The blog
Financial planner George Kinder (“Life Planning for You: How to Design & Deliver the Life of Your Dreams”) has his clients answer the following three questions (I’ve paraphrased for brevity): 1. If you had all the money you wanted—for now and in the future—how would you live your life? 2. If you had only 5-10…
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In “The Evolution of Retirement, 1880-1990,” Dora Costa argues that increased income and poor health are no longer the reasons why American men retire. They used to be. Costa traces the beginning of large-scale retirement in the U.S. to Union Army veterans, who were given pensions by a nation grateful for their sacrifices in the…
Hiking the canyon road at Hidden Falls Ranch today, I thought of old friends. Not the two-legged kind. I’ve been a program director and executive director at my favorite camp, but my best job there was the first one—wrangler. HFR doesn’t allow trail rides in the Palo Duro anymore. Hasn’t for years. There’s a reason.…
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In February, 1962 Marine Colonel John Glenn circled the Earth three times in a NASA craft dubbed Friendship 7. In October, 1998, now a U.S. senator, Glenn returned to space as a payload specialist aboard the shuttle Discovery. At 77, he was the oldest human to venture outside the atmosphere. It’s a trend I’ve noticed…
Just finished reading a Washington Post article on creativity and aging. Seems there is a controversy on whether the latter affects the former. Yes, say the scientists. Brain function declines with age and creativity is one such function. No, say the artists, pointing to Michelangelo who did some of his best work in his 70s,…
Did two things yesterday that aren’t normal for me. First, I got up at 7:30 a.m., which is over an hour later than normal—because I’ve been waking with the sun and this morning was overcast. And, two, last night, we went to dinner with friends, then lingered for an hour or two, just visiting. What’s…
Retirement Myth #7: Retired people are a drain on the economy. I suppose this myth gets perpetuated because of all the reporting on Medicare costs: 618 billion in 2015, 17% of GNP. And while today’s seniors profit from the expenditure, they, alone, certainly didn’t create it. But what about income and wealth, both of which…
It’s why the nine-year-old me coaxed my buddy Jon to follow the train tracks south of Canyon—for 10 miles. Lucky for us, when they appeared at her farmhouse, Aunt Renna Beth took pity on two, tired, thirsty, little boys. And it’s why the 12-year-old me organized an overnight trail ride with junior high friends to…
I’ve always tried to be honest with readers. Nonfiction guru Lee Gutkind calls it “keeping it real.” So here goes: when I wrote of identities yesterday, I told only half the truth. What I said is that, when we retire, we don’t suddenly lose the gifts that made us good at what we did. What…
Realized last night I’m still a camp director. Long story, but was brainstorming about ways to bring a group close and suggested a retreat. Had a similar experience writing a blog when I realized I was still a teacher. And, while comforting a grieving student this summer, the pastor in me showed up. Funny, the…
Retirement Myth #6: Retired people are not as mentally sharp as young people. While it is true that young people have sharper vision, better hearing, quicker reaction times and better short-term memory than seniors, Dr. Rowe says we can compensate for all of these. The lead doctor in the MacArthur Foundation study on aging goes…
Had a salad for lunch today. In case you’re thinking I’m a healthy eater, you should know I had banana pudding for supper last night. No, not for dessert. I said I had banana pudding for supper last night. And before you start judging me, you should know banana pudding has milk and eggs and…