Annapolis woodworkers prove hobbies for the young are satisfying at every age
(Image: Members of the Annapolis Woodworkers’ Guild in their workshop in 2015, from left, Barry Frankel of Crofton, Jim Jordan of Cape St. Claire, Bill Carbin, Andy Borland, both of Severna Park, Paul Dodson of Glen Burnie, Will Hottle of Edgewater. [Kenneth K. Lam / Baltimore Sun file]) Personal agency. It’s not a common phrase,…
Annapolitans turn a lifelong calling into a later-life mission
(Image: Annapolis residents Jim and Karen Wilder, pictured in 2014, aim to launch a new enterprise that reflects not only their culinary calling but also their commitment to creating opportunities for people with disabilities, translating a lifelong calling into a bonus years mission. [Joshua McKerrow / Capital Gazette file]) Last week, while attending the annual…
Life is a series of transitions and retirement is just another
(Photo: “I can’t see myself retiring. I love the work I do. I’ve worked my whole life and throughout my life I’ve always invested in my education so I can do more,” Jonathon Church said. [Courtesy photo from the Capital Gazette]) “I’m a retired police officer,” he said as the men around the table introduced…
Vietnam-era immigrant continues to serve at Anne Arundel Community College
(Image: Dung Dinh Do is a police officer at Anne Anne Arundel Community College. He graduated from the police academy at age 64, the oldest person to ever go through the academy. [Paul W. Gillespie / Capital Gazette]) It shouldn’t be surprising that immigration is all over the news. After all, global migration is one…
Helping the young to a legacy of trains, planes and automobiles
(Image: Ted Levitt, who ran Chick and Ruth’s Delly in Annapolis after his parents died, talks about retiring and selling the business to new owner Keith Jones late last year. (Joshua McKerrow / Capital Gazette)) Way back in 1993, Mary Sue and I decided to move to Annapolis from Denver. It was a move shaped…
Civic innovations target needs of growing senior population
Though it’s a national sport to complain about our culture, much of what we “know” is fed to us by national media that are fixated on what is nasty, brutish, scandalous or weird – all of which is amplified in the 24×7 national “news” cycle. But if we stand back and look at things, especially…
You are never too old to dream or resolve to improve your life
As we celebrate New Year’s Eve, we should remember that “Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365-page book” and our calling to “Write a good one.” Those are the words of modern American philosopher Brad Paisley — also a Grammy-award-winning country music singer-songwriter, the vocation of some of our most insightful contemporary philosophers.…
Your own backyard is a good place to begin repairing the world
Having just returned from my second visit to Israel, I came home to a stack of books and articles I had accumulated over the past two months in preparation for the trip. The stack included a lot of history — such as Bernard Lewis’ “The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2000 Years”…
Making 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…
Old soldiers never die; they just go back to work
Unabridged from my Bonus Years column in the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Capital, Annapolis, Maryland. Ron Edwards may not have nine lives, but he sure challenges the observation of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who said before Congress in 1951 that “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.” Instead of fading away after spending more than 20 years…