Aging

Etta Cummings stood in the back of a small room filled with sympathetic faces. Her failing eyes were obscured by big, dark glasses. She leaned on her cane, clutched her bright caftan and prepared to take one very big step. "My name is Etta Cummings. I'm a diabetic. My diabetes is totally out of control. I didn't take it seriously for many, many years," she said by way of introduction. "By this time, my health started deteriorating, so I'm on the run to correct it." Heads nodded in support.

The battle of youth versus age is one of the defining economic struggles of our era. Therefore, speaking as someone who hasn't been referred to as "the Kid" for a decade or three, I would like to salute Capt. Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III, 57, for holding up my team in the war of the generations. Capt. Sullenberger is the pilot who ditched his crippled airliner in New York's Hudson River a week ago, saving every soul on board.

One piece of the puzzle is missing from the aging in place trend -- healthcare. The nation's healthcare system is simply not designed to help seniors remain living independently, says Laura Gitlin, director of the Center for Applied Research on Aging and Health at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. "We know what helps people," she says. "What helps them age in place is not covered by insurers at this point."

The "aging in place" movement is fueled by changes throughout society. Services linked to retirement communities -- official or otherwise -- are not the only options for older Americans who want to remain in their homes. Networks of services: Across the nation, business people are forming networks, called Aging in Place Councils, in various cities to link seniors to services.

Many government and private organizations offer information and assistance for seniors who want to remain in their own homes. Supportive services programs for naturally occurring retirement communities (NORC): * United Jewish Communities offers a description of the role of supportive services programs and a list of 40 specific communities that are part of its nationwide Aging in Place Initiative: www.norcs.

A scarcity of paid caregivers means that, in the future, older people may have to band together to help each other. Older Americans are already pitching in to care for their more frail or even older counterparts as either paid or volunteer workers. That's because finding younger people to work as caregivers is becoming more difficult.

The "Stairway to Heaven" generation may soon have to make room for elevators. Builders are. And eventually, so too will baby boomers who decide to stay put in their homes. Retirees who choose new retirement and resort-style communities will increasingly find elevators (and walk-in showers) in the homes, as builders give buyers the square footage they want but with an eye toward long-term needs, said Dave Kosco of Bassenian Lagoni Architects.

Though THE wisdom that comes with age can help navigate metaphorical bumps in the road of life, actual, physical obstacles can cause stumbles and falls. Increasingly, to combat a natural loss of balance that comes with the passing years, many people are turning to balance training classes. About one-third of Americans age 65 and older fall each year -- roughly 12 million people.

What do Indiana Jones, John Rambo and Solid Snake have in common? They all look like they would qualify for membership in AARP. Indiana Jones, played by the 65-year-old Harrison Ford, nurses his joints as he swings through South American jungles in his latest film, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." Earlier this year, Rambo was roused from his weary retirement in Southeast Asia at the ripe age of 61. The tag line: "Heroes never die . . . They just reload."