Be Careful!!!  I received a phishing scam (bogus email trying to get your personal information) disguised as an official email from Western Union.  The subject was “Western Union Confirmation Needed.” and the body is captured below:

===================== fake email body = don’t be fooled ============

Dear Sir/Madam
There is an issue with the Western Union Money Transfer in the amount of
£500,000.00 directed at the owner of this email address. The LOTOCATALUNYA
INTERNATIONAL contacted us for your transaction a couple of hours ago. They
said that they choose to send it to an email address
instead of a name. We are unable to complete a transfer directed at an email
address, so we require some more information in order to complete this
transfer. You are required to provide confirmation of the following
-Name:
-Full contact Address:
-Occupation:
-Sex:
-Age:
-Country:
-Mobile Phone Number
-Nationality: -
-Phone Number

It is important to note that your award information was released with the
following particulars attached to it.
(I) Award Numbers: DRF/49226- 041-754-64-291,
(ii) Email ticket number: UK596/02/89
(iii) BATCH NUMBER: 03/801/7ZKJ/ES
(iv) The File REFERENCE NUMBER:: UK/1946/26/26
Please contact our foreign affairs deptartment within 5 working days to
facilitate the release of your prize, You are required to mention the  above
particulars of your award in every correspondence addressed  to  the foreign
affairs dept.

CONTACT NAME: DR SULLIVAN EDWARD
CITY/ COUNTRY: UNITED KINGDOM
FREE SERVICE NUMBER:
+44 70457 01008
+44 70457 02368

WEBSITE: WWW.LOTOCATALUNYA.NET.
or at this email via Western Union Solicitors Fund Verification
Department: w.union6@yahoo.com.hk
As soon as this information is received, your payment will be courier to your
designated home address.or account
Sincerely,
Dr Katharine S. Sorrells.
Western Union Payments.

—————————————————————-
This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program.
=======================================================

=======================================================

Be careful - there are bad people out there who’ll do anything to steal your hard earned income and your identity!

Today I realized a major perk with getting older. Anyone fortunate enough to have the love and adoration of a grandchild can truly relate to this message. We spent the morning having lunch with our daughter and grandson (5 years old) and granddaughter (3 years old) then playing at the park. While we didn’t get to eat at Sweet Tomatoes because the line was excrutiatingly long, we were able to eat at the Red Brick Pizza right next door. It was nice spending a relaxing lunch with the entire family. We then went to look at a home we’re thinking about renting, went to Target® so our soon-to-be-6 grandson could ‘help’ us pick out his gift. When we went back to my daughter’s house to ‘give the kids back,’ I experienced what most of us crave - the unconditional love of a child. While sitting on the couch, my grandson climbed up behind me, wrapped his arms around my neck from behind, and just leaned on my back and shoulders. No words were necessary — it was his unspoken way of saying, “Pop Pop, I love you!”

So getting older has its drawbacks, but it also has its perks. I hope you have experienced those perks in your life!

I saw on the Today Show a brief piece about some people are are ‘well along’ the road in respect to age who are quite enjoying their later years - through singing and performing a wide array of music. Perhaps you’ve heard of them - Young@Heart? The TV piece showed folks who are surely formerly49ers have a spectacular time playing instruments and singing music from Rock-n-Roll to Jazz. I looked them up on Google and found a plethora of hits. Check out the YouTube video below of Young@Heart singing ‘Fix You’ by Coldplay

How about The Ramones’ “I want to be sedated?”

So, are we as young as we feel? I think those with Young@Heart would emphatically say “Yes!” What do you think!?

Do we really incur more health problems as we age?  Or do we do things with our lifestyle as we age that causes increased health problems?  For me, I think it’s the second theory. As an active-duty Air Force guy, with a requirement to exercise and therefore stay ‘fit’ I never had trouble with cholesterol or high blood pressure.  Within a year of retiring, I gained about 30 pounds, stopped exercising and have high blood pressure.  I believe I did this to myself and it’s not related to getting older.  So it’s time for me to visit my doctor and find out what I can do to turn this around.  What’s your story?  Do you have health issues from getting older or have you created your own health challenges?

The pain of a foreclosure affects many folks, even those of us who are renting. We’re renting because we’re living in an area on a temporary basis for about 2.5 years. We decided to move near our grand children — and their mom and dad while their dad attends school. We’re renting a nice house in a nice neighborhood.

On Thursday, April 10th, 2008 we found out the home we’re renting is in foreclosure - dang it. That means, after only living here for 10 months, we need to find ourselves another home to rent. What a royal pain in the buttocks! Not to mention the additional cost of down payments, rental applications, etc… We were extremely angry to find out all the rent money (at least the last 3 or 4 months) we’ve been paying to the owner never made it to the bank for this property. So, not only is the owner suffering, they inflicted some pretty serious discomfort on some innocent victims - me and my wife!

If you or someone you know is nearing foreclosure, I’d like to recommend a course of action before it gets too late - something called a ‘short sale‘ - a preemptive approach to selling the soon-to-be-foreclosed house for current market value (below balance owed on mortgage) and working with the mortgage company to accept less for the home and writing off the difference. Unlike a foreclosure, the short sale, according to a local real estate agent we’re working with, only negatively impacts your credit rating by 50 point for far less time (3 years I think). So, check with a real estate agent who specializes in short sales to get you through this trying time.

You know you are really there - older - the very first time someone looks at you (a someone that you really don’t feel much older than), asks you a question and finishes the question with ’sir.’ You know, like when you’re picking up your Chinese Food order and the 20+ year old in the restaurant innocently asks you, ‘how long have you lived here Sir?’.

I feel young, really! As I mosey about my daily routines, I feel (nearly) just like I did when I joined the US Air Force at 21 years old. I don’t feel like my chin sags, I don’t feel like my ears have hair growing on them - on top, bottom and from the inside! But, when I happen to catch my reflection in the mirror, I’m reminded indeed that I am no longer 21 years old. My mind’s mirror has a much younger-looking image (maybe that’s where the magic mirror from Sleeping Beauty originated).

But, being older has its advantages. Younger folks expect you to be overweight, so it’s no longer such a big deal to wear you shirt ‘untucked’ to ‘hide’ the spare tire. I’m sure there are other benefits - what do you think?

When is it too late to start your nest egg?  How did we get here so fast without a retirement plan?  I don’t make enough money to save for retirement.  Any of this sound familiar?  What do statistics say about when most people start their retirement planning?  When did you start your planning?

What a great musical!  I took my wife to this and we had a blast. This addresses the seriousness of menopause with a well-integrated mix of humor.  Based on seeing this musical, I felt women (and some men) may have something to say about the rollercoaster ride called ‘menopause.’  So if you have a story you’d like to share about this ’special’ time of your life, here’s the place to tell us about it.  If you haven’t seen Menopause the Musical - I highly recommend you do.  Visit their website for more information - http://www.menopausethemusical.com/

formerly49.com is for you — people who are 50+ years old that enjoy discussing your experiences concerning life in the second half of your century. This can be a place for serious discussion, humor or general comments about the experiences of other formerly49rs.