Category: Features

Living Retired: Fire Away!

Gary Chalk Recently, my wife Jan and I purchased a gas fire table so we can look forward to enjoying cooler evenings on our patio. “Gary, I am looking online at a nice fire table,” Jan said. “The problem is it comes unassembled, with a 30-page instruction book marked ‘Danger! Fire and Explosion Hazard!’” “Jan,…

Word of the Month: Contronym

David Zapatka Reader, friend, and bridge player, Maria Davis, writes, “I ran across a word that was new for me today: ‘contronym’, a word that can have opposite meanings, like sanction or oversight. I ran across it playing a New York Times free online game called Connections—a fun daily quiz. A quick Google search turned…

How Scammers Use Alternative Payment Methods to Steal Your Money

R.O.S.E., Resources/Outreach to Safeguard the Elderly Scammers are always looking for new ways to separate people from their money, and one of their favorite tricks is pushing victims toward alternative payment methods. These methods—wire transfers, peer-to-peer (P2P) apps like Zelle, Venmo, or Cash App, prepaid gift cards, and even cryptocurrency—make it much easier for fraudsters…

In Passing – October 2025

Joan Dora Lichtvert Joan Dora Lichtvert passed away peacefully on Sept. 11, 2025, in her home. Joan was born in Bourneville Village, England, on May 28, 1932. She came to the U.S. in 1954. Joan lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, for the first two years and then in Phoenix, Ariz., for six years. She moved to…

Savor Retirement: Rediscovering Passions in Retirement

Tim Malone Retirement represents a profound shift in life’s rhythm, offering time and freedom that can be both exhilarating and unfamiliar. For many, this phase serves as an invitation to rediscover passions that may have been set aside amid the demands of a career or family life. Far from being an ending, retirement is a…

Thunder Claps Over the Desert

Charlie Pattinian Some friends claim they love the monsoon season. Really? To me, it feels like Mother Nature’s idea of a sleep deprivation boot camp. The thunder claps seem to be timed to mock my REM stage. The lightning flashing in the bedroom makes me think there is a burglar casing the place with a…