From our very first issue on September 4, 2018, Respect has billed itself as “the newspaper for seniors (and seniors-to-be).”

We’ve certainly found an amazing and loyal readership among retired people and other older adults. I like to think that’s because we live up to the promise of our “Respect” brand: we select story topics that focus not just on “seniors’ issues” (whatever that means), but on subjects that are relevant to people who grew up with a sense of community.

We may be victims of our own success: we’ve received such a positive response from the 65-to-103-year-olds, a lot of seniors-to-be don’t think they’re quite ready to be reading Respect. (“Isn’t that for old people?”)

If you’ll excuse the term “senior citizen,” it’s important to recognize that there are two words there: senior, yes, which simply means older; but more importantly, citizen.

“Senior citizens” (sorry) are citizens just like any others. Whatever affects our communities affects us as much as anyone else. Whatever evokes civic pride amongst our fellow citizens makes us proud too.

That’s why most of our stories are community news, not “seniors’ news.” We present our stories and columns in a seniors-friendly layout, with large readable type; and we’ve chosen columnists who can appeal to mature readers.

As I flip through the pages of our papers, including today’s paper, I notice that not one of our stories is specific to seniors. And stories that address issues like stroke recovery or elder abuse are absolutely relevant to a 50-plus reader.

One of our best advertising clients, Age Friendly, has just launched an ad campaign about the services it offers caregivers—often grown children caring for parents or other older adults.

For anyone—a senior or a senior-to-be—who might prefer to read online, we have launched a subscription plan for our digital e-edition. Visit our page on Local Ink (https://shorturl.at/TVlna), and sign up to get Respect the minute it’s published.

Whether you read the printed paper or the e-edition, you’re never too young for Respect!

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50-plus? You’ll want to read this!