The Evolutionary Advantage of Aging

More from Judy Foreman's article on healthy aging. This article resonated with me on so many different levels. First, it's clear the author is an experienced and reputable journalist. Foreman incorporated information from Daniel Lieberman, the chair of the department of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University, Steven Austad, a bio-gerontologist at the University of...

That gut feeling

In the mid-1980's, my sister began a science project in our garage, with mice. She prepared two cages of mice. One cage of mice were fed nothing but junk food such as cookies. The other cage of mice were fed whole grains. The cage of whole grain mice stayed well-groomed and created very neat and...

My Prerogative

It's practically impossible for me to speak/write these two words without recalling the hard-hitting rhythm of Bobby Brown's hit song, "My Prerogative." It's my prerogative to change my mind. Often, I'm forced to change my mind when confronted with new evidence. Technology and science are constantly providing new information that forces me to rethink my...

Forget-me-nots

I am constantly forgetting where I left things. Several years ago, my husband, who excels at providing solutions to problems, purchased electronic sensors, called Tiles, and attached one to each of my crucial items: purse, keys, wallet, phone. Much akin to the person searching for their car in the parking lot, I would click my...

Having a Heat Wave?

Temperatures are rising and another side effect of aging is the inability to regulate our body temperatures as we once did. Now that I have a brand new hip, the outdoors are so appealing until I get hot and sweaty! Here are some of my favorite items for combating the outdoor heat: Sweat-wicking technology: One...

Women — time to speak up! — Broadside

I wanted to bring your attention to one of my favorite blogs. This recent post from Caitlin Kelly inspired me to do something I've never done, write a letter to the editor. I did not expect it to make it to print but it showed up in the opinions section of today's Boston Globe. I...

Post Diet, “You Will Still Be You”

My middle-aged dieting history is not much different from the carousel horse, up and down. Throughout my youth I ate absolutely anything I wanted. However at the age of 23, a major spinal injury led to my doctor directing me to never again play sports, ride a horse, run, or do anything of the active...

No More Sorrow

Two funerals per month seems to be my current average. With the recent loss of my aunt, I remain thankful to still have both parents; each the last living sibling in their families. Today, the anniversary of the killing of George Floyd and the very recent killing of innocents at the Uvalde elementary school have...

Memo: Do Skin Check ✅

In the earliest days of humankind, every person possessed natural skin pigmentation that absorbed harmful ultraviolet rays, thereby preventing damaged skin. After hundreds of thousands of years of human migration and evolution, lighter skin required additional sun protection. The ancient Egyptians and Greeks found solutions in natural ingredients such as rice bran, lupine and olive...

Tailored for the mature woman

My digital newsfeed is filled with advertisements for clothing brands I've never heard of, all designed for the "mature woman." The clothes are cute and pretty much the exact style of clothes I've worn all my life. Apparently, I've been a mature woman since I was ten. These ugly knees require longer hemlines and I've...

Raucous applause for the volunteers!

April 24-30, 2022 is National Volunteer Week! I would like to devote this week to animal shelter volunteers.  As an overview, volunteers provide assistance in cleaning, feeding, walking, and providing enrichment for the animals. Such personal interaction and socialization of an animal improves its adoptability. The volunteers who know the idiosyncrasies of each animal then...

SOLD on Trekking poles!

I sat on the examination table in my paper gown, my legs hanging off the side, wondering if I should hop down to get a book to read, when the door opened. The older, white-haired, orthopedic specialist who looked to be over 70, entered with a young resident-in-training glued to his side. From the moment...

Michael Jordan’s DNA

I come from a family of three girls whose childhood dream was to visit Prince Edward Island. In 2003, I married a man with three boys whose dream was to see Michael Jordan play basketball. Unfortunately, he retired, the second time, from the Chicago Bulls in 1999. However, Jordan went on to play for the...

Find your identity, through music

One day as a grown-adult, I happened to be traveling in the car with my mother. As usual, I took control of the radio when it dawned on me I had no idea what music my mother preferred. As a child, my father controlled the radio. As teenagers, my sisters and I controlled the radio...

When older isn’t wiser

A friend asked for my professional review of an article. One quick glance at the article and I knew my conclusion would not be positive but I wanted to give it due diligence out of respect for our friendship. Two quick Google searches later and the result was worse than anticipated so I put it...

“Grumpy and curmudgeonly”

Is this our destiny? In my late 30's/early 40's, a discussion question posed to my singing group was, "How would you describe yourself; as wind, water, earth or fire?" Next, we were encouraged to ask our partners, or someone who knew us well, how they would describe us? My friends all defined me as 'water,'...

Play it again, SAM(HSA)

Recently, the headlines informed us of a former beauty queen who tragically committed suicide. Such events are often followed by a flurry of headlines pleading with those suffering from mental illness to 'seek help.' My intent is not to sound cliché but the sad truth is we, collectively, need to recognize signs and symptoms of...

How am I changing the world?

At one time, I believed I had the power to change the world. I was pretty full of myself. Some called me a leader, my sisters called me “bossy.” It’s true. As the eldest of three, “Dad left me in charge. You have to do as I say!” My sisters just laughed in my face....

What makes me feel stronger?

My immediate reaction to this question took me back 10+ years. In my mind, there was nothing better than getting super sweaty after a really tough workout. Admittedly, I'm not a great athlete but that didn't stop me from trying.  Like the time I decided to enter a 65-mile bicycle ride to raise money for...

Longway

He called me late, as I was settling in for the evening. "My best friend's uncle was killed," he said. Unfortunately, this was not the first time I received one of these calls. He lost many friends and family members to gun violence. And every time he suffered a tragedy and wanted to talk about...