This gallery contains 26 photos.
Mention the Cumberland Gap and many people immediately think of Daniel Boone who blazed the Wilderness Trail through the gap. European-American settlers then migrated along the trail into what is now Kentucky and Tennessee, but Native Americans traveled through the … Continue reading
The photo gallery below augments yesterday’s observations about eastern Kentucky. The photos highlight what visitors see traveling through the region, and some of the people they may meet if they stop to get acquainted. I hope you enjoy them.
“Take my picture, please, please, take my picture,” said the pretty blond teenager. She was with two friends, a girl and boy, and the threesome was headed into Walmart near Pineville, Kentucky. The two girls stood near one another, and the boy, wearing a baseball cap, jeans, and a light jacket over his lanky frame, drifted a few feet away. I asked him if he wanted to be in the picture, but he said no.
I took two pictures, then she wanted to see them.
“Oh, my eyes are so blue. You have a really good camera,” she said as she continued to look at herself. Continue reading
There are so many news articles about poor retirees that it would be nearly impossible to count them. In opposition to that trend is an opinion article (may be behind a pay wall) in Friday’s (Jan. 24) Wall Street Journal. Sylvester J. Schieber and Andrew G. Biggs, both of whom have deep experience with Social Security, report a serious data problem with many estimates of retirement income.
Here’s the thesis: the common narrative “about the declining income prospects of retirees is not true.” Continue reading
This gallery contains 30 photos.
Yesterday I described a cruise to the Bahamas. Today you can view some photos that show the experience. When this blog post loads in your browser, click on the first photo and you will enter a gallery where you can … Continue reading
Cruising
Barbara and I parked our car and took a shuttle to the Miami docks where the Norwegian Sky, a small cruise ship awaited us. We were anxious. This was our first cruise and first time to the Bahamas. We were facing security, and I just remembered I had a Swiss army knife in my pocket.
We got through security (they let me keep the knife), and we headed up the gangway to see our room and explore the ship. We had booked a two-day, three-night cruise with one day at the Great Stirrup Cay, a small island owned by Norwegian Cruise Lines, and one day in Nassau. We sailed at night. Continue reading
This gallery contains 25 photos.
The photo essay below is one view of 2013. It tends to emphasize people interacting with nature. The photos may be representative of what retirees find interesting as a year moves along. Maybe the essay’s main point is that we … Continue reading
Sunset on Lake Champlain
Who reads these posts? What’s going on here?
This blog is now two years old and we might take stock of our efforts. Two years ago I expected most readers would be retired. Now it’s clear that many readers are not even close to retirement but instead work serving a senior population.
“I cut my own firewood,” said Frank. “Helen likes a fire in the winter. Of course it’s messy, what with the dirt on the wood and then the ashes, but she likes a fire. And truth be told, I like to cut and split the wood.”
It was a bright cold day, and I had stopped by Frank’s place to plan some deer hunting. We were out back of his house at his log pile, in the middle of his 4-acre woodlot.
These guys may be on the table next year
Retirees and others are digesting prolonged economic hardships, and like “Old Love,” it can be hard to spot. Two recent reports from Merrill Lynch pin down what many retirees experience in their own families.