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Starting out as an assistant director on "I Love Lucy" in the late 50s probably wasn't a bad introduction to Jay Sandrich's television career behind the camera. "I wrote a letter to Lucy's company (Desilu) and was invited for an interview," recalled Sandrich from Los Angeles. He was immediately offered the job despite possessing only a film degree from UCLA and a couple of years' experience working on army documentaries. "It was my first real job in the business," he said. "The only reason I...
I was hoping this month's column would be about the changes to the tax code and how that effects estate planning. No such luck -- the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is still pending in Congress, subject to last-minute negotiations, and my deadline is nonetheless upon me (the Senior Voice editors are brutal taskmasters. The last time I was late with my column, I woke up to find a severed horse's head in my bed). So, let's have a little fun instead. Let's look at somebody who did it his way – and did it r...
Q. How can I use my phone to take a family photo and include everyone in the picture? A. Smartphone cameras have gotten so good that there has never been a better time to put one on a tripod. Phone cameras perform magic to keep images sharp in all sorts of conditions, but you can still make images with a tripod that would be impossible otherwise. Gathering the whole family together in one frame is the perfect place to begin. Attaching a smartphone to a tripod requires a special bracket. Before you grab the first bargain bracket you come...
Form Christmas letters. Whether they arrive by snail mail or email, people seem to either love or hate these annual family newsletters. Let me just state up front that I am a fan. Because my mother embraced this particular tradition, her children and grandchildren now have a wonderful treasure of family history. Dad arrived in Anchorage in January 1940 from Montana and Mom came to Seward in 1951 from New York. They married in 1954. As far as we know, Mom wrote her first Christmas letter while...
By JACQUELINE GARCIA Diverse Elders Coalition Every morning, Eduardo arrives at a day laborer center in Los Angeles to pick up his crew for the day. Depending on the working schedule, the 52-year-old man takes between two and four men to work in different projects, mainly in construction. "Sometimes other [day labor workers] laugh at me because I often take the older men," said Eduardo. "But I take them because they have less opportunity to be hired," he said. For many years Eduardo also worked...
The holiday season is upon us and that means people are searching for the perfect gift for friends and family. From socks to wine and pajamas to animals, people will receive both wanted and unwanted gifts. What about you? Have you heard murmurs from the kids that you could use a cat to keep you company? Are you thinking your grandchildren really need a dog in their lives? Let's look at the good and bad of giving and receiving pets as gifts. Research from the ASPCA (American Society for the...
Even as people attempt to sing it, few know the words of the world’s best-known and most-sung song (outside of “Happy Birthday”). Or much else about the mystery song. Dick Clark, long the host of the new year’s eve TV broadcast from Times Square in New York, didn’t know. “All I remember is ‘drink a cup of kindness,’ and ‘old acquaintances,’” he said. The song is sung by average people all over the world, in English and at least 40 other languages, from Times Square to Tokyo, at funerals, graduations, farewells, Boy Scout jamborees and other f...
More than four decades ago Congress enacted the Alaska Native Land Claims Settlement Act, which conveyed about 40 million acres to Alaska Native-owned corporations and settled aboriginal land claims. President Richard M. Nixon signed it into law in December 1971. Why was the Native land claims such a big issue after statehood? The Alaska Statehood Act said the new state could choose more than 103 million acres of its land – an amount larger in total area than California – to build its eco...
The tragedies that befell singer Connie Francis throughout her life would challenge the most resilient of souls. Nevertheless, she navigated each dark, engulfing personal tunnel with unwavering tenacity, always eventually emerging aided by her sense of humor. "It never failed me and kept me going," she said from her home in Parkland, Florida. "From the age of 10, I worked on TV with many comedians like Don Rickles and developed a sense of humor." While her professional breakthrough came in the...
Forms can be helpful. And dangerous. Back in the days when I did a lot of trial work, I encouraged the court system to develop forms that people could use for simple matters. I saw a lot of folks who needed some form of relief, but couldn’t afford thousands of dollars to retain an attorney. Forms for simple things like filing a motion in a family law or probate case made a lot of sense. And I still believe in that. However, there is a downside to the use of forms. If you try to use a legal f...
Q. What is the best way to clean the screen on a smartphone or tablet? A. My favorite method is a microfiber towel sold under the trademark Dash Gear (www.cleantools.net/products/dash-gear). I discovered these in a local auto parts store a few years ago. I wipe yesterday’s fingerprints off my iPad and phone each morning. (Dirt on screens is much easier to see in daylight.) If it takes more than a few seconds, I drop the towel into the laundry. Once cleaned, the towel works as good as new. Beware of the term “microfiber.” I have encou...
To author Studs Terkel, World War II was The Good War. And to Tom Brokaw, those who lived through it were The Greatest Generation. Sacrifice was the order of the day. And, as Betty Curtis and Carmen Suter can tell you, everyone made sacrifices every day. "I wouldn't go through it again for anything, but it created an interesting generation of people," said Curtis, who was 13 and living in Delphos, Kansas, about 60 miles north of Salina, when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. On t...
In 1935 the National Association of Manufacturers testified before Congress that Social Security would represent “ultimate socialist control of life and industry.” Other opponents argued that the initial Social Security registration process was like social engineering used in Nazi Germany. These critics predicted that American workers would be forced to wear metal Social Security tags on chains around their necks. Earlier in the decade industrial production had fallen 46 percent, foreign trade had plummeted by 70 percent, and unemployment had...
This is an article in an ongoing series by the Diverse Elders Coalition, focusing on different ethnic and demographic senior groups. Last month, I was in New York City to celebrate reaching another decade with four of my friends. Three of these friends I have known since high school, and we were roommates at one time or another in college. My son, Aiden, calls them his "aunties," because they have loved him through his transition and love him the same today. We decided on New York, because it...
Homer residents turned to Betty Crocker when they needed a firetruck in the late 1960s after learning about a promotion offered by General Mills. The nationally known company offered a program where people could turn in their coupons for large househlold items. An $800 piano could be purchased with 160,000 coupons redeemed at one-half penny each, according to a Homer Tribune article, titled "Bringing home 'Betty," by Naomi Klouda. How many coupons did it take to get a fire truck? Five million,...
Off-screen, Valerie Harper has been an inspiration to many following her optimistic defiance to a well-publicized life-threatening medical diagnosis in 2013. The star of the hit 70s TV series "Rhoda" now brings her indomitable spirit to the big screen to hearten families dealing with Alzheimer's. Harper, Liz Torres, and Harmony Santana star in Susie Singer Carter's short film, "My Mom and the Girl." Based on Singer Carter's own mother's battle with Alzheimer's, the writer, director and...
I really wish they hadn’t called it an IRA. Back in 1997, a senator named William Roth pushed through a law which allowed for a different type of retirement account. Up until then, if you wanted to save for retirement in a way that was tax-advantaged, your only option was a traditional IRA, or one of its close cousins like a 401(k) or SEP. There were minor differences, but these IRA-type accounts pretty much worked the same. There was a tax deduction when you put the money in, but you had to p...
Q. What do you think of using a service like Airbnb or HomeAway instead of a hotel? A. My family has used various websites to find daily rental lodging for over 10 years. When everything goes according to plan, they are fantastic. But a bad experience can ruin your vacation. We have experienced both kinds, on multiple occasions. There is a huge inventory of rooms, apartments and houses available for rent online. They are offered by different types of businesses – everything from individuals with a spare room to property management companies t...
Aggressive deportation policies, like those that have been enacted since President Donald Trump's inauguration, tear families apart - including elders and the family caregivers they depend upon. Since 1980, the share of households headed by an immigrant has doubled (from 7 percent to 14 percent in 2012). In 2009, 16 percent of households headed by an immigrant were multi-generational, compared with 10 percent of households with a U.S.-born head. Many immigrant and refugee elders depend on their...
We used to have two cars until a few years ago when the 1992 Dodge Grand Caravan suddenly made loud clunking noises and stopped running – forever. On the one hand we were sad to see her go. My wife and I had lots of shared memories about taking the “red rocket” on camping trips around Alaska, and even a three-month car-camping excursion down the Alcan and around the western half of the United States. On the other hand, two cars for two people seemed a bit excessive. We could save thousands of dollars a year by sharing a single car. Lower...
Four small cannons in Sitka, which started out in Unalaska, stand in testimony to Alaska's occupation by Russia and the subsequent transfer of Alaska to America 150 years ago. The Northern Commercial Company in Unalaska donated the cannons to the state of Alaska two years after statehood. The artifacts date back to the 1700s, when Lord Baranof ruled Alaska for Russia as its manager and governor. The antique guns, made of bronze, weighed about 500 pounds each and had the date 1723 stamped on...
For over 50 years, L.Q. Jones was a familiar supporting character actor in some 100 films and hundreds more television shows. Lanky, tough and athletic, he could tackle any role although was often cast as the 'heavy' in westerns and dramas, projecting the 'bad guy' image with merely a sinister smirk or a menacing twinkle in the eye. Jones turned 90 on Aug. 19, and two days later hosted a showing of "The Wild Bunch" at Grauman's (now the TCL) Chinese Theatre. Born and raised in Texas as Justus...
It used to be a rare thing to meet someone who worked from home and actually made a decent income. Some people say they could never do it. They’re not self-starters. They can’t deal with the distractions. They’d feel like they were always at work. Then there are people who work from home, for an employer or for themselves, and never want to “go to work” again. Who actually works at home? In 2015, only about 3 percent of workers, or 4 million people, worked from home. As millennials swarm the workforce and always talk about work-life balance,...
Let me tell you a story. I promise I will eventually flounder my way to a relevant point. A few years back, on a cold winter day, I was out walking my dogs. At one point the boy dog suddenly began pulling in one direction, and the girl dog in the other. It caught me off guard, and I happened to be standing right on an icy spot. My feet went out from under me, and with both hands tied to the leashes, I was unable to get a hand down to break my fall. I went down hard. The next day, realizing that...
Q. A few months ago I used my email address to gain access to a website. It turned out I was not interested in the site, but I am still flooded with junk email from the site despite using the “Unsubscribe” link. Is there anything else I can do? A. Sadly some companies are more lax than others when it comes to respecting your email privacy. If a company fails to honor an “unsubscribe” link, your options are limited. Stop clicking unsubscribe and just delete the message without opening it. Mark it as spam or create a mail filter rule that se...
