What My Older Cat Taught Me About Aging

Yoshi is sitting on the table next to me with his head on my arm, which makes it challenging to type. He’s all about proximity these days as he wants a steady stream of affection and warmth from his humans. I can’t imagine that he’s cold — it’s 95 degr… Continue reading

What’s It Like to Be a Rock Star’s Mom?

Memoirs from musicians are fairly common, but how often do we hear from the mothers of famous rock stars? In her debut book, From Cradle to Stage, Virginia Hanlon Grohl (mother of Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl) opens up about her life as a rock mom … Continue reading

The Big World of Miniatures

For miniaturists Bradley Meinke, Joan McKenzie and Joan Warren, a love for collecting small treasures started when they were small children, and as they grew, their devotion to this pastime grew right along with them. Miniatures are definitely big. PBS… Continue reading

Talk Your Way to a Free Week in Europe

Get to know the locals in Europe during your visit? Fat chance. Most of us vacationing abroad can interact only with taxi drivers, waiters, shop assistants and hotel clerks — not much chance to form meaningful relationships there. But I’ve spent severa… Continue reading

Life Changes When Your Millennial Moves Out

My daughter and I are on the couch waiting for our face masks to revitalize our skin. Our weekly home spa routine was her idea. Even through my mask I can’t avoid seeing her boxes stacked against the wall, awaiting a mover’s truck at 9 a.m. tomorrow. I… Continue reading

Next Avenue Readers Tell Their Travel Tales

Several weeks ago, I wrote a story about my solo trip to Paris and received many wonderful responses from Next Avenue readers about their own travel experiences, solo and otherwise. Many professed their fondness for the sights and sounds of the towns a… Continue reading

50+ Filmmakers Capture Their Stories

(Part of the VITALITY ARTS SPECIAL REPORT) Behind the Lens: 50+ Filmmakers goes behind the scenes of the 55+Video Memoir Class at Film North in St. Paul, Minn. and tells the story of Joe Moses, a University of Minnesota professor, who produced a short … Continue reading

Older Rock Fans Are Still Singing Along

Today they wave cell phones instead of cigarette lighters, but the Woodstock generation still loves attending concerts featuring their favorite artists. Gerry Baird Halley, 75, is a U2 fanatic who has followed the band on tours since 1987. She has seen… Continue reading

Next Avenue Readers Find Happiness and Connection in the Arts

“Because it makes me happy.” This was the top response to a question in a recent Next Avenue Vitality Arts survey on why our readers value participating in a favorite pursuit geared toward the arts. With the 10-question survey, posted in August on the … Continue reading

The End-of-Life Care That Veterans Need

(Editor’s note: This story is part of a special report for The John A. Hartford Foundation.) Every veteran is unique, with a lifetime of memories, stories and achievements. At the same time, veterans share a common experience regardless of when and whe… Continue reading