Things have changed dramatically for Americans due to the coronavirus. Most baby boomers are sheltering in place and waiting to see what happens next. What will it be? It’s all unknown.
Meanwhile, boomer bloggers are writing about ways to cope with it all. Articles include:
How to manage anxiety and to meditate.
The benefits of a stacation.
The importance of avoiding charity scams.
A nature walk in the neighborhood to break up self-isolating at home.
Tips for dealing with isolation.
New things to try at home.
Good things that have come from the pandemic.
Carol Cassara of Heart•Mind•Soul writes about these articles in the Best of Boomer Blogs #642. Click here to get the links to the articles. And be sure to join in the conversations. It cheers up boomer bloggers to chat with their readers.
Copyright 2020, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist
Like most people for now, the coronavirus is turning my life upside down.
I wanted to get my new glasses Monday, but a delay caused an error in one of my glasses prescriptions, I’m getting regular glasses and computer classes, screwed everything up. By the time the ophthalmologist’s office said they had faxed the correct prescriptions to Costco, Costco had closed its optical department.
So, instead of shopping at Costco, I went to my local co-op and Safeway to stock up again. I wore my face mask and disposable gloves.
In addition to the canned goods shelves being nearly bare, the sugar and flour shelves at Safeway were empty, too.
People age 60 and older are to stay home, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee said. So that’s what I’m doing now.
The baby boomers in our blogging group are being impacted by the coronavirus. They’re writing about:
The lithium-ion battery can overheat and the battery cover can separate with force, posing fire and injury hazards.
Yamaha is aware of four incidents worldwide of the battery cover separating forcefully from the transmitter, including one report of minor property damage. No injuries have been reported.
Friends provide such joy in life. I was really fortunate when I moved to the Seattle area years ago and joined the League of Women Voters. I met a group of wonderful women who have become my good friends. We’ve worked on league projects together – land use, environmental, housing, educational, and children’s issues as well as registering voters. And through the years, we’ve enjoyed and helped each other so much.
Friday, Feb. 14, 2020, was the 100th anniversary of the founding of the National League of Women Voters. To celebrate in the morning, I went to the Washington State Senate to observe the reading of a proclamation honoring the league and its work. In the afternoon, I attended a Gala 100th Birthday Party and High Tea sponsored by the Tacoma-Pierce County League of Women Voters.
Galentine’s Day, in which women celebrate with their women friends who support them through all of life’s experiences.
A new dog that arrived last week.
The complicated path a writer was forced to navigate on the way to and after surgery.
Where boomers can go for support and useful information.
A blog About page that needed to be updated to add new ideas and experiences.
Opinions on the Academy Award nominated movies from 2019.
A visit to a national historic site, the home of Eleanor Roosevelt in the Hudson Valley.
Rebecca Olkowski of Baby Boomster writes about these articles on the Best of Boomer Blogs #637. Click here to get the links to articles. And be sure to leave comments. Boomer bloggers enjoy hearing from readers.
Copyright 2020, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist
Americans love to celebrate Valentine’s Day. The page views on my blogs have been climbing since the beginning of February. Today, they’re reaching record numbers.
Total holiday spending for the Valentine’s Day this year is expected to reach $27.4 billion. Men will spend more than women on the holiday. Husbands plan to spend an average of $358, 74 percent more than wives plan to spend on their husbands.
I hope you’re going to have a great celebration with your partner – a nice dinner, wine, a movie or play, and above all chocolate. Like many people, I love chocolate.
If you’re single and feeling lonely, plan a nice treat for yourself – an outing, wine, chocolate, or pie.
Copyright 2020, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist
Consumers reported losing $201 million to romance scams in 2019 – up nearly 40 percent since 2018, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
Romance scammers prey on consumers who are looking for love, converting what feels like a budding relationship into an ask for money to help the scammer get out of some manufactured crisis. The stories and feelings can be compelling, and the losses can be huge.
In 2019, more than 25,000 consumers filed a report with the FTC about romance scams, and over the past two years total reported losses to romance scams were higher than to any other scam reported to the FTC.
If a new romantic interest asks you to send money, don’t do it. It’s a romance scam.
Here are tips from the FTC to avoid romance scams:
Stop communicating with the person immediately.
Search online for the type of job the person says they have. See if other people have heard similar stories. For example, you could do a search for “oil rig scammer” or “U.S. Army scammer.”
Do a reverse image search of the person’s profile picture. If it’s associated with another name or with details that don’t match up, it’s a scam.
Never wire money to a stranger, or pay anyone with gift cards. If someone asks you to wire money or pay with gift cards, report it to the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint.
Sometime it takes strength to be human. As we brave the cold weather and wait for spring, baby boomer bloggers are writing about difficult topics. They include:
The loss of a partner of 15 years due to cancer.
The skyrocketing rate of suicide for children.
What to do if you’re traveling during the current coronavirus outbreak.
Topics on the lighter side include:
A tour of the aquarium in Charleston, South Carolina.
A trip north to help with the grandkids in Vermont.
The eight most challenging things about restaurants.
Laurie Stone of Musings, Rants & Scribbles writes about these articles in the Best of Boomer Blogs #636. Click here to get the links to the articles. And, be sure to join in the conversations. Boomer bloggers appreciate getting your comments.
Copyright 2020, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist
It makes me so happy when the Academy Awards are over. Then, I can stop watching violent movies.
So this year, although there were some great movies, the majority still were overly violent and largely male oriented.
Here are my picks for the best movies made in 2019:
Best picture
I liked “1917” best, a tale of two British World War I soldiers sent on a critical, stressful mission. Although it was violent, it was about a war. It wasn’t gratuitous violence. I thought it was a well written, engaging story.
I also liked “Marriage Story.” The writing was good, and it was about something that happens to ordinary people, a bitter divorce, although the two main characters were an actor and a director.
“Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood” didn’t catch my fancy. Spoiler alert. About an egotistical actor and his stunt man side kick, it ends up with a different twist about the Charles Manson murders. To me, it didn’t seem like an important “story” to tell.
As for “Little Women,” I’ve never liked the story. Having grown up with two sisters, I don’t find the story of sibling rivalry among sisters that engaging. However, I did enjoy the costuming with 2020 being the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage and revisiting an era when suffrage leaders were doing their work.
“Ford v. Ferrari” was very good, but “1917” was better. However, it was another buddy movie like “Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood.” It was discouraging to see the leaders of Ford Motor Co., in the 1960s, all white men. Not a woman or minority in sight. Not even as a secretary.
When I watched “Parasite,” I was glad when it was over. It’s a dark comedy set in Korea in which members of an unemployed family target a wealthy household. I was extremely anxious that the poor family would get caught, but disgusted at the rich family, some who could tell the smell of poor people who rode the subway.
I didn’t like “Jojo Rabbit,” a Hitler youth comedy, at all. With the rise of Nazism around the world, even in the United States, I don’t think a 10-year-old brown shirt having Hitler as an imaginary friend is funny.
I didn’t see “Joker” by choice. I just couldn’t stand the idea of watching the development of a psychopathic killer, who I’d seen in terrible, awful Batman movies.
For some reason, the Super Bowl this year seemed to be so violent and sexist.
I'm not a football fan, but I watch the Super Bowl every year to comment on the ads to see if they continue to be violent, sexist, and ageist.
This year, the game itself and the ads this were so violent, with dozens of ads for violent TV shows and violent movies. It was discouraging. After being blasted with all the violent ads, it hard to even concentrate on the others to see if there was anything worthwhile.
I was also disappointed with the half time performance. When it came time for women can take part in the Super Bowl, we had scantily clad women singing and dancing. It was so discouraging that women's role in the Super Bowl and on TV continues to be as sex objects. As one of my friends said when I commented on this on Facebook, let's have a marching band.
However, I didn’t see any sexist or ageist ads, which is a big improvement from years past.
This year, the most expensive 30-second ads cost advertisers $5.6 million.
Best ads
Google: An older man asks Google to see photos of his late wife, Loretta.
Jeep Gladiator: An older Bill Murray, of “Groundhog Day” movie fame, finds an orange Jeep in downtown Punxsutawney, kidnaps the groundhog, and goes on a series of adventures, saying “No day is the same in a Jeep Gladiator.”
It’s been a tough week. I had to organize the hundreds of photos I took at the National Women’s History Alliance conference in early January, which meant I lost time writing my book, “Follow the Money: My Life as a Financial Journalist.”
On Sunday, the Super Bowl was so violent, the game itself and the ads, and sexist, the half time show, that I’m trying to get over it before it before I write about the Super Bowl ads. Then, the delay in results for the Democratic winner of the Iowa caucuses disappointed. Next came the state of the union address, which I didn’t watch, but I’ve had to endure dozens of clips on the radio and television. Then, Wednesday, the Senate voted to acquit President Trump.
Can I go to bed and cover up my head?
Meanwhile, my baby boomer blogging friends are writing about:
A sailboat trip in the West Indies.
The challenges of shopping at IKEA.
The pros and cons of cruises.
What to do when mobility starts to decline.
The one thing you need to do to follow your dreams.
How North Carolina isn’t turning out to be warm for a winter vacation.
How to view your life with kindsight.
Carol Cassara of Heart•Mind•Soul writes about these articles in the Best of Boomer Blogs #635. Click here to get the links to the articles. And be sure to join in the conversations. Boomer bloggers enjoy hearing from readers.
Copyright 2020, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist
