New learning and giving commitments make a noble new year

Unabridged from my Bonus Years column in the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Capital, Annapolis, Maryland Last week I was sitting at a table in “my section” of the Double T Diner on West Street, one of my favorite hangouts.  It’s a sort of “not-too-hot/not-too-cold” Goldilocks setting – not too fancy and yet many steps up from Burger…

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Consumables trump stuff when buying gifts for luminaries

Unabridged from my Bonus Years column in the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Capital, Annapolis, Maryland Gifts for friends and relatives in their bonus years – not “seniors” or “elders” or “oldsters” but what we call “luminaries” – can be a special challenge during a gift-giving holiday season like Christmas. Most luminaries are downsizing from a larger home…

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You’re lucky if you still need a plan after you’ve lost your marbles

Unabridged from my Bonus Years column in the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Capital, Annapolis, Maryland Everyone who talks and writes about later life – from financial advisors to aging gurus – emphasizes the need for a later life plan. Even Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman in The Bucket List created a last-minute plan of things to see…

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Downsizing sounds like a good idea – until you have to do it

We did it!  Practice what you preach, they say.  So we did.  We downsized – and haven’t looked back. It happened real fast.  A “For Sale” sign appeared on an attractive but much smaller, single-story home down the street.  The owners kept lowering the price, so we bought it; closed the next week and moved…

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