We usually have a hard time finding good things to say about a person we find humorless. Beyond acknowledging that he or she is, perhaps, “hardworking” or “dependable as the day is long,” we end up at a descriptive loss for these folks pretty quickly. Since we know, as Thumper the rabbit used to say, if you d...

Just saying “April Fools’ Day” makes me smile. In my life, every day is already pretty darn foolish. But it’s nice to have a special day to laugh — an especially rare commodity over the past year or so, given that the world feels like it’s going to hell in a handbasket. I never did understand that saying, but...

The announcement arrived quietly, the way fog rolls into Humboldt Bay — soft at first, then everywhere. At exactly 9:00 a.m., every screen lit up with a cheerful message from TechGov, the benevolent administrative intelligence that now managed the nation’s well-being.

It’s 1961. Lewy, Larry, Gene and I are leaving Illinois for Florida. Maybe we’ll get to Fort Lauderdale where we imagine the beaches are lined with bikini-clad coeds. We will travel in Lewy’s well-primered ’52 Plymouth, which runs fine but needs regular refills of oil. We have virtually no money. We’ll be sle...

One of my prize sweatshirts, from an 1985 anti-war dance festival, says, “Give Peace a Dance.” A slogan for today’s decidedly dire days might read, “Give Laughter a Chance!” For years, Kathleen Krauss, Joy Hardin and I led regular Laughter Yoga groups. The groups have ceased, but we still talk regularly and a...

The California Department of Aging periodically features shout-outs to programs for seniors throughout the state that work. In March, the Humboldt Senior Resource Center’s Mobile Café Program received a gold star from the department. The Older Californians Nutrition Program’s “Success Stories 2026” included H...

Joshua Howe, a physical therapist with Redwood Coast PACE, enjoys helping improve people’s confidence in their own abilities so they can continue doing things that matter to them. Physical therapists (PTs) work with people who have injuries or illnesses that affect their movement and range of motion. They hel...

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Redwood Coast Village (RCV), celebrating a decade of community-driven effort to help older adults in Humboldt County age with independence, dignity and connection. What began as an exploration of how to better support aging in place has grown into a thriving Village bui...