Aging Well June 15th
It makes you think – reading different perspectives on aging. I just started re-reading John McKnight’s book “The Careless Society” which describes how we have replaced true “caring” with a professional class of service providers who depend on creating needs and deficits in order to take care of us. In this eye-opening critique, he specifically […]
Aging Well June 8th
Last Saturday on a beautiful sunny day (how did they do that?) there was standing room only for The Dalles Wahtonka High School graduation – a time for these high school seniors to celebrate the completion of one chapter in their lives and the beginning of another – as friends, parents and grandparents watched with […]
Aging Well June 1st
There will be a time in your life, when you have that “ah-ha” moment. For Judy it was recalling an occasion, years back, when she looked out her window and saw an older man – much older than herself – shuffling along the sidewalk. He wasn’t dirty but wasn’t really clean either – and his […]
Aging Well May 25th
In this column I try to share my perspectives on the opportunities and possibilities during this next chapter of our lives – thoughts I have gathered from reading, studying and most importantly from my conversations with the many active, engaged and caring folks I see daily. I have learned that getting “old” is not the […]
Aging Well May 18th
Is there someone in your life you worry about because they just seem to have lost interest in life – no longer doing the things they have always enjoyed? Or maybe over the last several weeks you have felt let down, depressed or hopeless and have felt little interest or pleasure in doing things? But […]
Aging Well May 11th
Do you ever fear you will become that friend or neighbor who can’t remember when – he told what – to who? I do. Many times when writing this column I can’t recall if I have previously shared the same story, repeated the same quote – or even if I am repeating this fear of […]
Unfortunately, snake oil salesmen still exist. And according to the FBI, seniors are ideal targets for these scammers and aggressive marketers. Many in this age group were raised to be trusting and polite and feel it’s rude to be assertive (although I could name several folks that I wouldn’t want to mess with). And they […]
Aging Well April 27
Are we all ready to hum a few rounds of the English nursery rhyme “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush” while we find out if we can drive in circles and still find our way home? There has been quite a bit of talk about the “roundabout” that will open soon as the eastern […]
Aging Well April 20
Its “Cherry Mania” week: the time to officially announce it’s spring in The Dalles (except for last year) and time to reconnect with neighbors and friends. I was going to share information about depression and older adults but with the sun shining, the weather warming and the party starting, I will wait till next week. […]
Aging Well April 13
Carpe Diem! How often have you seen or heard this common expression? From a poem by the Roman poet Horace, the phrase is part of the longer Carpe diem quam minime credula postero – “Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future”. It is a testament to being in the moment, drinking […]