Our focus on mothers and fathers this month comes in recognition of the special holidays by the same names in May and June, respectively. And also because there are few people more important to who we became than our parents. We thank not just them but our contributors, whose remembrances of their moms and dads make for great reading. Most everyone has a parent or two back there in history, so it’s no surprise that we got more stories than would fit. Others will appear in future issues of SN.

Below are the next three months of themes for Senior News. Your submissions will be gratefully accepted!

• JULY marks our nation’s 250th birthday — the United States’ Semiquincentennial! The signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776. (In a stroke of cosmic coincidence, Founding Fathers and subsequent presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on the nation’s 50th birthday, July 4, 1826.) We celebrate American liberty, humanity, vision and independence each year at this time, along with its hotdogs, bunting, parades, marching bands, fireworks and family-focused cookouts. Senior News will welcome your stories about Independence Day memories, festivities and what — after 250 years — America means to you. Please send articles, 400-500 words max plus photos, to tpease@humsenior.org by June 12 (or sooner!).
• AUGUST is all about furry, scaling, fuzzy, feathered, crawling friends. Yes, it’s our beloved Pets Issue! For many, animals are at least as well-loved as our spouses and family members. They don’t call dogs “Man’s [sic] Best Friend” (and woman’s!) for nothing. Interestingly, at Utah State University, where my wife and I taught, there’s a building engraved with Man’s Best Friend in stone along the room line — the ag school’s old horse barn. Personally, I will tolerate our Lab mutt, Stella, trying to worm her way onto the bed sooner than Hoofsome the quarterhorse, but tastes (and bed sizes) vary). Anyway, let’s tell some animal tales in August, whether happy frolics at beach and river, or stories of the heroics of your personal Rin Tin Tin, or how Napolean, your goldfish, is the best listener. Send pet stories of all sorts — 400-500 words plus photos — to tpease@humsenior.org by July 12 (or sooner!).
• SEPTEMBER will be the month when Senior News tries to help you make sense of AI — Artificial Intelligence. There is no technological advance since Henry Ford started spreading automobiles all over than will make such a profound difference in all facets of our lives. Self-driving cars and robot vacuum-cleaners? The cell phone clutched to your nose? That massive 40,000-acre data center planned to cover an entire Utah county? How do you use AI? What important things do you (or don’t you) know about how the technology has changed your life? What are you hopes, concerns, dreams and nightmares as smartbots take over our lives? Send those stories— 400-500 words plus photos — to tpease@humsenior.org by July 12 (or sooner!).

 

Thank you for you support of seniors and Senior News here in Humboldt County. We couldn’t exist without your stories. Keep ’em coming!

Please send along your fine words! Thank you, gentle readers, as always, for your support of Senior News — For people 50+ and everyone who knows one or wants to be one someday.