Author Stan Goldberg

10/28/14 The last time I ran was more than 15 years ago in the Treasure Island Triathlon. What followed was a less than successful hip replacement and years of lamenting losing an important part of my...

04/07/14  I recently returned from a fly-fishing trip to the Mt. Shasta area. As I waded the McCloud River I struggled to remain on top of rounded, slippery rocks. After falling the second time, I looked for...

06/27/14   Last night I went to an intimate dinner-concert to hear my favorite shakuhachi player. When I sat next to a couple I bubbled over with praise for his virtuosity on the shakuhachi. They looked...

06/25/14   I started being annoyed a few years ago at foreign customer service representatives. The only thing accurate about their title was that they were foreign. I felt they were deliberately speaking...

06/23/14  A few months ago I began doing wood sculpting. The first few pieces were done from blocks of kiln-dried wood. The desired object was drawn on the wood and I cut out unnecessary pieces. I was...

06/09/14  A friend I know for more than 20 years asked to speak with me about a life-threatening illness. He didn’t want medical advise. He was interested in how he would be able to emotionally deal with a...

06/13/14  I think everyone has a limited ability to function well. As we age, that threshold becomes lower. Imagine this ability is a 10” pie. The more pieces taken out, the less there is for you. What...

06/11/14  I’ve just spent a week in North Carolina and was floored by the openness of the people I met. A simple question I asked a baker became a warm animated conversation about making sourdough bread and...

06/10/14  I’ve finally accepted that my computer doesn’t hate me. Doesn’t try to make my life miserable. Doesn’t introduce new lines of code to trick me. Isn’t trying to embarrass me. I’m just...

06/09/14   As I age and read books on how I can recreate the body I had when I was 20 by just buying a jar of this newly developed elixer that isn’t sold in any regulated stores that I can receive free if...

06/08/14  I had the wonderful experience yesterday of performing the marriage service for the daughter of my friend of 45 years. My contribution to the structure of the service (they selected the writings and...

06/06/14  Did you ever have that uncomfortable feeling that maybe you aren’t as important to someone as they are to you? I recently I spent eight hours with an old friend who I hadn’t seen in four years....

06/18/14  After receiving my fourth telemarketing call (and yes I’m on the do not call list) I realized that my anger at being disturbed increased exponentially with each call. Why, I asked myself, would I...

06/05/14  I was at an event the other day and politely listened to two people talk about how their friend was ruining her life. “If I was her,” one said, “I wouldn’t have done it that way.” The...

06/04/14   I recently met a friend who I hadn’t seen for 10 years. Looking at him I thought, “My God, he’s gotten old!” Of course in my mind I’m still 50, slim, and athletic. But when a looked into...

06/03/14 Just like everyone, there are times when I feel I’m on the edge of depression. It could be a seemingly insurmountable writing problem, a physical issue, or looking at what’s going on in the world...

Many people pretend they bathe daily in the Fountain of Youth. While the delusion may be soothing for those who are aging, the gap between self-image and reality can have serious consequences as it did for me...

When I see commercials on how to recreate the body I had at 20-years-of-age by applying a magical cream that isn’t sold in any regulated stores and free to me for the next ninety minutes if I agree to...

We may be changing, but we’re not dead yet. I think people who are younger than us—like our adult children—are often confused about how to react to our diminishing abilities.

In 2009 I wrote, When the Ground Shakes, an article in which I described finding my mother coming out of a forested area holding a bunch of sticks and twigs. In response to my question of what she was doing,...