‘Birding Is for Everyone’: Blazing a Trail for Birders of Color

(Editor’s Note: This story was originally published on Rewire.) When I first reached out to Jason Ward, the 33-year-old host of the popular YouTube series Birds of North America, I was hoping to speak with him for a lighthearted piece full of tips and … Continue reading

OPINION: Dispatch From My Twin Cities Community

On Monday, May 25, Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd over the course of almost nine minutes in broad daylight on camera while Mr. Floyd and civilians implored him to stop, and while three officers made space for Derek Chauv… Continue reading

At Age 96, An Artistic Passion Revisited

(This article was originally published on Indian Country Today. ) When Annette Bilagody was growing up in the 1930s on the Navajo Nation, her job in her family was to repair broken necklaces. This was her first introduction to beading. She was born and… Continue reading

The Therapeutic Power of Making Art

Like most Americans, I’ve been feeling empty, numb, shell-shocked and dumbfounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. I’ve been socially isolating as directed, except for daily walks. I am used to working from home as a freelance writer, but I’ve often had troub… Continue reading

Facing 80: Keeping an Ancient Language Alive

When she was growing up in New York, Gloria Ascher was eager to learn Ladino, the Judeo-Spanish language her parents brought from Izmir, Turkey. “Teach me that song,” Ascher would say to her mother, who didn’t encourage the language that she told her d… Continue reading

In Sync With the Natural World: Honoring the Hours

Sitting at my desk, I glance out the window at the sun and ponder where I am relative to the monastic hours. 7:30 a.m. is about halfway between Prime, the traditional morning prayer time for Christians, and Terce, which originally meant three hours aft… Continue reading

Early Midlife Crisis Hits Millennials

Do you remember how old you were when you first experienced symptoms of a midlife crisis? Normally it creeps up sometime between the early forties and mid-fifties, triggered by the awareness of one’s mortality. Forget that timetable. Under the cloud of… Continue reading

Death in the Time of the Coronavirus

Entering her apartment, I heard the scariest sound of all: silence. A burly EMT broke it with “I’m sorry.” His slight partner gave the details. Mom was where they found her. There was no blood to suggest a hard fall. The other EMT surmised she had a he… Continue reading

Find Creative Inspiration Online During Quarantine

Maybe you are sorely missing your weekly watercolor class. Maybe the shelter-in-place mandate brought on by the coronavirus pandemic has given you unexpected time or is compelling you to take this opportunity to fold some creativity into your new routi… Continue reading

Solo Agers Need Connection Now More Than Ever

(Across caregiving and community, business and intergenerational attitudes, the pandemic and how we respond to it could change us forever. Next Avenue turned to some of our Influencers in Aging, a diverse group of thought leaders, for their insights, c… Continue reading