Voice of the Village 2020
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 any of the titles to read the column.
Never overlook the value of a less than perfect Christmas tree
By Beth Grimm
Published 12.25.2020
(Beth has written several guest columns this year, as she did this one, specially tuned to the Christmas season.)
My struggle to celebrate a COVID Christmas
by Judie Donaldson
Publish 12.18.2020
When I lived in the northeast, which I did for most of my life, I always wondered how people celebrated Christmas when it wasn’t cold outside.
This December—hope and frustration
By Lois Requist
Published 12.11.2020
“This will be the first Christmas we won’t be together,” my son, who is 56 said.
(Links in the article are live links and may be clicked on)
Bringing Life to the End of Life
by Judie Donaldson
Published 12.4.2020
Have you ever had an experience when a book didn’t meet up to a friend’s rave reviews or even to your own predisposition?
The best, no, the worst of times?
By Lois Requist
published 11.27.2020
I’m not sure why Charles Dickens’ opening line in A Tale of Two Cities came to my mind just now.
A Meaningful Thanksgiving
by Judie Donaldson
Published 11.20.2020
Like you, COVID has turned my life inside out, but I feel as though I have adapted to the demands of its reality. However…
Where we go from here
by Lois Requist
published 11.13.2020
Those of you who follow this column know that I've written a couple of columns about unity and cited The Civility Project, https://greatlakescivilityproject.com/, as an example.
Our Democracy Needs a Facelift
By Judie Donaldson
published 11.6.2020
I have a vivid recollection of studying government when I was in high school. Do you?
Still trying to find a way forward
By Lois Requist
published 10.30.2020
Some of you may recall a column I wrote a few weeks ago about finding a way forward, pointing out how divisive and contentious the political landscape has become.
Life isn’t just a bowl of cherries
By Judie Donaldson
Published 10.23.2020
I have had the good fortune to have learned that living in a state of gratefulness contributes to my well-being and happiness.
Being on the Backside of Seventy
by Beth Grimm
(We again thank Beth Grimm for her guest column for Voice of the Village)
Published 10.16.2020
Ten years ago, I wrote about the challenges of rolling over at sixty with an unexpected smackdown. I hit a wall with the biggest health threat of my life, so far…
Finding a way forward, together
By Lois Requist
published 01.09.2020
The other night, four friends talked politics. All of us are firm in our positions and believe that we are well-informed.
My granddaughter, Flo Cooper, and me
by Judie Donaldson
Published 10.02.2020
Continuing to Serve During the Pandemic
By Lois Requist
Published 09.25.2020
Fighting the Fear of Alzheimer’s Disease
By Judie Donaldson
Published 09.18.2020
It’s more than a presidential election: what does “down-ballot” mean?
By Lois Requist
Published 09.11.2020
The Most Creative Act of All
By Judie Donaldson
Published 09.04.2020
Do plants have personality? Do you talk to your plants? Do they talk back?
By Lois Requist
Published 8.28.2020
Guess what! I’m aging!
by Judie Donaldson
Published 8.21.2020
Do you have any boxes of family photos?
By Lois Requist
published 8.14.2020
Humor, creativity and other stuff
by Judie Donaldson
published 8.7.2020
Oh, the stories they’ll tell
By Lois Requist
Published 7.31.2020
The Saga of the Lost Column
by Judie Donaldson
Published 7.24.2020
Culture Trumps Everything
by Lois Requist
published 7.17.2020
We deserve a break today
by Judie Donaldson
Published 7.10.2020
A few things to do before you die
By Lois Requist
Published on 7.3.2020
Sense and Sensitivity
By Beth Grimm
Published 6.26.2020
We each have our own marshmallow test
By Judie Donaldson
Published June 19, 2020
What do we do, as white people, with today’s reality?
By Lois Requist
Published 6.12.2020
Memoir of the here and now
By Molly Barr
Published 6.5.2020
A taboo and tender subject
By Judie Donaldson
Published 5.29.2020
Kevin Bacon never forgets
By Carolyn Plath
published 5.22.2020
Where we are now
By Lois Requist
Published 5.15.2020
I tried to cut my hair today
by Judie Donaldson
Published 5.8.2020
Is this the best or the worst of times?
By Lois Requist
Published 5.1.2020
Isolation
By Beth Grimm
Published 4.24.2020
An ethical will for the pandemic
by Judie Donaldson
Published 4.17.2020
Being Elderly in the Time of the Corona Virus
By Carolyn Plath
Published 4.10.2020
Coping Skills in a Time of Corona Virus
By Kathy Monroe
Published 4.3.2020
Bloom in Your Own Garden
By Beth Grimm
Published 3.27.2020
Living in a Changed and Changing World
By Judie Donaldson
Published 3.20.2020
Don't Panic–get the best information possible
By Lois Requist
Published 3.13.2020
Living Life According to Our Values
By Judie Donaldson
published 3.6.2020
Balancing My Life
By Lois Requist
published 2.28.2020
The final chapter, my father myself
By guest columnist, Beth Grimm
published 2.21.2020
They Call it an Epidemic
By Judie Donaldson
published 2.14.2020
What is an Age-Friendly City?
By Lois Requist
published 2.7.2020
A Day In My Life
By guest columnist, Beth Grimm
published 1.31.2020
Let’s All Be Smart Older Adults
By Judie Donaldson
published 1.24.2020
Points to ponder: closure, forgiveness, and redemption
By Lois Requist
published 1.17.2020
Celebrate Yourself! Come on!
by Judie Donaldson
published 1.10.2020
Are we ready to become an older society?
By Lois Requist
published 1.3.2020