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Last December, I read a humorous story about amaryllis bulbs in the weekly email I receive from my favorite gardening magazine, "Green Prints". In the story, confusion about beautiful naked ladies dancing in a back yard resulted in much trouble. However, the naked ladies turned out to be amaryllis plants and the magazine went on to say that the story never happened – it was fiction, but that laughter is good for all of us. I'd never before heard of amaryllis as "naked ladies" and I've been a g...
When termination dust sprinkles Alaska's mountain peaks, the summer tourists depart in campers, cruise ships, and V formations soaring over the yellow birches. An estimated 5 billion birds from 250 species visit Alaska to breed each year, following established migration routes called flyways. But even bountiful Arctic ecosystems can't feed this many birds all year round. At the end of nesting season, these nomads embark on incredible-and increasingly difficult-journeys to their winter homes....
Tis the season when television channels bombard us with round-the-clock Christmas movies while radio stations across the country add festive tunes to their daily playlists. In the latter case, one divisive ditty has been traditionally considered naughty or nice. Elmo Shropshire didn't write "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer," but he's been singing the jolly jingle with the not-so-jolly lyrics since first hearing it in Lake Tahoe in the late 70s. The song was released in 1979 and credited to...
You take a chance getting up in the morning, crossing the street, or sticking your face in a fan. – Frank Drebin in “The Naked Gun” Three years ago our beloved Congress slipped a new law through, hidden inside another law which wasn’t even related to the same topic, called the Corporate Transparency Act. When people see the name, they generally assume it has some relationship to big corporations with billions of dollars and offices on Wall Street, so they don’t have to worry about it. Actually...
Q. The Apple Photos app is really different after this last update. Is there a way to change it back? A. Apple revamped the Photos app this year. All the same functions are there, but the initial screen presents them differently. Although it might seem like change for change’s sake at first, let’s take a deeper look. In many ways, the old app wasn’t that great. The new design makes it easier to find the major part of the app more quickly. Rather than simply showing the photos, it presents the major parts of the app in a single scrolling windo...
I was talking with someone at a social gathering. A wonderful supplement was mentioned that would boost my energy. I didn’t write it down but it sounded like Sporkblot, or maybe Batspawn? Well, no matter. I’ll just wander over to the local drug store and find it. But I get there and I am faced with 30 feet of shelving overflowing with hundreds of supplements aggressively strutting their stuff. Yikes! What do I do? Ahhh. I am enveloped in a moment of focused calm. (Ok, I am not calm. It’s an apocryphal story.) I visualize the Office of Dieta...
As the holiday season kicks off, so does a wave of scams targeting those of us enjoying holiday activities. Here are some of the most prevalent scams to watch out for during this festive period. Online shopping scams As legitimate retailers launch their seasonal promotions, scammers are also intensifying their efforts to deceive bargain-hunting shoppers. These criminals create bogus websites and social media campaigns with amazing deals. If it is too good to be true, it is a scam. They impersonate major brands, using fake posts and...
Q: I recently started a job that involves interacting with older adults, many of whom have led fascinating lives. To learn more about them and deepen our conversations, what questions could help me get to know them better? A: Learning about an elderly person’s life can be a fulfilling experience for both parties involved. To facilitate meaningful conversations, it is important to create an environment that encourages openness. This includes using clear and direct communication, asking t...
Medicare can be confusing for anyone. It is easy to misunderstand Medicare eligibility or the best time to enroll in the various parts of Medicare. The factors around Medicare eligibility and enrollment choices can be even more complicated for older people who were born outside the U.S. Immigrants may not have as much work history in the U.S., may have a variety of immigration statuses, or may have limited English proficiency—all making a potentially confusing process even more difficult. N...
Goodness gracious, we are so blessed Showing gratitude may pack some important hidden long-term health benefits. A recent study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is suggesting that experiencing gratitude may help older adults live longer. “Prior research has shown an association between gratitude and lower risk of mental distress and greater emotional and social wellbeing. However, its association with physical health is less understood,” said lead author Ying Chen, a Harvard res...
As we approach another long, dark winter, it's time to talk about something that affects many of us: Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD for short. Don't worry, we're not sad about talking about SAD! In fact, knowing more about it can help us stay happier and healthier during those chilly months. It affects more people than realize it, but not everyone recognizes the signs or knows how to combat it. SAD is a type of depression that shows up when the days get shorter and darker. Here in Alaska,...
As I walked down the hallway at the Palmer Veterans and Pioneers Home Sept. 14, my heart grew heavy when I noticed two papers in the special glass memorial wall case which notifies the recent death of a resident. It grew even heavier when I saw Dave Brown's face looking back at me. Because my husband Gary has lived in the Pioneer Home for the last two and a half years, I know all the residents by face, if not name, and Dave was very special to us. Gary had been living in the Palmer Pioneer Home...
While workers completed the last portion of the Alaska-Canada Highway at Beaver Creek on Oct. 25, 1942, the idea to connect Alaska to the rest of the world was born many years earlier. Donald MacDonald, a locating engineer with the Alaska Road Commission, had dreamed for years of an overland coastal route to Alaska. It would run north from Seattle across British Columbia through the Yukon Territory to Fairbanks. MacDonald and a group of Fairbanks residents formed the International Highway...
American television audiences developed a fondness for old British sitcoms in the 1980s when PBS began airing reruns of several popular shows. Loaded with oh-so-British double-meaning dialogue, a standout favorite was "Are You Being Served?", a BBC production that originally ran in the UK from 1972 to 1985. A 1992-93 spinoff series, "Are You Being Served? Again!" (also known as "Grace & Favour") reunited original cast members Mollie Sugden, Frank Thornton, John Inman, Wendy Richard, and...
Sometimes people think that the worst clients for lawyers to have must be other lawyers, since they would be second guessing them all the time. In my experience, though, academics are the worst clients. Some of them want to understand every single detail of how this works. That can be time-consuming and taxing. But most of the time, the opposite is true. Clients don’t ask enough questions. When I have a new client who previously used another attorney for their will or trust, one of the first t...
Q. My iPhone just automatically updated to iOS 17.7. How do I get the new features advertised in iOS 18? A. There are two kinds of system updates for iPhones, major and minor. Major releases that change once a year, and increase the first number. For example, from 17.0 to 18.0. Minor updates occur throughout the year, and increase the numbers after the decimal point. Your iPhone will automatically update itself with these “point updates” as long as it is plugged in and has a Wi-Fi connection. Each autumn Apple releases a major new update to the...
What do you do when a business doesn’t live up to its promises? Maybe you paid for something you never received, or a product or service didn’t exactly meet your expectations. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone—and you don’t have to just accept it. There are simple steps you can take to get back what you’re owed, without adding more stress to your life. Let’s walk through some simple actions you can take to resolve the issue and set things right. Talk to the business first Start by reaching out to the business directly. And when you...
In 2017, The New York Times published "Glowing Auras and 'Black Money': The Pentagon's Mysterious U.F.O. Program". That article helped change the common perception about UFOs and intelligent life on other planets from "goofy people who wear tinfoil hats" to "Hmm, maybe there is something to this." Since then, military sources have publicly released and verified images of UFOs, often referred to as "UAPs," Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. Highly placed military officers and civilians have...
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that empowers people to choose how they live as they age. We work to make that happen through legislative advocacy, supporting policies that benefit the age 50+ community, opposing those that don't, and working alongside our partners to ensure issues related to aging in Alaska are top of mind when drafting new legislation. AARP is offering three opportunities for you to help make Alaska a place where we can all choose how we live as we age. - Become an e-activist - Volunteer as an AARP legislative...
Q. Someone I know appears to be mentally stressed or troubled. It raises the questions: When should I become concerned? How should I respond to any unusual mannerisms they may exhibit? A. If someone shows signs of mental stress or angst, pay close attention to any significant changes in their behavior. Should their actions become extreme, reach out to a healthcare provider or seek professional guidance promptly. In cases where you believe the individual may pose a risk to themselves or others,...
From Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, I encourage you to review and, if needed, change your Prescription Drug Plan under Part D coverage. Changes you elect will become effective on Jan. 1. Certified Medicare counselors across Alaska can help you as part of the Medicare Information Office’s network of program Ambassadors, including through your local Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC). Give us a call, we would be glad to answer your questions, guide you through the process, and even complete t...
By CHRISTIAN M. HARTLEY Let's use Fire Prevention Month to talk about something very important: Fire safety for those of us who might have trouble moving around quickly. Whether you use a wheelchair, a walker, or just find it harder to get around these days, it's crucial to have a good plan for getting out of your home if there's a fire or carbon monoxide leak. First, let's discuss making your home safer. Inspect around your home or apartment. Are there things in the way that could trip you up...
Called the Spanish flu, only because the Spanish press wrote about it, a virus took more than 500,000 American lives between 1918 and 1919 (estimates worldwide range from 20 to 100 million). And it came north, even though Territorial Gov. Thomas Riggs did everything in his power to keep it away from Alaska's shores. When 75 citizens of Seattle died from the flu during the week of Oct. 12, Riggs asked steamship companies to examine all passengers heading north on the final ships of the season...
It's been 14 years since 85-year-old screen legend Tony Curtis died at his Nevada home on Sept. 29, 2010. The much-loved actor left behind a body of work that included over 150 television and movie roles in such classics as "The Defiant Ones," "Some Like it Hot," and "The Sweet Smell of Success." Curtis remarried for the last time in 1998 and his new bride, Jill Vandenberg, was some 40 years his junior. The pair became inseparable, traveling the world together. But back in Nevada, the couple...
Do you remember the Little Rascals? I'm not talking about the old black-and-white films from the 1920s and 30s, although some of you might remember those. I mean the wonderful 1994 movie based on those old “Spanky and Our Gang” films. If you haven't seen it, it is a marvelous movie, quite funny and very much family-friendly. There is a scene in the movie, in which one of the characters says “what's yours is mine, and what's mine is ours”. That gives me a chuckle, or at least a wry grin, every ti...
