-
The Savvy Senior: New Shingles Vaccine Provides Better Protection for Seniors
By Jim Miller
Dear Savvy Senior,
A good friend of mine got a bad case of shingles last year and has been urging me to get vaccinated. Should I?
Suspicious Susan
Dear Susan,
Yes! If you’re 50 or older, there’s a new shingles vaccine on the market that’s far superior to the older vaccine, so now is a great time to get inoculated. Here’s what you should know.
-
Gay Travelers Magazine: Provincetown – Where LGBTQ+ Can Be Themselves
Reprinted with permission from Gay Travelers Magazine
By Steven Skelley and Thomas Routzong
Provincetown, Massachusetts stands out in history as not only the first place where the Pilgrims landed, it is constantly evolving to accept those who seek refuge, a place to be free and a place to be themselves. We asked locals to give us the inside scoop on the past, present and future of LGBTQ+ Provincetown.
How would you describe Provincetown in one sentence?
From Tony Fuccillo, Director of Tourism:
Provincetown is a place where you feel you can truly be proud of being gay; all LGBTQ+, yes everyone is welcome in Ptown and can be themselves when they are here without any judgment from anyone.
-
Gay Travelers Magazine: Provincetown – Where LGBTQ+ Can Be Themselves
Reprinted with permission from Gay Travelers Magazine
By Steven Skelley and Thomas Routzong
Provincetown, Massachusetts stands out in history as not only the first place where the Pilgrims landed, it is constantly evolving to accept those who seek refuge, a place to be free and a place to be themselves. We asked locals to give us the inside scoop on the past, present and future of LGBTQ+ Provincetown.
How would you describe Provincetown in one sentence?
From Tony Fuccillo, Director of Tourism:
Provincetown is a place where you feel you can truly be proud of being gay; all LGBTQ+, yes everyone is welcome in Ptown and can be themselves when they are here without any judgment from anyone.
-
One Thing or Another: All Boxed Up
It’s always One Thing or Another … a lighthearted look at aging, life, and the absurdities of it all.By Mark McNease
Who doesn’t want to gaze at a baseball cap or coffee cup forty years after buying it and remember that special vacation?
How many boxes does it take to hold a life? It’s a question many of us ask when we find ourselves moving from one home to another. A home is in many ways who we are: that place where we’ve spent most of our time, where we’ve created identities linked to the rooms in which we sleep, eat and bathe, and where we contemplate our daily existence. Then a new phase beckons, a new adventure, and we see it all in front of us, boxed and packed to be taken by car, truck or hand cart to the next phase, the next identity with a few revisions.
-
Adventures in Gardening (#1 in a Series)
In the beginning: last year’s garden. Have photos or advice of your own? Share them with our readers by emailing me here.
Mark McNease/Editor
Before moving full time to our house in rural New Jersey, my husband Frank and I had very little success with our attempts at growing a vegetable garden. Gardens of any kind, especially vegetable gardens, require frequent watering and care. We were only here on weekends, driving out from New York City, and then not every weekend.
-
Lee Lynch’s Amazon Trail: The Terlet
Photo by Sue Hardesty The Amazon Trail
By Lee LynchWhen I objected, starting around the age of four or five, to commercials on the radio, I had no idea what the future of marketing would hold for us all. Why, I asked, was “The Lone Ranger” interrupted to sell Silvercup Bread? Was it because of his silver bullets? Well, yes, it was considered a terrific marketing tie-in. I hated ads then and I hate them now when the once open internet has become a mammoth shopping mall for which we pay with our privacy.
-
The Savvy Senior: How to Write a Will
By Jim MillerDear Savvy Senior,
Though it may seem hard to believe, at age 65, I never have gotten around to making a will, but I’d like to now. My question is: Do I need to hire a lawyer to write my will, or can I do it myself? I want to get my affairs in order, but I hate paying an attorney fee if I don’t have to.
Getting Organized
-
The Savvy Senior: How to Choose a Memory Care Unit
By Jim MillerDear Savvy Senior,
My mom has Alzheimer’s disease and has gotten to the point that she can’t live at home any longer. I need to find a good memory care residential unit for her but could use some help. Any suggestions?
Exhausted Daughter
Dear Exhausted,
Choosing a good memory care residential unit for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease is a very important decision that requires careful evaluation and some homework.
-
The Savvy Senior: Tips and Resources for Older Job Seekers
By Jim MillerDear Savvy Senior,
What resources can you recommend to help older job seekers? I’m 60 and have been out of work for nearly a year now and need some help.
Seeking Employment
Dear Seeking,
While the U.S. job market has improved dramatically over the past few years, challenges still persist for many older workers. To help you find employment, there are job resource centers and a wide variety of online tools specifically created for older job seekers. Here’s where you can find help.
-
The Savvy Senior: Could You Have Diabetes?
By Jim Miller
Dear Savvy Senior,
My brother and his wife, who are ages 60 and 56, were recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and prediabetes, and neither one had a clue. Could I have it too?
Concerned Sibling
Dear Concerned,
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention nearly 115 million Americans have diabetes or prediabetes today, but most of them don’t even know they have it. Here’s how to know if you’re at risk.
-
Dave Hughes: Senior Housing Needs to Increase Its Diversity Competency
Dave Hughes of RetireFabulous.com Senior Housing Needs to Increase Its Diversity Competency
Changing Workforce Demographics Signal a Change in Retiree DemographicsBy Dave Hughes
During their working years, the Baby Boomer generation (those born between 1946 and 1964) experienced a dramatic environmental shift in workplace demographics and culture. Throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, employers have become more attuned to the need to provide workplaces that are more welcoming of career-oriented women and diverse people of all sorts. Corporate America and academia, in particular, implemented policies and training programs which foster inclusion for employees of various races, nationalities, religions, and physical abilities, as well as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) people who want to be able to live and work more openly.
-
The Savvy Senior: How to Get Cash For Your Life Insurance Policy
By Jim MillerDear Savvy Senior,
I have a life insurance policy that I’ve been paying on for years that I really don’t need any longer. I’ve been thinking about letting it lapse, but I’ve heard that I can actually sell it for a nice payout. What can you tell me about this?
Interested In Selling
Dear Interested,
Selling a life insurance policy, even a term life policy that you don’t want or need any longer – a transaction known as a “life settlement” – has become a popular option among retirees in recent years that could use some extra cash. Here’s how it works.
-
Gay Travelers Magazine: Vinales Valley, Cuba – Touring the UNESCO World Heritage Site
This article first appeared at Gay Travelers Magazine, reprinted with PermissionBy Steven Skelley and Thomas Routzong
On our second trip to explore Cuba, we decided to venture outside Havana to the amazing Vinales Valley. We booked an 11 hour tour called “The Vinales Valley – A UNESCO World Heritage Site” and we discovered a Cuban treasure.
The Vinales National Park is a Cuban National Monument. More than 90 percent of the property is in the hands of private owners. Thirty percent is owned by individual farmers and another 62 percent is owned by the National Association of Small Farmers. If you want to see the real Cuba, this is the place.