Archive for the ‘A Musing’ Category
Folks Who Dine . . .
. . . have found that
some kitchen crews
are very creative on the menu
but have no idea
how to prepare what they print.
Golden Years Lasting Longer
Recent research has many experts believing that living to the currently
believed ceiling of 120 might be a reality within the next three or four decades.
But that could be just the beginning. There was almost unanimous agreement that people will live longer than that in the not-too-distant future. There was less clarity regarding the quality of these extra years of life.
According to a report by the United Nations Population Division, “life expectancy is
projected to increase steadily in all countries after 2050.” And, for the first time, the Population
Division reports that “no limit is set on the increases of life expectancy.”
There are more than 55 million people (in the United States) over age 65, and some 6 million over age 85. Medical researchers suggest a combination of genetic manipulation coupled with advances in molecular biology will likely play a significant role in longevity in the future. Technology has developed the capacity to markedly increase longevity. Stem-cell research and a field of science known as regenerative medicine will soon offer researchers opportunities to reconstruct organs before they fail.
As a professor at New Hampshire’s Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center explained it, man stood up 5 million years ago for the first time, and then it took him another 3 million years to create a hand axe. It was a slow start, but the pace kept picking up and today’s technological developments are moving at such a rapid pace that it’s not difficult to imagine something as exciting as nanotechnology right around the corner.
Told My Tablemate . . .
. . .’tother day that
no matter how hard he pushes the envelope,
it’ll remain stationery.
Soften Toenails For Easier Trimming
Trimming toenails gets tougher as they thicken.
Medical experts offer some tips to make your job easier.
– Soak your feet. Soften your toenails by soaking them in warm water.
– File. Towel dry and gently stroke the surface of the thickened toenail with an emery board to
thin the nail.
– Use the right clippers. Long-handled toenail clippers that resemble small pliers or wire cutters
provide a better grip and more control.
– Take small clips. Cut off a small piece at a time.
– Make a straight cut. Cut straight across your toenail, without rounding the corners, to reduce
the chance that the corners will become ingrown.
– Wear roomy shoes. Leaving enough room for your toes can alleviate friction and wear that can
cause a nail to thicken.
It’s Been . . .
. . . one helluva year.
The major event was, of course, the move to Verena of Gilbert from Sunrise of Gilbert, the IL-AL facility Bev and I left California for six years ago. Sunrise was a comfortable and accommodating residence for me and I didn’t want to move. But its management and culture evaporated and, along with some dear friends, the move was made in midsummer to this senior-living building. I had to read my journal to recall what I functioned through last Christmas, it all seems so far away. Keeping busy has made life livable and the folks here are friendly and affable and want to enjoy the remainder of their time on this planet.
So, have happy and healthy New Year filled with good humor — and smile, its contagious.
I’ve Arrived . . .
. . . at the conclusion
that it doesn’t matter
where you go
because you’re always there.
Simplify Visit to New Doctor
There are several things you can do to make your first visit to a new doctor more productive and help you get the best possible care.
For a start, jot down concerns or questions you may have, but don’t wait until the end of the examination
to ask them. It’s helpful to tell the doctor at the beginning of the visit because these concerns may
influence what is done in the first examination;
Take a list of your medications and include include information about when, how often, and what dosage you take. Include any vitamins or supplements you take regularly.
Call the doctor’s office and ask whether they require your medical records be sent there in
advance. Otherwise, take a list of the names and addresses of previous and current physicians to be kept with your chart so medical records can be requested if needed.
When Santa Walks Backwards . . .
. . .does he sound like
he’s saying “Oh, oh, oh?”
Christmastime a Long Time Ago
By Tom Morrow
Another Christmas has arrived, and that takes me back more than eight decades of my life.
I recall the anticipated booty that never came but appeared in my dreamscape during the 1940s and early ‘50s. What toy-land wonders we didn’t know about weren’t missed. Comparatively speaking, post-war toys were, at best, primitive. Plastic was hard to get after World War II and metal of any kind was expensive. Toys were, shall we say, “fragile.”
The biggest problem when fighting off Indians and robbers trying to win the American West was with six-shooters. Many toys, especially pistols, were made of compressed sawdust. When told by an opponent to lay our pistols down on the ground, we did so ever so gently lest they break apart. On more than one occasion Mom came to the rescue, but got the barrel glued back a bit crooked. A few times she glued the barrel upside down.
The only gift Santa might bring that would be close to today’s Christmas morning booty was Tinker Toys, the Legos of that time. Gift ideas for Santa were limited because there was no television or Internet. Hints for him, as well as Mom and Dad, were found primarily in store windows or in the annual Sears, Wards, or Spiegel catalogs.
Those items of joy neatly on display in store windows had price tags. The price of $3.95 seemed to be the most popular number.
Being “good” was always part of the bargain and having lots of presents under the tree measured the amount of joy you expressed. In lean years, Mom would increase the gift count by wrapping socks separately to make the day seem more abundant than it really was.
For every boy, electric trains were high on the list for most-coveted items. While Lionel train sets were the most popular, no self-respecting “Junior” railroad man would be satisfied with anything but an American Flyer. Lionel train sets were powered by centered electric track … three in total. American Flyers mimicked the real thing with just two rails.
Flyers were authentic-looking in every respect. Mom didn’t understand such things. Dad did, but had trouble with a more expensive price tag. A Lionel set was around $14.95. An American Flyer commanded $19.95 and higher. Dad never made more than $2,500 a year then so such extravagances were out of the question.
But the Holy Grail on nearly every boy’s wish list was a Red Ryder air rifle. But Mom always said what nearly every mom did: “No! You’ll shoot your eye out.”
Gifting Mom and Dad was quite a challenge. Weekly allowances didn’t go very far. I got 50 cents a week and my sister got a quarter. If you had any money for Mom, there was always “Evening in Paris” perfume – for 50 cents, or a week’s “wages.” When my sister was helping Mom close up her house several years ago, a number of “Paris” bottles were discovered stashed away in keep-sake manner.
As for Dad, we somehow managed to buy him a necktie because Mom usually helped by giving us a dollar or three. This was for a man who had just one tie that he wore only for weddings and funerals.
One year our parents had some huge household expenditures so Mom told Dad not to worry about getting her a gift for Christmas. (You can see this one coming). Dad took Mom at her word while Mom presented him Dad with a couple of gifts. It was a very brittle Christmas morning.. From that year forward, my sister and I made sure Dad always had something for Mom under the tree.
Memories? You bet! Now enjoy the New Year!
Some People . . .
. . . don’t know
what happiness is
until they get married,
and by then, it’s too late.
‘Tis Always the Season to Protect Your Identity
Identity theft, which is easier to commit than credit-card fraud because the criminal only has to steal your name and not your card, accounts for almost half of the thousands of consumer fraud complaints made to the Federal Trade Commission each year. Almost 10 percent of the population become victims of identity thieves each year. These are just the ones we know of because they are reported to the FTC.
You can lose your identity in an instant – the time it takes for a crook to memorize your birth date or Social Security number as you give it to a shop clerk, for example. The hurly-burly of holiday weekends and the Santa season are the identity thief’s playground.
Modern thieves can hack your cell phone and get your most personal information, such as your name, Social Security number, address, and other valuable data, to use to make a purchases and loans in your name. Many steal identities from mailboxes – more than 100,000 residential mailboxes are raided every day in this country – or they fish bank and credit-card statements from trash.
An identity thief may use your name but another address so you won’t be aware of the debt made in your name because statements will be sent to that other address and your credit will be trampled.
It’s Unfortunate . . .
. . . that we’re living in a time
when intelligent people
have to watch what they say
so stupid people won’t be offended.
Insert Incentives in Inheritance
If you have a son-in-law whose drinking has been nettling you for years, there is a way for you to get him under control. If your grandchild hasn’t an ambitious bone in her head, there’s a way to give her some direction.
You can make bequests with conditions that your daughter’s husband curb his alcoholism and improve his relationship with his family and that her daughter complete college before either receives any benefits. Their inheritances can be received all at once, after they’ve achieved the plateaus you’ve established, or incrementally as they progress along the paths you’ve outlined for them.
Incentive trusts can be fashioned in such a way that you can set criteria and conditions for the beneficiaries to meet before collecting any of the inheritance you leave them. If they don’t meet your requirements, they receive nothing – or the minimal amount you’ve decided to allow them.
You can work out the details with your attorney and estate planner.
Has It Occurred To You . . .
. . .that
no one in the Bible
had one.
Use Glass For Leftovers
The discovery of plastic particles in human blood has magnified the warning about keeping leftovers and buying food in plastic containers.
Huge amounts of plastic waste are dumped daily and microplastics now contaminate the entire planet, from the summit of Mount Everest to the deepest oceans. People were already known to consume the tiny particles via food and water as well as breathing them in.
Keep food and drink in glass containers in your home to lower the danger to your health.
Those Who Claim . . .
. . .to have a clear conscience
probably just have a bad memory.
Why Collect in the First Place?
So you’re well on your way to completing the set of 50-state quarters that you began on a whim, decided to put them together for your grandkids, and then decided to do one for yourself.
What’s going to happen to the collection, whether it’s one or several sets, when you’re done? And will it (or they) sell for the profit you had in your head when you began? If you spend each set, you can buy $12.50 worth of something.
A recently-deceased relative left behind cartons of comic books and baseball cards. The recipient heirs haven’t found it worth their while to catalog the collection and have it appraised and offered in e-bay. It’s still just sitting there.
Collectibles are not only in the eye of the beholder, they’re also in the heart of the collector. They usually offer more thrill in the hunt and satisfaction in the acquisition than profit in the purse.
They give the collector a circle of like-minded colleagues to discuss likes and dislikes, as well as to brag about the latest addition to one’s collection. But you can conduct the same spirited exchanges over your favorite sports teams without having to spend the time and money tracking down another cloisonne piece for your collectible closet.
I Used To Think . . .
. . . I was indecisive,
but now I’m not so sure.
Seniors Straining Economic Support
There were slightly more than 900 million people – about 12 percent — around the world aged 60 years and older in 2015. This number is expected to increase to 1.4 billion by 2030, an increase of more than 16 percent. By 2050, one out of five people – 2.1 billion scattered all over the globe — will be 60 or older.
Almost 90 percent of the Japanese believe this is a problem. Only one out of four Americans think this way. Since most of these people will be out of the work force, they will have to have fashioned their own retirement plans or be supported by somebody. Most people in most countries think the government should take care of its elderly. This socialism brush could be wider than anticipated and affect how the nations of the world are governed in the near future.
This rapidly aging population is creating an unprecedented set of problems, including a rapidly spreading and more diverse set of diseases, increased spending of time and money on health and long-term care, labor shortages, and steadily rising inflation chewing away at old-age income. Adding calluses to the problem is the fact that Social Security payments will probably be lowered when the surplus in the trust fund is depleted. The $2.9 trillion in reserves reported in 2020 is expected to be spent by 2034 – a year earlier than previously estimated.
When that happens, benefits payments will probably be slashed by about 25 percent if adjustments aren’t made in the meantime. This is happening because the millennium surge into the retirement age and the dwindling labor force that has Social Security support deducted from their paychecks. Simply, fewer workers will be paying for more Social Security recipients. While every elected official in Washington and every economist in the country knows the problem exists, no one has made any moves to fix any part of it.
Mature Life Features 