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Troubadours spread joy to Mini-Cassia and the world year-round

The Troubadours perform at care centers in the Mini-Cassia area. From left are Rod Draper, Paul Brown, Bill Jackson, Ned Carter, and Mel Pfeifer. [Photo by Dianna Troyer]

By Dianna Troyer Singing tunes from their youth, five friends who call themselves the Troubadours bring joy to the world of Mini-Cassia residents year-round.

Every month for an hour, the Troubadours sing country-western and rock-and-roll classics from the ’50s and ’60s at eight care centers.

They also perform at reunions, anniversaries, receptions, birthdays, block parties, and other community events such as the Caring and Shar-

ing Christmas Tree Festival in Rupert.

One afternoon at the Mini-Cassia Care Center in Burley, many residents clap to songs sung by Ned “Guitar Man” Carter, “Uncle” Bill Jackson, Paul “The Crooner” Brown, Mel “The Dance Man” Pfeifer, and Rod “The Sheriff” Draper.

“A lot of times, at the end of our performances, residents ask us to stay and sing more songs and wonder when we’ll be back,” says Rod, 67, during a break. “For me, that’s priceless, to see the joy they feel. Entertaining them is a way to pay it forward. Who knows, some day I may be in a care center.”

As they pack up after their gig, they talk about how they formed the Troubadours three years ago.

Paul, Rod, and Mel had been singing together as members of the Snake River Flats, a local barbershop harmony group, and decided they would like to sing more often and started the Troubadours. Ned and Bill heard about them through friends and tossed in their talents.

“We each specialize in a certain type of music, so we take turns at the mic,” says Paul, 78, a retired residential builder.

“We have hundreds of songs in our repertoire. One of my favorites is ‘Walk Across Texas,’” says Paul, whose deep voice is reminiscent of the late Hank Snow, Don Williams. and Jim Reeves. “I do a lot of their songs.”

Paul says Ned is their “guitar man and hummer and strummer” who gets them warmed up.

Before he performs, Ned picks from one of his eight guitars at home.

“I’ve been playing guitar since I was 12,” (Continued on page 22)

PAGE 2 IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

To all our readers, advertisers, and contributors, we wish you the Happiest of Holidays and a Joyous 2014!

Season’s Greetings from the staff of The Idaho Senior Independent!

Jack, Colleen, Kathleen, Sherrie, Jonathan, Rachael, & Lisa

Dance with a Gunfighter by Joanne Pence; Quail Hill Publishing; Eagle, ID, 2012 Reviewed by Connie Daugherty Gabriella Devere – Gabe to everyone who knew her – never was the “girly” type. Raised by a widowed father and with two older brothers, she had always been a tomboy and loved the rough life on the family ranch. As a girl, the household chores and cooking naturally fell to her, but that did not mean she couldn’t help with the horses or shoot with the best of them. She generally dressed like her brothers in practical work pants and flannel shirts, except that one night, that one dance.

For “two weeks and five hours” she had counted the minutes until the town dance. She was sixteen and she decided to experiment with dressing and behaving like the other girls. An experiment that did not turn out at all as she had expected.

Idaho Senior Independent A Barrett-Whitman Publication P.O. Box 3341 • Great Falls, MT 59403-3341 208-318-0310 • Toll Free: 1-866-360-5683 Fax: 406-761-8358 www.idahoseniorindependent.com E-mail: idahoseniorind@bresnan.net The Idaho Senior Independent is published six times each year in February, April, June, August, October, and December by Barrett-Whitman, 415 3rd Avenue North, Great Falls, MT 59401 and is distributed free to readers throughout the state of Idaho.

The mail subscription rate is $10.00 per year (6 issues). The Idaho Senior Independent is written to serve Idaho’s mature population of all ages. Readers are encouraged to contribute interesting material. Views expressed in opinion stories, contributions, articles, and letters are not necessarily the views of the publisher. The appearance of advertisements for products or services does not constitute an endorsement of the particular product or service. The publisher will not be responsible for mistakes in advertisements unless notified within five days of publication.

All copy appearing in the Idaho Senior Independent is protected by copyright and may be reprinted only with the written permission of the publisher. Advertising copy should be received or space reserved by the 5th of the month preceding the month of publication.

Jack W. Love, Jr., Publisher/Editor Colleen Paduano Lisa Gebo Rachael Lowrance Jonathan Rimmel Sherrie Smith

Jess McLowry was just passing through the small Arizona town because that was what a gambler/ gunfighter did – stop awhile then move on – when he found himself outside the town dance. He first noticed the girl in the stable and it was clear immediately that the night was not going the way she had hoped.

She was just a kid – young, innocent, on the brink of womanhood. He was old –twenty-three – experienced and world-weary. Still he felt drawn to her; he knew what loneliness felt like.

“Her open, good-natured trust in him… touched something deep within him. Something he had thought had died many years ago. Using the manners he had been taught in another time, another world, he… escorted her… to the dance as if she were an elegant lady, and he, a most proper gentleman.”

In her most recent novel, Dance with a Gunfighter, Joanne Pence pairs a strong, determined, yet sweet young woman together with a tough, cynical, yet kind, gunfighter in Arizona territory’s 1880s unsettled era. While this is obviously an historical romance, the theme is vengeance, acceptance, and self-awareness. With just enough historical fact to set the scenes, Pence takes readers on a ride of suspense and adventure with a completely unexpected conclusion. Her writing is clean, descriptive, and invitingly readable. The story itself is light enough to be entertaining, unpredictable enough to keep the pages turning, and detailed enough to transport you back in time and place.

For just a little while dancing with a pretty, innocent young woman at a town dance, behaving once again like the gentleman he had been raised

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to be, took Jess back to before his world changed, before the war and the killing and the pain. Then reality broke in. He rode out of town that night.

“The more he had come to know the solitude of the desert, the more he had learned to appreciate it. He found a kind of… rare, elusive peace in fields of saguaro on yellow seas of sand… in precarious red rock piles… orange sunsets… flashes of lightening across the night sky.” He was alone and sometimes lonely, but he felt more at peace that way than in a town with people and problems.

After that one magical night when she danced with a wonderful, yet dangerous stranger, Gabe went back to being herself, no more trying to impress the boys or compete with the town girls. “She wasn’t bothered by not having a fellow, though, because her pa and brothers needed her help with the running of the ranch. It was an isolated, arid place where nothing much grew easily, but “to Gabe it possessed a rare and vital beauty in the sculpture of its red and granite rocks, in the brightness of its sky and its very stillness on a summer’s day.” It was her home, her life, and her love. Then the nightmare happened. In an instant everyone and everything was gone.

“She didn’t deserve to live. Not when the others were dead. So she lived for one thing only – to avenge their deaths. To see that justice was done.”

Local law enforcement was no help – the sheriff essentially ignored her. So as soon as she is able she sets out to find and kill the men who killed her family and destroyed her home.

Then just when she has one of the outlaws in her gun site, the unbelievable happens. “McLowry paused a moment… a slight movement on the hillside caught his attention.” A lone rifleman knelt

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near the end of a cliff, gun aimed at the town in the valley below – a town with innocent women and children. “McLowry’s anger flared.” Instinctively he knew that whatever was planned the outcome would not be good. He had to act. “Twisting the man around and slamming his back down hard against the ground, McLowry raised his fist. A woman’s face… glared up at him. He froze her large brown eyes strangely familiar.”

Gabe was furious! McLowry had ruined her only chance to shoot one of the men who had killed her family. Now he was dead, hanged for another crime, but not for the deaths of her family, not by her hand. Still, there are four members more of the gang out there and she was determined to hunt them down.

McLowry is just as determined to thwart her plan for her own good – to save her life in more ways than one. He knows very well what sort of pain vengeance can exact. He knows the price is just too high, and one way or

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 3

another he is determined that Gabe will not pay it. So they are bound together traveling the various settlements and mining camps of Arizona, encountering not only the bad guys they seek, but also hostile Indians. Neither of them is going to come out of the ordeal unscathed.

Joanne Pence’s Dance with a Gunfighter was a 2013 finalist for the prestigious WILLA Literary Award representing the best of 2012 women’s literature set in the North American West. The nationally recognized award is named for Pulitzer Prize winning author Willa Cather and focuses on women writing about the west.

A best-selling author of more than twenty novels including thrillers, suspense, and a long-running mystery series, Joanne Pence lives in Boise.

She is a founding member of the Idaho Writers Guild and past president of Boise’s Partners in Crime mystery group. ISI

Lewis and Clark Among the Nez Perce – Strangers in the Land of the Nimiipuu

By Allen V. Pinkham and Steven R. Evans Published by the Dakota Institute, Distributed by University of Oklahoma Press Reviewed by Jack McNeel / Photo By Jackie McNeel Volumes have been written about Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery, however Lewis and Clark Among the Nez Perce – Strangers in the Land of the Nimiipuu covers the time the expedition spent with the Nez Perce Tribe, and it is written from the tribal perspective rather than from that of the explorers.

Allen Pinkham is a noted Nez Perce historian and author and has served on the National Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Council, helped create the Chief Joseph Foundation, and served on the Board of Trustees for the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. Dr. Steven Ross Evans taught history for 33 years at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston before retiring in 2001. His wife, Connie, is a Nez Perce tribal member. Evans has spent the past eleven years working with Pinkham, researching and writing of the Nez Perce and the Lewis and Clark expedition. Their knowledge of the Nimiipuu, as the Nez Perce call themselves, is extraordinary, giving readers insights into that era of tribal history unavailable elsewhere.

During its trek to the mouth of the Columbia River and back to St. Louis between 1804 and 1806, the expedition spent more time with the Nez Perce than with all the other tribes they encountered. There is little doubt that the expedition would not have made it to the Pacific Ocean and home again without the help of the Nez Perce, forever changing U.S. history.

Beginning with tribal legend going back before the Creator placed human beings among the other animals, the authors relate Nimiipuu stories of creation, of Coyote and Monster – stories that have been passed down orally for generations.

“The collective memories of thousands of relatives over thousands of years ensured that the stories were all true, not necessarily in the literal sense, but full of life’s truths,” they wrote.

The people had heard from their visionaries that a new people would one day arrive, and later some traveling Nimiipuu saw white people or heard of them from other tribes. When the first bona fide meeting occurred on September 10, 1805, it was not a total surprise. Three tribal men met expedition hunters on the eastern slope of the Bitterroot Mountains. Captain Lewis called them Flatheads but they were actually Nez Perce.

Tribal history will say the first person to approach the expedition was Chief Twisted Hair’s brother, Al-We-Yas, who came forth when the expedition was approaching Weippe Prairie.

Tribal language is used throughout the book, but always with an English translation. The authors also add items of interest not included in the diaries of expedition members. This fills out the story of otherwise condensed events reported by expedition members, and also corrects information that might have been confused by interpreting through several languages.

The expedition might have ended at that first meeting. They were in terrible condition after crossing the Bitterroots through heavy snow and with little food. Furthermore, the Nimiipuu were concerned for their own safety.

Two factors likely swayed their decision to help the white men. Most of the able-bodied warriors were gone at the time to avenge some killings by Shoshone Indians. There was also an elderly lady by the name of Watkuweis.

“Her name is legend among the Nimiipuu,” the authors say. She had been taken captive years earlier, eventually marrying a white man in the Great

Lakes area where she was treated well. Eventually she had returned to the Clearwater Basin and grown old with her own people but when she heard talk of killing the expedition members, “…she rose up and, seeing some of the men, shouted to, ‘Do them no harm!’”

The tribe gave the expedition food and a place to recover. They taught them how to build dugout canoes to carry them down the Clearwater River, which Lewis & Clark called the Kooskooskee, then down the Snake River, and finally the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean. Perhaps of greater importance was that the Nimiipuu knew the rivers, the uniqueness of each, and the characteristics of each at different water levels. The men of the expedition were not good canoeists and some could not even swim. The rivers were large and wild in those days before dams, and several canoes tipped over.

The Nimiipuu agreed to guide the expedition on their river travels all the way to Celilo Falls on the Columbia. Without that help the expedition most likely would have failed.

Pinkham and Evans add to the expedition’s notes – providing names, locations, and oral history from tribal knowledge, interpreting things where Lewis and Clark were unsure.

(Continued on page 5)

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DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 5

Lewis & Clark Among the Nez Perce - continued from page 3 The return of the expedition the following spring, after a winter on the Pacific coast, again brought them to their now friends, the Nimiipuu.

Horses had been left the previous fall when the white men took to the canoes and the tribe had cared for the animals all winter. They were also guided by Nez Perce who knew the trails, camping sites, and locations of villages back to the Clearwater via an overland trail.

Lewis and Clark were impressed with the Nimiipuu in various ways.

Clark wrote, “Those people has Shewn much greater acts of hospitality than we have witnessed from any nation or tribe Since we have passed the rocky Mountains. in Short be it Spoken to their immortal honor it is the only act which diserves the appellation of hospitality which we have witnessed

in this quarter.�

Lewis wrote the, “Chuppunish (their name for the Nez Perce) are more clenly in their persons and habitations than any nation we have Seen Sence we left the Illinois.�

While waiting for snows to melt so they could cross back over the Bitterroots on their trip east, one event occurred that has largely been overlooked. Sergeant Ordway, along with Privates Frazier and Weiser, were sent on a mission to trade for salmon. What was expected to be a halfday trip turned out to last from May 25 until June 2. They were the first U.S. citizens to see and descend into Hells Canyon and the first to view the confluence of the Salmon and Snake Rivers.

The authors explain this trip in great detail from

first hand observation of that route.

The expedition finally left Nimiipuu country, again with the invaluable aid of tribal guides without which they might not have made it.

Lewis and Clark Among the Nez Perce – Strangers in the Land of the Nimiipuu concludes with subsequent tribal history; a four man trip to St. Louis in 1831, the arrival of missionaries, the Treaty of 1855 followed by the Steal Treaty of 1863, and finally the 1877 War and its aftermath.

This book is a must read for anyone interested in the history of the Nimiipuu people and their interaction with the Corps of Discovery. For a tribe that did more to ensure the success of the Corps of Discovery and the history of the west, their later treatment remains a black eye on U.S. history. ISI

Wrongly Sentenced To Life In Prison

By Esther Goffinet Ripples of a Lie is a biography of my father, Eugene Barnett. I had to write this book so the facts about the historical Centralia Massacre of 1919 will not be buried with those of us who know the truth. An innocent eyewitness, my father was framed and sentenced to life in prison to keep him from talking. Gene’s early work experiences, interest in unions and labor laws, influenced his life in this turbulent time in our nation’s history.

This book tells it all. It will make you angry, make you laugh, make you

cry, and hopefully, make you remember that our parents and grandparents gave their lives for the freedoms and benefits we enjoy today. Whether you are a union supporter, a historian, a parent, or just a sucker for a good love story, I promise you will enjoy this book. Every word is true. Please see the ad on page 4 or go to the book site at www.EstherBarnettGoffinet.org and click on the link to hear Gene in his own words.

Published in 2011, Ripples of a Lie (468 pp. with 96 photos/illustrations) is written in story form with footnotes so sources can be checked. ISI

Reflecting on our families from our adult perspective can be an emotional experience. Recalling our parents – with their habits and values – gives considerable insight into the factors that have shaped us over the years. This issue’s Remember When selection is by Michael Gartner, Pulitzer Prize winner and former president of NBC, who has graciously allowed us to print his A Life Without Left Turns, first published several years ago in USA Today. We hope you are inspired and touched by this very thoughtful and heartfelt story.

Remember When contains personal reflections or contributions describing fictional or non-fictional accounts from the “Good ol’ Days,� or reflections on life in general. Contributions may be essays, stories, letters, artwork, poetry, etc. Photos may be included.

Each issue of the Idaho Senior Independent features the contribution deemed best by our staff. The contributor of the winning entry for the next issue will receive a $50 cash prize.

We look forward to receiving your contributions for our February/March 2014 issue. Mail your correspondence to Idaho Senior Independent, P.O. Box 3341, Great Falls, MT 59403; email to idahoseniorind@bresnan.net; or call 1-866-360-5683 or 208-318-0310. Visit us online at idahoseniorindependent.com.

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A life without left turns

By Michael Gartner My father never drove a car.

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DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

neighbors all had cars – the Kollingses next door had a green 1941 Dodge, the VanLaninghams across the street a gray 1936 Plymouth, the Hopsons two doors down a black 1941 Ford – but we had none. My father, a newspaperman in Des Moines, would take the streetcar to work and, often as not, walk the 3 miles home.

If he took the streetcar home, my mother and brother and I would walk the three blocks to the streetcar stop, meet him and walk home together.

Our 1950 Chevy My brother, David, Carl Gartner in 1934 was born in 1935, and I was born in 1938, and sometimes, at dinner, we’d ask how come all the neighbors had cars but we had none. “No one in the family drives,” my mother would explain, and that was that. But, sometimes, my father would say, “But as soon as one of you boys turns 16, we’ll get one.”

It was as if he wasn’t sure which one of us would turn 16 first.

But, sure enough, my brother turned 16 before I did, so in 1951 my parents bought a used 1950 Chevrolet from a friend who ran the parts department at a Chevy dealership downtown. It was a four-door, white model, stick shift, fender skirts, loaded with everything, and, since my parents didn’t drive, it more or less became my brother’s car.

Having a car but not being able to drive didn’t bother my father, but it didn’t make sense to my mother. So in 1952, when she was 43 years old, she asked a friend to teach her to drive. She learned in a nearby cemetery, the place where I learned to drive the following year and where, a generation later, I took my two sons to practice driving. The cemetery probably was my father’s idea. “Who can your mother hurt in the cemetery?” I remember him saying once.

For the next 45 years or so, until she was 90, my mother was the driver in the family. Nei-

ther she nor my father had any sense of direction, but he loaded up on maps – though they seldom left the city limits – and appointed himself navigator.

It seemed to work.

The ritual walk to church Still, they both continued to walk a lot. My mother was a devout Catholic, and my father an equally devout agnostic, an arrangement that didn’t seem to bother either of them through their 75 years of marriage. (Yes, 75 years, and they were deeply in love the entire time.) He retired when he was 70, and nearly every morning for the next 20 years or so, he would walk with her the mile to St. Augustin’s Church. She would walk down and sit in the front pew, and he would wait in the back until he saw which of the parish’s two priests was on duty that morning. If it was the pastor, my father then would go out and take a 2-mile walk, meeting my mother at the end of the service and walking her home. If it was the assistant pastor, he’d take just a 1-mile walk and then head back to the church.

He called the priests “Father Fast” and “Father Slow.”

After he retired, my father almost always accompanied my mother whenever she drove anywhere, even if he had no reason to go along. If she were going to the beauty parlor, he’d sit in the car and read, or go take a stroll or, if it was summer, have her keep the engine running so he could listen to the Cubs game on the radio. (In the evening, then, when I’d stop by, he’d explain: “The Cubs lost again. The millionaire on second base made a bad throw to the millionaire on first base, so the multimillionaire on third base scored.”)

If she were going to the grocery store, he would go along to carry the bags out – and to make sure she loaded up on ice cream.

As I said, he was always the navigator, and once, when he was 95 and she was 88 and still driving, he said to me, “Do you want to know the secret of a long life?” “I guess so,” I said, knowing it probably would be something bizarre.

“No left turns,” he said.

“What?” I asked.

“No left turns,” he repeated. “Several years ago, your mother and I read an article that said most accidents that old people are in happen when they turn left in front of oncoming traffic. As you get older, your eyesight worsens, and you can lose your depth perception, it said. So your mother and I decided never again to make a left turn.”

“What?” I said again. “No left turns,” he said. “Think about it. Three rights are the same as a left, and that’s a lot safer. So we always make three rights.”

“You’re kidding!” I said, and I turned to my mother for support. “No,” she said, “your father is right. We make three rights. It works.”

But then she added, “Except when your father loses count.”

I was driving at the time, and I almost drove off the road as I started laughing. “Loses count?” I asked. “Yes,” my father admitted, “that sometimes happens. But it’s not a problem. You just make seven rights, and you’re okay again.”

I couldn’t resist. “Do you ever go for 11?” I asked.

“No,” he said. “If we miss it at seven, we just come home and call it a bad day. Besides, nothing in life is so important it can’t be put off another day or another week.”

My mother was never in an accident, but one evening she handed me her car keys and said she had decided to quit driving. That was in 1999, when she was 90. She lived four more years, until 2003. My father died the next year, at 102. They both died in the bungalow they had moved into in 1937 and bought a few years later for $3,000. (Sixty years later, my brother and I paid $8,000 to have a shower put in the tiny bathroom – the house had never had one. My father would have died then and there if he knew the shower cost nearly three times what he paid for the house.) He continued to walk daily – he had me get him a treadmill when he was 101 because he was afraid he’d fall on the icy sidewalks but wanted to keep exercising – and he was of sound mind and sound body until the moment he died.

A happy life One September afternoon in 2004, he and my son went with me when I had to give a talk in a neighboring town, and it was clear to all three of us that he was wearing out, though we had the usual wide-ranging conversation about politics and newspapers and things in the news. A few weeks earlier, he had told my son, “You know, Mike, the first hundred years are a lot easier than the second hundred.” At one point in our drive that Saturday, he said, “You know, I’m probably not going to live much longer.” “You’re probably right,” I said. “Why would you say that?” he countered, somewhat irritated.

“Because you’re 102 years old,” I said. “Yes,” he said, “you’re right.” He stayed in bed all the next day. That night, I suggested to my son and daughter that we sit up with him through the night. He appreciated it, he said, though at one point, apparently seeing us look gloomy, he said, “I would like to make an announcement. No one in this room is dead yet.” An hour or so later, he spoke his last words: “I want you to know,” he said, clearly and lucidly, “that I am in no pain. I am very comfortable. And I have had as happy a life as anyone on this earth could ever have.”

A short time later, he died.

I miss him a lot, and I think about him a lot. I’ve wondered now and then how it was that my family and I were so lucky that he lived so long.

I can’t figure out if it was because he walked through life.

Michael Gartner, 75, lives in Des Moines, where he is principal owner of the Iowa Cubs baseball team. He’s a former president of NBC News, a former editor of newspapers large and small, and a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing. ISI

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 7

Endless Creativity es and museums, and her work often reflects Article & Photos By Jack McNeel Linda Scott’s art can only be described as unique – as is its presenta- that region and the early masters. Another tion. Perhaps also surprising is that it’s created in Lewiston, Idaho rather panel Linda is working on is painted on both sides with nine squares on each side. They than New York City, Laguna Beach, or Boca Raton.

Having grown up in Marin County in California’s Bay Area, Linda at- form six different female nudes in the style tended City College in San Francisco and Sonoma State University. She of six different modern male painters. As then worked as an illustrator and graphic artist for several years before the squares are folded they create different images. moving to Idaho in 1973.

Linda designed the couple’s home with In Orofino she taught English and art full-time for nine years before the basement dedicated to a studio for moving to Lewiston where she taught half-days at the junior high level.

With the remainder of each day her own, she says, “I started being an artist herself and a workshop for her husband again.” This regimen lasted fifteen years until she retired from teaching. where he constructs her panels, which can The years of working be quite heavy. The upper levels are open, with chemicals sen- light, and airy – perfect sitized her lungs and for displaying her art. caused asthma, so she Her daughter is a filmchose a safer medium maker, photographer, – watercolors. “Water- and producer in New colors are the least of- York, and there many fensive chemically,” she people live where they could use panels to explains.

“I learned how to do separate living areas watercolor and was from work areas. Linda successful with it. I en- hopes to break into that tered national shows, market.

Linda’s latest goal was accepted, and had my work in galleries is in the formative stagaround the country and es. “I’m 66 and want to Canada. I became a spend my time doing Signature Member of what’s most important the National Watercolor to me. As an artist you Society and the North- are influenced by what west Watercolor Soci- other people want or like.” ety.

She has decided to “I met all my goals in two years. I think I’m still do a visual memoir or the only person in Ida- autobiography, much ho who is a Signature as a writer would do to Member of the National tell her life story, only Watercolor Society,” using visual art rather than words. Although she explains.

The expansion of Linda’s art into panels (screens) occurred when an Linda does not have exchange student from Columbia moved into her home for a year, and it completely figured out, it is on her mental Linda’s daughter moved to another room without a door.

“My husband and I built a screen and my daughter and I painted it. drawing board.

“I started chronoI liked the idea of having a screen with two sides, and this eventually developed into a different type of imagery.”

Coincidentally a drawdown of the river at Lewiston had created beautiful mud patterns of which Linda had aerial photographs.

“From those I did a series of paintings and then a screen. One side was of the river before drawdown and the other side was after the drawdown. It had texture on it and everything,” she Providing for the health care needs of seniors since 1957. explains.

Linda decided to learn more about folding screens from a historical perspective and enrolled in the University of Idaho’s Master of Fine Arts program. “I did a body of work in folding screens Remember to schedule your Annual Medicare Wellness Visit there and since then I have done a lot of comOrofino Clinic: 208-476-5777 missions.”

Linda has exhibited her work in Denver and Cottonwood Clinic: 208-962-3267 sent pieces to shows in the Midwest. Although she continues to do drawings and paintings, her major works today are her panels (screens), which vary in size, complexity, and subject. Some are eight feet tall, and others are six feet square while othEndoscopic procedures ers may only be three or four feet high. They are hinged and sometimes cut so that portions of the Make sure you are ‘up-to-date’ with your colonoscopy. panels fold back to create different scenes. Some Colon cancer is one of the only preventable cancers. Talk to your doctor. are angled and others curved while others contain MRI & CT scans three dimensional sculptures within the panels.

Her panel Tall is about eating disorders and available at our hospital where you can avoid a the excessive lengths women go to be thin. It is commute and remain close to home and family. cut to make the mannequin look thinner, even though she was thin to begin with, and painted to look like marble.

Linda has made several visits to Italian villag-

We also provide

PAGE 8 IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

logically,” she says. “Then I added different categories. As I uncover different memories, then I associate certain colors with certain experiences. That reflects how I have felt about different things. I could almost categorize different feelings, people, or places into colors and color combinations.”

“Then I have categories like dreams – and fears. I think this memoir

thing is wonderful, really exciting to me. There are a lot of exhibition possibilities for it as well – actual experiences reflected in visual ideas and formal aspects of art like color, line, organization, composition.”

If Linda’s other art is any indicator, her new project will be colorful, stimulating, and definitely modern. ISI

Winston, war, and midwives

By Bill Hall The words “Call the Midwife” have been heard frequently in our house these past few weeks, though not because of any recent births in our family.

The births in question are those decades ago that were aided by kindhearted and competent nurses and nuns. They helped the pregnant women of England with pre-natal care and with deliveries of babies as part of a healthcare system developed soon after World War II. The PBS television series Call the Midwife is taken from the book by Jennifer Worth. It’s based on her service as a nurse and midwife in a rough section of London where the poor would not otherwise have had the godsend of professional baby birthing.

The characters and story line will make you laugh, make you cry, and knock your socks off.

But, I give you fair warning: Like an irresistible book you can’t put down, the production will cost you sleep. If you are easily addicted to a television series available on Netflix, then you can watch a whole season of episodes in a couple of days.

It’s called binge viewing, and it’s like discovering 50 years ago that you didn’t have to go to

the movie theater each Saturday morning for one installment of a cowboy series and then wait a week for the next episode. It’s like being told that you will have the option of watching all the installments, back to back, on a single Saturday.

If you are a person with a gluttonous appetite for entertainment, you may curse me in the wee hours of the night after watching one Call the Midwife segment after another. I am guilty of such lustful conduct myself. That’s how I came to learn about those admirable young women in the show.

I felt grateful at first that such angels exist in the world, be they nurses, doctors, non-wealthy clergy, or our military defenders who not only protect others but do so at the cost of their own limbs and lives.

Sadly, after our Call the Midwife viewing binge had ended, something about those nurses and nursing nuns filled me with unseemly jealousy. We were told at the beginning of each episode that those women – and the doctors and hospital caregivers who worked with them – functioned in the 1950s. That rang a bell. It dawned on me that those women were working in an English healthcare system founded on July 5, 1946. The coincidence of the date, so close to our own Independence Day, made me realize that this was what the United States is now struggling to develop – a national system where everyone has access to medical care, even if they can’t afford it.

It’s galling to realize that we are only now nearing the possibility of medical care for everyone in this country. And it’s doubly galling to realize that the English achieved that level of public service 67 years ago. This, the richest nation on earth, has taken three generations to

reach the point where we now have some hope of achieving what England began long, long ago.

We call it Obamacare. The English should call their version Churchillcare. Prime Minister Winston Churchill, a Conservative, was the foremost early advocate of Britain’s National Health Service. He played a huge role in stopping the looming tyranny that was Nazi Germany in World War II. And after the war, he fostered the creation of a healing army of medical professionals to attack the battle against disease.

On March 2, 1944, Churchill declared, “The discoveries of healing science must be the inheritance of all… Disease must be attacked, whether it occurs in the poorest or the richest man or woman simply on the ground that it is the enemy; and it must be attacked just in the same way as the fire brigade will give its full assistance to the humblest cottage as readily as to the most important mansion…”

He added, “Our policy is to create a national health service in order to ensure that everybody in the country, irrespective of means, age, sex, or occupation, shall have equal opportunities to benefit from the best and most up-to-date medical and allied services available.”

Meanwhile, 67 years after England established medical care for all, most of our could-be American Churchills still fail us.

We need leaders to show us the way to attack our biological Nazis because disease is an enemy. We need a new birth of medical equality in this nation.

For God’s sake, somebody call the midwife!

Bill Hall may be contacted at wilberth@cableone.net or at 1012 Prospect Ave., Lewiston, ID 83501. ISI

Book Review – Where Are They Buried? How Did They Die? Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers in New York City Reviewed By Clare Hafferman Sometimes you can find a real gem at a book sale. It might be a favorite from your childhood you thought you would never see again, an edition you wanted for your reference shelf, or an old-fashioned Mother Goose you could use for a baby gift.

So if you take note of the title of this book review, Where Are They Buried?

How Did They Die?, with a sub-title of Fitting Ends and Final Resting Places of the Famous, Infamous and Noteworthy, you will wonder why I didn’t put it back in the pile. This was a huge trade-size paperback of 560 pages by an unknown writer (at least to me), but I used up half a night reading it.

To give the author credit, Tod Benoit is an excellent descriptive writer with much attention to detail, and while digging for the facts related to those subjects who were interred or cremated, he reveals to his readers many things they might not have known.

He began this adventure by taking a friend with him to locate Jack Kerouac’s grave in Lowell, Massachusetts, after both he and the friend had frequented some of the bars where Kerouac had drunk himself to death before and after he had chronicled his travels on the road.

For Benoit and his buddy this turned into a long complicated search with many hang-ups, but eventually they located Jack’s grave and the author decided there had to be an easier way to locate other last stops He began in 1992 to keep a list of famous people who mattered in one way or another. He compiled an extensive record of 700 well-known deceased folks; 450 are included in this book.

His reason for launching this search arises from the realization that though we are mortal, most of us hope to achieve something for which we can be remembered. That desire to live is reinforced by our cemeteries and the attention given to visiting and decorating gravesites. Every tombstone has been a reminder to someone.

Best known for commemorating the dead

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

were the Egyptians with their elaborate coffins and secret burial tombs. Simpler yet were the Plains Indians practice of elevating the body up into a tree to dry out in the wind and avoid predators at the same time. The Chinese buried soldiers of the Emperor in mass graves and the pioneers found a spot along the trail to leave an unmarked site.

Most readers are aware of people they either admire or dislike, people they would like to imitate, figures in history, comedians or writers who made them laugh, musicians who entertained them, movie stars or actors whose careers they followed, or sometimes just an ordinary Joe or Jill who captured their attention.

The author has tallied eleven categories in his book that include all those divisions. You begin with Gen-X Standouts and end with Notable Figures From History. In between are the Sports Heroes, Television & Film Personalities, the Greats In Literature, Philosophy & The Arts, among others.

With each name is their history, some short, some longer. Denoting fans’ fascination with Elvis Presley, the Tupelo, Mississippi native rated two and a half pages, and as we all have witnessed, his family, friends and publicists continue to keep his name afloat for the money it still generates.

If you eliminate family, because she spent her childhood in foster homes, that same history could be applied to Marilyn Monroe. Her death was never fully resolved and she was buried in Westwood Memorial Park in Santa Monica, California, where her one-time husband, Joe DiMaggio, had flowers delivered to her crypt every week.

Marilyn’s photos are still included in pictures of the “most beautiful women in film,” her face was featured on a U.S. Stamp (and so was Elvis’s) and a dress she wore in the movie “Some Like It Hot,” was featured in an Antiques Roadshow segment and estimated to be worth thousands of dollars if it made it to an auction house.

It would make a reader wonder if so much attention is paid to the names and history of longdead personalities like Elvis and Marilyn, how much pressure must have been accorded them

when they were alive. Some can learn to take it and some can’t.

Of those who couldn’t, quite a few in the entertainment world exited, assisted by drugs or alcohol – Janis Joplin, John Belushi, and Billie Holiday for example. Supposedly, Belushi after being buried under a large boulder marked Belushi in Abel Hill Cemetery in Chilmark, Massachusetts, had his remains moved by his family to prevent gawkers from disturbing the site, but nothing has really been proved on that score.

One example of stability and longevity was George Burns. Devastated by his wife Gracie’s death when she was 62, he disappeared from the TV screen until he replaced his ailing friend, Jack Benny in The Sunshine Boys, and won an Academy Award in 1975. From then until he was 100 years old, George punctuated his soliloquies with his cigar smoke and by saying sentimentally, “Goodnight Gracie,” at the end of each performance.

Asked for his advice on things in general, he told the interviewer, while he puffed his cigar and sipped a Martini, “Fall in love with what you do for a living. I don’t care what it is. It works.”

In a note of quixotic humor, George’s butler and friends sent him into eternity wearing a dark blue suit, a light blue shirt and a red tie, with his toupee’ in place. They put cigars in his pocket, included a watch Gracie had given him, his ring and money in his wallet so that wherever he ended, he could play bridge.

Among the odd bits of information reported was that some members of the famous are buried or their ashes interred in cemeteries where those who visit must have a key. It’s a gated community even if they are gone. Humphrey Bogart was one of those whose ashes remain in the Forest Lawn Memorial where a Golden Key of Memory gains one entry.

And for the last two in this fraternity who have departed and wanted no recognition of that fact, are Cary Grant and Fred Gwynne (best known as Herman Munster and as opinionated Southern

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 9

judge in the film, My Cousin Vinnie, Cary died of a stroke at 82 and asked for no services of any kind.

He was cremated and his ashes given to Barbara, his fifth wife.

Fred Gwynne wanted no plaque or gravestone at the Sandymount United Methodist Church in Sandville, Maryland, where you can walk into the cemetery behind the church and near the back is something called a “distinctive brown Shannon stone.” About twenty feet in front and to the left of the stone, Fred is buried and other than the grass above him, there is no marking at all.

This book was published by Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers in New York City in 2003, and despite the sadness inherent in the subject, made for interesting reading, in that you could see what the Famous, Infamous and Noteworthy, had accomplished in their lives, where they began and where they ended, and what one enterprising writer did to note that. The publishers intend to publish a revised copy in the fall of this year. ISI

“Our mother needed hospice care. The nurses at BGH were incredible. Their gentle care was comforting to all of us.

Mom’s well-being was obviously foremost in their roles; however, we also felt taken care of.

Our thanks to all those folks” - Mary P.

Barrel racer for life – Judy Roland Article & Photo By Jack McNeel Horses have been a big part of Judy Roland’s life since she was a youngster. As a seventh grader at Sacajawea Junior High in Lewiston she recalls, “I would run home from school in about two and a half minutes. I was changed and out with my horse in no time. That was how I spent my time.

She was my best friend in the whole world. If I had a problem I’d go lay on her and cry, and she’d help me figure out my problems and make everything okay.

“My dad bought me my first horse. She was just a little gray sorrel mare. I called her Billy Jo. I broke and trained her and she was kind of the love of my life – a little quarter horse mare, not anything special, just a horse, but an awesome little mare.”

For Judy her love of horses continues to this day.

Judy was born in Lewiston but her parents

lived in Headquarters, Idaho where her dad was a logger, sawyer, and cat driver. They moved to Lewiston when Judy was in grade school and she went on to graduate from Lewiston High School in 1965.

“I wasn’t a school girl. I wasn’t a college girl.

I just couldn’t wait to come home and ride,” Judy relates.

It was during those high school years that she began competing in barrel racing riding Billy Jo. Not only did she win numerous awards during those years but later her kids rode Billy Jo and her niece won an all-around saddle while riding her.

Judy won the Riggins rodeo barrel racing event four years in a row. She won at Kamiah four years in a row. She won at Weippe four years in a row.

She was Grangeville Border Days Queen in 1965.

She was Queen of the 49ers at Lewiston in 1964.

She never did buy a professional card but did

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belong to some amateur rodeo associations.

A year after graduating Judy met Gary and two years later they were married. They have two boys and this past September she and Gary celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary.

She put her horses on hold during those years of raising kids. Then she put on weight. “A lot of weight,” she admits. “My horses kind of went by the wayside.”

But Judy wanted to ride again. “I loved horses and loved competing and loved running barrels. That’s my thing in the whole world and still is. It’s kind of what I live for.”

Those years of raising youngsters and the weight gain added up. She was out of racing for about twenty years.

The weight had come on slowly, five pounds or so a year, but that adds up. She “tried every diet in the world and none worked.” She opted for gastric bypass surgery and within nine months had lost 115 pounds and has maintained her weight in the years since.

Judy started competing again, this time on a new sorrel mare. She and Gary competed throughout the northwest for the next two years.

“The second year I won the Idaho State Champion and a saddle. Every year since I’ve won the senior divi-

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

sion and placed in the open.” She has also won two more saddles, plus she has “lots of buckles and other stuff” she has won at various events.

What about today? “A couple years ago I got this mare I ride now. She runs a pretty honest pattern. She’s big. She’s strong.” Judy entered some local rodeos including Kamiah, Grangeville, Weippe, and Asotin, but then she had two total knee surgeries. The first was about a year ago and the second was last February. Judy finally has

recovered enough to barrel racing again eleven months after the first operation. “Little by little and week by week I’ve been improving,” she says about her knees.

She did a “time-only” race at the end of September, not in competition with the other riders but to see how her horse would run. “The winner had a 15.7 second ride and I had a 15.8. But look out next race! I look forward to getting back to the pay window,” she says with a laugh. She has races scheduled in Spokane and Pasco before winter sets in.

Judy has been working with two four-year-old horses and the 13-year-old mare. She hopes that by next spring the two young horses will be “ready to rock and roll. That’s my plan,” Judy says.

Not many barrel racers are in their mid-60s but Judy is not one to let either age or surgeries slow her down.

In the meantime she has “two beautiful grandkids” that live just a block away. She also gives lessons. “If they’re having trouble with their horse barrel racing, I go and help. I’ve also put on some local clinics through our saddle club.”

Since the 1980s she has also produced some barrel races in Lewiston. “I try to give back too because I appreciate everything.” ISI

The Most Caring Child Leo Buscaglia, also known as Dr. Love, was a professor at the University of Southern California and noted author, lecturer, motivational speaker, and cheerleader for life.

“Life is a banquet,” he would say, quoting from the movie Auntie Mame, “and most poor fools are starving to death.”

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“Really,” I said. “I have to say you don’t look very discouraged.”

“Discouraged?” the boy asked with a puzzled look on his face. “Why should we be discouraged? We haven’t been up to bat yet.”

4. Whenever I’m disappointed with my spot in life, I stop and think about little Jamie Scott.

Jamie was trying out for a part in the school play. His mother told me that he’d set his heart on being in it, though she feared he would not be chosen.

On the day the parts were cast, I went with her to collect him after school.

Jamie rushed up to her, eyes shining with pride and excitement. “Guess what, Mom,” he shouted, and then said those words that will remain a lesson to me. “I’ve been chosen to clap and cheer.”

5. This is an eyewitness account from New York City, on a cold day in December, some years ago.

A little boy, about 10-years-old, was standing before a shoe store on the roadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering with cold. A lady approached the young boy and said, “My, but you’re in such deep thought staring in that window.”

“I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes,” was the boy’s reply.

The lady took him by the hand, went into the store, and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel.

He quickly brought them to her. She took the little fellow to the back part of the store OVERHEAD DOOR COMPANY and, removing her gloves, knelt down, his little feet, and dried them OF LEWISTON-CLARKSTON washed with the towel.

“Sales • Installation • Service” By this time, the clerk had returned If you’re one of those people who have put off doing business with the socks. Placing a pair upon the at OVERHEAD DOOR COMPANY OF LEWISTONboy’s feet, she purchased him a pair of CLARKSTON, then you’re missing out on a comfortable experience. shoes. She tied up the remaining pairs OVERHEAD DOOR COMPANY OF LEWISTONof socks and gave them to him.

CLARKSTON is located at 422 20th Street North in Lewiston, Then she patted him on the head phone 743-8485 or 1-800-950-8485. We understand how very, and said, “No doubt, you will be more very important repeat customers are. That’s why you will notice the extra personal attention that’s given such a high priority here to comfortable now.” every person who comes to us. We specialize in offering Overhead As she turned to go, the astonished door sales, installations and service. We offer manual, electrically kid caught her by the hand, and looking operated and remote control systems with a model for every up into her face, with tears in his eyes, conceivable application. Repeat customers are a long tradition and asked her, “Are you God’s wife?” ISI a way of life. Let us have an opportunity to earn your trust.

He was most closely associated with the topic of love and human relationships, emphasizing the value of positive human touch, especially hugs. Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. Several of the anecdotes follow.

1. A four-year-old child had an elderly nextdoor neighbor who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy just said, “Nothing, I just helped him cry.”

2. Teacher Debbie Moon’s first graders were discussing a picture of a family. One little boy in the picture had a different hair color from the other members. One of her students suggested that he was adopted.

A little girl said, “I know all about adoption, I was adopted.”

“What does it mean to be adopted?” asked another child.

The little girl replied, “It means that you grew in your mommy’s heart instead of her tummy.”

3. On my way home one day, I stopped to watch a Little League baseball game that was being played in a park near my home. As I sat down behind the bench on the first-base line, I asked one of the boys what the score was.

“We’re behind 14 to nothing,” he answered with a smile.

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 11

Allen Pinkham, Tribal Leader Article & Photo By Jack McNeel Allen Pinkham was born in Lapwai, raised in part on the Yakama Reservation, and graduated from high school in Toppenish during Eisenhower’s cold war years. After graduation Allen signed up for the Marine Corps and spent a year in Okinawa. I recently sat down with him at the Clearwater River Inn and listened as he spoke of his rich and varied life.

“At one time I never thought I’d reach 30,” he relates.

It was not due to enemy bullets but basically being in the wrong spot. He had served on fire fighting crews in his late teens and tells of flipping over in a jeep on one occasion and in another he was patrolling a fire line after dark, heard a tree start to break and fall, took one step to the side, and the tree fell where he was standing. “No limbs were on it or it would have caught me.”

Once he was aboard a cargo ship where hundreds of barrels of gasoline were being unloaded. Three barrels fell, sparks were flying, but nothing caught fire. “I figured it was all done for me,” he recalls. In still another case the ship he was aboard hit a destroyer broad side. “We didn’t have to abandon ship but the other ship had to.”

Allen attended Lower Columbia College and was recruited by Weyerhaeuser Co. at a research laboratory in Longview, Washington to do such things as test air and water quality.

After about nine years he decided to return to his homeland on the Nez Perce Reservation. He served on the tribal council from 1981 until 1990 and was chairman three of those years. He also worked for Omark Industries, now ATK, a bullet manufacturer in Lewiston where he served as a foreman and supervisor for a number of years.

About that same time he was active throughout Indian country. “I was chairman of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee, chairman of the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission, President of Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, vice president of the National Congress of American Indians. All at the same time. I didn’t expect to win, but every time my name came up I got elected. When I went before any of these groups they would have to listen to whatever I had to say,” he adds with a chuckle. “I testified

a lot of times before Congress as a member of those organizations.”

In the late 1990s Allen became involved with the Lewis and Clark journals and then the 2004 Centennial. It was also near that time that he began working with Dr. Steven Evans to publish Lewis and Clark Among the Nez Perce – Strangers in the Land of the Nimiipuu which was published earlier this year. Allen also coauthored the book Salmon and his People.

Although he is mostly retired, Allen remains very active, even at 75. “I’m invited to speak before various groups, mostly about tribal history or Lewis and Clark. For example I’m going to a humanities conference at W.S.U. soon.”

Allen was also pretty involved with the Nez Perce Trail and the history of the Nez Perce War of 1877, “because many tribal people don’t know their own history,” he says. That war created a division between the treaty tribal members and the non-treaty members, a split that still exists to this day, “but isn’t as bad as it used to be,” he declares.

Allen’s religious views do not really concern what church you belong to or if you belong at all. He laughs as he tells of his induction into military service and their insisting on knowing his religion, “so we’ll know how to bury you if we have to.” The Marines suggested Baptist so he said, “Okay, go ahead.” But Allen would attend services of whatever religion happened to be there that particular Sunday.

“When you pass on there’s only one man you go to and he’s up above and he decides where you go from there,” he adds.

It is an education simply to sit and listen to Allen Pinkham relate legends of the Nez Perce.

Looking down on the Clearwater River he told me of the tribal creation story and how Coyote killed the Monster and pointed out Coyote’s Son. He pointed out the “rounded backs of big animal people,” long before humans ever showed up.

I learned what legends tell about why days are half dark and half light rather than 6 months of dark and 6 months of light which Grizzly Bear

wanted. And how that led to the reason Chipmunk has lines on his back. The Nimiipuu have many legends and it is a pleasure and privilege to hear Allen tell them.

Today Allen lives in Lenore upriver from Lewiston on the Clearwater River – on two lots that came from Red Bird descendents and a third allotment his mother purchased from a white family in 1943 – not too far from where Lewis and Clark first met the Nez Perce.

He and his brother no longer farm any of the 600 acres although they have done some logging. They now have grouse, turkeys, deer, and an occasional moose. “We’ve seen cougar tracks, bobcats, lots of coyotes and all kinds of bird species. It’s great!” he adds. “I enjoy looking out my window and seeing these birds, deer, turkeys, go through the yard every morning.” ISI

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DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

Walking Well For Longevity Provided by bodyzone.com We take moving and walking for granted – it is so simple. But loss of spinal motion – whether from a sudden back injury or from a gradual loss with growing older – can rob us of the simple pleasure of taking a stroll. And especially as studies show the benefits of regular walking; it’s smart to take a look at how we walk, and to be mindful of moving well.

Most of us never take the time to focus on subtle asymmetries between the sides of our body as we step from our left foot to the right. But chiropractors, therapists, and trainers know back pain, as well as ankle and knee problems, often result from the long-term muscle and joint stress of quirks in how we stand and walk.

Increasingly, professionals use a new breed of “motion control exercise” (MCE) to treat people and literally improve how they move. In a recent study, MCEs were found to “correct these deficiencies and retrain optimal movement patterns and control of spinal motion… and are superior to general exercise in the treatment of chronic and recurrent low back pain with regard to pain and disability.”

According to posture and motion professionals, moving well begins with improving body awareness and then training for better control of fine, subtle movement. Before beginning a motion control program, it’s a good idea to benchmark your standing body alignment with a posture picture – just have a friend take your standing, full-body picture with a camera or phone, and keep it to compare it to another picture annually or after a posture improvement program. (TIP: Check-out the free PostureZone app for iPhone/iPad available from iTunes).

Here is a three-step strategy for improving how you move from posture expert, Dr. Steven Weiniger, author of Stand Taller – Live Longer: An AntiAging Strategy. Especially if you sit a lot, he recommends these simple steps to get you started walking taller and with better control.

Step 1. Standing Awareness • Your standing posture is an indicator of how your body is balancing. When you walk you are constantly shifting your balance from the left to the right, so the first step in awareness is taking a moment to focus on what it feels like to balance only on one side.

Simply stand tall and raise your left leg so your thigh is parallel to the ground. Hold this position for 20 or 30 seconds (or as long as you can com-

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fortably maintain control). Note which muscles are working hardest to keep you balanced. Repeat on the other side and note any differences.

Step 2. Body Awareness of Each PostureZone • Certified posture exercise professionals (CPEP) help retrain motion by looking at the body as four PostureZones: Head, Torso, Pelvis, and Lower extremities. They observe how we unconsciously shift those zones, often out of proper alignment, in order to keep our balance. You can increase body awareness with this simple DIY movement assessment sequence: • Zone 1 – Lower Extremities: Stand on your toes, then lift your toes to stand on your heels. Roll your feet to the outside edge, and then to the inside edge, try lifting your pinky toe off the ground. Now, bend your left knee keeping your right knee straight, and then bend your right knee keeping your left knee straight.

• Zone 2 – Pelvis: Stand tall with knees locked and then move your hips as far as you can to the right, then as far as you can to the left. Then forward, and then backward.

• Zone 3 – Torso: Explore the motion of your spine by carefully bending to the left, and then to the right. Keep your knees locked and bend gently backwards. Note how far back you can see, and then check your motion and flexibility bending forward.

• Zone 4 – Head: Look left, right, up, and down– compare the sensation and note any asymmetry or unevenness in how you move on each side.

Step 3 – Walking Awareness • Go for a stroll and be aware if it feels the same when you step out with your left foot and then the right.

Note your symmetry for each PostureZone as you focus on your: Feet: Is the same part of your toes pressing into the ground as you step forward on each side? Is the same part of each heel striking?

Torso: Is each arm swinging symmetrically and the same distance? Do both hands face the same direction (thumb forward)? When you take a breath, are you belly–breathing or chest breathing?

Head: Is your head jutting forward or level and standing tall?

Explore how it feels to move differently and play with evening out and balancing any left–right PostureZone differences you find. If you have a problem or there is any pain, check with your doctor or posture exercise professional.

Simply becoming aware is a huge step in the right direction. A bit of mindfulness as you move helps keep your spine and posture strong to you keep walking tall and moving well.

For additional information visit www.bodyzone.com. ISI

Have you scheduled your mammogram?

Do you have a surgical or traumatic wound that just won’t heal?

Are you a diabetic with leg or foot ulcers that need treatment?

Do you have a recent burn and want to reduce scarring?

The EIRMC Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center practices specialized techniques that can double the rate of healing and reduce pain and scarring.

Wound dC Care Conditions C diti Diabetic Wounds Leg/Foot Ulcer Pressure Ulcer (Bedsore) Burns Ostomy Care Surgical/Traumatic Wounds

Wound Care Services Lymphedema Therapy Bio-Engineered Tissue Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Negative Pressure Therapy Patient Education Wound Compression/Massage

208-529-7986 Where you go when it matters.

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Kootenai Outpatient Imaging is one of just 935 facilities in the nation named a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology.

When it’s time for your mammogram, give us a call (208) 666-3200.

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 13

Could This Help You? Seven Steps to Heal Your Back Pain

By Steve Ozanich, author of The Great Pain Deception: Faulty Medical Advice Is Making Us Worse I was in pain for 27 years until I discovered that my pain was not coming from my body’s structure. Since then, I have been helping thousands of people become pain-free by teaching them how pain comes from tension – not a failing body. Almost every one of those people was told by their physicians that they needed immediate disc surgery, or steroid injections, or therapy, or this and that – but not one of them did. They all healed with new knowledge.

But they had to accept the fact that their bodies were okay, and resume all normal physical activity without fear. The truth set them free – and it began with understanding certain basic things.

1. Get a Physical Exam: Make sure there is no pathological process occurring – take responsibility for your health.

2. Take Your Physical Exam Results with a Grain of Salt: If your exam shows only herniated discs, arthritis as seen on the x-ray, spurs, a crooked spine, spinal narrowing (stenosis), or any other normal change, be of great cheer! These things do not cause back pain. No matter how much doctors confuse people in this area, experience has shown that these things are simply there – most people have these anatomical changes, with or without pain. Pain comes from oxygen loss. Whether the pain is in the limbs, spine, or any other area, it rarely ever comes from the body’s structure. It’s usually the effect of tension or TMS: Tension Myoneural Syndrome.

3. Reject the Multi-Disciplinary Approach: This approach says, “We don’t have a clue what to do for your pain, so let’s try everything, and hope one works.” This includes acupuncture, spinal manipulation, surgery, injections, core strengthening, losing weight, etc. These are usually placebotreatments, and can paradoxically keep you in pain. If they worked for a sufferer, it’s because that person believed it worked. But the relief never lasts and the approach normally must be continued in perpetuity because the pain is not coming from a “failing spine.” The multi-approach is a major reason for ongoing pain epidemics. Never manage pain – eliminate it!

4. Beware of Faulty Diagnoses: Herniated discs do not cause back pain.

That myth was exposed decades ago with the seminal work of pioneering pain-physician John E. Sarno, MD, who coined the acronym TMS. Spinal surgeons are just now beginning to realize that Sarno was correct. You cannot pinch a nerve or paralysis will quickly follow, and the pain will stop. A dead nerve cannot transmit pain signals.

You cannot “throw your back out.” Spinal discs are firmly attached on both sides of the spine; they cannot slip in-and-out of place.

You don’t have to strengthen your body’s core to heal, and scoliosis does not cause pain.

The proof is in the fact that almost everyone heals if they can get past these archaic myths. The body’s structure can be injured, and that will indeed cause pain. But the body heals quickly. Pain does not become chronic without an emotional and/or conditioned-response process driving it.

5. Understand the Reason for Your Pain: Almost all pain is a diversion by the brain to rivet the sufferer’s attention to his body. It arises from a hidden emotional processes, mainly anger, fear, sorrow, and frustration. When these powerful emotions hit a certain threshold, the brain will reduce oxygen flow to a body area to create a diversion – as a favor – to avoid having to sense emotional pain. The pain is never imagined or faked; it is very real, and extremely painful.

6. Look at What’s Going on in Your Life: Almost everyone I’ve helped to heal was able to trace their pain back to an event or a life-plateau.

Is your marriage in trouble? Does your job stress you out? Did a loved one die? Did you recently retire? Do you have the Type-T “pain personality” of perfectionism; trying to please

everyone? Do you show little emotion? Did you feel abandoned as a child?

Are you hyper-responsible, or a worrier? Did you just hit a milestone age?

Connect the dots to your pain, and heal. The knowledge of what is occurring – at the unconscious level – has tremendous healing power because once the lid is blown off of the brain’s strategy, the pain has no more value as a diversion.

7. Try to Understand Why You Need to Believe You Have a Bad Back: If I tell someone there is a method to heal their pain forever, they more often say, “No... my pain is real!!” Well, the pain is always real. The more important question is, when someone is told they can heal, why isn’t their first question about how to do it? This is critical in understanding pain’s purpose. The most common reason for pain is to bury emotions that are too powerful, or too dangerous. The brain creates the horrible sensation of pain firmly to “convince the sufferer” that she has a structural problem in order to divert her attention from her anxiety. So, of course she wants to believe she has a structural problem. That’s her brain’s intent!

Some sufferers react with rage and sometimes violence at the notion that their pain is a mind body effect. They often spit, throw things, or stomp out of the room knocking things over in rage. They only hear, “Your pain is all in your head.” But this is never true. No one is saying that, and the pain is very real. But it comes from something called TMS – not from all the things that most doctors are currently telling their patients. The reason people react in a hostile manner is due to the very reason they have the pain in the first place.

By rejecting the truth that their symptoms are created by internal forces, they fall right into their brain’s strategy of deceit, and their suffering continues.

Modern science, in its futile efforts to outsmart Mother-nature is the leading cause of continuing pain epidemics, from fibromyalgia to chronic fatigue.

The truth of healing is up against a multi-trillion dollar juggernaut called the “medical industry” that is hell-bent on continually treating pain, not healing it.

The message of “how to heal” is blocked at every turn by people inside the industry that profit from treating the body; and by publications that depend on advertisement dollars from the industry. Thus, pain epidemics are on the rise – despite possessing the most advanced medical techniques in the history of humankind.

Steve Ozanich, a mind body health consultant, penned The Great Pain Deception based on his own experience, the work of John E. Sarno, MD, and over 12 years of intensive research. Ozanich has helped to heal hundreds of people. ISI

PAGE 14 IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

Understanding the Difference between Medicare and the Marketplaces

THE IDAHO PRICE GUIDE

to Long-term Care Insurance & Services

By Ron Pollack, Executive Director, Families USA If you have Medicare, you may be confused by the buzz surrounding the launch of the new health insurance marketplaces, which are part of the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare). What do these marketplaces mean for you? It is important to understand that Medicare and the marketplaces are entirely separate. If you have Medicare, you should make the same kinds of decisions about your Medicare coverage that you make every year during open enrollment. You should not sign up for a marketplace plan. But if you know people who do not have insurance, they should look into this new option. Here are some frequently asked questions about Medicare and the marketplaces: Q: If I have Medicare, should I look for insurance in my state’s marketplace?

A: No. The marketplaces are intended to help people who do not have health insurance.

If you have Medicare, you already have health insurance. You should make the same kinds of decisions about your Medicare coverage that you make ever year.

Q: If I have Medicare, do I need to worry about the new requirement to have health insurance?

A: No. If you have Medicare, you already meet the requirement that people have insurance starting in 2014.

This is true even if you have only Medicare Part A. You do not need to buy any supplemental coverage to comply with anything in the Affordable Care Act.

Aphorisms For Fun

In cooperation with

Inside the guide:

To get a copy of the guide contact us:

Q: So what should I do about my Medicare coverage?

A: Similar to last year’s schedule, Medicare’s open enrollment period runs from October 15 to December 7, 2013. During Medicare open enrollment, you can decide whether to change plans, join a new plan, or keep the same Medicare coverage you have. If you have a Medicare Advantage or Part D prescription drug plan, you should check to see if your plan will be changing in 2014, and you should assess whether your medication needs have changed. If you have traditional Medicare, you can think about whether you want to join a Medicare Advantage plan. And thanks to the Affordable Care Act, Part D drug coverage will continue to improve in 2014, and Medicare will continue to cover most preventive benefits with no co-payments.

You can learn about your Medicare choices by going to the Medicare website at www.medicare. gov or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE. For personalized counseling, ask for a referral to your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP).

Q: What if I have Medicare and someone tells me I need to get a new plan because of Obamacare?

A: This is not true. Watch out! Dishonest people may try to take advantage of consumers by telling them they need to buy a plan when they do not need to. In fact, it is against the law for anyone to sell you a marketplace plan if he or she knows you have Medicare. Also, remember that Medicare supplemental (Medigap) plans are not sold through the marketplaces. Never give your Medicare number or Medicare card to someone you do not know.

You can report suspected Medicare fraud at www.

StopMedicareFraud.gov.

Q: What about people I know who do not have Medicare or other health insurance?

A: There is good news for these folks! People who do not have insurance will be able to buy health plans through the marketplaces, or they may qualify for expanded Medicaid. Coverage starts on January 1, 2014. Many people will also be eligible for financial assistance to help pay their premiums. These folks include early retirees who are waiting for Medicare coverage, or they could be your adult children or grandchildren. Help your friends and loved ones by letting them know they have new options. They can learn what is available by going to www.healthcare.gov or by calling 1-800-318-2596. ISI

Discover the prices of home care services, assisted living facilities and nursing homes in your community.

208-855-4002 aarpid@aarp.org www.aarp.org/id

Submitted by Julie Hollar It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you place the blame.

We have enough “youth.” How about a fountain of “smart”?

The original point and click interface was a Smith & Wesson.

A fool and his money can throw one heck of a party.

When blondes have more fun, do they know it?

Money isn’t everything, but it sure keeps the kids in touch.

If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving is not for you.

We are born naked, wet, and hungry. Then things get worse.

Red meat is not bad for you. Fuzzy green meat is bad for you.

Ninety-nine percent of all lawyers give the rest a bad name.

Xerox and Wurlitzer will merge to produce reproductive organs.

Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

The latest survey shows that three out of four people make up 75% of the population. ISI

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 15

Prepaid Funeral Plans

By Ben Yeargood If you’ve watched television, listened to the radio, or read a newspaper recently, it’s highly likely that you have seen or heard ads for funeral plans. But, a surprising number of people do not know what they include, and do not realize how they can benefit from a funeral plan.

A funeral plan is designed to eliminate the problem of expensive lump costs that are usually incurred when a loved one passes away by allowing smaller payments over a longer period – thus more affordable and easier to manage. Once the plan is complete and the funeral is required, the funeral home takes care of all that the plan requires.

Traditionally, such plans have been considered for older people and particularly those that have just entered retirement. However, there are also benefits to younger people who do not want to be burdened with higher payments as they get older.

An additional benefit is the peace of mind at not having to confront funeral decisions at such an emotional time as the death of a loved one. With the funeral already planned, financial decisions have been made without the pressure and grief that occur at the time of loss.

The rising demand for funeral plans and the number of companies providing them has resulted in more choices, options, and perhaps more confusion about what a particular plan provides.

It is imperative to find out the details about the payment plan and any potential hidden costs.

These could include the requirement for additional payments if circumstances change. Learn too, what happens if the funeral plan ends sooner than expected, so that you can avoid any unexpected cancellation or early payment fees.

Important to consider is what the plan will cover. There is nothing worse than your loved one’s believing everything is covered, only to discover that there will be unexpected additional expenses for services not included in the plan.

Plan providers will be more than happy to discuss with you in detail your particular requirements and the plans they have to meet them – as they are legally obliged to do.

This is not to say that you must choose the

most comprehensive of funeral plans, but simply to ensure that you have considered all of your needs and chosen a plan that addresses them at an affordable cost. ISI

What Tax Changes To Expect In 2014

By Elizabeth Coughlin Rudd & Company, PLLC As expected, tax laws are continuously changing. Listed below are some of the anticipated tax provisions likely to take effect for the 2014 tax year. It is important to check with your tax advisor to confirm the final tax provisions for 2014.

Affordable Health Care Act (Obamacare) will take effect January 1, 2014. Individuals must have minimum essential health care coverage for at least nine months out of the year. The penalty imposed on individuals who elect not to purchase health insurance is the higher of 1% of annual income or $95 per person. The maximum penalty per family is $285 for 2014. If you already have health care coverage, there is no need to worry.

Health insurance plans that qualify include, but are not limited to the following: individual and employer insurance plans, Medicare, and Medicaid plans.

Plans covering only vision or dental do not qualify, nor does workers’ compensation.

Of course, there are always exceptions to every rule. Certain individuals may be exempt from obtaining health coverage including: those with religious objections, American Indians covered through Indian Health Services, undocumented immigrants, those without coverage for less than 3 months, those serving a prison sentence, those

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PAGE 16 IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT

whose lowest-cost plan option is greater than 8% of annual income, and those with income below tax filing thresholds.

Capital Gain and Dividend Rates are expected to remain at 0% for taxpayers in the 10% and 15% tax brackets and 15% for taxpayers in the 25-35% tax bracket. The rate for both capital gains and dividends is capped at 20% for those whose income is at or above $400,000 ($450,000 married filing jointly).

Above the Line Deductions including: standard deductions, personal exemptions, and Health Savings Account contributions are all projected to increase in a range of $50-$200 for the 2014 tax year. These increases in deductions allow more money to stay in your pocket. The higher projected deductions for 2014 reflect adjustments for inflation in the cost of living.

Items set to expire December 31, 2013.

Congress has yet to announce if the following

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

deductions will extend to 2014.

• Educator expenses • Cancellation of debt exclusion • Mortgage insurance premiums • Personal energy property credit • State and local sales tax • College tuition and fees • Qualified charitable distributions allowing taxpayers over age 70-1/2 to make tax-free transfers from an IRA directly to a charity Gift Tax Exclusion Amount remains the same at $14,000 for 2013 and 2014.

Estate Tax Exclusion will rise to $5,340,000 per individual. This provides for a total estate value of $10,680,000 being exempt from taxes in 2014 for married individuals. The 2013 estate tax exemption is $5,250,000 per individual.

IRA Contribution Limit will remain at $5,500 with an additional catch up of $1,000 available for individuals 50 and older.

Medical Expenses Deduction where they exceed 7.5% of adjusted gross income (AGI) is still in effect through 2016 for taxpayers who are 65 and older, including those turning 65 by 12/31/16.

It is yet to be decided for 2014 what the AGI limit will be for medical expenses of individuals younger than 65. For 2013, this limit is 10% of AGI. Social Security Benefits will increase by 1.5% in 2014 as announced by the Social Security Administration.

Permanent Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) Relief was signed into law on January 2, 2013 stating AMT will be permanently adjusted annually for inflation.

Keep in mind, the IRS usually releases official numbers by December of each year, sometimes as late as January; therefore, the items listed above are subject to change. If you have questions about these or other tax changes, please call us at 406585-7132. We would be happy to assist you. ISI

Find Out If You Own Any Of Idaho’s Unclaimed Millions Of Dollars Are you still looking for that missing check? The state of Idaho has nearly $111 million in unclaimed assets that are just waiting to be claimed. Property becomes unclaimed if the owner cannot be contacted by the holder of the asset within a specified time. These properties may include stocks, bonds, mutual funds, bank accounts, uncashed payroll checks, utility deposits, traveler’s checks, contents from safety deposit boxes, and more. The state guarantees that this money will be held forever for the rightful owner or the owner’s heirs. It is our mission to reunite unclaimed property with the rightful owner.

In addition, Idaho Unclaimed Property is pleased to announce that claim-

ants who have been found to be the rightful owner now have the opportunity to donate their property to one of four public purposes: The Veterans Cemetery Maintenance Fund, The Public School Permanent Endowment Fund, The Park and Recreation Capital Improvement Account, and The State General Fund. A donation to the Public School Permanent Endowment Fund may allow for a tax credit. Check with your income tax specialist for information.

To donate, you must contact Idaho Unclaimed Property at 208-3322942 to designate your choice. Begin your search today by visiting Idaho’s Unclaimed Property website at www.sto.idaho.gov/unclaimedproperty. ISI

How Much Should You Know About Family Finances?

I do not want to admit it, but my husband has handled the finances all these years. I do not know a thing about it. It always seemed like a good deal; I take care of the spending side, in good times and bad, and he pays the bills.

Only now, his memory is not what it used to be, and he forgets to pay bills and roll over maturing CDs. I do not want to be taken advantage of by someone if he gets senile or I am widowed. What shall I do? ~ Anxious Dear Anxious: First, congratulate yourself (and your husband) for having taken care of your financial house all these years. And give yourself credit for managing the expense end – that is no easy task. It also means you do understand

The cold holiday season is upon us – roasting chestnuts, mistletoe, New Year’s cheer and promise, Christmas decorations – all of the memories of children and now grandchildren with excited, expectant eyes gleaming at Santa’s gifts. If you are looking for someone special now is the perfect sharing time of year. Wouldn’t it be nice to add someone new in your life with whom to enjoy this special season? Take time today to write a personal ad or reply to one of the personal ads on these pages.

To respond to any of these personal ads, simply forward your message, address, phone number, or email address to the department number listed in the particular personal ad, c/o Idaho Senior Independent, P.O. Box 3341, Great Falls, MT 59403.

We will forward your response, including your address, phone number, and/or email address to the person placing the ad. When you answer an ad in this section, there is no guarantee that you will receive a response. That is up to the person who placed the ad. Please be sure you submit your correct address plainly printed, so you can promptly receive responses.

finance, at least a chunk of it.

You are right to want to take the next step, for two reasons. One is that, statistically speaking, you likely will be the surviving spouse. Second, if you really have no idea about your income – pensions, portfolio, and so forth – you don’t know what your spending level should be.

Given that your husband has taken care all this time, I should think he would want you to be prepared for the next stage. So the tricky part is presenting a plan in a way that honors all that he has done and prepares for the future without making him feel defensive or worthless. Start by asking friends for the name of a fee-only financial advisor – one who does not sell any product except her or his advice. Meet with several and find one with whom you are comfortable. Then ask your husband to give you this as a gift.

If he will not, then you should make this investment for the two of you. ISI

Respond to the ads in this issue, and also sit down now and prepare your own ad to run in our next issue. There is no charge for this service, and your ad may lead you down the path of true love!

Responses to personal ads appearing in this column can be submitted at any time. However, to place a personal ad to appear in the February/March 2014 issue, the deadline is January 17, 2014.

Single man sure would like to meet a gal in her 40s or 50s to have a date & long-term relationship, even marriage. I want a gal that can cook and drive.

I like holding hands and kissing. My birthday is November 5. I will be 57. I sure hope there is a single gal out there for me, not too far from Jerome. I prefer brown hair with blue eyes. Reply ISI, Dept. 9501, c/o Idaho Senior Independent, Box 3341, Great Falls, MT 59403.

Looking for possible soul mate to enjoy my summer and winter retreats.

Yes, I’m a snowbird with homes in Idaho and Arizona. No couch potatoes need apply. Must like outdoor activities, nature and be financially independent.

Prefer mid-sixties and healthy, non-smoker, with positive attitude. Please send recent photo and brief history. Sorry, I don’t do internet or email etc. I will respond to all inquiries who meet my terms. Reply ISI, Dept. 9502, c/o Idaho Senior Independent, Box 3341, Great Falls, MT 59403.

Tall, educated, professional, romantic, southern gentleman, 60, recently retired from law enforcement, enjoys hiking, biking, skiing, RVing, and the company of a positive, energetic lady who has a zest for life and sense for adventure. Prefer height to weight proportionate, age 53-62. Interested ladies please contact for further info. Reply ISI, Dept. 9503, c/o Idaho Senior Independent, Box 3341, Great Falls, MT 59403.

Do you ever feel like a lone sock in the laundry of life? Are you looking for your match? I am. DWCF, Catholic, politically independent, humorous, with a positive attitude. NS but need to lose a few pounds. Natural red hair, aqua eyes, in show business long ago, educated, 5’4” considered youthful,

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

very attractive. Looking for a sweet, spiritual, financially secure, “no games” guy 59 plus. Boise or Treasure Valley. Phone number please. Good luck.

Reply ISI, Dept. 9504, c/o Idaho Senior Independent, Box 3341, Great Falls, MT 59403.

SWM, widower, 6’2”, 180#, 70-years-young, N/S, N/D, N/Drugs, nondenominational Christian, retired professional searching for a woman who has everything except a loving man. Am looking for real love (spiritual and physical). She must be joyful and a down-to-earth woman comfortable in Levis or an evening gown. I like the outdoors, travel, flying, bicycling, walking, hiking, dancing, exploring, etc. Am looking for a woman who makes her man number one in her life – who would like to follow the sun with her man without being tied

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 17

down to relatives, home, or pets. Please write if this fits you. Reply ISI, Dept.

9505, c/o Idaho Senior Independent, Box 3341, Great Falls, MT 59403.

Dependable and clean, attractive, compact 1955 model with low miles.

Auburn hair, green eyes, 5’2”, sense of humor, old fashioned, affectionate, considerate, honest spontaneous, down to earth. Like quiet times at home, reading, and gardening. Enjoy camping, spontaneous road trips, antiques, and yard sales. Seeking man 52-64 years financially secure with similar interests, qualities, and good personal hygiene/daily habits. Facial hair a plus.

No boozers, smokers, druggies, or whiners. An honest one-to-one. Please send photo. Reply ISI, Dept. 9506, c/o Idaho Senior Independent, Box 3341, Great Falls, MT 59403. ISI

K9 rescuer helps pets find forever homes

By Dianna Troyer parts of the country contact her for certain breeds “They use the free tickets they’re provided A chorus of barks, howls, and whines greets of dogs or puppies. as part of their salary package to allow a certain Jeana Allred, 64, whenever she steps inside the “We have a lot of dogs here that are hard to number of dogs to fly for free as a ‘ride-along,’” Minidoka County and Cities Animal Control Facil- find elsewhere,” says Jeana. says Jeana. ity in Paul.

For example, in the Midwest golden doodles With her experience helping pets find homes, For more than 25 years, Jeana has been plac- and other large dog breeds are popular, so it is Jeana contacted the local animal shelter when she ing unwanted dogs and cats in homes where and her husband, Erven, moved to Idaho they will be welcome for the rest of their lives. two years ago.

“I’ve always wanted what’s best for pets, “When my mom died in California, we and for most animals without severe behavwanted to be near my son and grandchilior problems, it’s living in someone’s home, dren, who live in Heyburn, so we found a not in a shelter.” home here in Paul.”

Jeana, who volunteers at the shelter, She and Erven jokingly call themselves finds her work priceless because one per“foster failures” for adopting dogs they inson’s unwanted pet often becomes a chertended to keep only temporarily. ished lifetime companion for someone else.

“He’s more apt than I am to say, ‘Can “It’s so rewarding to save the lives of we keep this dog?’” says Jeana, who met dogs and help them find good, permanent Erven while they were rescuing animals in homes,” says Jeana. “Last December was a California. “He couldn’t let Wyatt, our miniawonderful month because 78 dogs from here ture Schnauzer, go to anyone else. All three were placed with rescue groups.” of our dogs are rescues.”

Jeana, who runs Furry K9 Animal ResWyatt joined their other pets: Shorty, cue from her home, shares a few examples a Yorkie, and Auggie, a golden doodle. of pets from the Paul shelter that have been Whenever Erven placed in positive homes. returns home Elvis, a Shi Tzu cross, is a companion from working as dog at an assisted living center in Burley. Jeana Allred volunteers at the Animal Shelter in Paul and helps unwanted an environmental Gus the Bus, a lab cross, was selected to be dogs find permanent homes where they are appreciated. [Photo by engineer in North a drug detection dog. A German shepherd Dianna Troyer] Dakota, a canine passed tests to be trained as a bomb-sniffing dog often difficult to find smaller breeds. chorus greets him. for law enforcement.

“Groups from there call us for Chihuahuas, “I think animals unCowboy, a Corgi/heeler cross, has been des- dachshunds, and terriers.” derstand when they’ve ignated a permanent resident with Project Pooch, Dogs from the Paul shelter are desirable to been rescued and neva program at MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility rescue organizations because they are given vac- er get tired of expressin Woodburn, Ore., where incarcerated juveniles cines in the presence of a veterinarian. ing their gratitude,” learn to train, groom, and care for dogs. Teens “They know our dogs don’t have common says Jeana. “I do what gain vocational skills and learn compassion and contagious diseases. Our shelter also has a good I do for the love of the respect as they prepare the dogs for new homes. reputation for going the extra mile to evaluate a animals and their wellTo place pets, she relies on a vast nationwide dog, and we’re upfront about its personality and being.” network of rescue organizations that specialize in why it was brought here.”

Jeana can be certain breeds. The groups she relies on regularly Rescue groups have an extensive network reached via email at are in Washington, Oregon, Montana, Utah, Colo- of volunteer couriers to ensure dogs reach their furryk9rescue@live. rado, and as far as Indiana. adoptive home. The network even includes com- com. ISI Around Christmas, many groups in different mercial airline pilots.

Customers make long holiday hours worthwhile for UPS driver

By Dianna Troyer Like Santa, Jim Kelley can deliver packages without needing an address, a skill he perfected 38 years ago when he began driving for United Parcel Service in remote areas of southeastern Idaho.

“In some places, there wasn’t an address system, so I kept a card file with people’s names and their house location based on local landmarks,” recalls Jim. “Around Almo, I used Jay Black’s orange-roofed house for a landmark and would write down the direction of a house from his place.”

Jim, 60, was among the first UPS drivers hired in Idaho when the company started its delivery service.

“As far as I know, among those first drivers I’m the only one still working,” says the Albion

resident, who has logged 3 million accident-free miles while dealing with all sorts of hazards including blinding blizzards, tire blowouts, and livestock grazing on open range.

“I love everything about my job: the variety, the driving, the exercise, and most of all the people,” says Jim, whose customers give him gift certificates and cookies at holidays.

“The people on my route are the greatest. I think of them as part of my family. They make every day worth going to work.”

His 300-mile daily route starts at the UPS Center in Hey-

PAGE 18 IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

burn at 7:15 a.m. from Monday to Friday. After dropping off packages to homes in Albion, Elba, Almo, Standrod, Yost, Hagler, Malta, Sublett, and Juniper, he returns at about 6:45 p.m.

“During the Christmas season, I don’t get done until about 8:15 at night.”

He doesn’t mind the long hours, especially at the holidays, because he thinks of people along his route and how they’ve helped him over the years.

“I know I can count on them.”

One day, he slid off the road during a snowstorm.

“Clark Ward happened to be hauling hay and stopped to help. He was chained up and pulled me back onto the road. At the time, he was single. Now he’s married and has grandkids.”

Another time, the catalytic converter in his truck clogged, which cut his driving speed from about 55 to 5 miles an hour.

“I was out by Bridge, so it was going to be a while before a truck could come and get me,” recalls Jim, “so Colin Booth happened by and invited me to his place for supper.”

Staying calm is crucial when mechanical problems strike suddenly. “Once I was driving down the freeway when I noticed my rear axle and right rear tire rolling along in front of me. I didn’t hit the brakes. Whenever a tire blows out, the truck handles squirrely, so I just ride it out.”

To express his gratitude for help, he pays it forward and helps stranded motorists.

“One winter day on Sweetzer Pass, steam was pouring from underneath an overheated car. I told the women in the car I’d wait with them until the tow truck came and

would keep the truck running so they could stay warm.”

They declined his invitation to get in his truck for about 10 minutes. Then they realized how cold it was getting and were grateful. To express their gratitude, Jim Says they sent a restaurant gift certificate to his wife, Karlene, and him.

The remoteness of Jim’s route intimidates new drivers who are uneasy with wide-open spaces.

“I helped train a guy from Detroit who had never driven on gravel roads. He called back to the center and told them, ‘I don’t know where we’ve been; I don’t know where we’re going; and I don’t know if we’ll ever be back.”

Decades ago, Jim heard about UPS from a friend.

With experience driving a potato truck and delivering bread on a route, he decided to apply.

His kindness almost kept him from being hired.

He was late to his job interview in Twin Falls because he stopped to help some elderly women who had car trouble.

“I walked in and explained what happened. A secretary said the interviews were done for the day, but then her boss came out of his office, looked me over and said, ‘C’mon in. You’re the first person I’ve talked to today who was shaved and had a hair cut.’ I was hired on August 4, 1975.”

For his years of service and careful driving, Jim has been awarded UPS pins, a watch, a jacket, and plaques hanging on his wall at home.

Unlike Santa, Jim doesn’t stop delivering packages after the holidays end. “I’m not ready yet to retire. I like my customers too much.” ISI

Jim Kelly says people living along his UPS route are like family, and their kindness at the holidays makes his job worthwhile. He has logged 3 million accident-free milers during the 38 years he has driven for UPS. [Photo by Dianna Troyer]

Joan Dalton-Boyd Finds Joy In Helping Others Release Grief

By Dianna Troyer Although she is 78, Joan Dalton-Boyd has no imminent plans to retire. For this wellness coach, her work is energizing instead of exhausting.

“I do this because it’s who I am and what I’m meant to be doing with my life,” she says, relaxing beneath a Japanese maple that has turned crimson at the Billingsley Creek Lodge and Retreat near Hagerman. The creek burbles its soothing

d a few f ib t purple l asters t till linger li song, and vibrant still before winter arrives.

“I’ve been doing wellness counseling for 28 years, and for me, it’s still pleasure – not work. I love what I do.”

A counselor, Joan specializes in helping clients find joy in their lives. Sometimes they are impeded by grief, a once-familiar emotion for her.

“When I was 37, my husband died, and nine years later our son died, too,” recalls Joan, who was living in Filer at the time, teaching language arts at the high school. “My heart seemed to break open. But those experiences also opened me up and led me to my present career. I quit my job and

went back to college to study wellness.”

She earned a master’s degree in wellness counseling with an emphasis on grief and loss from the Boulder Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. Transpersonal psychology recognizes the importance of spiritual aspects of the human experience and emphasizes the integration of body, mind, emotions, and spirit in counseling and the healing process.

Joan returned to Idaho, started her own counseling office, and became an educator/consultant working with hospitals and hospice programs concerning grief and loss.

In 2001, she became co-owner of the Billingsley Creek property.

“This is such an amazing, lovely space in nature,” she says, looking at the creek, trees, and flowerbeds. “It’s a soothing place that has helped people find solace and regain joy on their life’s journey.”

She offers retreats, two in the fall and one in winter, for groups of up to 20. “Others come individually to stay one or two nights and work with me.

Still others come just for a short getaway from their busy lives because it’s so relaxing here.”

Combining her college studies and personal experiences, she developed a wellness model to help others in 1985. It incorporates journaling, guided imagery, developing a creative outlet, interpreting dreams, and reaching out to others.

“The key in dealing with grief and other transitions in life is to find the opportunity in loss,” she says. “You shouldn’t ignore your grief and pretend it’s not there.”

Grief, like a houseguest, should be welcomed but not permitted to linger too long and wear out its welcome.

“People who are stuck in grief, or any other emotion, exist but don’t live fully. Our lives are a flow of energy, and we aren’t meant to become mired down in a stagnant pool of sadness or anger or fear or whatever might be holding us back.”

Everyone grieves differently and at his or her own pace.

“Some people aren’t quite ready to probe deeply into their lives to face their grief, and that’s fine. I meet people wherever they are in their grief process and help them move ahead as much as they are comfortable doing.”

For many people who have lost loved ones, the holidays are troubling.

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

“You need to acknowledge that and reach out to others, whether clergy, friends or a counselor, to let them know you need help. As painful as loss is, there is help out there.

“Some people find peace in doing a ritual or planning an event to honor a loved one. For others, it helps to do something differently instead of doing the same routine, which reminds you of the loss. Giving also helps. You can volunteer at a soup kitchen or other organization near you.”

For Joan personally, she had to fill the emptiness from her husband and son’s deaths with something new.

“I didn’t want to feel like I’d died with them. I let my sadness move through me to create space for something new and positive. I wanted to grow better, not bitter.”

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 19

The visual and performing arts helped her.

“I began writing in journals, singing, dancing, painting, gardening, and being in nature,” she says. “Natural beauty feeds my spirit.”

Seeing the natural beauty of other countries nourishes her, too.

“Some friends and I like to go to the Festival of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Puerto Vallarta in December. I like Cabo San Lucas for rest and renewal, too, later in winter. Last spring, I went to France, and this coming spring I’m looking forward to a trip to Ireland.”

Like the trees and flowers along Billingsley Creek, Joan says she plans to keep on growing and thriving.

“Living here and helping others brings me joy. As long as I’m alive, I will always be growing and changing.” ISI

The Wimans strive to make a positive impact on others

By Dianna Troyer Rose, 72, volunteers at the Salvation Army For Ray and Rose Wiman, southern California soup kitchen and has mentored some of the women was the best and worst of times. They loved their at Jubilee house. volunteer work and living near their son and his “The people who come to the soup kitchen family but dreaded the traffic congestion and crime. are so appreciative of whatever you do for them,” “After I retired in 1992, we moved there to says Rose. “When we cook, they come back to be near family,” the kitchen berecalls Ray, 76, fore they leave who had worked to thank us. At as an insurance Jubilee House, agent in Billings those girls are and Bozeman, trying so hard Montana. and have ac“In California, complished so we were active at much. It makes our church and us feel good to helped to cook help them lead and serve meals new lives. It’s to homeless peogratifying.” ple. As you get Ray’s orgaolder, you realize nizational skills your job here on are deeply apearth is to help preciated at the people, not just Rose and Ray Wiman enjoy their grandchildren and the work they do at Salvation Army, the Salvation Army & Jubilee House in Twin Falls. [Photo provided by the to make a lot of Winmars] where business money and to manager Nicki have a good time. It’s about making a positive Kroese relies on him to gather donations for the difference in others’ lives.” organization’s annual November auction.

Eventually, the Wimans realized they wanted “He single-handedly talks to more than 60 busito live in a safer place where there was a more ness owners and gets donations for our auction, relaxed pace of life. As the former Montanans be- so we can raise about $10,000 to $20,000,” she gan to plot their escape, Twin Falls popped onto says. “People often don’t realize how crucial cash their radar screen. donations are to our organization to cover our an“Whenever we were driving from Bozeman nual overhead.” to southern California to see our son, we always Besides the auction, she relies on holiday thought it looked like a nice town,” recalls Ray. donations gathered by people who stand beside “Plus, now it’s still an easy drive to visit our son iconic red kettles and ring bells from the day after and his family in Lodi, California and our daughter Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve. and her family in Vancouver, Washington.”

“We’re grateful for all our cash donations,” Nicki In 2006, they moved to Twin Falls. Once they says. “They’re a big deal to us.” were settled, they began looking for volunteer This year, Ray gathered 63 donations for the opportunities, settling on the Salvation Army and auction.

Jubilee House, a women’s drug rehabilitation “For the first time this year, everyone who center. Ray serves on the advisory board of both came to the banquet received a gift certificate for organizations. a free customized golf club made by Warrior. I’ve



By Dianna Troyer Five friends who prefer swimming laps instead of meeting for lunch have been converging at the Burley Aquatic Center at noon three to four times a week for nearly three decades.

“We’re getting better with age,” says Brent Lee, 57, about himself and his friends Guy Redder, 57, Frances Roper, 62, Alan Hunter, 61, and Randy Stone, 65. Calling themselves The Lunch Bunch, they have been swimming together since 1985, varying their hour-long workouts.

“We try to train smarter instead of harder,” says Brent, who owns Lee’s Furniture. “We plan specific interval training, depending on whether our goal is to maintain our fitness levels or to prepare for an upcoming competition.”

They balance time between their families, their 40-hour work weeks, and their pool workouts, so they can compete in local and national endurance events including Iron Man triathlons, local minitriathlons, marathons, and bike races.

For Brent, endurance events have done much more than keep him fit. “I’ve learned life lessons that I wouldn’t have understood otherwise. Most people have more potential than they imagine.”

He ran his first marathon in St. George, Utah in 1985. “When a friend and I started training for it, we could only run about 2 or 3 miles. We kept slowly adding more miles until we could finish a 26.2-mile marathon. Then, we caught the fitness bug.”

Since then, Brent has completed countless endurance events including nine Iron Man triathlons.

The grueling event requires competitors to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and then run 26.2 miles.

Members of the Lunch Bunch have competed in the Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George, Utah. In 2011 and 2012, Brent, Guy, and Frances won swimming medals.

“We’re always glad for our podium finishes,” says Brent, “but more importantly we strive for new personal records. This year’s games were a wonderful experience. We were among more than 10,000 athletes from 60 countries.”

During the games in October, members of the Lunch Bunch won numerous medals in their age groups.

Brent won a gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle and silver medals in the 400- and 1500-meter freestyle.

used that company’s clubs for the past 13 years. I called them about helping the Salvation Army, and they offered the certificates. I’ve found that most people are willing to donate,” Ray explains.

The generosity of Magic Valley residents impresses the Wimans.

“Of all the places we’ve lived, the people here are by far the most generous,” says Ray. When donation amounts have been reported to the Salvation Army’s national headquarters, an accountant said the numbers from Twin Falls were too high to be accurate, but an audit proved they were.

“The people in this area give more per capita than people in larger cities,” says Ray. “It’s an amazing community. People are giving and helpful.” ISI

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PAGE 20 IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

Frances won silver medals in the 1,500- and ing teams and doing the relays makes swimming and asks himself why he exercises.

“But at the end of the day, I’m glad I did. If you 200-meter freestyles and placed fourth in the 50- more fun. At other pools, endurance athletes are and 100-meter freestyle. usually putting in laps as individuals instead of feel like you’re too old and too fat to start doing events like this, find someone to do them with, so Guy won a silver medal in the 800-meter swimming together as teams.” freestyle and bronze medals in the 400- and the To swim with the Lunch Bunch, Guy takes time you can commiserate and then celebrate together.”

Alan, who owns Hunter Insurance, and his 1,500-meter freestyle. off from his business, Redder’s Showcase, where friend Randy, an attorney, celebrate every year Guy’s brother Scott swam well, too. “He just he sells appliances. together when they compete individuturned 50, so this was the first year he ally or on a team in a popular local encould swim in the youngest age group,” durance event, the Spudman. Comsays Guy. “We were really happy for petitors swim 1.5 kilometers in the him.”

Snake River, race 40 kilometers on a Scott won gold medals in the 400bicycle, and then run 10 kilometers. and 800-meter freestyles, a silver in “Randy and I have competed in 200-meter freestyle, and a bronze in every Spudman,” says Alan. “That’s the 100-meter freestyle.

26 since it started. He has done all but Many World Senior Games recordtwo of them solo and is the real hero. holders were in their 70s and 80s.

I love swimming, so I usually compete “Competitors who are older than on a team and do that leg of the event. we are had better times than we did,” I won’t quit until he quits.” says Brent. “They inspired us all to Randy says he and Alan look live with renewed energy, physically, forward to the Spudman every year mentally and spiritually and to strive and use it as a training goal. to reach greater heights.”

“I do endurance events because The five who form the core of the I love it when I hear the word, ‘go’ Lunch Bunch inspire others of all ages at the starting line of a race,” says to swim with them. About a dozen Randy, who has completed several swimmers join them for their noon marathons, four Ironman contests, workout. and a 42-mile ultramarathon on a “We’ve really bonded as a group,” says Frances, a retired social worker. From left, Lunch Bunch members are Guy Redder, Brent Lee, Frances wilderness course over central Idaho “The conversation, camaraderie, and Roper, and Alan Hunter. The friends have been swimming together at mountains. “Running, biking and exercise keep us coming back week noon since 1985 and welcome others to swim with them to train for swimming with friends is a way of life. endurance events. [Photo by Dianna Troyer] I’ve met great people.” after week.”

Brent and Guy, the Lunch Bunch’s Many times, throbbing knees, sore tendons or other injuries nag the Lunch Bunch, but “We encourage and push each other to do our informal coaches, wait for everyone to plunge into they come anyway, seeking relief with the reminder best, so we all stay motivated,” says Guy. “Once the pool. Guy shouts instructions about the day’s that motion is lotion. you get in the habit of swimming or working out workout. Then, with thunderous splashes in each “When you swim, there’s no stress on the regularly, your body looks forward to the exertion. lane, arms churn through the water as the Lunch joints,” says Frances. “It’s great physical therapy.” If you can’t make it for some reason, you really Bunch members begin their laps.

“After all these years, we want to maintain our Because the Burley pool is small and has miss it.” only five 20-yard-long lanes, swimmers form twoSometimes, they take a break from swimming fitness levels,” says Brent with a grin as he waits person teams and do relays. and work out with weights or at a bicycle spinning for a teammate in the relay. ISI “It’s the only indoor pool in town, so we’ve class. learned how to make it work,” says Frances. “FormSometimes, Alan admits, he gets out of bed

King of Corduroy out of trouble.”

By Natalie Bartley Mountain Madness – Jeff landed in Sun Valley for the first time in 1972 Known to his co-workers as the King of Corduroy, Jeff Dent is a ski slope groomer at Sun Valley Resort. He spends his evenings driving snow grooming when he took a break from rainy Seattle to ski for 10 days on Idaho’s dry equipment, including a giant machine named “The Beast.” Corduroy refers snow in the sun-drenched Wood River Valley. Having grown up on Mercer to the finished product of an uninterrupted snow pattern after a grooming Island near Seattle, he experienced plenty of wet coastal snow as a youth cat passes over a slope. Jeff, age 66, earned his nick-name due to his ac- and young man during his ski trips to the Olympic and Cascade Mountains. complishment of the art of grooming and because of the newspaper and His first trip to Sun Valley Resort was so satisfying he bought season passes magazine media attention he received as one of the three Beast drivers for for the next two years, alternating between working construction for the Fiorito Brothers Company in Seattle during the summers and ski bumming the “Ride the Beast” guest experience offered at Sun Valley Resort. in Sun Valley during the winters. Between Ride the Beast – For the past three 1975 and 1978, he worked seasonally as seasons, Sun Valley Resort provided a groomer running snow cats. At 28 years complementary rides on their two Prinoth of age, and deeply loving the mountains, (the Beast) snow groomers. Guests ride he shifted his work/play cycle by taking with the drivers while they prep Baldy two summers off from construction work to Mountain’s slopes and trails for the next backpack in Idaho’s Sawtooth and White skiing and snowboarding day. It is one Cloud Mountains and Wyoming’s Wind of the few resorts in the country that River Range. provides this type of insightful experiMountains continued to strongly call ence with working groomers. The 3 to him, so he spent the next decade ski bum5-hour experience is offered on Friday ming in Sun Valley during the winters and and Saturday nights and occasionally working construction in Seattle during the Thursdays and additional holiday weeks. summers. In 1988 Jeff permanently moved Two people per-night are selected from to the mountains he adores, resuming conlottery registrations deposited at sites struction work and skiing. “It all fit together,” at the resort. Lottery winners attend the he says. Later he switched to the McStay groomers’ meeting, ride in The Beast, Company, working in landscaping, excavaand finish with a descent on the Roundtion, and construction in Wood River Valley. house Express gondola to the base of Life in Idaho – In 1997 he returned to Baldy Mountain. Visitors can find registration information about “Ride the Beast” Jeff Dent on a hiking excursion to Cramer Divide in the Sawtooth ski slope grooming work at the resort and is still going strong. This summer he added throughout the resort. Visit sunvalley.com Mountains. [Photo courtesy of Martha di Simon] working at the Sun Valley Resort’s Trail for more information.

Jack Sibbach, the Sun Valley Resort marketing and public relations direc- Creek and White Clouds Golf Courses. “I feel great and plan on working tor, says the resort was searching for ways guests could see “the backend full-time until I’m 70,” he says.

An avid skier, Jeff spent over 100 days per year on the ski slopes. But operations” and feel connected to Sun Valley. The marketing department generated the “Ride the Beast” idea and the snow grooming crew embraced his hip was degenerating and he only mustered 15 days during the 2011the concept. Sibbach says the groomers “love having people there and love 12 season. A successful hip replacement surgery in September, 2012 sent him back to the slopes in recovery mode, doubling his skiing days during talking about what they do.” It’s popular with guests too.

During the ski season Jeff takes a rider with him during his 4:00 p.m. to the 2012-13 season. “My brand new hip is absolutely perfect,” says Jeff. He midnight grooming shifts. Afterwards, he heads home, sleeps, and then skis anticipates being back to full steam at the start of the 2013-14 ski season. between 10:30 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. His work cycle begins when he returns He rounds out his exercise with workouts at the gym and road bicycling, for his evening shift on the mountain. Jeff says his schedule “keeps me way accumulating 125 miles per week during his 25 to 50-mile rides.

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PAGE 22 IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT

His prior marriage taught him to consider his dreams and actualize them. “When you are 25 years old you have all the time in the world. When you get to be a senior, the end is in sight,” he says.

He now tries to keep life simple and maximize his enjoyment of work and play. Jeff shares his hobbies of backpacking and bicycling with his girlfriend, Martha de Simon, whom he met on a group backpacking trip. Balancing time between his jobs

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

in Sun Valley and Martha in Boise, Jeff keeps his treads rolling. He describes Martha as a perfect fit. They share common interests and adventures.

He says he appreciates how they encourage each other to pursue activities separately and together.

In spring 2014 they plan on hiking national parks in Utah and Arizona, then in August head to the Beartooth Mountains in Montana. Jeff says, “I’m going to do what I’m doing until I can’t do it

The Goldberg Brothers And The Invention Of The Automobile Air Conditioner Submitted by Julie Hollar Here’s a little factoid for automotive buffs or just to dazzle your friends.

The four Goldberg brothers, Lowell, Norman, Hiram, and Maxwell, invented and developed the first automobile air-conditioner. On July 17, 1936, the temperature in Detroit was 97 degrees. The four brothers walked into old man Henry Ford’s office and sweet-talked his secretary into telling him that four gentlemen were there with the most exciting innovation in the auto industry since the electric starter.

Henry was curious and invited them into his office. They refused and instead asked that he come out to the parking lot to their car. They persuaded him to get into the car, which was about 130 degrees, and then turned on the air conditioner, which cooled off the car immediately.

The old man got very excited and invited them back to the office, where he offered them $3 million for the patent. The brothers refused, saying they would settle for $2 million, but they wanted the recognition by having a label, “The Goldberg Air-Conditioner” on the dashboard of each car in which it was installed.

Now Henry Ford was anti-Semitic, and there was no way he was going to put the Goldberg’s name on two million Fords. They haggled back and forth for about two hours and finally agreed on $4 million and that just their first names would be shown.

And so to this day, all Ford air conditioners show Lo, Norm, Hi, and Max on the controls. ISI

anymore.”

Natalie Bartley is a freelance outdoor writer/ photographer based in Idaho. She has over 800 magazine and newspaper articles to her credit.

Look for her mobile app travel guide Boise’s Best Outdoor Adventures and trail guidebooks Best Easy Day Hikes Boise and Best Rail Trails Pacific Northwest. nataliebartleyoutdoor.com. ISI

Ole and Sven in Hell Submitted by Julie Hollar Ole and Sven die in a snowmobiling accident, drunker than skunks… and go to Hell.

The Devil observes that they are really enjoying themselves so he says, “Doesn’t the heat and smoke bother you?”

Ole replies, “Vell, ya know, ve’re from nordern Minnesooota, da land of snow an ice, an ve’re yust happy fer a chance ta varm up a little bit, ya know.”

The devil decides that these two aren’t miserable enough and turns up the heat even more. When he returns to the room of the two from Minnesota, the devil finds them in light jackets and hats, grilling Walleye and drinking beer.

The devil is astonished and exclaims, “Everyone down here is in misery, and you two seem to be enjoying yourselves?”

Sven replies, “Vell, ya know, ve don’t git too much varm veather up dere at da Falls, so ve’ve yust got ta haff a fish fry vhen da veather’s dis nice.”

The devil is absolutely furious. He can hardly see straight. Finally, he comes up with the answer. The two guys love the heat because they have been cold all their lives. The devil decides to turn off all the heat in Hell.

The next morning the temperature is 60 below zero, icicles are hanging everywhere, and people are shivering so bad that they are unable to wail, moan, or gnash their teeth. The devil smiles and heads for the room with Ole and Sven. He gets there and finds them back in their parkas, bomber hats, and mittens. They are jumping up and down, cheering, yelling, and screaming like mad men. The devil is dumbfounded.

“I don’t understand, when I turn up the heat you’re happy. Now it’s freezing cold and you’re even happier. What is wrong with you two?”

They both look at the devil in surprise and say, “Vell, don’t ya know. If hell iss froze over, dat must mean da Vikings von da Super Bowl! ISI

Troubadours Spread Joy - continued from page 1 says, Ned, 68, who has performed with bands in Utah and Idaho and is developing a website, mrbabyboomer.x10.mx.

“I’m still writing songs and have three CDs. Music just cheers everyone up year-round. Without it, I don’t know what I’d do,” says Ned, who retired from managing CAL Ranch and works part-time with a local probation department.

“I like the music of our era and being able to understand the lyrics,” says Ned, who has four or five weekly gigs in addition to playing with the Troubadours. “The Everly Brothers and Roy Orbison are some of my favorite performers.”

Rod marvels at Orbison’s range.

“He could sing two to three octaves,” says Rod, who practices at home an hour or two before each gig to exercise and warm up his vocal cords.

“We put a lot of effort into our performances.”

Audiences sense the camaraderie the Troubadours have with each other.

“People can tell we enjoy being together, and we complement each other with our different songs and styles,” says Rod, who retired as a maintenance foreman with the Idaho Transportation Department and is on call part-time with the local ambulance service. “We can sing quite a variety of songs.”

Bill, 78, never sang until he retired from Jackson Plumbing in 2000. He had been stoking his latent musical talents, going to concerts in Jackpot for about 20 years with his wife.

“I’d always loved music and finally decided to give singing a try,” says Bill, a silversmith who made jewelry and gave it to performers after their concerts. “We’ve met a lot of celebrities backstage.”

Wearing a cowboy hat and black leather chaps with silver studs running along the seams, Bill sings songs made famous by the late Conway Twitty, Hank Williams, George Jones, and Gene Watson.

His recent sidekick is a puppet named Buddy, a three-foot tall hound he found at a yard sale. “I named him Buddy, put him in a cowboy outfit, and he’s performed with me ever since.”

Whenever he sings, Mel, 78, in his purple shirt, white bowtie, and dapper black hat, weaves his way between residents’ wheelchairs, shuffling, spinning, and dancing to songs like “Tulsa Time” and “Bobby Sue.” “When we sing ‘Red River Valley,’ which most people know, I take a mic into the audience so everyone can sing along,” says Mel, who grew up in the area, left for 35 years to work for a military contractor, and returned for retirement.

“We love to entertain and do all kinds of songs to get the audience singing with us,” says Mel. Paul Brown schedules gigs for the Troubadours and may be reached at 208-431-1522. ISI

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

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DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

Exploring The Southwest

By Jack McNeel The cold weather of northwestern winters always brings many cars, vans, and trailers to the highways, all heading south. It’s the annual flight of the snowbirds looking for a winter of sunshine and warmer temperatures. Or, it might just be a couple of weeks in November or February for a brief break from winters here locally.

The southwest holds many places of interest, places a visitor might enjoy for a day or two if the trailer starts feeling small or heaven forbid, and you want to leave the golf course for a few days. Much of northern Arizona and New Mexico are high elevations and snow can be expected at times, b u t n o t l i k e a t Over 2,000 stone arches are found in Arches National Park home. So here’s a including Landscape Arch. [Photo by Jack McNeel] look at a few destinations that might provide that break from the sunshine of Yuma, Scottsdale, or Green Valley or some other “hot spot.” They also make great vacations during spring and fall travels as well.

1. Some of the most spectacular rock formations, always a photographer’s delight, are found near the Utah/Arizona border. The northernmost site is Arches National Park at Moab, Utah. The stone monoliths and arches themselves are incredible. There are over 2,000 stone arches ranging from very small to Landscape Arch which is 306 feet in width but very thin. Delicate Arch is perhaps the most photographed and is used on Utah license plates but 2,000 more delight the photographers. Winter camping is allowed and

some sites will accommodate trailers to 30 feet. This is high country, 4,000 feet to about 5,600 feet, so best visited after a few moderate days. Snow scenes against red sandstone monoliths can be spectacular.

2. Farther south, just barely into Utah near Mexican Hat, is Valley of the Gods. A 17-mile loop road takes the visitor through rock formations very reminiscent of Monument Valley but on a better road with far less traffic. The road is steep and rocky in places and perhaps best traveled with something other than a classy sedan although most of it is in good shape but graveled the entire distance.

3. Monument Valley is on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona near the Utah line. It’s long been famous as a western movie site and photos taken here frequently show up in magazines. In recent years a large motel, restaurant, and gift shop have been built at the entrance and other modern buildings house Native artisans as you leave Hwy 163. You can engage an outfitter here to take you through another 17-mile loop to see many stone monoliths up close, or you can drive your own car. The road is not well maintained and a consideration in deciding whether to use your own car or not. But the scenery is spectacular!

4. Western Arizona now has a tourist attraction to rival most. The Hualapai Tribe owns 108 miles on the western end of the Grand Canyon. In 2007 they opened the Skybridge, the glass bottomed walkway that extends 70 feet out from the canyon wall so visitors can look straight down, through glass, toward the Colorado River below. Other activities are also possible including lunches on the rim, float trips through the canyon, and helicopter flights above. From 1,500-4,000 people visit here each day, mostly to walk on the Skybridge. Many come by tours from Las Vegas or Kingman but private cars can reach here as well, although over washboard rough roads.

5. Should you want to see some American Indian sites, many abound throughout this region.

Hopi jewelry, pottery, and basketry can be seen at many stores but to get a better feel for the culture a visit to the small shops on the reservation is a must. A new motel, The Legacy Inn, was built at Moenkopi on the very western edge of the reservation three or four years ago. It’s artistic in structure and very nice. The motel at the Hopi Cultural Center on Second Mesa has undergone some im- The Skywalk on the Hualapai Reservation attracts 1,500-4,000 visitors a day. [Photo by Jack McNeel] provements with a nice restaurant and comfortable, although not as deluxe as The Legacy Inn. One will see numerous small shops along the roadway as you travel across the three mesas and the quality of art is outstanding. The greeting is always gracious and you’ll frequently be buying from the artists themselves.

6. Continuing east on 264 one leaves the Hopi Reservation and enters Navajo land. A few miles farther along is the town of Ganado where the Hubbell Trading Post sits. It’s a National Historic Site, the oldest operating trading post on Navajo lands dating back to 1878. Entering the dimly lit front room (bullpen) isn’t a whole lot different than it was 100 years ago with merchandise to buy that includes horse collars and harnesses hanging from the ceiling. Visit the back rooms and see the ceiling covered with old baskets or choose some jewelry from the case. Another room is the rug room containing many Navajo rugs for your selection. Tours of Hubbell’s home are possible and frequently a Navajo weaver will be working in an adjacent building, creating a rug.

7. I can’t visit the southwest without a trip to Oldtown in Albuquerque.

This small, several-block area contains many interesting shops in an old-time environment. It’s the old part of town but for me the most interesting. Many shops sell Indian crafts, and Native artisans also line up each day under the awning for one full block to sell their wares. Numerous restaurants, clothing stores, gift shops, and galleries can keep you happily busy from daylight to dark.

8. A visit to the Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque also helps enhance one’s knowledge of Pueblo Indian culture and another place to purchase that special piece of Indian art. Mention of Albuquerque wouldn’t be complete without mention of the Rail Runner Express, a new train in recent years that runs from Albuquerque to Santa Fe. First, it’s inexpensive, $5 or $6 roundtrip depending on precisely where you board and your age. That’s

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

cheaper than you can drive plus it’s comfortable and convenient. Disembarking in Santa Fe, they also provide free van transportation to the center of town and back. This old downtown portion of Santa Fe is something of an upscale Oldtown and very fun to explore. Prices tend to be a bit higher but you will see some incredible items for sale from jewelry to clothing and much in between.

9. If the winter weather just doesn’t give a break for any of these higher elevations, you can always head south. Stop and visit the San Xavier Mis-

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 25

sion south of Tucson where Native artists usually have booths set up and the Mission itself is a photographer’s dream. Or continue a few miles farther south to Tubac, a community of small business with unusual but quality items.

It’s one of those fun places to visit, explore, eat, and perhaps buy a gift or two.

This is but a sample; the list could go on. But it just might provide some new ideas, some new locations you haven’t heard of or haven’t visited. The southwest has a lot to offer the northern visitor. ISI

Take Us Out To The Ball Game – 2013 World Series Focus Of Fans And Statisticians

By Wyatt Larson The 2013 World Series matched the National League champion, St. Louis Cardinals, against the American League champion, Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox won – four games to two, their first World Series victory at Fenway Park in nearly a century (1918).

This World Series marked the third time the Cardinals and Red Sox have faced each other in the Fall Classic since their first meeting in 1946 when the Cardinals featured Hall of Famer Stan “the Man” Musial. The Red Sox featured their Hall of Fame player, the great Ted Williams. The hard-fought Series went all seven games with the Cardinals winning four games to three.

Their second World Series meeting was in 1967 and featured even more Hall of Fame players. The Red Sox were led by left fielder, Carl Yastrzemski, and the Cardinals featured Bob Gibson, who tied a series record by recording the win in three of the four victories for the Cardinals.

In a more recent matchup, the Cardinals and the Red Sox played in the 2004 World Series. The Red Sox swept the Cardinals in four games, completing one of the more remarkable runs in baseball postseason history.

Having lost the first three games of the 2004 American League Championship Series to the rival Yankees, the Red Sox rallied to win four consecutive games and continued their success by winning their next four games, and the World Series against the Cardinals.

The 2013 World Series featured historic performances by both the Red Sox and Cardinals. John Lackey led Boston’s pitching staff. Lackey was the winning pitcher in the Series clinching the game-six victory. By winning that game, he became the third pitcher in baseball history to be the winning pitcher in two different World Series for two different franchises. He had previously clinched the 2002 World Series for the Anaheim Angels. The only other two players to accomplish this feat were Jim “Catfish” Hunter for the Oakland Athletics in 1972 and for the New York Yankees in 1978 and Jimmy Key playing for the Blue Jays in 1992 and Yankees in 1996.

Boston’s effort at the plate was led by their designated hitter, David Ortiz, who reached base safely in nineteen of twenty-five plate appearances, the second highest on-base percentage and second highest number of times on base in World Series history. The higher on-base percentage went to Billy Hatcher of the Cincinnati Reds who reached base in twelve of fifteen plate appearances in the 1990 Series against the Oakland Athletics. In 2002 Barry Bonds (at the time was the most feared hitter in baseball) reached base 21 times in 30 plate appearances – but Bonds had five more plate appearances than Ortiz. By any standard, Ortiz had a stellar Series!

Coming into the World Series, the St. Louis Cardinals were led by their red-hot offense. Unfortunately, their torrid hitting cooled with the October temperatures. This was easily the largest offensive disappointment in the World Series since the 1990 Oakland Athletics. With such sluggers as Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire in the Athletics’ lineup, Oakland was an easy favorite to win over the underdog Reds. Oakland never hit in the Series, and were promptly swept, 4-0.

Make Your Life Easy at Spokane’s Rockwood Lane You have planned for the years ahead. Now it’s time to live them, and there is no better place than Rockwood Lane Retirement Community in Spokane.

Nestled in a beautiful setting on the lower South Hill, Rockwood Lane is a small but active community for seniors 55+. You can choose a 1-, 2-, or 3-bedroom unit in the main building or your own private villa nearby.

You will make great friends and enjoy an entertaining lifestyle with exciting events and creative activities. And while you are enjoying yourself, we take care of yard work, snow shoveling, and home repairs – your retirement here is maintenance-free!

Other amenities at Rockwood Lane include a beautiful indoor pool and spa, fitness center, elegant dining room with a daily main meal option, van service for shopping and other outings, and more.

One of our residents says, “Don’t wait to move in! It’s a delightful, enriching experience that keeps both your mind and your body active.”

Come for a tour and see how “Life at ‘The Lane’ is life made easy!” Call us at 509-838-3200 or 509-220-7237 or visit us online at rockwoodlaneretirement.com. ISI

One of the few bright spots for the St. Louis Cardinals was rookie pitcher, Michael Wacha who did not make an appearance in the Major Leagues until mid-summer, but by October, Wacha looked like a well-seasoned pitcher.

He had a chance to tie the record for most wins by a pitcher in a single postseason (five) but fell short to John Lackey and the Red Sox in game six. Wacha’s performance was the most dominant performance by a rookie pitcher since Fernando Valenzuela played for the Dodgers in the 1981 World Series. Wacha was even better than Valenzuela, winning four games in 2013 compared to Valenzuela’s three wins in the 1981 postseason.

The World Series games themselves created a few firsts in Major League history. Game three became the first game in World Series history to end on an obstruction call, where home plate and the winning run was awarded to the Cardinals after Allen Craig fell over Will Middlebrooks at third base. The following night, game four became the first World Series game to end when the final out was made on a pick-off play at first base.

The 2013 World Series gave us all many lasting memories – from the dominating performances of pitchers to the astronomical statistics accumulated by World Series MVP, David Ortiz – as well as many historical moments and many great trivia answers. ISI

October 12–21, 2014

PAGE 26 IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

So You Want To Bag That Elk This Year – Here Are Some Tips

By Mike Allen As I get older, I am discovering hunting is significantly different from when I was younger. There are all the obvious age related differences such as strength, endurance, attitude, etc. all which can be accommodated. There are also specific hunting techniques that need adjusting as well.

I have compiled some essential information – tips and insights – that I have accumulated over the years from reading, studying, and through experience. Whether you have just retired and decided to take up elk hunting or you are an old bull or cow that has been hunting all your life, I hope this information helps you enjoy your experience in the woods and get that elk into your freezer.

1. Always hunt alone. I know that is not the advice you were given in your youth, but as you have learned; the rules change when you reach a certain age. Let’s say you have a heart attack and kick the proverbial bucket out in the remote woods. If you have a partner along, likely a similar vintage to yours, you are going to ruin your partner’s hunting for the day. He or she will have to figure out a way to get you out. Since you are too heavy to drag, your partner will have no other choice than to quarter you up and take all day to pack you out. Think about it. You do not want to put your lifelong friend and hunting buddy through that.

2. Always hunt uphill or side hill. Elk only go uphill, downhill, and side hill. Uphill is okay, but

chances are they are either avoiding you by going uphill, and you will not catch them, or they’re up there bedding – watching you come up the hill.

Downhill is out of the question. If you shoot one downhill, you have to carry it uphill to get it out!

Side hill is really your best bet. It used to be the case that the wind was the determinant. Hunting into the wind was the only option if you were to remain undetected by the critters.

Now that you are older, one leg has become shorter than the other, so hunt the direction that puts your shorter leg uphill.

3. If you attempt to attract elk by masking your smell with an elk-urine scent in a spray bottle, do not keep it in the same pocket with your mint mouth spray. You don’t even want to make that mistake once!

4. If you are an old male elk hunter you probably carry two very different, but necessary blue pills in your pill bottle, basically the same shape and color – no doubt a sick joke by the drug companies. I carry a pocketful of Aleve to get my downhill leg, back, neck, etc. through the day. I suggest leaving the other blue pills at home. Accidentally mixing those up can dramatically alter hunting effectiveness. The urge will not be to shoot an elk.

5. Never leave your truck keys in the rig. There is a chance you will lock yourself out. However leave them were they are easy to find so another hunter can get in to warm up. I suggest in the

space where the gas cap is. That is where most guys hide them.

6. I am basically an old fashioned hunter and would prefer a compass and a good map; however I seem to have left most of my compasses on stumps. You put the instrument on a stump then move away from it so as not to affect the reading.

And then you get distracted and leave it there. In my opinion, one of the only truly beautiful things about technology is the GPS. Buy the best GPS you can afford that doesn’t have a touch screen.

It will not work well when your fingers are freezing and you have gloves on. Then sign up for lessons – lots of lessons – and start now for next season.

7. You are older and therefore slower. That is good. I do not need to tell you to go slowly. One of the worst mistakes you can make elk hunting is to do anything fast, especially moving around in the woods. Elk have eyes like spotting scopes and although they may not pay attention to you if you’re leaning against a tree, they will run away if they see you flitting around the woods like you used to in your twenties. By simply growing old you have automatically become a better elk hunter! Yea! 8. An elk can walk casually 7 miles per hour.

Using that fact, if you go slowly and stop a lot, an elk that was 7 miles away just an hour ago could step out from behind a tree any second. Makes perfect sense if you do not think about it too long… and with your age that should not be a problem.

There you have it. Now, go fill that freezer! ISI

Aim for No Stress Air Travel this Holiday

By Bernice Karnop Even novice air travelers need not get worked up over air travel during the holidays. Seasoned traveler Barbara Wiedrich, travel consultant at World Class Travel in Billings, says going to the airport is no different from going to the mall or driving somewhere alone. You take the same precautions where ever you are – hang on to your purse, be aware of what’s going on around you, and behave normally.

“There will be things that happen but those things will be dealt with. Things happen at home and it’s no different when you’re traveling,” she says.

Get to the airport early, check in, and go have a cup of coffee. “Just don’t get to the airport late,” says Wiedrich.

If there are flight delays due to weather there is nothing anybody can do about it. The airlines have a customer service desk in each concourse and they are good about helping you get on their next flight.

Individuals with mobility problems should make arrangements for transport when they buy their tickets. If you require a special diet, reserve a special meal when booking your reservation.

Pack a lightweight flight bag to tuck under the seat where you can get at it easily. Bring reading material, medicines, toothbrush, comb, tissues, and deodorant. Take a change of underwear and a spare shirt. Every airport has places to eat but tuck in a couple of granola bars and apples just in case you run out of time to buy something.

Feet swell when you sit in one place during a long flight. Wear shoes that slip off easily and bring some heavy socks to keep your feet warm. Get up and move around a bit every hour or two.

Drink plenty of fluids. Bottled water is available for purchase beyond security and you may carry it onto the plane, or ask the crew for drinks.

During take off and landing chewing gum may help relieve the pressure in your ears. Yawning helps, as does extending one’s lower jaw till the bottom teeth are forward of the top teeth.

Some people combat jet lag by setting their watch to the time zone of their destination to get their mind thinking in that time as soon as possible.

And yes, your mind is your most powerful tool for keeping your cool. Tap in to your good old common sense and you will be just fine.

And remember; enjoy your trip as much as your destination! ISI

That Picture Stinks!

Expert Photographers Reveal Secrets To Taking Better Pictures It used to be that the art of picture taking was something only hobbyists and professionals worried about, but today most cell phones and smartphones have built-in cameras that border on the quality of the top cameras of only a few years ago.

So, basically, everyone has got into the act.

Judy Holmes and Greg Baer think most people could use a little help. Okay, in some cases, a lot of help.

“Taking good pictures is about so much more than pointing and shooting,” said Holmes, a 20year veteran professional photographer. She and co-author Greg Baer have just written the friendly, no-nonsense, how-to book That Picture Stinks! (www.thatpicturestinks.com).

“While there are many things that make a bad picture, there are three things that jump to mind: they’re too light or dark, the composition is poor, or people don’t use the flash enough,” added co-author Baer. “The results can range from lousy to bor-

ing to, well, embarrassing. With just a few basics, people can dramatically improve the quality of their pictures and ensure that they capture memories worth preserving in a manner that’s worth showing.”

Holmes’s and Baer’s tips include: • Too light or too dark – Too many people see the program mode or auto mode on the camera and think, “That’s for me!” It isn’t. The auto mode should be the last mode anyone thinks of using. If you want that beautiful sunrise or sunset to be all it shouldn’t be, or that winter wonderland to look more like nuclear fallout, by all means use the auto function! Otherwise, learn where to point the camera to “fool” it and give you the perfect exposure.

Hint: Want the sunset deep and dark? Baer says point at the lightest area. Want the snow nice and bright? Point at the darkest area.

• Photo by Godzilla – Sometimes people take bad pictures of their kids, and they know the shots are bad, but they can’t put their finger on why

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

they’re bad. The primary reason kids’ photos turn out badly is that, as grown-ups, we usually take pictures of our kids from the angle of looking down on them. After all, they’re small and we’re tall. As a result, we create all kinds of shadows, awkward poses, and perspective issues that make it look like Godzilla is towering over them, grabbing a shot of them with our iPhone for a Facebook page. If you want to take consistently better pictures of your kids, get down. Really, get down on the floor and take pictures head-on from their level. You’ll get more of them in the shot, their eyes won’t be squinting from looking up at you into the sun, and the perspective will show a normally proportioned child (instead of this tiny creature with a huge head, skinny arms, and feet that poke out from under their pants). Do the same with your pet pictures for

an “Ahhâ€? reaction instead of the normal “Ughâ€? one. • A little more light please – Adding a flash to outdoor photographs, especially with people in them, is one of the quickest ways to look like a genius. Taking pictures in the bright sun can cause horrible dark shadows on your subject or worse, make them squint so they go blind. Turning the flash on instead of “auto flashâ€? will help in these situations. It can help to lighten the shadows and balance the picture and if you move your subjects into a more shady area, using the flash will light up their faces. If you think that’s cool, just wait until you show off that picture. Then you’ll really see their faces light up! “There are a lot more ways people can improve the quality of their photography, just by tapping

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 27

on a few icons on their point and shoot,� Holmes added. “However, if they can follow these three basic rules, they’ll produce a lot fewer stinky pictures!�

About Judy Holmes & Greg Baer Judy Holmes has been a professional outdoor photographer for 20 years, specializing in capturing nature’s motion and magic, often in extreme weather. Her particular emphasis is on simplicity of style and equipment. That Picture Stinks! is her fourth photography book.

Greg Baer has been a professional photographer for over 15 years. He has been published in magazines, calendars and cards. For the last 10 years, he has been running Corporate Cards using his photography to provide a novel way for businesses to communicate. ISI

The Best Way To See Boston? On Foot

By Gail Jokerst / gailjokerst.com If you enjoy walking vacations where you can trek to memorable sights, sounds, and tastes – city style – put Boston on your list of contenders.

Thanks to its small size, Boston is one of America’s most accessible cities on foot. From its art museums and architecture to its music and ethnic enclaves, Beantown offers residents, students, and newcomers lots of tempting destinations. It may be one of the nation’s oldest cities but it is definitely current at making history come alive.

After an absence of some 20 years, I recently visited some of my favorite Boston haunts and found them as engaging as ever. While navigating the city’s sidewalks, I would sometimes compare the views before me with those I see along Glacier National Park’s trails. As I did, I realized I constantly discover beauty, inspiration, and pleasure in both locales. I expect other Montanans would do likewise.

Here are six places I like walking to and exploring whenever I return to Boston.

For a centrally located home base, I would recommend reserving a hotel room in Boston’s Back Bay area. From there, you can slip on your Keds or Keens and head to any of these attractions.

Should your energy start to flag, no worries. Plenty of tours can introduce you to Massachusetts’s charming capital. Better yet, go native and catch a streetcar at the closest “T� station to carry you to your next stop. While not a red jammer bus ride along Going to the Sun Road, it is a convenient inexpensive way to travel the city and feel like a local, if only briefly.

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum – When I attended college in Boston, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum was my refuge of choice when I wanted a soul-soothing escape from the university scene. Considering this museum is actually a romantic multi-balconied Venetian palace complete with fountains and flowers, there was never a contest about where I would go. Starting in the mid-1800s and for the next three decades, Isabella Stewart Gardner traveled throughout Russia, Europe, and the Middle East to amass a unique collection of master and decorative arts. She built her palace, which was completed in 1903, expressly to showcase her eclectic assortment of paintings, furniture, textiles, and objects. Aside from dining at the museum’s restaurant and perusing its gift shop, you can also attend Gardner concerts where world-renowned musicians and emerging artists perform classical pieces, new music, and jazz. • 280 The Fenway, 617-566-1401, www.gardnermuseum.org.

Museum of Fine Arts – With close to a half million pieces of art in its collections, the MFA ranks as one of the world’s most comprehensive art museums. Since moving to its current location

in 1909, it has grown to encompass exhibits rang- armory. The thriving marketplace also includes ing from Grecian urns to impressionist paintings Quincy Market, a historic building that has long and Ming Dynasty porcelains. In recent years, the been popular with Bostonians seeking the best MFA created an Art of the Americas Wing, featuring provender available. Originally a shopping destinaAmerican art from ancient times to modern day. tion for groceries, it is now known for its array of Plan to arrive early and spend the day in this grand food stalls and restaurants and is a buzzing lunchBeaux Arts building, which The Royal Institute time Mecca for downtown workers. On Fridays and of British Architects honored for its architectural Saturdays, stroll through the nearby centuries-old, excellence. You can also browse for keepsakes open-air Haymarket where you can buy fresh fruit at the MFA’s three gift shops and relax in one of from a pushcart vendor or venture into one of the museum’s four restaurants. • 465 Huntington the specialty stores selling cheese, spices, and other treats.• www.faneuilhall.com, www.bostonAvenue, 617-267-9300, www.mfa.org.

Mapparium and The First Church of Christ, discovery-guide.com/haymarket-boston.html.

Symphony Hall – Music lovers should plan to Scientist – For outstanding examples of fin-de- catch a performance at Symphony Hall, whether to siecle Boston architecture, hear the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston take a guided tour of the Pops Orchestra, or the Handel and Haydn Society.

Romanesque style Origi- This National Historic Landmark also showcases nal Mother Church and talents such as George Winston, who grew up its domed extension. The in Miles City and took to this venerable stage in Original Mother church a flannel shirt and stocking feet when I saw him features frescoes, mosaics, play his piano compositions here. With its coffered Italian marble floors, and ceiling and statue-filled niches, this Renaissance jewel-toned stained-glass style building is one of the best sounding classical windows. The elegant Byz- concert venues in the world. Other than listening to antine-Renaissance style a Symphony Hall performance, you can also dine Church Extension houses here, take a tour, or attend adult education sesone of the world’s larg- sions, which provide a glimpse of the inner workest Aeolian-Skinner pipe ings of the BSO. • 301 Massachusetts Avenue, organs with over 13,000 888-266-1200, www.bso.org. ISI pipes. Next door, don’t miss the Mapparium at The Mary Baker Eddy Library. Stepping onto the 30-foot-long bridge into the midst of this three-story tall glass globe, you enter a whispering gallery where your voice can be heard at either end of the bridge. Built in 1935, the Mapparium portrays the political world as it was then. A sound-and-light show indicates how borders have changed since 1935. • Huntington Ave. and Massachusetts Ave., 617-755-3345, http://christianscience.com/churchof-christ-scientist/the-mother-church-in-bostonma-usa/tour-the-mother-church.

North End – For me, no trip to Boston is complete without an excursion to the North End, a.k.a. “Little Italy.� I have long savored all things Italian from furniture and jewelry to cannoli and cappuccinos. And over 100 businesses in this cozy old-time neighborhood happily help whet those appetites. Bakeries abound alongside trattorias, clothiers, markets, coffee bars, and boutiques.

Although I go for the food and fashion, history buffs like to saunter the area’s narrow streets to visit twelve sites on the IN National Register of HisSeasonal / Year Round toric Places including the Old North Church and Paul Revere House.

Faneuil Hall Marketplace – Just adjacent to the North End, you can )XOO\ IXUQLVKHG PRELOH KRPH UHQWDOV VDOHV LQ D FRPPXQLW\ explore Faneuil Hall Mar- Rentals including lot space: 3 month lease from $1,250 PRQWKO\ ‡ 1 year lease from $550 monthly ketplace. Built in 1742, Olympic Size Pool | Clubhouse with Activities / Billiards | Horseshoe Pits Faneuil Hall houses gift SUNSET RESORT MOBILE HOME AND RV PARK, LLC shops and eateries as well as a museum and ' '"& && ' k #' ('% %$ k PbZ U^a 9TUU k bd]bTcV\/X]Q^g R^\

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PAGE 28 IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

Christmas and the holiday season is a special time of year for reflection and celebration. And of course, the season is marked most memorably by the songs that we hear from November into January of every year. From the time we were young children listening to scratchy yellow records on the family turntable until we were members of a church choir perhaps, these songs have been part of this time of celebration.

This issue’s winning quiz, Holiday Songs Make Headlines, was created by Bernice Karnop of our staff. We hope you enjoy figuring out this clever quiz.

Two $25 cash prizes are awarded from the Contest Corner in each issue of the Idaho Senior Independent. One prize goes to the person who submits

the entry that our staff selects as the featured quiz or puzzle for that issue. Be creative and send us some good, fun, challenging, and interesting puzzles!

The second prize goes to the person who submits the winning answers to the quiz presented in the previous issue. This month’s winner is Eleta Creutz of Ammon who sent in the winning answers to the Favorite Animal Pets… quiz from the October/November 2013 issue.

Please mail your entries to the Idaho Senior Independent, P.O. Box 3341, Great Falls, MT 59403, or email to idahoseniorind@bresnan.net by January 15, 2014 for our February/March 2014 edition. Remember to work the crossword puzzle on our website idahoseniorindependent.com.

Holiday Songs Make Headlines

By Bernice Karnop Christmas songs have warmed our hearts over the years as they will around the world this year. Below is a numbered list of imaginary headlines that might describe a story about one of the lettered songs or hymns it describes. Match the headlines to the actual song titles. Consider the lyrics of the entire song and not just the words in the title.

Number your answers from 1 to 25, write the letter of the correct title of the song that the headline describes, and mail or email your answers to us.

1. Meteorologists Fail to Stop Blizzard. Citizens Stay Indoors 2. Listen up! Songs of this Enlightened Choir are Out of This World 3. Snow Sculpture Lives!

4. Harness Bells Add to Laughter on Night Sleigh Ride 5. Joyful Pilgrims March to Kings Birthplace for Worship 6. Orthodontist Needed to Fulfill Child’s Christmas Wish 7. Boy’s Heartfelt Gift Acknowledged by King 8. Citizens Encouraged to Shake Noisemakers to Celebrate Royal Birthday

9. Christmas Stroll Snow Provides for a Lovely Walk in the Dark 10. Feeding Trough Substitutes for Royal Baby Bed 11. Glowing Vermillion Nose Disease Discovered in Far Northern Herds 12. Christmas Plant Blamed for Kissing Incident 13. Lover Gives Daily Gifts Over a Dozen Days 14. Antiphonal Singing Echoes from Mountains 15. Youth Turn Christmas Tree into a Maypole 16. Nostalgic Visions of Pale Precipitation Plague Holiday Sleeper 17. Unrealistic Desire to Return to Roots Spark Hallucinations of Being There 18. Shepherds Believe Aliens Caused Unnatural Lights, Voices in Night Sky 19. Trio of Eastern Astrologists Claims Celestial Events are Occurring 20. Urban Deer Blamed for Rattling on Area Roofs 21. Secret Talks Uncover Christmas Confusion 22. Visiting Red Coat Arrives with Entourage 23. Evergreen Folderol Appearing in Passageways 24. Successful Businessmen Hear Reason to De-Stress 25. Deciduous Trees Can’t Hold a Candle to the Evergreen

A. All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth B. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer C. Jingle Bells D. Come On Ring Those Bells E. Deck the Halls F. Little Drummer Boy G. Frosty the Snowman H. Walking in a Winter Wonderland I. O Come All Ye Faithful J. We Three Kings K. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing L. Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

M. I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus N. Twelve Days of Christmas O. O Christmas Tree P. Rocking Around the Christmas Tree Q. Angels We Have Heard on High R. I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas S. Away in a Manger T. Jolly Old St. Nicolas U. The First Noel V. God Rest You Merry Gentlemen W. I’ll Be Home for Christmas X. Here Comes Santa Claus Y. Up on the Housetop ISI

Answers to Favorite Animal Pets And Cartoon Characters For Real And From Reel 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

Chicken Little Mr. Ed Paddy the Beaver Bambi Dino Mary Rudolph Pinocchio Garfield Woody Woodpecker Smoky the Bear Lassie, Rin Tin Tin, and Ol’ Yeller Mickey Mouse

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

Sticks, Straw, and Bricks Three Her slipper Ole Mother Hubbard The Frog Popeye Little Orphan Annie Little Red Riding Hood Little Boy Blue Tweedy Bird Casper Little Miss Muffet

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

ACROSS 1. Coffee + chocolate 6. Drunkard’s sound?

9. What little piggy did 13. Makes eyes at 14. Under the weather 15. *The Graduate or Easy Rider 16. Un-written exams 17. Downhill equipment 18. Chilled 19. *1960s Activists and agitators 21. State of good health and fitness 23. Miner’s bounty 24. *Popular hairstyle 25. To eat a little at a time, as in hot soup 28. Layer 30. Devoid of reverence 35. Bookkeeping entry 37. *The ____ of the Game TV series 39. Denotes an accomplishment 40. Novice 41. Ivan and Nicholas, e.g.

43. Atmosphere 44. Relating to the ilium 46. On the cutting edge 47. *Ngo Dinh ____ 48. *The Party’s Over singer 50. Excellent 52. Get the picture 53. *”I read the ____ today oh boy” 55. African grazer 57. *Power plant 60. *Liverpool group, following “the” 64. Luau greeting 65. *”Posion ___” covered by the Stones and the Hollies 67. Beauty pageant wear 68. Short African 69. Butterfly catcher 70. Cupcake topper 71. Epic poem 72. “Fancy that!”

73. “Who ___?”

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 29

DOWN 1. *Eagle’s landing spot 2. Fairytale beast 3. Bird’s foot 4. *Oscar winner “_____, Dolly!”

5. Declare with confidence 6. Middle Ages subj.

7. Kind of person 8. North face, e.g.

9. Refuses to 10. Bad to the bone 11. Cote d’Azur locale 12. Casual attire 15. *Detroit’s soul recorder 20. Deceive by a mock action 22. *The Sixties, e.g.

24. Large fleets 25. *Greensboro Woolworth’s event 26. Of service 27. Jeopardy 29. Comfort 31. *”Take a ____ off” sang The Band 32. Lady’s pocketbook 33. Loose rocks at base of mountain 34. State of dishonor 36. Extinct flightless birds 38. Therefore 42. The Playboy of the Western World author 45. *I Love You More Today sang Twitty 49. Adams ___ Beckham 51. Related on mother’s side 54. Twist before hanging on clothesline 56. Ancient city in Africa 57. Let heads or tails decide 58. *Woodstock’s had a dove on a guitar 59. Electrical resistance units 60. Eight bits 61. Animal den 62. European sea eagle 63. Droops 64. *”You damn dirty ___,” said Heston 66. V ISI

A Norwegian Christmas Tradition

By Bernice Karnop Norwegian Christmas tradition includes a Seven Cookie requirement even though no one agrees about what seven cookies should be included! With dozens of recipes to choose from, families can create their own special seven.

The nearly 300-page Sons of Norway cookbook, Sharing a Heritage, includes Scandinavian favorites like krumkaker, pepperkaker, berlinerkranser, rosetter, fattigmann, and sandkraker.

Each recipe is from a specific individual, who stands behind it with his or her own name.

We share recipes from the book with permission from Sons of Norway. For more recipes of every kind from exceptional cooks, order Sharing a Heritage by calling Arlene at 406 452-6785.

They are $19.95 plus $5.00 for shipping and handling. The Sons of Norway uses the proceeds to feed others through donations to the Food Bank, Fish, Meals on Wheels, and more.

Berlinerkranzer (Ring Cookies) 4 egg yolks 2 cups unsalted butter 5 cups flour 4 egg yolks, hard-boiled 1 ¾ cup powdered sugar 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Mash boiled egg yolks and mix well with butter. Add sugar, raw egg yolks, and flour. Mix dough; measure walnut sized balls, roll into small ropes and form into rings. Dip into beaten egg whites and coarse white sugar. Bake until lightly brown in a 350-degree oven, about 10 to 12 minutes. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Fattigmand (Poor Man’s Cookie) 6 egg yolks 1 tablespoon butter, melted 1/8 teaspoon salt 6 tablespoons cream 2 cups flour, enough for rolling 6 tablespoons sugar ¼ teaspoon cardamom Beat eggs well. Add sugar and mix, and then add other ingredients. Roll out thinly, cut in diamond shapes. Make a slit in the center of each cookie and draw one corner through, making a knot. Fry in deep fat at 370 degrees for 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown. Dust with powdered sugar. Makes 100 cookies.

Riskrem (Rice Pudding) When rice pudding is served on Christmas Eve, the cook hides a single blanched almond

in it. The one who gets the almond in their bowl receives a prize, traditionally a marzipan pig. The individual may also get to pass out the Christmas presents.

1 cup water ½ cup long-grained rice ½ teaspoon salt 4 cups milk ¼ cup butter 2 eggs ½ cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup whipping cream 2 teaspoons sugar 1 scant teaspoon vanilla Bring water, rice, and salt to a boil and cook 7 minutes. Add milk and butter. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 1 to 1 ¼ hours.

(Watch). Beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla; then add rice mixture. Pour into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and cool completely. Whip 1/2 pint whipping cream with 2 teaspoons sugar and 1 scant teaspoon vanilla. Fold into cooled pudding and refrigerate. Serve with fresh raspberry syrup or a dollop of freezer jam. ISI

PAGE 30 IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

Attitude Is Everything

By Lisa M. Petsche

There is no shortage of information in the media about how to improve your health through positive lifestyle changes such as eating more nutritiously, being physically active, and not smoking. Did you know, though, that changing your mental attitude could also go a long way toward improving your well-being?

Even if you do not consider yourself a naysayer, make it a point over the next few days to scrutinize everything you think and say; you might be surprised.

For instance, how much of your self-talk and communication with others contains the words “can’t,” “don’t,” “shouldn’t,” “couldn’t,” and “never”?

Do you frequently start sentences with “If only,” “I can’t believe” or “I hate it when”? And do you use phrases such as, “it’s impossible,” “I have no choice,” “that’s terrible,” and “why me”?

Unfortunately, it is much easier to be pessimistic and critical of yourself, others, and the world around you than to be optimistic and enthusiastic.

It does not help that the mass media thrive on disaster, failure, and discord. All of this publicity not only perpetuates the negativity but also creates

more. And it is true that misery loves company: when we complain aloud, other people usually join in, reinforcing the gloom.

Negative thinking takes many insidious forms: doubt, worry, catastrophizing (magnifying the importance of upsetting events), focusing on our own shortcomings or those of others, seeing only the flaws in proposed plans, dwelling on what we perceive to be lacking in our lives, approaching life from the perspective of entitlement (believing that we are owed certain things), denial, inflexibility, hopelessness, and regarding the world as an uncaring or even hostile place.

By-products of such thinking include self-absorption, depression, defensiveness, self-criticism, destructive criticism of others, sarcasm, distrust, blame, jealousy, bitterness, self-pity, avoidance, indecision, chronic complaining, low self-esteem, resistance to change, helplessness, and passivity.

Negativity is harmful not only to your physical and mental health – generating stress that can lead to illness – but also to your spiritual well-being and the well-being of people around you.

Accentuate the positive Limit your exposure to the news.

Use positive self-talk. Emphasize phrases such as “I can,” “I will,” and “I choose.”

Be generous with praise and encouragement and cautious with criticism (giving only the constructive type).

Cultivate a healthy sense of humor.

Accept realities you cannot change and focus instead on those you can influence.

Seek out stories of people who have beat the odds or otherwise serve as a source of inspiration.

Trust that there is a valuable lesson in every type of adversity. And remember that no matter what happens, you always have a choice

about how to respond.

Stay connected to people who care. Minimize contact with those in your social network who are negative or self-centered.

Find an outlet for expressing your thoughts and feelings, such as talking with a friend, writing poetry or music, or keeping a journal.

Pick your battles; do not make a major issue out of every concern.

Refrain from dwelling on past mistakes, hurts, or other unpleasant events.

Look for the good in people and situations.

Demonstrate empathy, give others the benefit of the doubt and practice forgiveness.

Do something you enjoy each day: read, listen to music or take up a new hobby (or revive an old one).

Identify sources of stress in your life, and then eliminate as many of them as possible and learn to manage the rest. Practice relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing, meditating, guided imaging, or doing yoga.

Seek help from your primary physician or a counselor if you continually feel sad, angry, overwhelmed, indifferent, hopeless, or worthless. Depression can be treated, and the sooner you seek help, the easier it is to treat successfully.

Let go of the need for perfection and be flexible about plans and expectations.

Take things one day at a time so that challenging situations do not overwhelm you.

Be receptive to learning new ways of doing things and try new activities.

Practice random acts of kindness.

Set aside some quiet time each day – it nurtures your spirituality and helps to keep you grounded.

Count your blessings Finally, focus on the good things in your life, such as supportive relationships, and seek beauty and tranquility through appreciation of various kinds of art as well as nature. Be sure to count your blessings and learn to live in the moment, enjoying life’s simpler pleasures. It will make for a happier and healthier you.

Lisa M. Petsche is a social worker and a freelance writer specializing in boomer and senior issues. ISI

Lab Lawyers Submitted by Jim Meade At a convention of biological scientists, one prominent researcher remarked to another, “Did you know that in our lab we have switched from mice to lawyers for our experiments?”

“Really?” the other researcher replied. “Why did you switch?”

“Well, for three reasons. First, we found that lawyers are far more plentiful. Second, the lab assistants aren’t so attached to them. And third, there are some things even a rat won’t do.” ISI

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 31

Supporting Elderly Parents Provided by Heart ‘n Home Hospice & Palliative Care www.goHOSPICE.com Due to increasing life expectancies, many people are suddenly finding themselves the caregiver of their elderly parent(s) who sadly no longer are able to care for themselves fully. Although every situation is different, adult children can be overwhelmed by the challenges of accessing care and managing the needs of their parents.

For some just talking with parents about healthcare needs and the possibility of disability and dependence can be difficult if not impossible – no matter the parents’ ages. When your parents are still independent and active is the perfect time to begin the conversation. It is never too soon.

Waiting until there is a crisis limits the options and increases the stress of the situation.

Even when you know your parents’ wishes and planning has been done, being a caregiver to your aging parents brings many unforeseen challenges.

As you begin to navigate our confusing healthcare and insurance systems, do not be afraid to ask for help. You are the best advocate for your loved one and have the right to keep asking questions and demanding the best possible care.

So what is your best tool? Knowledge. Educate yourself on Medicare, what it covers, and what it does not. Do not assume that Medicare will pay for things such as facility care or in-home care services. Seek trusted professionals who can help you find the best care for your loved one. There is not a “one size fits all” solution and in some cases, there is no easy answer. The right healthcare professionals can walk along side you to find the answers that work best for your family.

In addition to caring for your parent(s), be mindful of the importance of self-care. Avoid the tendency to put the needs of everyone else before your own. This may work in the short-term, but in the end, it can lead to illness, frustration, resentment, depression, and/or burnout.

Good self-care means you continually need to replenish yourself physically, emotionally, and spiritually – not just for yourself but for your loved one – so you can continue giving good care. Some ways to be good to you are: • Stay socially connected and involved with activities and people that bring you pleasure.

• Go for a nice walk or take a hot bath to relieve stress.

• Read a book.

• Talk to someone who can help you look at things more objectively, perhaps a friend, fellow caregiver, or a professional counselor.

• Recognize and deal with signs of stress or depression.

• Be honest with friends and family about your needs. It is okay to ask for help!

We are in a historic time when the face of heath care is changing not only systemically but also due to the baby boomer population retiring with a longer life expectancy than ever. This is may require a shift in long-term care planning, requiring more families to come together in caring for loved ones.

Begin the conversation now and seek support from local healthcare agencies that offer it. Give your loved ones a priceless gift this holiday by becoming their healthcare advocate and learning more about supporting your elderly parents. ISI

Getting Paid to Be Your Parents’ Caregiver

By Teresa Ambord If you are the caregiver for one or both of your elderly parents, you may be in a precarious position. You love them and would do anything for them, but at the same time, you see your finances draining away. Maybe you are even unable to work because of your caregiving responsibilities. Depending on the circumstances, you may qualify to be a paid caregiver for your parents, or at least get some hefty tax breaks.

Here are some ideas, based on information from Jim Miller, the author of The Savvy Senior, and Juggling Work and Caregiving, by Amy Goyer (free download available at Amazon. com).

Assistance from Your State – First, says Miller, there is a possibility of state assistance.

Using the example of your elderly dad, is he lowincome and is he eligible for Medicaid? If so, 15 states have programs through Medicaid called Cash for Counseling. These programs provide a small cash allowance for services, including paying a family member for providing caregiving. Other states also have programs that do not require the recipient to be Medicaid eligible.

To find out what your state offers: contact your local Medicaid office to find out more, or check cashandcounseling.org. This website displays a map of the states, which you can click on to find more information about resources.

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PAGE 32 IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT

Is Your Parent a Veteran or Surviving Spouse of a Veteran? – Some areas across the U.S. have programs for veterans, known as Veteran-Directed Home and Community Based Services. Veterans who need care may qualify for this program and be able to hire their own caregivers, as opposed to going into a nursing home. For wartime veterans and their spouses there is the Veterans Aid and Attendance and Housebound benefits program, which pays for in-home care, assisted living, and nursing home care. These benefits can be used to pay family caregivers.

To be eligible for this program, an applicant must need help performing some daily living tasks, such as bathing, dressing, or using the bathroom. Also there are income requirements.

Let’s say your mother is the surviving spouse of a wartime veteran. Her income must be less than $13,362 (minus medical and long-term care expenses). If your mom herself is a single veteran, her income must be below $20,795. And her assets must be below $80,000 (not counting her home and car).

Learn more about this program by calling 800-827-1000 or logging onto va.gov/geriatrics.

Or contact your local VA office.

Family Payments – Turning to your family may make you uncomfortable. But if you are the one who is putting his/her life on hold to care for your parents, siblings should be willing to help. If your parent doesn’t qualify for help from the government or if you don’t qualify for tax breaks (see below), it may be time to have a sit down with family members.

It could be that the parents you are caregiving will be able to pay you out of their own resources.

If so, Jim Miller says it is important to have your family attorney write up a simple contract. This

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

accomplishes a few objectives.

• It lets your parents know what is expected.

Sometimes parents agree to help their caregiver/children but they forget or think there is plenty of time, or feel awkward, and the end result is, no money ever changes hands. Putting it in writing establishes that you are there for them, but you need some financial help.

• It lets other family members know what the agreement is, so there is less chance of misunderstanding, and a better chance that payments will be made.

• According to Miller, if your elderly parents later need to apply for Medicaid in order to enter a nursing home, having a written contract in place will add clarity to your parent’s financial situation and help avoid problems.

If your parent does not have resources, you may need to approach your siblings and ask them to pitch in. If it is necessary to hire someone to come in and help, the cost will likely run from $12 to $25 an hour, says Miller. Whether your parent pays you, the siblings help, or a combination of both, they are getting a bargain.

Insurance for Long-Term Care – Does your parent have long-term care coverage? If so, check to see if it allows for in-home care. Those benefits may be payable to you.

Tax Breaks – Do you pay at least half of your parent’s yearly expenses? If so and his or her income – apart from Social Security – is less than $3,900 in 2013 (or $3,950 in 2014), he or she may qualify as your dependent. That will reduce your taxable income by $3,900 in 2013.

If you cannot claim your parent as a dependent but you do pay at least half of the parent’s living expense (including long-term care costs and medical expenses), you may still be able to get a tax break by adding his or her medical

4 Full Time Nurses

expenses to yours. In 2013 and 2014, those expenses must exceed 10% of your adjusted gross income (or 7.5% if you or your spouse are at least 65 years old, that is, until 2017 when it rises to 10% for everyone).

Ask your tax accountant, or call the IRS help line at 800-829-1040 for more information. You may be able to find help in IRS publication 502.

If you are already serving as a caregiver, you already know that though it may be a labor of love, it is far from easy. You can call a Caregiving Support Line at 877-333-5885 to find out what resources and services may be there to help you, on a local and national basis.

Working for the Folks – If you do arrange to be paid for taking care of your parents or other loved ones, remember the point listed above, about establishing a written agreement. This may seem too formal for a family agreement, but for the reasons mentioned under “family payments,” it will protect you and your loved ones in the end.

• The agreement should outline your duties, responsibilities, payment, and time off, says Goyer in her book. Include as much detail as possible. Then get the parent you are providing care for to sign and date it, and if possible, get a witness to also sign and date the agreement.

• Remember, receiving payment for this work makes you a self-employed person, and you will need to pay taxes on the amounts you are paid.

This is not complicated, but ask your tax adviser how to proceed.

• If you are working a regular job and you need to take a leave of absence to care for your family member, talk to your employer about a leave of absence. Your employer is under no obligation to pay you for this time off, but if you qualify, your job will be protected for a period of time, under the Family Medical Leave Act. ISI

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 33

Visiting A Hospitalized Relative Or Friend – Plan Ahead To Make It A Positive Experience

By Lisa M. Petsche If you are planning to visit a relative or friend in the hospital, follow these suggestions to help ensure a positive experience.

Before you go – Call ahead to the patient or his or her next of kin to find out if visits are welcomed, and if so, the best time of day to come. Also ask if there is anything you can bring.

If you are not an immediate family member or close friend, reconsider visiting unless the patient has few local supports. Instead, send a card or e-mail (some hospitals offer the latter option on their website) and plan a visit when the person returns home.

Before arranging for any kind of get-well gift, find out the hospital’s policy around balloons and flowers and take into account space limitations in the patient’s room. It’s best to hold off on plants, balloon bouquets, or gift baskets until the person is discharged home.

Before planning to bring in food or beverages, find out if any dietary restrictions have been implemented.

Postpone your visit if you are not feeling well. Telephone instead.

What to bring – If you feel the need to bring something, keep it simple and practical. Ideas include reading material, a notebook and pen, a box of facial tissue, hand sanitizer for the bedside, and earplugs, especially if the person is a light sleeper.

Some ideas for cheering a patient: bring children’s artwork, decorative window clings, or a special food treat.

If the person’s finances are limited, arrange to pay for telephone or TV service. If he or she is expected to be hospitalized for a while, you may wish to pool resources with relatives or friends.

What not to bring – For security reasons, don’t bring the patient anything of value. Discourage him or her from keeping identification, jewelry, electronics, or more than a few dollars on hand.

Don’t bring in prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, or herbal remedies. Interactions with medications the hospital physician has prescribed could prove harmful. The same goes for alcohol.

Don’t wear perfume or cologne or bring the patient heavily scented toiletries. Many healthcare facilities are now designated “fragrance-free” environments due to staff and patient allergies.

Visiting tips – Find out what the visiting hours are and stick to them.

Clean your hands when you enter and leave the hospital, and also before and after visiting in the patient’s room. It’s important for everyone’s sake to prevent the spread of disease-causing microorganisms.

Watch for signs regarding the use of cell phones. Typically they must be turned off in clinical areas. In permissible locations, set your phone to vibrate mode and exercise discretion when conversing about sensitive matters.

If the patient is in isolation – indicated by a sign on or beside their door – go to the nurses’ station to inquire whether he or she can have visitors and if so, what precautions to take. You may need to don gloves, a gown, and a mask. Although it may be inconvenient, it’s important to follow all instructions.

If you are not the patient’s next of kin, don’t request medical information from staff or get involved in care issues. If you are one of several immediate family members, keep in mind that patients are asked to appoint one contact person in order to streamline communication. This is whom you should speak to if you would like more information than the patient is able to provide. If family dynamics are challenging or the person’s situation is complicated, a family meeting can be organized with the healthcare team.

Limit visitors to a few at a time. Speak softly in the room and hallways so you don’t disturb patients who are resting. Exercise good judgment when it comes to bringing children, and ensure adult supervision at all times.

If the patient is safely able to walk or transfer into a wheelchair, visit outside the room – perhaps in the visitors’ lounge on the ward, in the main floor lobby, or coffee shop.

Be prepared that a healthcare professional may ask you to leave the patient’s room in order

The Bank Account Author Unknown Submitted by Julie Hollar A small, 92-year-old, well-poised, and proud man was facing some new challenges in his life. For his entire life, he was one who was fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved perfectly, even though he was legally blind.

His wife of 70 years had recently passed away, and without family nearby, this made a move to a nursing home necessary. He had arrived a bit early so he had to wait in the lobby of the nursing home. After a couple of hours, his room was ready and he smiled sweetly.

As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung

to provide care or conduct an assessment or test.

Keep the visit short if the person is low on energy.

Ensure before you leave that the patient’s call bell, telephone, bedside table, and any mobility aids are within reach.

Lisa M. Petsche is a medical social worker and a freelance writer specializing in boomer and senior issues. ISI

PAGE 34 IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT

on his window.

“I love it,” he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

“Mr. Jones, you haven’t seen the room; just wait,” I said.

“That doesn’t have anything to do with it,” he replied. “Happiness is something you decide ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged.

It’s how I arrange it in my mind. I have already decided to love it.

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

“It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice – I can spend the day focused on the difficulties I have with the parts of my body that no longer work or I can get on with my life and be thankful for the ones that do work.

“Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away... just for this time in my life.

“Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you’ve put in.”

It was obvious to me that this gentleman had a grasp on a major key to happiness. I know that I will deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories!

He also handed me small piece of paper with a headline Five Simple Rules For Happiness and a list: 1. Free your heart from hatred.

2. Free your mind from worries.

3. Live simply.

4. Give more.

5. Expect less. ISI

Life After A Hospital Discharge

By Lisa M. Petsche There’s a good chance that, sooner or later, your parent (or another aging loved) one will require hospitalization, especially if they have chronic health problems.

Once their condition is stable, hospital staff will work with them and the family to formulate a discharge plan.

When a patient makes a good recovery, planning may be simple and straightforward.

In other situations, though, varying degrees of assessment and problem solving are required.

A good discharge plan involves communication and collaboration among the patient, family members, and health care providers.

It addresses issues around medical management, activities of daily living (self-care and home management skills), mobility, safety and finances, as well as psychosocial needs. The goal is to determine the most appropriate setting to meet the patient’s needs and facilitate a smooth transition.

The hospital discharge planner – usually a social worker – serves as the coordinator. An expert on community resources, he or she can assist with decision-making and provide information and referral to community support services as needed. The planner may also arrange a discharge conference that includes key members of the health care team.

Read on for an overview of typical settings to which a hospital patient may be discharged.

Home – Many people are able to return directly to their home, especially if they have good family support.

Some may require spe-

cialized equipment and/or support services on a transitional or long-term basis.

It is important during the planning stage to be open and honest with your parent and the health care team about the type and amount of assistance you are prepared to provide. If your parent is receptive to outside help, community or private pay agencies may be able to fill in any gaps.

Prior to discharge, clarify your parent’s medication needs and ensure necessary prescriptions are provided. Obtain details about any home health care services being arranged.

Also inquire about follow-up medical appointments and tests, including who is responsible for arranging them.

Convalescent Care – Some patients, especially if they live alone, need additional time to regain their strength before they can adequately manage at home. Selected retirement homes and nursing facilities have short-stay programs that, in addition to providing meals and housekeeping service, offer medical monitoring, treatment (such as surgical wound care), and personal care during this recuperation period.

Rehabilitation – If your relative has been hospitalized due to a stroke, hip fracture, prolonged acute illness, or other type of major health crisis, an inpatient rehabilitation program may be recommended. Reactivation may occur onsite or at an acute rehabilitation facility or skilled nursing home. The goal is to help patients regain their strength and endurance, through participation in various kinds of therapy.

Long-Term Care – Some patients do not make a good recovery and require a setting where 24-hour supervision or assistance is available. Even if they are able to perform self-care activities, they may have difficulty with one or more instrumental tasks that are necessary for independent living, such as medication management, meal preparation, laundering, and housekeeping.

Several levels of long-term care are available, depending on the type and degree of services required.

Hospice/Palliative Care – For patients in the end stage of a life-limiting illness, inpatient hospice or palliative care may be recommended.

The focus is on maximizing comfort and quality of life. Patients receive medical care to alleviate pain and other distressing physical symptoms as well as interventions that address psychological and spiritual concerns.

This type of program is not limited to patients with a cancer diagnosis. People with late-stage heart, lung or liver disease and neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease are among those who may benefit from specialized end-of-life care.

Lisa M. Petsche is a medical social worker and a freelance writer specializing in boomer and senior health matters. She has many years of experience with discharge planning. ISI

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 35

Fact and Fiction Surrounding Diabetic Diets

By Susan Frances Bonner, RN, BSN Diabetes is a chronic disease and a complicated disease. Sorting through the researched facts and the rumored fictions can be a daunting task. As you determine the truth, remember that one of the most important factors to managing diabetes is the diabetic diet.

Your body breaks down much of the food you eat into glucose, a type of sugar needed to power your cells. A hormone called insulin is made in the pancreas, and it helps the cells in the body use glucose for fuel.

Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas cannot make insulin. Without insulin, sugar piles up in your blood vessels. Type 2 diabetes occurs when the pancreas does not make enough insulin, the insulin does not work properly, or both.

Glucose is simple sugar, which every cell in our bodies uses for energy to perform all types of activities such as simple movements, demanding physical exercises, and even thinking.

Since this compound is so essential to our survival, what are the facts and fictions of a diabetic diet?

Fiction: Diabetic patients cannot digest sugar nor should they ingest sugar.

Fact: Sugar is one of the essential nutrients that keep our bodies functioning properly. Blood sugar, known more precisely as glucose, energizes the brain, which controls almost every aspect of human activity. Unlike muscles that can derive energy from the fat you consume, the brain requires glucose to power its operations.

Therefore, keeping blood glucose at optimal levels is the best way to ensure that your brain has all the energy it needs. Diabetic patients ingest and digest sugar all the time as stated above, most foods are broken down in our bodies as sugar. That includes carbohydrates.

Fiction: Carbohydrates are good for diabetics. They form the foundation of a healthy diabetes diet.

Fact: Most diabetic diets push eating carbohydrates over eating proteins and sugar. Even though most carbohydrates contain sugar and “carbohydrates have the greatest effect on blood sugar levels, which is why you are asked to monitor how many carbohydrates you eat when following a diabetes diet.”. “Research around this issue has shown that while the type of carbohydrate can affect how quickly blood glucose levels rise, the total amount of carbohydrate you eat affects blood glucose levels more than the type.

As in all things, moderation is the key, as well as balancing the diet between different types of food. That includes protein rich food.

Fiction: The major problem is always that many foods abundant with protein, for instance meat, can also be full of saturated fats. Overeating those fats increases your risk of cardiovascular disease. Inside a diabetes diet, protein should account for about 15% to 20% of the total calories you take in every day.

Fact: Proteins are the natural choice of the body when faced with diabetes. In uncontrolled diabetes, muscle protein is broken down into

Veterans, Do You Have Stress?

Problems? Here is Free Online Help – Positive Change is One Click Away!

By Hans Petersen, VA Staff Writer Are you struggling with relationships, finances, finding a job, confusion about your future, dealing with loneliness, or adjusting to the challenges of civilian life? A new web program, entitled, Moving Forward, can help you start making steps toward positive change.

Moving Forward is a free, anonymous, online educational and life-coaching program that teaches problem-solving skills to help you overcome life’s challenges.

Eight interactive modules include videos, games, and exercises designed for Veterans and Military Service Members, but which can help anyone facing stressful problems.

We all face challenges in life. Usually, it is how we deal with them that determines our outcome. Moving Forward can help you understand your problem-solving strengths and weaknesses. It teaches a systematic approach that makes problems more manageable and less overwhelming.

Veterans participating in the “live program” have given it high marks, noting that it helped them feel more confident about their future, more able to cope with stress, and more optimistic about handing difficult problems that may arise. A vast majority say they would “definitely recommend the program to other Veterans and friends.”

By clearly identifying problems, goals, and obstacles, Vets can start to develop an action plan to manage effectively life’s challenges.

Moving Forward can also help reduce stress, brain-overload, pessimism, difficulties managing emotions, and other factors that might make it hard for you to carry out that action plan.

Some Veterans use the program to meet new people, overcome anger problems, identify a more satisfying future career path, better handle being a new parent, and improve a romantic relationship.

Moving Forward provides a series of tools adaptable to fit your situation. Rather than “giving you fish,” it teaches you “how to fish.”

Based on a highly effective cognitive behavioral treatment program used successfully with Veterans across the country, Moving Forward was developed by the Department of Veterans Affairs Mental Health Services in partnership with the Department of Defense National Center for Telehealth and Technology.

Why not give it a try? Getting rid of all that stress could be just one click away, visit www.startmovingforward.org now! You will be glad you did. ISI

amino acids to be converted into glucose by the liver. If left to fend for itself, this can create a commotion within the body. Importantly, for diabetics, a protein deficit has been shown to impair resistance to infections. Replenishing the depleting protein stores is a vital requirement of all diabetic diets. It is important to note that protein can be derived from not just eating red meat, it can be found in fish, lean meats, dairy products, eggs, beans, soybeans, spinach, and peas, to name a few. Most do not contain much fat. Which brings me to this most controversial nutritional component.

Fiction: All types of fats should be avoided

by Diabetics.

Fact: The body needs fat. It’s a major energy source and helps you absorb certain vitamins and nutrients. Only some fats are bad for you – saturated fats and Trans fatty acids, or Tran’s fats. These bad fats boost your chances of developing heart disease. But some fats are good for you, and this is the case with unsaturated fats. There are two types of unsaturated fats: polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats.

These good fats can help lower LDL, prevent abnormal heart rhythms, and prevent heart disease.

I hope this overview on the basics of a diabetic diet will help you sort through the facts to challenge the fictions and help you design the proper diet for you or your loved ones. ISI

PAGE 36 IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

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First, get a prequalification letter from your lender to show you qualify for financing. Second, when making an offer, don’t “lowball� the seller. Make your bid competitive and keep contingencies to a minimum, particularly if there are additional purchase offers. Sellers are looking for a worry-free, uncomplicated sale. Try to be flexible on closing costs and dates.

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Exchanging Your Home With Travelers For Savings

By Karen Telleen-Lawton Dear Karen: My wife and I are in our mid 60s – just retiring and slowly realizing our dream retirement may have been just a dream. We love travel, and we have done quite a bit of traveling, but to keep it up through the next couple of decades, we are going to have to get creative.

I am looking at online photos of an apartment in Istanbul, right in the heart of town. It looks comfortable, if not luxurious, and the cost is, well, somewhere between practically free and prohibitively expensive. That is my attitude, anyway, after checking out a home exchange website. In exchange for housing in Istanbul, we would deliver to the apartment’s owner equal time (more or less) at our home.

Now that I look around the Internet, I see we can trade lots of things. I am tempted more than my wife is. So, is this a good idea, or are we just asking for trouble? ~ Wary Dear Wary: The sharing economy has made a comeback. Trading labor and goods was common in

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

early American days, when ranchers and farmers helped their neighbors raise barns, brand cattle, and harvest crops in exchange for labor on their own properties. In the last century we transitioned to a society of store-bought goods, a house for “every” family, 2.28 cars per household, and more televisions than people. But sharing’s popularity has returned, largely due to the Internet.

Nevertheless, the Internet could not make sharing succeed if people were not so inclined.

In our slower, more sustainable-growth economy, sharing makes good use of people’s slack resources. It is efficient. It allows consumers to try

out several options before buying.

I just returned from my second use of AirBNB, reducing the cost of attending my college reunion by a good chunk. The accommodations were clean, if not elegant. In-home overnight bedroom rentals will not squelch the Four Seasons, but it can be a nice way to meet people, as ours proved to be.

There are definitely tradeoffs for the provider and the user. In the case of the home exchange, much of the work is in developing the trust necessary to hand over the keys to a foreigner who may

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 37

live halfway around the world. Would your home sustain damage or be burglarized by a nefarious exchanger? For sure, call your homeowners insurance agent to see what restrictions apply.

Becoming a free agent has advantages like setting your own hours and working conditions. As retirees, you are not concerned about the lack of retirement and health insurance benefits, and you are not seeking a steady paycheck. But to make it work on your end on a regular basis, it involves quite a bit of hustling and marketing to make sure your place shows well. ISI

Know Your Home’s Value (NAPSI) – Whether you’re thinking of buying, selling, remodeling, or just wondering about the value of your home, you need to know local market conditions – the picture may be brighter than you thought.

To help, the home and real estate experts at Hanley Wood Market Intelligence have a new tool. Visit www.builderonline.com, click the blue Local Housing Data tab, enter your zip code, and you’ll see graphs and charts depicting values for your local market.

Jonathan Smoke, executive director of research for Hanley Wood, says, “Healthy markets have the following traits: a growing job market, favorable

demographic trends, a diverse and educated workforce, subsiding foreclosure activity, and positive quality of life factors.”

For remodeling, see how to maximize your return on investment at www. costvsvalue.com.

According to Remodeling magazine, the three projects with the highest return this year are fiber cement siding, entry door replacement, and attic bedroom remodel. Visit www.costvsvalue.com to see 32 more remodeling projects and their worth at resale. ISI

Help For People Who Are Drowning In Clutter

By Jim Miller Dear Savvy Senior, My 67-year-old mother’s house has become a cluttered mess. Since my father died a few years ago, her house is so disorganized and messy with stuff that it is becoming a hazard. I think she has a hoarding problem. What can I do?

Worried Daughter Dear Worried, Compulsive cluttering is a problem that affects up to five percent of Americans – many of whom are older – with problems ranging from mild messiness to hoarding so severe it may be related to a mental health disorder like obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Here is what you should know, along with some tips and resources that can help your mom.

Why People Hoard – The reasons most people hoard are because they have an extreme sentimental attachment to their possessions, or they believe they might need their items later.

Hoarding also may be a sign that a person is depressed, or showing early symptoms of dementia.

Common problems for seniors who live in excessive clutter are tripping, falling, and breaking a bone; overlooking bills and missing medications that are hidden in the clutter; and suffering from the environmental effects of mold, mildew, and dust, and even living among insects and rodents.

What To Do – To get a handle on your mom’s problem, the Institute for Challenging Disorganization offers a free “Clutter Hoarding Scale” that you can download off their website at challengingdisorganization.org.

If you find that your mom has only a mild clut-

Classic DVDs – Police Thrillers

By Mark Fee Ever since Peter Yates’ Bullitt (1968) hit the screen, I have been a consummate fan of police and detective thrillers. The film was based on the real life adventures of San Francisco Police Detective Frank Toschi. Steve McQueen played Bullitt. A few years later, Don Siegel directed Clint Eastwood in the volatile Dirty Harry (1971), based on one of Toschi’s most harrowing cases, the notorious Zodiac killings. Eastwood played Harry Callahan again in a number of sequels (1971-87).

Fritz Lang’s The Big Heat (1951) with Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, and Lee Marvin was the Dirty Harry of its day. Ford plays a cop, whose wife is killed by some gangsters. Like Dirty Harry, the film is unforgettable – raw and emotionally charged. The film literally shreds the screen. One of the scenes with Lee Marvin, as a sadistic mobster, is searingly intense.

Ford plays an FBI agent in Blake Edwards’ jolt-

tering problem, there are a number of things you can do to help. Start by having a talk with her, respectfully expressing your concern for her health and safety, and offering your assistance to help her declutter.

If she takes you up on it, most professional organizers recommend decluttering in small steps.

Take one room at a time or even a portion of a room at a time. This will help prevent your mom from getting overwhelmed.

Before you start, designate three piles or boxes for your mom’s stuff – one pile is for items she wants to keep-and-put-away, another is the donate pile, and the last is the throwaway pile.

You and your mom will need to determine which pile her things belong in as you work. If your mom struggles with sentimental items that she does not use, like her husband’s old tools or mother’s china for example, suggest she keep only one item for memory sake and donate the rest to family members who will use them.

You will also need to help her set up a system for organizing the kept items and new possessions.

Find Help – If you need some help with the decluttering and organizing, consider hiring a professional organizer who can come to your mom’s

home to help you prioritize, organize, and remove the clutter. The nonprofit group National Association of Professional Organizers has a directory on the website at napo.net to help you locate an expert in your area.

If she has a bigger, more serious hording problem (if her daily functioning is impaired, or if she is having financial difficulties, health problems, or other issues because of her hoarding) you will need to seek professional help. Antidepressants and/or talk therapy can help address control issues, anxiety, depression, and other feelings that may underline hoarding tendencies and make it easier for her to confront her disorder.

To learn more and find professional help see the OCD Foundation (ocfoundation.org/hoarding) that provides a hoarding center on their website that offers information, resources, treatments, selfhelp groups, and more. Also see hoardingcleanup. com, a site that has a national database of qualified resources including cleaning companies and therapists that can help.

Send your senior questions to Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. ISI

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PAGE 38 IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT

ing, Experiment in Terror (1962). In the film, lovely Lee Remick plays a San Francisco bank teller who is blackmailed by an asthmatic killer. Ross Martin (TV’s Wild Wild West (1965-69)) plays the killer with fiendish skill.

In the 1960s, Norman Jewison’s In the Heat of the Night (1967) won Best Picture of the Year.

The film was an extremely intelligent and racially charged police/detective thriller. Harper (1966) did not win any Academy Awards, but Paul Newman gave a matchless performance as wise cracking PI, Lew Harper. William Friedkin’s frenzied The French Connection (1971) won the Academy Award for Best Picture (1971). Once again, the coveted award went to a film about cops. Gene Hackman won an Academy Award for Best Actor, as the maniacal Poppy Doyle. Hollywood exploited the popularity of The French Connection and Dirty Harry with numerous police shows on television and the big screen. Most of them were mundane and artificial.

Columbo (1971-2003) with Peter Falk was a rare gem. Falk’s Columbo was inimitable as a humane and doggedly persistent detective.

In the 1980s, Walter Hill’s police comedy thriller, 48 Hours (1982) packed theaters. Richard Donner’s buddy-cop comedy thriller, Lethal Weapon (1987) was a mega blockbuster and spawned three sequels (1987-97). Hollywood has produced count-

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

less police/detective thrillers. Listed below are a few of my favorite police/detective thrillers and a few sleepers. Enjoy In No Way to Treat a Lady (1968), George Segal plays a detective who is still living at home with his nagging mother. Segal is Jewish and a member of the New York Police Department.

Rod Steiger plays the psychotic and unbearably deceptive owner of a theater – and a murderer and genius at disguise. Segal is assigned to the case and becomes romantically involved with Lee Remick. The film mixes black humor and suspense to perfection and is a super sleeper. NR; 3 ½ stars.

In Klute (1971), Donald Sutherland plays a small town detective who inadvertently becomes involved with a high priced hooker played by Jane Fonda. Sutherland is concerned with the strange disappearance of his good friend and businessman. The case leads to high fashion New York where Sutherland’s friend was one of Jane Fonda’s johns. Fonda receives ominous phone calls and asks for Sutherland’s help. This outstandingly directed and acted film is a spellbinding thriller.

Rated R; four stars.

Walter Matthau plays a depressed, relentless San Francisco detective in The Laughing Policeman (1973), who is baffled by a case involving a mass murder. Matthau thinks the killings are tied

to a murder that was never solved. The cast, including Bruce Dern as Matthau’s sardonic partner and Lou Gossett as a fellow officer, is uniformly excellent. The film is an extremely graphic trip into the underbelly of San Francisco. Not for the timid.

Rated R; three stars.

In Serpico (1973), Al Pacino plays a heroic member of the NYPD who defies convention and his superiors and turns whistle blower against his fellow officers. Based on a true story, the film is a harrowing study of character and consequence, corruption and pathos. Pacino has never been better; Sidney Lumet’s direction is flawless. The soundtrack by Mikos Theodorakis is haunting and electric. Rated R; 3 ½ stars.

In The Untouchables (1987), Kevin Costner plays an obsessed, idealistic federal officer who refuses to give in to Al Capone. Costner plays Elliott Ness who has to clean up bootlegging in Chicago. Unfortunately, he knows nothing about trapping Capone. He enlists a reluctant Sean Connery to help, and Connery teaches him, “If they pull a knife, you pull a gun.” Robert De Niro plays the power hungry, sadistic Capone. Outstanding film with overwhelming soundtrack by Ennio Morecone.

Rated R; four stars.

Until the next time grab some pop corn and enjoy these classic police thrillers! ISI

Selecting the Correct Car Seat isn’t Child’s Play Knowing which car seat to choose and how to safely strap-in those little ones can help ”bring ‘em back alive.” This question came to us from a reader during a recent driver safety class in Helena.

Q: My daughter is having a baby next month and a lot has changed since my children were babies. I am wondering what I need to know with respect to car seats.

A: With so many different colors, makes, models and special features, car seats are a lot like new cars. But how do you know which one is right for the new addition to your family? Whether you are taking a road trip or a quick drive to the local grocery store, it is critical to understand that your grandchild needs to be in a car seat, and to know what type of car seat is appropriate, and how to buckle him or her up safely.

Car seat safety is crucial when you consider that car crashes are the leading killer of children between the ages of 1 and 12 in the U.S., according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

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Make sure you are taking the proper safety precautions with these four tips.

1. Find the right car seat. Height, weight, and age limitations are important for infant and toddler car seats. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, a child should ride in a rear-facing car seat at all times until the age of 2. Because their neck muscles cannot support their heads in a crash, rear-facing seats are safer. Be sure the seat you select will fit in your vehicle, and that your vehicle’s seat belt or LATCH system will accommodate your child’s height and weight in the rearfacing position. Convertible and 3-in-1 car seats typically have higher height and weight limits for the rear-facing position, allowing you to keep your child rear-facing for longer. After the age of 2, a child may ride in a forward-facing car seat with a five-point harness until he or she is about 4 years old and weighs around 40 pounds. Transition to a booster seat after your child or grandchild has outgrown the five-point harness. The kids should remain in a booster seat until they are 4’ 9” inches tall.

2. Choose the right location in your car. If at all possible, the seat should be installed in the back seat of your vehicle. Children should remain in the back seat until age 13. Many drivers like to place the car seat behind the passenger seat, to make it easier to see and tend to the child if

needed. To limit distractions, never tend to your child or grandchild while you are in the act of driving. A passenger-side installation also keeps you from standing in the street while you put the child in and out of the seat – at least on two-way streets.

3. Install the seat properly. The best installation method will depend on the type of car seat (rear-facing, forward-facing, or booster seat). It is important to read the car seat manufacturer’s instructions to ensure proper installation. To check that it is secure, the “inch and pinch test” offers a good rule of thumb (and forefinger). Once the car seat is installed, give it a shake to make sure that it does not move more than an inch at the bottom.

After buckling the chest clips, pinch the strap at the child’s shoulder. If you cannot pinch any webbing, then the harness is secure. The Buckle Up for Life program has an online video demonstration on how to install a car seat that is very helpful.

4. Educate yourself on car seat safety. Research and studies continue to prove the importance of car seats and how they help save lives, just like seat belts. A study done by Safe Kids USA found that properly-used child safety seats decrease the risk of death by 71 percent for infants and 54 percent for toddlers. The Buckle Up for Life program offers more information online at: www. buckleupforlife.org.

For more tips on how to stay safe on the road, visit www.aarp.org/safedriving. ISI

Malta Mail Carriers Keep Up Their Family Postal Tradition

By Dianna Troyer Every morning Monday through Saturday, rural mail carriers Jayne Ward and Colyn Barnes squeeze mounds of mail into their cars.

Along with neat stacks of letters and piles of packages, they always pack along an indispensible item – a sense of humor to deal with the unexpected on their remote routes throughout the Raft River Valley.

“They never know what will happen,” says Laurie Darrington, postmaster relief at the Malta

Post Office, where the three begin sorting mail at 9:30 a.m.

“They provide a vital service to about 300 households,” says Laurie. “A lot of people on the routes are elderly and don’t get out much, so their mail is their lifeline. They look forward to getting letters from a loved one, items they’ve ordered, or their prescriptions.”

Jayne says some of her clients “know exactly what time of day I come. Getting their mail is the highlight of their day.”

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

Colyn, 57, who lives in Standrod, took over his route from his mother, Colleen.

“It’s been in my family for 53 years,” says Colyn who began working the route in 1974 for a senior project in high school. “I did it three days a week to give mom a break.”

His 190-mile route heads east to Interstate Feeders then south to Standrod, Clear Creek, Bridge, Naf, and Yost.

Jayne, who lives in Almo, says she inherited her route in 1993 from her mother-in-law, the late Ethel Ward. Her 163-mile route encompasses Almo and Sublett.

For Colyn, Jayne, and Laurie, mail delivery has been in their families for 183 years.

Laurie’s grandparents ran the Elba Post Office in their home, starting in 1932. Eventually, her parents ran it until it closed in 1996.

As Colyn and Jayne load their cars with the mail, they recall a few unusual requests.

“One woman couldn’t wait for me to deliver her mail, so she would call the post office and ask me to read a letter to her,” says Colyn.

Numerous times, he has been asked to translate letters. “I did my mission in El Salvador, and I’m still fluent in Spanish.”

They’ve had a few odd deliveries and Jayne Ward sorts mail before beginning unforgettable situations. her extensive route in the remote Raft “Remember the worms people have River Valley. [Photo by Dianna Troyer] ordered for their gardens? They were squishy,” says Jayne. “Other times I’ve delivered butterflies to the school for classes.”

Colyn recalls his clients ordering pheasant chicks that cheeped non-stop in their cardboard containers.

To make all their deliveries, Colyn says, “We put some hard miles on our vehicles. I usually drive a Chevy Tracker, but it’s in the shop for repairs.”

His aged reliable Toyota Tercel and Jayne’s Ford Escape are often covered in mud from the gravel roads. Rocks have chipped their windshields.

“Sometimes we have bad luck and get caught behind a sheep or cattle drive,” says Colyn, “and you-know-what gets stuck on our mufflers and heats up, then you smell it the rest of the day.”

Blizzards slow them down.

“We have good people who keep our roads plowed in winter,” says Colyn, “but some of the worst storms are in spring. There was one in April that dropped 12 to 16 inches of snow. If we do get stuck, a farmer is glad to pull us out with a tractor or other equipment.”

Their occasional bad luck and slide-offs are easily forgotten, considering their bevy of benefactors.

“Some people give us cookies or extra vegetables from their gardens,” says Jayne.

LaDean Pace in Sublett says she gives a Christmas card and small gift to Jayne because “I want her to know how much I appreciate her good service and friendliness. She’s the best.”

Colyn’s clients have provided him with a jar of lemonade during summer, bottled water, and mini candy bars for Halloween.

Katherine Yates, 89, of Malta, gives him small gifts at holidays as a token of her appreciation.

“In bad weather, he comes sailing to my door with the mail, so I don’t have to go outside,” says Katherine, who has watched Colyn grow up. “He’s like one of my own kids. In warm weather, if he sees me outside, he’ll take a few minutes to help me plant a flower or pull a weed. He’d do anything for anybody.”

Whenever Colyn or Jayne get sick or need a vacation day, they have to find a replacement, a difficult task. Laurie used to fill in for Jayne.

“One person who went with me to learn to be a sub told me she was pooped by the end of the day and never realized before how hard it was,” recalls Colyn.

“Before she helped, Colyn Barnes fills his car with mail six days a week. His mail she thought it was route has been in his family for 53 years. [Photo by Dianna easy to drive around Troyer] and drop off a few letters in a mail box.”

During the past decades, Colyn, Jayne, and Laurie have seen tremendous changes with the implementation of new rules designed to increase efficiency and the use of handheld scanners to track packages.

“I remember when I could write home from El Salvador and just put my return address, mom and dad, and their zip code on the envelope. The letters always got delivered. Since 9-11, everyone has been assigned a physical address to help emergency responders. Today, envelopes must have a physical address or a post office box number.”

After traversing their circuitous routes, Colyn and Jayne end their day back at the Malta Post Office at about 3:30 p.m., ready to repeat their ritual the next day.

“I’ll keep doing this as long as I’m able,” says Colyn. ISI

Where Are They Now – John Davidson

By Marshall J. Kaplan The well-rounded entertainer of stage and the small screen is in his seventies and is still entertaining fans across North America.

John Davidson was born on December 13, 1941 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He began an acting career on television in the mid-1960s. He won his first regular role in the show, The Entertainers (1964) – where he demonstrated his musical talents. Now, as a familiar face on television, he won the coveted title of his own series, The John Davidson Show in 1969. The series lasted for two years. John continued appearing in made-for-TV movies until winning a starring role as John Burton on The Girl with Something Extra (1973), opposite Sally Field. The networks had high hopes for the series, yet it only lasted one season. Once again, John continued along the movie-of-the-week trail until 1980.

That’s Incredible! was somewhat of a Ripley’s Believe It or Not for television. Along with co-hosts, Fran Tarkenton and Cathy Lee Crosby, John introduced incredible individuals, incredible animals, or incredible stunts on a weekly basis. Whether it was a man pulling a truck by his teeth, or a woman covered in a swarm of killer bees, viewers were hooked. The success of the show, and John in particular, prompted CBS executives to have John groomed to become the next talk show king.

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 39

A 1980 cover story in TV Guide focusing on the hype surrounding The John Davidson Show was apparent. He was billed as the “talk show host that makes a difference and makes women squeal.” Due to a change in audience’s tastes, the show never reached its potential and was cancelled.

That same year, John and his wife, Jackie were divorced. In 1983, Davidson married his present wife, Rhonda. In 1986, the game show, The Hollywood Squares was revised with John as its host. It was quite successful and lasted four seasons.

These days, the “boy with something extra” lives in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and tours the country in musicals, such as, Oklahoma! and The Fantasticks – in which he just ended a three-month Broadway run.

As John says, “Singing well has always been i m por tant to me, but the most important factor is the connection to the audience.”

His tour schedule is pretty full – appearing on stage, singing, and joking with audiences – whether in local theatres or the Broadway stage.

Oh and yes ladies, he still has a full head of hair! ISI

PAGE 40 IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

5 Recipes that Prove Healthy is the New Delicious thor of Deliciously Holistic (aharmonyhealing.com). “My focus is on easy-to-follow healing foods recipes that make delicious, completely nourishing meals. Some will appeal to those who adhere to a strict diet, such as vegan, and all will make people feel noticeably healthier without sacrificing any of the enjoyment we get from sitting down to eat.�

Alexander offers five recipes that can be used for any meal of the day or night, including: • Mango chia ginger granola (raw, vegan): 2 ripe mangos, peeled, cored and sliced in one-inch cubes; 2 cups Living Intentions chia ginger cereal; 2 cups nut or seed milk. Put ingredients in a bowl and enjoy! The cereal is gluten-free, nut-free, and raw- and vegan-diet friendly, and extremely nutritious. Preparation takes five minutes or less and is hearty enough to satisfy appetites the entire morning. The ingredients can be substituted for dietary needs or preferences. • Portobello mushroom and grilled onion burgers (vegan): Marinade for the mushroom is essential – 2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar; 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil; 1 tablespoon wheat-free Tamari or organic Nama Shoyu soy sauce; 1/8 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika; 1 peeled garlic clove (grated or minced); 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper; 2 teaspoons organic maple syrup – grade B. The burgers include 4 large Portobello mushrooms – cleaned and patted dry; 1 large white onion (peeled and cut into thick slices); olive or avocado oil to cook mushrooms and onions; 2 sprouted whole grain hamburger buns – toasted; Dijon mustard; Ÿ cup baby romaine lettuce – washed and patted dry. Marinate mushrooms and

onions for 30 minutes. Drizzle with oil and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes, turning mushrooms halfway through. Serve immediately. • Wild blueberry smoothie (raw, vegan): 3 cups vanilla Brazil nut milk (there is an additional recipe for this); 2 cups fresh or frozen wild or organic blueberries; 1 peeled banana – organic or fair trade; 2 to 3 cups organic baby spinach; 1 small avocado – peeled and pitted; Ÿ teaspoon cinnamon; (optional) a preferred protein powder or super food.

Blend until creamy. Blueberries are an amazing fruit packed with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytonutrients. • Raw corn chowder (raw, vegan): 4 cups organic corn kernels (best during summer months); 2Ÿ cups unsweetened almond milk; 1 clove peeled garlic (remove inner stem); 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice; ½ teaspoon smoked sweet paprika; 1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; ½ avocado (peeled and seed removed); unrefined sea salt and fresh black pepper to taste. Blend ingredients and strain; top with corn kernels and diced organic red bell pepper. Among other nutrients, corn provides lutein – an important carotenoid that protects eyes from macular degeneration. • Dijon honey chicken wings: 1/3 cup Dijon mustard; ½ medium peeled lemon – remove all the white pith; Ÿ cup raw honey; 1 teaspoon unrefined sea salt; 2 large, peeled garlic cloves – grated; 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper; 12 whole chicken wings – rinsed and patted dry; ½ teaspoon paprika. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Blend ingredients in a blender, except for wings and paprika, until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove tips of cleaned wings and store in

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Holistic Chef Provides Foolproof Recipes for Taste & Nutrition With adventurous food tastes and concerns ranging from personal health to ethical agriculture and livestock practices, more people are exploring alternative diets.

But that is not always easy – or palatable. “You have paleo and primal diets, pescatarian and raw foods, vegetarian and vegan, and they all have wonderful merits, especially when compared with the processed foods many Americans continue to eat,� says Holistic Chef and Certified Healing Foods Specialist Shelley Alexander, au-

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freezer for future stock. Place wings on lightly greased baking dish, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, place in oven. After 30 minutes baste wings with juices from pan, then brush mustard sauce all over wings, sprinkle with paprika and continue baking for an additional 25 to 30 minutes. Wings should have internal temperature of 165 degrees when done. These are a healthy and tasty alternative to deep-fat-fried wings.

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 41

Shelley Alexander has enjoyed a lifelong love of delicious, locally grown, seasonal foods. She received her formal chef’s training at The Los Angeles Culinary Institute. Alexander is a certified healing foods specialist, holistic chef, blogger, and owner of the holistic health company, A Harmony Healing in Los Angeles. ISI

Eating Your Great White Way to Diabetes

By Suzy Cohen Dear Pharmacist: What is the number one thing I can do to prevent diabetes? --T.H., Seattle, Washington Answer: Avoid white! By that I mean white salt, white sugar, and white flour. The white flour is particularly offensive because it contains a compound known to harm the pancreas, the gland you need for healthy blood sugar balance because it secretes insulin.

Let me back up to the point where wheat is growing on a farm, before it becomes flour. Special care is taken to till and fertilize the soil. The field was sprayed with various pesticides, fungicides and other chemicals to protect the harvest. About 83 active chemicals are used in pesticides today even though studies have shown that some cause cancer in animals or humans!

Anyway, when the wheat kernels are harvested, workers keep an eye on the storage facilities to make sure everything stays cool and dry because we all know rainy, hot weather promotes fungal growth. Fungal contamination of grains is rather common. Once in you, it’s almost impossible to get out.

The wheat kernels are stripped of their “bran” and “germ” layers – a process that removes all the fiber, minerals, and vitamins. Oddly enough, this flour may command a higher price than flour left in its natural state. But the insanity has just begun. The naturally brown flour will now be whitened using a chemical similar to chlorine bleach. This chemical forms another substance called alloxan, which is known to destroy pancreatic function.

Did you catch that?

Alloxan is so outstanding at destroying the pancreas that researchers commonly use it in clinical trials to induce diabetes in lab animals! Bleached white flour is almost always contaminated with alloxan.

Are you shocked? Are you wondering why? It happens because of strong demand from you, the consumers, who find pastries, buns, biscuits, and bread much prettier when they are white. You cast your vote to continue the nonsense by buying white flour goodies!

I’ve always been puzzled at the name “All Purpose” flour because to me, it doesn’t even serve the primary purpose of food – which is to provide nutritional value – so I suggest it be renamed “No Purpose” flour. Regardless, combine alloxan-tainted white flour with nutritionally naked white sugar

and table salt that many baked recipes call for, and you have a recipe for diabetes!

In 2008, scientists closely examined how alloxan caused diabetes in animals. This article “The mechanisms of alloxan- and streptozotocin-induced diabetes” was published in Diabetologia. The researchers stated, “These hydroxyl radicals are ultimately responsible for the death of the beta cells, which have a particularly low antioxidative defence capacity, and the ensuing state of insulin-dependent ‘alloxan diabetes.’”

Simply put, they are saying that free radicals are released, and these kill the pancreatic cells (which secrete insulin and lower blood sugar); the net result of alloxan keeps an animal insulin-dependent. I have solutions in my best-selling book, Diabetes Without Drugs (Rodale 2010). ISI

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Cataract Rates Are On the Rise In Americans Age 40 and Older The incidence of cataracts in the U.S. has risen 19 percent since 2000, impacting nearly 25 million Americans age 40 and older. In fact, more than half of all Americans will develop cataracts by age 80, according to Prevent Blindness America’s Vision Problems in the U.S. report. In response, the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s EyeSmart program is educating the public about cataract risk factors, detection, and treatment options during Cataract Awareness Month.

A cataract is a clouding of the eye’s lens, which can make it more difficult to focus light onto the eye’s retina – the light-sensitive tissue that sends images to the brain. Cataracts, a natural part of aging, are the most common cause of vision loss in the U.S. They typically develop slowly, so symptoms may not be immediately apparent. Over time, cataracts can cause vision to become blurry, cloudy, dull, or dim, and can interfere with daily activities.

The good news is that cataracts are almost always treatable with cataract surgery. During cataract surgery, an ophthalmologist – an eye medical doctor with the training and certification to provide the full range of eye care and surgery – removes the eye’s cloudy natural lens and replaces it with a clear artificial lens implant called an intraocular lens (IOL). Cataract surgery is often performed as an outpatient procedure and does not require an overnight hospital stay. It is one of the safest types of surgery, and 90 percent of patients who have cataract surgery enjoy better vision afterward.

“If you notice vision changes, cataracts could be to blame, and you might need more than a new pair of glasses,” said David F. Chang, M.D., a clinical correspondent Charles C. George, M.D. Ophthalmology for the American Academy of Ophthalmology Adult / Pediatrics and a clinical professor Examinations at the University of &DWDUDFW 6XUJHU\ California, San Francisco. “If you do have 208-263-8501 1-800-881-8501 a cataract, you should 307 South First Avenue Sandpoint, Idaho 83864 be reassured that it eyeclinicofsandpoint.com

is a normal aging change and not an eye disease. Cataract surgery usually carries an excellent prognosis, and you should talk to your ophthalmologist about whether surgery should be done to restore your eyesight.”

As the aging population grows, it is increasingly important for people to understand cataract risks, symptoms, prevention, and treatment options.

The American Academy of ophthalmology recommends the following tips to maintain healthy vision: • Get a baseline exam by age 40. All adults should get a baseline eye exam by age 40 when early signs of eye disease and vision changes may start to occur. During this visit, your ophthalmologist (Eye M.D.) will advise you on how often to have follow-up exams.

• After age 65, schedule regular eye exams. Anyone age 65 and older should visit an ophthalmologist regularly to detect eye diseases and conditions like cataracts early and to monitor any vision loss. People age 65 and older may qualify for an eye exam and up to one year of care at noout-of-pocket cost through EyeCare America, a public service program of the Foundation of American Academy of Ophthalmology. See if you qualify at www.eyecareamerica.org.

• Know your risk factors for cataracts. Diabetes, smoking, extensive UV exposure, serious eye injuries, steroid use, and a family history of cataracts can increase your risk for developing a cataract.

• Reduce your risks to prevent or delay the onset of cataracts. Use sunglasses and hats to protect your eyes from UV damage. Do not smoke. If you have diabetes, control your blood sugar carefully through diet, exercise, and medications if needed.

• Talk to your ophthalmologist about your treatment options. Vision loss from cataracts can interfere with daily activities. Talk to your ophthalmologist about whether cataract surgery is right for you. When preparing for surgery, give your doctor your complete medical and eye health history, including a list of medications that you have taken. Some medications can cause the iris to move out of its normal position and may require your ophthalmologist to adjust his or her surgical technique.

For more information on cataract symptoms, risk factors, surgery, and other eye health information, visit www.geteyesmart.org. ISI

Vertigo, dizziness, and balance problems can often be easily treated

By Troy Anderson, DPT Cassia Regional Medical Center, Burley Many people struggle with dizziness, vertigo, and balance problems.

Someone you love may be at risk of falling, and you may be constantly worrying about them. There is a way to treat the cause of balance problems, instead of just taking medication to treat the symptoms, and usually it is very simple.

Vertigo, dizziness, and balance problems come from a dysfunction of the vestibular organ, which is a small structure in your inner ear that is critical for balance, coordination, and movement. Vestibular disorders are often treated with daily medication that only helps to control the symptoms, but more and more patients and their doctors are choosing to treat the disorder with an exercise-based approach called vestibular disorder treatment, or VRT. Infrared goggles are the very latest technology used to detect vestibular disorders. Since vestibular organ and eye reflexes are intimately connected, close examination of abnormal eye movement with the goggles allows your local vestibular disorder specialist to accurately detect the specific type of problem. Once an accurate diagnosis has been made,

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

treatment becomes relatively simple.

Many people struggle for months or years with positional vertigo and do not realize how easy it is to treat. Generally, most patients only require 1 to 3 treatments. Vestibular disorder treatment starts with a thorough evaluation of medical history and an observation and measure of posture, balance and gait, and compensatory strategies. Then an eye-head coordination test with the infrared goggles will pinpoint the cause of the disorder.

Using the evaluation results, an individualized treatment plan will be

Coping With Autoimmune Diseases

By Susan Frances Bonner, RN, BSN The concept of immunity can be traced back to the plague of Athens in 430 BCE, when Greek historian Thucydides noted that many people who had survived the disease in previous outbreaks appeared safe during this current plague.

But it was not until the 1940s that the concept of autoimmunity was defined as a state in which the immune system attacks the body’s own healthy cells. In the 1950s the rheumatoid factor was discovered by Henry G. Kunkel.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease in which inflammation of the membranes lining joints can lead to destruction of the joints and is one of the eighty autoimmune diseases diagnosed today.

Although there are many different autoimmune diseases, they have similarities. All autoimmune diseases are connected by a runaway immune response known as systemic inflammation that results in the body attacking its own tissues in any part of the body, including blood vessels, joints, organs and tissues. Autoimmune diseases are chronic (prolonged in duration), do not often resolve spontaneously, and are rarely cured completely.

Persons with autoimmune diseases have to deal with a variety of conditions daily. Although each person and disease is unique, common symptoms include chronic pain, increase in body temperature, fatigue, general ill feeling, depression, and difficulty concentrating.

Chronic pain, whether continuous or recurrent, can affect a person’s sense of well being, level of function, and quality of life. It is by far the main source for all the other symptoms such as depression, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and general ill feeling.

To manage chronic pain, consider oral medications such as aspirin, NSAIDS, Tylenol, certain narcotics, some antidepressants, and anticonvulsants. Then there are topical pain relievers and analgesics such as creams, gels, sprays, patches or rubs, applied over a painful muscle or joint. Medications with no direct pain-relieving properties may also be used in a pain management plan. These include those that treat insomnia, anxiety, and muscle spasm. Some are available over the counter and some require a prescription. When you take any medication caution is required and side effects need to be reviewed with your health care provider.

Also consider natural therapies such as certain herbs, glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, and vitamins. Passive therapies can provide short-term relief of pain, inflammation, and swelling during chronic pain flare-ups. These therapies can include massage, ultrasound, paraffin (wax) treatment, light therapy, traction, Yoga, and Tai Chi. Exercise is extremely important for people with autoimmune diseases.

And it is one of the hardest concepts to convey to people who are in constant discomfort. The overwhelming theme is to keep as physically active as possible. In fact, increasing activity levels is recommended since inactivity is detrimental despite the temporary relief of symptoms that may accompany it. Therapeutic exercise can include range-of-motion exercises, stretching, strength training, water therapy, and cardiovascular conditioning. Therapeutic exercise is beneficial for restoring flexibility, strength, endurance, function, range of motion, and can alleviate discomfort.

Mind-body Interventions include relaxation, meditation, guided imagery, biofeedback, and hypnosis. Relaxation and biofeedback are directed toward helping people become aware of their ability to exert some control over physical processes of which they are not normally aware such as muscle tension, heart rate, skin temperature, and breathing.

There is a variety of meditative practices, with the most studied one being mindfulness-based stress reduction, a variation of meditation.

Hypnosis is a state of deep relaxation that involves selective focusing, receptive concentration, and minimal motor functioning. Individuals can be taught to use hypnosis themselves, and the use of self-hypnosis can provide pain relief for up to several hours at a time. Relaxation, self-hypnosis, and meditation techniques are a form of physiologic self-management. They assist individuals with muscle relaxation and distraction from pain and illness perception.

Although autoimmune diseases are complicated, they can be managed, you just have to find the methods that work for you. ISI

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 43

developed. For positional vertigo, a simple treatment is all that is required.

For balance disorders, exercise-based treatment that includes specific head, body, and eye exercises to be performed both in the therapy setting and at home may be required. These exercises are designed to retrain the brain to recognize and process signals from the vestibular system and coordinate them with information from the eyes, muscles, and joints.

This often involves desensitizing the balance system to movements that provoke symptoms, and increasing home-based activities and exercise in order to strengthen muscles. ISI

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Do You Know These Bits Of Idaho Trivia

By Bernice Karnop Travelers on Highway 95 at Cottonwood cannot miss Toby, the world’s biggest beagle and the world’s only Beagle Bed and Breakfast. Toby is three stories tall and inside his canine belly stands a queen bed, a refrigerator, microwave, and full bath. Inside his cozy head one level up, is room to sleep a couple of grandchildren. Toby the beagle stands guard over Dog Bark Park.

Soda Springs boasts the only captive geyser in the world, which was discovered during a waterwell drilling project in 1937 – and they struck a gusher! It was later capped and controlled by a timer. It erupts every hour on the hour and blasts hot water 100 feet into the sky, year around.

Soda Springs also has its own captive lava flow. From ore dug from nearby open pit mines, Monsanto produces elemental phosphorous, commonly used in detergents, soft drinks, toothpaste,

and other products. The slag comes out of its electric furnaces at a temperature of 1,400 degrees Celsius. It is poured into specialized trucks, hauled to the edge of the slag pile, and dumped.

The molten rock creates a shiny golden lava flow day and night. The trucks dump about five times per hour, 24 hours a day.

stored in the 1970s. The dozen new horses carved

by Sherriell Anderson are covered with symbols of Idaho. The lead horse Centennial is decorated with the white pine, a star garnet, and the state seal.

Chief Joseph is a grey appaloosa, the state horse, and wears a bear claw necklace and the image of the Nez Perce leader.

On January 29, 1943, a B-52 Bomber made an emergency landing on frozen Loon Lake near Warren. The plane slid across the ice and plowed 150 feet into the trees, shearing off both of its wings.

All eight men aboard survived. Without radio, they could not call for help. They waited five days for rescue and then sent three men for help. It took the trio two weeks to plow 42 miles through waist deep snow to reach the Lake Fork Guard Station.

Here they contacted the Forest Service who sent The Idaho Centennial Carousel in Porter Park assistance. The “Dragon Bomber� wreckage still in Rexburg was built in 1923 and completely re- sits where it landed on the lake. ISI The Bear Lake Wildlife Refuge is thick with birds and animals, but the Bear Lake Monster is the most elusive of them all. The first reported sighting was in 1868, but Native Americans, mountain men, and Mormon settlers have all reported sightings.

Before they found the bottom of Bear Lake, some guessed the water was connected to Loch Ness in Scotland and that Nessie slipped between the two.

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