Saturday, May 30, 2009

Old Pittsburgh Map

President Obama's affinity for Pittsburgh extends to the arts. For while he flew to NYC to see a play, Joe Turner's Come and Gone is set in Pittsburgh (in 1911).

In line with all things old and in the Pittsburgh way, here is a map found in the Library of Congress collection, with no exact date. The legend says "A Dot = 200 persons." Sometime around 1850?


Image Courtesy of the Frances Loeb Library, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University (via the Library of Congress online collection)

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Old Fitsburgh

From the nullspace, Pittsburgh ranks 16th on the list of 50 fittest MSAs (.pdf)

16th is pretty good when you consider our aging population (17.1% over 65 compared to the national MSA average of 11.5%). Interesting ecological approach to defining fitness, but it seems the parks and recreational opportunities are just that -- indicators of fitness opportunities, not necessarily fitness.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

December, 1942 Remix

Shared again on a December evening.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Thanksgiving Post: The Tao of Bob

Bob reflects on aging, volunteering and what it means to connect with folks at Giant Eagle.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Looking West

Thursday marks the first meeting of the founding Elders Guild Community in Berkeley. From the announcement:

Please join us in creating the first Elders Guild Community. Our first meeting will be on Thursday, November 15, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. at St. John's Church, 2727 College Ave. in Berkeley.

We are beginning here and now to launch the Elders Guild as an international organization of communities of people on the multigenerational, interdependent path of becoming elders.

That huge group of us who will come to be known as the elder boomers have the potential to transform our role as we age and leave a shining legacy for the generations that will follow. We can bring wisdom, support and healing to one another and to the children of our children.

The Elders Guild combines community, activism and deep lifelong learning in one organization. Our goal is for each of us to have connection, potency and a meaningful role at a stage of life when we have been conditioned to expect only diminished strength, capacity and escalating loss.

At a time when many of us are pondering what happens next, the Elders Guild is creating a bold new vision for the second half of our lives. Think of it as well-being insurance that will optimize our ability to age with grace, purpose and self-determination. The earlier we begin and the more we invest of ourselves in the process, the greater the likelihood of vitality, continued regeneration and dignity when our need is greatest.

It is not too late for us to rescue our dreams and aspirations for a better world for those who will follow us. Collectively and individually, our best years can be ahead of us.

At the first meeting we will present a working draft of the Elders Guild Handbook and begin the process of building the infrastructure for the Elders movement. For more information, please visit us on the web at the
Live Oak Institute. Here is a link to Barry Barkan's recent Tikkun article, How Elders Can Rebalance The World