ShAARP Session: Observations from AARP

The use of the Blackberry has become ubiquitous in today's society. You can't walk down the street without seeing (or bumping into) someone with their face glued to their screen, clicking out their emails.

Television news has documented the phenomenon:

There is an online forum for these addicts to meet and discuss their troubled lifestyles, and there is even a book on the subject.

Now this technological addiction is reaching critical levels with the election of admitted Blackberry abuser President Obama. However, when you're the President there are bigger issues with over-using your phone than simply annoying your wife and kids. It was rumored that President Obama would have to give up his Blackberry for security reasons, but now it seems like a compromise has been reached. Supposedly, there is a high-tech fix on the way which would provide the President with a secure device that would enable him to stay in touch with friends and family while still protecting national security. Thank goodness!

Well if you've had your head buried in the sand or just got back from a trip to the outer reaches of space, you may have missed the news about President Obama's inauguration. Well given all of the difficulties we are facing in America today, people have high expecations for President Obama and they were looking for a lot in his inaugural speech. Having been in the crowd on the mall for the inauguation I can say that many people were thrilled with what he said. However, he will have a lot to live up to. So, what are the legacies of other landmark inaugural addresses? Well AARP recently took a poll on whether or not Americans have met the challenge of JFK's inaugural address which beseeched us to "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." Check out the results and let us know how you feel about it:

If you're like me, then you probably don't think of credit cards as a tool to help you save for retirement. However, there are a couple of credit cards that will do just that. Both American Express and Visa have a card that can contribute a percentage of the money you spend to a retirement account. There are other cards that can help to pay for prescription drugs and other health expenses as well. While these aren't a substitute for good planning and saving, it's nice to think that your next trip to the mall could bring you a little closer to reaching retirement.

For those out there who aren't with the masses in DC, check out the inauguration here live via MSNBC's coverage. What are you doing on this important day?

You don't see it at first. The stuff.

You see the river, rimmed with ice, and the sky and the boats at anchor. You see the marshy shoreline, stark in its tangled winter cover in countless hues of brown.

I'd come this morning to the Dyke Marsh area of the Potomac River - directly south of Old Town Alexandria on the George Washington Parkway - to help remove debris from the river's edge.

Not much to do, I thought. I was wrong because you just don't see it at first. At least, I didn't.

But I tromped south with 12 to 15 others. We scattered along the shoreline south of the marina and slowly colors began to emerge. Blues and greens, reds and whites, that didn't belong to nature. Slowly the eye begins to pick out the dull gleam of dirty plastic bottles.

Only then do you begin to realize the sad task confronting us.

Perhaps a hundred people were drawn to this service project. I'm certain many - like me - came to honor the memory of Martin Luther King and to honor the promise of a new President.

The volunteers were of every age. There were parents with their children. Some of the kids young enough to be distracted by the shells cast up by the water. There were mothers with their 20-something daughters, teens and retirees and a Congressional aide (from Rep. Jim Moran's office).

The clean-up was sponsored by the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) and the Friends of Dyke Marsh.

The volunteers were scattered along a mile, perhaps two of the Potomac shoreline. The debris they hauled from the river's edge was impressive.

Trash sacks bulged with water bottles (lots of water bottles), soda bottles and soda cans, beer cans, juice bottles, baby bottles, energy drinks, potato chip sacks, random bits of Styrofoam (it's the worst) and plastic in countless configurations. Volunteers also dredged up several discarded automobile tires.

Spirits were high. It was a good morning - sunny, dry, in the low 30s - and a good cause.

One day won't do, of course. Return next week, next month, and another impressive mound of trash could be hauled away from the river's edge.

All that trash made me angry, sad and determined. All those volunteers made me hopeful. I will be back. I hope you'll join me next time.

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