In fact, at one of my favorite coffee stops, when I do stop anymore (which I've only really been allowing myself to do when I'm out of beans to brew at home), there's a wonderful new woman behind the counter.  She's great, wonderful, very customer service oriented, and probably in her 70's.

As we all try and cope with a changing economy, and heavy losses in our investments, retirement accounts, and pensions lost..

Many older Americans, are returning to work.  Or, trying to anyway.

Labor Department statistics show participation in the labor force by workers over age 65 hit 16.9 percent in April, the highest for that month since 1971, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Financial Times reported that before the recession about 15 percent of the 78 million "baby boomers" intended to work until they died, but now that has risen to more than 25 percent.

The Census Bureau has also documented that the percentage of those 65-and-over who are still working nearly doubled between 1977 and 2007, as limited Social Security benefits and a diminished U.S. savings rate made retirement economically more difficult.

What do you see in your own future, that of your parents or grandparents?  What changes may already be occurring, to help each other through these times?  And, with the massive number of baby boomers about to hit retirement age, will there be enough jobs in the service economy to accommodate the needs?