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Savvy Senior: Fun Part-Time Jobs Ideas for Retirees
By Jim Miller
Dear Savvy Senior,
As a 68-year-old retiree, I’m interested in finding a fun part-time job that can occupy some of my time and generate a little extra income. Can you write a column on low-stress part-time jobs that are popular among retirees?
Part-Time Retiree
Dear Retiree,
Working part-time in retirement can be a terrific way to occupy your time and earn some extra income. The key, however, is finding the right gig that’s fun and satisfying for you. While there are literally hundreds of different part-time job opportunities out there for retirees, here are a few possibilities to explore.
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Mark McNease on Topic: A Million More Marthas
The following is from Mark McNease on Topic. Subscribe here for twice-weekly braintinis.
Prefer to listen? Enjoy your audio side dish, delivered with the soothing sounds of Android Anthony. I’m growing very fond of this guy …
Thank you to new paid subscribers Ron and Tim! You have a lifetime VIP pass to my heart. – Mark
The World Needs Heroes: Meet Martha Hickson
We went to the Hunterdon Democratic Committee spring brunch on Sunday. That’s the county we live in. One of the panel speakers was the amazing Martha Hickson, a school librarian and fierce advocate for kids’ right to read. Her story is harrowing and full of heroism, as she survived a MAGA onslaught to fight another day, and another. She was the 2022 recipient of the Lemony Snicket Prize for Noble Librarians Faced With Adversity, and she speaks with the kind of dedication and experience we need in these book-banning times. Children are not property. ‘Parental rights’ include the right to have your children given access to knowledge. And fire must be fought with fire, which Martha has an abundance of. We need a million more (we’re working on it!).
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‘Final Audition: A Marshall James Thriller’ Audiobook Coming Soon (Narrated by WondervoxAI)
Coming in May: the audiobook edition of Final Audition: A Marshall James Thriller, narrated by my very own WondervoxAI. Look for it on Kobo and anywhere else that accepts AI narration. Embrace the future … Meanwhile, enjoy this first-chapter sample.
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The Twist Podcast #222: Smells Like Theocracy, Tennessee Tussle, Hapless Headlines, and a New Guest Listicle!
Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we take aim at religious extremists masquerading as judges, fist pump the Tennessee Three (No Justins, No Peace!), and discover the best things about Eurovision from listener Charlie.
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Mark McNease On Topic: Rush the Well
From my Monday Musings / Substack
Grand Inquisitor Torquemada smiles from the grave.
At what point does despair become determination? At what point does fear become ferocity? At what point do we, as the Tennessee Three did, ‘rush the well?’
One man in a robe is poised to impose his religious beliefs on the entire nation. He has made no secret of his beliefs, and has attempted to couch them in legalize so specious it exposes his contempt for those who don’t share his magical thinking, and those who would defy him. But that is what must be done – if not now, then when the next theo-judge takes medication for HIV off the market, and gender-affirming medications off the market, and contraception off the market. Do NOT think for a nanosecond this is not the plan. The opponents of our freedoms and rights, the haters of the progress we’ve made over the past 75 years, are organized and determined. They have plans, we have rose-colored glasses. They have bullet points, we have daisies to slip into the ends of rifles. They call us groomers and pedophiles, we call them unfair. The only thing they fight with thoughts and prayers are the near-daily mass slaughter of men, women and children by assault rifles. For every other battle they come heavily armed.
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Mark McNease On Topic: Crossfire Hurricane
From the Substack Mark McNease On Topic. Subscribe for twice-weekly goodies bags.
For all the times I said I would cheer when the day came, the indictment of Donald Trump did not feel celebratory. It felt like a sad day in a tawdry story that has no ending. Will they shoot to kill? Will they shoot at all? Will they ramp up their anti-trans hysteria, blaming the weakest, most vulnerable people they can still pummel while polite society remains glued to TikTok? Right-wing gadfly Ben Shapiro declares that trans people should be barred from owning guns. Not such a 2nd Amendment absolutist after all, is he?
I’m really an optimist. I think we live once, and only once, in our present incarnations. What happens when the lights go out, I don’t care and I don’t think about. I may stare awestruck at the silent void when I’m inches from it, but the whole “where do we go when we die” question has as much meaning for me as “is there a god?” It’s reported that when asked if god exists, Buddha replied with silence. I think that’s the perfect response: it exists if it matters to you that it exists.
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The Twist Podcast #221: Kimberly Akimbo Kills It, Hop Seltzer Sensations, Headlines and a Guest Listicle!
Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we sing the praises of Broadway’s Kimberly Akimbo, offer up the new taste sensation of hops water, listen to a guest listicle, and scan the heinous headlines!
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Dystopia Cornucopia! April Book Funnel Promo for Dystopian and Post-Apocalyptic Thrillers
Party like it’s the end of the world with dozens of free dystopian and post-apocalyptic thrillers. This includes my own Rough and Tumble, along with books and stories by H.G. Kelly, Nicholas P. Adams, Suzanne Jenkins, Angela R. Watts, Colby Rice, Jami Gray, and many more! JUST CLICK HERE and start downloading.
About Rough and Tumble
“Rough and Tumble were not their names by birth.” Boy meets boy at the end of civilization in this extended short story. The year is distant, the reality of those living appears dark and harsh. Among them, surviving by wit and easy violence, are Rough and Tumble, two young men whose lives became entwined so long ago neither of them remembers exactly when, only that it was love at first sight. Now, as Rough imagines an escape from the Slopes, the area they live and expect to die in, he yearns to take Tumble with him. But is it possible? Does Tumble want to go across the murky water, too, or are dreams for the foolish and the dying? Join them as they go on a last nightly prowl, looking for loot and any way out.
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On the Newest Queer We Are Podcast with Host Brad Shreve: Mark McNease and Rick Rose!
If you listen to The Twist Podcast lately you’ll hear us mention our friend and fellow podcaster, Brad Shreve. And this week we’re on his show! Fasten your headphones and enjoy our conversation with Brad about life, passion, friendship, and collaboration. CLICK TO LISTEN.
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The Twist Podcast #220: Liquid Peanut Butter, Kayaking in Peru, and Best Jersey Beaches for the End Times
Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we join the great peanut butter debate, recommend some documentaries and movies, list the best Jersey beaches for the apocalypse, and check out crazy sports teams mascots. Plus more heinous headlines!
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On Dreamshaping: The Empty-Handed Life
Hands aren’t only for holding and grasping—they’re also for teaching us what it’s like to surrender, palms up, empty-handed. The nothing we find there is often the something we need.
It’s hard to let go of our many identities. Getting up and writing has been ‘who I am’ for forty years or so. The fear we all have is that when something leaves our lives, whether it’s a job, or a creative activity, or a person, we won’t know who we are without it. This is acutely present with caregivers: taking care of someone becomes our identity, and when that person is gone, the loss is compounded by losing the sense of self it gave us: what am I going to do now? How will I spend my days or nights? What will define me?
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The Twist Podcast #219: ‘Swarm’ Stings the Senses, Top Grocery Store Grooves, and a Chat with San Antonio’s Queen Fantasia Wood
Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we buzz about the brilliant ‘Swarm,’ find out Rachel’s top grocery store shopping tunes, and listen to a conversation with San Antonio’s ferocious Queen Fantasia Wood.
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Complimentary Audiobooks for New Subscribers!
New at BookFunnel: select audiobooks for email subscribers. Click on any of these and receive the audiobook edition with an email sign up!
Reservation for Murder: A Kyle Callahan Mystery
Narrated by Sean RheadIt’s been several years since Kyle Callahan sought the help of a New York City therapist to overcome the trauma of his encounter with a serial killer, and just as long since his investigation into a teenage girl’s murder brought down the Manhattan District Attorney. He and his husband Danny Durban have decided to move away, to start a new life in the idyllic river city of Lambertville, New Jersey. They have friends there. They’ll have peace and quiet. They can leave the hustle and bustle and stresses of America’s biggest metropolis behind. They open a bed and breakfast, and soon discover that murder and mayhem are waiting to check in. There’s a writers conference in town, with big names and big egos heading for a clash—and a killing—of titans. No sooner has the ink dried on the guest registry than Kyle finds himself pursuing another murderer, this one closer to home than they’ve ever come. He enlists the help of his old friend and local resident Linda Sikorsky, once a detective on the New Hope, Pennsylvania, police force. The two of them follow one lead after another in a race against time until the shocking truth is exposed.
