Author: Living 50 Plus

By Catherine Godbey | Living 50 Plus Donned in an ill-fitting, hand-me-down red suit and cheap boot covers, Paul Martin, his short hair and beard gray, glanced in the mirror dishearteningly. He knew everyone at the holiday event for special needs individuals would see him as an imposter. “I didn’t look like the real Santa. I was so worried that

» Read more

By Catherine Godbey | Living 50 Plus Surrounded by 40 rolls of wrapping paper and hundreds of packages of T-shirts, socks and underwear, Tracey Cater turns on a football game and wraps boxes. For two weeks every December for the past 12 years, Cater has sorted shirts, socks and underwear and wrapped them in boxes topped with a candy cane

» Read more

By Catherine Godbey | Living 50 Plus As Carlos Gomez began the last lap of his workout, Jane Johnson shouted cheers of encouragement. “Come on Carlos. One more. You can do it,” Johnson said. Upon completing the lap, the 52-year-old Gomez placed his dumbbells on the ground and dropped to the floor. “It is very hard, but also very satisfying,”

» Read more

By Catherine Godbey | Living 50 Plus Clad in a long, curly black wig, a pirate’s hat and a hook covering his right hand, Phil Parker stepped onto the Princess Theatre stage as Captain Hook and checked another role off his bucket list. “I’ve been lucky enough that I’ve gotten to play a lot of the roles I’ve had on

» Read more

By Catherine Godbey | Living 50 Plus Sitting in his grandfather’s rocking chair, surrounded by family photographs and shelves lined with books, Harry Moore thumbed through the pages of his latest poetry collection, “We the People: Confessions of a Caucasian Southerner.” “Writing this book and these poems has been a burden. I needed to write them. They are rooted in

» Read more

By Catherine Godbey | Living 50 Plus As the faint sound of “Dixie” played on the harmonica drifted through the heavy air of late summer, the Rev. Myron Mooney manned his post behind a wooden table. Beneath a canvas tent, Mooney regaled visitors with tales from the Civil War. He talked of how Confederate bands played “Nearer My God to

» Read more

By Catherine Godbey | Living 50 Plus Clicks and clacks — the bird-like sounds of tiles clinking against one another — a sound that earned Mahjong, which translates to “Sparrow” its name — provided a sort-of background music as players swapped stories of grandchildren, husbands and upcoming vacations. “We get sidetracked pretty easy ’cause we get to talking,” Patti Puma

» Read more