Outer Places: Eastern Kentucky

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Teenage Girls, Kentucky

“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 →

Retirees in the Poor House?

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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 →

Cruising to the Bahamas: Photo Gallery

Gallery

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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 to the Bahamas

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Cruising

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 →

Who Are You?

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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.

Continue reading →

Frank’s Key to Retirement: a story

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“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.

Continue reading →

Tough Times for Our Working Children

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Some work is dangerous and hard

Some work is dangerous and hard

Many retirees are having a ball. They receive pensions and Social Security, own their homes, live in the moment, indulge hobbies, travel, and worry only a little about the future. Of course there are some who are struggling, some still working, but on the whole, seniors are doing better than at any time in modern history.

On the other hand, our working children are facing hard times, even though many don’t fully appreciate it.

Continue reading →