It was a bad time, to be sure. My younger sister, Ann, was fading from stage 4 colon cancer, and all I could do — all any of us could do — was to try to keep her comfortable. For months, her friends had been dropping by her home to express their love a… Continue reading
(This article is part of the VITALITY ARTS SPECIAL REPORT) Printmaking isn’t where Eric Rewitzer started in art, but for over a decade it has been his primary practice, and today he teaches it, too. “At one time, carving blocks of linoleum seemed like … Continue reading
During the holiday season, grandparents may be tempted to send their grandkids gift cards, write checks or ask the grandchildren’s parents to shop on their behalf. But this can be a missed opportunity to choose a gift or discover an experience that can… Continue reading
Earlier this year, I had to put my beloved Lab rescue, Zoey, to sleep. She had been my constant companion and my constant joy for 12 years, and I am bereft without her. I want to get another dog eventually, but first I want to travel a bit and not worr… Continue reading
I was 11 years old when my parents brought my younger brother and me to Manhattan to see the musical Annie. Even though we lived in Queens, trips to the “city” were a big deal. Broadway tickets cost much less than today, but still expensive for a famil… Continue reading
(Advances in science and public health are increasing longevity and enhancing the quality of life for people around the world. In this series of interviews with the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging, 14 visionaries are revealing exciting … Continue reading
By the time I crawled into bed after seeing my first rock concert, it was nearly three in the morning, yet I found the energy to scribble in my beloved red diary. “FANTASTIC!!!!!!” I wrote in my loopy adolescent script. It stretched across an entire li… Continue reading
New York City winters are sometimes so unseasonably warm that one holiday week, tree sellers wore shorts while hot chocolate vendors lost their shirts. As I browsed the balsam and cedar potpourri then, absentmindedly humming along to “Jingle Bells,” I … Continue reading
My grandma was what the polite would call “a character.” The third of nine, my Gram was born the year the Titanic went down. She spent her life doting on her Italian family, even if she couldn’t remember who she was bossing around at the moment, callin… Continue reading
The noise of the blow dryer caused Deborah Aquilino, known as Deb, to raise her voice as she spoke in the New Jersey hair salon where she works. Her five-foot nothing frame was barely noticeable over her generous personality as she told me the story th… Continue reading