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Devil’s Wood Chapter 4: Double Take (AUDIO – Final Tease)
Yes, this is my final offering from the upcoming ‘Devil’s Wood.’ It will be out by this summer, and if you’re hooked listening to these chapter samples, you’ll want to buy the book! Fasten your headphones for one last teaser. – Mark
Devil’s Wood begins when two boys wander into the woods outside Lambertville, New Jersey, and uncover a strange walking stick buried in the soil. One boy feels an immediate, nameless dread and keeps his distance; the other is drawn to it, pulling it free and revealing a grim truth beneath the earth—a human skull buried alongside the object. The discovery hints at an old, unfinished wrong, and a wood that has long remembered what was done there, waiting patiently for someone to find it.
The stick first surfaces in the life of Peter Brightly, a forty-two-year-old antique dealer struggling to hold together the fragments of his life after a painful divorce. As Peter becomes increasingly attached to the object, his health, judgment, and moral center begin to erode. The wood exerts a quiet pull, the past presses closer, and Peter is forced to confront how far he is willing to go to protect his own sanity.
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This Week’s Fun Facts: Things to Know about Mexico
We’re heading out this morning for a tour of Cabo San Lucas, having spent two days on Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas getting here from Los Angeles. I’m a big fan of Mexico, and one of my favorite trips was a business convention I organized in Mexico City 20 years ago. I still use a blanket I got there as a seat cushion at my desk. Here are some things you may nor may not know about this wonderful country and its past.
Mexico City is sinking—slowly. Built on an ancient lakebed, parts of the city sink several inches a year.
Corn was born here. Maize was domesticated in Mexico over 9,000 years ago and is still central to daily life.
Chocolate started as a drink. The ancient Maya and Aztecs drank cacao mixed with spices—no sugar involved.
The ancient Maya kept stingless bees. Their honey was prized and used medicinally.
Tequila can only be made in specific regions. It’s legally protected—like Champagne in France.
Colorful streets aren’t accidental. Bright paint helped people navigate cities long before street numbers were common.
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Savvy Senior: Tools to Help You Find the Perfect Place to Retire
By Jim Miller
Dear Savvy Senior,
What resources can you recommend for researching good places to retire in the U.S.? My husband and I are interested in relocating to a warmer climate when we retire next year.
Looking to Relocate
Dear Looking,
It’s exciting to think about relocating in retirement! Whether you’re considering seasonal escapes or a permanent change, there are a wide variety of digital resources that can help you find and research new locations. Here are some tips and tools to help you get started.
Where to Retire?
Deciding where to relocate when you retire is a big decision. There are many factors to think about to ensure the move supports your lifestyle, financial goals, and overall well-being. To help you identify some good retirement locations you need to consider things like cost of living, climate, taxes, health care, housing, crime, access to social and recreational activities, access to transportation and proximity to family and friends.
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Tech Talk: Email Overload: Taming the Inbox Once and for All
By Mark McNease
Sometimes reaching for our phones results in immediate overload: all those emails! Important ones, not-so-important ones, and the spam that manages to get through our spam filter. Add to that the ‘string’ setting for most providers now that gives us 16 replies to a single email. It’s maddening, and even a little depressing if we let it get to us. This week is about finally taking control of email instead of letting it control us.
Whether you use Gmail through Google or Outlook through Microsoft (my service of choice), the core problem is the same: email was never designed to handle the volume we throw at it today. Newsletters, shopping alerts, social notifications, work messages, and pervasive junk all land in the same place, competing for our attention. Fortunately, there are tools more powerful than most people realize, and with a few smart tweaks, we can turn chaos into something manageable.
The first step is understanding and trusting filters. Gmail and Outlook both do a decent job of sorting mail into categories like Primary, Promotions, and Spam, but they work best when you actively train them. When you move an email out of your main inbox into a folder or category, you’re teaching your email system what matters and what doesn’t. Over time, this dramatically reduces clutter without requiring daily micromanagement.
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This Week’s Fun Facts: The Life of a Cruise Ship Crew
We’ll be boarding Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas tomorrow at the Los Angeles cruise terminal. Look for a travelogue on that next week. For now, here are some fun (and not-so-fun) facts about the life of the crew.
1. Time completely stops making sense
You can work a shift that starts on Monday, ends on Tuesday, and somehow still feels like Thursday. The ship changes time zones. Your body gives up.
2. You live in a beautiful prison with excellent views
You are surrounded by the ocean, but you are not allowed to leave whenever you want. Crew learn very quickly that “freedom” is measured in port hours and gangway times.
3. You stop reacting to alarms
Bells. Sirens. Announcements. After a while, your brain automatically asks, “Is this a drill or can I finish my coffee?” (Correct answer: report anyway.)
4. The crew corridors feel like a horror movie set
Endless white hallways. No windows. Doors that look identical. You can walk for ten minutes and swear you’re back where you started. Some crew swear the ship moves differently at night.
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On the Map: Ojai Still Charms After All These Years
By Mark McNease
This is a travelogue, so I’ll skip the history lesson. I lived in Ojai, California, in 1979 after fleeing Indiana three days after my high school graduation. It’s always been a special place for me, an early refuge. My sister Cathy has lived in the same house here for 50 years this month. That’s it for the memoir.
Ojai is a magical town in the mountains about 90 minutes from Los Angeles and 40 minutes from Santa Barbara. It’s not far from Ventura, where I also lived once upon a time. Frank and I have been here a half dozen times over our 20 years together (next December) and we love spending several days and nights here. From this visit’s must-list: the Blue Iguana Inn, where we’re staying. It’s just 50 yards or so from my sister’s house, and it’s a lovely and slightly sprawling boutique hotel; dinner at Rumfish y Vino in Ventura; lunch at The Duchess in Ojai; and coffee-with-a-laptop at Ojai Coffee Roasters, where I’m writing this now. Keep reading for more about Ojai and the area, and if you ever get the chance, come stay a spell. It’s the kind of place where saying ‘stay a spell’ is a good way of putting it.
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Devil’s Wood Chapter 3: Who’ll Stop the Rain? (AUDIO)
Devil’s Wood begins when two boys wander into the woods outside Lambertville, New Jersey, and uncover a strange walking stick buried in the soil. One boy feels an immediate, nameless dread and keeps his distance; the other is drawn to it, pulling it free and revealing a grim truth beneath the earth—a human skull buried alongside the object. The discovery hints at an old, unfinished wrong, and a wood that has long remembered what was done there, waiting patiently for someone to find it.
The stick first surfaces in the life of Peter Brightly, a forty-two-year-old antique dealer struggling to hold together the fragments of his life after a painful divorce. As Peter becomes increasingly attached to the object, his health, judgment, and moral center begin to erode. The wood exerts a quiet pull, the past presses closer, and Peter is forced to confront how far he is willing to go to protect his own sanity.
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Your Weekly LGBTSr Humorscope: ‘T’ is for Taurus
Some humor from the stars in these challenging times.
♈ Aries
You’re feeling fired up and mildly intolerant of nonsense. Choose your battles carefully. Not everything needs your opinion—just most things.♉ Taurus
Comfort is non-negotiable this week. If something disrupts your routine, snacks, or favorite chair, you’re allowed to complain about it loudly.♊ Gemini
You’re juggling too many thoughts and at least one unnecessary conversation. Focus. Or pivot. You’re very good at pivoting.♋ Cancer
You’re nostalgic, sensitive, and emotionally invested in something from 2009. Feel it, release it, and then absolutely bring it up again later. -
Savvy Senior: Do I Need to File a Tax Return This Year?
By Jim Miller
Dear Savvy Senior,
What are the IRS income tax filing requirements for retirees this tax season? I didn’t file a tax return last year because my income was below the filing threshold, but I got a part-time job in 2025, so I’m wondering if I need to file this year.
Semi-retired Joe
Dear Joe,
Whether you need to file a federal income tax return this year depends on several factors: how much you earned in 2025, the source of your income, your age, and your filing status.
Here’s a quick guide to this year’s IRS filing thresholds. For most people, it’s straightforward: if your gross income (all taxable income, excluding Social Security benefits unless you’re married and filing separately) is below the threshold for your filing status and age, you generally do not need to file. But if it’s over, you will.
2025 IRS Federal Filing Thresholds:
- Single: $15,750 ($17,750 if you’re 65 or older by Jan. 1, 2026).
- Married filing jointly: $31,500 ($33,100 if one spouse is 65 or older; or $34,700 if you’re both over 65).
- Married filing separately: $5 at any age.
- Head of household: $23,625 ($25,625 if 65 or older).
- Qualifying surviving spouse: $31,500 ($33,100 if 65 or older).
For a detailed breakdown, including taxable vs. nontaxable income, you can request a free copy of the IRS “1040 and 1040-SR Instructions for Tax Year 2025” by calling 800-829-3676, or view it online at IRS.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf.
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Health Beat: Sleep Changes with Age, and What Can Help
By Mark McNease
Another night, another wake up at 3:00 am. It doesn’t matter that we’re in California and it’s three hours ealier – the routine is the same. Having talked about this to many people my age, it seems like it’s just part of the changing sleep patterns that come with getting older. I’ve gotten use to it, but on those rare occasions when I wake up at 5:00 am, or even 4:30, it feels like I’ve slept late.
If you’ve experienced this same phenomenon you’re not imagining things, and you’re definitely not alone. As we get older, sleep often changes in frustrating ways. Falling asleep takes longer for many people, although that’s never a problem for me. I often drift off halfway through a TV show at 8:30 p.m., maybe 9:00 p.m., and consider it a win if I get six hours of sleep. Then I wake up at 3 a.m. for no clear reason and lie there thinking about an acceptable time to get out of bed. Being in bed awake in the middle of the night doesn’t work for me: I explain it as feeling the way I imagine a turtle on its back feels. I just want to get up. Nothing is quite as disturbing to my fragile peace of mind as imagining terrible things in the dark while I’m stranded on my back.
One of the most important things to understand is that sleep changes with age are normal, but chronic exhaustion, if that’s a result, is not something we have to accept. Our bodies produce less melatonin as we age, and our internal clocks tend to shift earlier. That means lighter sleep, more awakenings, and earlier mornings. Add in medications, aches and pains, hot flashes, anxiety, or sleep apnea, and it’s no wonder rest can feel elusive. (I’ve been using a CPAP machine for seven years, and it’s not weight-related, which many people assume.)
