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Al Martinez

Biography: Al Martinez, Pultizer Prize-winning journalist, author and recently
annointed "Bard of L.A.," brings humor, wisdom and a sometimes quirky, perspective on life to his weekly AARP blog. The former Los Angeles Times columnist riffs about aging, current events, who he is, who we are and everything else. At 82, he's got more than a few things to say.

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Al Martinez 'sPosts

Run, Jump, Climb, Two, Three, Four…

Posted on 01/30/2013 by | Latino Life | Comments

Personal Health | Your LifeThere is hardly anybody in the medical community, from specialists to linen changers, who will not tell you that exercise in any form by elderly people will make them feel better, look better, improve their sex life and eventually attract the attention of Kim Kardashian. Before you know it, they will say, you will be out there night-clubbing and waving off the paparazzi who will follow you to hell and back just to get a shot of your flattened abs …

Dog-Sitting in a Family Commune

Posted on 01/15/2013 by | Latino Life | Comments

Home & Family | Relationships | Your LifeI realized the other day that it was going to take time to adjust to our new commune-style of living when I sat on a pillow and it yelped. The reason it yelped is that it wasn’t a pillow at all, but a white, curly-haired French poodle named Buttons, property of our daughter-in-law, Lisa. Curled up and sound asleep, he resembled something to sit on; one can only imagine his surprise when someone did. My son Marty, his wife Lisa …

Growing Old in the Age of Computers

Posted on 01/9/2013 by | Latino Life | Comments

Your LifeThe only person I know in my age group who does not own a computer also does not use a cell phone, cannot figure out how to operate the ground positioning system (GPS) in his car, doesn’t understand fax machines and has trouble setting the controls on his clock radio. His whole world is golf, a game which requires no special knowledge or abilities beyond being able to place a small white ball on a wooden tee and whacking it with …

Anna and the Night of a Full Moon

Posted on 01/2/2013 by | Latino Life | Comments

Your LifeIt was a few days before New Year’s Eve and a full moon dangled over the horizon of the Santa Monica Mountains like a golden pendant on a beautiful woman. The temperature was down to 38 degrees when the party at Dorothy’s house got underway, an anomaly that engendered a festive mood, luring guest in to a roaring fire, holiday decorations, good food, wine and the happy chatter of revelers. Dorothy is a transplanted Brit whose parties are legendary in …

Something Old, Something New, Something Older

Posted on 12/26/2012 by | Latino Life | Comments

Home & Family | Your LifeMy wife, the sentimental Cinelli, has a tendency to save and I have a tendency to discard, and we are on the brink of a possession crisis. What brings us to the point of staring into the abyss that divides our individual preferences is that we are turning our house into a commune, welcoming five additional family members to move in while they resituate their lives. They bring with them a dog and three cats to add to our own …

Women, Words and Writing After 50

Posted on 12/19/2012 by | Latino Life | Comments

Entertainment | Relationships | Your LifeThey treat me like their wayward son, bringing me carrots and fruit to keep me healthy and cookies to keep me happy. In turn, I give them cheese and crackers and bottled water, joke with them, laugh with them and love them all like a favorite grandmother. Does this sound like a serious writing workshop to you? It does to me. It’s mine. When I retired as a columnist for the Los Angeles Times three years ago, I created the …