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It was 45 years ago this month that I married Gary in the front yard of my home in Glennallen. As the wedding party stood and all the guests sat facing toward the grove of poplar trees, frogs croaked and ducks swam in the pond off to one side. In other years the trees were leafed out and the grass was green, but that year spring was slow. But, I didn't care. I wanted to get married in May and the 26th was the last Saturday of the month. At times during the preceding months, when preparing for a...
For years, I kept a blog with updates about my family. School events, vacations, celebrations were written up and posted to the blog, along with lots of photos. The blog was a more convenient way to share with family and friends in the Lower 48 than putting together letters home. And the service was free. Over time, I bonded with the blog; it became a family diary. I enjoyed browsing back through the entries, seeing pictures of children as they grew up, remembering funny adventures, seeing the home renovations and transformations. Then along...
One northern town became an integral part of Alaska's gold rush history after prospectors sifting through red rocks along a creek south of the Yukon River thought they had found rubies mixed with gold nuggets. They named the new prospect Ruby Creek, although the red rocks turned out to be garnets. The discovery of large quantities of gold in the creek in 1906 brought even more stampeders into Alaska's Interior. And when word leaked out in 1910 that more gold had been found on Long Creek, about...
From 1974 to 1984, TV audiences knew Marion Ross as the sitcom mom dispensing patience and wisdom during the 11-season run of the ABC hit series "Happy Days." But Marion's days were not entirely happy. In her March memoir, "My Days: Happy and Otherwise," her 'otherwise' reminiscences include a bad first marriage and the challenges confronting an actress and single working mother. Even her early years on "Happy Days" weren't always cheery thanks to TV hubby Tom Bosley. "Tom didn't particularly...
Adult guardianship cases are kind of a big deal. And sometimes, they’re difficult. On one side you have the Respondent. This is typically someone who has some kind of dementia, mental health issue, or medical issue which renders them unable to handle their own affairs. Oftentimes they are in danger of losing such essentials as housing, public benefits, or life savings, if someone doesn’t step in and help out. On the other side you have the Petitioner. This is typically a family member or fri...
Q. Is there a way for me to figure out what Facebook knows about me? A. Facebook knows more about you than you know about yourself. That might sound like a joke, but I am dead serious. Facebook not only knows everything you have ever told it, it also knows everything your “friends” have told it about you. And by “friends” I mean every connection between anyone you interact with, from actual friends to a random page you “liked” five years ago. Facebook never forgets. Facebook also likes to “share” your information. And by “share” I mean...
Approximately 1 in 10 Americans age 60 and older have experienced some form of elder abuse. Broadly defined, elder abuse is any form of mistreatment that results in harm or loss to an older person. More specifically, the World Health Organization defines elder abuse as “a single, or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress to an older person.” The legal definition of elder abuse varies from state-to-state. Elder abuse affects people fro...
In addition to federal VA benefits, veterans shouldn’t overlook the State of Alaska benefits. Following is a partial list of Alaska Veteran benefits. Veteran license plates The State of Alaska Legislature has designated several special license plates for veterans: recipients of the Purple Heart Medal, veterans who have been a Prisoner of War (POW), veterans who are survivors of Pearl Harbor, and Gold Star Families. Plates are issued free of charge after proof of service or family loss is v...
Since our move back to Palmer from Slana in 2011, I try to ride my bike around our subdivision on a daily basis unless the roads have ice and snow or if it's very windy. One day while riding in early spring of 2013, reflecting sunlight in one of my neighbor's back yard caught my eye. The next day, I slowed down to discover the source - a very large pane of glass leaning against a shed. My bike rides serve several purposes. They are great exercise and I thoroughly enjoy being outdoors while...
Imagine being deemed insane through a jury trial, and then sent to the Lower 48 for treatment in the dead of winter before planes and automobiles were available to transport you south. That's what happened to some Alaskans at the turn of the last century. The opening of the Alaska Psychiatric Institute in Anchorage in 1962 marked a dramatic change in the way Alaska handled those who suffered from mental illness. Construction of the facility meant Alaskans might find treatment for their mental...
As one of the best-known child actors from the 1960s, Hayley Mills starred in a half-dozen Disney films including box-office hits "Pollyanna" and "The Parent Trap." Now in her early 70's, Mills continues to perform with a preference for theater work. "In January, I opened at the New York City Center on Stage II in the lovely Irish play called 'Party Face' by Isobel Mahon," Mills explained recently while preparing for an evening performance. "It's a sweet, funny, touching play. I knew...
Over time, your valuables change, and so do your options to protect them. Here are a few choices, including safe deposit boxes and home safes, along with suggestions on how to assess each option for your specific needs. 1) Think about what should or should not be kept in a bank's safe deposit box. Good candidates for a safe deposit box include originals of key documents, such as birth certificates, property deeds, car titles and U.S. Savings Bonds that haven't been converted into electronic securities. Other possibilities for the box include...
When you last signed a will, you might have noticed that after the main part of it, there was a bunch of added legal stuff. This is about that all-important added legal stuff. (Wait, you have signed a will before, right? Right? Please tell me you have. If not, quit reading this and go call a lawyer.) At the end of a properly-drawn will, following the signatures of the testator and the witnesses, there is typically a page or so of additional legalities, and then another set of signatures, followe...
Q. I want an Amazon Echo, but my wife thinks it’s creepy to have a microphone listen to everything we say. What do you think? A. I think your spouse is very wise. New tech is always flawed, and smart speakers are very, very new. The privacy implications of installing an always-on microphone in your house should not be glossed over. The three main competitors in the smart speaker market are Amazon, Apple and Google. The “smarts” in smart speakers comes from an “intelligent personal assistant,” similar to phone-based assistants like Siri and...
My husband dropped me off at the Anchorage airport for a flight to Denver early last November. It wasn't until after I'd gone through TSA that I learned my flight was delayed for two hours. I wasn't ready to sit and read and I found myself restlessly wandering the aisle checking out the stores between my gate and TSA. After I enjoyed perusing the Alaskan books on display at the front of the bookstore, I decided to treat myself to a specialty coffee. While standing in line, I noticed the sign for...
Agueda González is Dominican, and though she is 83 years old, she says she feels 60 (and that's how she looks). A single mother, with a suitcase full of hope, she arrived in the United States more than 30 years ago. "I was 50 years old, another full life ahead and two beautiful children to be raised. Some friends told me, 'Agueda you are too old to start a new life in a different country,' and I answered them, 'It will be a new life, and it is just the beginning'." For 18 years she cared for...
Most Vietnam Veterans are aware VA benefits exists for a wide range of adult onset illnesses that qualify for presumptive causation from the effects of Agent Orange exposure during the Vietnam War. After many decades of testimony and case law, Congress finally directed the VA in 1991 by passing the Agent Orange Act to re-evaluate their stance on the effects of Agent Orange. Section 1116 of title 38 USC and ss 38 3.307 and ss 3.309 states if you served in Vietnam anytime from Jan. 9, 1962, and Ma...
There was no border established between the Great Land and Canada when the U.S. agreed to purchase Alaska from Russia for 2 cents an acre in March 1867. The lack of an agreed-upon boundary caused problems from the get-go. Russian maps of the time showed more land belonging to them than was stipulated in an 1825 treaty between Russia and Great Britain. That treaty divided the Northwest American territories between the Hudson's Bay Company and the Russian-American Company trading areas and...
Beginning in 1960 and for some three decades thereafter, Marlyn Mason appeared in almost 100 television series, earning the unofficial title of TV "Guest Star Queen." While her film roles were far fewer, fans of Elvis Presley movies remember the actress as Elvis's vivacious co-star in his next-to-last film, 1969's "The Trouble with Girls." However, Marlyn left Hollywood – literally – in the early 1990s. "When my Hollywood career came to a halt I moved to Oregon," said Mason from her home in Med...
A good education is getting harder to come by, and that’s true not just for college but starting in kindergarten. If you are looking to help ensure your grandkids get a quality education, you might consider opening a 529 plan. If protecting your income from the estate tax is another goal, a 529 plan can help accomplish both. And with the new tax bill, The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the rules for 529 plans just got easier. Not only can you use the plans to pay for college costs, but you can generally make tax-free withdrawals of up to $10,000...
This is a subject which, for a lot of people, is going to touch on some very personal, and perhaps painful, circumstances. Some years back, I was involved in a case involving termination of life support, which went all the way to the Alaska Supreme Court. It was a horrible case for everyone involved. A middle-aged lady had choked on some food, and suffered anoxia (lack of oxygen to the brain). A mere nine days later, the doctors wanted to end all life support, insisting that she was never going...
Q. My wife and I spend the winter months in our RV. We are both voracious readers, and I am considering a Kindle to help declutter our coach. Which one do you recommend? A. The simple answer is that any Kindle is better than no Kindle at all. Each of the four current models has advantages and drawbacks, so here are a few items to consider. The entry level model, which sells for less than $100, is probably best avoided. The screen is an older design, and I much prefer the sharper screens used on newer models. The second model in the lineup, the...
With the tax bill signed into law, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has set his sights on reforming Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and welfare in 2018. But he will have to overcome several big barriers to be successful, including reversing President Donald Trump’s repeated campaign pledge not to touch those specific federal entitlement programs for the elderly. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Ryan are also at odds over whether to tackle entitlement reform in a mid-term election year, which traditionally favors the p...
Learning the causes of sleep deprivation, especially in the winter, and how to overcome them are important steps for our elders to take in order to get a good night’s rest and increase their overall physical wellbeing. Why sleep is important Sleep deprivation, a lack of sleep that affects a person’s performance when awake, includes symptoms such as having trouble staying awake during daily activities and the need for caffeine to get started. Sleep deprivation can also lead to long term issues including memory impairment, weight gain, dia...
With the New Year behind us and February under way, many of us have already forgotten our well-intended resolutions and plans to change something in our lives for the better. The old standbys are losing weight, joining a gym, stopping smoking, and calling your friends and family more. But today, let’s strive to make a resolution that may save your life. Let’s take some baby steps toward self-sufficiency in the unlikely event of a natural disaster that interrupts our normal lives. FEMA and the...
