It's October -- the birthday month

This is the month that I turn 60 -- 17 days from now. But October is a big birthday month for my entire family. My Mom's birthday is Oct. 27, my brother's is Oct. 8 and my sister's is Oct. 6.

Then there's my dear friend Kathy, who also turns 60 this month. She reaches that magic milestone on Oct. 6. Yes, she is older than me -- by 12 days -- and I never let her forget it. In fact, in five days, she will be in her 60s and I'll still be in my 50s.

On Saturday, Kathy's daughter is throwing a big birthday bash for her. It'll be fun. There's a group of our friends who have birthdays this time of the year, and we've had some great celebrations.

This occasion reminds me of a wonderful list of the most important things invented in the past 2,000 years. The entry that I like the most is reading glasses, which was suggested by a New York professor. His reasoning was simple: Reading glasses have been crucial to our development and "prevented the world from being ruled by people under 40."

So I raise my glass -- and my reading glasses -- in salute to the month of October. It is where this journey to 60 ends, and where another one begins. Cheers.

We're getting older

The world’s population of seniors age 65-plus will triple in the next 40 years, according to a story in the Associated Press. That would mean that 1 in 6 would be in that age group and that will strain the ability of the United States and other nations to care for them.

"The world’s population has been graying for many years due to declining births and medical advances that have extended life spans, according to the AP. "As the fastest-growing age group, seniors now comprise just under 8 percent of the world’s 6.8 billion people."

In addition, a wave of baby boomer retirements will challenge pension plans and add to rising health costs, according to experts on senior issues.

U.S. Senate to consider sweeping health care legislation

The U.S. Senate next week is scheduled to begin considering a massive bill that would make foundational changs in the nation's health care system. The office of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy released the 651-page bill this week, and proponents and opponents of health care reform are already picking it apart.

But it's time to change the broken health care system. Congress must act now. Those with health problems know all too well how lives can be changed by the cost of care, not to mention the health issues themselves.

News reports say the changes include revamping the way health insurance works, with insurabce carriers having to deal with new rules. Here's the good part: Insurance companies would have to cover Americans with health issues. As we know, the current system allows insurers to duck coverage of people with health problems, or charge an arm and a leg for limited coverage.

That's just plain wrong.

Kennedy's office said there would be proposals that would help disabled seniors and healthy young adults. Taxpayers, businesses and individuals would share in the cost of adding coverage of 50 million uninsured Americans.

There would be a new long-term care insurance program that would provide modest assistance at an affordable premium to help disabled people keep living in their own homes.

Watch this space for more details of the proposal.

Is 60 the new 40?

Not really. In fact, 60 is the, well, new 60. You can't get away from it so you must manage this age sort of like the way you manage the garden. 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.

This is the first point in my life in which age actually has meant something, although I'm not quite sure what that is right now. I'll let you know through the posts on this blog as I develop answers. But it is a little startling that age has now become such a big deal in my life.

And it does give you perspective that you didn't have at 30 and 40 and 50. So that must be a good thing. Plus, you get senior discounts at restaurants. You can also see retirement on the horizon. Unfortunately, the economic bust has put that horizon a bit more into the distance.

So with my AARP card I venture forth into a world that has a lot of aging baby boomers trying to figure out the same questions I pose. Let me know if you have some usable answers.