My sister and I became closer to our parents before they passed. An older friend in his 80s - I made video recordings of his wonderful stories from the 1940s - and it is wonderful hearing stories of peoples' personal pasts - an intimate history of lives from my heritage whether it be family or community.

I turned 70 this year and I've gone in and out of nearly unbearable pain. As an alternate healer I work on letting go of my attachment to the pain. That helps a lot. And while its difficult working on myself I have been able to ameliorate the pain with the healing techniques I administer for others and/or compartmentalize it. That helps too.