WHEN PIGS FLY...

...MAGAZINES

Yes, when pigs fly* will be the time I find a magazine that fits me to a T.

I had to laugh when I recently got the “wonderful news” that I had been selected for a free seven-issue subscription to Family Circle. That one and others like it are full of clothes for slim, young women; advice on how to educate, entertain and ‘vet’ your children; how to organize your life, your expenses and your home; and recipes galore that I’d never ever try. Starting with Woman’s Day and Real Simple I’m gradually letting most of my subscriptions run out.  Even Martha Stewart Living may go – I’ve got another year to decide.

Where is the magazine for long-retired septuagenarians who no longer need to plan for retirement and are no longer slim, whose children now have children, whose lives are already organized to the teeth, and who have settled in to basic cooking for two? I refuse to support the AARP, and we didn’t particularly care for their magazine to begin with, so I’ve been searching for some new reads.

We do subscribe to Smithsonian and Archaeology, Southern Living and one or two others – we’ll always need “bathroom reading” – but I’ve found a new source of reading material: ezines. They are extremely colorful, entertaining, educational, and (is this best of all?) free.

The best source for perusing the magazine rack is Issuu. They publish ezines for a great range if interests, many profitably aimed at younger generations, so your eyes may pop at some of them. They’ve shelter magazines, sports issues, foodie fun galore, travel, fashion, and collecting magazines, to name a few. If nothing else, I get a glimpse of what’s going on elsewhere than in my own little niche. Another nice feature of ezines is the ability to click on an interesting item and go right to the website that sells it. And – just think of all the trees that are being saved as more and more magazines go digital.

At Issuu you’ll find some of my favorites: House of Fifty, Est, FOLK, Heart Home, and Sweet Paul.  Two out on their own, are the excellent Lonny, and Covet Garden.  You can ‘subscribe’ to any or all of them and they will email you when a new issue is published.  They're not the grail in my quest for a great magazine for Seniors, but do give some of them a test ride – at least the price is right.

*Every once in a while it strikes me that certain changes in this world will happen only "when pigs fly."  When the spirit of exasperation moves me I just might put out another essay under the "When Pigs Fly" banner.