In the News ;
Number of veterans 65
and older in 2010.
9 million
; Now Hear This People, Trends and Ideas
Author, Author
Jim Henry conquered illiteracy in his mid-90s. Now he’s the
author of a book at 98. “Never, never give up on anything,
even if what you’re doing feels impossible,” says Henry, a
retired lobsterman in Mystic, Conn. His self-published In
a Fisherman’s Language recounts his life through 29 stories. The first two printings sold out, but his website, fish
ermanslanguage.com, is accepting orders for a third printing.
Match Game
It’s not a passion for ready-to-as-semble furniture that lures hundreds of older Shanghai, China,
residents to Ikea. It’s the cafeteria’s free coffee … well, that and a
shot at love. Retirees discovered
several years ago that the Swedish megastore’s comfortable
environs induce easy conversation—and flirting. Now, matchmaking is the norm. “Shanghai
has become an aging society with many single senior citizens.
They need to make friends, they feel lonely at home,” a 70-year-old
male patron told National Public Radio.
Blues Breakout
The blues can make you happy. Just ask Boyd Lee Dunlop.
At age 85, the jazz pianist just released his debut CD, Boyd’s
Blues. Nine toe-tappin’ tracks show off Dunlop’s virtuosity
backed by bass and drums. Photojournalist Brendan Bannon,
42, set the project in motion after meeting the musician at
the nursing home where Dunlop lives in Buffalo, N. Y. “He was
playing a beat-up, broken-down piano, and he was making
it sound good,” says
Bannon. About 600
of Dunlop’s supporters recently attended
a release party, where
he headlined an 80-
minute set. The CD
is available on cdba
by.com, Amazon and
i Tunes. —Mike Tucker
; Boyd Lee Dunlop
