Accidental innkeepers’ success
For those who have harbored a secret fantasy of opening a quaint bed and breakfast (does the TV show “Newhart” ring a bell?), innkeeper Anne Pomykala gently offers these words of advice: “It’s alot of work. It’s not as romantic as you think.”That being said, the 72-year-old owner of the Gramercy Mansion Bed & Breakfast in Greenspring Valley, as well... READ MORE
Dance that breaks all the rules
It is frequently said that modern dance “breaks all the rules.” Among those it apparently likes to break is the one that says “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”How else to explain that not one, but two local modern dance companies — Liz Lerman Dance Exchange and Jane Franklin Dance — incorporate older dancers into their performances and even... READ MORE
Making those hairy decisions
Does your hair make you want to dye? Or wig out?Sure, there are worse things in life. But as we age — whether it’s thinning hair, graying hair or lost hair — those bad hair days just seem to multiply.The FDA says two out of five women color their hair. While there do not appear to be national statistics on men who touch up or dye their hair, a walk down any... READ MORE
Making their mark with body art
Once considered the domain of bikers and sailors on shore-leave sprees, tattoos have gone positively mainstream.And not just among the younger crowd. A 2008 Harris poll reported that about 20 percent of adults between the ages of 40 and 64 now have one or more tattoos.Why? People are just becoming more comfortable and curious about body art, say tattoo artists and researchers... READ MORE
Finding a job takes pluck, luck
When Andrew Der lost his job nearly two years ago, he was, understandably, devastated. "I'd been working professionally for 25 years," said the former director of environmental services for a consulting company in Shady Grove. "I felt horrible."After the initial shock and blow to his ego wore off, Der, then 55, didn't worry too much about finding another... READ MORE
Do-it-yourself publishing arrives
The brutal rape and murder of one of his students at George Washington University’s business school haunted Charles Toftoy.Because he couldn’t put the gruesome crime out of his mind, Toftoy wrote a thriller in which a fictional professor and part-time sleuth tries to solve the murders of four Washington, D.C. undergraduates.“I had never thought about writing... READ MORE
Two generations kiss and tell
The first thing Andi Kay does when she gets home from a date is call her mom to dish on the details. Where did they go? Was he cute? Did he kiss her good night?But at 42, Andi is no starry-eyed teenager. She's a divorcee and mother of three. And her mom, Stephanie Kay, also found herself single after a divorce, finally remarrying in her 60s."Andi and I both re-emerged as singles at ... READ MORE
Finding freedom on two wheels
Ira Loux’s motorcycle mania began in his teens, when he would ride a dirt bike on the back roads surrounding his family’s home in the Poconos. Loux, now 52 and a software consultant living in Baltimore County, said he didn’t ride for many years after that because he didn’t have the financial resources. But about 12 years ago, he decided “I needed a toy... READ MORE
Third career in fourth quarter
After serving for 20 years in the Mary land General Assembly, Gloria Lawlah thought it might be time to retire at 68.“I was quite ready to come home and hit the golf balls,” she recalled of what ended up being a very short-lived hiatus from public service.Just a month later, in February 2007, she was appointed Maryland’s Acting Secretary of Aging — a job made... READ MORE
Druid Hill Park’s 150th birthday
For many Baltimoreans, Druid Hill Park was virtually their own backyard.In the summer of 1948 when Leona Holly was 15 years old, she would leave her house almost every day for her “second home,” Druid Hill Park. “It was my favorite destination,” the now 76-year-old Baltimore City resident recalled. “When you didn’t have a lot of money, you could always... READ MORE
