By Judie Donaldson New Year’s Day. By its very nature, it wields an inherent significance. It invites reflection and assessment. It suggests the promise of something new. It generates hope and motivation, and, of course, it’s the catalyst for the inevitable new year’s resolutions. How about for you? Does New Year’s Day have a meaning […]
Voice of the Village: A piece of peace on Earth
By Lois Requist Noting when this column would be published, I thought, write something connected to Christmas, the holidays, but what could I say that hasn’t been said? We pass around good wishes, listen to the sentiments of those whose opinions are broadcast, however, if we also listen to the news, none of it has […]
Voice of the Village: They call it ‘Vitamin G’
By Judie Donaldson Have you ever heard of the “science of generosity?” Hold onto to this question for a couple of minutes while I talk about my experience with generosity at Carquinez Village. It was close to three years ago that Lois Requist and I introduced to our area the concept of what eventually […]
Voice of the Village: What does it mean to need something?
By Lois Requist In an age of a great deal of material “stuff,” what does the word “need” mean? Can we separate it from “want?” Sometimes I hear someone say “I’m starving,” which means they haven’t eaten in a few hours. “First world problems” is the term some people call these questions. When we started […]
Voice of the Village: Black Friday antidotes
By Judie Donaldson Well, “IT” is officially here. By that, I mean the holiday season. It’s sad that what marks the official start of the holidays across our country is Black Friday, the epitome of commercialization. Although I tried, I could barely evade the news reports – of melees, brawls, black eyes, arrests, and even […]
Voice of the Village: Can you leave your home quickly if you need to?
By Lois Requist The recent fires in Santa Rosa, Napa, and other nearby communities, as well as a question from one of our members, made us think about preparation for a disaster of any kind—an earthquake, an industrial accident, or any crisis here in town. While we aren’t nestled up against hills, and so have […]
Voice of the Village: Building a habit of courage
By Judie Donaldson When I was 40, I did something that I wouldn’t have the courage to do today. I enrolled in a class for people who couldn’t sing, but wished they could. There were seven other crazy people like me who spent eight sessions together singing our hearts out. It would have been a […]
Voice of the Village: Do you want to age in place?
By Lois Requist About three years ago, when I was just getting into the village idea, I frequently heard the term “aging in place.” I even used it for a while. Not anymore. This term doesn’t sound like any activity is taking place, certainly nothing robust. When I think of how to use the rest […]
Voice of the Village: The oldest woman in the world
By Judie Donaldson I just read something that was so inspiring that I wanted to share it with you right away. It’s about a French woman who holds the record for the oldest women who’s ever lived. Care to venture a guess about how old she was? C’mon. Take a minute before you continue reading. […]
Voice of the Village: Aging and attitude
By Lois Requist Special to the Herald Last week, you may have seen Judie Donaldson’s remarks here about the revolution in aging. That got me to thinking. I grew up in Idaho, around quite a few older relatives—aunts, uncles, grandparents. They didn’t move so fast, in fact sitting down may have been what they […]