Insights & Guidance for Planning Ahead

Sometimes I push myself beyond my meager abilities, whether it is climbing Longs Peak in Colorado (where I walked on the edge of a 1,000 foot precipice –deathly afraid of heights; and then I got lost), racing a motorcycle in my younger days (ending up on one occasion with a concussion and biting through my lip), or backpacking up a mountain with too heavy a pack with my good friend Ross (to the point of exhaustion so that my son had to help me down the climb). It seems I do n

Flowers were important to my mom, as well as to my grandmother. They became especially important after my grandfather passed away and my mom became single again. I was “the man” in both of their lives. Each Valentine’s Day and birthday, I would send flowers. So regular was I that the local flower shop in Fort Worth, Texas would call me to remind me that I needed to order flowers, and they wanted to know my message on the card. Flowers for my grandmother were a colorful bou

Since the beginning of January, I have been walking our three dogs twice a day. During this time, I have learned more about their personalities and how they change given the time of day and the weather. The three dogs vary significantly in age, with Kolbe, the youngest and most energetic, Indy (actually our neighbor’s dog that they let us borrow) being middle aged who is still energized but is tempered by age; and Kiah, who is a senior at 12 or 13 years of age. We have a

My grandfather, Pop, was a giant of a man, at least to me. He was 6’2” tall and had huge working hands. He grew up as a farmer-rancher in the Hill County of Texas. He and my grandmother got married at the beginning of the Depression. The ranch farm was not profitable enough to support the family, so Pop always had a job off the farm, and usually two at a time. I don’t know what all they were, but they included hauling rock with a horse-drawn trailer for the county (and my g

This past holiday season was wonderful and busy at our home with children, grandchildren, and friends. Afterwards, my wife and I decided that we would schedule some travel dates for the upcoming year. So on January 2nd we sat down with the calendar and had a great time. If you recall, it was a cold early start of January with snow and ice. That Monday morning I went to work. When I came out of a meeting one of my team members of my office grabbed me. My wife, Barb, was on

The global pandemic crisis has led to many changes in rules for health care including the Medicare program. Most of the changes are temporary, but some changes may remain in effect after the crisis. The Public Health Emergency is renewed for another 90 days until April 16. It will be reviewed again at that time. The Biden Administration will not end the Public Health Emergency without giving a 60-day notice. 90 days is the maximum length of time the Public Health Emergen

I had long been intrigued with fly fishing. And then I did it and I was “hooked”. I was not a novice to fishing. I grew up catching channel cat in the Smoky Hill River, and bass fishing in ponds. I had a lot of confidence. Fly fishing was a challenge, however. Given my background, I started to try “learning” as much as I could: videos; books; and practicing. I became very “educated” in fly fighting – except I was not catching fish. I hired a young guide. I watched everything

My parents divorced when I was in the fourth grade. For a couple years we lived in the same area as my father (in Texas), then we started moving, eventually landing in Kansas. Many of my “visits” with my father involved hunting and camping together. Hunting was a new world for me, but it was something that I could do with dad. I loved being with my dad on those trips. I loved hearing his stories and the stories of other hunters in our camp. My memories of those trips are de

I recently wrote an email regarding a football game I watched on TV. The game was between the Green Bay Packers and the then undefeated Arizona Cardinals. I will admit I did not watch the whole game and I was busy doing other stuff, but I continued to walk through the room to catch what was going on. It was a back and forth game between two really good teams. Near the end, Arizona got the ball on their own one yard line, with 99 yards to go. It was going to be their last

There is an old saying that if you knew how sausage was made, you would never eat it again. What it is talking about is all the ingredients that went in to make that sausage, and some of that might shock you. Back in March 2020, COVID exploded in our country. The acceleration of it was both astounding and shocking. We certainly felt it here in our office. We have many, many clients that we help through life care planning. While a lot of our contact is by telephone and em