A Walk To Remember

It was quite a sight. An inspiring, uplifting sight for a cause that can be depressing and overwhelmingly.
Last Saturday, more than 4,000 people walked 3 miles around the edge of Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay to raise money for research and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. When it was all said and done, “Memory Walk 2007” had brought in $1 million in donations to the Alzheimer’s Association of Northern California.
Our family had 30 people walking with us. Not just family members. Friends. Co-workers. Friends of friends.
They joined us in support of Gary Roseme, my 59-year-old brother-in-law who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a year and a half ago. There are only 500,000 people in the United States under the age of 65 with this relentless disease and, unfortunately, Gary is one of them.
Yet, we are hopeful. He is participating in an outstanding treatment program at UC San Francisco, one of the best Alzheimer’s research facilities in the country. He has a remarkably upbeat attitude. And we have a far-reaching, deep support system.
That was evident on this sunny Saturday morning. Gary and his wife, Marcia, were flanked by their two children, their daughter-in-law, their granddaughter, their soon-to-be son-in-law, Marcia’s mother and older sister, my wife and I, our oldest daughter, our son-in-law and our grandson as well as friends, co-workers of Marcia, a couple of Mary and my fellow employees, their daughter-in-law’s family and my son-in-law’s sister.
A diverse and plentiful gathering. It was heartening and a reminder of the importance of family and friends in our complex, high-tech society. No matter how quickly e-mails fly or how easily you can download a program onto a small screen cupped in your hand, people need other people. They need people they can count on. People who will donate not so much their money but their time. People who will lend a helping hand and a listening ear.
Family. Friends. It is something Baby Boomers need to focus on as they travel through their next 10,000 days. We need to tighten the bonds of our families. It’s a circle that has unraveled as divorce rates climb and people move across country from each other. In prehistoric times, the older people in a village held their society together. They took care of the youngest members of the group. They counseled the parents of those youngsters. They offered sage advice to the community as a whole.
It’s something I certainly believe in. And practice. But this early October walk made it even more crystal clear.
The walk also reminded me of what may lurk in the future for our modern-day society. Especially if we don’t make changes in some of our institutions
Our society is aging, led by the 78 million members of the Baby Boom generation. It’s estimated the number of people over the age of 55 will increase from the current 60 million to 107 million by 2030. That group will represent 31 percent of the population as opposed to 21 percent now. In addition, the people who reach 65 who are expected to surpass the age of 90 is increasing dramatically. In 1960, 14 percent of United States citizens who hit 65 lived to be at least 90. That figure is now 25 percent.
The aging Baby Boomers could bankrupt our country, if they don’t take care of their health. Alzheimer’s alone could overwhelm our medical facilities. More than 5 million Americans are currently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. If this trend continues, 14 million people will have this debilitating and costly disease by 2050.
Remember in the 1960s when anti-war demonstrators told others, “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.” Well, when it comes to our country’s future, we are part, if not most, of the problem. So, Baby Boomers, let’s take on these challenges ourselves. Let’s fix them before the generations behind us are overwhelmed by them. Let’s be part of the solution.
Things like last Saturday’s walk are certainly a step in the right direction.