Is travel necessary?

I’ve heard many people say that their number 1 priority for retirement is to travel. Foreign visitors on Chicago Greeter tours have told me that they go abroad at least once a year. Conversations are often about the vacation people just returned from or will soon depart for. 

I, however, am not taking every opportunity to see the world. Maybe it’s that everything would be crossed off if I had a bucket list. I have traveled a good amount in the United States and Canada and have gone to Europe three times. Or maybe it’s that I live in a big city with attractions people come here for.

 

"You look tired" is a faux pas

“You look tired,” I said to a neighbor without thinking. A friend who heard the comment considered it rude. If my neighbor actually wasn’t tired, I’d told her she looked bad.

How fraught remarks about appearance are! Even “You look great” might be interpreted as “You look a lot better than usual.”

Did phoning for Harris do any good?

When I told people that I was going to phone call for Kamala Harris, most said, “Who would pick up the phone?”

I too expected the experience to be a washout, but my conscience nudged me to do something to oppose Donald Trump. How many Wisconsinites answered the phone was surprising. After reaching lots of Harris supporters and only a handful of Trumpers, I felt pleased.