It's a retirement homecoming

The Philadephia Inquirer reports on a new trend among seniors.Here's the story of Helen Bastian who used to live in Marin County, California:

Pennsylvania State University opened a retirement community of its own on a bluff a mile north of campus. Now, instead of sailboats and bridges, her vista is of cow pastures and Beaver Stadium - and she couldn't be happier.

"Isn't it the prettiest thing you've ever seen?" asked Bastian, who was clad in Penn State blue and sporting Nittany Lion paw-print earrings.

She is one in a growing wave of mascot-toting seniors who are spending their golden years in alma mater-sponsored retirement communities, and who are paying a premium for the privilege. They go to classes, fill the stands at sporting events, and carry school ID cards.

More than 50 communities such as Penn State's are now up and running in college towns around the country, said Leon A. Pastalan, an architecture professor at the University of Michigan, who specializes in housing for seniors and the college-retirement movement.