Aging

It comes to all of us in the end: that crushing moment when you suddenly feel old. The trigger might be a milestone birthday, an illness or an injury, a romantic snub or a missed promotion at work.

I wrote this yesterday on my birthday in celebration of Dr. Danny Friedland’s last living day, Saturday. I wrote about Danny in a post earlier in October.

Glorious! I just spent a few days in the Rocky Mountains experiencing the change of seasonal colors and the sound of the last flutters of the aspen leaves before they tumble to the end of their lives.

I know this is a loaded question, but here's what the statistics tell us: 80% of people over 40 say they feel younger than their chronological age while fewer than 10% say they feel older. Is this because we want to be hopeful in our "cult of youth" society?

Dying a good death. It’s not a subject most of us choose to ponder. But, when you’re a medical doctor and face later-stage brain cancer, you recognize that you may not be there for your kids’ graduations or weddings.

My father turned 84 today, and he’s coming back to Baja for a scuba diving trip in La Paz six weeks from now.

Julianne Moore thinks the term 'aging gracefully' is "totally sexist." It’s meant as a compliment but "there’s so much judgment inherent in the term."

This afternoon, I worked on my obituary. No, I am not announcing a heavy diagnosis, a sense of foreboding, or even a glimmer of a deathwish.

Oh, how I loved Roald Dahl’s book “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” as a kid. Yes, it was a story about how avarice, gluttony, envy, and all kinds of other deadly sins proved to be, well, deadly. And, of course, Charlie was the perfect little boy to which I aspired. But it was really the chocolate I was after!

Some of you are familiar with Dan Buettner and his series of bestsellers, starting with "The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest."