The Big 65 Archives

Get a grip!

Happy Thanksgiving …

May this blog post find you in great health with your Medicare coverage working properly.

Still a couple of weeks left till the end of the Annual Election Period.

Remember to ignore the noise. If ANY call center calls you without your permission, they are breaking the law. Book a time here if we still need to speak.

And if you can’t find a time that works? Email Gray, Gray@theBig65.com and he’ll squeeze you on to my calendar.

Apologies on the late honey deliveries. I’ve been swamped catching up with everyone this year. Q mailed the honey yesterday to all the winners. Keep an eye on your mailbox.

Bryan in Florida said it is delicious and hopefully worth the wait! Nice to have third party confirmation.

Many of the Colorado resorts have opened so last Sunday, I snuck up to get some time on the slopes.

It was a delight to get out in the sun and the snow and away from the computer.

I forgot how heavy the boots and all the equipment were as I lugged them back to the car. But it reminded me of a topic Q told me to share:

The Surprising Link Between Grip Strength and Your Overall Health.

When you think about staying healthy, we already know eating well, exercising regularly, and getting enough sleep are important. But did you know that the strength of your grip can also tell a lot about your overall health?

Grip strength can be a useful indicator of your well-being. Here’s why grip strength matters and how to improve it.

Why Grip Strength Matters:

Muscle Health: Your grip strength is closely related to the health of your muscles. With strong muscles, you’re better able to perform daily tasks: groceries, lifting grandvarmints, or even opening a jar. Weak grip strength may indicate muscle weakness elsewhere in your body.

Bone Health: Strong grip can be a sign of good bone health. As we age, our bones can become weaker, leading to conditions like osteoporosis. Grip strength can be an early warning sign of bone issues.

Overall Fitness: Good grip strength often goes hand-in-hand (pun intended) with overall physical fitness.

It can indicate that you’re active and engaged in regular physical activity, which is crucial for maintaining a healthy weight and reducing the risk of chronic diseases.

How to Improve Your Grip Strength:

Regular Exercise: Weight lifting, resistance band exercises, and using hand grippers can help build hand and forearm muscles.

Hand and Finger Exercises: Try squeezing a stress ball, doing finger curls with small weights, or practicing piano or guitar to improve finger strength.

Nutrition: A balanced diet with plenty of vitamins and minerals, especially calcium and vitamin D, can support bone and muscle health.

Don’t forget the importance of rest and recovery. Muscles need time to heal and grow stronger after exercise. Sleep is your best friend.

Consider cutting back on smoking and moderating alcohol intake. Life is all about moderation and this may improve your overall health, including grip strength.

At your next checkup, arm wrestle your doctor ! Of course I’m joking, but do ask them to assess your grip strength. The goal is to identify any underlying health issues that may need attention.

If you’re looking for an alternative side to make this Thanksgiving, try making delicata squash. My brother Rob made it for us and now I’m addicted.

Slice the squash in quarter inch slices and don’t remove the seeds! Coat with soy sauce and olive oil, heat the oven to 400, cook for 20 minutes, flip the slices and cook another 20 minutes or until slightly charred and serve (feel free to add your own spices). Easy and delicious.

Keep squeezing the juice out of life!

Medicare questions or problems?

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

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

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
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Louisiana
Maryland
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
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.

Are you Type 3?

Happy Veterans Day,

May this note find you in great health during the madness of the Medicare Annual Election Period. Book a time here if we still need to speak.

Despite all the noise out there distracting everybody, we have so many reasons to give thanks for all those who have served and continue to serve our great nation.

Airman Nicholas doesn’t fly these bad boys. He works on the equipment that makes sure they are able to take off and land safely. He just returned from deployment in a hot spot back to his base in the UK.

He and his buddies were so excited to be photographed inside the aircraft they help keep in the skies. I sure hope you find a way to honor a Veteran in your life.

This is my busiest time of the year, but no matter what, I force myself to get outside every single day to stay grounded. I met retired cross country coach Lori on the trails behind our house.

Such an impressive woman because she never stops. Lori said she doesn’t run as much as she used to and she gives herself permission to walk for parts of her run.

Adapt, modify, improvise, that’s one of the secrets to aging well.

One of the things I absolutely had to do between client calls was to prep the bee hives for winter: ten pounds of sugar, two cups of water, and a couple of pollen paddies for good measure. The hole on top allows air to circulate through the hive.

Of course, like an idiot, I didn’t quite get the neck of my suit completely zipped. This was going to be a fun video, instead I got a Darwin award running away and about 20 bee stings. Thank goodness I’m not allergic.

Wish I had the patience and the knowledge of client Phil in Ohio, teaching his grand varmint how to capture a swarm of bees.

Life’s great joy is interacting with the young’uns. Are you finding ways to connect with young people? That’s another secret to aging well.

Of course the greatest reward of keeping bees, is honey. Congrats to Jo, Anju, Melissa, and Rosemary for correctly naming the movie and the characters our daughter and her friends dressed as for Halloween. Your honey is on the way!

We visited Sus this weekend in Fort Collins and also dropped off honey to a couple of clients. It’s always fun to see people face to face.

Honey is healthier than sugar, no doubt, but it also needs to be consumed in moderation. The topic of sugar got me reading up about diabetes.

What’s more, did you know that Alzheimer’s is sometimes referred to as Type 3 Diabetes?

While Alzheimer’s may not involve elevated blood sugar levels like traditional diabetes, research has uncovered compelling links between insulin resistance and the development of Alzheimer’s.

This emerging concept suggests that the brain’s impaired ability to respond to insulin may contribute to the accumulation of toxic proteins and inflammation, ultimately leading to cognitive decline.

Understanding Alzheimer’s as Type 3 Diabetes highlights the importance of lifestyle choices and proactive measures to protect brain health.

Eat healthy foods.
Stay active.
Manage stress.
Get enough sleep.
Keep your mind busy.
Watch your weight.
Stay social.

These steps can help protect your brain from Alzheimer’s (Type 3 Diabetes).

Of course, everything in moderation, right?

Keep squeezing the juice out of life!

Medicare questions or problems?

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

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

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.

As a novice to navigating the Medicare system, I cannot recommend the services of Karl enough. His knowledge has saved my wife and I a lot of money, both on the Medicare supplement insurance and the drug coverage. Costs you nothing to listen and has saved up thousands of dollars over time.
– Robert B

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:

How are you treating yourself!

Happy November!

May this blog find you in great health during the madness of the Medicare Annual Election Period (AEP).

Alert, Alert⏰: If your insurance company calls you to suggest a “better plan” than your current one, warning Will Robinson, danger⚠️!

Having an Independent Medicare Insurance Broker means you don’t have to settle for a single carrier sneaking in and trying to railroad you into their plan. You and I can shop all the different carriers if you have questions. Don’t be bamboozled!

Book a time here if you need me because we have till December 7th.

Plato hopes you and your family had a fun Halloween. Ours was a little colder than expected, plus some of the white stuff.

Q delegated wrapping operations from inside the house. Plato and I did our best to protect this tree from the cold and the deer. As you can see, he looks pretty comfortable in the snow.

Sunday night was all about carving pumpkins, roasting seeds, and eating treats. Wine may have been involved and the names were changed to protect the innocent.

Daughter Sus and her pals in northern Colorado had a great time celebrating the holiday. I’m sending our honey to the first three who identify the characters and the movie they represented. Bee prompt.

Congrats to Gail in Ohio for winning honey last week! She’s the only one who jumped in the leaves. Good on you Gail. Keep an eye out for a Starbucks card as well!

Technically, Bryan didn’t follow the directions to take a selfie in the leaves, but this picture wins the award for cuteness, right? Bryan, the honey is on the way.

The holidays have me thinking a lot about food and what’s ahead.

A recent news report estimated that starting from age 19, individuals experience a gradual decrease in calorie requirements, which becomes more evident in the 60s, leading either to possible weight gain or to a reduced appetite.

Aging also results in muscle loss, increased fat, brain shrinkage, and decreased physical activity, all contributing to fewer calories burned.

It’s hard for me to believe this is true when I meet someone like John, a veteran who is still working, laughing, and living well, but I guess it applies to all of us. It helps to be mindful of how we eat.

As calorie needs decrease, older adults require more nutrients like calcium, vitamin B6, vitamin D, and protein.

Focusing on nutrient-dense foods becomes essential, with less room for treats. A multivitamin supplement can help fill gaps, but maintaining a balanced diet is crucial for health.

I had a fun surprise Monday night when my 7pm phone appointment with Helen turned into a face to face at our house with Dave, Kate, and Helen. Flexibility is the secret to good living. It was a pleasure getting to know these folks who live just minutes away.

The door is always open, just be sure to give us 15 minutes warning so Quantz can hide upstairs!

If you’re a regular reader, you know I just returned from a high school reunion in the Shenandoah Valley. Growing up in a Mennonite community, the joke always was:

Mennonites don’t have sex standing up because they are afraid it’ll lead to dancing.

Of course social mores have loosened up (see the beer glasses below) but thank goodness, the friendships remain. You can see four of the six below from the picture above and we hung out with the other two as well. As we used to sing, “may the circle be unbroken.”

I sure give thanks for these guys!

One of the joys of returning to where you grew up are the memories that return. My brothers pulled out these old pics of us playing speed chess with our late dad.

Dad would sometimes play us blindfolded and shout out the moves from the living room. He was rated just short of a Master and actually played Bobby Fisher once in New York when we were kids (so the story goes).

None of us excelled to his level but every time we visited, the board would come out and the games would begin. See how his hand is raised in the picture above and below? Even though the second game wasn’t a speed chess game with a clock, at 84 he was still in competitive form, ready to slap the timer.

Our best hope of winning was only if he spotted us a piece and a couple of cocktails.

I couldn’t count the thousands of games we played, but what a pleasure to be playing and honoring our father whenever we get together on the chessboards we played on with him.

Please share your family’s rituals, the ones you want to pass on and gift them to the next generation. You will be glad you did!

My amazing wife Q has only two speeds, on or on. She’s been home a week, caught up on the house, and now she’s volunteering again for the Sherriff’s department. Mostly phone calls and clerical, but keep an eye out for her on election day, keeping the peace at a voter station near you.

So get out there and vote, be a great citizen and THANK your neighbor for having a different set of beliefs than you do. That’s what makes America amazing!

“There is no them, there is only us!”

Keep squeezing the juice out of life!

Medicare questions or problems?

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

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

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:

Here’s the one D that’s good for you!

May this blog find you in great health with your Medicare Insurance working properly 😊.

Plato hopes you’re enjoying the leaves wherever you are in America. In fact, he double 🐶 dares you to make a pile and jump on it 🍁.

I’ll send a bottle of our honey to the first three people who send selfies in the leaves.

And don’t worry, yellowing Florida palm fronds count 🌴!

The Annual Election Period is in full swing and the phone is ringing.

If you’re happy with your current coverage, and there have been no major changes, then no action is necessary, leave things be 🐝. But…

If you are unhappy, unsure, or just want peace of mind, book a time here. We have till December 7th. Here’s my current list of states:

AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, ID, IN, IA, KS, LA, MD, MI, MN, MO, NV,

NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI.

Remember: anyone who calls YOU about Medicare without permission is BREAKING THE LAW. Ask for their insurance license number and watch them disappear 👿.

Yours truly had a great time visiting clients, old high school classmates, and family in the Shenandoah Valley. Reconnecting is good for the heart and great for the soul, and it is a reminder we are getting older!

It wasn’t easy to convince my little brother to take an ice bath ❄️ on his farm in late October. The shock is good for the body and the brain, but don’t you try it till you consult a doctor.

I would’ve posted the video, but Haas dropped too many F bombs 😅. That’s what brothers do, right?

Nobody likes feeling older so one of the most important things we can do as we age is to take the time to practice self care, especially of the brain.

A recent study posits that vitamin D deficiencies could be linked to an increased risk of stroke or dementia. And here’s the crazy thing…

Up to 42% of US adults may be deficient in vitamin D!! The good news is there are plenty of easy ways to remedy this problem.

Here are some simple ways to increase vitamin D:

• Spend time in the sun.
• Eat vitamin D-rich foods, fatty fish, eggs, and cheese.
• Take supplements if necessary.
• Include mushrooms in your diet.

Be sure to consult your doctor for personalized advice, but do pick at least one and add it to your life, and let us know if it helps!

68 pounds🍯. That was the honey harvest this year.

Thanks to so many friends for their advice and help in the harvesting and taking care of the bees. I’m keeping my fingers crossed the winter isn’t too hard on them.

Neighbor Erick was kind enough to enough to give me advice about my sprinkler system so I sent him home with honey.

He is an amazing landscape architect who recently completed Seven Stones here in Colorado, a botanical garden cemetery with a whole new approach to celebrate and honor the passing of life. I can’t wait to walk the property. Even better, they have bees!

We lost one of my favorites in Atlanta this month. Miss Shirley was 95, beautiful on the inside and the outside, one of those remarkable people you get the privilege to hear about. Healthy, kind, engaged, and loved. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

Adrienne told me her mom loved seeing her picture in the newsletter. In fact, we’d just been talking about her the week before she passed. Miss Shirley, you’ll be missed. Hope your ears are ringing in heaven.

Stan and Michelle finally pulled off their dream adventure: London, Highclere Castle (from Downton Abbey), Paris, Provence, and Giverny, plus lots of great wine.

Here’s wishing the engineer and his wife continued adventures!

If you ever find yourself a wandering in the Shenandoah, be sure to visit the Thomas House in Dayton, Virginia. Just off Route 11, we’ve been eating there since time out of mind.

Old Mama Thomas has long passed, though some of her china plates still remain on the walls, and the food will bring you back. Digging in to this comfort food reminds me of my days working on Abe Lincoln’s uncle’s dairy farm before school, in the heart of Virginia Mennonite country.

You may need to take a statin and some insulin before grabbing a meat and three plus a glass of sweet tea, but I assure you, it’s worth the indulgence.

Better yet, go with your best friend Luke, his son Lightning Lucas, and a big appetite. You won’t be disappointed.

Leave a good tip and a great smile. The world will thank you.

Good news: Quantz finally came home 🎉! Last stop was Armenia, including a glimpse of Mount Ararat and this Gampr, a huge dog bred to protect flocks from predators (the ears are cropped so the wolves can’t bite them).

73 countries visited, 122 to go! Miles to go before we sleep.

Keep squeezing the juice out of life!

Medicare questions or problems?

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

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

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 twenty-seven states around the country, including:

Are you ready for the final flight?

May this blog post find you in great health with your Medicare Insurance working properly 😊.

Just in case your phone isn’t illegally ringing off the hook, the Annual Election Period began last week and I keep hearing all the bogus call centers are bugging the snot out of everybody.

Remember to book a time here if we need to talk or update your Medicare insurance coverage or if your friends and family need help. If everything is working fine, ignore the noise.

Remember: anyone who calls YOU about Medicare without permission is BREAKING THE LAW. Ask for their insurance license number and watch them disappear 👿.

My little brother Haas and his buddies fulfilled a lifetime bucket list event: bird hunting in Saskatoon, Canada. And though I’m not a hunter anymore, I was pretty dang impressed by their adventure.

Ten friends, two dogs, 2,300 decoys, plus gear, traveled 5,300 miles to Saskatoon, Canada to do what they love doing.

For six days, they got up early, scouted terrain, set up decoys, coordinated plans and had the adventure of their lives.

You can see it in their smiles… the joy and the happiness that comes from doing things that are meaningful for you. What are you waiting for?

Last weekend, I travelled to the Shenandoah Valley and paid my respects at the wake of a friend.

Jann was one of those people everyone loved. She was kind, compassionate, delightful, and the person who always lit up the room just by showing up.

Friends and family shared memories and listened to her favorite songs. We told stories, shared drinks, savored delicious marzipan cupcakes and remembered Jann with love, laughter, and tears. It was a beautiful afternoon.

Most of us don’t know when we’re going to die, but we do know it is going to happen, so do your family a favor…be prepared. Don’t leave them in the lurch.

Create a will and designate beneficiaries.
Complete Power of Attorney and Medical Power of Attorney.
Organize your important documents and have passwords and logons in a file.
Manage your debts and make sure your family knows how to handle them.
Write down and discuss your funeral and burial plans.
Talk openly with your family about your end of life plans.
Write down your personal wishes and important information.

This list is not all inclusive but it’s a start. Here’s a link that may be helpful.

Every time I lose a friend, a family member or a client, I try to remember that Latin phrase, memento mori, meaning…

“Remember you must die.” The lives we are given pass so quickly it’s helpful to use these encounters to move us forward, to keep us focused on what remains, what can be done, what we still have the passion to do.

Five years ago this summer, my older brother severed his spinal cord in a biking accident. How easy it would have been for him to have defined his life by this event.

Instead, Robert chose to use this brush with death and adversity as wake up call to continue living, and living well, living a life of service, as a physician and a mentor, and a life of activity.

Never pretend life is easy, but it is an adventure, a combination of the hand we are dealt and how we choose to play the cards. Play with intention and choose your partners wisely.

Keep squeezing the juice out of life!

Medicare questions or problems?

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

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

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 twenty-seven states around the country, including:

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

Watch out for dentists under 30!

Happy October!

May this note find you in great health with your Medicare Insurance working properly 😊.

Are you enjoying the autumn weather? The Annual Election Period begins tomorrow, October 15th! Book a time here if we need to talk. If you’re happy and all is well with your coverage, ignore the noise.

Remember: anyone who calls YOU about Medicare without permission is BREAKING THE LAW. Ask for their insurance license number and watch them disappear 👿.

Last week, Jason and I hung out with our buddy Carry the dentist and played a game called Padel, similar to Pickleball but kind of like squash. It was great fun, but the interesting part was the conversation afterwards.

Carry said many younger dentists can sometimes be a little too aggressive in looking for issues to address in the mouths of their clients. Watch out for dentists under 30!

Any time a healthcare provider recommends significant work (or a major procedure), it makes sense to get a second opinion.

As I speak with clients from all over the country, it’s amazing to me how many go overseas to have their dental work completed. It’s usually a fraction of the cost and you get to see a new place.

Remember to do your due diligence, but it’s definitely something to consider.

Here are a couple of dental plans we’ve added for review:

None of them are perfect, (and I do have others) but sometimes they can be helpful.

My big brother Robert and his wife Nancy sent this picture from upstate New York, searching out pumpkins in Amish country. Robert continues to practice medicine, travel, mentor Medical students, play pickleball and stay well engaged with life. He is my role model for living a life of service and living well.

But if you want to know what really makes him happy⬇️ …

Of course I’m being redundant, but I cannot overstate the importance of human connections. People, that’s why we are here. The more we connect, the happier we will be and the healthier we will be.

Bayne and his wife Tami got the message and connected with 45,000 Braves fan. He texted me this picture in the bottom of the 8th inning after the Braves pulled it out, how fun was that!

Don’t worry, I found a way to celebrate remotely and show my solidarity! Next time you have a great experience, text a friend and share it! Better yet, send it to me and I’ll share it with a thousand of my closest friends!

If you are curious about my amazing wife, Quantz, here she is below.

See this lad below? His name is Zach Demesa and I coached him in soccer when he was a much younger lad. On Saturday, 10/21/23, he’ll be dotting the Ohio “I” for the Ohio State Marching Band when they play Penn State. Look for him at half time. It is the ULTIMATE Buckeye honor (apologies to Michigan and all the other Big 10 Teams).

Remember, there is no them… there is only us!

Keep squeezing the juice out of life!

Medicare questions or problems?

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

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

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 twenty-seven states around the country, including:

It’s not you, really truly!

May this blog find you in great health with your Medicare Insurance working properly 😊.

At the risk of being redundant (and my wife Q says I am often redundant)…

The Annual Election Period has begun 😱!

Remember: anyone who calls YOU about Medicare without permission is BREAKING THE LAW. Ask for their insurance license number and watch them disappear 👿.

If you’re happy with coverage, you don’t have to make changes (unless you’ve been notified your plan is ending). But if you’re curious or you just want peace of mind, book a time on my calendar. That’s why Plato and I are here 🐶😉.

Since Q is still on the road, (congrats to Anju for recognizing the castle in Syracusa, Italy) and things are not insanely busy, yet…

Plato let me know it was time for a road trip, a quick drive into the Rockies⛰️.

We travelled I-70 west to Winter Park, then continued on to Grand Lake for lunch while waiting for Rocky Mountain National Park to open for us leaf watchers without a reservation.

If you haven’t already purchased a Senior National Park Pass, consider it! $80 bucks for folks over 62 and it lasts a lifetime. Now that’s a bargain.

Plato had a great time sniffing everything, signing his name here and there and making new friends.

By myself, I’m just another old fart taking up space in the park, but with Plato…

I’m the bodyguard for a VIP (very important pooch).

You ever notice how easy it is to misread people?. At an exercise class on Sunday, I held the door for a lady and she had the meanest look on her face that it almost ruined my day 😠. That’s when I learned – it’s not you, really truly!

I assumed that I had done something wrong and started to take it personally.

Isn’t that how it goes? Somebody cuts us off, makes a strange comment, responds in a strange way or doesn’t say thank you, and we take it personally.

It’s so easy to assume we are at the center of the earth.

Since class didn’t start for another 10 minutes, I chose to reach out and discover the rest of the story.

It’s turns out that day was her dad’s 79th birthday… and he had died when she was TEN YEARS OLD.

Every October 1st she bakes his favorite dessert, a carrot cake, and shares it with her family. What a story.

I could have spent the entire class ruminating on what jerks people are… instead, I got a dose of humility and gratitude.

By taking the time to connect (instead of stewing in anger) the arc of the day pivoted and my mood changed dramatically.

Carry that message this week: it’s not about us! Everyone has their own story going on and it’s up to each of us to peel the onion, find out the real deal, and treat others with kindness.

Keep squeezing the juice out of life!

Medicare questions or problems?

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

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

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 twenty-seven states around the country, including:

This could make all the difference in the world!

May this note find you in great health with your Medicare Insurance working properly 😊. The Annual Election Period begins October 1st.

Remember: anyone who calls to inquire about your Medicare coverage is breaking the law unless you have explicitly given them permission.

Ask for their name and their insurance license number and watch the bad guys disappear 👿. Consider getting the Robokiller App on your phone.

Book a time on my calendar if we need to review your coverage. That’s why I’m here.

Plato promises to be sleeping at my feet at all times if he can be of service 🐶😉.

Do you remember ever being this young? The center youth is Caleb, my best friend’s son, pictured here at his wedding surrounded by his best men. Hard not to smile at their enthusiastic joy. It’s contagious, right?

I wish you could meet him. He’s an honorable young man, out of school, freshly married, and ready to take on the world. Of course his world is not without significant challenges, but there is a sense of optimism that pervades the lives of the young.

It makes me smile just to look at the picture 😊.

And that’s the point. “Getting old ain’t for sissies.” How do we keep that fresh set of eyes busy seeing all the wonder and the beauty instead of noticing only the darkness?

In The Power of Awe: Overcome Burnout and Anxiety, Ease Chronic Pain, Find Clarity and Purpose—in Less Than 1 Minute Per Day, according to the authors, microdosing on awe (not mushrooms🍄) means taking small moments to feel amazed by things around us.

When Joe and Becky return from vacation, they can take time to look at their pictures and literally recreate the joy they felt in a past adventure.

Studies have shown that spending time in nature, watching a sunset or looking at stars, listening to powerful music, or reading a touching story can improve mood, lower chronic pain levels, and even reduce depression.

And don’t underestimate the power of low stakes friendships.

When I biked by Bob and Sue’s house, they invited me onto the porch and we got to catch up on life in the neighborhood and their last day trip up to Rocky Mountain National Park.

Of course, if you add a loveable dog like Rudy, a few minutes of great conversation, and a glass of wine, it’s really easy to get into a state of awe🍷.

Looking at pictures of kids (or friends) when they were little (and now that they’re grown) can flood the body with endorphins and actually make you healthier and happier. Just 15 seconds of awe a few times a day can make a huge difference.

We can focus on the the bee sting 🐝 (cause I definitely got stung) or the honey 🍯, but focusing on the honey certainly makes life sweeter! Send us your awesome 📷 pics.

Congrats to Ilene in Ohio and John in Missouri for guessing where my wife Quantz was in last week’s picture: Malta. (There may have been one other winner I missed, so let me know if missed you and I will reward you). Starbucks cards are on the way☕.

While I’m happy to be home with Plato working on your Medicare options, Q is still on the road making up for thirty years of corporate prison, twelve hours a day, six days a week. It warms my ❤️knowing she is living her best life. I think she’s coming back, right Q 🙏?

Starbucks cards to the first five who figure out which city in Italy Q’s visiting or the country she plans to visit next ❓❓❓

Keep squeezing the juice out of life!

Medicare questions or problems?

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

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

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 twenty-seven states around the country, including:

Did your Medicare account get breached?

May this blog post find you in great health with your Medicare Insurance working properly 😊.

Just a few weeks till the Annual Election Period. Remember that anyone who calls you to inquire about your Medicare coverage is breaking the law unless you have explicitly given them permission.

If anyone calls you about Medicare, ask for their name and insurance license number and watch the bad guys disappear 👿.

Book a time on my calendar if we need to review your coverage. That’s why I’m here.

See the rainbow on Plato’s head?

The big galoot is happy I’m home in Colorado. Thanks to our daughter Sus for taking care of him.

Quantz is still on the road exploring. I’m sending Starbucks cards to the first five people who guess where she is ☕️. Hint: It has lots of forts and lots of steps.

I came home early to get ready for the busy season which begins on October 15th. Plus, it’s just easier to work from home.

The biggest surprise I’ve seen is that Medicare got hacked, Did you see the news? On May 30th, over 600,000 records were compromised… names, Social Security numbers, Medicare Numbers and more 😤 – not cool at all.

If your Medicare number was taken, you should have received a letter from CMS and a new Medicare number. Be sure to update your doctors, your insurance company (and me ) if you were notified of the breach.

Regardless, it’s always a good idea to check your credit at least once a year to see if anyone got hold of your information. You can request a free credit report by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com or calling 877-322-8228. Here’s the full article on the breach just in case your interested.

So proud of my buddy, cowboy poet Dirk Weisiger, for completing this epic adventure in the Alps. A lot of you folks have been telling me about your adventures, but we need more pictures, please 😊.

Thanks to client Bill for sharing his wife’s accomplishment. Artist Kathleen Crocetti won the “Best in Show” Mosaic Award at the Mosaic & Glass Arts International Festival.

She is going to receive her award in Buffalo and then Bill is retiring and they are off to explore the mosaics in Italy. “Congratulazioni e buon viaggio✈️!”

I’m getting hungry looking at these crabs Mike pulled up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. You can’t get those in Colorado.

Buckeye David always posts the funniest stuff. It’s good to stay up to date, but more importantly…

Did you know Silver Sneakers is offering tuition dollars for college coursework? You can use the money yourself or gift it to your grandkids. Here are the details.

So while Quantz is out exploring, please know that I’m here and ready to help you with all things Medicare. That’s a promise!

Keep squeezing the juice out of life!

Medicare questions or problems?

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

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

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

Karl Bruns-Kyler
(877) 850-0211
Book a time on my calendar here

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

The Big 65 Medicare Insurance Services does not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all your options.

Is your doctor even listening?

May this blog post find you in great health with your Medicare Insurance working properly.

If you are feeling antsy about your insurance coverage, remember to ignore the call center noise and book a time on my calendar.

Today’s question: Is your doctor even listening? But first …

While Quantz and I were visiting a museum in Estonia with a plague exhibit, it got me thinking about doctors.

Healthcare practices sure have come a long way since the days of old, but that doesn’t mean they are perfect.

Though doctors are well trained, they’re still human and they can make mistakes. Sometimes, they may pay attention to details that confirm what they assume is going on.

Other times, they might stick with a treatment for too long because they’ve already invested time and effort. Shortcuts in thinking can affect the choices they make.

In fairness, doctors also face performance pressure to see as many patients as possible in a day.

My brother, the Radiation Oncologist, says each specialty probably believes a little too strongly in the merits of their own skills, and in the merits of their own particular specialty.

Oncologists will want to do oncology; Surgeons will want to do surgery.

Consider getting a second opinion from another doctor if you’re dealing with a serious or complicated health issue. Don’t be afraid to ask your doctor to explain why they think a certain treatment is the best for you.

Another great question to ask: If you were in my situation what would you do?

With doctors being so busy and spending so much time on their screens, don’t be afraid to interrupt their brusque ways with a personal question.

Get their attention, interrupt the pattern, and you may get better care. Then you can find out if your doctor is even listening…

We have had a fantastic summer exploring Europe, spending time with our Air Force son, and seeing many of our former exchange students all grown up with kids of their own.

Though Quantz will keep travelling, I’m heading home to Colorado to prepare for the Annual Election Period. It’s that time of year.

The best part of travel is that it interrupts your patterns and gets you out of your comfort zone. I’ve learned to work almost anywhere that has a bit of internet.

Quantz has a knack for making new friends. We spent an afternoon in a bar with group of Danish soccer fans who’d travelled to Finland to watch their team compete.

Think about that, they travelled from Copenhagen to Helsinki and then watched the game in a bar (they couldn’t get tickets for the match). Talk about dedication! Thank goodness the Danes won.

My favorite thing is to check out new foods, you never know when you’ll find something amazing.

For the record, reindeer in tube will never be on my top ten list. Rudolph is safe for now.

But if you keep exploring, eventually you’ll find an amazing bakery that makes it all worthwhile.

That’s it for this week; Keep squeezing the juice out of life!

Medicare questions or problems?

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

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

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 twenty-seven states around the country, including: