Posts by Phil Burgess
Our legacy helps convey the value and meaning of our life
Legacy. I’m not talking about the dictionary definition, which says, “a gift or a bequest, that is handed down, endowed or conveyed from one person to another … a possession that is transmitted, inherited or received from a predecessor.” Instead, I’m using the term legacy to refer to material as well as spiritual and other…
Read MoreFrom Harvard to Annapolis and A Cook’s Cafe
Have you ever been to a farm-to-table restaurant? You can answer “yes” if you have been to A Cook’s Cafe, located at 911 Commerce St. across Bestgate Road from Westfield Annapolis mall. If you have not, you should go there for lunch just to taste garden-fresh salads and kitchen-made sandwiches and soup — or the…
Read MoreWaiting for God (BBC TV Series 1990–1994)
30 min each – Comedy When Tom Ballard moves to Bayview Retirement Village, he meets Diana Trent, a feisty old woman who complains about everything and wants nothing more than just to die. The two form a friendship and eventually a romance, helping each other out of tight situations. Stars: Graham Crowden, Stephanie Cole and Daniel Hill
Read MoreUp (2009)
96 min – Animation | Adventure | Comedy – 29 May 2009 (USA) By tying thousands of balloons to his home, 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen sets out to fulfill his lifelong promise to his deceased wife to see the wilds of South America. Right after lifting off, however, he learns he isn’t alone on his journey, since Russell, a wilderness explorer 70…
Read MoreThe Lion in Winter (1968)
134 min – Drama | History | Romance – 30 October 1968 (USA) 1183 AD: King Henry II’s three sons all want to inherit the throne, but he won’t commit to a choice. They and his wife variously plot to force him. Director: Anthony Harvey Stars: Peter O’Toole, Katharine Hepburn and Anthony Hopkins
Read MoreThe Bucket List (2007)
The Bucket List (2007) 97 min – Adventure | Comedy | Drama – 11 January 2008 (USA) Two terminally ill men escape from a cancer ward and head off on a road trip with a wish list of to-dos before they die. Director: Rob Reiner Stars: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman and Sean Hayes
Read MoreSomething’s Gotta Give (2003)
128 min – Comedy | Romance – 12 December 2003 (USA) A swinger on the cusp of being a senior citizen with a taste for young women falls in love with an accomplished woman closer to his age. Director: Nancy Meyers Stars: Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves
Read MoreOn Golden Pond (1981)
109 min – Drama | Romance – 22 January 1982 (USA) An aging couple, Norman Thayer, a retired and cantankerous professor, and devoted wife Ethel have long had a summer cottage on a lake called Golden Pond where they are visited by an estranged daughter. Director: Mark Rydell Stars: Katharine Hepburn , Henry Fonda and Jane Fonda
Read MoreHigh Noon (1952)
85 min – Drama | Western – 30 July 1952 (USA) A marshall retires his badge to become a storekeeper but is compelled to return to help his town in the face of a deadly enemy, despite his own town’s refusal to help him. Director: Fred Zinnemann Stars: Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly and Thomas Mitchell
Read MoreHarry and Tonto (1974)
115 min – Adventure | Comedy | Drama – 15 January 1975 (France) When his apartment building is torn down, a retired lifelong New Yorker goes on a cross country odyssey with his beloved cat Tonto. Director: Paul Mazursky Stars: Art Carney , Ellen Burstyn and René Enríquez
Read MoreGrumpy Old Men (1993)
103 min – Comedy | Drama – 25 December 1993 (USA) A lifelong feud between two neighbors since childhood, only gets worse when a new female neighbor moves across the street. Director: Donald Petrie Stars: Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau and Ann-Margret
Read MoreGran Torino (2008)
116 min – Drama – 9 January 2009 (USA) Disgruntled Korean War vet Walt Kowalski sets out to reform his neighbor, a young Hmong teenager, who tried to steal Kowalski’s prized possession: his 1972 Gran Torino. Director: Clint Eastwood Stars: Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang and Christopher Carley
Read MoreDeath of a Salesman (TV 1985)
130 min – Drama An aging traveling salesman recognizes the emptiness of his life and tries to fix it. Director: Volker Schlöndorff Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Kate Reid and John Malkovich
Read MoreCocoon (1985)
117 min – Adventure | Comedy | Romance – 21 June 1985 (USA) When a group of trespassing seniors swim in a pool containing alien cocoons, they find themselves energized with youthful vigor. Director: Ron Howard Stars: Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley and Hume Cronyn
Read MoreAbout Schmidt (2002)
125 min – Comedy | Drama – 20 December 2002 (USA) A man upon retirement embarks on a journey to his estranged daughter’s wedding only to discover more about himself and life than he ever expected. Director: Alexander Payne Stars: Jack Nicholson, Hope Davis and Dermot Mulroney
Read MoreMaking Later-Life Work
American culture continues to glamorize the retirement, “Golden Years” as a time for endless leisure and amusement. I have a different view of later-life for our nation’s Baby Boomers. That’s why I’ve written Reboot!, to make the case for returning to work, in some capacity, after you “retire” – whether your retirement age is 50 or…
Read MoreIn real life, finishing well comes in many flavors
Unabridged from my Bonus Years column in the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Capital, Annapolis, Maryland Like the Ravens’ Ray Lewis, one of the NFL’s all-time great linebackers, we all want to go out as a champion, to finish well. However, in real life finishing well comes in many flavors and not just a Super Bowl ring.…
Read MoreFor the fearless and curious, age and adventure go hand in hand
Unabridged from my Bonus Years column in the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Capital, Annapolis, Maryland Later-life improvisation. I’m not talking about Comedy Central type improv. I’m talking more generally about creative responses that people make when they have no script to follow – or don’t like the script they’ve been given. My introduction to senior improv came…
Read MoreNew 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…
Read MoreConsumables 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…
Read MoreYou’re lucky if you still need a plan after you’ve lost your marbles
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 and do before they met their Maker. Or, in the case of “grumpy…
Read MoreYou’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…
Read MoreDownsizing 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…
Read MoreWhatever your age, it’s never too late to make a new ending
‘It’s never too late to be what you might have been.” That’s the answer I give to people who are trying to figure out what they are going to be – or do – in the 20-30 bonus years they are likely to experience before they go to the “happy hunting ground.” Actually, the quote…
Read MoreStory-tellers and the tales they weave only get better with age
Unabridged from my Bonus Years column in the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Capital, Annapolis, Maryland Back in 1994, while standing in line to pay for Christmas decorations at Homestead Gardens in Davidsonville, a book called Christmas in My Heart: A Treasury of Old-Fashioned Christmas Stories caught my eye. The anthology was compiled and edited by Dr. Joe…
Read MoreFrom cotton fields to the top of federal law enforcement
Unabridged from my Bonus Years column in the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Capital, Annapolis, Maryland My first introduction to classical music was Rossini’s “William Tell Overture.” It wasn’t because Rossini was a favorite on our living room “Victrola,” or because my parents had tickets to the Lafayette (Indiana) Symphony Orchestra. I came to appreciate Rossini and his…
Read MoreGrandparenting is a special blessing of the bonus years
Unabridged from my Bonus Years column in the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Capital, Annapolis, Maryland There’s a new twig on the family tree. Her name is Adelyn – rhymes with Madelyn. I now understand why so many say the greatest joy of the bonus years is grandparenting. Adelyn arrived at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington on October…
Read MoreEven an unexpected journey cannot detour a purpose-driven life
Unabridged from my Bonus Years column in the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Capital, Annapolis, Maryland Long-time friend, Andy Borland, the esteemed former athletic director of Severna Park High School, called one day, “You must talk to Brenda Schoener! She’s an amazing woman who has done so much for our community – and a wonderful…
Read MoreEven an unexpected journey cannot detour a purpose-driven life
Unabridged from my Bonus Years column in the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Capital, Annapolis, Maryland Long-time friend, Andy Borland, the esteemed former athletic director of Severna Park High School, called one day, “You must talk to Brenda Schoener! She’s an amazing woman who has done so much for our community – and a wonderful…
Read MoreEven an unexpected journey cannot detour a purpose-driven life
Long-time friend, Andy Borland, the esteemed former athletic director of Severna Park High School, called one day, “You must talk to Brenda Schoener! She’s an amazing woman who has done so much for our community – and a wonderful example of the kind of people you write about in Bonus Years.” So I called Brenda…
Read More