When I’m just sitting around, often outside in the shade, I ask myself: What the heck happened? Why do I live in this house, in this town? Why am I wearing this pair of faded jeans and this old checkered shirt? Why, after 30 years, do I still go to work for this company? Why …
It’s May 31st and I am having surgery today. This young doctor who, in my eyes, looks as if he’s about 14, is going in and replacing my 73-year-old right hip with a brand new one. Many of my friends say it’s no big deal. They tell me stories of Uncle Joe or their next …
On two occasions last month, I heard friends of mine, both in their 70s, beat themselves up over poor choices they made many years ago. As they shared dark secrets from decades earlier, I thought about the weight they had been carrying with no particular benefit to …
Aging gives me an opportunity to slow down and appreciate tiny pieces of landscape. There is an old white house a block off Main Street in Carson City. Many years ago, a sidewalk was put in that extends from one end of the property to the other. I decided to study one block …
As I age, my hands are getting softer. That’s a real problem because they’ve never been muscular or tough to the touch. So many people over the years, after I’ve attempted to give a firm, cowboy-like handshake, remark, “My, your hands are really soft.” I don’t take it as a …
I have a great idea for older folks who, like me, can’t sing a lick. I have this little hike I go on that gets me away from everybody. Up there, rising above the sagebrush, is a big flat rock about three feet off the ground. One day, while sitting on the rock, I had …
Hey, Don Kuhl. You’ve been screwing up. At 73, now is the time to accept your frequent blunders and make the most out of the consequences. Great example: I was recently in Orlando, Florida, for a conference, staying in the ugliest motel of all-time because the host hotel was …
Sherry and I bought our first pup, Ponce de Leon, in Dayton, Nevada, at a defunct pet store that was being turned into a pizza place. We closed the deal with a $20 bill and our lives changed forevermore. I could write a book about the misadventures of “Poncer Dog” and how …
As I age, it becomes more apparent to me that I can only control what I choose to do, not what those around me have in mind. I have a neighbor, Buck, who has led a pretty charmed life. Unlike my track record, Buck seems to know when to buy into business deals and when …
Kids don’t need to learn to spell anymore. That’s what Google and Bing are for. However, on my desk is a copy of Webster’s New Practical Dictionary from 1951. It belonged to my mother, who used it daily as a secretary at the Ames Trust and Savings Bank. On the blank yellowed …