Category: Main Stories

By Cameron Reeder | Living 50 Plus Cameron Reeder is a resident of Decatur who wrote this account of his trip through the Midwest for Living 50 Plus. I tuned 60 on June 22. What happened? Suddenly, I find that I am old. Wasn’t I just 18 last year? I think everyone has asked these questions at some point in

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By Emily Griffith | Living 50 Plus Many struggle to find purpose in retirement after a lifetime of hard work. For Terry Connor, retirement is a blessing that has allowed him to accelerate his art. “I’m cranking out picture after picture because I’m at peace, I don’t have to worry about work (and) I’m in an environment where I can

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By Michael Wetzel | Living 50 Plus Charlie Gover isn’t about to slow down at age 70. The former high school coach who serves on the Falkville Town Council has just begun taking scuba diving lessons. He’s fitting the lessons in between weightlifting, pickleball, table tennis, archery, bicycle riding, spelunking and running. Gover goes out of his way to stay

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By Bruce McLellan | Living 50 Plus Edith Garner sat beside 4-year-old Adam Vargas and told him they would read a book together. “Talk to me,” said Garner, a volunteer at Maxine Ellison Decatur Youth Enrichment Learning Center. “What’s your name?” Adam looked at her silently. Garner, who spent a quarter century with Decatur City Schools and has been a

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By Emily Griffith | Living 50 Plus Habitat for Humanity volunteer Sam Beadle grew up in a low-income family, so he understands the importance of a home. As the ninth out of 10 kids in a three-room home, he knows what families in the Habitat program are going through. That makes his efforts with the program even more meaningful. “I enjoy

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By Tim Nail | Living 50 Plus When Terry Carver retired four years ago, he didn’t want to spend all of his time relaxing. “I just like to stay busy,” said Carver, now 69. “I don’t like to sit around and do nothing in the daytime.” So after a career in the U.S. Air Force and as a network operator

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By Ron Stokes I am a backpacker (noun).  That is, I regularly hike or travel carrying everything I may need in a backpack. I backpack (verb) because I love being outside and exploring areas best seen on foot.  I am also a CPA (nerd) and I am forced to spend extended periods of time indoors in an office.  I love

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