Articles

It’s useful to be able to plan ahead and anticipate the future, but sometimes simply seizing on a chance encounter opens up a whole new avenue of experience. Many significant events in our lives begin in this unexpected way, everything from meeting a future spouse to finding a career to moving to a new city. Looking back, even our own particular conception and birth are … [Read more...] about The Letter

  Almost two years ago, I wrote a few articles for Put Old On Hold Magazine, at the beginning of my second, solo, Around The World backpacking trek, this time going from east to west throughout the Southern Hemisphere. My article writing fell away because of the Wi-Fi irregularities' effect on regular deadlines. I did complete that circle after fourteen … [Read more...] about Recruiting Really, Really Old Folks For A Very Weird Idea

The article title is not advice for inclement weather, but for times when life brings inner storms into our experience. It’s advice to keep in mind for good reason. A character in the PBS program “Call the Midwife” was a former prisoner of war and was talking with a midwife who’d been put into an internment camp when she was nine years old and had to watch her mother and … [Read more...] about Whenever There’s A Storm, Open Both Doors

  I have been an avid reader since elementary school, many years ago. I slowed down on reading while raising five children but refused to STOP. My reading is as important, sometimes more so, than my meals. To say that I would rather read than eat is true. Even at 83, I get five books each week from the local library, not counting the books I buy. My two weaknesses … [Read more...] about Another Ambition?

It's crazy. It seems just about everybody is offended by something. Some complaints seem legitimate but most belong in the "gimme a break" category For example, if you keep up with the TV Housewives of Orange County you will recall that Brooks, the manipulative boyfriend of needy housewife Vicki, accused housewife Tamra of giving Vicki "the … [Read more...] about I Am SO Offended!

My youngest brother died a week ago. It was sudden. It was a shock. But it was somewhat expected. He hadn’t even made it to 60, but his body was giving up on him.   His mental health was declining even more rapidly. That was “an elephant in the living room” though. He’s been mentally ill since grade school but he did not—and would not—acknowledge that. We all danced around it … [Read more...] about Mental Illness: What Can We Do?

I receive a fair number of calls from adults who have intermittent numbness and tingling in the fingers that the doctor has ruled out as not a dangerous disease or that there is nothing to show for this intermittent pain. And I am the guy who usually gets the calls after no one can figure out what the problem is. After all it’s intermittent, it could be stress, it could be from … [Read more...] about What Can We Do about Intermittent Pains in Hands and Fingers?

Another mass killing that has people wondering, “How could this have happened?” There will of course be calls for stronger gun control laws. They will be sifting through the details of his troubled life looking for clues as to why he felt compelled to act out in such a violent way. They will be looking for someone to blame, whether it be his parents, or therapists, or … [Read more...] about Uncontrollable Rage: The Case of Elliot Rodger

  I am determined to enjoy a sense of achievement until my last breath! I refuse to simply sit and do nothing or just twiddle my thumbs. It is true that my list of ‘friends to call’ has gotten much shorter, mainly because many of them have died. I haven’t, so therefore I am going to enjoy the days I have left! There are few I can ‘do things with’, as in have lunch, … [Read more...] about Why I Won’t Quit