By Harry S. Margolis

For those of us in Massachusetts who expect our state to score high in every state-to-state competition, the recent US News & World Report ranking of the best states for aging is a disappointment. In a ranking that doesn't even takes into account our winter weather, we rank 27th out of the 50 states.

The ranking takes into account several factors, including the quality of nursing homes and medical care, life expectancy and the cost of living. We score well on life expectancy (12th), Medicare quality (4th), percentage of seniors who are able bodied (15th), and primary care (6th).

By Harry S. Margolis

During a recent bike trip in in Vietnam, I was struck by how youthful the country seems. The streets are full of young people on motor scooters. We were told that in a country of 95 million people, there are 35 million motor scooters (called Hondas just like we call tissues Kleenex). Riding the country's web of rural lanes, we passed hundreds of schoolchildren who waved and called “Hello” to us.