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
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
When you meet Tisha Kenny — vibrant and enthusiastic — you’d never believe she’s a cancer survivor, not to mention a three-time survivor of breast cancer in her 30s. “I never thought I’d see 40,” says Kenny, 74, a San Francisco artist who’s a retired n… Continue reading
In January 2013, Judy Collins, then 73, had had virtually every soul-broadening experience a woman could have. Like the song she is most famous for, her harpsichord-infused 1967 cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now,” she’d seen life from “win and … Continue reading
In January 2013, Judy Collins, then 73, had had virtually every soul-broadening experience a woman could have. Like the song she is most famous for, her harpsichord-infused 1967 cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now,” she’d seen life from “win and … Continue reading
Players from different eras making music together is at the heart of intergenerational orchestras. Next Avenue finds out why that works from orchestras in Nebraska, Wisconsin, New Jersey and Florida, and about the interesting connections among them. In… Continue reading
In James Wrayge’s quiet studio on an early winter afternoon, there is a tangible sense of purpose. Wrayge’s paintings line the walls along the portion of the space he shares with another artist at the Northrup King Building in Minneapolis. There are a… Continue reading
My husband’s mother, Rebecca Frank Rikleen, celebrated her 96th birthday on Halloween, but likely did not have a lot of time for festivities. Most days, she walks down the steep hill behind the rent-controlled New York City apartment where she’s lived … Continue reading
Stories about retirement and unretirement are perennially popular on Next Avenue; readers are always curious about just what the transition, or “graduation,” to a new phase of life will hold. Sometimes, the answer is: “Not what was expected.” In this s… Continue reading
Loneliness. Aging. Empathy. Josh Kornbluth, a storyteller whose work positions him at the intersection of art and science, explores these crucial topics in “Citizen Brain,” a series of engaging short videos about what current research in brain health c… Continue reading