Planning For Your Future (Part 3): Transferring Assets at Death Through a Will
“Planning For Your Future (Part 2)” (June 2025 BOOM Magazine) focused on assets transferring automatically and transferring your assets through a revocable living trust. Assets pass outside your will if you have beneficiaries or joint owners listed on assets such as financial accounts and insurance...
Mayhurst Estate Planting Seeds in a Dry and Weary Land
In a previous feature, I remarked that B&Bs are “hit or miss.” Well, I’m happy to report on a B&B that’s, in my book, a big hit. Driving there is also a treat, at least when you get on Highway 81 up in the Shenandoah...
Science: Older is Better
Question! If you got paid every time someone said “you’re not getting older, you’re getting better”, how stuffed would your childhood piggy bank be? No matter how it is said, we hear it as “you’re getting older and you’re not getting better. I am here...
Finding Your Encore Career
You see them everywhere. In supermarkets, in big-box hardware stores, at ballparks. They are the once-retired who have returned to work. Some work from home as consultants or have found employment as insurance salespeople, proofreaders or financial managers. At the top are executives who believed...
Beach Week Burnout
We just got back from a week in Seagrove Beach, smack in the middle of 30A—and I need a nap, a chiropractor, and maybe a silent retreat. As empty nesters, my wife and I had this vision: a sweet beach week with the kids and...
The Menopausal Pot Belly: Why It Happens and How to Fight Back
As women enter midlife, their bodies begin to change in noticeable and often frustrating ways. One of the most common complaints during and after menopause is the sudden development of stubborn belly fat—a soft yet unrelenting pot belly that wasn’t there before. It can feel...
Back to School Support: How Grandparents Can Play a Meaningful Role
As summer winds down and families prepare for a new school year, much of the focus naturally falls on students and their parents. But there’s another group with the power to make a real difference during this busy, emotional, and sometimes chaotic season: grandparents. Whether...
Rediscovering What Matters
It’s August in the River Region—hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk and just humid enough to steam it. But while summer’s heat lingers, something shifts this month. You can feel it in the morning air, just a hint of what’s coming. Fall...
COVER PROFILE: Tonya and Butch Speed
In this inspiring and heartfelt interview, Tonya and Butch Speed—married 41 years—reflect on the deep lessons learned through decades of love, faith, creativity, and commitment. They share how marriage has grown from youthful romance into a daily choice to show up for one another, especially...
To Florida’s Rainbow Springs State Park
With 175 state parks spread across the Sunshine State, the Florida State Park system is one of the largest in the U.S., providing visitors with the opportunity to explore a range of diverse environments. If you’re looking for parks with jaw-dropping crystal-clear water, it’s hard...
The Great BOOM-Centennial
I recently asked Siri to give me the word for “250th Anniversary”. For the first time, I heard her say, “I don’t know!” Quarter-millenia? We have a year to figure it out. We all remember the Bi-centennial. In 1976, America threw itself a 200th birthday...
“The Wi-Fi War”
Ah, Wi-Fi—the magic signal that promises us everything from endless entertainment to “seamless connectivity,” which is marketing speak for “works just fine until it doesn’t.” It always starts innocently. You’re sipping your coffee, halfway through sending an email or streaming your favorite show, when BAM—everything...
Reviving the American Spirit
When an American church announces a homecoming picnic for its “online viewers” and people show up from 40 states and 4 foreign countries, does this reflect revival is in the air? It sure looked that way to me and Cindy when we attended an exciting...
The Power of Purpose: Why Older Seniors Need Respect, Dignity and Meaning to Thrive
Aging is a natural part of life, yet for many senior adults, it can also bring unexpected emotional and psychological challenges. The need to feel respected, to live with dignity, and to have a sense of purpose isn’t something that disappears with age. On the...
“It Won’t Happen to Me!”
The statistics can’t be denied. Seventy percent of Americans will need long-term care before they die. On average, someone needing long-term care will receive over four years of care in their home and then will go on to a facility, such as an assisted living,...