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What to do when you hate to exercise (3/4/08)We all know by now that exercise is good. But I have noticed that those who act on this fact fall into one of two camps: Those who love to exercise and those who drag their tired old butts to the gym just because they know they are supposed to. I fall squarely into the second camp...
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Keeping the faith in hard times (2/19/08)Recently, a vintage dude taking his leave from me did so with a cheery "Keep the faith, brother!" It was like a sixties flashback. Back in the day, I would answer this blessing with a big ol' goofy grin and my hand held jauntily high in a peace sign. These days, I am more likely to look at my acquaintance with a big ol' cynical grin and, "What could you possibly mean by that, 'dude'?"...
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How to take years off your age without lying about it (2/5/08)Baby Boomers love to play the Age Game. The most common one, of course, is the oft purloined phrase, "50 is the new 35," or some such nonsense. And then there is this one: Someone asks you how old you are, and you respond coquettishly, "How old do you think I am?" The gambit here is to get them to say a number less than the ones you've piled up and then to tell them forthrightly what your actual age is in hopes of engendering an astonished "No way!"...
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Female fat phobia (1/22/08)In junior high and beyond, the worst two words one can be called are "fat" and "gay." This is the conclusion of one of the members of a "fat acceptance group" depicted in an a provocative new film, "Disfigurement," that is premiering at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival this week...
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Living with uncertainty (1/8/08)It is the first of the new year and I, like many of my optimistic fellow Americans, have a need to arm myself with resolutions. It helps us meet the uncertainty of the new year if we feel resolved to do something to improve our lots in life. Certainty is certainly reassuring. And in these uncertain times, dogmas and confident resolute leaders can be very attractive...
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Natural highs are priceless (12/18/07)The best things in life are free, or so the promise goes. It is hard to believe that in this hothouse atmosphere of consumerism that engulfs us this time of year. Like a lot of folks my age, I am trying to simplify my life, get free of "stuff." But even from my new elevated spiritual perch, I am not immune to acquisitive bourgeois appetites. I don't know about you, but I have begun to feel like my life depends upon getting the new iPhone. Who wouldn't want to have the world in his pocket?...
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Am I old? (12/4/07)All of this nonsense about 50 being the new 30, 70 being the new 50. It all sounds like a boomer-inspired trick to confuse us about whether or not we are actually getting old. By the way, when exactly are we old? From my 87-year-old mother's perspective, I am just a whippersnapper (whatever that is). ...
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Have we no shame? (11/20/07)This is a weird world we live in. Britney's body is displayed all over the Internet, and apparently her mother has the chutzpah to write a book on parenting. And, if I want to know about 'Stephanie's' philosophy of life -- she is 19, from Atlanta and quotes "Men may wear the pants but I control the zipper" -- all I have to do is become her "friend" on MySpace and all will be revealed...
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The gift of anger (11/6/07)If there is one thing that plagues us mortals on the psychological front, it is the human emotion of anger. Too often, we want to flee from the red-eyed monster, or wrestle him to the ground. But both strategies only leave him strutting about like a puffed-up, flight-suited George W. declaring victory in a never-ending war...
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French tradition in a lasting friendship (10/23/07)In 1974 two wide-eyed and bushy-tailed Missouri guys, then in their mid-20s, took off from Paris on shiny new Motebecane bicycles with the only goal of ending up in Munich, Germany. It was a time before life would demand their serious attention, before Richard would be raising a family in the Bay area and I would be sitting here looking at a column deadline. It was a time after the breezy college fratboy days we had shared. We were looking for an adventure, one that would change our lives...
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Eating French (10/9/07)Having recently spent a month in France, I have come to the conclusion that the French are sneaky. They eat three-course meals with gorgeous sauces, drink red wine constantly, have no apparent shame availing themselves of those sinful French pastries, pat and cheeses and yet still remain -- by American standards -- thin. And rarely will you see those French guys or gals sweatily jogging down the boulevard; they just walk about looking stylish...
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An American in Paris (9/18/07)I told everyone that I was taking a "sabbatical" in Paris. As soon as I was snuggled into my window seat on Air France, I began to wonder why I needed to describe my monthlong stay in France in such exalted terms. In truth, I was really just wanting to defy the benchmark of turning 60 by doing something I had always wanted to do as a younger man -- live in Paris -- if only for a month. ...
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The sunny side of aging (8/30/07)Some people fear gravity as they get older, others the loss of sexual power, some even fear grannydiapers. Me? I fear becoming a cranky old man. Forget creaky joints; nothing can age one faster than crotchetiness. I have started to see signs of it in my friends and colleagues (OK, OK, even in myself): That increased irritation with having to wait for anything, the feeling that everything is too loud, that no theater seat is comfortable enough, that service is always too slow. ...
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Beware of fat friends (8/16/07)We've always heard that we are what we eat. But now, it seems, we are who we eat with. That is the apparent conclusion of one of this summer's most highly reported health findings. A study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine found that if you hang around fat people, you are more likely to become overweight yourself. ...
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Moving on (8/2/07)My first move as an "adult" was when I packed all of my earthly belongings into my 1969 Toyota and headed west from Missouri to UCLA. How I crammed everything I wore and everything I had for setting up house into that square little Japanese car that looked like a shoe box on wheels is really beyond my comprehension. I even had a futon bed crammed in the back seat...
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Surviving the 7-year itch (7/19/07)Three is the new seven when it comes to the marital itch. There is much folklore out there about why marriages/relationships don't make it. One of the most enduring is the "seven-year itch." Support for this phenomenon runs the gamut. Marriage counselors will provide plenty of anecdotal evidence. ...
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Gabby women, silent men (7/5/07)Why is it that the men are so different from women when it comes to issues of the gab? Obviously, this isn't such a cut-and-dry situation. Irish men are known for their gift of Blarney. Rush Limbaugh and his ilk are well-known for their bombastic verbal style. And somewhere, I am positive, there is a woman who is the strong, silent type...
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Bouncing back (6/21/07)When life goes south, why do some grin and bear it and emerge with greater wisdom while others scream for their mommies as they are being led away? Those who are chanting "Free Paris," and even those who are calling for the Hilton heiress' head on a platter, might stop to consider such a question. ...
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How not to be a victim (6/7/07)We all know them. And, truth be told, we have even felt like one every now and then. I am talking about victims. Being called a victim is almost akin to being labeled a gas guzzler in our enlightened society. After all, a victim is someone who probably asked for it and most certainly isn't taking responsibility for their authorship of their dire straights. Right?...
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The rebirth of memory (5/31/07)Perhaps it is just because I am one of those baby boomers, but I tend to be more and more prone to nostalgia. This year is the 40th anniversary of the Summer of Love. Even though I wasn't there, I am still bathed in nostalgia for that heady time. Recently, the New York Times did an article on the packaging of the Summer of Love as commercial nostalgia. ...
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In praise of an imperfect memory (5/24/07)As the old observation goes: Today's sorrow plus time passing equals tomorrow's comedy. Memory can be kind in that way. Today we cry, tomorrow we laugh. We complain endlessly about our skeedadling memories yet there is more to consider here than whether we can remember where we put our keys. Sometimes our unreliable memories can be most helpful and forgiving...
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Men's depression symptoms may differ from women's (5/10/07)We all know that women like chocolate and a good gabfest, while men prefer a cold beer and a good video game. OK, so that's a cheesy generalization, but it does soften you up for today's hard topic: Men are different than women when it comes to depression...
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Resolve conflict by recognizing its causes (5/3/07)Editor's note: This column was originally published Aug. 11, 2005. You and your spouse may agree on who to vote for, how you feel about facial hardware on teenagers, even how you feel about eating veal. Yet you may not have a clue how your spouse's mind works. ...
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In pursuit of a more reliable mind (4/26/07)Everyone is concerned about their memories, at least everyone over the age of 50. So here we all are, slogging our way through the New York Times crossword, doing our aerobic walks and popping all kinds of expensively dubious pills. But does any of this really work?...
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How you know you're getting older (4/19/07)I saw on television the other day that a local organization is providing free gourmet meals for seniors. I was happy that our seniors have this lovely service. Then it was announced that this service is for those age 60 and older. As someone who is dangerously close to that watermark of aging, I was shocked and awed. Since when did 60 become the new 75?...
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The incredible shrinking brain (4/12/07)Someone recently told me that aging is all about shrinking. It is true, as most of us know, that we lose height as our spinal cords compress with too many years of standing upright. There are those shrinking opportunities that diminish as youngsters take over the asylum...
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Making a conscious relationship work (4/5/07)As established in last week's column, relationships may be easy in the initial sprint, but difficult to go the marathon distance. (As if you need a column to establish that one!) So let's roll up our sleeves and get right to it. What are the perpetual problems that plague most long-term relationships? In my experience, it usually comes down to sex, money and "tone." These are what typically fuel the "marriage-go-rounds" in which couples become trapped...
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Importance of making relationships conscious (3/29/07)This is the first of a two-part series on conscious relationships. Next week will be "How to make our relationship conscious." Relationships are funny things. They torment us. They make us say and do things we would never do to our dog. They can make us feel sullen on a sunny day, and they can often energize our fantasies in ways we can't talk about in polite society. Yet everyone I know wants one...
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Men of an uncertain age (3/22/07)"Can't live with 'em; can't live without 'em." So goes the saucy statement men are fond of saying about the female side of the human equation. But if you ask those who live with the critters called men, you might get: "Can't live with 'em and can't imagine putting up with this until he's 90!"...
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There is such a thing as too much exercise (3/15/07)In our modern age, excessiveness is out, and rehab is in. We've got programs to alleviate slavish dedication to booze, food, an abusive spouse, celebrity delinquency, sex, drugs and even rock 'n' roll. The one place where excessiveness is still tolerated in the "mature adult" world these days is exercising. ...
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What's sleep got to do with it? (3/8/07)Editor's note: This column was originally published March 2, 2006. I was once referred a 17-year-old boy whose parents were concerned because he slept all the time. I asked him straight out: "Why do you sleep so much?" "Because I can," was his straight-out response...
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Yearning for the simple life (3/1/07)As the days of our lives get shorter, I find myself seized by a strange new obsession -- simplicity. I really don't think I am alone. A landscaper told me that his older clients are always asking him to cut down their trees. Why? Because they want less to deal with. I notice more and more women, as they get older, looking like they get their flagrantly gray hair cut at a barber shop. I actually had the cheek to ask one such woman why the butch haircut. Her answer? It is simpler...
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Hopeful health news (2/22/07)About this time of year, when the dewey-eyed hope of our new year's resolutions start fading into cynicism, we need a new dose of hope. As your eagle-eyed health columnist, I can provide this. There is plenty of optimistic news coming our way for improving your health. Here are a few that have caught my eye...
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Going for the long Valentine (2/15/07)Love is one thing when you are taking the plunge. It is quite another thing when you are midstream, and yet something altogether different when you are reaching the other shore. While Mr. Hallmark continues to make his fortune pandering to those who are gleefully jumping into the brink, I toil on the banks, trying to help those already well down the river, the ones who are floundering a bit with fatigue, treading water or fantasizing about bailing...
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Destressing: Listening to the body (2/8/07)Editor's note: This column was originally published Oct. 20, 2005. One thing is for certain: stress -- or more specifically how we respond to it -- will age us and shorten the precious time we have to do our thing on this earthly plane. To rephrase a popular saying, "Stress happens." It is how we are dealing with it, or not dealing with it, that matters...
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The art of posturing (2/1/07)Recently, someone said they saw me walking down the street, looking "very lord of the manor." If only. But it did get me to notice how I and other vintage folks carry ourselves. What I started seeing were certain themes: Older women who look like stiffened ballerinas. ...
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Planning to lose it (1/25/07)I'm saying it out loud. This is the year that I will lose those pesky 10 pounds (OK, so it's now 15) that I have been ranting and raving about ever since middle-age took control of my middle. When you see me five months from now, I will look like I did when I left Missouri in 1970 (but with a few more wrinkles and without the luxurious shag haircut)...
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Long time passing (1/18/07)Last week I was sitting in a sidewalk cafe in Santa Barbara, talking with a fellow boomer, when a small ragtag band of war protesters came marching down the street, singing "Give Peace a Chance." The median age appeared to be around 65 and their collective fashion sense mired somewhere in the late '60s...
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Slowing down time (1/11/07)Every turning of the new year, I start thinking about time. I suspect I am not alone. When I should be concentrating on those pounds I am going to lose or the ways I am going to save our planet from the destructive path it seems dedicated to, I waste time worrying about time passing by...
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Top health stories in 2006 (1/4/07)This past year was a rough one by most pundits' accounts. But at least there were more winners than losers on the healthspan front. In the winning column, there is now a vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV), which can prevent cervical cancer. In the losing column is AIDS. Now 25 years old, AIDS is still an epidemic -- as of last year, there were 40 million people living with AIDS, which is double the number from 1995, and there is no vaccination in sight...
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The latest and greatest longevity pill (12/28/06)Recently, I have been reporting on longevity factors -- those lifestyle changes that have been proven to extend our life span. They all require effort, which most of us in our modern determined health-conscious ways are willing to do. (Really, how hard is it to remember to have a daily bowel movement and wear sunscreen, even when it is cloudy?)...
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More longevity factors (12/21/06)In this week's edition of Healthspan, I wind up my three-part series on longevity in which I have been delineating 15 "longevity factors." I see this as a checklist for living the long life. Since we are all subject to a genetic lottery and unanticipated tragic accidents, it is always helpful to have an idea of what we can actually choose to do to extend our lives. I suggest you check your list and then check it twice...
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Boomers may need to work on longevity (12/14/06)My generation -- the so-called baby boomers -- will never be called the "Greatest Generation." That title has already been grabbed deservedly by our parents, who lived through the Great Depression and who waged a truly necessary war. History is still out on us, but one thing is for sure: We will be called the Longest Generation...
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Living to age 94.8 (12/7/06)Recently a psychic told me I was in my "last life." That sounded sort of ominous to me, but she assured me it was a good thing. "Enjoy!" she exhorted merrily. I still don't know what to do with that information. What has been more helpful to me is a recent test I took that calculated I would live to the ripe old age of 94.8 years...
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Living long in the land of cha-cha-cha (11/30/06)I recently reported on those yogurt-eating (actually matsoni- eating) Abkhazians and their "long-living" ways. A little song, some nuts and, most importantly, a respect for aging all have powerful effects on living the long life back in old southern Russia...
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The mind of a woman (11/16/06)"Why is thinking something women never do? "And why is logic never even tried? "Straightening up their hair is all they ever do. "Why don't they straighten up the mess that's inside?" Hopefully you realize this is not a quote attributable to me. These are the much beloved lyrics from Alan Jay Lerner's "My Fair Lady," in which the immortal question is posed: "Why can't a woman be more like a man?"...
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Seniorphobia (11/9/06)There is a distressing trend I have noticed among those of us who are of the baby boomer ilk -- making fun of seniors. I know, horrifying. "You know you are a senior if your idea of weight lifting is standing up." And how about this joke on seniors: "Getting 'lucky' means you found your car in the parking lot."...
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The mind of man (11/2/06)You've probably heard this one: How many men does it take to screw in a light bulb? Three. One to screw in the bulb and two to listen to him brag about the screwing part. There are a lot more where that came from, all mining the rich humor lode of the male mind. Men aren't from Mars, they are eternally from the locker room it seems...
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What if you had one year left to live? (10/26/06)Editor's note: This column was originally published Nov. 3, 2005. Imagine this. You visit your doctor for your annual physical. Strictly routine. She studies your lab work with her usual casualness; you are already thinking about the dry cleaning you have to pick up. All at once, you notice that wrinkles are appearing in her forehead where Botox had seemed to permanently remove them...
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One of these days may be too late (10/19/06)Editor's note: This column was originally published May 26, 2005. "One of these days, I'm gonna sit down and write a long letter to all the good friends I've known. One of these days, one of these days, one of these days, and it won't be long, it won't be long."...
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Optimism may help you live longer (10/5/06)Editor's note: This column was originally published Oct. 13, 2005. We all intuitively know how stress can age us. Just take the other day. After nine hours in the office, I spent another hour on the phone, getting commands from an annoying electronic voice to punch numbers that took me nowhere...
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The painful pain relief confusion (9/28/06)Editor's note: This column was originally published Jan. 27, 2005. Interesting, isn't it, how our "drug of choice" changes with the years. These days (if you are of a "certain age") we are more concerned about medicating our aches and pains than ... say ... birth control...
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Be seen acting your age (9/21/06)Editor's note: This column was originally published Jan. 6, 2005. The magazine racks are filled with advice about what we should be seen wearing and doing in order to be hanging with the swells. Good enough, but what if we are just trying to avoid looking ridiculous as we get on in years? What should we be doing or not doing?...
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Not all cholesterol is bad (9/14/06)One of the indignities of aging is having to learn to crunch all of those new numbers. No, I am not talking about our golf handicaps or even fictional Social Security payouts. I'm talking cholesterol. Those increasingly important and ominous scores we receive whenever we visit our doctors. ...
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Celebrating a birthday with the thought of death (9/7/06)It's my birthday and I will die if I want to. Lately, when I encounter yet another birthday careening my way, I try to spend it pretending that it is my last day on earth. This week it arrives, and I will once again immerse myself in this task. You may see this as some macabre indulgence, but I see it as a gift to myself...
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Baby boomers still standing (8/31/06)We're here and we are not going quietly into that good night. After all, we did invent rock n' roll and the Internet. In case you haven't guessed, I am talking about the baby boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964. And yes, that does mean that the vanguard of my generation are turning 60 this year...
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Dog days of summer could help your heart (8/24/06)I am really hoping I don't offend or disappoint any of my readers with what I am about to admit, but here goes: I am one of those people who actually resonate with the statement, "God spelled backward is 'dog'." (Or is it "Dog spelled backward is God"?)...
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Hormones: No longer raging, but still important (8/17/06)When we were teenagers, our parents shook their heads and explained our follies with something along the lines of, "Their hormones are raging." No one is likely to say that about any of us who have turned the corner on life. Hormones may no longer be raging, but they are certainly all the rage...
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The good, the bad about water (8/10/06)Water is one of those rare things in life that we can't be ambivalent about. Right? After all, we can bathe in it and it will make us clean. We can swim in it and it makes us healthy. Babies frolic in it and make us smile. Drinking it helps with menstrual cramps and keeps you full so you don't munch yourself through a bag of Doritos. Rumor has it drinking plenty of it also helps with constipation, cellulite and hemorroids...
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What's good for blood pressure is good for the mind (8/3/06)If you dive headfirst into this Healthspan thing, you keep coming up against a couple of core realizations. The first one is --Grow up! There are no magic potions when it comes to your health. As appealing as many of these herbal concotions and exotic mechanical devices may seem, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is...
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Dealing with cognitive decline (7/27/06)A friend of mine recently announced that he had figured out what the problem was with our aging memories. "Our minds are like a hard drive with only so much space. My trouble is that my hard drive is filled up with the lyrics of every song from the '60s."...
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Keeping friendships as we age (7/20/06)Everybody's social network is shrinking. That is what the latest research shows, according to Dr. Judy Stephens Long, a specialist in adult development at Fielding University. "The average number of close friends has shrunk from something like three to one," says Dr. Long. She also cautions: "It is important not to take a trend that seems to be general and decide that it is a product of aging."...
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Radical love, act three (7/13/06)In response to my recent column -- Radical Love in the Age of Retirement -- my friend Allison informed me that she was disappointed. She thought the column was going to be about retired seniors having wild sex. This might have more to say about Allison's fantasies for her future than my intentions...
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Radical love in the age of retirement (7/6/06)Diana is someone whose spirit shines brightly. Being in her presence, you just naturally want to engage. For 35 years she was a teacher in the public school system, using that same energy to inspire and move her students to change. This past year, at 58, she retired...
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Cancer: Body and mind out of balance (6/8/06)It is a brave new world out there. We are no longer so easily dictated to by the experts when it comes to matters of our health. I have found that some of the most knowledgeable people on cancer are the ones who have come face to face with the Big C, rolled up their sleeves and tackled it head on...
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Surviving cancer (6/1/06)Part two of a series "Cancer is an education you can live a lifetime without." This is what Angela said when she sat down to discuss the education she didn't sign up for when she was suddenly diagnosed with breast cancer. This lovely 43-year-old has her trademark wide-open smile at full throttle. She has lots to grin about these days. She just made it past her three-year cancer-free anniversary...
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The myths of cancer (5/25/06)Part one of a three-part series I am afraid of cancer. More than heart disease -- that other biggie that has some good odds of getting me in the end -- cancer is one big ole scary mystery to me. It seems so insidious. I would rather wake up in a bed writhing with snarky snakes than confront the Big C...
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The many symptoms of eccentricity (5/18/06)Eccentrics live longer. That's a comforting thought, at least to those of us who seem to be heading in that direction. But is it true? I couldn't find much research to prove this, but I did come across a study done by neuropsychologist David Weeks and Jamie James, published in their book, "Eccentrics: A Study of Sanity and Strangeness." They conclude that eccentrics do live longer and the reason is that they experience lower levels of stress. ...
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The good and the bad about mint juleps (5/11/06)This past Saturday found me standing in the shadow of Churchill Downs' famous twin spires, a frothy mint julep in my hand, a tear in my eye as we sang "My Old Kentucky Home." If it is the first Saturday in May, I, along with my siblings and our significant others, will be feeling swell at the Kentucky Derby...
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Greeting the dawn of a new day (5/4/06)Like many who return home from a vacation, Celia had lost that stressed-out, furrowed-brow pallor of modern life. Her natural merry smile was back. I figured a week back in the land of cell phones and bumper-to-bumper traffic would leach that sunlight right out of her face...
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The new scoop on B12 (4/27/06)Sometime back in the last century I tried out a new doctor who appealed to me because he was both an M.D. and "holistic." Before we had even gotten to the part where I have to drop my drawers, he was insisting upon sticking a needle in my arm and injecting me with vitamin B12...
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Being from Missouri (4/20/06)Several years ago, a distressed couple sat in my office, glaring at each other. I've seen this one before: two desperately troubled spouses, unyielding and filled with suspicion. Things were getting a bit too emergent. I turned to the one who seemed a tad less ferocious and found myself saying: "You need to be from Missouri on this one."...
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Treating depression: a necessity (4/13/06)That blue-eyed demon we call depression isn't pretty at any age. But trust me, it gets uglier as the years pile up. OK, don't trust me. Reread last week's Healthspan where a case was made for depression's deadly impact on aging heart health. Still not buying? I'll get your attention with this one: Alzheimer's -- that ultimate "boogeyman in the closet" -- has a cozy relationship with depression...
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Our aching hearts (4/6/06)"Don't go breaking my heart," intones Sir Elton. While the King checks into Heartbreak Hotel, the Chairman of the Board warns us to "Be Careful, It's My Heart." If you think this kind of thing only happens to the big boys, consider this. I am still heartsick, after all these years, over the breakup of the Monkees...
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How fat is too fat? (3/30/06)There is one thing I dread about my annual physical. It's not the bill. It's not the friendly doctor and his friendly probing finger. It isn't even the lame joke he makes when he does that thing he does. It's the annual visit to the scale. I've weighed myself before, in my bathroom, at the fair. But this is different. This is The Scale. I step on it, and my doctor deftly adjusts the weights. A furrow creases his brow as he jots something in my chart. He isn't making any jokes now...
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Finally, some really cool health news (3/23/06)Lately, health news has been a bummer. Calcium, which we all counted on to strengthen our aging bones, has recently been found out to have "no broad benefit." Not only that, but it isn't a fighter in the war against colorectal cancer (as previously thought), and it can even increase the likelihood of kidney stones...
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Sleep aids: Natural is better (3/16/06)When you consider natural sleep aids, the traditional one that comes to mind is the good ol' nightcap. Not such a good idea, according to Healthspan adviser Dr. Dennis Baker. "Alcohol may put you to sleep, but it has a definite stimulant effect some hours after drinking. ...
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Sleep aids: A look at prescriptions (3/9/06)Let's face it. Sleep is one of those issues that is not so easily dispatched with images of puppy dogs and tropical islands. We need our restorative sleep in order to fight the battle, and there are times when only a pill will do. Now and then an Aging Warrior needs to remember what Jefferson Airplane and the Door Mouse said: "Feed your head, feed your head!"...
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What's sleep got to do with it? (3/2/06)I was once referred a 17-year-old boy whose parents were concerned because he slept all the time. I asked him straight out: "Why do you sleep so much?" "Because I can," was his straight-out response. My eyes turned a bright green. It was envy, of course. ...
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Weight loss: Show me the motivation (2/2/06)I recently received an e-mail from someone asking if I knew of or had any information on the problem of "Winter Weight Gain." Vanity had always been enough to keep me in line when it came to my weight. But those extra 10 pounds no longer seem to care what the mirror is saying...
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Developing 'strategic resilience' (1/12/06)Developing 'strategic resilience' I am not the most ambitious guy on the block, but I have known my share of rank ambitions. As a boy, I was wild-eyed in my desire to beat my sister Christy in the horse race that spontaneously erupted between us whenever we entered the lane leading back to the barn. I never realized that one...
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The mature body, part 2 (12/8/05)I received an earful (or e-mailful) on my last week's column on the "mature body." Even the term seemed to create some comment. One correspondent sarcastically claimed I was being unnecessarily "PC" by calling our aging bodies "mature." I suppose we could avoid the now-suspect PC language and just call them "gasbags."...
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The mature body, part 1 (12/1/05)I thought I would be brave and do a column on the mature body. Why not? Most of you reading this column have one. In the spirit of full disclosure, so do I. As I often do when I tackle a new subject, I poll the experts. I asked a doctor friend of mine what he could tell me about the mature body. His reply: "Why are you asking me? Just look in the mirror."...
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Reconsider your anger (11/24/05)You've all been told to "put on a happy face." It made your momma happy even if it never dissuaded that serious cop from issuing you a speeding ticket. Well, guess what? Some new research out of Carnegie Mellon University suggests that putting on an angry face might just be the right way to go ... or at least the healthier way to go...
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Sleeping beautifully in old age (11/17/05)We can wax poetic all we want about the benefits of getting older; we can even convince ourselves that gray is the new black and square dancing is not so square after all. But let's get real...
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Optimism may help you live longer (10/13/05)We all intuitively know how stress can age us. Just take the other day. After nine hours in the office, I spent another hour on the phone, getting commands from an annoying electronic voice to punch numbers that took me nowhere. On the way home, I suffered the shock of spending $60 to fill up my car. Splattering my groceries all over the ground as I open the front door, I discovered that my dog has decided to take off unannounced for a vacation somewhere south of here...
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Five more ways to keep the Big A at bay (10/6/05)Last week, Healthspan reported the benefits of a good night's sleep after a nice fish meal when it comes to waging our favorite health battle: keeping Alzheimer's at bay. Three other suggestions reported last week were exercising both your body and mind as well as judiciously using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory painkillers like ibuprofen...
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Four ways to avoid hypertension (7/28/05)Last week I reported some bad news about hypertension which deserves to be repeated: High blood pressure (hypertension) is an epidemic here in our overfed, stressed-out country. Dangerous when left untreated, it can create that slippery slope to heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and erectile dysfunction...
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High blood pressure's hold on America (7/21/05)I'm mad as hell and I'm not taking it anymore. You probably think I'm talking about the newly anointed Dr. Tom Cruise and his recent public displays that seem hellbent upon proving the actual necessity for psychiatric treatment. What I am really talking about is hypertension or, as it is known in some circles, high blood pressure...
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Stress management made simple (7/14/05)When I came across a book called "Stress Management Made Simple" by physician Jay Winner, I have to admit I was somewhat skeptical. Stress? Simple? Tell that to the hundreds of people I know who struggle to pay bills, clean out the gutters before the next rainstorm and do what is necessary to maintain minimally acceptable sexual relations with an equally stressed-out mate...
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Age-related hearing loss in boomers (6/16/05)I used to snigger quietly and with a slight air of superiority whenever I would hear an older person loudly ask a companion in the movie theater: "What did they say?" Then just last week, my friend Paul, who is two years younger than I am, turned to me in one of those same theaters and loudly asked: "What did he just say?"...
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Keys to health in marriage (6/9/05)Do married people really live longer? Or, as the old joke goes, does it just seem that way? As it turns out, marriage does seem to expand our talent for hanging around on this earthly plane a bit longer. The health perks of marriage are well documented. After conducting a huge study on the married species, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that "married persons were healthier for nearly every measure of health."...
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Moving toward coherence (5/12/05)Recently I have been exploring the complex issue of emotions in this column. From the response I've gotten from readers, this is indeed a perplexing issue for many. One guy wrote: "So what am I supposed to do? My wife is always telling me I have an 'anger management problem' and that I should be reading your column. ...
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Getting healthy is simple- Take a walk (5/5/05)Who has time to get healthy? Or so goes the lament common to the hordes of harried Baby Boomers, enthralled by their ever expanding schedules. Evidently they are not alone. A mere 3 percent of all Americans take the time to actually get healthy; this, according to a major Michigan State University study just published in the Archives of Internal Medicine...