The Giverny Experience


A master of impressionism, Claude Monet moved into his home in Giverny, France at forty-three years of age.  He called it home for the next forty-three years of his life.  As he aged, his focus turned to painting the scenes which he enjoyed from day to day in his wonderful garden.    The Giverny experience undoubtedly provided him with moments of happiness and peace during his declining years. 

  https://giverny.org/monet/home/

But for many aging Americans, there is no Giverny experience.  We speak of the "Greatest Generation". There is an unwillingness to discuss the "Forgotten Generation".

In 2024, 67.1% of Americans older than sixty-five were still in full-time employment.  And suck in your breath.  The labor force participation for those aged 75 years and older has increased significantly, and the number of workers aged 80 and above has grown 24 % since early 2022 - far outpacing overall employment growth.

Roughly two million grandparents are primary caregivers for their grandchildren - a significant number who are over  sixty-five.  And seventeen percent of Americans over age 65 are a continuous lifeline for another aging American.

We callously speak with hidden cruelty regarding the "burden" of our aging population.  But the statistics tell a different story.  There is no Giverny experience for many of our older Americans.  We seem unconcerned with the number of citizens who will continue working until they can barely hobble to their jobs; unaware that the 75 year old grocery cashier is probably not scanning groceries for a vacation, but to pay for her utilities and the co-pay for her medicine.  

Do... you... see... these individuals?  When you see the aging cashier with a cast on his arm do you think that he is working because he enjoys his life as a human gerbil running on his little wheel from day to day?  Are you aware the man who is sacking your groceries is caring for a dying wife and needs to pay for her chemotherapy?  Is it possible the white-haired gentleman handing your burger and fries out the window is not spending "... another day in Paradise"?  He is not Phil Collins, but he probably wishes that he had his garden. These individuals are my neighbors and my friends.  There is no need to lie when the truth is so much more deliciously wicked.

We have neighbors, who after working all of their lives made the humiliating decision to apply for food assistance.  My heart reaches out to them.  Don't they deserve better?  What about all older Americans who are struggling to survive with that one damn bowl of porridge called Social Security?  A COLA of 2.8% for 2026 is a slap in the face.  Here!  Take that!  Keep your mouths shut!

So Americans continue along as the Forgotten Generation.  There may be no money for food.  But there is money for war.  Money to beautify the White House.  But no money to purchase a new pair of shoes.  Money for "record-setting capital expenditures"... money for artificial intelligence... but no money to care for 85 year old grandmother, because who gives a damn anyway?

There is no Giverny experience.   And the updated and beautiful new White House site is the spanking new theater which looks great from the front row, but is meant to divert our attention from the many rows of dark seats at the back: the seats which are populated by our blood and treasure and our greatest resource. They are the Forgotten Generation.

But then again, it doesn't really matter.  Republicans promised a "chicken in every pot" in 1928 and President Trump promises that "...we have unmistakably entered a Golden Age of American greatness...." on the White House page.  

And what is meant to read like Apophthegmata Patrum  does not reflect reality for many Americans.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/




 

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