Autumn is a time to share in the lessons of letting go

Heart-warming are the changing seasons of life. When I was a youngster, life was about winter, spring, summer and fall – and each season had its highlights, beginning with Santa Claus in the winter. As I grew older, I came to see winter, spring, summer and fall more properly – i.e., as the seasons of…

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Never adrift, an elder sailor still navigating at 89

“Come for the sailing. Stay for the friendships.” If that sounds like the kind of invitation that might flourish on the Chesapeake Bay, it is. In fact, the “sailing and friendships” call-to-action is the moniker of Singles on Sailboats – known as SOS – a Chesapeake Bay organization that has thrived for more than 40…

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Columbus Day celebrates “big idea” not just a person

Musical prodigy James Deacon once observed that “What you see depends not only on what you look at but also on where you look from.”   In plain English, that might be called “perspective” or “point of view” or “frame of reference”. I thought of this last Monday as our family joined other Americans to celebrate…

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Shared stories make lasting memories among the generations

Are you familiar with the Paw Patrol? Perhaps not, especially if you’re in your bonus years. In that case, I’ll bet you remember Disney’s Popeye the Sailor Man or Steamboat Willy.  And who could forget Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner from Looney Toons?  All these guys, plus Minnie Mouse and Olive Oyl, “performed”…

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Engaging the next generation requires learning their language

Many of a certain age will remember the film, Grumpy Old Men.  That was back in 1993 when two curmudgeonly neighbors, a cantankerous John Gustafson (Jack Lemmon) and a belligerent Max Goldman (Walter Matthau), were constantly at each other’s throat.  Despite the constant nagging and bickering, Grumpy was a box office hit.  Maybe it was…

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Grudging compromises are part and parcel of our bonus years

Nearly 100 years ago, Russian-born American sociologist Pitirim Sorokin coined the term “social mobility” to describe how an individual’s social status might change (improve or decline) over his or her own life – or from one generation to the next.  It was Sorokin’s work that gave rise to the term “upward mobility” – the idea…

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Lessons from the Greatest Generation continue to inspire

By some estimates, we are losing them at the rate of 1,000 a day.  I’m not talking about declining Covid deaths.  I’m talking about what Tom Brokaw called The Greatest Generation – those born between 1901 and 1925. These are the men and women who fought and won WWII, the world’s most deadly conflict that…

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July 4th gives voice to the ideas of America across generations

Today, we celebrate the Fourth of July, one of our nation’s favorite holidays. Measured by holiday air and automobile travel statistics, travel for Independence Day is rivaled only by Thanksgiving and exceeded only by the Christmas-New Years’ holiday, a time that, in some years, overlaps with the eight-day Jewish celebration of Hanukkah, helping to boost…

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I Care a Lot (2020)

Storyline Poised with sharklike self-assurance, Marla Grayson is a professional, court-appointed guardian for dozens of elderly wards whose assets she seizes and cunningly bilks through dubious but legal means. It’s a well-oiled racket that Marla and her business partner and lover, Fran, use with brutal efficiency on their latest “cherry,” Jennifer Peterson – a wealthy…

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Storytelling is a great way to pass family legacies to grandkids

This year’s Thanksgiving included just Mary Sue and me and a longtime friend who has spent Thanksgiving with our family for more than a decade.  Normally, Thanksgiving will include 14-18 family members and friends around the table beginning around 3:00 pm – and would include drop-in visits of other friends and neighbors, some singing around…

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The American Thanksgiving is likely to be different this year

Michael Lindell is a friend of mine.  I’m not talking about Minnesota’s Michael Lindell who is seen daily on TV promoting “My Pillow” – the one with the Giza cotton.  I’m talking about Michael Lindell, the Australian cartoonist, the one who signs his work “Mikko”. During the nearly four years I lived in Australia (2005-08),…

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Nana time is the latest response to coronavirus disruptions

For those in their bonus years, the shift to retirement is one of the most important transitions they will make.  Especially today because ours is the first generation to reach its bonus years with the likelihood of living an additional 20-30 years – many to age 90-plus.  Increasing longevity is why a life plan to…

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The Navy and Rotary are bookends of a life serving others

Like many others in their bonus years, my K-12 years were marked by the Cold War between the US and the former Soviet Union, which included a nuclear arms race and later the space race.  This stirred my interest in national security policy, which led to a 30-year career as a professor teaching national security…

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Annapolis Rotary adapts crab feast to coronavirus pandemic

Adaptation.  That’s a specialty of human beings.  Most do it really well. The idea of adaptation is at the center of theologian Reinhold Niebuhr’s often-quoted “Serenity Prayer” – which says, “Accept the things you cannot change; change the things you can; and have the wisdom to know the difference”. Using that wisdom certainly applies to…

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At age 100, Annapolitan centenarian is still using his gifts

A few weeks back, we noted the US Census Bureau’s forecast that the US will have 130,000 centenarians by 2030, up from 53,000 in 2010. Two weeks ago, on June 26, 2020, the Annapolis area did its part, when Ken Nagler of Edgewater, a Bonus Years subject from yesteryear, celebrated his 100th birthday. Kenneth Nagler…

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Age-proofing the home is needed for successful aging-in-place

With nine out of 10 Americans aging in place and with more Americans living into their mid-80s and mid-90s, finding ways to create an age-friendly living environment is high on the agenda of aging Americans in every region of the country.  Downsizing or moving to single-level living is one approach.  Renovating an existing home is…

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Engineer who helped US subs run silent also plays accordion

After reading last week’s Bonus Years column on assisted living and other types of senior housing that have developed over the years, Annapolitan Dick Schoeller gave me a call. “Hey, Phil,” he said, “I read your column today.  I took a different path.  We should talk.” Anytime I get a call from Dick Schoeller I…

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New assisted living and memory care choices come to Annapolis

Artists rendering of the new Bay Village development in Annapolis

Over the years, we’ve been treated to many expert forecasts that have turned out to be wrong. Among the most flagrant were forecasts after the 1970 Census about the coming “grey tsunami” and how the rapid growth of aging Americans would overwhelm everything – from housing to hospitals.  Well, the “grey tsunami” part happened.  The…

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Re-opening advances as knowledge of the pandemic grows

“If you like laws and sausages, you should never watch either one being made.” Those in their bonus years, who went to school before “modern” history books, will be familiar with this laconic but also profound observation.  It’s often credited to German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck – the celebrated 19th century general and political leader who created…

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Post-pandemic cultural change likely, but how much?

For nearly two months, we’ve been called to “shelter in place” as part of a public health strategy to beat the coronavirus.  Like most others our family has complied.   At first, I was proud of our compliance, but as time passed, I’ve realized it was a forced change in lifestyle because we didn’t have a…

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Retired physician takes a time-out before re-entering the fray

Man pushes a boulder up a hill like the myth of Sisyphus

“Fifty years ago, I made a decision to go to George Washington University medical school.  I’ve never regretted it.  Now, having turned 75, I decided it’s time to retire.”  Those were the words of Dr. Robert Greenfield, our family physician since we moved to Annapolis in 1993. Greenfield continued, “I’m so grateful for the opportunity…

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