I have a file I call ‘Best Winter Day Soups Ever!’   So whether it is a winter blizzard with snow piling up or a cloudy, rainy day in January in nosnow country,  I experience this pull to the kitchen to make a pot of soup.  My husband, now a retired school teacher, a colleague  of […]

One of the most troubling of life’s experiences is to run across those persons and occasions that disappoint us. It is likely an inevitability to meet this unpleasant experience along the way. Being prepared for it, dealing with it with grace and determining how you will treat the person(s) involved afterward may be considerations to contemplate.

Persons who disappoint us don’t necessarily set out to do so. Their own insensitivity, their lack of social graces, their inability at self discipline may all contribute to the occasion. The most sensitive way to manage such moments is to respond with kindness and gentleness. Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn’t. Returning kind with kind is no way to face the person who has disappointed you.

Escalating the occasion will only exacerbate the difficulty. Learning how to be graceful in situations in which there is none, is a sure fire way to challenge others

A hotel is your home base when you’re traveling, and for the majority of travelers the basics apply: a clean room, a comfortable bed and good customer service. But for some quirky travelers, a little something extra special is required — and we’re not talking about 800-count sheets or plasma TVs.  Hotels today cater to just […]

Now that the holidays are past, what are you going to do about those wonderful greeting cards and letters from friends?  Before the month has flown, we suggest you take the time for a more extended contact with those who remembered you this year.  One of the easiest things to do is to take for granted […]

Airline passengers have scored a major victory with the Transportation Department’s new regulation that requires airlines to let travelers get off airplanes after they have been delayed on the tarmac for three hours.  The new policy for domestic flights, which goes into effect in April, 2010, imposes fines of $27,500 per passenger for each violation […]

Families Together by Arline Wills suggests that seniors take the whole gang along. A growing senior travel trend is to include extended family members in trips abroad. That way, grandparents whose earlier vacations were quick getaways now have time to enjoy sights and experiences through younger eyes. However, when a whole 3-generation family goes off […]

Senior Citizen Journal attempts to offer a variety of topics and subjects to meet the interests of our readers.  Your repsonse continues to be generous and regular.  We, however, are ever in search for subjects which may more directly address concerns not previously covered here.  Your searches are a helpful way to us to know […]

Starting June 1, 2009, U.S. citizens returning home from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean or Bermuda, by land or sea, were required to present one of the travel documents listed below. U.S. Passport:  This is an internationally recognized travel document that verifies a person’s identity and nationality. It is accepted for travel by air, land and […]

Gambling in Arizona Arizona is a haven for casinos.  Because of the Indian Reservations, there are pockets where there are no state laws governing the presence and proliferation of Gambling Casinos. Some are quite large and luxurious.  Others are more modest, but still offer what the public seeks. On most days, their parking lots are filled with automobiles […]

Someone I love dearly is experiencing enormous emotional pain. It can be heard in his voice, in his tone, in his mood, in his words. It has gone on for a while now. It is clearly deep and depressing. It is a pain of loss and rejection. It is among the more desperate of life’s experiences.

What can be done? How can someone far distant offer support and caring?

Communicate: offer words and time to listen and allow for ventilation. Communication does not necessarily include words, but it can offer presence, silent “I am with you” presence.”
Rely on other people: Identify persons of sensitive character and presence; persons with a well known reputation to offer a