A Zenecist™ (my word) is someone who is “a light in the moment.” It’s also a soon-to-be retail and lifestyle hub, now in a soft opening as we ideate and source products.
My ‘second career’ after running a brand marketing and design agency the last 34 years, during the warmer months I’m a gardener locally on a part-time basis. I enjoy the work and offer essential gardening services from planning to planting to weeding, soil make-up/pH, and maintenance. I will have an exciting new offering in the kitchen-to-table table gardening space coming in early Fall. This system features a fully self-contained kitchen- or pantry-ready growing cabinet, now the rage in Europe.
Currently ZENECIST has two year-round components.
ZENECIST™ | High-Level. Laid-Back. Lifestyle.™ is an online retail business now under construction. Initially we’ll be testing products and different categories on an eBay store. As I learn, I’ll be building out the e-Comm module of this site, with a planned Grand Opening of ZENECIST™ online shopping scheduled for late 2024.
My goal with ZENECIST is to do some good, live an active lifestyle, and have some fun. Your insight, comments, and help are welcome as ZENECIST builds out. Add a comment to a blog post or go here.
Cheers! T –
PS: I also run my current Apple Music playlists in the sidebar: Spring, Summer, Fall & Winter (not an affiliate) for your perusal and amusement, and mine too.
Hello & welcome to this week’s (week of 10.17.22) issue of Deflector™, the Art of Style & Well-Being for Men of Age™, a TMSC publication. This past 6 weeks I’ve posted On Style or On Being, each with thoughts and insights on how as active older humans we can lead a more satisfying lifestyle and mitigate some of the irrational aspects of aging. If you missed last week’s edition, On Being: Aging & Self-Doubt, you can read it here
My son first-born son John (left), celebrating his 30 birthday in NYC with his friend Kori, who’s in for vacation from Prague.
1 Reason This Will Be My Shortest Post Ever
Vol 2, №5
It’s been one of those weeks. You see, along with rethinking goals and content in Deflector and how I present it going forward (such as trying a video series), I’m celebrating the 30th anniversary of the first greatest day of my life.
The day my oldest son, John Thomas, was born.
Every year since, I always get this overwhelming feeling of near-euphoria, of extreme well-being when the sun is at this October declination and playoff major league baseball is on the TV. You see, we had a game on in the birthing suite, but damned if I saw I pitch; I only have some white noise audio of the announcers in the back of my memory.
Because front and center, well, a miracle. And at age 40, it filled me with awe. And to experience awe is to experience wonder. Absolutely breathtaking.
And easily the best day of my life, only to be matched by the second best day of my life, 5 years later, when my twins were born.
So, feeling these deep-seated emotions again, and not having to answer to a time clock, I’ve basked in the joy of it all, and didn’t try to fill my dance card too full. In fact, it’s been a holiday week for all intents and purposes. It’s been wonderful.
Read More on Deflector, the Art of Style & Well-Being for Men of Age, A TMSC publication hosted at Medium.com/Deflector (this is a Free Read friend link)
How My 70th Summer Came To Be MySecond Summer of Love
Vol 2, №2 – Deflector™ is a business unit of Thomas Marketing Services Corporation
I would never have believed it. I mean, when you hit age 70 the expectation is your life gets VERY boring, you eat your supper at 4, and you become intimate friends with Pat & Vanna, yelling at the TV when one of the contestants makes a bone-head guess at an obvious puzzle solution.
No, I would have never guessed the notoriety and off-the-hook love and acceptance I got from concert goers and staff this past summer as I made full use of the season pass to the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, MA my three 20-something sons gave me for my 70th birthday to go to over 30 shows.
My pals at the Grab N’ Go at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, MA
Though I’ll did have a plan and a rough premise, my Deflector Postulate, to actively research. Because the last thing I wanted was to be treated my age. You see, all my life being a fully responsible adult, provider and parent has been my goal. But to make an obtuse reference to a The Byrds tune I heard them sing it at the old Boston Tea Party venue, with my sons out on their own, I’m younger than that now.
And as the musician John Mayer once suggested, we make things happen for ourselves. It starts with deciding what’s important to you.
Vol 2, №1 – Deflector™ is a business unit of Thomas Marketing Services Corporation
Hello and welcome to the 2022 pilot edition of Deflector™ on The Art of Style & Well-Being for Men of Age.™
When I first conceived of Deflector, in my mind’s eye style was to be its focus, primarily as a strategy to mitigate the overt agism so prevalent in today’s society. And, as you’ll soon read in coming issues, I’ve proven the Deflector Postulate time and again this past summer during the 30+ outdoor concerts I attended on the season’s pass my 20-something sons gave ol’ dad for his 70th birthday.
But as I would come to understand, style without well-being just isn’t much fun. And I’ve observed both style and well-being start with being mindful. With being present, in the present.
“On no, another fucking Buddhist,” you say? Maybe. I had some body art done of my ‘Zen sailboat logo’ for my birthday and when explaining it I always say “I’m a Buddhist-Christian or a Christian-Buddhist, or none of the above.”
I’m surely not a monk or minister. And I was forced to quit the church of my youth when I could no longer live with its intolerance. I’m just a cosmic traveler and man of faith (just don’t know which one) who’s discovered a few basic truths that have helped me live my best life this past few years.
My new pal Dave (left) and me at the Xfinity Center awaiting Steve Nicks, my 36th concert of the 2022 summer season (my kids gave ol’ dad a season pass for my 70th birthday – and I had the time of my life!
And it’s the very simplicity of it all that makes me a ridiculously happy person. Maybe for the first time in my life. I’m still surprised just how much.
So part of my simple mission with Deflector has become to put my life insights and cosmic surmising out there for anyone to adopt or ignore as they will.
Because I’ve also proven happiness is a choice. And so it begins.
Tom Lanen (aka: me, the guy on the right in the chill Maui Jim’s tailgating with new pals before a concert early summer 2022), the principal of Thomas Marketing Services Corporation, is a man on a mission. You see, at age 70 I’ve seen and experienced the overt trappings of agism in every aspect of my life, personal to professional. It happens daily. And it is ugly.
Here’s the thing: the isn’t a chance in the world that agism can be wiped out. But, and it’s a big one, it can be mitigated in large part, with just a little mindful effort. How? Try adding just a little style to your daily regime.
A couple years ago I starting devising what I call The Deflector™ Postulate. Simply stated, as older adults there’s nothing we can do about the effects of aging on our bodies; but we can defect the attention from our wrinkles by adding just one or two style elements to our wardrobes.
I’m determined: I never want to be that old fuck that gets out of his car at Target, polo shirt tucked into his cargo shorts, tube socks up to his knees, old man style kicks and a $12 haircut. Yeah, we get it: your wife dressed you. But dude, you’re perpetuating the senior stereotype. And it just infuriates me.
The Art of Style & Well-Being for Men of Age™
Deflector, a business unit of TMSC hosted at Medium.com, is all about mitigating the aspects of agism that confine or restrict the opportunities available to men of age, from employment to fun. And of course, agism is prejudice so ingrained in us all (including me) that it will never be eliminated in our daily lives; and I’ve found any attempts to do so are just a waste of good energy.
My rebooted publication about well-being, style and quality of life for men of age … and those who love them.
Rather than fight agism, I’ve chosen to coexist with it. It’s actually a remarkably simple thing to do. Inside of railing against the travails of agism, I’ve begun to expend my energy on a little bit of contemporary fashion style, one of my life-long interests, that makes me happy. Because it’s just no fun being an angry old man; I’ve tried it now and again and it always sucks – for everybody.
I call my sense of style “David Bowie Conservative.” An oxymoron you say? Not at all. Just an ideal in my head that mixes some classic style elements, such a plain baggy linen pants with at least one or two accents points I buy that are a little louder than my fashion style might suggest … but in context are just right. More on this in a future story.
Where to start? Well, consider this: when you meet somebody they look at your Face, Feet/Shoes and your hands – in that order. So OK, you have some sun damage on your face – so what’s next? Your kicks (shoes for you old timers). Wear a pair of beat-up boat shoes or sneakers and “old” is the immediate emotion and classification..
But wear a pair of red Nike high-tops or even the classic Chuck Taylor Converse white hi-top sneakers – making sure the soles are bright white like new (Mr Clean Magic Sponges are miracle kick cleaners) – and your presence, and your image is completely different, both with those seeing you and within your own self-view.
I might not have ever guessed this until I starting making cool kicks part of my fashion protocol, but almost immediately I started getting the comment, ‘nice kicks man,’ from young folks I’m certain would have otherwise ignored me. It made me feel good, adding a satisfying level of contentment to my otherwise charmed life.
Of course many older adults will proclaim they don’t need or want the attention of younger people, to which I can only reply: you’re losing out on a lot of the joy young people can bring to your life. I was lucky: I had my kids late in life – my first at 40 and twins at 45 – and I get a daily dose of youthful exuberance from my 20-something sons that gladdens my heart. It’s not to be missed.
You Don’t Wear Out, You Rust Out
My dad used to say: you don’t wear out, you rust out. It’s just so true; as I look at some of my more sedentary peers, such as those content with sitting at a recent Earth Wind & Fire and Santana concert, they generally look like shit. Plus they miss a big part of the joy music offers.
But what to do if you are adverse to gym routines, yoga or pilates or whatever exercise happens to be all the rage? For me, it’s back deck, “sports corner” (where I have my big sound system) or standing desk dancing. Not that I can dance, but as an erstwhile dummer I do have rhythm. And I have one of those bodies that can’t not move when it hears the chants of today’s music.
My dad used to say “you don’t wear out, you rust out.” It’s so true.
One of Deflector’s feature columns is called Rustbuckets™, Meditation & Moving for Guys Who Hate The Gym.In no way is Rustbuckets a place to come to learn to dance. What it is a destination, a focal point, to work out your day-to-day crazinesses in an environment of joy.
No, your web camera is not on and I couldn’t care, even a little, how you dance or if you’re wearing yoga pants with a beat-up top. I just care you dance, however you dance. And our musical selections may even introduce you to some great tunes & musical genres you might not otherwise have found.
Though there’s also a good argument for walking too. And there’re many other ways to keep active; the key is to pick one you love and to do it with consistency.
It works. In fact, I’ve dropped almost 35 pounds from my Covid weight with some daily dancing and a little better attention to what and how much I eat, which is another Rustbucket topic we’ll touch upon. Too, a legit study reported in 2022 that when young boys see their dads dancing, they grow up to be less aggressive towards women or the LGBTQ+ community. So the benefits go beyond our immediate universe.
So check it out, and if you’re so inclined, subscribe to the feed. But only if you want to have some fun in your older adult years.
With the right attitude, anything is possible, even for older adults. I tell you, the love I received this summer at a concert venue to which my 20-something sons gave ol’ dad a season pass for his 70th birthday has been off the hooks. I’m now verging on concert 30 of the summer and living my best life. And you know, when a stylish 20-something woman yelled out “dude, you look f-ing awesome” replete with the modifying f-bomb at a recent Suicide Boys show, well, that’s exactly how I felt. I tell you, it was f-ing wonderful.
