Boomer Banter, Real Talk about Aging Well

Melanie C. Gordon spoke about the Reverend Desmond Tutu describing Ubuntu as "my humanity is bound up in your humanity." That is the foundation of what we talked about in this episode. Melanie leads groups in Ubuntu Circles where we learn to connect through our personal stories. When we are open to hearing someone else's story for understanding, we are transformed. It creates a sense of belonging,...

That is a radical statement! Being well is something we all want. We follow the latest diet trends. We take the recommended supplements. We become "fat phobic," telling ourselves we are not "good enough" if we are overweight. Debra Benfield, founder and owner of Body in Mind Nutrition, told me that there is an ageist diet/wellness culture that leads to a lack of body respect in the Pro-Aging movem...

The "Great Unknown" in this episode is the question, "what am I going to do now, after my career just ended?" Minette Norman had a 30 year career in the IT industry, for the past 20 years with the same company and the last 5 as a VP. Leadership changed, and as often happens when leadership changes, she was now an outsider of the new leadership group. The environment became very uncomfortable until...

The Hey, Boomer guest today is Stella Fosse, writer, advocate for older women's empowerment and workshop leader.  Our topic today was Sexy Stories for and about Women Over Sixty. Stella reinvented herself from a technical writer, to a writer of erotica for and about older women. Her first book, Aphrodite's Pen: The Power of Writing Erotica after Midlife, includes lots of how to's and prompts to ge...

There are a few subjects that most of us avoid talking about with friends and family, really with just about everyone. Money, politics and death. The statistics show that 75% of Americans want to die at home, but only 25% actually do. The statistics show that more bankruptcies occur due to medical expenses, particularly end of life expenses. Not having the conversation about how you want to die ca...

Glacier National Park! It is breathtaking. There is crystal blue waters, and peaks made even more fantastic because of the erosion caused by the glaciers and the runoff. There are mountain goats and big horn sheep. And there are 25 glaciers left. There were arond 140 when the park was established in 1910.  On my trip with Road Scholar to Glacier National Park, I wanted to interview some of the gue...

Pastor Jim Dant was married for 30 years. He is the father of 3 daughters. His childhood had been tumultuous. He had 2 mothers, 7 fathers and numerous half or step siblings. He had sworn to himself that he would never divorce and never put his kids through what he went through. He spent a couple of years in therapy and talking to others in the ministry before he was ready to make the decision to e...

Dani Baker was a practicing clinical psychologist and at the end of her career she was doing work with the prison system in Upstate NY. She had also developed a "side hustle" as a photographer and won several awards for her photography. As someone who does not do well with idle time, Dani was concerned about how she would fill her time once she retired. So she and her partner bought 100 acres of l...

In this episode we are talking about transformation and cultivating courage.  Deb Beroset had built a career in corporate as a journalist and a PR executive. She liked her work. She was good at her work, but she kept hearing a call for something else that she was meant to be doing. She tells us about the defining moment when she knew she had to step away from her corporate job and begin her own pa...

Celebrating my 100th episode with Paul Long, from a New Way Forward . Of course I had to ask, if you knew you would live to 100, how would you want to live it? The discussion went on from there. We talked about how we may be looking at life with old, outdated beliefs. These beliefs may be stopping us from the living the life we want to live. It is time to recognize it is "My Time" and start reimag...

 Bernadette Wagner started Prime Time for Women in 2018. She was in her late 50's and wondering about healthy aging. After some research, her intuition was confirmed. Positive social connections have a larger impact on our wellbeing as we age, and these connections are particularly important for women. The program started with a live TV show in Hagerstown, MD. Since that time it has grown into a n...

Randye Kaye, author of Happier Made Simple, has been divorced and remarried, lost the use of one leg and has since regained her mobility, and she is the mother of a young man suffering from schizophrenia. Any day could be a good day or a bad day, but somehow Randye seemed to find a way to stay mostly optimistic and hopeful. Friends, physicians and others she worked with would ask her how she found...

"I used to be thin, and now I'm not. I eat the same, exercise ... what's up?" This is a familiar refrain of many of us as we move into our 50's, 60's and 70's. Our bodies change and most of the diet books and research is focused on people in their 20's - 40's.  The Whole Body Reset is for us, in midlife and beyond. Heidi Skolnik, coauthor and a nutritionist and exercise physiologist, talks to us a...

The mother-daughter relationship is one of deepest mutuality and painful estrangement. Being the same sex, the relationship makes the boundaries less clear. It is easier to project our wishes and expectations onto our daughters then it is with our sons. As we work through separating from our mothers to become the autonomous women we are meant to become, we make ask ourselves: Did my mother hold me...

Elder Financial Abuse is the fastest growing category of elder abuse, and the numbers are going up every year.  Typically a caregiver or family member works to gain the trust of an elderly person and gains access to financial accounts. In this episode we discuss Red Flags to may point to suspicious activity. We talk about things a person can do if they suspect financial abuse. We also talked about...

We are living in the Age of Longevity and choosing a home in the second half of life requires planning and reflection. Place matters is foundational to this planning. Aging well starts with a vision of what you want. You want to consider location as well as how place will enhance your sense of purpose, social connections, physical activity and financial well-being. Ryan Frederick, my guest for thi...

Remember when we were told to start saving early and to pay ourselves first? Well, those days are past. Now we have what we have and we have to figure out to make the best financial decisions about our future based on what we have today. In my discussion with Quintin Pile, CFP, we covered a lot of territory that someone preparing for another 20-30 years of life after full time work, needs to think...

Get ready to meet one of the most upbeat people you will ever meet! Barry Shore calls himself "The Ambassador of Joy." In 1972, Barry was involved in a head-on collision, and it was not certain that he would walk again. It took him 2 years of intense physical therapy and study, but he did walk again. He went on to start and sell several very successful businesses and then in 2004, he was completel...

Deb Grove, aka Deborah Puretz, as a young girl was determined to become a Renaissance woman. She wanted to travel to exotic destinations, study abroad, speak foreign languages, and come home to an environment that reminded her of her very wonderful times and friends. And she was certain she wanted to be a mom. Fast forward, and Deb has started 2 companies, traveled to over 40 countries. placed her...

Hans Petersen grew up in Copenhagen, Denmark where he studied architechure at the Royal Danish Academy or Art. Upon graduation he began working at a graphic design studio in Copenhagen and then followed a love interest to New York. Once in NY, Hans found work at a printing company and that is where he first learned about color. Eventually, he started his own graphics design firm in Manhattan and w...

What do you do when you always had a creative side that is ready to be fully expressed after 26 years in law enforcement? You retire to become a full-time artist. John Patrick Weiss is a writer, painter, cartoonist and photographer. In our discussion he talked about how his creative passions sustained him during his career; they became a refuge during stressful times. When I asked what he had lear...

Children today have lived through an unprecedented pandemic, school shootings, the insurrection at the Capital, violent speech broadcast on social media, and now they fear nuclear war with the Russian incursion into Ukraine. In my discussion with Dr. Robert Saul, retired pediatrician and advocate for children, we talked about what we as parents and grandparents can do to raise young citizens and e...

Joanne Ellis lost her husband about 8 months ago to dementia. As an author, caregiver and wife, she writes and speaks honestly and with insight about the journey as a caregiver and the journey back. When you lose someone to dementia, you do not get the kind of closure you might hope for. You lose them a little bit at a time, and more and more over time. Joanne's story will tug at your emotions, as...

Brad and Josselyn Majors made the move to the Azores when they retired 3 years ago. In this episode they share with us the discussion about financial readiness to move overseas. We talk about finding everything you need, from groceries to wine to internet service and cell phone service. Healthcare was a big topic of discussion, both access to the healthcare provided by the government and private h...

The sights, sounds, smells and rhythm of a place can be found by going off the beaten path and experiencing your destination like a local.  In this episode, Talek Nantes, Travels with Talek, shares what you can gain from having a fully immersive travel experience. She is also a great resource and shared travel sites that will be so useful when you are planning your trip. We talked about how some p...