My “Kids” are 75 and 80 Years Old – Welcome to Life After 100

Over 100. That is my age; actually 103 years old. I am writing this blog with the help of my friend Karen. I don’t know about computers and am not used to all the new technology. But I have history and thoughts to share, especially about my long-term interest and work for universal healthcare and a single payor system in this country.

To introduce myself: I am Eugenie Cormier Ahders. My friends call me Genie. I was born on the docks in the Lower East side of New York City. My father was a longshoreman from Canada. I was born in 1907, the youngest of 6 children-5 girls and 1 boy. My brother, a military man, fought against Pancho Villa in Mexico and was badly injured during World War 1. He died years later from his disability. My 4 older sisters are also deceased. I have two daughters. My “kids” are 75 and 80 years old. My husband died in 1979. A few years after his death I moved to a Quaker continuing care retirement community outside Philadelphia.

I graduated from St. Joseph’s College in Brooklyn with plans to start work as a teacher. It was 1928. The Depression- the real one. There were no teaching positions. NYC was full of graduates wearing their degrees and no jobs. There wasn’t much of anything. There were no government programs and you had to figure it out on your own. You had to survive. My oldest sister was already teaching and she and my clever mother got us through. I had to find something to do. I found my niche in retail in the thirties as the department stores started to expand, and I stayed in that field for 30 years.I have lived through U.S. Presidents #26 through #44. I had hoped after Medicare was passed that I would see the expansion of Medicare for all Americans. I am still waiting. How much longer can I wait?