Observations of an Octogenarian Optimist — 1 — Start positive. Finding one hopeful thing to focus on can kick-start anybody’s day, especially when there’s not a lot of hopeful going around. Finders keepers. 2 — Pay attention to Mother Nature. The planet needs help: turn off the water, turn the thermostat down if it’s winter and…

The sky is falling! Breaking news! Our fragile democracy in peril!! Life still feels shaky. Even without those constant, frenetic tweets threatening to alter the course of world events in moments, truth competes with fake news. Long-established rights and laws are questioned — or disappear before our eyes. …

This essay appears on the blog page of End of Life Choices CA, a nonprofit which I am proud to serve as a volunteer and board member. Perhaps you’ll visit the site, or at least find a little food for thought here. When is being comfortable and pain-free not a…

Nearly 70 years ago I survived an amateur abortion. On a kitchen table in a drab house in a down-at-the-heels neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia. On a dreary February morning, the loneliest day of my life. …

Or, why you might just want to hire a travel agent — Purchase ticket: Click Here. City A to City B. Economy, please. You might prefer Economy+. Economy +? What do you mean? Oh, extra bag. Well, thanks, I only travel with a carry-on. But — Extra legroom! Seat 24-F, for example, features 4 extra inches of legroom. Such a deal. But…

An argument for person-to-person communication — Recently I fired my doctor. She and I had gotten along okay for several years, but things were just going downhill, communicatively speaking. "Dr. W," I said, "I need for you to look at me when we're talking. I know there's a lot of important information on that computer, and…

And other significant matters of state(s) — What’s this? I travel from the Bear State — California, should you possibly not know that factoid — to Montana in anticipation of elk and moose and bighorn sheep, and I find — grizzlies.

A message from the RNC to all key players — OK, now what do we do? We thought MyMike was under control, after we eased past the Chair business with Ronna nailing it down and MyMike having to limp home with his four votes. And did he ever get his cellphone back ? That was a mess, at least a…