Once you’ve seen the Eiffel Tower, well, you’ve seen the Eiffel Tower. But when you learn about the history of how it was built (this architectural marvel was designed as the entrance to the World’s Fair of 1889 commemorating the 100th anniversary of t… Continue reading
I am not a game player. I never have been. Playing games meant sitting still, focusing and mastering a skill: things that didn’t interest me as a child. I liked play that involved moving, not thinking. While my sister and her friends played gin rummy o… Continue reading
In the difficult months after her husband Robert’s death, Joan Price found herself confronted with a veritable mountain of self-help books about grieving. None of them touched on the subject that would preoccupy her for the coming decade: What about se… Continue reading
Arguably, midcentury modern’s biggest fans are the second cohort of boomers, those Americans born between 1956 and 1964. There’s more to our obsession with midcentury modern style, however, than a love of sleek, simple design. The allure is nostalgia. … Continue reading
I can’t help loving you more than is good for me; I shall feel all the happier when I see you again. I am always conscious of my nearness to you; your presence never leaves me. Have you ever received a love letter like this? Or written one? In these tw… Continue reading
Children’s books that dismiss ageism and portray loving and fun intergenerational relationships between children and a modern older adult, whether a grandparent or someone outside the family, are powerful in developing a child’s worldview of aging and … Continue reading
When my 78-mother-in-law, DeAnne Mack, died suddenly in 2018, the chore of cleaning out the Omaha, Neb. house she’d lived in for over 50 years fell to my husband and me. We weren’t looking forward to it. DeAnne, we knew, had been hoarding for decades. … Continue reading
Who stresses over playing word games online? I do. Or I did, when the once-enjoyable time suck began to require more attention than I wanted to give it. When anticipation of playing first turned to dread, I waffled for a week or two. Then I deleted the… Continue reading
In my early 20s, I realized that I wanted to have nude photos of myself taken one day, if I could work up the nerve. Not because I was an exhibitionist, mind you. Rather, I wanted to preserve an unfettered, full-body image of myself to look at in my ol… Continue reading
(Editor’s Note: Across the country, communities are fraying in the wake of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Many people are dealing with a multitude of emotions, including grief — both past and present. So we are republishing this Next Aven… Continue reading