It’s been nearly 14 years since Hurricane Katrina washed away all the physical mementos of Mélisande Short-Colomb’s life along the Mississippi Gulf coast. Her nearly 200-year-old Pass Christian, Miss., house and everything in it was gone in an instan… Continue reading
Does age really bring wisdom? Recent studies affirm this adage, showing that older adults are better able to estimate the slope of a hill, recover quickly after making a mistake and use their brains more efficiently than younger adults. For readers of… Continue reading
(In 2008, National Geographic writer Dan Buettner published his bestselling book, The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest, about the five “longevity pockets” around the world. For this weekly series, Next Av… Continue reading
(This article appeared previously in Kaiser Health News.) Like many women aging alone, Eileen Kobrin worried that an accident could compromise her independence. Then, two years ago at age 71, the New Yorker fell while on vacation, breaking her left ank… Continue reading
If you’re looking for ways to help people in your community, one of the best things you can do is donate blood. And if this is a way you’d like to do your part, you’ll will be happy to know there’s no upper age limit on donating blood. But are there ot… Continue reading
Marc Freedman, the president and CEO of Encore.org who coined the term “encore career” has just written a book, How to Live Forever: The Enduring Power of Connecting the Generations (Public Affairs/Hachette). Here, Encore.org talks with him about why, … Continue reading
(Editor’s note: The Centers for Disease Control — CDC — reported Thursday its estimate of the overall effectiveness of this season’s influenza vaccination is 47 percent. For people age 50 and older, the estimate is just 24 percent. Yet, the CDC continu… Continue reading
I am sitting comfortably in my chair taking a course on mindfulness and meditation. Like those around me, I want to cope better with stress and feel more relaxed. But more than that, I am intrigued by my fellow “students.” After all, an assisted living… Continue reading
(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
(This article is an excerpt from Estate Planning for the Sandwich Generation: How to Help Your Parents and Protect Your Kids by Catherine Hodder.) An important part of caring for your aging parents is understanding their situation and knowing what they… Continue reading