The Orchid Series
A collection of interviews featuring inspiring women over 75 years young. Curious, engaged, active, interesting. The sort of woman I want to be when I grow up!
Not long ago, Betty Nelson received test results from a physician. For a person this age, all looks fine, she read. Furious, Betty phoned the doctor’s office and scheduled an appointment to see him.
Continue reading…
At an Aspen dinner party, martini in hand, Chris Crowley chatted with an Exercise Science and Muscle Physiology researcher. This PhD showed Chris a graph of normal aging patterns in our country. According to the data, after age fifty, people tend to gain weight, move slower, and develop aches and pain. One man represented on the chart seemed to hold steady. He didn’t slide downhill as he grew older. The
When I seldom leave the house and yearn to see my adult kids, a routine comforts me. During quarantine, my husband and I wrap up our days and meet on the couch for a drink and the evening news. A little after 5 pm, Reed Clapp comes into our living room with his inventive bag of ideas for kids and parents and grandparents. Reed, or Mr. Clapp as he’s known
We all experience those periods when we sense a relationship is amiss. Or we know deep down we should make some changes on a personal level. But we look the other way, pretending not to notice, until we get a gentle shake or even a swift kick from the universe. And then—forced to act upon the precise issue we didn’t want to see, we set off in a direction we
Thirty minutes before heading to dinner at a friend’s house, I panicked. I had no hostess gift to bring. No scented candle or bottle of wine or fancy note paper. And, according to many etiquette experts, – and my mother – “a good guest does not show up empty-handed.” Like most of us, Kathy Terry had more than she needed or could ever use. She didn’t want more stuff and
Backstage, at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, Matt Logan crossed his fingers and glued his eyes to the tv monitor. He’d dressed the superstar entertainer and rigged all the hooks and ties and snaps in the right spots. All he could do now was watch and listen and hope the act went off without a hitch. Along with an Emmy-award winning producer and a Broadway and film actress, Matt founded Studio Tenn
People in their fifties, sixties, seventies, and eighties are different from those a generation ago. Today’s individuals approaching “senior status” are healthier and more active. They are curious and want to continue to learn about the world around them. Four decades ago, Bernard Osher, and his foundation, began to lay the groundwork for a learning network targeted to “seasoned adults.” Now located on 124 college and university campuses, in all
It’s that time of year again…Magazines and social media feeds are loaded with stylish and crafty ideas for us to buy and cook and wear and do. We decorate our homes and trees and yards, bake treats for neighbors and teachers and co-workers, and purchase and wrap way too many gifts. We succumb to the Christmas craziness and want the holidays to be just right. Thirteen years ago, a medical
I suppose I always think it is the older folks who get stuck, slip into a rut, and need to reboot their lives. Those people tired of their 9-5 commitments and finished raising their kids and wondering how much longer they have to find their passions. Or those who are just plain bored. And then I met Max Hawkins. From outward appearances, the methodical twenty-something seemed to live in a
One of the things I missed most about leaving Houston was my monthly book club meeting. Our group was much more than lively conversation, often on topics far beyond the book we were meeting to discuss. Book club prompted me to read books I might not otherwise choose and to explore issues I may not dig into on my own. It forced me out of my box. Parnassus Books, a tiny jewel
I’ve noticed today’s young couples don’t seem focused on accumulating stuff. Rather than decorating the perfect home, they tend to seize their moments and their days and jump into experiences. Deciding it was the ideal time in their lives to travel and explore, Alex Kaspin and her husband eagerly declared, “Let’s do this!” Shortly after their marriage, the newlyweds cleared out their Philadelphia apartment, stashed wedding gifts in storage, and
Two years ago today, on my 57th birthday, I embarked on a project. I pledged to do one new thing—every single day—for the following year. As it turned out, one year of novel activities, both large and small, rolled into two years of something new every day. Now, 730 days later, I realize what a gift my experiment turned out to be. Just as my grown sons were beginning their careers and evolving
Tarot card readings? I think of women in flowing robes. Heaps of bracelets on their arms and rings on every finger. Giving off touchy-feely vibes in candlelit rooms and making predictions about the future I’d rather not hear. “Not necessarily so,” says Lauren Lowe. Many people believe tarot readers, with magical powers, peer into the great unknown and advise us what to do or not do. Their actual task is
As we wander through the charming, historic Music Row building with the rickety staircases and old-world architecture, Dustin Williams proudly explains, “Everything we have here we fully expect to last 200 years.” The older they get, the more valuable. The more they are played, the better they sound. “We are lucky to be the caretakers of these beautiful instruments.”
Showing me around her meticulously organized and overflowing art studio, I have a hard time keeping up with Xima Lee Hulings. Amidst pens and paints and textiles and even a blow torch, she talks about her life and paintings and projects in her rapid-fire, exuberant way. Inspiring and educational, she motivates me to make a mess and create something. Because, as Xima laughs out loud and says, “Life is an
-Mary Wells Lawrence, 88, advertising executive and first female CEO of a NYSE company
Around the world, we discard one million plastic bags every single minute. We use, on the average, a bag for 25 minutes, and it takes 100-500 years for the bag to decompose. Our plastic trash, disposed of on land, flows from streams to rivers to the oceans. An ocean gyre is a system of ocean and wind currents, swirling like a whirlpool. The trash is drawn into the calm center
