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Q. As a longtime iPhone user, when I needed a new phone I would just get the latest model. Now the lineup has so many choices I’m confused. How do I pick one? A. The 2018 iPhone models create an array of choices, yet choosing among them can still be simple. There are three new designs: the iPhone Xs, which comes in two different case sizes, and the iPhone Xr, the least expensive model. Unlike most tech products, iPhone customers are not saddled with older technology when they step down from the most expensive model. The iPhone Xr is by far t...
"Well - he doesn't hit me." It's a phrase I hear when talking to older women through Humble Warrior, a free compassionate listening service aimed at providing support to those in distress. While the women recognize they are miserable in their marriages, they often believe that if they aren't being hit, they have no legitimate reason to leave. Somewhere along the line, they've come to accept that emotional, verbal and financial abuse are just part of the marital package. Indeed, for many older...
My husband Gary burst in the door of our cabin, peeled off his outer gear, and said, "I volunteered us to cook the turkey in our wood cook stove. They'll do everything else on their Coleman stove. Thanksgiving dinner will go on as planned!" He had just returned by snow machine from checking on our neighbors, and said he would go back to their house with the sled in a while to fetch the bird. We all had awoken to no electricity that snowy November morning back in 1979. Gary and I had only lived...
President Richard Nixon signed the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act on Nov. 16, 1973, but many people had been working for years to lay the foundation for building that line long before it was approved. Throughout the 1960s, experts believed that the North Slope held commercially viable amounts of oil. And when found, they also knew that getting it to market would be a challenge as there was no road to Alaska's north country. The only way into the North Slope was by air or sea. The oil in...
As the TV matriarch of the Cunningham clan in the sitcom "Happy Days," Marion Ross appeared in over 250 episodes during the hit series' 11-season run from 1974 to 1984. But one episode has special significance for the actress this time of year. In 'The First Thanksgiving,' broadcast two days before the November holiday 40 years ago this year, Ross's character (also named Marion) leads the cast in a departure from the show's usual Milwaukee-based setting. She narrates a flashback story set in...
Sometimes when we talk about a particular subject a lot, we take it for granted that people know certain background facts. I realized this recently when I was talking about the high cost of probate (a subject I mention pretty regularly) and was asked whether it was in fact true that, as this person had heard, probate costs could run several thousand dollars. Several thousand dollars? That’s if you’re lucky. Probate costs money. A lot of money. In many states, the key players – attorneys and e...
Q. What is your favorite Android phone? A. I am a huge fan of the Google Pixel. I think that it offers the very best experience on the Android platform, and it’s my go-to recommendation for anyone who prefers Google’s services to those offered by Apple. I still think the overall best choice for most consumers is an iPhone, but marketing in the Android space is fierce, and the Pixel is the best top-quality phone that few people have ever heard of. Android itself is a product of Google, and while all the top-of-the-line models from third-party ph...
As all people who have birthdays on holidays know, there are good points as well as drawbacks. Through out my life, my birthday has always had an air of anticipation, excitement, and no lack of parties and candy – October 31. I'm sure my mother had her hands full trying to squeeze in both a birthday party and trick-or-treating. When my children were little, it was a challenge getting them ready for trick-or-treating and answering phone calls from family. Five long distance greetings were not u...
Around the first of April of this year, I began using a wheelchair when I leave the apartment. This was an inevitability that I resisted, fought off for as long as I could. Admitting that I need a wheelchair struck me as “the last straw,” akin to simply giving up, accepting the fact that the virus is winning. Worse, I have become more of a burden to my fiancé Rick than a companion. However, between the debilitating pain in my back—from severe osteoporosis, three herniated discs, four compression fractures, and a mysterious inflammation that w...
After news of gold found in the Klondike spread during the summer of 1897, many people in the Lower 48 left their jobs and families to head north to search for their fortunes. And soon a hoax, perpetuated by promoters looking to profit off of the stampede, would eventually birth one of Alaska's most picturesque little towns. 1897-1898 headlines rang out with "Gold in Alaska. Valdez Trail – Best Trail!" But the reported pre-existing trail turned out to be a glacier that was twice as long and s...
Disguised as little goblins, ghosts or ghouls, kids will soon be prowling the streets in their annual Halloween quest to extort candy from benevolent neighbors. But for some family members, the spooky festivities can turn downright dangerous. Whereas a candy overdose may induce the occasional bellyache in kids, sweet treats can lead to more serious problems for pets. The greatest danger comes from chocolate, which contains theobromine, a chemical especially toxic to dogs. Despite the name,...
Ask people their favorite Shakespeare play, and chances are they will name Romeo and Juliet, or perhaps Hamlet or Macbeth. A few of the cognoscenti might name something else, but they’re just showing off. If you are an estate planner, however, your favorite is likely King Lear. In case you haven’t read it lately (or ever) the play features a king of England who decides he wants to retire. He has three daughters, and he sets out to divide his kingdom among the three of them. He plans to keep the...
Q. I have too many passwords to remember. I write most of them down and put them in a card in my wallet. How do you keep track of your passwords? A. Keeping your passwords in a wallet or purse is not safe. If stolen, not only does the thief have your passwords, he or she has your identification and the detailed information needed to steal your identity. If you have to write something down, keep it somewhere obscure. People who work in software have had the “too many passwords” problem for decades. Today, everyone has a long list of passwords to...
Who in Alaska is glad to hear that Medicare is not going bankrupt? Certainly the 84,000 Medicare beneficiaries in Alaska are glad to hear that Medicare is not going bankrupt. And by the way, not all those beneficiaries are elders. Medicare beneficiaries in Alaska include about 13,000 people who are younger but disabled. In 2014, the most recent year for which this information is available, total Medicare spending in Alaska was $741 million. That contributes to the incomes of thousands of healthcare providers and other health care workers in...
Whenever I tell people that I work in the field of aging, it raises more than a few eyebrows. I started working with the Diverse Elders Coalition before my 30th birthday, and even though I'm a few years older and wiser now, it still feels like few of my peers are thinking about aging, much less how they can support the generations who have come before them. And yet, it feels like all of us, regardless of age, should be thinking about aging and elders all the time. There seem to be silos that...
One evening last winter while searching my TV recordings for a certain movie I wanted to watch, the words "Bus Life Ever" caught my eye. Curious, I clicked to learn more and soon was intrigued. It was a show out of Denver, Colorado, from the Home Improvement channel featuring three bus rebuilds. For the first one, the guy was going to raise the roof with a budget of $45,000 to $55,000. The second project was to remove the complete interior and start from scratch with a budget of $100,000 to $150...
U.S. Revenue Cutter Service captains saw a need for supplemental food for Alaska's Native people in the Last Frontier during the late 1880s, as whale and seal populations had diminished. And since marine mammals were among the Natives' primary food sources, the captains became concerned for the well being of Natives living in Bering Sea villages. Capt. Michael A. Healy remembered seeing something in 1881 that might answer the problem of sustaining Alaska's Native people. While serving as...
A supporting actor for much of his film career, Richard Herd has worked with actors such as Jack Lemmon, Rod Steiger, Robert Redford, Sylvester Stallone and Robert Duvall. He has also been a frequent guest star on TV series since the early 1970s and is probably best recognized as a cast member on several TV shows such as "T.J. Hooker," "Seaquest DSV," "Star Trek: Voyager," and "Seinfeld" – for his reoccurring role of 'Mr. Wilhelm.' "'Seinfeld' was one of the best jobs I ever had," said Herd from...
True story: My husband and I are walking our two dogs on leash. Another couple is walking towards us with an unleashed dog. We step off the trail, heading slightly uphill. I place my dog in a sit and have treats to keep her occupied as the loose dog walks by. I turn to my husband to see if he has treats too and at that moment the loose dog runs toward us. I don't see it because I have taken my eyes off my dog so I also don't see her sudden movement forward which pulls me downhill and I fall....
I liked Max Gruenberg. Max was a lawyer, and a long-time legislator. I did battle with him in both venues; as a trial lawyer, when we had cases against each other; and when he was in the State House of Representatives, and I was nominated to sit on a commission (Max grilled me for 45 minutes in committee, to the point that other committee members were asking him to hurry it up and finish, but then when my nomination came to the floor, he spoke in favor of it). Max was a sincere guy. Even though...
Q. I like to look at weather radar online but when I click on the radar site I get a message saying that Adobe Flash Player is blocked. What do I do? A. There are several possibilities behind why an application is blocked. Adobe is a reputable company, and Flash is a useful product. However, there are counterfeit versions of Flash online that Windows Defender might recognize and consequently block. Perhaps the version of Flash you have installed is not the latest version, which could trigger the block. Also note that some ad blockers will...
Editor's note: This article is part of an ongoing series provided by the Diverse Elders Coalition, focusing on different senior populations. I would have never believed there would ever come a time when my Mom – whom I've always described, whenever asked, as my best friend, No. 1 fan, personal "shero" and one who's loved me unconditionally without hesitation or regret for my entire life – would look upon my face and require a few minutes before recognizing who I am. But as her 90th birthday app...
My first experience at the Alaska State Fair in Palmer was back in the mid-1960s as part of a group of young 4-H girls from Glennallen. A couple mothers drove us in to Palmer to see our projects on display and pick them up the next day when the fair was over. I was too young to know how sleeping arrangements were made for the group, but I do remember we all spent the night at Janet Kincaid's home. Current owner of the Valley Hotel and Café and the Colony House Inn, Janet was in the hospitality...
Water in the Chena River inched up ever higher during July 1967 when 3.34 inches of rain, instead of the normal 1.84 inches, fell on Fairbanks. The city's 30,000 residents weren't too worried, though. Most were in the midst of the Alaska Purchase Centennial, celebrating the U.S. purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. But when 6 inches of rain fell during a period of five days, the river did crest. And on the evening of August 14, it spilled over its banks at 18.6 feet. The massive amount of wat...
Beginning her career as a talented child actress, Beverly Washburn worked alongside Hollywood's most popular actors and her list of favorites is long (see www.beverlywashburn.com). While she appeared in several "Wagon Train" episodes, her favorite was The Tobias Jones Story where Lou Costello plays a drunk accused of murder – a rare dramatic role for the comedian and one of his final acting appearances. "I was a big Abbott and Costello fan, so it was a thrill to work with Lou," said Washburn f...
