November 16th, 2009
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By Madeleine Kolb
My new blog is finally ready. I’ve expanded the focus because I think that many of the issues in aging—such as the matter of good physical health—are vital throughout our adult lives. And if we maintain healthy habits in our 30s and 40s and 50s, we are so much more likely to be healthy in our 50s and 60s and 70s and so on.
Yet many negative ideas (or outright myths) lead us to think that as we grow older, we will become sicker. That’s just one example. There are plenty of others. I’ve changed the name of my blog to reflect this focus.
I’d love to have you check it out at www.agemyths.com and to consider subscribing. I’d also appreciate comments or suggestions. Woody Allen once said, I love feedback; I just don’t want to step in any. That’s amusing to be sure, but—after nearly 10 years in Toastmasters where members improve by repeated cycles of give-speech-get-feedback—I recognize how essential feedback from others is in helping me do a better job.
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November 13th, 2009
By Madeleine Kolb
There can be change without progress, but not progress without change.– Anonymous
I am excited about big changes in the works. Very shortly, I will phase out Sixtyplus Place and move to a new blog.
I’ve learned so much in the few months since I started blogging. I’ve learned from the experience of writing posts and reading comments as well as reading posts on other blogs and leaving comments. I’ve learned from a terrific course called A-List Blogging Bootcamp, offered by Leo Babauta and Mary Jaksch, and from the talented, energetic, and very supportive bloggers also taking the course.
The more I learned, the more I realized that to make progress, I had to make changes. My still-young blog needed a makeover. I would change the name, expand the focus and give it a face-lift. (Don’t believe in them for people, but that’s a subject for another post.) I’ve been working on my new blog and should have it ready in a few days. When it is, I’ll put up a notice here with a link.
I appreciate so much the support I’ve gotten on all sorts of questions and technical matters from my blogging buddies and from others who’ve read and commented on Sixtyplus Place. I hope that you’ll check out the new one.
Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
November 5th, 2009
By Madeleine Kolb
The Right Stuff is a term popularized by author Tom Wolf in his rollicking, uproarious, roller-coaster-ride of a book by the same name: a book about America’s seven original astronauts. They were men who had what it took to climb into a massive rocket loaded with explosive fuel and blast off into space. They had the Right Stuff.
In that spirit I will present awards from time to time to people with the Right Stuff. People who take on a challenge and triumph over obstacles. Or who suddenly, unexpectedly find themselves in a challenging situation and rise to the occasion quietly and competently. Those who demonstrate what a single person can accomplish if she or he has the Right Stuff.
And the second Right Stuff Award goes to Annie Glenn.
Annie has been married to John Glenn, one of the seven original astronauts since 1943. If you read The Right Stuff or saw the excellent movie of the same name, you probably remember the scene where Annie Glenn refused to speak on camera to then-Vice-President Lyndon Johnson. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Overcoming challenges
Posted in The Right Stuff Awards | 5 Comments »
October 28th, 2009
Photo by kamshots
By Madeleine Kolb
What do we really know about aging, and is what we know really true? Unfortunately, most of what we know is a confusing mix of fact and fiction, of myth and reality.
Some of the common myths are dispelled in the book “Successful Aging” by John W. Rowe, M.D. and Robert L. Kahn, Ph.D., published in 1989. The book discusses results of extensive studies of aging funded by the John D. and Katherine T. MacArthur Foundation. An earlier post dealt with Three Common Myths of Aging. This one discusses another myth.
Myth 4. The horse is out of the barn
This is the idea that after years of bad health habits—like smoking, drinking too much, eating too much, and being physically inactive—the damage is done. That horse is out of the barn, and it ain’t never comin’ back! Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Aging and health, Myths and realities of aging
Posted in Myths of Aging | 2 Comments »
October 22nd, 2009
- Street where Kitty Genovese was murdered
By Madeleine Kolb
Imagine this
“You’re spending a summer afternoon at a music concert in the park. As the concert ends and people begin leaving, you notice a slight numbness in one arm but dismiss it as nothing to be alarmed about. Yet, while moving with the crowd to the distant parking areas, you feel the numbness spreading down to your hand and up one side of your face. Feeling disoriented, you decide to sit against a tree for a moment to rest.
“Soon you realize that something is dramatically wrong. Sitting down has not helped; in fact, the control and coordination of your muscles has worsened to the point that you are starting to have difficulty moving your mouth and tongue to speak.You try to get up but can’t. A terrifying thought slashes to mind: “Oh, God, I’m having a stroke! Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Books, Getting help, Personal responsibility
Posted in Health | 6 Comments »
September 25th, 2009
By Madeleine Kolb
The Right Stuff is a term popularized by author Tom Wolf in his rollicking, uproarious, roller-coaster-ride of a book by the same name: a book about America’s seven original astronauts. They were men who had what it took to climb into a massive rocket loaded with explosive fuel and blast off into space. They had the Right Stuff.
In that spirit I will present awards from time to time to people with the Right Stuff. People who take on a challenge and triumph over obstacles. Or who suddenly, unexpectedly find themselves in a challenging situation and rise to the occasion quietly and competently. Those who demonstrate what a single person can accomplish if she or he has the Right Stuff.
And the first Right Stuff Award goes to Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Learning new skills, Myths and realities of aging
Posted in The Right Stuff Awards | 11 Comments »
September 20th, 2009
Photo courtesy of meagain
By Madeleine Kolb
The first time my friend Jen invited my BF and me to have Thanksgiving dinner with her and her BF, I didn’t hesitate. “Sure,” I said, “that would be great. What would you like me to bring?” Jen was seldom at a loss for words, but she seemed hesitant, apologetic.
After quite a long pause, she said, “Well, uhh, I know, uhh, you have diabetes, but, uhh—do you think—could you, uhh, maybe bring desert?” She looked relieved. She’d done it. She’d told me how I could help.
“Glad to,” I said. “And how about cranberry sauce? I’ll make some of that too.” I brought my absolutely fabulous sour-cream apple pie —made with Splenda instead of sugar and no-fat yogurt instead of sour cream—and cranberry sauce made with Splenda.
This was a win-win solution. Jen and her BF got help from me with Thanksgiving dinner. I got to help my friend, while preparing a desert that even my BF and I could eat without worrying too much about sky-rocketing blood-glucose levels. And of course, all four of us got to eat a fabulous meal, drink a little holiday wine, and enjoy each other’s company.
So what was the problem? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Getting help, Social Activity
Posted in Social Activity | 11 Comments »
September 9th, 2009
By Madeleine Kolb
Vegetables are good for us. Everyone says so: Mom, the doctor, even the government. They’re jam-packed with nutrients, such as vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, folic acid, and potassium. And as if that were not enough, they have generous amounts of fiber (and we all know how important that is).
There’s only one problem though: Lots of people hate vegetables. When they see a pile of overcooked green beans on a plate, it brings back horrible memories of dreary lunches served up in the school cafeteria by hefty ladies wearing hair-nets. Sometimes, the vegetable du jour was peas from giant cans, stored in a government warehouse since the early days of the Reagan administration.
Not that it was any better at home. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Diet, Food
Posted in Health | 7 Comments »
September 7th, 2009
By Madeleine Kolb
Today is Labor Day, which has been observed in the United States and Canada since 1894. It commemorates the accomplishments of working people, so, naturally, we celebrate by taking the day off from work.
This may be because of our deep ambivalence about work. There is the money and the mostly pleasant and intelligent people we work with. But then there is the down side of work–some would even call it the dark side.
Like the job I got at a tie factory Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Jobs, Working
Posted in Working | 5 Comments »
September 2nd, 2009
Burke-Gilman Trail (Image by Bjorn)
By Madeleine Kolb
Type 2 diabetes is scary: it’s a chronic, progressive disease. “Chronic” means that there’s no cure; it doesn’t go away (despite unreliable claims to the contrary you may see on the internet). “Progressive” means that—as the years go by—it gets worse and worse.
Here’s what you have to look foreward to, if you don’t manage type 2 diabetes over the long haul:
- increased risk of a heart attack or stroke,
- irreversible damage to your eyes, kidneys, and blood vessels, and
- blindness, kidney failure, and amputation of all or part of your legs
YOU: Wait a minute. Am I reading this right? A person can have this terrible disease and still be really healthy? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Diet, Exercise, Type 2 diabetes
Posted in Health | 3 Comments »
