It’s been just one week since Trump won the Presidential election, catapulting many into despair, terrified of his campaign pledges...
Post-Election Despair
It’s been just one week since Trump won the Presidential election, catapulting many into despair, terrified of his campaign pledges to deport millions and roll back human rights, like making abortions illegal nationwide. Upon hearing [...]
Pat Taub
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Thank You’s I Never Got to Deliver
What if you had a chance to pose lingering questions to important people in your life who are now deceased? Poet Victoria Chang did this very thing, writing letters to her deceased parents, which she compiled into the book, “Dear Memory.” Chang, in trying to come to terms with her sketchy knowledge of her parents’ upbringing [...]
Pat Taub
Want Inner Peace: Practice Soul Care
In today’s frantic world, inner peace can feel unattainable, but it’s not all that elusive if you practice soul care. Living soulfully involves developing practices that lead to a life of integrity and deep meaning. When your soul come alive, your world lights up, transporting you to another dimension. You feel one with the universe. [...]
Pat Taub
Listening to Elders
The passing down of elder wisdom is an honored tradition among cultures like the Natives Americans and the Japanese where elders are sought out for their sage advice. Unfortunately, this intergenerational exchange rarely happens in America’s youth-obsessed culture, which devalues elders and their lived experiences. But as more Americans [...]
Pat Taub
Facing My Fears of Death
About seven months ago my beloved younger brother phoned to inform me he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He assured me he was accepting of his diagnosis, adding that he and his wife had applied for companion-assisted suicide at the point when his memory loss makes it difficult for him to function. Once I got over the shock of my brother’s [...]
Pat Taub
A Change of Heart is Needed
GUEST POST by MARY DUNN As we watch countries move farther to the right and leaders embrace fascism we see that there is something they have in common: punitive immigration policies. Trump’s closing speech of the RNC convention shows that he is no different. Vilifying those seeking asylum is something that has a long history in this [...]
Pat Taub
A Love Letter to the Women In Gaza
Dear Women in Gaza, I need for you to understand that while my government has supplied Israel with deadly weapons that have killed your children, husbands, mothers. fathers, siblings and others close to you, along with dedicated doctors, nurses and journalists, the majority of Americans do not support this policy. We anguish over the horrors [...]
Pat Taub
Three Cheers for Feisty Old Broads
Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day. These immortal words of Dylan Thomas are a suitable motto for Feisty Old Broads, older women who reject the stereotype of the accommodating old lady. The FOB’s are women who are fearless in their individuality. They speak truth to power, laugh a lot, have [...]
Pat Taub
Falling Down!
GUEST POST by LISA SAVAGE Years ago, before I was within range of being considered an elder, I read in a geriatric doctor’s essay that his first move with a new patient was to examine her feet thoroughly. Because staying on one’s feet is foundational to maintaining good health for elders — a fall often precipitates a cascade of [...]
Pat Taub
Dazed and Confused
I’m left dazed and confused by the responses of friends and family members who say, in spite of their reservations about Biden’s support for Israel’s unrelenting attack on Gaza, they will vote for him to stop Trump, insisting Trump will obliterate our democracy. Let’s take a close look at the anemic democracy Biden supporters are defending. [...]
Pat Taub
What I Hold
This past weekend I hunkered down with treasured artist Maira Kalman’s latest book, Women Holding Things, a collection of playful drawings of women holding things accompanied by Kalman’s witty commentary. This delightful book prompted me to make a list of some of the things I hold along with those that will free me up if I stop holding [...]
Pat Taub