r/SacSeniors

Just an open-ended discussion.

My Grandma was born somewhere between 1900 and 1910. At some point, people started saying "See ya" as a casual good-bye. (I have no idea when.) She couldn't bring herself to say it, but would buck up and say, "We shall see you later," and would grin at her own audacity at being so "with it". Always that exact way. It was the cutest thing ever. I say it sometimes to my son as sort of a family joke.

I myself never picked up new slang, new terms, new ways of speaking easily. I had to consciously make myself say "fridge" instead of refrigerator, as an example. But certain things that came up well into my adulthood tickled me and I picked it up.

• "jacked up" - love this phrase
• "disrespected" - there were complaints maybe ~20 years ago that this wasn't a word. But it was a new word that filled a gap in the language and I like it.
• OG - just called someone who left a community group I'm in "the OG" since she was the first member under the instructor, and most of the people there (all 45+ years old) were asking what I meant and there was a little lively light-hearted discussion about it. I was proud because I think I used it correctly. Apparently this is really not all that new. The oldest person there is 70 and she said it's been around at least 20 years.

I'd love to hear any stories related to this from yourself, friends, or family. Any cute anecdotes or newer phrases/words that you really love (or hate). I love when new phrases and words crop up to fill gaps. (I don't particularly like when an existing word changes meaning, and introduces a new gap because there is no other word to use for the older meaning, but that's a separate discussion.)

I’ve been very active in mutual aid, sweep defense and organizing around homelessness policy in Sacramento since 2020. I have a lot of experience working with people and communities who live on the streets.

I often meet elders who were lifelong housed workers until a devastating life event like the death of a spouse or disabling/bankrupting health crisis made them homeless for the first time in middle or old age.

which bears out what the data says. this is the most rapidly growing segment of homeless population — older people who can no longer keep up with the constantly rising cost of living.

i recently took a job at a local cat shelter and i wasn’t really prepared for the perspective it would give me on what it looks like to “become” homeless.

in the month i have been there, i have witnessed two cat surrenders from people who were in the process of losing their housing. my coworkers assured me its a regular thing.

one was a single older woman. the other was a married older couple. the women were sobbing in both cases. they were obviously so scared, and they fucking loved their cats 💔 the husband was gentle and sad. he asked me to sit with their cat in the office so she wouldn’t be alone when they walked out of the door, and you could feel their immense pain, sadness and fear as they did. i went back to my office and cried.

i am not one to think anyone deserves homelessness more than another, i think it’s wrong for a society to allow anyone to be homeless.

but y’all…seeing people at this stage is heartbreaking. these could be anyone’s normie parents. nothing about them was giving homeless. they were clean and well groomed. but after a few months on the streets, they will start to “look homeless” and may develop visible mental health issues due to the stress of living outside, being treated as worthless and a criminal.

just sharing because i have these unique perspectives from actually being in community with many homeless folks/communities, and now witnessing the stage of housing loss. the shock, the fear and impossible decisions 💔

i wish people understood homelessness is an economic issue first and foremost, and housing is the solution. these people don’t need psychiatric help or drug treatment. they need a fucking apartment and to have their cats back in their arms.

I just moved to midtown Sacramento from Austin. Still buried in boxes and wanted someone to come in and set up my tech: TV, sound bar, computer, printer, and a still in box robo vac. I called Best Buy and first connects a not ready for prime time AI who then transferred me to an out of country agent with a script that didn’t relate to my requests. So frustrating. Now that venting over…does anyone have a recommendation for a reasonably priced tech service to setup everything? Mostly the job will require finding the right cords and crawling around on the floor. Thanks to all!

I got my degree after I had my career. I worked in medical records for almost 20 years. Then I got a degree in social work. Before I was able to use it, I became disabled and had to retire.

What kinds of things do you want to talk about? Are there any things you want to know about Sacramento?

And when was the last time you went to the movies?

I like the Cinemark on Greenback. Their chairs are very comfortable. They have a good assortment of snacks. And I like their 3D and 4D options.

I haven't gone there as much as I want to but now that I'm more mobile that's going to change.

I should say at the beginning that I prefer reading rather than video or audio, so I'll focus on that.

I'm living on Social Security and find it difficult to get quality and in-depth news.

I recently signed up for emails from https://www.abridged.org/ which is a KVIE local journalism effort, and very active on Reddit. I love this service, which shows up in my email daily with a headline in the subject line, but which is also available just by going to their website.

But it's not really enough. I've found good access to local news in Reddit, but I'm sad thinking back to the days when I had a better handle on what was going on in my city.

I used to subscribe to the Sacramento Bee when I was more flush with cash. I finally cancelled my subscription and rarely miss them. It's far too expensive, the investigative reporting diminished, and their marketing is incredibly intrusive.

Off and on, I will subscribe to the LA Times. I tend to do this when there is a California story I want to pursue in-depth, as when fires are devastating a part of the state. You can usually subscribe or resubscribe with a special offer, but they don't have the same easy low-cost continuation as I've experienced with the New York Times.

I subscribe to the New York Times, because the reliability and depth of the reporting is my cup of tea. I have found that if you subscribe to one of their initial special offers you can call to cancel at the end of the subscription and they will offer you another wonderful option. I called to cancel my family subscription that was $15 per month, and they offered me $5 per month for the same subscription for 18 months. That means I can offer five other people I care for full access.

Cancelled my Washington Post subscription because of Bezos' influence and reduction of staff.

Settling into retirement, I know that I miss a lot of news I would have experienced in an average work day. I miss the words "Hey, did you hear?" more than I would have expected.

I would love to hear the experience of others.

[Edit: changed the first line. I prefer reading news, not listening or viewing.]

If you haven't heard of PACE programs you may be missing out. There's Wellbe Health in Elk Grove, Sutter and Innovage in Sacramento. There may be more.

SacRT Go has door to door service for disabled people. The application is online but I think you have to print it. You can be referred by a social worker or physician.

It's $5 each way, Free for legally blind people.

Do you know of any Senior discounts? Classes? Any hairdressers that are good for seniors? Your favorite doctor or dentist?

Favorite Farmer's Market?

What part of the county would you live in?