Well, Senior Rippers, we are certainly in a different place than we were the last time I wrote Take the Plunge. While the world outside my window still seems innocent enough, and snowshoeing is still permissible in our new world of Social Distancing, my advice to you this week is consider learning to play the drum, or any other instrument that you have lying around your home for that matter. The fact that music can heal the heart and soul is fact. “Rhythm” in Greek means to flow, and the power of dance is palpable to all humans. For example, have you ever seen a toddler dance bare naked after…

Please don’t think for a second, that I mean a polar bear dip on a frozen morning. I’m a life-long swimmer, but outdoor swimming in the winter requires a heated pool. The kind of plunge that I am advocating for is one on snowshoes. Let me explain. A recent Saturday found me, along with 21 Senior Rippers and 2 dogs, at a trailhead in the Uinta Mountains as part of an organized trip through The Park City Mountain Sports Club, an all volunteer group of like-interested Parkites. It had been several days since the last snow fall so there were tracks up an old Mine Trail, the sky was blue,…

Admit it, you knew this blog was coming after last week’s love letter to coffee. I think it is only fair that tea be considered as a part of a Senior Ripper’s day. I, for one, treasure my morning cup of Joe but after that I am a tea girl, through and through. The varieties of tea seem endless and my tea drawer is full of many of them, but I never really knew what kind of tea was best for me and how to brew it properly. It was time to find out. Coincidently, my favorite NPR interviewer, Terry Gross, conducted an interview just this week with Michael Pollan…

Let’s be honest, everyone loves French Fries but most of us try not to eat them too often for health reasons. A casual conversation on a chair lift about the best fries in the Wasatch Mountains gave me license to explore these delectable treats to find out if they should be in a Senior Ripper’s diet. A bit of history first: the French claim the first “pommes frites” were served beside the Pont Neuf Bridge in 1789. Americans were introduced to them in 1802 when Thomas Jefferson served them in the White House. The Belgians lay claim to eating the most “frites” per capita. Now back to the heart of…