I thought my daughter, Kate, was the perfect child. She was valedictorian of her high school class. She was undefeated on her tennis team. She graduated from Northwestern University and landed a job with Paramount Pictures, where her first assignment was marketing the motion …
This is really cool. As I get older, I’m discovering my opportunity to return to things that made me giggle with delight when I was a little kid. And I don’t care what the neighbors say. This is one of the wonderful freedoms of aging into our 70s, 80s and beyond. I …
I continue to learn from four of my best pals – my white Swiss shepherds. Today’s lesson: Make sure you let family and friends know how happy you are to see them. I’m not good at this yet, but I have outstanding tutors. Nigel, Sammy, Jody Beth and Zeke have this talent down …
We all go on two types of journeys in our lifetimes. The first uses bicycles, automobiles, boats and airplanes to transport us from one spot to another. Sometimes we take photographs to show our friends (not always a good idea). Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we have more …
My friend Dennis Beckman is the best listener I’ve ever met. I’ve watched him carefully. It’s a thing of beauty. Dennis doesn’t finish a thought for another person. He doesn’t start nodding his head before they are done. I’ve never heard …
What are some things that bring you joy? Sherry speaks fondly of hanging laundry on the clothesline with her Aunt Janie. Sherry would hand her two clothespins at a time, and Aunt Janie would pin the sheets, work shirts and other freshly washed clothes against the blue …
I was dodging COVID-19 for many months. But it finally caught me. I’m one of those “it will never happen to me” kind of guys with all sorts of co-existing conditions that make me a higher risk candidate for anything. It made me totally exhausted. For two full weeks, I just …
A wonderful group of my friends retired in their 60s. I asked them what they planned to do with all that extra time. The most popular answer: golf. Consulting came in a distant second, followed by travel. A decade or so later, here are the findings from my sophisticated …
Every book I’ve read about aging encourages individuals to reduce the stress they experience in their lives. There are weeks when I have a challenging time with this recommendation. I’ve evaluated whether my life currently has a high level of stress and have come back with a …
To win in life, it helps to get comfortable with losing. I have a tip: Always find someone better than you to challenge. For me, it’s a natural talent. As a younger man, I worked for a year on the Sheboygan Campus of the University of Wisconsin. I thought I was a good tennis …
