AARP Bulletin - November 2011

In the News ;

5Number of states with no state minimum wage law.

Ways to Celebrate Splitsville When her 20-year mar- riage ended five years ago, Jill Testa needed to stow away what symbolized it. She conceived a whimsical wooden box keepsake and an online venture called Wedding Ring Coffin. ; “The purpose of it really was to give a person closure,” says Testa, 53, of New York. ; Divorce

cards, gift registries, showers and vacations are catching on among couples going their separate ways, experts say. ; At online businesses like

Divorce Shower Store and Divorce Party Supply, best-sellers include the “just divorced” blinking sash and the ex-husband voodoo doll. —Susan Kreimer

; Now Hear This People, Trends and Ideas

Creative Geniuses
Ubaldo Vitali is one of the
three over-50 recipients of
a 2011 MacArthur fellow-
ship, worth $500,000 in
no-strings-attached sup-
port for the next five years.
“Dedicate yourself to your
passion,” says Vitali, 67, a
conservator and silver-
smith from Maplewood, N. J.
The other older winners are
poet Kay Ryan, 65, of Fair-
fax, Calif., and elder rights
attorney Marie-Therese
Connolly, 54, of Washing-
ton, D.C. A total of 22 fellow-
ships were awarded. Says
MacArthur official Daniel
J. Socolow: “The beauty of
this program is that it goes
from young to wise,” allud-
ing to winners ranging in
age from 18 to 82 since the
awards began in 1981.

In the Cards

Guess who else has noticed that times are tough: greeting card companies. They’re offering comic or encouraging cards that speak to the plight of the nation’s 14 million unemployed workers. “Cards for people who have lost their jobs are a reflection of the times,” according to Hallmark Cards, which offers six designs. Online retailers Zazzle and Greeting Card Universe also have their own lines. Hallmark says its jobless cards made their debut in 2009. The idea came from its customers.