R.I.P. Frank Beard

R.I.P. Frank Beard, age 77

August 18, 2026, home

Today Is ...

From husband Bill, August 18, 2026, home

I like ice cream cake, specifically Carvel. I'm not sure that I have ever eaten an ice cream pie.

From husband Bill, August 18, 2026, home

I love looking through mail order catalogs, especially food catalogs, like Harry & David and Swiss Colony. The Harriet Carter catalog is one of my favorites; it basically contains stuff for the household; health items; and holiday decorations. We may still receive it.

I absolutely LOVE the Archie McPhee catalog of novelties, funny gifts, and funny toys.

https://mcphee.com/

From husband Bill, August 18, 2026, home

I like Italian reds, mainly Chiantis, and Austrian (not Australian) whites.

From husband Bill, August 18, 2026, home

I really don't like fajitas. I need some kind of sauce on my Mexican food, preferably mole. I love Chicken Mole, which is chicken smothered in a spicy chocolate sauce.

August 18, 2026, home

Today Is ...

From husband Bill, August 17, 2026, home

During my career (series of gigs) as a journalist from September 1982 to May 2017, I worked for two nonprofit associations.

In 1991, I was the Copy Editor of "RIMS," the official magazine of the Risk and Insurance Management Society, which is an international nonprofit association for corporate insurance buyers. My office was in New York City (Manhattan).

From February 2016 to February 2017, I was the Associate Editor (reporter, writer, editor, photographer, photo editor) for the two magazines of "Shop!," an international nonprofit association for the manufacturers of components for retail store displays, including mannequins, lighting, shelving, flooring, architecture, etc. Part of my job was also to edit statistical analysis reports (white papers) and catalogs. While I was there, the association transformed itself after a recent merger of two nonprofit associations. In October 2015, the Association for Retail Environments (A.R.E.) merged with Point of Purchase Advertising International (POPAI). My office was in Hollywood, Florida.

From husband Bill, August 17, 2026, home

During the 1979-1980 school year, I attended Northfield Mount Hermon School on two campuses in Northern Massachusetts. I entered the senior class as a "PG" (Post-Graduate student). I had already graduated from West Islip High School on Long Island, New York, in June 1979, when I was 18 years old, so I actually have two high school diplomas.

Later, I would receive a bachelor's degree in communications with a minor in the French language from Villanova University (December 1984) and a master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri (May 1988).

From husband Bill, August 17, 2026, home

Pineapples contain the enzyme Bromelain. I used to eat pineapple slices and chunks, drink pineapple juice, and chew Bromelain tablets to help my sinus problems (and my lung issues). I also used oral and topical steroids (nasal spray). I eventually lost my sinus battle, so several years ago, I had to have surgery to remove eight polyps within my sinuses and nasal cavity, plus I had all eight of my sinuses cleaned out and expanded. The surgery took several hours.

Personal Trivia: Ever since my surgery, every time I cough very hard, I start sneezing.

Pineapple juice is also used to tenderize beef when marinated because the Bromelain enzyme breaks down the muscle fibers.

From husband Bill, August 17, 2026, home

Due to diabetes, I have been struggling with my feet for many years. This includes diabetic ulcers (which required my podiatrist to carve both of my feet with a scalpel every two weeks for several years); Cellulitis (many skin infections within my feet and legs which required intravenous antibiotics every day for six weeks, one time causing both of my kidneys to fail, requiring me to endure six weeks of dialysis; Osteomyelitis (bone infections); and peripheral neuropathy (numbness and pain in both of my feet). In recent years, I have had five surgeries on my left foot to remove decayed bone and bone fragments, and scar tissue, and to have two toes amputated. I even tried hyperbaric therapy many times which required me to lie down in a sealed chamber that was pumped full of high-pressure oxygen.

August 17, 2026, home

Hello Video

From husband Bill, August 16, 2026, home from the hospital on August 11, 2026, after 8 days in the hospital (with pneumonia)

I created and uploaded this short AI (Artificial Intelligence) video onto my YouTube channel. (length: 1 minute, 1 second)

AI: Hello (August 16, 2026)

https://youtube.com/shorts/NnD5DgECAao?is=XQnNbIc9am2ysygY

Before Retirement

I found this video to be helpful, but it's more for the people who have yet to retire. (I retired in April 2017.)

According to this video, I have been retired my entire life, mostly, meaning that I have lived my professional life as if I were retired. I worked hard during my professional days, but I never took much of it to heart. My attitude was: I will stay at my job until they throw me out.

The only thing that I ever took seriously in my entire life was and still is my heartfelt love for family members and friends. That's all that really matters.

My religion is Gaudiya Vaishnavism (Hare Krishna), which basically states that nothing on Earth is of much importance compared to "Returning To Godhead (Heaven)." We are all here temporarily, and when we die, we hope to go back "Home." I was always serious and diligent with my many professional gigs, but I never got so deep into them to allow them to cause me too much distress.

Regarding one of my gigs, I typically joke about me being a hot-shot journalistic ace in New York City. I was never that delusional to really believe that, but it was fun pretending to be a hot shot. I was just your garden-variety nerd, writing about the financial and technical aspects of the chemical industry for a weekly, international magazine.

The basic idea is to live your life on your own terms because, relatively, no one cares about your life. They are all too busy living their own lives to care about your life. The tiny amount of people who do care about you are the precious ones and the only ones who really matter.

"10 Things Retirees Just Stopped Caring.About"

https://youtu.be/A-lvYmMpGSA?is=9STZwD-jZK7e1doO

August 16, 2026, home from the hospital on August 11, 2026, after 8 days in the hospital (with pneumonia)

Today Is ...

From husband Bill, August 16, 2026, home from the hospital on August 11, 2026, after 8 days in the hospital (with pneumonia)

Decades ago, I used to drink an alcoholic beverage called the Cuba Libre (simply rum and Coca-Cola). More memorably, in the early 1980s, I used to drink frozen lime daiquiris (we called them "dacks") using rum, ice cubes, and Minute Maid frozen limeade concentrate swirled in a blender.

From husband Bill, August 16, 2026, home from the hospital on August 11, 2026, after 8 days in the hospital (with pneumonia)

I like the occasional bratwurst with mustard.

From husband Bill, August 16, 2026, home from the hospital on August 11, 2026, after 8 days in the hospital (with pneumonia)

I am not a fan of roller coasters. 

August 16, 2026, home from the hospital on August 11, 2026, after 8 days in the hospital (with pneumonia)

Today Is ...

From husband Bill, August 15, 2026, home from the hospital on August 11, 2026, after 8 days in the hospital (with pneumonia)

I have loved my mother's homemade lemon meringue pies since I was a kid in the 1960s.

From husband Bill, August 15, 2026, home from the hospital on August 11, 2026, after 8 days in the hospital (with pneumonia)

That's me ... every ... day.

August 15, 2026, home from the hospital on August 11, 2026, after 8 days in the hospital (with pneumonia)

Today Is ...

From husband Bill, August 14, 2026, home from the hospital on August 11, 2026, after 8 days in the hospital (with pneumonia)

Today (August 14) is World Lizard Day. When I was a kid, some time between 1972 and 1974 (between ages 11 and 13), I had two pet chameleons that would change between the colors green and brown in a terrarium. At one point, they weren't eating their regular food (live mealworms) for weeks, so I caught a bunch of monarch butterflies and put them in with the chameleons. Nothing happened. My dad suggested that I give my chameleons to my dear friend David who lived several houses down the street, which I did. I think my dad just wanted them out of the house ... or maybe it was my mom. I'll have to ask her. Months later, I found out from a book in a pet shop that chameleons sometimes go weeks without eating. The long lizard in the lower photo is the type of chameleons that I had. The reptile in the main photo is also considered to be a chameleon.)

From husband Bill, August 14, 2026, home from the hospital on August 11, 2026, after 8 days in the hospital (with pneumonia)

Today (August 14) is National Creamsicle Day. I like the orange Creamsicle, but I prefer the chocolate version called the Fudgsicle better. The proper pronunciation by people from Long Island, New York, where I grew up, is "Fuhj-ihh-kell." The "S" is silent. At least, that's what my friends and I called them, when we were kids in the 1960s and 1970s.

August 14, 2026, home from the hospital on August 11, 2026, after 8 days in the hospital (with pneumonia)

Happy Birthday, Stepmom

Happy Birthday today to my stepmother.

August 13, 2026, home from the hospital on August 11, 2026, after 8 days in the hospital (with pneumonia)

Throwback Thursday

From husband Bill, August 13, 2026, home from the hospital on August 11, 2026, after 8 days in the hospital (with pneumonia)

Throwback Thursday

In July 1981, when I was 20 years old, I was a golf instructor/counselor-in-training at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club -- https://www.pineneedleslodge.com/ -- which ran Golfari, a golf school/camp for adults (one week) and children (two weeks, ages 10 to 18, formerly 8 to 18) in Southern Pines, North Carolina. I attended almost every summer from age 11 in 1972 to age 19 in 1980. I was given special permission to attend as a "camper" when I was 19 years old.

As per tradition, on the last day of the kids camp, the instructors/counselors served the kids their dinners in the usual dining room. Here I am (in July 1981; age 20), wearing a waiter's jacket, and holding a fork and a half-eaten bowl of salad, as I helped clear the tables.

You know, I got flack from the director/owner of the resort (great guy) for sporting a moustache. I thought it would be OK because the previous July, an instructor/counselor had one. He let me keep it.

During July 1981, I had the honor of playing a round at Pine Needles with PGA touring/teaching pro Pat McGowan, who at the time was the boyfriend (future husband) of the daughter of the resort owners. He helped my game immensely. He was like a machine. I shot an 82. He set the course record at that time with a 64. Amazing.

One summer in the 1970s, when I was a teenager at the school/camp, I eagled the par-four 18th hole. I hit a long drive and then a strong nine iron. The ball hung on the lip of the cup. By the time my three golfing buddies and I reached the green, the ball had dropped into the hole.

Oh, by the way, I met my first of only two girlfriends during the adult section of the school/camp in July 1981. We broke up in February 1982, and I would not have another girlfriend until November 2000. I married my second girlfriend in February 2006.

More Popular Than ...

From husband Bill, August 13, 2026, home from the hospital on August 11, 2026, after 8 days in the hospital (with pneumonia)

I'm a day late. Yesterday (August 12 ) was the anniversary of the famous/infamous interview of The Beatles in 1966, addressing John Lennon's comment that "The Beatles meant more to kids than Jesus did." His comments started boycotts, record burnings, and violence in the southern part of the United States. 

https://youtu.be/5ZaI7m1xpAg?is=IA6q_5zFW-iLgnZW

August 13, 2026, home from the hospital on August 11, 2026, after 8 days in the hospital (with pneumonia)