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"Where have you guys been all week?" our son, Patrick, demanded when I answered the phone one morning back in October 1999. He was calling from his home in Colorado. "We haven't gone anywhere. Why, what's up?" I asked. "I've called three different days, morning, afternoon and evening, and you're never home. I thought something happened to you," he scolded. After we discussed which days and what time of the day, I realized we'd been out of the house on each occasion. In the morning we had gone...
Alaska's governor from 1933 to 1939 believed that more people and more roads would help the territory achieve statehood. And John Weir Troy, who came to Alaska during the gold rush in 1897, thought a larger population and a better road system would help achieve that goal. "More people for Alaska is her greatest need," said the former pack-train worker. "But they won't come, and we could not take care of them if they did, until we have roads to take them to the valleys, hills and mountains where...
When Halloween returns each October, so do the 50-year-old memories for actress Judith O'Dea who starred as Barbra in the 1968 horror classic "Night of the Living Dead" as one of several characters taking refuge in an isolated farmhouse under attack from flesh-eating ghouls. O'Dea remembers watching the film on the big screen for the first time when it premiered in her hometown of Pittsburgh, where the film was also shot, although she recalls identifying more as an audience member than one of...
Al Martinez was a longtime syndicated newspaper columnist. Toward the end of his career, he said that of all the controversial subjects he had written about (including a lot of articles about politics and social turmoil), the column that generated the most angry mail was when he suggested that it was perfectly okay to shave with cold water. I haven’t been writing for the Senior Voice for anywhere near the same length of time, but this is my fifth anniversary column (the Senior Voice staff n...
Q. I have several old computers in my garage that are just taking up space. Before I send them to the recycler, I wonder if there is anything useful I could do with them. A. Working from home and remote learning has increased the demand for computers everywhere. As I have noted before, the fate of old hardware is that it often stops being useful long before it stops operating. Fortunately, there is a whole cottage industry of developers who try to breathe new life into old hardware. Try converting that old computer into a ChromeBook (laptop)...
Major-party presidential candidates Trump and Biden have dramatically different visions for the future on health care issues. So in assessing their policy positions, it's also important to look at actions versus talk. Trump has been president for almost four years; Biden had eight years as vice president under Barack Obama, and before that 36 years in the U.S. Senate. So both have actual records with which we can look at what they've tried to do, versus what they say they plan to do. Here's a...
Social Security’s finances depend largely on payroll taxes, tying the strength of Social Security to the strength of the U.S. economy. The U.S. unemployment rate was more than 13.3% through May. That was worse than the 2009 Great Recession, when the unemployment rate reached a peak of 10.6% in January 2010. With 20.5 million people out of work, combined with a higher number of new claims for benefits as older unemployed workers turn to Social Security, there will be a significant impact on the finances of the Social Security Trust Funds. The d...
Although staying inside may be new, and a bit challenging, to us, it isn't new for our house cats. They know that inside your home is the safest place to be. While finding ways to keep yourself amused at home, how about finding new ways to keep your cat entertained too? Cat trees. An oldie but a goodie, cat trees give cats options and they love options, especially when it comes to feeling safe. A cat tree allows cats to get away from dogs or over-anxious grandkids. Plus, cats like to sit up...
Every woman needs a ladies night out once in a while. I experienced one such evening in the fall of 2004 during the years my husband and I operated Nabesna House Bed and Breakfast out of our home in Slana. To prepare for my time away, I came in from weeding the strawberry patch, took a shower, and carefully remembered not to apply deodorant. Then I drove four miles to my friend's house, parked my car and rode with her to Mentasta Lodge. We looked around and spotted the Mobile Mammogram Unit...
Criminals dabbling in everything from prostitution to bootlegging to gambling flourished in the Alaska territory during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Believing that gold miners and other citizens easily could be parted from their hard-earned income, thugs crossed the border into Alaska when law enforcement in the rest of the United States cracked down on their criminal enterprises. A January 1921 newspaper article from Juneau captured the flavor of the situation: "In anticipation of an influx...
It's a sobering thought for fans of classic film. The passing of Olivia de Havilland in late July, just three weeks after her 104th birthday July 1, represents the loss of the last surviving big-screen legend from Hollywood's Golden Age of the 1930s. While other actors are still with us who were indeed active in film during the 30s, Ms. de Havilland was truly the last A-list star from that era whose name could be bundled with the likes of Bogart, Gable, Hepburn and so many others. They are simpl...
Baseball fans love to nickname things. A home run can be a simple “homer” but it can also be a “tater,” a “dinger,” a “jack” or “going yard”. In fact, there are dozens of nicknames for the baseball fan’s favorite play. One thing nobody in baseball likes to see, however, is a “comebacker”. That’s when the ball is hit directly back at the pitcher. Because the pitcher is off-balance after throwing the ball, he may not have a chance to get his glove up and protect himself, so a comebacker ca...
Q. I can’t print from my laptop computer. When I checked if my HP5255 was connected, I found a printer email address that ended with @hpprint.com. I also do not understand why that address is different than my regular email address. A. I feel your pain. Troubleshooting printer problems is one of the toughest aspects of home computing. Moreover, helping to fix printer problems is hobbled by the fact that everyone’s setup is slightly different. Keep in mind that there are two connections that must both work. The first is the “hardware” connection...
Amid the sharp political divides over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing racial protests, the Trump administration continues its push to invalidate the Affordable Care Act (ACA) through the courts – a move that could prove to be one of the riskiest decisions in President Donald Trump’s reelection efforts and could also severely complicate who controls Congress. The decision to file its brief to undo the ACA at the U.S. Supreme Court before it hears the case for the third time in the fall, reveals a sharp dividing line in the...
"I look forward to the calls each week." This comment was typical of the feedback that Peggy Schmidt received when she offered a virtual Aging Mastery "book club" to her rural constituents in Wisconsin. As the Caregiver/Health Promotion Specialist for the Aging & Disability Resource Center there, she transformed in-person classes to virtual ones, but after a survey revealed a deep digital divide in her community, she conducted classes via telephone. These weekly sessions provided one means for...
One morning in August 2012 I answered the ringing phone and heard "Hi, this is Kim. Gary and I have been picking blueberries in Hatcher Pass and we have more than we need. Could we bring you some?" Several thoughts jumbled through my mind including, "no, we can't accept that generous of an offer two years in a row, and yes, that would be so wonderful." Because of my health issues and our move back to Palmer, I picked not one berry during the fall of 2011. Now feeling much better a year later, I...
Glowing reports, like the following excerpt from the Aug. 8, 1897, edition of the New York World newspaper, helped fuel the stampede for gold along the Yukon River. "Mr. J. O. Hestwod, one of the most successful argonauts of '97, has just returned from Klondike and furnishes by telegraph to the Sunday World a true picture of Alaska as it really is. He said: 'Modern or ancient history records nothing so rich in extent as the recent discoveries of gold on the tributaries of the Yukon River. 'The...
What could convince a 90-year-old actress – once a model for Disney animators creating the Tinker Bell character of 1953's "Peter Pan" – to abandon her West Coast home of nine decades and fly off to a new life in Florida, some 2,500 miles away? Perhaps a sprinkle of Disney magical fairy dust was involved when World War II veteran Robert Boeke, now 94, was visiting Amsterdam last summer with friends and stumbled on a store sign for "Tinker Bell Toys." "He told the people in the group he had act...
You know how nice it is when you get a toy you have been wanting? If you don’t remember that far back, think about how a child’s eyes light up when it sees a toy under the Christmas tree. Or if you like, a grown man’s reaction on his birthday when he unwraps that belt sander he has been asking for. Now imagine that you are given a toy you really want, but then told that you cannot play with it, you have to put it up on the shelf and just look at it. And you will know how I feel right now. (“Eno...
Q. Is there a way to view personal photos on my television? A. A living room TV is a perfect venue to share your family photo collection, and there are choices to fit every budget. Many televisions built in the last decade can already display photos. Older TVs may have a memory card slot. Simply load photos onto a card and enjoy! This is also the best choice if your house does not have a Wi-Fi network. The bundled software installed in SmartTVs often support photo sharing via home networking. If your set lacks any built-in features or if they...
As the nation moves into whatever "reopening" the next phase of the COVID-19 challenge means, the pandemic's mark on American health will be a permanent one in good ways and unfortunate ones too. The nation is nowhere close to a vaccine or a cure despite president Donald Trump's hyper-ambitious "plan" to develop, manufacture and distribute a vaccine by the end of 2020. Most scientists suggested that the most "optimistic" potential for a vaccine would be at the end of 2021 and more likely it...
COVID-19 is caused by something so small we cannot even see it, a virus known as SARS-CoV-2. This virus is causing illness and death throughout the world, and it seems to be targeting our elders especially hard. According to the CDC, 8 out of 10 deaths reported in the United States have been adults age 65 and older. This is a tenuous time for grandmothers, grandfathers, older siblings, loved ones and neighbors. Great concern, appropriately so, exists for our elders that live in residential care facilities as well as those that live in...
During our first summer of trying to be self sufficient and live off the land, my husband, Gary, decided to keep honeybees. The year was 1974 and we lived 23½ miles out of Fairbanks on the Chena Hot Springs Road. Once he got the bee hive box situated near the edge of the woods, they needed little attention. One evening in late July, upon returning from a day in town, we noticed the hive box had been toppled over. Gary walked over to investigate and decided from the signs that a bear had...
When the U. S. Army took over responsibility for administering Alaska in 1867, law enforcement found it had its hands full trying to stem the flow of liquor into the territory. Up until alcohol possession was legalized in 1899, smugglers brought their illegal brew into Alaska via whalers, fishing vessels, American and foreign ships and Indian canoes from both British Columbia and U.S. ports. Enforcement also had problems controlling the manufacture of "hootch," a name taken from the Tlingit...
Reassembling a dozen cast members from a popular 90s TV sitcom could pose a challenge for any network, much less an individual. But it was a task Fran Drescher relished. As the nasal-voiced star of the hit CBS series "The Nanny," Drescher co-created and co-produced the show along with then-husband Peter Marc Jacobson. "Peter came up with the reunion idea for fans stuck at home during isolation and I said right away let's do it if everyone in the cast is available," said Drescher from her home in...
