February 7th, 2026
Royce Shook
There is an email floating around called a new alphabet for mature minds or something like that. I read it and it was funny but I thought it could be more positive. So here is my new alphabet for mature minds. Enjoy. New Alphabet for Mature Minds “A” is for “apple” and “B” is for […]
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February 6th, 2026
Royce Shook
Some fun for February one for each day of the month; enjoy 1. She was only a moonshiner’s daughter, but I miss her still 2. What do you call a pig with laryngitis? Disgruntled 3. Why is “dark” spelled with a k and not c? Because you can’t “c” in the dark 4. Just so […]
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February 5th, 2026
Royce Shook
My cousin Lorraine sent me this, I adapted it for my age and added some ideas so that those who are my age can have Dignity and possibility. I am in my 80th year, so, I sat in my favorite chair, looked back at my life, and thought and the truths I had known all […]
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February 4th, 2026
Royce Shook
There’s a moment that happens at the end of a good visit. The dishes are done. The stories have been shared. You stand at the door a little longer than necessary, knowing you’re leaving with something with which you didn’t arrive. A new understanding. A responsibility. A quiet resolve to do things differently. This is […]
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February 3rd, 2026
Royce Shook
It started, as many good things do, with a simple invitation. The city was preparing to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the May Day Festival, a tradition rooted deeply in our town’s identity. Generations had grown up with it, children weaving ribbons around the Maypole, parents lining the streets, grandparents telling stories of how it […]
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February 2nd, 2026
Royce Shook
Every conversation about aging eventually seems to circle back to the same question: Can we afford it? An aging population is often framed as a looming burden on healthcare, on housing, on public services. The language is heavy with concern and cost. What rarely makes it into the conversation is a different way of seeing […]
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February 1st, 2026
Royce Shook
When her husband died after 35 years of marriage, the house went quiet in a way she hadn’t anticipated. At first, there were visits. Condolences. Offers of help that felt sincere but short-lived. Then, gradually, the visits stopped. His children came around less and less. One son began speaking to her differently, questioning her decisions, […]
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January 31st, 2026
Royce Shook
It often starts with a phrase that sounds harmless enough. “Not a good fit.” “Looking for new energy.” “Time to bring in fresh ideas.” These words rarely appear in policy manuals, but they echo through workplaces every day. They’re heard in job postings, performance reviews, and hallway conversations. And for many older workers, they signal […]
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January 30th, 2026
Royce Shook
In Canada, it has become almost routine to begin any conversation about healthcare with the same phrase: the system is in crisis. Emergency rooms are crowded. Family doctors are hard to find. Nurses and physicians are stretched thin. Everyone knows someone who has waited too long or felt rushed through an appointment. That reality is […]
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January 29th, 2026
Royce Shook
The doctor’s office was quiet in that familiar way, paper rustling, keyboards tapping, a muffled cough from behind a closed door. I was mid-sentence, trying to explain something that mattered to me, when I paused. I could feel the right words hovering just out of reach. Before I could gather them, the person across from […]
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