[Paleopsych] NYT: Social Security Underestimates Future LifeSpans, Critics Say

[Geraldine Reinhardt]

Today on my way home I as usual took my designated exit 
off the freeway.  There parked alongside the shoulder 
of road was an elderly gentleman in a fancy black 
sedan.  Usually I never stop but this person looked a 
bit bewildered.....actually confused, so I braked and 
asked if he needed help.

Turns out that he was on his way to a medical 
appointment, an eye doctor to be exact, and he needed 
to know which direction for Pasteur Drive.  He then 
said he was from San Francisco, a doctor himself,  and 
had become very confused trying to decipher his 
secretary's directions.   He also mentioned he was 
recently widowed and was seeing his wife's 
ophthalmologist because she had spoken so highly of his 
ability with glaucoma procedures.

Now I knew very well where Pasteur Drive was (it was 
two exits beyond my apartment turn off) but I wasn't 
certain if the road was clearly marked.  I then asked 
the gentleman if he would like to follow me and I'd 
lead him to his turn off.  How happy he became!  I then 
asked the name of the ophthalmologist he had his 
appointment with. "Dr. Rubin.....only I know I'll not 
make it in time".

"Amazing",  I replied.  "He's the eye doctor for both 
my husband and me"!  "But.... I don't know if I'm 
continuing....he alarmed me during my last appointment 
when he was talking about doing corrective eye 
surgery".

"How old do you suppose Dr. Rubin is", asked the 
stranger.

Not wishing to age Dr. Rubin more than his years, I 
replied: "Maybe in his late 50's or somewhere in his 
60's".  I knew Rubin had to be hitting retirement age.

"Oh" replied the doctor from San Francisco,  "I 
performed capillary surgery until I was 73 and then 
decided I needed to give it up".  "Yet my hands didn't 
falter and I was always on top of each case."

As I drove to Pasteur Drive I thought about comparisons 
between repairing eye stuff and capillary 
surgery....were they similar?  For me, the person who 
needs to operate on my eyes should be young, bright and 
brilliant.  Yet why should eyes be that different from 
capillaries?

Could be that we "see with our eyes".  What if we 
"looked" with our hearts?

Either way, when is a doctor too old to assume his role 
of physician?  I'd say that if many of us can continue 
with our calling, doctors need to do the same. 
But....I'd like my eye-surgeon to retain a younger 
partner.

Gerry Reinhart-Waller
Independent Scholar
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~waluk


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve Hovland" <shovland at mindspring.com>
To: "'The new improved paleopsych list'" 
<paleopsych at paleopsych.org>
Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2005 3:33 PM
Subject: RE: [Paleopsych] NYT: Social Security 
Underestimates Future LifeSpans, Critics Say


> Get ready to work longer than you expected :-)
>
> Steve Hovland
> www.stevehovland.net
>
>
> Social Security Underestimates Future Life Spans, 
> Critics Say
> NYT December 31, 2004
> By ROBERT PEAR

--snip--