Wait! Don’t I get the cold beer and massage too?

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Have you heard? The baby boomers are aging. Perhaps we’ll all be out on the streets because we can’t afford long-term care and Medicare and Social Security will have run out of money. But shopping at the supermarket may be easier.

According to an article in Britain’s Daily Mail, Europeans are designing supermarkets specially tailored for older people. As part of a preparatory fact-finding mission, British old-age pensioners (as they are termed in that land) and some scientists recently traveled to Berlin and scoped out a Kaiser supermarket there, which already focuses on the needs of senior citizens.

Among the features: Lighter supermarket carts. Magnifying glasses on the carts as well as supermarket shelves. Alarm buttons for individual customer care. Large signs. Bright lighting. Wide aisles free from clutter. Anti-slip flooring. There’s a rest corner where customers can relax and even get a massage -- and there’s cake there, plus cold beer on tap, according to another article in the Journal, a Newcastle, England, publication. This last feature sounds very, very good to me, and I would gladly fake an AARP card if that’s what it took to be part of it.

The British supermarket chain Tesco, which organized the fact-finding mission, plans to open Seniors Supermarkets in the U.K. soon, starting with one in Newcastle.

-- Rosie Mestel