eh_notsomuch

Tuesday marks the 15th anniversary of the day that Los Angeles Lakers superstar and eventual Hall of Famer Magic Johnson announced he was HIV-positive.

NBC4's Dr. Bruce Hensel said that some people believe Johnson has survived because he could afford the medicines needed to combat the incurable disease.

1. My parents accepted an offer on their house (where I lived from ages 15 through 24, then again from 27 to 29).
2. My parents have put in an offer on a new much smaller house, that's a bit closer to Mom's work. If the house inspection on their current home goes well, we may be having Thanksgiving dinner with them in the new house. Holy God, y'all, the kitchen is so tiny.
3. My father put in for Social Security. My father is retiring. He will still have to work part-time, but Mom says he might be able to work with a good pal of his. And of course he'll still have the tax prep business from January to April. (Need a CPA? Let me know.)
4. And I realized that next year my mother turns 60.

We're a nation of Peter Pans who won't grow up.

And there's nothing with wrong with that, author Christopher Noxon says.

The Los Angeles writer, 37, has a term to describe what he calls "a new breed of adult, identified by a determination to remain playful, energetic and flexible in the face of adult responsibilities." Say hello to the "rejuvenile."

Noxon's new book, Rejuvenile: Kickball, Cartoons, Cupcakes, and the Reinvention of the American Grown-up (Crown, $23.95), on sale Tuesday, attempts to explain how the desire to keep alive "a child-like essence" is changing how American adults behave.

In his book, Noxon notes:

• Half the visitors to Disney World are adults with no children. He interviews a number of fanatics, including a 47-year-old judge from Dayton, Ohio, who with his wife usually spends a weekend a month at a Disney theme park.

• Multinational corporations are hiring consultants to promote play in the workplace as a spur to creativity, innovation and morale.

• There is a surge in retro toys such as Strawberry Shortcake. Popular in the 1980s, Strawberry Shortcake was relaunched in this century with the line "Who knew you and your daughter would have the same best friend?"...