August 2013 - My New Old Self

Ageism hits a new low in South Africa

Aug

29

2013

A billboard on a Johannesburg highway has been condemned for dissing the elderly. Part of a campaign for the country’s newest all-news channel, it proclaims “We aren’t old farts”. Then in brackets: “(Nah, not even our presenters)”. Next to these words is a photo of a white-haired gentleman. It is not clear who he ...

A Triumph of Aging 1

Aug

26

2013

If a triumph of aging is to finally do what you really want, without regard for what others may think, then Louisa Jo Killen went to her grave triumphant. Born Louis Killen in 1934, he spent 76 years as a male, most as a respected British folk singer with a notable period as a Clancy ...

Memoir, Autobiography or Life Review 1

Aug

20

2013

The Sankofa bird of Ghanaian myth flies forward to the future while looking back at the past. “We look back to move forward.” – West African proverb Many cultures encourage an effort to understand how the past shapes our lives. In the Akan language of Ghana this process is known as Sankofa, symbolized by ...

To Long-Surviving Left-handers

Aug

13

2013

Is it tough being left in a right-dominated world? If you’re left-handed, have you felt inconvenienced throughout your life? Have you ever been a victim of rightist discrimination? But what My New Old Self really wants to know is whether it is harder to survive into old age as a lefty? There have been surveys ...

Posers Beware

Aug

7

2013

Here’s a tip for when you next find yourself facing a camera: think before you strike a pose. This advice popped into My New Old Head when I saw the last white president of South Africa, aged 77, posing for a media campaign called 21 Icons. Barefoot and wearing a suit and tie, he ...