Twenty years ago today was the Inauguration Day for President Bill Clinton’s second term and the first time The Washington Post covered a Presidential Inauguration in real time for the online audience. As a producer/editor on the "dot com" team (what were called by Post print journalists back then), I got to be a part of that historical moment.
My editor, Retha, and I were tasked with the very special assignment of reporting from the Inaugural Balls. I pulled a dusty bridesmaid’s dress from my closet for a rare second wearing and brought plenty of quarters along to the Washington Convention Center. After all, it was 1997. We didn’t have cell phones and we didn’t have wi-fi. So in order to make it look as though we were publishing live updates blog-style, but many years before blogs were invented, we had to use pay phones to call a copy editor in the newsroom to type in our reports.
Although our pieces were pretty snarky, the gig was unforgettably glamorous for a young journalist. I still remember how Retha tried to talk Evander Holyfield’s limo driver into dropping us off at the end of the night, a fact that didn’t make the package of stories, probably because we’d run out of quarters.
In today's age of the ubiquitous selfie, it seems impossible that we have no photos from the night. Though considering late '90s fashion norms and my quasi-Rachel-from-Friends haircut, maybe that’s for the best.
Looking at the old pages our team put together for Inauguration 1997 reminded me just how text-heavy our work was. Although people (not me at the time) owned digital cameras, we still had to upload the images directly to a computer before using them. But the lack of visuals on the site had far more to do with the fact that the majority of our audience used dial-up to reach our content at the time. Photos took forever to download in the AOL and Netscape age of web browsing.
So Much Change
So much changed between that Presidential Inauguration night and the next one. Not to mention between then and the next 20 years.
The Post embraced live, continuous news and Washingtonpost.com became, I believe, the best news site in the world for digital coverage of the 2000 Presidential election, which ended in a tie between George W. Bush and Al Gore and triggered a complicated recount in Florida. Ultimately, of course, the election went to Bush through a controversial and split U.S. Supreme Court decision; digital journalists covered the election updates constantly and thoroughly. The country needed digital journalists to step up during that time and especially, many months later after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. (I was long gone by that time, though — back in the Midwest, watching the dot-com bubble burst while going to grad school.)
Print and digital reporters were finally working together to tell stories in 2000. In 1997, by contrast, the print edition of the Post sent its own reporters to cover the Inauguration and Inaugural Balls and ran the stories in the next morning’s edition. Although laughable now, The Post — like many newspapers then — still worried about scooping itself by posting a story online before it ran in print in those years.
Since that time, cell phones and digital cameras have become de rigueur reporting tools for journalists. The idea that a reporter would not live-tweet from a breaking news scene because he or she wanted to save the story for print is fairly unthinkable. Audiences now demand constantly updated, multimedia storytelling that they can comment on and share immediately. This ball night, I fully expect to see photos and video of Melania and Ivanka’s gowns on social media the second the women step out of their limos.
Two Decades of Wisdom and Innovation
I won’t be flying to D.C. to cover anything Inaugural for Next Avenue and Twin Cities PBS, but I do look forward to seeing what The Post has in store for this year’s coverage. I’ll also inevitably reminisce about that ’97 Inauguration — maybe tagging Retha and other former colleagues in a Facebook post to remind them how long ago it was and how so much has changed. That goes for both the people we were 20 years and four presidents ago as much as the work we did in those early days of digital journalism.
As bland and basic as those early pages look to me now, I’d love to recapture some of the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, DIY spirit we had back in those early dot com news days. We really went for it and were free to do so in part because traditional print journalism wasn't quite sure what to make of its online counterparts (around that time, a friend on the print side of the Post told me that since the web was a fad, I should consider returning to traditional media). We could cover the Inauguration however we liked. Our audience was fairly small then, but they were enthusiastic early tech adopters who were excited to have access (then free) to The Post in an interactive new medium.
Looking back always makes me look within and think about what I've learned over the years. I'm a digital journalist again. I’m grateful for the technology upgrades and multimedia thinking our field has gained since then, but can't help thinking that those of us who've been working in digital journalism for the past two decades need to lean not only on technical learnings but also on the wisdom we've gained from our work online. We now know more about what our audiences expect and enjoy reading than ever before. We have more access to digital documents and data. We are able to explain history as it quickly unfolds. We can use photos and video but also animation and virtual reality to really tell the story.
We've now reached another critical historical moment in time as it relates to serving our digital audience (which is now most of the news audience). Although the technological advancement in storytelling is wonderful, I have a feeling that we'll need that hard-earned wisdom more than ever.


The Original Dot Com Inauguration

Shayla Thiel Stern

Felice Shapiro, 56, and Ronna Benjamin, 54, know how it feels to go through a midlife career crisis because they've been there.
They’re the founding partners of Betterafter50.com (sometimes known as BA50.com), a weekly online magazine and community for women over 50.
Earlier this month, I heard them share their personal career reinvention stories at BA50’s SHE DID IT/NY conference, an event dedicated to connecting women to the next phase of their lives. In a minute, I’ll pass on their lessons for you.
 
But first, a little background on the BA50.com founders.
 
A Tragic Event That Inspired A Reinvention
 
In the 1980s, '90s and early '00s, Shapiro, a mother of two in Larchmont, N.Y., created and sold a group of regional parenting publications, taught yoga and helped establish a yoga center in nearby Rye, N.Y. Life was good. But in 2005, just as she was about to send her youngest son off to college, her life took a drastic turn when her husband, Alan, was killed by a car while out for his morning jog.
 
(MORE: Career Shift: ‘You’re Never Too Old’ Success Stories)
 
“I worked hard to create a new life,” she recalled. “I challenged myself to say yes to anything that would prevent me from being invisible.” Those “yes” experiences included teaching entrepreneurship classes at Tufts and New York University, dating and running a marathon.
 
The more Shapiro challenged herself, the more confident she grew. Over time, she remarried, moved to Boston (she now splits her time between Boston and Larchmont) and, in November 2011, launched Betterafter50.com.
 
Career Boredom Spurs a Fresh Start
 
Benjamin’s story is less dramatic, but equally inspiring.
 
For 28 years, the Boston-based mother of three worked as a real estate attorney. But as Benjamin approached 50, she was bored with her career and felt ready for a change. “I hated being a lawyer, but I didn’t know what else to do,” she said.
 
Benjamin's friends advised her to follow her passions. “So I tried growing orchids, stringing beads and starting a meringue cookie business,” she said. None of the passion experiments held her attention for long.
 
Meanwhile, sleepless nights brought on by menopause had awakened her zest for writing. Benjamin created a blog, appropriately named 100sleeplessnights.com, sharing her thoughts about her aging parents, adult children, insomnia and other midlife challenges. The more she wrote, the more she realized how much she enjoyed being a writer.
 
How the Two Women Linked Up
 
A friend sent Benjamin a link to BA50.com on the day it launched. Intrigued, Benjamin sent Shapiro one of her articles. Shapiro, who was thrilled to receive her first submission, immediately contacted Benjamin and the two agreed to meet.
 
(MORE: What to Do When You’ve Lost the Passion for Your Career)
 
Benjamin told Shapiro she was eager to become a writer. Since Shapiro was looking for content and both women lived in Boston, a match was made.
 
Today, Benjamin is the managing editor of BA50.com, Shapiro is the publisher and the two collaborate on growing the site and rolling out conferences around the country.
 
With 85,000 monthly visitors for betterafter50.com, the women are excited about the site's potential. “Our goal is to be a key resource helping women over 50 figure out what’s next in their lives,” Shapiro said. “Not just in terms of their career, but in all aspects of their lives.”
 
As I listened to Shapiro and Benjamin recount their stories, I couldn’t help but marvel at the similarities between their reinvention lessons and the ones I discovered while interviewing people for my book Second-Act Careers: 50+ Ways to Profit From Your Passions During Semi-Retirement.
 
While every person’s story is different, it’s clear that certain behavioral patterns help drive reinvention success.
 
4 Lessons From Their Career Reinventions
 
Here are four takeaways from Shapiro’s and Benjamin’s career reinventions:
 
1. Action trumps analysis. Thinking about building a second act around a passion often leaves people stuck in analysis paralysis. Sometimes, as Shapiro and Benjamin found, you just need to get out of your head and go do something.
 
Of course, that doesn’t mean taking the time to figure out what you want to do next is time wasted. It’s smart to begin thinking about compelling causes, interesting people and meaningful activities. But then take an action: volunteer, take classes, temp or moonlight.
 
(MORE: A Midlife Career Shift Against All Odds)
 
As you test things out, you’ll discover what you do and don’t like. Then you can fine-tune your next steps accordingly.
 
2. Consistency counts. When Shapiro thought about creating an online magazine, she challenged herself to write every day for 100 days. Committing to work even when she didn’t feel like it helped her succeed.
 
A career reinvention process can be overwhelming. But if you work at it consistently — step by step, day after day — you’ll build momentum toward a meaningful new path.
 
3. A supportive community is invaluable. “Change is easier when you meet someone who believes in you,” Benjamin said. It’s true — that’s why I urge people going through a career change to find a buddy, coach or support team to help them through the process. You might even want to form a career transitions group with other local women.
When you think back on major transitions in your life, like graduations, marriage or new jobs, chances are you had a network of family, friends and mentors who guided, cheered and supported you. Surrounding yourself with a caring community is a critical part of career reinvention success, too.
4. Luck happens when preparation meets opportunity. Sure, it was serendipitous that Benjamin learned about Shapiro’s site the day after it launched. But if she hadn’t been writing for months, it’s unlikely Benjamin would have submitted anything for Shapiro’s consideration.
 
The people who “get lucky” shifting careers work hard and are prepared when opportunity comes along. So get out there and make your own luck.


How Women Can Reinvent Their Careers After 50

Nancy Collamer

Over the last few years, there’s been a boom in the number of websites targeting 50+ job hunters. 
 
On the surface, this appears to be a positive trend for older Americans looking for work. But is there any real advantage to using such Web destinations if you’re a boomer prowling for your next position? Or is the 50+ focus just marketing hype?
 
I decided to find out.
 
Test-Driving 50+ Job Boards
To help evaluate these job boards, I asked Ellen Ornaf, 58, a Connecticut resident searching for a senior level human resources position, to supplement her efforts by checking for positions on three sites: SimplyHired.com, using its 50+ filter; AARP’s Life Reimagined for Work; and Workforce50.com.
 
SimplyHired50.com is a job-post aggregator that lets you hunt specifically for “Age 50+ Friendly Companies.” Life Reimagined for Work is AARP’s job board powered by LinkedIn, the social network for business. And the Workforce50.com careers' site has a search tool, managed by the job-posting aggregator Indeed.com, to “find jobs for Boomers, Seniors and Experienced Workers.”
 
(MORE: The Right (and Wrong) Ways to Use Job Boards)
Ornaf tested them for several weeks and then reported back. Her conclusion? There’s no real advantage to searching for jobs on these sites compared to broad-based alternatives such as LinkedIn itself or Monster.com.
 
“The postings were not calibrated or flushed-out to cater to the 50+ age group,” she told me.
 
After looking over these sites and areas myself, I basically agree with Ellen.
 
But I was a little keener than she was about Life Reimagined for Work (formerly known as Work Reimagined), not just for the site’s job postings but for its robust library of boomer-specific content and tools for midlife job seekers and career changers.
 
Similarly, I’d suggest spending some time on Workforce50.com for its helpful boomer-specific job-search articles, as well as advice about franchises, military-to civilian job transitions and reviews of career books.
 
(MORE: Job Hunters: Here’s How You Can Stand Out From the Pack)
 
Why Boards for Older Job Seekers Disappoint
One reason the job-post tools on these sites failed to impress us is that “people over 50” is a large, diverse demographic. It’s virtually impossible to filter search results to effectively meet the needs of everyone in this group. Another: by law, companies can’t advertise jobs for a specific age group only.
 
I think you’re better served using job sites like LinkedIn, Simplyhired.com and Indeed.com that let you slice their postings by criteria such as geography, industry, experience or salary.
 
Niche Job Boards Are Often Best
Better still are niche sites specializing in particular fields.
They often include exclusive listings that don’t show up elsewhere. And since fewer people think to look for jobs on them, there’s a greater chance that your resumé will be noticed. For example, if you’re a D.C.-based media professional earning six figures, you might try searching for openings on sites like Dcjobs.com, Mediabistro.com and Sixfigurejobs.com.
 
Two Sites I Recommend for Job Hunters
Let me tell you a little bit more about how Life Reimagined for Work can be useful to get hired and another site, Encore.org, which is terrific if you'd like to find meaningful second-act work.
 
Life Reimagined for Work As I mentioned earlier, this AARP site offers a wealth of resources for career changers, job seekers and anyone interested in starting their own businesses in midlife or later. (I'd also recommend checking out the sister site AARP.org for its 2013 Best Employers for Workers Over 50 list, whose companies and organizations value an experienced workforce.)
On Life Reimagined for Work, you’ll find a growing library of articles, inspirational profiles, videos, webinars and interactive tools, whether you’re looking for a full-time job, considering a new direction or downshifting into semi-retirement. Life Reimagined for Work also hosts group discussions that connect you to peers to share insights.
 
(MORE: 7 Keys to a Successful Job Search)
Two of my favorite articles on the site are “Scholarships for Midlifers” and “Working Past 65? Boost Your Financial Security in Five Easy Steps.”
 
One of the nice features of the site’s job-postings partnership with LinkedIn is that if you search here (after connecting with your LinkedIn account), you’ll see positions from such companies as Google and MetLife that have specifically signed a pledge to “level the playing field for experienced workers.”
 
When I tried it out, I was shown 3,585 jobs at 68 companies. Not a bad return.
 
Encore.org is the go-to destination for boomers interested in second careers that combine passion, purpose and a paycheck. You can learn about fellowship programs sponsored by Encore and college programs offered online and on campus.
 
Encore.org has links to other nonprofit job boards and sites, but I think its own job listings page is especially useful if you’d like to work for a nonprofit. That's where you’ll find the Encore Career Finder tool, now in beta, which searches Careerbuilder.com for openings. I gave it a quick test drive and found it quite intuitive and easy to use.
One final tip for job hunters: Limit the amount of time you look for openings online and focus instead on networking.
 
That’s what Ornaf did and now she’s happily employed in a senior HR position with a global construction firm.
 


How Good Are 'Over 50' Job Boards?

As I type this, my laptop is emitting sounds I haven’t heard since I traded in my trusty and much beloved Underwood for a computer keyboard back in early 1980s.
 
Click, click, clack. Ding! Ah, the glorious sound of a manual typewriter.
 
Inspired by Ruby Sparks, a new romantic comedy about a writer who still uses an old-school typewriter, I’m hearing these sounds again thanks to Noisy Typewriter, a free app that you can install on a computer. (Sorry, right now it only works on Macs.) Once installed, it runs underneath your other applications, so that as you peck out a document or email, voila, you have the audio accompaniment of a manual or electric typewriter. It’s as if you were simultaneously typing both the new and the old-fashioned way.
 
For those of us old enough to have learned to type on a typewriter, the click-click of keys and the whirr of a carriage return are comforting. This was the soundtrack of my adolescence — I worked at my hometown newspaper in high school — and early twenties.
 
Installing Noisy Typewriter on your laptop is the eqivalent of opting for an old-fashioned ringtone on your cell phone or loading up your iPod with vintage Bing Crosby and Benny Goodman tunes, or the Beatles and Rolling Stones. Ditto for buying DVDs only of movies made before 1980 or watching black-and-white films from Hollywood’s Golden Age on Turner Classic Movies and your big screen HDTV.
 
In each case, you’re enjoying old-school pleasures using the latest gadgetry. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Technology is a tool; make it work for you.
 
As I began to make like a modern-day Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday (1940), hammering away on my now noisy laptop, I got to thinking about how the evolution of technology is reflected in popular film. Consider my favorite film ever, Shop Around the Corner, a glorious romantic comedy from 1940 that was remade as You’ve Got Mail in 1998 by the late Nora Ephron. In the original film, James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan are bickering sales clerks in a gift shop, unaware that as pseudonymous pen pals they’re carrying on an epistolary courtship. In Ephron’s updated version, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan snipe at each other as proprietors of rival bookstores, even as they flirt shamelessly, and anonymously, online via their computer screens.
 
In movies about journalists, characters have gone from using typewriters (1931’s The Front Page through 1975’s All the President’s Men) to computers (2009’s State of Play) and TV cameras (1987’s Broadcast News and last year’s Morning Glory). Any up-to-date depiction of a halfway competent journalist today would have to show him or her juggling reporting, writing, shooting and filing stories via laptop, smart phone video, Skype and more.
 
Don’t even get me started on cell phones. There would be no Home Alone (1990) if wee Macaulay Culkin had been able to call his parents to alert them they were headed to the airport without him. In movies these days, if a plot is to turn on a character not being able to ring for help, a screenwriter is forced to pave the way early on with expository excuses. Hence, someone loudly proclaims that he has forgotten his cell phone, dropped it in the toilet, has a low battery or, gosh darn, just can’t get a signal out here. In To Rome With Love, one main character dropped it through a grate.
 
(And where, pray tell, now that phone booths have disappeared, is Superman supposed to change from Clark Kent to Man of Steel?)
 
All of which brings me back to the charming Ruby Sparks, opening Friday (July 27). The movie’s hero is a young novelist (played by Paul Dano) who suffers from writer’s block and emotional stasis. Symbolically, he still pecks out his manuscripts on a manual typewriter. When, near the movie’s end, he takes major steps to shift his life into forward gear and put the past behind him, the movie discreetly signals the change by showing him at work, writing on a laptop.
 
Of course, if he installed the Noisy Typer app he could have the best of both worlds.
Click, click. Ding!


The Allure of Old-School Typing

Leah Rozen


	Is your dresser crammed with uncomfortable bras, stretched-out panties and tangled hosiery? If so, it's time to take action. There’s no reason to hoard lingerie that has begun to fray or doesn’t fit. Get rid of those unflattering unmentionables, and don't mention them again. Summer is a sexy time of year, so don't celebrate it by being old droopy drawers. Here a few simple steps to start the streamlining process. 

	 

	Next, sort everything by category, making separate piles of bras, underpants, socks, hosiery, camisoles and sleepwear.

	Now ruthlessly examine each of the piles. Jettison anything with tired elastic, holes, runs or pulled threads. Ditto any items you no longer wear because they pinch, itch, ride up, fall down or generally don’t match your lifestyle. Or maybe you still do wear them, and shouldn't. Be honest with yourself: If those lacy babydolls aren't your thing, 86 'em.
	Once you've eliminated the articles you don't — or shouldn't — wear, it's time to make sure your lingerie wardrobe is balanced. (But before replacing any tattered garments, you might want to head to a reputable shop and have yourself measured if it's been a while.)
	Here’s a breakdown of the essentials:
	 

	• T-shirt bra. A smooth-cup style, lightly lined or molded for a sleek look under clingy knits and cotton tops.

	• Convertible bra. One with straps that can be rearranged to work under racer or halter styles, or removed for strapless looks.

	• Demi bra. With wider-set straps and cups with a straighter line across the bust for more décolleté, but also to wear under square and scoop-neck tops. (Fuller-busted women might prefer a balcony or semi-demi style.)

	 

	If you wear a particular style of bra all the time, you should have several. Black, white and nude are staples, but don’t shy away from colors and hues, especially if you wear a lot of dark colors and opaque fabrics.

	 

	Stick to the cut you like best: bikini, brief, hipster or thong. Most women’s fit problems have to do with “bun coverage,” Nethero says. “Women tend to shift panties back to cover the bun, which just leads to wrinkling and riding up,” she explains. Instead of tugging, try a different size or cut — or maybe a different brand. And make sure the elastic is snug: If it’s loose at the leg, you’ll get wedgies; loose at the waist, the panties will slip down.

	 

	You may prefer to sleep in an old T and boxers, or your birthday suit, but you'll need suitable sleepwear — clean, free of holes and relatively modest — for when you are a guest in someone else’s home. Think pajamas, or a silky gown, and a robe to go with them. Stock up on a few variations with season and location in mind: The Hamptons in the summer, Aspen in the winter. . . 

	Otherwise, quantity is up to you. If you like fresh jammies every night, then stock up.

	 

	Amanda Sullivan, owner of the Perfect Daughter, a business that specializes in “chaos control,” says the key to keeping drawers neat is access. “Think about what you reach for daily, and put it where it’s easy to get,” she says. “Then store it in a way that’s simple for you to maintain.”

	Fold bras in half, tucking the straps into the cups, and spoon them in your drawer from front to back, placing everyday bras toward the front. “If you have a bra that you only wear with a specific garment, save drawer space and keep it with the top or dress it goes with,” Sullivan says. Keep bra-and-panty sets together; otherwise, maintain a separate drawer, or section of a drawer, for panties. Fold and sort them by style or color (you might consider making one stack black, white and beige; another, colors and prints).
	 

	Sullivan says a drawer for each category is ideal, but not everyone is blessed with a walk-in closet fitted with custom cabinets. To make the most of limited space, use drawer dividers and stash related items together. For example, if you sleep in T-shirts, there may be crossover between your bedtime Ts and your workout clothes, so keep them together.

	And when you acquire new items, keep quantities under control by getting rid of old ones — all year around.

Katie Kretschmer is a freelance writer and editor who lives in New York and specializes in fashion.


Organize Your Lingerie Drawer for a Sexier You

Katie Kretschmer

MOVIES
 
Quartet
 
Forget the rom-com. These days, it’s all about the ret-com. The latest “retirement comedy,” Quartet, directed by 75-year-old Dustin Hoffman, stars 78-year-old Maggie Smith ("Downton Abbey") as a reluctant new arrival at an English countryside retirement home that caters entirely to former stage performers. It’s a light-hearted look at the aging diva’s ultimate dilemma: how do you cope with life outside the spotlight?
 
TELEVISION
 
Beauty Is Embarrassing, PBS, Independent Lens, Jan. 21, 10 p.m.
 
“I’m a middle-aged man living out a 5-year-old’s fantasy,” says artist Wayne White, whose life and work is chronicled in this documentary that took the indie film fest circuit by storm. Best known for his work as set designer and puppeteer for Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, White’s story will captivate and inspire anyone who’s ever dreamed of devoting his life to following his own creative impulses.
 
MUSIC
 
West of Memphis, Voices for Justice, Various Artists
 
For two decades, the plight of the West Memphis 3 has troubled those who’ve followed the case. When three teenagers were wrongfully convicted in 1994 of murdering three little boys in West Memphis, Ark., the story attracted the attention of filmmakers, celebrities and musicians alike. This benefit soundtrack from the recent documentary of the same name features an all-star lineup of supporters, including Lucinda Williams, Bob Dylan, Henry Rollins, Eddie Vedder, Johnny Depp, Natalie Maines and Patti Smith. The music is as haunting as the tragic tale itself.
 
BOOKS
 
She Matters: A Life in Friendships, Susanna Sonnenberg
 
In this memoir chronicling the women she has liked, loved and lost, Susanna Sonnenberg explores the powerful bonds and nuances of female friendships, from a summer camp best friend to the woman who broke off their relationship after lunch with a terse seven-word email: “I can’t be friends with you anymore.” Your friendship history is likely to be less drama-infused than Sonnenberg’s, but her insights just might spark your own fond reminiscences of those once-special someones who got away.
 
WORTH THE TRIP 
 
"Irving Penn Underfoot" at the Art Institute of Chicago, Jan. 17 – May 12
 
Walking the streets of Manhattan with a stool and a camera rigged with extension tubes, fashion photographer Irving Penn lowered his eye nearly to the pavement, where he found a universe of detritus: pebbled concrete, cheap discarded matches and cigarette butts. This exhibition of those images proves that the eye of a true artist can transform something as banal and disgusting as a glob of chewing gum into an object of odd beauty.
 
Pamela Miller is a freelance writer who lives in Los Angeles.


Don't-Miss List: 'Quartet,' 'Beauty Is Embarrassing' and More

Pamela Miller

Candy Heintz's love of trailers started at an early age. She was born and raised in a pink and white 1958 Skyline Deluxe. Her mother and father, a boilermaker for power plants, bought it brand new and raised the family in it as they moved from job to job.
 
Today, Heintz, 53, is still hooked to her past. She is a member of a growing group of boomers who are seeking, restoring and using these vintage gems to relive a second childhood. 
“It takes you back to a peaceful time when things were not so busy and hectic, when we were kids and there were no worries about paying the light bill,” says Heintz, who travels from her home in Panama City, Fla., and camps in either her restored 1968 Serro Scotty or chic and shiny, 23-foot-long 1950 Spartanette. "In those days, you'd just go out and play. My vintage trailer makes me feel that way again.”
(MORE: "Women RVers Take the Driver's Seat")
Many boomers can remember summer road trips to campgrounds and national parks, the family station wagon pulling an aluminum trailer. Mom boiled water over a mini gas stove. Swimsuits dried in the trees. There were marathon games of Rook around the kitchen table. At night, everyone stuffed inside to sleep, the kids on fold-down beds, sometimes head-to-feet, with small windows left open to listen to the chirping night.
 
Today's vintage trailer lifestyle fits perfectly into the new boomer approach to small living and downsizing. “The kids are gone, they have more time on hand and they don’t need as much space,” says Forrest Bone, who manages Tin Can Tourists, an association with more than 1,500 members. “So more couples take off with their trailers for weeks at a time, or rent out a space where they can camp out for the summer or winter.”
Shake, Rattle and Roll: How It All Began  
 
The traveling trailer culture can be traced back to the original Tin Can Tourists in the early 20th century. In 1919, when highways began reaching deep into Florida, legions of northern drivers poured into the Sunshine State on camping excursions to explore its adventurous, rural interiors. The first visitors arrived in Model Ts with tinned food packs on board that clanked and rattled over every bump, dip and turn — hence the nickname. By the early 1930s, the tents they camped in evolved into tiny metallic trailers that they hitched to their cars, and the movement stretched nationwide.
 
The heyday for these new auto-campers was the late 1950s and early 1960s, when new interstate highways and dirt-cheap gas opened the country to more suburban families. You could camp without exactly roughing it. Most trailers had many of the conveniences of home, albeit of the mini variety: kitchen, bathroom, shower, living room, electricity and running water. You could sleep free of bugs and dirt, enjoy the wilderness and feel safe from pesky bears.
Finding Beautiful Older Models
 
For today’s Tin Can Tourists, revisiting those endless summers begins with finding the particular make and model they enjoyed as a kid — or something close to it. Vintage trailer shopping is similar to a garage sale hunt. Buyers find them listed in the local paper, on Craigslist, in someone’s backyard and, more often than not, by word of mouth. “When people know you are looking, you’ll be amazed at how often friends will know about one for sale somewhere,” says Bone, whose friend hooked him up with his first purchase, a 1964 Airstream Bambi II.   
 
There are all kinds of manufacturers out there, but Bone says the most popular brands include Silver Streak, Curtis Wright, Spartan, Avion and the silver, sausage-shaped Airstreams. Then there are the cramped-yet-charming “tear drops” and “canned ham” Shasta models (typically 14-feet long), complete with trademark metal wings, which were staples throughout California.
(MORE: A Cross-Country Journey Along U.S. Route 6)
Since trailers are homes on wheels, you have to attend to the same basic needs: roof, framing and electrical and water system as well as axles and brakes. The upside is the relatively low labor and expenses. “You can often get many vintage trailers up and running for $3,000, give or take, but often for much less,” Bone says. “If you have some carpenter skills you can do much of it yourself.”
 
It is a small price to pay for the inexpensive travel you can enjoy compared with the lofty price tags of round-trip airfare, taxis and four-star hotels. You can usually roll into a KOA (Kampground of America) for $35 per night, which gives you access to power hook-ups and showers. Often you can park at local fairgrounds for $15 to $25 and many Wal-Marts allow you to stay overnight in the parking lot for free. If you plan your trips well, you might be able to stay for free in a family member’s yard or driveway. In comparison, even a no-frills budget motel can cost anywhere from $80 to $120 per night. 
 
Making Your Trailer Retro-Active
And then there is the real fun part: decorating. So many boomer owners go out of their way to recreate the furnishings and décor they remember. It’s no surprise that many interiors are snatched right from the set of I Love Lucy.
 
Refurbishing vintage trailers can be a true husband-wife activity, Bone says. “The fix-it-up aspect and basic maintenance often appeals to the man, while the wife can enjoy decorating the interior — or vice versa.”
 
If you do hitch up to vintage trailers, don’t be surprised if your second childhood turns into your retirement home. “My parents are 86 and 88 and still live in that Skyline Deluxe," Heintz says. "It has become a part of who they are.”


The Trailers of Our Youth Are on the Road Again

Matthew Solan


There’s no doubt about it: Taxes are tricky. And making a mistake can cost you big — in penalties, paying more than you need to or by raising a red flag and prompting the IRS to audit you.
“Mistakes on your tax return often come from simply being confused,” says Jackie Perlman, principal tax research analyst with The Tax Institute at H&R Block. But help is available.
Through its Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program — "elderly" sounds alarmingly old, but it means age 60 and older in this case — the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) offers free tax help with volunteers who specialize in questions about pensions and retirement issues. And if you earn $50,000 or less you might qualify for free tax return preparation through the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA).
(This article previously appeared on Grandparents.com)

Even if you hire a professional tax preparer, mistakes can still happen if you don’t give your preparer the right information. “If your kids or grandkids moved in with you, if you got married or divorced or sold property, be sure to tell your preparer everything — and provide records and receipts — as life changes can influence your tax return,” says Cindy Hockenberry, a tax expert and the Tax Knowledge Center Manager with the National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP).
If you’re filing your own return, double check it against this checklist from the IRS. Meanwhile, read on to find out how to avoid some of the most common mistakes made on federal tax returns.
1. Filing a paper tax return.
It’s easy to botch basic math or forget to sign your name when you file your taxes on paper. But you don’t have to shell out a lot of money for a fancy tax software program or hire a tax preparer to up your chances for a filing a flawless return. Simply e-file on the IRS website.
“The computer program eliminates math errors, makes it easy to include additional forms and won’t let you file without putting in a PIN signature,” says Hockenberry. Click here to access the IRS Free File to file federal taxes for free.
2. Using the wrong name(s) and number(s).
“Simple mistakes are easily avoidable if you take your time and double check your return,” says Perlman. Be sure that the names and Social Security numbers for you, your spouse and any dependents (such as your grandkids if they live with you) are included on the return exactly as they appear on their Social Security cards. Cross your Ts, dot your Is and make sure the basics are correct — or risk the IRS not accepting your return.
3. Picking the wrong filing status.
There are five filing statuses: Single, Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately, Head of Household and Qualifying Widow(er) with Dependent Child. Your filing status is used to determine your standard deduction, eligibility for certain credits and ultimately your correct tax.
“But more than one filing status can apply to you and that can be confusing,” says Hockenberry. What if you’re separated, but still legally married? Or if you became a widow or widower last year? And how do you know if you are the head of household? If you aren’t sure about your filing status, don’t leave it to chance — or a kick-backed return. Take a quick interview on the IRS website to determine your correct filing status.
4. Not paying tax on Social Security income.
If you’re collecting Social Security benefits along with a pension or investment income, or continue to work either full-time or part-time, your Social Security is taxable, says Perlman. “If you don’t pay your taxes, the IRS can assess interest and penalties and even prosecute you,” adds Hockenberry. Even if you don’t have the money to pay the taxes you owe, be sure to still file, since not filing your return comes with even more penalties.
Her advice: Sign up for voluntary tax withholding on your Social Security benefits to avoid the complicated mess next year.
5. Waiting for a paper check.
If you wait for the government to mail you your refund check, it could take up to six weeks. Even worse, it could get lost or stolen in the mail. So sign up for direct deposit so you can get your return about two weeks after you file.
“You can even have the IRS divide your return between several different accounts,” says Hockenberry. If you don’t know the correct numbers for your bank account or routing, call your bank.
6. Being too aggressive with deductions.
For most taxpayers, the big three deductions are related to mortgage interest, charitable contributions or medical expenses. “But too often, people listen to what other people or friends are claiming and they think they can do the same,” says Hockenberry.
Bottom line: You are not allowed deductions without substantiation. “If you don’t have proper receipts and records, you run the risk of the IRS auditing you, and then ending up with an additional tax liability,” says Hockenberry.
Always seek professional assistance when in doubt if a deduction is legitimate or if you need help determining whether you should itemize or take the standard deduction.
7. Filing late.
Don’t think you’re going to make the April 18 deadline (pushed back from April 15 this year)? Get ready to pony up more money. If you file late and owe tax, you will get hit with penalties and interest. For failure-to-file, the penalty is 5 percent for each month your tax return is late, up to a total maximum penalty of 25 percent.
The failure-to-pay penalty is 0.5 percent of the amount of tax you owe for each month the tax is not paid in full. And you’ll also have to pay interest (currently 4 percent per year) for every month you don’t pay in full.
Definitely due a refund? “There are no penalties for a late tax filing if you are due a refund,” says Hockenberry. Still, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Avoid late filing penalties and fees by filing for an extension. Just be aware that an extension of time to file is not an extension of time to pay.
 


7 Worst Mistakes You Can Make on Your Tax Return

Cari Wira Dineen

There’s a line in the Michael Ondaatje novel, The English Patient, where the title character says of himself, “I had reached that stage in life where I identified with cynical villains in a book.”
I know what he means.
I’ve reached that stage in life where I’m too old to identify with the youthful protagonists of your typical romantic comedy, and this corollary hits me especially hard near Valentine’s Day, when Hollywood and TV movie channels screen their most romantic offerings.
(MORE: A Booming Crusade for Boomer Movies)
Take, for example, one of the great classics of the genre, Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Once upon a time, I could see myself as the Paul Varjak character (played by George Peppard, 33 at the time the movie was released in 1961), the young writer with great ambitions yet to reach his potential in the big city, in love with his equally youthful neighbor, Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn, 32).
Now when I watch that movie, I find I’m closer to one of the older, not-so-attractive supporting characters: the pathetic, heartbroken Doc trying to win back Holly (Buddy Ebsen, 53), or the cougar (Patricia Neal, 35, actually only three years older than Hepburn) using money to keep a leash on her boy-toy, Paul. Or, God forbid, the lecherous Mr. Yunioshi (Mickey Rooney, 41).
Hollywood's December-May Romances
Of course, in the silver screen version of romance, I can find plenty of examples where a much older leading man wins the girl decades younger, like another classic rom-com, Sabrina, 1954, where Humphrey Bogart, 54, successfully woos Hepburn, 25.
And Hollywood recently has created a sub-genre for the older audience, the “geriaction” movies like The Expendables or Red with the same car chases, gunfights and explosions and featuring the same old actors. 
(MORE: Life Lessons in Anchorman 2, 'Wolf' and Nebraska)
But back here in reality, most of us know that we’re unlikely to get into a spy caper or end up with — or even want to be with — a partner half our age.
The latter scenario always uncomfortably reminds me of an interview I saw of Eva Marie Saint when she said she had to give a supporting arm to co-star Cary Grant, 20 years her senior, while they clambered over rocks representing Mount Rushmore in North by Northwest.
Protagonists I Can Identify With
Yet, with a little searching, there are examples of movies in which mature characters are realistic, but still attractive, sexy and paired with age-appropriate partners. These are the protagonists that I like to identify with today:
The Best Years of Our Lives  In the 1946 movie about three GIs returning home after World War II, Fredric March, 49, plays a middle-aged banker who served as an infantryman. After a long marriage and a long separation, he and his wife, played by Myrna Loy, 41, find they’re still attracted to each other and very much in love.
But when their love-lorn daughter says she envies their perfect relationship, Loy delivers this wry but realistic assessment of their marriage to March: “We never had any trouble? How many times have I told you I hated you and believed it in my heart? How many times have you said you were sick of me, that we were all washed up? How many times have we had to fall in love all over again?”
(MORE: Into the Darkness: Is the Cinephile Culture 'Fini'?)
The African Queen  Bogart, 51, is matched with a Hepburn, but this time it’s Katharine Hepburn, 44. Bogart isn’t the suave Rick Blaine from Casablanca. He’s a dissipated riverboat captain who calls Hepburn’s character, the sister of a missionary, a “psalm-singing, skinny old maid.” He doesn’t realize that by the second reel he would see her as we see her, a beautiful woman who would help him become a reluctant hero.
Desk Set  Grown-up romance was also a feature of the movies Katharine Hepburn made with co-star and real-life partner Spencer Tracy. I like this 1957 offering, a battle of the sexes that turns into love, which was made when Hepburn was 49 and Tracy was 57.
Indiscreet  Cary Grant regularly starred opposite actresses who were decades younger, from Audrey Hepburn to Grace Kelly. But in this 1958 rom-com, the pairing is closer to the mark, with Grant, 54, opposite Ingrid Bergman, 42. It's about a bachelor pretending to be married.
Sexy, Older Leading Ladies
And to be fair, there are several good examples where the smart, sexy older actress is the senior half of some adult movie romances.
In the 1950 film All About Eve, a veteran actress played by Bette Davis, 42, fends off attempts by a conniving starlet to steal her roles and her man, played by Gary Merrill, 35. Davis actually married Merrill in real life.
The worldly Tallulah Bankhead, 41, plays a World War II journalist who captivates John Hodiak, 29, when they get set adrift in Hitchcock’s 1944 film, Lifeboat.
More recently (2009), the intelligent Patricia Clarkson, 49, is a woman who has an unexpected love affair with a charming Egyptian, played by Alexander Siddig, 43, in Cairo Time.
Maid Marian's Midlife Questions
After being paired with much older men ranging from Fred Astaire to Gary Cooper, Audrey Hepburn was finally cast opposite a younger — if only by a year — actor in Robin and Marian, 1976.
Hepburn was 46 and co-star Sean Connery was 45 in this adventure about an aging Robin Hood and Maid Marian reunited after a long separation. Their midlife status leads to the following questions:
“Am I old and ugly?” Maid Marian asks Robin at one point in the film. “Am I anything you’d want?"
The answers, of course, are no and yes.


Hollywood: Where Are the Midlife Romantic Leads?

Richard Chin

(This article appeared previously on HuffingtonPost50.com.)
Forget the stereotype of older people fumbling around with smartphones and not being able to find the power button on a computer. A new study says that the notion of older people not being very tech-savvy is mostly a myth.
The file-sharing app Dropbox and market research firm Ipsos Mori teamed up to ask 4,000 workers of all ages in the information sector about their experience with technology. Despite abundant stereotypes that older people aren’t comfortable with technology, the survey found that just a quarter of people over 55 felt stressed out working with technology in the workplace. While the percentage isn’t low, consider this: 36 percent of young adults, who seem to be favored by the tech industry, shared the same frustration. 
Similarly, the survey found that only 13 percent of older users reported issues working with multiple methods of technology, compared with 37 percent of younger people.
Digital Natives Less Flexible
The findings may come as a surprise not only to those who have negative stereotypes of older adults being technologically challenged, but to people within the industry itself. While ageism in hiring is a problem across sectors, it seems to be especially rampant in tech with companies blatantly seeking only “young” workers or “digital natives.”
So how to explain the survey? Dropbox Pro’s head of product, Rob Baesman, tells CIO.com it could be that younger users are just more demanding when it comes to expectations of technology. 
“When you look at the technologies broadly still in use in the workplace, they often don’t achieve that level of cleanliness and personability [of the technology] in our personal lives,” Baesman said. “So younger people will feel frustration at tools that are not up to snuff.”
Older Workers and The Power of Experience
He’s talking about your sleek, expensive personal smartphone compared to your clunky, more functional business phone. Or your slow, years-old office desktop compared with your newer personal laptop.
Older people, on the other hand, Baesman thinks, “have seen a lot worse ... so there may be more tolerance for tech that may not always be as good as it might be.”
Well, patience is a virtue. Whatever the explanation, ageism in the workplace is definitely an issue that needs to be addressed and this survey can’t hurt.


Older Workers Are More Tech Savvy Than We Think

Yagana Shah

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