My first thought was of "Night Owl" - criminally under-rated and under-played. Although I've had the lyrics to "Baker Street" in my head a lot of the day, too. And "Stuck in the Middle With You".

DW

*cuts someones ear off*

when i was younger i thought people who lived to reach their 60s lived a long life now i know its not true   living to 120 is what i consider a fair lifespan... so to me Gerry Rafferty rest his soul had lived only half his life.

But if you lived to 120, you'd spend half your life old. Pete Townsend had it right.

DW

i seen people who were nearing 120 so i can tell you its not bad, they arent like tv puts them to be, they're fine and are great story tellers XD they slow dont to talk and harldy walk but healthy and great company.... i think people disrespect old age too much, i want to be old and i will be proud of it when i'm an old lady XD hopefully though i'll grow a bit taller before then.. i'm too short now.

i also dont like how kids or family would put thier parents in a home, our old people live happy long lives here cause our culture was based on the older being the head of the family, we respect them and let them make the decicions and own everything, people would live longer if we just treated them with more love and respect. being old just means you're being like a kid again, just as parents dont throw thier babies out for being helpless why must children put parents in homes when they're old?

i also dont like how kids or family would put thier parents in a home, our old people live happy long lives here cause our culture was based on the older being the head of the family, we respect them and let them make the decicions and own everything, people would live longer if we just treated them with more love and respect. being old just means you're being like a kid again, just as parents dont throw thier babies out for being helpless why must children put parents in homes when they're old?

Somewhat off-topic, but I like the question (maybe we could go to another thread if necessary).  My view would be that children put parents in homes in this country when either a) the children can't cope or b) the parents need more specialised care than the children can provide. 

If, for example, you have a family where the married "children" both work, spend long hours at work away from the home, have to pick up their own children from childcare and try and get some quality time with them in the meantime, it adds a whole new layer of time & stress if one or both also have to care for an elderly relative (whether in the children's home or in the parent's own home).  Would it be right for that relative to muddle along at home without the right support?  Or would they be better off in a home with full time carers available?  This, of course, puts to one side any arguments around whether care homes are indeed fit for purpose...

Alternatively, it could be the situation that the children live some 250 miles away from the parent.  In such a case, they are in no position to care for their relative at all and will either have to pay someone locally to do it in the relative's own home (which may well be preferred) or pay for a care home.

There's also the relative's own view.  Were I to require care, I probably wouldn't want to be a burden on my relatives - so I might be more inclined to opt for the care home route (whether I funded it, the government funded it or the family funded it).  Ask me again in 40 to 50 years' time, though.

And of course there's always the situation where there are no children.

It would be nice to think I'd be a sprightly old woman, but I wouldn't care to bet on it.  60 years of arthritis, brittle bones and the seemingly inevitable and myriad cancers available to the elderly don't sound like much fun to me, but then my glass is always half empty.

DW

The Chinese've been working on that.

Interrupting, I for one would like to take care of my grandparents the way they need, but the refuse to allow me to do so. Not because they think that they would be a burden, but because of their pride in themselves, and a bit of selfishness too.

The Chinese've been working on that.

that's not good at all, being forced to take care of them will make them feel like a burden for sure.  it must be an accepted idea from within to make it feel good.
i understand all the points you guys made and it makes sense, but there's also the other side of the argument where i think "awareness" of taking care of the elder is gone. if schools and commuinity and tv shows if the idea of taking care of elders was more disscussed and respected we wont be fearing getting old cause our children will grow up in an enviroment that fed them the idea. 

i wont want to be a burden but why think of it as a burden? when we're older we would have lived through so much, like we all lived in a time before cellphones we can tell our kids and grandkids lots of stories about that, and we will always be family that can give advice, cheer and motivate the young ones. we'd have more time than the younger people to focus on more knowledge, i for one wish to learn more languages when i'm free. 
but if they throw us in a home, if they treat us like useless people we will get depressed and stop enjoyng life.... when people give up that's when it ends.

i read some philisopher saying that humans to be wise need longer lives. if we're considered old at 60 while we could live to 120 we willwaste those 60 years feeling sorry for ourselves. imagine if we kept our desire for knowledge and productive works going till we're 120. our world would advance much faster. 

not everyone gets those powerful illnesses most elders get, even if we do that's life, our kids should accept it as we would have excepted them with a handicap.

as for the elders themselves refusing and having too much pride, if you really love them you'd see through it and keep nagging them to accept your offer. someone i love very much is like that and i dont care how many times she says it i nag her to accept my helpt and after she does she giggles saying "i was too embarrassed to ask but you always can tell what i really want". 

I also forgot to mention that I sorta have an adopted grandmother. She didn't live anywhere near any of us, so we offered to take her into our home, but instead, she admitted herself into a retirement home.