In the lyrics of the song I Might Fall in Love with You Again  Writers: Carole Bayer Sager, Peter Woolnough Allen wrote: Don't throw the past away You might need it some rainy day Dreams can come true again When everything old is new again Not quite literally true, but there is a renewed reverence for some old things, and renewed ways of seeing or using them.  In the new documentary California Typewriter  you get to spend time in the wonderful Berkley California shop California Typewriter opened in 1981 by  Herbert L. Permillion III, who worked for IBM for 20 years, and run with...

Gretchen Rubin, the writer who has a wonderful career encouraging happiness; wrote: "Years ago, my mother helped me to re-frame a challenging situation so I was grateful, rather than resentful, about my husband’s lack of interest in our apartment renovation.Actually, I was lucky that my husband was happy to let me make all the decisions! As we try to reframe the way we age, and the entire culture of aging, I'd like to suggest a giant slice of reframing and a generous dollop of humor can add up to much happier older age.  Which brings me to the unforgettable New...

You may not be surprised to find out that smell is the strongest of our senses and best able to influence brain activity. Olfactory bulbs are part of the limbic system and directly connect to the areas of the brain that process emotion and learning. This is why something that we smell can trigger a memory, or transport us to a different time or place. In a 2003 journal article published by the National Institutes of Health there was strong evidence for the benefits of aromatherapy for Alzheimer’s patients. “Three placebo controlled trials each reported a significant beneficial effect on...

And so it begins with Thanksgiving and all the celebrations that follow -  a season of love and family and friends, of gatherings and parties of too much and too little, but most of all STRESS . The expression stress as we have come to think of it, was coined by Hans Selye in 1936, defined as “the non-specific response of the body to any demand for change". Which we now know includes both positive and negative emotions and everything in between.  Often what is best about the holiday's can be what is hardest. If you only see your older family...

This Thanksgiving if  you are fortunate enough to have several generations together to celebrate Don't miss the chance to ask your older family members about the lives they have lived.  Beginning with one booth in Grand Central terminal in 2003, StoryCorps has grown to be broadcast weekly on National Public Radio's Morning Edition.Thanks to founder Dave Isay’s vision StoryCorps has grown its “mission is to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world.” There is a StoryCorps podcast, permanent booths in several U.S. cities, there have been best...