Maintaining Long-Term Friendships After a Move

When 57-year-old Brenda Thompson, a communications consultant, transplanted from Austin, Texas to Los Angeles after marrying her partner in November 2017, her greatest fear was losing touch with her three closest friends from Austin: Jane, Mary and And… Continue reading

My Personal ‘Antiques Roadshow’

A few years back, we moved into a new house in a new state to begin a new phase of our lives. Yet for all that newness, our house was instantly overstuffed with memories. The house is not a historic landmark. Frank Lloyd Wright did not draw up the desi… Continue reading

NPR’s ‘Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!’ Panelists Tell All

Since 1998, the NPR news quiz Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! has been a weekend staple for its approximately six million listeners per week. On the hour-long show, produced by WBEZ and NPR in Chicago, and typically taped at the Chase Bank Auditorium, celebri… Continue reading

The Splendor of Sandhill Cranes

(Editor’s Note: This story is part of a partnership between Next Avenue and Nature: American Spring LIVE, a three-day, multiplatform event live on April 29, 30 and May 1 on PBS and Facebook.) “Absolutely spectacular.” Those are the two words that Andre… Continue reading

Courageous Conversations at the Human Library

You can’t judge a book by its cover, but most people do exactly that with humans. “We so frequently do judge people by their appearances or their identity or their religion or gender — you name it,” says librarian Susan Lauricella of the Wilton Library… Continue reading

The Pain and Joy of Selling My Vinyl Records

(Next Avenue is publishing this essay in honor of Record Store Day, Saturday, April 13, an annual event celebrating the culture of the independently owned record store.) My daughter took some time during a recent weekend visit to clean out her collecti… Continue reading

The Ethical Will: Life Is About More Than Your Possessions

When people find out Debby Mycroft helps people write ethical wills, she always gets a predictable response: The Lament. “They say, ‘Oh, I wish I had a letter from my dad or grandmother or great aunt,’ whoever that person was. I have not come across a … Continue reading

Dave Barry’s Old Dog Teaches Him New Tricks

At 71, Dave Barry doesn’t shy away from comparisons to an old dog. In fact, he embraces them. Barry, a Pulitzer Prize-winning humor columnist and bestselling author, also realizes that his family’s beloved 10-year old companion, Lucy — who he writes lo… Continue reading

Reviving Friendships In Real Life

Former friends occupy an unusual place in our social orbits. We all have those people who knew us “when” — prom dates, pledge brothers, sorority sisters, college roommates, high school biology class partners with whom we dissected frogs. These are the … Continue reading

Life With Cheeta the Chimp

The late Hollywood animal trainer Tony Gentry put it in his will that when he died, his best friend, Jiggs, who ­­he lived with and took care of for decades, was to be euthanized. Jiggs was better known to the public as Cheeta, Johnny Weissmuller’s com… Continue reading