Death and Fear
People used to fear death because it was always present. Of course, death is still always present, but not in quite the same way. We don’t wake up today with a genuine risk of contracting smallpox or polio. Despite attempts by conservatives, government regulations of industry means that homes, places of business and public transportation are not the death traps they once were. In other words, we are living long so death is not just around the corner like it was once, but further down the block. The result is that fear of death has been replaced by the fear of aging. Or, as the author quotes novelist Philip Roth:
“Old age is not a battle. Old age is a massacre.”
Dry Bones
A lot of metaphors about health deal with bones. For instance, when cold weather is on the way but not yet here, people will say they can feel it in their bones. Turns out this may not be just old people talk, after all:
“Research has found that loss of bone density may be an even better predictor of death from atherosclerotic disease than cholesterol levels. As we age, it’s as if the calcium seeps out of our skeletons and into our tissues.”
Engine Failure
What causes a car to break down? If we could easily answer that question, we could potentially bring down the whole crooked mechanic apparatus in America. The truth is that most drivers have no idea what to do with their cars stalls or won’t even start, but that answer is actually easy as long as you don’t want the details: one of the car’s parts broke down. Fix the part and you fix the car until that part can no longer be replaced or you get tired of only being able to drive 30 mph. As is so often the case, automobiles are great metaphors for existence:
“The story of aging is the story of our parts.”
Life Expectancy
The whole point of the book is that life expectancy isn’t what it used to be. And it isn’t just that that fact, it is the underlying social reaction. Life expectancy has extended farther than ever for more people than ever and at a faster rate than ever. Health care wasn’t prepared and never caught up:
“For all but the most recent history, death was a common, ever-present possibility. It didn’t matter whether you were five or fifty. Every day was a roll of a dice…Life and health would putter along nicely, not a problem in the world. Then illness would hit and the bottom would drop out like a trap-door.”
Why Doctors Hate Old Patients
A geriatric doctor asserts that most doctors simply do not like treating seniors. To the point that the metaphor he uses is not clever or unique or even sympathetic, but an offensive term casually tossed around:
“The Old Crock is deaf. The Old Crock has poor vision. The Old Crock’s memory might be somewhat impaired. With the Old Crock, you have to slow down, because he asks you to repeat what you are saying or asking. And the Old Crock doesn’t just have a chief complaint—the Old Crock has fifteen chief complaints.”
