Articles

  Joan Rivers has passed away and I am sad she is gone. I don't know why I lament her passing because I did not care for her acerbic "humor". Nevertheless, you had to admire her.  She said things that were politically incorrect and often, there was an element of truth in what she said. She had guts,  and if there is one thing I appreciate,  it's a gutsy woman who speaks … [Read more...] about Joan Rivers: She Did It Her Way

    I've been corresponding with 76-year-old world traveler Linda Brown and recently asked how she managed to travel with practically no luggage. (She travels by herself.)  I also asked other questions about living the expat life. BM: Linda, it's hard to imagine you are traveling around the world with practically no luggage. What's your secret? LB: It's the … [Read more...] about A Conversation With Expat Linda J. Brown

I spoke with a 74 year old man last week who had classic symptoms of multi-infarct dementia, a condition previously referred to as senility. He was on a drug called Losarten for a mild elevation in his blood pressure. He had visited his MD shortly before I spoke to him who added Lipitor to his regimen, because of a cholesterol level above 200. The treatment he is receiving … [Read more...] about Healthcare in the US: It Is Time To Vent

Mary Lloyd's new book, Widow Boy has everything you could want in a story about life in the untamed West in the late 1800s -- love, lust, greed, intrigue, murder, and the foibles of human nature. Make no mistake, this novel is no hastily thrown together shoot 'em up. It is evident author Mary Lloyd spent an enormous amount of time on meticulous research including … [Read more...] about Book Review – Mary Lloyd’s Widow Boy

Many are lonely but few have learned to enjoy solitude. These are two different worlds which can teach us many lessons. In order to appreciate each, we need to learn from the negative as well as the positive. How we react will determine our days. In other words, whether or not you realize it, we decide what kind of day we have. Loneliness doesn’t mean being … [Read more...] about Loneliness Versus Solitude

Do you ever judge yourself as not being as authentic as you believe you should be? Do you know why you feel this way? Here’s something to think about. I was reading about character vs. characterization, and this led me to contemplate what it means to be authentic. When writers craft a novel, they need characters and they need to develop the characters in a way that makes … [Read more...] about What Does Being Authentic Really Mean?

  Hello everyone, I hope you had a wonderful summer and that the weather has cooled off so you can start walking outside again if you are blessed to be able to do so.  In my travels, one of the things I am asked most often is, “Which exercise is best for me?”  Now this is an almost impossible question to answer without working with a person one on one.  And certainly a … [Read more...] about Three Things All Exercises Must Include

You’ve worked hard and saved your entire life to be able to enjoy the benefits of a peaceful and rewarding retirement lifestyle. However any type of an un- reimbursed long term care expense, be it for a mental or physical impairment can of course completely ruin your and your spouse’s retirement plans. After the well spouse and their family gets over the mental shock, and the … [Read more...] about Protecting Retirement Assets And Lifestyle From Cognitive Impairment

Did anyone ever tell you, “If you’re not going to or can’t do it right, don’t do it at all”? That “advice” can be appropriate at times, but the rest of the time, it sets you up for self-sabotage and lack, actual or perceived. Obviously, there are times when you hope that’s the motto of a person, and you expect them to abide by it, such as someone performing surgery or a … [Read more...] about How Perfect Do You Believe You Have to Be?