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Tom Lashnits Writer, Blogger

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Debatable Issues &Raquo; Shopping
Debatable Issues

     I viewed about 15 minutes of each of the infamous debates. I don't take them too seriously because as we know, the way politicians get elected is not to tell us what they intend to do, but to …

     I viewed abo…

     I viewed about 15 minutes of each of the infamous debates. I don't take them too seriously because as we know, the way politicians get elected is not to tell us what they intend to do, but to tell us what they think we want to hear.      So a political campaign gives us lots of shouting and negative ads -- "He's a dictator!" "She's a liar!" "He's a racist!" "She's stupid!" -- but we don't get any serious discussion about important issues.     So we read the tea leaves of invective and negative ads, and try to figure out what they really mean to do, and place our bet in the for…

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The New Sunbelt &Raquo; Fiew
The New Sunbelt

     I retired to Pennsylvania because we had some Family in the area, the cost of living is less than our old home in metropolitan New York, the winters are a little warmer, and it's not so far aw…

     I retired to…

     I retired to Pennsylvania because we had some Family in the area, the cost of living is less than our old home in metropolitan New York, the winters are a little warmer, and it's not so far away that we had to adjust to a different landscape, or a strange new Lifestyle.     My one fear about moving to Pennsylvania was that there wouldn't be other older people for us to make friends. I thought: They've all moved to Florida! And somehow it seemed dispiriting to be moving into a place where everyone else was moving out.     Well, I actually found there are plenty of people who haven…

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What Happened To Tom? &Raquo; 916Ba2Dkqpl. Sl1500
What Happened to Tom?

     I haven't posted for a long time. But I'm inspired by Confessions of a Grandma. Like me, she hasn't been blogging lately. But recently she brought us up-to-date on her life and times. Spoiler…

     I haven't po…

     I haven't posted for a long time. But I'm inspired by Confessions of a Grandma. Like me, she hasn't been blogging lately. But recently she brought us up-to-date on her life and times. Spoiler alert: She seems very active and happy in Florida.     As for me, I've been doing the things that retired people normally do.      This past winter my wife and I spent several weeks in South Carolina visiting Family -- well, mostly for the grandchildren. We played games, read books to the kids, went to the playground. We attended a 5th birthday party. Now we're heading to Wisconsin at the …

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Bigger And Badder Suvs &Raquo; Img 2217 Copy
Bigger and Badder SUVs

     My wife and I know enough not to go out on the road on New Year's Eve. But we don't always know enough not to drive when the weather gets bad.     My wife B desperately wanted to drive up t…

     My wife and …

     My wife and I know enough not to go out on the road on New Year's Eve. But we don't always know enough not to drive when the weather gets bad.     My wife B desperately wanted to drive up to New Jersey to see her grandkids the other day, especially since her last trip was canceled when her son and granddaughter got sick.     But then the weather report turned bad. A storm was coming in, bringing snow overnight, then turning to rain. It was supposed to stop, so B thought she could still make the drive. But she really didn't want to be out on the highway with the trucks and the spe…

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How Not To Be Cool &Raquo; Music 7014127 640 1
How Not to Be Cool

     I was recently a guest on the podcast Awe-Inspired and Retired. We talked about all things Retirement, from where we're going to live, to what we're going to do, to who we're going to do it w…

     I was recent…

     I was recently a guest on the podcast Awe-Inspired and Retired. We talked about all things Retirement, from where we're going to live, to what we're going to do, to who we're going to do it with . . . or what we called the "three likes" of Retirement.     (You can now listen to both of the podcasts I've done using the links under "Retirement Podcasts" on the right hand side of the blog.)     Anyway, toward the end of the conversation, hosts Caleb Miller and Riley Anderson brought up the subject of "tribes." Apparently, some of their previous guests, talking about Retirement, sug…

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Choices in Retirement

     For the most part I have stopped bogging because . . . well, because I've gone on to other things. I'm more involved in my local center for learning in Retirement. I've taken up Pickleball. I …

     For the most…

     For the most part I have stopped bogging because . . . well, because I've gone on to other things. I'm more involved in my local center for learning in Retirement. I've taken up Pickleball. I still play golf. I do my daily back stretches and leg exercises.      My wife and I have noted that as we've gotten older, just taking care of ourselves seems to eat up most of our time. Going for walks, doing our physical Therapy, making doctor appointments, brushing and flossing, trying to eat right, getting enough Sleep . . . it's exhausting!      But the real reason I've cut back on …

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Notes From The American Road &Raquo; Img 6267 2
Notes from the American Road

     We just got home from a road trip -- three weeks from Philadelphia to Madison, WI, then back through Canada and upstate New York to a Family gathering near Boston. We drove 2,500 miles in all.…

     We just got …

     We just got home from a road trip -- three weeks from Philadelphia to Madison, WI, then back through Canada and upstate New York to a Family gathering near Boston. We drove 2,500 miles in all. Oh ... my aching back!     Aside from the reminder about my arthritic back and knees, here are a few things I noticed about being on the road in America.     People are still speeding. There are stretches of road in Michigan where the speed limit is 75 mph. That seems awfully fast to me. But there are plenty of places around metropolitan areas and construction zones where the speed limit is…

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Never Say Never

     My intention was to close down this blog (see my May 2023 post "Last Lines"), because I've written around 1200 posts, and -- good Grief! -- how much can we say about Baby Boomers, Retirement, …

     My intention…

     My intention was to close down this blog (see my May 2023 post "Last Lines"), because I've written around 1200 posts, and -- good Grief! -- how much can we say about Baby Boomers, Retirement, or our personal lives?     But never say never. I have a few more topics that could addressed . . . including a particular medical procedure that I last suffered through about five years ago. And after that humiliation, I said I'd never do that again!     Well, here I am five years later, and guess what? I found myself lying on my side on a cold hospital bed, after a full day at home in the …

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Last Lines &Raquo; 71Lpuzrdvol. Ac Uy218 1
Last Lines

     We've all read about the last words of some famous people. For example, drummer Buddy Rich died after surgery in 1987.  As he was being prepped for the operation a nurse asked him, "Is there …

     We've all re…

     We've all read about the last words of some famous people. For example, drummer Buddy Rich died after surgery in 1987.  As he was being prepped for the operation a nurse asked him, "Is there anything you can't take?" And he responded, "Yeah, country music."     Or the composer Gustav Mahler who died in bed. He reportedly was conducting an imaginary orchestra. His last word was: "Mozart!"     Basketball great "Pistol" Pete Maravich collapsed during a pickup basketball game. His last words were: "I feel fine."     John Wayne who died in L.A. at age 72 turned to his wife and sai…

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What I'M Learning These Days &Raquo; Mind 544404 340
What I’m Learning These Days

     They say that we older people need to keep our minds active, keep learning things. We're supposed to learn a foreign language, or do crossword puzzles, or practice the piano.     I've alway…

     They say tha…

     They say that we older people need to keep our minds active, keep learning things. We're supposed to learn a foreign language, or do crossword puzzles, or practice the piano.     I've always resisted learning things just because I'm "supposed" to; hence, my less-than-stellar career in algebra and my brief fling with calculus. (I learned enough to pass the final; then immediately forgot it all.)     Something has to interest me. Otherwise I lose motivation, and my attention drifts off. I admit, this happened to me with photography. I got a camera, purchased photoshop, attended a c…

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The Art Of Washing Dishes &Raquo; Dishes 197 340
The Art of Washing Dishes

      There's the James Beard Award for chefs. Celebrity chefs like Rachel Ray and Guy Fieri show off their talents on TV. Famous cooking competitions are refereed by Gordon Ramsey and other culina…

      There's the…

      There's the James Beard Award for chefs. Celebrity chefs like Rachel Ray and Guy Fieri show off their talents on TV. Famous cooking competitions are refereed by Gordon Ramsey and other culinary stars. But as far as I know, there are no celebrity dishwashers, no dishwashing TV shows, no dishwashing competitions that bring fame and fortune to the winners.     But there should be. There should be an award.     Cooking is considered a highly skilled occupation, a calling, an art. But dishwashers are taken for granted, if they're lucky, otherwise they're abused and forgotten.     …

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How Old Do You Feel? &Raquo; 51Hwut5Atml
How Old Do You Feel?

      Research has shown that subjective age -- how old we feel -- and not our actual age is a better predictor of our overall Health, memory, physical strength and Longevity. So instead of asking …

      Research ha…

      Research has shown that subjective age -- how old we feel -- and not our actual age is a better predictor of our overall Health, memory, physical strength and Longevity. So instead of asking someone how old they are, you should ask: How old do you feel?     Cues about age can influence how old we feel. So one way to feel younger is to socialize with people who are younger. An older person married to a younger person may have a younger subjective age -- they feel younger, act younger. Spouses who are significantly younger actually tend to live shorter lives, older spouses live longe…

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