My essay Calm-Downers, Resisters, and Bags by the Door. Sparked by a post-election day conversation about politics and protests. How do you stay engaged and zen at the same time? It’s in the premier issue of Scoundrel Time, a literary journal where artists & writers resist threats to freedom through creative works. I am a…
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10 Reasons to Feel Hope About Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease and good news? Somehow, these two terms don’t fit. In 2016 alone, Alzheimer’s and other related dementias cost America an estimated $236 billion. While that figure is staggering, the real cost to families and caregivers is immeasurable. After looking into 2016 research findings, initiatives and information on treatment and prevention, I was heartened…
Healthy Enough to Run the Country?
How should we evaluate presidential candidates? In the wake of Clinton, Sanders and Trump, the oldest candidates in history, my report Healthy Enough to Run the Country? explores the role age still plays in our decisions? But more than focusing on age and physical condition, should we seriously evaluate a candidate’s mental health? What have…
Caring for Our Wounded Warriors
“I thought I was going to spend the next few years dreaming about retirement, not taking care of my injured son.” So said a woman in her early fifties to me at a party several years ago, as she described her life as a new, full-time caregiver. Returning from a tour of duty in Afghanistan…
Technology, Dating and You
The latest technology trends that are supposed to make life easier for us can add layers of complication to your dating life. Why? Technology opens the Pandora’s box of modern romance. Once you start texting, Internet stalking, and friending dates, you’ve opened the box, and there’s no turning back. We are supposed to manage technology;…
Three Short Essays on Celebrity
1. Why Do Celebrities Play Such A Big Part In Our Imagination? I have a theory that celebrities are just characters in my head. At any moment driving to work or walking down the street, I think about the people in my life. The ones I know glide alongside the celebrities in a constant, mental kaleidoscope….
Finding Pride and Home: The State of LGBT Housing
I’m honored to win my second National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association Excellence in Online Journalism Award for my Caring.com report, Finding Pride and Home: A Look at Housing for Older LGBT Adults, and to be one of Huffington Post’s Best Journalists Covering LGBT Issues, too. Moving to an assisted living home should never mean…
Cooking Up Father’s Day Traditions
I wonder how many chefs were inspired by their own fathers’ passion for food? Chef and Dublin native Cathal Armstrong (pronounced with silent “t”) fits the bill. In fact, he has his cooking enthusiast dad to thank for getting him into the food business. “I never thought I’d do for a living what my father…
Dating 101 for Boomer Women
When it comes to dating & relationships, I write for all ages, sexes, orientations, and…just about every type that comes to mind…getting the latest from experts, interviewing people about their experiences, offering my own thoughts, and bringing the latest research and trends to the fore. This is a piece I wrote specifically for women in…
The Male Caregiver: A Profile
Here are a few selected columns from my health and caregiving writing published by PBS Next Avenue. And this particular piece is about being a male caregiver. The Male Caregiver: Profile of an Expanding Role -Dave Singleton Family man. Good son. Devoted husband. These monikers fit with our perception of the male persuasion and their…