have had parents and several friends pass through this
phase of life. Several of them have been very articulate, well read, and
engaging. Others have been more withdrawn and limited with stories that
continual repeat themselves as if in a loop. It is difficult to engage them in
conversation because of the repetitive stories that always start and stop in
the same place. It is also sad to avoid such situations and leave the elderly
in their solitary silence.
Hearing has a way of becoming difficult for many in later
life. This also affects the willingness of others to engage in
conversation. The volume has to be
cranked up and requires extra effort to an extent that it can be tiring and
eventually exhausting. At the end of the day; living in a silent world seems to
be the fate of many in their later years.
What to do? Of course every effort can be made to engage in
straightforward conversation, but that seems to have definite limits. I heard
of a technological innovation that holds some promise of relief for the
situation: Computers that feel like dogs, hear like people, and talk in
whatever dialect you choose.
I’m not sure how to tell this story since it seems a bit
far-fetched. But I think there is a real possibility that it will become a
reality. The story came to me via a radio program that focuses on technology.
Speech recognition technology is getting better fast. It
continually feeds on itself getting faster and faster. Many voice machines are
now activated by the human voice. They recognize speech. Computer chips are
becoming smaller and much more powerful. They can store immeasurable reams of
data. They can present photos to us and include information as to who is in the
picture, the time and date the photo was taken and the place. By crushing all
of this information together a system will arise that can listen to you talk
and respond in a rational fashion. It could become your, “friend”. Someone who
listens to you and responds with suggestions, follow up questions, pictures and
stories of your past or stories related to your stories.
Now that I write that, it doesn’t seem so very far-fetched.
We already have much of this type of technological gadgetry. My “facebook page”
is forever suggesting that I contact someone I haven’t even heard from in 50
years. It suggests photos for me to view, and articles for me to read. It
doesn’t talk to me but I’m sure it will soon and probably could right now if I
had the right programs or applications installed.
The expert on the radio show said that the “thing” could be
covered in fur and sit in ones lap just like a laptop, or, just like a dog. You
know how they always say that people are happiest if they have a pet to stroke
and talk too. Well, that could be this new machine. It would give new meaning
to the word, “lapdog”.
Well, it is hard to believe but I find it not much of a
stretch at all. If we find these things at our local electronics store in my
lifetime I’m sure I will be anxious to try them.
In the mean time I think I will reconsider the need from
some of my older friends for good listeners.
This is Retirement Talk.
A resource from a listener: Best Free Online Degrees for Seniors guide is designed to assist seniors who aspire to enhance their intellect or consider starting a new career path. It features an overview of the top online degrees for seniors, emphasizing their numerous advantages, and a broad range of subjects to choose from.
A friend's website: Terra Firma Designs: Fine Furniture, Stained Glass and woodworking workshops.
Copyright 2010 RetirementTalk.org
|
|
