The Big 65 Archives

🌟 Notice the blessing, not the blemish 🌟

Northern Light greetings …

May this note find you well, with your Medicare Insurance keeping you in the pink.

Questions about your Medicare Insurance? Email Gray, Gray@TheBig65.com, or book a time on my calendar.

I missed the Northern Lights twice while visiting Iceland. I guess I should’ve just stayed in Colorado. Did you see them where you live?

Despite all the Medicare madness, it’s been fun catching up with so many of you during this Annual Election Period. I enjoy reconnecting (even on quick calls) with the same people year after year.

Staying connected, looking back, and looking forward.

99% of the calls are invigorating (even when finding the right plan is a challenge), but ever so occasionally, I chat with someone who will only focus on the bruise, never on the blessing.

What always amazes me in these calls? It’s often the people with the greatest challenges (to health and life and family) who show the deepest gratitude for the blessings in their lives.

(Our exchange student Miti can now ride a bicycle).

My father in law said it best…

Being born in America is like winning the lottery.

In no way do I wish to minimize the struggles many face, and still…, as Viktor Frankl’s book reminds us in Man’s Search for Meaning,

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”

Being at home for much of this year and re-seeing the world through the eyes of a young girl who comes from the 9th poorest nation on planet…

Well, it gives us pause daily to stop and reflect on how much in our lives are actually working…

And to think about the blessings instead of the bruises.

(Speaking of small things, we’ve been sending out our honey to those who wrote Google reviews. If we still owe you honey, please let us know. Or…write a review and get some while supplies last!)

This year I learned the importance of mouse guards to protect the hives from vermin— and it got me thinking about how we also need guardrails to keep negativity from sneaking into our minds.

Research shows that reducing anxiety frees up cognitive resources, improving executive functioning, working memory, and attention.

Happiness keeps Plato sharp, and he’s almost eleven!

So when you find yourself going into that angry/anxious place, flip the script.

Remind yourself that you still have the power to choose.

Focus on the strife, the chaos and the destruction, or…

Celebrate that, this week, Miti is learning how to swim. The choice is always ours!

Keep squeezing the juice🍊 out of life and look for ways to help others.

Refer A Friend

If family or friends need help… referrals are the lifeblood of my business.

If you know someone who might like to receive The Big 65 newsletter, forward this link.

Medicare questions or problems?

Book a time on my calendar or email Gray, Gray@theBig65.com.

Let us know what’s going on and please send pictures :).

Karl Bruns-Kyler
(877) 850-0211
Book a time on my calendar here
Happy with my Service? Click Here to Leave a Review.

Karl Bruns-Kyler is a Medicare insurance broker and independent Medicare agent licensed to help Medicare recipients in thirty states around the country, including:

Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Montana
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
Washington
Wisconsin

The Big 65 Medicare Insurance Services does not offer every plan available in your area. Currently, we represent 10 organizations that offer 50 products in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options.

Hey,🦻Can You Hear Me Now?

Happy November!

We hope this note finds you well, with your Medicare Insurance keeping out the cold.

Questions about your Medicare Insurance? Email Gray, Gray@TheBig65.com, or book a time on my calendar. There’s still time, even if the pumpkins are getting a little long in the tooth.

Plato reminds you, this is our busiest time of the year, so, if for some reason you haven’t heard back from us, please reach out again, our desks are piled high and deep! We have till December 7th and we will get to everyone, that’s a promise.

Miti, our exchange student from Madagascar had a lot of fun for Halloween.

The joy of hosting someone who has never seen Halloween is you get to experience the event with fresh eyes. Q had a ball taking Miti trick or treating.

Plato and I maintained the candy bowl and caught up on email.

Thanks to Barb in Houston for catching something that I missed in a previous newsletter.

She wrote:

“Last week’s email reminded people to have certain health checkups, but I don’t think you included one’s hearing. The Poster picture below is one that my ENT has in all his exam rooms. I think it’s a powerful reminder for us to not neglect our hearing health.”

👂 Don’t Forget Your Hearing — It’s Linked to Brain Health

We often remember to check our blood pressure and vision, but hearing health is just as important.

Research shows that untreated hearing loss can increase the risk of dementia and cognitive decline. Protecting your hearing may also help protect your brain.

It’s often pride that prevents us from admitting our hearing has diminished, but a free hearing test can quickly give you answers and you can start by taking this test online.

Untreated hearing loss can lead to:

Trouble thinking clearly or remembering things
Higher risk of dementia
Feeling lonely or isolated
More stress, fatigue, or sadness
Missing alarms, doorbells, or important sounds

👉 Protect your brain — get your hearing checked this year!
A simple hearing test can make a big difference in staying sharp, connected, and healthy.

I’ve been wearing hearing aids for more than 15 years and they’ve made a huge difference in my life and in the lives of the people I love.

Most hearing aids come with a trial period, which means you can return them if your not pleased. Usually it takes a few weeks to get used to them. If your plan does not include hearing coverage, check out Costco and Sam’s Club. They both offer excellent, affordable hearing aids.

So I challenge you to try something new… just like Miti did. Last weekend, we taught her to ride a bicycle. She’s an amazing kid!

Speaking of amazing kids, longtime clients Jack and Adrienne don’t seem to be getting any older. They’re always up to something fun!

My little brother Haas was just up in Canada hunting geese with his buddies. Winter is coming!

Just remember, the purpose of good hearing…

To help you stay connected to the people you love. Never miss a chance to reconnect with people who bring you joy, like my old high school buddy Esteban.

After recently retiring as a Radiologist, he’s still climbing glaciers at 65 and training to climb the Matterhorn next summer. Keep going brother, keep going!

Keep squeezing the juice🍊 out of life and look for ways to help others.

If family or friends need help… referrals are the lifeblood of my business.

If you know someone who might like to receive The Big 65 newsletter, forward this link.

Medicare questions or problems?

Book a time on my calendar or email Gray, Gray@theBig65.com.

Let us know what’s going on and please send pictures :).

Karl Bruns-Kyler
(877) 850-0211
Book a time on my calendar here
Happy with my Service? Click Here to Leave a Review.

Karl Bruns-Kyler is a Medicare insurance broker and independent Medicare agent licensed to help Medicare recipients in thirty states around the country, including:

Happy Day of the Dead💀!

Happy Halloween🎃 and Día de los Muertos💀🎉,

We’re hoping November 1st finds you in your finest form, with your Medicare Insurance working as it should📋🏥👍.

If you are unsure, e-mail Gray, Gray@TheBig65.com, or book a time on my calendar.

Remember when your varmints were pipsqueaks? You blink one day, then they’re up and out. How the hell did that happen🤔?

Of course we miss em’, but it sure beats the alternative… them living in the basement and never growing up🧔‍♂️👕🩳🎮🍕🥤🛋️🏠⬇️

Yet on cold November mornings, it doesn’t stop us from reminiscing!

We were in Southern California at the time of this picture, a stone’s throw from Disneyland, scraping by as young parents, but we always got pumpkins. I mean ya gotta have pumpkins, right?

Now we see our adult kids, navigating their own adventures, moving at light speed, and we know they’re just like us… too busy to appreciate the magic of the moment.

Still, I love to carve pumpkins. And that’s the point of traditions and rituals, maintaining connection and meaning, passing it on to the next generation.

My Dad would’ve been 100 this week. I still miss him every time I move a bishop, but I’m glad he’s gone. He died on his own terms, never a burden to the ones he loved.

I hope, when it’s my time, in 5 minutes or 50 years, that I depart with his grace.

So many things are beyond our control, but there are plenty of things we can do to make the passing less painful for those we love when it eventually happens:

Update our wills and keep the beneficiaries current.
Establish or revisit medical power of attorney and advance directives.
Make sure someone you trust knows where important documents are located.

Review your financial and insurance plans regularly so loved ones aren’t left guessing.

These steps won’t erase uncertainty — nothing can — but they can give us agency, dignity, and peace of mind.

And they’ll make life a little easier for the people we care about most, when the time comes.

Client Judy is doing her best to make sure abominable snowman doesn’t have to worry about her 😆.

When Q took Miti to a coffin race in Colorado Springs last weekend, complete strangers reached out and welcomed Miti to America. The dude on the left put his hat on Miti for a photo.

Despite the noise, anger, and the fear amplified by social media, remember the reality:

Americans are the kindest, most decent people you will ever meet anywhere in the world.

I will never minimize the challenges we face, but always remember…

There is no them, there is only us!

If you see the world as broken, you’re right! If you see the world as fixable, you’re also right!

When Miti returns to Madagascar next summer, she’ll return to one of the poorest nations on the earth. Her country is broken by corruption, poverty, and political unrest.

So when she hears talk about the problems we face here in the US, she looks at us in disbelief.

“What problems?” She asks. Perspective is everything.

So on this Día de los Muertos, give thanks for what you have and live this day as if it were your last!

Keep squeezing the juice🍊 out of life and look for ways to help others.

If family or friends need help… referrals are the lifeblood of my business.

If you know someone who might like to receive The Big 65 newsletter, forward this link.

Medicare questions or problems?

Book a time on my calendar or email Gray, Gray@theBig65.com.

Let us know what’s going on and please send pictures :).

Karl Bruns-Kyler
(877) 850-0211
Book a time on my calendar here
Happy with my Service? Click Here to Leave a Review.

Karl Bruns-Kyler is a Medicare insurance broker and independent Medicare agent licensed to help Medicare recipients in thirty states around the country, including:

Feed the good wolf🐺🍎

Pre Halloween Howdies to you and your family.

The autumn leaves 🍁🍂 are turning and we hope your Medicare Insurance Plan is working the way it should and not causing you to believe in Bigfoot!

If you’ve reviewed your plan and everything looks ok, no action is necessary.

If you are unsure, email Gray, Gray@TheBig65.com, or book a time on my calendar. There are plenty of slots in November and we’ll be sure to talk.

This is our busiest time of the year, so, if for some reason you haven’t heard back from us, please reach out again, our desks are piled high and deep! We have till December 7th and we will get to everyone, that’s a promise.

Having an exchange student from Madagascar living in our home, well, it opens our eyes to the surprise all around.

Who knew Bigfoot worked at the Denver zoo😂 ?

If we’d posted this picture first without mentioning the zoo, would you be wondering if Bigfoot was real🧌👣😲? That’s an orangutan.

Here’s the challenge of modern living…

We take in more information on our phone in a morning than our grandparents took in reading the paper for a month📱🤯😵‍💫.

It’s way too easy to get stressed out with information overload😵‍💫 and it can actually be harmful to our health.

The quote attributed to Mark Twain is certainly on point:

“I am an old man and have known a great many troubles👴🤯, most of which never happened😄.”

This week, yours truly finally celebrated The Big 65!

As your Medicare Insurance Broker, I have had the privilege of watching hundreds celebrate this auspicious event, and now it’s my turn. So I’m not just the owner of The Big 65, now I’m a member.

In life, it’s rarely what actually happens to us that causes the pain and suffering. Instead, it’s how we choose to respond!

Here’s what I’ve learned from you all when I’m feeling overwhelmed:

Interrupt the pattern.

Take a break, grab a cup of joe☕️, go sit in the sunlight and visit a friend (seen here hanging with 60,000 of my closest friends🐝.)

Get busy.

Most of our stress comes from living in our heads vs working with our hands. When the weight of the world feels crushing, pick up a tool, clean out a closet, get your body moving.

This was a tough year on bees all across the country. 40% of the hives didn’t make it. We had to requeen one hive and do major triage on the other but…

They survived! We weren’t able to harvest much this year, but the hives are healthy, and the supers are full of honey and now the girls are ready for the winter. Next year will be better.

Practice self care.

Modern cars run a long time… if you change the oil and rotate the tires. Same goes for humans.

Get your teeth cleaned, have your eyes checked, schedule your annual medical wellness visit. And don’t bite your dentist!

Do something fun!

Since we’re at home this year as exchange student parents, Quantz is scheduling lots of fun activities: flower arranging, Zumba at the rec center, free lectures around town.

Plug into a local group that catches your fancy and try something new.

Help others.

I’ve been mentoring a young un named Brayan, a super smart kid who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks and made a terrible mistake at 15. He spent five years in prison and was just released in April.

Remarkably, Brayan came out a reborn soul. He finished high school and is now working with the district attorney to educate new lawyers on how to help other young uns to avoid the traps he fell into.

When you spend time with a person who should have come out broken but instead used a horrible experience to transform his life, well, you just realize there’s hope for each of us and for the crazy world we live in.

Feed the good wolf.

Where attention goes, energy flows. I share these stories not trying to pretend that world is perfect, but to remind myself that the world has always been imperfect, and the job is ours…

To keep our eyes on the prize, to focus on what’s right and on the things we can change. I have great confidence in Brayan and David, brothers and entrepreneurs. The path is never easy is but they will find their way, and I’m gonna do my best to help them as they continue their adventure.

Be like my buddy Sally:

Don’t get blown away by negativity! This life we have is an adventure, the choice is always ours. Feed the good wolf!

Keep squeezing the juice🍊 out of life and look for ways to help others.

If family or friends need help… referrals are the lifeblood of my business.

If you know someone who might like to receive The Big 65 newsletter, forward this link.

Medicare questions or problems?

Book a time on my calendar or email Gray, Gray@theBig65.com.

Let us know what’s going on and please send pictures :).

Karl Bruns-Kyler
(877) 850-0211
Book a time on my calendar here
Happy with my Service? Click Here to Leave a Review.

Karl Bruns-Kyler is a Medicare insurance broker and independent Medicare agent licensed to help Medicare recipients in thirty states around the country, including:

Learn more about Plan G. Learn more about why some avoid Medicare Advantage.

Learn more about Medigap vs Medicare Advantage.

When was the last time you called just to say hi?💬❤️

Fall greetings to you and your family.

We hope you are breaking bread with the people you love, and that your Medicare Insurance Coverage is working well!

The Annual Election Period has begun. If you’ve reviewed your plan and everything looks ok, no action is necessary. If you are unsure, book a time on my calendar.

Please e-mail Gray any changes in your medications💊 or physicians🧑‍⚕️to Gray@TheBig65.com.

It’s great to be home in the US. After visiting friends and family overseas, I had a quick pitstop in the Shenandoah Valley to spend some time with my brothers.

When we get together, time disappears and we act like fourth graders, very mature fourth graders😂.

Rob continues to practice medicine, treating cancer patients. He planned on being a doctor even when we were kids and healing others continues to give his life meaning.

I had zero intention of working in insurance as young un, but I confess, solving problems and getting Medicare right is rewarding.

For those who followed the arrival of Rob’s new dog this summer, I am pleased to report that Teddy has turned into a very compliant walking partner. According to the DNA test, Teddy is part Pungsan, a Korean hunting dog. He is a wily little rascal, that’s for sure.

Our little brother Haas is the official family redneck (or gentleman farmer) as we like to say.

Haas loves to hunt, to fish, and to grow things. He is the happiest person I know, and one of the kindest, and I consider it a privilege to have him as a brother.

When I returned to Denver after a month away, it was great to be home with Q again.

And though Quantz dressed Plato as a cow🐄, I was reminded of Homer’s return in the Odyssey, coming home to Argos, his faithful hunting dog.

Plato’s almost eleven, so I give thanks for every day he remains healthy and above ground.

Miti’s English has improved dramatically since her arrival in August.

Our Malagasi exchange student has made language progress because of Quantz’s hard work.

Of course we have our problems in the US, but when you see everything our nation has through the eyes of a child (coming from one of the poorest countries in the world), it is a reminder to take nothing for granted.

To fill Miti in on American culture, we’ve been watching lots of old Halloween movies: Tremors, Beetlejuice, the Harry Potter films, and Coco. If you haven’t seen Coco, it’s definitely worth checking out. Miti was inspired.

Back in Sicily, our son Nicholas participated in the color guard (he’s carrying the Italian flag) for the Annual Air Force Birthday Ball.

This annual event connects every Airman to a lineage stretching back to WWII aviators, reflecting shared duty and pride. Many describe it as “the one night where everyone remembers why they serve.”

Nicholas had just returned from parachute jump school in the Netherlands and he was proud to show his wings.

Just a reminder – even if your family lives in disparate places, it’s easy to set up a Facetime call and get everyone together. Don’t let physical distance stop you from being connected.

Be like my 5th grade buddy Rose (our moms went to college together in the 50’s): stay connected to your grandvarmints and all the folks you love, wherever they are in the world.

Keep squeezing the juice🍊 out of life and look for ways to help others.

If family or friends need help… referrals are the lifeblood of my business.

If you know someone who might like to receive The Big 65 newsletter, forward this link.

Medicare questions or problems?

Book a time on my calendar or email Gray, Gray@theBig65.com.

Let us know what’s going on and please send pictures :).

Karl Bruns-Kyler
(877) 850-0211
Book a time on my calendar here
Happy with my Service? Click Here to Leave a Review.

Karl Bruns-Kyler is a Medicare insurance broker and independent Medicare agent licensed to help Medicare recipients in thirty states around the country, including:

🦢 Ever had a swan steal your stroopwaffel 🧇😄?

Groetjes (that means “greetings” in Dutch) …

May the sun🌞 be shining on you, may your bicycle be covered in flowers🌷, and may your Medicare Insurance Coverage be protecting you like the dykes 🛤️ protect my mother’s hometown, Amsterdam.

Speaking of floods🌊, the Annual Election Period begins next Wednesday, October 15th. If you received a letter that your plan is going away, please book a time on my calendar.

Not sure you need an appointment🤔? Email Gray any changes in your medications💊 or physicians🧑‍⚕️to Gray@TheBig65.com.

We will review your info and we will let you know if we need to speak. We have until December 7th, so don’t worry.

I was walking the canals of my late mother’s hometown and came upon this spectacle. Perhaps he’s a little understated😜, but the Dutch do love their flowers and their bikes🚲!

On this visit, I fulfilled a lifetime dream… to overnight in a houseboat! The bed was on cables above the bathtub (I had to pull it down to sleep) and my office was the window sill looking out over the canal. Check out this video if you want to see the space.

While chatting with a client in Florida, I nearly spit out my coffee 😮 when this swan stuck his head in the window and tried to grab my stroopwaffel! Sometimes, you just have to say no to nature, right?

It was bittersweet to see my dear friend Leo. Earlier in the year, he lost his spouse and, though he is adjusting admirably to life on his own, we all know how hard it is to lose the love of your life.

Remember to tell the people you love how much you love them today! We never know what happens tomorrow.

While walking the canals, I came across the Singelkerk, the 400 year old Mennonite secret house church where my mother and her family worshipped before they emigrated to Wooster, Ohio in the early 50’s.

It warmed my heart to sit in a pew where I’m sure she must have sat, reminding me of the song, “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.”

As a school girl during the Second World War, mom walked past Anne Frank’s house every day on the way to school, not knowing about the family hidden inside.

Meanwhile, back home in Colorado, Q reported that all is well. Miti, our exchange student from Madagascar, is enjoying high school and running on the cross country team.

Can you imagine growing up in an orphanage in one of the poorest countries in the world and suddenly living in the US? Talk about culture change!

Her English is getting better and better. Miti is a thoughtful young woman and we are very proud of the progress she is making.

While running her weekly Meals on Wheels route, Quantz saw a bunch of screaming Magpies heckling a small animal. After scaring away the birds, a frightened, friendly ferret jumped right into her arms and quickly fell asleep.

Q knocked on all the neighborhood doors but no one had any idea to whom the ferret belonged.

Q put out messages on Facebook, but she informed me if no one responds, we have a new pet named Fluffy😨! Dang!

That’s what I get for leaving Quantz at home unattended!

So it goes in the Bruns-Kyler house: life is constantly filled with surprises😲.

Remember: It’s not what happens, but how we choose to respond.

Live like my buddy Dave the dog trainer. If the world went to hell, he’s the guy you’d want at your side.

Despite all the noise, there’s plenty of love and meaning in this world, but it’s up to us to find it! What are you waiting for?

Keep squeezing the juice🍊 out of life and look for ways to help others.

If family or friends need help… referrals are the lifeblood of my business.

If you know someone who might like to receive The Big 65 newsletter, forward this link.

Medicare questions or problems?

Book a time on my calendar or email Gray, Gray@theBig65.com.

Let us know what’s going on and please send pictures :).

Karl Bruns-Kyler
(877) 850-0211
Book a time on my calendar here
Happy with my Service? Click Here to Leave a Review.

Karl Bruns-Kyler is a Medicare insurance broker and independent Medicare agent licensed to help Medicare recipients in thirty states around the country, including:

👋🌊❄️ Keep fighting the cold and the years

Greetings from the North Sea.

May October find you well with your Medicare Insurance Coverage safe and sound.

The Annual Election Period begins October 15th, so book a time on my calendar if we need to speak. If your medications💊 or physicians🧑‍⚕️have changed, please email the changes to Gray@TheBig65.com , then I’ll be ready to help you.

If anyone calls you about Medicare deals, they’re probably breaking the law!

The Lemster Tower (in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands) has been a beacon of safety and pride for centuries.

According to local legend, the bells sometimes ring on their own during storms🌩️, a sign that the tower is protecting the town😲✨ and the sailors who still navigate these icy waters.

Lemmer is filled with bridges that must be lifted by the local bridge guards👮 (like Peter) when the boats wish to head into or out of the harbor😄.

Payment is collected by lowering a wooden shoe (apparently they take cash and credit cards😄).

My mom told me our family has roots in this area so it was a joy to visit a province I’d never seen and to connect with our ancestral homeland. Serendipity gave me two excuses to visit:

Two of our former German exchange students were renting a house nearby to kite surf and to celebrate a birthday (Happy Birthday Chris)…

And Nicholas, our Air Force son, had to be in the area for training (no it wasn’t row boat training). It was so much fun to spend time with the people I love.

When asked how many children we have, I often say, “eleven and counting.” Two biological kids plus nine exchange students who each lived with us for a year.

The beauty of sharing your home with others is that it expands your horizons and gives you friends all over the world.

The older we get, the easier it is to become a cranky old bastard (at least it is for me), so spending time with others, being in different places, and experiencing new things, well…

It makes us more flexible and happier (plus Hans taught Nick a new way to open a beer bottle.)

Like the refrain in the Dylan Thomas’ poem:

“Do not go gentle into that good night…Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

I found myself locked in a playful struggle with Chris, both of us laughing, testing strength, refusing to go gently (though he could have won if he’d tried).

Later, plunging into the ice-cold North Sea, I felt the same truth — “life is a fight worth embracing, right up to the shivering, breath-stealing edge.”

On Sunday, Nicholas returned to Italy and we all said our goodbyes. So remember:

Live each day to the fullest. Tell the people you love that you love them as often as you can. Momento Mori – live each day as if it were your final day. And remember, especially in hard times, keep going!

Keep squeezing the juice🍊 out of life and look for ways to help others.

If family or friends need help… referrals are the lifeblood of my business.

If you know someone who might like to receive The Big 65 newsletter, forward this link.

Medicare questions or problems?

Book a time on my calendar or email Gray, Gray@theBig65.com.

Let us know what’s going on and please send pictures :).

Karl Bruns-Kyler
(877) 850-0211
Book a time on my calendar here
Happy with my Service? Click Here to Leave a Review.

Karl Bruns-Kyler is a Medicare insurance broker and independent Medicare agent licensed to help Medicare recipients in thirty states around the country, including:

🧺🍄🔍 Hunting for mushrooms… or Medicare answers? Bring a trusted guide.

Mountain Greetings! September is almost over and we hope your Medicare Insurance Coverage is keeping you as healthy as a good walk in the woods🌲🚶!

New plans come out in October. If your medications💊 or physicians🧑‍⚕️have changed, please email the changes to Gray@TheBig65.com.

The Annual Election Period begins October 15th, so book a time on my calendar if we need to speak.

If anyone calls you without permission, beware⚠️! We had to save another client this week, she was promised a food card by a duplicitous call center📞. Thank goodness we were able to correct the problem😅.

After visiting our Air Force son in Italy, I had the privilege of mushroom hunting in the Alsace with Rene. His daughter Pauline lived with us and attended high school in Atlanta many moons ago and we’ve stayed in touch ever since.

Rene began hunting mushrooms as a boy and he invited his buddy Boris (and Boris’ St Bernard) and me to join him🧺🍄🔍.

My mother was an avid mushroom hunter. Though I never paid much interest as boy, this I did learn…

Never eat a mushroom unless you are certain it isn’t poisonous🍄☠️. According to Rene, these are probably poisonous, so we left them alone.

After couple of hours of exploring we filled our bags with chanterelles…

And porcini mushrooms.

But before I put a single mushroom in my bag, I was certain to show it to Rene for confirmation that tonight’s dinner would not be our last.

Thankfully, we had a delightful dinner of mushrooms in their home and I got to spend time with Pauline and her family and keep the connections going.

But, here’s the thing I learned from my very tech savvy daughter back in the US. Whether it’s mushrooms, medical care, or insurance:

DO NOT RELY ON AI TO MAKE YOUR DECISIONS. AI is an amazing tool for research, education, and perspective, but it should be treated as a starting point, not the final word.

Use AI to get clarity and education, to help you prepare questions, and to double-check your own thinking, but…

✅ Always confirm with a human expert who knows you and your situation.

And when it comes to Medicare, that’s why I’m here—to help you cut through the noise and make choices that fit your life so you can spend more time with the people you love…

Even if they aren’t really French, right Quantz? Tell her I’ll be home soon, probably!

And do keep squeezing the juice🍊 out of life and look for ways to help others.

If family or friends need help… referrals are the lifeblood of my business.

If you know someone who might like to receive The Big 65 newsletter, forward this link.

Medicare questions or problems?

Book a time on my calendar or email Gray, Gray@TheBig65.com.

Let us know what’s going on and please send pictures :).

Karl Bruns-Kyler
(877) 850-0211
Book a time on my calendar here
Happy with my Service? Click Here to Leave a Review.

Karl Bruns-Kyler is a Medicare insurance broker and independent Medicare agent licensed to help Medicare recipients in thirty states around the country, including:

We are the bows, they are the arrows🏹.

Bonjour! May this blog find you in good spirits, with your Medicare Insurance keeping the water off your head💦 .

We had a client fall for a duplicitous Facebook ad promising Medicare riches. Beware⚠️! Someone signed her up for a new plan and she didn’t even know it. Fortunately, we were able to remedy the situation and file a formal complaint against the 📞call center.

New plans come out in October. If your medications💊 or physicians🧑‍⚕️have changed, please email any changes to Gray@TheBig65.com.

We can’t make changes till the Annual Election Period begins October 15th, so book a time on my calendar if we need to speak.

After time with Nicholas in Italy, I pivoted to France to spend time with some of our six exchange student grandchildren. Gustave is repaying me for the water I “accidentally” 😆poured on his head.

Regular readers will remember these two rascals visited us in Colorado earlier in the summer. We looked at pictures of their dad’s time in the US in high school in our house in Roswell, twenty years ago.

I consider myself an honorary grandparent and it sure is fun to watch them grow and become genuine humans.

The boys’ grandfather, Martin, measures the world by the trees he grows. Trees grown from seed he’s collected from all over the world: palms and persimmons from Asia, Alsation apples, peaches and pears, loblolly pines from Atlanta. Even sequoias from the northwest grace his land.

Thirty nine years ago, Martin and I planted a 🌳 tree to honor the birth of his first born son (on his father’s farm).

How fun to return and see the labor of a lifetime, a forest in his backyard that will probably outlive us all, as hopefully our children and grandchildren will outlive us.

The only thing I know for certain? Martin’s grapes are way better than mine.

Kahlil Gibran wrote: “You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.”

That’s what happens, right? We have them, we raise them, then they have to find their way, their path, not ours.

Hopefully, from time to time, our paths converge. We eat together (tarte flambé), perhaps raise a glass to celebrate the memories and continue to watch the children of our children grow.

When you reach the end of your life, for what will you hope to be remembered?

Let it be those tender moments you shared with the people you love. Make more of them whenever you can and you won’t be disappointed.

Life is an adventure. Look before you leap, but always keep going.

And do keep squeezing the juice🍊 out of life and look for ways to help others.

If family or friends need help… referrals are the lifeblood of my business.

If you know someone who might like to receive The Big 65 newsletter, forward this link.

Medicare questions or problems?

Book a time on my calendar or email Gray, Gray@theBig65.com.

Let us know what’s going on and please send pictures :).

Karl Bruns-Kyler
(877) 850-0211
Book a time on my calendar here
Happy with my Service? Click Here to Leave a Review.

Karl Bruns-Kyler is a Medicare insurance broker and independent Medicare agent licensed to help Medicare recipients in thirty states around the country, including:

In sports and in life, outcomes aren’t guaranteed 🌋

Autumn greetings …. we’re not quite there yet, but Plato hopes you’re peachy🍑 keen and that your Medicare Insurance is working well.

Have you received your notice of Medicare plan changes yet? If your medications💊 or physicians🧑‍⚕️have changed, please email any changes in medications and any new doctors to Gray@TheBig65.com. After that, I’ll be ready!

We can’t make changes till the Annual Election Period beginning October 15th 📅, but, we want to be ready in advance. Anyone new to Medicare, please book a time on my calendar.

Well, the peach harvest is in (singular). While it was only one, at least we beat the racoon🦝 family to the punch this year.

The honey harvest is in as well🐝🍯🏠. This year we only gathered sixty pounds of honey (last year it was 160 😮), despite a lot more care and TLC this year.

Miti, our high school exchange student from Madagascar, celebrated her 17th birthday and her first cross country race 🏁⬅️🏃‍♀️.

She could only run a half mile when she arrived, and though she is far from the fastest, she is making great progress. We are very proud of the effort we see her making.

So, after finishing these projects (and all my 2026 Medicare certifications), I decided it was time for me to flip the script on Quantz and take a trip ✈️ before the crazy Annual Election Period begins October 15th.

Don’t worry, Q is still at home with Miti.

Besides, it was time to visit our Air Force son and make certain all is well and that the volcano 🌋, Mt. Etna, hadn’t completely covered his apartment in ashes.

Mission accomplished❤️.

Like most of us, age has made me crankier. Every day, I have to challenge myself to maintain an open mind and look for what’s right in the world.

The Spanish film director Buñuel wrote:

“If I were exiled to a desert island, and could only take one thing with me, it would be coffee. I have always taken refuge in it. Then, tobacco, and friends — these three things I would keep for life.”

I don’t need tobacco, but a strong cup of coffee☕, a warm cipollina (a Sicilian onion pastry with ham & cheese), and perhaps the unexpected smile of a stranger remind me that life is still a miracle and I’m not dead yet😊.

In sports and in life, outcomes aren’t guaranteed. It takes way more courage and energy to live life with hope and compassion than it does to live with cynicism and despair.

We always have a choice, so be like Claire and Fancy (on the right). They just added Haze to the family and everyone is better off for it.

Our time on earth is short, even if we live to be one hundred. Today is all we have, so…

Break bread with someone you love.

Forgive the person who caused you pain.

Find a way to help another person.

Laugh as much as you can.

Most of all, give thanks for another day.

And do keep squeezing the juice🍊 out of life and look for ways to help others.

If family or friends need help… referrals are the lifeblood of my business.

If you know someone who might like to receive The Big 65 newsletter, forward this link.

Medicare questions or problems?

Book a time on my calendar or email Gray, Gray@theBig65.com.

Let us know what’s going on and please send pictures :).

Karl Bruns-Kyler
(877) 850-0211
Book a time on my calendar here
Happy with my Service? Click Here to Leave a Review.

Karl Bruns-Kyler is a Medicare insurance broker and independent Medicare agent licensed to help Medicare recipients in thirty states around the country, including: