Tidbits of the Pass by pschlo3663

OVER OVER 4 MILLION 4 MILLION Readers Weekly Readers Weekly Nationwide! Nationwide!

Week of March 24, 2019

FREE

OF THE PASS AREA

The Neatest Little Paper Ever Read

The ietidbits.com

Neatest Little Ever Readpaul@ietidbits.com For Advertising Call:Paper (951) 634-4152 TIDBITS® ADMIRES

HEROIC DOGS

by Janet Spencer It's long been known that man's best friend is a dog, and here to prove it are stories where dogs not only saved the day, but also saved a life.

TO THE RESCUE • Alphonse Marie, a 74-year-old man from Normandy, was taking a walk one cold evening in l977 with his three big dogs. He was returning home when he collapsed with a stroke. No one was around and the weather was getting colder. The cold would have soon killed him if the three dogs had not taken parts of his clothing in their mouths and dragged him up numerous stairs, through the open front door, and into his house. He was found the next morning by his son. One dog was licking his face while the other two were howling at the door. Although most of his clothing had been ripped off, he was alive and unhurt, and recovered at the hospital. Special permission was granted so the three dogs could visit him as he recuperated. • In Priest River, Idaho, Mrs. Jolley was in the loft of her barn pitching hay down to her horses. Her three-year-old son Shawn was wandering through the ground floor of the barn as the horses began to come in from the pasture. Suddenly the boy cried out and Mrs. Jolley looked down to see him running across the floor with a crazed stallion racing after him. (continued next page)

WANT TO RUN YOUR OWN BUSINESS? Publish a Tidbits® in your area We provide the opportunity for success!

Call 1.800.523.3096 (US) 1.866.631.1567 (CAN)

www.tidbitsweekly.com

Vol 2 Issue 9

Page 2

Tidbits of The Pass Area

Vol. 2 Issue 9

DOG TO THE RESCUE (continued) • From the barn loft, Mrs. Jolley called out for her dog, a collie named Hero. As Shawn tried to crawl under a tractor, his pants caught on a piece of the machinery, trapping him. He was at the mercy of the enraged horse, who reared up to stomp the youngster. Just then, Hero came flying into the barn and leapt at the head of the furious horse. • Grabbing the animal’s nose, the dog held on as the horse swung him back and forth, smashing him against the tractor. Hero collapsed but was up again in an instant, attacking the horse who mercilessly kicked and stomped the dog. • While the horse was distracted by the dog, Mrs. Jolley rushed to the aid of her son, then picked up a stick and went after the horse. Under attack now by both a dog and a woman, the stallion bolted outside. Hero dropped to the ground, bleeding profusely. The vet found the dog had two crushed feet, five missing teeth, and four broken ribs. Still, he made a complete recovery. DOG vs. GATOR • In July of 2001, 84-year-old Ruth Gay left her Fort Myers, Florida home to walk her dog, an Australian blue heeler named Blue. She slipped on wet grass about 9:00 p.m., suffering facial and shoulder injuries. She was unable to get up. She began calling for help while Blue started to bark. But no one heard— except for a 12 ft (3.7 m) alligator who crawled out of a nearby canal. • When the gator approached the fallen woman, the dog began gnashing, snarling, and snapping until the alligator turned tail. An hour later, Gay’s family arrived home and Blue ran home to alert them to the trouble. Ruth Gay went to the hospital where she had surgery on both shoulders. Blue went to the vets where he was treated for 30 puncture wounds. Both recovered. (continued next page)

Roasted Asparagus

1 bunch (about 1 pound) asparagus, trimmed Salt and coarsely ground black pepper 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Heat oven to 450 F. In 15 1/2-by-10 1/2-inch jelly-roll pan, sprinkle asparagus with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and drizzle with oil; shake pan to coat asparagus. 2. Roast asparagus 10 to 12 minutes (depending on thickness) or until lightly browned and tender. Remove pan from oven; cover with foil to keep warm. 2. Just before serving, sprinkle Parmesan over asparagus. * Each serving: About 55 calories, 4g total fat (1g saturated), 2mg cholesterol, 195mg sodium, 3g total carbohydrate, 1g dietary fiber, 2g protein. For thousands of triple-tested recipes, visit our Web site at www. goodhousekeeping.com/recipes/. (c) 2019 Hearst Communications, Inc. All rights reserved

Tidbits of The Pass Area

Week of March 24, 2019

A COLD NIGHT (continued): • It was a cold December night in 1965 when Marvin Scott left his snug home to walk down to the steep shores of Lake Spanaway in Washington to check his patrol boat. The temperature was 0 F (-18 C) and he didn’t want the boat to get iced over. Marvin’s dog Patches, a collie-Malamute mix, volunteered to come along for the short, cold walk. • As he stood on the pitching boat trying to untangle icy lines, Marvin’s feet suddenly slipped out from underneath him. Falling, he smashed into the floating dock, smacking his head and tearing nearly every muscle and tendon in his legs before plunging unconscious into the frigid water. • Patches leapt into the churning water and dove for his sinking master. After clamping his teeth on Marvin’s hair, Patches swam for the surface and headed for the dock. Marvin, semi-conscious now, reached for the dock and grabbed hold of it. Patches swam for shore. Before he could climb out, Marvin blacked out and slipped back into the water. • Patches leapt back into the lake, and again seized Marvin’s hair and dragged him back to the dock. Marvin groggily grabbed the edge of the dock and shoved the dog to safety. Yet he did not have the strength to haul himself out of the water. Patches, pacing and whining, finally reached down and grabbed the collar of his coat, pulling with all his might. Finally Marvin clambered onto the dock, where he passed out. • Patches lay by his master until he regained consciousness. Then he took hold of the coat collar again, tugging, yanking, and urging his master towards home. Marvin Scott crawled towards home until he was close enough to throw rocks at the window, alerting his wife. It took six months for Marvin to recover from his brush with death, but he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to recover at all if it weren’t for his faithful dog Patches. (continued next column)

Page 3

FIRE ALARM • When the small Spitz named Buster woke up around 4:00 a.m. on April 13, 1930, smoke already filled the apartment he shared with his owners, Mr. and Mrs. Remackel in Minneapolis. He immediately went to his companion, a cat named Fluffy. They had been inseparable since the day Buster first discovered Fluffy stuck in a trap and carried the cat home, trap and all. • After waking the cat, Buster went to the bedroom where his mistress slept. Licking, barking, and pawing failed to rouse the woman, who was already losing consciousness. Finally he bit her. Mrs. Remackel awoke, alarmed. • While she headed to the second bedroom to find her husband, Buster headed to the front door of the apartment, throwing himself against it and barking until she opened the door and let him into the building’s corridor. • Buster stopped at the first door, scratching, howling, and leaping until a groggy tenant opened the door to see what the fuss was. Buster proceeded to the next door, and then the next, until every door had been opened and every tenant alerted, except one. • Buster frantically threw his 25 lb (11 kg) body against the last door with such force that the latch gave way. He went to the bed where an elderly man, an amputee, lay sleeping. After waking him, Buster stayed by his side as he fumbled with his artificial leg, then guided him through the smoke-filled corridor, down the stairs, and outside. • As flames leapt from the building, Buster rushed back inside to make one more rescue— because Fluffy was still inside. By now flames engulfed the Remackel’s apartment. Buster barked and the terrified cat came running. Nipping at the cat’s heels, Buster herded her out the door, down the hallway, and outside. He saved the cat— and 35 people.

Fixing Veteran Suicide With a Task Force

media-outreach budget was $6.2 million. It President Donald Trump has signed an executive was for radio and print ads, public-service order to create a task force to address veteran announcements, ads on billboards and buses, suicide. He's bringing out the big guns: the digital search ads, social media content and secretaries for a dozen government agencies more. Targets were veterans, their families, their will be on it. friends and the general public -- all groups who The task force has been given one year to do need the information. Yet the VA spent only the following: develop strategies to lower the $57,000 of that money and guesstimated they rate of veteran suicides, design and propose would spend a total of $1.5 million, leaving $4.7 to Congress a program of local grants, and million untouched. And they mostly ignored develop a research strategy to improve Suicide Prevention Month two years in a row. coordination and monitoring. The Department of Veterans Affairs was So why didn't they spend the money? Because there was a vacancy in the suicide prevention allegedly already serious about preventing office. A single vacancy. The GAO report veteran suicide. Its 2018 report, second says there was no one to "make decisions." paragraph, says, "Suicide prevention is VA's Contrary to federal control standards, the VA highest clinical priority" and that it's "focused didn't bother to assign responsibilities to make on preventing veteran suicides through sure the work continued. intensive efforts." Here's one example of its intensive efforts: The I know President Trump has a special place in his heart for veterans, but I just don't see a November 2018 Government Accountability group of department secretaries managing to Office report on the VA's suicide prevention solve the VA's problems. They run too deep. outreach says that the 2018 suicide prevention

Page 4

To Your Good Health By Keith Roach, M.D.

Stomach "Flu" Is Not Actually Flu DEAR DR. ROACH: With the flu season coming on, would you please discuss the difference between what people call the "stomach flu" and what the flu really is? I have two friends who said they weren't getting the flu shot anymore because despite having it, they got the flu. They each described several hours of throwing up, but feeling better the next day. I suggested that they probably had a gastrointestinal episode and not influenza, which is a respiratory disease. They insisted that they had the flu, and they'd always learned that the stomach flu is influenza and the flu shot is meant to prevent it. Since then I've spoken to two others who believe the same thing. -- G.C. ANSWER: You are right that there is much confusion about what influenza is. Influenza typically begins with sudden onset of fever, headache, fatigue and severe body and muscle aches. Influenza occurs about two days after exposure. There also often are symptoms of cough, sore throat and nasal discharge, just as there are with the common cold, but the sudden onset, fever (commonly 100 to 104 degrees) and muscle aches help distinguish cold from flu. Gastrointestinal symptoms -- such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea -- are less common in influenza, and these symptoms in absence of the major manifestations listed above makes the diagnosis of flu very unlikely. In late fall through early spring, some diarrheal illnesses (mostly viral) are common, but you are correct that these are NOT influenza. The flu shot contains viral proteins, not live influenza, and it is incapable of causing the flu. Many people will have a sore arm and some-

Tidbits of The Pass Area

Vol. 2 Issue 8

times mild fever and body aches after a flu shot. This is just part of the body's reaction, and it goes away by itself within 24 hours. There is a live influenza vaccine given by nasal spray, which also generally has mild side effects. This may be given to adults under 50. The flu shot is not perfect: You still can get the flu after receiving the shot. However, the flu shot is effective at reducing the most serious cases of flu, such as influenza pneumonia, which can be life-threatening or fatal. DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm a healthy 50-year-old woman, and I recently had my gallbladder removed. What are the effects of not having this organ? -- I.T. ANSWER: The gallbladder stores bile and release it when necessary after a meal. Bile is made by the liver and is needed for proper digestion, especially of fats. After gallbladder removal, usually because of gallstones, the liver takes over the job by storing bile in bile ducts, and releasing it at the right time, under the influence of hormones, such as cholecystokinin. After surgery, most people have no problems with digestion, as their body gets used to the new status quo after a few weeks. Rarely, people who have had their gallbladder removed can develop postcholecystectomy syndrome, which manifests as upper abdominal pain. There are several possible causes. Discovering it requires expert evaluation, usually by the surgeon, and it often involves CT scans and a special kind of MRI (MRCP) to evaluate the biliary tract. Retained stones in the bile ducts, leakage of bile and strictures (narrowings) in the bile ducts are the most common causes of PCS. Dr. Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to ToYourGoodHealth@med.cornell.edu. Dr. Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to ToYourGoodHealth@med.cornell.edu. (c) 2019 North America Synd., Inc. All Rights Reserved

Email paul@ietidbits.com for a rate sheet.

3.3 x 2

took the dog with her.

No Dog for Me?

Three years ago I started thinking about getting a dog. Seeing neighbors out with their small dogs, I knew I wanted what I consider a real dog, a big one, not a dog that would fit in my purse. I made a pro-con dog ownership list, but over time the list of reasons for not getting a dog has gotten longer and longer. Maybe my story will help if you're considering adopting a dog. Where I live there are a lot of rules, and one of them concerns the size of dogs. Specifically, the dog cannot top 25 pounds. The neighborhood rumor mill supplied this story: A woman was told to get rid of her dog after management showed up at her door with a set of scales and demanded to weigh the pooch, which unfortunately came in at nearly 30 pounds. The owner moved out and

A size limit means I can't adopt a young mixed-breed shelter mutt because there's no real way to know how large the dog will be when it grows. According to a study, shelter staff correctly guesses a dog's breed only 67 percent of the time. There are no sidewalks here. What we have for half the year are increasingly narrow roads with snow banks on the sides. I don't have a fenced yard either, which means no place to let a big dog romp and play. By the time I got this far, I knew it was hopeless. I never even got to the part about potential veterinary costs, or the price of quality dog food and grooming, flea treatments and toys. I've found a partial solution, however. I'm thinking of signing up as a dog walker volunteer at the shelter. Maybe I'll fall in love with a tiny, purse-size dog. (c) 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.

Week of March 24, 2019

Tidbits of The Pass Area

Page 5

1 When was the last time before 2017-18 that the Colorado Rockies reached the postseason 1. in consecutive years? 2. Name the player who hit the most home runs in a season for the Chicago White Sox. 3. When was the last time before 2017 that Penn State's football team was ranked as high as No. 2 in The Associated Press poll? 4. Who was the last player before Philadelphia's Joel Embiid in 2017 to have at least 40 points, seven assists and seven blocked shots in a game?

5 In 2018, David Quinn became the fifth head coach to go directly from an NCAA Division I team to an NHL team 5. (New York Rangers). Name two of the other four to do it. 6 When was the last time before 2018 that England's men's soccer team reached the semifinals of the World Cup? 6. 7 Who was the last American male chess player before Fabiano Caruana to compete for the World Chess Championship? 7.

• On April 7, 1776, Navy Capt. John Barry, commander of the American warship Lexington, makes the first American naval capture of a British vessel when he takes command of the warship HMS Edward off the coast of Virginia. The capture turned Barry into a national hero.

1. It was the first time. The Rockies also made the postseason in 1995, 2007 and 2009. 2. Albert Belle belted 49 home runs for the White Sox in 1998. 3. It was October of 1999. 4. Philadelphia's Julius Erving, in 1982. 5. Jim Montgomery (Dallas, 2018), Dave Hakstol (Philadelphia, 2015), Bob Johnson (Calgary, 1982) and Ned Harkness (Detroit, 1970). 6. It was 1990. 7. Gata Kamsky, in 1996.

• On April 1, 1877, prospector Edward Schieffelin begins his search for silver in southern Arizona. Later that year, Schieffelin discovered one of the richest silver veins in the West. He named it the Tombstone Lode.

by Jo Ann Derson

• On April 6, 1896, the Olympic Games, a long-lost tradition of ancient Greece, are reborn in Athens. King Georgios I of Greece and a crowd of 60,000 spectators welcomed athletes from 13 nations.

• Worried about pesticides in your diet? Try mangos, one of the fruits least likely to have pesticide residue. • It can be a snap to remove burned-on food from the bottom of a pot or frying pan. All you have to do is sprinkle in some baking soda and add hot water. Let the mixture sit overnight. In the morning, add a dash more baking soda and scrub the residue away. • Got dirty floors? Make sure you aren't throwing good effort into a dirty mop. You'll need a second bucket filled with rinse water, then follow this pattern: Clean mop in water with cleaner, mop a section of floor, rinse mop in plain water, go back over that section, rinse mop again. Repeat. • "I like strong tea with no milk. My husband drinks black coffee. The coffeemaker and our mugs get stained over time. About monthly, I 'brew' a pot of hot water, but I put a dishwasher 'pac' in the carafe. The hot water dissolves the cleaner, making the coffee carafe easy to clean. Then I use the detergent water to clean all the mugs. It works like magic." -- T.L. in Missouri • Just in time for tax season: Don't overlook the value of opening and contributing to an individual retirement account to lower your tax bill. Contributions need not always be made by Dec. 31 to count; it's possible to open an account as late as tax-filing day on April 15 and still have it count against your 2018 taxes. • To check for toilet leaks, add a few drops of food coloring to the toilet tank. If, without flushing, you see the bowl water start to change color, you know you have a leak.

• On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. is shot to death at a hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. A single shot fired from a nearby motel by James Earl Ray struck King in the neck. The death of America's leading civil-rights advocate sparked a wave of rioting around the country. • On April 2, 1972, silent film actor and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin prepares for his first voyage to the United States since 1952, when he was denied a re-entry visa amid questions about his leftist politics. Chaplin returned to accept an honorary Academy Award. • On April 3, 1996, at his cabin in Montana, Theodore John Kaczynski is arrested by FBI agents and accused of being the Unabomber, the elusive terrorist blamed for 16 mail bombs that killed three people and injured 23. "Unabomber" was an acronym for university, airline and bomber. • On April 5, 2000, Lee Petty, an early star of NASCAR, dies at the age of 86 in North Carolina. Lee Petty won more than 50 stock-car races during his career, including three NASCAR championships and the first Daytona 500, held in 1959. (c) 2019 Hearst Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved

m paul@ietidbits.com Email paul@ietidbits.co Email sheet. for for a rate sheet

Page 6

Tidbits of The Pass Area

Vol. 2 Issue 9

1. Is the book of 1 Timothy in the Old or New Testament or neither? 2. What did the Lord cast down among the Israelites who complained about their wilderness misfortunes? Fire, Hail, Stones, Winds 3. From Romans 3, who have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God? Jews, Gentiles, Heathens, All 4. What idol fell and broke after the Ark of the Covenant was placed nearby? Edrei, Dagon, Molech, Golden calf 5. Who built an altar and called it "Jehovahnissi"? Isaiah, Baal, Moses, Malachi 6. What was the name of John the Baptist's mother? Elisabeth, Miriam, Sarah, Ruth 1) New; 2) Fire; 3) All; 4) Dagon; 5) Moses; 6) Elisabeth Visit Wilson Caseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Trivia Fan Siteat www.patreon.com/triviaguy. ÂŠ 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.

Week of March 24, 2019

Tidbits of The Pass Area

Page 7

Friend's Dog Is Obese

DEAR PAW'S CORNER: I was glad to dog-sit for my friend and next-door neighbor when she went on a two-week trip, and I followed her instructions for feeding and walking her mixed retriever, "Gladys," to the letter. However, Gladys is visibly overweight and the amounts that she is fed don't help. I tried to walk her as frequently as possible while taking care of her so she could burn off some of those calories, but she needs a change of diet. Should I tell my friend this? -- Sara J., via email DEAR SARA: Kudos to you for keeping Gladys' diet and schedule on point during your friend's trip. It was important to keep her life as normal as possible, as it can be stressful when an owner is away. Talking about a dog's weight can be a touchy subject. Some owners might react poorly, thinking that you're telling them what to do. However, she's also your friend. She loves Gladys and probably wants to spend many quality years with her. As a friend, you can have an impact on that by talking with her about your concerns. The important thing is, don't preach. Don't go overboard with advice. Make the discussion part of a casual conversation, like, "Hey, Gladys really loved going on walks with me. I'd love to take her out more often, or we can all go together." Then, listen to your friend. She's probably very aware of Gladys' weight, and there may be reasons for her diet that you don't know about, such as an underlying issue like a lowfunctioning thyroid. Once you spark a conversation, offer to help where you can, or just offer encouragement. Send your questions or pet care tips to ask@pawscorner.com. (c) 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.

G O E S LO N G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . One of Ronald Reagan's favorite dogs while he was in the White House was a little Cavalier King Charles spaniel named Rex. Reagan had a doghouse built for Rex, which was designed by Theo Hayes, the great-great-grandson of President Rutherford Hayes. The doghouse featured red window draperies and framed pictures of the president and first lady hung on the walls as interior decorations.

Page 8

Tidbits of The Pass Area

Vol. 2 Issue 9