Category: Uncategorized

According to Kerry Burnight, a star in the healthy aging firmament, if we have a positive view of aging, we can live an average of 7.5 years longer. Here’s what she thinks gets better with age: For me, this is a work in progress…and it is work.

Years ago, my then primary care physician would end my annual checkup with the following statement, “You’re as healthy as a horse.”  Although I loved horseback riding as a camper, I never quite understood what a horse’s health had to do with me. But as a survivor of an early-found breast cancer, I am fearful…

I have loved Vermont for decades.  My first visit to the Marlboro Music Festival was with my then boyfriend Mark in the 1960’s. And there were many more visits with my husband Peter.  But I hadn’t visited the Green Mountain State for a long time… Until friends invited me to their home in Vermont. It…

I do not have an AI “friend”, but from what I read, AI is a mixed blessing. It seems that some younger people are using AI to replace friends.  That’s a problem beyond 80-something’s ability to fix. For older people, however, AI can provide connection and community.  Plus it is available 24/7.  But we must…

My oldest grandchild was away finishing up his senior year in college, and his brother was traveling, having just completed his freshman college year.  As a result, when I visited my empty-nester son and his wife last week, I had a choice of my usual guest bedroom or a child’s room. I found my “guest”…

The Kugel family has benefited from higher education for decades, both in learning and earning (I couldn’t resist that.)  So, when Jeremy who is a vice-president at the University of Maryland and his wife sponsored a fellowship there, in honor of his father, I was thrilled. Thus, at 7:00 a.m. last Friday, at the U.…

When I agreed to join my pal for a concert at her church on Sunday, I was reluctant to leave my newspapers and Sunday phone calls.  But I did. And was rewarded by an orchestra called City Strings, made up of adorable kids, tiny to big, some with instruments bigger than the kids themselves. The…

When ChatGPT let me know that I could describe an image and it would produce a picture, I couldn’t resist. My ask was for “a picture of an ‘old’ lady with a great idea.” In a few blinks of my eyes or maybe a whole minute, the photo below appeared on my screen: Please note: …

Our older son often referred to Peter and me as his “classical-music-loving- parents.” And with good reason.  All our household listening devices were pre-set to Boston’s one classical music station. The New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall was one of out favorite in-person performance venues.  Last Sunday I attended a concert by Boston’s Civic Symphony there.…

Let’s see…is there anything worse than sitting at the Toyota dealer waiting for your car’s annual service checkup?  Maybe losing your smart phone? Maybe the sound of your dentist’s drill approaching your open mouth?   After two hours of waiting in the Toyota dealer’s “lounge” last week, I learned that my 2016 Prius with only…