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
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
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
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
(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
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
My husband and I were in the shower together. He was washing my hair, something he’s never done before. I was moaning with pleasure, but not in any sexy way. There’s nothing erotic about a 55-year-old woman sitting on a plastic stool in the shower swat… Continue reading
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
At Next Avenue, we’ve heard from many single readers who would like to see themselves better represented in our stories. The fact is, not everyone is married or with a partner. There are people over 50 who are happily on their own, while others are cur… Continue reading
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