I have seen the future. It is Florida, but it is not Miami or Orlando. It’s palm trees, white sandy beaches and the crazy golf of the costal communities. The future is full of old people.

‘I don’t know where the nursing homes are hidden or the very old and poor live’

Happy hour, 5pm-7pm, it’s people in their 70s and 80s sitting on bar stools drinking cocktails. In the future no one cooks, it’s cheaper and easier to eat out or get a takeaway. In the future no one walks. In the future there is only semi-retirement, older people work in supermarkets, but not on the tills; in hair salons, but not in nail bars; in information centres at the mall and at the post office. They are very good with elderly customers. They don’t work in restaurants or behind the bar. They do work in the many coffee shops.

Everywhere conversations are loud, is it the alcohol, the hearing impairment or just habit? People drink and drive but don’t go more than a couple of blocks and only drive at 25 miles an hour. They are happy to stop for pedestrians to cross the road. They are not in a hurry.

Side-effects in the sun

The adverts on all channels are about healthcare insurance, Alzheimer’s disease, hearing loss, diabetes and a cure for conditions that you didn’t know existed. Just ask your physician for a prescription. Not suitable for pregnant women, anyone with high blood pressure or a history of an existing heart conditions. Side-effects may include nausea, headaches, muscle pain, incontinence, constipation, dizziness and breathing difficulties.

They come to avoid the cold winters and grey skies but despite the sun they prefer to sit inside. They don’t smoke, have their own teeth and dress for comfort. They eat big meals, preferring quantity over quality, yet the majority are not obese. Maybe they only eat once a day. They live in retirement communities or neglected single-storey wooden houses on shady boulevards or dusty side roads.

Well the ones we see do. I don’t know where the nursing homes are hidden or the very old and poor live.

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