Bonus Years Lifestyles

It’s never too late for reconciliation, restoring relationships

By Phil Burgess | November 11, 2012

I remember my father repeating the old adage, “We grow too soon old and too late wise.”  The older I get, the more I understand the truth of those words.  With age comes a broader and deeper perspective on life, human relations and our place in the universe. I thought of this a week or…

The ‘gray vote’ may take the cake on Tuesday

By Phil Burgess | November 4, 2012

Unabridged from my Bonus Years column in the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Capital, Annapolis, Maryland Thankfully, and with a little luck, the 2012 presidential election will be over in two days – with a decision sometime Tuesday night. Many thought much of the 2012 campaign would be about “senior issues” – such as strategies to “save” Social…

There are many paths through the bonus years

By Phil Burgess | October 28, 2012

Several readers have asked, “When do the bonus years begin?”   If you think about it historically, life expectancy was 47 in 1900.  So, from the perspective of history and demography, the bonus years are all those years after 47.  Still, many people begin thinking about their bonus years in their 50s – prompted by…

The wee small hours of the morning bring joy, reflection

By Phil Burgess | October 21, 2012

Unabridged from my Bonus Years column in the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Capital, Annapolis, Maryland It all began with a talent contest at Bentwaters Royal Air Force base in Ipswich, England in 1958.  One of the competitors didn’t show up, and the organizers needed someone to fill the empty slot.  Roland Leone, an enlisted airman in the…

Social Security and Medicare should be debated

By Phil Burgess | October 14, 2012

Unabridged from my Bonus Years column in the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Capital, Annapolis, Maryland We are less than a month away from an election where issues affecting those in their bonus years hang in the balance.  These include: tax reform – especially what is to be done about so-called “death taxes” and the taxation of capital…

Plan your bonus years like you plan your working years

By Phil Burgess | October 7, 2012

An old business school riddle goes something like this:  If there are five frogs on a log and one decides to jump off, how many are left?   The answer: Five.  The reason: Deciding to jump is not the same as jumping.  The number of frogs on the log is reduced to four only by…

Using autobiography to clear the cobwebs for the bonus years

By Phil Burgess | September 30, 2012

Unabridged from my Bonus Years column in the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Capital, Annapolis, Maryland It was late one Friday evening – this was nearly 15 years ago.  I had just returned to Annapolis from a week-long business trip. Going through the mail that piled up over the week, I found a FedEx package from my uncle…

The gift of hospitality does not include retirement

By Phil Burgess | September 23, 2012

Every so often you meet genuinely special people – people who make you say, “I would like to be like them.”  Mary Sue and I met two people like this shortly after we moved to Annapolis in 1993.  I’m referring to Graham and Libby Gutsche, who were married in 1948 and will soon celebrate their…

Aging goal: Getting better, not just older

By Phil Burgess | September 16, 2012

For the past few months we have written each week about Marylanders in their post-60 bonus years, seniors fully engaged as editors, nurses, volunteers, philanthropists, home builders, coaches, music directors, cooks, mentors, even Olympians – including several seniors working into their 80s.   Whether you consider the stories we have covered or think about people…

Presidents use bonus years to write a comeback story

By Phil Burgess | September 9, 2012

Presidents of the US, like the rest us, also retire.  In fact, polls show that about half the American people would like to retire Barack Obama on November 6th – and the other half would like Obama’s retirement to be delayed four years. This weekend, however, is special.  You see, President Herbert Hoover, who died…