Has this writer gone off the deep end or did she accidentally stumble onto an unlikely antidote to looks-shaming? — The Well-Meaning TV Producer and Me You were wonderful!” oozed the producer of the Hallmark Channel morning show, ushering me into her private office after we’d taped a 10-minute segment on disappointment. “We definitely want to have you back, but… “…next time, wear a turtleneck or at least use some neck cream.”

It’s not just the smart thing to do….You can’t change them anyway! — A cigar is never just a cigar. You know those arguments that play on a continuous loop? You didn’t… You should have... Why did you…? If you’ve ever been part of a couple, you know what I mean. It’s never about laundry or child care and who forgot the milk again. …

The last allowable prejudice just might be the most intractable. How ironic that it’s also the one that ultimately affects everyone! — I’m writing a book now about “my old ladies” — women in their 90s and beyond who have, by their good example, made my own later years happier and more hopeful. I started this quest in 1986, accidentally and in spite of my own unconscious ageist stereotypes. I was 43…

Strategies for enlisting courageous, productive and involved elders who exemplify how it’s done. “Do you think of YOURSELF as ‘an old lady’?” “Yes, Jane, I do,” I say to my good friend of 60 years. I suspect that’s not the answer she’s hoping for. Who wants to see herself as old? I started picking up “good” much-older women — my old ladies — before I turned 50. …

Every Writer Needs a Special Someone Who Reads Whatever She Writes — and Still Wants More — The Procrastinating Writer It’s because of Greg that around noon, I stepped away from Words with Friends. This morning’s family Wordl already long in the past, I could have easily spent another hour or so making words out of letters. I didn’t. Because of Greg, I also admitted to myself that the activity…

Here’s a Supreme Court ruling about age discrimination that applies to you and your future, whether you like it or not! — You carry a gun, so what’s the big deal? You don’t have to worry about getting raped or having an abortion, so why care? You think climate change is, at best, an exaggeration; it’s the price of progress and soon we’ll colonize space. …

It’s around, still upending our lives in subtle ways that scientists can’t yet explain. The ABCs of moving forward anyway. — News Flash: COVID Cancels Author’s Trip to the Bahamas Boohoo! Luxury problem. I know. The world won’t fall apart if I don’t take my grandson to the Bahamas for his birthday. Still, there’s this — and I’m guessing that it matters to you, too: A 13-year-old testing positive for COVID serves as a reminder that, almost three years later…

She barely noticed them but knew couldn’t get through the day without them. Thanks to her, we now see them everywhere. — If you don’t name something, you can’t see it. In 2003, in a paper entitled, “The Consequential Stranger: Peripheral Relationships across the Life Span,” psychologist Karen Fingerman, now Professor of Human Development & Family Sciences at UT Austin, used her own life to illustrate the term she coined to describe relationships we tend to overlook or undervalue.

An entire NYC building celebrates the Queen of the Old Ladies — Sad News Friday morning, I gasped when I glanced at the subject line on an email, time-stamped 3:16 am. The sender, David, is a fellow resident in my New York building; it’s 9:16 pm there. I knew immediately this was about our mutual 104-year-old friend. I read the rest of the email…