JayB Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Just. Never. Ends. "A Grandma or Grandpa by Any Other Name Is Just as Old Boomers Want to Pick What Grandkids Will Call Them: Meet Glamma and Papa Doc By ANN ZIMMERMAN Aging baby boomers are in the midst of a grandbaby boom, and they're struggling with a bunch of issues. How to be attentive grandparents while having a busy career and, increasingly, caring for their own elderly parents? How to stay close to the tykes while living far away? But one of the most vexing issues they face is deciding what they want to be called by their grandchildren, lest it make them sound -- and feel -- old. It's another example of how baby boomers, whose anthem was Bob Dylan's "Forever Young," are not going gently into old age. While many people are happy with the old appellations, Granny, Gramps, Bubbe and Zayde just won't do for this group, with their toned bodies, plastic surgery and youthful outlooks. How about Grand-dude? [susan Kandell Wilkofsky] Susan Kandell Wilkofsky Susan Kandell Wilkofsky, a 56-year-old Dallas documentary filmmaker and photographer, became a grandmother on Christmas Day. For months, her friends and family had pestered her about what she wanted her new granddaughter to call her. "I didn't see myself as a Bubbe," Ms. Wilkofsky said, citing the Yiddish word for grandmother popular among grandparents of baby boomers, Americans born in the population surge between 1946 and 1964. "That's someone from the old country, who has an accent, looks frumpy and wears a babushka." That's definitely not Ms. Wilkofsky, who exercises religiously and has worn her hair long, straight and parted in the middle at least since 1967's "summer of love." "The only time I wear a kerchief is when I am driving my two-seater convertible," she says. Meet Papa Doc So Ms. Wilkofsky has decided to be called Glamma, as in glamorous grandmother, a name suggested by one of her girlfriends. Her husband, Steven, a 58-year-old doctor, said he didn't want a typical grandfatherly name, either, because "I still feel like I am 25." So he chose to go by "Papa Doc." He was going for a Marcus Welby, M.D. vibe -- after the mellow, graying doctor in a popular television series in the late '60s and early '70s -- but unfortunately the name reminds most people of the late Haitian dictator, François "Papa Doc" Duvalier. Experts in the field of aging are not surprised that baby boomers are seeking creative ways to avoid wrinkly sounding labels. "That whole generation is reinventing old age," says Tom Nelson, chief operating officer of AARP, formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons." " Retch. Redefining cultural necrophilia and elevating misplaced narcissism to new heights. I pity the grandchildren that grow up with "Glamma" and "Papa Doc." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtn_mouse Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 One good thing about being a snafflehound, is all your wrinkles are covered with hair Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prole Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Papa Doc? WTF?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayB Posted January 24, 2009 Author Share Posted January 24, 2009 From the "comments" section: "My grandchild (when he starts talking!) will call me Gaia. Gaia is a primordial and chthonic deity in the Ancient Greek pantheon and considered a Mother Goddess or Great Goddess --Wikipedia. It is to me "Mother Earth." I like it, my daughter-in-law likes it and we're all happy! Joal Peugeot Northfield, Illinois" Ack. Yes - even when it comes to grandkids, it's all about you. Jesus. The unspoken tragedy here is that these people will go to their graves never knowing what it's like to love something more than themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lI1|1! Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 [video:youtube]opM49V9Fa6Q Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvashtarkatena Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 (edited) One good thing about being a snafflehound... ...or certain strains of Celt. Edited January 24, 2009 by tvashtarkatena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvashtarkatena Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 (edited) My grandpa used to make us call him "Mr. Funnypants". He used to hide things for us in his oversized pants, always belted well above the navel. He'd burst through the door, arms akimbo, beaming with that half demon/half angel smile of his, and yell "Find the gum!" We guessed that Grandpa didn't like to be called "Grandpa" because, despite a leaky colostomy bag, he couldn't bring himself to acknowledge the aging process. Grandpa loved everyone. He was constantly hugging us tightly. He breathed diversity, like a cross between Big Bird and Mike Doonsbury. The only people he didn't like were Republicans, whom he referred to as "pig fuckers" or "The Unwashed". He had this funny theory that Republicans retained neandertal genes from some paleolithic cross breeding. Grandpa finally passed when the hole through his bowels became infected. Sure, I miss him, but not as much as I thought I would. He was a funny guy, in more ways than one. Edited January 24, 2009 by tvashtarkatena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZimZam Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Papa Doc? WTF?! And he can call his grandson, Baby Doc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billcoe Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 I rather be greeted with "Whats up Doc", than, hows it going Mr Wrinkly? ! This advice should help us all age more gracefully: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denalidave Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 My grandpa used to make us call him "Mr. Funnypants". He used to hide things for us in his oversized pants, always belted well above the navel. He'd burst through the door, arms akimbo, beaming with that half demon/half angel smile of his, and yell "Find the gum!" We guessed that Grandpa didn't like to be called "Grandpa" because, despite a leaky colostomy bag, he couldn't bring himself to acknowledge the aging process. Grandpa loved everyone. He was constantly hugging us tightly. He breathed diversity, like a cross between Big Bird and Mike Doonsbury. The only people he didn't like were Republicans, whom he referred to as "pig fuckers" or "The Unwashed". He had this funny theory that Republicans retained neandertal genes from some paleolithic cross breeding. Grandpa finally passed when the hole through his bowels became infected. Sure, I miss him, but not as much as I thought I would. He was a funny guy, in more ways than one. Thread drift... Both of my grandfathers were characters but especially on my Dad's side of the family. So imagine our surprise when, about six months after he passed away, we see him on a TV commercial. Not just any commercial, but the iconic classic "Help, I fallen and I can't get up" Life Alert ad that ran in the late 80's or early 90's. He is the old man who says "I'm having chest pains". There is no doubt it is our beloved Willard, he is even wearing a shirt that my mom gave him for Christmas one year. To this day we have no idea how he got in the commercial, nor did my grandmother before she died. We can only assume he was at the doctor's office or some such place, and being such a ham that he was, they offered him the part. He was probably keeping it a secret to pull some grand surprise. I recently googled "help I've fallen and can't get up" and found a plethora of remixes of the old ad on youtube. Here is one that has a good shot of the late, great Willard in action... I'm having chest pains remix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archenemy Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 It is sad we live in a society that does not give respect to those who have experienced life. And in fact, those very aging people don't demand respect for their lives, but rather, continue the weird false belief that being younger is somehow better than being older. I don't understand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dechristo Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 You mentioned it in another thread, "common sense is not common". My grandchild calls me "Grandpa" and "Grandpa Tom", alternately...her choice, not mine. In our current culture, with the proliferation of multiple mommies and daddies, creating manifold grandparents, labels of differentiation are necessary. My sister told me, recently, her grandkids have six different sets of grandparents - that's twelve. I forget her designated moniker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peakpimp Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 It is sad we live in a society that does not give respect to those who have experienced life. And in fact, those very aging people don't demand respect for their lives, but rather, continue the weird false belief that being younger is somehow better than being older. I don't understand. Indeed, it would seem that our departure from the extended family, and acceptance of the nuclear family, has resulted in the elderly becoming more of a burden than a valuable cultural resource. With many families opting to place individuals in care facilities where they can be kept conveniently out of the way, often not even remotely offered the care in adulthood they provided their progeny in infancy. In short "you gotta stay young and useful or we'll put ya in a home!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dechristo Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Grandparents and grandchildren get along so well because they have a mutual enemy...other than incontinence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvashtarkatena Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Why should older folks deserve more respect than anyone else? Seems like the buttholes in the crowd just get more tweaked out as they rot with age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dechristo Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Perhaps, in our culture's myopic preoccupation with youthful appearance, the matter is in deserving as much respect as anyone else. The wonder of life, for me, is no less evident regardless of age, but hundreds of greenhouse seedlings do not inspire the awe provoked by a single solitary 3,500-year-old Bristlecone Pine that has lived the history and weathered the most fair and foul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archenemy Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 It is sad we live in a society that does not give respect to those who have experienced life. And in fact, those very aging people don't demand respect for their lives, but rather, continue the weird false belief that being younger is somehow better than being older. I don't understand. Indeed, it would seem that our departure from the extended family, and acceptance of the nuclear family, has resulted in the elderly becoming more of a burden than a valuable cultural resource. With many families opting to place individuals in care facilities where they can be kept conveniently out of the way, often not even remotely offered the care in adulthood they provided their progeny in infancy. In short "you gotta stay young and useful or we'll put ya in a home!" Wow. That is so sad to read--totally to the point and absolutely true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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