Musings
About retirement… and random other things!
These blogs first appear as weekly columns in the Red Deer Advocate
Seeking out good news
Is all the bad news getting you down? I mean, understandably so. We are witnesses to a frightening shift in the world and there doesn’t seem to be anything we can do about it. But are we getting the whole news picture? What if it really is true that the media structure catches bad news and that the other half of the ledger is plumb full of really...
Where will the next moment take you?
I happened to be sitting on my couch with an afternoon cup of tea right at ‘after school time’ recently. A little movement caught my eye out the window and I looked up from my book to see a young boy intently holding a remote control as he prodded a small toy car down the lane. My mom-spidey senses went up a bit when I realized he was alone out...
Lost in a conspiracy
Was there ever a Furby in your house? Did you ever wrap a thick blanket around it and stuff it into a box deep, deep in the cellar? Because those darn things looked harmless, but they would wake everyone up by squawking and yelling unbidden in the middle of the night. It freaked me out, but I’m not alone. Apparently, the little gremlin toys were...
Contributing to a health study for 25 years
Me and 55,000 fellow Albertans have been contributing our insights and our bodily fluids to a massive research project for the last 25 years! The Alberta Tomorrow Project (ATP) is a large-scale research study, involving men and women aged 35 to 69 from across the province, to study the causes of cancer and chronic diseases over a 50 year period....
Challenge to self: find out with the psychic says
So I’ve been setting small challenges for myself and reflecting (very casually) on my lifepath, in the lead-up to my 65th birthday in March. I figured it was time to ask a psychic for their comments on my life thus far! I’ve been to a psychic a few times over the years, approaching the interaction with a lighthearted interest and a big grain of...
Self-evaluation assignment led to a change of heart
It’s a brand-new year – perfect time to reflect on the 365 days we’re leaving behind and gird our loins for the resolutions we are cornering ourselves into. Funny to have an old, recently rediscovered college assignment remind me that I used to thumb my nose at backing into a corner at all! When I was taking the social services program at Red...
A coin in the hand is worth two in the card
A number of years ago when I was still working full time, I was setting out to mail a birthday card on my lunch break. A quick glance in my wallet showed I only had a 20 dollar bill – still a bit rich for me to stick into my nephew’s card. So I zipped into the lunchroom to see if any of my co-workers had change. “Oh, how old is your nephew?!” one...
Challenge to self: Learn to crochet
Does this look like a pumpkin? The crochet instructor said we would all go home with one we made ourselves! Doesn’t knitting and crocheting sound like a perfect pastime for aging persons? Keeping your fingers agile, your mind active, your giving spirit open – I mean, do you know anyone who knits anything for themselves? It seems to always be...
Farewell to a force
We said goodbye to Jane Goodall recently, but she also said goodbye to us. We followed her partnership with the great chimpanzees of Tanzania over the decades, we learned from her scientific quests, and we were moved by her devotion to nature. And then we were touched by her message to us, after her death, through a sensitive and clever interview...