Camp Codger

Larry Barsh, codger podcaster, is the creator and host of Specifically for Seniors, a podcast he started when he was 85 years old. In this episode, we interview Larry to learn more about how his podcast originated and what drives him to commit this level of effort in his golden years. Larry is one of us—an old codger who is energetic and still curious about life. He has had many guests on his show ranging from Ken Friedman, a nationally top-ranked seniors pickleball player, to frog researcher Bruce Means and comedian Robert Klein.

Join us in a delightful conversation with Larry Barsh, codger podcaster, who may very well be one of the oldest podcast hosts around. He certainly inspires these "young" old codgers to keep pushing the envelope with Camp Codger. After chatting with Larry, we plan to be podcasting a decade from now when we are in our 80s.

Would you like to hear when the old codgers are rambling on about something else? Subscribe to our weekly Camp Codger newsletter to receive an email notification each time we publish a new episode. You can also subscribe and listen on your favorite podcast app. And, if you enjoyed this episode about Larry Barsh, codger podcaster, please click the Share button below and Like Camp Codger on our Facebook Page. Finally, have some feedback for the old codgers? Leave a comment below or send an email to [email protected].

Movies for seniors is a fun topic. Who doesn't enjoy a good movie now and then? But not every movie is a good fit for our entertainment choices as we grow older. No doubt there are lots of senior citizens who still love a good action film. Other folks in their golden years lean more toward lower-key movies.

In this episode, the old codgers look back at some films that attracted them when they were younger. After this short side trip down memory lane, they return to recommending contemporary movies for seniors. The codgers all agree there is a lot out there to watch and managed to come up with some good suggestions. Surprisingly, there were no duplicates on the old codger's list of recommendations. As we were fond of saying when we were young, different strokes for different folks and the guys are definitely different.

Do you have recommendations for movies for seniors? Leave a comment below with your thoughts and we'll pass them on to our listeners. In addition, every person who comments gets a free Camp Codger bumper sticker declaring "I'm not old. I'm vintage."

Would you like to hear when the old codgers are rambling on about something else? Subscribe to our weekly Camp Codger newsletter to receive an email notification each time we publish a new episode. You can also subscribe and listen on your favorite podcast app. And, if you enjoyed this episode about movies for seniors, please click the Share button below and Like Camp Codger on our Facebook Page. Finally, have some feedback for the old codgers? Leave a comment below or send an email to [email protected].

In the second of two episodes, we continue our discussion of modern retirement with Steve Lopez, a longtime columnist for the LA Times. Steve is also a four-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and a bestselling New York Times author. His latest book, Independence Day, documents his year-long search for the answer to the question confronting many senior citizens. When is the best time to retire? In his journey to answer the question for himself, he interviewed retirees and people in their golden years who chose not to retire. He discovered that boomers are reinventing retirement to have it both ways. They continue to work or volunteer in areas that are stimulating and fulfilling yet retain the flexibility to relax and enjoy life. Steve received some of his best counsel from Mel Brooks, definitely a non-retiree at age 96. Norman Lear also weighed in with his own philosophy on staying busy and engaged at age 100.

Join us next week when we put on our movie critic hats and suggest a few "movies for seniors".

Would you like to hear when the old codgers are rambling on about something else? Subscribe to our weekly Camp Codger newsletter to receive an email notification each time we publish a new episode. You can also subscribe and listen on your favorite podcast app. And, if you enjoy this episode where we discuss modern retirement with Steve Lopez, please click the Facebook Share button below. Finally, have some feedback for the old codgers? Leave a comment below or send an email to [email protected].

In the first of two episodes, we discuss modern retirement with Steve Lopez, a longtime columnist for the LA Times. Steve is also a four-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and a bestselling New York Times author. His latest book, Independence Day, documents his year-long search for the answer to the question confronting many senior citizens. When is the best time to retire? In his journey to answer the question for himself, he interviewed retirees and people in their golden years who chose not to retire. He discovered that boomers are reinventing retirement to have it both ways. They continue to work or volunteer in areas that are stimulating and fulfilling yet retain the flexibility to relax and enjoy life. Steve received some of his best counsel from Mel Brooks, definitely a non-retiree at age 96. Norman Lear also weighed in with his own philosophy on staying busy and engaged at age 100.

Join us next week as we continue our discussion of modern retirement with Steve Lopez. And we hope you enjoy our Codger of the Week segment about John McEnroe and pickleball. Check out the ESPN video to see John at his codger finest. Still feisty and intent on winning, even at pickleball. The old codgers love winners!

Would you like to hear when the old codgers are rambling on about something else? Subscribe to our weekly Camp Codger newsletter to receive an email notification each time we publish a new episode. You can also subscribe and listen on your favorite podcast app. And, if you enjoy this episode where we discuss modern retirement with Steve Lopez, please click the Facebook Share button below. Finally, have some feedback for the old codgers? Leave a comment below or send an email to [email protected].

Happy hour with the codger wives is always a fun way to relax after a rigorous day of investigating snowbird life. During a round of whiskey sours, the old codgers and their better halves discussed retirement, winter vacations, and snowbirding. The consensus was a few warm days in the sunshine while winter was still raging up north was a pretty good life. We considered ourselves lucky senior citizens to be able to enjoy this respite and we're already planning next year's retreat. This may just become an annual event during our golden years.

We must confess that the libations we consumed during our happy hour with the codger wives did change the tone of the conversation a bit. Indeed, it did seem to degrade into a festival of ridiculousness. Oh, well. It was fun while it lasted before we headed back north to the snow and the cold.

Would you like to hear when the old codgers are rambling on about something else? Subscribe to our weekly Camp Codger newsletter to receive an email notification each time we publish a new episode. You can also subscribe and listen on your favorite podcast app. And, if you enjoyed this episode about an enjoyable happy hour with the codger wives, please click the Share button below and Like Camp Codger on our Facebook Page. Finally, have some feedback for the old codgers? Leave a comment below or send an email to [email protected].

ChatGPT and seniors drive this week's discussion. It's everywhere in the media and we wonder if it's hype or if it is something people in their golden years should think about. Spoiler alert—the answer is both. It's a compelling topic attracting boatloads of media attention and represents significant progress in the decades-long effort to move the dial in artificial intelligence. While the old codgers are not experts in this arena, they signed up for ChatGPT online accounts and put this chatbot through its paces. 'Sydney'' (the internal code name for this huge bundle of computers, data, and algorithms) always had an answer to our queries. Spoiler alert number two—they were sometimes quite wrong.

Regarding ChatGPT and seniors, we wonder if there may be more hype than reality for most senior citizens. As a chatbot, it's very clever and can almost make you believe it's human. Spoiler alert number three—ChatGPT is definitely not human and not really that much fun either. Don't go to a party if this chatbot has been invited. Boring! So full of facts (most presented correctly) that ChatGPT quickly gets tedious.

Would you like to hear when the old codgers are rambling on about something else? Subscribe to our weekly Camp Codger newsletter for an email notification each time we publish a new episode. You can also subscribe and listen on your favorite podcast app. And, if you enjoyed this episode about ChatGPT and seniors, please click the Share button below and Like Camp Codger on our Facebook Page. Finally, have some feedback for the old codgers? Leave a comment below or send an email to [email protected].

Codger snowbirds? Us? You betcha! We're off for a short visit to Arizona to join our fellow senior citizens in a game of pickleball, a dip in the pool, and hikes in the warm sunshine. Surprisingly enough, even Gary decided that being a snowbird had its good sides. Randy came to that conclusion long ago and Richard has emerged as a confirmed "sunbird". The old codgers appreciated the opportunity to get away from the snow for a few days as they investigate what it means to be a snowbird.

What they discovered being codger snowbirds was a lifestyle that reminded them of the freedom of their golden years. Take a walk, enjoy time with friends, and just be warm. Not a bad way to spend a few days in late winter. The guys are already planning next year's trip to snowbird country. And apologies to our Canadian snowbird friends. We love you but just couldn't help ourselves.

Would you like to hear when the old codgers are rambling on about something else? Subscribe to our weekly Camp Codger newsletter to receive an email notification each time we publish a new episode. You can also subscribe and listen on your favorite podcast app. And, if you enjoyed this episode about codger snowbirds, please click the Share button below and Like Camp Codger on our Facebook Page. Finally, have some feedback for the old codgers? Leave a comment below or send an email to [email protected].

Classic TV of the 50s and 60s included shows ranging from I Love Lucy to Bonanza to The Ed Sullivan Show. Many of the genres such as sitcoms, dramas, and Westerns are still with us today, but variety shows have largely disappeared. Our venues have changed dramatically, too. No longer does the whole family gather in the living room around the huge TV box to watch. We are no longer transfixed by the limited, black-and-white offerings on ABC, NBC, and CBS. Today, the family disappears to their individual spaces to stream an almost unlimited supply of online content on their mobile devices.

For senior citizens of the boomer generation, the classic TV of the 50s and 60s was a defining cultural element as we grew up. Maybe it wasn't the golden age of television, but it did leave an impact on those of us now in our golden years. In this episode, we stroll down memory lane, recalling our favorite television shows. They weren't all great TV, but they were memorable. Richard, Gary, and Randy each recall different periods in this two-decade era. As the older codgers, Gary and Richard clearly remember the black-and-white TV days of the 1950s. Randy was more of a 60s kid, loving the sitcoms and variety shows that dominated that period.

Would you like to hear when the old codgers are rambling on about something else? Subscribe to our weekly Camp Codger newsletter to receive an email notification each time we publish a new episode. You can also subscribe and listen on your favorite podcast app. And, if you enjoyed this episode about classic TV of the 50s and 60s, please click the Share button below. And it would be great if you would Like Camp Codger on our Facebook Page. Finally, have some feedback for the old codgers? Leave a comment below or send an email to [email protected].

Seniors and volunteering can seem tightly coupled. After all, who else has the free time that is available to most retired senior citizens? We also like the idea of "giving back" to the communities that nurtured us as we were earning a living and raising our families seems good. But is it for everybody? The old codgers admit that they have not been the most active volunteers for a variety of reasons. Gary even confesses to just not being the volunteering type.

In this episode, the guys discuss whether it's time for them to revisit the idea of volunteering. Gary explains what he thinks is a "volunteering type" while Richard reminds us that folks in his profession of journalism were often discouraged from volunteering. As they drill down into the topic of seniors and volunteering, they return to the idea of giving back, a common feeling held by many senior citizens.

Would you like to hear when the old codgers are rambling on about something else? Subscribe to our weekly Camp Codger newsletter to receive an email notification each time we publish a new episode. You can also subscribe and listen on your favorite podcast app. And, if you enjoyed this episode about seniors and volunteering, please click the Share button below and Like Camp Codger on our Facebook Page. Finally, have some feedback for the old codgers? Leave a comment below or send an email to [email protected].

The old codgers vs ChatGPT? It's certainly not the battle of the century. In fact, it's just the old counselors at Camp Codger asking for your assistance. Listen to this short plea for help as they plan an episode about what ChatGPT means for senior citizens. Then send Gary an email ([email protected]) with your ideas for questions or requests they can put to the world's newly famous robot. R2D2 and 3-CPO, mover over. There's a new sheriff in town.

Would you like to hear when the old codgers are rambling on about something else? Subscribe to our weekly Camp Codger newsletter to receive an email notification each time we publish a new episode. You can also subscribe and listen on your favorite podcast app. And, if you enjoyed this episode about the old codgers vs ChatGPT, please click the Share button below and Like Camp Codger on our Facebook Page. Finally, have some feedback for the old codgers? Leave a comment below or send an email to [email protected].