When You Have Self-respect, You

If We Don't Change, We Don't Grow. If We Don't Grow, We Are Not Really Living.

Journalism Today Is Obviously In A Major Transition. Going To Journalism School, Learning How To Write, Working Your Way Up In A Little Paper In Decatur, Georgia And Then Moving To Atlanta And Then Maybe To New York: It's Just Over. You Have To Have A Whole Other Set Of Skills Now. You Have To Be A Videographer, You Have To Do Social Media. You Can't Do A Long, Thoughtful, Insightful Piece If You Don't Have The Time To Do Reporting, Particularly Reporting Around Somebody Who Doesn't Want To Be Known Or An Issue That Doesn't Want To Reveal Itself.

By Listening, By Caring, By Playing You Back To Yourself, Friends Ratify Your Better Instincts And Endorse Your Unique Worth. Friends Validate You.

If Menopause Is The Silent Passage, 'male Menopause' Is The Unspeakable Passage. It Is Fraught With Secrecy, Shame, And Denial. It Is Much More Fundamental Than The Ending Of The Fertile Period Of A Woman's Life, Because It Strikes At The Core Of What It Is To Be A Man.

A Seasoned Woman Is Spicy. She Has Been Marinated In Life Experiences. Like A Complex Wine, She Can Be Alternately Sweet, Tart, Sparkling, Mellow. She Is Both Maternal And Playful. Assured, Alluring, And Resourceful. She Is Less Likely To Have An Agenda Than A Young Woman-no Biological Clock Tick-tocking Beside Her Lover's Bed, No Campaign To Lead Him To The Altar, No Rescue Fantasies. The Seasoned Woman Knows Who She Is. She Could Be Any One Of Us, As Long A She Is Committed To Living Fully And Passionately In The Second Half Of Her Life, Despite Failures And False Starts.