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A famous athlete tattooed 50 names on his body for a sad reason. Showing them got him suspended.

Yup. He definitely deserved a pass.

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Zlatan Ibrahimović is a world-famous soccer player.

If you live outside of the United States, you probably know him better as a "footballer."

After scoring a goal at a Feb. 14, 2015 match, he removed his jersey to reveal the names of 50 people tattooed on his arms and chest. The temporary tattoos represent 50 of the 805 million people in the world suffering from hunger.

Ibrahimović was issued a one-game suspension for "unsportsmanlike behavior."

But he thought it was totally worth it. And I do too.

Any time a famous person lends their time to a cause, they can be accused of hunting for publicity. But in moments like these, what does that matter?

Ibrahimović knows exactly how big of a problem world hunger is (11.5% — more than a tenth of the world). And now, so do you.

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Check out the new NAPA TradeWear collection
Education

NAPA is launching a free merch collection, changing how we celebrate automotive careers

How TradeWear is tackling the technician shortage

NAPA is launching a free merch collection, changing how we celebrate automotive careers
Enter the Toolbelt Generation
Enter the Toolbelt Generation
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These days, cars can do a lot more than get you from point A to point B. With features like emergency braking, electric powertrains, and self-parking systems, getting behind the wheel of a modern vehicle means being surrounded by cutting-edge technology. While innovation races ahead, one important element is being left in the dust: trained professionals who know how to fix these increasingly complex systems.

By 2027, the industry is anticipating a nationwide shortage of nearly 800,000 technicians – everything from avionics experts to diesel and collision repair specialists. And while the industry is expected to grow by 3% in the next decade, not enough young people are entering the field quickly enough, and the skills needed to do the job are changing fast.

Enter the "Toolbelt Generation"

Gen Z has increasingly been shifting away from traditional four-year colleges, exploring trade school alternatives as a smarter path forward. This cultural shift has dubbed them the "Toolbelt Generation," and they're onto something big. With a 16% increase in vocation-focused community colleges last year, young people are choosing flexible, hands-on careers without the heavy cost of traditional college education.

But here's the thing: while university students get all the fanfare – the branded hoodies, the campus pride, the cultural celebration – trade school students have been missing out on that same sense of belonging and recognition. Despite outdated stereotypes that paint trade work as "lesser than," these students are actually mastering some of the most sophisticated technology on the planet. Until now, society just hasn't caught up to celebrating what they do.

A creative solution rooted in culture

The NAPA TradeWear Collection is the latest initiative they have using a brilliant solution to change this narrative entirely. In partnership with Dickies and prolific video game artist Stephen Bliss, NAPA launched TradeWear – their first-ever, free merch collection celebrating young trade school students and the automotive technician career path.

The inspiration came from a fascinating cultural insight: automotive and racing games were cited as one of the biggest influences of the current generation of trade school students. That's where Stephen Bliss comes in – he's been behind some of this generation's most iconic video game artwork, making him the perfect partner to bridge the digital-to-physical journey that's inspiring real careers.

"Being an automotive technician is such a badass career," said Stephen Bliss, designer of the new NAPA TradeWear line. "It's both an art and a science, and I designed this line with that artful side in mind – celebrating what drives people to create something tangible with their own hands."

The collection does more than just look cool – it's making a statement that these career paths deserve the same pride and recognition as any traditional college experience.

"NAPA is working to break down barriers for the next generation of technicians by eliminating financial barriers, debunk outdated stereotypes, and create cutting edge training methods to fill this automotive technician gap,” said Danny Huffaker, SVP, Product & Marketing at NAPA, “TradeWear is the latest initiative in champion young technicians, celebrating technical careers with the same pride we give to traditional college paths."

An innovative approach

TradeWear represents just one way NAPA is rising to meet this moment of industry transformation. As America's largest network of automotive parts and care, they're taking a comprehensive approach to supporting the next generation of technicians.

NAPA is set to debut the Autotech XcceleratoR in early 2026—a breakthrough that fuses XR (extended reality) and AI to transform how technicians learn. Think of it as a flight simulator for cars: immersive, hands-on practice with smart guidance that adapts to each learner, building real-world skills faster and safer. As a first-of-its-kind program at national scale, XcceleratoR is designed to train more students in less time, elevate quality across the industry, and set the standard for the next 100 years of automotive training.

NAPA is also championing educational investment through expanded scholarship programs. This year, NAPA launched the Carlyle Tools MAX Impact Scholarship, providing monthly $2,500 awards plus professional-grade Carlyle toolboxes to empower emerging skilled technicians. This initiative joins a comprehensive scholarship portfolio that delivered educational support this year through partnerships with WD40, the University of the Aftermarket, TechForce and SkillsUSA.

Looking toward the future

In a world full of desk jobs and digital burnout, technician jobs in the automotive industry allow people to create an entirely different way of living – a flexible, hands-on career without the heavy cost of a traditional college education.

By investing in innovative training, providing financial support, and most importantly, instilling pride in a new generation of workers through initiatives like TradeWear, NAPA is helping ensure these exciting career paths continue to thrive for generations to come.

Check out the new NAPA TradeWear collection and snag a free item from the collection.

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Culture

Gen Xers share 17 nostalgic dishes they ate growing up—and still make for dinner

From sloppy joes to pizza bread, these dishes still slap.

gen x, generation x, gen x meal, gen x food, gen x family meals
Image via Reddit

A family enjoys dinner during the 1970s.

Generation X (those born between 1965-1980) grew up eating classic Americana meals. During the 1970s, comfort meals like tuna casserole and salmon roquettes were popular meals.

Gen X also grew up eating some pretty unhinged (but all the more yummy) sandwiches. These meals are steeped in childhood nostalgia.

And to this day, Gen Xers are still fond of their favorite dishes they grew up eating. Together, they discussed on Reddit their most-loved home-cooked dishes that they still whip up, starting with sloppy joes.

Here are 17 iconic Gen X comfort meals to keep in mind the next time you make dinner:


@genx_shawn

🤤😂 Top 10 Things ONLY GenX Knows the Taste Of... #genx #over50club #genxtiktok #over40 #genxcrew #generationx #genxers #genxtok #over40club #over50

"Breakfast. We will have a 'breakfast for dinner' at least a couple times a month. Yum!" - fadeanddecayed, KddKc

"Pizza bread! My mom would cut Italian bread into pieces, put butter and garlic salt on them, then pour some spaghetti sauce on them, cover with mozzarella cheese, and broil for like ten or fifteen minutes. Super easy and quick to make and so tasty. I'm sure my mom loved that I was so into something that took roughly zero effort for her to make." - hornybutired

"Grilled cheese and soup." - reincarnateme

"Meat loaf. I use 2 pounds ground beef, replace bread crumbs with minute rice, add 1 pkg beef soup flavoring, chop an entire onion for it, and mix BBQ sauce into mixture. Oh, important: do not overmix! Place all ingredients into bowl, then mix quickly 10 or 12 swirls of a large spoon. Grease loaf pan, carefully place mixture in, pat down & bake about an hour. (Extra info: for even better flavor, mix the night before, pat into loaf pan, cover with plastic, put into fridge overnight. Remove from fridge about an hour before baking. BE SURE TO REMOVE PLASTIC WRAP! [Esp. If in Pyrex glass loaf pan])" - jehardt, AbbyM1968

"White guy tacos." - najing_ftw

"Skillet dinner. Kielbasa, bell pepper, onion, spuds in a cast iron pan. One dish. Easy peasy." - UnimportantOutcome67

- YouTube www.youtube.com

"Chicken pot pie or chicken ala king." - sattersnaps

"Fried catfish, greens, and red beans and rice." - User Unknown

"Shepherds pie, technically cottage pie if it’s ground beef. Homemade enchiladas, usually made as a layered casserole instead because I don’t have time to roll them. Pork chops with mashed potatoes and veggies." - XerTrekker

"Fried rice with chicken or pork leftovers." - AlternativeResort181

"Hot hamburgers: hamburger patty open face on Texas toast thickness bread, cover with fries then cover that with brown gravy. Wife's variation is hamburger patty over rice with brown gravy." - EnricoMatassaEsq

@past_archives

American Gen X Foods That Kids Today Can’t Understand#nostalgia #childhoodmemories #backtochildhood #90s #2000s #usa #80s #90skids #80schildhood #capcutforus #capcut #capcutpioneer #America

"Stuffed peppers. I make it much more easily by cooking it all in one large frying pan 'deconstructed'. Sauté onions garlic and ground beef, add cut up peppers, tomatoes or tomato sauce, sometimes a little spinach, then add separately cooked rice, salt and pepper and serve. It comes together pretty quickly and tastes just as good as stuffing and baking peppers in the oven." - Affectionate-Map2583

"Macaroni and cheese with cut up hot dogs. Seriously, that’s what I ate tonight." - Dazzling-Walrus9673

"Homemade Stroganoff casserole. Ridiculously easy to make. Ingredients:

1.25-1.5 lbs. Ground Beef
1 each of large white onion, green pepper, and red pepper
1 can mushroom pieces, drained and rinsed
12 oz. Bag of wide egg noodles
1 can cream of mushroom soup
16 oz. Sour cream
Worcestershire Sauce
Louisiana Hot Sauce
White or Black Pepper
Panko bread crumbs

To Make: Preheat oven to 360 degrees. Worcestershire, hot sauce, garlic powder, and pepper are all to taste, depending on how much flavor and punch you want it to have. Cook noodles per instructions. Drain. Peel and slice onion (not diced), core and cut peppers into strips Brown meat, onions and peppers along with liberal amount of Worcestershire; garlic, pepper, and hot sauce. Add mushrooms. Cook until meat is fully brown, onions are translucent and peppers are tender. Drain. Combine drained meat, etc. with whole can of soup, half of the sour cream. Gradually add noodles into the mix. Add sour cream as needed to maintain consistency. Add Worcestershire, hot sauce, and pepper to taste. Dump into large, deep Corning dish or whatever. Cover too with bread crumbs. Cover and bake for forty minutes." - CynfullyDelicious

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Wellness

People who are 'nearing the end' reveal if they regret sacrificing indulgences for their health

"I only regret all that rushing."

aging, seniors, old people, longevity, mortality, death, getting older, living well, health, wellness, fitness
Photo credit: Canva

People over 60 discuss how much they prioritized health and fitness in their lives, and if they regret it.

Would you give up the occasional beer to live another 10 years? Maybe that's an easy one. How about cake? Diet soda or fizzy drinks? All sweets and treats altogether? Would you live in the gym and skip gatherings with friends and family? Leave parties early to go get a good night's sleep?

The questions are all hypothetical, because while we have a general sense of what's healthy for our bodies, there's no guarantee that any of them will make us live longer or better. But we also have a sense that everything is a balancing act. Avoiding excessive sugar intake might be good, but eating cake is one of the fundamental joys of life. Exercising makes our body strong in the long term, but going to lunch with a friend might be better for the soul in the short term.

Health and fun can go together, but they're often at odds. So what are we to do?

A Reddit user recently asked "people who are nearing the end" if they ever regretted doing as much as possible to maintain their health. The answers were fascinating.

"I'm asking people reaching the point where there's no lifestyle choices remaining to put off the inevitable," the user asked on the subreddit r/AskOldPeople. "Are you glad you did what you could to get all the time possible? Do you wish you had allowed yourself more bad habits?"

Overwhelmingly, the respondents—mostly folks in their 60s, 70s, and 80s—fell into three camps.

1. "Absolutely no regrets."

aging, seniors, old people, longevity, mortality, death, getting older, living well, health, wellness, fitness man and woman sitting on bench facing sea Photo by Matt Bennett on Unsplash

Seniors in this category insist that waffling between health and indulgence is for the midlife crises-ers, not the "close to death" crowd. They agree that a lifetime of healthy choices really starts to separate folks in the twilight years. People who didn't prioritize their health, diet, and fitness have trouble moving, more health problems, and anecdotally, die earlier.

"I’m 73 and retired from the NYC Ironworkers Union where staying in top shape was a must. Those habits are hard to stop so I’m in great shape. No regrets," one man wrote.

"Mid 60s. Former sedentary smoker. Now a daily runner, watch my weight and diet. I don't want to live longer, just better. I want to do be able to do what I want to do."

"74M. A life long runner and marathoner. Many of my friends are so out of shape they can hardly walk to the mailbox. In many cases, this is a result of the lives they chose to live. They seem to spend much of their time watching TV and complaining, when not visiting doctors. ... On the other hand, I am finding this to be a great time of life to travel, play catch and chase my grandchildren and generally enjoy these years. I have very few regrets living a healthy life and for each day that passes, as I look at my peers, I have even fewer."

"No regrets about remaining healthy and fit. It's not 'stressful.' What would be stressful would be worrying about docs, meds, hospitals, and medical bills. All my numbers are normal and I need no meds--yet," added a 76-year-old.

2. "Mostly no regrets, but it's complicated."

aging, seniors, old people, longevity, mortality, death, getting older, living well, health, wellness, fitness man wearing blue tank top Photo by Massimo Sartirana on Unsplash

"Almost 80 here and I have no regrets," began one user. "I never smoked or drank excessively. ... Now I crotchet, read, write, and spend time with my best friends, (doggies). I look back and my only regret is rushing to get to the end of college and graduate school...then I rushed to get published because that's what you do in academia. I regret all that rushing... My granddaughter has earned scholarships and been accepted at a very nice university and I told her, there is time. Don't rush it. She was trying to figure out how to graduate college earlier. I told her it's not the end of the race that matters, it's the process getting there.

People who maybe didn't always make the healthiest choices admitted that, for the time being, they were still OK with their decisions.

"I wouldn’t change anything. Did all I could with what I had to work with. Had a lot of fun, met some great people, helped out family, friends and strangers when I could ... My body is falling apart so I can’t work out but I still eat healthy. I’m ready for the final sleep and have no regrets or fear."

Working too hard, not having enough fun, and losing touch or not spending enough time with friends and loved ones are top death bed regrets.

"I think you're asking if giving up unhealthy (but enjoyable) behaviors for a long time just to add another 10-15 years to your life is worth it. I'm 63 and still on the fence about this. I guess it depends on how much you enjoy life and what you live for. If you have a happy life with loving family and friends you'd be more apt to give up pizza and cannolis than someone with a mediocre life and just trudging along."

"My mother in law is 91. For as long as I’ve known her, 43ish years, she didn’t eat meat, drank wine occasionally (she would nurse one glass all night), ate lots of salmon, kale, berries….in other words lived a crazy healthy lifestyle," one user shares. "Since 2021 she’s been in a nursing home, no clue who she is, who her kids are etc…. Her mind is shot, for all practical purposes she’s dead, but her body won’t die. I’d rather not live long enough to have that happen to me, which it probably will."

3. "I reject the premise of the question."

aging, seniors, old people, longevity, mortality, death, getting older, living well, health, wellness, fitness A McDonald's cheeseburger and fries. via Breanna Schulze/Flickr

"My rule is you avoid the three R's. Resentment, Regret, and Revenge. The past is over, you cannot change it and you certainly don't want to live there," one wise user shared.

A few others were firmly in the camp of: It doesn't matter. Do what you want.

"My [sister-in-law] ran triathlons and still got leukemia and died at 59. So yeah, I’m gonna eat that bacon."

"Smoked and drank and lived every day like it was gonna be my last and still do," said another.

"I’ve gotten myself into great shape and having the time of my life. Haven’t felt this good in 40 years," added another, but said they don't go as far to regret anything. "I enjoyed all the bad things but knew enough to let them all go a while back. Zero regrets."

Studies on people who age the very best show that most lifestyle factors don't make that big of a difference when it comes to how well our mental faculties survive as we get older.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

People whose brains perform decades younger than their age are rarely true health nuts. But regular exercise can make a difference in warding off Alzheimer's and dementia; that much is for certain.

Plus, the difference in physical health between folks who exercised and paid more attention to their diets can become stark as we age.

However, most studies show that just 20-30 minutes of exercise a few times per week is enough to reap most of the benefits. You don't need to spend long hours training for marathons and sacrificing social time—unless you enjoy it, that is. And the occasional ice cream with the kids, greasy pizza, or beer isn't likely to hurt you too much in the long run. Everything in moderation.

There's no simple, one-size-fits-all answer to the big question. People who invest heavily in their health and fitness and sacrifice for it don't seem to regret it later on. But neither do people who did their best but ultimately didn't always make the perfect choice.

You've got one life to live. It's comforting to hear from people toward the end of theirs as we make choices that will affect the rest of ours.

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Education

It's not brains or talent. Expert says high achievers have two traits anyone can learn.

She broke it down into a simple formula.

angela duckworth, grit, ted talk, success, psychologist, therapist
via TED / YouTube

Angela Duckworth speaking at a TED event.

Why is it that some people are high achievers who have a track record of success and some people never come close to accomplishing their dreams? Is it talent, luck, or how you were raised? Is it that some people are just gifted and have exceptional talents that others don't?

The good news is, according to psychologist Angela Duckworth, the most critical factor in being a high achiever has nothing to do with talent or intelligence. It’s how long you can keep getting back up after getting hit. She calls it “grit” and, according to Duckworth’s research, it’s the common denominator in high achievers across the board, whether it’s cadets at West Point or kids in a spelling bee. Duckworth goes into depth on the topic in her book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance.

What personal traits make someone successful?

“The common denominator of high achievers, no matter what they’re achieving, is this special combination of passion and perseverance for really long-term goals,” Duckworth revealed on The Mel Robbins Podcast. “And in a word, it’s grit.”


“Partly, it’s hard work, right? Partly it’s practicing what you can’t yet do, and partly it’s resilience,” she continued. “So part of perseverance is, on the really bad days, do you get up again? So, if you marry passion for long-term goals with perseverance for long-term goals well then you have this quality that I find to be the common denominator of elite achievers in every field that I've studied."

When pressed to define the specific meaning of grit, Duckworth responded: “It’s these two parts, right? Passion for long-term goals, like loving something and staying in love with it. Not kind of wandering off and doing something else, and then something else again, and then something else again, but having a kind of North Star."

- YouTube www.youtube.com

For anyone who wants to achieve great things in life, grit is an attitude that one can develop for themselves that isn’t based on natural abilities or how well one was educated. Those things matter, of course, but having a gritty attitude is something someone can learn.

"I am not saying that there aren't genes at play because every psychologist will tell you that's also part of the story for everything and grit included,” Duckworth said. “But absolutely, how gritty we are is a function of what we know, who were around, and the places we go."

Why grit is so important

Grit is critical for people to become highly successful because it means that you stick with the task even when confronted with barriers. In every journey of taking an idea that you love and turning it into reality there is going to be what’s known as the dark swamp of despair—a place that you must wade through to get to the other side. It takes grit and determination to make it through the times when you fear that you might fail. If it were easy, then everyone could be high achievers.


Grit is what keeps people practicing in their room every night as teenagers and makes them an accomplished guitar player. Grit is what makes a basketball player the first one in the gym and the last to leave so that they make the starting lineup. Grit is knocking on the next door after 12 people have just slammed their doors in your face.

The wonderful thing about Duckworth’s work is that it presents an opportunity for everyone willing to do the work. You can no longer use the fact that you may not have specialized intelligence or a God-given talent as an excuse. All you need is perseverance and passion and you have as good a shot as anyone at achieving your dreams.

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Bookworms confess the words they've mispronounced for years, thanks to only reading them

If you’ve ever said “epitome” wrong out loud, welcome home.

books, words, vocabulary, phonetics, learning new words, learning, ask reddit, book worms, 2025 books, etymology
Photo credit: Canva

It's almost as though we're all making up words as we go along, huh?

It’s one of the most charming hazards of loving books: you’re exposed to a much wider, richer vocabulary than you are in everyday life. And so when you meet unfamiliar words on the page, your brain just takes a guess at pronunciation, sometimes incorrectly.

That’s certainly not your fault. For one thing, English, written or spoken, is famously inconsistent and phonetically confusing. Second, when we see a new word, it’s natural to apply established rules we think make sense. Linguists even have a term for this called “spelling pronunciation.” Sometimes it works out beautifully. Other times…not so much.

When one Reddit user, a self proclaimed “voracious reader,” admitted they’d spent years mispronouncing “banal” and “ultimatum” due to only seeing it written down, a wave of fellow bookworms were inspired to confess their own humbling word mistakes:

“Albeit as ‘all bite’ instead of "all be it" probably because I was learning German as a kid.”

“Anemone too. Hooked on Phonics didn't prepare us for these words at all.”

“Armageddon. In my mind, I pronounced it Ar-MEGA-don, like some sort of dinosaur.”

books, words, vocabulary, phonetics, learning new words, learning, ask reddit, book worms, 2025 books, etymology Dinosaur media0.giphy.com

“Bedraggled. I broke it up as bed-raggled rather than be-draggled. I still like the image that invoked!”

Many admitted that even after they learned the correct pronunciation, their brains couldn’t fathom saying it any other way. Linguists call this phenomenon a “fossilization of errors,” which is a simple way of saying that a repeated mistake gets so ingrained and unconscious that it becomes your brain’s default setting. This isn’t impossible to correct, but it's not easy.

“Somehow I read it as BE-emoth with a silent h and second e was soft. 🤷🏽♀️. Because I read that word for a decade or so before I actually ever heard it I've never adjusted and it still sounds like a mispronunciation when people use it.“

“Cacophony. For years, I said CACK-uh-fawn-ee in my head. I spoke it out loud one day, and my husband was like wth????!!!”

“Detritus. Always pronounced it in my head with a short ‘i’ then finally heard it spoken.”

“Dilapidated - read it in a book and knew full well what it meant, then pointed out some dilpa-dated houses to my mom when we were driving.”

“I’d explain en-ER-Gee (hard G) but I don’t have enough energy.”

“Every time I see ‘epitome’ written my brain says ‘ep-i-tome.’ Always takes a second to realize, oh.. ‘E-pit-oh-mee.’”

“I chose to focus my [college] report on the ornate Greek and Roman- inspired fa-KA-days of renaissance architecture. About halfway through, the professor politely raised his hand and said, ‘Excuse me for interrupting, but are you meaning to say facade?’ Oh, right, yes, of course. 😬😖”

books, words, vocabulary, phonetics, learning new words, learning, ask reddit, book worms, 2025 books, etymology Clueless media0.giphy.com

“Gauge. I knew ‘gage’ was a word, but I thought this was a separate word pronounce ‘gog.’”

“I described something gross as GRO tes cue. It was grotesque.”

“As a child, I loved telling my older relatives how gullible my little brother was. I said it as ‘Gill-able’".

“Harbinger. I was in my thirties when I first said it aloud in front of people and learned it was har-binj-er, not har-bing-er.”

books, words, vocabulary, phonetics, learning new words, learning, ask reddit, book worms, 2025 books, etymology Agatha All Along media1.giphy.com

“Very young me pronounced huge as hug.”

“Young me assumed it was ‘highpocritical’ when I first encountered it.”

"’in-dicked’ for ‘indict.’”

“Inevitable.I had it as in-uh-VIT-uh-ble.”

“Macabre. Legit thought it was mock-ah-brey. And never associated when someone said muh-cob as the word I read.”

There’s also sometimes a fun bit of reader logic at play, fixing the language so that it works within the fictional worlds read about.

“When I was maybe 7 or 8 a magician performed at the school near me. My mom took me…We got in an argument because…I knew the word ‘magic.’ and I knew what the C at the end sounded like. HOW DARE SHE try to convince me to say ‘magishin’ when it was quite obvious that the word ‘magic’ had a suffix added and now said ‘maj-i-can’…I probably believed it was maj-i-can for another year after that before something or other convinced me otherwise.”

books, words, vocabulary, phonetics, learning new words, learning, ask reddit, book worms, 2025 books, etymology Gif media3.giphy.com

"As a pre-teen, I used to read a lot of historical novels and had no idea what ‘beribboned’ meant or how it was pronounced. Turns out it's ‘be-ribboned’ (as in covered in ribbons), but I pronounced it like ‘berry-boned’ and thought it had something to do with corset stays.”

books, words, vocabulary, phonetics, learning new words, learning, ask reddit, book worms, 2025 books, etymology Women media2.giphy.com

“Mine was ‘melancholy.’ In my head it was meh-lan-cho-lee, instead of melon-collie.”

“Misled: I used to read this as MY-zld.”

“The 'mores' part of social mores. I pronounced the word as if it rhymes with 'bores' well into adulthood. I heard Hilary Clinton use it in a speech about ten years ago and was shocked. I even pronounced it as rhymes with bores in a college presentation before a large class and was not corrected.”

“Subtle 😭”

“The Tao of Pooh is an excellent introduction to Taoist philosophy using Winnie the Pooh has the ultimate Zen. While discussing the book with a friend I was informed that Tao is pronounced with a D, not a T. I had no idea.”

books, words, vocabulary, phonetics, learning new words, learning, ask reddit, book worms, 2025 books, etymology Winnie the Pooh media3.giphy.com

“Tertiary TER-tee-ary. I'm still not sure how there's a ‘shee’ in there.”

“Trebuchet. It always puzzled me how an english speaker would pronounce this. I concluded with Tree Bucket.”

“Vehement. I always read it as va-HE-ment.”

On the bright side, we do live in an age where we can instantly Google the correct pronunciation of a word the minute we see it. So, keep reading. After all, every word you learn (even the ones you trip over) makes the world a little more interesting.

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Golden Years

Older woman reveals genius way her senior living friends get past their political differences

"You really can’t go wrong with this approach."

seniors, politics, friendship, community, relationships
Image via Canva

A group of senior friends

It might be an understatement to say that we are in divisive times. Many of us live in an echo chamber of our own making—carefully curated social media bouncing the same news sources and opinions back and forth like a game of pickleball.

But what if you find yourself in a situation where you can no longer curate your surroundings? What happens when circumstance make it impossible to only be around like-minded people? This happened to my mother (and many of her friends) when she moved into a senior living facility. All of a sudden, she found herself having dinner and playing Mahjong with people who (gasp) held different political opinions.

It took some getting used to. My mom, like many of us, is steadfast in her beliefs. She has spent decades learning about and fighting for the things she believes in, and in her mid-80s, most of those opinions are unlikely to change. That said, there was a simple solution to bridging the (often vast) gap between her and her new friends and building mates.

I asked her, "When you're seeking out friendships, even now in the senior center, what are the kinds of traits you look for? What bonds you?"

Her answer was quick and simple. "Volunteering together." She further explained, "Doesn't matter if you're on the left or right side of the aisle. If we're doing something together to help someone else, it's almost like that other stuff goes out the window."

senior living, elderly, volunteering, donations, community Senior citizens volunteer together. via Canva Photos

Because of my mom's sight and mobility issues, her ability to volunteer is a bit limited. But she can help put care packages together for those in need, donate and organize jewelry for fundraisers (like for Alzheimer's), and she even offered up a dance class to the other residents called "Dances with Walkers." What she has found is that others who offer themselves with acts of service tell her nearly everything she needs to know about them. And it creates a true bond that goes beyond voting records.

She shared, "I mean there are still big ideas I'll always fight for. But the kindness people show by helping others is very important." I asked her how else that 'kindness' presents itself and, again, her answer was clear. "The way they talk to the staff. When we sit in the dining hall for dinner, I want to be around people who are kind to wait staff. On the day to day, that matters more than how they feel about tax brackets."

She also notes that laughter is a big factor. If she can sit and laugh with someone, that helps tide over any religious or political beliefs. Though here she also brings up an impactful quote that she calls "the right to exist one." The actual quote is: "We can disagree and still love each other, unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist." (Snopes shares it's often attributed to James Baldwin, but was actually written by author Robert Jones, Jr.)

As some might imagine, there are many recent Reddit threads regarding building bridges. One asks bluntly, "Is it possible for Democrats and Republicans to get along?" There are many answers, including a few who dig into their ideologies and claim the stakes are too high at this time. But there are also many who eloquently express that it's not only possible—it's common.

One Redditor writes, "It is. Respect for one another just needs to transcend political opinions. My best friend is very left wing and hates Trump. They even have an autograph from Obama framed and hanging in their home. We talk about politics infrequently because we already know each other's stances and realize our friendship is far more important."

This person argues that most people get along, despite what social media might portray: "I would say a far majority of the people of the US get along regardless of their political affiliation. Reddit is NOT the 'far majority.'"

Just recently, a piece was published on NJ.com (a site for all things New Jersey) about two political consultants, Julie Roginsky and Mike DuHaime, who are dear friends despite having different political views. On Friendly Fire, they're interviewed by Star-Ledger editor Enrique Lavín. When asked, "Q: Do you think your friendship has helped you better understand the 'other side'?" they each had insightful answers.

Roginsky said, "People would be surprised to know that Mike and I probably don’t disagree on much and I think we have probably evolved in each other’s directions as we have gotten older and ideology gave way to real learned experience. Mostly, I just really wish the best for Mike. When he has career successes or his kids do well and I hear about it, I am happy for my friend. Politics is really secondary to all that."

And DuHaime agreed. "I realized a long time ago that Julie and I have so much in common, and we should never be distracted by different viewpoints on policy. I cannot be happier than when I see Julie doing a great job on television or hearing somebody tell me about some success she has had. Think of how many billions of people there are on the Earth, and we were dropped into New Jersey politics at the same time. There is tremendous amount to have in common and a wonderful starting point for many great conversations."

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