Amy Abbott Writes

* Click on the article to bring it up as a full scale image. Published September 2012 in the “Day Tripper” column of the Knox County Boomer magazine.

Click on the article to bring it up as a full scale image. Published January 2012 in the “Day Tripper” column of the Knox County Boomer magazine.

Chances are, your dad is a baby boomer or even older. With people living longer these days and more and more boomers hitting retirement age, the infamous Father’s Day blue striped tie probably isn’t the right gift for your still quite active father. Sixty is the new 40, and 80 might as well be the […]

Easter candy is a great American tradition. A painted Easter egg is fun to hide, find, and even roll across the White House lawn. But biting into a hard-boiled egg doesn’t bring you the chocolate or marshmallow goodness of Easter treats. Billions and billions of pastel and chocolate confections will delight purists Sunday morning after […]

* Click on the article to bring it up as a full scale image. Published November 2011 in the Knox County Boomer Magazine.

We’ll celebrate the birthdays of two great American presidents, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, on Monday. Feb. 20, though, is not the real birthday of either of them, and the holiday is commonly referred to as President’s Day. But what many people don’t know is that the legal name of the holiday is Washington’s Birthday, […]

*click on image to bring up full-scale article  Published March 2012 in the Evansville Woman Magazine.

When our dryer suffered an internal illness on Saturday night, it represented the confluence of two laws of nature, planned obsolescence and Murphy’s law. The term planned obsolescence was coined in the 1950s by industrial designer Brooks Stevens. He defined it as “instilling in the buyer the desire to own something a little newer, a […]

* Click on the article to bring it up as a full scale image. Published November 2012 in the Evansville Woman magazine.

As kids head back to campus, thoughts of chilly football stadiums, keggers, all-nighters and mid-terms fill the imagination. While the reality of the college experience for most people is likely more about studying and surviving than partying, we’ve collected five iconic movies that fulfill every stereotype about college life. Two of our featured flicks take […]

When I was a child, my brother and I loved to ask my father, “Are you nervous?” Dad would respond like a jittery Don Knotts on the old Steve Allen show with a high-pitched, “No!” I come from a long line of nervous folks; people who are easily agitated, upset, devastated, reactive and just plain […]

If you listen closely to news about the 2012 presidential election, you will note that some folks predict the Republicans will have a “brokered” convention in Tampa come August. A brokered convention is possible when an individual candidate doesn’t reach the magic number of delegates to win the nomination. Some even speculate that the current […]

* Click on the article to bring it up as a full scale image. Published March 2012 in the “Day Tripper” section of the Knox County Boomer magazine.

Currently, I’m mulling an assignment for another publication about women and leadership. I have been in the workforce since 1971 and it is easy for me to remember women who provided leadership on many levels. As I reflected on this topic, I realized that I experienced many examples of leadership earlier than 1971, when I […]

For years I’ve bugged my husband for us to go to Vegas and be remarried by an Elvis impersonator. He always says, “We’re already married, and you just want to play the slots.” He’s mostly correct. However, I think a longterm marriage full of “in sickness and in health” and all that jazz deserves encouragement, […]

* Click on the image to bring up the full scale article. Published February 2012 in the Evansville Woman Magazine.

Whether planning your children’s spring break or a summer family vacation, why not avoid all the usual places and try something different? To get you thinking outside the box this year, we’ve lined up five family-friendly destination suggestions all within our own great country. How about the place poet Walt Whitman referred to as the […]

* Click on the article to bring it up as a full scale image. Published October 2011 in the Dubois County Boomer.

On a recent warm and windy Sunday afternoon, more than 60 friends and relatives of Kristopher Kroeger celebrated with him under a large tent at his parent’s rural Warrick County home. Monday evening May 21 Kristopher completed his high school career with the class of 2012 from Boonville. Kristopher’s mother Amy and I met at […]

Last week, my husband and I watched “Jeopardy,” a competitive sport for our family. Chris Matthews, the host of MSNBC’s “Hardball” was a celebrity guest. Alex Trebek read the answer: “Familiar piece played at graduation ceremonies.” Matthews buzzed in immediately with “The Land of Hope and Glory” and then corrected himself, “What is the Land […]