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Bud Ford Is A Referee And Sports Booster Extraordinaire Photo and article By Jack McNeel Many people are recognized and honored for their play in the gymnasium or on the athletic field but Charles A. “Bud” Ford of Coeur d’Alene is one of the few recognized for officiating and at 84, his amazing career is not over yet! Three years ago, Bud was named Idaho’s Referee of the Year and last year was initiated into the Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame. Bud has refereed basketball games for 35 years and has now completed 63 years of refereeing high school, college, and semi-pro football! “I’m still one of the blind men out there,” he says with a laugh. “I don’t know if there’s anybody that can match that. I’m thinking of refereeing next year, but I think it will be my last – but I said that last year too. The good Lord gave me a pretty good body.” Bud attended Coeur d’Alene schools and graduated from Coeur d’Alene High School in the class of 1948. He was an athlete himself, lettering in four sports one year, but he says that doesn’t mean too much because the teams weren’t too strong at the time. “I played baseball and then participated in track during track meets (without practicing with the track team). It wasn’t a stellar career in track,” he adds. Bud has enjoyed a long career in business as well, starting out in television and appliances. “I sold that and bought an apartment house and mobile home park, and I’ve gone on from there,” he explains. Bud and his wife, June, have been married for 40 years, but his sorrow is evident when he relates that she suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and lives in Creekside Care Center. “She is a brilliant woman, but now the only thing she remembers is the family, which is a Godsend. I visit her daily,” Bud declares. He laughs as he tells of a newspaper article about him. “No use yelling at Bud Ford. He’s out in the center of the field and he’s got his hearing aids turned off,” the article said. “I spent 28 years in the Army and Reserve and it ruined my hearing,” Bud notes. He got around a lot during that period: Fort Lewis, Washington; Fort Knox, Kentucky; Fort Hood, Texas, plus his reserve time. “I retired as Lieutenant Colonel from the reserves and Assistant Commandant of the U.S. Army Reserve School. I was essentially in charge of everything from Grangeville north and also taught at Command and General Staff College at the University (Continued on page 28)

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Wrong Bomber On the back page of the Dec/Jan issue is an article entitled Do You Know These Bits Of Idaho Trivia. The last paragraph refers to a B-52 Bomber that crashed in 1943. We did not have a B-52 yet at that date. It was probably a B-17. George Linford I must inform you that your article regarding a crashed bomber on page 44 of the Dec/Jan issue is very inaccurate. First B-52 Bombers were not in service in 1943; they were introduced in 1955. Second, there is no Loon Lake in Idaho near Warren. The plane was a B-25. And yes, it is still there. Bea Shinkle Lewiston ED: These sharp readers were right; it wasn’t a B-52 but a B-23 “Dragon Bomber.” According to Wikipedia, the Douglas B-23 Dragon twin-engine bomber was a successor to the B-18 Bolo. The B-23 design incorporated a larger wingspan, a retractable undercarriage, and improved defensive armament. The B-23 was

Idaho Senior Independent A Barrett-Whitman Publication P.O. Box 3341 • Great Falls, MT 59403-3341 208-318-0310 • Toll Free: 1-866-360-5683 Fax: 406-761-8358 www.idahoseniorindependent.com E-mail: idahoseniorind@bresnan.net The Idaho Senior Independent is published six times each year in February, April, June, August, October, and December by Barrett-Whitman, 415 3rd Avenue North, Great Falls, MT 59401 and is distributed free to readers throughout the state of Idaho. The mail subscription rate is $10.00 per year (6 issues). The Idaho Senior Independent is written to serve Idaho’s mature population of all ages. Readers are encouraged to contribute interesting material. Views expressed in opinion stories, contributions, articles, and letters are not necessarily the views of the publisher. The appearance of advertisements for products or services does not constitute an endorsement of the particular product or service. The publisher will not be responsible for mistakes in advertisements unless notified within five days of publication. All copy appearing in the Idaho Senior Independent is protected by copyright and may be reprinted only with the written permission of the publisher. Advertising copy should be received or space reserved by the 5th of the month preceding the month of publication.

Jack W. Love, Jr., Publisher/Editor Colleen Paduano Lisa Gebo Rachael Lowrance Jonathan Rimmel Sherrie Smith

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014

the first operational U.S. bomber equipped with a glazed tail gun position. The tail gun mounted a 50-caliber machine gun, which was fired from the prone position by a gunner using a telescopic sight. The first B-23 flew on July 27, 1939. Thirtyeight B-23s were manufactured between July 1939 and September 1940. While significantly faster and better armed than the B-18, the B-23 was overshadowed by the newer medium bombers like the North American B-25 Mitchell and Martin B-26 Marauder. For this reason, the B-23s were never used in combat overseas, although for a brief period, they were employed as patrol aircraft stationed on the west coast of the United States. The B-23s were primarily relegated to training duties although 18 of the type were converted as transports and redesigned as the US-67. The eight men on board this bomber survived the January 1943 wintertime crash. The remains of the bomber still rest in the trees near Loon Lake where it came to rest after skidding across the frozen lake. The wreck is marked on Google Earth and clicking on the mark will show a photograph of the wreck. For anyone with room on their bucket list for a lovely mountain hike in the wilderness of Idaho, it’s north of McCall in the Payette National

Forest. An article profiling 97-year-old Lloyd Johnson, the man who rescued the aircrew, appears on page 5 of this issue. We regret the error.

After a wonderful holiday season, here we are looking at February and Valentine’s Day with the cusp of spring just around the corner. The daffodils will soon be showing their bright yellow faces to bring even more sunshine into our lives. Wouldn’t this be the perfect time of year to reach out and meet new people – perhaps even someone special with whom to share this time of rebirth and growth? Take time today to write a personal ad or reply to one of the personal ads on these pages. To respond to any of these personal ads, simply forward your message, address, phone number, or email address to the department number listed in the particular personal ad, c/o Idaho Senior Independent, P.O. Box 3341, Great Falls, MT 59403. We will forward your response, including your address, phone number, and/or email address to

the person placing the ad. When you answer an ad in this section, there is no guarantee that you will receive a response. That is up to the person who placed the ad. Please be sure you submit your correct address plainly printed, so you can promptly receive responses. Respond to the ads in this issue, and also sit down now and prepare your own ad to run in our next issue. There is no charge for this service, and your ad may lead you down the path of true love! Responses to personal ads appearing in this column can be submitted at any time. However, to place a personal ad to appear in the April/May 2014 issue, the deadline is March 20, 2014.

ED: The book was reviewed in the Oct/Nov 2013 issue of the Idaho Senior Independent on page 8. We have tried to reach Cold Mountain Press and Richard H. Holm, Jr. but to no avail. Amazon shows the book as currently unavailable. We have emailed boundforthebackcountry@gmail. com but received no reply. ISI

SF. Are you male, 70+, at least 5’8”, a nonsmoker with a positive attitude? Do you like to

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Bound for the Back Country In the past one or two issues, there was a review of the book Bound for the Back Country. I would like to buy a copy of the book. I asked Barnes and Noble, but they could not help me. I hope this will reach someone who can help. I am sending a stamped envelope you can use to let me know. My grandson is a recent retired navy pilot and I would like to find the book for him – I know he would find it interesting. Rosemary Mathews Buhl

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laugh and have fun? Let’s see what’s in the future for us. Rancher a plus. Picture a must. Reply ISI, Dept. 9601, c/o Idaho Senior Independent, Box 3341, Great Falls, MT 59403. Widow age 73, ex-truck driver, would like to meet a non-smoker – someone who likes the outdoors, going for drives, and quiet times at home. Reply ISI, Dept. 9602, c/o Idaho Senior Independent, Box 3341, Great Falls, MT 59403. SWF Big beautiful woman, in fairly good health, would like to meet a fellow 65-77, for friendship and companionship. I am in early 70s. He should not be rude, disrespectful, or judgmental. Not pushy with religion or politics. I sometimes attend church, but not a lot. I am looking for a guy who knows how to communicate, not a couch potato, and has a good sense of humor. Do not like jokes that are harmful – putting people down. I enjoy cooking, crafts, cw, comedies, board games, card games, fishing, camping, etc. I have a limited

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 3

income and I am frugal. I live in the Post Falls and sing. I love animals and have two small dogs, area. Reply ISI, Dept. 9603, c/o Idaho Senior outside cats, and a few free-range chickens. I own Independent, Box 3341, Great Falls, MT 59403. my own home and more. If you’re a man, happy with yourself, and want to share comfortable, peaceful, SWF, 73 - Liberal/non-political, spiritual/non- times together, to hold hands and hug after we get religious, planetary citizen. Passionate about to know each other, please contact me. Seeking human rights, cultural diversity, environmental a man, 70-75 with same interests at least 5’9” tall, protection, non-violence, and forgiveness. As a healthy, and can treat a woman respectfully, and healthy, active, slightly overweight retired teacher, as an individual. Reply ISI, Dept. 9605, c/o Idaho I enjoy gardening, creative projects, and country Senior Independent, Box 3341, Great Falls, MT living in north Idaho. Not relocatable. Desire cor- 59403. respondence/friendship with gentleman having similar values and interests and all things that bring Tall, educated, professional, romantic, southern beauty and joy to life. No S/D. Reply ISI, Dept. gentleman, 60, recently retired from law enforce9604, c/o Idaho Senior Independent, Box 3341, ment, enjoys hiking, biking, skiing, RVing, and the Great Falls, MT 59403. company of a positive, energetic lady who has a zest for life and sense for adventure. Prefer height I am a 70-year-old, good woman looking for to weight proportionate, age 53-62. Interested a good man. I am 5’5” tall, attractive, and have a ladies please contact for further info. Reply ISI, good sense of humor. I’m a non-smoker and non- Dept. 9606, c/o Idaho Senior Independent, Box drinker. I love to dance, travel some, do yard work, 3341, Great Falls, MT 59403. ISI fish, camp, picnic, watch movies, listen to music,

A Can of SpaghettiOs By Milt Turley, Avery It was December of 1966, and after four years, I was discharged from the Army and looking forward to going back to North Idaho, my family, and a normal life. Besides that, I needed to cool out after military service, and Idaho would be a good place to do that. My parents lived in Pinehurst and that is where I grew up, went to school, and graduated from Kellogg Senior High School. My father and I were not very close when I was growing up. We hunted elk and deer, and we cut firewood together in the fall. But most of the time we did things separately. Mainly I did chores around our family home. We had a cow, some chickens, a couple of ducks, two pigs, and a great big garden to tend. Dad did some of these chores, but mostly my younger brother and I did them. Dad was working six days a week and had little time to spend doing chores. Dad was a hard rock miner doing contract work for mines in the Silver Valley and for anyone who needed his expertise. He had been a miner most of his life. In fact, during World War II, he had worked in Polson, Montana for four years, sixteen hours a day, seven days a week. The Government exempted him from military service because of his mining expertise. My father and brother-in-law had been working in a contract mine near Plains, Montana for a few months when I was discharged from the army. My brother-in-law had just been hired by one of the mines in the Silver Valley and decided to take the job so he could be closer to my sister and their family. After my father lost my brother-in-law as his

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helper, my father asked me if I would like to go to work for him as a miner’s helper. I was unemployed and accepted his offer until school started in September. I was ready to start college that fall. Our work schedule at the mine was seven days a week for two weeks followed by a week off to resupply and be with the family. During the two-week period we mined sixteen hours per day. Drill, blast, muck, and lay track. Then do it all over again for the next fourteen days. This was hard, dangerous work. You had to be tough, smart, and have an exceptional work ethic because you were paid by the footage mined. Meals and sleeping were the only activities we did besides playing cribbage at night to see who had to cook and wash the dishes. I washed a lot of dishes that winter. That downtime gave Dad and me a chance to discuss my military service and how I needed to get back on track with my life. As I look back on those talks, I know they gave me some perspective in my life as to what was important and what was not. It was a true gift. When you work with someone that hard day after day, you learn a lot about what he is made of. As I found out, my dad was a very good miner. Later in life, I met people who had worked with him over the years, and they always told me he was probably the best miner in the Silver Valley. I believe that. One thing I do know for sure, Dad was 60-years-old and doing work that would probably kill someone 25 and in good shape. I found that my father had a really dry sense of humor, which was tempered by a sense of mischief. Additionally, he had a kind heart and an enormous amount of common sense. He was

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extremely intelligent and knowledgeable though he only had a third-grade education. During one of these two-week periods, we had to chain all four tires of our truck just to get to the mine. It was late January and the snow at the mine at 5,600 feet was bound to get deeper. We arrived at the cabin at about 8 P.M., unloaded the truck, and put away all the supplies. Dad cooked dinner that night. We played our crib game, which I lost – nothing new there. The next morning we woke up to almost three feet of snow. We mucked snow for the next day so that we could continue mining. The following morning, there was another three feet of snow. We mucked snow all that day as well and were ready to mine. Needless to say, we didn’t make any money mucking snow. We expected the road to be plowed by the time we got ready to go home, but no plow had shown up at the end of the two weeks. The claim owner, who plowed, lived at the bottom of the hill at the mouth of Eddy Creek. We weren’t sure why he hadn’t plowed, but figured he had plow trouble or something.

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FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014

We still had mining supplies left and some food, so we continued to mine. After seven more days, we were out of dynamite, primers, and other essentials for mining. The bad news was that we had only one can of SpaghettiOs left to eat. We were marooned without communications with the outside world. “I guess they forgot us. One of us needs to snowshoe out of here and get help,” Dad said as he looked at me with his little quirky smile, and I knew I was elected without even a vote. We only had one pair of snowshoes anyway. The next morning, I was to hike down the hill four miles to the mouth of Eddy Creek where I could get to a phone. Dad said, “You take that can of SpaghettiOs with you. You will need it for energy.” I said, “No Dad, you will need that can of SpaghettiOs in case it takes a couple days to get the road plowed out.” After all, I would be at the bottom by nightfall and would be able to get something to eat then. We argued about that can of SpaghettiOs all evening. Back and forth, back and forth. Finally, Dad conceded and said he would keep the can. We also played a game of cribbage and I won. Of course, there were no dishes to wash because we didn’t have any food. The next morning at daylight, snowshoes on and wearing wool clothing for warmth, I was on my way to the bottom of the canyon. As I wallowed my way down the hill in the deep snow, I rested every half hour so I wouldn’t get too sweaty so hypothermia wouldn’t set in if I had to spend the night outside. By noon, I was only half way down, but then I heard a plow working its way up the road so I turned around and started back to the mine. I got back at dark. Around midnight, the plow was at the cabin and we were free to go. The owner of the mine told us that a snow slide had covered the road making him two days late. Then the plow broke down, which took him five days to fix.

We left immediately, and when we got out to the owner’s house, we called Mom. She was very worried since the mine owner hadn’t called her to let her know the situation. A week later and resupplied with more food, we were back at the mine working where we continued on the same schedule until early May when we finished the project. I went to work in Coeur d’Alene and Dad retired after 42 years in mining. This story is not over, however. For Christmas that year, I got a present in a brown paper bag from Dad. Inside was that can of SpaghettiOs. The following year, I gave it back to him. The next year I got it back. This tradition between Dad and me continued for about six years. My mother became very ill and she passed away in September of that year. I expected the can of SpaghettiOs for Christmas, but it wasn’t under the tree. Dad was really lost without Mom and I figured he just forgot. The next year I didn’t get the can back either. I never said anything to him. Two years after that, Dad died on their wedding anniversary. I’m sure he died of a broken heart. They had been married for 42 years. During the process of sorting out my parents’ legal affairs, I had to see Dad’s attorney. After signing all the final papers, I started to leave when the attorney said, “I have one other item you need to attend to, Milt.” “What would that be?” I said. He reached in his desk and pulled out a brown paper bag. In the bag was the can of SpaghettiOs with a note taped to it that said, “GOTCHA! If you had this can when I died, it would be in my casket right now!” As I said, Dad had a sense of humor! I still have that can of SpaghettiOs. To this day on Mom and Dad’s wedding anniversary, and on the days they died, I think fondly of them and especially about the time I spent at the Eddy Creek Mine with Dad. ISI

Lloyd Johnson, Fruitland, Tells The True Story Of The Loon Lake Bomber Crash By Bernice Karnop The details of the bomber crash on Loon Lake in central Idaho on January 29, 1943 sounds like a TV drama. Some versions are a little too jazzed up, according to 97-year-old Lloyd Johnson. He was involved from the time the crew sent the message that they were lost in a storm and out of fuel, until all eight men were out of the wilderness and receiving treatment. He knows the true story. Lloyd, Alternate Forest Ranger out of McCall, heard the static-filled message. In spite of the poor radio contact, it was clear that the plane was coming down through the clouds and would attempt an emergency landing on a lake at about 6,000 feet elevation..

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Lloyd grew up in McCall and the 27-yearold knew the backcountry. He looked at the maps and figured out where he thought they might have landed. He requested permission to ski 50 miles in to Loon Lake and attempt a rescue. On June 2, 2014, “Not on government Lloyd Johnson from time,” the supervisor Fruitland will turn 98. answered. He lives alone, drives, When the local bush and he’s still having pilot flew the mail into fun. He believes the tiny Warren more than best medicine is good two weeks later, Lloyd food, plenty of exercise, and a good asked the man if he’d attitude. He doesn’t go out of his way and fly have a doctor or take over Loon Lake. Sure p h a r m a c e u t i c a l s . enough, he spotted the [Photo courtesy of plane down in the trees. Lloyd Johnson] The plane was a B-23 twin engine Dragon Bomber made by Douglas Aircraft as a successor to the B-18 Bolo. Thirty-eight B-23s were manufactured between July 1939 and September 1940, according to Wikipedia. This one was on a routine military flight from one base to another. Lloyd notified the military. Then, without asking permission, he asked the mail pilot to fly him in. “I like to do things when they should be done. If you wait for government permission to do things, it’s too late for it to be effective,” he states. He grabbed his survival gear, medic equipment, and some food and they

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 5

were back in the air in 30 minutes. The plane was have saved these fellows a lot of misery,” Lloyd On the other side they found an abandoned CCC outfitted with skis instead of wheels, but two and says today. Once the five were evacuated Lloyd camp. One man stayed there because he’d gone a half feet of fresh snow covered the frozen lake. and another forest ranger took off on snowshoes snow blind and had frozen his feet. After a tricky landing, Lloyd jumped off and the in search for the three who had hiked out. The other two stumbled on until they found a anxious pilot took off immediately. The desperate crewmembers had no skis or Ranger Guard house with a phone. There were When Lloyd got to the five survivors at the snowshoes and the steep, rugged terrain was cov- iron lines that went from post to post all through crash site, they had been 17 days without ade- ered with six feet of snow. There were slides in the the wilderness, Lloyd explains. The operator in Mcquate food or shelter. Bewhiskered, shaggy Call didn’t answer because the lines weren’t haired, and injured, they looked more like supposed to be working. wild men than like an aircrew. They kept calling until she finally picked “They were just about out of their up. A party from McCall rescued the three. heads,” he admits. Meanwhile Lloyd and the other searcher They’d heard the military search planes learned of the rescue by radio and came flying over above the clouds but had no way out a different way. They’d skied 40 miles of making contact. They’d given up hope in two days. and expected to die in that cold wilderness. To this day, the fact that these flyers Lloyd learned that the plane overshot made it out of this River of No Return counthe lake and mowed down about 200 feet try amazes Lloyd. of trees. This dramatic logging operation “They survived by the grace of God,” sheared off the wings and landing gears, Lloyd declares. “There are a lot of things broke off the plane’s nose, and shattered that happen that way in this old world.” the bombardier’s bubble on the bottom. It You might say that Lloyd survived for was so badly wrecked they couldn’t stay 97 years by the grace of God. Born in 1916, in the crinkled fuselage. The most serious in the rough and tumble little town of Mcinjury was a badly broken leg, which the Call, he joined a rough and tumble Swedish young medic immobilized. It later had to be family consisting of six boys, two girls, and amputated. The eight men on board the B-23 Dragon Bomber survived the Janu- a couple extras that his parents took in. He The survivors used their downed trees ary 1943 wintertime crash at Loon Lake in the Payette National Forest was named Stewart Standidge Johnson, to build a fire and to create a makeshift north of McCall. Visitors can plan a strenuous but lovely eight-mile hike but he didn’t know that until he saw his birth shelter. The fire eventually melted into the to see what little remains of the bomber in the trees. [Photo courtesy of certificate when he went to register for the snow and they carved out a snow cave. The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery] draft at the start of World War II. Everyone After five days, three of the crew decided to hike canyon and they didn’t dare walk on the creek for called him Lloyd. out for help. In 1924, the Chamber of Commerce in McCall fear they would break through and get wet. They The plane was loaded with guns and ammuni- had only their flight suits and mukluk boots over built a big ski jump for its Winter Carnival, one of tion but little food. They boiled magpies and any oxfords, which they wrapped in parachute mate- the first in the U.S. Eight- year-old Lloyd and his other creature they could shoot. There were fish rial. The Forest Rangers covered in an hour, the brothers had built their own ski jump next to the in the lake but they didn’t have the knowledge or distance it took the aviators a day to travel. “It was house so the big hill didn’t intimidate him. The equipment to catch them. nothing for us because we had been in the woods crowd loved watching the youngster tackling that Lloyd tended the men at the crash site for and knew what we were doing. We were on snow big jump on his homemade skis. They called him most of two days. Military planes dropped survival shoes and had food,” Lloyd says the “World’s Smallest Ski Jumper.” equipment and food once they knew where they “Not the best,” Lloyd says with a laugh, “just The ill-prepared survivors followed Loon Creek were, and finally bush pilots evacuated the survi- to the Sesech River and then went up the North the smallest.” vors. Back then when someone did something Fork of Lick Creek. They climbed over 8,500 foot “If the supervisor had let us go earlier we could Sesech Summit, covered with 15 feet of snow. people liked, they passed a hat. They tossed in

A Taste of

Idaho

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two bits, four-bits, and silver dollars. When he counted it later, he had nearly $100. Even better, the Northland Ski Company presented him with a pair of brand new manufactured skis! When the 1925 Winter Carnival in McCall rolled around, the World’s Smallest Ski Jumper was featured on its carnival pin. Lloyd, a life-long skier, helped pioneer the infant ski industry in places like Sun Valley, and competed with some of the best ski jumpers in the world. In fact, he was young at a time many things were developing quickly, including planes, trains, and automobiles. “I didn’t sit back and watch them develop, he says. “I wanted to be doing it.” One of his proudest accomplishments is pioneering the Smoke Jumper program in Forest Service Region 4. He volunteered for the new program in 1943. The Johnson house in McCall was “just a good holler” from the Forest Service supervisor’s building. Lloyd’s first job was swamping out that

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014

building. He worked on trails and phone maintenance, on lookouts, as camp tender, dispatcher, and on the fire line. At the same time, he earned his degree in forestry from the University of Idaho at Moscow. When the idea of smoke jumping came up, many thought it was too dangerous, but Lloyd realized that it was the right way to fight fire. The jumpers could get to the fire quickly and without a long hike. They could stop a wildfire before it got out of hand. He helped develop the program and ran the Region 4 smoke jumpers for ten years. Today he’s the oldest smoke jumper in the country. Last summer at the international reunion, he celebrated his 70th anniversary of starting the program in McCall, along with more than 500 in attendance. Every month more than a dozen former smoke jumpers meet for coffee in Meridian. “Once a smoke jumper, always a smoke jumper,” he declares of this exclusive group. Lloyd worked in special programs out of Gowen Field, Boise, during World War II. He wanted to go overseas, but instead, was chosen to train doctors how to jump out of planes and how to survive on their own. The doctors reciprocated by training him and others as medics. Summers, he fought forest fires.

Another special project involved spotting and destroying Japanese balloons that they cleverly shot into the jet stream where they were carried across the Pacific Ocean and onto our west coast. A basket beneath the balloon carried incendiaries, bombs, or whatever they thought could do harm. The United States treated these with great secrecy. They did little harm but our government didn’t want the Japanese to know they were successful and they didn’t want Americans to panic over the chance of getting bombed from the air without airplanes. Life is challenging, according to Lloyd Johnson, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. After retiring from the Forest Service, he owned retail and bulk petroleum businesses and worked as a troubleshooter for Cenex. He was married for 64 years, enjoys his children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and spending time with his host of friends. He calls the Payette National Forest near McCall the prettiest place in the world. “I’ve never been any place I disliked,” Lloyd says, “but then I never had to live in cities like San Francisco or New York. I don’t think I would have been very happy there. I wasn’t raised that way.” ISI

The Sand Bar by Rebecca Bryan; Outskirts Press, Inc. Denver, CO; 2014 Reviewed by Connie Daugherty “Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.” (Chief Seattle) It’s July and Marlo Leavitt, the girl most likely to succeed, is returning to her beloved hometown, St. Anthony, Idaho. But she is not happy about it. “Nearly ten years ago I had escaped this lowbudget town, vowing to never return, promising myself bigger and better things...” In her first novel, The Sand Bar, Rebecca Bryan tells the familiar story about a most-likely’s fall from grace... in a not so familiar way. Drawing on the concept of human connectedness and how one individual’s decisions affect each life she touches, tossing in a bit of magic and time travel, Rebecca has created a light yet thoughtful reading experience. Written in first person, The Sand Bar is about more than relationships; it is about self-discovery and about growing-up at any age. Marlo is not a particularly likeable character for most of the book, but you find yourself pulling for her anyway – hoping that she will eventually come to understand what is important in life. “Now with the annulment finalized I realized I didn’t know what to call myself. With nothing to show for the past eight years besides a dusty diploma, a lot of emotional baggage... and a really

great collection of Jimmy Choos... eight years of my life up in a puff of smoke.” With her heart broken, her life and self-esteem shattered, and her father recovering from heart surgery, Marlo leaves the excitement and prestige of California for the comfort of home. “A wash of relief swept over me, a feeling that I was home again.... I caught sight of the beautiful turn-of-thecentury white colonial... this was a good place... a good place to visit... a place to get answers, but after that I was out of here.” Much as Marlo longs for the comfort of her childhood home, her family, and old friends, she still sees St. Anthony as a place to be from, a quaint place for the old folks, or where only people who have either no options or no aspirations would choose to live. A place that is beneath her standards of what is important in life. “I wanted this life to be a small, very minuscule part of me, something distant that I could reflect on as I lived in my other world... money and exotic vacations.” However, without her ex-husband’s family and money, Marlo discovers that she has been exiled from that world. “This life, gnawing my dad’s chewy steaks and choking down my aunt Bert’s potato salad... seemed to be my new reality.” Although her parents welcome her with open arms and absolute love and Luke Dawson, the handsome former classmate, offers a warm welcome as well as friendship, there is still something missing for Marlo. Nostalgia is fine as far as it goes, but it just isn’t enough to fill that “gap... the one waiting for you to fill.” Everyone seems to have moved on with their lives without her. Even Brandon, her old boyfriend – the one who had asked her to marry him, who had waited for her to return until she finally married Cort – is married with a new baby. “I was out of place everywhere I went, never at peace with myself.” And even though Brandon doesn’t seem exactly happy, he is married and is obligated to someone else now. Unable to sleep, Marlo wanders down to the sandbar, a favorite spot from her childhood. She sits alone, reflecting on her past, fantasizing about what-ifs, “I wanted to start over. Find a way to fix everything.” As if by magic, the old woman she’d seen when she first arrived in town is standing at her side. She seems to know and understand exactly what Marlo is feeling. She even offers her a solution – a seemingly harmless drink. “It smelled of black licorice and peppermint candy. Like my Grandpa Marlo used to smell…. I tried to

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014

speak but the words wouldn’t come out right… I heard her saying something about being all better, and then everything went black.” When Marlo wakes up, she is no longer on the cold sand bar, but in a warm bed, with a man who seems to be her husband. She discovers that she has been transported, not to the past as she had been fantasizing, but to the future – two years in the future. The future has its own problems, many of which seem to have been created by her decisions – selfish, unthinking decisions – that have affected the lives of everyone important to her. And she is as unhappy and as discontented as ever. Life is worse, not better. The good news is that this future is only temporary; the bad news is that she is on a time limit to discover what happened on that night when she drank the elixir and fix her own messed up relationships in order to save the lives of the people she loves as well as her own. But first, she has to discover more than one truth.

“Why had the Marlo of this glimpse given up control again? I felt frustrated…The old woman, Hilma, blamed my failed relationships on my inability to know who I was. So who was I? A sister, a daughter. I was once a wife. That didn’t seem enough.” What is the answer the old woman expects her to discover? Could it be taking control of her life? Could it be letting go of control, finding contentment, and swimming with the current? The Sand Bar is a woman’s novel and touches on many issues that today’s women face whether they live in a big city or a small town. It is a nicely developed first novel and definitely a worthwhile read. Rebecca Bryan grew up in St. Anthony, Idaho and still loves her hometown. A life-long reader, she recently discovered her love, and talent, for writing. She lives in Utah with her husband and their five children. ISI

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 7 Contact our Aging & Disability Resource Center for information about services available in your community for older adults and adults with disabilities.

800-859-0321 or 208-908-4990 seniors.idahocog.com

Writing And Publishing After Retirement By Connie Daugherty Has anyone said, “You should write a book?” Have you ever read a book and thought, “I could do that?” Do you have a unique family history that needs to be written down? Have you always dreamed of writing, but just never had the time or any ideas of where to start? Many published writers have had these same thoughts – including some whose work has been reviewed in the book review column here. In this age of digital publishing, more and more people are not only writing, but also publishing. “If you have a wealth of experience, you have something to write about,” says Marian Jensen. An English major and an avid reader, Marian admits that, “Writing really wasn’t on my radar until I retired.” Even though she had the time after retirement, she still thought, “Writers were a certain breed, only people with a lot of talent were the ones who were going to get published.” Then she attended a writers’ workshop. She came away with the confidence at least to try. “The basic message is the same no matter where you go,” Marian says. Read and write, write and read, and then write some more. “It’s like exercising the muscles in your body.” So if you want to write start writing – don’t put it off any longer. Do it today. Do one page a day, write for fifteen minutes, or write for an hour a day. When you sit down to write, the story that is in you will come out. Be prepared to discover that what you think you want to write about might not be what comes out – that’s okay. “Trust yourself enough to know that the thing you can write about with most passion is the story you want to tell because that’s the story that will resonate with your readers,” Marian says. This first writing doesn’t have to be good, but don’t stop the flow by editing. “The crummiest you write is better than the best thing you don’t write,” insists Marian. And besides, that beginning is just that – the

beginning of the process. Yes, writing is a process, “almost an organic process,” according to Marian. Even doubting what you are doing, wondering if it’s good enough is part of the process. Every piece of writing “starts with a sh*** first draft.” That’s part of the process. But you need to get it done. You don’t have to wait for a writers’ workshop to come your way to begin. For some guidance, Marian recommends two books by Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones, and The Wild Mind. They both focus on getting you to write and they have good writing exercises in them. The Courage to Write by Rolf Keyes is another book worth reading. Or go to hungermtn.org/writing-fromboth-sides-of-the-brain for Julia Cameron’s (The Artist’s Way) guided exercises. Writersdigest. com, the electronic version of the writers’ old print standby is also full of articles and discussions about every aspect of writing and publishing. Another suggestion is to form a writers group to provide moral support, and serve as readers for your work. A useful writers group can provide a “meaningful critique” of your work. A good critique will identify the strengths and weaknesses of your draft, whether the characters seem vivid, whether the plot makes sense, whether the dialogue feels authentic. Meanwhile keep writing. Revision is also part of the process. “You shouldn’t even consider sending a manuscript for publication that hasn’t been drafted at least three times,” Marian says. While she admits that three is not a magic number, her point is that most works need to be massaged into publishable manuscripts and that doesn’t happen just by running the spell check on the computer. So now you have a skillfully drafted manuscript, how do you get it published? Sometimes there is a difference between good, even excellent writing and commercial writing. Today more and more books are being published independently as

digital books. “Digital publishing doesn’t have New York as the middle man,” Marian explains. You get your voice out there and then the readers decide whether they like your work instead of an editor in an office in New York whose main purpose it to turn a profit for the company. However, because you are cutting out that middleman, it is vital in digital publishing that you present a clean, fully edited manuscript. That includes copyediting as well as content editing. In order to publish a professional looking manuscript you must have someone go over your work with a fine-tooth comb looking for those tiny mistakes that none of us sees in our own writing. If you are interested in having someone with professional experience edit your work, one such option is elance.com. Of course, elance.com and similar sites charge a fee to join and an additional fee to work with an editor. You will also need to have a cover for your book and these sites can help with that also. You do not have to be a computer whiz in order to publish independently your digital book. There are some companies on the internet that provide a package – they will prepare your manuscript digitally, design a cover, and format your manuscript for uploading onto Amazon. There is a fee of course depending on what you need done, but the final product is a professionally presented manuscript. Other sites to check are, Smashwords.com, which produces digital books for all e-readers, and Createspace.com, Amazon’s division that publishes on-demand print books. To find out more about the process of digital publishing, check out Let’s get Digital, a digital book by David Gaughran, who also has a blog that Marian recommends. It really is easier than you think, and there is plenty of help out there so now is the time – enjoy your retirement and write that book you have always had in you. ISI

Falling into Place: A Memoir of Overcoming By Hattie Kauffman Published by Baker Books; ISBN 978-0-8010-1538-0 Reviewed by Jack McNeel Hattie Kauffman was a CBS television correspondent for over twenty years, a four-time Emmy Award winner who traveled the world covering breaking news stories and interviewing national leaders, sports figures, and actors. She worked with anchors Katie Couric and Dan Rather at CBS This Morning, The Early Show, and others. Hattie’s memoir is a compelling saga that will grip you with its intensity and nourish your soul. She has lived in extremes from abject poverty to nationwide recognition and from a heart wrenching divorce to finding a strong sense of church and trusting her life to the Lord. Her many years of experience writing stories for national news are evident in this beautifully written book. I had the opportunity to meet Hattie a couple of years ago when she was speaking to a group in Coeur d’Alene and was impressed with both her casual ability to engage the audience and equally impressed that a CBS television anchor was as approachable as a neighbor you might talk with over the back fence. As a child, Hattie, a member of the Nez Perce Tribe, was taken along with six other siblings from her home on the Nez Perce Reservation to Seattle by her parents. She tells of scraping the bottom of a jam jar with her finger

to get a slight taste of food, living with no power or water, and searching under the rug or in the chair for a coin. She tells how the youngsters stuck together to survive extremely difficult times, even dividing a single cupcake among them on a birthday. Hattie managed to go to school at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. It was there she began her broadcast career at 17 doing Indian News on a local radio station. In 1989, she went to CBS after three years at Good Morning America. During the many years with CBS, she covered the globe interviewing people from presidents to astronauts and covering murder trials to forest fires. Hattie relates events as she moves back and forth from those childhood years to events in later life. A divorce crashes upon her and during that time, she finds an increased attraction to religion and security in finding God. But one must read the book to complete the full story. I talked with Hattie recently about her book Falling into Place. JM – “Why did you write the book?” HK – “I knew all my life that the experiences of the Kauffman kids were extraordinary and knew there was a story there. I’d tried to write the story of our childhood but couldn’t do it as a network news correspondent. Then the divorce and my coming to faith happened. At first I was kind of writing the divorce story but thought ‘No, that’s not who I am.’(Cont’d on page 9)

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By Bernice Karnop You love them so much – your grandkids, your mom, your neighbors, and your soul mate. Loving is the easy part. Letting them know how much you love them requires some time and effort. You don’t have to break out in a sweat over it this Valentine’s Day, just plug into the Internet. A click of the mouse will bring you an avalanche of ideas if you type “Valentine ideas” into your web browser. Pintrest gives you thousands of easy, inexpensive, and creative plans that span the different people on your list and the mood you want to communicate. It pops with ideas that are silly, that are romantic, or that are just plain lovely. There are cards, crafts, recipes, and more. The greatest problem is choosing just one and setting to work on it. One example is taking the silly humor that still brings giggles to elementary classrooms and adding a little gift that’s part of the message. An Almond Joy candy bar might tell someone, “It’s a Joy being your friend.” A jar of nuts sends the squirrely message, “I’m nuts about you.” A bottle of sweet drink says, “You’re the Snapple of my eye.” Martha Stewart’s ideas are generally more complex, requiring more invested time and money. She shares ideas for gifts, decorating, cooking, and setting a romantic table. Martha Stewart projects will turn out classy. There are an infinite number of other sites where you can find Valentine’s Day ideas. They will help you create a memorable Valentine’s Day. If you already have a great idea, share it. Perhaps you can help someone else say, “I love you” in a meaningful way. Whatever else you do, don’t forget to say it! Happy Valentine’s Day! ISI

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IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 9

Falling into Place - continued from page 7 Who I am is all these experiences so I began to weave them together. It was challenging. It didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t come together until the thread of the faith story, in both childhood and adulthood, wrapped those simultaneous story lines that were unfolding and brought them together. I think it works. I think it was just time to share.â&#x20AC;? JM â&#x20AC;&#x201C; How is your life today? HK â&#x20AC;&#x201C; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s good. I worked for so many years as a network news correspondent. It was kind of like the military â&#x20AC;&#x201C; you never knew where you would be assigned or for how long. You live with a certain tension and unpredictability. Now Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m semi-retired and I enjoy writing. It was a big confidence booster that I could actually write a book. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve written thousands of stories but you wonder, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Do you have it in you to do something with 250 pages and make

Remember when you were a child or a young parent and the family was driving in the car to the lake for a weekend camping trip or to wherever, and the entire family would play I Spy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; laughing and guessing the object to match the given clues. Our staff created this issueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s I Spy Ads quiz, and we hope you enjoy figuring out this clever quiz. This month only for our I Spy Ads quiz, we will award three prizes â&#x20AC;&#x201C; one each for $80, $60, and $40 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to the first three readers with correct answers drawn from the submitted answers. As always, we will also award a $25 prize to the person who submits the entry that our staff

something thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s longer than a three minute news story.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; I jumped over a big hurdle with this book and plan to keep on writing.â&#x20AC;? JM â&#x20AC;&#x201C; What are you doing now? HK â&#x20AC;&#x201C; â&#x20AC;&#x153;I speak for different groups, particularly encouraging young people. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a supporter of the American Indian College Fund so I do that in addition to my writing. This last year I took up oil painting. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve really enjoyed just painting one day a week. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m learning to embrace these 50s. In television, a woman over 50 is old. There can be a sense of loss in that but now Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m seeing a sense of gain. JM â&#x20AC;&#x201C; â&#x20AC;&#x153;How does religion affect your life today?â&#x20AC;? HK â&#x20AC;&#x201C; â&#x20AC;&#x153;My personal faith is very important to me. I pray every day and try to do what I think God would have me do in any given situation. It has totally changed in me and I hope that comes through the book.â&#x20AC;? ISI

selects as the featured quiz or puzzle for our next issue. Be creative and send us some good, fun, challenging, and interesting puzzles! This monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s $25 winner is Joyce Miller of Ola who sent in the winning answers to the Holiday Songs Make Headlines quiz from the December 2013/January 2014 issue. Congratulations, Joyce! Please mail your entries to the Idaho Senior Independent, P.O. Box 3341, Great Falls, MT 59403, or email to idahoseniorind@bresnan.net by March 15, 2014 for our April/May 2014 edition. Remember to work the crossword puzzle on our website idahoseniorindependent.com.

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Are You Ready To Play I Spy And Win? Created by Idaho Senior Independent Staff Yes, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right â&#x20AC;&#x201C; $80, $60, or $40! What we have done, with the cooperation of our advertisers, is created an I Spy Ads quiz that challenges you to find the particular ad in this issue that has the clue listed in the ad. In fact, we have chosen 50 elements that are parts of ads scattered throughout this paper in no particular pattern, and your job is to find them. Only ads that have the clue within the border of an ad are correct answers. Therefore, you

cannot use objects that answer the clues that might appear in articles or graphics that are not part of an ad. Again, only ads where you find the clue within the border of the ad in this paper are correct answers. What we require is that you find any 30 of the ads that have objects on them that match any of the 50 clues below. Then, on a numbered piece of paper, write down two things: â&#x20AC;˘ the page number on which each ad appears;

â&#x20AC;˘ the name of the advertiser (Acme Travel Agency for example); Mail or email (idahoseniorind@bresnan.net) your answers to us by March 20, 2014. By a drawing from the entries submitted, we will award three cash prizes to the first three correct entries, one each of $80, $60, and $40. What are you waiting for... itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to start scouring the paper to find the ads that have objects in them that answer the clues below!

1. A fish 2. American flag shaped like Idaho 3. Bald eagle 4. Bite out of side of ad 5. Caricature w/ cord on arm 6. Cottage 7. Dove w/ olive branch 8. Dove w/o olive branch 9. FDIC logo 10. Five stars in a line 11. Floral arrangement 12 Furnace repairman 13 Gazebo 14 George Washington on $20 bills 15 Headstone w/ crosses 16 Heart 17 Heart w/ stethoscope

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34

35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

Ink pen Island bay Man w/ a cane Man w/ beard & woman w/ dark hair Man w/ stethoscope MRI machine Nurse taking temperature One angel Person wearing straw hat Phone connected to car w/ cord Pine tree forest Playing cards Potted plant Ridgewinds blow over highland hills Ring & hammer Rose Shuffleboard player

Smiling pickle Smiling sunshine Spilled pills Square w/ mountain & sun inside Stack of books Stair chairs State winner medal Steeple Stethoscope (only) Telescopic glasses Tulips Vitamin bottles Wheat stems Woman holding baby Woman w/ chin on hand Women swimmers

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Answers to: Holiday Songs Make Headlines By Bernice Karnop 1. L – Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow! 2. K – Hark! The Herald Angels Sing 3. G – Frosty the Snowman 4. C – Jingle Bells 5. I – O Come All Ye Faithful 6. A – All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth 7. F – Little Drummer Boy

8. D – Come On Ring Those Bells 9. H – Walking in a Winter Wonderland 10. S – Away in a Manger 11. B – Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer 12. M – I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus 13. N – Twelve Days of Christmas 14. Q – Angels We Have Heard on High 15. P – Rocking Around the Christmas Tree 16. R – I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas

17. W – I’ll Be Home for Christmas 18. U – The First Noel 19. J – We Three Kings 20. Y – Up on the Housetop 21. T – Jolly Old St. Nickolas 22. X – Here Comes Santa Claus 23. E – Deck the Halls 24. V – God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 25. O – O Christmas Tree ISI

47. First rate 48. Take to one’s heart 50. Aquarium dweller 52. *”___ at Work,” Best New Artist ‘83 53. Conceited 55. Lt.’s inferior, in the Navy 57. *Macklemore’s kind of shop 60. *This year’s Grammy host 64. Song of praise 65. Shed tears 67. The _____, Netherlands 68. Take down masts 69. Clod chopper 70. Blatant 71. Gardener’s storage 72. *”Owner of a Lonely Heart” band won one Grammy 73. Offends with odor

DOWN 1. Clothing of distinctive style 2. Medicinal house plant 3. Something that happens so fast 4. Famous Hungarian composer 5. High regard 6. *”Just Give Me a Reason” nominee 7. Barley brew 8. North face, e.g. 9. “___ does it!” 10. Tramp 11. *In ‘85 Prince won two for “Purple ____”

ACROSS 1. Leigh is to Scarlett as _____ is to Rhett 6. ___ de deux 9. “Through” in text message 13. “___ __ fair in love and war” 14. Under the weather 15. Sand bar 16. Disturb 17. “New” prefix 18. Equestrian’s attire 19. *Eminem’s 2013 hit 21. *Rogers’ duet partner

23. Driver’s aid 24. Sub station 25. Acid 28. Often held on sandwich 30. *Girl on Fire 35. Creole vegetable 37. Poverty-stricken 39. Bank ware, pl. 40. Bit attachment 41. Israel’s neighbor 43. Catch-22 44. Weight watcher’s choice, pl. 46. Black cat, e.g.

12. Final, abbr. 15. High-pitched 20. Gathers harvest 22. Chicken _ __ king 24. Kind of security guard 25. *”Royals” nominee 26. Knitter’s quantity 27. Often done to fruit 29. It goes up and down 31. Bit 32. Billiards bounce 33. Cuckoo 34. Ski destination 36. A chip, maybe 38. Cambodian money 42. Clarence in “It’s a Wonderful Life” e.g. 45. Pinching pennies 49. Churchill’s “so few” 51. Boat load 54. Nervous and antsy 56. Dry white Italian wine 57. Hyperbolic tangent 58. At this point 59. Police action 60. Potassium hydroxide solution, pl. 61. Curved molding 62. Lie in wait 63. *Multi-Grammy winner Elton’s, “Bennie and the ____” 64. From a wound 66. Poor man’s caviar ISI

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IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 11

There Are Mental Benefits To Working Out Being in good physical shape may help preserve people’s thinking and memory skills, suggests a new study. Researchers made this discovery by mapping participants’ physical fitness against the number of errors they made on a range of cognitive tests over time. They found, for instance, that 80-yearolds who were at one point approximately twice as fit as their peers made about 25 percent fewer errors on a test of memory and concentration. “This study shows that your cardiovascular fitness at one point in time can predict how well your memory may function in the future,” said Carrington Wendell. Wendell led the study and is a researcher with the Bethesda, Maryland-based National Institute on Aging. A growing body of research has hinted at a relationship between exercise and cognitive decline in old age. But prior studies typically measured physical fitness by asking people to recall how often they exercised in the past. “Participants are not always the best historians,” Wendell said. For the new study, 1,400 men and women were asked to walk, jog, or run on a treadmill until they were out of breath. A machine measured the amount of oxygen participants breathed in and carbon dioxide breathed out to calculate each person’s so-called VO2 max.

“VO2 max is the maximal amount of oxygen used by your lungs during one minute of strenuous exercise. Generally, the more oxygen your lungs are able to use, the healthier you are,” Wendell said. She added that researchers working on similar studies in the past might not have chosen VO2 max as a measurement because it is timeintensive and can be expensive. Participants were assessed when they were anywhere from 19 to 94 years old, as part of a study called the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. The researchers followed each person for an average of seven years after the treadmill test. All participants took a memory test and followed up with the study team once, but less than half made a second visit to complete additional cognitive tests, the researchers wrote in The Journals of Gerontology: Series A. “In terms of the level of evidence, this is an observational study,” said Deborah Barnes. The study can show physical fitness is associated with better thinking and memory skills, but not prove it’s responsible. Barnes, a psychiatry researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, has studied exercise and cognitive ability but did not participate in the current study. “Ten years ago, people were more skeptical about a relationship between exercise and the brain, but studies like this helps us realize that ex-

Hemochromatosis: A Common But Under-diagnosed Disease By Lisa M. Petsche Chances are good that you have never heard of hemochromatosis, also known as iron overload disease, despite its being the most common genetic disorder in the western world. Although it can affect males and females at any time in life, it typically manifests itself in middle age. The disease is potentially fatal, but the earlier it is diagnosed, the better one’s chances are of being able to lead a long and healthy life. The cause of iron overload can be genetic or non-genetic. The genetic type, which is by far the more common variety, is known as hereditary hemochromatosis or HH for short. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “in the United States more than one million people have the gene mutation that can cause HH. This mutation is most common among people whose ancestors came from Europe.” Typically, those who have it are unaware. A metabolic, multi-system disease, HH causes the body to absorb and retain too much dietary iron - two to three times the normal amount. Since there is no regular mechanism for eliminating iron from the body, the excess iron is stored in tissues and can cause damage in many areas, including joints, the heart, brain, liver, pancreas, and endocrine glands. “The speed at which iron builds up and the severity of the symptoms vary from person to person,” says the CDC, and “many people do not have any early symptoms.” Unfortunately, and all too commonly, by the time they are diagnosed - if they are ever properly diagnosed - they have sustained irreversible damage.

ercise has profound effects,” Barnes told Reuters Health. “The key message here is that being more physically fit may help someone keep their memory sharper with age,” she said. Wendell and her colleagues were not trying to determine why exercise might help prevent memory decline in their study. But they said past research suggests exercise may have a direct effect on signal-sending cells in the brain and other components of brain structure and function. Researchers agreed future work on the subject still needs to be done. “It would have been nice to have additional VO2 max measurements, instead of only at the beginning,” Barnes said. With this extra data, researchers could have looked more closely at correlations between changes in aerobic fitness and cognitive performance over time. But the real issue may be what to do with the new information. “The challenge now is how do we get people to go out and exercise?” Barnes said. “We know exercise is good for us, now how do we do it every day?” ISI

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Take the case of Lorraine, for example. After several years of increasing health issues - including fatigue, weakness, abdominal and joint pain, and Parkinson-like symptoms - and visits to numerous medical specialists who were puzzled by her seemingly unrelated symptoms, she was extremely frustrated and discouraged that no underlying cause could be found. Meanwhile, her physical functioning became more and more compromised. A naturopath she eventually turned to for help suggested iron testing, querying hemochromatosis. In 2006, at age 69, Lorraine was diagnosed with the disease. Her iron levels were life-threateningly high but gradually returned to normal because of weekly phlebotomies (blood removal treatments from the arm, similar to blood donation) over the course of a year. Lorraine was told she was lucky that her internal organs had not been damaged. However, her joints have been severely affected, leading to the need for multiple joint replacements. The management plan includes regular blood testing to check her iron levels, and periodic phlebotomies as indicated. Diagnosis of HH is difficult because symptoms are vague, often masking themselves as other, more common conditions, such as hypothyroidism, liver disease, arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, or even chronic fatigue. Some people may develop a bronze skin tone; Lorraine was not one of them. The absence of this classic, telltale sign made diagnosis more dif-

ficult than it otherwise might have been. In her journey through the healthcare system, Lorraine discovered that most healthcare professionals know little about HH. (Up until recently, medical students were taught that the disorder is quite rare.) And the vast majority of lay people have never heard of it. She had to do her own research, and eventually found books, research articles, and other materials through the Hemochromatosis Society. For information, call their toll free line at 1-888-655-IRON (4766) or go to the website at www.americanhs.org/. Talk to your doctor, because two simple and inexpensive blood tests - transferrin saturation (TS) test and serum ferritin (SF) test - can detect iron overload and may save your life or that of someone you love. These tests are not part of the standard blood testing ordered with regular medical checkups. If someone in your family is diagnosed with HH, DNA testing can be done to find out if other members may be at risk. Author’s note: Lorraine is my mother, and we are making it our mission to spread awareness about hereditary hemochromatosis. If we can save even one person from the health problems, functional disability, extensive medical testing, hospitalizations, and surgeries she has endured, and perhaps even save a life, our efforts will have been worthwhile. Lisa M. Petsche is a medical social worker and a freelance writer specializing in boomer and senior issues. ISI

The Vital Aging Secret Betty White Knows All About By Sue Ronnenkamp What’s the vital aging secret that Betty White knows all about? Life doesn’t end until it ends. I love that Betty White is such a hot commodity today because she’s giving all of us another positive role model for vital and successful aging. Her appearance on Saturday Night Live in 2010 (at age 88) not only made her the oldest host ever and resulted in huge ratings, she also showed the world that her wit and comedic timing were still as sharp as ever. And she didn’t stop there. She’s currently a valued and popular cast member of the sitcom Hot in Cleveland. And her recent 90th birthday rated a prime time, celebrity-filled special on NBC. The greatest part about all of this: Betty looks like she’s having a ball! Betty White isn’t alone in living life to the fullest. People who follow their passion know all about this and have been doing it for decades. I think of role models like Pablo Picasso who produced more work in the last two decades of his life than at any other time. I think of Frank Lloyd Wright who worked on the Guggenheim Museum until his death at age 91. I think of Grandma Moses who started painting seriously at age 78 and continued until her death at age 101. I think of U.S. Poet Laureate, Stanley Kunitz, who pursued his passion for poetry until his death at age 100. People who follow their passion don’t stop what they love doing because of age. They fully understand that life doesn’t end until it ends, and they continue making the most of every day they’re given. People who won’t let dreams die also know all about this. I think of George Dawson who was the son of a former slave and someone who had always dreamt of learning to read. He didn’t think he was too old to do this when he joined an adult literacy program at age 98. He continued attending program classes until his death at 103 and fulfilled his dream. But that’s not the whole story. By going after this dream, George had the opportunity to co-author a book about his life called Life is So Good that led to a book tour and speaking at several national book festivals. Here’s my favorite George Dawson quote: “Ever since I turned a hundred, life has been busy.” Think you’re too old to start something new? Just remember this story about George Dawson and put that thought OUT of your mind. Life doesn’t end until it ends. People who believe they can make a difference in the world know all about this too. I think of Doris “Granny D” Haddock who earned her fame by walking across America in her 90th year to promote campaign finance reform. You can read about this experience and her wonderful insights about life and

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aging in the book that she co-authored with Dennis Burke. I was reminded of Granny D and her story last year when I read of her death at age 100. Family friends noted that Granny D’s age was not a factor in what she did. She never gave up. Until the end, she was still advocating for causes she believed in. My favorite Granny D quote: “I have not lost my reason to live... I want to plant a few more seeds here and there before they plant me.” Opportunities for planting new seeds and positively affecting the world around you don’t end at a certain age. If you think they do, think of Granny D and then think again. Life doesn’t end until it ends. The great news is that stories like these are becoming more and more commonplace with our growing aging population and the shattering of old stereotypes. And role models for vital and successful aging and full lifelong living can be found anywhere and everywhere. You just need to look for them – and seek them out – and follow their lead. Their positive examples are becoming the new norm for how later life is meant to be lived. It’s really true. Life doesn’t end until it ends. Sue Ronnenkamp is the creator and founder of Age-Full Living, an aging education and consulting firm that focuses on the positive aspects, opportunities, and gifts of growing older. For more information, visit Sue’s website at www.AgeFullLiving.com ISI

Focus on Your Kidneys What you do not know can’t hurt – right? Wrong, says the National Kidney Foundation. More than 26 million Americans – 1 in 9 adults – suffer from chronic kidney disease, millions more are at risk, yet most don’t know it. Because kidney disease often has no symptoms, it could be wreaking havoc without causing any pain. Due to the spiraling rates of the two leading causes – diabetes and high blood pressure – kidney disease is on the rise, yet prevention is possible. Proper diet, weight loss, even mild exercise, control of blood pressure, and blood sugar can all make a difference; and anyone who is at risk should be tested with simple blood and urine tests. Almost 1 in 3 adults has been diagnosed with high blood pressure, making them at high risk for kidney disease – a connection that is often not made. The kidneys work 24/7 to filter 200 liters of blood each day, removing two liters of toxins, wastes, and water in the process. March is National Kidney Month and the National Kidney Foundation is urging everyone to acquaint themselves with this vital pair of organs. To get started, let’s put to rest some rumors about the kidneys? • The kidneys just clean the blood. FALSE! Filtering the blood by removing waste products and creating urine is just one major function of the kidneys. They also help the body maintain a stable chemical balance of salt, potassium, and acid. They produce hormones that stimulate red blood cell production and help regulate blood pressure. • If you have kidney disease you must go on dialysis. FALSE! People with end stage renal disease (ESRD), also known as stage 5 kidney disease, need to begin dialysis or receive a kidney transplant to survive. But more than 26 million Americans are currently living with kidney disease and the majority of them are not on dialysis. Unfortunately, many with early stages of kidney disease do not know they have it. That is why it is sometimes referred to as a silent killer. • Kidney disease is a manageable condition. TRUE! Proper diagnosis and treatment can prevent and slow kidney disease from progressing to kidney failure. Proper diet, weight loss, even minimal exercise, control of blood pressure and blood sugar can all make a difference. • If you experience lower back pain, it’s probably kidney disease. FALSE! Pain is not common with kidney disease. Lower back pain often accompanies kidney infections, blockages, and kidney stones. Muscular and arthritic pains are more common causes of back pain, but it’s always best to see your physician to be sure. • Kidney disease affects certain people more than others. TRUE! Anyone can get chronic kidney disease at any age; however, some people are more likely than others are. You may have an increased risk for kidney disease if you are older, have diabetes, have high blood pressure, have a family member who has chronic kidney disease, are an African American, Hispanic American, Asian, Pacific Islander, or American Indian. If you are in one of these groups, ask your doctor about being tested. • It’s possible to recover from a kidney injury. TRUE! When properly diagnosed and treated, it’s possible to recover from acute injury to the kidneys. It’s important to note that acute kidney injury places people at a higher risk for developing kidney disease later. Certain medications that are cleared by the kidneys, such as some painkillers, should be avoided. There are proactive steps you can take to reduce your risk. • Maintain a healthy weight. Obesity directly causes kidney disease because the kidneys have to work harder to filter out toxins and meet the metabolic demands of the increased body mass index (BMI) in obese individuals. This is called hyperfiltration and in the long term, it is associated with increased risk of developing kidney disease. Indirectly, obesity increases the major kidney disease risk factors – Type 2 Diabetes and high blood pressure. • Exercise regularly. It’s true; exercise does a body good – including your kidneys. Aim to get 30 minutes of physical activity at least 5 times a week.

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Of that, 10 minutes at least 2 or 3 times a week should include light weight training. If you have joint issues, swimming is a good option. Small lifestyle tweaks such as walking more and taking the stairs can have a big impact on your health over time. • Eat a balanced, low-salt diet. Diets high in sodium increase blood pressure levels. High blood pressure damages the kidneys over time, and is a leading cause of kidney failure. Avoid or limit high calorie drinks: soda, fruit punch and juices, some coffee drinks and alcohol. A bonus to drinking lots of water? It helps prevent painful kidney stones. • Quit smoking. You’ve heard this a million times, but there’s a good reason. Smoking causes diseases in every organ of the body, including the kidneys! Smoking causes restriction of blood vessels, and smokers are more likely to have protein in the urine, an early sign of kidney damage. • Avoid long-term use of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (over-the-counter painkillers, known as NSAIDS). Long-term use of over-the-counter painkillers, especially in high doses, has a harmful effect on kidney tissue and structures. These drugs can also reduce the blood flow to the kidney. Follow directions given, they are there for a reason. Early detection, medical intervention, and lifestyle changes if needed are the keys to slowing or stopping the progression of kidney disease. ISI

What Your Heart May Be Dying to Tell You By Allison St. Claire Short and sweet: Whether you are reading this in February (Heart Month) or any other time, your heart wants to serve you well. Treat it well, feed it well, and keep a happy, healthy beat to your life. Hopefully you’ve already read many of the credible, well-researched, independent studies that have debunked the cholesterol myth that has ruled for so many years as a result of faulty logic, cherry-picking “facts,” heavy politicking, and outrageous profits to be gleaned from getting your cholesterol down, down, down with medications. An excellent relevant best seller is The Great Cholesterol Myth by Jonny Bowden and Dr. Stephen Sinatra. Now they have teamed up with professional chef and master nutritionist Deirdre Rawlings to produce the companion book The Great Cholesterol Myth Cookbook. Everything in the cookbook aims at reducing or eliminating the four major promoters of heart disease: inflammation, oxidative damage, stress, and dietary sugar. Each ingredient is explained in depth as to its contributions to a healthy heart. Foods your heart loves include grass-fed beef, wild-caught fish, freerange poultry, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans, dark chocolate, turmeric, green tea, garlic, olive oil, and pomegranate juice. What it does not like includes sugar, processed foods, trans fats, and processed meats. Supplements are not meant to be substituted for medications, but your heart benefits from all of these: CoQ10, L-carnitine, magnesium, D-ribose, curcumin, vitamin D, trans-resveratrol, vitamin C, fish oil, garlic, and citrus bergamot. So for some healthy, tasty sweets, try out these recipes courtesy of The Great Cholesterol Myth Cookbook. They contain ingredients you are likely to have on hand or in the case of almond flour are easily found in most grocery stores and definitely from online sources. Blueberry and Apple Crumble Gone Nuts Filling: 4 large green apples, peeled, cored, and cut into thin wedges Juice of ½ lemon (about 1 tablespoon) ¼-cup water (preferably filtered) 1- teaspoon grated lemon rind 2-tablespoons honey, divided (preferably organic) 2-cups blueberries, fresh or frozen ½-teaspoon cinnamon ¼-teaspoon mace (optional) Topping: 2/3-cup almond flour ¼-cup rolled oats ¼-cup butter 1-teaspoon honey 1-cup walnuts Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 8-inch square baking dish with butter. Filling: Toss the apples, lemon juice, water, lemon zest, and 1-tablespoon honey into saucepan and cook, covered, for 5 minutes over low heat. Remove lid and simmer on high for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat, add the blueberries, cinnamon, and mace to the pot and let sit for

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about 10 minutes until the blueberries and flavors meld. Refrigerate to cool. Drain the fruit of its juices in a sieve and set fruit aside. Pour juice back into saucepan, add remaining tablespoon honey, and simmer until reduced by half. Topping: In a food processor, add the almond flour, rolled oats, butter, honey, and walnuts and blend until chunky crumbs are formed. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. Place cooled fruit into baking dish and top with the crumble. Bake for 20 minutes. Top with whipped cream or yogurt if desired. Anti-ox Orange Mousse ½-cup honey, divided (preferably organic) grated rind from 1 orange

¼-cup + 2 tablespoons cold water, divided (preferably filtered) 1-teaspoon gelatin 11/2-cups whipped cream (mix cream and plain yogurt if preferred) 2/3-cup fresh orange juice 2-tablespoons lemon juice 1-teaspoon vanilla extract ½-teaspoon ground nutmeg 1-teaspoon cinnamon 4 orange slices In small, nonstick saucepan, combine honey, orange zest, and 1/4 cup water. Simmer for 1 minute. Turn off heat. Soak the gelatin in 2-tablespoons cold water and add to the hot honey – stirring well. Transfer to ceramic bowl and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.

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In a medium bowl, whip the cream until quite thick. Add orange and lemon juices, vanilla extract, and thickened honey. Pour equal amounts into six individual ramekins and refrigerate for 3-4 hours until the mousse sets. Remove ramekins from the refrigerator and dip into hot water for about 10 seconds. Using a knife, separate the edges of the mousse away from the ramekins and place upside down onto a dessert plate. Decorate with nutmeg, cinnamon, and a slice of orange. Finally, we have also discovered nearly overthe-top cheesecake treats that, with a couple of exceptions, feature basic cream cheese, eggs, unbleached flour, butter, and regular sugar. Look for the delicious possibilities for yourself or a loved one at GourmetGiftBaskets.com. ISI

Control Diabetes Now, See Later A 25-year study of people with Type 1 diabetes in Wisconsin has some good news: People who controlled their blood-sugar levels over the long term were more likely to reverse certain abnormalities, caused by the disease, in the retina’s small blood vessels. Then there is the bad news. Serious eye disease is a very common side effect of diabetes. Based on the Wisconsin findings, 185,000 to 466,000 Americans with Type 1 diabetes may eventually develop proliferative diabetic retinopathy, a condition that can lead to severe visual impairment. The study, led by Dr. Ronald Klein, professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at UW School of Medicine and Public Health, appeared in the November edition of Ophthalmology. Klein and colleagues have been monitoring the health of 996 southern Wisconsin people who were diagnosed with Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes before the age of 30. The Wisconsin

Epidemiologic Study of Diabetic Retinopathy, funded by the National Eye Institute, began in 1979 and followed participants with Type 1 diabetes through 2007. The research participants had their glycosylated hemoglobin levels (a measure of average blood sugar levels over the previous three months) measured regularly and their eye health checked through photographs of the back of their eyes (the retina) taken with a special camera. Diabetic retinopathy (signs of damage to the small retinal blood vessels) was detected by grading these photographs at periodic examinations over the 25 years of the study. Nearly 83 percent of people in the study developed signs of diabetic retinopathy or had their existing diabetic retinopathy worsen. About 43 percent of study participants went on to develop the most severe stage of diabetic retinopathy, called proliferative diabetic retinopathy, in which abnormal blood vessels grow on the retina. This growth can cause bleeding and detachment of

Are You a Woman Experiencing Shortness of Breath? It Could Be COPD. COPD – chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a progressive lung disease that slowly robs its sufferers of the ability to draw life-sustaining breath is on the rise. It is now the third leading cause of death in the United States. A new report from the American Lung Association shows that COPD is showing up disproportionately in women yet remains under diagnosed and undertreated. The report, Taking Her Breath Away – The Rise of COPD in Women, documents the scope of this problem. Women are 37 percent more likely to have COPD than men are, and deaths from COPD among women have more than quadrupled since 1980. Since 2000, more women than men in the United States have died from COPD every year. More than seven million women in the US currently have the disease, and millions more have symptoms but have not been diagnosed. Since it has long been considered to be a disease of older white men, doctors do not expect to see COPD in women and may mistake their symptoms for asthma – leading to misdiagnosing or underdiagnosing the disease in women, whose COPD symptoms go untreated. The report also notes that women are biologically, emotionally, and culturally different from men, and these differences impact the way they experience the disease. Women with COPD tend to have more frequent symptom flare-ups than men, more cooccurring chronic conditions including depression, and have an overall lower quality of life. COPD is diagnosed with a spirometry test, which measures lung functions – specifically, the volume and speed of air that one can inhale and exhale. Unfortunately, spirometry is not shown to be widely used in primary care, and the study indicates that women are less likely to be offered a spirometry test by their doctors than are men with the same symptoms. If you are a woman with shortness of breath

or other symptoms that lead you to feel you are at risk for COPD, it’s best to take a proactive approach. Talk to your doctor and share your COPD concerns with him or her, and discuss getting a spirometry test. Do not assume your physician will automatically recommend testing based on your symptoms or any history of smoking you may have: this is a time to be your own health advocate. COPD research is underfunded, and the disease is often omitted from public health budgets and program planning due to lack of awareness – so it’s important for all of us to act as advocates by talking to our doctors and by sharing information with our friends and family. Meanwhile, protect the health of your lungs. If you do smoke, quit. Quitting smoking has more positive impact on your health and disease progression than any other type of treatment, and women have actually been shown to benefit more from quitting smoking than men do. For quit smoking resources, visit www.lung.org/stop-smoking. And if you have not yet done so, get a flu shot. If you do have a diagnosis of COPD or another chronic lung disease, education and disease management are key and can make a big difference in your quality of life. A great resource is the Lung Association’s free Lung HelpLine (1-800-LUNGUSA: choose Option 2 on the phone tree). Help is always free, calls are unlimited, and you will be assisted by a trained specialist in nursing, respiratory therapy, or quitting smoking. Contact your local Lung Association to find out about our free Better Breathers Clubs, which offer education and support to anyone with lung disease, along with their family, friends, or caregivers. Kera Goold is Lung Health Manager for the American Lung Association. For more information, contact Kera at kgoold@lungmtpacific.org or at 209-345-2209. ISI

the retina, leading to severe visual impairment. Poor blood-sugar control was strongly related to development of proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Other factors that increased the risk for developing proliferative diabetic retinopathy included being male; being overweight; having higher blood pressure; and having protein in the urine, a sign of diabetic kidney disease. In about 18 percent of people, the diabetic retinopathy improved. This improvement was more likely in those with better control of their blood sugar. There is some other good news in the study. “Interestingly, we saw less progression to proliferative diabetic retinopathy among people who had a similar duration of Type 1 diabetes but who were diagnosed more recently,’’ Klein said. “The biggest reason seems to be an improvement in the management of blood sugar and bloodpressure levels in people with diabetes.” ISI

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Are You Living With Lung Disease? You Are Not Alone! In the U.S. alone, over 26 million adults have a chronic lung disease such as COPD, asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, or lung cancer. Because these chronic conditions do not have a cure, people need to learn how to manage living with their lung disease. Better Breathers Clubs help by providing patient-focused, community-based educational opportunities and support. Better Breathers Clubs offer a welcoming venue for people with COPD or another chronic lung disease who often feel alone and isolated. Together, members learn the skills that help them manage their condition and improve

their quality of life, encouraging them to get out of the house and become more active. The American Lung Association provides Better Breathers Clubs as a free resource to anyone with chronic lung disease, their family members, friends, or caregivers. Meetings are held monthly in Meridian and Boise. For more information or the 2014 meeting schedule, contact Kera Goold, Lung Health Manager, at kgoold@lungmtpacific.org or at 208-345-2209. ISI

What Happens If You Are Diagnosed With Colon Cancer? Provided by the Colorectal Cancer Network Treatment for colon and rectal cancer depends on the stage and other factors that you and your doctor will discuss before choosing a treatment option. Your doctor will conduct tests and tissue biopsies to determine your cancer stage. Cancer staging is the process of classifying how far a cancer has progressed. The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) developed the most commonly used system for staging colorectal cancers. It is referred to as TNM (Tumor, Nodes, Metastasis) and takes into account the tumor size, lymph node involvement, and whether the cancer has spread, or metastasized to other organs. Once the stage is determined, the course of treatment may include more than one therapy together or in sequence. In deciding what treatment is best, it is important for patients to ask questions and seek a second opinion. The three primary forms of standard therapy for colon and rectal cancer are: • Surgery • Chemotherapy • Radiation therapy Another option is biological therapy that uses living organisms, substances derived from living

organisms, or synthetic versions of such substances to treat cancer. Some types of biological therapy exploit the immune system’s natural ability to detect and kill cancer cells, whereas other types target cancer cells directly. Biological therapies include monoclonal antibodies, cytokines, therapeutic vaccines, the bacterium bacillus Calmette-Guérin, cancer-killing viruses, gene therapy, and adoptive T-cell transfer. The side effects of biological therapies can differ by treatment type, but reactions at the site of administration are fairly common with these treatments. Some people have attempted to cure cancer using complementary or alternative therapies. You must be very careful about choosing these. Make sure that there has been valid clinical research. Combinations of the therapies above may also be given before or after surgery. When given before the primary therapy, a treatment is called neoadjuvant therapy. When given after the primary therapy, a treatment is called adjuvant therapy. In deciding with your doctor which therapy or combination of therapies is best, you will want to discuss side effects and complications of each treatment strategy. ISI

Providing for the health care needs of seniors since 1957. Remember to schedule your Annual Medicare Wellness Visit Orofino Clinic: 208-476-5777 Cottonwood Clinic: 208-962-3267

We also provide Endoscopic procedures Make sure you are ‘up-to-date’ with your colonoscopy. Colon cancer is one of the only preventable cancers. Talk to your doctor.

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Time to Start Training for 2014 Idaho Senior Games By Bernice Karnop It’s time to dust off your athletic gear and mark your calendar. Whether you like billiards, bocce ball, or bowling you want to be ready to compete in one of the three Idaho Senior Games this summer. There’s still time to learn to play handball, pickle ball, or racquetball. You can polish your skills at horseshoes, archery, and table tennis. Preparing for the Senior Games is a good excuse to push yourself a little harder to increase your strength and endurance at cycling, race walk, swimming, tennis, or track and field. You can even bring the whole team to the Idaho Senor Games and play basketball, softball, or volleyball. Senior games give men and women 50 and better, a chance to compete with people their own age in five-year brackets. It’s social, it’s fun, and it’s as competitive as you want it to be. No one is too old since age categories go almost to infinity – there are always a few centenarians. In any case, it’s friendly, healthy, and fun. It is important to embracing active, healthy lifestyles and shatter stereotypes of older adults. You can be part of this revolution. Contact any or all of the various the Idaho Senior Games to learn what events are included. Then sign up and go for the gold! Here are the venues in chronological order. The first games will be the Lewis-Clark Senior games in warm and beautiful Lewiston, June 1821, 2014. Register by June 10, on line, in person, or by mail. Lewis-Clark Senior Games 1424 Main Street Lewiston, ID 83501 208-746-7787 Email: crobinson@lewisclarkgames.org Website: wwww.northidahoseniorgames.org Southeast Idaho Senior Games are scheduled for July 12, 3014, in Pocatello. Register before July 5, 2014 or to learn more, write, call, or email. Southeast Idaho Senior Games 427 North 6th Avenue Pocatello, ID 208 233-2034 Email: southeastidahoseniorgames@gmail.com Website: www/seidahoseniorgames.org The Boise Idaho Senior Games will be held August 2-31, 2014. These are the only games in the state that will qualify you for the 2015 National Senior Games. The 2015 National Senior Games will host 12,000 senior athletes in friendly Bloomington/Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, July 3-16, 2015. To register for the Boise Games or to learn more, write, call, or email. Idaho Senior Olympics Michael Thorton P.O. Box 45464 Boise, ID 83711 208-861-8000 Email: idahoseniorgamesinfo@gmail.com Website www.idahoseniorgames.org. So put on those tennies and start your training regimen. You will be glad you did! ISI

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Counting Sheep? Insomnia, Exercise & Longevity By Carolyn Nutovik It does not take a scientist or medical professional to identify the importance of sleep for overall health, as poet William Wordsworth describes in “To Sleep”: ...Without Thee what is all the morning’s wealth? Come, blesséd barrier between day and day, Dear mother of fresh thoughts and joyous health! Insomnia is the third most frequent health complaint in the United States, and adults age 60 and over suffer from insomnia more than any other age group. Researchers suspect that age-related changes in sleep phases and patterns, as well as various medical conditions play a role, especially those related to pain. In fact, about one-third of individuals older than 65 have chronic insomnia, according to sleep expert Carlos Schenck, MD. So do you have to simply accept the fact that because you are getting older you will have trouble falling asleep, or staying asleep? In 2003, the National Sleep Foundation conducted a large-scale poll of Americans between the ages of 55 and 84 to learn more about their sleep behaviors in relation to their overall health, activities, moods, and outlooks on life. They surveyed 1,506 people and discovered that the better the person’s overall health, the better his or her sleep, and vice versa. On the other hand, the greater the number of medical conditions, the more likely it was for the person to report sleep problems. The survey also found that those with more active lifestyles and a more positive outlook on life tended to have fewer sleep complaints. What is the connection between exercise and sleep? James Fries, M.D., author of Living Well: Taking Care of Yourself in the Middle and Later Years, writes, “Physical exercise is the most important promoter of good deep sleep. Our bodies are designed to be used, then rested, then used again. You need to be physically tired at the end of the day to sleep well.” The positive impact of exercise on sleep is echoed by all the experts. Michael Krugman, MA, founder of the Sounder Sleep System and an expert on sleep advises, “…please do exercise wherever, whenever you can… exercise lifts your spirits, puts a spring in your step, and makes your eyes sparkle in a way that makes you look younger than your years. Numerous studies show that vigorous exercise at any time of day - except in the evening, when exercise-induced stress hormone production can delay the onset of sleep - is one of the most effective lifestyle modifications you can make to promote natural restful sleep.” Is it safe to raise your heart rate to the level of the vigorous exercise? If you are currently sedentary, have limiting medical conditions, or are returning from an exercise hiatus, you should always consult your physician before starting an exercise regimen. Once you are cleared to begin, Dr. Fries recommends stretching, strengthening, and aerobic exercise. “Assess your present level of activity, and set goals for the next level of fitness you want to achieve. Your final goal should be at least one year away.” Start slowly and gradually work up to longer workouts. For example, set a heart rate target goal of 60% of your maximum for 15-30 minutes twice a week. The way to determine this is 220 minus your age, times 60%. If you are 70-years-old, for instance, that figure would be 90 beats per minute. You can measure this in 30-second increments then multiply by 2, or purchase a heart rate monitor. Also, many larger pieces of gym equipment have built-in heart rate monitors. Dr. Fries believes mature adults need aerobic exercise more than ever, and offers this calming advice, “Some people worry that they have only so many heartbeats in a lifetime and that exercise will increase their heart rates and use them up. In fact, because of the decrease in resting heart rate, the fit individual uses 10% to 25% fewer heartbeats in the course of a day.” There are many ways to get the combination of stretching, strengthening, and aerobic exercise Dr. Fries advocates. Samples of stretching exercises are shown in the National Institute on Aging’s guide to exercise and physical activity. These are crucial at the beginning and end of every workout because they help loosen up joints and muscles beforehand, and prevent stiffness afterward. Strengthening exercises can be performed with handheld weights, resistance bands, or objects you have at home such as cans of soup or bottles of water. With regard to aerobic exercise, if you have not been exercising at all, start by walking 2-3 times a week for 15-20 minutes and gradually increase the number of times a week and duration of each session over a four-week period. If you start out winded in the first week, but are bored by week four, you can jog slowly or vary your route. Fitness classes in the swimming pool are also a good overall workout and are easy on your joints. Some people enjoy riding a stationary bike. Chair-based exercise is another great alternative. The PBS program “Sit and Be Fit” offers instruction on chair-based exercise at home. You can also use the Resistance Chair® to provide a total body, lowimpact workout, done mostly from a seated position. There is stretching,

Aqua Zumba Anyone? By Peggy Henderson If anyone had told me a year ago that I would be making waves to the Latino steps of the salsa, tango, flamingo, yes, belly dancing and, God forbid, in a swim suit at the YMCA, I’d have firmly replied: in your dreams. It’s not that I don’t adore exercise but wearing an old lady swimsuit and performing foreign dance steps. At the very thought, my over-inflated ego screamed, “Play it safe. Why bother to take a chance and make a fool of yourself? Again.” It’s true, as the years spin by faster than Michael Phelps does; we tend

strengthening using the resistance cables that come already attached to the Chair, and light cardio that includes marching in place, sitting jacks, modified squats, and stepping while holding on to the back of the Chair. If you need to improve your balance and aerobic capacity, chair-based exercise is the safest way to begin, even before walking. Remember, start gently, and go slowly. If you are sore, substitute one activity for another. Do not give up! “Many who have achieved record levels of fitness, as exemplified by world class marathon times, have started exercising only in their sixties, seventies, or even eighties. Mt Fuji has been climbed by a man over 100 years of age who began to exercise at age 90.” From sedentary to climbing a mountain? It is hard to imagine, but you have lived long enough to appreciate that change takes time. Change is best achieved in smaller increments, and it starts with an “I can” attitude. You can begin to exercise, or improve the regimen you already have. All the experts agree that exercise during the day can improve the quality of shuteye you get at night. If you are having trouble going to sleep, or if you are waking in the middle of the night unable to fall back asleep, consider your diet and the amount of exercise you currently get. Try to make some simple adjustments like exercising twice a week and cutting back on caffeinated beverages. Keep notes on your average daily routine and be honest with yourself about what you eat and drink, the medications you take, and the amount of physical activity you engage in. Take questions to your next doctor’s visit. Be proactive - it is your health and longevity! “The triumvirate of health is the ultimate lifetime philosophy of well-being. Individuals who behave according to its three principles - good nutrition, physical fitness, and healthy sleep - are well on their way to optimized health, energy, and longevity.” (end-your-sleep-deprivation.com) Carolyn Nutovic is a certified personal trainer with the National Academy of Sports Medicine and a customer service representative at VQ ActionCare, developers of the complete at-home Resistance Chair® exercise system for mature adults. For more information, please visit, www.vqactioncare. com. Carolyn may be contacted at (877) 3686800 or via email at cnutovic@vqactioncare. com. ISI

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to shy away from the unknown. It’s less stressful to rest in the minuscule details of our daily routine. I admit I do value my comfort zones. Nevertheless, I bought my much-advertised Miracle Swim Suit that promised a smoother, trimmer appearance. I rented my locker with a combination lock that immediately tracked me back to the angst of high school algebra combinations. Oh how our wily egos can shipwreck our opportunities for just plain ole fun. Trust me. Dancing with a giddy group of ladies of all sizes and shapes takes away all inhibitions and no matter how you feel easing into the cool water, you will step out of the water energized for the rest of the day. The Zumba is a Colombian dance fitness program created by dancer and choreographer Alberto “Beto” Perez. Perez was forced to improvise one day in 1986, when he forgot his aerobics music for an exercise class. Using salsa and meringue rhythms, he combined the two, eventually produced a demo reel – and the rest is history. Presently there are 12 million people taking Zumba classes in over 110,000 locations across more than 126 countries.

Aqua Zumba classes are an hour long and are taught by qualified, young, hard-body instructors. Once the music fills the humid arena, ready or not, the party begins. The instructor dances front and center on the pool deck and conducts the group, starting with a brisk warm-up and then into raunchy, racy paces, and finally a much needed cool down. What I like about the swimming pool venue is I can push myself as much or little as I’m willing to challenge the water’s weighty resistance. Like other moderate, low-impact physical activities, the benefits are similar but dancing isn’t boring. It’s no secret that music unlocks the parts of the brain that contains our pleasure hormones. The good news is active participation for a shared purpose can add years to one’s life. For example, it can be bowling, shuffleboard, or maybe miniature golf. Any competitive game that excludes sitting down. The bonus – besides increased longevity – is a promise of improved emotional health and sharper cognitive skills. Surely even a plump, pessimistic goose or gander would find it hard to resist a few more years of paddling around a lake. The known risks of social isolation – meaning little interaction during

a week with perhaps only a family member, church service or a medical appointment – is like Fido standing at the door waiting for his master to come home. This sedentary lifestyle for whatever reason creates an opportunity for debilitating depression. In addition, it’s a fact that due to such limited exercise, issues of cardiovascular complications, osteoporosis, and increased risk for rheumatoid arthritis rate high on the at-risk chart. Even scarier, medical experts report our immune system and brain alertness weaken due to little stimulation. What a bummer. More reason to get out of the house and put on our exercise/dancing shoes. You don’t have to go alone. Take a friend. Bribe them with a promise to take them to lunch. Much has been written about living the last chapters of one’s life with grace, wit, and gratitude to the point of ad nauseam. I’m still and will probably continue to fight my competitive ego to the last day of what I call my finishing school – even if no one else can see that I’m not dancing the correct dance movements, no matter that no one gives a cha cha cha that I’m moving right when I should be facing left. No matter. Tomorrow’s another day. For dancing. ISI

Classic DVDs – Health Care

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By Mark Fee With all the foment in our healthcare system in the past year and the inevitable political rhetoric, there has been a lot of discussion in the news which has most of us probably a little stressed at the glitches and uncertainty as the sweeping changes take effect with good, bad, and ugly results. What’s the best antidote to health care stress? Classic healthcare DVD’s. Mother, Jugs and Speed (1976) helped me survive a terrible depression. The film is about an ambulance service. Peter Yates (Bullitt, 1968; Murphy’s War (1971); Breaking Away (1979) tried to mix the black humor of M.A.S.H. (1970) with social commentary. Though funny, it doesn’t always work. Arthur Hiller’s The Hospital (1971) is a deranged black comedy. George C. Scott plays a suicidal doctor in an unbalanced, madhouse hospital. Listed below are a few of my favorite healthcare classics and more sleepers – an unruly mix of comedy, drama, and action. In The President’s Analyst (1967), James Coburn plays a psychiatrist, who is handpicked to help the president with his emotional problems. Coburn thinks his job will be a breeze. Hardly. The president wakes him at all hours. Coburn can’t even go to the bathroom without a call. In desperation, he flees Washington. But his problems have only begun. Some include the phone company and Russian secret agents. A very funny movie; thought provoking and a must see! Rated PG; 3½ stars Coburn is featured, in Blake Edwards’ neglected, medical conspiracy The Carey Treatment (1972). Coburn plays an unorthodox physician. One of his colleagues has been charged with murder. Coburn investigates. Edward’s film is flawed. But the excitement never lets up. Rated PG; three stars. In Soylent Green (1973), New York is overpopulated and governed by a police state. The film is set in 2022. Charlton Heston plays a detective, who investigates the death of an executive and discovers the secret of Soylent Green. Richard Fleischer’s (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, 1954) film is oppressive and nightmarish The film’s premise was plausible in 1973, but is horrifying now. Rated PG; three stars. Mel Brooks plays Dr. Richard Thorndyke in High Anxiety (1977). He is the new director of the Psycho-Neurotic Institute for the Very Very Nervous. Thorndyke learns about the mysterious disappearance of the director. He becomes very suspicious and needs help. So does everyone else at the institute. Cloris Leachman plays a grotesque nurse; Harvey Korman is Thorndyke’s deranged, pathetic assistant. Brooks’ film lampoons Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thrillers. Lots of fun. Rated PG; three stars. In Who’s Killing the Great Chefs of Europe (1978), George Segal plays the former husband of Jacqueline Bisset. They are food connoisseurs. Someone is killing the most renowned chefs of Europe. Segal and Bisset race to find out who the murderer is. Robert Morse plays an obese gourmet specialist and literally steals the show. The film is a sleeper. Henry Mancini’s musical score is delightful. Rated PG; three stars. In Brain Donors (1992), three lunatics decide to run a ballet company. John Torturro and Bob Nelson are featured in this neglected, funny film. It is literally a remake of the Marx Brother’s classic, A Night at the Opera (1935). Though not up to the Marx Brothers it is a hoot. Rated PG; three stars. Until the next time relax and enjoy these hilarious and thrilling classic healthcare movies. ISI

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014

“Over-the-hill” Equestrians Seek Scenic Backcountry Vistas “We take breaks and always pick a scenic By Dianna Troyer place to stop for lunch,” he says. It’s futile for Steve Hurley to pick his most The gang started in the 1990s when Jerald memorable backcountry trail ride with the Over Oldham and his friend Lynn Williams, who live the Hill Gang in eastern Idaho. He recalls countless take-your-breath-away near Salem, took their kids horseback riding and moments astride his 9-year-old fox trotter mare camping in the backcountry. “Once our kids were grown, we kept trail ridRuby. Together they have gazed at the region’s ing because we enjoyed being out and knew so waterfalls, rivers, lakes, mountains, and alpine many different places to ride,” recalls Jerald, 79, meadows. Every Wednesday from April to October, who rides Stormy, a Tennessee walker gelding. “We’d invite friends Steve and Ruby along and before you know it, with about 20 of the by word-of-mouth, our gang’s three dozen group formed and blosmembers take a daysomed,” says Jerald, a long ride, exploring trails retired biology profesthat wind through eastsor. “People in the group ern Idaho’s desert and are just pleasant to be forested mountains. around.” “We start the seaDuring some overson in spring along the night trips, several peodesert trails west of the ple can be counted on to Snake River, where the play their guitars around snow melts first,” says the campfire in the evethe 68-year-old Pocatelnings. lo resident who is the The gang has three group’s president. “In informal rules, says summer, a highlight is Lynn, 77, a retired Engan overnight trip to Yellish professor. lowstone National Park, “You saddle your then in early fall we end own horse. You pack the season with a ride in your own lunch. You skin Island Park.” Steve Hurley, president of the Over the Hill Gang, and his Although the mem- mare Ruby are ready for the new riding season to start your own skunk. If you bers, who live from Rex- in eastern Idaho in April. He and other riders explore get in trouble, you take burg south to Pocatello, trails in the region every Wednesday. Steve learned to care of it yourself,” says refer to themselves as ride from his neighbor Frank Johnson, 84, the senior Lynn, who rides Junior, a 12-year-old Tennessee being over the hill, they member of the club. [Photo by Dianna Troyer] walker gelding. welcome riders of all Anyone who rides near Jerald or takes a ages with a variety of horse breeds and equine break with him learns to identify wild flowers. expertise. “He teaches us all about what we’re looking “We love the camaraderie of being with other at,” says Lynn. riders, learning new trails, and having a relationThe riders also do community service work. ship with a horse,” says Steve. “People are now “We’ve worked on several trails to keep them bringing their kids and grandkids along on the cleared,” says Steve. rides.” As the newly elected president, Steve plans Steve didn’t start riding until about five years ago when a neighbor, Frank Johnson, invited him to develop a website, www.idahooverthehillgang. on a trail ride and let him ride one of his horses. com. “I’d also like to see if folks in their home areas “I was definitely a novice rider. You shouldn’t feel like you’re ever too old to try a new hobby or of Pocatello, Blackfoot, Idaho Falls, and Rexburg, sport. Just go for it,” says Steve, who retired in would like to plan a local Saturday ride, too.” Steve tried to talk his wife, Roma, into joining 2006 after a 30-year career as a pharmacy professor at Idaho State University. “At first, I was a him on the trail aboard his mule Molly. “But she’d rather golf, which she learned five little uneasy. At times, it was frightening, exciting, years ago when she was 63. She’s pretty good and challenging. I was hooked and said to myself, and likes to tell people you can be good at some‘This is for me.’” thing at any age.” Steve soon bought a gaited horse. When Steve isn’t riding, he volunteers at the “Most people in the group ride gaited horses for their speed and comfort, but there are also Pocatello Free Clinic and is a Boy Scout leader, Arabs, Paso Finos, and other breeds. We’re not guiding Webelos. He works his volunteerism the type of riders who amble along at a walk. around his horseback riding schedule. “We’re a low maintenance group with a good We’re a pretty energetic bunch, yet riders can go safety record and welcome riders to join us,” at whatever pace they’re comfortable.” During a typical daylong trek, he estimates says Steve. For information about the riding gang, he they ride about 12 to 20 miles in four to seven can be reached at 208-221-4626 or at steve@ hours. hurleystar.com. ISI

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Stamps take Gary Rossiter on an armchair world tour By Dianna Troyer “I met my wife, Ulricke, at a dance,” he recalls. He has no idea how many stamps he has colWith long silver stamp tongs in hand, Gary “We realized I was billeted across the street from lected during the past five decades. Rossiter carefully lifts one of the first U.S. postage where she lived.” “Hundreds of thousands I suppose.” stamps issued in 1847 from its protective plastic After dating for a year, they married and moved The idea of stamp collecting occurred to him sleeve inside a thick album. to Pocatello in 1968. when he was a teen and stocked shelves and “Benjamin Franklin’s portrait is on it,” says the “We’ve have been happy together for 45 swept floors at a Pocatello department store. 75-year-old Pocatello resident, who has been col- years,” says Gary. “Whenever we go back to her “They sold albums and other supplies for collecting stamps since he was 16. hometown of Augsburg, I buy stamps for my collec- lecting stamps, and I got hooked,” recalls Gary, “Take a look at this,” says Gary, a member of tion, and I save postcards and envelopes mailed who has bought stamps from the post office, colthe American Philatelic Society. He opens another to us from our German friends and relatives.” lectors and dealers. album stored in an airtight vault to protect the Gary’s stamps have increased in value stamps from fluctuations in humidity and insince he bought them, but he wouldn’t dream sects. “It’s an early German stamp issued in of selling them. 1872. It has an eagle and small shield on it.” “I do this for the pleasure of collecting them For Gary, those stamps and countless othand looking at them,” he says. ers take him on an armchair tour of the world, He flips through more albums. while providing lessons about geography, his“Look at this. You could once send an tory, biology, and famous and infamous people. airmail letter for 9 cents,” he says. “Can you “Stamps are issued on just about any topic,” imagine that?” he says, flipping through pages in his albums. His German stamps tell about the country’s “There are comic strips, musicians, migratory history and culture. birds, the Confederate States, celebrities, the “Here are stamps for the German states, Olympics, airplanes, clouds... you can learn colonies, and occupations,” he says. “Here so much.” are the Graf Zeppelins. I love these. Then Gary limits his collecting to his two most there’s Otto von Bismarck, Chancellor and cherished countries, the United States and Gary Rossiter of Pocatello shows one of the stamps he has col- Prime Minister. Here are the athletes in the Germany. He enlisted in the U.S. Army when lected during the past six decades. He has one of the first stamps 1936 Olympics in Berlin. There are others he was 22 and worked as a truck driver in issued in the U.S. in 1847. [Photo by Dianna Troyer] about World War II and the post war era, the Germany. When he was off duty, he and other wall between East and West Germany falling. soldiers often went to local dances. After Gary’s tour of duty ended, he began a They even have stamps for the Grimm brothers career in law enforcement in Pocatello, working and their tales.” at the Bannock County Courthouse, the Pocatello Gary has new stamps tucked in protective Police Department, and the federal courthouse. envelopes. To unwind after work, Gary relaxed at home “I’m just waiting for the new albums to be with his stamp collection. printed, so I can put them in,” he says. “They “I still spend about four to six hours a week should be out this summer.” ISI working on it,” says Gary, who retired in 2010.

Lifelong Love Of Music Guides Retired Teacher Dan Bowman and as they sing, they put themselves inside the By Dianna Troyer Although Dan Bowman, 67, retired in 2003 as piece. The music becomes part of us and carries a popular dynamic music teacher and choir direc- us all along.” Dan was asked to tor at Pocatello High direct the A.F. Sharps School, the sounds of about six years ago afmusic continue to resoter their former director nate in his life. retired. He had done During a school it years ago but quit break, the voices of because he no longer two of his grandchilhad time after his three dren Nicholas Alder children were born. With and Madelein Bowman his children grown and reverberate throughout a full-time job a distant the house as they sing memory, he has time a cappella downstairs. once again to devote to Taking a break, they the choir. come upstairs to the liv“I told them I’d come ing room to sort through back as director on two music books stacked conditions. They had to between a piano and Music has guided retired high school teacher Dan Bowsmall organ, searching man throughout his life. He says songs can take a soul to put at least 30 people for new songs. They lofty and unexpected places. [Photo by Diannna Troyer] on the risers. We have about 43 singers. I also sum up their grandfawanted my son David to accompany on piano ther’s musical gifts to them. “His love of music is contagious,” says Nicho- because we work so well together. He was my las, 15. “He puts himself into it and makes singing accompanist when he was in high school. Then when I retired after 26 years as choir director at fun.” Madelein, 15, says, “He likes to joke around, the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, he which helps people relax, so they can perform replaced me.” Time seems to pass quickly during Dan’s their best.” Madelein sings in the A.F. Sharps, a choir of all weekly two-hour rehearsals with the A.F. Sharps. “It’s easy to lose track of time when you’re ages in American Falls that Dan directs. Singers meet weekly after Labor Day to prepare for three immersed in music,” says Dan. “Every year for Christmas holiday concerts. Dan instilled such a the Christmas concert, I pick about 15 pieces, lifelong love of music in some students that they including some new music, for our 90-minute felt compelled to join the A.F. Sharps after high performance. We do traditional songs, and I also school graduation to continue performing with him. like to find some music that most people haven’t “Six to eight of my former students sing in heard before.” At the holidays, the choir performs three free that choir. For me, teaching has always been natural, and I’ve always had an affinity for music, evening concerts at St. John’s Lutheran Church especially sacred music. It’s been a blessing to in American Falls, Rockland Community Church, combine those passions in a career. With music, I and the American Falls LDS Stake Center. Directing holiday concerts has been part of always strive to create magical unexplainable moments that most often happen during rehearsals. Dan’s life for decades. At Pocatello High School, You help singers become drawn into the music, he directed several choirs including the Gate City

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014

Singers. “There were 28 to 36 kids in that choir, and they’d perform about 40 to 50 concerts the three weeks before Christmas, sometimes two to three a night. We went to nursing homes, hospitals... you name it. The last eight years that I directed them, we sold CDs of our songs.” He has always been innovative, teaching a variety of music from classical to pop. “For whatever reason, I had no trouble getting kids to perform any type of song,” he recalls. “As the kids began to understand the music, they responded to it.” During his last decades of teaching, he initiated a new concert program. “I thought it would be fun for the kids to sing with an orchestra, so I found classic orchestrated pieces such as requiem and celebratory masses from the 18th and 19th centuries. Their performances were terrific.” Throughout his life, music has led Dan and his students to national and international venues.

“The trips we took were a great educational experience outside the classroom. Besides learning songs, we learned to become whizzes at raising money,” he says, laughing. Starting in 1973, he led an annual spring choir tour to metro areas throughout the West. They sang at venues in many cities including Seattle, Portland, and Los Angeles. In 1987, the Senior Choir of more than 100 kids represented Idaho in Philadelphia and Washington D.C. to celebrate the bicentennial of the signing of the Constitution. “I don’t know how our choir came to the planners’ attention, but I’m glad we did. They sang near the Liberty Bell, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and in the National Cathedral.” When the city of Pocatello developed a sister cities program, Dan’s Gate City Singers were invited to participate in a two-week tour in 1992 to Iwamizawa, Japan. They sang 14 concerts including one in Hawaii on the way home.

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 21

Throughout his life, Dan has been continually amazed at how music influences people. “I’ve always loved watching what music can do to and for the soul of a person. It can take you to places lofty and totally unexpected. It’s an experience sometimes impossible to explain to another. I love good music and teaching, and I have a strong faith in God. It’s been my passion to fuse those things into my directing.” ISI

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By Dianna Troyer Pony Bill Engen, 73, has tried to retire several times, but the Moore resident simply cannot do it. “People see what I do and ask for this or that, plus two or three ideas for saddles are always running around in my head,” says Pony Bill, who has been making saddles for five decades. After moving from North Dakota, he recently opened Northern Trails Saddle Shop in Moore. With a penchant for reproducing saddles of yesteryear, he jokes that he was born 100 years too late. “I like making custom saddles that look like the old-time ones with slick forks, half seats, loop seats, and Coggshall style trees. All the saddles I With five decades experience making saddles, Pony make are hand-stitched Bill Engen is not ready to retire yet. Ideas for vintageand hand-tooled.” style saddles keep popping into his head. [Photo by His most recent projDianna Troyer] ect was a ladies astride saddle, a popular style in Texas between 1890 and 1920. He tooled roses on the fender and made a matching martingale, bridle, and flank cinch. Then he decided to give it away. The saddle was raffled to help build a community center in Moore, where he and his wife, Edna, moved in August 2012. It’s not the first time he has donated a saddle for a good cause. While living in Medora, N.D., he made a saddle for the town’s 125th anniversary in 2008. It featured a portrait of Teddy Roosevelt on the fenders. He also donated a saddle to the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame to help raise money. “Each of those saddles raised about $30,000. I was glad to help out.” He doesn’t confine himself to only making saddles. “I can make about anything with leather: show halters, hackamores, chaps, holsters, canteen covers... I haven’t been stumped yet.” Ever since he was young, Pony Bill, who grew up in rural North Dakota and Minnesota, knew he wanted to make saddles. After high school, he headed to Oregon, where he apprenticed himself to a saddle-maker for two years until he was drafted in the Vietnam War. While assigned to a Navy swift boat crew, he got his nickname. “Two of us were named Bill,” he recalls. “The other one was about 6-foot6 and nicknamed Big Horse Bill, and here I was short. One day, the skipper said to get Bill, and we asked if he meant Big Horse. He said no, that he needed to talk to me, Pony Bill. The name has stuck with me ever since.” After the war, he began making saddles again. He was content in Medora until the recent oil boom. “It ruined our town,” says Pony Bill of the increase in crime and traffic congestion. “Edna was nearly killed when an oil field worker ran a stop sign and T-boned her in our car.” Yet the boom helped finance their move to Moore. “One day, a man knocked on our door, asking if we would sell our property. He wanted to build high-end homes on it for oil executives and told me to name a price. I asked what I thought was a ridiculous amount, and he bought it.” Looking for a new place in a small town, he considered Dillon, Montana. “But land there is so expensive,” he says, “so I kept expanding my search until I found Moore. We bought 40 acres west of town, where I raise hay and registered Paso Fino horses for pleasure riding. Our bloodlines are from Columbia, where they were used to work cattle.” When ideas for saddles aren’t dancing in Pony Bill’s head, he rides, “but not nearly enough. I’d like to get to know the trails in the valley.” ISI

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PAGE 22 IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT

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Local Volunteers Blaze A Legacy Of Treasured Trails By Dianna Troyer Whenever Mike Sullivan runs, skis, or mountain bikes along the new seven-mile Sterling Justice Trail above Pocatello’s West Bench, he cannot help but recall how he hacked out the route by hand along with dozens of other volunteers. “It took us about two years, using shovels and picks to build it,” says Mike, 53, who has spent decades constructing trails above the Gate City a few miles from his house. One trail in the City Creek drainage was even named for him, Sullivan’s.

“I didn’t think that needed to be done, but others did.” The non-motorized Sterling Justice Trail, named for the area’s first forest ranger, veers off the Cusick Creek Trail near the Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center and heads south to the Gibson Jack Trail. It connects numerous trails in the City Creek drainage near Pocatello with recreation areas south of town in the Caribou National Forest to create a 150-mileplus network of trails. “To have the kind of outdoor resources we have in our backyard is amazing,” says Mike. “This valley has a lot to offer in terms of recreation.” The trail, completed in September, will be dedicated at a groundbreaking ceremony this spring. It was the brainchild of Pocatello native and attorney Dave Maguire, 62, who proposed it in 2007. “I thought it would a great idea to link trails in the City Creek and Gibson Jack areas,” says Dave. “The Forest Service staff was cooperaMike Sullivan and dozens of other tive and easy to work with. After an volunteers in Pocatello spent two environmental assessment was writyears building a new seven-mile ten, the labor began, and the rest is trail above the city. Spectacular history. Everyone agrees the views views are making the Sterling Jusfrom up there are spectacular. It’s tice Trail a popular destination. a terrific trail, a little tough in some [Photo by Dianna Troyer] switchbacks, but still wonderful.” Richard Newcomb, former president of the City Creek Trail Users Group and a retiree who has since moved to St. George, coordinated the project. He designed the trail’s width to Forest Service specifications and based the route on public input. “It’s user friendly and was contoured for minimal erosion,” says Mike. “Once Richard and several other volunteers flagged it, people began working on it in their spare time.” Mike, who teaches science at Highland High School, spent his summers and breaks helping to shape the new trail. “I didn’t keep a log, but I probably spent about 30 or 40 days working on it,” says Mike. “It was a total community effort with countless volunteers bringing their own tools.” Sullivan has constructed other trails in the area. “I grew up on trails in Colorado and loved being outdoors,” says Sullivan. A native of Boulder, he came to Pocatello in 1980 to attend Idaho State University and run track. “When I moved here, I saw a need to extend and link existing trails above town and did some work.” Mike’s wife, Kathy Vitale, says she’s impressed that the trail was built solely with volunteer labor and simple tools. With reductions in force and budget cuts at federal agencies, money wasn’t available to build the trail. “I love that the trail is a homegrown effort by a core of people who created it in their spare time,” says Kathy. “Pocatello residents have such a can-do mindset, and the trail exemplifies that. The spirit of volunteerism here is impressive.” Barrie Hunt, 60, who led several Eagle Scout projects to help complete it, says, “People of all ages and all walks of life in Pocatello’s outdoor community poured their heart, soul and sweat into that trail.” Barrie calls it his Recovery Trail because “it keeps me going after my heart surgeries. I was mountain biking on it seven weeks after one surgery. Being up there and seeing the mountains just helps speed up the healing process.” Kim Hill, 57, a retired UPS driver, toiled on the trail, too. “It was such an elaborate effort with probably 100 people helping. People began using it while we were still in the process of digging it out. On some days, after hours of throwing rocks, it was glorious to see hikers spontaneously stop and help us.” Kim and his wife, Joyce, who live a short drive from the trail, enjoy the fruits of their labor as they hike, bike, or ski along it, depending on the weather. As work progressed, mountain bikers from southern Idaho and western Wyoming called Barrie, who owns a ski and bike shop, to see when it would be complete. “The trail systems around here offer an incredible variety of terrain and are an asset to our community,” says Barrie. “Pocatello’s reputation for outdoor recreation is growing as more people come to compete in mountain bike races and ultra running events.” With the trail’s completion, Mike and others will keep it maintained. “We hung some shovels and other tools on posts in different spots, so we can keep it in good shape. It’s becoming a popular trail because the views are so incredible.” ISI

Inaction breeds doubting and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy. - Dale Carengie

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 23

Gary Payton: Thinking Globally, Acting Locally Article & Photo By Cate Huisman â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am renewed by the beauty in this place,â&#x20AC;? says Gary Payton of the woods surrounding his home at the end of a long gravel driveway in the hills west of Sandpoint. The home, filled with light from big south-facing windows with a view out over the Pend Oreille River, is constructed of wood and stone. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We wanted the inside to be as much like the outside as possible,â&#x20AC;? Payton explains. In the kitchen, the refrigerator door is decorated with the kind of artwork typical of the very young; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s provided by Paytonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grandson, Alec. Preserving that outside, natural world for Alec and those who will follow him has become the focus of Paytonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s energy now, in the third iteration of a life inspired by service. Payton brings a unique set of skills to this work. Growing up in Independence, Missouri, he was one of a rare minority of U.S. youngsters who was able to study Russian. Knowledge of that language â&#x20AC;&#x153;shaped my life,â&#x20AC;? he says. He went on to major in Russian Studies at the U.S. Air Force Academy before entering a career in intelligence, â&#x20AC;&#x153;keeping track of the Soviet military,â&#x20AC;? as he puts it. The second phase began with his retirement from the Air Force, when he received a different sort of opportunity to use his knowledge of the language, history, and culture of the former Soviet Union. As regional liaison for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Armenia, and Poland, Payton worked with churches in countries where â&#x20AC;&#x153;organized religion had been brought to its knees in the communist era.â&#x20AC;? The new approach was a transformation. With the breakup of the USSR, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The door was open for us to move past these divides that had separated us â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the ideological divides, the military divides, the political divides,â&#x20AC;? says Payton. â&#x20AC;&#x153;For any veteran of the Cold War, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a highly emotional experience, for the first time in your life, to put your foot down in Red Square.â&#x20AC;? Over 14 years, Payton made 25 trips to the countries of the former Soviet Union. His travels provided 25 homecomings to remind him of his affinity for the natural world in which he had chosen to build his home. As religious institutions began to recover within the former USSR, he â&#x20AC;&#x153;felt an increasing call to be involved in issues of conservation and environmental concern.â&#x20AC;? Evidence of global warming mounted around him, and his grandchildren were born. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When you are captured by that understanding of the reality of climate change, underscored by

interactions with your grandchildren, then you ask yourself the question, So what can I do?â&#x20AC;? This question opened the third phase. The answer no longer involved speaking Russian or traveling abroad; instead, Payton found a new purpose for his skills at listening and analysis. His first task was to figure out what he could do. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As human beings we have to find those places where we judge things are actionable,â&#x20AC;? Payton explains. He now acts by voicing his concern over the dozens of coal trains that are proposed to run through his hometown: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s my way to be able to have a tiny piece of pushing back against the broader issues associated with climate change at the global level.â&#x20AC;? Sandpointâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s position at the convergence of two major rail lines makes trains and their contents a particular concern. Several proposals are currently underway to send coal by rail from the Powder River Basin of Montana and Wyoming to shipping terminals in Oregon and Washington, where it is to be transferred to freighters bound for China. Trains to all these terminals would run through Sandpoint, potentially increasing the townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s train traffic by 40 trains per day, each consisting of more than a mile of open-topped coal cars. Of these, Payton says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our concerns are multiple: coal dust, diesel exhaust, potential derailment, reduced emergency response, accidents at at-grade crossings, property values, and quality

of life.â&#x20AC;? Payton devotes several hours daily to reading about global warming and to networking with others who are engaged in the same pursuit. In the past several months, he has used this knowledge to speak at scoping hearings held by federal and state authorities to determine the scope and extent of environmental impact assessments for the proposed shipping terminals. He also served as a panel member in a documentary film on the impact of coal trains on winter sports, a favorite activity of his family. And he has written newspaper columns and supported Sandpoint city officials in raising their concerns about the proposed expansion of 6KHUULH#$GYDQWDJH3OXV&DUHJLYHUV FRP 0RELOH 7ROO )UHH

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coal train traffic. For the new year, with the scoping hearings behind him, Payton expects to turn his energies to other elected officials. At the local level, he wants to connect to more mayors in north Idaho â&#x20AC;&#x153;so they are fully aware of the environmental and human risks presented by expanded coal train traffic.â&#x20AC;? At the state and national levels, he intends to lobby congressional representatives to insist on comprehensive environmental assessments that will take into account the impacts of the entire process, from the coal mines in Montana and Wyoming to the mercury in the smoke that will ultimately drift back to the US after the coal is burned in China.

Payton isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t naĂŻve about changing Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s or the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pattern of energy use. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fossil fuel energies will always be part of the energy production mix,â&#x20AC;? he says. But he believes our will to address the problem will increase as the effects of global warming in the U.S. become more clear. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our American awareness of the impacts of climate change will increasingly be brought home as people think about the dramatic impact of Superstorm Sandy on the east coast in the fall of 2012, as they think about periodic droughts and intensified rainstorms and wildfires. The question is whether we have the will to make political and

business decisions to curb fossil fuel based energy and invest more in renewable energy.â&#x20AC;? A statement from renowned climate activist Bill McKibben guides and energizes Paytonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s efforts. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in the relatively small subset of the Earthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population that both knows whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going on and has some kind of leverage to bring to bear on the situation.â&#x20AC;? Payton has to use that leverage. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what he can do for Alec and Alecâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s children, as well as for all the wild beings that leave footprints in the snow outside his door and swim in the river in the distance. ISI

Choosing To Live On The Edge Of The Grid â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Leonard Conley I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do without her and she thought the same,â&#x20AC;? he said. They married about a year after he first arrived in Idaho. He found their property through a friend and purchased 10 acres. A neighbor owned a Cat and pushed a road to the property. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We originally lived in a tent sort of thing I built with window cutouts; kind of like camping. It was 9 x 12 feet.â&#x20AC;? While living in this structure Leonard began work on a small 16 x 16 cabin using logs cut on the property. Over time, the cabin has been extended and the original structure is now their kitchen area. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A carpenterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s house is never done,â&#x20AC;? he says with a smile. A stack of paneling sitting in the house at the time to panel the living room area confirmed the fact. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It will be the old style pine paneling, all white pine. A friend cut it. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all quarter sawn, nice stuff.â&#x20AC;? The kitchen is a testament to living on the edge of the grid. They use propane for light, for the refrigerator, and for the stove. They also have a generator. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It lights up like a regular home,â&#x20AC;? Leonard notes. Water is a bit more involved. He has a shallow well that goes down about 70 feet but off to the side. There is a red pump attached to the side of the sink to feed water directly to the sink. The water has been tested and is safe to drink but tastes of iron. They use this water for washing but purchase large bottles of water for drinking and cooking.

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Article & Photo By Jack McNeel The instructions reach the Conleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home include â&#x20AC;&#x153;turn onto the gravel road, go straight at the Y, take next right, and go to end of road.â&#x20AC;? Not everyone likes such a rural lifestyle but for Leonard Conley and his wife Jo Ellen it works great. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lifestyle they adopted when they moved to northern Idaho in the early 1980s. Leonard spent his early years in California before moving to North Carolina. It was there he met Jo Ellen who had lived in various locations along the east coast prior to meeting Leonard. During those high school years, Leonard learned carpentry. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was always building stuff as a kid,â&#x20AC;? he recalls. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The school had a program where students could work half a day and spend half a day in classes. I worked 20 hours a week i summers.â&#x20AC;?â&#x20AC;? L d then h during the school year and 40 hours a week during Leonard attended college for a year taking architecture classes, more carpentry, and technical courses like welding. So how did a young man from North Carolina end up in northern Idaho? â&#x20AC;&#x153;My parents made the mistake of taking me to British Columbia a few times when I was a kid. I knew I liked the northwest so I loaded up the pickup truck and camper and just headed out here. I was on my own at 22.â&#x20AC;? Jo Ellen visited him in northern Idaho but returned back east. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I decided

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It has some disadvantages, but it also has some advantages. “Right after the ice storm (1997) we actually had some neighbors stay with us because they didn’t have power, lights, or water – and we did.” Leonard is a good carpenter, often supervising jobs, but like many in that line of work, he occasionally has periods of unemployment. “The 80s here in construction were just so slow,” he recalls, and that returned in the more recent economic downturn. Jobs occasionally take him away from home for extended periods. He worked on the Post Falls dog track and later on the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Sandpoint. That job lasted 10 months but was particularly enjoyable because of working with arched beams, something he particularly enjoys. Another job was in Grangeville working on a water treatment plant for seven months. More recently, there was a big job at the Lucky Friday mine in the Silver Valley. The longest period with one company was between those economic low periods when he worked for 15 years, “mostly on custom lake homes. We had a joke if you couldn’t see the water we wouldn’t do it,” he chuckles. The uncertainty of work is part of their reason for living here. “I have more peace of mind because I know if I’m laid off awhile I’m not going to lose the house. It’s got everything you need. We never go cold. We don’t not have food because I’m not working. It’s all a compromise. You give up some things but you have other things.” Back in 1989 Leonard’s career temporarily took a side step. He had heard of the Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building in Port Townsend, Washington. His grandmother passed away and left him some money and he used that to attend the nine-month course. “Our daughter was 18 months old then, and we lived in a teeny 13-foot trailer.”

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 25

When the course ended, he worked with another boat builder in Port Townsend that repaired fishing boats and yachts. “I did that for about three years but still had this place and came back here in the summers. Most of the stuff I worked on were about 60-footers. I spent three months on the singer Neil Young’s boat (associated with the band Crazy Horse). “It was fun because there was no budget,” Leonard recalls. He has a photo album showing many boats he worked on, some more than a century old and some over 100 feet long. Unfortunately that work came to a halt when Leonard became highly sensitive to dust from Honduran mahogany, a wood widely used in boat construction which caused a reaction similar to poison ivy, even causing his eyes to swell shut. Jo Ellen is working now in a secretarial position but had remained home for 20 years to raise and home school their daughter, who has graduated from college and is doing volunteer work as an occupational therapist at a hospital in Honduras. Wildlife frequents this wooded property backing up against the National Forest. “We get moose and elk and bear... quite a few moose actually. We had wolf tracks in the driveway!” Leonard’s not the “back woodsman” one might expect from his lifestyle although he does some hunting when work time permits and does some muzzle loading reenactments with others in the area. Exploring the lakes in the area and learning more of the forest roads, plus some boating, pretty much fill out their free time. “Work’s been good recently, so there’s not a lot of free time right now,” he relates. Although not the lifestyle for everyone, living off the grid works well for Leonard and Jo Ellen, and peace of mind is priceless. ISI

Carl Gidlund’s Life Is More Like A Book Or A Movie Article & Photo By Jack McNeel Listening to Carl Gidlund talk about his lifeseems like flipping the pages of an adventure novel – undercover agent, smoke jumper, in the President’s executive office, Army and Air Force service, charter boat operator, reporter – and there are more pages. Even Carl’s childhood would be considered a Hollywood fantasy to most people. His dad worked for Warner Brothers in Los Angeles and his classmates included some of John Wayne’s kids, Tony Hope (Bob’s son), and the Crosby kids. “Bing Crosby paid for our senior prom,” Carl relates.

Summers during those years were spent in Butte, Montana with grandparents and other relatives. This gave him a taste of a different life and the day after graduating from high school, he left for Montana and a job on the Flathead National Forest and later the Deer Lodge National Forest. “The idea was to save money for college and establish Montana as my residency – which I did.” Eventually he would graduate from the University of Montana with both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in journalism. Carl enlisted in the Army in 1961, was sent to intelligence school, and trained as an agent handler, a person who runs agent networks. He was

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then sent to The Seventh Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg. “The Army decided that even though I had 99 parachute jumps (for the Forest Service and sky diving) I had to go through army jump school, which I did.” Carl volunteered for service in Viet Nam, but prior to leaving, he was sent to the Defense Language Institute for a year to study the Viet Namese language. Before leaving for Viet Nam, “they took away all my uniforms; I was made a warrant officer in the army, and was sent over as a civilian and I worked undercover running agents. My cover was Catholic Relief Organization and the agents were

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Catholics who had fled from North Viet Nam.” “The Viet Cong started killing my agents and rolling up the net towards me, so I was sent to another place where my cover designation was U.S. Office of Education Advisor and my principal agent was a South Vietnamese Army officer under cover as a high school teacher.” Upon returning to the U.S., Carl went to Washington, D.C., where he worked in the Executive Office of the President in the Office of Emergency Preparedness – essentially, what FEMA does today. His job was public information regarding all natural disasters in the U.S. plus stockpiles of material held for war. Following his service in Washington, D.C., he moved to Denver as Public Affairs Director for the Department of Health, Education and Welfare with responsibilities over six regional states. Two years later he moved to Nevada as Public Affairs Director of Human Resources and two years later transferred to Alaska as Public Affairs Director for the Bureau of Land Management. That was 1978. During this period he transferred to the Air Force Reserve system and served in the Air Guard in Colorado, California, and Alaska. He ultimately retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force Reserve system. “I was called up for Desert Shield. My travels with the Air Guard took me all over Europe and out to the Pacific,” he adds. Carl spent ten years in Alaska, the first four of those with the BLM. He then entered several new occupations. First he started running charter and sight-seeing boats on Prince William Sound, a business he says was a good way to go broke. He tried a variety of other things. He did voice-overs for commercials and some acting commercials. He posed for photographs for such enterprises as hotels and says “I got to act out a lot of different things. In various commercials I was a boat operator, a bush pilot, a lawyer, a doctor, and so on. It was kind of fun.” Carl was also a reporter for the Anchorage Times and edited the Tundra Drums, a weekly newspaper for Alaska Natives in the villages. Leaving Alaska in 1988 Carl went back to federal work in Texas as Public Affairs Officer for the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas. He worked there for six years but he missed the northwest “every moment.” That brought him back to Idaho where he has remained ever since. First it was southern Idaho as Public Affairs Officer for the Upper Columbia River Basin Environmental Impact Statement Team. Two years later he

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transferred to the Idaho Panhandle National Forest in Coeur d’Alene where he retired in 1998 with 33 years in government service to match his 33 years in military service. At 75, Carl now lives a busy life at Hayden Lake with his third wife, Sally. Retirement has not included much slowing down. “We’ve spent our summers playing lousy golf and our winters downhill skiing,” he laughed. “We’re bad golfers but pretty good skiers.” Summers have also found him leading a squad of former smoke jumpers on volunteer projects for the U.S. Forest Service including such things as rehabilitating old structures, clearing trails, “and other things the USFS doesn’t have money for,” he adds. In 2012 Carl was honored as Citizen of the Year as well as Veteran of the Year for the City of Hayden Lake. He is also a regular at Coeur d’Alene’s KROC Centre, taking advantage of the various workout machines to maintain his health. Carl has continued to put his journalism degrees to work. After retiring he wrote for the Spokesman Review for six or seven years as a correspondent in their North Idaho and Golf sections and still does an occasional article for them. He also writes for the Smoke Jumper Magazine and has served as president of that national organization. Carl also donates a considerable amount of time and energy to various groups. He has been a Hospice volunteer for 13 years. “I’m a care-giving volunteer and I also have a therapy dog that I bring to some of the patients that want to bond with pets,” he says, noting too that Sally also worked with Hospice as a nurse. Carl also serves on the Hayden Veterans Commission and the District Library Commission as a trustee. In addition he’s a member of his church council, the Lutheran Church of the Master. What time is still available allows for some travel and an occasional cruise. “We are thankful I’m retired military because we can stay in military quarters when we travel,” he declares. Carl has lived a remarkable life that continues in retirement. Just watch out for him on the golf course! ISI

Tracie Mantia Has Changed Careers From Flying To Fitness

Article & Photo By Jack McNeel Tracie Mantia was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio where she lived until 1970 when she got a job as a flight attendant with United Airlines. Chicago and San Francisco were home for a few years. She moved to Coeur d’Alene in 1992 with her husband and daughter. Tracie continued to fly with United after her move to Coeur d’Alene, commuting to her home base in California until she retired from United in 2003. Retirement from flying was okay but it wasn’t long before she was looking for a new way to fill her time. Growing up as the only girl in a family with four boys, Tracie describes herself, “I was pretty ath-

letic, on the drill team, and always into dance and stuff like that. In the ‘80s, I did aerobics, belonged to an athletic club, and at 38 was probably in the best shape of my life. Then I had a baby and it all went downhill. Life, family, and children got in the way and I got pretty much out of shape.” Just before Tracie retired, she began working out with a trainer. “I was 25 pounds heavier and thought that’s just the way it was supposed to be.” But working with a trainer turned that around. She was 50 at the time and dropped the 25 pounds to what she had weighed in high school. Tracie’s decision to improve her condition was influenced by her father’s dying at a very young age, and she could see some of the same disease

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symptoms developing in her that had plagued her dad. “That kind of scared me so I really changed my diet. I’ve pretty much kept the weight off because I’ve changed the way I think about food. And, I want to be a grandma.” And this evolved into her working in fitness, especially working with older people. “I think my weight loss is an inspiration to some of my clients, especially women. If you make it your mission, you don’t have to carry around that extra 25 pounds you’ve acquired over the years. You can get rid of it; however it is kind of painful because you have to give up a lot of stuff.” In 2009, the Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Center in Coeur d’Alene (the KROC Center) opened. It was 123,000 square feet of space at the time, and has since expanded to include fitness and training areas along with an aquatics center, plus a place for worship and special events among other offerings. At about that same time, Tracie got her personal trainer certificate from North Idaho College through a program called W.I.T.S. (World Instructor Training Schools). “It was a good program that was right up my alley,” she says. Tracie was one of the first personal trainers hired at the KROC Center. “I was actually shocked I got the job. I think it was my customer service background, and I was pretty mature at that time, plus I’d always been into fitness. I read a lot, and I knew a lot about nutrition,” she explains. For many years, Tracie has been interested in her own health and how to prevent illness through

diet and exercise, and as she explains, “It’s just been since 2009 that I’ve shared that with other people and found that my mission in life was to educate older people like myself. Just because they’re out of shape now doesn’t mean they have to be that way for the rest of their lives.” Tracie teaches a basic fitness class for all ages, but as she explains, “The people who want to train with me are 50 and over. It’s low impact. We do strength training and a lot of balance and core work because through my experience I realize those are really important. I also do personal training as well.” Food of course is the other aspect. And what is her advice? “Don’t eat anything that is packaged. Eat food in its most natural form, which would be my best advice. Anything out of a box or can is going to have more sodium or more fat in it that you should eat. And limit the number of times you eat out. Any time you eat out you’re eating much more than you need to be eating. That’s why good restaurants have really good food, because they use lots of fat.” And what about cooking in general? “Try to cook with as little fat as possible and minimize the sugar and simple carbohydrates. Cook with whole grains. I also try to do vegetarian meals... when I can get away with it and my husband will tolerate it,” she adds with a laugh. “I just try to eat as fresh as possible.” Free time during the summer months will likely find Tracie on the golf course. She’s a member of Avondale Golf Club at Hayden Lake, and confesses to being an avid golfer and playing in a

Terry Lavallee and Kristie Sherrodd: Making a Life on Middle Island Article & Photo By Cate Huisman “It all started when I read Robinson Crusoe and Swiss Family Robinson,” explains Terry Lavallee. “It was just a desire to go off and live in the wilderness, live remote, be close to nature.” But in the early 80s after stints in the Air Force and jobs in electronics and fisheries, he found himself instead, in the big city of Seattle. Terry kept the dream alive by building a boat, following a passion, and using skills he had first developed in grade school. His project was a 23-foot wooden sailing dory that was to take him to Alaska. The woman who was to become his partner, Kristie Sherrodd, had also ended up in the Emerald City inadvertently. She came from Spokane for college at Seattle University and a master of librarianship at the University of Washington followed. “I didn’t like it; I always knew I wanted to live in a small town or rurally,” she says. “And then I met this guy who was building a boat to sail off to Alaska. At some point, he asked me to go with him.” They made their break in the summer of 1984. The boat wasn’t big enough for the both of them over the six weeks of the journey up the Inside Passage, but for company Terry took along Kristie’s dog, a chow named Tobie who only occasionally got seasick. Meanwhile, Kristie quit her job at the Seattle Public Library and headed for Alaska the normal way, by air. For the next six years, they lived in the small town of Sitka. Kristie worked at the local library, and Terry worked in fisheries. Kristie also started taking weaving lessons, and Terry began using his woodworking skills – the same skills he used to make the boat that brought Tobie and him to Alaska – to make weaving equipment for her and others. His specialty became finely finished wooden shuttles, which are holders that carry yarn back and forth between the warp threads on a loom. But “we were committed to living on a remote island,” says Terry. “We had gone to Alaska with that goal,” Kristie adds.

Fortunately, a remote island became available. Through Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources, they were able to purchase a homestead on Middle Island, five miles off Sitka. When the weather was fair and the tide was right, they could reach their land in an 18-foot aluminum skiff. They purchased lumber in Sitka and carried it board by board down the dock to the skiff to take across the water to build their house, and over time they added a workshop, bathhouse, woodshed, fuel shed, and generator shed. They timed their comings and goings to be at high tide, when they could bring the boat and lumber as close as possible to their building site. For 17 years, Kristie and Terry made a simple living on the island, with Terry making shuttles and Kristie doing graphic arts contract work. “It was an easy lifestyle when we were younger,” says Kristie. “It was vigorous, we were in great shape; we were outdoors a lot; we cut all our own firewood. It was a really enjoyable life. We had animals in the front yard all the time, a lot of eagles, ravens, deer, and lots of bear.”

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 27

couple of leagues. Tracie’s husband is a retired engineer. “Retired from serious work,” Tracie adds. “He’s a musician... a trumpet player who plays jazz. He has a big band and a couple of small groups. He plays mostly for fun and definitely isn’t in it for the money.” Regarding retirement, Tracie adds, “With his band stuff and my fitness stuff, we have a nice little retirement thing going on. ISI

PAGE 28 IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT

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“Easy” is perhaps not a word everyone would use for this life. Woods for Terry’s shuttles had to be shipped to Sitka, carried down the dock to the skiff, and brought to the island, again, only in fair weather and timed with the tide. Finished shuttles had to be packaged up and returned to Sitka the same way for shipping. Travel to trade shows – essential for finding customers – was neither simple nor inexpensive, involving the crossing by skiff again as well as a flight from Sitka to a destination in the lower 48. Terry and Kristie were happy and self-sustaining, but unable to save anything for the future. And the future kept coming. There were some health issues – nothing debilitating, but not easily addressed during the storms that sometimes kept them marooned at home for a week or more at a time. Terry had children from a previous marriage and eventually grandchildren that he rarely was able to see, and Kristie had aging parents in Spokane. Terry even says he got tired of the rain that is a hallmark of the Alaskan coastal winter.

“I didn’t” Kristie chimes in. So in 2007 they ended their island idyll and moved to Sandpoint, like Sitka between mountains and water, but with less rain and easier access to almost everything. They live on Oak Street, an easy walk to downtown, and love having lights come on when they walk in their home and just throw a switch – it was never that simple on Middle Island. They still have the shuttle business. Bluster Bay Woodworks, named for the bay that fronted their island home, now occupies a small storefront next to Kristie’s new weaving supply business on Michigan Street, called Blue Flag Handweaving Studio. They draw handweavers from throughout the Inland Northwest and southern Canada for classes and supplies. The artisans come to take classes from Kristie and to buy looms, yarn, and other

supplies, as well as Terry’s handmade shuttles. Over the past quarter century, Terry figures he has made, on average, a couple thousand shuttles a year. Each is a finely crafted piece; the handweavers who buy them, being artisans themselves, are particularly appreciative of their quality. Still, it’s a lot of shuttles! “The first five-, six-, eight-thousand were just a thrill a minute. After that it’s just a job,” deadpans Terry. “But what drives me is the fact that this occupation gives me tremendous personal freedom. I don’t have to answer to anybody. I don’t have to be at work at a certain time. I can take a day off when I want to.” And so he is able to work on a new boat. It won’t get him to Alaska, but soon it will ply the waters of Lake Pend Oreille, who’s steep and rocky shores are remote enough for now. ISI

Bud Ford Is A Referee - continued from cover of Nevada. I had a pretty successful military career,” he says. Bud’s contributions to athletics in northern Idaho go back many years. He recalls when the booster club for Coeur d’Alene High and North Idaho Club were the same. “Arnold ‘Red’ Halpern and I left the meeting one time and said, ‘That’s not really fair.’ So we and some other people started the N.I.C. Boosters. We sponsored a lot of dances at the junior college,” he recalls. Reflecting on Bud’s career, Idaho District 1 Football Commissioner, Roger Stewart, says, “Bud’s 63-year legacy as a hall of fame football official is a testament to his passion for football, and his dedication to young people. At his age, Bud is an inspiration to all of us to be physically able to run around the field with 17-year olds.” Bud enjoys the athletes and working with kids and that is no doubt the impetus that keeps him active in officiating. “It’s really rewarding to look back and see all the young athletes you’ve helped. I hate to say it but without referees, there wouldn’t be $ many sports. It gives me Used.............. From great pleasure to work $ with high school kids and New......... & Up I appreciate that they

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remember me,” Bud explains, noting that coaches come up to him saying Bud had worked games they had played or coached the past. Some athletes still stand out in Bud’s mind. He mentions John Friesz, Joe Chapman, Jerry Kramer, and others. “I watched them go on and become great athletes. It’s fun to be able to follow the athletes who have gone through Coeur d’Alene High School and the rest of the northwest.” Of course, there is occasionally conflict with coaches. “Some of them got a little rabid but they’d come into the dressing room after the game and say, ‘I don’t know what I said, but I didn’t mean anything. I just get too carried away.’ I respected that.” Bud loves Coeur d’Alene and northern Idaho. “I can’t think of a more wonderful place to be raised and grow up and live than Coeur d’Alene.” He says he didn’t appreciate it until he left for military service, and then he could hardly wait to return, adding that the only way he’ll leave is in a pine box for burial or as ashes to be scattered nearby. That love has also been expressed in his generosity to the University of Idaho where he donated $1 million for the remodeling of the Kibbie Dome and even more recently a donation of $100,000 for the Coeur d’Alene Viking Field House plus another donation to North Idaho College. Bud’s been active in various organizations over the years including the Junior Chamber of Commerce, the Lions Club, and local sports booster organizations. Although some of those activities are more limited now due to the time he spends daily with June, he monitors University of Idaho football and local high school teams and continues to officiate. “It’s nice to be remembered,” Bud says with regard to his recent Hall of Fame induction. “I may be 84 years old, but I’m still hanging in there.” ISI

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What You Need to Know to Minimize Your Estate Taxes in 2014 By Teresa Ambord If estate planning is part of your world – and for most people it should be – you probably know that the limits change every so often. It’s a political hot potato. In Congress there is little agreement on how to tax income after you die, or whether it’s right to tax it a second time at all. That division has kept taxpayers guessing for years what the fate of their heirs would be. The Newest Limits – For 2014, the federal estate tax rate is 40%, same as 2013. Some states also have inheritance tax of their own. The federal gift tax exemption – which is the amount you can shield from estate taxes – has remained generous in spite of efforts to slash it. For those who pass away in 2014 the exemption is equal to $5.34 million (up from $5.25 in 2013) and is indexed to inflation. A married couple can pass double the exemption or $10.68 million to their heirs without incurring federal estate tax penalties. However, the surviving spouse must file Form 706, even if the estate is not taxable, in order to preserve the exemption. You may be thinking your estate is nowhere close to the taxable level. But many people are unpleasantly surprised to find this isn’t true, especially if one of your assets is a business interest. What Is Included in My Estate? The IRS says your gross estate consists of “the value of all property in which you had an interest at the time of death.” Your home, other real estate, retirement accounts, stocks and bonds and other investments, automobiles, clothing, furniture, businesses, life insurance proceeds that will be paid to your heirs or your estate, even certain property that you transfer within three years prior to your death, is all part of your estate. There are deductions, such as funeral expenses and debts. And a spouse could inherit his/ her late spouse’s entire estate without incurring any federal estate tax. How Can You Minimize Your Estate and Trust Tax? Here are a few important points:

• A big part of planning to minimize your estate tax is gifting. In 2014, you can give up to $14,000 per year to as many individuals as you like, without incurring a gift tax. If you are married and your spouse agrees, together you can give $28,000 per recipient. If you have significant expendable income this is a good way to reduce your estate tax, especially if you intend to give the recipients that money at the time of your death anyway. Apart from the $14,000 per year, per recipient gift amount that escapes taxes, there is also a lifetime gift exemption, and it is the same as the estate tax exemption of $5.34 million. The federal gift tax also matches the federal estate tax, at 35%. If you expect to push that limit, be sure you do so with the advice of a trusted financial adviser. • Of course, you can still make unlimited charitable gifts, which reduce your taxable estate. • You can also pay tuition and/or medical expenses for others without triggering tax for you or them, as long as you pay the money directly to the schools or medical facilities. Shield the Proceeds of Your Life Insurance – If you have life insurance policies, the proceeds are included in your taxable estate, unless you take steps to shield that money. You can do this by creating an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust. That way, the beneficiaries of your policies don’t end up with a much-reduced cash amount. You can make an annual gift to the trust that your trustee will use to pay the policy premiums. After you pass away, the trust receives the proceeds and the trustee distributes the funds according to the terms of the trust. Caution – Your estate plan has to be maintained with balance. The use of irrevocable trusts is good for minimizing estate tax, but this also means you forfeit control of the assets in the trust. Make sure that forfeiting that control doesn’t hinder your lifestyle in coming years. Also, before you distribute property, talk this move over with your trusted accountant or financial adviser. The basis of assets – which affects the ultimate tax due – differs depending on whether

assets are transferred while you are alive or at the time of your death. Those who receive property while you are alive could end up paying significantly more capital gains tax than they would if the gift was made as part of your will. Don’t let your intentions go awry by making gifts that trigger unexpected tax consequences. Consult with your adviser about the best timing to distribute assets that you expect to appreciate. Don’t Let Your Estate Plan Collect Dust – Once you have made your estate plan, it’s probably tempting to set it aside and breathe easy with that unsavory task done. But resist the urge to leave it alone too long. You need to review your plan as times change. Here are just a few of the important questions to ask yourself on a regular basis. • Have you made provision to pay any estate taxes that may be due? If not, your heirs may end up selling the property you wanted them to have (home, business, real estate, artwork, jewelry) just to pay the taxes. • Ask your financial adviser about insurance to help your heirs pay the taxes that will be due. Proper structuring can make sure the proceeds of your insurance policy are exempt from income and estate tax. • Are you still comfortable with your choice of executors and trustees? • Does your will still reflect your true wishes for the distribution of your assets? That is, have individuals like grandchildren been added to the family but not to your will? • As estate tax laws change, is your estate plan updated to reflect those changes? • If your estate includes a family business that your heirs will inherit, have you started transferring interests in the business through a gifting program? • Have you established a succession plan for your business and if so, is your family aware of the plan? • Are your estate planning documents organized and do your heirs know where to find them after you pass away? ISI

Potpourri: Miscellaneous Stuff About Money and How to Protect Yours By Teresa Ambord What happens if you die before you get around to making a will? That’s called “intestate.” If this happens, the state dictates who inherits your assets. The laws vary by state, and are based on who your survivors are, that is, a surviving spouse, children, siblings, and other relatives. The rules of intestacy are inflexible. It could be that your wishes will be accomplished but not necessarily. Here’s an example. You may have a lifelong friend who you intend to give your assets when you pass away. But without a will, even if you have no close family members, a distant relative… like your disagreeable cousin Freda may end up with everything. If you have children, without a will, your assets will probably be divided equally among them. But what if one of your kids owes you a lot of money and has made no effort to pay you back? Do you really want that child to get the same inheritance as the others? Do you have a child with special needs? Your intention may be to leave that son or daughter a larger portion, but that is unlikely unless you make a will. Of course, making a will is distasteful to many. Some say it feels like they are giving up, ready to die. But not making a will can put an undue burden on your survivors, causing family fights and maybe estrangement. With a little forethought, you do them a great kindness by avoiding all that. Americans are a Charitable Bunch: Can You Guess Who Gives the Most? It’s all over the news when a private foundation gives a big charitable donation. In 2012, they gave $45.7 billion to good causes. Not bad! But it pales in comparison to how much individuals gave in the same year – that is, $228.9 billion. The amounts left to charity in their wills actually fell a little in 2012, but that total was still an impressive $23.4 billion. Who gave? The most generous among us were those 68 and older, giving an average of $1,370 each. They donated used and new goods, cash, and also gave their time to volunteer efforts. Mostly they donated to their places of worship, but also to social service groups (like those supporting the homeless and victims of disaster), and to educational institutions.

Next came baby boomers, (ages 49 to 67), giving an average of $1,200 per year. The recipients of boomer generosity were similar to those of their elders. Generation X (ages 33 to 48) gave an average of $732 per year. And Generation Y (ages 18 to 32) gave $481 per year on the average. These givers tend to be more skeptical, demanding accountability from those they donate to, and expect to see the direct impact of the donations they make. Donation requests come in the mail, on the phone, on TV, and online. Unless you are personally familiar with a charity, don’t give until you do a quick check to ensure the charity is real. Every national disaster causes a bunch of new bogus charities to rise up. You can check their legitimacy at Charity Navigator, by logging onto charitynavigator.org. Scams by the Calendar: What Scams Hit Most at This Time of Year? Can you guess what the number one scam that is pushed at the start of the New Year is? It’s fraudulent weight loss claims, according to the Federal Trade Commission. It doesn’t take a thief to know we’re all focused on weight loss right after the indulgence of the holidays and the “fresh start” feel of the calendar flipping to a new year. Everyone likes an easy answer, but we all know there are no “miracle” weight loss supplements or devices, and though it’s tempting to believe, we know that products that say you can lose weight without exercise or without changing your diet are likely to be bogus. A representative of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a written statement about the complaints they have received: “In these cases, although sellers said their products would help people lose a substantial amount of weight or lose weight without diet or exercise, the nonprescription drugs, dietary supplements, skin patches, creams, and other products they bought didn’t work as promised.” (Statement by Bridget Small, the FTC’s assistant director of consumer and business education). By the way, the FTC is distributing $5.9 million in refunds to over 316,000 people who bought weight loss (Acai Pure) or cancer prevention products (Colotox). If you purchased these products, contact the FTC at 1-877-2836531. What to do? Report fraud by visiting ftc.gov/complaint.

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014

Tax Time Scam. Scammers work around the clock and around the calendar seeking new ways to steal from you. Some of the scams are hamhanded, particularly those from countries where the thieves speak little or no English. But many thieves are sophisticated. They try to be one-step ahead of you to match their pitches to what you may be in the market for. As tax time rolls up, be on the lookout for unsolicited offers of help from fraudulent tax advisers and financial planners.

Clues to watch for when it comes to investments: the words guaranteed, secret, little known, or risk-free. No such investment exists. And a tax preparer who guarantees a high refund is likely planning to manipulate your financial data to force a fraudulent refund. Don’t walk away from this person… run! Not only will you want to avoid them to stay out of illegal or shady schemes, but keep in mind, whoever advises you will have access to your Social Security number and other identifying

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information. The last thing you want to do is trust that person with your identity. What to do? For financial advisers, you can verify their legitimacy by going to finra.org/Investors/ToolsCalculators/BrokerCheck. Check tax preparers at your local Better Business Bureau at bbb.org. Check attorneys by going to the website of your state bar association. MSN

Beyond Basic Medicare: Understanding Medicare Supplemental Coverage By Ron Pollack Executive Director, Families USA Although Medicare provides vital health insurance for about 50 million seniors and people with disabilities, most people with Medicare have some form of additional coverage. Why is this coverage so important? And what are your options for getting this coverage? Let’s take a look. Q: What gaps does Medicare have? A: Medicare provides very important basic health insurance. However, it has gaps in the services it covers and in what beneficiaries have to pay out of pocket. Medicare has limited or no coverage for vision, hearing, dental, and long-term care. In terms of what beneficiaries have to pay, in addition to premiums, they often have large deductibles. And many services, like doctor visits and lab tests, come with substantial co-insurance (often 20 percent). Finally, unlike most other health insurance, Medicare does not have lifetime or annual out-of-pocket limits. Q: How do people supplement Medicare? A: Because of these major gaps, most people with Medicare have some kind of supplemental coverage. About one-third of beneficiaries have supplemental coverage from a former employer, but this coverage is becoming less common. People who can’t get job-based supplemental coverage have other options: Those with very low

incomes and assets can get help through their state Medicaid programs (see below). Otherwise, private Medicare supplemental insurance (often called “Medigap”) or a private Medicare Advantage plan can help. But these options may be expensive, and they have other limitations. About 12 percent of people with Medicare do not have any supplemental coverage and are at risk of facing high out-of-pocket costs. Q: What are Medigap plans? A: Private insurance companies sell Medigap plans, but these plans have to follow state and federal rules. Medigap plans come in several standard varieties, which helps consumers compare plans. They cover some of Medicare’s cost sharing (for example, deductibles and co-insurance), but they do not pay for services that Medicare does not cover. Medigap plans are popular because they rarely

The Upside Of Downsizing Your Idaho Home Sooner or later the idea of moving from your four-bedroom home into a two-bedroom bungalow will start to sound appealing. Less home means less space to clean, furnish and of course to insure. If downsizing is the next thing on your bucket list, make sure and call one of our local Farm Bureau Insurance agents today. They’ll help you bundle your home and auto policies to help you save even more. Oh, and don’t worry, there’ll be no downsizing when it comes to the great customer service that our agents are known for.

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change from year to year, and they allow you to see any health care provider who accepts Medicare. But Medigap plans can have high premiums that increase annually, and policyholders usually must also buy separate Part D prescription drug plans. If you currently have a Medigap plan, think twice before dropping it for some other coverage – you may not be able to get it back later. Q: What are Medicare Advantage plans? A: Medicare Advantage plans are run by private insurance companies that contract with Medicare to provide the full range of Medicare benefits. Most include Part D prescription drug coverage, and some offer supplemental benefits and have out-of-pocket limits. Medicare Advantage plans have grown more popular in recent years, but they have important drawbacks. In general, they limit which doctors and hospitals you can use, and plans decide what services they will approve. Plans can leave a market, forcing people to change their coverage. Benefi-

ciaries can join, switch, or leave their Medicare Advantage plans only during Medicare’s open enrollment period each fall. Q: What if I can’t afford supplemental coverage? A: You may be eligible for Medicaid or a Medicare Savings Program in your state, or for the Part D Extra Help program through Social Security. Q: How can I get more information? A: Anyone with Medicare can get help from a local counselor through his or her State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). You can call 1-800-MEDICARE and ask for a referral to your local SHIP or go to this website and click on your state: www.familiesusa.org/resources/program-locator. Q: Should I expect changes to Medicare rules in the future? A: No immediate changes are planned for Medicare supplemental coverage. But private plans can change their offerings each year. There’s also a chance that, in the next few years, Congress may make changes to Medicare, Medigap, and other supplemental coverage. ISI

Panama: the Country, the Canal, and a 100th Anniversary My husband and I are in Panama with Grand neighborhood for after-hours fun) to a 21st century Story by Andrea Gross Circle Travel precisely because their tour offers metropolis that is both an international business Photos by Irv Green I’m standing on the deck of a 24-passenger country culture as well as Canal cruising. After center and a popular tourist destination. The city’s catamaran, watching the sun rise over the Pacific. all, there’s no doubt that the famed waterway has history is fascinating, the atmosphere electric, but still, I’m glad when we head out to the rural areas. Yes, that’s right. The sun is rising over the Pacific. made the country a place to be reckoned with. In line with Grand Circle’s philosophy that meetOne hundred years ago Here, in the Central this year, on August 15, 1914, ing local people is as important as seeing historic American country of Panthe SS Ancon made the sites, we stop at an agricultural cooperative where ama, which is positioned first official Canal passage farmers work together to bring their produce to between two continents and between the Atlantic and Pa- market, a sugar cane farm where a husband and two oceans, I can see a bit cific. By eliminating the long wife have a small candy-making business, a school of the Pacific that juts to the trip around Cape Horn, the where youngsters perform traditional dances east, poking into a portion of and their mothocean-to-ocean the Atlantic. So when the sun ers serve us journey was shortrises in the east, it appears a homemade ened by more over Pacific waters. lunch, and a than 8,000 miles. I find this intriguing but at private home the same time unsettling. But In Panama, the sun rises over the Pacific. Yes, It was a feat that where the ownthen, many things in Panama the Pacific. This is only one of the quirks that transformed both er teaches us global commerce force me to rearrange my makes Panama so intriguing. to make one and the country of mind. of his grandThe hot pink hibiscus, the bright beaked Panama. mo t h e r’ s f a In 2015, after a $5.2 billion expantoucans, the swirling skirts of the dancers... Evvorite dishes. erywhere I look the country pulsates with the sion is completed, the Canal will be At each place, psychedelic colors that inspired Paul Gauguin, able to handle larger ships, thus further and I’m on sensory overload for the first part of fueling the country’s economy and in- The MS Discovery, a 24-passenger catamaran used our hosts talk my trip. Then, bingo, I board the MS Discovery for creasing its importance. by Grand Circle Travel, stands by as passengers freely, giving We begin our tour in Panama City take a shore excursion to Taboga Island before us insight into my cruise through the Panama Canal. The bright colors disappear as I enter a more ordered world, (the capital), which has morphed from beginning their full-daylight passage through the their daily lives. Canal. I emerge from one that’s muted, mechanical, and often confined a 15th century settlement (now evident th by the gray cement bricks of the locks. The right in the ruins of Panama La Viejo) to a 17 century these visits well fed and well informed. We learn about yet another Panamanian lifeSpanish colonial town (quickly becoming the go-to side of my brain wars with the left. style when we meet the Embera people, members of one of Panama’s seven indigenous tribes. I step out of our dugout canoe to find a village of thatched huts perched on stilts, an open-air schoolhouse, a soccer field, a meeting hall, a woman weaving baskets, and an entire community of people in traditional attire. The tribal representative explains that opening their village to outsiders allows the Emberas to $ $ $ OFF earn a living while continuing to live according to Onboard Credit on Base Select Hawaii Sailings. Fare the ways of their ancestors. It’s a Margaret Mead experience, and I love every minute. In between people visits, we take mini treks through the rainforest. Unlike the men who built the Canal, we’re slathered with sunscreen, protected with insect repellent, and our only goals are to see

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A member of the Embera community takes visitors to his tribal village in a motorized dugout canoe. Along the way, he points out animals and birds that live in the rainforest.

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014

a monkey, spot a toucan, and track a capybara. cross the Continental Divide and spend the night We arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t charged with digging a path through a on Gatun Lake. The next morning we go ashore thick jungle where the temperature is often above to visit the Gatun Dam and take our final rainfor80Âş and the humidity above est trek, which reminds us 90%. Of the 80,000 men who of the travails that went into worked on the Canal, more building the Canal. Then than a third died of yellow we re-board our ship, go fever or malaria. through the final set of A normal trip through the locks, and descend to sea Canal takes ten hours, but level in another ocean. Grand Circle has arranged I go to the upper deck and for us to have a full daylight look to the west. Yes, the passage. Therefore, we enter sun is setting over the Aton the Pacific, head northlantic. west through two sets of For more information visit locks that raise the Discov- Keel-billed toucans that live in the Panamanian www.gct.com/pma. ISI ery 85 feet above sea level, rainforest often make forays into villages.

Fighting terror the naked way By Bill Hall Okay, I will admit it. I let them take a near-naked picture of me. But I had no choice. Otherwise, they would not have let me on the plane. We were going through security before boarding our flight when one of the security people pulled me out of the regular line and invited me to go stand in the undressing machine. That was a first for me. You may find it hard to believe, given my 74-year-old, sort-of-buff, not-really-very-saggy physique, but I have never been asked before to pose for almost-nude pictures. It was one of those new airport machines for peering inside your clothing to see what youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got. And I do not mean a stunning figure. I mean guns and knives and bombs and the occasional exploding shoes or shorts. You probably saw news reports on the device when it went into service a year or so ago. The stories were usually accompanied by test photos of someone with her shadowy undies showing and her actual body shape revealed, including the bulges and flab so many of us hide inside our deliberately baggy clothing. I do not know why the authorities chose me from among the many passengers. A part of me would like to believe it is because I look dangerous in handsome and melodramatic ways. But I have a bathroom mirror. I know what I look like. I look like some old pasty white guy. I look like somebodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grandpa. I look like someone who is terrified of explosives, especially if they are in my skivvies. So I suspect the security people chose me totally at random. And if you ask me, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what they should be doing, not picking passengers because they are dark or young or looking like a fanatic. Some of my relatives are dark and young and fanatical, especially at football games and political conventions. But in truth, they wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hurt a fly. On the other hand, sooner or later some old dude who looks like somebodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grandpa is going to go batty, join some international terrorist organization, and volunteer for mass murder duty. Airport safety people should never assume anything when it comes to looking for people who are consumed with bitterness and determined to include some of us in their in a last lethal puff of smoke. So I consider it something of a civic duty to have near-naked pictures taken of me. If they are checking people who look like me, then none of you deadly crackpots is safe from detection, no matter how normal you manage to look. But I admit it is a bit strange to be plucked

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from a mob of travelers and invited to have your clothing removed electronically for a picture that will display your imperfections. Granted, the other passengers never see the pictures, but you are standing there in full view, your arms stretched over your head like a mad bomber surrendering. And the other passengers know you are exposing your personal sags and dangles to a uniformed stranger you have never met. But if you stop to think about it, isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t that the best way? Would you rather that the professional airport gawker is someone you know? When they finished with me, ruling me officially harmless, I tried joking about the situation with one of the security guys. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Could I have an 8 by 10 of that picture?â&#x20AC;? I asked him. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to give it to my wife for Christmas.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Believe me, sir,â&#x20AC;? he answered with a chuckle, â&#x20AC;&#x153;you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to see it.â&#x20AC;? For a moment, I wondered what the heck he meant by that. Was my picture that grotesque? But then I remembered the silly part of objections to security screening. A few passengers are still outraged that, in the common defense, they might be expected to bare their bodies a bit to prove they are unarmed. It is the security people â&#x20AC;&#x201C; required to probe, pat, and peer at massive numbers of imperfect passengers â&#x20AC;&#x201C; who are the most egregiously offended by this process. It is not a pretty sight. And we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t all bathe regularly. No wonder they wear rubber gloves. Theirs is not even remotely an erotic job. They go home at night, rubbing their stressed eyeballs and feeling slightly nauseated. The only people who have it worse are doctors and nurses, and we do not whine about it when they do what they gotta do to protect us from harm. ISI

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Families Encouraged to Have the Talk of a Lifetime By Eric English English Funeral Chapels & Crematory, Coeur d’Alene People talk about many things with their loved ones: from day-to-day details to big events. Sharing stories with those who matter most isn’t just important today; it will be especially significant when it’s time to commemorate a life. Have the Talk of a LifetimeSM is a national effort to encourage families to have conversations about life and what matters most. These discussions can help families make important decisions about how they wish to remember and honor the lives of their loved ones. Sitting down with our loved ones to talk about their lives can be rich and satisfying. Learning about memorable events and people, places and favorite activities, values and lessons they have learned, can help bring us closer to those we care about most. Having the talk of a lifetime can make the difference of a lifetime. It can help reacquaint us with our loved ones and help us get to know them in a new and different way. You can have the talk of a lifetime with anyone you hold dear – your parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, a spouse. It can happen anywhere you and your loved one are most comfortable – over a meal, at home, on a walk, while playing a game. The talk can be between you and your loved one, or you could include others, like family or friends. Your conversation can take place at any time – not just at the end of life. Finding a way to start talking with a loved one may be the most difficult part; however, we might find that once the conversation starts, it may be hard to stop. Deep down, most of us want to know that we, in some way, made a difference in this world – that we mattered to someone, and

that after we die, we will be fondly remembered by those who knew and cared for us. Through meaningful memorialization – that is, taking time to reflect on the unique life of a loved one and to remember the difference they made – families and friends take an important step in the journey toward healing after death. Individuals and their families have more options than ever before for memorializing their loved one at the end of life. From simple to very elaborate, there is a variety of ways a family can honor their loved one in a personal and meaningful way. “Memorialization is so much more than it used to be,” said Eric English. “It can reflect a person’s life story – their values, interests, and experiences – and be transformative, healing, and comforting. Meaningful memorialization starts when loved ones talk about what matters most: memories made, lessons learned, and how they hope to be remembered. “It’s not easy to talk about death,” said English. “The Have the Talk of a LifetimeSM brochure will be particularly helpful because it focuses on life, rather than the details of a service. It’s life stories – family vacations, pieces of advice, favorite pastimes – that will help you remember those who matter most and begin to heal after they die.” The Have the Talk of a Lifetime campaign is sponsored by the Funeral and Memorial Information Council and is designed to help people begin a conversation about life. Contact your local funeral chapel to obtain a free copy of the Have the Talk of a Lifetime brochure or visit www.englishfuneralchapel.com or www.talkofalifetime.org where you can watch a video and download your free copy. English Funeral Chapels and Crematory is located at 1133 N. 4th St., Coeur d’Alene and 1700 N. Spokane St, Post Falls. ISI

Here Is The Heads Up On Headstones

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about many things with your loved ones: from day-to-day details to big events. Sharing stories with those who matter most isn’t just important today; it will be especially signiﬁcant when it’s time to honor and commemorate your lives. Memorialization at the end of life is more than it used to be. It can reﬂect a person’s life story and be transformative, healing and comforting. Meaningful memorialization starts when loved ones talk about what matters most: memories made, lessons learned and how they hope to be remembered. Download a free brochure and Have the Talk of a Lifetime today. It can make the difference of a lifetime. www.englishfuneralchapel.com

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Submitted by Bob Jordan It is an inescapable fact that most of us will face the death of loved ones, which gives us an opportunity to memorialize their lives. The possibilities are endless and how we do it can be a loving tribute to their lives. Headstones, more formally known as memorials, are available in granite and an extensive array of styles, shapes, and colors. Memorials can be personalized to reflect the life of your loved one with an infinite selection of designs to suit your desires. In addition, your local monument dealer can provide you with information regarding cemetery requirements and acceptable memorial sizes and styles. Additional features such as etched or ceramic photos, flower vases, statues, and eternal lights can be included in a monument. Prior to the engraving process, your monument company will show you a scale drawing (proof) of your monument illustrating the overall appearance of lettering and the design for your approval. If your family is seeking a non-traditional granite memorial there are benches, statues, columns, birdbaths, and natural granite boulders available. These commemorative pieces can also be designed, lettered, and fabricated or partially cored (hollowed) for placement of cremains. These tributes can be placed in a yard or garden, parks, churches, hospitals, cemeteries, and other monument sites. If relocating becomes a necessity, they may be transferred to a new locale as per your wishes. When the time comes and you face decisions about memorializing your loved ones, consult with your monument dealer to understand fully your options. ISI

Did you know? The earliest type of timekeeper, dating from as far back as 3500 B.C., was the shadow clock, or gnomon, a vertical stick or obelisk that casts a shadow. An Egyptian shadow clock of the eighth century B.C. is still in existence.

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 35

Tell your story… even after you’re gone LegacyGRAM.com allows users to record their most treasured family stories, share them with their loved ones, and set them to be released now, or even after they’ve passed away. Eric Kauk, the company’s founder was inspired to create LegacyGRAM by his grandmother, the late Diane Lener, a longtime Sarasota, Florida resident who Kauk describes as the “the best storyteller in the world, not to mention the source of the best hugs on the planet.” Lener passed away in April 2013, and her ability to tell stories is the driving force behind the mission of the company. “Our mission is to help people save their family history through the stories they tell,” says Kauk. The basic service is free at LegacyGRAM.com and, while unlimited premium accounts are avail-

able for a one-time fee of $20. But Kauk is trying to make the service free many people. Firefighters, police, EMTs, military, and teachers can all join the site and get a Lifetime premium account for free by using the promo code: HERO. Kauk says, “We wanted to recognize the true heroes in our communities, and we thought that the least we could do is to help our heroes save and share their stories. Kauk has also teamed up with Operation Give (www.operationgive.com) to provide premium memberships to thousands of deployed military and their families. “We wanted to help deployed military to share their memories with their loved ones, no matter where they are in the world.” The unique part about LegacyGRAM.com is

We are not promised tomorrow Submitted by Julie Fink/Brantley The professor stood before his philosophy class and with an assortment of items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “yes.” The professor then produced two beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed. “Now,” said the professor as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things – your family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions. And if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car, or your assets. The sand is everything else – the small stuff. “If you put the sand into the jar first,” the professor

continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. “Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with your grandparents. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18 holes. There will always be time to clean the house and mow the lawn. Take care of the golf balls first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.” One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented. The professor smiled and said, “I’m glad you asked. The beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of beers with a friend.” The lesson of this story is that we are not promised tomorrow. Whether we are perfectly healthy, young or old, rich or poor – there is no guarantee. As the people who have experienced tornadoes in the Midwest have learned – everything can be gone in a few moments. But genuine friendships carry us through the hardest of times. Jesus drank wine, Germans enjoy beer, and Mexicans sip their tequila. Whatever brings you to feast with friends – do it today. ISI

Phone calls from the dead By Bill Hall There is a scene in a recent television series where a disconsolate young man keeps calling his dead girlfriend’s cell phone just to hear her recorded voice. Her cell phone account eventually closes down. Her phone no longer answers his calls. Her voice was the last tangible part of her to die. The only question, it would seem, is whether his obsession with that cherished voice was a comfort or a torture. The same question is raised by a case I read about in the New York Times: A mother has left her dead daughter’s voice on the answering machine for seven years. Presumably, in that mother’s case, there is more comfort than torture, or she would not continue. However, one of the mother’s friends is freaked out by not being able to call the mother without going through a deceased gatekeeper. What would our elders from the past think of that? They were born before telephones, before voice recording devices, before home movies with sound. They lived in a time when voices died as soon as their owners did. In those times, people who thought they heard voices of the dead in the wind or in the creaking of old houses were imagining things. On the other hand, since the world began, religions of every sort have produced people who hear their version of God speaking to them personally and often in ways that give them clout in their religious communities – or sometimes get them committed to the happy farm for the excessively imaginative. Voices from the Great Beyond or from that creaky voice of ghosts in old wooden stairs have been part of the background sound in our lives since long before telephones and recorders. If a

that users can set their messages to be released only to specific people, and can choose to release their message either now, or after they have passed away. “We wanted to be able to offer people the ability to influence how they are remembered. Now, users can leave a special message as their true last words.” LegacyGRAM.com also allows users to download end of life documents such as a living will, last will & testament, DNR, power of attorney, and healthcare surrogate forms for every state. Please visit the site at www.legacygram. com for more information. ISI

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person could see all the way back in time, he might find respected cave elders listening to a wise and spiritual owl, an owl that tells humans the wisest ways to live. The young man who clings to the telephone voice of the woman he loved and the mother who hangs on every word of a daughter who lives only in an answering machine reminds me of my sad third grade teacher. Those were years before machines answered our telephones for us. That poor

teacher was a forlorn, humorless, and emotionally exhausted woman. Her classroom was mostly a cheerless place. Then one day, she was reading us the Eugene Field poem, “Little Boy Blue,” about a boy who played with a little toy soldier and a little toy dog and then put them away for the night, promising he would see them in the morning. But he never returned. Nonetheless, according to the poet, the toy soldier and dog waited for him for years, until they became covered with rust and dust. Our teacher explained that the boy had died and his mother could not bring herself to put the toys away. She could not remove what a dear small hand had placed there. It was at that point that our teacher opened up and paid us the great compliment of confiding in us. She said her small son had died a few years before. He had left a handprint on a window. And she said that she just could not ever bring herself to wipe it away. Her mood was better after that revelation. I think some of the hurt was purged by sharing her story with the living third graders who occupied

her time. Just the same, if the telephone answering machine had been invented and her child’s voice had been on it, that child would have been heard from daily for years to come. So let the young man in the television series listen to the precious voice of his lost love. And let that mother whose dead daughter answers each phone call listen as much as she needs. As long as life goes on and the obsession remains more salve than crippling pain, to each his own on how long a wounded soul should cling to the sweetness that used to be. Fortunately, I have never been compelled to go through so much grief as that. But on a smaller scale, I admit, when I enter our little greenhouse, I always look down at the concrete floor where the feet of two favorite kittens made their mark one day in wet cement. Those cats are long gone now but their memory keeps on calling. Bill Hall may be contacted at wilberth@cableone.net or at 1012 Prospect Ave., Lewiston, ID 83501. ISI

Your Will: The Overlooked Bucket-list Item Financial Expert Explains the Vital Importance of this Document Of the trendy terms to come around in the past decade, “bucket list” remains among the most useful, says retirement planning expert Jeff Gorton. “As a neologism, I hope it endures because it reminds us of how precious our time is – and that it’s important to plan wisely,” says Gorton, a veteran Certified Public Accountant and Certified Financial Planner™, and head of Gorton Financial Group (www.gortonfinancialgroup.com). “Unfortunately, after some have listed their items and even checked a few things off, they forget about one important item that really counts after they’ve ‘kicked the bucket’ – their will.” Only about 40 percent of adults in America have a will, which is probably due to people not wanting to be reminded of their own mortality and that life will go on without them, he says. “But what’s the alternative? If you die without one, the state decides what becomes of your property, without regard to your priorities,” says Gorton, who also advocates his clients make use of a written income plan (WIP), a living document that helps organize financial priorities. “Why not enjoy the fact that a will is an instrument of power? You get to decide who gets what.” Since so many adults don’t have a will, many don’t understand how they work. Gorton breaks

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You talk about many things with your loved ones: from day-to-day details to big events. Sharing stories with those who matter most isn’t just important today; it will be especially signiﬁcant when it’s time to honor and commemorate your lives. Meaningful memorialization starts when loved ones talk about what matters most: memories memories made, lessons learned and how they be remembered. Download a free brochure and Have the Talk of a Lifetime today. It can make the difference of a lifetime.

t a l k o f a l if e t i m e . o r g

down wills into four basic parts: • Executors – Most wills begin by naming an executor, the person responsible for carrying out the wishes outlined in the will. Duties include assessing the value of the estate, gathering the assets, paying inheritance tax and other debts if necessary, and distributing assets among beneficiaries. • Guardians – A will allows you to designate a guardian for your minor children. Whomever you appoint, you will want to make sure beforehand that the individual is able and willing to assume the responsibility. For many people, this is the most important part of a will since, if you die without naming a guardian, the court will decide who takes care of your children. • Gifts – This section enables you to identify people or organizations to whom you wish to give gifts of money or specific possessions, such as family heirlooms or a car. You can also specify conditional gifts, such as a sum of money to a young daughter, but only when she reaches a certain age. • Estate – Your estate encompasses everything you own, including real property, financial investments, cash, and personal possessions. Once you have identified specific gifts you would like to distribute, you can apportion the rest of your estate in equal shares among your heirs, or you can split it into percentages. For example, you may decide to give 45 percent each to two children and the remaining 10 percent to a sibling. “You’re not legally required to have a professional write a will for you, but I highly recommend you get certified help because these documents are often contested by people who are unhappy with the decisions you made,” Gorton says. “After working a lifetime for your assets, you deserve to have them go where you want after you’re gone, and your family will be grateful to you for not leaving them with the headache of trying to sort out your estate.” Jeff Gorton is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Financial Planner™ specializing in individual tax and retirement planning. He is also an Investment Advisor Representative under Alphastar Capital Management, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor, and has a life and health insurance license. He specializes in working with retirees in the areas of tax planning, benefits, retirement planning, estate planning, and safe money techniques. ISI

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The Clock is Ticking By Clare Hafferman I came home one afternoon disgruntled and tired. Unloading the things that hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sold at the Farmers Market, I said to my husband, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be able to keep things in shape here next year and go to the market too.â&#x20AC;? The clock was ticking and I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t getting any younger. As a man who usually cuts to the chase, he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;So why don=t you see what you can eliminate?â&#x20AC;? I hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t thought of that â&#x20AC;&#x201C; getting rid of something. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d only thought about shoring things up in order to keep going. But a little reflection convinced me I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t getting ahead in my current fashion; why not take his suggestion. What would be first? A large pie cherry tree provides family members with almond flavored sugar enhanced cherry pie. The transparent apple tree provides the fruit for pies and canning. My raspberry patch was sizable. There was a currant bush in order to have currant and raspberry jelly. Unfortunately, the aphids ate the currants and sucked up the leaves before I got the jelly. It was the only thing the aphids aimed for in my yard and I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know why. The currant bush is destined to come out. I always planted tomatoes, carrots, green beans, and a few other vegetables along with rhubarb. If I eliminated growing vegetables, what other options did I have? A lot of my yard is for my wildflower garden and my traditional perennial flowerbeds and borders as well as herbal plants. The space and the care needed seemed minimal when I was younger. What can be done to hold onto the joy and beauty these plants add to life? About this time, a book I had ordered from Daedalus Books provided some answers to eliminate work by changing what was there. The title was Gardening for a Lifetime or How to Garden Wiser as You Grow Older, by Sydney Eddison. She is the author of six other gardening books. She lives in Connecticut and has been given her Stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Horticultural Gustav Melquist Award, as well as the New England Wildflower Societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Award in 2005 and 2006, and the Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticutâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bronze Medal. She lectures widely and continues to teach at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. The first chapter was an eye-opener. She suggested thinning out perennial borders by dividing and giving away overgrown flower clumps and substituting slow growing shrubs. She suggested some shrubs that would still have flowers, like Hydrangeas, Viburnum, Spirea, and Forsythia, as well as ornamental grasses. Try to get slow growing varieties and trim them to keep their shape such as Morning Light, a type of grass, and Golden Tide Forsythia. I read several chapters in her book that made sense no matter how old you were or how long you had gardened. They included: Rethinking The Perennial Borders, Sanity Savers, Learning To Make Lists, New Gardens, Keeping Them Small And Simple, Container Gardening â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Arranging Potted Plants With A Purpose and a last one: Making The Most of What You Have Left. Another good suggestion came from the chapter on making lists. If you have a large sprawling

garden like she did, it helps to make a Master List of things to accomplish. But choose one or two chores on the list, do them, and then mark them off â&#x20AC;&#x201C;there, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s done. She had lived in the same place for 48 years, and with her husbandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s help, had maintained an extensive garden. When he died, she faced the fact that she needed help and that her gardening had to change. She compared it to the old Johnny Mercer song Somethingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Got To Give. Deciding how much help and how many hours she could afford, the first thing to give was her massive collection of daylilies that she had

been adding to since 1961. Using the advice of an acknowledged daylily hybridizer, the goal was to have healthy plants that developed into nice symmetrical clumps with good-looking foliage and numerous flowers on strong stalks called scapes. The greater number of buds to a scape, the more flowers there will be. However, as she and her helper continued to study perennials, attractive foliage topped the list. Sedum, ornamental grasses, anise hyssop, calamintha, nepeta, large leaved lamb=s ears, thread leaf coreopsis, and Siberian iris will all grow in Zone 4 climate, like mine. The author lives in Zone 7 climate so some of the plants

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wouldn’t do well in Zone 4. But she suggested enough kinds to get started. As an example, she gave special marks to Sedum Autumn Joy for both foliage and flowers that will thrive in Zone 4. Once many daylilies were eliminated, the next to go were plants that needed staking and also plants like modern bearded iris, because she said they are victims of borers and end up with sick looking holey foliage. With enough ideas to keep you thinking like making lists and doing things differently, the author

ended her book with a good example made by Itzhak Perlman who has been crippled by polio since childhood and walks with leg braces and crutches. At a concert in 1995 at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City, one of the strings on his violin snapped during the performance. The audience held its breath expecting him to leave the stage. Instead, he paused and continued playing, adjusting, and compensating as he went along. At the end, when he put down his bow, a roar of applause

filled the Hall. When it died down, he said to the audience, ASometimes it is the artist=s task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left.@ That statement applies also to older gardeners. After you have eliminated, substituted, and thinned, how good looking can your garden be with the resources you still have at your command? If you=ve used the suggestions from this well written book, you may feel you’re still ahead of the game. ISI

How Many Wives Do You Have? By Bill Hall Let me begin this sermon with my assurance that I would not practice polygamy even if the law allowed it. I do not have the self-delusion or the impaired level of sanity to think that I could survive so much physical exhaustion as serving a polygamous union of wives. Nor would I be a party to a marriage in which I and at least one other guy would become pawns of a marriage in which one woman has two or more husbands simultaneously. When it comes to sharing my wife with another husband, I do not have a generous nature. Getting married in such ways sounds like a lot of work and quarreling for all parties involved. It’s none of my business if you differ and imagine that you and your multiple partners can survive that kind of crazy. But I respect different strokes for different folks. And a stroke is what a person might risk from living a stressful life of multiple spouses. There are natural limits on how much love a person can stand. I stumbled into this conversation recently after reading several news reports on where same-sex marriage is heading. I was astonished to learn that it was heading to Utah of all places. In its fashion, that state has been one of the most ardent opponents of gay marriage and one of the most solid supporters of one kind of marriage, the kind involving a man and a woman. However, a federal judge in Utah ruled, in

effect, that restricting marriage solely to the once-customary marriage of a man and a woman violates the principal of equal treatment under the law. What’s good for the goose is not only good for the gander, but that judge believes we should also respect what’s good for the gander and the gander as well as for the goose and the goose. The U.S. Supreme Court quickly put gay marriage on hold in Utah – pending outcome of Utah’s appeal of the federal judge’s ruling. The high court has probably decided that, like it or not, it will now have to deal with the decision it avoided last year – deciding whether gay couples have the same right to marry as those of us who prefer to snuggle across the gender line. I have long since reached my verdict in the matter: Everybody mind your own business. It’s not my job or yours to approve or disapprove of somebody else’s favorite flavor of marriage. I don’t even understand half the heterosexual marriages I see around me. Fortunately, most people have the grace to keep their yaps shut about my choice of spouse. Or yours. And so I, too, am inclined to live and let live. You don’t have to understand gay marriage. And I don’t entirely. All I know is that gay marriage makes gay people happy. I want everybody to be happy. And it makes me happy to mind my own business. From time to time, well-intentioned opponents of gay marriage try, in good conscience, to straighten me out on this question. They try to pry

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my rusty old mind open with what they think is a scary analogy: “If you would allow people of the same sex to marry,” they ask me, sly smiles lighting up their faces, as they go in for the kill, “then what next? Polygamy? Would you let people have more than one wife or one husband at a time?’ Yes. Yes, I would. I have always thought that people who practice polygamy (consenting adults only, please) – should not have to depend on me, you, or anybody else to give approval, and least of all the government. Mind you, I shrink in horror from the possible aggravations in the life of a man with multiple wives. And I worry about those wives who have taken the concept of sharing to a level that makes a woman wonder how many other lovers the greedy guy has hidden here and there. I also fear for the happiness of the brave woman who dares marry several men at a time. That poor woman must endure the probability that her three or four husbands all spend a lot more time fishing than taking out the garbage. (Excuse me, but I have to go now. I took out the garbage and so it’s time to go snuggle my one wife in our own little hetero house.) Hall may be contacted at wilberth@cableone. net or at 1012 Prospect Ave., Lewiston, ID 83501. ISI

Be Careful When Choosing a Real Estate Agent to Sell Your Home By Wendy Chamberlain Choosing the right real estate agent (realtor) to take care of selling your home should be a measured decision. The person you choose needs to be somebody you’re comfortable with and who you feel has the experience and confidence needed to get the result you’re after – the sale of your home. After all, buying and/or selling a home is one of the largest transactions most people will undertake during their lifetime. For the same reasons, it can be one of the most stressful too, so choosing the right person is vital. You’re going to be working very closely with this person so it’s extremely important that you are confident in their ability to sell your home. A few real estate agents will deliberately overstate the value of a home in order to secure your listing. Then, when the property fails to sell, they’ll start the conditioning process, suggesting that you drop your price to “meet the market.” The fact is they should have correctly advised you as to where the market was sitting in the first place. Having your home sit for an extended period on the market then having to drop the price to make a sale looks bad, plain and simple. So how do you go about choosing the best agent for you to sell your home? Ask Questions – When choosing your agent, ask lots of questions about their experience in the area and their experience selling your type of home. Do they have a substantial database of buyers that they can leverage to generate interest in your home? Perhaps they are part of a chain that can tap into a large net-

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014

work of buyers. Perhaps engaging the services of a boutique local agent is going to get you a better result. These are all valid questions to consider before choosing. Get to Know Them – Take your time choosing an agent and ask lots of questions. Go along to open for inspections where the agent is marketing a home for sale for someone else. Without identifying who you are, go along and act as if you’re a potential buyer. How does the agent treat you? Does the agent follow you up after the inspection? If you’re not happy with how they treated you as a prospective buyer or they fail to follow you up, why would you then employ them to sell your home (and behave exactly the same way with your potential buyers)? On the other hand, if they are courteous and great on the follow up, they’ll do likewise for

your potential buyers and may just be the right agent for you. Ask a Trusted Friend or Colleague – Just as in business, we like to work with people we know, like, and trust. Finding a suitable real estate agent to sell your home is no different. Ask a trusted friend or colleague if they can recommend anyone in your area to sell your home. If you know of someone that has recently sold their home, ask for their feedback about the agent, the agency, and whether they’d recommend them. If they would, great! Get in touch with that agency and start the process of asking questions and getting to know them as outlined above. Don’t be Lazy – I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a landlord simply hand their rental property to the sales team at the same agency and expect them to sell it. They’ve done a good job renting out my property so they’ll do

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a good job selling it too – right? Wrong! First, the sales team and the rental team at any agency are two different departments. Second, as with anything, you have good agents and you have great agents. You’re after a great agent to get you a great result! Do your homework and some due diligence. If it turns out your rental agency is the perfect team to sell your house too, fantastic! Go with them. But make sure you’ve asked the right questions and understand how they work first. Remember, not all agents are equal and not all real estate agencies will achieve the best result for you. Ask for recommendations from friends, attend open houses, and get a feel for how an agent will perform selling your property first hand. Then, you’ll be well placed to make an informed decision about choosing the right agent to sell your home. EzineArticles.com. ISI

What To Do When Foreclosure Looms By Teresa Ambord If you are like many people these days, you might be worried about the possibility of losing your house. If not, you probably know someone who is. Right about now, anyone in danger of foreclosure probably hates the bank, but you should know the bank does not want your house. In general, the bank that holds your mortgage is not in the real estate business and would rather you stay in your house, paying your loan. Here are some tips from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to help those who are having trouble keeping up with house payments. 1. Face it head on. The problem will not go away if you ignore it, and the longer you wait and further you get behind, the harder it will be to reinstate your loan. 2. Call your lender right away. When you realize you have a problem, reach out to talk to your lender as soon as possible. You no doubt feel threatened, but rest assured the bank does not want your house. They have options that may help you save your house. 3. Open the scary letters. If you go to your mailbox and find a letter from your mortgage holder, it may be tempting to set it aside. But you should know the first letters you receive might be good letters, containing helpful information. But, you have to act. As time goes on, the good information turns to notices of pending legal action. 4. Determine your rights. When you bought the house, your lender gave you documents that say what could happen if you fail to make payments. These documents lay out your rights. Foreclosure laws vary by state. 5. Learn the options. Start by contacting HUD and talking to a HUD-approved housing counselor. These counselors are provided free, nationwide. They can help you understand the law and your options. They can also help you get your finances organized, and will represent you in negotiating with your lender. 6. Prioritize spending. You may be under a boatload of debt, but make your house payment the first priority. Take a hard look at what you are spending and eliminate what you can. Put credit card payments and other loan payments on hold. 7. Look at your other assets. If you have a whole life insurance policy, this could be a source of cash. Also look at what you can sell to raise cash. Is there someone in the household who can get an extra job, even a few hours a week? If you’re way behind on your mortgage, you may not be able to raise enough through these methods to get you up-to-date. 8. Don’t get involved with a foreclosure prevention company. This will waste money you need to pay your mortgage payments. Some of these companies are legitimate, and some are not. 9. Don’t accidentally sign away your title.

132 E. State St. Eagle, ID There are companies that will claim to be able to halt a foreclosure process if you sign their 800-818-4314 form, allowing them to act on your behalf. Don’t believe it! The form may actually lead you to sign away your title, effectively making you a renter in for or a free f estimate estimat ti t your own home. To be safe, don’t sign anything without getting professional advice. t 4FBNMFTT 4JEJOH t .FUBM 3PPýOH t "EEJUJPOT t 4FBNMFTT (VUUFST t 3FQMBDFNFOU 8JOEPXT t 3FNPEFMJOH Options That Can Help Retain Your Home t .FUBM 4PGýU 'BTDJB t 4VOSPPNT t 'PVOEBUJPO 3FQBJS Don’t give up too easily. HUD has programs that are not charity, but that can help by refinancing your home, lowering the payments, or reducing the principal. Here are a few: • Reduced payments. The details vary, but you may be able to get your mortgage payment lowered to 31% of your gross income. Typically, this type of modification can result in lowering a payment 40%. HUD reports that among homeowners who do this, 18% see a payment reduction of $1,000 a month or more. This program is called HAMP, or “Home Affordable Modification Program.” • Underwater. HUD also has a program known as HARP. This is for homeowners who are underwater on their mortgages, meaning, they owe more than the house is worth. Ask your HUD counselor about this • Reducing the principal. Like HARP, this program helps homeowners whose homes are worth less than they owe. It’s called PRA or Principal Reduction Alternative. Contact HUD for Western other options involving refinancing or loan Montana’s Only modification. HUD also 55+ Community has assistance programs for homeowners who are unemployed, and “managed exit” programs. Yo u m a y a l s o contact the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to get answers to questions at Maintenance Free Living 1-800-225-5342. Or Custom Single Family Homes Gated Entry call the National SerCommunity Clubhouse Putting Green vicing Center at 1-877Convenient Location Parks & Walking Trails 622-8525, and if you are hearing or speech Energy Star Efficient Homes impaired, call 1-800406.546.6930 KootenaiCreekVillage.com 877-8339. ISI

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Cognitive training shows staying power Training to improve cognitive abilities in older people lasted to some degree 10 years after the training program was completed, according to results of a randomized clinical trial supported by the National Institutes of Health. The findings showed training gains for aspects of cognition involved in the ability to think and learn, but researchers said memory training did not have an effect after 10 years. The report, from the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study, appears in the January 2014 issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. The

history of caring.

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project was funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), components of the NIH. “Previous data from this clinical trial demonstrated that the effects of the training lasted for five years,” said NIA Director Richard J. Hodes, M.D. “Now, these longer term results indicate that particular types of cognitive training can provide a lasting benefit a decade later. They suggest that we should continue to pursue cognitive training as an intervention that might help maintain the mental abilities of older people so that they may remain independent and in the community.” “ACTIVE is an important example of intervention research aimed at enabling older people to maintain their cognitive abilities as they age,” said NINR Director Patricia Grady, Ph.D. “The average age of the individuals who have been followed over the last 10 years is now 82. Given our nation’s aging population, this type of research is an increasingly high priority.” The original 2,832 volunteers for the ACTIVE study were divided into three training groups – memory, reasoning and speed-of-processing – and a control group. The training groups participated in ten 60- to 70-minute sessions over five to six weeks, with some randomly selected for later booster sessions. The study measured effects for each specific cognitive ability trained immediately following the sessions and at one, two, three, five and 10 years after the training. The investigators were also interested in whether the training had an effect on the participants’ abilities to undertake some complex tasks. They assessed these using measures of time and efficiency in performing daily activities, as well as asking the participants to report on their ability to carry out everyday tasks ranging from preparing meals, housework, finances, health care, using the telephone, shopping, travel, and needing assistance in dressing, personal hygiene, and bathing. At the end of the trial, all groups showed declines from their baseline tests in memory, reasoning, and speed of processing. However, the participants who had training in reasoning and speed of processing experienced less decline than those in the memory and control groups. Results of the cognitive tests after 10 years show that 73.6 percent of reasoning-trained participants were still performing reasoning tasks above their pre-trial baseline level compared to 61.7 percent of control participants, who received no training and were only benefiting from practice on the test. This same pattern was seen in speed training: 70.7 percent of speed-trained participants were performing at or above their baseline level compared to 48.8 percent of controls. Participants in all training groups said they had less difficulty performing the everyday tasks compared with those in the control group. However, standard tests of function conducted by the researchers showed no difference in functional abilities among the groups. The ACTIVE study followed healthy, community-dwelling older adults from six cities—Baltimore; Birmingham, Ala.; Boston; Detroit; State College, Pa.; and Indianapolis. The participants averaged 74 years of age at the beginning of the study and 14 years of education, 76 percent were female, 74 percent were white and 26 percent were AfricanAmerican. The 10-year follow-up was conducted with 44 percent of the original sample between April 1998 and October 2010. The NIA leads the federal government effort conducting and supporting research on aging and the health and well-being of older people. The Institute’s broad program seeks to understand the nature of aging and to extend the healthy, active years of life. For more information on research, aging, and health, go to www.nia.nih.gov. ISI

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Caregivers Need A Personal-Service Agreement By Tom Packer www.packereldercarelaw.com When elderly parents begin needing assistance in their daily lives, adult children are often called upon. Usually this begins with an adult child helping around the house, paying some bills, running to the store, or fixing meals. To make it easier to manage their finances, elderly parents frequently give their adult children a financial power of attorney or add them to their checking and savings accounts. More often than not when this occurs, there is poor record keeping and a frequent commingling of the parent’s and the children’s funds. When parents are diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer’s, their care needs escalate, and the demands on caregiving children increase. Many times the caregiving child will reduce hours at work or even quit a job to provide care for an aging parent. Many parents and their caregiving children in these situations do not see a need to have a written agreement between the parents and the caregiving children; this is, however, exactly what they do need. These informal care arrangements, with their commingling of funds and poor record keeping, can lead to investigations by adult protection for financial exploitation and to sibling claims that

the caregiver child is taking “all of mom’s money.” If money is given to the caregiving child without a contract in place, the parent may also become ineligible for Medicaid. A Personal-Services Agreement can resolve these concerns. The Idaho Administrative Procedures Act provides that transfers of income to a relative for personal services will result in ineligibility for Medicaid unless the following guidelines are followed: • A written contract for personal services was signed before services were delivered. • The contract must require that payment be made after services are rendered. • The contract must be dated and the signatures notarized. • Either party must be able to terminate the contract. • The contract must be signed by the participant or a legally authorized representative through a power of attorney, legal guardianship, or conservatorship. • A representative who signs the contract must not be the provider of the personal-care services under the contract. • Compensation for services rendered must be comparable to rates paid in the open market.

Doctor Who Made House Calls Hangs Up Stethoscope Article & Photo By Dianna Troyer In his office, Dr. Bob Gilbert snaps shut his black leather doctor’s bag with his gold-plated nametag given to all graduates of the Medical College of Virginia. “It had everything I needed to make house calls,” says the 65-yearold Pocatello internist. He treated patients at his solo practice in a historic residential neighborhood for 35 years before retiring in December. “There’s a stethoscope, otoscope, blood pressure cuff, reflex hammer, prescription pad…. I always made some house calls.” His practice was unusual not only because he took the time to visit some patients at home, but because he was not part of a group of physicians and didn’t work in a clinic or hospital. “You have a lot more freedom to practice medicine the way you want to when you’re by yourself.” During the past decades, his childhood desire to become a doctor was more than fulfilled. “The profession intrigued me and was something I wanted to do since I was young. I like the variety of internal medicine. I’m not the type of person who likes to do the same thing again and again. It’s challenging, too, because there are so many factors to consider when treating each patient. You’re solving a puzzle.” As his patients drop by his office to pick up their files, he reassures them he’ll see them around town and reflects on the past decades. “Over the years, the practice of medicine hasn’t changed because the patient always comes first. But the business of medicine has changed dramatically, so I decided it was time to start a new chapter in my life.” Decades ago, Bob, a native of Roanoke, Virginia, wondered what would happen next as he started a new chapter in his life. He had earned a medical degree in 1975, had also received a master’s in biochemistry, and completed his residency.

Caregiving children should also keep detailed records of the personal-care services that they provide and the expenses that they incur. A written contract and adequate records will protect the caregiving child from claims of financial exploitation by adult protection and disgruntled siblings and will establish that transfers of income to the child complied with Medicaid rules. Tom Packer is an Elder Law Attorney serving all of Southeast Idaho. As part of his law practice, Tom offers life care planning to deal with the challenges created by long-term illness, disability, and incapacity. ISI

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“My wife, Kat, noticed an ad for a job in a fam208-454-000 612 W Logan St ily practice group in Pocatello. She’d also visited LoganParkSeniorLiving.com Yellowstone and Sun Valley and thought it would Equal Opportunity Provider be a great place to live,” recalls Bob. He worked in the group briefly before deciding to open his own office with Kat serving as his office manager, assistant, and patient advocate. “We wanted to be in a centralized historic residential neighborhood and found this house in 1979,” he recalls. His brick office, painted burgundy, stands out at the corner of Sixth and Hayden. “A Greek family lived here, and their descendants dropped in recently to visit.” Shortly we are devoted to enriching the lives of those entrusted to us. after Bob opened his practice, a beloved internist, Dr. Richard Howard, retired and referred his patients to Bob. “We provided a continuity of care for his patients. I hired Brenda Swore, who ran his office, to work for me. He also gave us some 1014 Burrell Avenue Prestige Care & Rehabilitation equipment like his EKG Lewiston, Idaho 83501 T h e O r c h a r d s machine and office furPhone: 208-743-4558 niture,” he says, pointing Fax: 208-746-7657 to the high-back green www.prestigecare.com CMS 5 Star Rating leather chairs that made

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Dr. Howard’s patients feel at home. As he began seeing Pocatello patients, he was amazed at their work ethic and pioneering spirit. “They’d show up on time for an appointment when the wind was howling, and there was four feet of snow on the ground.” Their generosity touched him, too. “They’d bring us fresh produce from their gardens, baked goods, hand-made blankets, photos.... They told us about Pocatello’s colorful history, how Chinese, Italians, and Greeks came to build the railroad, and how this house was once part of a ‘bootleg district.’” As his practice evolved, he not only cared for patients in his office or their homes, but also at the Union Pacific Railroad’s dispensary. He will continue caring for inmates at the Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center. During the past decades, pharmaceutical ad-

vancements have impressed him with the invention of new drugs to treat cancer and AIDS and to help control chronic illnesses. He can’t help but be pleased, too, that their daughter Shiloh, 32, chose a medical career and is an emergency room physician in Salt Lake City. As an undergraduate microbiology major at Idaho State University, she received a Kasiska Family Foundation Scholarship awarded to students planning a health sciences career. “It’s interesting to talk to her about our different perspectives on treatment and evaluation of patients.” Plaques on his walls laud him for his community service, working as chief of staff at Pocatello Regional Medical Center, and serving as president of the Southeast Idaho District Medical Society. He has also volunteered with Habitat for Humanity when a local chapter started several years

ago and has worked with the Pocatello Neighborhood Housing Services. “Several years ago, when the housing service asked to turn the empty lot adjacent to the office into a garden, I told them, ‘Sure.’” A hand-painted sign, Bonneville Community Garden, still stands surrounded by snow-covered remnants of flowers and vegetable plants that nearby residents grew to brighten up the neighborhood. With his office closed, Bob plans to devote his spare time to community service and reading books about some of his favorite subjects including history, mysteries, economics, biographies, and the sciences. “It was a blessing all these years to meet and care for wonderful patients. I’m not leaving town, so I’ll be able to still see them, just not in an office setting.” ISI

More And Better Options To Live At Home When You Need Care By Kris Carlson MBA/RN Suzanne is a middle age woman with several health concerns. Until recently, Suzanne had frequent visits to the Emergency Room violent migraines and other complications. But something is changing in the world of long-term care and Suzanne is a wonderful example of how new health care models can help people. More and more seniors and people with disabilities or long-term health problems choose to

live in their home, rather than in a facility or institution; recent research shows that 78% of seniors prefer home over a facility. New insurance and government programs support this trend. Living at home not only saves health care costs, but it also increases a person’s quality of life, if there is sufficient support. And in the same way that it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to care for our disabled neighbors and aging elders. To be healthy and happy is more than being free from disease. Regardless of your physical state, people need social interaction, exercise, a nourishing environment, something useful to do, and things to look forward to. Some of these needs are filled by support from family, neighbors, and wonderful community based initiatives. Other needs will be met by services like home care, family doctors, meals-on-wheels, senior centers, public transportation, and the like. The key to success in making this all work is to make the care about the person and to combine medical care with prevention, and community integration. This is why many new health care programs are person centered and offer services like socialization, wellness, transportation, as well as home health support. In the case of Suzanne, she finds that her health has improved now that she is in a new Medicaid program that not only provides her with good home care, but also allows her to go to the pool for exercise and receive special therapy to

help prevent her migraines and other issues. But person centered care is more than just the service provided – it is also about how it is provided. The relationship between a client and the care provider is what makes or breaks a person’s care. That in turn is largely affected by how we support and honor our caregivers to do the important, physically and emotionally demanding but also fulfilling work they do; many are our modern day heroes. With lifestyle related disease still on the rise and a growing aged population, the number of people needing long-term care is like an approaching tsunami. In order to keep as many people in their homes and their community as possible we all need to come together and work as a team. Suzanne now is feeling a lot better now that she receives her new services. She and her beloved caregiver are so tuned into the early warning signs of her migraines, that she actually has fewer and less violent migraines. Suzanne hardly ever visits the emergency room anymore and no longer needs all of the drugs the doctors used to prescribe. Home health services didn’t just increase her quality of life and reduce the cost of her care, but now Suzanne feels like she is once again a part of her community and can actually contribute to other people’s lives; and isn’t that what we all need? ISI

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Submitted by Julie Brantley An elementary school teacher with twenty-four students in her class presented each child with the first half of a well-known proverb and asked them to complete the remainder of the proverb. It’s hard to believe these were actually done by first graders. Their insight will surprise you. 1. Don’t change horses until they stop running.

2. Strike while the bug is close. 3. It’s always darkest before Daylight Saving Time. 4. Never underestimate the power of termites. 5. You can lead a horse to water but how? 6. Don’t bite the hand that looks dirty. 7. No news is impossible. 8. A miss is as good as a mister. 9. You can’t teach an old dog new math. 10. If you lie down with dogs, you’ll stink in the morning. 11. Love all; trust me. 12. The pen is mightier than the pigs. 13. An idle mind is the best way to relax. 14. Where there’s smoke there’s pollution. 15. Happy is the bride who gets all the presents. 16. A penny saved is not much. 17. Two’s company, three’s the Musketeers. 18. Don’t put off until tomorrow what you put on to go to bed. 19. Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and you have to blow your nose. 20. There are none so blind as Stevie Wonder. 21. Children should be seen and not spanked or grounded. 22. If at first you don’t succeed, get new batteries. 23. You get out of something only what you see in the picture on the box. 24. When the blind lead the blind, get out of the way. ISI

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Keeping Time Submitted by Julie Fink-Brantley If you were in the market for a watch in 1880, would you know where to get one? You would go to a store, right? Well, you could do that, but if you wanted one that was cheaper and a bit better than most of the store watches, you went to the train station! Sound a bit funny? Well, for about 500 towns across the northern United States, that’s where the best watches were found. Why were the best watches found at the train station? The railroad company wasn’t selling the watches, not at all; the telegraph operator was. Most of the time the telegraph operator was located in the railroad station because the telegraph lines followed the railroad tracks from town to town. It was usually the shortest distance and the rightof-ways had already been secured for the rail line. Most of the station agents were also skilled telegraph operators and communicated with the

railroad. They would know when trains left the previous station and when they were due at their next station. And it was the telegraph operator who had the watches. In fact, they sold more of them than almost all the stores combined for a period of about 9 years. This was all arranged by a fellow named Richard, who was a telegraph operator himself. He was on duty in the North Redwood, Minnesota train station one day when a load of watches arrived from the East. It was a huge crate of pocket watches. No one ever came to claim them. So, Richard sent a telegram to the manufacturer and asked them what they wanted to do with the watches. The manufacturer didn’t want to pay the freight back, and they wired Richard to see if he could sell them. Richard did. He sent a wire to every agent in the system asking them if they wanted a cheap, but good, pocket watch. He sold the entire case in less than two days and at a handsome profit.

Remembering Mom’s Clothesline Submitted by Julie Brantley This is funny and quite true. We are probably the last generation that will remember what a clothesline was. Great memories for some of us! I remember we had a long wooden pole (clothes pole) that we used to push the clotheslines up so that longer items (sheets, pants, etc.) did not brush the ground and get dirty. I can hear my mother now.... The basic rules for clotheslines are: 1. You had to hang the socks by the toes, not the top. 2. You hung pants by the bottom/cuffs, not the waistbands. 3. You had to wipe the clothesline(s) before hanging any clothes by walking the entire length of each line with a damp cloth around the lines. 4. You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and always hang whites with whites, and hang them first. 5. You never hung a shirt by the shoulders – always by the tail! What would the neighbors think? 6. Wash day was Monday! Never hang clothes on the weekend or on Sunday for Heaven’s sake! 7. Hang the sheets and towels on the outside lines so you could hide your unmentionables in the middle – perverts and busybodies, you know! 8. It didn’t matter if it was sub-zero weather because clothes would freezedry. I remember my grandfather’s union suits standing by themselves frozen. 9. Always gather the clothespins when taking down dry clothes! Pins left on the lines were tacky! 10. If you were efficient, you would line the clothes up so that each item did not need two clothespins, but shared one of the clothespins with the adjacent item. 11. The clothes needed to be off the line before dinner, neatly folded in the clothesbasket, and ready to be ironed. Ironed? Well, that’s a whole other subject! ISI

That started it all. He ordered more watches from the watch company and encouraged the telegraph operators to set up a display case in the station offering high quality watches for a cheap price to all the travelers. It worked! It didn’t take long for the word to spread, and people other than travelers came to the train station to buy watches. Richard became so busy that he had to hire a professional watchmaker, Alvah, to help him with the orders. And the rest is history as they say. The business took off and soon expanded to many other lines of dry goods. Richard and Alvah left the train station and moved their company to Chicago – and it is still there. Yes, it is a little known fact that for a while in the 1880s, the biggest watch retailer in the country was at the train station. It all started with a telegraph operator named Richard Sears and his partner Alvah Roebuck! ISI

The Clothesline Tells It All Author unknown A clothesline was a news forecast, to neighbors passing by. There were no secrets you could keep, when clothes were hung to dry. It also was a friendly link, for neighbors always knew If company had stopped on by, to spend a night or two. For then you’d see the fancy sheets and towels upon the line; You’d see the company tablecloths, with intricate designs. The line announced a baby’s birth, from folks who lived inside, As brand new infant clothes were hung, so carefully with pride! The ages of the children could, so readily be known By watching how the sizes changed; you’d know how much they’d grown! It also told when illness struck, as extra sheets were hung; Then nightclothes and a bathrobe too, haphazardly were strung. It also said, “On vacation now” when lines hung limp and bare. It told, “We’re back!” when full lines sagged, with not an inch to spare! New folks in town were scorned upon, if wash was dingy and gray, As neighbors carefully raised their brows and looked the other way. But clotheslines now are of the past, for dryers make work much less. Now what goes on inside a home, Is anybody’s guess! I really miss that way of life; it was a friendly sign, When neighbors knew each other best by what hung on the line. ISI

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