Monthly Archives: December 2015

Compassion: People Who Gave … and Gave

by Dave Riley When you write about people — good people, that is — you don’t choose just anyone for a subject. You look for those who are somehow special, somehow more compassionate. As a result you can easily develop an attachment to them, as if each one were a close friend. When I wrote […]

Senior Finances: The Pension ‘Advance’ Scheme

  “We ended up paying more in interest with our pension advance then we would have paid if we simply paid off the interest over time on our existing debt load.” by Dave Riley OKAY, I KNOW THIS HAS BEEN quoted to death, but I’m going to use it anyway. When asked why he robbed […]

Maladies: Mrs. R. Returns Home

“…she could scream, cuss and even kick me, which she never does, and I wouldn’t mind it a bit.” by Dave Riley MY REGULAR BLOG POST will return next Wednesday, but for this week I just want to follow up on Mrs. R’s illness. After sixteen days in the krankenhaus, she has finally returned home. […]

Maladies: When Your Lifelong Love Hits the Wall

“This certainly is a bump,” she said at last. by Dave Riley THE INTRO TO THIS BLOG says, in part, it’s about “how all seniors have hurdles to face — maladies, loss of loved ones and more.” Well Mrs. R. and I are rather in one of those situations now. The day before Thanksgiving she […]

It’s Never Too Late: A Writer’s Life

A worker’s curiosity about the contents of an abandoned steamer trunk leads a very young writer to unlock the romantic story of a much older writer. by Dave Riley LEO ROSTEN, THE SCREENWRITER AND HUMORIST, said it best: “The only reason for being a professional writer is that you just can’t help it.” As Rosten […]