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Voice of the Village 2021
Aging is a special stage of life that deserves respect and appreciation. 

  Carquinez Village has a weekly column, Voice of the Village, that appears each Friday in the Benicia Herald. 

Click on the titles to read the columns.

Ah! It’s New Year’s Eve Again!
By Judie Donaldson
Published December 31, 2021
I don’t know about you, but those big and boisterous New Year’s Eve parties I attended in the past are anathema to me now. 

Saving the planet isn’t a small task
By Lois Requist
Published December 24, 2021
As I look forward to being with my family at Christmas, I think about the gift opening. 

How do you know what to pray for in the face of death?
By Beth Grimm, Guest Columnist
Published December 17, 2021
DEATH is a difficult topic. Recent conversations with friends have brought it to the surface once again and have inspired me to write about it. 

It started with an act of kindness
by Judie Donaldson
Published December 10, 2021
Do you remember those little books called “Random Acts of Kindness” that were popular two or three decades ago? 

What AARP is all about
By Lois Requist
Published December 3, 2021
Since I belong to AARP, which is no longer an acronym, as the name has been officially changed from the American Association of Retired Persons…

Oh, what I learned last week!
By Judie Donaldson
Published November 26, 2021
Carquinez Village recently formed an “Over Ninety” group that Janice Magner leads in conversational exchanges. 

Remembering and telling our stories
By Lois Requist
Published November 19, 2021
Mary Eichbauer and I have just finished teaching a memoir class for members of Benicia Literary Arts and Carquinez Village.

An Unlikely Celebrity in Our Own Backyard
by Judie Donaldson
Published November 12, 2021
When I was in my first year of graduate school in the early ‘60s, I had an embarrassing experience. I remember it as though it was yesterday. 

Scams and More Scams
By Lois Requist
Published November 5, 2021
A couple of weeks ago, Judie Donaldson wrote about scams. In a column called, “Stay Safe and Stay Smart,” she detailed how scammers might catch any of us.

What is Old and When is Old?
by Judie Donaldson
Published October 29, 2021
The other day I learned that an organization in Great Britain sponsors an annual “Oldie of the Year” award. Oldie of the year, huh? 

Volunteering and Having a Happy Life
By Lois Requist
Published October 22, 2021
First, I very much appreciated Judie Donaldson’s column last week with specific warnings about scams. 

Stay Safe and Stay Smart
by Judie Donaldson
Published October 15, 2021
My friend, John, is one of the smartest people I know. He spent his career on Wall Street managing large sums of money.

Writing, remembering and writing it down
by Lois Requist
Published October 8, 2021
As members of Carquinez Village and Benicia Literary Arts gathered this week for another series of memoir classes, it put me back into thinking about writing…


The Innocuous Topic of Time
By Judie Donaldson
Published October 1, 2021
In my freshman year of college, I wrote an essay I can still recall. It was entitled, “Time. What Happens to It?’ 

Ageism and Racism in America
By Lois Requist
Published September 24, 2021
As an old person, I don’t like reading that “Older Americans are seven times more likely to be portrayed negatively than those under 50 in online ads.”

Memories are made of this 
By Judie Donaldson
Published September 17, 2021
I don’t know about you, but our 24/7 news environment just about does me in most of the time.  

Aging with Grace, Company, and Knowledge
By Lois Requist
Published September 10, 2021
Someone asked me the other day what Carquinez Village is all about. I hadn’t heard that question for a while, but that’s where my title came from this week.

Planning for end-of-life care
By Judie Donaldson

Published September 3, 2021
COVID-19 has played havoc with many aspects of society and with our personal lives as well.  

Odd thoughts and notes to fill a page
By Lois Requist
Published August 27, 2021
I’m sitting here staring at a blank page, not knowing how to fill it. If you’re a writer, you probably get that feeling; if not, you may not know the terror of the blank page. 

Acts of kindness may extend your life
By Judie Donaldson
Published August 20, 2021
Earlier today, I bought a thank-you card at Bookshop Benicia that featured this message: “A day is beautiful when it is touched by kindness.” 

Conversations that matter
By Lois Requist
Published August 13, 2021
“Call within two hours if you want to talk with your brother.” My sister gave me this message one day in June. Our brother was near death. Hospice was on the scene.

SeniorTech: It’s Changing Our World!
By Judie Donaldson
Published August 6, 2021
I learned a new word this week. It is “SeniorTech.” 

My side of the story
By Linda Hastings
Published July 30, 2021
Lois Requist posted three columns about her road trip with Linda Hastings. This week’s guest columnist gets her chance to respond.

Expanding my horizons, enriching my life
By Judie Donaldson
Published July 23, 2021
I don’t know about you, but I would like to be someone who radiates a warm acceptance of others, welcomes and treats people of all backgrounds equally, and is comfortable relating to people of different ethnicities.

Glacier National Park, a heatwave, and home
By Lois Requist
Published July 16, 2021
If you’ve been following, this is the third part of my trip with Linda Hastings, to Bemidji, Minnesota, and beyond. 

Remember Benjamin Franklin?
by Judie Donaldson 
Published July 9, 2021
In a book I was reading recently, the author made reference to Benjamin Franklin. 

Rumbling along on a road trip
By Lois Requist
Published July 2, 2021
In my previous column, I wrote about the road trip I am on, along with my friend Linda Hastings. S

Living a purposeful Life
by Judie Donaldson
Published June 25, 2021
I want to begin today with a story about a man named Jerry, an Arizona businessman who had made a substantial amount of money building shopping malls. 

Come along on a road trip
By Lois Requist
Published 6.18.2021
Seems the whole country is bursting to get out and away. I've always enjoyed driving trips, so I'm going to take you along on my current one.

Welcome back, world!
by Judie Donaldson
Published June 11, 2021
Memorial Day. I love it!  It marks the beginning of summer, of outdoor gatherings of friends and family and the ushering in of a more relaxed way of life. A
 

Would a Benicia Senior Roundtable benefit the community?
By Lois Requist
published June 4, 2021

I was having breakfast—actual, live, in person—with some friends the other day. Judie Donaldson was also there. 

Hurrah for you, Aristotle!
by Judie Donaldson
published May 28, 2021
Are you aware that Aristotle has had a significant influence on your life? And on mine, and others in Western civilization? Do you remember studying him at all?  

Generations, Graduations, and Memories
By Lois Requist

published May 21, 2021
This column is unabashedly about me, so stop here if you like. 

The Paradox of Aging
by Judie Donaldson
published May 14, 2021
Gerontologists call it the paradox of aging. 

How long do you want to live? 100 years or more?
By Lois Requist
published May 7, 2021
Both as individuals and as a society, we grapple with that question. 

Who should get the vaccine?
By Judie Donaldson
published 4.30.2021
I was halfway through writing this week’s column when I took a few minutes’ break to get caught up on the news. 

Looking ahead to a changed and changing world
by Judie Donaldson
published 4.16.2021
In the 1970’s, I was captivated when futurist Alvin Toffler appeared on the New York Times bestseller list. 

Have you told your story?
By Lois Requist
published 4.9.2021
On one of those lists of things to do before you die, it’s never mentioned, so I want to ask, have you told your story? 

The Pandemic Has Complicated End-of-Life Care Decisions
by Judie Donaldson
Published April 2, 2021
I’ll always remember the day when one of the Carquinez Village members lamented, “I had always planned to move into an assisted living home when I could no longer manage the tasks of everyday life. But the pandemic has eliminated this.

Does Benicia need a Senior Roundtable?
By Lois Requist
published 3.26.2021
Way back in 2015, when we started to move forward to consider forming a village, we assessed the needs of older adults in Benicia and what services were available to meet those needs.

My Benicia Bubble
By Judie Donaldson
Published 3.19.2021
It is one year ago that the World Health Organization declared we were officially in a pandemic. What a year! 

What’s good for the body is good for the brain
By Lois Requist
Published 3.12.2021
About a month ago, I wrote a column called “Good news about the brain.” 

It all began with an idea
by Judie Donaldson

Published 3.5.2021 
It seems hard to believe that Carquinez Village is seven years old. 

When Health Studies Started Including Women
By Lois Requist
published 2.26.2021
It wasn’t until the 1980s that women were typically included in medical studies. 

Making Lemonade Out of Lemons
by Beth Grimm
published 2.19.2021
It’s been a year (March 1, 2020) since the World Health Organization officially declared the Pandemic. Societal norms have been turned on their head. 

Benicia! It’s a community with heart.
by Judie Donaldson
Published 2.12.2021
I moved to Benicia from the East Coast twelve years ago. I never would have found Benicia had it not been for the fact that my daughter and her family lived here.

Good news about the brain
By Lois Requist

Published 2.5.2021
You can teach an old dog new tricks! The brain is more amazing than we thought. 

Partnering with our doctor–It's our job!
by Judie Donaldson
Published 1.29.2021
Does your mind ever wander to the 1950s? Remember Doris Day and Rock Hudson and songs like ShBoom? Life seemed so simple then. 

Longevity Continued
by Lois Requist
Published 1.22.2021
I wrote two weeks ago about attending a conference via Zoom sponsored by the Stanford Center on Longevity. 

If I had a stash of extra cash
by Judie Donaldson
Published 1.15.2021
I’m not one much for New Year’s resolutions, but I have an idea for you and me this year. I suppose we could call it a resolution. 

Longevity—The 100-hundred-year life
By Lois Requist
Published 01.08.2021
Recently, I attended a conference sponsored by the Stanford Center on Longevity. 

Thank you, Bill Gates
by Judie Donaldson
Published 01.01.2021
Do you have any idea how Andrew Carnegie made his money? Most people don't because Carnegie is remembered primarily for his philanthropy.