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Now Updated

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“What’s next?” The question came from a podcaster who was interviewing me about my seminal book on retirement. “Well, I’m not sure” was my answer. “Seven years in, I’ve fulfilled many of those initial dreams. The house is built; the books are written; I’ve taken new hikes, traveled to new places, reconnected with friends and […]

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For the Love of Basketball

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When Kay Kuykendall Rosenmarkle was in her early teens, she had to quit the school basketball team because her mother couldn’t make the daily round-trip drives from their rural home to practices in town. Now, at 76, Kay has resurrected her dream, playing weekly games with the Chapel Hill, North Carolina affiliate of the National […]

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He Writes Edge-of-Your-Seat Suspense

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“Even though I was at the end of two careers spanning 30 years, I saw retirement as more of a transition into something new, not stopping and sitting around. I wanted to get into something creative.” And what Rich Bullock got into was writing novels. “First rate thrillers,” according to one critic. “Edge-of-your-seat suspense,” wrote […]

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Work You Love

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At 76, my friend John Hudspeth took a job as a dishwasher. Sounds like a retirement horror story, huh? Not really. John says the job has extended his life. I’ll let him explain in his own words, but, first, you should know that he didn’t need the work to pay bills. After 42 years working […]

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To New Readers

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First, I want to thank you for taking a chance on my book. I know there are hundreds of options, and you chose this one. I am humbled and grateful. And excited. Because making new friends is one of the perks of writing a book like this. I wish we could hang out together—maybe on […]

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A Gift

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  So evidently my book is a gift. At least that’s what Amazon is telling me. Customers who buy 1001 Fun Things To Do in Retirement are not looking for a retirement book. They’re looking for a retirement gift. And not just any gift will do. They want something fun. As did I. Ironic, huh? […]

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Joy on the Battlefield

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So innocent civilians are losing their lives in Ukraine, the world seems on the brink of war and I’ve written a book called 1001 Fun Things To Do in Retirement. Bad timing, huh? Maybe. Or maybe not. Less than a week ago, with Russian forces advancing on the capital from several directions, the Kyiv Classic […]

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A Primer on Playfulness

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The new book is called 1001 Fun Things To Do in Retirement. So why write a book like this? Don’t we just intuitively know the fun things to do in life? My answer is that most of us once did. Dr. Stuart Brown in his 2010 book on play said this: “As children, we don’t […]

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I Want Toys for Christmas

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I want toys for Christmas. Can’t remember saying that since, hmm, maybe 1959. Growing up in the Bellah family, we kids had two categories of gifts: Toys Everything else “Everything else” included books, stocking stuffer and school stuff, but mostly it meant clothes—the multicolored socks from Aunt Fern, the sweaters knitted by our Granna. “Everything […]

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On Celebrating Our 53rd

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Our 53rd wedding anniversary is coming up, and I’m remembering the 50th. We spent a lot of time talking (OK, arguing) about that one. We disagreed about how to celebrate it. My shy, humble wife wanted something small—maybe go out with two couples, maybe one, maybe just us. Her more flamboyant husband wanted a party—a […]