I also checked out selections that I don’t usually view. One was a podcast interview with the late poet Mary Oliver by Krista Tippett, first aired in On Being in February 2015. Oliver wasn’t someone I was familiar with, but I learned she spent as much time as she could walking in the woods at home where she grew up, and later around Provincetown, Mass. Tippett asked her why she walked so slowly in the woods. Her reply, was that she was often very poor, and foraged for food in the woods and along the shore. How straightforward! I started her slim volume, Felicity (2015) and had to force myself to read it slowly. What a thoughtful poet. She was very into Rumi’s poetry, and with that I will continue to move through his poems too.

The editorial comment in our Sunday Democrat and Chronicle was about readers’ reactions to changes in the newspaper. I have a one-word comment: Presbyopia. One of the hardest changes related to aging has been my eyes' inability to focus on nearby objects. An online definition says it's a natural, often annoying part of aging that starts in one’s 40s and continues to worsen until around age 65.

I’ve read a daily paper, especially the funnies, for 50 years and I’m not ready to stop. There’s no arguing about my place in an aging demographic and that “the good old days” of newspapers have passed. The odds of my switching to online content is low. This question may not have an answer: How are the people who have tired eyes and zoom fatigue going to handle vision issues as they age?

The monthly City magazine also had readers’ feedback about changes in its content and format. No quibbles from me. It’s a pleasure to read local content about the city I love. Not every article interests me equally, but I enjoyed the monthly suggestions for WXXI TV, classical and radio. I’m felt tempted to attend Blackfriars Theatre’s “Calendar Girls”, Weird Al Yankovic’s show at the Kodak Center and who can resist the free shows for the CGI International Jazz Fest? The Bacon Brothers, as in Michael and Kevin, appear June 25, downtown. Wow!

Monday blog post. https://rokeefehistory.com/blog #amreading; #RochesterNY; #NationalParks; #Netflix; #BarrackObama; #MaryOliver; #Felicity; #KristaTippett; #democratandchronicle; #presbyopia; #Citymag; #WXXI; #BlackfriarsTheatre; #InternationalJazzFest;