My self-image—fit and healthy, damn near invincible—splinters on Friday, April 30th, when I suffer a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA). I shrug off the first sign, a misplaced password; it happens to everyone. But when I can’t express myself and my speech becomes distorted and disoriented, my alarm grows, as does my husband’s as he tries to decipher

The long-planned retirement dream my wife and I have patiently waited for is about to become reality: Traveling to a different country every year for the full year. Sounds exciting and even romantic, right? But actually making it happen quickly runs into some complications.

If you’re among the millions of people who cruise every year, you may have heard “Dr. Dave” Roberts speak about the Panama Canal, listened to Steve Friedman discuss the history of Broadway musicals, “waltzed” around the floor with Paul Jones during afternoon tea and post-dinner dancing, or heard Mary Jane Cryan lecture about Italy.

You can learn a lot from Mary Jane Cryan. Such as how to turn your expertise into free (or almost free) passage on a variety of cruise lines.

After my long-term relationship ended and I quickly had to come up with new living arrangements, I took a long hard look at my finances. I had committed a large amount of trust, and money, to the idea of building a life with my partner. We both lived in Canada and…