Pepper Evans works as an independent-living consultant, helping older adults age in place. She is the empty-nest mother of two adult daughters and has extensive personal and professional experience as a caregiver. She has worked as a researcher and editor for authors and filmmakers. She puts her time and resources to use in the nonprofit sector and serves on the Board of Education in Lawrence Township, NJ.
I Want to Be Alone, Not Lonely October 13, 2021 - There was a time when I could outlast every guest at a party. And though I gave up the bar scene decades ago, for the longest time you could still think of me as Pepper “Last Call” Evans. As I…
Stop Me if I Told You This Already August 18, 2021 - For a while now, I’ve felt as though I’m not firing on all cylinders. I have no complaints about my health; I just feel like I’m not my old self. Not the well-oiled machine of yesterday. I’m more tired than…
At What Price Is Your Good Death? July 22, 2021 - I’m watching out my kitchen window as cars come and go from my neighbor Tony’s house. Last month, Tony celebrated his 89th birthday, and family came out of the woodwork. Last week, he left the hospital to die at home…
Have a Ball June 25, 2021 - When a 70-something friend went to a podiatrist for foot issues, the prescription for alleviating the pain—mostly in her arches—involved a golf ball. Not to walk the links with her clubs, but to massage foot muscles by rolling her bare…
Getting the Jab May 7, 2021 - My phone rings, my laptop pings—proof that I remain popular with the many, many websites and organizations that took my information so I could get the COVID-19 vaccine, or “the jab,” if you listen to BBC radio, into my arm…
Cashless? April 14, 2021 - As part of my job assisting older people to live independently, I pay their bills by check, as requested. But I’m in my 60s and I rarely write a check for my own bills. I pay them online either at…
Just a Code, No Secret Handshake Required February 9, 2021 - The global pandemic in 2020 brought many changes to our way of life. Over the summer in some places, when it was moderately safe enough for us to leave our homes—masked up, travel-size hand sanitizer at the ready—many of us…
Facing Mask Realities January 22, 2021 - Most of us have accepted the new normal of mask-wearing to help curb the spread of COVID-19. The benefits, sketchy at first, are now widely accepted, and masks are mandated apparel in more places than not. I jumped on the…
Books to Give or Keep, 2020 December 2, 2020 - A year like no other, 2020 had many of us finding our way to the reading chair to escape the stress of the lockdowns and the fear brought on by the news. While fate played a cruel trick on me…
Real Doctors, Virtual Visits October 29, 2020 - I recently deliberated about making an appointment for a routine colonoscopy. Not only are we in the middle of a pandemic, I had to change gastroenterologists, and I just wasn’t sure what to do. My primary care provider insisted there…
Hire a Shopper September 25, 2020 - My college-age daughter is home. With orders to shelter in place, she lost her campus job and her restaurant job, and few opportunities were available when she arrived back in town. So she gamely decided to be an Instacart shopper.…
Bye-Bye, Bookworm August 11, 2020 - I’m an unapologetic bookworm. I read four to six books a month. I consider reading to be my self-care and my hobby: it’s the thing that quiets the chatter in my brain. It’s my vacation when I can’t go anywhere. …
Who’s Aging Better? July 21, 2020 - How do you define successful aging? There are textbook definitions, but it’s a fair guess that we all know it when we see it. The ability to age in place is one of the most common themes of successful aging.…
Remembering Life in Lockdown June 8, 2020 - I hope people living in the time of the coronavirus are journaling about their quarantine. Our memories are often distorted by time, and our memories are singularly ours to recall. What will my grandchildren want to know about this unprecedented…
Track Your Zzzzs May 19, 2020 - I have joined the 17 percent of American adults over 50 who wear a smartwatch or fitness tracker to monitor their health. This purchase brought an eye roll and a snicker from my young-adult daughters, who know how much I…
Curry Adds More Than Flavor to Your Life April 23, 2020 - Isn’t it fabulous to discover that a food we enjoy is actually good for us? I’m thinking of curry in its many iterations. (It’s not always about you, chocolate.) American diets have been globally influenced since I was a kid…
Doing 60 Around Town February 7, 2020 - I’m a healthy, engaged, purpose-driven woman in my 60s. I consider myself an empty nester; one daughter has moved out of state and the other is in college, so it’s me and the pets. And I’m fine with that. Really.…- Books to Give or Keep, 2019 December 4, 2019 - There’s no place on Earth I’d rather be than in my reading chair with a good book and a cup of tea. I think in a previous life I was a matchmaker because now I love to match people with…
Divorced by Night November 13, 2019 - While visiting a friend who was convalescing postsurgery, I noticed that the king-sized bed she shares with her husband is actually a pair of twin beds under a single bedspread. She says they always go to bed at the same…
Got Milk? September 5, 2019 - I’m an empty nester, but my chicks still come home. When they do, they give me a heads-up so I can “feather” the nest with the foods they like. Gone are the days with a fully stocked larder. I shop…
