Commentary
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TRY THIS AT HOME?
Suddenly, I wake at midnight struggling for breath. After an hour of tossing and turning, I turn on all the lights and pace, certain that will kickstart my breathing. When that fails, I march outside in 29- degree weather, confident the cold will startle my windpipe open. By the time I call 911, two hours… Read more
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ADD UP THE ‘EXTRAS’
I love to travel. Let me rephrase that. I love being in new places—not necessarily getting to them. We’ve found new ways to add costs to things that shouldn’t be charged for in the first place. Take airline seats. Once they were wide and cushy and fully reclined. Now you have to squeeze into them like a gymnast. Every airline provided three-course meals, including… Read more
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I’D RATHER ROW THAN WADE
Had lunch with a friend this afternoon at a local restaurant and we were seated in a booth. When the food arrived, I suddenly realized just how low my seat was. My chin was almost even with the plate. I asked the waiter for a booster seat. He just looked at me. “A booster seat?” I asked again. “Do you… Read more
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LIGHT IT!
As a mental health counselor, I’ve had my share of suicides, psychotics, schizophrenics, and a host of other tortured, lost souls: Men emasculated by women. Women abused by men. Siblings that can’t stop fighting. Couples that can’t stop quarreling. Addicts that can’t stop addicting and an aging populace that has lost its’ purpose. Recently, a teenager told me that she was… Read more
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SUNYASHNIKIIS
In 1880, when my great grandmother was born, life expectancy was 40. A Chicago ordinance banned people who were, “diseased, maimed, mutilated, deformed, unsightly or disgusting.” If you were deemed too ugly to be in public, you had to pay a fine of $1 to $50 or go to the poorhouse. Women didn’t have the right to… Read more
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CAST THE FIRST STONE
The closer I get to death, the more I want to live. It’s as if I know there are a certain number of miles left on my feet so I MUST keep moving them in hopes of squeezing in even more. I dance down the aisles of the supermarket. Sing at full volume with the radio. Breathe in every… Read more
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MEET THEM WHERE THEY ARE
Homeless people have been around since I was a young girl in the 60’s wandering the streets of New York City. Back then, they were few and far between, sitting quietly beside a sign that read, “Spare change?” Now, they are up front and very center across America. On any given night, half a million people are… Read more
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LIGHTEN UP
There is perhaps no more mournful place in American than the local gym. Where else can you see a sea of grimacing, grunting faces in various heave-ho positions? It could be all the mirrors. I’d be depressed if I stared at nothing but myself, too. When folks aren’t staring at their anatomy they are deeply involved with their cell… Read more
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USE YOUR WORDS!
OMG! Hasn’t life been SO much simpler since we reduced words to three letters? I checked the AQI this morning and decided not to go outside. Since I don’t take PED’s, I had to do something so headed to the GYM. (My acronym for Get Yourself Moving) FYI, more people stare at their phones there than exercise. So, while they’re… Read more
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OUR CHILD
Last Sunday, CBS ran a piece on the Sackler family and their profiteering from opioid production and deceitful marketing. Their company, Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin plead guilty to three federal criminal charges for their role in creating our nation’s opioid crisis which has killed half a million people in the last 20 years. As their… Read more
AGEFULLY AGING 