seniors
‘Tis turkey time
Christmas decorations everywhere and lo, a turkey peeps out of Santa’s bag. Thanksgiving Day must be nigh. How thankful we are this year, especially the newly married same-sex parents and their kids celebrating as really legal families. The rest of us, too, can share the day with friends at home or join the community at…
Hey seniors, save some money!
We are right in the middle of the open enrollment period for Medicare coverage. This means those 65 and older can change their Medicare Part D plan anytime between now and Dec. 7. Why should seniors care? Because you can save some serious money! Retirees live on a fixed income, so it is extremely important…
Means-testing is not a route Medicare should take
Despite the current respite from the government shutdown and near default, we aren’t really much closer to a real budget deal. House Republicans want to keep discretionary spending at the slashed levels of the sequester and decrease the deficit through cuts to entitlements like Medicare and Social Security. President Obama wants to ease the sequester…
Bats in my belfry
The calendar pages turn faster and faster and suddenly it’s that time again. Off to the costume shop or the back of my closet looking for something breathtakingly beautiful, frighteningly fearful or cleverly comical. Searching for a Honey Boo Boo mask (for a friend), I wandered quite accidentally into one of the naughtier adult shops…
Hats and elevators: topics entwined
Seniors remember when people in a movie were easily identified as detectives or reporters because they always had their hat on. Businessmen and professionals were expected to wear hats too, but the rules were different. First of all, hats were to be tipped to the ladies. Ask a senior to demonstrate. Furthermore, when entering an…
Joys of air travel – not
Recently, flying back here from Iowa and traveling east to go west, I spent several hours viewing the parade of the great unwashed in Chicago before boarding for the final leg. I found my seat quickly and was enduring the usual filling-up hubbub when suddenly a hush fell over the plane. All froze in place….
Movie theater options
Remember the old Saturday matinee at the neighborhood movie house, where we and our schoolmates viewed the latest news, cartoons, previews, serial and double features, plus popcorn, a drink and candy for 50 cents? Today, after you buy your surprisingly reasonable matinee or senior ticket and arrive at the refreshment counter, your mouth will drop…
The age of millennials
The movers and shakers in the world of sales and consumption now aim most, if not all, of their heavy advertising, political pandering and entertainment events at the new ultra-important consumers: the millennials. This means those born after 1980; you know, the ones we refer to as kids. The members of the next group in…
Marriage: points to ponder
Unthinkable! Impossible! But it happened and hordes of dewy-eyed youngsters are rushing to City Hall. In the midst of all this well-deserved jubilation, I feel it is my duty as a senior to point out a few realities. No, I am not going to be an unromantic old fart and mention the implications of this…