Bonus Years Biographies
Decide first where you want to live and then make a life there
Some years ago, when I was in my 40s and trying to decide what to do next, I sought the opinion of a longtime mentor. I lived in Denver and he lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico, so he invited me down for a dinner conversation. “This is going to be good,” I thought to…
Read MoreAmerica’s 1968 Marine of the Year still fights for his brothers
It is important these days to draw a distinction between “celebrities” and “heroes.” Celebrities are people who are known for being known. They are products of the mass media and pop culture. Think Kim Kardashian or most People magazine cover stories. Celebrity is about “me” — just as post-modern man is “me-centered.” Heroes, by contrast, are people…
Read More‘Three Guys’ come up with great ideas for successful aging
Most everyone has heard of Five Guys, the American fast-food chain focused on hamburgers, hot dogs and french fries. Many know Two Men and a Truck, a nationwide franchise that provides local and interstate moving and storage services. But few know about Three Guys with Ideas. That’s why we are writing about them today. The…
Read MoreYour 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”…
Read MoreWho needs Uber when there are kayaks to get around
It began last Sunday as Mary Sue and I were walking into the 8:15 a.m. service at the Naval Academy Chapel. That’s where we go to church each Sunday, and that’s where Mary Sue sings in the choir at the 11 a.m. service. In addition to midshipmen, townies are found in both services. However, the…
Read MoreAging boomers may have new ways to keep on sailing
Last week I devoted part of an afternoon for my annual sprint through the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis. Little boats (but not many), big boats (mostly) and floating condos (a.k.a. catamarans) were in abundance — plus all kinds of gizmos and assorted stuff for sale to enhance the boating experience. I wouldn’t miss it.…
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 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 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 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 MoreTending to the future of our community is a “worthwhile thing”
Eddie Sutton is 79 years old. Many in their bonus years will remember Sutton as the first basketball coach to lead four Division I schools to the NCAA finals, including two to the Final Four: Arkansas in 1978 and Oklahoma State, Sutton’s alma mater, in 1995 and 2004. Award-winning journalist and Sutton fan Roger Rosenblatt…
Read MoreImportant life lessons spring from overcoming disabilities
Unabridged from my Bonus Years column in the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Capital, Annapolis, Maryland Perspective. That’s one of the advantages of the bonus years. As you pass through your late 50s and then into the 60s and 70s and beyond, you are able to take a more measured assessment of life’s events. Your thinking and understanding…
Read MoreA vigil is a good time to reflect on life’s transitions
Unabridged from my Bonus Years column in the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Capital, Annapolis, Maryland. It began 12 days ago when we received a phone call from family friends who retired in Florida. They had stopped by to visit my mother, known to her friends as Ginny. Ginny is “97 and three-fourths” — her words — and…
Read MoreMath professor retires to new challenge in medical research
Unabridged from my Bonus Years column in the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Capital, Annapolis, Maryland “There are lies, damned lies and statistics.” So said Mark Twain. But don’t even think about saying this to Charles Mylander. Mylander is a statistician. Actually, he is much more than that. After earning an undergraduate degree in mathematics at Bowdoin College…
Read MoreAnnapolitan dancer and choreographer just keeps on dancing
Unabridged from my Bonus Years column in the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Capital, Annapolis, Maryland Some people change lanes when they come to their bonus years. Examples: The attorney shifts to volunteer work for a food bank. The accountant drives a school bus. The plumber reboots as a Little League coach. Others stay more or less in…
Read MoreReaching down to lift up another is a good exercise
“Every day is Saturday.” So said Annapolitan Cynthia Palmer when I asked her how she liked retirement. Before retiring, Cynthia was a high-performing research manager at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). With degrees in biology and economics, she coordinated the work of more than 160 organizations engaged in research to develop…
Read MoreWhat about a Caregivers Corps to help neighbors to age in place
Unabridged from my Bonus Years column in the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Capital, Annapolis, Maryland Remember the old cartoon showing the engineer proudly holding his diploma and flanked by his parents on graduation day? The caption says, “Five years ago I couldn’t spell engineer, but now I are one.” Well that same kind of thing happened to…
Read MoreWoodworking, water colors and a pick-up truck: How lifelong attitudes and practices shape encore careers
Unabridged from my Bonus Years column in the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Capital, Annapolis, Maryland History’s view of Calvin Coolidge, the conservative Republican who served as the 30th president of the US, is enjoying a renaissance. It began with the presidency of Ronald Reagan; it continues with biographer Amity Shlaes’ new book, “Coolidge,” published last month by…
Read MoreHigh performance comes naturally to bonus years’ exemplar
Unabridged from my Bonus Years column in the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Capital, Annapolis, Maryland Some people are “early bloomers.” Mozart and Beethoven come to mind. Some people are “shooting stars” – like many athletes, most chess players and some business, political and military leaders – people who shine brightly in their 20s and 30s and then…
Read MoreThe portfolio life has many profiles, including life as a DJ
Unabridged from my Bonus Years column in the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Capital, Annapolis, Maryland We were passing through the entrance to Pelican Landing, an upscale community just north of Naples, Florida, where we were visiting some Annapolitan snow-birds. A sign on the gatehouse announced a BYOB community dinner – from 5:00 to 6:30. You know…
Read MoreUsing the gift of time to promote economic literacy and civility
Unabridged from my Bonus Years column in the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Capital, Annapolis, Maryland Richard Bach, the American author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull and other best-sellers, once said, “A great life is the sum total of the worthwhile things you’ve been doing one by one.” Everyone entering his or her bonus years should tack this quote…
Read MoreA tip from a “long-standing” friend, not an “old” friend
Last week, I wrote about the many similarities between the very young and the very old – such as shared preference for soft foods, naps, battery-driven vehicles, and sometimes even diapers. Well, the roof caved in. I received 31 responses to my commentary after three days, and most of them were along the lines of…
Read MoreSomething old, something new makes a portfolio
Unabridged from my Bonus Years column in the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Capital, Annapolis, Maryland “On April 9, 1940, the very day that the Nazis invaded Norway, a young Swedish nurse received a life-changing letter. It contained an improbable wedding proposal from the man she loved – a Norwegian living more than three thousand miles away across…
Read MoreThe ‘fastest clipper in the East’ is not about to retire
Unabridged from my Bonus Years column in the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Capital, Annapolis, Maryland Shortly after moving to Annapolis in 1993, I learned about the city’s ethnic diversity and rich history of immigration. About a year later, I met one of those immigrants, an Annapolitan by the name of Savvas Yiannoulou (rhymes with “Honolulu”). Savvi, as…
Read MoreThe wee small hours of the morning bring joy, reflection
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…
Read MorePlan your bonus years like you plan your working years
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…
Read MoreThe gift of hospitality does not include retirement
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…
Read More‘Work is a blessing:’ The gift of satisfying work in later life
Physician Alexis Carrel, recipient of the 1912 Nobel Prize in Medicine for pioneering work on vascular suturing, organ transplants and the aging of cells, famously said, “The aging man should neither stop working nor retire. Leisure is even more dangerous for the old than for the young.” That also applies to women, according to Mary…
Read MoreUnexpected journeys can shape the bonus years
Unabridged from my Bonus Years column in the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Capital, Annapolis, Maryland It’s a dolls’ house. Not the kind your daughter received from Santa on her third Christmas. The dolls’ house I am taking about is in the historic district, near City Dock. It’s a house full of dolls. More than 500 dolls! Old…
Read MoreA man on a mission has no time to retire
He was Indiana state swimming champ in the 100 yard butterfly. He graduated cum laude from Harvard with a degree in economics. He is now a cook in Annapolis. I’m talking about Craig Sewell, the owner-operator of A Cook’s Cafe – and a cook on a mission that does not include retirement. Though he passed his 60th birthday…
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