This month marks the 48th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, a defining moment in the struggle for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender equality. LGBTQ Americans still face isolation and discrimination. But we in the Baby Boom are also helping redefine what it means to grow older. Originally published in Medium. There are days when I […]
Blues Brothers
Eddie Tigner was nearing the end of his musical career when he met Daniel “Mudcat” Dudeck. Their friendship gave Dudeck a mentor and Tigner a second chance at success. Originally published in Atlanta Magazine. Photos by Ben Rollins. AT 2:10 A.M. ON A SUNDAY, THE INSIDE of Northside Tavern looks like a musical tempest has […]
Free to Go
Suffering from advanced-stage ovarian cancer, Sue Otterbourg declined aggressive treatment to spend her last months living fully. Why can’t more people do the same? Originally published in Indy Week. THE FIRST TIME I MET SUE OTTERBOURG, she greeted me at her front door in Durham’s Forest Hills neighborhood dressed as anyone would for a business meeting: […]
Living on the Edge
Millions of older Americans don’t have enough money to put food on the table, but the government doesn’t count them as poor. How did this happen—and what’s being done about it? Coming soon: a segment on Prime Time Radio profiling three family matriachs struggling to pay the bills.
Laid Off
For factory workers in America, especially those 45 and older, job security is a dying dream. Originally published in AARP The Magazine. SALLY AND FRANKIE STEWART FELT COMFORTABLE and fulfilled in their work as machine operators for Visteon, an auto-parts maker created by Ford Motor Company. The plant in Bedford, Indiana, was clean and well lit, and […]
When Wounded Vets Come Home
As more troops than ever are surviving the fearsome injuries of war, parents are increasingly being thrust into the role of long-term caregiver. Originally published in AARP The Magazine. CYNTHIA LEFEVER DIDN’T GET A CHANCE TO SEE HER SON Army Specialist Rory Dunn before he shipped out to Iraq on 24 hours’ notice in March […]
R.I.P. Off
A funeral-industry scandal that’s fleecing thousands of Americans. Originally published in AARP The Magazine. IN 1975 AUDREY AND CARL BREWER PURCHASED what they thought was peace of mind—both for themselves and their family—when they bought two pre-paid funeral plans from Forest Hill South, a mortuary and cemetery in Memphis. Their plans cost them a total of $1,298, […]
Voices of Katrina
Listen to Part 1 Listen to Part 2 From AARP Prime Time Radio: “Two years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, AARP The Magazine sent investigative journalist Barry Yeoman to discover if any progress had been made in restoring the lives of older residents of the region. What he found was decidedly mixed. “Government […]
Katrina: The Untold Story
When the monster hurricane ravaged New Orleans, its older residents were hit hardest. Two years later, they are still fighting despair and searching for hope. Originally published in AARP The Magazine. SHORTLY BEFORE HURRICANE KATRINA tore its terrible path through the Gulf Coast, Shirley Thomas purchased a blue-green duplex where she planned to spend the rest of […]
Foreign Service
Originally published in the AARP Bulletin. ED MAHONEY GAPED AT THE SPECTACLE. On the edge of the Guatemala City dump, a fetid ravine swarming with vultures, dozens of human scavengers intercepted garbage trucks. They picked through the refuse for anything of value-bottles, cardboard, string-to sell to recyclers. Mothers carried their babies in boxes while older children played […]
