Turning 60 and living to write about it

I continually get asked why I'm writing this blog about turning 60. The short answer is that I'm a writer, and I process things by writing them down. It helps me think when I'm at the keyboard, and I've thought a lot about the milestone of being 60. So the "Surviving Turning 60" blog just evolved.

My first blog posting was on June 10, and my 60th birthday was still more than four months away. I headlined the item "Is 60 the new 40?" and concluded that it wasn't. This is a milestone unlike any other.

"You can't get away from it so you must manage this age sort of like the way you manage the garden," I wrote in that first post. "Weed often, but not so often that it makes you tired. Good things will come with a little water, a little sun and some luck."

So here I am 26 days from age 60 and still trying to make sense of it all. This blog has been an adventure. I've read more about the pros and cons of aging than I can remember (that memory issue is one of the cons). I've also become a bit self-absorbed writing about me in a personal way that I've never done as a newspaper writer. I've felt exposed, even while writing under the pseudonym Opinionman.

I'm training for a seniors track meet in the shotput, trying to lose weight and get healthy, and using all the senior discounts that my age entitles me to. You've read about those things, as well as the passages along the way, including the many weddings I've been to this year.

I believe this blogging experience has made me a stronger person. As we age, we all want people to think better of us, and we try to do a bit of late-in-life polishing of our rough spots. This blog has given me wonderful insight into who I am as I turn 60.

How's that memory working?

Why is it that some days I can remember the combination to my locker in the 7th grade at Tioga Junior High School and another day I can't remember where I put my keys? As I finish up my 50s (I only have 2 1/2 more months in this decade), I think I'd rather have a better memory than anything else.

Well, maybe I'd want better eyesight. . . and not to ache so much in the morning when I get up. Oh yeah, and to have the physical stamina I had at age 22. But besides those things, I'd want a solid memory. You know. . . so that I could recall things when I actually need them. Instead, I bolt up in bed hours later and say, "22-18-8," which was my locker combination. There's a lot of unneeded 411 in my brain.

I once had a co-worker who had a photographic memory. She could roll the movie credits in her mind of "Davy Crockett" and tell you every actor who played every role. What I would give for that kind of a memory. BTW, she did very well on television game shows.

I've tried some of the memory games out there, but I get bored because I forget the rules to the games. . . Just kidding. I get bored with these games because they are boring. So what are my options?

I've been doing some research on the subject and I've come up with a couple of suggestions. One of the key points is that all of us can improve our memories if we only have the discipline to try. So don't get bored, and do the hard work needed to improve your memory.

That means exercising your memory by using it and testing it every chance you get. Your brain will appreciate the workout and pay back those efforts with better brain function. You'll be surprised at how much you retain in your memory bank if you consciously try to remember stuff. Repeat the information. Think about it. Try to recall it a few minutes later. Do it again.

For more memory recall tips, check the Web site helpguide.org. You can access it by clicking here.

How do I remember all these PINs and passwords?

As most of us have realized, our memory isn't quite what it was a few years ago, yet we have to remember so much more stuff these days. With so much of our lives wrapped up in our personal computers and other electronic devices, there must be a better way to remember the dozens of access codes.

I have so many different accounts that require me to remember PIN numbers and passwords that I sometimes get lost. ATM codes, passwords for three different computer systems at work, passwords for Twitter, Facebook and this blog. My 401k account has a password and different user name. There are codes to get into my voice mail on my cell phone and work phone. . . I know there are others. . . I just can't remember them all.

To complicate this, some accounts require changing passwords every 90 days.

Consumer Reports offer several tips in this article. Here's part of the article:

Write down your passwords if that is the only way you’ll remember them. Wait a minute—isn’t that dangerous? The conventional wisdom is that this is a no-no. But according to Microsoft, passwords on paper are “more difficult to compromise across the Internet” than those that are stored electronically.

You’ll need to put that piece of paper in a safe place, of course. Muster all your CIA spy instincts and hide the document somewhere in your home, away from your computer, in a place that’s easy to get to only if you know where to look—say, tucked inside the pages of a favorite book, taped to the underside of a laundry basket, or slipped beneath the inner sole of a shoe stashed in your closet.