Do we ever reach an age when we are too old to drive? Too slow in our reflexes? Tragedy can result. An elderly friend of mine made decisions for herself when she thought she may pose a bit of a threat: she reduced the radius…
As our family reunion winds up, we spent last night gathered around looking through a suitcase of photos my widowed sister brought with her when she moved to the Inland Northwest several months ago. There were many shots of my now deceased brother-in-law, a challenging…
Some relationships end due to drifting while others come to a crashing halt. Ours ended due to both… I had to stop abruptly and sighed. Then I glanced into my rearview mirror and saw the F-150 truck coming at me. . I had a death…
I am taking a four-month sabbatical from my newspaper job for an adventure I will likely blog here as it gets going. The day I left the newsroom I was asked to clean off my fairly messy desk because another writer will sit in the…
Some tattoo-less 50-something friends and I were chatting recently that we were happy the tattoo craze bypassed boomer women of our generation, because we'd be worried how saggy the tattoos might look as we got older. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, released…
No, it's not the friends with benefits trend I'm taking about here. That's so 20s and 30s (as in people in that generation.) The trend I'm talking about is the father character in the 2011 movie of the same name which I watched this weekend…
The National Institutes of Health sent out a report yesterday that detailed some snapshots of life of older Americans. The one that caught my eye, of course, was this announcement: The percentage of older people who received hospice care in the last 30 days of…
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent out this notice today: "CDC now recommends that all U.S. baby boomers get a one-time test for the hepatitis C virus. Data show that 1 in 30 baby boomers has been infected with hepatitis C and this…
Been wondering if the dry, wildfire, tornado weather of the past few months in other places in the United States (though some wildfires are mighty close to us this week) will prompt people in say, Oklahoma or Texas, to relocate to Spokane or Coeur d'Alene…
The Susie Forest, a Spokane-based initiative, has taken root in Afghanistan. Nancy MacKerrow is the Spokane woman whose daughter, Susie Stephens, was killed in 2002 when she was hit by a bus in St. Louis. Susie was an activist for the rights of pedestrians and…
We loved her in Seattle. She was friendly, kind and interviewed anyone with ease and grace – the same virtues that carried her through her endless battle with benign brain tumors. Kathi Goertzen died today. And her absence will leave the broadcast community awash in…
We went to the movies the other night – “Hope Springs” – and noticed the security measures now in place (post-Colorado movie massacre): cops patrolling the parking lot as the evening sky grew dark and the “may I see the inside of your purse, ma’am,…
My friend Leah sent me a link to a blog called The Grey Tree. The blogger and her family will leave their community to relocate to another community, an event that happens a lot in August as people settle in to their new home before…
Marvin Hamlisch, died suddenly on Monday in Los Angeles. His music provided the backdrop for Boomers’ - and others’ - lives over the last four decades. Accepted to Juilliard School at age 7, he was a music genius as well as an engaging personality. Barbra…
In my story today, I wrote about the memory care unit at Aegis of Bellevue which has incorporated cutting edge innovations to help its Alzheimer's residents. The unit features several work stations where residents can "return" to the work they once did. People with dementia…
The Hospice movement has radically changed the way we help dying people. Until my interview a week ago with the founders of Hospice of Spokane, I didn't realize how new the movement really is in the United States. Hospice of Spokane was among the first…
Sometimes all it takes to reclaim an old hobby is an obvious sign from the universe. Don Arndt of Spokane had exactly that on Friday when his old motorcycle – 37 years old – returned to his life. Arndt reported the bike stolen in 1975.…
Our friend Dave Killen, a lifelong teacher, has this saying at the end of his emails: If every day is a great day, is any day a good day? Language inflation is the death of meaning, understanding and community. Agree? (AP file photo of illustrator…
Two days ago, while driving home from work and listening to an NPR report on starvation in Africa, I realized that if we were living in a horror movie -- one where the world falls apart in a short period of time -- July 31…
Perhaps no one else of our time lived a more “did it my way” existence than Gore Vidal. Vidal was an author, playwright, activist and celebrity who died in Los Angeles on Tuesday. “His works included hundreds of essays, the best-selling novels "Lincoln" and "Myra…
Spokesman-Review features writer Rebecca Nappi, along with writer Catherine Johnston of Olympia, Wash., discuss here issues facing aging boomers, seniors and those experiencing serious illness, dying, death and other forms of loss.
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