Growing Bolder Magazine: Vol. 35

MINDFULNESS FOR BEGINNERS GRANDFAMILY ADVENTURES

NEVER STOP CLIMBING O R D I N A RY P E O P L E L I V I N G E X T R AO R D I N A RY L I V E S

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CONTENTS

50 Photo courtesy of 2041

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Photo by Michael Cairns

features 30 WRITE YOUR NEXT CHAPTER

Actress Vivica A. Fox's tips for

building your dream squad

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Photo by Chris Noble

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NEVER STOP CLIMBING Rock climbing legend Lynn Hill has more mountains to climb

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I'M NOT AN ECO WARRIOR. I'M A SURVIVOR World's greatest living explorer sounds an alarm

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THE FIRST COMMODORE Thomas McClary’s comeback is Easy (Like Sunday Morning)

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BOLDER BOOKS Books to help you appreciate the gifts of time

WINTER 2019

in every issue

growing bolder adventures

6 EDITOR'S NOTE 10 CONTRIBUTORS 12 YOUR TAKE

Readers weigh in: to grey or not to grey?

16 GROWING BOLDER WITH

Big Names. Bold Lives.

44 FUNCTIONAL FITNESS

One simple exercise to help you get fit for life 54 5 QUESTIONS

Silicon Valley's oldest employee smashes

the grey ceiling 58 TRANSLATING TECH

How VR is changing the world around us 76 THE ART OF CAREGIVING

Using tech to manage caregiving challenges 96 THE TAKEAWAY

Actor Tony Danza on loving life now 98 GROWING BOLDER STYLE

Dare to add flair with accessories

20 THE SOUL EXPLORERS

From Australia to the world, one story at a time 38 EXPATS

Retiring abroad can be like a permanent summer vacation 68 GRANDFAMILY ADVENTURES

Exploring the world with your grandkids 84 BETWEEN THE ROCK AND THE HARD PLACE

What makes Yellowstone National Park so hot?

food & nutrition 29

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SIMPLE ELEGANCE A hidden secret to impress your guests RESTAURANT REVIEW: XOCHI Houston hotspot takes you on a culinary journey

arts & entertainment 36

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LATE BLOOMER At 71, dancer shines on America's Got Talent WHAT'S NEXT? Alan Alda: the world's oldest millennial THE VOICE OF PROG ROCK Yes's Jon Anderson is back, bolder than ever

essays 60 LIVE DANGEROUSLY

Dr. Bill Thomas wants you to fall in love with taking risks 86 LIFE LESSONS

Olympic icon Rowdy Gaines shares 3 lessons

for success 90 A TENUOUS GRIP ON LIFE Long-time Today correspondent on the moment

he nearly lost it all

masters sports 43

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IRON WOMAN Late to the game but first to the finish RELENTLESS FORWARD PROGRESS Cancer survivor moves forward, one race at a time LIFE IN FOCUS Photographer finds inspiration in masters sports

personal transformation 18

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REIMAGINING RETIREMENT It’s never too late for your second act THE OBITUARY EXERCISE How Eco-adventurist Roz Savage stopped drifting and started rowing THE MUSHROOM MAN Meet the rock star of mushroom photography CLASSIC CARS Restoring memories, one classic car at a time

mind, body & spirit 32

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WISDOM OF THE INNER WITNESS Mindfulness practice for beginners A REVOLUTION IN WELLBEING Real stories of inspiration THE LONGEVITY PARADOX The thing we most aspire to is the greatest threat to our future THE POWER OF PREHABILITATION Get your body ready now for whatever comes next THE BIOLOGY OF AGING 5 scientific concepts that prove we can change the way we age MEDITATION FOR SKEPTICS Dan Harris on taming our critical, chaotic inner voices

ON THE COVE R Legendary climber Lynn Hill has reached new heights in her sport. Adventure photographer Chris Noble captured these stunning images of Lynn climbing "Outer Space," the Northwest Buttress of the Bastille, Eldorado Canyon in Colorado (cover photo) and scaling The Bird in the Ak-Su, Pamirs in Kyrgyzstan in 1995 (previous page).

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EDITOR'S NOTE

Welcome to What’s Next

BY M A R C M I D D L E TO N

There is now an entirely new life stage that has never before existed. Thanks to advances in medicine, healthcare, technology and mostly improved personal lifestyle choices, we have a two-, three- or even four-decade opportunity for meaningful life beyond what had been considered normal retirement age.

This new life stage offers nearly limitless opportunities to reinvent yourself.

Now is the time to look at life through a new lens that isn’t distorted by obligation.

The things that defined you for decades are gone. If you’re retired, your job no longer defines you. If you’re an empty nester, your children no longer define you. If you’re widowed or divorced, your spouse no longer defines you.

When the shackles of expectation are removed, there’s an emancipation that comes with growing older.

We’re no longer constrained to living linear lives, in which our activities must reflect our ages. There are no longer any arbitrary age-related rules as to what’s possible and acceptable at any life stage.

We can go to college at 50, get married at 60, start a business at 70, join the Peace Corps at 75, begin running at 80, take up acting at 90 and write a book at 100.

Almost anything is possible, which is why we need coaches, guidance counselors, role models, business incubators and educational opportunities -- all geared toward people in their 50s, 60s and 70s.

Most importantly, we need a new belief system. That’s because when imagining “what’s next,” we’re often limited by the accepted boundaries of possibility -- and those boundaries have been drawn by an ageist culture that encourages us to withdraw and watch life from the sidelines.

The key to making the most of this new life stage and discovering what’s next is overcoming fear with action. We must learn to take risks, embrace failure and discover the magic of saying “yes!” to new opportunities.

To be afraid to fail is to be afraid to live. And we can’t stop if we fail, because we probably will. Everyone does, at least at first. The only question that matters is this one: How many times are we willing to fail before we succeed?

Those who ultimately become good at something are simply those who were OK with being bad at it for a while. The key is developing a beginner’s mind, which is open to new ideas and possibilities and understands that failure is nothing more than feedback.

So, what’s next for you?

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Volume 35 FOUNDER AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Marc Middleton EDITOR IN CHIEF Jackie Carlin DEPUTY EDITOR Robert Thompson CREATIVE DIRECTOR Ashley Heafy EXECUTIVE EDITOR Randy Noles FEATURES DIRECTOR Bill Shafer SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR Katy Widrick PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Jill Middleton TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR Joshua Doolittle MEDICAL DIRECTOR Robert Masson, M.D. EDITORIAL SPECIAL FEATURES Emily Thompson, Bobby Wesley VIDEO PRODUCER Jason Morrow, Michael Nanus CONTRIBUTING WRITERS LIFE LESSONS Rowdy Gaines TRAVEL Gary McKechnie NUTRITION Regan Jones ACTIVE LONGEVITY Robert Masson, M.D. ESSAYS Mike Leonard PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION Deepak Chopra, M.D. WHAT'S NEXT Claudia and Sergio Lordao AGING INNOVATION Bill Thomas, M.D. FUNCTIONAL FITNESS Dan Ritchie, Ph.D. GROWING BOLDER PRESS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Marc Middleton PRESIDENT Robert Thompson SUBSCRIPTIONS For subscriber information or address changes visit GrowingBolder.com/subscribe, or email subscriptions@growingbolder.com NEWSLETTERS To sign up for Growing Bolder's weekly newsletter, go to GrowingBolder.com/newsletter COMMENTS Contact us via social media @GrowingBolder or email us at feedback@GrowingBolder.com ADVERTISING AND MEDIA SALES For information about advertising and sponsorships email sales@GrowingBolder.com GROWING BOLDER IS PUBLISHED BY GROWING BOLDER PRESS Editorial Content ©GrowingBolder. Growing Bolder is a registered trademark of Bolder Broadcasting Inc. Reproduction or use in whole or in part of the contents of this magazine without written permission for the Publisher is prohibited. Growing Bolder Publishing makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all published content. Neither the publisher nor advertisers will be held responsible for any errors found herein and the publisher accepts no liability for the accuracy of statements made by advertisers in ad and/or paid promotional features.

The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of Growing Bolder Publishing. Growing Bolder Publishing does not endorse or recommend any article, product, service or information found within the articles. All content is presented for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional, legal, financial or medical advice. Growing Bolder Publishing expressly disclaims and denies any liability for any decisions made based upon the information presented.

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CONTRIBUTORS

R OW DY G A I N E S Rowdy Gaines is a 3-time Olympic gold medalist, member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame and a multiple masters swimming world record holder. Known as "the voice of swimming," Gaines will cover his 8th Olympics for NBC in 2020. A motivational speaker, Gaines is a passionate advocate for learn-to-swim lessons for all ages.

Photo by The LIMU Company

REGAN JONES An award-winning registered dietitian with 20 years experience in the food media and marketing world, Regan Jones has amassed a portfolio of websites, podcast and influencer networks that reach millions. Her latest project, This Unmillennial Life Podcast, offers a roadmap through midlife for women who’ve fallen into a generational gap.

MIKE LEONARD Mike Leonard is one of the most creative and celebrated features correspondents in the history of network news. An EMMY© Awardwinning correspondent for the Today show for 32 years, his stories of everyday people captivated millions of viewers. Leonard is a filmmaker and author of the New York Times best-seller, The Ride of Our Lives.

G A RY M C K E C H N I E Gary McKechnie is one of America’s most unique travel writers. The author of the best-selling Great American Motorcycle Tours, McKechnie also wrote National Geographic’s USA 101 and Ten Best of Everything: National Parks.

He lectures on American travel and history aboard ships of the Cunard, Seabourn, and Silversea lines.

W E N DY C H I OJ I Wendy Chioji is an award-winning broadcast journalist, adventure racer, mountain guide and Ironman triathlete. A three-time cancer survivor, Chioji is host of the 4-time EMMY© Award nominated program, Surviving & Thriving. A passionate fundraiser and philanthropist, Chioji is a tireless advocate for cancer survivors worldwide.

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C L AU D I A A N D S E R G I O LO R DAO Born in Brazil, Claudia and Sergio recognized a sense of wanderlust in each other when they started dating in 1991. In 2007, they immigrated to Australia, embarking on a new life with their 9-year-old son. That itch to explore returned recently, and they’ve left their established careers to launch The Soul Explorers, a site that uses photos, videos and words to celebrate ordinary people across the world.

ROBERT MASSON One of the world’s top neurosurgeons, Robert Masson, M.D. has developed new minimally invasive surgical techniques that are revolutionizing treatment options and recovery times for spinal surgery patients. The founder of the Masson Spine Institute, Dr. Masson also serves as the Medical Director for Growing Bolder. In his spare time, he’s also a rising star in motorsports.

A N D R E A B ATC H E LO R Former TV anchor and fashionista Andrea Batchelor is now a public relations consultant, recently serving as a PR manager for Neiman Marcus. She’s also an active board member of several organizations, including Canine Companions for Independence, Runway to Hope and Support Our Scholars, through which she mentors a college student.

DA N R I TC H I E Dan Ritchie, Ph.D. is co-founder and President of the Functional Aging Institute, certifying trainers worldwide to safely and successfully work with older clients. He’s an author and speaker with expertise in personal training for special populations: athletes, stroke recovery, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, Fibromyalgia and Alzheimer’s disease.

BILL THOMAS Bill Thomas, M.D. helped de-institutionalize long-term care worldwide as founder of The Eden Alternative and The Green House Project. An international authority on geriatric medicine, Thomas now performs on his “Age of Disruption Tour,” a traveling, theatrical performance designed to change the way our culture views aging.

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YOUR TAKE

Have you gone grey and how has it changed your life?

Our Next “Your Take” Later in this issue, you’ll read about the power of intergenerational travel, particularly between grandparents and their grandkids. Have you traveled with your grandkids? What are your best memories?

Tell us at GrowingBolder.com/yourtake and your response could be featured in our next issue.

I underwent surgery three years ago for two herniated cervical discs. Knowing I’d be wearing a neck brace for three months, I told my hairdresser to cut my then-dyed hair short so at least I’d look neat during the rehab period. My naturally grey hair began coming through and I’ve never felt so free and even beautiful. Now I keep my hair short, a bit of a funky cut, and get tons of compliments. Go for it -- it will change your life for the better. In one word: FREEDOM!

I will absolutely NEVER go grey!

I'm blessed to go grey naturally. I’m eagerly anticipating the day I wake up to find my head is completely covered with bright white hair, like my mother and my grandmother.

CHRISTY H.

TC Sonoma County, CA

Tallahassee, FL & Canada

I was 4 years old when the hairdresser discovered my first gray hair. Sixty years later, I still have not dyed my hair. Au naturel, with no use of toxins for a safer environment. I love all shades of grey and silver.

After chemo I stopped coloring my hair. I love, love, love my sparkling grey hair. Best thing I ever did.

ELENA J. Hollywood, FL MICHELE L .

Oakville, MO

I stopped coloring my hair just over a year ago. My natural hair has silver streaks and is shiny and healthy. I’ve received more compliments about my hair since I stopped coloring it than I did in the last 10 years. I love my hair again.

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UOMI B. Brog, NM J A N W. Australia

I dyed my hair for most of my life and at age 50 said no more. I feel authentically me. I feel more myself than ever before and my gray and silver hair reflects it.

I'm older, wiser and content with myself.

R U S T Y Y. Florida

I’ve gone grey naturally, but with a slice of black these days for some pizazz.

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Resilience and risk taking.

Meaning and mission.

Passion and perseverance.

Growing Bolder is not just media, it’s a movement.

Growing Bolder’s EMMY® Award-winning broadcast journalists are Rebranding Aging® by sharing the inspirational stories of men and women redefining the possibilities of life after 45.

PO DC A S T

Available on NPR1. To subscribe visit GrowingBolder.com/podcast

Visit: GrowingBolder.com Subscribe: GrowingBolder.com/subscribe Follow: @GrowingBolder

R AD I O

Now in its 10th season. Check your local NPR listings or visit GrowingBolder.com/radio

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TV

Season Four now airing. To check local listings visit GrowingBolder.com/tv

SU RVIVI N G & TH RIVI N G T V

The 4--time EmmyÂŽ nominated series is coming soon to a station near you.

Visit GrowingBolder.com/survivingand-thriving

MAGA Z I N E

Live life boldy. To subscribe visit GrowingBolder.com/magazine

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GROWING BOLDER WITH Ernie Hudson rose to fame in Ghostbusters in 1984 and all these years later, he’s in greater demand than ever, with stand-out performances in hit shows like Blue Bloods and Grace and Frankie.

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Hudson learned at an early age that his choices, not his circumstances, would define his future.

By 18, he was working as a janitor and had a new wife, with a baby on the way, but he still had a dream—to act.

“I never imagined not working as an actor,” he says. “I've always loved it. I can look at my career and I could get frustrated thinking of guys who’ve gone on to do bigger things -- but the more I focus on that, the worse I feel. I’d much rather focus on the things I have. And I have so much to be thankful for.”

Hudson says his grandmother taught him that when you make a choice to do something, the universe will support you.

“Even when you’re going through something very difficult, don’t accept it as if it’s out of your control,” he says. “As long as you know your future is in your hands and you can make another choice, the universe will make that choice with you.”

Photo Courtesy Ernie Hudson

Award-winning journalist Maria Shriver is also an advocate for caregivers, a mother to four and the author of six bestsellers, including her latest, I’ve Been Thinking: Reflections, Prayers and Meditations for a Meaningful Life.

Shriver is a self-admitted over-thinker. These days, she’s been thinking a lot about one question she keeps hearing from people around the country—what is our purpose?

“It doesn’t matter if you’re 20 or 60 or beyond, we all seem to be in a questioning phase,” she says. “We’re all seeking answers. You can fall into a fearful phase or, my hope is, you could fall into a ‘Wow, this is exciting, this is an opportunity’ phase.”

Shriver encourages more of us to keep dreaming and to remain optimistic about our futures.

“I feel more alive today than I did in my 20s,” she says. “I have so many things I want to do still and I’m feeling engaged, passionate and committed to causes like finding a cure for Alzheimer’s. Dreams are for all of us -- and they don't end in your 20s and 30s.”

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Back to the Future and Caroline in the City actress Lea Thompson’s new project is a true family affair.

She recently collaborated with her two daughters and husband on a film called The Year of Spectacular Men.

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If you’re going to take a scary leap of faith with your career, why not do it with those you trust most? “It's been a really loving, handmade, personal, grassroots project, for sure,” Thompson says.

She set the idea in motion when she suggested her daughter, Madelyn, who was struggling through a terrible year, write out her feelings in a script.

Thompson loved the result so much, she took it on as her first featurefilm directing project. Since the budget was small, Madelyn, a singer/ songwriter, also starred in and scored the film while her sister Zoey (Why Him?, The Disaster Artist) played her on-screen sister. Thompson’s husband, Howard, pitched in with producing duties.

“You watch your kids go through these difficult things, and you want to protect them, but you can’t,” Thompson says. “Life is messy and full of mistakes, so some of that was hard to read. I’m so happy to be part of the story written by a young woman for young women.

“All the words that I ever spoke when I was an ingenue were written by men. I was made to play their idea of what the perfect girl was so many times. To be able to tell this story and all its messiness was particularly gratifying for me.”

Photo by Russell Baer

Scott Hamilton has faced Stage 4 testicular cancer and three brain tumors. The Olympic gold medalist, broadcaster, father and author of Finish First says that despite it all, he remains an eternal optimist.

Life has never come easy to Hamilton. He was adopted at the age of 2 and at 8, he was misdiagnosed and told that he had just six months to live.

At the height of his ice skating career, his height was only 5-foot-2-inch and figure skating was more expensive than his family could afford. After years of underachieving, his mother passed away and he asked himself: “What had she sacrificed so much for?”

So, Hamilton got serious. He got competitive—something he thinks is sorely lacking in our participation trophy world these days.

“I ask my kids all the time: 'What's your greatest strength?' And they answer me back: ‘Lack of weakness.’ If we can find our weak parts and strengthen those, we're going to be OK,” he says. “Figure out what's held you back and chip away at those things that prevent you from moving forward.”

Hamilton says there are no such things as overnight fixes—but if you keep showing up every day and outwork everybody, there’s nothing at which you can’t be successful.

Photo Courtesy Scott Hamilton

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Photos by DAVE School 18

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Reimagining Retirement

BY B I L L S H A F E R

There may be no more controversial word in the English language than “retirement.” Some love it, anticipate it and count the days until it arrives. Others dread it, fear it and wonder how they’ll cope.

In any case, the word itself is being redefined by those who refuse to retire in the traditional sense. Winding down? Many can’t afford to. Others refuse to. Very few want to. Some are replacing the word “retire” with “reset,” “revisit” or “restart.”

Charmaine Gilbreath was ready to retire from her career, but not from life. She knew that after decades as a research scientist for the U.S. Naval Research Lab and associate technical director at the Defense Intelligence Agency, she’d need to continue finding challenges.

“I certainly couldn’t see myself sitting on the beach for the next 20, 30 years,” she explains. “I wanted to do something positive and good for others, you know?”

But what should she do? It was a question for which she had no answer—until the day she went to the movies and saw a film that brought her future into focus. The film was Avatar. Its effect was immediate and profound.

“It wasn’t so much the story, but the technology that struck me,” Gilbreath recalls. “That was the beginning of my new obsession with what could be accomplished through virtual reality and 3D.” She decided that for her, retirement would mean reinvention—and for that, she’d need some reeducation. She never imagined it would also mean relocation.

Her research led her to conclude that the right place for her was the DAVE (Digital Animation and Visual Effects) School in Orlando. It meant so much to her that she and her husband packed their bags and moved to Florida.

But going back to school turned out to be more difficult than Gilbreath expected. Even though she once pioneered the development of lasers as tools of communication, she flunked her first term at the DAVE School.

“I had to take it over again,” she admits. “I was surrounded by all these youngsters who were born with game controllers in their hands!”

LIFELONG LE ARNING

That wasn’t the only challenge she’d experienced in pursuit of her new dream. Just as she’d begun to excel in her academics, doctors discovered a large tumor on her bladder.

The diagnosis was cancer.

Gilbreath had to put school aside as she battled through two surgeries and chemotherapy. Yet, it was in the middle of this fight that she once again found purpose.

“The doctor told me they’d have to remove my kidney,” she says. “I said, ‘Why can’t you just put a new kidney in?’ He said, ‘We don’t do that.’ Why not? ‘We’re not there yet.’ We’re not there yet? Then it hit me. Why aren’t we 3D-printing

“I certainly couldn’t see myself sitting on the beach for the next 20, 30 years,” she explains. “I wanted to do something positive and good for others, you know?” organs?” Nine months after her cancer journey began, Gilbreath was back at the DAVE School with more focus, stronger resolve and a belief that, at the age of 65, she could still be part of a solution.

“We can do so much if we choose to,” she says. “We’re all capable at any age of being productive stewards of the earth, of taking care of our species. We can do it. We went to the moon, you know. We can we can do this.”

Gilbreath knows that she’ll always have a passion for learning and a desire to solve problems. She feels that looking at retirement as a time to fade away would be a waste of the education, experience and wisdom that comes from a long and productive life.

“I believe I have 20 to 30 years, maybe even more, where I can help be part of the search for solutions,” she says. “That excites me. Making a difference. That’s what retirement is to me.”

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THE EXPLORERS

BY C L AU D I A A N D S E R G I O LO R DAO

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When our son left home three years ago, we found ourselves at a crossroads. We were both 46 at the time and knew things would never be the same.

For years, we had been successfully swimming back and forth in our “comfort zone pool.” But with an empty nest and more free time on our hands, we had started to question ourselves.

After three decades working in marketing, our jobs were no longer fulfilling. We were bored and confused; feeling super young and extremely old at the same time. Something was missing—and it wasn't just our son.

Some people call it a middle-age crisis. We call it middleage enlightenment. There was so much we wanted to do, to create and to share. Our minds were full of ideas and hopes.

Our hearts were full of passion! But how could we change our lives? At this age and time?

For two years, we discussed our options, our fears, our future.

In December 2017, we finally took a leap of faith and quit our jobs

to start an initiative called The Soul Explorers—a photographic storytelling project showcasing people from all walks of life.

It has been almost a year since The Soul Explorers hit the road. We've been to three continents, nine countries and more than 40 cities so far. We've conducted more than 250 interviews. And when we truly connect to total strangers, and they share their personal stories with us, we feel extremely rewarded.

Some people call us crazy. Maybe we are. We’re funding the project ourselves, working a lot, travelling on a budget and making no money at all. And no, we’re not rich. We just understood what’s important to us now.

We know it's a big cliché, but life is, indeed, too short. And the older you get, the more evident that fact becomes.

Allow yourself to change, if that's what you want. Don't be afraid of trying and don't wait for the right time. There’s no such thing. No matter how old you are, make a plan and then go for it. Stop postponing. Don't let “later” become “never.”

From Australia to the world, one story at a time.

Since we started The Soul Explorers project, we've been publishing a different story every day. In our travels, we come across people from all over the world and all walks of life. We talk about their struggles and hopes, their passions and fears.

Regardless of their age, culture, language, gender or beliefs, they all want the same things: to be happy, to have a purpose in life and to be surrounded by loved ones.

Here is a selection of some of our favorite stories.

Remember, we approached all these people on the streets.

We asked them to share something personal with us – and here’s how they responded.

Never Too Old We came across Marianne on a beautiful day in Noosa, a paradise on earth in Australia. She was hiking with two friends and we loved what she said about aging:

Noosa, Australia

I started hiking 20 years ago; I wish I'd started much earlier in life. I'm 76 now, and I'm making the most of it every day.

When you get older and especially when you're on your own—I'm a widow —it's very important to have friends around you and to socialize. The worst thing in the world is to sit home and do nothing and feel sorry for yourself.

We do a lot of walking. We ride our bikes, do yoga and go to the gym.

Always have a coffee stop on the way—that's very important!

Aging is so unfair! I feel like I'm in my mid-30s. But I look in the mirror and go, 'Oh, God, I'd like to be a little younger than that!’ My mind says I'm young, but my body says 'No, you're not.’ But I try to be very active and keep myself as young as I can.

As you get older, some people think you're too old to do some things.

No, you're not! You're never too old to start exercising. We can't stop aging, but we can definitely slow it down!"

W H AT ' S N E X T ?

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The Soldier Sid was sitting by himself at Trafalgar Square in London, waiting for his family to arrive. His story surprised us. The more we travel, the more we learn not to judge a book by its cover:

London, England

My name is Sid, and I'm 64. I was in the Army for 12 years. The rigid discipline didn't bother me at all. I was used to it, as my dad was oldfashioned and very strict. But, to be honest, when you go into a war zone, discipline goes out the window. You don't need discipline to survive.

I've been to seven war zones and been shot three times. But I'm still here -- Scottish men are hard to kill. I killed 87 people. You don't feel anything; you just go and blank your mind. You have to think it's a job. If you think about it any other way, you end up in a nuthouse.

Oporto, Portugal

The Portuguese Artist We were walking down the alleyways of the historic city of Oporto, Portugal, when we came upon an open door. Inside, a woman was working on a painting. She welcomed us in with a sincere smile. Her name was Clara and she told us her life was divided into two stages:

The first stage took place in a competitive field. When I was 40, I was at the top of my game and decided to pursue my Ph.D., in addition to my job. Halfway through the program, my head went on a spiral. I knew if I continued, I’d follow that path forever.

In my 50s, I quit the doctorate to start the second stage of my life -- a more humanistic, emotional and pleasurable period. I began my training in the arts, and two years ago, I had my first exhibition.

It’s been a path of self-discovery. It isn’t an easy process. I would have been very comfortable in my career if I’d continued. In today's world, to quit your job and start over is very difficult. To go against what they expect of us requires a lot of energy and a lot of courage.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Sense of Purpose We were freezing when we came across Bill, who managed the Arthur's Seat Carpark in Edinburgh. He wasn't cold, like us. In fact, he said it was a beautiful summer's day in Scotland! We asked for directions and he went inside his cabin to grab a map of the area. He didn't have to do that, but he did. And we could tell how pleased he was. He clearly had a sense of purpose in his job:

I'm 65. I used to work in a call center. It wasn’t a job -- it was a nightmare.

I hated it. It's been seven years that I look after this carpark, and I love it! I meet new people every day and I love helping them. I love being close to nature! Look at this incredible view! What else can I ask from life?

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Common Interests We met Benno and Jeanne in a coffee shop in Barcelona. They were sitting next to us and attracted our attention because they were wearing similar glasses. Plus, they seemed so genuinely happy together. They told us that they had three children and six grandchildren, and that they were planning a big party to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. They shared a bit of their "secret recipe" for a happy marriage with us:

Barcelona - Spain

Respect each other. This is very important. And freedom. Don't make it a prison. Have some common interests, too. When you’re together, live your life together.

We see a lot of young people who have a lot of friends and busy jobs.

When do they have time for each other? What do they have together?

And always exercise. We’re very lucky to be healthy. We walk and bike a lot.

Sunshine Coast, Australia

The Dancing Guy We were at a Street Market the other day and we stopped to watch an amazing musician. The atmosphere was great, the crowd was happy, and we were all having fun. When the performer started playing his last song, a man came out of the blue and started to dance.

It was so unexpected and yet so special. He was enjoying himself so much that I'm sure a lot of people were tempted to dance along with him. Once the show was over, we talked about his passion for life:

I'm John Harris, and I'm about 70. I like to dance to keep the body moving and keep it flexible so that I can live for quite a few more years. If you stop, you seize up and the blood stops flowing.

We are what we eat, and drink and think. If you think you can't do something, you probably can't. And vice versa.

I think being out and about and talking to people keeps you happy.

We’ve got to pass a bit of happiness on, you know?

It's been a phenomenal journey for me, all over the place. I've been to Vanuatu, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore—I've done a bit of dancing everywhere.

Whenever I see someone playing on the streets, I instantly dance like that. I feel free when I dance! The spirit floats off! Goes with the flow, bangs with the breeze! It's fantabulous!

To read The Soul Explorers daily stories go to thesoulexplorers.com Follow the project on Facebook and Instagram: @thesoulexplorers

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Photo courtesy Roz Savage

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A DV E N T U R E S

ROZ SAVAGE and the Obituary Exercise

BY M A R C M I D D L E TO N

We’ve interviewed adventurer and eco-warrior Roz Savage several times and have learned something important about life every time. Savage is the first and only woman to row solo across the world’s “Big Three” oceans: Atlantic, Pacific and Indian. She rowed more than 15,000 miles, taking 5 million oar strokes—all by herself in a 23-foot rowboat.

She holds four Guinness World Records, has been named National Geographic Adventurer of the Year and was appointed a member of the Order of the British Empire for services to fundraising and the environment.

Savage lives an amazing, adventurous life of passion and purpose—but it hasn’t always been that way. She was a successful management consultant but felt something important was missing.

“I had what most considered to be a great life,” she says. “A great house, good friends, and a nice salary—but I wasn’t motivated or fulfilled because I knew that I had more to offer.”

Everything changed when Savage decided, as an exercise, to write two versions of her own obituary. “I wrote the one that I wanted and the one that I was heading for if I carried on as I was,” she says.

She wrote what she called her “fantasy obituary” first. She described a person who lived life to the fullest, took chances and was willing to fail if it ultimately led to creating the life of adventure and significance that she dreamed about. She was totally energized when she finished writing.

“It was time for me to stop drifting and start rowing,” she said.

She then wrote other obituary, which reflected what she describes as a “half-life.” She believed that she was born to live a life free of fear, and needed to make a radical change to avoid reaching her final days filled with regret over what could have been. “It was time for me to stop drifting and start rowing,” she said.

And that’s what she did.

Savage rowed her way into the life she wanted, and along the way came to two transformative realizations: “We are all capable of much more than we believe, and we need to make personal and societal changes if we want to live healthy lives on a thriving planet.”

Those realizations led her to use her voyages to not only to expand her own limits but to promote sustainable living.

Today, Savage is a renowned eco-warrior, best-selling author, in-demand motivational speaker and living the life she imagined when she wrote her fantasy obituary nearly two decades ago.

She recommends the obituary exercise to everyone as a powerful way to underscore what’s at stake with our one precious life—and what changes might be necessary to live the life that we desire and leave the legacy that we deserve.

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THE MUSHROOM MAN Meet the Rock Star of Mushroom Photography

BY B I L L S H A F E R 26

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Taylor Lockwood thought he was going to be a star. In the ’70s, the rock ‘n’ roll violinist was a major part of the West Coast music scene. But as he reached his 30s, he was no longer so sure.

“You know, I was getting burned out,” says Lockwood.

“I'd just had it with the music business. And that's when I discovered mushrooms.”

It’s not what you’re thinking. Lockwood didn’t use mushrooms to get high. He used them for artistic inspiration.

“There were other mushroom photographers, but I was one of the first to spend a lot of time at the aesthetics,” he says. “I wanted to show something that hadn’t been shown before. That’s a tough road to walk, but it’s worth it.”

Now, Lockwood’s life had a whole new purpose: eradicating what he calls “fungi-phobia” and making mushrooms mainstream.

Lockwood traveled to every continent in the world but one. He's published books, calendars and DVDs. His work has appeared in publications such as National Geographic, The New York Times and The Washington Post. In 2018, his photo of a bioluminescent mushroom became the first mushroom photo ever used on a U.S. postage stamp.

He has even made a mushroom music video that was a viral hit on YouTube. Lockwood, it seems, has become the Johnny Appleseed of mushroom spores.

“That’s funny! I’ve been saying that for a long time,” he

says, chuckling. “Taylor Mushroomspore! And I know people appreciate mushrooms more now. I get emails from all over the world. It’s wonderful.”

The so-called “rock ‘n’ roll mushroom photographer” has become something of a cult hero to many who already appreciate the beauty, variety and value of mushrooms. And in academic circles, he has earned kudos for raising awareness of the fascinating fungi through social media.

“One of the fabulous facets about mushrooming is that people all over the world are interested for many different reasons,” Lockwood says. “Some are interested because mushrooms can be psychoactive. Others are interested in the religious and culinary aspects of mushrooms. And the timing is perfect. The number of avid believers and enthusiasts is on the rise, even in the United States.”

Lockwood's dream has come full circle. He has become a rock star in the mushroom world. He has found his passion —and he couldn't be happier.

“As a rocker, I began to feel old when I hit my 30s,” says Lockwood. “As a photographer in my 60s, I realize that age doesn't make any difference at all. In fact, the older you get, the better you get. And I plan on getting much better.”

Once upon a time, Taylor Lockwood thought he was going to be a rock star.

His musical dreams may not have worked out but he's still a rock star—of the mushroom photography world. He now travels the world, discovering and documenting unusual fungi.

REINVENTION

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LET THE WORLD KNOW THAT YOU’RE NOT JUST GROWING OLDER, YOU’RE GROWING BOLDER!

To order a GB Tee for you and those you want to inspire visit: GrowingBolder.com/shop

Visit: GrowingBolder.com Subscribe: GrowingBolder.com/subscribe Follow: @GrowingBolder

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Simple Elegance

Pork Medallions with Pomegranate-Berry Sauce

BY R E G A N J O N E S

Pork medallions are one of those hidden secrets of the food world— they look special on a plate but are simple to make. Just slice the pork tenderloin, sear the medallions in a skillet and top with a flavorful juice. They cook in no time, and the pork pairs well with the fruitiness of the juice as a sauce. This recipe uses a combination of polyphenolrich pomegranate juice and dried berries, but you could easily change it up with another juice, such as apple, and another dried fruit, such as dried tart cherries. Use whatever you have on hand!

Yield: Serves 4 Ingredients 1● cup pomegranate juice 1● tablespoon Dijon or coarse-grained mustard 1● tablespoon brown sugar 1● tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 cup dried mixed berries 1● tablespoon chopped fresh chives 1● (1 1/4-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut crosswise into 1-inch-thick medallions S ● alt and pepper 1● tablespoon olive oil G ● arnish: chopped parsley or additional chives Directions 1.

2.

3.

Regan Jones has been blazing trails as a female entrepreneur for more than a decade. An award-winning registered dietitian with 20 years of experience in the food media and marketing world, she has amassed a brand portfolio of websites, podcast and influencer networks that reach millions. Her latest passion project, a podcast called This Unmillennial Life, offers a roadmap through midlife for women who’ve fallen into a generational gap.

FO O D & N U T R I T I O N

Combine pomegranate juice, mustard, brown sugar, soy sauce, berries and chives in a small microwave-safe bowl. Heat in the microwave on high for 1 minute and let stand while pork cooks.

Warm a large skillet over medium-high heat; season pork on both sides with salt and pepper. Add oil to pan; add pork and cook until deeply golden, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook until just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Transfer to a platter, cover and keep warm.

Pour berry mixture into skillet, stirring to release brown bits from bottom of pan.

Simmer until liquid has reduced by about half (or about 2 to 3 minutes). Spoon sauce over pork and serve immediately.

Nutrition facts (per serving): 3 ● 76 calories 8g total fat 1● 9g total carbohydrate 3 ● 3g protein 3 ● 21 mg sodium

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WRITE YOUR NEXT CHAPTER

BY JAC K I E C A R L I N

Photos by Sonja Flemming 30

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Vivica A. Fox is one of the fiercest women in Hollywood. She’s gone toe-to-toe with aliens in Independence Day, Uma Thurman’s revenge-seeking Bride in the Kill Bill movies and Larry David’s alter ego on Curb Your Enthusiasm.

In a career that has spanned three decades—and counting —she’s still finding new ways to make an impact and stand out.

“There’s no doubt that I chose a very tough business,” Fox says. “What I’ve discovered is life is all about chapters. As my daddy used to tell me, when one chapter is over, learn to put a period on it and turn the page.”

Fox says ones of the keys to gracefully moving between life’s various chapters is versatility. In a field that worships at the altar of youth, Fox, who is proud to be 54, says she’s just learned to take on new roles and skills.

In addition to acting in front of the camera, she also has starred in stage productions; she’s hosting a new talk show called Face the Truth (airing on CBS and produced by Dr. Phil); she has her own hair collection; she’s starring in and producing a new series of thrillers for the Lifetime Movie Network called the Wrong franchise; and she’s just written what she calls a “motivational memoir,” Every Day I’m Hustling.

Fox says these days, she feels the clock ticking—but that only motivates her to work even harder.

“To be very honest with you, sometimes my clock is ticking so fast I don’t have enough time for all the stuff that I

honeymoon phase. I call it their "agent" shows for the first three months. Then about that fifth or sixth month, suddenly, the real person shows up. Don't jump into the shallow end of the pool headfirst.”

Despite her challenges, Fox says she wouldn’t trade a thing about her age or life experiences.

“I've always been a person who believed in being so perfect, but now I’m letting people know I've been through a lot trials and tribulations,” she says. “One of my favorite things to do is to give motivational speeches to young people. It's so funny because sometimes somebody will say something like, ‘You’re old.’ And, you know what? It's a blessing to get older, because none of us are promised tomorrow.”

Fox says as you learn to page through the chapters of life, don’t be afraid to be kind, laugh out loud and just enjoy yourself. It’s a philosophy that continues to serve her well and one she’d love to see spread far and wide.

Learn to build yourself a dream squad.

Surround yourself with people who see different chapters and opportunities for you that you didn’t even see yourself.

“

have going on!” Fox says. “But I have an excellent team supporting me.”

That’s one of the lessons Fox hopes readers will take from her book: “Learn to build yourself a dream squad.

Surround yourself with people who see different chapters and opportunities for you that you didn’t even see yourself.”

Adds Fox: “You've got to learn to get people around you that believe in you, support you and don't take away from your time, your personality and your spirit.”

Fox says she hasn’t always had healthy relationships and some played out in the public eye. Now, she says, she’s using those hard lessons learned to inform her work in the Wrong franchise and to coach others to take their time and really get to know someone before opening their lives and their families’ lives to someone new.

“Make sure that people are really who they say they are,” she adds. “Because when you meet someone, it's always the

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WISDOM OF THE INNER WITNESS Mindfulness Practice for Beginners

BY E M I LY T H O M P S O N

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Do you feel stressed at the end of the day? Do you wake up feeling anxious about all the obligations of the day ahead? Do you feel frustrated by the patterns of interaction with the people in your life?

Learn how to feel better mentally, emotionally and physically by developing your own mindfulness practice to fit your lifestyle.

Mindfulness practice teaches us how to listen to the wisdom of our bodies and emotions, and how to reframe our circumstances and experience more peace.

Becoming aware of the mind-body connection gives us power to experience our emotional lives in a new way—from a place of intentional response rather than knee-jerk reaction.

The small voice inside us that observes our lives and our thoughts without judgment is the “witness” in mindfulness practices. Creating space in our lives to tune into the wisdom of the witness can help us transform our lives from the inside out.

Young children can teach us a lot about mindfulness. As they explore their world, they have no preconceptions about how things and people “should” be. They observe and participate without judgment.

As they experience patterns of behavior from other people, and observe cause and effect in the physical world, they start to construct their own reality.

They’re constantly updating this understanding of reality with new information, naturally.

Can I count on my family to take care of me? Is there anything I can do to make them love me more or less? Is the world a safe place or a place to fear? What rules must be followed and what rules may be bent

Inner Witness Observing your own mind, without judgement, from an objective distance. Mindfulness practice helps develop this capacity incrementally for reduced stress, better sleep, more focus and improved mood. or broken? How can I get my needs met and feel good as often as possible?

These questions influence our behavior at all stages of life, whether we’re conscious of it or not. By middle age, our reality can feel static. We assume we know how the world works and what our place in it is. We define ourselves by our obligations—family, work, financial and community.

If we’re lucky, these obligations are fueled by passion and give us a sense of meaning and inner peace. For most of us, the responsibility of our obligations feels stressful most of the time. How do we experience inner peace while keeping all the plates spinning?

Mindfulness practice offers us a way to find an oasis of calm despite the demands of our busy lives.

It decreases stress and improves sleep. It increases focus and peak performance in work and sports.

Neuroplasticity describes the way the brain is physically changed and improved by regular mindfulness practices, no matter our age. The benefits can be realized in as little as a few minutes a day, or they can be explored in extended retreats.

Whatever your lifestyle, no matter your schedule, there’s a mindfulness practice to help you hear the wisdom of your own inner witness.

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Beginner Mindfulness Practices Gratitude Meditation 5-10 minutes Human brains evolved with a negativity bias that helped our primitive ancestors avoid predators and prepare for disasters. What was beneficial then makes it more difficult for us to focus on the positive in the present.

Neuroscientists have discovered that gratitude practices help overcome this negativity bias—and the chronic stress it causes— by training our brain to focus on the positive. Gratitude meditation changes the chemistry of our brain by producing dopamine, the feel-good hormone.

This positive reaction trains the brain to look for more reasons to be grateful, to experience the surge of dopamine again and again.

• • •

1.

2.

3.

4.

Sit upright in a chair and take a few deep breaths to center yourself. ● For each thing you bring to your awareness, say to yourself, “For this _____, I am grateful.” ● Cycle your awareness through the four categories below. Express gratitude for several things or people per category. Go slowly enough to observe any feelings or physical sensations that arise.

Immediate physical environment. “For this hot coffee, I am grateful.”

Friends, family and your partner. “For my friend who checks on me when I’m sick, I am grateful.”

Yourself. We are often our own worst critics. Bring awareness to your positive traits. “For my ability to make people feel encouraged, I am grateful.”

Difficult people. Every interaction carries within it an opportunity to learn more about ourselves and others — if we can observe from the inner witness rather than react from negative emotions. Practicing gratitude for difficult people trains us to be more compassionate and less reactive. “For my neighbor who never waves back, I am grateful.”

Body Scan Meditation 5 minutes Tune into the sensations in each part of your body, starting with your feet and moving up to your head. This can be done sitting in a chair or lying in bed.

Feel the support of the floor/bed under your feet. Notice the twinge in your ankle from your nightly run. Move your attention up through your legs, torso, arms, neck, face and scalp. When your mind wanders, bring your attention back to the sensation in the next part of your body.

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Breathing Meditation 5-20 minutes

Meditating on the breath can be done anywhere. Ideally, you should meditate sitting in a chair without distraction, but you can even do it while sitting in traffic.

The inner witness is the part of yourself that is aware of the thoughts but chooses to let them come and go instead of ruminating on them.

Meditating on the breath helps us to pay attention to our awareness of the present moment.

With practice, this ability to experience pure awareness helps us to notice the inner witness in everyday life. We learn to notice our emotions and the emotions of others without judgment.

This helps us to respond rather than to react to the circumstances and people in our life -- giving us a growing sense of peace.

•

• • • • • •

● Inhale deeply for three seconds, hold the breath for two seconds and exhale for four seconds. Take a few deep, cleansing breaths until you feel settled and centered. ● Then let your breath come and go naturally. Notice the sensation of each inhale and exhale in your nostrils, your rib cage and your diaphragm. ● As you focus on the breath, thoughts will pop up. That’s OK! ● Let your inner witness observe the thoughts without judgment. ● Imagine the thoughts are clouds moving across the sky of our awareness.

They are temporary and passing. ● Bring your attention back to the breath as often as necessary.

Notice emotions and physical sensations that arise, without judgment.

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At 71, Quin Bommelje shines on America's Got Talent

BY B I L L S H A F E R There she stood, out on the stage with the other finalists.

Suddenly, the quiet was shattered by the last thing she wanted, or expected to hear, “The next performer facing elimination is…

Quin Bommelje.”

She knew it was possible. But she didn’t think she’d be the first to be called down front by Tyra Banks. The gasps from the audience dissipated and there was a deafening silence.

Bommelje had become a crowd favorite. Would this be the end of her stunning run of success on the hit television show America’s Got Talent? At age 71, this ballroom dancing firecracker had made it to the final five. Now, she stood on her mark, blinded by the spotlight.

The next few seconds would feel like a lifetime. “And the next act going on is…”

Bommelje may be the most unlikely person ever to find herself in the spotlight. Born in a tiny village in Thailand, her family – including eight brothers and sisters—was so poor that their home had no floor, no running water and no electricity.

It couldn’t have been more different from where she is today—traveling the country dressed in the brightest, most beautiful wardrobe imaginable, entering and winning some of the nation’s most prestigious ballroom dance competitions.

If you’d met her 11 years ago, you’d never have guessed what was to come. Until she convinced her husband to sign up for dance lessons, Bommelje had never danced before. And if you think it was all due to natural talent that was suddenly unleashed, you’d be mistaken.

“She was terrible,” recalls her husband, Rick. “She couldn’t even keep the beat.”

But one lesson her humble beginnings taught her was persistence. She wasn’t afraid to fail -- which she did again and again. Yet, she never stopped working at it.

Soon that persistence—that work ethic—began to pay off.

She progressed so much that her husband and dance partner was holding her back. So, she got a new partner. “I just couldn’t keep up,” says Rick Bommelje. “I have to tell you at the beginning, that was an adjustment.”

Better partners resulted in striking improvement. But more important, the more effort she put in, the more her passion grew. “I don’t like dance,” she clarifies. “I love it!”

Everything about her life began to change. She noticed the tiredness and daily aches and pains she always felt had 36

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vanished. Now, she was spending three to four hours a day in the gym—something she never imagined possible.

“I learned that pushing my body through vigorous exercise really did make me feel better,” she says. “Even in my 60s, working hard changed the way I feel. It’s like I say, dancing is my oxygen. I fell in love with this life and can’t get enough of it.”

It was Rick Bommelje who approached his wife and her dance partner, MIsha Vlasov, 35, with a bold idea. They looked at each other and agreed, “Why not?” Soon, they were in a line with thousands of hopefuls, auditioning for America’s Got Talent.

“I thought maybe my story, my past and my age they might like,” she explains.

They didn’t just like it, they loved it. Bommelje and Vlascov scored well enough to advance all the way to the finals. But they almost didn’t make it to the competition at all.

“It’s like I say, dancing is my oxygen,” says Bommelje. “I fell in love with this life and can’t get enough of it.”

“Most people don’t know that the night before we left for the live shows in Los Angeles we had a freak accident practicing,” says Bommelje. “Misha stepped on my foot and ripped off my toenail.”

Bommelje spent three hours in the emergency room, where doctors advised her not to dance. But she was having none of it. “I knew this would be a once in a lifetime experience,” she says. “So, I put the pain aside and went for it.”

Even though the pair eventually got eliminated, Bommelje says it was a great experience. “I’ve gotten comments from people all over the world, even my homeland of Thailand, thanking me for helping people see what’s possible late in life,” she says.

Bommelje says there’s a lesson in her experience for everyone.

“I hope people see that if they have something they want to do, don’t be afraid to fail, and don’t listen to negativity,” she says. “Find what you love and pursue it. Not in my wildest dreams did I ever think any of this could have happened. But it did—all because one day I tried.”

“

Not in my wildest dreams did I ever think any of this could have happened, but it did, all because one day I tried.

Photo by Trae Patton/NBC

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EXPATS While retirement Stateside is fast becoming too expensive for the average Joe to enjoy with any level of comfort—that’s not the case in the best-value locales overseas. In the right places, a couple can live an engaged, stress-free, thoroughly comfortable retirement for less than $30,000 a year.

But it’s not just for the cost savings that retiring abroad makes good sense.

One of the most interesting things I do for International Living is interview retirees and expats for a series of audio podcasts.

They’re simply phone chats with people who have made successful moves abroad. We talk about what they did before they moved, why they decided to move abroad, how they did it, and what they’re doing now.

I’m thinking of this today because I just did an interview with a Canadian expat who relocated to Coronado, Panama, and the phrase she used to describe the life she and her husband now live in this bustling little beach town west of Panama City is still stuck in my head.

“It’s like being 15 again,” she said.

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She said this at the end of a fairly long explanation of how she and her husband dealt with the legal and bureaucratic issues of moving full-time to Panama. It took a while to get their resident visas. It took a while to finalize the purchase of their house in Coronado. It took a while to do the renovations they wanted.

Bureaucracies are pretty much the same the world over, but she said that at the end of it all…when everything was taken care of, all the paperwork was filed, and all the dust had settled… they had no real burning issues or responsibilities left to deal with.

They were legal residents of a tropical paradise living comfortably on their retirement savings without mortgage or debt of any kind.

They were, essentially, 15-year-olds on permanent summer vacation.

Permanent summer vacation in Panama.

No work, no debt, no deadlines, no snow, no worries.

What an amazing concept.

It’s what most of us believe retirement should be like.

After a lifetime of working and being responsible for

RE TI RE M E NT S H OU LD B E LI K E B E I N G A TE E NAG E R AGAI N … AN D IT C AN B E

BY DA N PR E SC H E R I NTE R N ATI O N A L LIVI N G , S E N I O R E D ITO R

ourselves and others, retirement should be like a permanent summer vacation.

Retirement should feel like it did when you were 15 and the last bell of the last class of the last day of the school year rang.

It should feel like running out the door into the sunshine and realizing you didn’t have to go back in there again all summer.

Only summer lasts forever.

A lot of the retirees I talk to who have moved abroad say essentially the same thing, but no one has said it quite as simply and clearly as my friend in Coronado. She put the entire concept of a successful retirement abroad in a phrase that I’ve now adopted as my model for what the ideal retirement is like.

It’s like being 15 again.

That’s something to aspire to. That’s something to shoot for. That’s something devoutly to be wished.

And, because there are so many places abroad that can make exactly this kind of retirement possible, it’s something that people are actually doing every day.

I know, because I talk to those people every day. People

who, no matter what their age in years, are essentially 15-yearolds on permanent summer vacation.

That’s exactly how I want to retire. At International Living, we show you how it’s done.

ABOUT INTERNATIONAL LIVING Since 1979, Internationaliving.com has been the leading authority for anyone looking for global retirement or relocation opportunities.

Through its monthly magazine and related e-letters, extensive website, podcasts, online bookstore, and events held around the world, InternationalLiving.com provides information and services to help its readers live better, travel farther, have more fun, save more money, and find better business opportunities when they expand their world beyond their own shores. InternationalLiving.com has more than 200 correspondents traveling the globe, investigating the best opportunities for travel, retirement, real estate, and investment.

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CLASSIC CARS

RESTORING MEMORIES

BY B I L L S H A F E R

Photo by Jorge Zapata on Unsplash 40

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The car you drive reveals a lot about you. That’s been true ever since you turned 16 and got that student parking pass for the high school lot. Do you remember what kind of car you pulled up in? I bet you can still picture every detail!

I drove dad’s ’69 Chevy Impala. Seafoam green with a dark vinyl top. Huge back seat. Factory air and a not-so-factory FM converter for grooving out to the too-cool-for-school FM stations that played those trippy deep album cuts.

Did I mention the back seat?

I expect you can also remember what kind of car your friends drove. Steve had an MG Midget. Scott had a VW Thing —remember those? And I’ll never forget how Celia’s long blonde hair would blow in the breeze behind the bucket seats of her bright yellow Olds Cutlass convertible.

Kids don’t seem to have that connection to their cars anymore. For us, cars meant freedom, adventure and independence. The youth of today get that from their smartphones. Their personalities are reflected more by their Instagram pages than their Honda Civics.

Instead of spending hours washing and waxing, they spend hours swiping and snapping. And does anybody lift the hood to work on the engine anymore? They don’t tinker, they just Twitter.

I guess you can’t blame them. Cars today just don’t represent what they used to. They’re expensive, they don’t stand out and those open roads of yesterday are clogged with bumper-to-bumper traffic today.

Instead of polish and tune, it’s easier to Uber and Lyft.

There’s no place to park and no place to go. No more drive-in theaters, drive-up diners and the malls have vanished because we all shop online.

We need our cars less and less, and the way technology is advancing, soon our cars will be driving us instead of the other way around. There is no way around it. We’ve lost our grip on the wheel.

If the cars of today can’t save us, maybe the cars of yesterday can. They sure saved the Smith family. After 20 years of toiling in consumer finance, Michael Smith was ready to follow his dream instead of his pocketbook.

His son, J.R. Smith, who grew up fascinated by cars, came up with an idea to turn their shared passion into a business.

That’s how Just Toys Classic Cars was born. It began strictly as an online business that expanded to a showroom that looks more like a car museum, only larger. Potential buyers aren’t the only ones who walk through the doors.

“It has become a bit of a vacation destination,” says Michael Smith. “We get entire families who just want to come in and look.”

In addition to the cars, they have an ever-changing collection of antiques and memorabilia from the ’30s through the ’70s, making it available for parties, swing dances and even weddings.

Classic cars are as much about passion as they are COLLECTING

business. The Strattons are another family that has found a way to make a living from them. Gary and his son Jason specialize in restoring VW Microbuses at Stratton Motorsports and they have found many interested in buying them. A 1963 23-window VW bus recently sold at auction for $217,000, which was more than a Rolls Royce from the same year because baby boomers didn’t drive Rolls Royces.

“Owning a car they had in their past lets people feel the way they used to,” says Jason Stratton. “To many, that can be the most important thing in the world.”

When Rachel Veitch stopped driving at 93, she said goodbye to the Mercury Comet that she bought new in 1964 and had driven for 567,000 miles. “It was a lot harder to say goodbye to my car than it was to my three ex husbands,” she said.

Michael Smith understands the feeling. “It’s not unusual for people to get emotional around these cars,” he says. “We share a lot of tears of joy.”

Perhaps JR Smith sums it up best: “That’s what makes this the greatest business in the world because we completely understand. We sell classic cars, but what we really do is restore memories.”

“We sell classic cars, but what we really do is restore memories.”

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WHAT'S NEXT

Alan Alda Rediscovers Himself

BY K AT Y W I D R I C K

We’re living in an era in which there are more ways than ever to communicate with one another—by text, phone, Internet and countless social media platforms. Yet, one of the biggest problems facing our world is a lack of meaningful communication. All forms of communication, from social to political to family to relationships, just aren’t what they should be.

Legendary actor Alan Alda, known for his iconic portrayal of Captain “Hawkeye” Pierce in TV’s M*A*S*H along with dozens of other memorable roles since, is interested -- maybe even obsessed -- with this topic.

And that obsession has led him down a path of Growing Bolder that’s even more critical considering a new personal health battle that will test and slowly inhibit his own communication skills.

Alda, an Oscar nominee and seven-time Emmy Awardwinner, has created the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University and written a book called If I Understand You, Would I Have This Look on My Face? My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating.

The center’s goal is to help scientists, doctors, entrepreneurs

and ordinary people from all walks of life better connect with their audiences and families -- and to explore all of the ways that people communicate with each other.

He’s also host of a podcast called Clear and Vivid with Alan Alda. The podcast—which expands upon the center’s work—is new, but the material is the result of decades of curiosity and extensive research about communication, the art of listening and more.

The podcast is, in many ways, a perfect vehicle for him, providing an intergenerational platform for a message that’s ageless:

“A lot of people don’t think the two ideas go together—to be 82 and to be doing a podcast. In fact, the millennials who work for me on the show refer to me as ‘the world’s oldest millennial.’

’Reinvent yourself’ is something I’ve heard for decades,” he says. “And I think that what I’ve done is not reinvent myself but rediscover myself. The difference between inventing and discovering, as I see it is that inventing is deciding what your plan is. Discovering is going down a path you’ve never seen before. And that’s more interesting for me. I find myself being

"The phrase ‘reinvent yourself’ is one I’ve heard for decades. And I think that what I’ve done is not reinvent myself, but rediscover myself..." led by my curiosity in directions I didn’t expect to go.”

Alda believes that as long as you’re curious and interested in what’s happening around you, age doesn’t matter—“except there’s a different point of view that is fun to find out about.”

He recently revealed that he’s battling Parkinson’s disease, an incurable degenerative disease that leads to body tremors, muscle rigidity, and changes in speech and gait, but in true Growing Bolder fashion, he’s not letting it stop him from pursuing his passions or living his dreams. He says that he’ll adapt as necessary to keep living a rich, meaningful and inspirational life.

Plus, he hopes that going public about his condition will combat fear and inspire hope in others. “It would be kind of ironic if I kept quiet about this when a center for communicating science is named after me.”

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A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T

Iron Woman

BY K AT Y W I D R I C K

You’ve heard the phrase, “age is just a number.” And when it comes to Growing Bolder, we know that’s true, because what the mind believes, the body can achieve.

But the numbers associated with Cherie Gruenfeld’s name are so impressive, we wanted to share a few:

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Photo by Tony Svensson

IRONMAN T R I AT H L O N S WORLD TITLES

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AG E G R O U P WINS I R O N M A N AG E - G R O U P RECORDS HELD

IRONMAN 70. 3 WORLD TITLE S

The statistics go well beyond her own accomplishments.

Gruenfeld founded Exceeding Expectations in 2001 to coach at-risk kids in California in the sport of triathlon and to inspire them to stay in school, set goals and believe that they, too, can Move Forward. Give Back.®

Gruenfeld’s early intervention with kids is particularly interesting, since she grew up before federal legislation removed sex-based exclusions on educational and athletic programs (Title IX) and didn’t discover the sport until she was in her mid-40s.

Even so, she was always taught that she could do and be anything she wanted.

“I used to come whining to my parents, saying ‘My brothers are out there doing it; I want to do it,’ and my parents said, ‘You want to do it? Just go out there any mix it up with the boys!’” she recalls.

“I think that taught me at a very early age that if you want to do something, just get in the game,” she continues. “And so when I was 48, I saw the L.A. Marathon on TV. And I was sitting in my bed on a Sunday morning eating sticky buns and drinking coffee and I thought, ‘I want to do that!’ I knew that I could, if I just gave it a try. So that’s kind of how I’ve lived my whole life.”

Shortly after that, she saw triathlon for the first time and decided to give that a try, too. Since then, she’s been nearly unstoppable.

In the fall of 2017, Gruenfeld had a race-day collision with another cyclist that left her with four bone fractures and two months of rest and recovery on crutches. She could have given up, but by May of 2018, she was back to her sport -- and even more passionate about living each day to its fullest.

Says Gruenfeld: “Our time in this world is limited and I intend to use every single minute of every single day doing something that makes me happy, that I think is good for me, and is productive.”

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FITNESS FOR LIFE

BY DA N R I TC H I E P H . D.

Functional fitness is the term we use to describe fitness as it relates to our body’s ability to function, performing the tasks we ask of it. And it’s so much more than what we traditionally think of when it comes to fitness.

Our functional fitness level impacts our ability to continue to enjoy the most important things in life as we get older.

Most people think about exercise in its most basic form—as a function of cardio, muscle strength, and weight management. But, what we now know about the body is that to be “fit” means so much more than being able to climb stairs and wear the same dress size you did 10 years ago.

When assessing functional fitness, we measure your power, aerobic energy, balance, response time, joint function, coordination, agility, and more. The goal is to make you better than fit—you need to be functionally fit to ensure that you can do all the things you want to—for as long as you can! Have you ever really considered how functionally fit you are at the moment? We have a short little quiz for you to take and then one exercise you can begin using right away either at home or the gym.

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What’s Your Current Functional Fitness Level?

Rate yourself on the following 10 common functional activities with 1 being “no ability” and 5 being “fully capable.” ________ Ability to climb a flight of stairs without using railing for support. ________ Ability to dash in the rain to your car in a parking lot without thought/concern. ________ Ability to go on a brisk 20-minute walk while talking with a friend. ________ Ability to stand up from a chair without using your arms for lift or balance. ________ Ability to get up off of the ground easily, without rolling to a crawl position first. ________ Ability to pick up and carry a 20-pound toddler for 5 minutes. ________ Ability to play your favorite sport as well as you did 5 years ago. ________ Ability to travel wherever you’d like to go without thought/concern. ________ Ability to balance on one foot for 10 seconds with your eyes closed. ________ Frequency of nights you get a 'good night's sleep.' ________ Total

Next, add up your answers and compare your totals:

40-50

Congrats! You’re probably at the higher end of the spectrum for your age!

20-39

Uh oh. Your functional abilities are declining, and perhaps you haven’t even noticed.

0-19

Caution. Your current abilities expose you to a greater risk of injury, falling, and losing the ability to live independently.

Here’s one simple exercise that can help you function better and even improve your score on this test.

We call it the Get up Exercise. It really is as simple as the name implies, basically you are getting up from the floor using your hands as little as possible. If you need a wall, or chair nearby to help that is fine to start, but eventually you want to be able to get up with something in your hands!

Repeat this for a series of 5 repetitions. Lance is doing it with a 10 lb dumbbell in his hand at the age of 78 so he is functioning at a pretty high level. You might need to use both hands at first, but eventually try to get up with the use of only one hand.

Dan Ritchie received his Ph.D. in Kinesiology with a minor in Gerontology. from Purdue University. He’s the co-founder and President of the Functional Aging Institute with expertise in personal training for special populations: athletes, stroke recovery, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, Fibromyalgia, Alzheimer’s, etc. He regularly presents at national and regional conferences and has been active on committees for the American College of Sports Medicine.

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Lynn Hill scaling the Bird in the Ak-Su, in Pamirs in Kyrgyzstan, 1995 Photo: Chris Noble.

NEVER STOP CLIMBING The Power of Determination and Detachment.

BY M A R C M I D D L E TO N

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Depending upon whom you talk to, Lynn Hill is the greatest female athlete ever, the greatest female rock climber in history or simply the greatest rock climber of all-time. No matter which description might be used, few would argue against it.

Hill, it seems, was born to climb. As a young girl, she climbed everything from trees to streetlights. She took up gymnastics but hated that she had “to smile and do cutesy little routines on the floor.”

She would eventually leave the sport but took with her the skills, body awareness, focus and determination that would turn her into a living legend and transform the sport of rock-climbing.

The first time Hill climbed a rock face was at age 14, and she excelled immediately. She spent the early ’80s traveling the U.S. and climbing increasingly difficult routes while setting records for first female and first overall ascents.

Hill discovered competitive climbing during a visit to France in 1986. For the next six years she dominated indoor and outdoor competition, winning more than 30 major international titles.

In 1992, with nothing left to prove, she returned to her first love—rock climbing. She quickly set the audacious goal of becoming the first person, male or female, to free climb The Nose of El Capitan, considered the Holy Grail among climbers worldwide.

El Capitan is the most famous piece of rock on the planet for big-wall climbers, and The Nose is the iconic slab of granite rising nearly 3,000 feet straight up above the Yosemite Valley floor. For years, the best climbers in the world had been making a steady pilgrimage to Yosemite trying to achieve what was considered unachievable. No one had come close.

In 1993, Hill stunned the climbing world when she made the first successful free ascent on The Nose. The climb took four days. Amazingly, she returned the next year and did it again in less than 24 hours. No one, man nor women, was able to repeat her successful climb for over 10 years. She was that far ahead of everybody else.

“The Nose was so sheer and so blank that people couldn't see how to hang on,” Hill says.

“It took very intricate sequencing, body positions and strength to do it.”

Hill is, without question, bold, daring, ingenious, clever and strategic. But she’s not crazy.

Free climbing is defined as using your hands and feet with no equipment to help.

There’s a rope for protection in the event of a fall, but it can’t be used for assistance. A free solo climb has no rope and therefore no safety net. A single mistake typically results in death. It’s the kind of climbing made famous with the recent release of the National Geographic documentary film, Free Solo, a stunning portrait of Alex Honnold’s live or die quest to scale El Cap without a rope.

“That's not what we do,” Hill says. “Rock climbing is the sport that people practice when they go to artificial climbing walls. They're not using their rope to get to the top of the wall. The whole point is to climb the wall on your own because it's fun to climb. There's something innately satisfying about using your body in that way. It's a little bit like a ballet routine and the rock itself is the choreographer.”

Hill had no role models to show her what was possible, and she had to overcome a climbing culture in the early ’90s that all but scoffed at the notion that anyone, especially a woman, could climb The Nose.

A DV E N T U R E S

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“I had to motivate myself,” she says. “I was empowered by doing, and I think that that's the way life is. If you want to do something, just go after it. That’s how you discover what you don't know so that you can start learning it. There's no rulebook.

It's just really an attitude.”

When Hill conquered The Nose, many who had said that it was laughable for her to even try quickly suggested that she had an advantage because her smaller hands could fit into more cracks on the wall face.

In truth, the constant reaches required in big-wall climbing, strongly favor the tall. Hill is only five feet tall.

“Climbing is all about adapting,” she says. And she proved it at The Nose by “inventing” techniques to successfully negotiate the most difficult pitches.

She also proved that rock climbing is not about gender, finger size or even height. It’s about strategy and execution. If you don’t make the right moves, if you don’t position yourself properly, the wall will win.

To this day, 25 years later, you can count on one hand the number of climbers, male or female, who have succeeded in making a one-day free-ascent of The Nose. And you can count on one finger the number of women who have done it.

Hill, now 57, lives in Boulder, Colorado, where she’s raising her 15-year-old son, Owen. She still climbs regularly, produces climbing videos and occasionally guides for climbers of all ability levels.

Climbing allows me to feel good; to touch base with myself and process what’s happening in my life.

"I had a 65-year-old client who had just gotten into climbing three months earlier and was having the time of his life going to some of the classic climbing areas across the country,” she says. “It’s never too late to start. The lower levels of climbing should be accessible to just about anyone.”

Hill still thinks she has what it takes to conquer The Nose and is planning a return trip to El Cap to do it again.

“I still remember my mother asking, ‘When are you going to retire from climbing?’” Hill recalls. “I just smiled because there's no retiring from climbing. Climbing allows me to feel good; to touch base with myself and process what’s happening in my life. It keeps me involved in a passionate community and plugged into nature. Why would I ever give that up?

Hill had to overcome sexism. Now, by remaining active in what some might call an extreme sport, she’s also defying ageism.

“Stay true to what you want to do,” she says. “Why would you listen to somebody else’s negative limitations on what you can or can’t do? The more I ignored the naysayers, the more empowered I became. You can blow through stereotypes if you have the right attitude. It doesn’t matter if others don’t support or believe in your dreams. What you believe is way more powerful.”

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Stay true to what you want to do. Why would you listen to somebody else’s negative limitations on what you can or can’t do?

Lynn Hill on the first-ever free ascent of The Nose, El Capitan in Yosemite Valley, California, 1993. Photo: Heinz Zak.

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I’M NOT AN ECO WARRIOR. I’M A SURVIVOR. The world’s greatest living explorer sounds an alarm.

BY M A R C M I D D L E TO N

Robert Swan has seen the majesty of Earth’s most remote, pristine wilderness. He has also witnessed its gradual destruction.

Swan is considered one of the greatest explorers ever after taking the longest documented hike in human history, walking 900 miles in 70 days to the South Pole. His historic trek in 1986 nearly cost him his life.

“We walked for 70 days, nine hours a day, pulling sleds weighing 410 pounds each,” he says. “There was no radio communication with the outside world and we navigated using the sun, sextant and a watch.”

Swan lost 73 pounds and most of the skin on his face after prolonged exposure to ultraviolet rays. The rays, burning through a hole in the ozone layer, also permanently changed the color of his eyes to a pale blue.

Three years later, in 1989, he completed a 66-day trek to the North Pole becoming the first and only person to walk to both the North and South Poles. On that expedition, he got a terrifying look at the effects of climate change.

“To walk across a melting ocean of ice, a thousand kilometers away from the safety of land, is without doubt, the most frightening thing that has ever happened to me,” he said during a presentation earlier this year at an environmental conference in Kuala Lumpur. “The ice was melting and crashing down. We had to march or die.”

Now in his 60s, Swan has made it his life’s mission to preserve Antarctica by 50

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Robert Swan on his historic trek to the South Pole in 1986.

Photo courtesy 2041.

promoting recycling, renewable energy and sustainability.

He founded an organization called 2041 dedicated to the preservation of the Polar Regions.

The name is a reference to the year 2041, in which international treaties committing the world’s nations to the preservation of Antarctica come up for renewal. His fear is that a ban on mining and drilling on the continent could be lifted.

Between now and 2041, his goal is to promote and expand renewable energy use to the extent that drilling for fossil fuels becomes financially unfeasible.

Swan and his team have been leading annual expeditions to the Antarctic since 2003, taking nearly 4,000 students, youth leaders and environmentalists from all over the world on to witness the effects of climate change.

“The South and North Poles are both made of ice,” he says. “If you have ice sitting on your table and the room is 32 degrees, it’s going to stay there forever. But click that room one degree higher and it’s going to melt. And that is what’s happening. The ice caps are melting at both poles.”

There is no discussion or argument to be had regarding climate change, Swan says, and no room for interpretation of the data. “Climate change is a reality,” he says. “Antarctica holds 90 percent of the world’s ice and 70 percent of the world’s fresh water. If we continue to melt that, we swim.”

It’s not only climate change that Swan is concerned about. Human pollution has reached the poles.

“Even at the very ends of the world, we find rubbish and garbage,” he says. “A lot of it is ocean borne. We’ve put all this garbage into the ocean and eventually some of it ends up in the Arctic or the Antarctic and it’s just heart wrenching to see. And rather than being negative about it we say, ok, let’s clean it up.”

Swan and his teams do exactly that. It took them eight years to remove and fully recycle 1,500 tons of steel waste left over after years of scientific research at a Russian base on King George Island.

“If we can spend eight years cleaning up 1,500 tons of steel, I think you can lift your arm, pick up that aluminum can, and put it in the recycling bin,” said Swan at a TEDGlobal 2014 Talk.

Surprisingly, Swan doesn’t consider himself an eco-warrior

“I’m just a survivor, somebody who’s really good at staying alive.” he says. “When I see something that’s going to threaten me, I do something about it. That’s what we must do as a species. We must get on the offensive and go on the attack. We have to take bold action.”

In January, Swan returned to the South Pole, this time with his 23-year-old son, Barney. Their team trekked 600

"We need to look after the only little planet that we've got." miles in 56 days in temperatures as low as 40 degrees below zero to complete the first-ever expedition to the South Pole powered solely by clean energy technologies.

The 2041 Instagram page has a photo of Robert hugging Barney at the South Pole. Its caption reads, “As I stood at the pole, I handed Barney a small globe. And said, ‘I got you this far, now it’s yours to take forward.”’

That, in an Instagram caption, is Swan’s message to the world. Climate change is not about politics. It’s about survival.

“We need to do more than what we are doing,” he says.

“Because people will look back on us and say we knew, we had all the information, but we didn’t do enough. We need to look after the only little planet that we’ve got. I don’t think we’ve got another one next door, have we?

For more information about Robert Swan and his 2041 mission, visit 2041.com

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Robert Snow and his 23-year-old son, Barney, trekked 600 miles in 56 days across Antarctica in temperatures as low as 40 degrees below zero, completing the first-ever expedition to the South Pole powered solely by clean energy technologies. Photos courtesy 2041 and Trenton Branson.

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AC T I V I S T S

R E S TAU R A N T R E V I E W

XOCHI Houston

BY B O B BY W E S L E Y

Photo by Paula Murphy

When I travel to new places, I’m looking for ways to connect.

Each city or country is full of opportunities for new experiences, flavors and personalities that tell you something about the place and its inhabitants.

A recent stopover took me to Houston, Texas, for the first time. Jumping on my phone to track down some good eats, I was shocked at the breadth of culinary and cocktail options from a place that’s been quietly growing as one of the nation’s most multicultural cities.

If you’re looking to broaden your Lone Star experience beyond barbeque brisket, Houston offers tastes from around the world and south of the border -- with perhaps none more heralded than the traditional Mexican cuisine of Chef Hugo Ortega.

Ortega’s story is the classic American dream. After coming to America, he rose from dishwasher to line cook to executive chef to creator of multiple mainstays of the Houston culinary scene.

At each stop, he shared his passion for traditional Mexican cooking and has six consecutive years of James Beard Foundation Award nominations under his belt. His latest, Xochi, is no exception, with a 2017 nod for Best New Restaurant.

A rundown of our table at Xochi is like walking through a dream vacation through Oaxaca. To start, the molotes, made with Oaxacan masa cakes, will make you rethink what you’ve always wanted empanadas to be.

But the main attraction, to me, was the moles (pictured above). Representing seven different traditional Oaxacan moles, each was uniquely rich, flavorful and earthy.

Ortega finds the perfect accompaniment for each, FOOD & NUTRITION

Photo by Julie Soefer

whether for sautéed shrimp or pork ribs with ant mole. (Yes, ants. Seriously, try it.) Or in my case, an incredible braised and rolled barbacoa that I’m still thinking about.

And don’t forget dessert. You’re in Texas, after all, where everything (even your appetite) is bigger. Xochi’s house-made hot chocolates -- featuring rich, spiced chocolate, sweet corn cream and a touch of mezcal -- will make you feel like a kid again, but happy you’re all grown up.

After-Dinner Drinks that Make a Difference

A short walk from Xochi is the OKRA Charity Saloon, a unique collective of downtown restaurant and bar owners with a special mission: to give back.

Each drink in OKRA’s historic venue gives patrons a vote for a local Houston charity. Each month, the winner receives OKRA’s proceeds for an entire month. We’ve never heard anything like that before and it’s an inspiring, if sometimes blurry-eyed, way to give back.

Since 2013, the exchange of classic cocktails and local beers has given more than $1.1 million to good causes. It’s a nightcap you’ll feel good about, even the next morning.

XOCHI

The Flavors of Oaxaxa 1777 Walker Street, Suite A Houston, TX 77010 xochihouston.com

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Photos courtesy of IDEO 54

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5

QUESTIONS

With Silicon Valley’s Oldest Employee

BY JAC K I E C A R L I N

Barbara Beskind smashes stereotypes every time she goes to work. At 94, she is by far the oldest member of the world-famous, human-centered design team IDEO in Silicon Valley.

Some of IDEO’s designs include Apple’s first mouse and the Pilates machine. Many of Beskind's co-workers are 60 or even 70 years younger, but they’re soaking up her life experiences. Beskind's joined the Army during World War II, and until her retirement as a major in 1966, worked in occupational therapy designing equipment for wounded and polio-stricken soldiers. She went on to open the country’s first independent occupational therapy clinic. Beskind's joins us for our “5 Questions” feature to explain what companies are missing when they ignore the braintrust of those 65 and older.

LIFELONG LE ARNING

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Most people beyond a certain age are afraid of putting themselves out there. That’s not you, is it?

Oh, no. I’m always looking for new adventures. I’m 94 years old and very happy. This has been the most wonderful chapter of my life. I never could have believed I would have had this adventure, and I love it.

How did you get the job at IDEO? Silicon Valley companies are notorious for almost exclusively hiring younger employees.

I wrote a letter and told them I had skills that I thought could be of use to them. I’ve always been a very creative person.

I’ve been designing since the age of 8. I just felt I could contribute to their organization, and would like to have the opportunity to meet with them. And, a little to my surprise, they took me on.

What projects have you worked on?

At IDEO, I’ve worked on a project involving Medicare delivery services. And I worked on designing contact lenses for the elderly so that they can manage them more effectively. I also worked on a project for Google to redesign the interior of the company’s two-decker buses. I have my own projects I’m designing as well. I have low vision, so I’m constantly experimenting with projects that would improve the lives of elderly people who have vision problems, like myself. One of the things I’m really anxious to design is a fall-protection device, because falling is the biggest hazard for elderly people. My idea is to create an inflatable belt that would activate at a 15-degree lurch and would cushion the body much the same way an airbag does during an auto crash.

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You must be having an impact on all the people in your life. You live in a retirement community. What do the other residents at the community think about your new job? Then, everyone you work with is probably in their 20s or 30s. What do they think of you?

I think it’s been inspiring for my fellow residents just to hear about what I do, even though they can’t engage in the same way. They also enjoy hearing about my daily commute. Our retirement community provides transportation to the train station. I take the train for about 30 minutes, then walk threeand-a-half blocks to the office. At work, everyone accepts me as an equal, which is exciting. When I walk in, everyone gives me a hug. People come and tell me about their projects. We discuss issues. I work with everyone from interns to people with Ph.D.s. Everyone is on an equal level, and it’s exciting because everyone shares one thing: a passion for creativity and problem solving.

Our society lacks role models like you. What’s the moral of your story? Do you think more people would be like you if they knew what was possible?

We have these longitudinal experiences that I bring to IDEO for projects on aging that young people can’t possibly have.

When companies ignore those of us over 65, it leads to a wasteland -- and we can’t afford to waste that talent. I’ve never stopped learning. I’ve never stopped doing, designing or creating. I start thinking from the time my feet hit the floor in the morning. I value uninterrupted time to think. I have no electronic devices, except for a cell phone for emergency uses. I stay very active. I walk two to three miles a day. I engage with people of all ages, which is exciting, through my church, through my work or just by going out for walks and meeting people.

Eric Charbonneau/SHOWTIME G R O W I N G B O L D E R / VO L . 3 5

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VIRTUALLY EVERYWHERE How virtual reality is changing the world around us.

BY R O B E R T T H O M P S O N

vir·tu·al re·al·i·ty vərCH(əw)əl rēˈalədē noun COMPUTING The computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional image or environment that can be interacted with in a seemingly real or physical way by a person using special electronic equipment, such as a helmet with a screen inside or gloves fitted with sensors.

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T R A N S L AT I N G T E C H

It seems we hear the term “virtual reality” more and more every day. For most of us, it conjures up images of futuristic movies where people are living in utopian worlds, fighting evil forces or trying to save mankind.

Well, as they say, truth can be stranger than fiction. Today, virtual reality really is changing the world and might, indeed, help save mankind --or at least let us have a little more fun!

Let’s explore a few areas where virtual reality is already having an impact and how we can all benefit.

Healthcare

Virtual reality has altered the healthcare industry in a very big way. Not only are physicians using VR for training and educational purposes, but they’re now utilizing it for the planning of complex surgeries.

In many complicated cases, such as separating conjoined twins or fixing brain aneurysms, doctors are using MRI, CT and ultrasound scans to create virtual models of their patients. This allows the doctor to explore the “inside” of their patients without making a single cut.

Removing the potential for surprises during the actual operation greatly improves the likelihood of a successful outcome.

VR is also being used to help with pain and anxiety associated with many medical procedures. Studies have proven that patients immersed in a peaceful, happy, virtual world show lower anxiety levels and sometimes higher pain thresholds.

This tool is particularly effective for patients undergoing chemotherapy, dialysis or even skin grafts. During minimally invasive procedures, VR is also utilized to better manage pain for older patients where anesthesia is too risky.

Travel Many of us dream of exciting, thrill-inducing excursions like climbing Mt. Everest or diving with great white sharks in South Africa. Virtual reality is now making such adventures possible for everyone.

Virtual reality systems such as Everest VR or Teleport Tahiti are allowing opportunities to climb the tallest mountains on earth, listen to the waves crash on far-away beaches or zipline through an Amazonian forest. For many people, travel is limited due to time, resources or physical limitations. VR is now breaking down these barriers and opening up the world!

“...VIRTUAL REALITY IS NOW BREAKING DOWN THESE BARRIERS AND OPENING UP THE WORLD!” Conceptualization Studies regularly list building a new home or an extensive remodeling project as among life’s most stressful life events. And for those of us who have gone through one or both, we agree!

Fear not—virtual reality to the rescue. Many new VR systems are proliferating the homebuilding industry. Most national builders are now offering VR as a way to pick your cabinets, flooring, lighting and more— all in a virtual world.

There are even VR systems available that allow you to test different furniture, paint colors or new pieces of art—all before making the purchase.

VR conceptualization doesn’t stop with homebuilding.

Urban planners are using it to better design parks, roadways, sidewalks and other public spaces, ensuring a great user experience before the first shovel goes in the ground.

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Photo courtesy Bill Thomas

Live Dangerously

BY B I L L T H O M A S M . D.

Seventeen billion humans have lived, and zero have grown young. We can’t escape the reality of aging, so the real issue isn’t how well can we conceal the signs of aging, but how well we can we embrace the opportunities of aging. The established cultural narrative has got it all wrong. Aging is a source of growth, happiness and wellbeing.

Research shows that people who are aware of and embrace their own mortality are happier than people who live with the illusion that they’re going to live forever somehow.

I’m not going to allow the anti-aging industry to make me feel that I must conceal my age in order to have value.

Every single morning, when 70 million baby boomers wake up one day older, we gain new allies. This is the group that said. “I don’t accept the war in Southeast Asia” This is the group that said, “I don’t accept sexism and I don’t accept racism.” This is the group that has always questioned the dominant narrative.

And now they’re looking for a new framework on aging.

What I am doing with my Age of Disruption tour is taking chances. I’m doing things that are very scary for me.

I’m trying to put myself out there and show people that age gives you the opportunity to do crazy new stuff. It’s not youth that should be doing crazy, new stuff -- it’s older people. I’ve fallen in love with taking risks, and that’s really what the tour is about.

Many believe that older people should be wrapped up, swaddled in cotton and kept very safe. I’m arguing that the mortality rate is 100 percent, and you have the chance now to live more dangerously than ever before. To do things your younger self wouldn’t have dared to do; things that you’re now equipped to do because of your accumulated life experience.

You only live once, so make it good. Age offers you tremendous opportunities to live dangerously.

Bill Thomas M.D. is a Harvard-trained geriatrician who helped transform long-term care worldwide as founder of The Eden Alternative and most recently, The Green House Project. These two initiatives have de-institutionalized nursing homes in all 50 states and worldwide over the past 20 years. Thomas now performs on his “Age of Disruption Tour,” a traveling, non-fiction theatrical performance designed to change the way our culture views aging.

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E S S AY S

n o So rk a ng r P i n e e p t O in W

Inspiring Whole-Person Health Wholeness | Fitness | Medicine

The Center for Health & Wellbeing is where wholeness, fitness and medicine all come together to help you achieve your optimal state of wellbeing. It’s where you can feed your body and your mind, while staying in tune with your health.

Wholeness • Kid’s Corner • Conference center • Health and wellness education classes • Nourish coffee bar + kitchen • Nutrition theater • Gardens with walking paths • Social gathering spaces • Terrace with patio seating

Fitness • Peggy & Phillip B. Crosby Wellness Center - a Medical Fitness Association Certified Facility* • Two indoor pools for lap swimming and warmwater activities • Multi-purpose group exercise rooms • Exercise equipment and weights • Indoor track

Medical • Acupuncture • Chronic condition management and education • Massage • Outpatient lab • Primary care physician offices • Retail pharmacy • Specialty physician offices • Sports medicine and rehabilitation

*Pending certification

A partnership between the Winter Park Health Foundation and Florida Hospital

2005 Mizell Avenue, Winter Park, FL 32792 | 407.644.2300 | YourHealthandWellbeing.org

A IN WELLBEING

BY JAC K I E C A R L I N

More than ever, communities, companies and schools are recognizing that it’s good business to invest in the health and wellbeing of people.

From neighborhood farmers’ markets to planned communities incorporating walking and biking trails to school-wide fitness challenges, there are more ways than ever for people to engage with healthier, more sustainable habits.

One shining example of this forward thinking is the forthcoming Center for Health & Wellbeing in Winter Park, Florida, where wholeness, fitness and medicine join in harmony under one roof.

When completed in early 2019, the nearly 80,000-squarefoot, state-of-the-art center will incorporate fitness programs from the Peggy & Philip B. Crosby Wellness Center and a variety of educational programs and resources from community partners organized under the leadership of the Winter Park Health Foundation, a non-profit organization with a long and successful history of wellness programs in the region it serves.

Medical services will be delivered by AdventHealth (formerly Florida Hospital), Winter Park Health Foundation’s partner in the project.

One of the many powerful features of the center is the Wellbeing Network, a unique online hub providing free tools, resources and inspiration to help people of all ages live with passion and purpose—even if they never set foot in the new building.

“Not everybody who might benefit from the services of the Center may be able to get to it,” says Winter Park Health Foundation CEO and President Patty Maddox. “It's great to have all these resources available to the community, but we recognize there may be residents who have transportation or mobility challenges. So, we developed the concept of the Wellbeing Network to share Center for Health & Wellbeing programs with the community at large.”

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—Physical, Intellectual, Environmental, Vocational, Social, Emotional and Spiritual—into our daily lives.

It’s a first-of-its-kind community effort at improving the health and wellbeing of all residents in Winter Park and neighboring Maitland and Eatonville.

“‘If not us, who?’ was kind of the big question,” says Diana Silvey, the foundation’s vice president of programming. “We’re fortunate to be in a position where our whole mission is to improve community health. We see this as a gift to the communit—as a way of saying, ‘We’re investing in your health in a significant way. And we hope you’ll join us in that journey.’”

Growing Bolder is proud to partner with the Winter Park Health Foundation to launch the Wellbeing Network, which will be powered by entertaining and educational content from Growing Bolder’s own library. Plus, our team of Emmy Award-winning storytellers will capture events and programs at the center for those unable to attend in person.

Maddox says the Wellbeing Network may very well be the launching of a movement—something communities nationwide can emulate.

“We look at everything we do as a gift, not only to our community, but a gift to anybody who wants to take it,” she says.

“It doesn't help the world if you don't share it with the world.”

The Wellbeing Network will be built upon seven channels of content, one for each of the seven dimensions of wellbeing. Below are some of the first people to be featured on the Wellbeing Network, each serving crucial roles in their community.

Their words and actions serve as inspiration and a playbook to start living healthier, more well-rounded lives.

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Spiritual Wellbeing: Nourish Your Soul.

Barry Kerzin, M.D., Ordained Buddhist Monk, Personal Physician to the Dalai Lama.

Mindfulness encourages us to remember the good stuff, the positive ways of living.

It's to check up and see what's happening inside right now. What am I thinking?

What am I feeling? And do I need to adjust my course if I'm a little bit into negativity?

It encourages us to recognize these feelings, be mature and apply the techniques, tools and methods we've learned to move more toward the positive. More and more, research is demonstrating that by following this kind of lifestyle, by incorporating compassion, meditation and mindfulness into our lives, the immune system is strengthened, which in turn protects us from chronic diseases.

Vocational Wellbeing: Live With Purpose.

William Jones, Boys & Girls Club Volunteer I refuse to waste my life sitting on the couch. To me, living means going out the door. The path out there is paved with opportunities that will lead you to a purpose.

For me, that purpose is mentoring children, because when I was a child, people mentored me. At this stage of my life, that’s what makes me want to get up in the morning. Relating to, sharing with and teaching children is such a fulfilling way to live -- and I’m sure it does just as much for me as for them.

Physical Wellbeing: Move More. Eat Better.

Letecia Foster, Elementary School Principal It's very important for us to develop a healthy community. Students need to know about healthy eating and how to stay fit -- and sadly, too often, those lessons aren’t starting at home. So, we have to take over here at school. This is a personal mission for me. I used to be obese and my mother had diabetes. One of the ways I lost weight is through running. Now I run throughout our town because I want to be seen – especially by our students -- as someone who models healthy behaviors. My message? Get up and move!

Intellectual Wellbeing: Boost Your Brain.

Thaddeus Seymour, Ph.D., 90, President Emeritus, Rollins College Cultivating your curiosity is a very important part of enriching the process of aging.

The resources are there, so use them! My brother is 94 and I'd never been able to get him to use a laptop. He always dismissed technology. Well, a couple years ago, I gave him an iPad and he learned how to work Pandora -- so now he's got music all day. Then he figured out how to send and receive email. But best of all, he's discovered FaceTime. Just two years ago, he was poo-pooing the computer. I wish everybody my age had the habit of Google, FaceTime and email. If you have those, it’s just like heaven.

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Social Wellbeing: Connect With Others.

Mary Cox, Ph.D., Center Director, Crosby Wellness Center There’s nothing like the Crosby Wellness Center. It’s not just about our beautiful new building. It’s about the people who make up the environment and the culture.

There’s something about the folks who’ve been working out at Crosby for 20 or 30 years. They’ve married and buried and celebrated and cried together. They may have joined as individuals, but they’ve become family. This is a place that not only serves our members’ physical needs, but also provides a spiritual and social connection to others.

Mary Ellen Strohaker, 101, Crosby Wellness Center member This is the only facility I’ve been to -- and believe me, I’ve been to plenty of others -that greets you warmly, cares about you and doesn’t ignore you. You meet the most wonderful people from all over town that I wouldn’t have run into otherwise -- and they’re such good friends now. It means a great deal to me. It’s a great part of my life, and I always look forward to coming. It’s a reason to get up and get going, because I’m going to the Crosby.

Environmental Wellbeing: Love the Earth .

Donna Lee Needham, Organizer, Plymouth Apartments Gardens The secret to loving the environment lies in realizing we’re really loving ourselves.

Caring for a garden is like nurturing your soul. Some people say, ‘Look, it’s a little garden, what good will that do anybody?’ Well, walk barefoot and touch the earth, grow the plants, feel them, pick them and eat them. You’ll realize we are of the earth.

We belong together. Look up. Watch the birds fly by. Open your eyes and see what's around you. It’ll make your spirit rise because we’re spiritual beings. Nature is the center of our spirit. Nature brings us peace.

Emotional Wellbeing: Practice Gratitude . Volunteer Annie Peters, 98, Hairdresser, This is such a beautiful world. A lot of people say, ‘Boy this is a mean old world,’ but it’s only mean if you make it mean. If you have good thoughts about it, it’s a nice place to be. I’ve had a good life, and I’m going to live until I die. I'm not going until my time comes. Why worry about something you have no control over? You’re no older than you feel -- and you can go on and do the things you planned to do without any hesitation. Just don't think about it. That’s the way I am. I just don't think of it. I just go on and do my daily work and I get along fine.

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THE LONGEVITY PARADOX:

AN UNFOLDING CRISIS

BY M A R C M I D D L E TO N

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Extra years of enjoyable life should be considered a major goal and one of life’s greatest blessings but without sufficient resources to adequately fund a longer life, that additional time may be filled with heartbreak and disaster.

A major crisis is now unfolding at the intersection of rising healthcare costs and a rapidly aging, and mostly unhealthy, population.

Actuaries are now calculating what they call “longevity risk,” the very real and rising risk of outliving your money. Longevity is the single biggest risk to your financial future.

That’s the longevity paradox: The thing that we most aspire to in the future—longevity—is, in fact, the greatest threat to that future.

Of course, part of the answer is to plan, save, invest and reduce spending. But the true solution to the longevity paradox is found in the health-wealth connection.

The single most important investment that you can make beginning today—and the one investment that will provide the greatest overall returns in the decades ahead—involves no money and is affordable to everyone. It’s PLM, or “positive lifestyle modification.”

PLM is the most powerful and cost-effective form of healthcare. It will make whatever retirement savings you now have or might accumulate last longer and go further by lowering your future healthcare costs.

This is critically important because healthcare costs will continue to rise and preventable, chronic illness will continue to be the single biggest driver of those costs.

The tragic result will be financial ruin for millions of families, and yet, we continue to live as though we're indestructible and will have limitless resources to buy our way out of any future health crises.

You can’t improve your overall health and wellness without also improving your overall financial health.

The two are inextricably linked. All the money in the world can’t buy you good health, but good health can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars over your lifetime.

Growing Bolder is committed to helping men and women of all ages leverage the health-wealth connection.

Our first-ever online summit, The Health-Wealth Connection, powered by Woman’s Worth®, brought together some of the world’s top experts in estate planning, tax planning, women’s health, active longevity, extreme recovery and more. All shared inspiration and information for making the rest of your life the best of your life.

Speakers at the Summit include Dan Ritchie, Ph.D., co-founder and president of the Functional Aging Institute; Sherrill Sellman, naturopathic physician and women’s natural health expert; Robert Masson, M.D., internationally recognized neurosurgeon; 90-year-old athlete Ann Kahl and many more.

Sports medicine expert Vonda Wright, M.D., triathlete and cancer warrior Wendy Chioji and Growing Bolder’s Bill Shafer and I also provided additional tips and pep talks about the many benefits of positive lifestyle modification.

More than 1,000 people have attended the no-cost Summit so far. And now, all the videos and content are available on demand at growingbolderinstitute.com/hwcsummit2018.

Summit attendees have called the sessions “fantastic” and “inspirational” and appreciate the additional opportunity to interact with speakers, hosts and one another in the Growing Bolder Summit Facebook group.

If you haven’t yet signed up, registration remains open at no cost—and you’ll get instant access to all five days of interviews plus bonus content from the Growing Bolder Radio Show and Growing Bolder TV.

That’s the longevity paradox: The thing that we most aspire to in the future—longevity—is, in fact, the greatest threat to that future.

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ADVENTURES

BY R O B E R T T H O M P S O N

There are more than 75 million grandparents in the U.S., with 2 million more added every year. Combine that with the fact that grandparents control 75 percent of the nation’s wealth and it’s easy to see why grandparents in America alone are spending nearly $60 billion a year on grandchildren.

And every year, more is being spent on intergenerational travel.

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This past summer, 10-year-old Elizabeth Carlin visited France with her grandparents, Eva and Danny Wagner, where they visited iconic sites such as Versailles and the historic Montmarte neighborhood.

A rapidly emerging subset within the intergenerational travel market consists of grandparents traveling with just their grandkids, leaving mom and dad at home.

With both parents working and the kids in school, it can be difficult to coordinate vacation time. Many grandparents now have the flexibility, the desire and the wherewithal to invest in one-on-one travel time with the grandkids.

"People will do a lot of things for their children, but they’ll do anything for their grandchildren," says Peter Francese, a demographic expert who studies grandparents' spending habits.

Increasingly, what they want to do is take their grandchildren on memorymaking trips. It’s a new kind of legacy. While the World War ll generation was concerned about leaving behind an inheritance, today’s grandparents are more interested in creating memories and sharing values. Travel is a great way to do both.

Ten-year-old Elizabeth Carlin recently returned from Paris with her grandparents, Eva and Danny Wagner, aka Gigi and DeDe. “When my Gigi was my age, she used to dream about going to Paris and it was really awesome getting to fulfill that dream with her,” says Elizabeth.

Eva agrees. “This is what I've always wanted to do -- to share something like this with Elizabeth,” she says. “To see Paris through her eyes and experience it for the first time in my life was something I’ll never forget.”

Joel Maxson says that traveling with grandparents was a gift of memories that will last forever. His grandparents took each of their nine grandkids on a special trip, and for Joel it was a 6th-grade excursion to South America.

“It’s one of my greatest memories; traveling for two weeks with just the three of us,” Maxson says. “Meeting new people, having dinner together and being in close quarters.”

Three decades later, at his grandmother’s funeral, Maxon shared the story of their special adventure together. “My grandma passed on to me a love of traveling,” he said during his eulogy. “She instilled an appreciation for different people and different cultures.”

“The best thing is how much you bond and how much you learn about each other on a trip,” Elizabeth says.

“This memory will last forever.”

“I felt so much younger,” Eva adds.

“I could have gone on and on. It was invigorating.”

It doesn’t really matter if it’s a cruise to South America, a journey to Europe or a short trip in the family car. Once you travel with grandkids, you’ll want to do it again.

“My grandfather DeDe isn't really the best at traveling,” Elizabeth says.

"We thought he wouldn't enjoy it as much as us, but now he's wondering when our next trip is going to be."

There is a growing list of tour operators and cruise lines that cater to intergenerational travel.

For more information go to GrowingBolder.com/travel

A DV E N T U R E S

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Photo by Michael Cairns

THE FIRST COMMODORE WHY T. MAC IS READY TO COME BACK

BY B I L L S H A F E R

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He never set out to be a significant figure in the fight against segregation, but he was. He did set out to create a band the country would love, and he did.

Make no mistake about it, Thomas McClary created the Commodores. He recruited each of the members, including Lionel Richie. He was the driving force behind their success and he took the fall when it all came apart.

McClary grew up in the rural Central Florida community of Eustis. He didn’t understand why he was supposed to go way out of his way to attend an all-black school when Eustis High was right nearby. So, he didn’t.

He became one of the first African-American students to integrate the public school system in Florida. He had succeeded in creating social change. Next, he would set his sights on creating cultural change.

He chose to further his education at the historically black Tuskegee University, and while standing in line to register, he noticed someone nearby whistling a tune and including nuances most would miss.

So McClary, a songwriter and guitarist, approached him. “I said, ‘Hey, are you a musician?’” McClary recalls. “Because I’m putting a band together and we’re going to be the black Beatles.”

McClary had just met Lionel Richie, and from this fortuitous encounter, both of their lives would be forever changed.

With Richie on saxophone and McClary on guitar, he hand- picked the rest of the band and they began to perform around the campus. They had no big benefactor, no standout stars, no hit songs and no reason to believe they’d ever become a success.

But McClary believed.

He convinced the band that to be discovered, they needed to head to New York City to visit a club called Small’s Paradise, famous as a hangout for celebrities and bigtime musicians.

On their way, they stopped at a nearby YMCA to find a place to spend the night.

They came out to find that their costumes and musical equipment had been stolen.

Nevertheless, they went to Smalls only to find the person who stole their gear, trying to sell it. “We said, ‘Man, that’s our equipment!’” McClary remembers. “He said, ‘You can have it back for fifty bucks,’ but we didn’t even have fifty bucks!”

As luck would have it, someone who saw the commotion offered to lend McClary the money. And he went one step further. “He told us he knew the management,” says McClary. “He said he could get us to play and said, ‘But if you’re not the black Beatles like you say you are, we’re all going to be in trouble!’”

The Commodores took the stage and brought down the house. “That crowd had never seen a band sing and dance and play with so much energy,” recalls McClary, laughing. “They went nuts! And the gentleman who loaned us the fifty bucks wound up becoming our manager.”

Word of this new, exciting musical force began to spread. Without even having a recording contract, they were offered the chance to tour with the Jackson 5. Then, in 1972, they were signed by Berry Gordy to legendary Motown Records. The Commodores were on their way.

Over the next two decades the Commodores would become one of the most prolific hitmakers in music, with such chart-toppers “Brick House,” “Three Times a Lady, “Still” and “Easy.” Rolling Stone declared McClary’s playing on “Easy” to be the greatest guitar solo of all time.

But the wheels came off in the ’80s. Richie’s solo albums vaulted him into superstar status and the band didn’t like it. McClary found himself caught in the middle of a battle of egos that he knew he couldn’t win.

“I tried to be the glue that held it all together,” he says. “But what I learned is that just doesn’t work -- and I was the one who was blamed for being either too pro-Lionel or too pro-group”

In 1984, McClary left the band and returned to Florida, where he focused on his CL ASSIC ROCKERS

family and on using music to make a difference.

“It was at this point I had to decide what was really important to me,” he recalls. “And you know what? It was people. It was spreading love, helping out in communities.”

McClary, age 69, could have been bitter, beaten down by his experience and betrayed by the remaining members of the band who took him to court to stop him from using the Commodores name.

But he’s optimistic, energetic and upbeat: “I’m excited about the future. I feel like when I was birthing and the Commodores.”

One new project is his autobiography, Rock and Soul, which has recently been released. Another is a band he has assembled in which he’s joined by his musically gifted children.

“Out of everything I’ve done, from integrating my high school to our success in music, this, right now, is the best time of my life,” McClary says. “Whether it happens or not, when you have that sense of being on the verge of something huge, that’s the magic spot of life.”

Photo courtesy Thomas McClary

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RELENTLESS FORWARD PROGRESS

BY K AT Y W I D R I C K

Jeremy and Claire Jungling met on Match.com in 2011—and even before meeting in person, the sparks were flying.

“I knew from his emails,” Claire recalls. “I told all my friends, ‘If he’s anything like his emails, plan on us getting married in October. Go ahead and put it on your calendar. And instead we got married in July before that, within five months.”

The two share a passion for running and inspiring and men and women of all ages and all fitness levels to get moving. In fact, Jeremy works as a full-time coach and trainer of runners, triathletes and obstacle course athletes across the U.S. He encourages them to have one goal: relentless forward progress.

More than a slogan, it’s Jeremy’s personal philosophy, a mantra that was tested just a year into the Junglings’ marriage. Their honeymoon was barely over when Jeremy began experiencing abdominal pain and overall weakness. Claire encouraged him to get tested.

“My doctor called and said I had a mass on my colon and it had to come out immediately,” Jeremy says. “I asked my doctor a couple of times if it was cancer. I got the idea quickly she didn’t want to say those words. So, I kind of asked her in a backwards way: ‘Could it be anything but cancer?’ And she said no.”

His next call was to Claire. “You feel almost guilty,” he says. “I felt like I had let her down, being relatively newly wed.”

Jeremy was only 36 years old. Claire says the news rocked their world.

“I remember just sitting in bed and I couldn’t get up because I didn’t know how many more mornings I get to wake up with him,” she recalls. “I was so mad at God because I thought, ‘You just gave him to me.’ We were both older when we got married, and I thought, ‘Why didn’t you let us meet earlier if you’re going to take him away from me? Why now? Give me more time with him.’”

Jeremy had colon resection surgery, spending nearly two weeks in the hospital.

His surgery was a success, but he still needed six months of chemotherapy. Doctors told him he couldn’t run during that period.

“I remember those exact words,” Jeremy says. “He said, ‘Forget about all that stuff.’ And I was like, ‘I’m not going to forget about all that stuff.’”

Two weeks after surgery, Jeremy took his first run: “I had just had a bunch of colon removed and it probably wasn’t the best idea, but it was glorious because I was running again. I was alive. I was really celebrating life.”

Jeremy began to lift weights and ride his bike. As his strength returned, his short runs grew into longer runs and soon, he was running 5ks, then 10ks, half 72

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Two cancer diagnoses haven't slowed down Jeremy Jungling. With the love and support of his wife, Claire, and their young son, Jett, he continues to push his body to new extremes, from running races to climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa.

marathons, marathons and even a 50k ultramarathon. His cancer was gone, and his desire to live was stronger than ever.

“I used to always say, ‘Oh when I get older, I’m going to do this, I’m going to do that.’ Well, now I’ve actually started to do those things. And it’s kind of started a snowball effect. I’m going to live while I can live—and I’m not going to put stuff off.”

So, Jeremy and Claire signed up to join a team of 16 other cancer survivors and supporters determined to reach the frozen summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa, the world’s highest freestanding mountain. Their goal? To send a message of hope to others battling a frightening diagnosis.

After six days of climbing through brutal conditions, the team took on the ultimate test—a final nine-hour climb to the summit.

"I used to always say, ‘Oh when I get older, I’m going to do this, I’m going to do that.’ Well, now I’ve actually started to do those things."

After that grand adventure, the Junglings were ready for an even more exciting adventure: parenthood. Their son, Jett, was born in 2015. Life was starting to settle into the blissful normalcy of raising a child. But like all cancer survivors, Jeremy remained concerned about a recurrence. In 2016, cancer came back. This time, though, some spots on his arms and chest turned out to be non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Jeremy, who lives in Jackson, Miss., knows his disease is unlikely to be cured. But that hasn’t slowed down his relentless forward progress.

While searching for the best treatment options, he found C O M E B AC K S

his way to the James Cancer Center at Ohio State University.

He became such a passionate believer in the work done there that he and Claire signed up for their next great adventure: the annual Pelotonia bike ride that raises money for the facility, which is known as "The James."

Headed by Doug Ulman, the former CEO of Livestrong and Jeremy and Claire’s climbing teammate from the Kilimanjaro adventure, Pelotonia has raised more than $161 million for high-risk, high-reward cancer research through its annual cycling event in Ohio.

This year, Claire and Jeremy were among thousands of riders at the three-day event. Claire pledged to ride 35 miles - despite the fact she'dnever participated in a cycling event and Jeremy set his sights on the 200-mile option.

“Jeremy will live with this cancer his whole life but he will live. Not everyone is as lucky,” Claire says. “We have made it our mission to do what we can to help those living with cancer as well as those who’ll be diagnosed in the future.”

“Twice in my lifetime I've been told, ‘You have cancer,’” Jeremy says. “Chances are, you’ll either be told the same thing or someone you know will be. I'd like my son to grow up in a world where this is rare —or even non-existent. That’s why I ride, and that’s why I just keep moving forward, living my life.

It’s the best thing any of us can do.”

Growing Bolder, with relentless forward progress.

Jeremy Jungling offers online coaching for athletes across America, and you can learn more by emailing him at runstrongllc@gmail.com.

He’s also the host of the Relentless Forward podcast, which focuses on improvements in fitness, relationships or business through inspirational and educational content, along with fascinating stories and intriguing, inspiring guests.

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The Power of Prehabilitation

BY R O B E R T M A S S O N M . D.

We’ve all heard about physical rehabilitation or rehabbing—the process of restoring to a condition of good health or ability through training and therapy.

Many years ago, we began advocating for what I call prehabilitation, or prehabbing. When surgery is indicated but not needed immediately, we put our patients into an aggressive prehab program to build up their strength and conditioning.

The result is a faster and more extensive recovery. In some cases, aggressive prehab routine even negates the need for surgery.

But we shouldn’t just consider prehabilitation as a tool to prepare for surgery. Prehabbing is a proactive approach to prevent injury and accelerate the speed of healing and the extent of recovery when we’re injured.

Prehabbing is something everyone should be doing especially as we age, because we’ll all encounter unavoidable physical setbacks. It’s part of life, and to a large extent the types of intervention made available to us—and the extent of our recovery after those interventions—is determined not by our age, but by our overall fitness level.

So, why do we wait for health setbacks to get motivated?

Why don’t we begin preparing for them now?

Prehabbing is not only investing in your health and wellness future, but also in your financial future. That’s because a regular fitness routine is the most effective—and least expensive—healthcare plan that you have. Prehabbing can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars over the final decades of your life.

Some of my patients live big, bold, adventurous lives— and I support that. In many cases, I even encourage that. Life is for living. And at times, that involves taking calculated risks.

But an important part of prehabbing is continually evaluating the risk/reward ratio of any activity—a ratio that changes as we age. The name of the game is: Avoid injury at all costs.

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We gain a little weight, and our center of gravity shifts slightly. Our reflexes slow just a bit, we lose some strength and flexibility and we allow gravity to negatively affect our posture.

The result is, we’re far more likely to lose our balance and fall when running, biking, skiing, climbing or hiking. We’re more likely to pull a muscle, injure a joint or break a bone.

Activities that we managed with ease and fluidity when we were younger become more difficult—and therefore more dangerous. That’s why it’s important dial back our aggressiveness as the risk/reward ratio shifts.

My belief in the power of prehabilitation has led to my personal mantra of Show Up Strong.

Show up Strong is a grassroots movement started by Masson Spine Institute to help change the culture in adult performance and behavior so that we’re constantly in readiness mode—constantly aware that we’re all likely to get hurt.

Whether it’s a predictable degenerative condition or a trauma such as a car accident or a sports injury, if we prehabilitate and Show up Strong, our bodies will be better able to deal with the trauma and the intervention. We’ll bounce back faster, stronger, better and more capable.

In my own life, I look at an injury as a wake-up call; as a little red light that’s signaling an opportunity for positive lifestyle change. Adversity can be an important reminder to take better care of ourselves, and to begin preparing for a better, more active future.

ROBERT MASSON

One of the world’s top neurosurgeons, Robert Masson, M.D. has developed new minimally invasive surgical techniques that are revolutionizing treatment options and recovery times for spinal surgery patients.

The founder of the Masson Spine Institute, Dr. Masson also serves as the Medical Director for Growing Bolder. In his spare time, he’s also a rising star in motorsports.

I choose a pain-free, active life again.

I choose Orlando Health.

If you’re suffering from chronic back or neck pain, the NeuroSpine Center of Excellence at Orlando Health – Health Central Hospital offers highly effective treatment you can trust.

Joint Commission Certified for Spinal Surgery

Led by internationally known neurosurgeon Robert Masson, MD, the NeuroSpine Center of Excellence offers the only spinal surgery program in Central Florida certified by the Joint Commission.

We offer non-invasive and minimally invasive treatments for disabling back and neck issues. Virtually all of our spinal surgery patients are up on their feet the same day of surgery and quickly return to their active lifestyles with support from our dedicated therapists.

To schedule a consultation or to learn more, call 321.842.5027 or visit: OrlandoHealth.com/SpineExcellence.

NeuroSpine Center of Excellence

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CAREGIVING CHALLENGES

“Someone” at home to help you care for your loved one The statistics are telling. According to 2015 research by AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving, each year more than 34 million Americans—an estimated 14.3% of all US adults— serve as unpaid caregivers to someone age 50 or older. With 10,000 people turning 65 each day, the number is undoubtedly much higher.

“Caregivers are as diverse as the United States as a whole: they come from every age, gender, socioeconomic, and racial/ ethnic group,” according to the researchers. “They share positive aspects of caregiving. They also share many struggles but can face different challenges depending on their circumstances.”

Do you provide care to an aging loved one? Are you the recipient of such care? Do you face challenges? How can this often-difficult situation be improved?

Meet Pillo, an in-home digital health companion specifically designed to help individuals better manage their health while connecting them with family members, physicians and other care team members. The Pillo device represents one company’s passion for helping others through innovation in the fast-growing world of digital health, where the newest information and communication technologies are being used to improve delivery of care where patients need it most—inside of their own homes.

“From day one, based upon my own experience with my aging father, our idea was to build a ‘someone’ that could be inside the home to assist with delivering proactive and personalized care, especially for the chronically ill,” said 76

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Emanuel Musini, co-founder and CEO of Pillo Health, the Boston-based company that’s invested heavily in creating and testing the device and, with the help of innovative partners, will bring it to market later this year. “Unlike any other device of this type, we are built from the ground up for healthcare with powerful capabilities to manage care in a more comprehensive, automated and intelligent way.”

Pillo leverages voice-first technology, facial recognition and artificial intelligence to proactively engage with users. The HIPAA-compliant device, which some call a ‘robot,’ will “wake up on its own to notify patients that it’s time to take their medicine,” stated the author of a June 2018 article in the pharmaceutical trade publication MM&M. “If a patient has questions about whether to take the medication with food or at a specific time, Pillo can provide the answer.”

In the article, Andy Miller, AARP’s senior vice president of innovation and product development, stated, “All that stuff may seem trivial, but it can be daunting for someone who is older and managing multiple chronic illnesses. Pillo can demystify all of that with its interactive screen, instructions, videos and engaging content.”

The Pillo care management platform can automatically update clinical professionals and loved ones as care plan tasks are completed. Pillo can also alert them to potential problems, for example if someone at home does not check in with Pillo during a specific window of time. Pillo can provide conversational and/or video interactions between individuals and their remotely located loved ones.

PA R T N E R C O N T E N T

Unlike many of the outdated pill dispensers on the market today, Pillo dispenses medications using a proprietary and patented medication delivery system. A medication tray that’s easily loaded into the back of the Pillo device can be filled by the patient or caregiver, much like a pill box is filled with weekly or monthly medications.

Prefilled trays customized to each individual patient will be available via mail-order pharmacy in early 2019.

Our country faces a near epidemic around non-adherence to prescription medications. According to the Annals of Internal Medicine, 20 to 30% of medication scripts are never filled and approximately 50% of medications for chronic diseases are not taken as prescribed. Lack of adherence results in an estimated 125,000 deaths and at least 10% of hospitalizations each year with an annual cost to the American health system ranging from $100 to $200 billion.

Pillo aims to address this enormous problem by serving as an extension of a patient’s care team inside the home—to support individuals as they seek to live healthier and more independent lives.

According to a 2018 study from Accenture, consumers increasingly rely on digital tools, such as wearables and mHealth applications, to manage their health. As of 2018, 50% reported using a mobile health app in the past year (compared to 16% in 2014) 44% used an online portal to access electronic health records nearly 75% used health and fitness wearables to understand illness and to monitor and manage health—for themselves or for family or friends AARP research published earlier this year showed that 90% of older adults use personal technology to stay connected. The 38-million-member organization reported that smartphone users aged 60 to 69 are leading the way in using phones to manage medical care.

This summer, AARP announced a relationship with Pillo Health and another Boston-based start-up, Orbita. Pillo leverages Orbita’s technology which is fast emerging as the leading platform for building and managing “conversational voice experiences” in healthcare.

AARP, Pillo and Orbita are now engaged in research to study how Pillo can improve diabetes care management.

Is a device like Pillo highly futuristic? The technologies that come together in Pillo have been used for some time. They’re proven.

Today’s consumers are adopting voice interfaces at a pace far beyond the early days of mobile phone adoption. Consider growing popularity of devices like the Amazon Echo and Google Home. Voice offers a much more natural way of engaging with technology rather than typing on a keyboard or swiping and tapping on a small screen.

“Imagine if people could manage their care using the power of their own voice,” said AARP’s Miller in a recent news release. “We know that loneliness can contribute significantly to health decline.

Digital assistants can provide greetings and positive affirmations and, beyond this, deliver daily reminders to take medications and perform important care tasks.”

According to the National Center on Caregiving’s Family Caregiver Alliance a caregiver—sometimes called an informal caregiver—is an unpaid individual (spouse, partner, family member, friend, or neighbor) involved in assisting others with activities of daily living and/or medical tasks. Formal caregivers are paid care providers providing care in one’s home or in a care setting (day care, residential facility, long-term care facility).

O N AV E R AG E , C A R E G I V E R S S PE N D :

13 days each month on tasks such as shopping, food preparation, housekeeping, laundry, transportation, and giving medication

6 days per month on feeding, dressing, grooming, walking, bathing, and assistance toileting

13 hours per month researching care services or information on disease, coordinating physician visits or managing financial matters.

O F FA M I LY C A R E G I V E R S W H O PROV I D E CO M PL E X C H RO N I C C A R E :

46% 46% perform medical and nursing tasks

more than 96% For additional information about Pillo, visit pillohealth.com

provide help with activities of daily living (ADLs) such as personal hygiene, dressing and undressing, getting in and out of bed, or instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) such as taking prescribed medications, shopping for groceries, transportation, or using technology, or both.

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THE BIOLOGY OF AGING

BY M A R C M I D D L E TO N

We are not simply the victims of our heredity living out some predetermined fate. Multiple studies have proven that active longevity is only 25 percent genes and 75 percent lifestyle choices. Science has now given us proof at a cellular level that we are aged less by our years and more by our beliefs and our actions.

Here are five scientific concepts proving that our daily choices, to a large degree, determine the quality of our life as we grow older.

5 Scientific Concepts You Need to Understand to Help Control How You Age

EPIGENETICS

The science of epigenetics is the study of how genes can be controlled by factors other than an individual’s DNA. Epigenetics proves that our lifestyle choices, environmental influences and our belief systems can turn genes on and off.

In other words, we might be genetically predisposed to a disease or condition, but whether those genes express themselves depends upon the foods we eat, the air we breathe, the thoughts we think, the activities in which we engage and the people with whom we associate.

Improving our lifestyle today will not only improve our future health, it can make it less likely that our children and grandchildren will experience many illnesses in the future.

Epigenetics proves that we can literally rewrite much of our genetic programming. How’s that for an awesome responsibility and a lasting legacy?

T E LO M E R E S

Telomeres have been called our biological clock because they determine the lifespan of cells. They’re the caps on the ends of our chromosomes that protect our DNA and maintain accurate cell division.

Each time a cell replicates, we lose a tiny bit of our telomeres, which eventually become so short that the chromosome becomes “frayed.” This damages our DNA to the extent that we can no longer make accurate copies of our cells. That, simply stated, is the beginning of the end.

Elizabeth Blackburn, Ph.D. won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2009 for discovering telomerase, an enzyme that can protect, repair and slow the shortening of telomeres. Her research revealed that telomerase activity is affected by lifestyle choices and that regular exercise, reduced stress, an improved diet and a positive believe system can slow our biological clock and shave years off the cellular aging occurring in our bodies.

hand to hold a fork, brush your teeth, write a note or throw a ball.

This confuses your brain, which has reduced routine movement patterns into a kind of shorthand that requires no thought and can be run on autopilot. Using your opposite hand turns off this autopilot forcing your brain to better integrate its two hemispheres.

C A P I L L A RY D E N S I T Y

Capillaries are the smallest of the body’s blood vessels — the end of the line in an elaborate vascular network. Only one cell thick, capillaries are where the real action takes place, transferring oxygen and other nutrients from the bloodstream to tissues and collecting and hauling away carbon dioxide and other waste materials.

Capillary density and capillary function both decline with age, but both respond positively to exercise. Recent research reveals that the increase in capillary density resulting from exercise occurs throughout the body, including the brain.

People who have engaged in regular, vigorous exercise over an extended time have substantially more small blood vessels in their brains than people who have been relatively inactive.

This dramatically increases the body’s ability to deliver nutrients to the brain and remove toxins. This is one very compelling explanation for why vigorous exercise helps prevents cognitive decline.

Improved capillary density also leads to a dramatic increase in mitochondria—the energy-producing structures within our cells.

Mitochondria transform the energy from food into the cellular energy that powers the body. More mitochondria mean more energy more stamina, and faster recovery.

Unfortunately, mitochondria also decrease with age and lack of physical activity. But guess who can make more mitochondria? You can! Vigorous exercise is a mitochondriagenerating machine.

NEUROGENESIS

Neurogenesis is the adult brain’s ability to generate new cells and new synaptic junctions. This incredible morphing ability, also known as brain plasticity, enables the brain to literally rewire itself and remain healthy across the lifespan.

Neurogenesis is facilitated by a protein called BDNF (brain-derived neurotropic factor). Low levels of BDNF are found in nearly every instance of abnormal cognitive functioning, and have been directly linked to Alzheimer’s disease, accelerated aging, obesity and depression.

BDNF is a good thing. You want more of it. There are two proven pathways to increased BDNF and neuroplasticity: vigorous exercise and complex physical and mental novelty.

The human brain is the ultimate “use it or lose it” organ. If you want yours to keep working throughout your lifespan, you must continually challenge it to learn new things.

You can be a whiz at advanced mathematical calculations but learning to dance and mastering new choreography will be better for your brain than solving more differential equations. You can be a concert pianist but learning to golf will be better for your brain than learning a new Beethoven sonata.

One simple yet effective way to encourage, if not force, neurogenesis is to begin using your opposite or non-dominant

COMPRESSED MORBIDIT Y

The most important consideration isn’t how old we are when we die, but how long we’re sick before we die.

If we make a commitment to adopting a Growing Bolder lifestyle, we can dramatically increase our chances of extending the length of our lives, improving the quality of our lives and shortening the period of decline at the end of our lives. We can compress our morbidity.

Compressed morbidity means compressing the period of disease and disability that most suffer during the final years of their lives. If the average person begins experiencing chronic illness at age 70, he or she may endure a decade of decline before dying at 80.

If science and technology conspire to keep that person alive to age 90 without a corresponding increase in health span, that means two decades of disease, disability and morbidity. This is tragic on a personal level and financially devastating on a societal level.

But what if we could reduce the period of decline from two decades to two months, two weeks or even two days?

Compressing morbidity increases the years of active, engaged, meaningful life and reduces the burden of healthcare to ourselves, our families and society. It’s the ultimate win-win.

T R A N S FO R M AT I O N S

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THE VOICE OF PROG ROCK 1,000 HANDS TO MAKE A MASTERPIECE

BY B I L L S H A F E R 80

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Courtesy of Vonda Wright

Photo by Cindy Steinhardt

Everyone watched in awe as he went from person to person, speaking individually to everyone in the recording studio, looking them in the eye and calling them by name.

Every musician, every tech and every guest. He was just as interested in them as they were in him, only he was a legend, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the voice of Yes—Jon Anderson.

Is it possible that the man many consider to be one of the iconic voices of progressive rock is 73 years old? Yes’s only No. 1 hit, “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” was released 35 years ago.

Close to the Edge, considered a prog-rock landmark and the band’s first album to go platinum, came out in 1972.

Yet, here was one of the creative forces behind those classic recordings, bouncing around the studio, energetic, vibrant and engaged.

Anderson was at Solar Studio in Orlando, Florida, to work on a fascinating project -- one that he began nearly 30 years before but put on hold when, he says, life got in the way.

“So, it was kind of funny that the tapes got put in my garage and I forgot about them,” he says. “Because I was on tour with Yes and recording other albums and things like that.”

Grammy-nominated music producer Michael Franklin learned of the project. He reached out to Anderson, convinced him to dust off the old tapes and bring the project back to life.

Franklin also had something else in mind that would make the experience memorable. “I wanted this to be a special project for Jon,” explains Franklin. “Unlike anything that’s ever been done before.”

Franklin saw it as a chance to make more than just an album. He wanted to pay tribute to Anderson by reaching out to as many major performers as possible to see if they’d be willing to participate.

Uncertain what to expect, Franklin was overwhelmed by the positive response.

“So many greats wanted to be part of this that I had to figure out a way to make it happen,” Franklin says. “They all wanted to have a hand in it and I thought that would make a great name for the album, A Thousand Hands.” (album cover pictured left)

Lending their talents to the project are Chick Corea, Billy Cobham, Jean Luc Ponty, Steve Howe, the late Chris Squire, Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson, Journey’s Jonathan Cain and Robby Steinhardt of Kansas, just to name a few.

“Well, the response we got, it’s very inspiring,” says Anderson. “And I really believe the music is amazing. You CL ASSIC ROCKERS

know, I always think there’s great music to create, and that's what pushes me along.”

Anderson notes that he always expects his new music to be as good or better than the music he recorded in his heyday.

“You can’t say, ‘I’m going to go in the studio and make some music that's not as good as it was five years ago, or 10 years ago or 20 years ago,’” he says. “I always think the next stuff I’m going to do is just going to be amazing because -- why not?”

Amazing seems to be exactly what it is. One critic called A Thousand Hands “musical brilliance.” Another called it, “powerful, fresh, I haven’t been this moved by an album in years.”

Anderson says he’s feeling as strong and upbeat as ever.

Just 10 years ago, he’d faced several serious health challenges, including a life-threatening battle with acute respiratory failure.

“All of a sudden, I couldn't get any air and my wife, God bless her, Jane, she saved my life,” says Anderson, who was in a medically induced coma for four days. He would not sing again for more than six months but came out of the experience with a new appreciation for life.

“They fixed my machine, you know?” he says. “My innards and stuff. And I've never been healthier or happier in my life.”

“We only live for one thing and one thing alone and that is to find the divine energy within you that is connected to the divine energy that surrounds us.”

That’s why he greets each day as a gift and feels driven to make the most of every opportunity.

“It’s very simple,” Anderson says. “We only live for one thing and one thing alone, and that’s to find the divine energy within us that’s connected to the divine energy that surrounds us.”

On this day, Anderson is connected by A Thousand Hands to the people who’ve meant the most in his life—and those who’ve lent their talents to this new musical creation.

At 73, Anderson has completed one of the finest works of his long and remarkable career, thanks to Franklin and the participation of a galaxy of musical stars. “All of us working together to create something greater than we are apart,” says Anderson. “Isn’t that what life is all about?”

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BY M A R C M I D D L E TO N

Alex Rotas has advanced degrees in geography, special education and visual culture. She has taught language skills to preschool-age deaf children, visual theory to university students and developed palliative-care training programs for hospice.

She’s an academic superstar who likes being the teacher but loves being the student. “I love being a beginner,” she says. “I love being at the bottom of a steep learning curve. I keep finding that one thing leads to another.”

Rotas lives in Bristol, England, and when she retired from academia in her early 60s, she, like many retirees, wondered, “What’s next?” She began looking for inspiration in the form of photographs of older people actively pursuing their passions.

“I was astonished,” she says. “Not only does our culture fail to celebrate this kind of activity, it mostly ignores it. And at the same time, I became painfully aware that most of the images in the media of people my age and older were predominantly depressing.”

Rotas failed to find the inspiration she was looking for.

That failure, however, became her inspiration: “I began thinking that this was an opportunity, and if I couldn’t find the kind of images I’d like to see, I could learn to take them myself.”

She bought a camera, found a mentor, took photography classes and fearlessly forged ahead. A former competitive tennis player, she knew how to relate to athletes and quickly became a regular at national and world masters track and field championships. At those events, she took action photographs of many of the world’s best older competitors.

The more Rotas got to know those she photographed, the more inspired she became. She learned that even worldrecord holders aren’t genetically superior individuals, immune to the physical disabilities that we all face as we get older. In fact, the opposite is often true.

Says Rotas: “Most people would have the impression these older athletes are super human; that they don’t have the hip replacements, the knee replacements, the heart 82

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attacks or the strokes. But they do. Sometimes they have a combination of all the above. They just don’t let these things defeat them.”

One of her favorite subjects was 37-time world-record holder Olga Kotelko, an international age-group superstar who competed in track and field until her death at age 95.

“One day I said to her, ‘Olga have you’ve been doing track and field all of your life?’ And she said, ‘Heavens no, honey. I only took it up when I was 77 years old,’” recalls Rotas.

Kotelko, she notes, also had no idea she could write until she wrote her first book, at age 93. “Olga was still learning about herself and discovering new talents in her 90s,” adds Rotas. “If that’s not encouraging, what is?”

Her photographs were powerful individually. But she knew they’d carry even more impact compiled in a book along with revealing inside stories about the athletes she’d befriended.

So, at age 64, she published Growing Old Competitively, which is packed with the kind of inspiring photos she couldn’t find anywhere else just a few years ago.

“People are hungry for positive stories about our increased longevity,” she says. “We endlessly hear about how we’re going to live longer, but it’s all doom and gloom. Our culture casts a very negative light on longevity. There’s an alternative narrative of joy and inspiration -- and I’m grateful to be a part of spreading that.”

Rotas herself is changing the narrative around aging -not just with the pictures she takes, but with the life she lives.

She has a love of adventure and no fear of failure.

That’s a powerful combination that has enabled her to create a new life in which she sees the world through the eyes of others -- while sharing their passion and understanding their purpose.

“The message is, never give up and it’s never too late,” she says.

Alex Rotas has discovered the difference between growing older and Growing Bolder.

“Most people would have the impression these older athletes are super human; that they don’t have the hip replacements, the knee replacements, the heart attacks or the strokes. But they do. Sometimes they have a combination of all of the above. They just don’t let these things defeat them.”

REINVENTION

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Between The Rock and The Hard Place Each year more than 3.5 million travelers explore Yellowstone National Park. But just what is it that makes this place so hot?

Magma.

BY G A RY M C K E C H N I E

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Had you been wandering around Yellowstone 2.1 million years ago, you would have witnessed one of history’s most extraordinary volcanic eruptions.

When successive eruptions 1.2 million and 640,000 years ago emptied the contents of the magma chambers, the visible volcano “deflated” and the 34-mile-by-45-mile Yellowstone Caldera was formed. Still, a huge reservoir of magma remains beneath the surface and it is this subterranean “supervolcano” that makes Yellowstone one of the planet’s most geologically dynamic areas.

To explain how its magma is still affecting Yellowstone’s 2.2 million acres, Rick Hoeninghausen, the park’s director of marketing, offers a unique metaphor of what’s cooking.

“As a pie’s filling heats up, so does the pressure beneath the crust,” he explains. “So, the slits in the pie’s crust are there to relieve pressure the same way geysers, hot springs, fumaroles and mudpots help relieve the pressure of percolating and erupting steam and superheated hot water.”

That means even as you are photographing waterfalls, sailing on Yellowstone Lake, or gazing across billions of miles of the Milky Way in the clear evening sky, beneath your feet is a bubbling, percolating, and quite active collection of more than 10,000 hydrothermal features, including the world’s largest concentration of geysers.

And while there’s no forecast of a Krakatoa-size “super-eruption” in the next several thousand years, the vast web of geothermal activity suggests exploring the park with an eye on safety.

“Waters can be boiling or very acidic, so the immediate danger is getting too close,” advises Hoeninghausen. “Surfaces around hot springs and other geothermal features can be very thin.

If a visitor leaves a boardwalk or designated trail and somehow ends up in the water, they can be seriously injured or killed.”

A DV E N T U R E S

Seeing is Believing

In contrast with the geological rioting taking place underground, on the surface you’ll be witness to one of the nation’s most visually spectacular landscapes. Hoeninghausen offers a few tips on how to enjoy the best of his “hometown.”

“Everyone should visit the Upper Geyser Basin, which is the home of Old Faithful,” he advises. “And they also need to see the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone where there are waterfalls twice as tall as Niagara.”

Plus, he says, be sure to visit the Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces near the original Fort Yellowstone. That’s where troops were once stationed to deal with poachers, vandals and stagecoach robbers.

Also on the must-see short list is tranquil Yellowstone Lake, a favorite spot for boating and fishing. After casting a line for cutthroat trout and exotic lake trout, you can explore more than 140 miles of shoreline along the largest North American lake above 7,000 feet. It’s a photographer’s dream with photo ops unwinding around every bend.

For wildlife viewing, Hoeninghausen points to the northern region of Yellowstone where elk and bison herds gather and where there’s always a chance you’ll spy black bears and grizzly bears, bald eagles, golden eagles, coyotes, fox, big horns, pronghorns, waterfowl and moose.

“Yellowstone is home to more free-roaming wildlife than anywhere else in the lower 48 states,” he notes. “And when wolves were reintroduced to the park in 1995, the park had all of the predators that Native Americans saw when they were here thousands of years ago.”

Then at the end of the day, when the lights are down and the stars are up, turn off every switch and tune into the world around you.

In the darkness, you may hear the call of owls, the howl of coyotes and the bugle of an elk. Never pausing, even in the darkness, is the gurgling, hissing, steamy breath of the geyser basins.

Day or night, Yellowstone is a place that will speak to you.

When You Go During your visit, you can stay at the Old Faithful Inn, a wonderful example of National Park Service “parkitecture.” The Colonial Revival style of the circa 1891 Lake Hotel was enhanced with a $28 million renovation which, like the Old Faithful Inn, is a National Historic Landmark.

To see Yellowstone with a touch of nostalgia, a fleet of refurbished 1930s-vintage 13-passenger buses feature rollback tops and roll-down windows.

Old-school cool.

For more information, visit yellowstonenationalparklodges.com or call 307-344-7311.

Gary McKechnie is author of the best-selling Great American Motorcycle Tours. He also wrote National Geographic’s USA 101 and Ten Best of Everything: National Parks. He lectures on American travel and history aboard the ships of the Cunard, Seabourn and Silversea lines.

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Life Lessons from Winning Three Olympic Gold Medals

BY R OW DY G A I N E S

My path to three Olympic Gold Medals was anything but easy, and the truth is that the three medals were not the greatest reward for all of the effort.

LIFE LESSON #1 I talk a lot about goal setting because it’s really important. You have to know where you’re going in order to get there. You need something to focus on or you’ll get lost along the way.

But don’t become so focused on the destination that you forget to enjoy the journey, because that’s what makes you who you are: how you treat others along the way, how you respond to setbacks and how you use your successes to build momentum.

My decades in competitive swimming have taught me that those who don’t enjoy the journey—the practices, the traveling, the time spent with teammates —are the ones who rarely, if ever, achieve their goals.

Those who savor the process—and realize that the journey is more important than the destination— are the ones who end up on the podium.

Set lofty goals, but make sure that you enjoy the daily grind.

If you don’t enjoy it, odds are that you won’t be a success—and you’ll have wasted a great deal of time being miserable.

LIFE LESSON #2 The people who ultimately become good at something are those who were OK with being bad at it—at least for a while.

Most of us give up too easily and quit too quickly.

Life is a series of non-stop course corrections. Being bad at something is a necessary part of the process of becoming good at it.

Those who become successful are simply those who are able to endure the frustration of failure.

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They overcome early struggles because they believe in their potential. They’re able to overcome the self-doubt and fear of failure that we all face.

It’s ironic that being bad at something is a necessary part of the process of becoming good at it. How long will it take before you become really good at something?

If you’re enjoying the process (see Life Lesson #1), it doesn’t really matter.

LIFE LESSON #3 Success isn’t accidental. One of the most valuable life lessons I learned as an Olympic athlete is the importance and power of visualization.

I swam the 100-meter freestyle final in 1984 a thousand times in my mind before I ever climbed onto the starting blocks in Los Angeles to swim it for real.

I visualized a lightning quick reaction to the gun and an explosive start. I visualized every stroke of the race. I visualized how I would feel in the water, how I would execute my turn, how I would respond to the pressure of a close finish and how it would feel to win. And I visualized it all in vivid detail so many times that I actually programmed myself to swim the perfect race. And I did.

The mind is very powerful and very mysterious. Plant the seeds of your success by visualizing what you want to accomplish and how you’re going to accomplish it. And then your mind will go to work to help make it happen.

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MEDITATION FOR SKEPTICS

BY JAC K I E C A R L I N

Photo by Jeff Finley on Unsplash 88

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You know the old nightmare about showing up in class wearing nothing but your underwear? Now imagine that humiliation is real. And it’s not just in front of a class, but the entire nation. Dan Harris was wearing clothes when he experienced his nightmare-come-true moment. Yet, he never felt more naked.

On the morning of June 7, 2004, Harris was in position at the news desk during a live broadcast of Good Morning America when his ABC News colleagues Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson tossed it over to him for the morning’s headlines.

Within moments, things started to unravel. In the middle of reading a story, Harris started to stammer, his eyes welled up and it was clear to viewers that something was terribly wrong.

Harris quickly dumped out of the story to save himself from further humiliation when he realized what was happening—he was having a full-blown panic attack in front of 5 million viewers.

That moment was years in the making.

Harris joined ABC News when he was just 28 years old.

He admits that he felt insecure working closely with news legends such as Sawyer and the late Peter Jennings.

To cope, he became a workaholic, signing up for any and every assignment. After the horrific events of September 11, 2001, he volunteered to head overseas to cover the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“I volunteered to go to the war zone without ever really thinking about the psychological consequences,” Harris says.

“I’d had always assumed that meditation was only for weirdos,” Harris says. “That it was that for people who lived in yurt, collected crystals and were really into Cat Stevens. It wasn’t something that I had any interest in doing.”

Then he learned about the science underpinning meditation, which demonstrates that the practice can lower your blood pressure, boost your immune system and literally rewire keys parts of your brain related to well-being and stress.

“That really got me intrigued,” Harris says.

So, he began to mediate. And he admits that it was—and sometimes still is—a struggle to quiet his mind.

“Meditation is an exercise for your brain,” he says. “You’re trying to focus on one thing at a time, which is a radical act in the age of information overload. And in this case, you’re usually focusing on your breath—on the feeling of breath coming and going out.”

Harris describes meditation as “a bicep curl for your brain, because you’re breaking a lifetime of habit of walking around in this daydream about the future and the past instead of focusing on what’s happening right now.”

Ever the consummate journalist, Harris found himself diving deep into the world of meditation. He released his first book on the subject in 2014, 10 Percent Happier: How I Tamed My Inner Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge and Found Self-Help That Actually Works—A True Story. The book with the long title and powerful message quickly launched a mini-movement.

Harris followed that up with a podcast series dedicated

“The science is real. Just as we take care of our bodies because we want to be as healthy as possible for as long as possible, we need to start taking care of our minds and our brains.”

“When I got home after a particularly long stretch, I got depressed. I wasn’t even self-aware enough to know that I was depressed—I just wasn’t feeling good.”

Before he was diagnosed with depression, Harris selfmedicated with cocaine and ecstasy. “Even though I was only doing it for a brief period and never when I was on the air or when I was working, it blew up in my face with that panic attack,” he says.

Harris later learned the drugs he was ingesting can raise the level of adrenaline in the brain, leading to the potential for panic attacks. “When I realized what a moron I’d been, I knew I needed to make some changes,” he adds.

He sought professional treatment to kick his drug habits, and a higher power intervened to set him on a new course of self-discovery—his boss, Peter Jennings, who assigned him to cover faith and spirituality for ABC News.

Harris’s new beat began at the same time he was coming to terms with his personal behavior. “The confluence of those events pushed me in a different direction,” he says.

Meditation was something that had never even crossed Harris’s mind, except as something to scoff at.

to helping other skeptics tame their minds. He also wrote a follow-up book last year, Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics.

Harris says once he got over his preconceived notions about meditation, he realized how useful it can be. He points out that a generation ago, people would have thought it was crazy to run for exercise or even for fun—but now, running is ubiquitous. He believes the same health revolution is underway with meditation and mindfulness.

“It’ll help to have more ‘normal’ people or those who aren’t wearing robes, long dangling earrings and shawls out there talking about it,” he quips. “The science is real. Just as we take care of our bodies because we want to be as healthy as possible for as long as possible, we need to start taking care of our minds and our brains.”

Harris admits that as humans, it’s only natural for us to create stress around whatever we’re focused on—whether it’s our jobs, our families or even our volunteer work.

But by learning to tame our critical, chaotic inner voices, we just may find ourselves a smidge happier. And isn’t that an idea worth meditating on?

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E S S AY S

It was a sidewalk seam that tripped her up, a tiny ledge of

two children to a friend’s house for an evening pool party and

uneven concrete catching the rounded toe of her shiny,

barbecue. It was a crowded, chaotic affair, kids of all ages

patent leather shoe. We had been holding hands but the

running this way and that. After dinner Cathy took Matt and

urge to skip free, if only for a few seconds, had separated

Megan inside to mingle with the other guests while I joined a

grandchild from grandfather and now little Josie was laying

group of men for a quick game of water basketball in the

face down on the concrete. The world went quiet. Briefly.

shallow end of the pool. Midway through the spirited contest

Very briefly. Having raised four children I knew every stage of

a teammate threw the ball in my direction but the pass sailed

a child’s cry, from the first moment of breathless silence to

over my head and into the deep end. Dipping below the

the piercing, high pitched wail to the shaky, halting gulps of

surface I pushed my feet against the side of the pool and

air as the soothing process takes hold. Josie had already

propelled myself toward where the ball had landed. In the

passed through the breathless phase and was in full-blown

darkened water a distant object obscured one of the

cry mode by the time I picked her up, cradling her tear-

underwater lights. The dress, waving in the currents, came

streaked cheek against my shoulder.

into view first, then the little red sandals and finally the face. It

She was fine. It was a minor, inconsequential stumble—

was my daughter Megan. Grabbing her by the waist I lifted

with many more to come—but as my granddaughter’s sobs

her limp body above the surface. Water gushed from her

began to subside I couldn’t help but think about the tenuous

mouth. A second or two later came the tears.

grip we have on life. Josie’s twenty-two-month-old hand had

slipped from mine and in the blink of an eye she went down.

been caught? With arms wrapped tightly around a crying

Twenty-two months.

child, a shaky young father stood in the shadows wondering if

That’s about how old my daughter Megan was when she

he were lucky or blessed. The answer came a generation later

fell. Nearly three decades have passed but the image of that

as an older man hugged a sobbing toddler, his first grandchild

moment has not faded.

and the daughter of that little girl who fell into the pool.

What if that pass had been good? What if the ball had

Cathy and I were living in Phoenix and had gone with our

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BOLDER BOOKS

BY E M I LY T H O M P S O N

Have you ever lived through a difficult experience that made the world seem chaotic and unpredictable? Maybe even dangerous? Then years later, with everything you’ve learned since, the chaotic period finally makes sense and you realize how much you’ve grown.

Over time, our challenges shape our lives with rewarding results. This experience is as universal as it is varied. From nonfiction to fiction and biography, here are our recommendations for inspiration to reframe your own experience and appreciate the gifts of time.

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Photo by Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash

GROWING BOLDER DEFY THE CULT OF YOUTH, LIVE WITH PASSION AND PURPOSE

By Marc Middleton Every day, we’re bombarded with ageist media messages. We experience cultural brainwashing that persuades us to spend billions of dollars trying to hold onto something we’ve lost instead of valuing what we’ve gained. The Growing Bolder media platform, led by journalist Marc Middleton, offers a new paradigm on aging.

For 12 years, Middleton and his team have interviewed thousands of doctors, scientists, researchers, global thought leaders, celebrities and ordinary people living extraordinary lives. He shares these stories in a compelling narrative that inspires all of us to live with passion and purpose, no matter what our age.

UNSHELTERED

By Barbara Kingsolver The life of Willa Knox, a journalist in her 50s, and that of her family changes dramatically following the 2016 election. After achieving a modest version of the American Dream, a series of financial hardships leads to Knoxes to move into a dilapidated house from the 1870s.

The story of the house’s previous inhabitants intertwines with that of the Knoxes, giving 140 years of perspective on the political, environmental and societal changes that each family experiences.

Through the dual narratives, Kingsolver shows how previous generations of Americans adapted to crumbling foundations and paved a new path to the future.

THE GOOD NEIGHBOR

By Maxwell King Fred Rogers is best known for teaching children through Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. But his life also teaches adults about living with passion, integrity and generosity.

Born to a wealthy family, young Fred seemingly had everything. But schoolyard bullying and stoic parents left emotional scars.

These childhood wounds fueled Rogers’ mission to teach children about difficult feelings, compassion, acceptance and inclusion. From becoming an ordained minister to an artistic visionary and political activist, Rogers lived his values. King offers us the first full-length biography of this complex and iconic man whose legacy is timeless.

NEXT YEAR IN HAVANA Chanel Cleeton A Cuban-American woman living in Miami travels to Havana to scatter her grandmother’s ashes, her abuela’s last wish. Marisol Ferrara grew up listening to her grandmother’s stories about life Cuba as the daughter of a sugar baron.

Elisa Perez was insulated from the political unrest by her wealth and status—until she started an illicit affair with a revolutionary.

When Marisol arrives in Havana, more details of Elisa’s life come to light in alternating narratives from the past and present. Family secrets are uncovered as Marisol navigates the juxtaposition of the beautiful tropical locale and its dangerous political climate.

VIRGIL WANDER Leif Enger After a traumatic car accident, Virgil Wander’s altered memory and language leave him a stranger in his own life. A city clerk who also owns a movie house, Virgil lives in a failing Midwestern industrial town populated by eccentric locals navigating their own tragedies.

These locals help Virgil recover pieces of his personal history and trace the demise of their town.

Their willingness to help each other and find the humor in hard luck buoy Virgil during his recovery.

Enger shows how time and memory can alter our experience of reality—and how human compassion matters more than external circumstances for a life well lived.

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THE TAKEAWAY

Photos by Charlie Roina/Jill Fritzo PR

Throughout his 40-year show business career, Tony Danza has done it all. The former boxer famously got his start when he was spotted in the gym by a producer, leading to his first role on Taxi. Starring roles in beloved shows and films such as Who’s the Boss? and Angels in the Outfield followed, earning Danza Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. He has also starred on Broadway, hosted his own talk show and, at 67, is back in a starring role in the Netflix series The Good Cop, co-starring singer Josh Groban as his son.

Life is about taking advantage of the opportunities you’re given. Not in the hope that they lead to success, but in the hope that they lead to happiness.

When opportunities come into my life, I don’t take them to succeed or for the chance that they might lead to another

The real beauty of having a kid when you’re so young is that he gets to know all your relatives. He knew his greatgrandmother, he lived with my mother, he knew all the uncles, all the aunts. A few years back, we sat down and tried to write this sort of memoir cookbook about our relatives, and what was great was that he knew stories that I didn't know.

Now, he has his own boys. And it's really profound to watch your son fathering his son -- especially when he’s so much better at it than you are.

I was living in Los Angeles for a long time and unfortunately, my marriage broke up and I ended up moving back to New York. And I’ve got to tell you, being in New York City, single at this stage of my life is -- well, as you might imagine -- really nice.

We shot our new Netflix show in New York City, which is one of the great privileges of all time to use the city as a canvas. I'm just really living large. Between the act, this new show, my family and my grandkids, life is good.

My advice is no matter what you do, you have to truly believe that even though you can't do what anybody else could do, they can't do what you can do. job. I do them for the joy of the experience. When I perform my live shows, I’m not out there to get a good review. I’m out there to enjoy the gift that’s been given to me. Everybody in the audience would love to be doing what I'm doing, but I'm the guy getting to do it.

This is a really exciting time in my life. I had my son when I was 19, and when you have a kid at that age, one of two things could happen: you could ruin both of your lives, or you could enjoy the greatest relationship because you basically grew up together. Thankfully in our case, it was the latter.

T H E TA K E AWAY

My advice for successful aging is simple. Be mindful of what you eat, and exercise religiously. I do something every day and try to make it different from the day before. I box, lift weights, in-line skate, tap dance and ride a recumbent stationary bike.

Doing many different things makes staying in shape fun.

And always keep a good attitude. You can’t be happy all the time, but you can be positive. You must truly believe that even though you can't do what somebody else can do, they can't do what you can do.

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When looking fashionable is a part of the job, you learn quickly how to easily update your look. For nearly 15 years, Andrea Batchelor was the main anchor at WESH-TV, the NBC affiliate in Orlando. She eventually transitioned into public relations work, at one point serving as the public relations manager for Neiman Marcus in Orlando.

Now 60, she’s a public relations consultant and an active board member of organizations near and dear to her heart, including the Canine Companions for Independence, Runway to Hope and Support Our Scholars, through which she mentors a college student.

Batchelor says that updating doesn’t always mean new outfits. The right accessories can bring a bold new look to favorite pieces that are already in your closet. Here are her tips for seamlessly and fashionably giving your outfits some fresh new flair.

1 A POP OF COLOR I wore this bright blue fascinator to a charity event, raising money to fight childhood cancer. It was a nod to the royal weddings, since Kate’s sister, Pippa, was married on that day. And yes, I’m surrounded by boy band stars in this picture! That's Howie Dorough of the Backstreet Boys (left) and Joey Fatone from *NSYNC standing beside members from my own boy band, my son, Matt, and my husband, Dick.

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2 A STATEMENT PIECE This open-ended necklace was a gift from my beautiful mom, Vita. I love how it enhances a plain black turtleneck.

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4 BLUE SUEDE STYLE Dick and I renewed our vows in Las Vegas for our 30th anniversary, so blue suede shoes (and an Elvis officiant) seemed the obvious choice!

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3 GLOVES WITH AN EDGE Dick and I attend a lot of formal events -- so I like to keep things interesting. A black and white crocheted dress gets a little edgy with these fingerless leather gloves. A cuff bracelet over the glove adds a touch of elegance.

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5 KINKY BOOTS How ’bout these boots? I bought them for my 60th birthday, and jokingly call them my “mid-life crisis boots.” I won’t be running a 5K in these heels (or even standing around a cocktail party), but they sure give new life to my black Mother jeans or a little black dress.

GB ST YLE

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Same doctors you know. Same care you trust.

Our network of care across the country—with more than 1,000 care locations—is coming together under one unified name. We’re here to care for your whole health. Visit AdventHealth.com to learn more.

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18-SYSTEM-08801

Florida Hospital will soon be AdventHealth.