Camp Codger

Goodbye, Richard Kipling Hi, I’m Gary Ebersole, welcoming you back to Camp Codger with an episode that I never wanted to record. This is a belated goodbye to Richard Kipling, co-founder of the Camp Codger podcast, who died recently after a stroke. He was the inspiration for two old guys like us venturing into the world of online broadcasting. One evening over dinner a few years ago, Richard declar...

Getting Old Isn't for Sissies Gary discovered that a few weeks ago when he was faced with the constraints of aging. He came up with a mantra for dealing with getting old after the reality of hiking up Picacho Peak almost proved too much for his 76-year-old body. 

A dinner table discussion for seniors—an “organ recital” and talk of falling In this episode, Gary tells listeners about a dinner with friends that started with the usual "ills and pills" discussion and closed with the premise that Dirty Harry (Clint Eastwood) might have some good advice for seniors dealing with slowly diminishing capabilities. A fun evening with some interesting insights.

Sam Toperoff died this year, and that makes me really sad. I never met Sam, but as all good writers do with their readers, he created a connection. I felt I knew him as a friend after reading his essay In The Land of the Very Old. There are no geographical coordinates for this strange place. It’s a state of mind Sam conjured up about aging. In this sweet piece of writing, he describes his journey...

Gary returns with an episode about receiving an insane EOB (Explanation of Benefits) from United HealthCare. Today, it’s a rant, but I promise to make it a short tirade. The trigger? My latest EOB statement from my healthcare insurance company. To be honest, I seldom download and open these statements. I’m a big fan of Medicare and have a really good Advantage plan thanks to my late wife’s retirem...

Gary decided his prostate cancer was not yet in the rearview mirror. I know. I wrapped up the Prostate Papers project in the last episode. It was planned as the final episode of the series. I didn’t want to write about my prostate cancer any longer, and I’m sure you didn’t want to listen. After all, in my thinking, it was over. My cancer staging was encouraging (favorable intermediate risk), my st...

The wrap and final episode of The Prostate Papers. It's time to draw this story to a close. Gary Ebersole here, back with the closing chapter of The Prostate Papers. You might have noticed the recent “dead air” from the Camp Codger podcast. I haven’t abandoned Camp Codger, but I couldn’t bring myself to deliver another long episode about prostate cancer. Sometimes, you can get too close to a topic...

In The Club episode of The Prostate Paper, Gary discovers new friends with a shared experience dealing with prostate cancer. Gary Ebersole here, back with another chapter of The Prostate Papers. When I closed the last episode, I said I’d discuss the challenges of choosing the optimal diagnostic path. I had recorded and edited the episode and was about to publish it. It was at that point I decided...

In this episode, Gary enters the prostate cancer maze when his PSA test results increase rapidly. This is Gary Ebersole. I’m back with another chapter of The Prostate Papers. In this episode, we get serious about all the decision points and choices that men must make in their journey through the “prostate zone.” As always, I remind the listener or reader that I’m not a doctor. I’m merely trying to...

In this episode of The Prostate Paper, Gary comes out of the prostate cancer information rabbit hole and takes stock of what he has learned. Gary Ebersole again. I’m back with another report on my journey into the “prostate zone.” As I mentioned in the previous episode, I’m not a medical professional, and I’m not giving medical advice. My objective with these podcast episodes is to share the exper...

In this episode of The Prostate Papers, Gary goes way down the prostate cancer information rabbit hole. Welcome back to one man’s trip into the dreaded “prostate zone.” Before I start, let me remind listeners that I am NOT—repeat—NOT a doctor. I’m just a reasonably well-informed patient, and I’m sharing what I have learned in the hope that other folks entering the “prostate zone” might find it use...

In the first episode of The Prostate Papers, Gary explains how accelerating PSA scores sent him into the "prostate zone" and off for an MRI. Welcome to The Prostate Papers , one man’s trip into the dreaded “prostate zone.” You might reasonably ask, “Whoa! Where did this ‘prostate papers’ conversation come from?” And you might also ask why I’m turning my very personal story into a public dialogue....

The Land of the Very Old is growing closer for Gary but he's not at the border yet! He filed the following report about an article he recommends about traveling to that not-too-distant land. A couple of months ago, a friend sent me a link to an article titled In the Land of the Very Old ( https://sundaylongread.com/2024/01/23/in-the-land-of-the-very-old/ ) . My first thought was—huh? What does thi...

Camp Codger 2.0 has arrived in your podcast feed! Surprised to be hearing from us again? After all, didn’t we say goodbye a few weeks ago? Are the codgers back in the game? The short answer is “maybe”. This is an experiment and may end up being a very short comeback tour. When we decided to wrap up the Camp Codger podcast, Gary Ebersole had convinced himself that he was ready to move on. However,...

It's been a good run, but, with a heavy heart, it's time for the old codgers to say goodbye. We hope you enjoyed listening to Camp Codger as much as we did creating and publishing these last 72 episodes. In an epilogue episode, Gary explains how we came to this difficult decision. Leave a comment below or send an email to campcodger@gmail.com if you have any last thoughts. Goodbye! Gary, Richard,...

Bah Humbug, return of the Grinch, and here comes Gary Ebersole to ruin whatever Christmas joy is left. We all know that Ebenezer Scrooge says, Bah Humbug. The Grinch means Christmas is in danger. Then there's Gary Ebersole, co-host of Camp Codger and hater of the holiday season, Christmas shopping, and pretty much everything that happens between Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Is Gary the inca...

New Year’s Resolutions—and How to Keep Them—is a fitting show to close out the year. It’s a longstanding tradition to make New Year’s resolutions at the beginning of a new year. That’s why we chose to share some of our own resolutions. But more importantly, we also reveal the 7 tips that will help ensure that you actually keep your New Year’s resolutions. If you make resolutions at the start of a...

Yes, Holiday Loneliness is a real thing--especially for seniors during the most festive season of the year. Here's what you can do about it. You know that Andy Williams song that we hear from Thanksgiving Day all the way through Christmas? The name of the song is, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year." It's a popular song because for most of us, the holiday season really is the best time of t...

How to have Christmas fun with grandkids-- and a year-round guide to making memories with your grandchildren from Camp Granny author, Sharon Lovejoy. Happy holiday season! We interviewed Sharon Lovejoy in the summer about her wonderful book, Camp Granny. If there's an expert on how to have fun with kids and grandkids, it's Sharon. She's a successful author, illustrator, speaker, and shop owner. Bu...

This week, the codgers tell their retirement stories. Did they retire at 65? Retirement planning, new hobbies, how to enjoy retirement, and more. If you're a subscriber to Camp Codger, you already know about the survey we emailed last week. We asked subscribers to tell us which topics they wanted to hear about on the Camp Codger podcast. Retirement was one of the top choices. As a result, we're go...

Thanksgiving, mortality, and gratitude come together during a thoughtful hike by Gary . I’m 75 and occasionally I feel every day of my age. And, frankly, I have been feeling mortal more often lately. The day after Thanksgiving was one of those days. I was hiking up Sun Mountain, one of my favorite short but intense hikes. Three miles round-trip and a bit over 600 feet of elevation gain. Now, I don...

You might be right if you think Amazon has ruined holiday season shopping. Or not. Holiday season shopping used to mean going downtown or to the shopping mall to buy Christmas and Hanukkah gifts for friends and family. But now, Amazon and online shopping have made buying gifts from your smart phone or laptop computer so easy . On this episode of the Camp Codger podcast, the three Camp Counselors t...

Codger travel trips and vacation adventures abound as the hosts of the Camp Codger podcast return from their travels. Vacation travel and adventures pulled all three of the Camp Codger hosts from homes simultaneously. Jet-setter Randy Schultz spent several days in Rome and then embarked on a long cruise across the Atlantic with his wife Patti. Richard Kipling managed to survive a 43-day-long road...

Learn the Nine Secrets to How to Be Happy and Have the Best Life Possible. The "happiness study," which is actually called the Harvard Study of Adult Development, has followed more than 700 men and now their families from the 1930s until today. The goal of the study is to learn the keys to a happy and healthy life. This Harvard University study is the longest of its kind, and over the years it has...

What happened in 1980? According to Gary, not much. But that's not a fair measure of what happened in that year. At our age, we know all too well that every year can be eventful. For some, the 1980 presidential election was the most meaningful event of the year. Incumbent Jimmy Carter was defeated by the Hollywood actor Ronald Reagan. John Lennon is Gone For many of us early boomers, the most memo...