Archive for September 2023
Was Gonna Try Something . . .
. . . as soon as a I remembered
what it was I was gonna try.
But my son said
I should forget about it.
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Walk in the Footsteps
of Nobel Winners
By Marlene Fanta Shyer, Mature Life Features
You can walk up the same marble stairs that Nobel Prize winners have climbed every Dec. 10, the anniversary of the death of the prize’s namesake, since 1901. It’s the City Hall in Stockholm and you’re in the Blue Hall gazing up at the granite pillars and exposed brick walls that stretch 75 feet from floor to ceiling.
It’s called the Blue Hall but there’s not a spot of blue anywhere. It was designed by Ragnar Östberg, a Swedish architect who was inspired by Italian design and envisioned a soaring ceiling-free space with a view of an azure sky. However, climate demanded a roof be added, but the name stuck.
As you stand on the spot where the most coveted award in the world is celebrated annually, Stockholm comes very much alive, but it’s just part of reason to visit the city. Built on 14 islands and called everything from “image-conscious” to “trend-hungry” to “tech-friendly,” it is richly historical with its Old Town of narrow cobblestone streets and clutter of shops, its Royal Palace, and National Museum.
A Viking ship that sank in the Baltic about three miles from the city in 1628 was discovered some 60 years ago. It was pulled out of the deep complete with 27 bodies, casks of spirits, and the bones of meat intended to feed the passengers. After being rebuilt, it draws more than 800,000 visitors to the museum every year.
Wherever you head in Stockholm, water views are always close by as are some of the finest
restaurants in Europe.
As We Got . . .
. . . talking about the Oktoberfest music and dancing yesterday,
I said I didn’t know how to do the hokey pokey,
so someone at our table
began explaining the ins and outs.
When Anyone Asks . . .
. . .”How’s your day going?”,
I give them the only factual answer I know:
“With the rotation of the earth.”
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Investors Need to
Wade Through Lies
A report released a few years ago revealed that a majority of financial planners lie about their method of payment when questioned by clients and prospects. That’s not surprising. What’s surprising is that a survey, conducted by the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), had to be taken in the first place.
People lie, whether they’re financial planners, teachers, police officers, neighbors, bosses, merchants, politicians, salesclerks, mechanics, butchers, bakers or candlestick makers. Three days into my first job as a daily newspaper reporter, my city editor told me, “People out there are paid to lie to you.”
Now that you realize financial consultants, like the rest of us, toy with the truth, you might want to focus more personal efforts on your own financial future. It’s up to you to machete your own way through the financial jungle out there
A simple first step is to learn how to recognize a bad investment. There have always been fraudulent high-flying can’t-miss investment schemes since before the stock market erupted on the scene.
Be wary of any outfit claiming to offer a break-through product or service that will topple the big guys, such as AT&T or General Motors. An especially flagrant “beware” sign should also be envisioned when a company applauding its success, or successes, has just switched industries. A successful skateboard company may not be able to produce pet food profitably.
Walk away from investment opportunities that offer “golden sunsets” because of major contracts and alliances, none of which are identified, especially if a strategic linkage announced previously had to be retracted. Remember: if I let you use my telephone, I can claim that I have formed an alliance with AT&T to provide you that service.
Don’t Know Where . . .
. . . they got the idea that
nothing is impossible.
I’ve been doing nothing
for the past several years.
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10 Questions to
Ask About Drugs
By James Gaffney, Mature Life Features
Many patients, especially older adults, fail to ask their doctors or pharmacists about the prescription drugs they take.
To avoid adverse reactions to a prescribed medication, a list of 10 questions has been put together by the medical director of a major pharmaceutical firm.
1. For what specific condition or treatment are you prescribing this medicine?
2. Are there other treatment options available? Alternative drugs? Generics?
3. How am I directed to take this medicine? When? In what amount? With or without food?
4. How long will I remain on this medication — long-term for a chronic condition or short-term for an acute condition?
5. What are the potential side effects of this medicine?
6. Under what circumstances should I discontinue use of this medication and notify my physician — for example, vomiting, nausea, dizziness?
7. Are there conditions that would prevent me from taking this medication, such as high blood pressure.
8. Have I told my doctor about all other medications I’m taking, both over-the-counter and prescription?
9. If I am taking other medications, is there an increased risk for potential side effects or adverse reactions?
10. After reading the information provided by the drug manufacturer and my pharmacist, do I have additional questions?
You should also:
— Provide every physician treating you with an up-to-date list of prescribed and over-the-counter medications being taken;
— Alert any health-care professional treating you (including your pharmacist) to details of your personal and family history that might impact your tolerance for, or reaction to, a particular
medication;
— Take prescribed medication exactly as indicated; never exceed or skip a recommended dosage;
— Educate yourself about potential side effects and adverse reactions that could occur, and
— Never borrow or lend prescribed medications from or to friends or family members.
I Looked . . .
. . . in the mirror today
and realized
I still have the body of a 20-year-old.
I’ve just stretched it out of shape a bit
here and there over the years.
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AGING IS ALL
IN YOUR HEAD
Mature Life Features
It’s always interesting to note that colleges and corporation spend time and money, and the government sometimes spends our money, to learn things everyone already know.
A recent example are results of a couple of surveys that reveal the less intelligent people are, the smarter they think they are. In other words, stupid people don’t know they’re stupid.
But the discussion here deals with something else everyone knows – you’re only as old as you feel. That’s what is indicated by survey by a breakfast-cereal company. In a telephone survey of people over 40 years old, 80 percent of the respondents said they feel young. Also, 66 percent said the prime of life is between the ages of 30 and 50 years. And the characteristics of a person in his or her prime of life are physical energy, according to 35 percent of those surveyed; emotional maturity, 34 percent; financial security, 22 percent, and youthful appearance, 6 percent.
While 70 percent of those surveyed felt the thing they could do to feel their best is to exercise regularly, more than half – 55 percent – admitted they don’t exercise enough. Almost 80 percent of the respondents feel better about themselves than they thought they would upon reaching their particular age.
When asked what they might choose to do to improve themselves, 29 percent said they’d like to enhance their energy levels. The same percentage said expand their minds by learning something new, 23 percent said they’d like to reduce stress, and 15 percent opted for improving their physical appearance.
Among the things they liked about getting older, “getting a better perspective on life” and “more leisure and family time” outranked retirement and career accomplishments.
The Problem . . .
. . . with political jokes is
they aren’t funny
when they get elected.
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Shake Your Fist
At Arthritis
To avoid stiffening and soreness in your hands, or alleviate it if that’s already started, clench your hands into a fist.
It’s one of several easy exercises you can repeat two or three times a day that are recommended by orthopedic experts to maintain flexibility and use of your hands.
The idea is not to force any movement, especially if you’re suffering from any form of arthritis.
After making a fist, you should straighten out all your fingers and thumb as far as possible. Then spread apart all your fingers and thumb as far as you can.
Close your fingers, aim your hand at the ceiling and point your thumb to the side. Then hold your hand out in a hand-shake position and roll your thumb from an outstretched position to touch the base of your little finger.
Then cup your hand and touch the tip of each finger with the tip of your thumb. Now do it all over again.
The Difference . . .
. . . between weather forecasters
and politicians:
the weather folk admit they’re wrong most of the time.
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Emotional Stress
Tarnishes Legacy
Mature Life Features
A former neighbor recently received news she thought would never happen to her: a rich uncle died and left her some money. Not a lot, mind you, but it was an inheritance, a totally unexpected legacy.
Most people have some idea what they’d do with a financial windfall: pay off the mortgage, buy a new car, take cruise around the world – it depends on how much money is involved. But then what? It isn’t easy becoming wealthy overnight. Stories of the profligacy, foolishness, or ill-luck of lottery winners pour out of the news media with regularity.
In the case of our acquaintance, she immediately quit her part-time job, paid off the small debt she had, and sought out a financial adviser. She invested he remainder of her inheritance in safe income-producing financial vehicles to augment her monthly Social Security checks. Then she decided to move to another state to live with one of her children after discussing the matter with them and the rest of the family.
It has been estimated that current retirees will pass on more than $10 trillion to their heirs. Many beneficiaries of this largess have grown up poor or in modest circumstances, or have mismanaged their finances throughout their lives and have little concept of the challenges they face.
Do they put that $10,000, $100,000, or $1 million into the stock market or real estate? Do they sell the company they inherited, or do you try to keep it running? Do they keep all the stocks, bonds, and mutual funds in the portfolio that suddenly becomes their property?
Financial planners consistently offer this piece of advice: don’t do anything for awhile.
That’s more difficult than it sounds. Forty percent of baby boomers who received an inheritance of at least $50,000 made their financial decisions in less than a week, according to an Oppenheimer Funds survey.
While the financial facet requires patience and some effort to educate yourself on the best avenues to follow, the emotional side of inheriting can be a much more difficult challenge. The inheritance usually is intertwined with the death of a loved one and, as a result, associated with grief. Guilt often is a major emotional component of a legacy, leaving the heir feeling uncomfortable with not having earned the money.
There’s also a feeling of isolation compounded by the discomfort and worry inflicted by friends and family members badgering them for loans and gifts. The emotional stress causes many folks to get rid of their inheritance as quickly as possible.
On the other hand, people who take their time to plan what to do with an inheritance have been known to husband their wealth and continue living in their current lifestyle with the comfortable assurance that their financial future is secure.
My Kids . . .
. . . have never asked me
what my favorite dad joke is.
But I’ve had a ready answer for years:
“You are.”
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Mature Life Features 