Harvest gold 

Glenn Harper

Gloria Towne | All Around Towne Photography

I’m old enough to remember a black and white world of "Ozzie and Harriet" and "Leave it to Beaver" conformity. Kitchen appliances were all white and interior walls might occasionally be painted a daring shade of beige. 

Then, in 1966, General Electric rolled out avocado green and harvest gold in 1968. Other appliance makers followed the trend, not wanting to be left behind.

Funny how people were so eager to introduce color into their homes, even if it was only a choice of two. Perhaps it’s not coincidental that color television became the norm in the same time period. 

The Vietnam War was the first war broadcast in living color, alongside "Bonanza," "Laugh-In" and "Star Trek."

Young people were openly resisting being forced into serving a system that didn’t seem to have their best interests in mind. Hippies were going out of their way to present themselves in the most colorful and outlandish ways. The motto of the times might be expressed as, “I want to be a nonconformist like everyone else!” 

Diverse new lifestyles were being explored, including communes and the back-to-the-land movement. Environmental awareness emerged in the form of the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970.

Then-President Richard Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency in December 1970. For a moment, it looked like a fundamental shift in our culture was taking place toward individual expression, living gently on the Earth and questioning consumerism and “the man.” 

In the decades that followed, many of the free spirits quietly folded away the dreams of youth and donned responsible roles in society, as they took jobs and built stable, comfortable lives for themselves and their families.

Often, the jobs taken had no relation to what aligned with their hearts, but it was a willing trade made to secure a roof overhead, food on the table and a good quality of life for the kids. 

After 30, 40, or 50-plus years of turning in a solid performance as a productive member of society, a person can have a hard time finding their footing in a less structured world in which tasks, roles and expectations are no longer specified. 

If your work life was just meeting your obligations doing what was necessary in a paint by numbers role assigned to you, now is the time to find out who you are when your job isn’t telling you. 

If your career was fulfilling, maybe you can mentor, volunteer, or teach a class in your area of expertise. 

From what I see in the media, there are two images of elderhood portrayed: 

The older couple with perfect muscle tone wearing white to set off their tans and complement their abundant and striking white hair. They are walking on an exotic tropical beach, enjoying a cruise, in a glamorous casino or restaurant living their best lives without a care. These picture perfect seniors are the decoys used to sell travel, entertainment and timeshares. 

The other image is the frail older adult, who has fallen and can’t get up, or is in some other health or financial predicament. These portrayals are used to create a sense of anxiety and create a need to buy some pill, potion, product or service, so they can feel like they’ve done something to improve their odds in the fight against the ravages of time. 

Fortunately, the real world isn’t a black and white choice between the perfectly happy and perfectly wretched. Aging is a spectrum of diverse experiences and emotions, ranging from the delight of bouncing a grandchild on your knee, to sitting beside an ailing friend in the hospital. 

If you’re looking for programs and activities to add color to your “golden years,” you may want to attend the Discover Senior Services event from 4:30 p.m. to 5:15 pm on Aug. 12. Anyone interested in learning more about the center’s programs, activities and offerings are warmly invited to attend. 

Senior Services for South Sound is also about to kick off the fall session of their Senior Academy on Aug. 19 at the Olympia Senior Center from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Enjoy live music, refreshments, and the instructors will introduce their classes. There are 12 classes this quarter, and the topics are diverse.  

The last chapter of life can be a time of harvest in which to gather the fruits of the labor, wisdom and experience of the life that’s gone before, and to share what we can, while we can. The Roman writer Marcus Tullius Cicero wrote that the true harvest of old age is the memory and rich collection of blessings secured earlier in life. 

 For me, this is true harvest gold. 

Glenn Harper provides support in aging and end of life. He is Chair of the Lewis-Mason-Thurston Area Agency on Aging Advisory Council and board member of the Senior Action Network. He facilitates several free Death Cafe and Elderhood Roundtable gatherings in the area where Elders are invited to talk about difficult topics in a nonjudgmental space. Learn more about these events here.