Note: This is an updated version of a Memorial Day blog I wrote about five years ago, both celebrating and mourning personages of the past who can only be reached by memories today. It’s funny how people in your life are there, flashing bright, briefly and with intensity, and then they are gone. This is especially true of military service in general and wartime duty in particular. You mourn the loss of guys you were close to— literally a [...] READ MORE
I often look through past commentaries to make sure I’m not repeating myself— not just the topics but the wording as well. I’ll write something and it seems too familiar. Am I repeating myself? Lots of people repeat themselves in conversations— telling the same jokes, making the same points— so it’s logical that writers occasionally do the same thing. This time I thought I might purposely repeat myself, with random observations from columns and blogs written over the span [...] READ MORE
Don’t be lonely too long or you might not have long to be lonely. Only the lonely know the way I feel tonight…— Roy Orbison Are you lonesome tonight? — Elvis Presley All by myself. Don’t wanna be all by myself.— Eric Carmen (covered by Celine Dion) Synonyms for loneliness and being lonesome include desolation, forlornness, reclusiveness and friendlessness. Just being alone doesn’t make all of us lonely or longing for companionship. Sometimes it can be quite [...] READ MORE
"I don't know about you, but the only rocking I'll be doing is in a chair!" When it comes to my favorite music, I live in the past with classic rock. Classic rock is struggling to remain relevant. In fact, CNN recently proclaimed that this summer “marks the twilight of classic rock.” Bob Dylan is 81. Paul McCartney is 80. Carlos Santana, one of the youngest rock icons at 74, was rendered unconscious by heat stroke at [...] READ MORE
As with human triumph and celebrity, the sands of time eventually run out on us all. I was just a young reporter, still in my twenties, when I met Homer Baker. He was well into his 82nd year, had been blind for more than half of his life and he was living in a sparsely appointed room in the Williamsport YMCA. His vision began to desert him when he was still in his twenties and was totally [...] READ MORE
Cheer up! We’ve always got death to look forward to. Sometimes we get so caught up in the mean spiritedness of politics and man’s inhumanity to man, which is one male chauvinistic expression feminists don’t seem to mind, that we lose our grasp on humanity and the shared assets and liabilities that make us more similar than different. We cringe through morning updates on the slaughter of innocents in the Ukraine as we brave the tirade of [...] READ MORE
Once you get to the top, the only way to go is down. There’s really no need to sprint to the bottom. Baby Boomers in their sixties and seventies were taught by our parents and grandparents to work hard and be loyal. Loyalty is a two-way street, or so we were told, and employers supposedly recognized and respected this asset as exemplified by our hard work and willingness to go the extra mile. Our parents were better [...] READ MORE
Words and phrases that show your age. Uncool or rich in history and meaning? Now I’m too old to worry about whether I’m cool or not. Or is that too cool to worry about how old I am? I do know that it is still cool to use cool to mean something is, well, cool. It is one of the long-standing tidbits of slang that has lasted through multiple generations. Then again, that may not be true [...] READ MORE
They’re the “oldest-old” and they’re soaking up Social Security. About seven years ago, not long after I had passed traditional retirement age of 65, I pondered the possibilities of making it to the age of ninety — an age range that was becoming more common among the U.S. populace than ever. It seemed that by 2050, according to a prognosis from those dedicated to the science of aging, a.k.a. gerontology, there would be at least nine million [...] READ MORE
Digging up a growing glossary of acronyms. We are flooded with a sea of acronyms, which are essentially language shortcuts. They may be organizations or expressions that we know pretty well and are usually comprised of the first letters of most of the key words used, often excluding the definite (“the”) and indefinite (“a” and “an”) articles that tie them together. That’s why most of us say or write NASA and not National Aeronautics and Space Administration. [...] READ MORE
