LETTERS & COMMENTS FROM SUDDENLY SENIOR READERS OUR FIRST FAMILY REUNION
We had so many nice responses from readers to this column, we really appreciate your feedback and can't thank you enough! Here are just a few ... It's so great to "hear your voice" again, Frank! And what a wonderful day-brightener your column was, too! I'm so glad that you and Carolyn not only had a respite from the medical world, but that respite was full of love and activity. Being surrounded by your scattered family just can't be beat. Not certain your fans are the kindest people in the world. But anyone with life left in them would not be able to resist sending you applause and warmest wishes. And from wherever my precious Allan is making someone laugh, he sends thumbs up as well. Every day is a delicious miracle. Your wonderful attitude as you and your lovely wife battle cancer is a beacon for the rest of us. As we age, parts of our bodies refuse to work as they once did and sometimes we become morose and wonder why are we still around when we no longer seem to be of any use to anyone. Living in an apartment building for seniors only, I encounter this daily and I too fall prey to the gloom from time to time. And then I re read some of your columns that I have saved for this specific purpose. "Thank you" doesn't seem to be enough. This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. Keep up the good fight, your readers are pulling for you! You are our super hero & heroine! Congrats & warmest hugs from Vero Beach. As we enter the Heart of Darkness of the H Season, you give us great hope. Wonderful article and so happy to hear from you again. We had our own annual family reunion today, hosted by my daughter and her fiance for about 75 people. It's a typical New England event, with steamed clams, lobster and all the fixins! As usual, there were some missing from last year, either no longer able to travel or deceased, and also new ones including babies and new spouses and fiancés, plus the odd long-lost relative who decided to return to the fold, welcome as ever. These events confirm what life is all about..... all that fun, commotion, laughs, kisses, tears, hugs, pats on the back and exaggerated comments on how great you look (when you know you look like hell) packed into 8 or so hours of pandemonium and joy......and some poignant moments, wondering who will not be there with us next year. Thanks for sharing. Your Suddenly Senior emails are always eagerly awaited and opened first. I feel like I'm part of the family. Stay healthy and happy. I love this column!! You two have been on my prayer list ever since I knew you had cancer, and every time I pray you are in it. I loved reading about your reunion. I'll keep praying. If we are kind, Frank and Carolyn, it is because you both are so kind and truly my heroes. A wonderful trip 'home' which you both so rightly deserve. Thank you for sharing it with all of us. Please try to do some of the Stretching in Bed exercises I sent to you awhile ago as they are helping people all over the country. I was so thrilled last week when a gentleman in his 80's walked for the first time in 9 months - 10 normal steps and he is a polio survivor (both legs) and World War 2 vet. I truly want you two to feel as good as is possible - WE NEED YOU BOTH IN OUR LIVES. Love and a hug, Thank you for that lovely newsletter and grand photos. It was a treat to see you both and your children. My wishes for you will be like everyone's wishes for you and your wife and family, that this program will work out beautifully for you and we can look forward to your wonderful written accounts of life, philosophy, information for seniors and funny stories. Best wishes, I can't help but think what a miracle it is to have had this quality time together. One or both of you could be under that pine tree by now. You both look great, and I am sure you will overcome the brain impairment also. What a pair you are! I think together you can do anything. God bless you both. Sincerely, Frank, this is one of your greatest posting yet...I have truly enjoyed reading all past SuddenlySenior moments, but this one hit home. In my mind, I was there with you and your wife and your 4 sons and their families. I could hear the laughter and fun had by all in the parking lot. May the Good Lord truly bless all of you and it would be an honour to again read that you had another family reunion next year. I will pray that the Lord give you all strength and courage to keep on writing. Thank you again for today's SuddenlySeniors edition. BRAVO!!!!! Dear Frank and Carolyn....I thank you so much for the pictures and story of your family reunion. I read every one of your emails and have agonized and now exulted over your victory over cancer and other problems. You have given us all hope. Keep on winning. Love and hugs to you both. And God bless you. Frank and Carol, Welcome back. It is great to see you both looking so good. I know you have both been to hell and back, yet your love for each other beats any chemo or other drug. So glad you have sons to look out for you both. Nice family and I love the name Trinity Sue. I am on Facebook also and want to know how to find your page. Is it under Suddenly Senior? Hugs & God's Blessings, Dear Frank, Wow, I was thrilled to see a new column from you and Carolyn!! And what a wonderful one about family. Since the death of my 97 year old mother recently, my daughter and I are the only ones of our family left, and when my mother fell and fractured her neck 4 years ago, for the first time I really missed having more family. Best of luck with your new "brain course" which sounds fascinating. I look forward to your continued improvement and more columns. You have really enhanced my life with Suddenly Senior, and I am sure countless others feel the same way. My best wishes, prayers, and regards, “LESSONS I SHOULD HAVE LEARNED By Susan Pierres How wonderful. I wish I had had the experiences you are having with your mom....
Thank you so much for writing something which in reality stands for all of us. Thank you for your fine article for Mothers' Day! What I wonder these days is what kind of people our mothers were
beyond us? Or - gasp! the unthinkable: without us? Wish my mother were still around. I thought I never listened to her. But in the end, like you, I might haven listened more than I thought.
Alexa Fleckenstein. A beautiful, wonderful story. You take the reader along with you on your discoveries. This is wonderful and you are so very right. Seems Mothers get smarter the older they get - or maybe we do. Happy Mother's Day to your Mom. A wonderful, most enjoyable piece. It brought me back to memories of my mom....thank you!
I was intuitively guided to open up my SUDDENLY SENIOR email out of my more than 781, and there was your story of you and your mother...which I, of course read. I loved it and felt great love for you and your mother that I just had to email you myself... My main reason of contacting you is to tell you what an excellent writer you are! and what a wonderful mother and family you have! God Bless You ! and for your contribution!!!. I was enjoying and appreciating your mother's list of do's and don'ts...they're all true!! I laughed about the plastic bag when going to restaurants...my mother ALWAYS did that . Hope to hear and read more of your material. It's such a shame we all must age. Your mom's is a testament to her success in dealing with a long life. For some reason it's a comfort to know that 100 years ago most were dead by my
age of 71 years. These days squeaking parts remind me that
this ride will end, sooner not later, and there ain't no grease
gonna prevent it! And that's OK...
When I was the director of the audio-visual dep't at Harrcourt Brace from 1972 to1974 ...I photographed many of their authors. And as soon as they sat in front of the posing table, they'd lean their heads on their hands. Seems like it's the thing to do... CROSSING THE POND By Susan Pierres
WE thoroughly enjoyed your story about the double crossing. While we
only did the one way that year, our Westbound crossing brought us
into New York in June, 2001 (just a couple of months before you did
that). We took the crossing that introduced the QM 2 to the world
with the ship architects, ship builders, execs of Cunard, etc. and
lots of transatlantic crossers who especially love to cross in the
worst of winter during the storms. ... Thanks for a great blast from the past and potential future. Great idea with TSA and luggage restrictions to
sail both ways! "Thanks for the Memories" .... Oh, not about crossing the Atlantic but the Pacific - Twice.... Left Vancouver aboard P&O Arcadia > Los Angeles > Oahu > Suva > Auckland > Sydney.... With the exception of a few foggy days from Vancouver > LA, and some around the S. China Sea, every day was a deck day - swim suit only was the dress code from morning to night - and back in those days we didn't have knowledge of skin cancer to worry about so we lathered ourselves in coconut oils and baked under the tropic sun until we looked like gorgeous chunks of mobile mahogany, and that was us "white" folk. I also vividly remember standing at the front of the ship - Titanic-like - in the middle of the night - pure blackness except for the phosphorescence of the bow wave and the stunning display of starlight - with the tropical wind blowing on me in a sensuous fashion that has never been equalled on land. As I said - thanks for the trip down memory lane. Now, back to the snowblower. I want to go! I want to go! WOW. What an excellent writer you are. I really, really felt I was with you and your Mom. For my 'big birthday' (70), my husband and children surprised me with a cruise vacation! I always wanted to take a cruise. "He said he is now ready".... Now with your article I want to go across 'the big puddle', by ship. Maybe my next 'big birthday' ... Don't put off tomorrow what you can do today. Right? I had to reply immediately as I chuckled on reading a desire for a "passive shall I say" crossing the exact opposite of my life at [my] age.... The last place I want to be, at this stage of my life, is on a ship, in the middle of a vast ocean, with no way to get off. My friends are all cruisers, but for me, just give me solid ground and a means of escape-probably related to a life of motion sickness, vertigo etc. Fantastic column in Suddenly Senior it reinforced my interest in crossing the ocean and even returning the same way. I retired from EA but with children and my mother to take care of all of my infrequent travel was domestic. I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel and have requested various brochures from Cunard, Lindblad etc but I am not having much luck finding a way to travel without a companion. Do you have any information or suggestions on this subject? Thanks in advance. FINDING LOVE ONLINE:
I met someone online, but not through a single site. Very well written. You are great. Nice flow, interesting. Maybe do a follow up with more details on the mechanics [of online dating]? Doug- a beautiful email for today. Have a happy Valentines day with Carmen. MY 15 MINUTES OF FAME AS A  Just when I thought my dolce vita was over Time magazine put me on their cover - And suddenly my life got a fresh start. It was a sultry summer Sunday not unlike any other. I watered my plants, breathed in the morning air, made a pot of tea, glanced over the papers and checked my e-mail. Browsing leisurely through the news sites online, I suddenly stopped short: Was that my face on the cover of Time magazine? READ FULL STORY HERE Bravo! or is that brava...loved your "Suddenly Senior" column ... I'm a writing snob ( being a pro writer, too) so when I say I think a piece of writing is terrific, I really mean it. And I thoroughly enjoyed your column.
All I can express after reading this is......WOW, what a ride, huh? You are
a beautiful 60 and represent all of us Senior, hormoned, frenzied, mature
women......very well. Thank YOU!!
LOVE LOVE LOVED the piece. It reads like vintage Pierres --- entertaining,
thought-provoking, savvy, smart --- all those good things. I truly enjoyed
reading it. I forwarded it to a friend who also, it turns out, is a Susan
Pierres fan. She loved it and was inspired by it. Said she was going to
write to you right away.
You deserve all the accolades you are receiving. Reading your biography
of past life,plus your speaking up about the pharmaceutical stronghold
on the public makes me want to give my thanks for uttering the truth of
todays dishonesty used to sell products. Keep talking !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hurrah for you.....I feel just as vibrant and sexy as ever at 70.....I also
took HRT for 10 years and was told to stop it. I [sometimes] get a hot
flash. Still love being a woman !
Suddenly Susan... Don't know why I bothered to read this pop up in my e-mail especially since I am a male. I would normally delete this rubbish. I guess it was the picture of a beautiful woman that got my curiosity up so I read a terrific piece on a subject I had no interest in. You write as you look - "beautiful".
ARE YOU EVER
I found this article to be absolutely reassuring! That’s right. GET USED TO IT!
-- Loved this one Frank! Does not matter if you make it or not, getting there
is most of the fun anyway.An hour of petting is worth more than a few
minutes of making it. Great story, Frank and yours and Carolyns' stories lead one to believe that good sex is part of the remission process!! love you both -- wish there were an orgy up here!
WON'T $450 BILLION IN "MEDICARE CUTS" DESTROY MEDICARE??
Thank you, Frank. It's a cognitive presentation that rises above the tea
bagger fray, which receives so much attention. Now, it's up to thinking people
to forward this to those whose opinions are formed by e-mails generated by
right wing "tools." Thanks Frank for that article. I enjoyed it very much. After wathing the news today for a war surtax I was telling myself what is this governement thinking? where are they priorities? and as I wrote in the CNN blog the government needs to make homeland issues a priority instead of the war. unemployement health care and the economic crises created by banks and insurances companies.
.... It seems that insurances companies and banks are the owners of the country savagely raping the middle class and the governement just provide more money so they can continue with thei bad practices. ... Sorry for all the anger, but been on the receiving end of the insurers negligence makes me really mad when the government debates our lives like we are just pawn on a board. I'm sorry, Frank, I believe you are wrong. Medicare is one of the big problems. It is going bust. Its financing needs to be changed. We seniors cannot continue to be subsidized by the young. (See Saul Friedman below.) FEHBP for all is a better model and much more sensible way to go; along with an overhaul in how everything is financed. Employment based financing, business tax deduction, is the problem not the cure. Hope you and Carolyn are thriving and had a good Thanksgiving. Hi, Frank
I normally agree pretty whole heartedly with what I read in your newsletter. In this case, not whole heartedly.
Why does America always to have the "best (fill in the blank) in the world"? Why can't you just have a fair, manageable health care system like most of the rest of the "developed" world? No offence but if America really was the "best in the world" then you would currently have universal health care and not be number 37!! Other countries would be looking at your system to see how it was done. Not currently the case.
At any given moment I can go to my family doctor, to a walk in clinic, to the emergency department of my local hospital and access whatever level of medical care I require. I can have whatever tests, surgery or treatment is prescribed without ever seeing a bill. I can choose my doctors and am entitled to a second opinion. I cannot be dropped from the system because I become ill or because my condition is an expensive one to treat. As a citizen I am entitled to this care and I am willing to subsidize this system for low income or unemployed people because I believe that every human being is entitled to the same care. I am lucky enough to belong to a generation of Canadians who have never had to consider whether or not to have an operation or a treatment because of the cost. What a gift. Most of us probably have no idea of what these visits cost and probably never will have. I am not suggesting that there aren't waits in emergency rooms or waits to see certain specialists. However, if my situation is urgent, I will get care when I need it. Certainly a shorter wait than if I couldn't afford to go at all. There are a few tests for which I have to pay, mostly specialized eye exams in my case that only occur every few years.
It doesn't have to be the best in the world. It just has to be accessible, fair and equitable. Of course, I am Canadian and you know what we're like.
You are a great advocate for all things good and I enjoy hearing from you. Good neighbours are a wonderful thing.
Sending positive thoughts,
WHEN DID WE GET OLD?
Love this column….I just officially retired at 70 from teaching and I am a little apprehensive although tired of the routine of school, My husband who will be 75 this summer also decided to cash it in and we will be doing whatever!! We have always worked and are very young for our years, we look young, act young and feel young, (at least I do) what is next, he will still work a little and I will sub, but we have our health for now which we can’t take for granted, so many of our peers are ill or have become stagnant, this is not me, I hope….Look forward to your column, hope you are well, and I wish this column didn’t go to junk mail, I must change that asap… SEX AFTER DEATH? HEAVEN FORBID! As we slip and slide toward the inevitable, is there a senior among us who hasn't pondered heaven? Everyone's dying to get there. But haven't you ever wondered about hot sex beyond those pearly gates. Or the lack thereof. Eternity is a long time to go without a good roll in the hay. Questions abound. For those of us with husbands and wives who have passed on, do they meet us in that great white light demanding to know why we remarried after pledging eternal fidelity? And, when all's said and done, which spouse do you end up with for that eternity? Well, if we are old enough, who cares about sex. It depends to the feeling of each person. Mercedes Peralta To be honest I never thought about sex after death. I'm more concerned before death, thank you very much.
Well, since we leave our earthly bodies behind as our souls ascend to heaven, there's hardly any doubt that without a body there can be no sex. But the joy to be found in heaven will be so far beyond any ever found in sex, who cares if there is no sex in heaven. Merry Christmas to you and Carolyn.
Frank, For Christ sake, get off the sex subjects. You're acting like some perverted old ass hole. Bill Casey Want to comment on a Suddenly Senior column? Click here!
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Good column...by Susan...but she must have a very heavy head...she's supporting it in 3 out of 4 photos...HA!
(We photographers notice thing like this).
There is nothing quite like a transatlantic voyage to still your soul. No early morning wake-up, no daily ports of call; no self-induced pressure to sign up for every shore excursion in the book. Far from the chaos of the city - its traffic, smog, congestion, pollution - just you and your mate (or mother, daughter, sister, grandchild), the open ocean, the fresh clean air, a chance to read those books, remember things past, reshuffle life's priorities. 
Another Valentines Day is here, and single seniors are not sitting around. Internet dating has become a very popular way to find the perfect mate. While it might not be for everyone, letting your fingers do the walking has proven successful for many. This week, Suddenly Senior's Editor Doug Noble describes his personal experiences and offers some advice.
To the utter horror of our children, today's seniors are pushing the sexual envelope in ways, some say, contrary to all that's right and holy.
Used to be, by age 60, seniors were expected to hang it up, start acting their age, and prepare for the solemn business of departing this world. No more. What with Viagra, Levitra and all the other Ra-Ra's now available, even nonagenarians are behaving much like hormone-crazed teenagers, blithely ignoring both old-fashioned shame and open-mouthed stares.
Our government seems intent on stealing from Peter to pay Paul. That's how it looks to Frank. So he spent two weeks investigating where these magical "savings" of billions of dollars in Medicare might possibly come from. The answers he got ... well if you're one of the 44 million elderly Americans depending on Medicare, you won't like them much. [Ed.] 
Standing in a cafeteria line at my 45th college reunion, the woman from the class of '58 asked of no one in particular, "When did I get old?"
