• LGBTSR,  Savvy Senior

    Savvy Senior: Recommended Vaccines for Medicare Recipients

    By Jim Miller

    Dear Savvy Senior,

    My husband and I recently turned 65 and would like to find out which vaccines are recommended and covered by Medicare?

    New Beneficiaries

    Dear New,

    All recommended vaccines for adults, age 65 and older, should be covered by either Medicare Part B or Part D, but there are some coverage challenges you should be aware of. Here’s a rundown of which vaccines are recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and how Medicare covers them.

    Covid-19: Even though Covid-19 is no longer a public health emergency, it can still cause severe illness, particularly in older adults. Because the Covid virus continues to mutate, new vaccines are being developed to keep pace, so the CDC recommends that all seniors stay up to date with the latest Covid vaccines, including booster shots.

    All Covid-19 shots are covered 100 percent by Medicare Part B.

  • Cathy's Wealth of Health,  LGBTSR

    Cathy’s Wealth of Health: Eyes: A Window to Liver Health  

    By Cathy McNease, Dipl CH, RH

    Traditional Chinese Medicine has given us a way to physically view how healthy or unhealthy is our liver via the eyes.  So much information is provided to me as a practitioner by simply observing my patient’s eyes. The tongue is used in Chinese Medicine for diagnosis. The sides of the tongue tell you about liver health…pale = blood deficiency; red = heat; purple = stagnation. If your eyes are still in good condition, but you observe one of these colors on your tongue, start now to remedy the imbalance in your liver and protect your precious sense of vision. One of the beauties of tongue reading is that it empowers us to prevent diseases before they strike.

    Here are some of the most important messages seen in the eyes, followed by some simple remedies:

    Red eyes show heat, inflammation, or irritation.

    Dry eyes show lack of body fluids, deficiency of blood or too much heat.

  • Book Reviews,  LGBTSR,  Terri Schlichenmeyer

    Book Review: The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: True Stories of the Magic of Reading, by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann with Chris Mooney

    By Terri Schlichenmeyer
    The Bookworm Sez

    “The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: True Stories of the Magic of Reading” by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann with Chris Mooney

    c.2024, Little, Brown  $28.00  338 pages

    Last night, you got between the covers and went to South America.

    It wasn’t difficult. A few days ago, you walked around London in 1888; you were in the future before that; you’ve met con artists, florists, runaways, and heroines, and you didn’t even have to leave your house. You can experience many things with a book, and in “The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians” by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann, you’ll read about a different kind of adventure.

    “To be a bookseller,” say the authors, “you have to play detective.”

    That means determining which book with a “blue cover” is the one the customer wants. It’s asking the right questions to find the right fit for young readers and assuring book lovers that “that’s okay” if they didn’t like something.

  • LGBTSR

    Upcoming Workshops in May: 2-Hour Guided Autobiography Introductory Workshops, and Fiction Writing Essentials

    Ready, set … write! I’ve got two 2-hour Guided Autobiography workshops coming up in May, one in-person and one online.

    Join us in May for one of two 2-hour Guided Autobiography workshops.

    Storytelling is healing. As we reveal ourselves in story, we become aware of the continuing core of our lives under the fragmented surface of our experience. We become aware of the multifaceted, multi-chaptered ‘I’ who is the storyteller. We can trace out the paradoxical and even contradictory versions of ourselves that we create for different occasions, different audiences… Most important, as we become aware of ourselves as storytellers, we realized that what we understand and imagine about ourselves is a story. And when we know all this, we can use our stories to heal and make ourselves whole.”

    —Susan Wittig Albert, Writing From Life

    Guided Autobiography centers on thematic journaling, with participants writing on a selected theme for the workshop. Courses and condensed workshops include handouts, thought- and conversation-generating ideas and suggestions, ice breakers, and the pleasures of bonding with the group members while we explore the stories we’ve told with our lives.

    The journey toward ourselves begins with a sentence. We are the ‘I’ in storytelling. Participants will receive the workshop outline (PowerPoint), complimentary folder, yellow writing pad, and pen.
  • LGBTSR,  The Weekly Readlines

    The Weekly Readlines April 5

    BIG CUP: THE WEEK’S TOP STORIES 

    The right indulged in another manufactured freakout, this time over the White House Easter egg hunt, and Biden’s observation of the Trans Day of Visibility. The egg hunt has had the same rules about not including religious imagery for 45 years, and trans visibility day has been on March 31 since it began in 2009. Meanwhile, Trump escalates his fusion of politics and Christian nationalist grievance, declaring that election day will be ‘Christian Visibility Day.’ As if anyone could miss the most ubiquitous religion in America.

    Costo weighs in on the weight-loss game with its new $179 three-month plan, in partnership with Sesame, its healthcare vendor. You can sign up after snagging their super popular $1.50 hot dogs with a whopping 700 calories. Seems like the perfect combo.

    Disney shareholders rejected a push for an anti-trans policy in an explosive annual meeting, and the Talented Mr. Ripley got a remake on Netflix that has everyone calling it a masterpiece.

    SMALL PLATES AND FINGER FOODS

    LGBT Adults More Likely To Experience Discrimination In The Exam Room – MSN

    A Queer Muslim HIV-positive Journey – POZ Magazine

    Joe Biden Calls Trans People “Fabric Of Our Nation” In Trans Day Of Visibility Proclamation

    Best LGBTQ+ bars to visit in the Midwest – GayCities

  • LGBTSR,  Savvy Senior

    Savvy Senior: Best Cell Phones for Seniors

     

    By Jim Miller

    Dear Savvy Senior,

    Can you recommend some good cell phones for seniors? My 79-year-old mother needs to get a new mobile phone and has asked me to help her find one that she would like.

    Searching Daughter

    Dear Searching,

    For older adults, choosing a cell phone is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Some seniors love the latest high-tech smartphones with high-megapixel cameras, while others prioritize simple phones with basic functions. So, the best cell phone for your mom will depend on her comfort with technology, priorities and budget.

    Best Cell Phones

    To help identify the best cell phones for older adults, I consulted Wirecutter, a product testing and recommendation service from The New York Times who recently tested 18 cell phone models.

    Their testing focus was on three different areas, including best phones for older adults who are comfortable with technology and want to upgrade to a full-featured smartphone with robust accessibility settings; best cell phones for seniors who are not tech-inclined or who prefer a smartphone with fewer features, as well as those who are experiencing vision, hearing, or dexterity issues; and best cell phones for elderly seniors who need specific accessibility features due to physical or cognitive issues. Here are their top choices based on their tests.

  • LGBTSR

    New Release: Jean Ryan’s Luminous Poetry Collection, ‘A Day Like This’ Now Available

    I’ve been a fan of Jean Ryan’s superb writing for quite a few years now, and what could be more exciting than a new collection of her poetry? I ordered this the instant I knew it was available. Jean is a writer’s writer, whether it’s short stories, novels, astonishing nature essays, or poetry. And she’s an excellent painter, too! Poetry is the foundation of so much of what we call good writing, and Jean delivers. I’ve been devouring her poems one by one, and now they’re available in a single volume. Buy it here.

    About ‘A Day Like This’

    In the title poem of Jean Ryan’s luminous new collection, her speaker sees swallows slicing the air, observing, “Short dark arrows, they never miss, their flight too swift for error.” I can’t think of a more apt description for A Day Like This, in which poem after poem so vividly penetrates to the core of lived experience. Ryan’s poems have an ease of movement and transparency of structure I find most enviable. She has a special gift for finding what remains fresh and particular inside the ancient stuff of poetry. This is a gorgeous book, powerful and assured, written by a poet who is elegant, concise, honest, and warm-hearted in her approach. I can’t recommend it enough. A quietly masterful work.

    —Erin Belieu, author of the poetry collections Come-Hither HoneycombBlack BoxSlant Six, and One Above and One Below

  • One Thing or Another Columns

    One Thing or Another: Cats, Kittens And Chaos

     


    By Mark McNease

    We recently lost another beloved cat, if you can refer to ending their lives as mercifully as possible that way. It’s both a euphemism and a truism: the space where Peanut had been for over five years is empty now. I left the soft orange runner on the floor by the kitchen sink where she ate, separately from our other girl Wilma. It reminds us of her, and it will always be where she had been. I’m also turning her litter box into a flower garden, with her name on a small marker. But she is gone, and it’s a sadness that will remain as long as we remember her.

    We’ve said goodbye this way to five other cats over the past 17 years, and it never stops being one of the most difficult experiences we accept into our lives in exchange for sharing them with animals. The only thing more I’ll say about it is that it always feels like a betrayal of their unwavering trust, and yet we are entrusted too with making sure they don’t suffer more than dying inflicts on them already. It’s a terrible guessing game.

  • LGBTSR,  One Thing or Another Column

    One Thing or Another: Cats, Kittens And Chaos

     


    By Mark McNease

    We recently lost another beloved cat, if you can refer to ending their lives as mercifully as possible that way. It’s both a euphemism and a truism: the space where Peanut had been for over five years is empty now. I left the soft orange runner on the floor by the kitchen sink where she ate, separately from our other girl Wilma. It reminds us of her, and it will always be where she had been. I’m also turning her litter box into a flower garden, with her name on a small marker. But she is gone, and it’s a sadness that will remain as long as we remember her.

    We’ve said goodbye this way to five other cats over the past 17 years, and it never stops being one of the most difficult experiences we accept into our lives in exchange for sharing them with animals. The only thing more I’ll say about it is that it always feels like a betrayal of their unwavering trust, and yet we are entrusted too with making sure they don’t suffer more than dying inflicts on them already. It’s a terrible guessing game.

  • New

    Now Available for Pre-Order! ‘Fatal Mistake: A Harry Hell Novella’ (Releasing June 1)

    I’d wanted to finish this novella by the spring, and here we are! Now for some edits and a polish or two. It’s available now for pre-order, and releases June 1.

    “The year is closer than you think. The world has collapsed under the weight of its own insatiable needs, leaving shattered cities where those who still have anything fight to keep it that way, and those don’t are a constant threat. It’s a danger that must be contained through a tightly controlled society where everyone is observed and everything is kept in its place.

    Harry Hellerman and his twin brother, Elliot, enter this world three minutes apart. By the time they’re teenagers, they’ve been surrendered to Control to be molded into the perfect assassins. A boy named Harry Hellerman enters, and a man named Harry Hell emerges: a killing machine of the highest order.

  • New

    Birren Center Releases New Collection: The Gift of a Long Life: Personal Essays on the Aging Experience

    I’ve recently become a certified Guided Autobiography instructor* through the Birren Center. They’ve just released their new collection of personal essays on the aging experience.

    About ‘The Gift of a Long Life’

    “Life and aging are the greatest gifts that we could possibly ever have.” – Cicely Tyson

    In this collection of heartfelt essays, 53 individuals share their unique perspectives on aging. From the poignant to the humorous, their stories celebrate the gifts that unfold with each passing year.

    The Gift of a Long Life is more than a collection of stories; it’s a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the richness that comes with a life well-lived.

    For readers seeking inspiration and connection, this anthology offers an intimate, honest exploration of the rewards that time bestows. From small, everyday moments to profound life lessons, each essay reflects a positive attitude towards aging and the invaluable experiences that come with it.

    As told by the vibrant voices of the Guided Autobiography (GAB) community, these candid stories explore the unique gifts found in the later chapters of life.

    *If you’re interested in learning more about Guided Autobiography, check out the Birren Center’s website, as well as my own YourWritePath.com for news on upcoming classes and workshop.