From Taiwan to Typewriter: TC Brown on Writing His Vietnam-Era Memoir in Retirement

Sue Hines: Old Friends, New Chapters

Some conversations feel less like interviews and more like coming home, and this one is exactly that. Cathy sits down with someone she’s known for more than fifty years, a friend whose life has woven in and out of her own since childhood. Sue’s retirement story is shaped by resilience, creativity, and a quiet determination to keep moving forward, even when life hands you more than your share. Sue spent her career supporting others, keeping things running, and being the steady presence every workplace depends on. Retirement opened a different kind of space, one where she could finally give time to the creative instincts she’d tucked away for decades. What started as simple crafting has grown into a joyful, ever‑expanding world of making, teaching, experimenting, and rediscovering parts of herself she never had time to nurture before. Cathy and Sue talk about friendship that spans a lifetime, the unexpected turns that shape us, and the way reinvention often begins with the smallest spark. Sue’s story is a reminder that retirement isn’t about slowing down; it’s about shifting into a life that feels more like your own. A warm, heartfelt episode that celebrates creativity, connection, and the beauty of beginning again at any age. Reinventing Retirement is the property of Dr. Cathy Paessun and is produced by Tim Beeman for Such-N-Such Media [http://suchnsuchmedianc.com/].

Destiny Burns: Military Work to Urban Winery

Destiny Burns joins Cathy for a conversation that feels like a roadmap for anyone wondering what reinvention can look like in life’s later chapters. Destiny’s story begins in Cleveland, winds through the Navy as a Russian linguist, moves into intelligence and the defense industry, and even includes a chapter as a volunteer firefighter in her late forties. Through each transition, she discovered that her core values stayed steady while her “why” evolved, a pattern she eventually captured in her book My Why and I? A Rebel’s Guide to a Why‑Centered Lifestyle. As she explains, living a why‑centered life is a deliberate choice, one that requires staying aligned with what matters most and being willing to realign when life shifts. That commitment eventually brought her home to Cleveland, where she created something entirely new: an urban winery built inside a hundred‑year‑old auto garage. Destiny describes it not as a wine business but as a relationship business, a community hub where connection is the real product and the wine is simply the glue . She shares the three tenets that guide everything she does—good wine made fun, celebrate Cleveland, and drink wine and do good—and how those principles shape her team, her partnerships, and her impact. From hosting fundraisers to supporting local artists to donating wine to neighborhood theaters, Destiny has built a business that reflects her values as much as her entrepreneurial spirit. As the conversation turns toward retirement, Destiny offers a refreshingly honest look at what comes next. She talks about the realities of running a business that never stops, the importance of planning for an eventual transition, and the freedom that comes from knowing your purpose beyond your job. She imagines a future rooted in impact and adventure, perhaps working with nonprofits or using her hard‑earned experience to strengthen her community in new ways. For listeners navigating their own next chapters, Destiny’s story is a reminder that purpose does not retire. It evolves, expands, and invites us to follow it with intention. Reinventing Retirement is the property of Dr. Cathy Paessun and is produced by Tim Beeman for Such-N-Such Media [http://suchnsuchmedianc.com].

Growing Younger: Diana Howes on Tango, Flexibility, and a Life in Motion

Diana Howes joins Cathy for a conversation that feels like a celebration of what reinvention can look like when you stay open, flexible, and willing to follow joy wherever it leads. Diana describes her life today as one filled with movement, connection, and purpose, much of it centered around Argentine tango. What began as a way to strengthen her knees turned into a passion that brings her exercise, community, and what she jokingly calls her eight hugs a day. She talks about the closeness of the dance, its social nature, and the delight of learning something she had always wanted to do but never had time for while raising four children. Her path into retirement was shaped by a lifetime of taking leaps and trusting that the net would appear. After decades in insurance and investments, she shifted into virtual bookkeeping long before remote work was common, a move that gave her the freedom to be with her children as their lives took them to different cities. When her daughter had what Diana calls a miracle baby, she moved to Charlotte to help. When her son and daughter‑in‑law in Los Angeles were expecting twins, she packed up again and headed west. She describes herself as a minimalist with a suitcase and a storage unit, choosing furnished rooms and month‑to‑month living so she can stay close to family and keep her life flexible. Diana reflects on the realities of aging, the desire to sit less, the importance of staying mentally and physically active, and the joy of being surrounded by younger people who keep her engaged. She talks about her commitment to “growing younger,” a mix of mindset, movement, whole foods, and purpose. And she shares her newest dream with a smile: to become a dancer everyone wants to dance with. It is a reminder that reinvention does not require grand gestures. Sometimes it looks like choosing connection, choosing movement, and choosing to stay open to the next beautiful thing. Reinventing Retirement is the property of Dr. Cathy Paessun and is produced by Tim Beeman for Such-N-Such Media [http://suchnsuchmedianc.com/].

Retirement in Full Volume: Cathy Paessun Talks with Ron Franke‑Polz

Cathy Paessun sits down with longtime friend and lifelong music tinkerer Ron Franke‑Polz for a conversation that begins in snowy northern Indiana and quickly opens into a story about coming home. Ron reflects on what it’s like to return to the town where he grew up, now just a couple of miles from his childhood house, and how familiar places feel both unchanged and completely new. As Cathy notes, it’s a full circle moment that sets the stage for a thoughtful look at the twists and turns of his working life. Their conversation moves into Ron’s parallel worlds of engineering and music, from garage bands in high school to recording sessions in his basement studio today. He shares how technology, curiosity, and a few lucky encounters helped him build a creative second act that spans local musicians, old bandmates, and even cross‑state collaborations. Cathy draws out the humor and heart in his stories, including the unexpected ways retirement opened space for new projects and revived passions. Ron also talks candidly about easing out of corporate life, adjusting to the rhythm of retirement, and discovering that weekdays are now the best days of the week. From rebuilding a pond path with a tractor to navigating the realities of health, finances, and time, he offers a grounded look at what reinvention can feel like in real life. The episode closes with a glimpse of what he’s exploring next, hinting at both the playful and the profound. Reinventing Retirement is the property of Dr. Cathy Paessun and is produced by Tim Beeman for Such-N-Such Media [http://suchnsuchmedianc.com].

From Taiwan to Typewriter: TC Brown on Writing His Vietnam-Era Memoir in Retirement

TC Brown joins Cathy Paessun to talk about his journey from decades in journalism to writing his memoir, “Made in Taiwan: A Naive American’s Chaotic Journey to Manhood in an Exotic Culture During Radical Times.” TC spent nearly five years in the military during the Vietnam era, with most of that time stationed in Taiwan when he was just 18 years old. After his service, he built a long career as a journalist, working at papers including the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Statehouse Bureau and teaching journalism at Ohio Wesleyan before retiring and finally putting pen to paper about those formative years abroad. The conversation digs into what it took to write an honest memoir about being young, far from home, and coming of age during one of the most volatile periods in American history. TC talks about tracking down old buddies from Taiwan, finding letters he’d written to his parents, and using music from the late ’60s and early ’70s to help bring those memories back to life. He’s refreshingly candid about the challenges of self-publishing, marketing a book when nobody knows who you are, and why he decided to keep even the most uncomfortable parts of his story in the final draft. These days, TC stays busy writing songs (he just started playing guitar three years ago), working on his next book, and getting out to the gym and walking as much as possible. His advice for people approaching retirement? Have something in mind that you want to do, whether it’s a hobby or volunteer work, and don’t wait for “later” because sometimes there is no later. Oh, and start saving money early—even just a little bit helps. Made in Taiwan: A Naive American’s Chaotic Journey to Manhood in an Exotic Culture During Radical Times by TC Brown is available on Amazon [https://amzn.to/4qE37hd]. (We may earn a commission on purchases through Amazon) Reinventing Retirement is the property of Dr. Cathy Paessun and is produced by Tim Beeman for Such-N-Such Media [http://suchnsuchmedianc.com].