We hope you'll like these five new features

The times are a changin' for Seniority, starting this month with the debut of five features.

We're making these additions to help ensure Seniority is one of your primary sources for news to use, while also providing stories that entertain, inform and inspire. Some of the features will appear monthly and others will run occasionally. We will continue to broaden the scope and content of Seniority by including more offerings in the coming months. Stay tuned.

Introducing . . .

The Link Tank by Nancy Paradis. St. Petersburg Times Action columnist Nancy Paradis uses her fact-finding expertise in this monthly column that gives readers the who, what, when, where and why of service agencies and organizations. The Link Tank will offer resource lists and senior-related consumer information for readers to clip and save. Readers can suggest topics, but The Link Tank is not a place to send individual complaints about goods or services.

Body of Information by Tom Valeo. Our genes are primarily responsible for how we age, but successful aging also depends on how well we care for ourselves. Tom Valeo's Body of Information column goes behind-the-scene, so to speak, with a light-hearted, user-friendly analysis of how the body changes over time and steps we can take to minimize damage.

Suddenly Senior by Frank Kaiser. Been there? Done that? You're not alone. Frank Kaiser, a nationally syndicated columnist who lives in Clearwater, takes readers through the highs and lows of "geezerdom" (his word!) in his Suddenly Senior column. Suddenly Senior is a funny valentine to aging.

The Mature Traveler by Adele Malott. Some good things are just meant to be shared. That's the case with Adele Malott's Mature Traveler column, which also appears in the Travel section of the St. Petersburg Times. We realize many seniors like to travel, have buckets full of free time and can afford to hit the roadways or airways at will, so we offer the Mature Traveler to help you plan your next getaway or that overdue second honeymoon. Your beloved will thank you for it.

Ask Social Security. Do you have questions about Social Security? The folks at the Social Security Administration national headquarters will try to provide the answers. This straightforward column about the granddaddy of all entitlement programs moves each week on the Times' news wire. We will select the questions with the broadest appeal for this monthly feature.

If you would like to comment on these features or if you have suggestions for topics for future editions, e-mail or write to me at the address at the end of the column.

Healing words

Now a few words about forgiveness.

That's what we got from last month's Sound-Off query on the importance of forgiving and forgetting.

While turning the other cheek may get you points with a higher authority, at least one reader suggested it is best to treat your adversaries as such and never give them the upper hand.

There's probably something positive to be learned from that approach, but my view is that surrender doesn't have to mean defeat. Just because you give in, doesn't mean you lose. Think of it as retrofitting your behavior in order to become a survivor. I think it's refreshing to take the high road from time to time. The air up there is good for the soul and isn't that where eagles soar?

I liked one man's letter of how he and his younger brother were able to reconcile after they had been estranged for eight years. The letter writer, now in his 70s, had finally gotten it. What did it matter who or what caused the rift? He sent his brother a letter of apology and suggested a reconciliation. The two met, and with a smile and a hug, the past became just that.

"What a great relief." Indeed, sir.

Four other readers asked me for answers and suggestions on how to handle longstanding tensions in their families. I cannot offer any. There are professionals who know better than I how to help families mend.

But perhaps healing can take place from your attempts to write about the sorrow and pain you're experiencing due to misunderstandings, or mistreatments by members of your family. Sometimes taking the chance to ask someone to listen to you is the first step to recovery. At least that's my hope.

- Sheila Reed, Seniority editor, can be reached at (727) 893-8452 or toll-free, 1-800-333-7505, ext. 8452. Write to her in care of the St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731; or send e-mail to sreed@sptimes.com.

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