Philosophy
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MEMORY: Real or Imagined?
We have 100 billion neurons and over 100 trillion synaptic connections in our brains. So why do we forget stuff? Because it’s not important to us. Yes, it’s that simple. I can still remember my grandmother’s phone number from 1970 (WHitney 5-6078) but couldn’t find my car keys yesterday. Granted, the processing speed of our neurons slows… Read more
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HELP I’M IN THE TUB AND I CAN’T GET OUT!
Look what I just bought myself for Christmas! Remember that commercial where an old lady was on the floor and said, “Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up?” It used to make me laugh. Not anymore. I finally took my first bath in this tiny tub since replacing both my knees. For reference, it… Read more
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S-T-R-E-T-C-H
You can see from this picture that I’m flexible. What you can’t see are my two, artificial knees, spinal scoliosis, achy hip and temperamental shoulder due to a long-ago dislocation. I started doing yoga in my teens, 50 years ago. Nothing fancy but I still do a little bit every day. Now, it only takes about 10 minutes a day to… Read more
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YOUNG AGAIN?
There is no instruction book for aging. The label on an aspirin bottle is infinitely more informative. As if losing your hearing and sight weren’t enough, your brain does odd things. Yesterday, I went into the garage three, separate times. Each time, I brought an item to put in the recycling bin but I knew that wasn’t why… 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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‘REAL’ LOVE
I saw this key next to a brochure promising, “Real Love,” sitting on a bench this morning when I took my walk. It seemed as if they were ‘planted.’ A little contrived, I thought. And yet? There was no one around but me. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could find ‘real’ love on a… 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
AGEFULLY AGING 