Articles, activities for boomers & seniors
A Return to a Slow Life
Many of us are familiar with the musical masterpieces of “Hey Jude” (Beatles), “Stairway to Heaven” (Led Zeppelin), “In the Air Tonight” (Phil Collins), “Bohemian Rhapsody” (Queen), and “American Pie” (Don McLean) — but can you name one characteristic that is common to each song? They all have an ascending tempo — the beat gets increasingly faster as the song progresses. This same attribute could also be said of modern American culture, or at least until COVID took center stage.
Be a Good Sport and Laugh at These Jokes!
Last Sunday, while I was playing golf, a man hit me with a golf ball. I said, “That will cost you five dollars!” The man said, “Well, I yelled, ‘Fore’!” So I said, “OK, I’ll take it!”
The youngster said, “Boy, I’d hate to be a fish.” “Why?” “I’d have to be in schools all my life.”“What position does your brother play on the football team?” Tom was asked. “I’m not real sure,” the boy replied, “but I think he’s one of the drawbacks.”
’69: Looking Back
Do you remember ‘69? 1969, that is, not when you were 69! If you can’t get out and jog, you can jog your memory with these nostalgic lists!
Herein we have lists of memorable items that were notable during 1969. 1969 was a year of changes all across our country and around the world in culture, politics and society in general.
Setting Goals — Legacy Series, Part 4
In our previous issue, we looked at the possibility of turning wishes into hopes and into goals — steps toward turning wishes into realities. A 2007 movie, The Bucket List, popularized the term, “bucket list.” A bucket list is a list of things you want to accomplish or obtain before you “kick the bucket,” a euphemism of unverified origin for “die.” It is a catalog of goals you intend to reach, no matter what.
Useless Facts That Mean Something to Somebody
Do you remember Leopold Auenbrugger? His father owned a tavern in Graz, Austria, and that's why a doctor taps your back, and sometimes, your front. The elder Auenbrugger judged the amount of wine in his casks by noting whether his tapping produced a hollow (empty) sound or a dull (full) note. Leo applied this to people, and now doctors can tell if the chest cavity is clear (hollow) or contains fluid or something else that shouldn't be there (thud). Now you know over 200 years of medical history!
COVID-19 or Psalm 19?
The big news for 2020 is the pandemic caused by COVID-19, the somewhat gentler term for the coronavirus. This deadly virus has grabbed the headlines from the presidential race, foreign threats, celebrity hijinks, and just about every other newsworthy event. We are saturated with contradictory articles and tweets and posts and murmurs and find it hard to know who or what to believe. It’s very Orwellian when you walk into a market to buy flowers and hear over the PA system, while standing 6 feet apart, wearing a creepy mask, “Attention customers! You must maintain social distancing. Wash your hands for 20 seconds. Wear a mask. Do not touch anything. Don’t go near the cashier; just toss your wallet over the plexiglass germ shield.”