Especially in these tough times, we're sorry to see honest, hard-working people lose business. Over the years, we’ve had experiences with good, so-so and bad local agencies. Nevertheless, now in our senior years, we’ve been gradually weaned away from them. With the emergence of the internet, we found we could do the job at least as well by clicking travel sites and online agencies on our computer.

Think ahead and be prepared. You know old man winter, hurricanes, tornados and busy holidays too often cause delays. And just everyday screw-ups in the air and on the ground also leave you stranded. You could be stuck in airports, bus stations and highway traffic jams for hours or days. Here are some suggestions that could make that wasted time pass a bit more quickly:

We hope our senior readers will be enjoying their travels this year, and we’ll continue to do our best to provide quality information, reviews and suggestions. However, young men and women in our Armed Forces will be traveling in 2009 for different, often dangerous reasons. If you’ve sent presents or greetings to those special members of your family and others in uniform during the holiday season, please don’t just stop there.

Senior Travelers: Top Ten New Year’s Resolutions

I swear on my Morocco-bound original copy of “Gulliver’s Travels” that in this brand new year, I will:

1. Visit a local department store during its big after-holidays sale, where I can find peace and quiet and be totally alone by myself.