If I remember anything about the pandemic, it was the empty shelves at Kroger. There was plenty of beer available. There was lots of Dasani bottled water on the shelves. Airport rental lots were full. No shortage of rental cars. There was plenty of chocolate hummus, plant-based sausage, and, most importantly, cauliflower-crust pizza. But toilet…
I recently turned seventy. I’m still getting used to saying that. Seventy has always sounded old to me. My grandparents were seventy. I would see old people sitting in McDonald’s drinking coffee. They were seventy. People who complain about their knees and have five doctors, they’re seventy. And now, so am I. The thing is,…
August 16, 2026. Nine hikers get lost near Indian Staircase in Red River Gorge. This report by Wolfe County Search and Rescue Team indicated that students from Indiana and Kentucky had hoped to watch the sunset from Indian Staircase but became disoriented by the numerous user trails. They sent a text to the rescue team,…
Sometimes your real superpower is realizing that you’re no longer a young man or young woman and then realizing that there are things that are better left for younger people to do. I’m sitting on the backside of the Cirque of the Towers in the Wind River Range, Wyoming. Quite a view. I woke up…
I’m 70 for exactly 12 months, and I’ve planned some adventures during this period. Adventure #1 I’m writing this at Gate 15 at Chicago Midway Airport on a layover to Colorado Springs. I’ll be there a couple of days and then go on to the Wind River Range in Wyoming for a five-day backpacking trip…
Two sobering things happened to me this week. The first was my Garmin watch announcing that my fitness age is 60. It uses my average resting heart rate, which has been 53 BPM, my body fat percentage, and the number of vigorous minutes and vigorous days I spend exercising. Turning 60 on my 70th birthday…
I was sitting in Terminal C at the Denver Airport gate 47 recently. I had a five-hour layover. Time to write and observe people. I’ve been noticing something concerning at airports with the past few years. I’ve noticed more and more people needing wheelchair assistance to get to their gates and to board. I researched…
Getting to The Maze is half the fun. The Maze is the western district of Canyonlands National Park. The Ranger station at Hans Flat is 50 miles from the nearest paved road. Think about that. Where can you go in this country that is 50 miles…
My 50th high school reunion is next year. It’s another reminder that I wasted most of my high school experience, at least the first two years. I would either sit in the back of the classroom and secretly read books that had nothing to do with school, or sit in the back row of Spanish…
Alcoholics Anonymous Step Two: “Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.“ I sat in the non-smokers section of the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting and listened to men and women tell their stories. Despite the loud ventilation system, I heard pain, joy, and most important hope. As they spoke…
