Originally posted on Getting Older: Charting the Uncharted:
Thanks to my friend Lois Roelofs and her post “Growing Older In “Style,” I found Ari Seth Cohen, a twenty-eight-year-old who is spotlighting “stylish senior citizens.” Love it. Older women—and men—who ignore the old adage: “dress your age.” How come a twenty-eight-year-old man finds older people so…
Tag: aging
THE CHOICE
This was published in September 2018 in The Olli Writers Group Anthology On our first night in a hotel room in Estoril, Portugal, the thumping in my chest jolted me awake. Still groggy from jet lag, I tried to go back to sleep but the pounding demanded attention. I pressed my hand over my…… Continue reading THE CHOICE
New Love in Old Age
I wanted to post an upbeat aspect of aging after my last one focused on death. While we can’t deny that the ultimate conclusion of aging is death, there are many diversions along the aging journey that turn out to be a surprise and delight. I, for example, would never have predicted that after I…… Continue reading New Love in Old Age
There Are Some Patients We Never Forget
This was first published on January 29, 2012. When you have been a nurse as long as I have there are patients who take residence in your memories and resurface frequently. They could almost be family except they have a short history in your life. What they were like before or after you knew…… Continue reading There Are Some Patients We Never Forget
Out of the Blue (aka Mr. Foley)
My story was published in Pulse: Stories from the Heart of Medicine on August 18, 2017 Out of the Blue Friday, 18 August 2017 Marianna Crane ~ As I sit in the exam room waiting for my first patient of the afternoon, the phone rings. It rings four more times before I realize that Amanda…… Continue reading Out of the Blue (aka Mr. Foley)
Getting on the Bus
This post appeared in two parts on September 8 & 20, 2013. The first night in a hotel room in Estoril, Portugal, my heart, flipping about in my chest, jolted me awake. Thump. Thump. Thump. Silence. Then a rush of horses’ hooves clopped on my ribs. Trying to ignore my heart’s gymnastics, I tried…… Continue reading Getting on the Bus
Netflix Show Gets Aging Right
I am thrilled that the third season of Netflix’s Grace and Frankie is finally here. As one of the first gerontological nurse practitioners to be certified by the ANA back in the 60s and now a 70-something woman, I am depressed that the very same stereotyping and dismissal of the aged I first encountered is…… Continue reading Netflix Show Gets Aging Right
Keeping Creative Juices Juicy
A few years back I took an acrylic painting class. Sometimes, while the ever-present radio played a Mahler violin concerto, an aria from La Traviata or Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire, I would spin about whipping color on my canvas, feeling “in the zone.” My mind would disconnect from my hand, which moved independent of…… Continue reading Keeping Creative Juices Juicy
Make My Mother Proud
I’ve mentioned that I’m rewriting the manuscript that I thought I had completed. Besides adding more about gerontology, I am digging deeper into the dichotomy between my bent for caring for older persons and my difficulty getting along with my own aging mother. Living with Mom had never been easy. Being an only child of…… Continue reading Make My Mother Proud
Rewriting the Book
I’m doing what I said I would never do. Rewrite my book. I completed my manuscript late last year, sent it out to 20 small presses and one agent. While I have been waiting for the results to trickle in—those returned so far have been rejections—I’ve been troubled by a lingering discomfort that I have…… Continue reading Rewriting the Book
Getting Older: Charting the Uncharted 