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Q. How do I dispose of a smartphone? A. These guidelines apply to most electronic devices, everything from smartphones to PCs. There are two concerns, protecting your privacy and proper recycling. If the device is only a few years old and still operates, you could sell it, extend its life by passing it along to a family member, or donate it to a charitable organization. The longer the device can be used, the less impact there is on the environment. Eventually, every smartphone reaches the end of its useful life. No matter what, do not d...
Despite the fact that this bill has over 100 Congressional co-sponsors, you probably have not heard about H.R. 676, The Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act. This legislation would: • guarantee access to comprehensive, high quality, affordable health care to all U.S. residents; • allow you to go to doctors and hospitals of your choice (unlike private insurance, which often forces you to use their list of doctors and hospitals); • not require you to pay copayments or deductibles; • not surprise you with huge unexpected medical bills....
Editor's note: This is the eighth article in a series from the Diverse Elders Coalition, looking at different segments of the senior population. I don't let cold weather stand between me and exercise. I enjoy pulling on my cleated hiking boots, grabbing my walking sticks and taking a brisk walk on an icy sand beach on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula. It does something for my spirit. I can enjoy it now at age 73 because I have the muscle mass and tone to extend myself. I can actually work up a sweat! I...
Baseball has long been a staple of summers in Alaska. And when Anchorage baseball fans wanted a semi-pro team in 1969, they knew they could count on George "Lefty" Van Brunt to coach the boys of summer from the first base side of the plate. Lefty's career with the Anchorage Glacier Pilots began that year when the Anchorage Community got serious about baseball because the adult league's all-star team could never beat the Fairbanks team. "The Gold Panners used to come down and kick our butts,"...
Best known for her roles in musical theater, Tony-nominated actress and singer Susan Watson released a collection of 14 Broadway and jazz standards on her CD "The Music Never Ends" last fall. "Some of these tracks I had sung earlier in my career and others I had always heard and loved, and just wanted to get them recorded," said Watson from her home in Sherman Oaks, California (see www.susanwatsonmusic.com). As an added bonus, says Watson, six of the songwriters on the CD were women well into th...
I grew up in the '70s. Back then, young people tended to sow their wild oats fairly indiscriminately. Sometimes, one of those wild oats sprouted. Those of you with grayer hair than mine, or at least with a good historical perspective, might point out that this sort of thing has been going on since... well, probably since the dawn of time. Even the Old Testament is complete with such stories (think Bathsheba). "Les Miserables" is based on such a sad tale. But back then, before the sexual...
Q. My 80-year-old mother received some messages from her Facebook friends that they had gotten a friend request from her, despite the fact they were already friends. What is going on? A. According to published estimates, there may be as many as 80 million fake accounts on Facebook, and this sounds like one of those situations. It usually starts when a malicious attacker steals someone’s profile picture and header photo as the basis for a fake account. Next they send friend requests from the fake account to the victim’s friend list. Most peo...
Suppose a debt collector sues you and wins a judgment. It may get a court order to garnish money from your account or benefits received by prepaid card. But the U.S. Department of Treasury requires banks to automatically protect certain federal benefits, IF that money gets deposited directly into your account. Banks must protect two months’ worth of benefits. So, let’s say you normally get $1,000 per month. Your bank must protect $2,000 of that money, but if you have more than that on deposit, it may be garnished or frozen. Important note: If y...
Editor's note: This is the seventh article in a series from the Diverse Elders Coalition, looking at different segments of the senior population. "How's that jade plant doing?" Joe asked me as we sat down at his kitchen table for our weekly visit. "You said you put it in a westward facing window, right? It should be getting way more light than mine do." He gestured toward his patio door where cactuses, orchids, jade plants and an avocado plant were growing on a bench he built. I had been Joe's...
Typically, when people think of animal companions they think of dogs and cats. But not everyone wants to, or can, walk a dog or has a secure enclosure for a dog to spend time outside. And some folks are allergic to cats. So we have another suggestion for you: rabbits. Yes, rabbits. Rabbits don't enjoy the popularity of dogs and cats. In fact, according to the House Rabbit Society there are only an estimated 3 to 7 million pet rabbits. That's a small number compared to the estimated 78 million...
PTSD is a term used by laymen to explain aberrant behavior by individuals who served in combat. Is this a fair assessment or a misuse of a term that carries deadly consequences? What is this disorder and does PTSD have any correlation to suicide? In the movie “Patton”, General Patton slapped a soldier who had “lost it” in battle and was recovering in the infirmary. He had battle fatigue or was shell shocked, according to the attending doctor. Of course, old “Blood and Guts” Patton couldn’t fa...
A small spruce that peered skyward in a dense forest on Prince of Wales Island in the mid-1700s found its way to Anchorage when Alaska became America's 49th state. This Southeast Alaska sapling held no importance when Secretary of State William Seward finalized the purchase of Alaska from the Russians on March 30, 1867. And most Americans at the time thought Alaska unimportant, as well, and referred to it as "Seward's Ice Box." But just as Alaska grew in importance for the nation, this little...
We all use the wrong word occasionally – "that skinny dog looks emancipated" – but comedian Norm Crosby molded a career from such humorous grammatical gaffes known as malaprops. "Although I had a good job as an advertising manager for a shoe company in Boston, I liked to fool around with comedy," said Crosby from his home in Los Angeles. It was the 1950s, and Crosby began visiting small, local bars and clubs on weekends to try his hand at standup. "I would watch the Ed Sullivan show and borrow a...
I am going to begin this column with more than just a spoiler alert. If you have never read the short story “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes, put down this paper immediately. Go buy it, or download it, or whatever, and read the story. You may then continue reading this column. If you fail to follow these instructions, I will have ruined for you one of the true masterpieces of literature. Flowers for Algernon is a story about a mentally handicapped man who is selected for an exp...
Q. Is Roku the easiest streaming device to use? I can’t seem to get a handle on it so I can watch Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. A. I love my Roku. My son gave me one a couple birthdays ago, and since then I’ve found many ways to enjoy it. Of course, he knows how much I enjoy tinkering with gadgets. Roku is loaded with features that make it a tinkerer’s dream, which makes it definitely not the easiest to use. None of the streaming devices are as easy to use as they should be, all of them are a challenge. For basic access to services like Netfl...
Editor’s note: This is an April 13 letter Gov. Walker addressed to Alaska Pioneer Homes Division Director Vickie Wilson; Pioneers’ Homes Advisory Board Co-Chairs Robert Silvertsen and Robert Hall, Sr.; Juneau Pioneer Home Administrator Gina Del Rosario; and Veterans and Pioneers Home Administrator Joshua Shaver. I want to take this opportunity for you to hear directly from me about my commitment to the Alaska Pioneer Homes. You know more than anyone that Alaska’s Pioneer Homes are extraordinary places. I have visited most of them and enjoy...
Sudden price spikes in older drugs are putting patients at risk of going without vital medicine. A new report by the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging uncovered an insidious business model that’s leading to monopoly pricing power and astronomical price increases. Berna Heyman, a retired librarian who has Wilson Disease testified how she was a victim of obscene price gouging. Her annual co-pay for the drug Syprine rose from $700 in 2013 to $10,000 in 2014, with her drug plan paying over $260,000. When she and her doctor applied for V...
The volume of veterans set to reach retirement age in the next decade will put tremendous pressure on the VA healthcare system. The Long-Term Supports and Services (LTSS) is one program the VA is attempting to rebalance and revamp in an attempt to avoid any impact on veterans. LTSS offers client-centered services in the least restrictive setting possible. For the majority of veterans, that place is their home. In the past, the VA’s focus has been on elder care institutions; i.e. long-term care f...
While the Southeast town of Sitka claims the first U.S. Post Office established in America's new possession of Alaska in 1867, Circle City – located on the banks of the Yukon River – holds the honor for the first post office in Alaska's Interior, according to "Directory of Alaska Post Offices and Postmasters." Circle City's first postmaster, famous outfitter Jack McQuesten, was appointed on March 19, 1896. Mail had been carried by private mail runners that traveled along a route from the new...
Known for his trademark salutation, "Hello Dere," his bug-eyed comic stare and wild Brillo-pad hair, veteran comedian Marty Allen is still making audiences laugh. "I get up in the morning and the only thing that doesn't hurt is my pajamas," joked Allen, who turned 95 in March, from his home in Las Vegas. A veteran of six decades in the entertainment industry, in 1957 the Pittsburgh-raised comedian teamed up with handsome lounge crooner Steve Rossi, who became his "straight man." The union produc...
You like potato, I like potahto You like tomato, I like tomahto Potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto Let’s call the whole thing off! The point the Gershwin brothers were making, I take it, was that slight differences in semantics shouldn’t make any difference in reality. Okay, maybe it’s more complicated than that, but I didn’t write this column to talk about Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Sometimes, slight wording differences matter tremendously. Take Medicare and Medicaid, for example. They so...
Q. A couple of times when I answered my phone the first voice I heard asked if I could hear them. It seemed harmless, but I wonder. Is it harmless? A. No, it is likely a scam. There is a similar technique that has been making the rounds recently. It involves a friendly voice apologizing for having problems with her headset, then attempting to engage in conversation. The effect is disarming, and it took a few seconds to realize that I was listening to a recording. As consumers become more savvy about ignoring unwanted solicitations, callers try...
We most often hear the phrase "Until Death Do Us Part" at weddings, when a couple commits to fidelity and love for one another until one of them dies. The traditional wedding vows say nothing about what accompanying someone to death involves. And most of us have no training in what the dying process involves and what is required to sit with a loved one as they are dying. My mom died in December at age 95. In reflecting on the end of her life, "until death do us part" is the phrase that keeps...
The discovery of rich gold deposits in the upper Yukon River in the late 1890s brought a massive rise in the number of ships plying Alaska waters. Especially in Lynn Canal, a part of the Inside Passage. It was a safer route for ships to travel than the open ocean route to the west through the eastern Gulf of Alaska. But once the ships passed British Columbia, they had few guides through the Inside Passage. Weather and terrain in Southeast Alaska made traveling perilous – fog, rain, strong t...
Don't expect Ed Asner's name to fade from casting lists anytime soon. With a variety of current and upcoming projects, 87-year-old Asner remains as busy and versatile as ever. It's a trend that follows a lifetime of dedication to his craft, playing bishops, doctors, judges, cops, cowboys, professors, villains and hundreds more film, television and stage characters and voice roles. "When I came out to Hollywood in 1961, I was determined not to be typecast," said Asner from his office in Los...
