Wednesday, January 25, 2012

1662 Graycare

The lack of care options for middle-aged children who've had their dementia-disabled parents move back in is alarming. Especially as the baby boomers get older and older and face the terrifying prospect of having to live with their kids.
Being one of those self-centered boomers, I think it's pretty obvious we need to do something now to build the elder infrastructure that will support us.
Forget about a safety net. We want a safety luxury condo.
As I've said before, there are some business opportunities in that regard. And since a lot of this stuff has been done before with single parents and working two-parent households needing places to put their kids, there's no reason to reinvent the old wheel.
Like instead of daycare centers we can just change a few letters and make them graycare centers. We could probably even use many of the same places, since the population bulge has moved on.
Instead of toddlers, they'll house doddlers. You could even have some of the same games and puzzles. Suitable for ages 2 to 92. Although a Sesame Street puzzle motif isn't that good for the current crop of curmudgeons, it's only a matter of time before Kermit and crew enter the comforting familiarity of nostalgic haze. And Oscar the Grouch is a great role model for crotchety old men.
But what folks will need most are elder drop-in centers. For those times when you have to take old dad or mom somewhere safe for a couple of late evening or early morning hours. So you can go to social events or civic meetings.
Business opportunity? Elder Kennels.
"Yeah, I'd like to drop off my dad for 2 hours. He's had his shots. And he's neutered... And don't worry, his bark is worse than his bite. I left his dentures at home..."
America, ya gotta love it.

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