Senior Living
/Health

How older people are reaping brain benefits from new tech
It started with a high school typing course.
Wanda Woods enrolled because her father advised that typing proficiency would lead to jobs. Sure enough, the federal Environmental Protection Agency hired her as an after-school worker while she was still a junior.
Her supervisor “sat me down and put me on a machine called a word processor,” ...Read more

How older people are reaping brain benefits from new tech
It started with a high school typing course.
Wanda Woods enrolled because her father advised that typing proficiency would lead to jobs. Sure enough, the federal Environmental Protection Agency hired her as an after-school worker while she was still a junior.
Her supervisor “sat me down and put me on a machine called a word processor,” ...Read more

Travel Trending with Kathy Witt: More fun, fewer crowds with Windstar Cruises’ Winter Riviera sailings
Imagine having an entire gallery of Picasso paintings to enjoy, practically all to yourself. Wandering from one gallery to another, losing yourself along the timeline of an artist’s emerging genius through 5,000 of his works. This is a reward of traveling during the offseason in January to Barcelona, Spain, and the Winter Riviera.
The Winter ...Read more

5 ways financial advisers make estate planning easier
Estate planning often sits at the bottom of people’s to-do lists, but it plays a crucial role in securing your family’s financial future. It ensures your loved ones are provided for after you pass away, and outlines how your belongings are distributed.
“Estate planning is for everyone, not just wealthy people,” says Stephen Kates, a ...Read more

These decisions can make or break your retirement
For those nearing retirement, there is no shortage of advice about whether to save more, spend less or somewhere in between.
And while those general principles certainly help increase the probability that you will enjoy a more comfortable retirement, there are three specific choices that a person will make as they approach their golden years ...Read more

Seniors are more likely to die in falls in this state than in almost any other
MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota is on a top 10 list no one wants to be a part of, with the second-highest rate of deadly falls for people age 65 and older, after Wisconsin.
The deadly falls are twice the national average and rising.
Nearly 142 Minnesota seniors per 100,000 died from injuries sustained in a fall in 2021, according to recently released...Read more

As last baby boomers reach retirement, they tackle a quest for fulfillment
CHICAGO -- Forty-two stories above ground, Jon Gottlieb traced his bicycle route. From his vantage point by the pool, on his building’s roof, he could see the stop sign where he turns right, the road he hates crossing, the park he rides through and the tunnel that leads to the Lakefront Trail bike path.
Gottlieb, 75, rode this route at least ...Read more

As last baby boomers reach retirement, they tackle a quest for fulfillment
CHICAGO -- Forty-two stories above ground, Jon Gottlieb traced his bicycle route. From his vantage point by the pool, on his building’s roof, he could see the stop sign where he turns right, the road he hates crossing, the park he rides through and the tunnel that leads to the Lakefront Trail bike path.
Gottlieb, 75, rode this route at least ...Read more

Jack Nicholson’s cap played a role in retired teacher’s mission to sell hot dogs
NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- Earl Weinmann makes a decent dog using locally sourced beef, sauerkraut, onions and a homemade secret sauce for the more adventurous. At $5 each, it’s the best fast-food deal this side of Taco Tuesdays.
But the main draw to his Weinmann’s Weenies, the hot dog-shaped cart at Northfield’s Riverwalk Market Fair, is the ...Read more

Colorado man officially back from the dead after Social Security mistake
DENVER -- Aurora, Colorado, resident Alex Vukovich is officially back from the dead, after months of trying to fix a mistake that held up his monthly Social Security checks.
Vukovich first found out the federal government had him listed as dead when his January payment disappeared from his bank account. He notified the Social Security ...Read more
A rabbi and reverend keep the faith, even in retirement. They host senior meetups
MIAMI -- A rabbi and a reverend walk into a South Florida retirement home and begin talking about topics long forbidden from most family dinner tables: God, religion and politics.
Yes, it sounds like an age-old joke setup but it’s actually the premise for a new conversation series held at a South Florida retirement community, Vi at Aventura, ...Read more

Travel Trending with Kathy Witt: Raise a glass and say 'santé' to a Viking Bordeaux river cruise
You know it’s going to be a memorable trip when you are greeted by a giant bottle of Bordeaux wine on arrival at the Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport. And it’s fitting for this adventure, a seven-day Chateaux, Rivers & Wine-themed voyage through France’s sumptuous Bordeaux wine country—home of some of the world’s most coveted wines—sailing...Read more

Maybe it’s not just aging. Maybe it’s anemia
Gary Sergott felt weary all the time. “I’d get tired, short of breath, a sort of malaise,” he said. He was cold even on warm days and looked pale with dark circles under his eyes.
His malady was not mysterious. As a retired nurse anesthetist, Sergott knew he had anemia, a deficiency of red blood cells. In his case, it was the consequence ...Read more

Maybe it's not just aging. Maybe it's anemia
Gary Sergott felt weary all the time. “I’d get tired, short of breath, a sort of malaise,” he said. He was cold even on warm days and looked pale with dark circles under his eyes.
His malady was not mysterious. As a retired nurse anesthetist, Sergott knew he had anemia, a deficiency of red blood cells. In his case, it was the consequence ...Read more

5 best retirement income strategies
If you’re stressed about running out of money in retirement, you’re not alone.
More than half (57 percent) of American workers think they’re behind where they should be on their retirement savings, according to Bankrate’s Retirement Savings Survey. Fueling the stress about retirement income needs are worries about inflation, a weakening...Read more

His heart stopped after a run. His daughter, a nurse, helped restart it
Home from a 5-mile run one August day, Mark Kleinschmidt couldn't stop sweating. He blamed it on the heat. Then his chest felt tight.
He sat on his bed for a few minutes. Once the pain subsided, he headed for the shower.
The tightness returned while he was showering. He got out, only to drop to the bathroom floor. Somehow, he managed to get ...Read more

Months after a serious stroke, he was back to drawing caricatures
A loud ringing and bright light jolted Adam English awake. Then he felt the bizarre sensation of a zipper closing from ear to ear across his face.
English tried to call out, but he could only make sounds.
Then he tried getting out of bed. He fell, hitting his head on the iron bed frame.
His wife, Joanne Pera, was in the bathroom around the ...Read more

A candid take on mortality and the power of friendship
They gather several times a week in the parking lot of a Vons supermarket in Mar Vista, and no subject is off-limits. Not even the grim medical prognosis for 70-year-old David Mays, one of the founding members of the coffee klatch.
"It's one of our major topics of conversation," said Paul Morgan, 45, a klatch regular.
Mays is a cancer survivor...Read more

A candid take on mortality and the power of friendship
They gather several times a week in the parking lot of a Vons supermarket in Mar Vista, and no subject is off-limits. Not even the grim medical prognosis for 70-year-old David Mays, one of the founding members of the coffee klatch.
"It's one of our major topics of conversation," said Paul Morgan, 45, a klatch regular.
Mays is a cancer survivor...Read more

This former teacher and coach is staging his first art exhibition — at age 90
PHILADELPHIA -- Seymour Lemonick just accomplished something few 90-year-olds can dream of: staging his first art exhibition.
For the retired Philadelphia teacher and football coach — a sculptor and self-taught woodworker whose Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, home is a makeshift museum — it’s a pinch-me moment.
“This is beyond my wildest ...Read more