A few months ago The New York Times alerted us to the Carter Burden Gallery, which offers paintings, sculpture, and other works of art created by artists over sixty (both female and male). Their raison d’etre is similar to ours: “[they] demonstrate the transformative nature of art; the work [they] exhibit is vibrant, cutting-edge and important regardless of the artist’s age.”

Our Editorial Board member Elizabeth Zimmer and I visited the Soho gallery where we met Sarah Leon, one of the gallerists. Sarah helped us reach some of the artists, one of whom – Elaine Lorenz – we chose as the winter issue’s featured artist. You can visit them at www.carterburdengallery.org. I think we have a fine new friendship here.

We learn something every day: Apparently there is a specific body odor that can accompany aging (often noticeable in nursing homes). A Japanese company has found a fix: Among its line of anti-aging products is a perfume that, as lemon juice does with fishy smells, can neutralize aging smells. Their body washes and soaps are made from – yep – persimmon extract. Who’d have guessed?

Finally, our Short Takes topic was especially popular this fall. A concert of Halleluiahs poured in. They covered every possible subject and, no surprise, many emphasize singing, so our Short Takes editor, Jean Zorn, added some dazzling YouTube videos for your delectation. An editor’s challenge: there are many ways to spell halleluiah and we received all of them, often in the same piece. Spellcheck was not happy.

My 11-year old grandson arrived the other day with a story. On his way from the subway to my house, Oscar, as he so often is, was kicking a soccer ball ahead of him. An older woman coming toward him was moving back and forth; he politely stopped kicking and picked the ball up. “Oh, no,” she said. “Kick it to me.” He did and she kicked it smartly back. As she passed, she knelt down and whispered, “I’m eighty!” Gena Raps, another of our editors, was recently told by her internist, “Eighty is the new sixty.” Halleluiah!