Monthly Archives: March 2016

How I learned to stop worrying and love my iPhone

My iPhone sounded off the other morning while I was lingering over the Bangor Daily News, which I still enjoy in print, and a second cup of coffee. It was a new ringtone — a hollow “doodley-doo” I hadn’t heard before. I picked up the phone and saw a photograph of my younger son, Luke, who […]

Amid contentious debate, Obamacare turns 5

This week marks the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Affordable Care Act, best known to its friends and enemies as Obamacare. Despite its many flaws and continued revilement by its critics, an estimated 20 million Americans have gained health coverage since the law was enacted, many of them African-American, Latino, women and young adults, […]

Learning more about the “tsunami” of Alzheimer’s cases

  Sen. Susan Collins visited The Acadia Hospital on Wednesday to learn more about clinical trials of new drugs and other interventions to manage Alzheimers. Collins has made funding for Alzheimer’s research a priority in her legislative work, especially as a focus for the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, which she chairs. ” ‘It […]

Who will help older Mainers stay in their homes?

It’s not exactly a hardship, but if I weren’t headed to Quebec on April 1 to celebrate a family birthday, I would most definitely be attending the Tri-State Summit on Aging in Concord, New Hampshire. This one-day event is aimed at anyone who’s interested in developing Aging in Place initiatives in their local communities, from policy […]

The lifesaving device you should know how to use

  I think I was the oldest person in the room last Tuesday when about a dozen of my Bangor Daily News colleagues gathered to get certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of automatic external defibrillators, or CPR/AED. It pleased me to see how many of my younger coworkers take seriously the responsibility of […]

What a wonderful world…

  The Bangor Community Chorus is rehearsing like mad in preparation for our upcoming performances on Friday,  April 22 at the Sylvia Ross Home on Husson Avenue and on Saturday April 23 at the United Methodist Church on Essex Street. The jazzy spring program will knock your socks off, I promise. Here’s a toe-tapping little video to […]

How to vacation with your aging parents

Here comes spring, and then summer, and with it, for many families, the challenge of coordinating vacation plans and travel schedules to accommodate different generations. A few months back, I reviewed Planes, Canes and Automobiles: Connecting with your aging parents through travel by New York-based writer Valerie Grubb. It’s great guide for planning a trip with […]

What I learned this week at the Bucksport Senior Center

  I was pleased to have the opportunity to speak at a healthy living workshop earlier this week at the senior center in Bucksport. The event was coordinated by center director Sue Ann Craig, in conjunction with the Bucksport Bay Healthy Communities Coalition and local aging in place organizers. Aging in place is the catchphrase […]