Article by Julie Morris, photo courtesy of Pixabay

When you are in the workforce, you daydream about all the things you’ll be able to do once you retire. Then you actually get there and the choices for what to do next can feel, well, a bit overwhelming. There is so much to do, so much to see, and even more to learn.

Make the most out of your retirement by learning how to do all the things you always wanted to do when you were grinding away at your nine and five — and then some more! It’s super easy to gain new skills and knowledge with the incredible resource that is the internet. There are classes and courses for just about everything from home skills like cooking to things that can actually make you a little extra dough like real estate.

There are countless ways to sharpen your mind and pursue your interests, online and otherwise. Of course, before you begin any hobby or activity, whether it’s adding some new foods to your diet or checking out a new fitness routine, take a moment to assess your physical wellness to determine if you’re healthy enough for what you want to pursue. Schedule a checkup to ensure you’re in good shape — if you have a $0 copay through a Medicare Advantage plan, such as those offered from UnitedHealthcare, it won’t cost you anything but a little time. Although you don’t necessarily need to have a wellness checkup before beginning every hobby, it never hurts to make sure nothing will stand between you and the pursuits that strike your fancy.

Below are just a few of our favorite ideas for fun new skills for retirees and seniors to learn online.

Online Lessons for Learning an Instrument

Whether you want to learn something completely new or re-introduce yourself to an instrument you played when you were younger, there are countless online lessons that can help you refine your musical talents. Playing an instrument in your senior years can help keep the mind sharp and boost creativity. It can help improve dexterity in your hands and relieve arthritis pains. When you play an instrument, it also boosts your self-esteem and gives you another thing to talk about and bond over with new people in your life.

Online Lessons for Culinary Skills

You probably know how to cook a few dishes at this point, but there are probably hundreds of recipes and techniques out there you don’t even know about. Expand your culinary repertoire by learning new skills online. Online cooking classes allow you to go at your own pace and do it all from the comfort of your own kitchen. You get to make the dishes you want to learn and if you mess something up, nobody has to know but you!

Online Lessons to become a Real Estate Agent

If you want to keep adding to your nest egg or start saving a little more to leave to your kids and grandkids after you go, there are a few different options for seniors who want to make money. You could get a part-time job at a store or use your car to drive for a popular ride-share service around town, but the best way to make money part time is by working as a real estate agent.

Many of the skills you gained in your career can be reused in your pursuit of selling real estate. This part time job is incredibly flexible and provides big payouts for single sales — perfect for someone who wants to supplement retirement payouts or a pension. You also won’t be alone if you decide to pursue real estate in your golden years; the average age of a realtor is 57. To sell real estate, you have to have a license and training before you take a state exam. The good news is you can prepare for all of this from the comfort of your own home with online classes.

Make the most of your golden years by learning all the skills you’ve always wanted to do online. You can find great lessons that teach you at your own pace and they online cost a little if not completely free. If you want to enhance your skills in the kitchen, online cooking classes can teach you anything from how to julienne a carrot to making the perfect soufflé. Learning how to play an instrument online can help sharpen your brain while filling your home with music.

Finally, build up your finances by learning a part-time career like real estate where you can make big bucks on your own schedule.

“I am very fortunate to have credits on some gold and platinum albums from artists like George Strait, Trisha Yearwood, Doug Stone, Alabama, and many others — but the road called me out to those folks who still love the live music experience in the intimate settings of small theaters, cafes, and house concerts. . . . I’ve always been a Troubadour at heart, I suppose.” — Tony Ramey

From 4-6 pm, Sunday, September 22, Harmony House Concerts is privileged to present one of Americana’s award-winning singer/songwriters, Tony Ramey. Among his credits are:  Country Music Awards of Texas — 2016 Independent Artist Award of the Year and 2019 Artist of the Year;  2018 Texas Country Music Awards’ Best New Song of the Year, Ain’t Gettin’ Anywhere; BMI Award-Winning Songwriter recipient. 

While writing songs in Nashville, many of his songs were recorded by other performers and won gold and platinum award status for sales.  However, Tony is not the ‘commercial type’ of musician, and his dreams led him down a different path.  Now, he lives on a ranch near Greenville (our neighboring town) and helps his brother raise longhorn cattle when not on the road performing his own songs.  Read more about Tony below.  Then visit his website, www.tonyramey.com, and be sure to click on his Facebook page to see a video of Tony giving his story in his own words, and much more.  You can even opt to see him perform via Facebook for you monthly.

Tony will be performing two sets of 45-minutes each, with a 30-minute intermission for guests to mingle, catch a breath of country air,  snack on munchies, and purchase Tony’s CDs.  He has set up his own recording studio, and some amazing songs have poured out of him onto the tracks.

Concert Info:  Faye and Scott, the hosts for Harmony House will provide bottomless cups of real coffee, tea punches made with organic juices, good ‘ole well water, plus cheese and crackers and whatever else Faye decides to whip up.  Guests are requested to bring finger food snacks to share with others on tables provided throughout this vintage home reclaimed and relocated amidst meadows and woodlands (www.WildscapeAcres.com).  There will be a basket on the breakfast room table for optional $1 cash donations to help hosts defray their costs.

Reservations are $15 per person.  Call 903-583-2661 to reserve your seat for this rockin’ concert.  Please leave your name, number of seats needed, and your contact info (preferably, an e-mail address).  Seating is limited to 50 guests. All concerts are held indoors in the living and dining room surrounded by the rustic ambiance of ‘this little  house on the prairie’.  To pre-pay, make your check to Tony Ramey and send to Faye Wedell; P.O. Box 812; Bonham, TX 75418, to be received by September 18.  Guests may pay at the door, but if you make a reservation, please be courteous and show up.  No-shows are a No-No.  If you have to cancel, please do so in a timely manner.  Should you cancel by September 18 and you have pre-paid, your requested donation will be returned.  If you need directions to Wildscape Acres, please indicate when making your reservation.  If paying at the door, you may pay in cash or checks payable to Tony Ramey.  Charging may be available, if Tony has a Square and his phone can get reception at Wildscape Acres (some phone carriers are in a dead zone here).

More about Tony:

Tony Ramey grew up in West Virginia on Bluegrass and Bill Withers.  At eleven, he found Willie, Waylon, Cash, and Kristofferson (who fueled an already fiery passion to write songs.  Then, he heard Steve Earle whose songs convinced him to move to ’Guitar Town’ (Nashville) to hone his craft.  He would eventually leave for Texas when the road called him out again.
Somewhere in the middle of his Gold and Platinum records as an award-winning songwriter, Tony garnered a master’s degree in Literature, and taught at colleges and universities part-time while working on his PhD,  He said, “The great poets kept me sharp — grounded in the craft and discipline of writing.”
With the release of his eleventh album, Ramey has the respect of industry folk, and keeps growing his audience with his undeniable prowess as a singer/songwriter. His tour schedule and his passion for performing are evidence that he prefers the troubadour life-style.  Between shows he enjoys the solace of his writer’s getaway where he says he can “be alone with nature, his thoughts, and the eternal spring of the Art Spirit.” Ramey has spent much of his music career flying below the radar — until now.

Read more about his enlightenment and change of direction on his website,www.tonyramey.com.

Whiskey Myers’ front line at a LJT music festival.

Originally published in The Paris News, Aug. 4, 2019

Mary Jane Farmer, Scene In Town

Everyone has idols, people who have inspired them over the years, those who have laid a strong foundation to walk or work on, those who are not afraid to be unique. Getting to meet those idols, live and in person, is often not in the cards.

But, for Whiskey Myers, it was not only in the cards, it was a royal flush.

John Jeffers, fairly-new Paris resident, is a founding member of the national touring group Whiskey Myers, which got its roots in the Palestine/Tyler area, starting as just good ol’ boys getting together to do what they love most — make music.

Jeffers (guitar, vocals and songwriting) and other founding members Cody Cannon (lead vocals and songwriting) , Cody Tate (guitar), and Jeff Hogg (drums) had their love of southern rock music in common. All were fans of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Pink Floyd, and The Rolling Stones. That was more than a decade ago, and Red Dirt giants Cross Canadian Ragweed, Jason Boland, and others of that ilk also played quite a punch in Whiskey Myers’ style. No one could never exclude the influences that the hard country giants — Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson — also entered into the band’s development.

Currently, also with the band are Jamey Gleaves (bass) and Tony Kent (rhythms), also musicians from that East Texas area.

The result of all these idols, this influence? A strong dose of unabashed, authentic, astounding Southern rock at every concert they play, dimpled with a ballad and story-telling song, and heightened with their own version of country. Their style could be called ‘genre-bending.’

One of those recent concerts, at Soldier Field, had Whiskey Myers opening the 95-year-old stadium for The Rolling Stones, swapping “howdy” and “hi-ya” with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and the rest of that gang between sets.

Jeffers said it meant as much to them to get invited to play the gig as it was to actually be there for it all.

“It was a rite of passage,” Jeffers said. He explained that Jagger and Richards watched a bunch of videos of different bands, all hoping warm up that Soldier Field stage for The Rolling Stones. “They sit down and scroll through videos. Just to know that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are watching you, that’s pretty exciting in itself. And then they picked us,” Jeffers said.

The Rolling Stones had its sound check first, which is standard procedure, and Whiskey Myers had theirs. Then, once on stage, they presented seven songs, older standards with “Gasoline” thrown smack dab in the middle of it all. “Gasoline” is one of 14 new songs on their upcoming self-titled record, due for release September 27, but with three songs already available on the streaming sites to those who pre-order Whiskey Myers. The other two songs already released are “Rolling Stone” and “Die Rockin’,” which is already getting airplay around the country.

John Jeffers, taken at LJT Texas Music Festival

“For this group of country kids playing rock n roll, it was a pretty hectic day, a big show,” Jeffers said. “We’ve all looked up to those guys, the short and sweet of it is that we dug those guys. There was so much excitement, our expectations ran really high. At the end of the day, we weren’t disappointed at all.”

Jeffers grew up in the smaller town of Palestine, he said, and moved from there to the nearby bigger city, Tyler. About two years ago, he and Paris native Hope Petty married, and he transplanted himself to Paris where they are making their home.

“I like being in a smaller town. This is like coming home. I love the people here, they are good people, like I grew up with. It’s my way of life,” Jeffers said.

It had been a few years since Whiskey Myers released a recording project, their last ones having been Mud, Early Morning Shakes, and Firewater. And they worked with a giant in the recording industry on those, Dave Cobb. For this newest project, the whole band decided to step out on their own. They spent 18 whirlwind days at the Sonic Ranch, a little outside El Paso. “We decided, ‘let’s take a chance and see if we can do it,’” Jeffers said. They ran with all ideas from all band members, “some work and some don’t, but we gave them all a shot. And then there’s that magical moment when the whole band hears it, your eyes get a twinkle — ‘That’s it, that’s us!’ It’s usually a no-brainer.”

“We just brought our songs to the table and made it sound like us,” Cannon said in a press release. “We never thought hard about it. We just tried to go in and write a good song, whether it’s country or rock and roll or blues.”

Their songs include some that Cannon wrote solo, including “Gasoline,” some Jeffers penned, such as his “Glitter Ain’t Gold,” and many co-written by these two with such notables as Ray Wylie Hubbard, Adam Hood, and Tennessee Jet.

Pre-purchase is available on the band’s Website, WhiskeyMyers.com