Martinez 1 Katerina Martinez Professor Lago Essay four draft 1 4 November 2013 Retirement Communities Numerous opinions and

comments arise when people start talking about the elderly. People love great old people stories because it gives them something to share and discuss at a common ground. However, stories that involve the elderly are not always on the positive side. They may be devastating stories how an old lady forgot her way around the high way or how there was an accident because an old couple was not paying attention to the road. Along with tragic stories comes stressful problems. In Monroe Township, the elderly cause problems for families, the board of education, and even the drivers in Monroe. They cause so many problems because in result of the retirement communities expanding throughout the town, chaos is increasing. Being named after the fifth president of the United States on February 23, 1838, Monroe is one of the most historic towns in New Jersey. Its main commission is to preserve historic buildings, sites, objects, and resources throughout the town. The three main elderly communities and neighborhoods make up the heart of Monroe. Not only are there more than three retirement communities filled with men and women age 65 and above, but also there are neighborhoods that were built in the 70s and 80s that are known for housing retired couples. Today, it is still full of historic sites that give the town a lot of meaning. It has changed by Monroe Township expanding every year, but it is expanding due to the increasing number of retirement communities. Expansion is not

Martinez 2 always a negative aspect for a town. However, it makes it increasingly difficult for old people, families, teenagers, and the school board to operate all on the same level. It makes it difficult for retirees, families, teenagers, and the school board to cooperate with one another because not all of them are on the same pace. The retirees have made up Monroe for more than fifty years and the sudden outbursts of new schools and developments of families are difficult for them to cope with. Mrs. Rivera who moved to Monroe in 1977 has been retired for five years. She feels that Monroe is a great town but its not fair that we have to pay for taxes that go toward the newly built high school that our kids do not even attend (Rivera). Mrs. Rivera is not the only retiree who feels the way she does. Retired people tend to fight the school boards decisions because the school board makes decisions that affect the entire town. Since it affects the entire town, the elderly have to live around the changes that should not be their main concern to begin with. For example, building new recreational centers and new schools for younger children cause the elderly to pay for taxes, but it is not like they have the opportunity to really use those buildings. The buildings were built for families to use and get involved throughout the community and for students to attend school. Retirees try to vote against new buildings for students and families, but that starts to create tension with school board members and families. Not only are families, students, and school board members affected by the retired communities, but also drivers in Monroe Township. Most young drivers tend to drive faster than the usual speed limit because they are more anxious to get to their destination. Besides cops stopping them from going their own speed, retirees are always on the roads

Martinez 3 of Monroe. Retirees tend to drive slower than the speed limit, or they go the exact speed limit because they are able to take all the time they want. Without a job or any true responsibilities, they can travel without being rushed or even stressed. A typical stereotype about the elderly is that older workers tend to be less productive than younger workers (Lecy 204). With retirees driving at their own pace, young adults easily lose their patience when they come in contact with them. This problem starts to cause chaos because slow driving may lead to traffic and in turn, that can lead to more accidents. During week day mornings, the roads are thriving with traffic and impatience. Parents and bus drivers are trying to get their kids to school on time and newly student drivers are also trying to get to school. On top of the traffic from parents, bus drivers, and students, the elderly tend to be out early in the morning because most of them get up early. They drive out onto the roads and cause more traffic because since they do not have to somewhere at a certain time, they drive slower than usual which then causes a backup on the roads. Although Monroe Township is large for a town, combining students, parents, bus drivers, and the elderly in the morning is still chaotic. Jeena Patel, a senior of Monroe Township High School states, I hate the morning traffic and I hate that I have to leave almost fifteen minutes earlier than I should just because of traffic (Patel). Patel is not the only senior that feels stressed in the morning. I remember when I was a senior last year and drove to school. The traffic was always so long because of the numerous buses and cars trying to get into the school parking lot. Instead of letting the students or the buses go into the parking lot, the elderly people would make themselves a priority and

Martinez 4 not let anyone go. Also, they would make slow turns that would get me caught in the red light. The elderly do not mean any harm most of the time, but since there are so many of them, they do not realize that other people around them do not have as much leisure time as they do. Last school year, there were more than seven accidents on a weekday morning due to the elderly and a student driver. Most of the reason was because of the fact that the elderly did not see the other car coming or they did not realize that they did not have the right of way. While the numerous retirement communities in Monroe Township are pleasing the retires by giving them a place to retire and be in a tight-knitted neighborhood, they are affecting the numerous families and students around them. Students education is on the line and accidents are increasing each year. If these problems continue, Monroes future will suffer. The Elderly will never realize what they do is not correct in public because no one has spoken up about the issue. This problem in Monroe Township cannot be easily solved by just eliminating the retirement communities and the elderly. They make up a great deal of the population, and specifically taking the age sixty five and older community would go against laws of even discrimination. Instead of solving a problem, wiping out retirement communities would just create more issues. One way to progressively improve the issue is if there was a town meeting in order to discuss the issue of the increasing number of retirement communities. In order to prove that increasing the number of retirement communities is not a good idea is by giving evidence of the amount of accidents that have increased over the past ten years from retirement communities that have multiplied. Also, having

Martinez 5 students, families, board of education members and even police talk about the effects of the elderly on the town would support the argument even more than data. The elderly do not purposely mean harm. However, if an entire town has been having an increasing amount of problems over this kind of innocence then who is to say that the rest of the state or even the world is not having the same problem.

Martinez 6 Works Cited Lapsley, James N. "Overcontrol in Retirement Communities." Pastoral Psychology 49.6 (2001): 439-50. ProQuest. Web. 30 Oct. 2013. Levy, Becca R., Lee Hummert Mary, and Leslie A. Zebrowitz. "Mind Matters: Cognitive and Physical Effects of Aging Self-Stereotypes / Commentaries / Reply." The Journals of Gerontology 58B.4 (2003): P203-11. ProQuest. Web. 31 Oct. 2013. Patel, Jeena. Interview. Message to the author. 4 Nov. 2013 Rivera, Tracy. Interview. Message to the author. 4 Nov. 2013