Aging Well: Finding Beauty in the Gray

Send us Fan Mail The Aging Well: Finding Beauty in the Gray podcast has been privileged to share the stories and expertise of many Third Agers to an ever expanding, loyal and loving, international audience. At this time, Hugh is turning his time and energies to various writing projects. Stay tuned to hear more about Hugh's Substack page. Support the show Have comments or questions for us? Int...

Send us Fan Mail Mike McKinney is a retired first responder. He served in several capacities and roles over the course of his career. Originally from Springfield Illinois, he and his wife decided to move to follow their kids an grandkids to central NC at the close of his career. Mike is the co-director of the NC State Chapter of the 52 Hike Challenge; the Chief Hiking Officer for the Triangle Hero...

Send us Fan Mail Niamh McAnally is an Irish-born bestselling author, keynote & corporate speaker, former TV director, and youngest daughter of the late BAFTA award-winning actor, Ray McAnally, and actor, Ronnie Masterson. Niamh has traveled all over the world and lived and worked as a volunteer in many island nations in the Caribbean and the South Pacific. Flares U p: A Story Bigger Than The A...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Carolee Duckworth is a talented and creative woman of numerous skills and interests. She is an author of many books and articles including Shifting Gears to Your Life and Work After Retirement that she co-wrote with Marie Langworthy. She is an expert trip designer, and co-author (with Brian Lane) of the books Your Great Trip to France , Your Great 5-Day Trip to Paris , and You...

Send us Fan Mail Benita VanWinkle is a national and internationally exhibited and award winning artist and photographer. She is also an Associate Professor of Art at High Point University in North Carolina. Her passion project for many years has been to photograph and chronicle historic movie theaters across the U.S. The culmination of this will be her book America's Hometown Movie Theaters:...

Send us Fan Mail Jeannine Bryant is an expert at helping seniors and their families through times of transition. As the owner of Easyrightsizing and Changing Spaces SRS, a senior move management company in Lincoln, Nebraska, she and her team are proud to provide a valuable service that helps take away the stress when clients are rightsizing, moving, or clearing out an estate. For the last 15 years...

Send us Fan Mail Jeanne Blasberg has always been a writer. She is the bestselling and award-winning author of Eden ; The Nine ; and her latest novel, Daughter of a Promise . Most recently, she has reinvented herself through regenerative farming with her husband in central Wisconsin. She joins us to talk writing, midlife pivots, and the arc of healthy farm life. Learn more about Jeanne and her good...

Send us Fan Mail Sherry Cantrell is a child of the speedway and from Speedway. That is the town and the home of the Indy 500 where her stepdad and mom worked. Sherry did not follow in the family footsteps literally, but she has led a full life culminating in her involvement with the Sun City Poms, who are celebrating their 45th anniversary this year. As the president of the Poms, Sherry is at the...

Send us Fan Mail Never imagine yourself hiking the Appalachian Trail, The Pacific Coast Trail, or The Salt Path? Great!  Nicola Ross is an environmentalist, National Magazine Award–winning journalist, and the bestselling author of six Loops & Lattes hiking guides, with over 50,000 copies in print. She lives with her partner in Caledon, Ontario. Her latest book, 40 Days and 40 Hikes: Loving the...

Send us Fan Mail Barbara McLean and her partner, Thomas, have a 50-year career overseeing their sheep farm, aptly titled Lambsquarters, in Ontario, Canada. Alongside the constancy of this farm’s work, Barbara is a spinner and weaver. She taught English and Gender Studies at Guelph University and has written 2 books about life on the farm: Lambsquarter’s and her latest, Shepherd’s Sight: A Farming...

Send us Fan Mail Mary Carroll Moore is a bestselling and award-winning author of 14 books in three genres, including the PEN/Faulkner and Lambda Literary Awards nominated young adult novel, Qualities of Light . This is the prequel to A Woman's Guide to Search and Rescue . Her latest novel is Last Bets , a story of second chances, extra-sensory abilities, and recognizing our own faults. Mary r...

Send us Fan Mail Vermadel Nienstedt was raised in Beaufort, North Carolina.  She and her husband Jimmy lived in Columbia, South Carolina for 30 years before returning to coastal North Carolina. In retirement, the pair have reinforced their love of the night skies. As a part of the Crystal Coast Stargazers, they help educate many groups and individuals, about not only the beauty of astronomy, but a...

Send us Fan Mail Out of her own health challenges in her younger years, Maria Fernandez turned into the intentional path of greater health. For the past 18 years, she has been a Personal Trainer and Yoga teacher in the United Kingdom. She has a particular love for working with seniors in support of their own healthier lives. She now offers her own classes for folks 60+ both in person as well as on...

Send us Fan Mail Fred Surgeon is a man of many talents, all driven by his late father's desire that Fred and his siblings be "good people." Through his extensive involvement in the community, in mental health services, and in environmental education, Fred and his wife Anita now head the Sweet Valley Ranch in Fayetteville, North Carolina. This includes Dinosaur World, a growing attra...

Send us Fan Mail Have you read Hugh's book, Finding Beauty in the Gray yet? Join us on the Aging Well: Finding Beauty in the Gray podcast as Hugh takes time to read a few essays from his book that speak to our need for self- and other-care through these angular, stressed times. If you've read Hugh's book, please do the kindness of writing an online review at Amazon, Goodreads, or ot...

Send us Fan Mail Marianne Borowski is a retired biochemist and lifelong biker. She has ridden cross country and on rail trails all over the U.S. In 2017, she developed the Cross New Hampshire Adventure Trail. Walkers, bikers, runners, skiers, and horse back riders alike all enjoy the 83-mile majesty that is the great New Hampshire outdoors. Marianne is currently the Vice President of the NH Rail T...

Send us Fan Mail Neil Bromilow is a widower, father, grandfather, and twice retired civil engineer. "Retired" is a very relative term as Neil has remained quite active in a number of civic and community pursuits in the Central North Carolina town of Gibsonville, where he and Estelle raised their family. These days, Neil spends a good bit of his time at the helm of the Gibsonville Garden...

Send us Fan Mail For over 20 years, Laurie Zaleski has taken her late mother's dream and made it her own. Today, this graphic design small business owner, pilot, author, and founder of the Funny Farm Rescue & Sanctuary, heads a host of volunteers in caring for over 750 abused and abandoned animals of all ilk and breed. This magnificent, motely crew live in relative harmony at the Funny Fa...

Send us Fan Mail Eliseo Art Silva is a contemporary multimedia artist in L.A. who weaves his Filipino heritage into his art, fostering community connection and compassionate interaction. His passion and his mission are to share the Filipino experience and it's rich heritage and contributions to the greater world community.  To learn more about Eliseo and his extraordinary work, go to https://...

Send us Fan Mail Alice Goldbloom, a longtime Montrealer, has been writing her whole career—mundane government, business, and consulting documents of every kind. In 2020, with a fulfilling career behind her and two children semi-launched into the world, she began writing stories to please herself and share.   She writes about being a first-generation Canadian, the small town in Ontario where she gr...

Send us Fan Mail Join us as we celebrate Earth Day 2024 with naturalist, entomologist, and trail keeper Kim Hainge. Kim lives on a 36 acre United Plant Savers Sanctuary in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina with her botanist husband, Jim. Here she hosts talks, lead hikes, and in general shares her love of nature with any and everyone she sees. Learn more about Kim by following her on Face...

Send us Fan Mail Jenny Poelman, 66, became a published author for the first time last year. Jenny spent most of her childhood in South Korea with her missionary family. Nowadays, she and her husband, Ken, divide their time between North Carolina and Montana. When not writing, Jenny and Ken can be found fly-fishing, hiking, traveling, and most of all, spending time with the kids and grandkids. Join...

Send us Fan Mail Jonathon Ray made his stage debut as a child at the historic Flat Rock Playhouse in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. He has taught theater and communications courses at several colleges and universities for many years, including Lenoir-Rhyne and Appalachian State. He recently decide to retire, but the theater remains ever-present in his world. Join us for this...

Send us Fan Mail Cheryl Beversdorf brings several of her talents together, along with her passion, to produce and host the AGING MATTERS weekly radio program, podcasts, and television show. Cheryl is a veteran, RN, not-for-profit association executive, and public communications specialist. Her shows feature interviews with experts discussing aging-related subjects, all in pursuit of supporting hea...

Send us Fan Mail In picturesque downtown Sylva in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, there is a three generation chocolate-making legacy that is Baxley's Chocolates. The middle tier of this legacy, Steve Baxley, son of Russell, husband of Beth, and father to Lauren, joins us to share more about this family's journey and magical operation. Just in time for Easter! To learn more...