Page 14 - C.A.L.L. #34 - Winter 2011/2012

I experienced many emotions over this time, often feeling that I (and we as a

community) had failed to honor elders, and in fact were treating our senior members
in a manner similar to the dominant society. This was especially ironic to me in that
we had been founded to offer a model which was more humanistic and honoring of the
needs of the group, living simply so that all could benefit! I was disappointed that
just as the general culture was beginning to feel the need for what we uniquely had
to offer, we seemed to be going in the opposite direction to become more
"corporately minded"! I do not know if the new group in power has struggled with the
difficult issues of elders since I left, but I rather doubt it-as it seems hard to
tackle issues that are not immediately being encountered.

And here are some comments on Dianne's words by a former fellow community member of
hers:

Dianne mentioned feeling that the community had not honored its elders. I think we
can look at this issue in three areas: the personal, the financial, and the
organizational culture.
In terms of the personal, I believe the community generally honored Dianne and
community "old timers." Those of us who led some of the changes Dianne describes
went to great efforts to make it clear that we were not trying to disrespect anyone
as a person or fail to honor their past contributions and dedication, even while we
critiqued some of their deeply held ideas about community and organizational
structure.
In terms of the financial aspect, it is true that we never figured out a retirement
package and we still have not. Dianne was always perfectly welcome to stay at our

community, travel the world, and come back and share her wisdom with the
community as she describes wanting to do. And she would have to pay standard
community fees. Our community provides a great place for elders to live, but at the
same costs as for anyone else. I greatly wish that our education and conference
center could provide full benefits for all employees. Unfortunately, this is easier said
than done when just paying our monthly bills is often a stretch. The "old timers"
didn't set up systems that would support these types of benefits, such as savings
plans, so those benefits were not there when they wanted them.
The shifts have resulted in people making more decisions in smaller groups related to
their area of responsibility and experience. Sometimes people feel left out or there

is missing information. No decision making system is perfect. But the "old ways," I
believe, were not working on many levels, and we needed to try something different.
Those of us wanting these changes did not organize a takeover from a majority-we
simply got so tired of the "old ways" that we offered to all resign and leave the
community. At this point, most of the people in the community-members who were in
the middle, not sure which approach they preferred-figured they better support us
making the changes or the whole place might not be able to continue.
Marc Tobin