September
Needling Umps Just Part of the Game
745 words
By Barry Sparks
You don’t have to be a baseball fan to know umpires seldom lose an argument. But that hasn’t stopped players and managers from trying to get in the final word.
Safe Senior Sex
600 words
By Karen Telleen-Lawton
Numbers-wise, research indicates most couples enjoy intimacy throughout their lives. Consumer Health reports a near majority of adults over 60 convey having sex at least once per month; that same percentage would like it more frequently.
Race Magic
830 words
By Carrie Luger Slayback
I’ve trained myself to shut out all extraneous thought while racing. Still, in the last mile, I couldn’t help but look to my right at the sparkling ocean as we ran toward the finish. I felt good going through the shoot. As usual, I forgot to look at my time coming in. Yet, I wasn’t even winded, knees didn’t hurt. Good race.
For A Peaceful Life, Learn to Let It Be
710 words
By Wendell Fowler
I detest the full body, joy-sucking, hormonal release of anger, so when someone drives erratically, I shout, “I love you” and consider that person may have just lost their job, a loved one, or their dog.
Confessions of A Prepper
700 words
By Sheila Velazquez
I do continue to plant a limited number of vegetables to eat, freeze, dry, pickle, and can. These are tasks I look forward to every year, even though I now grow only enough for one, with a little left over.
The Only Good Tick is a Dead Tick
940 words
By Sally Breslin
The thought of having a tick that tiny, able to hide in any of about 15 quadrillion places on the sofa, caused me to instantly take leave of my senses.
Kidnapping Grandad: Endgame Tactics with Home-Cooked Food and Little White Lies
1440 words
By Nann Parrett
She didn’t think he was capable of taking care of himself any longer. I knew the moment I walked into that kitchen and smelled burnt plastic that she was right. He needed help.
Beware of Obituary Pirates
605 words
By Debbie Burke
Pirates sail the internet seas, looting and plundering treasure from a surprising source: obituaries. What is the treasure? Personal information that pirates use to scam the grieving family and friends or steal identities.
Trying to Pet the Fan? Consider Cataract Surgery.
605 words
By Sharon Love Cook
During my annual visit to my ophthalmologist, he’d mentioned cataract surgery, which I’d dismissed. That was an “old folks’” procedure. Despite being a baby boomer, my vision wasn’t that bad. Yet it wasn’t the first time my eyes had tricked me.
Fermented Dill Pickles vs. Vinegar Dill Pickles
1455 words
By Steve Heikkila
Fermented pickles are alive! They’re crawling with live bacteria, and that bacteria is good for your gut microbiota.
Silver Screen, Golden Memories: The Adventures of Robin Hood
750 words
By Jacqueline T. Lynch
From the moment we see Flynn enter the castle with a killed stag across his shoulders, plunking it on the table in front of Claude Rains, we know this is going to be a hearty tale of knightly courtliness absent the table manners.
Pain In the Neck
790 words
By Laverne H. Bardy
With rare exception, each time my primary doctor views my forwarded test results, he spots something unrelated to the reason I had the test, and, just like that, my life turns upside down.
Seasons of the Hunter
745 words
By Holly Endersby
When it becomes too difficult for me to walk the woods, I’ll pass my favorite rifle on to my granddaughter. But until then, I’ll relish the quiet intensity of hunting on foot, matching wits with animals who know the ground intimately.
To All the Men I’ve Loved Before and Those I Can’t Remember
530 words
By Robyn Justo
And a shout out here to that aforementioned husband who never was (hey, Les), whose memories of our relationship 40 years ago appear to be a lot more positive than mine.
No Scan No Sale
700 Words
By Arthur Vidro
Let me get this straight. I’m in a supermarket. I want to buy a loaf of bread. We agree on the price. I am offering you the money. And you are refusing to accept it just because the computer that runs this joint has to give its blessing to the transaction?
Baby Boomer Resignation Explained
695 Words
By Peter Merkl
We both knew my former, hyper-employed self would’ve reveled in this opportunity to wallow in self-pitying wrath at the pointless randomness of it all, loudly cursing Providence and my luckless fate. But somehow my three-month-retired self was handling it like a grownup.
Ecotourism
890 words
By Victor Block
These folks unknowingly combined a bit of R&R with efforts to help preserve and protect Earth’s environment.
The Mummy, His Cousin, and Me
660 words
By James Patterson
When you see the Beyond King Tut exhibit at the National Geographic Museum, Tutankhamun’s New Orleans cousin could be in the audience. Be sure to get your photograph with him.
Colde Presse: Putting the Orchard to Bed
775 words
By Craig Thomas Naylor
My attention turns to putting the orchard to bed. It doesn’t whine and tussle like my grandkids often do, but my 60-some trees still need the equivalent of a bedtime story.
Revenge or Alzheimer’s?
785 words
By William Levine
My sister worryingly brought up the question of when mom was diagnosed, and I pondered, “You know I wonder if Mom’s shopping spree at the shiva was related to the beginning of Alzheimer’s.