Monthly Archives: January 2013

My stated intent with this blog is to help my fellow Boomers navigate through the morass of issues that are facing those of us born between 1946 and 1964 as we age together. I think I know what those major issues are; at least I know which ones keep me awake at night. In the interest of democracy and the realization that there are most probably many, many other issues facing Boomers that I have not yet encountered I tried a little experiment: I GOOGLED “problems facing Boomers” and, in 1/3 of a second I received 565,000 responses. Five Hundred and Sixty Five Thousand! It’s no wonder I have a hard time getting the recommended amount of sleep every night.

The first thing that jumped out at me was a FOX NEWS report from last year that simply stated “If rates of disease and disability continue at their current levels, America will become a nation of sick, senile, disenfranchised, impoverished seniors, with too few resources to care for them and astronomical medical costs that will cripple our economy.” Cheery thought, that, but it kind of sums up challenge. I don’t know about you but I am not looking forward to living out my golden years as a depressed, sickly old man wearing tattered Dockers and an old flannel shirt waiting on the veranda of my government subsidized housing for one of my grandchildren to pick me up for an outing to the local park, hoping I can remember his or her name when they arrive. So, I suppose Health and Healthcare that is affordable needs to be at the top of the list of every Baby Boomer’s worry lineup.

Then, it seems, all the concerns about Money and Inflation combined with anticipated Longevity for Boomer’s in general. In simple terms, the Fear of Outliving Assets commands a high place on every Boomer’s list. How to know when enough is enough, that’s the rub. Assuming you think you have “enough” when its time to cut back and try to enjoy whatever is left of your days with our Federal Budget Deficit running in excess of $1 Trillion per year with no end in sight and accumulated debt at $16.5 Trillion and growing is frightening to say the least. It seems we are being led to believe that allowing the Federal Government to keep minting money at breakneck speed is a good thing for our economy. The believe that somehow we will spend our way out of our national fiscal problems flies in the face of all lessons economic I learned over the last 60 years. The simple concept that was taught that when there is more and more currency in the system chasing a finite amount of goods and services the effect squirts out as inflation seems to have been lost in the current environment. Thinking about a day when you might take that last distribution from an IRA account because your money ain’t worth what it used to be and it cost a lot more to live to that point than you ever thought possible and you are left with nothing but a meager monthly distribution from Social Security to support yourself and your spouse that is younger and much healthier than you – now that’s the stuff of which nightmares are made.

Another worrisome issue that jumped out at me, one I had not considered on my own because I have a committed and caring spouse, are the unique challenges facing Single Baby Boomers as they age. I was somewhat taken aback to read that 1 in 3 of the almost 80 Million Boomers is either divorced or never-married or widowed and of that population of more than 25 Million Americans only 10% fall into the widowed category. Among the commonalities of this growing segment is that they tend to be younger, female and non-white. As a group, they become disabled at almost twice the rate of married couples and are less likely to have adequate health insurance. The obvious concerns of who will care for them if they do become incapable on their own are exacerbated by the economic challenges of living alone.

Many Boomer’s are part of what is known as the “Sandwich Generation“; simultaneously having to care for family members that are both older and younger. I think we all know Boomers that have been ensnared in that web with a living parent that needs a significant amount of care and children that have either never left the nest or have returned as victims of the challenging economy or other social problems. The tax of the energy and resources on our contemporaries that are caught as the meat in the middle of this sandwich can be overwhelming.

Functional Decline is another concern of Boomers that I personally hadn’t spent much time thinking about, although I find it distressing that what I once thought of as my razor-sharp memory needs ever more reliance upon a digital calendar for prompts about the normal and necessary parts of day-to-day living.

Abuse, Neglect and Financial Exploitation have their own places up and down the roster of those things about which to be concerned. I have a friend that is an attorney specializing in Elder Law. Apparently, the need for this specialty is growing exponentially.

Death and Dying mixed up with cultural and religious beliefs creates its own menu of concerns for Boomers who want to have a say in how their own lives end. How and when to make their wishes known to family members and the worries about whether those wishes will be honored are among the details that must be reconciled.

Where To Live is another challenge facing Boomers. Layering the desires to be close to (or not) other family members, health care facilities, recreational opportunities, entertainment, shopping and religious facilities with the need or willingness to move from an existing home creates another set of insecurities.

My goal over the coming period of time is to explore these issues in-depth and other concerns that are brought to my attention with a focus on how best to attack each of the challenges as we age together. If there is something keeping you awake at night that you would like to have me address please let me know.

Illness Insurance

January 29, 2013

Health, Insurance

1 Comment

Health Insurance – that’s a funny name when you think about it. You virtually never use it when you are healthy; only when you are sick. I’m thinking about it because I am home – sick with the flu. I’m waiting for my primary care physician to call me back to let me know when I can visit her office.

We are owner’s of a small Real Estate Broker and Mortgage Company in Palm Springs. Our Employee Benefits are handled by a provider that bills us for the monthly premiums for all of our insurances along with our payroll. We are pretty vigilant about making sure we get the appropriate coverage at a good price; especially given my history of 2 major cancer bouts in the last 15 years. Either of those would have bankrupted us without our insurance coverage. It’s not a Cadillac plan; probably better referred to as a VW. The coverage is within a HMO and I can honestly say I believe I have been provided every reasonable service to which I have been entitled since we have been part of this scheme. Theoretically, we get reduced premiums because we get lumped together with a bunch of other small businesses and pre-existing conditions don’t affect the cost – only age.

Now here’s the rub. My wife, she works with us in our business, just had what the provider refers to as a Milestone Birthday. Apparently because she was one day older on January 27 than she was on January 26 the risk to the insurance company became so great that they needed to raise her premium by more than 30%!! Since we don’t have an employer (other than ourselves) to pay their “portion” we get to see what it really costs – $766 each and every month for just her Illness Insurance – matching what we pay for mine. The really scary part is I have a Milestone Birthday coming up in June and I have already been warned that my premium will jump from the aforementioned $766 to God knows what. I suppose that since being 55 and 1 day old is 30% riskier than 54 and 364 days then turning 60 plus that one extra day probably means I will be at least 50% riskier to the insurance company than I am today. Let’s hope not because our current premiums are more than our mortgage payment, taxes,homeowner’s dues and insurance on our home. I could drive 3 or 4 different fancy cars for what I pay in illness insurance premiums.

In 5 short years I’ll be faced with the alphabetical decision-making that accompanies the conversion of my illness insurance to Medicare. The more I read about Parts A through F the more confused I become. I am not fearful that Medicare will disappear by the time I turn 65 – after all, my congressperson has promised me it won’t. But, I am more than a little concerned that the my portion of the cost of the combination of the Affordable Health Care Act and whatever supplemental plans I will need to have will escalate to a level that provides no relief in this spiraling illness insurance cost structure.

I think thinking about this is making me sick. When is that doctor’s office going to call me back?

Saguaros, Diamondbacks and Champions

January 28, 2013

Travel

Leave a comment

Golf is one of my passions. Watching Tiger Woods thrash the field at this week’s PGA tournament at Torrey Pines in San Diego makes me think he just might have enough left in him to overtake Jack Nicklaus’ record of 14 major tournament victories before he hangs up his spikes. Regardless of what you think of Eldrick (Tiger’s real name) as a person, there is no debate that he is the greatest golfer of the last couple of decades. Yeah, I know Rory What’s His Ilroy seems to have all the tools but he has a long, long way to go before he begins to approach what Tiger has achieved. While Tiger is not in the field for this next week’s tournament in Phoenix I must admit I have my personal reason to be interested in the event; I played the course where the tournament is held just this last year while visiting the neighboring state.

Alright – I’ll admit it. I’ve been to Arizona before – many times. And, while our home is in California’s desert in the Palm Springs area there are things about crossing into the territory that comprises the USA’s 48th State that are just so – different. While an icon of the southwest, the first thing that strikes a visitor crossing over the boundary between California and Arizona are the Saguaros – massive tree-like cacti with frames that extend as high as 70 feet. They don’t exist naturally for the most part in California; they are everywhere in Arizona, acting as silent sentinels across the landscape while seemingly understanding they are in a unique place to which end they are great contributors. Each appears to have its own distinctive personality wrapped up in the multiple limbs that only begin to spring from the massive succulent’s trunk when they reach their 75th year, or so, which is about half the plant’s natural life. The cartoonish persona that emits from each of these Sonoran Desert giants is as wild as the imagination of the beholder. Our visit in late May saw the Saguaros with great numbers of flowers in full bloom; delicate petals held by a rugged, thorny master creating yet another uniquely Arizonan dichotomy.

Then there’s the speed limit: 75 MPH on the Interstate Highway after you cross the border that transports visitors from California to Phoenix. Although only 5 MPH higher than on the California side it just seems like one is travelling so much faster as the Sagebrush, Ocotillo and Saguaros whizz by. Traffic always seems lighter, too, on the Arizona side; that is until you reach the outskirts of Phoenix as it springs up from the rugged landscape with miles and miles of rooftops. After 4 hours and 55 tunes from our IPod “Travelin” playlist our target starts to come into focus as Bob Seger belts out his desire to not have ever known that which he now knows. The Phoenix Metropolitan Area, known as “The Valley of the Sun” is a collection of cities, towns and communities spread across the Sonoran Desert encompassing nearly 253 square miles with more than 4 million inhabitants wrapped and intersected by rugged, up-thrusted mountains with names like Camelback, Pinnacle Peak, McDowell, White Tank, Superstition and Sierra Estrella. Town names in this expansive valley conjure images of the old west: Cave Creek, Buckeye, Surprise, Mesa, Ahwutukee and Gila Bend competing with Paradise Valley, Goodyear, Glendale and Scottsdale for tourist dollars.

Our destination for this trip was Scottsdale; 35 miles after we ventured off the Interstate Highway by way of the appropriately named 101 “Loop” that bypasses the downtown Phoenix area as it circles toward the region’s northeast boundary. Scottsdale, although maintaining an “Old Town” in an attempt to preserve its by-gone cowboy roots is the epitome of gentrification with some of the most expensive residential real estate in the USA slotted between endless hiking trails, golf courses, resorts and upscale shopping malls. Mitzi and I arrived at the Marriott McDowell Mountains hotel well before our appointed check-in time to be greeted by what was a steady succession of well-trained, refreshingly friendly staff persons who informed us we could certainly take up occupancy of a room that was in a quiet location of the hotel property. As we bounded through the door of our 2 room suite – secured at the bargain price of $98 per night with no resort fee or parking charges thanks to our AAA discount – we couldn’t help but be disappointed by the lack of a patio, or even a balcony. In fact, there wasn’t a single window that could be opened to allow outside air to mix with that which was being conditioned by the hotel’s system. Figuring we wouldn’t spend that much of our getaway in the room since we planned to get in plenty of pool time during these upcoming 4 sunny, spring days we took a stroll to the pool area to discover there were no empty loungers, chairs or frankly, a square meter of deck that wasn’t already occupied. Weighing our options we concluded we were committed to spending at least the first night in our reserved room and decided to take a drive to experience some nearby shopping centers that would prove to be soothing for at least one of us. After a few hours of shop perusal with a good amount of Husband Chair time we found ourselves dining, al fresco, at Lush Burger in the DC Ranch Crossing surrounded by Palo Verde trees in full bloom. The burgers, sliders and homemade chips, turned out to be “de-lush”, just as the local proprietors promised in their marketing materials and the outdoor seating was absolutely delightful on such a warm night with the sunlight waxing into darkness helping to mitigate the disappointment of our initial hotel check-in. We returned to our encapsulated suite to rest up for the day ahead to find the promise of a comfortable bed and quietness unbroken.

The next morning found us venturing forth to the same neighborhood where we had enjoyed our evening meal the day before as the hilly terrain and open desert areas promised a good location for a morning walk with some impressive vistas of the valley floor and collections of the desert flora and fauna that were delivered upon. Afterwards, we found the pool to be much less crowded than the previous day and knowing we had a few hours before our scheduled attendance at the Arizona Diamondbacks’ MLB baseball game that afternoon suited up, slathered on some sunscreen and relaxed poolside for a couple of hours with books and magazines. The disappointment of the previous day was slowly giving way to a feeling of well-being and comfort; not an unusual response to the warm, dry Sonoran desert climate.

Chase Field, the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, is a beautiful fully-enclosed stadium with a retractable roof. The stadium operators leave the roof open when there is no game to allow the natural turf to flourish while closing it for the comfort of the players and fans during scheduled contests as the sun in Arizona during baseball season can be quite intense. Attendance at a game in this facility was on my bucket list as part of a lifetime goal to try to see an MLB game in every stadium in the USA and Canada. I got to check off my goal to See the Diamondbacks Play at Chase Field while watching the home team whip the visiting Milwaukee Brewers from the 23rd row directly behind home plate (tickets were scored through Stub Hub) and discovering that among the attractions of Chase Field are included a swimming pool (that can be reserved for large parties just past right-center field) and a “Value Menu” at the concession stands that includes $4 beer and $1.50 hot dogs – unusually affordable by MLB standards. We were also shocked to learn they allow gambling during the game; albeit a 50/50 raffle with the house split going to the Diamondbacks Charitable Foundation and one lucky winner walking away from the game that day with over $8,000! Needless to say our raffle entry met the identical fate as almost every bet I’ve ever made on anything that eats. We returned to our now familiar hotel for a light dinner having filled up on hot dogs and garlic fries (Never Again!) at the game.

The following morning found us pointing our Honda Accord in the direction of Pinnacle Peak, a locally famous and very distinctive mountain that also serves as a convenient navigation reference point. Having researched the “moderate” hike up to the highest point allowed on the trail which is not all that high by most standards but plenty challenging enough for a struggling to stay in shape Boomer, 1 click shy of 60, we parked our vehicle and ventured forth on the meticulously maintained track up and down the mountainside with a fair number of other seekers of awesome views and exercise on this fine morning. I knew I’d make the 4 miles or so out and back when I met a lady some 10+ years my senior headed down mountain with her purse draped over her shoulder and was then passed multiple times by a lithesome 15 year old wisp of a young lady that was running continuously up and down without breaking a sweat. Nonetheless, just to be able to say we did it provided an ego boost and sense of communing with nature. The trail head provides his and hers bathrooms and running water in a facility of which the folks at Disney would be proud. We returned to our now very comfortable and “what the heck, so what if it doesn’t have a balcony” room to change into clothing more suitable for a couple of poolside hours under the brilliant Arizona sunshine. Knowing I had a tee time just after noon at the TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course made me conserve the balance of my energy poolside in the shade of a very efficient umbrella.

Mitzi deposited me and my TaylorMades at the golf course bag drop an hour before my scheduled tee time on her way to explore the bounty of the Scottsdale Galleria (one of the largest enclosed mall shopping centers in the USA). Met by a procession of outside service folks, pro shop attendants and starters who could not have been more accommodating or pleasant, I proceeded to the practice range to prepare for the thrill of checking this adventure off my bucket list – playing the course where the PGA Tour stages the Phoenix Open (I can’t bring myself to call it by its “official” name, the Waste Management Open, for obvious reasons). My hands weren’t shaking, not that I noticed anyway, but my recollection is that I started to snap fade (some people call that shot a “shank”) nearly every other Pro V1 practice ball while warming up to an eventual introduction to my playing partner, Jeff, from Toronto, Canada who brought along his wife, Melissa, to ride in the cart while he displayed his considerable talent for the game. Not wanting to embarrass myself by opting for the shortest route possible around the course, I allowed him to pick the tees, Blue, and the two of us set out on one of the most enjoyable rounds of golf I’ve experienced in some time. Melissa, on the other hand, suffered a pretty severe sunburn on her alabaster Canadian legs that were not used to the intense sunlight found mid-day in Arizona so I’m almost sure her level of enjoyment didn’t match mine.

Within the first 10 strokes I learned that Jeff, an obviously accomplished golfer, had recently completed a match at his home club in their President’s Cup, which he won 2 and 1 with a total of 72 shots. “Gross or Net?” I embarrassed myself with a query he answered with disdainful eyeshot. As we traipsed over the track, enjoying the scenery, conditions and layout, we both pointed toward the famous in professional golf circles 16th hole, a benign appearing Par 3 that is transformed into a 50,000 seat stadium of over-served golf fanatics one week each year usually on the same weekend as the NFL’s Super Bowl. Trying to imagine ourselves in that temporary arena we successively launched our tee shots: Jeff’s hit the green but as we both had witnessed on TV more than a few times, bounded left into a waiting bunker that was deeper than Jeff was tall. My tee shot was tracking straight toward the American Flag that had been substituted for the usual markers on every hole this Memorial Day and I started to envision my 2nd of a lifetime hole-in-one when my Titleist abruptly fell from the sky, 10 feet short of the green. I managed to scrape my chip shot to tap-in range and Jeff two-putted for bogey (one of only 3 scores he made over par all day) after extricating himself from the deep bunker. His 3 birdies against my zero for the balance of the round meant nothing to me in the face of this triumph. After playing the last 2 holes in one over par I was able to post an 83, appropriate for my 10.7 index on the Par 71 Tom Weiskopf layout but certainly 10 shots, or so, better than my expectations 4 hours earlier on the practice range.

Mitzi collected me after the round and we returned to our room to change for dinner where she showed me the treasures obtained during her shopping excursion that I did my best to admire. We then drove the 5 miles or so to Fleming’s Steakhouse for a much anticipated steak dinner. Now Fleming’s is not a uniquely Arizonan experience and in fact is a chain with outlets all over the country but the quality is consistent, you can order from a large variety of wines up and down the price scale by the glass and the ultimate decision point; we had a $50 gift card. Not particularly busy this Memorial Day Monday evening the wait staff, chef and management put on an incredible show including excellently prepared Prime Beef, multiple scrapes of offending crumbs from our table with an appropriate tool and a parting gift of hand-made chocolate truffles for “later”. I was so impressed I took the Operating Partner’s card with the intent to send an email complimenting him for the experience – it’s still on my “to do” list.

Tuesday morning saw us sadly packing for our 4 hour ride back to the California side and the inevitable reunion with reality. We waived goodbye to the last of the Saguaros as we dropped down toward Blythe, then stopped for a ritualistic Frosty at the Wendy’s located at the last Arizonan Truckstop where the price of gas is 50 cents cheaper than just over the line. As we reengaged with Interstate 10 and its 5 MPH slower speed limit back in California we couldn’t help but notice again that although we were still in the desert, it was just so – different.

Papa Craig’s Hickory BBQ Baby Back Ribs

January 27, 2013

Recipes

3 Comments

We had a significant birthday in our family this weekend and my usual custom is to allow the person at the center of the cause de celbre’ the opportunity to pick the main course for the festive dinner. When the Birthday Girl announced her choice of Baby Back Ribs my feelings waffled between excitement and trepidation. Excitement, because BBQ’d Baby Back Ribs is one of my favorite main courses; Trepidation, because you need to pay attention to make sure you don’t screw them up. Nothing tastes better than properly cooked, almost fall-off-the-bone, juicy Baby Backs. However, nothing is more embarrassing than serving your guests charcoaled sticks of way overdone pork that would serve better as drawing implements than a main course.

Believe me when I tell you that I learned the hard way. Not ever wanting to pass up a good deal I have been seduced from time to time by bargains on Baby Backs, and I am especially careful when they are referred to as “Danish” depending upon the butcher/market. I’m sure there’s a way to deal with these smaller ribs but my experience is that these seemingly leaner ribs need to be handled with care and cooking times adjusted downward or you’ll end up with the aforementioned sticks of charcoal. My personal preference is the Baby Back Ribs from Costco or Sam’s Club. They are consistently meaty, tasty and cook up nicely on the BBQ. I never boil, cook in the oven or utilize any other shortcut. The best ribs are those smoked from room temperature to the table, outdoors. Examine the package you select and make sure there is plenty of meat wrapped around the rib bones. If you have access to a good old-fashion butcher shop let them know what you are up to and they’ll help you pick out a good selection.

Low and Slow will beat High and Fast every time when it comes to BBQ Ribs. You might need to experiment a little on what the correct level of doneness is for your family but my personal preference is to cook them until they are almost fall-off-the-bone because the meat then has all the characteristics of a good steak enhanced with all that smoke and BBQ flavor. Also, invest in a Rib Rack that allows you to cook 3 -6 racks side by side, vertically. They cost about $30 and can absolutely make the difference. Many of the racks also double as poultry racks.

Papa Craig’s Hickory BBQ Baby Back Ribs

3 full racks of Baby Back Ribs (fresh or fully thawed) (feeds 6)

¼ Cup Brown Sugar

1 Tbsp Cracked Black Pepper

1 Tbsp Seasoning Salt

1 tsp Red Chili Flakes

1 tsp Paprika

1 tsp Dehydrated Onion

1 tsp Dehydrated Garlic

2-3 cups BBQ Sauce

2 cups Hickory Wood Chips

1 large NEW Green Plastic Trash Bag

Day One

Preparation of Ribs: Remove membrane from the backs of each rack of ribs. I find using a paper towel to grip the membrane after loosening it a bit with a thumbnail works best. It’s a pain to do but makes for a higher likelihood of a nearly fall-of-the-bone finished product.

Combine: Brown Sugar, Black Pepper, Seasoning Salt, Chili Flakes, Paprika, Onion and Garlic together in a mixing bowl and toss together. Apply liberal amounts to both sides of the ribs with your fingers and rub into the meat. Don’t forget the sides and ends.

Place: the racks of ribs in the Trash Bag stacked one rack atop the other and roll up tightly. Place Bag in refrigerator for 24 hours before cooking.

Day Two

Soak Wood Chips: Approximately 4 hours before cooking or about 7 hours before you want to eat, soak the Hickory Wood Chips in water, totally submerged until it is time to cook. I use an old cottage cheese container for this part.

Fire Up the BBQ: About 3 1/2 hours before you want to eat, fire up the BBQ grill to the highest possible pre-heat, engaging all burners.

Remove: Plastic trash bag with ribs from the refrigerator and allow to warm up slightly toward room temperature.

Drain: Hickory Wood Chips and put the damp chips into an aluminum mini-loaf pan or some other metal container that is open at the top and you don’t care what it will look like when you are finished. When the BBQ is pre-heated to around 600F degrees (325C) or as hot at your BBQ can get if you can’t generate that much heat, place the loaf pan with the Hickory Chips on the burner that will stay on all during the cooking process. Wood Chips should begin to smoke within a few minutes.

Start Cooking: Once the wood chips begin to smoke, remove the racks of ribs from plastic bag and place directly on the grill for 2 or 3 minutes until obvious grill markings start to appear and then turn over and similarly sear the opposite side. Reduce Heat by turning off all burners except one, ideally at the perimeter of the BBQ. Place ribs in a standing rib rack situated where the engaged burner does not directly provide heat. Maintain temperature of the BBQ at 300F (150C). Keep lid closed for at least 1 ½ hours and then rotate ribs in the rib rack so that the opposite end points toward bottom of the BBQ. Continue cooking for another hour with lid closed. Feel free to check occasionally to make sure the ends aren’t burning. Open lid and brush ribs on both sides with BBQ Sauce during the last ½ hour 2 or 3 times. Total cooking time, approximately 3 hours, depending on how meaty the ribs are.

(Note: if you don’t have a Rib Rack, place ribs, meaty side up initially, directly on the grill away from the fire or on an auxiliary rack above the grill. Be sure there is no direct heat and check the ribs regularly, turning over no less than every 45 minutes).

Serve with additional BBQ Sauce, Baked Beans and a Green Salad and a nice Pinot Noir. Your guests will love it!

Cut it Out!

January 25, 2013

Health

1 Comment

One in five American adults smokes some type of tobacco product. Astonishing! In the face of irrefutable evidence that smoking significantly shortens life span and denigrates the quality of that reduced time the beat apparently goes on. In addition to the guarantee of an earlier death, the economic consequences to the individual and society as a whole are staggering. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that 443,000 deaths occur in the USA each year related to smoking; Still; Really. Lung disease, cancer and heart ailments are at the top of the list of those smoking related ailments that contribute to the earlier than necessary demise of smokers.

The New England Journal of Medicine recently published a study wherein researchers discovered that quitting smoking at every age up to 64 can add from 4 to 10 years to the life expectancy of the new non-smoker. The sooner the activity is stopped, the better the life expectancy. The study concluded that both men and women that died in 2006 and were smokers at the time of their demise were about 3 times more likely to have died during the term of the study than non-smokers. This disparity is partly attributable to increased health standards for the non-smoking population. Consider also that among Americans that died of lung cancer in the early 1960’s women who smoked were 2.7 times more likely to have died from that horrible disease than non-smoking women, while men in the 1960’s died at a rate that was 12 times more likely. Pretty staggering info that pales in comparison when you come to understand that by 2010 that both men and women that died of lung cancer were smokers was 25 times the rate of non-smokers. Women, I suspect, caught up to men in this regard due to the increased social acceptability of smoking by females and the larger influx of women into the workforce. The increase in the overall death rates is in no small part attributable to advances in health care that has helped to stem the tide of other life ending conditions but apparently not so much lung cancer.

We have a number of video tapes of our family when we were kids in the 50’s and 60’s, usually of family gatherings around Christmas time. In almost every tape the adults are seen with cigarettes burning in one hand and a drink in the other while the kids are scrambling at their feet to rip open their presents – quite often with one or more of the female adults obviously pregnant. Our parents weren’t being careless or irresponsible, the simple fact is they did not KNOW what we know today about the harm that smoking causes. I remember my Dad quit in the 70’s; cold turkey. It was tougher for my Mom but she finally gave up the cigarettes in the 80’s as best as I can remember.

I smoked off and on from 1971 until 1984 – I suppose because everyone else did. Mostly I worked office jobs and even if you didn’t have your own you spent your days inhaling everyone else’s tobacco smoke because that was just the way that it was. When I quit for good it was as much for practical reasons than concerns about my health; I had just burned a hole in a brand new tie. It wasn’t the first time it happened but I was committed it would be the last.

What we know today about cancer includes the understanding that you don’t “catch” cancer like a cold or the flu. While there is a growing belief that viruses may be at the root cause of some cancers, many cancers require an “irritant” to which we are exposed over an extended period of time along with some genetic predisposition. And, in many cases, it takes a good long time for the cancer that may be growing inside of us to become noticeable to health professionals. Consider the mountain of evidence that exposure of our Soldiers, Sailors and Marines to Agent Orange and other defoliants in Vietnam and Korea are now manifesting themselves in deadly lymphomas, prostate cancer, respiratory (lung cancer) and skin cancers – in many cases 40 or more years after the exposure. Lots of these service personnel also smoked creating what has proven to be an especially lethal cocktail. Consider also that defoliants have been in use for agricultural and landscaping purposes all over American soil, albeit at much lower concentrations than in the forests of Asia where we so indiscriminately sprayed. There is a growing body of evidence that chemicals of many kinds contain the keys to unlock predisposed molecule of DNA toward cancer in those of us that possess them. Tobacco products release a number of chemicals into our organs when inhaled including cyanide, arsenic and lead – known carcinogens Placing one of these burning time bombs between your lips is literally playing with fire.

I remember when Obamacare (The Affordable Health Care Act) was first being debated and we were told that it would take a number of years for all the features and benefits, along with the resulting costs, to be calculated and understood. What folks heard (or wanted to hear) was that the program would guarantee affordable health care coverage for everyone but that the details still needed to be worked through. Since most of the remaining major changes that will take place are scheduled to kick in beginning January 1, 2014 those heretofore unknown details are beginning to squirt out. Consider the consequences for smokers.

There is a little talked about provision in the Act that allows insurers to charge smokers buying individual policies premiums that are as much as 50% higher than non-smokers. Estimates range up to an additional $4,250 per year for coverage for a 55-year-old smoker as compared to his/her non-smoking contemporary. Younger smokers will be charged lower penalties but I think its safe to project those surcharges will escalate along with age and a growing body of evidence that smoking in and of itself increases the potential healthcare expenses for individuals over their lifetimes. While it is widely believed that surcharges will not be allowed for policyholders that may be overweight or have other pre-existing conditions that potentially require more medical care than average, the discrimination against smokers is allowable and likely.

Do yourself, your family, friends and bank accounts a favor. If you smoke, quit now. If you don’t smoke, don’t ever start.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

January 24, 2013

Grooming

1 Comment

My father passed away last year in October. As a child of the 1950’s and 1960’s with 6 siblings you can imagine the stories and reminiscing that went on during the week’s worth of activities that brought us all together to celebrate our Dad’s life. Growing up in Long Beach, California it never seemed we lacked for the necessities but luxuries, like haircuts in a barbershop, were rare with the financial demands that a family of 9 creates.

My Dad would assemble me and my 2 brothers in the garage every other Saturday with his electric clippers to administer the type of haircut one gets when they lose a bet or agrees to have their locks shorn in the name of charity. The one point of differentiation between the 3 haircuts was that Dad always left my younger brother Bobby with an inch long strip of fringe covering the very top of his forehead as what can only be described as bangs. At the time, I thought it was to help my mother identify him among the 7 of us kids but looking back on it I believe Dad thought that would make him tougher. Given the level of abuse Bobby took from the rest of the pre-teens in our neighborhood over his “do” I believe my father was on to something.

If we wanted a different haircut, well, we needed to learn how to finance it. When I was old enough to understand that the other half of the population that was not of my same sex (and not one of my 4 sisters) were worthy of my attention I reckoned it was worth $4 of my paper route money each fortnight to allow the barber next to the Rexall drugstore to perform his artistry on my burgeoning locks. Another buck or so for Palmolive Hair Cream or ButchWax gave me the confidence I needed to be able to stand against the brick wall lining our high school gymnasium to watch the girls from our educational establishment dance together on Friday nights after the football games.

One marriage later, I purchased a “blow dryer” which allowed me to shape my rather substantial head of hair into various styles as I aged, each of which required a minimum of a half can of hairspray to hold in place. By my 30’s I think I was spending upwards of $35 for my haircuts which were no longer provided by a barber but now a “stylist”. I got pretty good at the home styling part until I started to notice that the amount of hair I was attempting to tease seemed to be progressively less and less and increasing amounts remained in my brush after the daily grooming routine was finished. Once I eliminated the possibility that using too hot of a setting on my blow dryer was causing the reduction in volume I started reconfiguring the remaining product of my follicles in the most efficient way possible but never to the level of Donald Trump. It worked well for years.

In 1998 I underwent a course of chemotherapy for Lymphoma and the predicted hair loss was acute. By the end of the 2nd of 6 administrations of the “CHOP” regimen I did not have a hair anywhere. Sympathetic friends and healthcare providers cheerfully reminded me that post-chemo hair comes back darker, thicker and even in the case of my string straight hair there was a chance it would have some curl. Truthfully, I secretly loved the freedom of not having to deal with hair during the chemo intake period, especially since I was spending considerable time with my head firmly planted in the toilet bowl. Nonetheless, once I completed the 6 month curative process I was eager to see just how dark, thick and curly my new mop would be.

What a load of bullcrap that turned out to be! The regrowth post-chemotherapy stopped at the level of a quintessential Franciscan Monk’s hairline. The dream of a screen test identifying me as the next leading man in a Hollywood Blockbuster was replaced by the reality that the only part for which I could ever be cast would be riding a burro with rosary beads draped around my neck trailing after Antonio Banderas in some godforsaken Mexican desert.

The really lousy part of it all, though, is that in spite of my inability to generate hair growth on the top of my head where it belongs, biology apparently dictates that the hair needs to get out somewhere. I recall a few years ago my granddaughter, Sydney, then 5 or 6 years of age sitting on my lap when I recognized the look of fear and utter disgust in her eyes. “Papa, what’s wrong with your ears???” She shrieked loud enough for Elvis to hear, wherever he is, “OOOHHHH, its HAIR!!!” she warned anyone within earshot. Once the crimson color left my face I deposited her on the floor and headed to the bathroom to see just exactly what frightened her so much. Donning my reading glasses and with as much light as I could artificially create I looked at my ears in my wife’s magnified make up mirror. What I saw would have brought weaker men to their knees. Apparently my post-chemo hair recovery had consolidated itself in the edges and crevices of my ears in multicolored sprouts that had the consistency of 10 gauge electrical wire and grew in no discernible pattern. I knew I needed to take action if for no other reason than to save my other grandchildren from the psychological trauma I had already caused my eldest.

I immediately turned to the Internet: I found recommended methods for trimming the unwanted hair; ways to melt it away, wax it off and chemically remove it. I learned that hair inside the ear canal actually has a useful purpose and must be dealt with more sensitively than the hirsute manifestation everywhere else on the half circles that stick out from the sides of my head. I learned that electrolysis has a spotty record with stubborn ear hair and, by the way can, only be used on the outer ear in any event. Never had I imagined that my problem seemed to be shared by nearly every man (and more than a few women) over the age of 39. I felt only a little less embarrassed.

My visits to the barber shop these days to see Mike the Barber for my $15 Reverse fade with a 1 1/2, Zero on top are spent mostly with my barber using various implements to eradicate as much of the unruly hair growth that has since evolved from my ears to include an invasion of my eyebrows where 4 to 5 inch silver sprouts spring up literally overnight. I find he does a far better job at controlling the affliction than I with my wife’s makeup mirror and the collection of implements I’ve acquired over the years. Between visits, I do my best to control the ever present offenders with regular assists from Google …..

Beware the QRM

January 23, 2013

Home Loans

Leave a comment

Under the auspices of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which sprung from the Dodd-Frank financial reforms, the US Treasury is readying its rules for what is referred to as a Qualified Residential Mortgage (QRM). While the rules are not yet final the advance information indicates there are at least a few things that are of particular interest to anyone hoping to purchase a home with a new loan or refinance an existing one. Boomers in particular will likely be impacted by a number of the proposed restrictions having to do with debt ratios, acceptable methods of documenting income and downpayment/equity. The changes have the potential to put the recovering housing market right back on its ear if they are all enacted as proposed as a large number of potential home buyers will no longer be able to qualify at the level they can today. While the new rules will not fully go into effect until January, 2014 you can bet that lenders will begin to layer the changes into their requirements as soon as they are convinced of the final regulations.

Because almost every loan (save for those made by “private” lenders) will need to conform to the new guidelines, the argument can be made that once again, the rules will serve to protect lenders from themselves while negatively impacting access to home mortgages. Consider that the proposal suggests that no loan can be considered where the overall debt ratio of the borrower exceeds 43% of their calculated gross monthly income – regardless of equity or liquid assets. While the argument can be made that 43% might be an appropriate number for most families, consider that conventional loans are currently approvable with debt ratios as high as 50% and we have seen recent FHA approvals as high as 57% if the loans are approved through a rules based, automated underwriting system. The impact in high-cost housing areas will be staggering when you consider that a 14% reduction in the maximum debt ratio effectively eliminates over 25% of the pool of eligible borrowers that heretofore would have qualified for the financing to purchase a particular home.

Consider, also, that many retired folks live off a combination of social security, income from retirement accounts and savings. To the extent that a borrower uses savings that are in non-retirement accounts to supplement social security, the withdrawal of those funds is not considered income and thus, cannot be considered in calculating the 43% maximum debt ratio under the CFPB rules as currently enacted. From the perspective of a borrower that is interested in mitigating tax liability and is able to draw upon non-taxable savings in deference to taxable withdrawals from IRA or 401K accounts the consequences can be staggering. We have already seen this manifest itself with borrowers that were fully able to purchase their retirement home and qualify for their loan of choice before the previous changes that came to the market in 2010 regarding the prescribed method for income documentation. Now, many of those existing homeowners can no longer qualify to refinance their current mortgages because the use of non-taxable savings for daily living expenses is no longer considered when calculating debt ratios and incomes (regardless of the balances in those accounts or the fact that they have been making the payments previously as agreed) – only funds withdrawn from taxable accounts can be counted. Layering into that reality those newly recommended debt ratios are set to be crunched down to a level that requires more and more income to qualify which can only mean higher and higher tax bills for the borrowers as they rearrange their finances to make themselves more credit-worthy in the eyes of the CFPB. The only alternative is to live with their current financing, which many times is at nearly twice the current interest rates or retire the debt with liquid assets, if available, which very well may trigger a whole new set of tax consequences.

I’ll do my best to try to keep you informed as the rules wind their way through the various governmental agencies. If you own a home and it’s not “free and clear” this is important stuff to understand.

Giving Back – Relay For Life

January 22, 2013

Events

Leave a comment

Relay for Life Palm Desert 2012

This entry was originally written for the TripBucket website to illustrate the Giving Back goal to Participate in Relay For Life. It’s important to introduce readers to Relay as it will come up from time to time going forward.

I knew I wouldn’t need an alarm clock to insure my arrival at our Team’s site for Relay For Life by 6AM that Saturday morning for the 9 AM kickoff as my circadian rhythm hardly ever lets me stay in bed past 5 but what I hadn’t counted on was awakening at 2:34 AM to what I thought was the sound of a cricket. We just hired a new pest control company, Bug Zappers or whatever the catchy name, so it gave me great concern as I thought I recognized a familiar sound of the outdoors inside my home. My granddaughter and daughter were asleep in a guest bedroom having spent the night in anticipation of our 24 hour Relay event for which they volunteered to participate along with 30+ plus other friends and family members to comprise one of the more than 50 teams. I stood silently in the hallway outside their room but I couldn’t entice the little bugger to chirp again. Knowing any additional sleep was impossible, I made my way to the kitchen to click on the already set-up coffee pot and … there it was again, that sound. I silently tip-toed to an unoccupied back bedroom standing hawk-still hoping to identify my prey until my worst fear was confirmed – The damn smoke detector was signaling that I had neglected it a day too long. I quickly wracked my brain trying to remember if I could possibly locate a 9 volt battery while wondering how I was going to make the exchange in the ceiling located device without waking up everyone in the house trying to steal the last hours of sleep before the next 24+ wide awake ones that awaited them at the Relay. I slithered out to the garage after checking all the known repositories of store bought temporary electricity storage in our home, including the basket above the dryer that also held sponges (of which we have a life time supply, mind you). Every combination of batteries with letters A through D could be found but none that began with a number.Then it struck me. I thought I had at least 1 left-over smoke alarm in the garage from a property management assignment I completed a few months earlier and I hoped that a 9 volt battery was resident in that package while the chirping sound seemed to grow louder and more quickly paced. I found the package, went to grab the scissors to open it and discovered that I had relocated that cutting tool to our Relay campsite the evening before! Performing my best MacGiver impersonation I grabbed a paring knife and freed the problem solver from its incredibly hard to penetrate plastic cocoon. With the answer to my dilemma now resting comfortably in my pants pocket I hatched a scheme to move my 6 foot aluminum ladder from its wedged in position in the garage into the house, down the hallway to the back bedroom without disturbing those that might still be asleep. Nobody knows how much noise an aluminum ladder can make until they attempt to transport one down a pitch black hallway over tile flooring but somehow I completed my amateur handyman duties without awakening any other occupants of our home.Thus began the day for the start of my participation in Relay for Life, the largest volunteer driven fund-raising event in the world with events staged in more than 50 countries. Not only was I going to participate but I had cavalierly taken upon myself the job of Team Captain when I first became acquainted with the event. I remember when I first became involved thinking, How hard could it be? to organize a few friends and family members taking turns walking non-stop around a high school track, day and night, for one day-long period. If the walking was all that was involved, it would certainly be a no-brainer, but while one of the purposes of Relay For Life is to raise funds for the worthy programs of the American Cancer Society the other lofty goals include Celebrating cancer Survivors, Remembering those that have fallen to the faceless assassin and providing the tools and education to help Fight Back against the horrible disease. I have more reasons than most to want to be involved in this effort but I came to learn during my preparation for this event that virtually everyone has been affected in some way by cancer.

In reality, months of planning and at least 6 Team Captain meetings did not fully prepare me for the 24 hours of organized chaos that ensued once the opening Survivors Ceremony signaled the start of our Relay. My team members were unfailing in their commitment to keep our Spirit Stick adorned with Team Mascot “Earl Owl” constantly moving around the ¼ mile (400 meter) rubberized track in spite of the nearly 100F (38C) degree day time temps and their contributions of everything liquid (except alcohol which is strictly forbidden), ice, snacks, sandwiches and a number of other forms of hydration and nutrition were over-abundant. Our at the event fund raising effort of t-shirt sales, owl puppets and other trinkets, contributed almost $500 to the team’s grand total that in total exceeded $9,500 due to a good amount of on-line fundraising, was diminutive compared to our team’s overall take but we can do better than that next time, we know. We educated other Relay attendees about proper nutrition, skin care and culturally significant issues regarding cancer. We honored and remembered more than 70 Survivors, Caregivers and beloved friends and family members that were counted among cancer’s victims during the tear-jerking Luminaria Ceremony, complete with bagpiper in full kilt. We had a real presence at the grand finale which included a final lap with New Years’ Eve type noise-making in an effort to demonstrate the resolve of the weary walkers about the Fight Back mentality and to continue to work harder for even More Birthdays for cancer Survivors. And, the son of one of our Team members won a brand new bicycle at the event closing raffle!

As pleased and humbled as I was at the success of the event and the performance of our team, none of these details caught me off-guard; I was deeply touched by the level of commitment of my Fellow Relayers and the whatever it takes mentality of my Team Members. I was more than impressed by the painstaking effort of the event organizers and the other teams’ efforts. However, the biggest surprise of all, the one that had me shaking my head in disbelief as I left the site of our Relay was the appearance of the Palm Desert High School Marching Band in full cymbal and drums just about the time some of our folks thought it best to occupy their tents for a few hours of badly needed sleep near midnight. I guess the message of the event organizers was soundly delivered in that performance: Cancer NEVER Sleeps!

Why I’m Here

January 21, 2013

About Blog By Boomer

2 Comments

Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata is playing on the “Light Classical” channel on Time Warner Cable’s Music Choice. The song is so beautiful it’s distracting me from the task at hand which is to get this damn blog under way. I secured the URL a couple of years ago and put it in the inventory – it’s taken me that long to figure out what I want to write about.

The truth is, I’ve known what I want to write about but I’ve let too many opinions cloud my thinking: “Limit the blog to 1 or 2 subjects“: “Make sure you have something to market – and sell, sell, sell!”; “Find out what folks are interested in and then tailor your articles to those interests”. Blah, Blah, Blah.

Bottom Line: Today’s an anniversary of sorts. Two years ago this very morning I had my neck and tongue fileted by Dr. Paul Kim at Loma Linda University Hospital. 1/3 of my tongue and 30+ lymph nodes from my neck and shoulder went missing; all in the name of curing tongue cancer. Dr. Kim is obviously so good at what he does that I sit here today able to eat (too well) and speak as if nothing ever happened in spite of the pre-warnings from well-meaning friends, acquaintances and health care professionals about what might very well have been. Save for an 8 inch scar that traverses my neck like a badly drawn trail map that I like to call my “tattoo”, tasting or chewing anything on the right side of my mouth, whistling or sticking out my tongue, everything is back to normal; whatever that is.

Turning 60 this year gives me an absolute right to the name of this blog. And, since I apparently haven’t totally thought this thing through in the past couple of years while continually mulling it over in my mind it may turn out that other Boomers will have an opportunity to write about their experiences here – I haven’t decided, yet. If you have an idea that you’d like to share let me know and I’ll give it some appropriate consideration. That’s the beauty of it: For a few bucks a year this is all mine and I can do whatever I want.

So, what will I write about?

I know way too much about cancer; something I never wanted to study, believe me. In 1998 at the tender age of 45 I was diagnosed with lymphoma after 6 months of not understanding why I felt like dog poop and had continually tried in vain to cough up my lungs. My son, Geoffrey, died in 2010 at the age of 26 from the very same disease – absolutely devastating. No other genetic link in our family that we can find. Two of my best friends succumbed to the big “c” last year. Other non-blood relatives and friends are currently fighting the fight. I’m a Team Captain and Event co-chair for the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life because it was the only way I could figure out how to fight back. Layer all of that together and you’ll come to understand why I will write about cancer. It has or will affect all of us in some profound way. There is no escape. It’s important stuff to know about and try to understand. It was a blog about the death of my son that unleashed the writing beast in me.

A paying writing “gig” tells me at least somebody likes reading the things I write. I’ll bring some of that to these pages. TripBucket is a website that is dedicated to helping its registered users complete their bucket lists. They hired me to provide content because I can occasionally write a complete sentence, I suppose. TripBucket also motivated me to start designing my own bucket list which is now bigger than I can possibly complete even if I live to be 100. Not likely, given my history. You’ll gain some exposure to TripBucket here as well. The next item awaiting check-off on my list is a 40 kilometer (sounds more impressive than 25 miles, doesn’t it?) bike ride that I hope to complete in the next few weeks within the Tour de Palm Springs. I’ll tell you how that goes.

I am a licensed Real Estate Broker and Mortgage Broker in the State of California. I’ve held a broker’s license since 1986; a salesperson’s license before that. I own a real estate business (with a partner) and I suspect you’ll read a fair bit about the state of real estate and business in general if you decide to follow this blog.

We have a really big family: Grandchild #6 is on the way before June 1. 6 children between my wife and me that have made everything from Public Safety (courtesy of the LAPD) to the art world their vocation. 6 brothers and sisters, lots of in-laws, myriad nieces and nephews, 2 ex-wives, my mom in the Texas Hill Country and my incredibly supportive wife of nearly 18 years – all of whom provide fodder for life’s lessons.

I like to cook. I once took a class at the Santa Fe School of Cooking, ate the product and lived to tell. I figure that gives me all the permission I need to share recipes and methodology for some pretty great meals. I typically forsake the kitchen for the barbecue – I hate calling it the “grill” because it can do so much more. And, I don’t particularly like to measure but I’ll do my best in communicating the formulas. I think men, in general, struggle for a creative outlet and cooking can so easily fulfill that need.

So here’s the deal. I’ll write about what I want. You let me know when you think I’m full of crap or you agree with what I’ve said and if there is something you want me to investigate and report back I will do my best, as long as the subject is interesting to me, too.

Did you know that Beethoven wrote the Moonlight Sonata for his student, an Austrian Countess with whom he was desperately infatuated? Two years passed before he was able to come to grips with his inability to marry the love of his life due to his station in society and move on. Hardly anyone knows her name.

—Blog By Boomer

One Boomer's Perspective on Living

Archive

Monthly Archives: January 2013

565,000

Illness Insurance

Saguaros, Diamondbacks and Champions

Papa Craig’s Hickory BBQ Baby Back Ribs

Cut it Out!

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Beware the QRM

Giving Back – Relay For Life

Why I’m Here

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: