Crow's Feet: Life As We Age

A fitting quest for Pride Month, Esther Newton's personal and professional struggles mirror sixty years of LGBTQ+ history.

In the mid-1950s, catapulted out of a liberal household in New York to a rigidly-gendered southern California high school where girls were frilly and feminine, Esther was, in her own words, “a failure as a girl.” She knew she was different—a “homosexual,” as such deviants were then called. Alone as a teenager, fearing she had no chance at a normal life, Esther found comfort in Margaret Mead's Coming of Age in Samoa. “It showed me the culture of the 50s and 60s was just one among thousands and thousands.”

Like Mead, Esther earned her PhD in cultural anthropology. She dared to observe and write her dissertation on drag queens, a culture much closer to home. She wrote scholarly papers on “stone butches,” and how they had sex. She outed herself and became more of an activist in her collection of essays, Margaret Mead Made Me Gay. It was “career suicide,” she says of her early work in the field, but Esther seems to have the last word in her memoir, My Butch Career, and on screen, in the 2022 documentary, Esther Newton Made Me Gay. Today, a new generation looks up to her for her courage and foresight.

You can view the trailer for Esther Newton Made Me Gay on her website as well as links to her writing: https://www.Esther-Newton.com . Crow's Feet is grateful to Jean Carlomusto, director of Esther Newton Made Me Gay, and Women Make Movies, the distributor of the film, for allowing us to use excerpts. Access the full documentary via Kanopy, if your local library subscribes, or by contacting the distributor: [email protected]

Support the show

At 68, Lee Bentch doesn’t fit the stereotype. He’s still working, and after his day job, he cooks dinner for his five grandchildren and daughter. Lee is one of more than a million grandparents who are helping to raise their grandchildren and he’s also a Crow’s Feet writer. In this episode he tells us how he manages to plan and cook healthy meals seven days a week. Lee is interviewed by Jean Feldeisen, another Crow’s Feet writer, therapist and grandmother. Join her as she discovers how the multigeneration household enriches Lee’s life, and how the grandchildren’s presence, filled with love and caring, extended his wife’s life.

Support the show

Pull up a seat! It’s time to get in the Halloween spirit with some campfire stories.

In this special episode, Crow’s Feet writers and editors share some dark tales and memories of lore and legend just right for the season.

Ever had an eerie experience you couldn’t explain? We’ve got a strange feeling you’re going to love “Cowbells and Ouija Boards” by Jan M. Flynn and “The Guardians of Dark Places” by C.M. Barrett (read by Jane Trombley).

If ghost tales are more your thing, feel the goosebumps as Soozie Campbell tells “A Chilling Story” and Crow’s Feet founder Nancy Peckenham spins a tale about her great-great grandparents, “Margaret and Christopher.”

The holiday wouldn’t be complete without a creature double feature! Two pieces – “The Werewolf of Defiance, Ohio” by Betsy Allen and “The Jersey Devil,” a poem by Jean Feldeisen – just might have you looking over your shoulder.

And because we can’t resist leaving you with a smile, we treat you to a fun spooky season memory: “Gomez Addams and the Pumpkin Caper” by Nancy Franklin.

Enjoy our show and Happy Halloween!

Support the show

Join host Jan M Flynn in conversation with Kira Reginato as they explore the issue of where it makes the most sense to live as we or our loved ones age and our needs change.

As an elder care manager and consultant, Kira has served hundreds of older adults and their families in a variety of settings: hospitals, residential care and skilled nursing facilities, hospices, Alzheimer’s adult day care programs and Meals on Wheels.

Kira's three decades of expertise, as well as her warm personality and compassion were enjoyed in two weekly radio shows focused on aging: The Elder Care Show and Call Kira About Aging!

Kira is the author of the book Tips for Helping Your Aging Parents...Without Losing Your Mind – click the link to purchase a copy.

For more information about Kira, visit her website at www.Callkira.com and check out her YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyO7atbCToRbKmnFI6EZGAg

Interested in finding a care manager for yourself or your family? Visit the national Aging Life Care organization at www.Aginglifecare.org

You can also book a phone or video consultation with Kira to discuss your needs and help connect you to a local care manager by clicking this link: "https://tinyurl.com/2p855cyx"

(Note: this information is provided as a potential resource but does not indicate an endorsement nor any other business relationship. Crow’s Feet: Life As We Age does not receive any financial consideration for providing this link).

Support the show

Join host Jan M. Flynn in conversation with Lenore Guido, Bereavement Coordinator for a New Jersey hospice program, who has a private counseling practice focusing on compassionate grief care. Grief is something we often shy away from thinking about, but it’s also something we’ll all experience. Lenore, who is drawing on more than 45 years’ experience in the field to write a book on healing from loss, shares a perspective both clear-eyed and hopeful. There is, she says, life after loss — and even joy.

Support the show