The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Best wishes on Veterans Day

There are about 20.4 million veterans in America, and they make up less than 10 percent of the adult population in the country, according to the Pew Research Center.

The center offers these facts about those who have served in the military and how they’re changing:

1. Gulf War-era veterans now account for the largest share of all U.S. Veterans, surpassing Vietnam-era veterans in 2016.
2. The share of the U.S. population with military experience is declining with 7 percent of U.S. adults as veterans in 2016, down from 18 per cent in 1980.
3. More women will be veterans with the 9 percent in 2016 increasing to 18 percent by 2045.
4. Fewer members of Congress have prior military experience with 20 percent of senators and 19 percent in the current Congress having served compared to 81 percent of Senators and 75 percent of House members after the Korean War.
5. The Department of Veterans Affairs receives a low favorability rating.

Baby boomers focus on change

The leaves are already beginning to change here in the Seattle area, so change and fall are in the air. Fall is definitely just around the corner.

Laurie Stone from Musings, Rants & Scribbles is happy. Yes, spring is lovely and summer’s fun. Even old man winter has his icy grandeur. But nothing compares to fall’s beauty and poignancy. And though this season comes at a price, Stone still loves it for leaves, crisper air, school supplies, the good shows that come back on TV, and candy apples.

Other boomer bloggers are writing about:

Women's Equality Day 2019 – Celebrating votes for women

From Visually.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist

Baby boomers contemplate life’s problems

It’s still beautiful summer, but hints are beginning to appear that fall and winter will come again as they always do.

Meanwhile, baby boomer bloggers are continuing to write helpful, insightful articles:

Meryl Baer of Six Decades and Counting spent the past week recovering from her two-week trip to Scotland. As Baer laments, years ago she would have bounced back the next day. Nowadays it takes longer to rejuvenate. Meanwhile, she reviews the cuisine and a bit of culture experienced in the land of kilts, Celts, clans, and literary greats.

When you’re thinking about an exercise program and you’re age 50 and older, you may want to incorporate functional fitness. On Rebecca Olkowski’s blog, BabyBoomster.com, Candi Randolph, a guest blogger, explains why this is so important.

If you’re thinking of starting a blog or are already a blogger, Jennifer Koshak of Unfold and Begin has some tips for you. Koshak has compiled a lot of her knowledge into her current blog post, “My Go-To Blog Resources.”

Tom Sightings of Sightings Over Sixty recently sat down with a couple who is considering where they're going to live, now that they are retired and their kids are grown and out of the house. They have their eye on a smaller home in a nice vacation area. But as Tom discusses in “Should This Couple Downsize?”  there are still lots of issues to consider and questions to ask.  

Laurie Stone of Musings, Rants & Scribbles gets a cold chill when she hears these words. Like someone with post-traumatic stress syndrome, her pulse increases. Her stomach tightens. She starts feeling light-headed. Did she hear that right? Maybe she got it wrong. But yes, her husband Randy just uttered that most dreaded of sentences: “I’m Going Food Shopping.”

On my blog, I write about the 50^th anniversary of Woodstock and what the Countercultural Movement of the 1960s and 1970s meant to me.

This is the Best of Boomer Blogs #610. Be sure to read these thoughtful articles and join in the conversations. Boomer bloggers look forward to hearing from readers.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist

Woodstock, a three-day event, began 50 years ago today

Woodstock, Aug. 15-18, 1969, the famous music festival drawing more than 500,000 people, was billed as an Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace and Music. It was held on a 600-acre dairy farm in Bethel, New York, 43 miles southwest of Woodstock.

Thirty-two acts performed outdoors even though it rained and the fields became muddy. Among the performers were Joan Baez, Janice Joplin, The Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Arlo Guthrie, Joe Cocker, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Sly and the Family Stone, and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young.

I remember the era well, although I didn’t attend Woodstock. It’s often called the Counterculture Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. To me it was an exciting time of change with gains in civil rights, women’s rights, consumer rights, and environmental protection; innovations in food, clothing, and music; alternative lifestyles; and opposition to the Vietnam War.

Let’s celebrate our democracy on July Fourth

Happy Fourth of July.

It’s a good day to celebrate our democracy and remember that it needs to be cherished and protected.

In America, we’re free to take part in government and make our voices heard, or not. We can write letters, join organizations that lobby, and protest, or not. We also can run for office, or not. We can vote, or not.

Although it often seems like things have changed in Washington, D.C., recently for the worse, we the people are the government. It’s ours. Rather than railing against it, as the right-wing media advocates, citizens need to participate and help to make government as strong and productive as possible.

Decide today on what action you can take to help make our democracy work well for everyone.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist

Top places to travel for July Fourth 2019

For a list of unique places to celebrate the Fourth of July, see Trip Advisor’s “10 Ideal July 4^th Destinations to Celebrate (With or Without Crowds).”

1. New Orleans
2. Washington, D.C.
3. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
4. Boston
5. Philadelphia
6. Jackson Hole, Wyoming
7. Sonoma, California
8. Newport, Rhode Island
9. Camden, Maine
10. Brian Head, Utah

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Personal Finance Writer

Think safety this summer

As summer begins, millions of Americans are enjoying more outdoor activities. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission urges consumers to keep safety in mind around pools and at the beach, on the playground, when cooking on the grill, when mowing the lawn, and while riding on bikes, scooters, and ATVs or ROVs.

Pool safety

Drowning remains the leading cause of unintentional death among children ages one to four and the second leading cause among children ages five to 14. Drownings can be prevented by following some simple safety steps:

• Never leave a child unattended in a pool or spa, and keep them away from drains.
• Learn how to swim, and teach your child how to swim.
• Ensure any pool and spa you use has drain covers that comply with federal safety standards. Children can get entrapped by the suction in older, non-compliant drain covers.
• Learn how to perform CPR on children and adults.

Best wishes on Memorial Day

Three years after the Civil War ended on May 5, 1868, a Union veterans’ organization leader established Decoration Day on May 30. It was a time to decorate graves of the war dead with flowers. In many places, tributes to the Civil War dead had already occurred in the spring.

By 1900, ceremonies were being held on May 30 across the nation. The name of the holiday gradually shifted, with Memorial Day becoming more popular in the 1900s.

After World War I, Memorial Day was expanded to honor those who died in all American wars.

Best places to travel for Memorial Day 2019

Nearly 43 million Americans will be taking a Memorial Day weekend trip. The unofficial start of the summer vacation season, Memorial Day will see the second-highest travel volume on record since AAA began tracking holiday travel in 2000, with the highest set in 2005. Compared to last year, an additional 1.5 million people will be traveling on Memorial Day, a 3.6 percent increase.

Most of Memorial Day travelers will be taking trips by automobile: 37.6 million, a record, up 3.5 percent from last year. For air travel, 3.25 million people will be flying, up 4.8 percent from last year. For trains, buses, and cruise ships, 1.9 million people will be traveling, an increase of 3.8 percent over 2018.

For holiday travelers who will drive to their destinations, travel delays on major roads could be more than three times longer than normal during evening commutes.