The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Price gouging persists on Amazon, consumer group reports

Despite U.S. PIRG Education Fund calling out Amazon and other online retailers for allowing price gouging in their online websites at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, a new analysis shows that the problem is still serious.

Six months later, U.S. PIRG Education Fund revisited whether Amazon had lived up to its promise of tackling price gouging. Its new analysis looked at 10 products found on many shopping lists during the covid-19 pandemic, including hand sanitizers, disinfectant wipes, and digital thermometers.

Of these items, options from Amazon were two to 14 times more expensive than the identical products sold at other retailers. Some examples include:

Baby boomers venturing out some into the new pandemic world

These days, I’m still not going out much. I pick up groceries from my local food coop weekly and order everything else.

However, we’re having socially distance, outdoor events to celebrate the ratification of the 19^th Amendment, which guaranteed women the right to vote. It was ratified 100 years ago on Aug. 18, 1920, when Tennessee became the 36^th state to approve votes for women. I’m photographing the events, four so far with the fifth and sixth, the final ones, tomorrow.

Meanwhile, boomer bloggers are writing about what’s happening in their lives these days:

Pandemic still changing everything, but people are trying a few things

On Aug. 18, 1920, Tennessee legislators voted to ratify the 19^th amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing the right for women to vote. It was the largest granting of suffrage in the history of the United States.

As with the cancelation of everything else, events to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of women’s suffrage were canceled.

However, on the 100^th anniversary of the Tennessee General Assembly’s vote, women in my community gathered at a the state library next to a statue of Mark Twain to celebrate. Mark Twain said women should have the right to vote.

It was fun to celebrate such a joyous occasion.

Meanwhile, boomer bloggers are writing about:

Facts and figures for Father’s Day 2020

The first Mother's Day was celebrated in 1914, but a holiday honoring fathers didn’t become official until 1966, when President Lyndon Johnson declared that the third Sunday in June would be Father's Day. President Richard Nixon made this proclamation permanent in 1972. However, Father’s Day was celebrated before then.

The idea for Father's Day is attributed to Sonora Dodd, who was raised by her father after her mother's death during childbirth. While listening to a sermon at church on Mother's Day, she thought about all her father had done for her and her siblings and decided fathers should have a day, too. Because Dodd's father was born in June, she encouraged churches in her area, Spokane, Washington, to honor fathers that month. The first Father's Day was celebrated in Spokane in 1910.

Over the years, the idea spread, and people lobbied Congress to establish the holiday.

Shopping

This year three-quarters of consumers say they plan to celebrate Father's Day, according to the annual survey conducted for the National Retail Federation. While fewer consumers expect to take their dads out for Father’s Day, they’re planning other ways to celebrate.

Most sunscreens provide poor protection or contain questionable ingredients, environmental group says

If you’re going to leave your home and go outside, remember to protect your skin from the sun’s rays. To help consumers select a sunscreen, the Environmental Working Group has released its 14th annual “Guide to Sunscreens.”

Researchers rated the safety and effectiveness of more than 1,300 SPF products – including sunscreens, moisturizers, and lip balms – and found that only 25 percent offer adequate protection and don’t contain worrisome ingredients such as oxybenzone, a potential hormone-disrupting chemical that’s readily absorbed by the body.

Despite a delay in finalizing rules that would make all sunscreens on U.S. store shelves safer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is completing tests that highlight concerns with common sunscreen ingredients. Last year, the agency published two studies showing that, with just a single application, six chemical active ingredients, including oxybenzone, are readily absorbed through the skin and could be detected in bodies at levels that could cause harm.

Baby boomers coping during weeks of staying at home due to the pandemic

Things are going well for me as I stay home under Washington state’s stay home order. I’m willing to do it for a long time more. I don’t think it’s worth it to get my hair cut or eat in a restaurant and get the coronavirus.

It’s so upsetting that protesters are risking the lives of others by coming out to state capitals, crowding together, and in some states, even carrying guns.

My yard is beautiful this time of year. I have 40 rhododendrons in many colors of pink plus red, yellow, orangey, and purple. I’m making a bouquet a day because the beautiful blossoms will soon be gone. Since my main interest in my yard is growing vegetables, I rely on all the rhododendrons, and about a dozen azaleas, planted by previous owners.

But the main thing I’m doing is working on the book about my journalism career called “Follow the Money: My Life as a Financial Journalist.” It’s a lot of work to go through the hundreds of print articles I’ve written, but it makes the time fly by. I’m almost finished with the print articles. Next, I’ll need to figure out a way to write about more than 6,000 blog articles.

Meanwhile, baby boomer bloggers are writing about:

Many more Americans concerned about covid-19 now than in March, survey shows

The percentage of adults who are “extremely concerned” or “very concerned” about the widespread transmission of novel coronavirus in the United States increased from 44 percent in March to 76 percent in April, an increase of 32 percent, according to a survey from Consumer Reports, a testing and advocacy organization. 

The survey, conducted from April 2 to 14, included questions on the pandemic’s impact on consumers’ attitudes, behavior, and finances.

It found that Hispanic and black adults are much more likely than white adults, 59 percent and 51 percent versus 37 percent respectively, to say they are “extremely concerned” about widespread transmission of the virus. Hispanic and black communities have been especially hard hit by the pandemic, experiencing higher numbers of cases and deaths in some parts of the U.S.

Understanding rosacea: It’s more than just a red face

It’s Rosacea Awareness Month. April has been designated Rosacea Awareness Month by the National Rosacea Society or NRS to urge those with the warning signs to see a dermatologist for diagnosis and treatment.

It’s estimated that more than 16 million Americans have rosacea. It tends to strike people in their 30s, 40s, or older.

“Although the occurrence of rosacea has been well documented over the centuries, virtually everything we now understand about the disorder in medical science has been discovered in the last 20 years,” said Julie Harper, M.D., clinical associate professor of dermatology at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. “As a result of these advances, dermatologists are now able to identify and prescribe specific therapies for the various signs and symptoms based on a thorough understanding of the underlying disease process.”

Rosacea affects an estimated 415 million people throughout the world. Among the most famous rosacea sufferers is former President Bill Clinton. Others reported to have had rosacea include Princess Diana, actresses Renee Zellweger and Naomi Watts, singer Sam Smith, and comedian Amy Schumer.

Baby boomers offer coronavirus pandemic reports

Who could have guessed a few months ago that the world would suddenly be plunged into a pandemic that would require months of staying at home?

I’m doing well. I’m able to pick up an order of groceries weekly from my local food co-op. I’m grateful to be able to get most of the organic foods that I like.

I had some toilet paper and paper towels on hand, then, when I realized I could be staying home for months, I ordered a case of each from the co-op like I usually do.

For the first week, I walked around my neighborhood, but my daughter, who lives in Madrid, suggested I should stay in my yard. Probably a good idea since a man walked up behind me without me noticing when I was walking on a street near my house. I wasn’t wearing a mask.

Now, I’m walking around my house in my wonderful yard, shown above. It takes me a minute to walk around my house, so I’m going around it 20 times.

Speaking of masks, since I have respiratory problems, I had two before the pandemic began here. When I went to the dentist before everything shut down, the dental hygienist gave me six more, three of which I shared with my sister.

By the time I wanted to get more, I thought they’d all disappeared. However, a friend said he’d been able to order some from Amazon, so I tried and I was successful. I’ve shared half of my box with others.

Here are reports from other boomer bloggers:

Six Decades and Counting

In New Jersey, the quarantine goes on … and on … and on. Meryl Baer of Six Decades and Counting tries to remember what life was like BQ — before quarantine, and in this week’s post compares life BQ and life now, with some humor to lighten the mood. Read about how life changes in “Before Quarantine … and Now.”

Sightings Over Sixty

We're all coping with our stay-at-home orders as best we can. But what is life really like? In “A Day in the Life of a Coronaretiree” Tom Sightings from Sightings Over Sixty reveals an inside look at what actually goes on behind closed doors.

BabyBoomster

Rebecca Olkowski with BabyBoomster.com moved from her home during the covid-19 crisis and survived. Not something she recommends to anyone right now. It’s challenging for many reasons, but she’s making it work at least temporarily. For details, see “Moving During Covid — Not Recommended But I Survived.”

Unfold and Begin

With so many people currently laid off due to covid-19 and seeing how her article “How to Go Through the Stages of Job Loss” started to take life again, Jennifer Koshak of Unfold And Begin thought she’d update it to address today’s concerns. In this uncertain time, even if you have a job to go back to, there’s still a lot of emotion around being out of work. Koshak saw that people go through the five stages of grief when going through a job loss and shares how to get through each stage with dignity, hope, and prospects for a brighter future.

Musings, Rants & Scribbles

Laurie Stone of Musings, Rants & Scribbles took a vow recently with her family – they’d avoid grocery stores at all costs. Several people in her home are more susceptible to covid-19 than others. No problem, they all thought. They’d been using their supermarket’s home delivery system for years. However, there was one small complication.

A Healing Spirit

The benefits of meditation don’t require a full-out, complicated practice, points out Carol Cassara at A Healing Spirit in her post “Three Easy Meditations You Can Do in Stressful Times.”

These articles make up the Best of Boomer Blogs #646. Thank you for reading our offerings this week, and be sure to join in the conversations. Boomer bloggers love to hear from readers.

Copyright 2020, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist

At last: Federal officials are reconsidering the recommendation for the general public not to wear face masks during the coronavirus pandemic

Since late February, I’ve wondered why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hasn’t been recommending the general public wear face masks. I wrote about it in my article “What You Need to Do to Get Ready for a Possible Covid-19 Outbreak in Your Community.” I said:

So, while it’s unknown where covid-19 will strike in the U.S., or if it will, I think getting some N95 masks is a good idea, if you can find them. I wonder if buying them isn’t recommended at this time so there won’t be a run on them, making them unavailable for health care workers.

Sure enough, a couple of weeks later, on Feb. 29, there was an email tweet from the surgeon general about not buying masks. A New York Times article quoted the tweet as follows: “Seriously people – STOP BUYING MASKS!” the surgeon general, Jerome M. Adams, said in a tweet on Saturday morning. “They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if health care providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!”