I am well aware that I can be curmudgeonly about quite a few things. I form opinions and sometimes stick to my opinions even when there is evidence that they are wrong. I don’t mean to be this way. I try to keep an open mind, but sometimes, when I have dug in my heels, it is difficult for me to change course and admit that I was wrong.

Even though I have been eligible for membership for a dozen years, I have yet to join AARP. I am well aware that the discounts that come with membership exceed the cost of membership. I know that my friends have figured out how to make their membership pay.

For me, however, it isn’t about money.

Let me be clear. There is nothing wrong with AARP. It is a legitimate organization that has lobbied for important causes, provided real assistance to its members, helped our society overcome age discrimination, and produced important publications. I would never try to talk someone else out of membership in the organization.

I suppose there are several reasons why I have resisted membership to date. One is my aversion to the methods used by the organization to obtain members. I receive multiple mailings each year from the group, often with membership cards enclosed and lots of slick full-color publications. I’m pretty sure that they are spending more than the cost of membership each year trying to get me to join. I’d rather be a member of an organization that was a bit more frugal with its appeals. I’m not a fan of a full mailbox. Given the amount of mail that the organization sends me when I’m not a member, I’m reluctant to give them permission to send me even more mail.

Part of my reluctance is that the organization was clearly designed by and for people of the World War II generation. My parents’ generation was filled with great leaders and advocates. As they aged, they faced discrimination and pressures that were unfair. They had much to offer for many years after their retirement. They met this discrimination in the same fashion as they had other problems in their lives. They organized. They formed a strong advocacy group, held meetings, elected officers, raised funds and accomplished a great deal. That is very good. But it is an organization designed with the structure and style of many other organizations our parents’ generation formed. The structure doesn’t exactly encourage new leadership. It is designed to maintain its current status quo. I think it would make more sense for our generation to create our own organization rather than expect the organization of our parents to someday become ours.

I’m not a big fan of senior discounts. In the United States, most of the wealth is controlled by people over the age of 50. What we need is discounts for young families and parents with children in the home. Why should the bulk of the discounts go to the people with the most money? It seems to me that those who can afford it should pay full fare and the discounts should go to the ones who need it. I know that there are some seniors living on fixed incomes with limited financial means. But AARP seems to be appealing to the jet-setting, international-traveling group of people who are well off and simply don’t want to part with their money.

I think they watered down the organization when they kept lowering the age of admission and distancing themselves from the word “retired.” The group was formed as an advocacy group for retired people. Now they seem to be ashamed of the word “retired” and are directly appealing to those of us who are not retired. As I said, they’ve been after me to join for a dozen years and I expect to be fully employed for nearly another decade.

All of that said - and I do apologize for my rant - this blog isn’t about AARP. As I began, I’m a bit of a curmudgeon. Still, if you checked my wallet, you’d find a National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Senior Pass. I went to the forest service and picked up my card on the second day I was eligible. The same day, I booked a two-night stay in National Forest campground. The cost of the lifetime pass was $10. The 50% discount on camping saved me $18 the first time I used the card. Not a bad investment, if you ask me. I’ll also be getting free admission to national parks, monuments, and lots more discounts on camping and day use. With three vehicles, the discount on day-use passes for my cars for the lake where I paddle is more than three times the cost of the senior card every year.

So, I have been wondering, why am I so quick to go for the discount for the National Parks and Federal Recreation lands and so reluctant to sent $16 to AARP? OK, I know that AARP asks for dues every year and that the price will go up as I age. Still, it would be easy to argue that the discounts that come with membership far exceed the cost of membership.

Part of the answer is my relationship with National Parks and other Federal Recreational Lands. I feel that I am a part-owner in these lands. I have been using them for all of my life. My parents took me camping in a National Forest within the first couple of months of my life and I have used federal lands for recreation every year of my life. I have tried to be a good steward of our public lands, being careful to clean up after myself and leave no trace behind. As a paddler, I don’t even leave footprints in some of the places I play. I also hike and take pictures and spend a lot of time refreshing my soul on public lands.

As a part-owner of these lands, it seems only appropriate for me to have a card in my wallet that says I’ve been a part of these lands for many years. After 6 decades, I feel entitled to the discount.

It is probably another case of twisted thinking on my part. And, who knows, I may change my mind about AARP. I’m planning to retire some day - just not now.

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