{"id":4979,"date":"2018-07-28T08:46:52","date_gmt":"2018-07-28T12:46:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.silvercentury.org\/?p=4979"},"modified":"2018-08-01T14:07:42","modified_gmt":"2018-08-01T18:07:42","slug":"theyve-still-got-bucket-lists-in-their-90s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/2018\/07\/theyve-still-got-bucket-lists-in-their-90s\/","title":{"rendered":"They\u2019ve Still Got Bucket Lists\u2014in Their 90s"},"content":{"rendered":"

Perhaps there are things you always hoped to do but never got around to, and now you\u2019re thinking it\u2019s too late. Maybe not. In this article for<\/em> Kaiser Health News<\/a> (KHN), journalist Bruce Horovitz interviews two women\u2014both in their 90s\u2014who got the chance to make their own long-ago wishes come true. KHN posted Horowitz\u2019s piece on June 5, 2017; it also ran in<\/em> USA Today.<\/p>\n

It is one thing to have a bucket list at any age. It is something else entirely to have a bucket list that sends you to college for the first time at 92\u2014or that sends you on your maiden flight at the controls of a single-engine airplane at 97.<\/p>\n

These are the bucket list accomplishments of Cecile Tegler (92) and Mildred \u201cMilly\u201d Reeves (97). And neither of them is done yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never even thought about having a bucket list,\u201d said Reeves, a resident at Mount View Assisted Living in Lockport, NY, who became familiar with the insides of airplanes in her 20s, when she was a small-parts inspector for Bell Aircraft during World War II. After the war ended, she stayed home and had seven daughters\u2014so the notion of ever flying a plane solo grew increasingly distant.<\/p>\n

Nor had Tegler, her friend and fellow resident at Mount View, ever created a real bucket list. What she did have, however, was an urge to go to college, since her folks\u2014who had to support their own parents\u2014didn\u2019t have the money to pay for college when she was in her late teens. Both of Tegler\u2019s daughters graduated from college, but she never imagined that she could go to college too.<\/p>\n

Within the past year\u2014because of unusual outreach efforts by staff at the assisted living community where they both live\u2014Tegler attended a community college, where she finally learned how to use and operate a computer. And Reeves took the controls of an airplane and flew it, on her own, for about 15 minutes. Whether or not these are actual bucket list items, they are accomplishments that have spurred both women to set even more goals.<\/p>\n

Young people dream and old people remember. The goal of the bucket list is to give them something to dream about.<\/strong><\/p>\n

— David Tosetto<\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/b><\/b>It stands to reason that bucket lists\u2014specific life goals to accomplish before dying\u2014are more popular as Americans live longer and find they have more time on their hands.<\/p>\n

Such goals don\u2019t have to be about flying airplanes or entering college in your 90s. Sometimes, bucket lists that focus on helping others can be the most effective. That, at least, was the plot line of the 2007 film, The Bucket List<\/em>, starring Jack Nicholson as an eccentric billionaire who finds himself sharing a hospital room with a car mechanic played by Morgan Freeman. Both men suffer terminal illnesses but opt to complete their lifetime bucket lists together\u2014only to discover their new friendship tops the list.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best bucket lists aren\u2019t usually about skydiving or climbing the Great Wall of China,\u201d said Marc Agronin, a geriatric psychiatrist who is vice president for behavioral health and clinical research at Miami Jewish Health Systems in Miami. \u201cOur bucket lists need to be in line with our core values.\u201d He suggests that people simply look around and see the riches they have and the potential for adventure right in their own communities.<\/p>\n

Reeves, whose grandson eagerly came along with her on her maiden flight<\/a> to capture the moment on video, totally gets that. She said that she took as much\u2014if not more\u2014pleasure in her grandson coming along for the ride as she took in the moment when the captain of the plane handed her the controls. Reeves takes the greatest pride in her seven daughters, 12 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Tegler, who attended computer class three times weekly at Niagara County Community College in Niagara Falls, NY, learned how to use Microsoft Word and Excel software. She was among the first at Mount View to enroll at the college and has since inspired others to do the same. Among those now considering a return to college is her friend Reeves.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve helped many people in my life,\u201d said Tegler, who expressed no fear or hesitation about attending college with a bunch of 20-somethings. Many students in the class helped her learn how to use the computer. When Tegler was younger, she said, she often volunteered at homes for veterans because her husband, father and brothers all served in the Army.<\/p>\n

Quietly helping Reeves, Tegler and 266 other residents of two assisted living homes in upstate New York accomplish their bucket list goals is David Tosetto, who owns both Mount View and Cobb\u2019s Hill Manor in Rochester, NY. \u201cYoung people dream and old people remember,\u201d said Tosetto. \u201cThe goal of the bucket list is to give them something to dream about.\u201d<\/p>\n

The way Tosetto figures it, happy residents make for longer-term residents and happier employees. So he doesn\u2019t charge them one penny extra for the bucket list outings. Besides the flying school and college opportunities, he\u2019s also putting together a scuba diving class at a local pool and a kayaking adventure this summer.<\/p>\n

When the trip of a lifetime ends, you still have the rest of your life to live. Your real legacy is about the people you touch along the way.<\/strong><\/p>\n

— <\/strong>Marc Agronin<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThe ultimate goal of this is to get them more involved in society and in the belief that they can still do things,\u201d said Tosetto. He puts the programs into motion by posting large \u201cBucket List\u201d signs around the two assisted living facilities that announce the opportunities and encourage residents to sign up.<\/p>\n

Tosetto won\u2019t sponsor some activities, such as skydiving. \u201cI just don\u2019t know how they can land safely,\u201d he explained. \u201cOf course, if they choose to do it on their own, that\u2019s up to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the end, said Agronin, author of the book How We Age: A Doctor\u2019s Journey into the Heart of Growing Old<\/em>, your legacy isn\u2019t about how many planes you\u2019ve jumped out of or how many countries you\u2019ve visited. \u201cWhen the trip of a lifetime ends, you still have the rest of your life to live,\u201d he said. Your real legacy is about the people you touch along the way. \u201cThe relationships you create and what you teach your children is how you build your legacy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

At 97, Reeves is still building hers.<\/p>\n

Asked to name the lifetime accomplishment of which she\u2019s most proud, it\u2019s not the plane flight at all. \u201cI\u2019m still a Girl Scout,\u201d she boasted, noting that she earned the Gold Award, scouting\u2019s highest honor. \u201cI still pay my dues.\u201d<\/p>\n

KHN\u2019s coverage related to aging & improving care of older adults is supported by The John A. Hartford Foundation<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Perhaps there are things you always hoped to do but never got around to, and now you\u2019re thinking it\u2019s too late. Maybe not. In this article for Kaiser Health News (KHN), journalist Bruce Horovitz interviews two women\u2014both in their 90s\u2014who…<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more They\u2019ve Still Got Bucket Lists\u2014in Their 90s<\/span> ›<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n

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