TIDBITS Issue 2 CDA Idaho 2022

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of Kootenai County, Idaho Issue #2 Jan 10th 2022

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TIDBITS® ADMIRES BIRDS by Janet Spencer • Birds have been around for over 100 million years, whereas humans have been around for only about 250,000 years. There are about 10,400 different bird species, which is more than twice the number of mammal species. There are perhaps between 200 and 400 billion individual birds on the planet, working out to a ratio of between 30 to 60 live birds for every human on the planet. BIRD BRAINS • The hippocampus is the part of the brain responsible for memory and spatial learning. The more neurons there are in this region, the better the memory. Researchers found that chickadees living in harsh areas (Alaska, Maine) have a larger hippocampus than those that live in milder climates (Iowa, Kansas). Chickadees living at high elevations have a bigger hippocampus than those living just 650 yards (594 m) lower. In harsh climates, survival depends on how well birds can remember where they stashed the seeds. In climates where food is readily available yearround, memory is not so critical. • Not only do New Caledonian crows manufacture tools such as hooks and spears out of leaves and branches, but they keep those tools around and use them over and over, even moving them to new locations with them. (cont)

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TIDBITS of Kootenai County, Idaho Issue #2 Jan. 10th 2022

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Evelyn Bevacqua Howe 212. W. Ironwood Dr., Suite D,# 224, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814 Cell: 208.755.9120 Email: Tidbitscda@gmail.com www.tidbitscda.com Facebook/tidbitscda

BIRD BRAINS (cont) •

In primates, the larger the social group, the bigger the brain. However, in birds, the opposite is true: birds in large flocks have smaller brains than birds in small groups. It seems that forming close alliances with a small number of others is a more demanding task for birds than having a casual relationship with many individuals.

There are two types of birds. Precocial birds are • capable of leaving the nest within a day or two of hatching, such as ducks, chickens, and geese. The word “precocial” comes from the same Latin root word that gives us “precocious.” • Altricial birds are completely helpless when they hatch and must be fed and protected by their parents until they fledge weeks later. “Altricial” comes from the Latin root meaning “to nourish.” 80% of bird species are altricial, but altricial birds end up with brains that are * bigger than their precocial counterparts.

A study done at the University of Washington showed that not only do crows recognize and remember human faces, but they also pass that information on to their offspring. In an experiment, teams of people wandered through several neighborhoods in Seattle. Some were wearing different sorts of masks, some had no masks on, and some were wearing scary • caveman masks. The people wearing caveman masks captured several of the crows, releasing them unharmed after several minutes. Nine years later, people wandered through the same neighborhoods wearing the same masks. Only the people wearing caveman masks were mobbed and dive-bombed by crows, including • young crows that had not even been born at the time of the original experiment. Crows up to half a mile away also mobbed the “cavemen” though they had not even been in the vicinity nine years earlier. (cont)

Generally, for every degree you lower your thermostat during heating season, you reduce your energy costs by 3%. Just in time for soup season (and my new year's resolutions), here's a great fat swap: Drain and rinse 2 cups of white beans and puree with a cup of no-sodium vegetable broth. You can use this as a thickener in place of heavy cream for soups and stews. -- JoAnn Wondering what winter fruits and vegetables are in season? Here's a sampling: apples, dates and pears, as well as citrus, like grapefruit, oranges and tangerines. For vegetables, consider endive, bok choy, Brussels sprouts, kale, leeks, mushrooms, parsnips, radicchio, rutabagas, sweet potatoes, turnips, yams and winter squash. "Want to keep your pants from creasing on the hanger? Grab an empty papertowel tube and slit it down the side. When you slip it over the bottom of the hanger, it creates a wide curve for the pants to lie across, and no more crease!" -- M.U. in Colorado Remember that as temperatures drop and layers of clothing increase, children in a car seat need special consideration. Remove heavy coats before strapping in a small child or baby. Winter wear can compress during an accident, and it interferes with the straps.

Send your tips to Now Here's a Tip, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803. (c) 2022 King Features Synd., Inc.


TIDBITS of Kootenai County, Idaho Issue #2 Jan. 10th 2022 BIRD TOOLS (cont) •

Here are some instances of birds using tools:

A white stork carries damp moss to its nest and wrings it out to provide water for chicks.

A crow uses a Frisbee to ferry water.

A Gila woodpecker makes a scoop from bark and uses it to carry honey home to its nest.

A blue jay scrapes ants against its feathers, ridding the ants of toxic formic acid spray, rendering the ants edible.

A crow uses pine cones as missiles to defend its nest.

A burrowing owl scatters animal dung at the entrance of its burrow and waits for dung beetles to come along, providing a free meal.

Green-backed herons use insects as bait to lure in fish.

Nuthatches use flakes of bark as a lever to pry bark off tree trunks, exposing insects.

A chickadee uses a thorn to pry seeds out of a suet feeder.

A cockatoo uses a stick to beat on a hollow tree trunk, possibly to attract a mate.

Many birds use twigs, leaf stems, thorns, or cactus spines to pry insects from holes too deep for their beaks to reach.

A crow was filmed snowboarding down a snowy roof on top of a jar lid.

DOING BATTLE •

One ornithologist watched a feeding station in Arizona. Normally the crows would come in first, eat their fill, and then leave, whereupon the Steller’s jays would move in for a meal. One jay was dissatisfied at the length of time a crow was taking at the food station. It flew off to a nearby tree, where it pried off a sturdy straight stick. It then dive-bombed the crow, using the stick as a spear. As the ornithologist watched, the crow fought back, causing the jay to drop the stick. The crow then picked up the stick spear and flew after the jay. (cont)

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TIDBITS Tidbits of Kootenai®County, Idaho Issue #2 Jan. 10th 2022 of Dallas County

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MIGRATION (cont) •

White-crowned sparrows migrate from Alaska and northern Canada to southern California and Mexico. Researchers captured a flock of 30 in Seattle. They were then flown 2,300 miles (3,700 km) to New Jersey, where they were released. Would they be able to find • their way to California? The adults who had migrated several times did. The juveniles who • had never migrated before did not. The arctic tern spends summers in Greenland and Iceland and winters off the coast of Antarctica, making a round-trip journey of 44,000 miles (70,811 km) every year. If a tern • lives 30 years, it flies the equivalent of 3 trips to the Moon and back. The pigeons that you see in cities descended from homing pigeons brought on ships with European settlers beginning in the 1600s. • Homing pigeons descended from rock doves that lived on the cliffs surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Rock doves forage in the fields during the day and return to their nests • at night, displaying a strong homing ability.

Homing pigeons which are transported in a circular route inside rotating drums in a sealed • vehicle are still able to find their way home. Even pigeons whose eyes are occluded are able to find their way home.

In 2014, researchers outfitted a flock of golden-winged warblers with GPS units to study their migration. The birds were fitted • with the units just as they arrived at their summer nesting ground in Tennessee after flying in from Colombia. Suddenly, the entire flock took off helter-skelter flying in all • directions, some going as far as 500 miles (804 km) away. A few days later, a huge supercell storm slammed the area, spawning • 84 tornadoes that killed 35 people. After the storm passed, the entire flock returned to their original nesting site and took up where they left off. Somehow they had sensed the storm when it was still hundreds of miles away. •

By Lucie Winborne At the height of their fashion craze in the 1580s and '90s, neck ruffs could include up to 6 yards of starched-stiff material with up to 600 pleats, supported by a wire, wooden frame or board. In 2017, while on a plane, a woman used her sleeping husband's thumb to unlock his phone, thereby discovering he was cheating on her. She reportedly reacted with "such a ruckus" that the flight was forced to make an unscheduled landing in India. Starfish don't have blood. They circulate nutrients by using seawater in their vascular system. The first baseball caps were made from straw and worn by the New York Knickerbockers in 1849. After the Titanic sank in 1912, ships sent to recover the dead ran out of embalming supplies. It was decided to preserve only the bodies of first-class passengers, due to the need to visually identify wealthy men in order to resolve disputes over their estates. Between 1848 and 1850, the Gold Rush caused the population of San Francisco to grow from 900 to 35,000 people. A mother black lace-weaver spider will drum on her web to call her babies to come and eat her alive. In medieval times, fruit and vegetables were cooked because they were thought to cause disease, with a book from 1500 even warning consumers to "Beware of green salads and raw fruits, for they will make your master sick." Credito Emiliano, a bank in Italy, accepts Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese as collateral for small business loans, holding the cheese as insurance and aging it in climatecontrolled vaults for the loan's duration.

Thought for the Day: "Not all paths offer a vista. But every path offers a lesson." -- Toni Sorenson (c) 2022 King Features Synd., Inc.


TIDBITS of Kootenai County, Idaho Issue #46 Nov. TIDBITS of Kootenai County, Idaho Issue #2 Jan. 10th 2022 15th 202115th 2021

By Healthy Exchanges

Special Skillet Steaks If you like Swiss steak, then you'll love this ultra-easy way to prepare it. Nothing could be easier, unless of course, your family likes it so much that they offer to help with the dishes! 4 (4-ounce) lean tenderized minute or cube steaks 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can reduced-fat cream of mushroom soup 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained 1/2 cup finely chopped onion 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes 1/8 teaspoon black pepper 1. In a large skillet sprayed with butterflavored cooking spray, brown steaks for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. 2. In a large bowl, combine mushroom soup, undrained tomatoes and onion. Stir in parsley flakes and black pepper. Spoon mixture evenly over browned steaks. 3. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. When serving, evenly spoon sauce over steaks. Makes 4 servings. * Each serving equals: 222 calories, 6g fat, 29g protein, 13g carb., 520mg sodium, 2g fiber; Diabetic Exchanges: 3 Meat, 1 Vegetable, 1/2 Starch. (c) 2022 King Features Syndicate, Inc.

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® ofIdaho TIDBITS of Kootenai County, IssueCounty #2 Jan. 10th 2022 Tidbits Dallas

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By Sam Mazzotta

Dog Balks at Wheelchair DEAR PAW'S CORNER: My 9-year-old Shih Tzu "Mitzi" developed a hip problem due to an injury she suffered when much younger (she was a rescue). It's become almost impossible for her to walk, and her veterinarian recommended she start using a "wheelie" harness to get around. The problem: Mitzi will not use the harness. It's a struggle to get her into it, and then she just kind of lays there and whimpers once she's in it. How can I get her to adjust to the harness? -- Claude C., Atlanta DEAR CLAUDE: You'll need to try a couple of things: check the fit of the harness, and use some gentle encouragement (ahem, treats) to help Mitzi. According to Eddie's Wheels, which designs wheelchairs and support devices for pets, dogs that still have feeling or some mobility in their hind legs sometimes have more trouble adjusting to wheelchairs than dogs whose hind legs are paralyzed. Also, a poorly fitted wheelchair can cause a dog to feel uncomfortable in the harness. So, check the fit of the wheelchair based on the manufacturer's recommendations. If Mitzi's wheelie allows her back legs to touch the ground, make sure that she can do so. This may alleviate her anxiety. If her back seems hunched, make sure the straps are at the correct length so she's comfortable. If her back sags in the harness, she may need more support. And make sure her backside isn't lifted into the air; this can cause strain on her front legs. Once the fit is OK, give Mitzi lots of encouragement as you help her into the harness each day. Then, as she progresses, give her a reward at each step: when she first stands up in the harness, when she takes her first step, and so on. Always make it a positive experience, until she gets the hang of her new wheels. Send your questions, comments or tips to ask@pawscorner.com. (c) 2022 King Features Synd., Inc.


TIDBITS of Kootenai® County, Idaho Issue #2 Jan. 10th 2022 Tidbits of Dallas County

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Video On Demand 1. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (PG-13) Simu Liu 2. Cry Macho (PG-13) Clint Eastwood 3. Copshop (R) Gerald Butler 4. Jungle Cruise (PG-13) Dwayne Johnson 5. Free Guy (PG-13) Ryan Reynolds 6. Candyman (R) Yahya Abdul-Mateen II 7. Stillwater (R) Matt Damon 8. Old (PG-13) Gael Garc’a Bernal 9. Malignant (R) Annabelle Wallis 10. The Last Son (R) Sam Worthington DVD, Blu-ray Sales 1. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (PG-13) Disney/Marvel 2. The Grinch* (PG) Universal 3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas* (PG) Universal 4. Elf* (PG) Warner 5. Jungle Cruise (PG-13) Disney 6. The Polar Express* (G) Warner 7. Cry Macho (PG-13) Warner 8. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation* (PG-13) Warner 9. A Charlie Brown Christmas* (TV-G) Warner 10. Ron's Gone Wrong (PG) Disney/20th Century *Re-releaseSource: Media Play News (c) 2021 King Features Synd., Inc.


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TIDBITS of Kootenai County, Idaho Issue 505-0674 #2 Jan. 10th 2022 For Advertising Call (334)

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By Dr. Holly Carling

THANKFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO HELP RESTORE HEALTH Whether it is the health of my patients, or my own health, I am thankful for the opportunity to make a difference in the health of so many. I believe we are all given gifts. They tend to differ widely from one person to the next, but we all have talents, gifts, given to us. Some find them quickly – even from childhood, others struggle for years trying to find theirs, and yet others don’t recognize their gifts until the end of their life. I was given the gift of knowing from a very young age what I wanted to do for a life career, and I haven’t changed from that knowledge. I “healed” my friends of their “illnesses” during my very young play, pestered my aunt and grandmother, both of whom were nurses, to teach me everything I wanted to know about health and disease, and started reading books to learn more when quite young. I started to study in earnest at the age of 12, and by age 14 I was already volunteering in hospitals as a “Candy Striper”. Today, they are called “Junior Volunteers” and work mostly in teaching hospitals at reception desks and in gift shops. In my day we also did minor patient care, similar to a Nurse’s Aide. In high school, through the year-long ROP program, I re-took the Nurse’s Aide (CNA)

course 3 times (helping teach it my 3 rd year) because I wasn’t old enough to be hired at the hospital I worked at. Finally, the day I turned 16, I was hired. After I graduated from high school, I took my nursing training and worked at the same hospital and through a nursing registry for the next few years. Then, a series of events occurred that made me disenchanted with the industry I was in. I still had the same desire to help people with their health, so I redirected into the wellness field I am in now. I am so thankful that I did. Today, my desire to give people their lives back spurs me on to continue to educate myself and be present with everyone that walks into my treatment rooms. My favorite part is learning everything about their health. I’m not limited to asking “what one thing are you here for today” as is frequently asked at the beginning of medical office appointments. I get to get the scoop on everything going amiss with their health. With that, I can piece together the puzzle of what went wrong to start with, and what I can do to get them joyously back into life again. More than anything, I am grateful that we have a body, wonderfully designed to heal itself. Once we do proper investigative work, give the body what it needed to heal with or take away the health-destroyers, my job is easy. I am only the instrument to restore health, and for that I am immensely grateful!

Dr. Holly Carling is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Licensed Acupuncturist, Doctor of Naturopathy, Clinical Nutritionist and Master Herbologist with over three decades of experience. Dr. Carling is currently accepting new patients and offers natural health care services and whole food nutritional supplements in her Coeur d’ Alene clinic. Visit Dr. Carling’s website at www.vitalhealthcda.com to learn more about Dr. Carling, view a list of upcoming health classes and read other informative articles. Dr. Carling can be reached at 208-7651994 and would be happy to answer any questions regarding this topic.


TIDBITS of Kootenai County, Idaho Issue 505-0674 #2 Jan. 10th 2022 For Advertising Call (334)

by Freddy Groves

OIG Is VA's Crime Dog Despite COVID and all the restrictions from it, the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General has been busy. Here are a few of the scams they've uncovered and pursued: Two men in New Jersey pleaded guilty to paying and soliciting kickbacks and bribery. They roped in telemedicine doctors who faked orders for items such as braces and prescriptions. The thieves then billed Medicare, the Department of Veterans Affairs, TRICARE and other programs while hiding behind fake company owners. The tab to the government when they were caught was approximately $50 million. In Chicago, two VA prosthetics clerks took cash from vendors after sending business to them for medical equipment. Bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy -- this case had it all. The thieves used government purchase cards to place those orders and rented the equipment instead of buying it as the VA doctors had ordered. One of those companies was paid almost $1.4 million. In Florida, two men were nabbed for much the same thing -- soliciting and paying for bribes, then getting kickbacks for ordering medical equipment such as braces that weren't actually medically necessary. Again, this involved telemedicine. And again, this involved compounded medication prescriptions. The hit to TRICARE, ChampVA and Medicare came to $25 million. But a final case at a rooming house tugs at the heartstrings. The thief grabbed Social Security and VA benefits that belonged to the mentally ill, disabled, veterans and elderly for their care and housing. There were 35 counts to the indictment, which included wire fraud, document tampering, making false statements, mail fraud and firstdegree theft. The thief managed to get herself named as Representative Payee and spent the money on herself instead of on her tenants. As always, a big thumbs-up to the OIG. (c) 2021 King Features Synd., Inc.

By Mick Harper 1. Who released the 1960 pop song "Where or When," which reached No. 3 on the Billboard chart? 2. Which band wrote and released "More Than a Feeling"? 3. What happened while "Smoke on the Water" was being recorded? 4. Who released "An Old Time Movie"? 5. Name the 1961 song that contains this lyric: "You're with me tonight, I'm captured by your charms, Oh pretty baby, won't you hold me in your arms?" Answers 1. Dion & The Belmonts. The song originated in 1937 in the Broadway musical "Babes in Arms." It has been widely covered, including by The Beach Boys and Carly Simon. 2. Boston, in 1976. It took the main composer, Tom Scholz, five years to complete. 3. Deep Purple was recording in a casino in Montreux, Switzerland, in late 1971 when someone shot a flare gun at the ceiling during a Frank Zappa concert. The entire complex burned to the ground. The group ended up recording in the halls and stairways of the nearby Grand Hotel. 4. Scott McKenzie, in 1967. 5. "A Thousand Stars," by Kathy Young and the Innocents. Young, who was just 15 at the time the song climbed charts, was inducted into the DooWop Hall of Fame in 2014. (c) 2022 King Features Syndicate

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TIDBITS of Kootenai County, Idaho Issue 505-0674 #50 Dec. 13th 2021 For Advertising Call (334)

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1. GEOGRAPHY: Which Russian city used to be called Leningrad? 2. SCIENCE: What is the coldest city in the northern hemisphere? 3. LANGUAGE: What does the Latin phrase "persona non grata" mean? 4. U.S. STATES: Which state's flag is the only one currently that is two-sided? 5. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What was the first animal to appear on a U.S. coin? 6. FOOD & DRINK: How many herbs and spices are in the original recipe of Kentucky Fried Chicken? 7. MOVIES: How many movies did Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire make together? 8. LITERARY: In the Harry Potter book series, what are N.E.W.T.s? 9. TELEVISION: How many children were in "The Addams Family" sitcom? 10. HISTORY: In what year was the first email sent? Answers 1. St. Petersburg 2. Oymyakon, Russia 3. An unwelcome person 4. Oregon (state seal on one side and a figure of a beaver on the other side) 5. An eagle 6. 11 7. 10 8. Critical examinations (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test). 9. Two: Wednesday and Pugsley 10. 1971 (c) 2022 King Features Synd., Inc.


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TIDBITS Tidbits of Kootenai®County, Idaho Issue #2 Jan. 10th 2022 of Dallas County

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On Jan. 22, 1779, famed Tory outlaw Claudius Smith meets his end on the gallows in Goshen, New York. Nicknamed the "Cowboy of the Ramapos" for his use of guerrilla tactics against Patriot civilians, legend has it that Smith's skull was filled with mortar and included in the edifice of the Goshen Court House. • On Jan. 21, 1789, "The Power of Sympathy or the Triumph of Nature Founded in Truth" is printed in Boston, the first novel by an American writer to be published in America. Early editions did not carry the author's name, but a later printing credited Sarah Wentworth Apthorp Morton. • On Jan. 23, 1855, John Moses Browning, sometimes referred to as the "father of modern firearms," is born in Ogden, Utah. Many of the guns whose names evoke the history of the American West -- Winchester, Colt, Remington and Savage -- were based on Browning's designs. • On Jan. 17, 1953, a prototype Chevrolet Corvette sports car makes its debut at General Motors' Motorama auto show at the WaldorfAstoria Hotel in New York City. The Corvette was named for a fast type of naval warship. • On Jan. 20, 1980, President Jimmy Carter proposes to the United States Olympic Committee that the 1980 Summer Olympics be moved from Moscow if the Soviet Union failed to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan. The USOC later voted to boycott the Moscow games. • On Jan. 18, 1996, Major League Baseball owners unanimously approve interleague play for the 1997 season. The owners' vote, which called for each team to play 15 or 16 interleague games, broke a 126-year tradition of teams playing only within their league during the regular season. (c) 2022 Hearst Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved


TIDBITS of Kootenai County, Idaho Issue 505-0674 #2 Jan. 10th 2022 For Advertising Call (334)

SPEECH PURE GOLD, BARBARA’S STORY

By Matilda Charles

Looking Out for No. 1 Depending on where you live, you might be required to delay surgery because the hospital is full of COVID patients. That's the news that's spreading around the country. It gets worse. If you have an emergency, the ambulance might be a long time in coming because they don't have enough EMTs, or they might have to come from an adjacent town. Once you get to the hospital, you might be treated in a hallway because no exam rooms are open. The biggest issues to keep us from needing medical attention are physical safety and health. I've gone around my house to look at every inch of floor space to be sure there's nothing that I could possibly trip on. I moved the laundry basket to the closet instead of leaving it near a path where I walk. In the living room I changed one frequently used lamp from a 50-75-100 watt bulb to one that brightens things up with 75-100150 watts. I removed two small throw rugs ... just got rid of them. Other things might seem small, but really aren't. I found a balance class on YouTube and I'm following along every other day. I also found several videos on improving flexibility and stretching. When it comes to diet, I made a quick call to my doctor's office and inquired about vitamins. I was told that a lowdose vitamin C would be appropriate three times a week, and to add an orange to my diet the other days. Ask your doctor before you do this. As much as I hate not being able to select my own items, I've gone back to picking up grocery orders at curbside to stay out of stores. It's up to us to take care of ourselves. That's the bottom line when it comes to our health and safety. (c) 2022 King Features Synd., Inc.

(Written by Barbara Powell, a resident at The Lodge Assisted Living) When I learned to talk as a small child, it was discovered that I was tongue tied. Hardly anyone could understand me. In addition to being tongue tied I was extremely shy. I had these two disabilities when I started school. One day I overheard my Mother and father talking. My father said that he thought that they should take me to the doctor and have my tongue ‘clipped’. This would enable me to speak more clearly. The thought of having my tongue cut scared me so badly that I determined to teach myself to speak correctly. There was a sitcom on the radio. It was about a teen age boy by the name of Henry Aldridge. This radio program always began with the mother calling, “Henry. Henry Aldridge!” henry responded by answering, “Coming. Mother!” Our family always listened to this program. It was a part of our life. These phrases were spoken loudly and clearly. The name “Henry Aldridge” would be a perfect name to begin my determined effort to speak correctly. I began my journey by learning to slay “Henry Aldridge” loud and clear. My parents saw that I was beginning to speak correctly. The ‘clipping of the tongue’ was never mentioned to me. Throughout the years, I wrote words down and marked the accent and vowel sounds. I cannot remember ever sharing my self-taught accomplishment with anyone. I was a very shy person. At the age of 35, a friend told me that there was to be an all-day healing service the following Saturday at Bishop Lynch High School. I went to this healing service and stayed all day. I took part in everything. I did not talk to anyone or say anything all day long. It was a nice day. Not long after this healing service I began to notice that I was not so shy. I started to express my thoughts and opinions. I determined that I “step out” and speak even if I was wrong or thought that I might sound stupid. I joined the Toastmasters, not to make public speeches, but to learn to talk to people on a one to one basis and to be able to express myself to other individuals in an intelligent way.

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Toastmasters are generally self-confident, educated people on their way up in their companies. I did not fit into any of these categories. I had a story to tell, but no one knew that. I had a very serious reason for being there, but no one knew that either. A lot of the members did not want me in the group but I hung in there because I was learning. If I was a person who gave up easily, I would still be tongue tied. A really pretty, educated, woman who was an excellent speaker, told me that I was the worst speaker that she had ever heard. She said, ‘If you say, ‘uh…uh…uh…’ one more time, I think that I will scream. I went a couple more times to the meetings and then I quit. When I tell my story, people always say that it was terrible for Jill to say that to me. My answer is that ‘I know that Jill was not trying to do me any favors but she did help me tremendously. I don’t believe that I ever said ’uh…uh…uh…’ again. Another member of our chapter, a wonderful girl by the name of Janet came to my house 2 or 3 times and asked me to come back. However, I felt that my time was up. It was time for me to move on. I had learned a great deal. I had gotten what I needed. All through my life, I keep running into ‘Janet’s’. They are truly kind people. I didn’t qualify to be with this gifted group of people. I needed them for a period of time. Armed with what I had learned at Toastmasters, I enrolled in a class for Public Speaking at the community college. Miss Clara our teacher nor anyone else in my class knew that I had been in Toastmasters. The class was predictable and fun. I got a lot of good feedback and good grades Miss Clara. At the end of the year, I got that ‘A’ on my report card. Miss Clara liked me and my speaking. I have used what I learned at Toastmasters and the community college many times during the last 30 years. Most people think that I am just talking normally and that I may be a little aggressive. But then, they don’t know my story and they don’t know where I came from They probably have never even heard of Henry Aldridge………

Linda Davis Director of building relationships. 208.457.3403 www.LodgeLiving.net

S A F “ c a c … c L o A t c fi T o s t c T s a l m s o d b 2 N n


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TIDBITS of Kootenai County, Idaho Issue #2 Jan. 10th 2022

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ARIES (March 21 to April 19) A hectic period begins to wind down. Take time to draw some deep breaths and relax before getting into your next project. A long-absent family member makes contact. TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) You're eager to move forward with a new challenge that suddenly dropped in your lap. But you'd be wise to take this one step at a time to allow new developments to come through. GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) You're almost ready to make a commitment. A lingering doubt or two, however, should be resolved before you move ahead. An associate could provide important answers. CANCER (June 21 to July 22) Caution is still the watchword as you move closer toward a decision about a new situation. If you act too fast, you might miss some vital warning signs. Go slowly and stay alert. LEO (July 23 to August 22) Your new goal looks promising, and your golden touch does much to enhance its prospects for success. In your private life, Cupid does his best to make your new relationship special. VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) That impatient side of yours is looking to goad you into moving before you're ready to take that big step. Stay calm and cool. Let things fall into place before you act. LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) A legal matter you hoped could finally be settled could be a pesky problem for a while, until all the parties agree to stop disagreeing with each other. Be patient. SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) Partnerships -- personal or professional -which began before the new year take on new importance. They also reveal some previously hidden risks. So be warned. SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) Your associates are firmly on your side, and that persistent problem that has caused you to delay some activities should soon be resolved to your satisfaction. CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Favorable changes continue to dominate, and you should be responding positively as they emerge. Someone wants to become more involved in what you're doing. AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) A friend wants to share a secret that could answer some questions you've wondered about for a long time. Meanwhile, travel aspects continue to be strong. PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Stay on your new course despite so-called wellmeaning efforts to discourage you. Rely on your deep sense of self-awareness to guide you to do what's right for you. BORN THIS WEEK: You have the capacity to meet challenges that others might find overwhelming, and turn them into successful ventures.


TIDBITS of Kootenai County, Idaho Issue #2 Jan. 10th 2022

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TIDBITS of Kootenai County, Idaho Issue #32 Aug 9th 2021

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