I remember when I was young, hearing my momma try to talk to my granny. She had to talk really loud and repeat almost everything she said. Regardless, my granny was always thrilled to get a phone call from one of her kids or grandkids. Even today, phones are so important to older people. Getting […]
Bill Thomas was working as a geriatrician in a nursing home in the early 1990s, examining an elderly resident there and treating her for a recurrent skin rash when she changed his thinking and his life by grasping the sleeve of his white coat and telling him what really ailed her: “Doctor, I am so […]
Geriatrician Bill Thomas, who dubs himself a Nursing Home Abolitionist, is no stranger to attempting to rebuild nursing homes from the inside out. As founder of The Eden Alternative, he has helped nudge the hidebound institutional nursing home culture to a model incorporating plants, animals, and children into the daily lives of residents — along […]
Most of us grew up believing the caution: “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” In an updated twist, another truism has evolved: There’s no such thing as a free cell phone. Efforts have recently kicked off across the nation to stop a burgeoning horde of scammers set on trying to convince consumers that […]
After a hard, cold Oklahoma winter, my granny would often say, “My body needs some greens.” She wasn’t alone. Many people in the good old days believed in feeding their winter starved bodies with some good old greens and even boiled up some tonics. Now granny didn’t rush out and walk to the grocery store, […]
For years it’s been thought that women have been disadvantaged financially because of their gender. The facts seem to bear that out. The reasons include lower pay for similar work and steeper climbs up corporate ladders. The traditional unpaid roles of wife, homemaker and child-rearer-in-chief also contribute, but there are other factors, too. For example, […]
I’d just like to know — who has my granny’s cookbook? Are there things in your family from a grandparent or parent that just seem to be priceless? Oh, I’m not talking about money or some “valuable” piece of jewelry. I’m talking about everyday items that just seem to be better than gold. It’s funny […]
Joyce Simard began her career as a dementia care specialist almost unwittingly nearly four decades ago. She had logged many early years as what she calls “a real social worker” when it hit hard that the usual rules and regulations care facilities cling to simply don’t work for residents who have Alzheimer’s disease or other […]
Many loving parents and grandparents make the mistake of giving priority to paying for their children’s or grandchildren’s educations over the funding of their own retirement. At first blush that may sound like the generous priority, but it subjects the entire family to financial risk. Hopefully you have funded your retirement through savings, investing and […]