In the film ‘The Way We Get By’ we meet three troop greeters: Bill, Joan, and Jerry. These retired elderly citizens have been doing a kind gesture to greet every troop plane arriving or departing from Bangor. We can take a glance behind the warm smiles, handshakes, and free cookies and discover a world wherein the seniors are worried in their very own struggles with aging, sickness, loneliness, and private loss. In this essay we will be focusing on the differences between normal, impaired, and optimal aging. Also looking into the relationship between the trooper greeters and their pets, the biopsychosocial perspective, how their lives are affected by physical aging and sleep issues, identity process theory, and the effects of retirement.
First, we meet Bill Knight, the oldest out of the three troop greeters. Bill is an 87-year-old World War II veteran that has been diagnosed with cancer. He is already being treated for it but at his age he does not believe he has much time left. He is becoming weaker both physically and mentally, he is also having a hard time paying bills since his wife passed. With all the Bill has going on he still shows up to greet the troops with a smile on his face. On the day he discovered he had cancer Bill turned into the primary greeter to arrive on the airport. We then meet Joanne Gaudet who is 76 years old. Joanne Gaudet has had multiple surgeries for her knees because of that and aging she was to use a walker. She's evolved an extreme worry of falling all through Bangor's icy winters. Living alone, Joanne disliked going out at night or while the weather was bad then she discovered troop greeting. Joan overcomes her fears and her physical pain to get to the airport regardless of the conditions. Lastly, we meet Jerry Mundy who is 74-years-old. Jerry Mundy has unexplained heart troubles, which may be once in a while irritated by way of the hours he pulls at the airport. He is a very nice charismatic guy but the loss of his son has made him feel very lonely. Now he shows up to greet and say goodbye to soldiers even though it brings him back memories of his son. He is always bringing smiles to all the soldiers he meets; he also lets them borrow his phone for any calls for free. Doing all this makes dealing with his loss much easier. He also starts to think about his death.
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Everything they have gone through makes each of their lives unique and determines how well their mental health is, which leads to the biopsychosocial perspective. The idea of this perspective is to consider biological, psychological, and social factors when understanding health and they have all had very distinct lives. Bill lives on a farm and really misses his wife that died many years ago and what gives him the most pleasure in life currently is his participation in the troop greeters program. Joanne is a mother of eight and now she is enjoying her grandchildren. Although she loves to be part of the troop greeters, she still has other things in her life that make her just as happy. Unlike Bill, she has more social support. Jerry is still hurting from the loss of his son and now finds joy in this program as well while still getting support from his canine best friend. All three seniors share the conflicting feeling of wanting the soldiers to come back for good but also not wanting this program to end.
Bill, Joanne, and Jerry live a pretty lonely life and because of that they have social support with their pets. Jerry’s best friend is his dog and on a normal day they sit in Jerry's truck outside the airport, watching for arriving military planes. Unlike Joanne, Bill and Jerry don’t have grandchildren to keep them busy so having relationships with pets helps them feel less alone and useful. Having pets allows them to cope in stressful situations, have good mental health, and to not feel so isolated. Other than greeting the troops, having a meaningful relationship with a pet gives them motivation to wake up in the morning.
Throughout the film we can see the physical changes they go through because of aging. Joanne is not only facing age but she has also had various knee surgeries that has made it a little more difficult for her to get around. We can see how the years are weighing all three of them down, it has become harder to get around. They become tired with doing much less than someone half their age can do, and need more sleep to get their energy back. Sleeping can be difficult as well; Joanne is in constant pain so she sleeps in a chair instead of her bed. She takes a lot of pills and tries to make the best of her physical vulnerabilities. Weather conditions make it even more difficult for them because of the fear of falling and not being able to get themselves up. We can also see the sickness age brings, like Jerry’s heart condition.
Living in a world that’s constantly changing can be very difficult when you become elderly. There’s always new things and ideas to learn about but as you get older it becomes harder to understand. Bills ideas are very patriotic and the way he perceives conflicts, such as war, is different from Joanne and Jerrys. Joanne shares her doubts about war and Jerry agrees with her on some topics. Although their views might not be the same, they all enjoy greeting and saying goodbye to the soldiers. Part of their identities has become being part of this program and if it were to be taken away from them it’d be a huge loss. Our whole lives were said to be busy: we have school and then we have to work for the rest of our lives and when it comes to retirement it can be bittersweet.
Retirement is the goal when you’re young and just starting to get your working life together. Most of us looked forward to being able to enjoy life without any work in it but what we don’t realize is how much we get used to the busy routine. Once we no longer have a schedule it starts to feel a little lonely, especially if you don’t have a family or friends to spend time with you. These troop greeters were looking for purpose because they have had it their whole lives. Greeting these soldiers has become their new routine, it makes them feel useful and wanted. They have made new reasons to get out of bed every day.
While watching this film I learned a lot of the feelings and though that go through elderly citizens. As a young adult who does not have much connection to the older generation it was interesting to see how individuals change over time and how they feel while it’s happening. These three troop greeters all had distinct lives but one way or another ended up in this program and it has brought them as much happiness as it brings the soldiers they are greeting. I learned how difficult life can be without support. There’re so many physical changes that come with age but there is just as many mental changes that we aren’t so aware of. I’m glad this film was made and I was able to understand the elderly just a little more.
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