It's funny how college can change the relationship between a parent and child. It certainly has changed mine.Since my daughter went away to school, we talk EVERYDAY. She calls up and says the same thing: "Whatcha doin'?" My standard response is, "On...

  9/11 - An American Tragedy   It was a day just like any other. Work was always to be done. The sun shone on our brothers, our sisters, daughters and sons.   Through the sky a plane flew off its course toward a...

It took me a long time to convert to digital photography.  As in most things I do, I'm just trying to keep up with my  kids.  I have an I-Pod...but it's still in the box it came in last Christmas. Instant messaging?  Forget it, that's...

Hi everyone, it's Meg here.  I'm so happy to have GB, Katy and Jason, on my side as I openly show this path, a path that far too many women really shouldn't have to take but do. Cancer needs to be eradicated. The cure is out there I feel ...

Well this is the week!  It's been a year in the making.  This weekend baby boomer women from around the country will meet up in Florida for the First Annual Baby Boomer Girlfriend's Spring Break.  Why?  Because WE DESERVE...

Today, Tuesday, June 3, my husband and I are celebrating our second anniversary.  People who know us think we've been married for many years.  Sometimes it feels that way.  We've been through A LOT in the short period of time. But I can...

I somehow never  thought I’d see the day when I drove past a gas station, saw that unleaded regular was selling for $3.98 a gallon, and think I was witness to a “bargain.”   Last year, when gas “temporarily”...

In the days before I had a big flower garden (which puts me roughly at just last summer), I hadn't a clue about what fun and suspense and celebration and even mourning could go into watching stuff grow.  Or not.  Up until then, my gardening...

There was no end in sight to the household details to get to after my daughter's recent wedding, but as I stepped up to the kitchen sink, through the window I could see dozens of like-sized birds silhouetted against the light grey sky in a dead tree...

There have been many amazing cats in my life. When I was little -- Missy, the Siamese who let me rub my face in her fur. As I got older, sisters Mischief and Tallie -- Mischief would "talk" to me for hours, or just listen if I needed to vent. Now,...

   Wow! Where do I begin? I don't have a lot of time to this will be a quick blog. I just wanted to write a few words about our amazing trip to the UK. First of all, many thanks to John and all the people from Sing Live UK who gave us such a...

There are a lot of things to do on a Labor Day weekend...but when your guy lives near Milwaukee and owns a Harley, the only plan possible was to spend it at Harley Davidson's 105th reunion.  So Friday morning I traded the high heels, sneakers and...

This week, many baby boomer parents, like me, have been going through the experience of sending their children off to college for the first time.  We are becoming something called “empty nesters.”  I would like to say...

The invisible man returns. Sorry to be so long off the blog-waves...but as many Growing Bolders men and women in the world, I decided January 1 was the time to strike out on my own and leave the corporate world...and stake my own piece of the American...

I walk into a tasting with the usual suspects at our Thursday Wine Group. This is a search to find great wines at great prices that are from small, cool and groovy vineyards to serve at several great restaurants in Orlando. This is the industrial...

One of the things I've come to realize, is that no matter how old we live to be, we still all have some sort of insecurity.  I don't think I remember a time in my life when there wasn't something I struggled with....as a kid, it was likeability,...

Actually, truth be told, we’re all up in there with being tacky...but tackiness is as tacky does, as The Ancient One is want to say.  I’m still not sure what that means, but I think she was trying to tell us that there actually ARE...

This is the time of year when many of us take a few moments to slow down and give thanks for what we have. It's something that personally, I wish I did more often. I don't think it should take a date on a calendar to force me to take stock of my life,...

The look on Christina's face is priceless. Monkey boy knows no fear. He has even taken to scaling the jungle gym at the playground down the street from the house. He'll find some fear and caution after that first good but minor tumble. At least that is...

I am new at this blogging thing but I like learning new things.  I live in my RV full time. I have a 29 foot Fifth wheel trailer and a one ton Dodge pickup.  But I am not a snow bird type.  To me they are the ones who go from here to there...

Yesterday when my 21-month-old grandson came home from daycare, he ran right over to me and gave me a hug.  Now granted, he could only reach my knees but it was definitely a big bear hug!  He does it quite often as a matter of...

I woke up this morning and clicked on the early morning news..... I blinked!! twice...and my mouth opened wide!!.. Was it possible that I had gone to sleep the night before, and slept for 9 months?...It seemed that I missed my God Given American...

With all due respect to Ken Burns, I think his days as America's favorite history-teller are numbered.  Like many, I was fascinated by his series on the Civil War, baseball and World War II.  But, if I'm totally honest, I must confess that...

Nothing is normal at our home when it comes to celebrations. Yesterday it was our 13yr old daughter' s birthday. As is the custom here, you get to choose what the family cooks for your birthday meal. Everybody kicks in and it's a great party. Of...

I love my animals. I have two dogs, Faegan and Junior, and two cats, Travers and Laila. No children at this point (human children, I mean) so the furry friends get most of the attention in my house. My dogs *know how to manipulate my love. When I...

It started when Marc and I grabbed a seat -- the first time we'd rested in hours.  Marc, Jason and I were at the Major League Baseball draft, covering an amazing event.  Former player Dave Winfield helped organize a symbolic draft for surviving...

Was there ever a more chaotic decade than the 60's? I mean, it's like the '70's never had a chance!!! Imagine being squeezed in between the '60's and the '80's! It's no wonder the '70's wandered around like a lost little puppy looking for a place to call...

As a member of the Growing Bolder team, we're always on the lookout for examples of ageism.  Many people call it the final great "ism" that this country needs to tackle.  Usually the type of things we come across involve jobs dumping highly...

Any doubt that the political race is heating up?  Forget heating up -- a lot of big names are already burned by moves they've made in recent months.The latest person to get caught up in controversy is Geraldine Ferraro, the 72-year-old political...

There's an interesting change underway in the mainstream news media. For years, the 50+ market has been all but ignored. Now, news and stories about you are beginning to pop up everywhere but news and stories for you are still few and far between. What's...

Do you know how every once in a while you meet someone who's life force shines so bright you just want to be around them?  You MUST meet Shelly Burch.  Oh, sure... You might...

Whenever I make a marinade, I take many things into consideration. Quality and freshness come first – the quality and freshness of the product I am about to marinate and the ingredients I use to create my marinade. The recipe ingredients and the...

I thought the Oscars awards show was a great example of why filmmakers spend so much time and money perfecting their craft.  None of them do it because they think they will get nominated -- they do it because it's their passion, and they feel...

If you've planned a wedding, you know how stressful it can be.  Who's sitting where? What do you mean hydrangeas are out of season? And a photographer costs HOW much? Two-and-a-half years ago, I was in the throes of dealing with those very issues,...

It's the regular suspects at the Thursday Tasting Group, and we're tasting Merlots. We know the rap...Merlot has become a bad word in the wine business. A novice entry level wine. Over-produced. Wimpy. Red Wine for girls. The Apple-tini of the Napa...

It's been a wild couple of weeks for me -- on the job, and off!  Here are some of the highlights.First, let me deal with some "business."  In last Thursday's Insider newsletter, the bottom of the page previewed a story we hoped to bring you...

 I am Missing  My friend Ruth Hamilton  I  still will keep her  alive for  her birthday and always, she will not be here on earth this year,  Ruth would have  been 110  this April 12, 2008 , But  we...

If God had built us without judgment, we’d be better off...maybe...but it’s commenting on what other people wear and look like that makes for an insane amount of laughter and gratitude...the, “There but for the grace of GAWD go...

If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands. Apparently, there's not a lot of hand clapping going on. Have you been in a bookstore lately? The happiness industry is smiling from ear to ear. There's Stumbling on Happiness, The Secrets of Happiness, In...

It happens almost every day. I get home from work, kick off my shoes, plop down in front of the television and I hear that unmistakable voice. He wants me to go swimming. My 13-year old son has waited all day for his dad to join him in the...

In 1937, Ruth Hamilton traveled to Europe to visit family in Denmark and to embark on a fact-finding mission for her radio program in the States. Decades later, she wrote about her life-changing trip in her autobiography, "The Hamilton Saga."...

CAUTION: GB MEMBER VIDEO AHEAD...KEEP READING ! ! ! What do you get when you mix the following elements: An “amazing” sense of adventure, a 13 page application form, a video camera and my sister, whom I’ve known for 36 years? It’s quite...