As a blog written about senior service and health issues, In the Loop has primarily tried to inform readers rather than taking controversial stances. However, current circumstances in our country seem to be calling me to take a strong stand on behalf of, of all things, the virtues of taxes!

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Imagine your mother, father, sibling or friend is aging, frail and/or ill. Your loved one lives alone and may proclaim a proud independence. No way are they going into a nursing home or some other assisted living facility. You feel obligated to care for them, to see that they take their medications, to be sure that if a fall occurs it does not go undetected. So you create a challenging schedule for yourself. You decide to call every day and stop over maybe daily or a few days each week.

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Age-Friendly Communities help older adults stay active, connected and engaged while still living with and among those who are younger. This runs counter to the idea of “endless play” as the goal for elders leaving the full-time workforce and living in segregated communities with their peers. As outlined in my blog of February 1, 2011, this movement is only beginning to emerge in response to the global phenomenon of rapidly growing older populations. In this blog I want to provide more depth on the movement and encourage your involvement.

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As we enter the pre-puberty portion of the 21^st century, a movement may be emerging that only a few gave much thought to even 10 to 12 years ago. Some of those in this new movement were once part of other movements and (temporarily) subscribed to the notion that no one over thirty years of age should be trusted.

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High-energy older adults. Positive aging. Senior citizen and vital asset to society. Is it possible these concepts go together? Or are they merely quaint oxymorons? While some may struggle to reconcile such seemingly contradictory terms, the folks at Coming of Age are quite clear—they go together like the proverbial “motherhood and apple pie.”

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This is a shout out to some cool people and a group from which I have lately been drawing a bit of inspiration and hope. What’s cool is that they just forge ahead despite the absurdity and craziness that seems to surround us at every turn. As I sometimes struggle with cynicism or feelings of hopelessness about the state of the world (often as a result of just hearing the news), I find it helps to remember some newly emerging organizations, right here in our city. They seem optimistic and determined despite what happens in Washington, Wall Street, Harrisburg, Philadelphia City Council—and a whole bunch of other places.

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The health reform debate is over—sort of. Thank goodness the President was able to sign into law a version of health reform that has enough going for it that it feels like a positive development. That may sound like a lukewarm endorsement. For someone who in his heart of hearts wanted single payer and at the very least a strong public option, my “endorsement” does come with a partial lack of enthusiasm.

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In discussing older adults and health reform, I operate from a couple of basic assumptions. It is a GOOD thing that we now live longer, and to a major extent, healthier lives than any previous generation of Americans. For this we can thank improvements in public health, medical care, pharmaceuticals, and knowledge about diet/exercise as well as Medicare first enacted in 1965. And let’s not forget a generally robust economy over the last 60 years.

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The Philadelphia Social Innovations Journal is an exciting new venture. It is a timely initiative to identify and promote creative thinking, and hopefully, the implementation of really good ideas in public policy.. All of those involved want to better serve our city, our region and the millions of people who live here. So far, however, one of the largest and fastest growing segments of our population has been missing from the discussion. I am referring to our older adults, our seniors, the elderly—or whatever the term du jour is for those of us who can remember exactly what we were doing the day John F. Kennedy was shot.

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