“It is a little quieter this time. Last time I was here the sea was bloody and it was on fire,” Loren Kissick said while standing on a French beach a quarter of a century after the Normandy invasion of World War II. Kissick, who lives in Puyallup, returned to France last month to be part of the 75th anniversary observance of D-Day on June 6, 1944. The 94-year-old was part of a group called Forever Young Senior Veterans, based in Memphis, Tenn. There were 14 WWII vets in the entourage that visited all five D-Day beaches–Omaha, Gold, Juno, Sword and Utah—and other historic sites of the largest amphibious invasion in history.

One of the mottos at Joeseppi’s Italian Ristorante and Deli in Tacoma is “Community Service, A Way of Life,“ owner Joe Stortini proudly proclaims. And he should know. The 86-year-old has practiced what he preaches during careers as a politician (he never lost an election as a state legislator and in county government, including its highest office—county executive), in education (he taught government and history classes and coached football and baseball teams that included future pros such as National Football League star Ahmad Rashad), and now is a restauranteur who jokes that he spends “eight days a week” at the North Tacoma eatery.

You can have your grass and be kind to the environment, too. Just go natural. As pointed out by the City of Tacoma’s Environmental Services Department, whose work involves ways of helping neighborhoods and Puget Sound thrive, a healthy lawn is not only pleasing to the eye, but also eco-friendly with the right kind of mowing, watering and fertilizing. It happens through natural lawncare, which includes building healthy soil, smart uses of water, and reducing, if not eliminating chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

King County Executive Dow Constantine points out that the county is headed toward a quarter of its residents being at least 65 years old in 20 years–an important reason, he says, why the voter-approved Veterans, Seniors and Human Services Levy supports senior centers, housing development and repairs, and other services for older adults.