Aging
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Podcast Episode: July Meditations, Reflections, Travelogue, and Scrapbook
Note: The underlying article can be found at https://ajprokop.com/2026/07/13/july-meditations-reflections-travelogue-and-scrapbook/ Pip: July — the month where some of us turn another year older, and at least one of us turns it into an entire philosophy of living. Mara: That’s the territory Andrew Prokop covers in his latest post — birthday inventory, a long-running Lake Superior tradition,… Continue reading
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July Meditations, Reflections, Travelogue, and Scrapbook
My life, I realize suddenly, is July. Childhood is June, and old age is August, but here it is, July, and my life, this year, is July inside of July. Rick Bass July is very important to me. First and foremost, it is the month I was born. It’s hard to imagine what Mom endured… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: Redefining Productivity
Note: The underlying article can be found at https://ajprokop.com/2026/07/06/redefining-productivity/ Pip: What does it mean to have a productive day when nobody’s keeping score anymore? That question turns out to be a lot harder than it sounds. Mara: Andrew Prokop takes it on directly in this episode — we’re looking at what productivity actually means once… Continue reading
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Redefining Productivity
You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end, each of us must work for his own improvement and, at the same time, share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful. Marie Curie During… Continue reading
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The Burden We Call Love
The burden which is well borne becomes light. Ovid At a recent gathering with a few male friends, our freewheeling conversation turned towards aging and caring for those who are no longer able to look after themselves. As is common, and somewhat expected with a group of white Americans, someone almost immediately said, “I don’t… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: Where do the Children Play
Note: The underlying article can be found at Where do the Children Play. Pip: There’s a site called Can You Hear Me Now, which is either a meditation on human connection or a very long complaint about cell service — and today, Andrew Prokop makes the case that it’s definitely the former. Mara: Andrew Prokop’s latest… Continue reading
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Where do the Children Play
It is right that he too should have his little chronicle, his memories, his reason, and be able to recognize the good in the bad, the bad in the worst, and so grow gently old down all the unchanging days, and die one day like any other day, only shorter. Samuel Beckett As a grandfather… Continue reading
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Death Cafe
The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins? Edgar Allan Poe Last Wednesday, my church hosted a death cafe. For the uninformed, a death cafe is a gathering of people who want to talk about death. There is… Continue reading
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Healthy Sexuality
Sexuality is one of the ways that we become enlightened, actually, because it leads us to self-knowledge. Alice Walker Note: I tried to not use the word “sexuality” in the title of this article, but the alternates were either too clunky or sounded as if I was trying too hard to sound clever. “Life is… Continue reading
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As Time Goes By
All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages. William Shakespeare I recently stumbled upon a website of world events throughout time. By poking around the years, I was able… Continue reading
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Everything is Everything
In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on. Robert Frost 40-plus years ago one of my dearest friends spent three years in prison. For the sake of his privacy, I will call him Greg. I didn’t know Greg back then and he tells me that he was not… Continue reading
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It’s Your Story, Keep it Real
Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans. John Lennon Every Wednesday at 10:00, I gather with 10 to 15 similarly aged men for conversation and fellowship. We often start our meeting with the big news of the day, but it doesn’t take much to shift into subjects more personal and relevant… Continue reading
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If I Knew Now What I Knew Then
Cease trying to work everything out with your minds. It will get you nowhere. Live by intuition and inspiration and let your whole life be revelation. Eileen Caddy I recently found a copy of C. S. Lewis’ The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe in one my neighborhood’s Little Free Libraries. It must be at… Continue reading
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On Death and Loss
The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of those depths. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross After a break for the holidays, I am back to my Coming of Age journey. So much has happened since the pause. Most importantly, ICE… Continue reading
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Banana, Sunset, Chair
Yes, Mother. I can see you are flawed. You have not hidden it. That is your greatest gift to me. Alice Walker Last week I had my Medicare Wellness Check. For those of you not on Medicare, it’s a yearly visit with your doctor to evaluate your health both physically and emotionally. In addition to… Continue reading
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Who’s on First?
History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce. Karl Marx Shortly after Mom’s 90th birthday she said to me, “How did I get so old?” My answer was quick and to the point. “You didn’t die.” While I am far short of Mom’s eventual 98 years, I can’t help but ask myself the same… Continue reading
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First Frost
All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost. J. R. R. Tolkien We had our first frost of the season on Saturday. Having lived in Minnesota since the 1980s, I know that no… Continue reading
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On Being Human
We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin I began an on-again, off-again relationship with Unitarianism sometime in the late 1990s. Admittedly, I was introduced to the religion by my wife who grew up Unitarian. I was raised a Catholic, but somewhere… Continue reading
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Get Off My Lawn
I’ll know my song well before I start singing. Bob Dylan I like to say that I catch nostalgia like a cold. It grabs hold of me and clouds my senses with illusions and fantasies. Play Me and You and a Dog Named Boo and I’m 13-years-old driving in the car with Dad up to… Continue reading
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All the World is Birthday Cake
You know you’re getting old when the candles cost more than the cake. Bob Hope Last week I had another one of those birthday things. It wasn’t one that ends in zero, so it didn’t have the gravitas of a big transition. Still, I am of the belief that even these lesser-milestone birthdays are special… Continue reading
Can You Hear Me Now 