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LGBT Senior’s Weekly Survey Results: What’s Your Preferred Way to Travel?
What is your preferred way to travel?
What’s your preferred way to travel?
By plane — I love getting there fast and going far.
33.33%By car — I enjoy the freedom of the open road.
41.67%By train — I prefer a scenic, relaxed journey.
25.00%By cruise ship — I like the destination to be part of the experience.
25.00%Home is where the heart it – staycations are my thing.
0%Other/comments
I love it all! Probably cruises first, but if train travel was more common in the US, we would be on the choo-choo on a regular basis!
I like all of the above. Everything depends on the destination and how much time/money I have.
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LGBT Senior’s News On the Positive Side by Cora Berke: New Orleans’ Gay Easter Parade
Cora Berke News On the Positive Side- by Cora Berke
“An American has not seen the United States until he has seen Mardi Gras in New Orleans.” – Mark Twain.
When we think of New Orleans, one of the first things that come to mind is Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday. The first recorded Mardi Gras celebration in the US was in 1699 in Louisiana, celebrated by French explorers, who named their settlement Point du Mardi Gras. Centuries later, Mardi Gras grew in New Orleans, attracting about a million tourists a year today!
With all its famous floats, glitter and beads, Mardi Gras is not the only celebration in New Orleans. Celebrated on Easter Sunday in New Orleans is The Gay Easter Parade. This year on April 5th., 2026 the Gay Easter Parade celebrated its 25th. anniversary.
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Savvy Senior: Low-Cost Smartphone Plans for Budget-Minded Seniors
By Jim Miller
Dear Savvy Senior,
What are the absolute lowest-cost smartphone plans for seniors who mainly talk and text but need a little cellular data for email and occasional use? I’m currently paying $40 a month and hoping to cut that down.
–Looking to Save
Dear Looking,
You’re asking a smart question. Many seniors pay far more for smartphone service than they actually use. If most of your phone activity is calls, texts, email, and light web browsing, there’s usually no need to spend $40 or more a month. The good news: plenty of low-cost carriers now cater to light users who want reliable service without the extra cost.
The cheapest plans today mostly come from mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) – smaller carriers that lease coverage from major networks like T‑Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T. Because they don’t run their own towers, MVNOs can offer basic service for a fraction of the cost of major carriers, while still providing nationwide coverage. Here are some of the best options available now.
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LGBT Senior’s Weekly Survey: What’s Your Preferred Way to Travel?
What is your preferred way to travel?
- By plane — I love getting there fast and going far
- By car — I enjoy the freedom of the open road
- By train — I prefer a scenic, relaxed journey
- By cruise ship — I like the destination to be part of the experience
- I don’t enjoy travel and prefer to stay close to home
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On the Map: How to Prepare for a Long Road Trip with Multiple Stops
We’re about to head off on the first real road trip I’ve taken since I was a child. How it happened is a long story. The crux of it is that we’re meeting two other couples in Savannah, and I wasn’t interested in flying there for a three night stay. I suggested to my husband Frank that we make a road trip out of it, and that’s how it came to be. Our friend Michael, who often goes on cruises with us, signed on, and the three of us will heading off next Saturday for an 8 night trip with four stops: Roanoke for two nights, Savannah for three, Wilmington for two, and a final stop in Baltimore to visit friends before heading home.
So how, I wondered, does one best prepare for that much time, and that many miles, in a car? One of the reasons we’re making so many stops is because I really don’t like being in an automobile for more than several hours. We break up our annual trip to Provincetown this way, staying in Mystic or somewhere that’s basically half the distance, and doing the same on the return. But there’s more to it than just picking a halfway point on a map, so let’s take a look at some practical preparations for a serious road trip.
Road Ready: How to Prepare for a Long Road Trip with Multiple Stops
There’s something very enticing about a road trip — the open highway, the spontaneous detours, the sense that the journey itself is the destination. And the good news is that age doesn’t have to change any of that. It just means you plan a little smarter.
Whether you’re heading out for a week-long adventure across several states or a long weekend with three or four stops along the way, preparation makes the difference between a trip you’ll remember fondly and one you’d rather forget. Here’s how to get ready.
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LGBT Senior’s Weekly Writing Prompt: Building a Character in Five Minutes
Build a Character in Five Minutes
Most of you know I write fiction, and I conduct writing workshops in addition to journaling. Here’s a fun way to explore character creation.
Characters don’t arrive fully formed. They show up in fragments — a gesture, a habit, a thing they always say. Answer these five questions about a person who just appeared in your mind. Write the first thing that comes:
• What does this person do first thing in the morning?
• What are they afraid of that they’ve never told anyone?
• What do they keep in their pockets or their bag?
• What do they want more than anything right now?
• What one sentence do they say so often that people who love them could finish it for them?
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LGBT Senior’s April eBook and Audiobook Giveaway: One Thing Or Another – Life, Aging, and the Absurdities of It All (Second Edition)
Welcome to the Second Edition of One Thing or Another, a collection of humor columns that takes a look at life, aging, and the absurdities of it all. It’s been a few years since the first edition, and even more since they were written. The Big Six-Oh is now the Big Six-Seven, and life is just as absurd as it was the first go-round.
From our culture’s refusal to use the word ‘old,’ to the sometimes comical consequences of aging in body and mind, if not always in spirit, you’re sure to enjoy this skewed look at life’s foibles for the ages. Collected from the author’s personal columns, these short essays will make you chuckle, recognize yourself, and sometimes grimace at the not-always-funny price we pay for simply staying alive.
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LGBT Senior’s Health Beat: SilverSneakers and the Power of Free Fitness on YouTube
LGBTSr’s Health Beat
If you’re 65 or older and looking for a safe, fun way to stay active, SilverSneakers might already be available to you, and you might not even know it. For my husband and I, we weren’t eligible a couple years ago when the local gym only offered it through Medicare Advantage plans (something we would never have). But recently it was offered through our Humana supplemental plan, so we joined. It’s great. Free gym membership in exchange for being a senior. Not my first choice as a tradeoff, but since I can’t get any younger I’ll take it.
SilverSneakers is a fitness and lifestyle program designed for older adults, and it’s available at no cost through select Medicare Advantage and some supplemental plans. That means if you have the right coverage, you could be joining live online classes or streaming workouts entirely for free.
Best of all? You don’t need a Medicare plan to get started. SilverSneakers has a YouTube channel with nearly 800 videos covering strength training, cardio, balance, and flexibility — one of the most generous free fitness resources online for older adults.
The workouts are led by instructors who understand aging bodies, and modifications are always offered so you can move at the level that’s right for you. Many use only a chair and light hand weights. Whether you’re a longtime gym-goer or just getting back on your feet, there’s something here for you.
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The Twist Podcast 324: Venal Virtue Signaling, Gardening Goodness, and an Interview with Alexandra Paul
This week Mark and Rick reveal fun facts about cloning, the benefits of gardening, and cringey virtue signaling. After that we soak up some wisdom from Jo, following Rick’s interview with actor and activist Alexandra Paul.
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LGBT Senior Presents News on the Positive Side, by Cora Berke
News On the Positive Side– by Cora Berke
“It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.” – Eleanor Roosevelt.
At any given moment we can have our fill of bad news, whether we are doom scrolling, watching our favorite news channel, listening to a podcast, or picking up a newspaper. Yet, if we look for the positive, we can find it in people who strive to make the world a better place.
International Transgender Day of Visibility was recently celebrated worldwide on March 31. It was created in 2009 by Rachel Crandall-Crocker, a psychotherapist and transgender activist from Michigan. She previously founded Transgender Michigan in 1997 for her local community and wanted to create a broader holiday for transgenders worldwide, in addition to the established solemn Transgender Day of Remembrance.
In a 2021 interview, Crocker told reporter Samantha Allen of Them,” I thought about creating the International Transgender Day of Visibility for a number of years. I was upset that the only day that we had was Transgender Day of Remembrance, because I tend to get really depressed on that day. I wanted a day when, rather than talking about those who passed away, we could talk about those of us who were alive. And I wanted a day that would bring together trans people from all over the world.” Now in its seventeenth year, it is celebrated throughout the world.
