Tim Malone Savoring optionality in retirement means savoring freedom; the kind you’ve earned, the kind you get to shape, and the kind that keeps life feeling fresh, spacious, and wonderfully yours. Optionality is the quiet superpower of this stage: the ability to choose, to pivot, to explore, and to let each day unfold with a…
Category: Features
October 2026, Features
Word of the Month: Animist
David Zapatka In a recent conversation with a dear friend about my belief that consciousness is universal and present in all matter, I commented that all of nature and all matter are alive with some degree of awareness and consciousness. This led to “There is no ‘dead’ matter, blind or unconscious law in the cosmos…
October 2026, Features
Chess Puzzle of the Month
Greg Hlushko The SaddleBrooke Chess Club has players of various experience levels and the games are played in a casual friendly environment for fun. Come by to learn how to play or to enjoy a few games.The club has no dues. Chess is a great game that can help your mind sharp and improve your…
October 2026, Features
Laughing Your Way Through the Golden Years
Suzanne Marlatt Stewart I think it’s time for a good laugh. Life can throw a lot of curve balls your way. So, a friend sent me the following quotes, and I wanted to share them with you. Just once, I want a username and password prompt to say, “Close enough.” I’m a multitasker. I can…
October 2026, Features
For Women Only: You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby
Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg Female facts The Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974 prohibited financial institutions from any discrimination based on sex or marital status. Before 1974 women were not allowed to have credit on their own. When Ruth Bader Ginsburg, supreme court justice, became pregnant while working for the Social Security Administration in Oklahoma,…
October 2026, Features
In Passing – October 2026
Bette Mazujian Bette Mazujian, age 93, of Tucson, Ariz., passed away peacefully on Aug. 28, 2026. She was born on Jan. 12, 1933, in Newark, N.J., to the late Albert and Marion (Ackerson) Carlson. She was predeceased by one sister, Mae Austill. She was the beloved wife of John Mazujian, who went to eternal rest…
Features, October 2026
Do You Know Your Home’s Water Pressure?
Randy Kwiatkowski, Chief Master Sergeant, USAF (Retired), SaddleBrooke Resident My wife and I chose SaddleBrooke as the place we wanted to call home after I retired from nearly 33 years of service in the United States Air Force, culminating as a Chief Master Sergeant. After a lifetime of moving, putting down roots here is meaningful.…
Features, October 2026
Punctuation Matters: Commas, Periods, and Quotation Marks
Fran Berman Have you ever had to re-read something because the punctuation muddied the meaning? Has anyone ever read your email differently than how you meant it? Does a period, comma, semi-colon, or quotation mark really make a difference? According to Wikipedia, “Punctuation marks are marks indicating how a piece of written text should be read (silently or…
Features, October 2026
Dollars and Sense: “The Book”: A Gift of Organization for Your Loved Ones
Leah Kari, local licensed insurance agent and retired pharmaceutical representative For most of us, our important information is located in different places. Certain bills may be paid automatically. Insurance information is in a file. Our HVAC servicer’s contact is on our phone. Our attorney’s card is in a desk drawer, and often we search to…
Features, October 2026
Spotlight on Advertiser: Meet the Owner Behind Sweet Air: A Different Kind of HVAC Company
For the owner of Sweet Air, starting a new HVAC company wasn’t simply about building another business. It was about creating a company around values that matter: keeping your word, paying attention to the details, and genuinely taking care of people. As a new family-owned, locally operated company serving the Catalina area, Sweet Air was…