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EVENTS: 12th Annual LGBTQ+ Elders In an Ever-Changing World Conference (Online, June 15)
Save the date:
Thursday, June 15, 2023
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. EST / *4.5 CEUs available
Conference Fee:
$95 – with CEUs / $75 – No-CEUs / $25 – Seniors and Students
Registration details will be provided in a follow-up post.
View the conference website HERE.
A virtual one-day conference focusing on interdisciplinary practice and community engagement for people working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning + older adults and caregivers.
People looking for alternative resources, services, or community programs to help support their individual aging or caregiving needs are also invited to attend.
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The Twist Podcast #211: Our Very Own Rick Rose Birthday Celebration! Plus Terror in the Heartland
Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we celebrate Rick’s presence on Earth another year! The terror stuff is just for kicks. We’ve got news, listicles, food faves and more. Put your headphones over your party hats and join the fun.
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The Weekly Readlines January 20
The Weekly Readlines (rhymes with headlines!) is a feature at LGBTSr.com, offering news you can use every Friday.
Quote for the Week: “People come up to me, they actually want to work longer.” – GOP Rep. Rick Allen, speaking from another planet to defend his push to raise the Social Security eligibility age. Nowhere does he mention that no one is forced to stop working.
BIG CUP: THE WEEK’S TOP STORIES First the good news: As of January 22, we’ll be entering the Year of the Rabbit. The rabbit is a symbol of longevity, peace and prosperity in Chinese culture. 2023 is predicted to be a year of hope. In the words of the great intergalactic philosopher Jean-luc Picard, “Make it so!”
SCOTUS issued its report on the investigation into who leaked the Dobbs decision, determining to no one’s surprise that we will never know the culprit. In the words of Chief Justice John Roberts, “Make it so!” Georgia Rep. Rick Allen claims people want to work longer before retirement, in his defense of raising the eligibility age for Social Security. House Republicans have brought back smoking in Congressional offices, ensuring that if Covid didn’t get them cancer will. Nothing demonstrates masculinity like smelling like an ashtray at last call.
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Restaurant Review: Sergeantsville Inn Earns 4+ Yums and a Spot on the Top List (Sergeantsville, NJ)
By Mark McNease
Where: Sergeantsville Inn
601 Rosemont Ringoes Rd.,
Sergeantsville, NJ 08559
Tel: 609.397.3700
Cost: $$$$
Food: 4+, service 5Since opening under new ownership just months ago, Sergeantsville Inn has reestablished itself as a dining destination. We hadn’t been there for several years, and we wanted to return after the Inn’s reopening following a fire in 2015 that destroyed the interior. We liked the food before, and this time it was nothing short of spectacular.
Located at the corner of Route 523 and Rosemont Ringoes Road in Sergeantsville, NJ, the Inn has been around for generations. It has one of those original stone facades you find in structures built in the 1800s and earlier. First named for the Sergeant family, the Inn has been a private residence, a feed store, and a local fixture in the community since its founding.
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Savvy Senior: When Can I Change My Medicare Coverage?
Listen to my One Thing or Another Podcast interview with Jim Miller.
By Jim Miller
Dear Savvy Senior,
Is it possible to make changes to my Medicare coverage now? I know we’ve passed the fall open enrollment period, but I’ve heard that there are other times of the year beneficiaries can make changes. What can you tell me?
Changed My Mind
Dear Changed,
Yes! The annual Medicare open enrollment period isn’t your only opportunity to swap out Medicare coverage. There are other opportunities, but the timing of when you can make those changes depends on your specific circumstances and the kind of Medicare coverage you have. Here’s what you should know.
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The Twist Podcast #210: Special Guest Susie Hobson Joins the Fracas!
Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we welcome our guest Susie Hobson for a lively conversation about the day’s top news, listicles, conversation and comedy.
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I Was a Gay Sneetch (Living in a Star-Belly World)
Subscribe to my Substack, Mark McNease on Topic, for musings, commentary and news.
Dr. Seuss was in the news again recently when a school administrator in Ohio stopped a reading of his classic, ‘The Sneetches,’ after a child compared the treatment of the starless Sneetches to racism. “It’s almost like what happened back then, how people were treated … like white people disrespected Black people, but then, they might stand up in the book.” It was insightful enough to startle the administrator, and she ended the reading of the book, which was being done as part of an NPR podcast.
I don’t have any patience for terms like ‘cancel culture’ (or ‘woke’ or ‘critical race theory’ or ‘groomer’), but it’s evident that silencing others is not the terrain only of one faction or another. Unfortunately, the right is always better at finding meaningless little nuggety words and phrases with which to assault people who don’t submit to their orthodoxy. ‘Cancel culture’ is just the sort of smug accusation that works for limited minds with no capacity for introspection. Meanwhile, right-wing extremism marches merrily along, doing its best to roll over and silence anything that challenges its privileged and fragile assumptions. There are few more potent and effective practitioners of cancel culture than Florida’s Ron DeSantis, Tucker Carlson, Libs of TikTok, and the entire right-wing echo chamber.
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Monday Musings: Beware the Unwoke Mind
The following is from my Substack twice-weekly email, Mark McNease on Topic. Subscribe here for musings, commentary, and The Weekly Readlines news roundup every Friday.
“What would you say about someone who is not WOKE? They are “asleep,” “unconscious,” “indifferent.” They are “Mind Closed, Mouth Open.”” – Diane Ravitch
“Beware the unwoke mind.” – Amanda Marcotte
I recently told a friend I was nominating the word ‘woke’ for the one most in need of retiring in 2023. It has become both ubiquitous and meaningless, useful only as a slur employed by right-wing types to hurl at everything they don’t like or agree with. They take great pleasure in accusing those interested in social justice, equality, and accurate history of being whatever they think ‘woke’ means. At this point it only serves as a weapon and a form of mockery. I don’t believe I can have a serious conversation with anyone using the word, since the only people still saying it are wielding it as a verbal cudgel they feel no obligation to define.
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Monday Musings: Beware the Unwoke Mind
The following is from my Substack twice-weekly email, Mark McNease on Topic. Subscribe here for musings, commentary, and The Weekly Readlines news roundup every Friday.
“What would you say about someone who is not WOKE? They are “asleep,” “unconscious,” “indifferent.” They are “Mind Closed, Mouth Open.”” – Diane Ravitch
“Beware the unwoke mind.” – Amanda Marcotte
I recently told a friend I was nominating the word ‘woke’ for the one most in need of retiring in 2023. It has become both ubiquitous and meaningless, useful only as a slur employed by right-wing types to hurl at everything they don’t like or agree with. They take great pleasure in accusing those interested in social justice, equality, and accurate history of being whatever they think ‘woke’ means. At this point it only serves as a weapon and a form of mockery. I don’t believe I can have a serious conversation with anyone using the word, since the only people still saying it are wielding it as a verbal cudgel they feel no obligation to define.
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Kapok Aging and Caregiver Resources: How to Change Your Mindset with the New Year
The following excerpt is reprinted with permission from Kapok Aging and Caregiver Resources.
The new year is often a time for reflection and resolutions. It’s a chance to look back on all that’s been and think about what comes next.
Doing this as a caregiver can get a bit overwhelming though.
If you’ve been fully immersed in this role for a while, it might feel like life is just one intense day after another. Or, it might feel like you’re going nowhere, simply spinning your wheels and waiting for things to get better.
Maybe now is the time to do something new.
I know, that might sound like a big ask right now. Stick with me, though, as we’re focusing on a simple idea that can make your life easier.
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Kapok Aging and Caregiver Resources: How to Change Your Mindset with the New Year
The following excerpt is reprinted with permission from Kapok Aging and Caregiver Resources.
The new year is often a time for reflection and resolutions. It’s a chance to look back on all that’s been and think about what comes next.
Doing this as a caregiver can get a bit overwhelming though.
If you’ve been fully immersed in this role for a while, it might feel like life is just one intense day after another. Or, it might feel like you’re going nowhere, simply spinning your wheels and waiting for things to get better.
Maybe now is the time to do something new.
I know, that might sound like a big ask right now. Stick with me, though, as we’re focusing on a simple idea that can make your life easier.
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New Release! ‘Double Trouble: 2 Maggie Dahl Mysteries’ Now Available on Amazon
Now on Amazon! Why not start the new year with some page-turning detection? Join Maggie Dahl and the cast of characters from the Maggie Dahl Mysteries as she finds herself in a new life, new town, and new adventure searching for killers who may very well be searching for her.
Double Trouble brings together the first two Maggie Dahl Mysteries: Black Cat White Paws, and Open Secrets. Maggie and her late husband David had left New York City for a new life in Lambertville, NJ. Soon after following their dream there, Maggie finds herself pursuing it alone after David’s sudden death. She opens Dahl House Jams, she devotes herself to success, and she comes face to face with murder.
In Black Cat White Paws, Maggie throws herself into solving the murder of her neighbor, whose cat Checks quickly becomes part of Maggie’s family. Her sister moves from Philadelphia to help her in this difficult time and forget her own rocky relationships with men. Soon the sisters are tracking down a killer and revealing a shocking secret that has kept a notorious case unsolved … until now.
In Open Secrets, Maggie has become a minor celebrity in town, and she suddenly finds herself trying to learn what happened to another one: local author Shanna Delaney, whose second book of essays threatens to reveal secrets someone wants kept unknown. Throughout the two books, we’re introduced to characters who all have one thing in common: life in an idyllic Delaware River community that had not seen a murder in decades … until Maggie Dahl came to town.