Boomers – Born to be Wild

This says it all about us Boomers: Born to Be Wild

Movie Discount for Seniors

Cinemark in Tulsa is offering Senior Day on Mondays. The cost of admission for seniors, ages 62+, is only $5.00!

This is hilarious!

Watch this video about babyboomers and you’ll get your laugh for the day!

Travel With Elderhostel

If you are looking for a fun, educational trip with the 55+ crowd, you must check out Elderhostel. Bill and I took a trip with them in 2006 and enjoyed it immensely. Elderhostel is a nonprofit, travel organization that organizes trips for the 55+ up, based on educational themes such as Arts & Photography, Crafts, Computers & Technology, Cooking & Cuisine, Health & Fitness, National Parks, Homes & Gardens, Language Study, Exploring North America, etc.

For example, our trip was based on Photography and was located in Utah. During the trip, we attended classes where we learned how to use our digital cameras. Then went out in the field to practice what we learned. Our photo trips were to Zion State Park, the arches, Monument Valley, and more. We got up early to photography the sunset and went back to photograph sundown. It was truly an amazing adventure.

Once you arrive at your destination, everything is planned out for you, including your hotels, transportation, dining, admission to museums, etc. We had to do nothing! The tour guides were friendly, the classes were interesting, the food was excellent, our hotels were clean and comfortable, and the scenery was sensational. We had a few hours on some days to do our own thing, but mostly we were too busy or too tired to do anything else. Note: Each trip lets you know if there is a lot of walking, hiking, etc. You can choose the level of activity that you prefer. The people on the trip were all a lot of fun and I even made one friend from New Jersey with whom I continue to keep in contact.

Because this is a nonprofit organization associated with universities, the prices are lower than traditional travel agencies. It’s a very good value for your money. Although some of the trips would not suit us as Christians, there are enough appropriate ones that we will definitely go on another. Check it out for yourselves. Their website is: Elderhostel. You can search their trip offerings by location, educational theme, or by time you want to travel. You can stay in the US or go overseas. Sign up for their catalog!

Write Your Life Story!

After my mother and father died, I realized I knew very little about their life “before kids.” During the time that I volunteered for a local Hospice, one of the things I enjoyed most was listening to my “patients” tell about their lives. I wondered how much of their life story was known by their children? It seems most of us wait until it’s too late to write down our family history.

That gave me the idea for my Writing Lesson blog. Not only am I going to write my life story as a lagacy to my children, but I am going to encourage those of you who are interested to do the same. We’ll work on it step by step, together. As we finish each “chapter,” I’ll put your life story up on this blog to share with others. (It must fit my “family reading” standards, however.). When your book is finished, I’ll show you how to self-publish it so you can share it with your children.

If you are interested in joining me in this adventure, email me (bacindy@cox.net) and let me know.  For more information, check out my blog, Writing Lessons.

Old Time Radio Lovers

Another fun resource for your listening pleasure is Radio Lovers.

Here you can listen to old time radio shows such as Amos and Andy, Blondie, Buck Rogers, Benny Goodman, Arthur Godfrey, the Avengers, and Hoppalong Cassidy. And it’s all FREE!

If you’re a real connoisseur, you might enjoy the book, “On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio” by John Dunning.

Free Classics!

I love to read, especially the classics; however, time doesn’t often allow me this luxury. If you find yourself in the same boat, you might want to check into audio books.

Many of the classics are available as audio books and they are FREE on the internet! LibriVox is one source for free audio books. They have over 1,000 titles from Aesop Fables to works by William Butler Yeats. Check it out!

Reference Library

One of my favorite resources on the Internet is the Reference Library – you can find out all kinds of interesting stuff here!

No Nursing Home for Me!

If you’re thinking about your future and wondering just how you’ll manage for yourself when you’re elderly, you might get a smile (and some ideas) from this item that came in a health newsletter:

No Nursing Home for Me

About 2 years ago my wife and I were on a cruise through the western Mediterranean aboard a Princess liner. At dinner we noticed an elderly lady sitting alone along the rail of the grand stairway in the main dining room. I also noticed that all the staff, ships officers, waiters, busboys, etc., all seemed very familiar with this lady.

I asked our waiter who the lady was, expecting to be told that she owned the line, but he said he only knew that she had been on board for the last four cruises, back to back.

As we left the dining room one evening I caught her eye and stopped to say hello. We chatted and I said, “I understand you’ve been on this ship for the last four cruises” She replied, “Yes, that’s true.” I stated, “I don’t understand” and she replied, without a pause, “It’s cheaper than a nursing home.”

So, there will be no nursing home in my future. When I get old and feeble, I am going to get on a Princess Cruise Ship. The average cost for a nursing home is $200 per day. I have checked on reservations at Princess and I can get a long-term discount and senior discount price of $135 per day. That leaves $65 a day for:

1. Gratuities, which will only be $10 per day.
2. I will have as many as 10 meals a day if I can waddle to the restaurant, or I can have room service (which means I can have breakfast in bed every day of the week).
3. Princess has as many as three swimming pools, a workout room, free washers and dryers, and shows every night.
4. They have free toothpaste and razors, and free soap and shampoo.
5. They will even treat you like a customer, not a patient. An extra $5 worth of tips will have the entire staff scrambling to help you.
6. I will get to meet new people every 7 or 14 days.
7. T.V. broken? Light bulb need changing? Need to have the mattress replaced? No Problem! They will fix everything and apologize for your inconvenience.
8. Clean sheets and towels every day, and you don’t even have to ask for them.
9. If you fall in the nursing home and break a hip you are on Medicare; if you fall and break a hip on the Princess ship they will upgrade you to a suite for the rest of your life.

Now hold on for the best! Do you want to see South America, the Panama Canal, Tahiti, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, or name where you want to go? Princess will have a ship ready to go. So don’t look for me in a nursing home, just call shore to ship.

PS. And don’t forget, when you die, they just dump you over the side at no charge.

Social Security Information

This month, USA.gov is offering five free publications from the Social Security Administration. The free publication package includes the following:

1. Identity Theft and Your Social Security Number
2. Social Security: Understanding the Benefits
3. Your Social Security Number and Card (NOTE: this is a publication, NOT your card or your personal number)
4. Show Someone You Love How Much You Care — Get Help with Prescription Drug Costs
5. Social Security Administration Bookmark