I knock at the door and patiently await an answer. I listen and hear a thump of a cane on the hard wood floor, edging slowly toward the door. “It’s great to get old,” my grandmother says facetiously as she open the door, apologizing for making me wait. Through her I learn firsthand the problems of the aged. Loneliness, lack of money, and ailing health are just some of the problems old people must deal with. I’ve come up with some solutions to these problems.Loneliness seems endemic among old people in America. With difficulty getting around, many spend most of their time confined to their apartments, awaiting visits from family or friends. Through my grandmother, I realize that as much as old people’s families may care about them, the family members obviously have lives of their own and cannot visit as much as old persons would like. And when people are very old, most of their friends have already died, so they spend most of their time alone. A solution I see fit for this problem is maybe having the old people create a senior citizen community center or senior citizen group where they can gather and spend time with each other. They can even arrange field trips to the zoo, park and other places so that they are not alone in their apartments so much and can enjoy their last days.Poor health is also a major problem. Any number of physical ailments can create a problem. Cataracts, for example, are a common eye problem among old people. Arthritis is a disease that can also be a dilemma to old people because of the stiffening of the joints. It’s difficult and painful for them to get around. Health problems can make life very difficult for an old person. Medical bills and no health insurance coverage contribute to these problems. If old people had better medical coverage instead of the poor level of coverage the government offers them then their ailments can be treated with better methods. Also the major ...
