boomerbroadcaster

[boomerbroadcaster]

Are You Enjoying Your Dining Out Experiences These Days?

Am I fighting a losing battle? Is it just me or are restaurants piping in music that’s so loud these days it’s nearly impossible to have a conversation without yelling? Lately, I’ve found myself avoiding certain restaurants because the noise level generated by the combination of other customers and the sound system is so overpowering that I’m forced to opt out. At one nearby establishment with…

[boomerbroadcaster]

Tackling Modern Technology . . . My Way!

Call me a masochist but I set myself up for extra stress this week by taking on four tech projects that pushed me way beyond my comfort zone and presented challenges far above my pay grade. I bought new phones for both hubby and me because our Wilma Flintstone models were no longer performing up to 2025 standards. I was overdue for an upgrade. My car’s GPS and radio system needed updating so I…

[boomerbroadcaster]

How To Crash The Ontario Government's Budget

If you want to bankrupt the Ontario Government’s budget, all you have to do is quit drinking. If you’re anything like me, you hate the punitive sin taxes imposed by the Government of Ontario. It started a few decades ago when they decided to punish those of us who enjoyed a glass of wine (or more), or made the personal choice to endanger our health by smoking—whatever! Imagine if that revenue…

[boomerbroadcaster]

Do You Have Any Regrets?

Edith Piaf was unrepentant when she sang Je Ne Regrette Rien. If only we could all be so content with our choices in life. Do our city governments regret tearing down beautiful old art-deco and Italianate buildings to be replaced with faceless, mirrored glass towers that are totally devoid of character? Does Putin regret invading Ukraine? Are there any MAGA supporters out there who regret their…

[boomerbroadcaster]

Barbie Now Wears Comfortable Shoes

My one-and-only Barbie. I was nearly seventy years old when I got my first Barbie. When I first saw Hudson’s Bay Barbie nearly ten years ago, I knew I just had to have her, with her little terrier dog, her briefcase, her HB striped coat, woolly toque, designer sunglasses, and a takeout cup of Timmie’s (I assume it was from Timmie’s—HB being originally Canadian) steeped tea. I wasn’t going to make…

[boomerbroadcaster]

Movie-makers Ignore Baby Boomers and Women At Their Peril

Briony Smith’s column Frail, frumpy and feeble, When will Hollywood stop failing women at the movies?, which appeared in the Toronto Star on May 10, 2025, had me jumping for joy. Finally, someone sees the movie business the way I do. Baby boomers, particularly women, are completely ignored as a viable, profitable movie-going audience demographic. The industry caters to teenagers and men. There’s…

[boomerbroadcaster]

Take Another Little Piece of My Heart

I never thought I’d use the words of Janis Joplin to reference my own life. I first noticed the changes in me on election day at the end of April. The voting card that arrived in our mailbox directed us to the local community centre to cast our ballots for the Canadian federal election. After I had parked the car and my husband and I walked to the front door, I noticed there were no signs or…

[boomerbroadcaster]

It Takes A Village To Wrangle Senior Boomers These Days

We cannot ignore the inevitable fact we may need help. My brother, who is a fellow baby boomer, has experienced severe health issues in the last couple of years. He lives alone and I’m several hours away by car, which makes it difficult to be of any real assistance. I am happy to say he is now much improved and is still managing to live in his own little home with a lot of help from others.…

[boomerbroadcaster]

Should We Mourn The Demise of Hudson's Bay and Department Stores In General?

If only the executives at Hudson’s Bay Company (comparable to Macy’s in the United States) had listened to me or read my blogs over the years, perhaps their ship wouldn’t be sinking right now. For years I’ve been trying to get them to listen to their customers (like me!) and make some adjustments to their inventory and customer service. But would they listen? Nooo! Consequently, they’re reducing…

[boomerbroadcaster]

Who Does Self-Serve Really Serve?

Self-checkout no longer works for me. In fact, does it serve anyone properly? It started with self-service gas stations and bank machines. Before long, we were checking out groceries and by-passing travel agents to book airline reservations. That led to deciding if we wanted to pay to pick our seat on the plane and then paying even more if we dared to take checkable luggage. We are now paying…

[boomerbroadcaster]

It's True: No News Is Good News!

Last year I put myself on a television news diet. I refused to watch the news because the horror was killing me. My life was infinitely more peaceful and my stress levels were minimal when I eschewed the news. Unfortunately, I have relapsed and now I’m paying the price. The disastrous unfolding of events in the United States and the handover of the Canadian government to an un-elected Prime…

[boomerbroadcaster]

We Need A Little Bit of Levity In A Scary World

In consideration of the shit-show we are witnessing in world affairs these days (particularly south of the border), I have decided to postpone the angry rant I had planned to publish this week and dust off a light-hearted commentary from six years ago on the declining state of men’s underwear. I figured we could all use some light-hearted humour. I hope you enjoy it and I hope it takes your mind…

[boomerbroadcaster]

To Paint or Not To Paint . . .That Is The Question

It’s been nearly fifteen years since we moved into our current house. A few years ago I had some high-traffic hallways repainted but the rest of the house still retains the builder’s original Manchester Tan from Benjamin Moore. I’m basically happy with the colour but after all these years I have a yearning for something a bit lighter and fresher. So, I visited my local Benjamin Moore store and…

[boomerbroadcaster]

Cher Beat The Odds And Is An Inspiration To All Women

Is there a boomer out there who doesn’t love Cher? We’ve watched her evolve from a skinny teenager in the sixties singing I Got You Babe alongside her then-husband Sonny Bono, to become a skinny senior citizen who can teach all of us a thing or two about how to shoulder life’s ups and downs and still end up on top. The lady knows how to live and she describes her colourful life wonderfully in the…

[boomerbroadcaster]

Memories of "It's A Wonderful Life" in Light Fiction

This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance by Jonathan Evison is a somewhat whimsical little book of fiction based on the author’s experiences living with generations of strong women in his life who missed out on the freedom and opportunities most of us enjoy today. As a baby boomer, we may find ourselves reflecting on the lives our mothers and grandmothers lived and wondered how different their lives…

[boomerbroadcaster]

Dan Needles Explains Rural Life With Humour And Affection

If you’re in the mood for a delightful little book that will take you on a mini-journey into rural life in southern Ontario, Canada, then I can’t recommend Finding Larkspur, A Return to Village Life by Dan Needles strongly enough. As someone who grew up in a semi-rural community, I could relate to so many of Needles’s stories and chuckled at his depiction of small-town life. It’s about my people.…

[boomerbroadcaster]

Finding Pleasure in The Simple Things

My new Gustav Klimt bone china mug arrived from Amazon packaged in a beautiful matching glossy box. When I sent my friend Perry a picture of my new tea mug, she responded with a picture of her favourite coffee mug with a little story about why she loves it so much. The same day, another friend, Gail, sent me a picture of a large new teapot she’d just bought that she loved. The fact that we…