Newton County Times Outhouse Companion

Managing weeds in the garden
By MELINDA MYERS

No matter the weather, weeds seem to thrive and reproduce, and if left unchecked, they can overwhelm the garden and gardener. These unwanted plants find their way into your garden as seeds, roots, rhizomes, or whole plants. Seeds can be carried in by the wind, birds, and other animals, or on the soles of shoes. Roots, rhizomes, and even plants hitch a ride in the soil or with plants that we move into the garden.
Start early managing weeds in your garden. Smaller weeds are easier to pull and removing them before they flower and form seeds can prevent hundreds of weeds in next year’s landscape.
This is not always possible. Weather and busy schedules often limit gardening time, allowing these vigorous plants to overtake the garden.
It is never too late and worth investing time in managing weeds in the garden. Weeds are adaptable and vigorous, outcompeting your desirable plants for water and nutrients. Many serve as host plants for insect pests and diseases that may also attack your garden plants.
Carefully dig or pull weeds, removing the top and roots. Established weeds may have a deep tap root or extensive root system that may be difficult to remove. Depending on the weed, any part left behind has the potential to start a new plant.
Find the tool that best works for you. A Dutch or action hoe works well on small weeds where there is space between plants. Glide the cutting edge just below the soil surface to cut the roots. Many gardeners find a weed knife to be a useful tool. It allows you to dig right next to the weed and pop it out of the ground with minimal impact on surrounding plants.
If bending is an issue, you may opt for one of the standup weeders. There are several types available. Most have tines you insert into the soil surrounding the weed. A hand or foot-operated action causes the tines to tighten around the weed roots before you lever it out of the ground.
Perennial weeds are a bit more challenging. Many have extensive roots that are nearly impossible to remove entirely. Repeatedly digging up the plants can eventually manage these weeds, but it can take years. Cutting the plants back to the ground as soon as they appear can help “starve” them, prevent reseeding, and help contain and even eliminate some perennial weeds.
If the weeds begin to take over the garden, tackle those flowering or setting seeds first. Do not compost these or perennial weeds. Most compost piles don’t get hot enough to kill the seeds or perennial weeds. Contact your local municipality to find out your options for disposing of these as well as perennial and invasive weeds.
Once the weeds are out of the garden, spread a layer of organic mulch over the soil surface. The finer the mulch, the thinner the layer needed. Pull the mulch away from tree trunks, shrub stems, and the crowns of your other plants.
Mulching helps suppress weeds by reducing seed sprouting and making it easier to pull the seedlings that get through the mulch. Increase your success by placing a couple of sheets of newspaper or a piece of cardboard beneath the mulch. Mulching won’t stop existing perennial weeds like quackgrass and bindweed. Keep managing these until all the roots have been removed.
Shredded leaves, evergreen needles, and other organic mulch also conserve moisture, moderate soil temperatures, and add organic matter to the soil as it breaks down. Mulch also helps protect the soil from compaction and erosion during heavy rains. As many places experience more intense rainfall and higher-than-normal summer heat, mulching the soil becomes even more beneficial.
Consider the benefits when you head out to tackle the weeds in your garden. You will improve the health and beauty of your garden while burning between 200 and 400 calories every hour you weed.

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Here we go again
Talk about your unexplained mysteries, this one is happening in real life – yet again – and it’s eerier than the movie with the title “Monolith.” The film is about a conspiracy theory; it has a beginning, a middle and an end. No one seems to have an “ending” or an explanation for the re-appearance recently of a mysterious monolith that suddenly showed up a few miles north of Las Vegas. Back in 2020 a similarly baffling structure suddenly appeared, first in Utah and then in Romania, California, New Mexico and in downtown Las Vegas.

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Better late than never
Virginia "Ginger" Hislop got her bachelor's degree at the Stanford University School of Education but put off her graduate degree in order to get married. That was 83 years ago, in 1940 when her newly-wed husband, George Hislop, went off to World War II. As she put it, "I thought it was one of the things I could pick up along the way if I needed it and I always enjoyed studying, so that wasn't really a great concern to me -- and getting married was." Alas, the 105 year old Ginger recently received her master's degree at the Stanford Graduate School of Education.

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A good buy
Anna Lee Dozier liked the vase she saw at a Maryland thrift store and couldn’t resist buying it. It was a no-brainer as the vase was on sale for just $3.99. In an interview on WUSA-TV she said, "it looked old-ish, but I thought maybe 20, 30 years old and some kind of tourist reproduction thing so I brought it home." As it turned out, the Mexican vase dates back some 2,000 years and is likely to be worth for more than $100,000.

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Medal of Honor: Army Pfc. Emory L. Bennett
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News

When Army Pfc. Emory Lawrence Bennett's company was ordered to retreat from a lopsided battle in Korea, he volunteered to slow the enemy's charge so his fellow soldiers could escape. Bennett lost his life doing so, but he saved countless others. For his sacrifice, he was posthumously presented the Medal of Honor.
Bennett was born Dec. 20, 1929, in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, to Sterling and Stella Bennett. He had three older brothers, all of whom served in and survived World War II.
When Bennett was 6, his family moved to Merritt Island before settling a year later in Cocoa, Florida, where Bennett spent the rest of his childhood. His parents ran Bennett Fish Market, and he and his brothers often helped catch fish to sell from the Indian River. The family also enjoyed duck hunting, and Bennett was known to be a good shot.
Bennett graduated from Cocoa High School in 1948. According to a 2001 Florida Today article, he attended business college in Jacksonville before enlisting in the Army on July 25, 1950, about a month after Korean War hostilities broke out.
Bennett went to basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, before receiving additional training as an engineer. However, he was transferred to the infantry as the conflict in Korea grew and more U.S. troops were needed. In February 1951, Bennett was sent to Korea and placed with Company B of the 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division.
On June 23, 1951, Bennett's company attacked a hill near Sobangsan and captured it from Chinese troops. They managed to hold it overnight and part of the next day. Bennett was wounded in the skirmish but refused to be evacuated, his family told the St. Lucie News Tribune in 1990.
The next day, at about 2 a.m., two enemy battalions — about 1,500 men — swarmed up the ridgeline in a ferocious human wave, known as a banzai charge, to take back the hill, Bennett's Medal of Honor citation said. The enemy also attacked with heavy artillery, mortar and weapons fire.
Bennett's company, made up of about 200 soldiers, was completely overwhelmed, but they retaliated with bravery, causing as much destruction as possible. The enemy pressed forward, however, threatening an imminent collapse of the U.S. defensive perimeter.
Fully aware of the odds against him, Bennett unhesitatingly left his foxhole and moved through the withering fire to stand within full view of the enemy. According to his Medal of Honor citation, he used his automatic rifle to pour crippling fire into the ranks of the onrushing enemy combatants, killing many and wounding several others. Although injured himself, Bennett kept up his one-man defense until the attack was briefly halted.
In that lull, Bennett's company tried to regroup for a counterattack, but there were too many enemy soldiers who soon infiltrated the position. Company B was ordered to fall back.
When the call came for volunteers to provide cover fire for the men as they retreated, Bennett stepped up. As his comrades fled, he continued to rain fire down on the enemy until he was mortally wounded. Soldiers who survived the ordeal later reported about 50 enemy soldiers piled up around Bennett when they last saw him.
Bennett's self-sacrifice saved many lives. His courage and devotion were recognized on Jan. 16, 1952, when his father received the Medal of Honor on his behalf during a Pentagon ceremony. Nine other fallen soldiers were also awarded the nation's highest honor for valor that day.
Bennett's remains were returned to the U.S. in November 1951; he was buried in Pine Crest Cemetery in Cocoa.
Bennett's home state has not forgotten him. In 1993, a veterans' nursing home in Daytona Beach, Florida, was built and named in his honor. A monument to the young soldier was erected in Riverside Park in Cocoa, and the Bennett Causeway in Brevard County was also named for him. On Merritt Island, a wing at the Brevard Veterans Memorial Center is dedicated in his honor.

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By the numbers: 5 crucial tips every dentist needs to know to grow their practice and stand out

Dr. Tyler Hales, a cosmetic dentistry specialist, has grown a successful practice that celebrities turn to

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. – Those who will soon be graduating from dental school or recently graduated often have one thing in mind. They want to have their own dental practice someday. Some businesses come and go, and those who wish to have a successful practice need to know a few crucial tips to help them grow their practice and stand out in a crowd.
"There are dentist offices everywhere, so you have to do something to set yourself apart," explains Dr. Tyler Hales, a celebrity cosmetic dentist who founded Hales Aesthetic in Orange County, Calif. "It's not enough to just want your practice. You must dive deeply into what it takes to have a successful practice.”
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the two-year survival rate for a new business is around 68%, and the five-year survival rate is around 50%. The things people do before opening their doors and throughout the journey will help determine whether or not they will be one of the businesses that thrive or simply take a dive.
First, people need to go into opening a business knowing that they need patience. Most business experts estimate that a company takes around three years to start seeing a profit. Many people who go into opening a business without considering this may need help to make ends meet and feel they can't hold on to make it to the three-year mark. Being prepared with this in mind will help set the stage for success.
The American Dental Association reports that the average dentist in the U.S. has a career span of around 42 years. Today, dentists work an average of four more years than they did in 2001. With decades ahead of newly graduated dentists, it is a good idea to ensure that they enjoy their years in the field and that those who have their own practice are successful.
Here are 5 additional crucial tips from celebrity cosmetic dentist Dr. Tyler Hales that will grow your brand and dental practice, as well as make it stand out:
Pick a niche. There are nearly 182,000 dentists in the country, so people have many choices of where they want to go. It is essential to give them a reason to choose your office. Pick a niche and commit to being the best in the industry. For example, Dr. Hales specializes in veneers, and his commitment to being the best at them has given him great success. People seek him out nationwide to have him do their veneers.
Choose a style. Pick a style that speaks to you and brings out your personality. Forget cookie-cutter business model prototypes. Make a deliberate decision about the style your practice will offer. For example, there are dentists known as the singing dentist, the bow-tie dentist, the superhero dentist, etc. This will help you stand out in a crowd.
Make a three-year plan. Having a three-year plan when you open your practice will help give you a map of where to go and what to do. You won't have to figure out everything as you go along. According to the SBA, a good business plan should include things like your company's name, mission statement, products and services offered, team members, market analysis, marketing and sales goals, funding requests, and financial projections.
Ask for help. Getting help if there are issues you are a good idea need clarification on. You can seek a mentor, such as Dr. Hales who has been in the business for years, or join a local business group to network. For some people, this may be the one difference in the business. Forget the idea that you must figure it out all on your own.
Be willing to adapt. Things change, and this goes for your ideas in your three-year plan. That's okay, but you have to be willing to adapt to changes in the market, economy, and even your vision. Having a destination in mind doesn't have to be set in stone. Being flexible and willing to see where things take you, being willing to go with the flow, is going to help increase the business's longevity.
"Many dentists have had successful practices for decades," adds Hales. "You can have one of those businesses, too. It comes down to knowing how to build your brand, and being armed with the insider tips to help you navigate the waters. Please reach out to me if you’re looking for a mentor. "
Signs of summer are already here, and temperatures are starting to climb. After experiencing record breaking heat indexes in 2023, Entergy Arkansas is providing tips on how to prepare your home for the high-heat and manage your bill this summer with our newly launched Bill Toolkit site.
Heating and cooling costs make up more than 55% of an average customer’s electric bill. This means that it is important to take steps to conserve energy to lower your electric bills when temperatures start to rise.
Entergy’s Bill Toolkit site helps customers find ways to manage energy usage and save money through energy efficiency programs including Entergy Arkansas’ Entergy Solutions. Examples of products and services, available at little to no cost, include AC tune-ups, LED bulbs, smart thermostats, duct sealing and insulation. An A/C tune-up is a great way to evaluate your equipment's energy performance and make necessary adjustments to ensure that your system is running as efficiently as possible. A/C tune-ups provide a comprehensive diagnostic check of your system to ensure that it's running smoothly and identify any potential issues. An energy-efficient A/C unit can keep you and your family cool and comfortable even during the hottest summer days.
Customers can schedule an A/C tune-up today by contacting one of our trade allies, visit entergytradeally.com to learn more. Tune-ups are available to qualifying Entergy Arkansas customers at no additional cost. To learn more about our other energy-saving programs, visit the Entergy Solutions website at entergysolutionsar.com.
Additionally, this program offers home assessments that yield energy efficiency recommendations. A Home Performance Assessment with ENERGY STAR reduces the up-front cost of installing energy efficiency upgrades.
Low to no-cost energy efficiency tips
Customers also can save money with these quick and easy energy efficiency tips:
Change air filters. Air filters on some air conditioning units require monthly cleaning or replacing.
Set your thermostat to the highest comfortable temperature. The smaller the difference between the inside and outside temperatures, the lower your energy usage and bill will be.
Buy a programmable thermostat. A programmable thermostat can help manage costs, is controllable, and can help monitor usage.
Use fans to cool off. Ceiling fans, box fans and oscillating fans use very little electricity to circulate the air. Make sure ceiling fans are rotating in the right direction – counter-clockwise during summer – to push cooler air down into the room. Be sure to turn all fans off in unused rooms.
Close blinds, shades and curtains to keep the sun out and the cool air in. Also, close air conditioning vents in rooms that are not in use.
Seal cracks and holes around doors, windows and ductwork. Weather stripping and caulk will help keep the cold air in and the hot air out.
Use the myAdvisor tool on myentergy.com. The usage and cost tool can compare usage history by month, day and hour.

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$3.7 million to UAMS to continue groundbreaking research into high blood pressure

LITTLE ROCK — In a major boost to cardiovascular research, the National Institutes of Health has awarded an additional $3.7 million to Shengyu Mu, Ph.D., and his team of researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) to continue their groundbreaking study on the role of immune cells in hypertension.
Mu, an associate professor in the UAMS College of Medicine Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, was awarded an initial $1.89 million grant in 2019 to fund his laboratory’s exploration of the link between immune cells and hypertension, a widespread and serious health condition.
During that time, the team made substantial discoveries indicating that immune disorders contribute to high blood pressure, paving the way for the next phase of research.
The five-year grant renewal began with a $685,749 payment in April and is expected to fund a comprehensive series of experiments and advanced analyses over the next five years.
“We are thrilled to receive this continued support from the NIH,” said Mu, a leading expert in hypertension. “Our initial research has provided strong evidence that immune cells play a key role in the development and progression of hypertension. This new funding will allow us to delve even deeper, aiming to identify new therapeutic targets and develop novel strategies to manage hypertension.”
His team includes researchers Yunmeng Liu, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology; Lin-Xi-Li, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology; Lu Huang, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology; John Imig, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the College of Pharmacy; and key lab members Katherine Deck, Tonya Rafferty and Christoph Mora.
“Together, they will leverage their diverse expertise and state-of-the-art technology and methods to further investigate this important area of research,” Mu said.
He said the ongoing research has the potential to advance scientific knowledge and translate insights into clinical practice.
“By unraveling the influence of immune cells on hypertension, it could pave the way for new interventions designed to modulate the immune response, potentially offering more effective and personalized treatments for patients,” Mu said.
The NIH’s support underscores the importance of the research in addressing a critical public health crisis, Mu said.
“Hypertension remains a leading cause of illness and death worldwide,” Mu said. “Innovative research like that being done at UAMS is crucial for developing new ways to prevent and treat it.”
He hopes that the research findings will help reduce the burden of hypertension and improve cardiovascular health globally.
This research is supported by the National Heart, Lung, And Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01HL146713. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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Epidemic of declining mental health begins in infancy

By SHANNAH HENDERSON

With the deluge of new information about trauma, the nervous system, and secure attachment, many of us are deeply engaged in mental health awareness. We are reevaluating ourselves and our histories and exploring how our experiences have contributed to our issues with anxiety, depression, and addiction. We are discovering new talk therapies, psychedelic assisted therapies, somatic therapies, and emotionally focused tools for healing. We are becoming aware of intergenerational trauma, how we carry our ancestors’ emotional wounds and pass them on to future generations. We’re reading The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van der Kolk, The Myth of Normal Gabor Mate, What Happened to You by Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey, and we’re doing the work.
In this process, many of us discover that our trauma is developmental trauma, or little t trauma – wounds that comes from the way we were cared for as babies, from conception to age three. It comes from our earliest relationships, the interactions we had with our parents and caregivers before we could speak or even remember. If this early experience was predominately not nurturing, our brains are at significant risk to develop to be reactive to stress and vulnerable to lifelong mental health struggles(1) -- and in this part of the world, it is likely that you were not well nurtured as an infant, even if your parents loved you and did everything “right.” That’s because our culture has praised and encouraged what I call “low nurture” parenting for generations, at least since the Industrial Revolution. These include “teaching” independence, sleep training, lack of shared sleep, dismissing stress, dismissing emotions, lack of physical closeness, lack of close feeding, lack of presence, lack of respect, and overuse of baby containers like swaddles, swings, walkers, saucers, jumpers, and floor seats.
In my own therapy, I thought my mental health issues came from later childhood, but the work I did showed me that many of my issues had already formed by age 4. This is consistent with what we know about mental health, it begins at the beginning of life. Infant mental health is lifelong mental health.
Neuroscience research mirrors these realizations. Over the past 30 years or so, leading neuroscience groups led by principal investigators including Michael Meaney, Frances Champagne, Nim Tottenham, Megan Gunnar, Regina Sullivan, Tallie Baram, Ed Tronick, Beatrice Beebe and Ruth Feldman have uncovered the importance of infant experience for lifelong mental health. Conception to age three is a sensitive period of brain development where the emotional brain is formed – including our stress systems, our neurotransmitter systems, and our gut health. These all play a fundamental role in shaping our mental health for life. (1)
Neuroscience knows this. Experts on the nervous system know this. Therapists know this. Doulas, midwives, lactation consultants, occupational therapists, osteopaths, chiropractors, and physical therapists know this. Leading neuroscience research show us exactly what the infant brain needs form 0-3 years to thrive. There is a community of us talking about this; professionals that work with families to grow a foundation of mental wellness in infancy. Countless parents coming up with creative ways to build mental health for their babies. They understand that they don’t have to pass on intergenerational trauma and actually they can create new intergenerational wellness to give to their babies and future generations. They can also heal their own infancies by nurturing their babies. In my part of the world, I call it The Nurture Revolution.
Yet this knowledge remains hidden from most parents. Preventing the wounds from infancy has not yet become part of our public discourse on parenting. In fact, the opposite is true: anyone speaking out against low nurturing practices like sleep training, excessive swaddling, or understanding a baby’s emotions and communication, are routinely lambasted as not supporting sleep-deprived, overwhelmed parents. I talk to mental health professionals who know what the research says, but they tell me they shy away from taking a stand on infant mental health because it’s too controversial – it might make working moms feel guilty, parents who sleep train their babies feel criticized, or parents who did not have nurturing infancies themselves feel triggered and overwhelmed. I get it. The relationship between babies and their parents is very tender, and the stakes are big. And there is a near total lack of social support for parents and babies. At the same time, science shows us that any amount of nurture is beneficial for the developing brain and the approach can be highly individualized.
Well, we are at a very interesting place in history right now. Many of us are reimaging our lives. We’re looking at the way things have been and we’re dreaming of better ways. We’re hoping to do better for our children’s health and the future health of the planet. So many of us are returning to nurture to create a new world for our babies. Nurture for babies and parents is a return home to self. We’ve been raised to be humans doing, not humans being. We’ve been led away from ourselves and our internal worlds and meaningful relationships. And so many of us are noticing this is not the life we want.
What if in creating a new future, we start to see infancy as a special season of life, where we can give babies and parents support to grow mental health for one another? What if we invest in infant brain development, despite how much our society wants us to see their needs for closeness and care as inconvenient and unimportant, so that these babies grow up able to think and create freely, without anxiety, fear, and aggression? What if doing so is one of the best ways we can help build a society in which nurture is supported, easy, and the norm?
Infancy is the most important place to make a difference in the future of mental health. Currently the way we treat babies influences the development of anxiety, depression, addiction, impulsivity, selfishness, self-centeredness and greed. Nurture grows regulated brains that are healthy, curious, flexible, empathetic and compassionate. I’d say it’s exactly what the world needs.

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Planning can ease concerns about what happens to wind turbines at the end of their lifespan

LYONS, NEBRASKA – Advances in technology and lower installation costs continue to contribute to the growth of wind electricity generation in the U.S., especially in rural areas.
According to a report from the U.S. Department of Energy and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the cost of installing wind turbines has fallen more than 40% since its peak in 2010. In 2022, wind energy provided 10% of total electricity nationwide. In Iowa, more than 60% of power comes from wind energy systems. Wind energy generates more than 40% of the power in South Dakota, Kansas, and Oklahoma.
“Wind energy development continues to bring numerous benefits to nearby communities, such as increased tax revenue, new job opportunities, and lease payments to landowners,” said Cora Hoffer, policy associate with the Center for Rural Affairs. “Wind energy also provides a low-cost, reliable energy source for residents and businesses and makes a positive economic contribution by offsetting energy costs.”
However, Hoffer said the increase in development raises questions about what happens to wind turbines when they reach the end of their operational lifespan.
The Center's new “Decommissioning Wind Energy Systems Resource Guide,” written by Hoffer, outlines several management options to assist county officials, wind developers, and project owners working with the public and local government on a wind project.
Hoffer said there are several ways to address wind energy systems that have reached their operational lifespan, which is estimated between 25 and 40 years, and those no longer in active operation.
“Owners and developers may choose to fully decommission the project—which includes repurposing material, recycling, and disposing of wind turbines—or repowering the system to extend its life,” Hoffer said. “While relatively few systems are decommissioned each year, state and county governing bodies should set decommissioning standards during the planning process. Landowners and developers may consider establishing additional requirements.”

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By the numbers:
Top 3 benefits of homebuyer education courses

National nonprofit credit and housing counseling agency Take Charge America shows how on-demand courses educate, reduce mortgage costs and more for first-time homebuyers

PHOENIX – Homebuyer education courses can set first-time homebuyers up for success by teaching them how to save for a down payment, shop for lenders, maintain a home and provide all-around valuable information about the homebuying process. Yet the benefits don’t stop at education alone – such courses play a key role in reducing mortgage costs.
“For first-time homebuyers, the sheer amount of information in front of them can be overwhelming and confusing,” said Amy Robbins, associate director of operations with Take Charge America, a nonprofit credit and housing counseling agency. “Homebuyer education courses not only provide clarity on what to expect, but they provide financial benefits and set participants up for success long into the future.”
Robbins outlines three major benefits of homebuyer education courses:
Education about the homebuying process: Many people may not realize how comprehensive homebuyer education programs can be. Attendees learn how to save money for a down payment, choose a lender, budget appropriately, understand loan types, prepare for different inspections and much more. It’s a complete, end-to-end training of the homebuying process.
Down-payment assistance: There are four types of down-payment assistance programs: grants, loans, deferred loans and forgivable loans. Such programs help make the cost of homeownership more affordable by offering first-time homebuyers financial assistance with their down payments, reduced interest rates or assistance with closing costs. In order to qualify for these programs, select lenders require a certification of completion from a homebuyer education course. The Mortgage Reports website provides a directory of programs, most of which are specific to the state of residence.
Homebuyer schedule-friendly: There are two ways to take a homebuyer education course: on-demand through an online portal, or locally with a realtor or lender that offers the certification. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides an online search feature to find a region-specific list of nationally approved homeowner programs.

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Reeling in the bucks
A pair of New York anglers, James Kane and Barbi Agostini, don’t use hooks when they go trolling; they use magnets in hopes of reeling-in valuable items made of iron. For example, they recently landed an old safe containing an estimated $100,000 in cash. The Treasury Department told them that quite a bit of the hundred dollar bills they landed were damaged beyond recognition but they can probably replace the rest with between $50,000-$70,000 worth of the “recoverable” bills with brand-new cool cash.

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The winning dog
Kevin is one big dog, so big that he’s been recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world’s tallest dog. The Great Dane lives in Des Moines, Iowa and is 3 feet and 2 inches tall. As his owner, Tracy Wolfe, described him, "Kevin is the epitome of a gentle giant. In fact, he is scared of most things. He is terrified of the vacuum. He won't let it come within 6 feet of him! He will jump and run to get away from it."

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The ‘sky high’ bike
Nicolas Barrioz and David Peyrou were having a drink in a pub in France when they got the idea of building the world’s tallest bicycle. And so, they got busy building the bike – a bike that measures 25 feet, 5 inches high, big enough to get the attention of the Guinness World Record judges who, indeed, declared it to be the world's tallest rideable bicycle. Barrioz was move. As he told the folks at Guinness, “this experience has completely transformed my worldview. Before this, I really needed self-confidence; I was shy and had a negative self-opinion. Now I feel unstoppable; I think I can repair, build or design anything."

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Medal of Honor: Marine Corps 1st Sgt. Jimmie Howard

By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News

Not a lot of people have the skill and demeanor to keep their counterparts focused during an overwhelming battle. However, Marine Corps 1st Sgt. Jimmie Earl Howard was a natural leader and managed to keep the majority of his platoon alive during a lopsided hours-long firefight in Vietnam. His courage and leadership earned him the Medal of Honor.
Howard was born on July 27, 1929, in Burlington, Iowa, to Raymond and Edythe Howard. He had two brothers and a sister and enjoyed playing football while growing up, doing well enough at the sport to earn a spot on The Des Moines Register newspaper's All-State team in 1948.
After graduating from Burlington High School in 1949, Howard studied for a year at the University of Iowa before deciding to take his life in a different direction. In July 1950, he joined the Marine Corps, graduating from recruit training the following January.
Howard spent a year in San Diego as a drill instructor before completing advanced infantry training in February 1952. He was then ordered to Korea, where he served as a forward observer with the 1st Marine Division. During his deployment, he was wounded three times and earned the Silver Star.
He returned to U.S. soil in April 1953, then spent the next decade of his life serving in various capacities in the San Diego area. At some point, Howard married a woman named Theresa. They went on to have five daughters and a son.
By January 1965, Howard was a staff sergeant working as an instructor for a counterguerrilla warfare course, just as U.S. involvement in Vietnam was escalating. In April 1966, the 37-year-old was sent to the southeast Asian nation to be a platoon leader with Company C of the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division.
On June 13, 1966, Howard's 18-man platoon was deep into enemy-controlled territory near Chu Lai, Vietnam, searching for enemy troops to call air and artillery strikes on from the top of Hill 488, which later became known as Howard's Hill. It was about 1,500 feet and dominated the terrain for miles, historians said.
There was no place to hide on Hill 488, and the enemy knew it. However, Howard's platoon still spent two days on the hill carrying out their mission without being bothered.
Shortly before midnight on June 16, that changed. A battalion-sized Vietcong force launched a vicious attack on Howard's platoon using small arms, automatic weapons and mortar fire.
Their chances of survival didn't look good, but Howard jumped into action anyway, determined to defend his men, most of whom were only about 18 years old. He quickly organized the platoon into a tight perimeter defense and calmly moved from position to position to direct the fire of his young Marines. They continued to hold their ground for hours overnight during wave after wave of assaults.
According to Howard's Medal of Honor citation, his courage and firm leadership inspired and motivated the men around him to continuously repel the furious fire, despite how seemingly hopeless the situation was. At one point, when they ran out of grenades, Howard encouraged the Marines to throw rocks at the enemy, exhibiting imagination and resourcefulness in their defense.
At another point, the fragments of an exploding enemy grenade lodge into Howard's back, wounding him severely and keeping him from moving his legs. However, he refused to be given morphine, historians said, because he knew its effects would make him drowsy and therefore ineffective.
Instead, Howard dragged himself along the defensive perimeter to distribute his ammunition to the rest of his men, all while maintaining radio contact to direct air strikes on the enemy with uncanny accuracy.
By the time dawn came around, five Marines had died and everyone else was wounded — but Howard's platoon still held Hill 488.
When evacuation helicopters made it to the area, Howard initially warned them away. He wanted to make the landing zone as secure as possible, so he first called for more air strikes, which he directed along with his platoon's own fire onto enemy positions. Only afterward did they finally evacuate.
Howard's leadership and bravery were key to preventing his entire platoon from being killed. Despite the casualties they did suffer, his men still managed to eliminate about 200 combatants during the 12-hour fight.
Howard was transferred back to the U.S. and assigned to a training unit in San Diego. On Aug. 21, 1967, shortly after being promoted to gunnery sergeant, he received the Medal of Honor from President Lyndon B. Johnson during a ceremony at the White House. His wife and six children were able to attend, as were his mother and stepfather.
Howard remained in the Marine Corps for another decade before retiring in 1977. He and his family decided to remain in San Diego, where he went to work as a civilian for the Department of Veterans Affairs. He also volunteered to coach various youth sports in the community, including as an assistant coach for the Point Loma High School football team.
Howard died in his home on Nov. 12, 1993. He is buried in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego.
In his honor, the Arleigh-Burke class destroyer USS Howard was commissioned in October 2001. The ship currently serves in the U.S. 7th Fleet in the Indo-Pacific region.

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Grow some pain relief in gardens and containers

By MELINDA MYERS

Ease your way through the busy summer season with the help of some pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory garden produce. Add them to your garden or containers or purchase the produce at your local farmer’s market.
Refresh and rejuvenate yourself with a cup of mint-infused tea or ice water. Mint also helps relieve headaches and general aches and pain. Contain this vigorous perennial herb by growing it in a container to prevent it from overtaking your garden beds. Take advantage of these benefits year-round by starting a few plants at the end of the growing season. Root a few cuttings to plant and grow in a sunny window.
Add sage tea to your list of favorite brews. Just harvest a few leaves, add hot water, and brew a bit of sore throat relief. Sage tea has long been used to soothe scratchy and irritated throats and showed positive results in a 2006 clinical trial. Grow this herb in the garden or a container. It thrives in a sunny spot with well-drained soil. Harvest leaves as needed throughout the season. Regular harvesting encourages more growth for future harvests. Harvest as much as one-third of the plant, to preserve and enjoy the benefits year-round.
You may have used a topical pain relief cream that contained capsaicin. This is the spicy element in chili, jalapeno, habanero, and cayenne peppers and is a natural pain-fighting tool often used to help treat backaches, arthritis, and muscle pain. Hot peppers are ready to harvest when they are fully colored. Ask friends to share their harvest or purchase hot peppers at a farmer’s market if your garden lacks this plant.
Grow and use ginger to help reduce inflammation and combat migraines, muscle pain, arthritis and post-workout or post-gardening soreness. Plus, it helps fight nausea so common during a summer filled with barbeques and celebrations. Grow it in a pot outdoors or sunny window alongside your other indoor plants. Ginger is a tropical plant, but you can find plants or rhizomes, the part you eat, at many garden centers or online plant retailers. Or try rooting the rhizomes you purchase at the grocery store to start new plants.
Sour cherries are credited with managing muscle pain and inflammation. They are loaded with disease-fighting chemicals and antioxidants and help fight inflammation and relieve pain. Growing a cherry tree may not be practical or possible but purchase plenty when they are in season. Juice, dry, and preserve them to enjoy their health benefits all year. If space allows, consider planting a sour cherry tree in your backyard. Sour cherries do need a cold period with air temperatures between 34 and 45 degrees to initiate flowering for fruit development. Consult your local extension service for help selecting the best variety for your region. It takes several years for cherry plants to start producing fruit, but watching your tree grow into maturity and bear its first crop is part of the joy of gardening. Just be sure to protect the harvest from hungry birds.
When growing these you’ll soon discover it’s not just the plants that provide relief. Just the simple act of tending your garden and harvesting can elevate your mood, lower your blood pressure, and start you on the road to feeling better.

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S-s-snake
You can expect to run into a snake or two while wandering in a forest, a swamp or a desert. Perhaps the last place you might expect running into a serpent-on-the-loose is amid the hustle and bustle of the streets of New York where the city’s “finest” found themselves looking for a runaway boa constrictor on the loose recently. The NYPD round up the runaway snake in the upper West Side and turned it over to the Animal Care Centers of NYC.

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Coprolites galore
George Frandsen was cited recently by the judges of the Guinness Book of World Records for amassing the largest collection of primordial poop, better known scientifically as fossilized feces. Over the years, Frandsen has collected 8,000 pieces of historic dung, according to the Guinness judges. As he put it, “several years ago, I noticed a glaring absence of coprolite representation in mainstream sources and museum exhibits." That prompted him to create what he bills as his Poozeum -- "the world's premier dinosaur poop museum and gift shop."

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It’s not a UFO
It’s rare but "hole punch clouds" are real. It happens when an aircraft passes through a cloud and “the air around its wings and body expands and cools,” according to The National Weather Service. The NWS calls it a “fallstreak hole” and noted that it apparently occurred recently over Vermont and New York's Champlain Valley. It’s a phenomenon that can leave behind it cloud formations that used to be blamed for UFO sightings.

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Medal of Honor: Navy Capt. Richard M. McCool Jr.
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News
When Japanese suicide aircraft attacked U.S. Navy ships late in World War II, Navy Capt. Richard Miles McCool Jr. calmly worked to save several sailors and keep his ship from exploding. Ironically, McCool remembered very little of the ordeal; however, first-hand accounts from others of his leadership under fire earned him the Medal of Honor.
McCool was born on Jan. 4, 1922, in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, to Betty and Richard McCool Sr. He was one of four children and the only boy in the family. His father was the president of Murray College (now Murray State College), which may explain why, in a Veterans History Project Library of Congress interview in the early 2000s, McCool said his parents were "what you'd call education freaks" who started him in school at age 4.
When McCool's father became the state's Democratic chairman in 1930, the family moved to Norman, Oklahoma. McCool did well at academics and even skipped a grade, allowing him to graduate high school at the age of 15. By the time he turned 19, he'd earned a political science degree from the University of Oklahoma.
McCool said he considered joining the foreign service after college, but he wasn't old enough to do so. Within a few months, however, the Pearl Harbor bombings happened, launching the U.S. into World War II. McCool instead was accepted into the U.S. Naval Academy to continue his education and prepare for war.
McCool said he wanted to become an aviator, but his eyesight wasn't up to par, so instead he volunteered for the amphibious force, which offered him the chance to take command of a ship right out of the academy. He graduated in June 1944; his class only had to attend three years of classes instead of four due to the war.
In December 1944, after receiving further amphibious training, McCool assumed command of USS LCS 122, a landing craft support ship that employed about 65 crew members. Shortly after the crew settled in, LCS 122 set sail for the Pacific Theater of war.
By the spring of 1945, the Battle of Okinawa had gotten underway and Allied troops were busy trying to get a foothold on the island. U.S. supply and support ships were in abundance at the island's harbor, but that made them sitting ducks for Japanese suicide bombers, known as kamikazes.
To thwart kamikaze attempts, the U.S. set up 15 radar picket stations around the island. McCool said each station included at least three destroyers that used their radar to detect upcoming attacks and four LCS ships that would guard the destroyers by shooting down enemy planes.
"Each ship had 10 rocket launchers in the bow that had 12 4.5-inch rockets in each one," McCool explained in his Library of Congress interview. He earned his Medal of Honor during one of these attacks.
On June 10, 1945, LCS 122 was on picket duty north of Okinawa when a hostile air raid began. The USS William D. Porter, a destroyer at the station, was severely damaged by a kamikaze attack. Then-Lt. McCool ordered his men to evacuate the survivors from the sinking ship.
The next evening, LCS 122 was attacked by two kamikazes. McCool immediately launched the full power of his gun batteries, which quickly shot one aircraft down.
"The first one dove at us and passed over my bow," McCool remembered. "I was afraid that the people in the No. 1 40-mm gun mount might have been hit by the wheels or something, it was so low. But it crashed into the water just on our port bow."
The second aircraft came flying in right behind the first. The LCS's gun batteries did some damage, but the aircraft still crashed into McCool's battle station in the ship's conning tower.
"It came in and hit about 8-10 feet below where I was standing," McCool remembered, saying they were lucky that the aircraft's bomb didn't explode on impact. "Instead, it or something from the plane went through the radio shack and out the side of the ship on the other side and exploded, apparently just as it was entering the water."
The crash immediately engulfed the area in flames and knocked McCool unconscious. He said when he came to, he was the only person in the conning tower.
"I shimmied over the port side of the conning tower and dropped onto the deck from there," he said.
McCool was seriously wounded by shrapnel and suffered painful burns on his right side. According to his Medal of Honor citation, he rallied his concussion-shocked crew and began vigorous measures to fight the fire raging on the deck below him. McCool said the flames were 15 to 20 feet from a room that stored the ship's rockets, so he was very concerned about the ship exploding.
"I can remember telling the chief engineer to take a crew of people and go around to the starboard side and forward, and I would have somebody else go around the other way and try to at least keep the fire from spreading," he said in his Library of Congress interview. "And the truth of the matter is I don't really remember much of what went on after that."
His Medal of Honor citation said he rescued several men trapped in a blazing compartment and even carried one of them to safety, despite the excruciating pain of his own wounds — including his right lung collapsing. But McCool said he has no memory of that.
"As far as the heroics I was credited with doing … I wondered for a long time if maybe this thing had gotten exaggerated somehow or another," McCool said in the early 2000s. "But I'm happy to say that when we started having these reunions of people who served in that type of ship, they confirmed that it was in fact people from the ship who had originated these accounts."
McCool was finally able to get his own help after aid arrived to LCS 122. Eleven men were killed and 29 were wounded in the incident, newspapers at the time reported. But thanks to McCool's leadership, many others were rescued, and his ship survived to see further service.
McCool was evacuated from the area and was sent to medical facilities in Guam, Pearl Harbor and California for treatment.
" several operations where they'd go in and remove another piece of bone fragment from me," he told the Veterans History Project. "I still have a bone fragment in my liver, which one doctor said not to ever let anybody try to take out."
McCool spent nearly a year in hospitals, including several months at one in his hometown of Norman, Oklahoma. He was there when he learned he'd be getting the Medal of Honor. Shortly thereafter, in September 1945, he married his girlfriend, Carole Elaine Larecy, who he'd met on leave prior to his deployment. They went on to have three children, two boys and a girl.
By the fall of 1945, the hospital finally allowed McCool to travel, so he and his wife went on their honeymoon, which was spent visiting friends on the East Coast. The trip included a pitstop in Washington, D.C., where McCool received the Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman during a White House ceremony on Dec. 18, 1945. McCool said Army Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower and Navy Adm. Chester Nimitz were present, and his family was able to attend, which he said was a special moment for him.
Years later, McCool described the award as both humbling and daunting.
"I didn't remember having done anything that I thought would justify this," he said. "But even afterward, it's hard to try to live up to the kind of respect that people have for the medal."
After the war, McCool served on several more ships, then worked as an aide to an admiral in Louisiana and also as an ROTC instructor at his alma mater, the University of Oklahoma. During the Korean War, he served on the aircraft carrier USS Leyte as a deck officer.
During the 1950s, McCool earned a master's degree in public relations from Boston University before serving in the nation's capital. He also served in Thailand as a commander's staff member and then in Japan for a time. By July 1965, he'd worked his way up in the ranks to captain.
About a year later, McCool took over as deputy commander of the Defense Information School when it was located at Fort Benjamin in Harrison, Indiana. He then worked in various public affairs posts before retiring from active duty in 1974.
As a civilian, McCool became active in local politics in the Seattle area, serving two terms as chairman of the Kitsap County Democratic Party, according to his obituary in the newspaper The Daily Oklahoman. He lived on Bainbridge Island and did a lot of volunteer work in the area, the newspaper said.
McCool died on March 5, 2008, at a hospital in Bremerton, Washington. His wife and children were at his bedside, newspapers reported.
McCool is buried at the U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis, Maryland. In his honor, the Navy transport dock ship USS Richard M. McCool Jr. was christened by his granddaughters in June 2022. The ship was delivered to the Navy in April of this year.

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Celebrate pollinator month by inviting a variety of pollinators to your garden
By MELINDA MYERS

June is National Pollinator Month and it’s a great time to celebrate all the pollinators that play an important role in producing food, fiber, medicine, and more that we rely on. When you think of pollinators, bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds are likely the first that come to mind. But moths, wasps, beetles, flies, bats, and some other birds also help pollinate our gardens. More than 80% of all flowering plant species, including 180,000 different species and more than 1,200 crops, rely on them for pollination.
Like honeybees and Monarch butterflies, many of these pollinators are struggling and their populations dwindling due to pesticides and loss of habitat. Gardeners can make a difference by creating pollinator gardens filled with their favorite plants.
When designing a garden select plants with different shapes, colors, and bloom times. You’ll attract a wide array of pollinators and provide them with a constant supply of nectar and pollen. Include bright white, yellow, blue, and ultraviolet-colored flowers to attract the bees. Add some tubular flowers with a spur or landing pad for the butterflies. They are especially fond of purple and red blossoms.
Don’t be in a hurry to squash those beetles you find meandering over your plants. Many do not harm the plant but rather move pollen as they travel throughout your garden. These generalists visit a variety of plants, but most often can be found pollinating large strongly scented flowers like Canadian ginger, magnolia, paw paws, and yellow pond lilies.
They can be annoying, but flies are also busy pollinating your flowers. They are generalists, like beetles, and tend to pollinate small flowers with shallow, funnel-like, or complex trap-like flowers. You’re likely to see them on annuals, bulbs, goldenrod, skunk cabbage, paw paws, and members of the carrot family.
It may be difficult to welcome the often dreaded and feared wasps and hornets to your garden. However, most are solitary, not all sting and some are predators or parasitoids that help manage garden pests.
Besides helping with mosquito control, bats pollinate over 500 species of night-blooming flowers around the world. They prefer those with a musty or rotten odor of mostly tropical and some varieties of desert plants.
Most of us enjoy watching hummingbirds visit our gardens and feeders. Hummingbirds are the primary bird pollinators in North America, carrying pollen on their beaks and feathers. They prefer brightly colored scarlet, orange, red, and white tubular flowers. Baltimore orioles are accidental pollinators spreading pollen as they feed on flower nectar while white-winged doves pollinate and spread saguaro cactus seeds.
Be sure to include milkweed, herbs, trees, shrubs, and grasses with foliage that caterpillars and others feed upon. Use native plants including trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses whenever possible. These plants have evolved with pollinators and provide the greatest benefit. Make sure the native plants you select are suited to the growing conditions and available space.
Don’t overlook cultivated plants that also attract and support pollinators. Many have flowers or foliage that benefit a variety of pollinators. Watch for bees visiting thyme, borage, and calamint flowers; hummingbirds sipping on salvia, cuphea, and verbena blossoms; and swallowtail caterpillars munching on dill, fennel, and parsley leaves.
Once you create a pollinator-friendly environment, give them time to discover your pollinator paradise. It may take time but once the word gets out you will be enjoying lots of pollinators and the many benefits they provide.

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Social Security Matters
By RUSSELL GLOOR
National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty - About Social Security’s “guaranteed” annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA)
Dear Rusty: I’ve been reading a lot lately about speculation on what next year’s benefit increase will be, and it seems like most of the experts are suggesting a range of 2.5% to 3%. My neighbor says don’t worry about it, because there will always be some level of increase come January. It’s guaranteed, right? Signed: Retired But Questioning
Dear Retired: You’ve brought up a common belief about the annual Social Security COLA, one that we hear often. Let’s start with some background. Each year’s COLA results from comparing the third quarter average Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) each year to the same average from the preceding year. The result of dividing the current year’s average by the previous year’s average produces the COLA for the following year. For 2024’s adjustment, the 2023 third-quarter average was 301.2 and the comparable figure for 2022 was 291.9, producing the 3.2% benefit addition.
It's not always the case that the year-to-year CPI calculation produces a positive result, as was the case three times so far this century. As recently as 2016, for example, the 2015 third-quarter average was 233.3 and the comparable figure for 2014 was 234.2, producing a negative change. Fortunately for beneficiaries, Social Security law prohibits a negative COLA, so the negative result was ruled out and the COLA for 2016 was zero.
So, the rumor that there will always be a benefit increase in January is untrue, although having only three zero COLA years since the start of automated adjustments in 1974 leads folks to assume there will always be a boost in the new year. The size of the adjustment fluctuates with economic cycles and has ranged from a high of 14.3 percent in 1980 to 0.3% in 2017 (excluding, of course, the zero years). Incidentally, the historical average since automatic COLAs began is 3.8%, so the 2024 adjustment of 3.2% isn’t that far from the average.
Social Security’s rules are myriad and often confusing, but no question is too simple to be asked. The AMAC Foundation’s Social Security Advisory Service is available, at no charge, to answer all your Social Security questions, via email at SSAdvisor@amacfoundation.org or call 1.888.750.2622.

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The Manhattanhenge Effect
Dutch settlers began populating the city of New Netherland in the first two decades of 1600 creating what is known today as the island of Manhattan in the heart of the city of New York. The Big Apple planners who laid out the island, wittingly or not, plotted the streets to run east to west and the avenues to run north to south, creating what is known today as the Manhattanhenge Effect, when the sun sets and rises in alignment with the east-west street grids of the island. The summer solstice effect is happening now.

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Achoo
Most of us use our noses to breath and smell. But Guinness World Record holder, David Rush, uses his proboscis to blow up balloons. To date, Rush has earned 173 records, most recently for using his nose to inflate 28 balloons in three minutes tying fellow serial record-breaker Ashrita Furman. But Rush is determined to keep at it until he achieves his goal of earning the most Guinness record titles ever.

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Another use for your nose
You breathe through your nose, you smell with it and your nose helps to filter the air you inhale. But Vinod Kumar Chaudhary has revealed that you can also use it to type with it. In fact, Mr. Chaudhary has earned the Guinness World Record for using his nose to type the alphabet – not once, not twice but for a third time. Last year it took him 27.8 seconds to type the alphabet, but later in the year he did it in 26.73 seconds. Recently he broke the record yet again, in 25.66 seconds, using only a keyboard and his nose.

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Winning perennial plant adds color and fragrance

By MELINDA MYERS

Add long-lasting beauty and pollinator appeal to your garden with this year’s Perennial Plant of the Year, Jeana garden phlox (Phlox paniculata ‘Jeana’). Selected for its tall sturdy habit and fragrant dense flower heads it is a welcome addition to perennial, meadow, and pollinator gardens as well as mixed borders.
Grow this perennial phlox in full sun with a bit of afternoon shade in hotter climates. It is hardy in USDA zones three to eight, growing and flowering best in moist, fertile, and well-drained soil.
The Perennial Plant of the Year (PPOY) is selected by members of the Perennial Plant Association for its suitability to a wide range of climatic conditions, low maintenance, relative pest and disease resistance, availability, and multiple seasons of beauty. This program began in 1990 and you can find out more about past winners on the Perennial Plant Association website.
This cultivar of the North American native Phlox paniculata was discovered growing along the Harpeth River near Nashville, Tennessee. It was named for the woman, Jeana Prewitt, who discovered this plant. It was a standout with its mildew-resistant foliage. Jeana is the head gardener at Bedside Manor in Brentwood, Tennessee. She took cuttings of the plant and began propagating it. In time, it was declared to be a new cultivar and has been available for several years.
Mt. Cuba Center, a botanical garden in Delaware, found it to be the best-performing phlox in their trials and it attracted more butterflies than the other garden phlox in the two-year study. Fifteen volunteers from the Pollinator Watch Team conducted weekly observations of 94 different phlox over two years. Jeana had 539 butterfly visits – way more than any other phlox in the study – and is especially attractive to eastern tiger swallowtails.
Enjoy the lavender-pink flowers with wine-colored eyes that cover the plant from mid-summer to fall. Although each flower is smaller than other garden phlox, the dense cone-shaped flower head is made up of hundreds of individual petals providing a beautiful show. Removing faded flowers, also known as deadheading, promotes continued bloom and prevents the self-seeding of inferior seedlings.
Combine this three-to-five-inch-tall plant with other perennials like Amsonia, Shasta daisies (Leucanthemum x superbum), Iron Butterfly ironweed (Vernonia lettermanii ‘Iron Butterfly’), coneflowers (Echinacea), and switch grass (Panicum virgatum). Or use it as a backdrop for shorter plants like alliums and woodland sage (Salvia nemorosa).
Look for places to add this late-season bloomer to your gardens and landscapes. You’ll enjoy the flowers and butterflies that stop by for a visit.

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Medal of Honor: Marine Corps Capt. James A. Graham
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News
Marine Corps Capt. James Albert Graham could have fled to safety with the rest of his company during a firefight in Vietnam. Instead, he chose to stay behind with a comrade too injured to move. Knowing he wouldn't survive, Graham gave his life so a fellow Marine wouldn't have to die alone. His leadership and bravery earned him the Medal of Honor.
Graham was born on Aug. 25, 1940, in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. After his parents divorced when he was still small, he moved with his father to Accokeek in southern Maryland.
As he grew up, he helped his father run their own grocery store and gas station, but he wasn't happy there and constantly fled back to his mother's family in western Pennsylvania, only to be brought back to Maryland by his father, according to a detailed profile on Graham's life from the Frostburg State University Foundation.
According to the profile, when Graham was 15, he took his father's car and drove to El Paso, Texas, where he lied about his age to enlist in the Army. His father eventually figured out where he was and went to get him, but by that point, Graham had already served nearly two years on active duty as an officer's secretary.
When Graham returned home with his father, he got his GED certificate before attending FSU in western Maryland. Graham was a member of the Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity who earned good grades, even while working a full-time job at a local supermarket. During his college career, Graham also spent two years with the District of Columbia National Guard, a year with the Army Reserve and two years with the Marine Corps Reserve, respectively.
It was during this time that Graham also met his future wife, Janice Pritchett. She introduced him to the Baptist church, which led Graham to become a born-again Christian, the FSU Foundation said. The couple married in February 1962.
About a year and a half later, Graham graduated with a bachelor's degree in mathematics. According to the FSU Foundation, he received honors as the top student in that field.
On Sept. 30, 1963, Graham accepted a regular appointment to the active-duty Marine Corps. By Nov. 1, 1963, he had earned his commission. Graham then enrolled in flight school, but his wife said he couldn't get past the airsickness, so he had to find another path forward.
By this point, the couple had two children, a boy named John and a girl named Jennifer.
In January 1965, Graham was assigned to the 2nd Marine Division based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. That April, he was part of a team that was sent to the Dominican Republic after an uprising in the Caribbean country's capital, Santo Domingo, threatened the lives of Americans living and working there.
In December 1966, a then-Capt. Graham was sent to Vietnam with the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. Initially he commanded Company H before switching to command Company F in January 1967.
According to the FSU Foundation, Graham was known to be a strict disciplinarian, but one whom troops respected. He often led his company in prayer and sometimes held eulogies for those killed in battle.
"He was born to lead others in war," a fellow Marine once wrote, according to the FSU Foundation.
In late May 1967, the 5th Marine Regiment launched Operation Union II, a search and destroy mission that led Graham's unit to the Quang Tin Province. On June 2, several of the regiment's units launched an attack against an enemy-occupied position.
Company F helped lead the charge. As it proceeded across an open rice paddy about 1,000 meters wide, it came under heavy mortar and small-arms fire, which killed and injured several Marines. The second platoon in Graham's company was the hardest hit, having been pinned down out in the open by two concealed machine gun nests.
Graham did what he could to help. He gathered 10 men and led a fierce assault through the pinned-down unit's position, forcing the enemy to abandon one of the machine guns. The victory relieved some of the pressure on the platoon and allowed those who were injured to be evacuated.
Graham's men were hoping to take out the second machine gun, too, so they stood their ground in the hard-won enclave they had taken over and continued to fight. According to Graham's Medal of Honor citation, he was injured twice during this time, but he also managed to kill about 15 enemy combatants.
Eventually, however, the constant and heavy fire raining down on them took its toll, and Graham had to call for his team to fall back to safety. He, however, chose to remain at their location with a critically injured lieutenant who couldn't be moved.
In his last radio transmission, Graham reported being assaulted by a force of at least two dozen enemy soldiers. He died while protecting himself and the wounded man he refused to leave behind.
Graham's efforts that day kept the company's second platoon from being annihilated. For his leadership and sacrifice, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on Oct. 29, 1968. His wife received it from Navy Secretary Paul R. Ignatius during a ceremony in Washington, D.C. Graham was subsequently buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Graham's children were very young when he died, but they said their mother kept his legacy alive for them.
"We were very fortunate that our mother made him an active part of our lives," Jennifer Graham said in 2003, recalling the stories and photos that her mother shared. "So many families handled it differently, and many children grew up in homes where they didn't talk about it."
They decided to follow in their father's footsteps. John Graham joined the Marines and became a helicopter pilot. Jennifer Graham attended the Air Force Academy and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1999, the pair went to Vietnam to find where their father had died. While there, they buried a time capsule in his memory, according to the FSU Foundation.
In the 1980s, Graham Hall at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, was named in the fallen captain's honor. A highway interchange in western Pennsylvania was also named for him in 2002.
Graham's Medal of Honor is located at the Charles H. Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

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UAMS House Call

Dr. Daniel Knight is a professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Q: What is scleroderma? Email your health questions to housecall@uams.edu. A: Scleroderma is the name for a group of diseases in which excess collagen is produced, causing hardening and thickening of the skin. An autoimmune disease, scleroderma may also affect other parts of the body. The National Scleroderma Foundation estimates that more than 300,000 Americans have the condition. Scleroderma is chronic condition classified into two types. Localized scleroderma (also referred to as morphea) normally affects the skin in one part of the body. Systemic sclerosis spreads through the body and can affect the digestive and respiratory systems. Scleroderma occurs more often in women than in men. The cause of scleroderma is unknown. Having a close relative with an autoimmune disease increases the risk factor, but the disease isn’t necessarily classified as a genetic disorder. Symptoms may not present themselves in the early stages of the disease. In addition to patches of thickened skin, other symptoms may include bloating, fatigue, stiffness, difficulty swallowing and unexplained weight loss. A referral to a rheumatologist may be required in order to accurately diagnose the disease, as the symptoms can be result of other conditions. Treatments include medications to suppress the immune system or creams or moisturizers to prevent skin from drying.

Q: What does a radiation therapist do? A: A radiation therapist is a health care professional whose primary task is to administer radiation to patients, normally for health conditions such as cancer or thyroid disease. Radiation oncologists and oncology nurses specialize in radiation therapy, and the radiation therapist is a key component of the patient’s treatment plan. Radiation therapists operate the equipment that delivers radiation therapy to patients. They ensure the correct amount of radiation is applied to the proper location as determined by the radiation oncologist or oncology nurse. Radiation therapists monitor the patient for abnormal reactions during treatment and inform the physician or nurse if necessary. Radiation therapists normally work in such health care settings as doctor’s offices, hospitals and outpatient centers. An associate’s or bachelor’s degree in radiation therapy or similar field is often required. Certification by the American Registry of Radiation Technologists as well as obtaining a state license as a registered technologist are also requirements. Work as a radiation therapist can be rewarding. It requires attention to detail to ensure the treatment is being properly applied. Patients may be apprehensive about their condition, so radiation therapists also must empathize with patients. Overall, a radiation therapist plays an important role in health care.

Q: How do you treat conjunctivitis? Email your health questions to housecall@uams.edu. A: Conjunctivitis (commonly referred to as “pink eye”) is an inflammation of the clear tissue inside of the eyelid and the outer surface of the eye. The term “pink eye” references the whites of the eyes appearing reddish or pink. Conjunctivitis is a common eye infection, with approximately 6 million cases in the U.S. each year. Conjunctivitis is normally caused by allergens, bacteria or viruses. A foreign object in the eye, irritating substances or blocked tear ducts can also cause conjunctivitis. Risk factors for the condition include being exposed to an infected person, exposure to an allergen or using contact lenses that are not properly cleaned. Bacterial and viral conjunctivitis is extremely contagious. In many instances, the condition is spread before the person is aware of the infection. Conjunctivitis symptoms include blurred vision, burning eyes, swollen eyelids, a gritty feeling in one or both eyes or increasing tearing. Mild cases of bacterial or viral conjunctivitis normally go away without antibiotics. However, your health care provider may prescribe antibiotics if eye discharge is present or for persons with compromised immune systems. Prevention includes frequent hand washing, avoiding touching of the eyes and ensuring contact lenses are cleaned and replaced as necessary.

Q: I want to begin exercising. What questions should I ask my doctor? A: Exercise is one of the best things you can do to improve physical and mental health. Regular exercise can reduce anxiety, improve balance and coordination, lower the risk of disease, help with weight loss and weight management, and contribute to better sleep. However, beginning an exercise program can be intimidating and stressful. If you are not used to exercising or you are looking to get back into it following an injury or other medical issue, it is advised to contact your health care provider. Your health care provider can give an assessment of your condition and advise on how you should proceed depending upon your exercise goals. Ask your health care provider what type of exercise would work for you. Your condition may not support strength training or extensive cardio. Inquire if any current medications would affect training. You may need to verify you are current on all preventive care. Ask how much exercise would be safe when beginning a program. Keep your health care provider informed of your progress, especially in the initial stages. Consider a personal trainer or class if you’re looking at strength training exercises to make sure your form is correct and not conducive to injury.

Email your health questions to housecall@uams.edu.

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Social Security Matters

By RUSSELL GLOOR
National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty - About Social Security’s Earnings Test and Cost of Living Adjustments
Dear Rusty: Is there a limit on earnings when you're fully retired? Also, should all retirees receive COLA or is there an exception? Signed: Retired But Wondering
Dear Retired: Your questions are fairly simple but, nevertheless, often perplexing to those wishing to apply for Social Security, because the SS rules are many (over 2,700 of them) and those about to apply for their benefits may be simply unsure and want to avoid a costly mistake. I’m happy to answer your questions and, hopefully, clarify any uncertainties you have on these topics.
Social Security imposes an earnings limit on anyone who collects Social Security before reaching their full retirement age (FRA). If you haven’t yet reached your FRA (somewhere between 66 and 67, depending on the year you were born), and you continue to work, there is a limit to how much you can earn before they take away some of your benefits. So, the answer to your first question is, yes, there is an earnings limit ($22,320 for 2024) if you haven’t yet reached your full retirement age. If the annual earnings limit is exceeded, Social Security will take away some of your benefits ($1 for every $2 you are over the limit, up to the year you attain FRA when the assessment is less). However, if you have already reached your full retirement age the earnings limit no longer applies, and you can earn as much as you like without consequence. And here’s a nuance to be aware of: if you work and exceed the earnings limit, and have some benefits withheld as a result, when you reach your FRA, you will get time credit for any months you didn’t get benefits, which will result in your monthly amount being a bit higher after your FRA.
Regarding COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment), everyone, without exception, who has earned a Social Security benefit and reached eligibility age (62) receives the annual COLA increase whether they are already collecting their benefits or not. If you’re not yet collecting, the COLA is added to your “primary insurance amount” or “PIA,” on which your benefit will be based when you claim. If you are already collecting SS, COLA will be added to your gross monthly SS benefit amount. However, since there was a $9.80 increase in the 2024 Medicare Part B premium, and since the Part B premium is taken from everyone’s SS benefit payment, Social Security recipients enrolled in Medicare Part B will not see the full 3.2% COLA in their net monthly Social Security payment. Everyone will receive the COLA increase, but no one enrolled in Medicare Part B will get the full COLA increase in their net SS payment because some of the COLA increase is used to pay their increased Medicare premium.
Social Security’s rules are myriad and often confusing, but no question is too simple to be asked. The AMAC Foundation’s Social Security Advisory Service is available, at no charge, to answer all your Social Security questions - SSAdvisor@amacfoundation.org via email, or call 1.888.750.2622.

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Grow fast, fun, and easy microgreens

By MELINDA MYERS

Have fun growing some delicious and nutritious microgreens on your kitchen counter, in a sunny window, or under lights any time of the year. In as little as a week to ten days you’ll be making your first harvest to use as a garnish, snack, or add to your favorite sandwich or salad.
Simply purchase seeds of lettuce, greens, mustard, radishes, beets, peas, and even sunflowers. Buy organic seeds or those labeled for sprouting or use as microgreens to ensure they have not been treated with harmful chemicals. Or purchase a microgreen kit that contains all you need to get started.
You can grow any microgreens in soil and most hydroponically. Sunflowers, peas, buckwheat, chard, beets, and cilantro grow best in soil. Soak the seeds in cold water for 12 to 24 hours for faster and greater sprouting. Plant the seeds in a shallow container with drainage holes filled with a moist well-drained planting or seed starting mix. Gently tamp the planting mix to remove air pockets and create a flat surface for planting. Mist the soil surface and evenly sprinkle the seeds over the soil. Gently tamp the seeds or mist them to ensure good seed-to-soil contact. Planting seeds this way makes harvesting a bit less messy. Or you can lightly cover the seeds with soil.
Use a fast food container you’ve cleaned and added drainage holes to or invest in a kit like True Leaf Market’s Organic Mini Microgreens Kit to get your microgreens off to a great start. Then make additional plantings every few weeks to have a constant supply of fresh microgreens to enjoy.
Set the container on a tray to protect the surface below. Once planted, cover the container with a lid to boost humidity and reduce the need to water. Some gardeners use an opaque cover to trap humidity and keep the seeds in the dark for sprouting. Check soil moisture daily and spritz with water as needed. Remove the cover in two or three days once the sprouts break through the soil. Then move it to a bright location or under artificial lights.
Or skip the planting media and go hydroponic using a growing pad instead. This makes harvesting clean and easy and works well for broccoli, kale, arugula, cabbage, cauliflower, mustard, and radish seeds.
Cut the grow pad made of jute, bamboo, or similar material to fit the container as needed. Thoroughly moisten the grow pad fabric. Sprinkle the seeds evenly over the pad’s surface, leaving about twice the size of a seed between each. Use a spray bottle to water and firm the seeds in place.
Use an opaque cover over the top of the tray to provide the needed darkness for the seeds to sprout. Check the seeds twice a day and mist them as needed. Remove the cover in three to five days once the seeds sprout and start growing. Move the sprouts into a bright location, a sunny window, or under artificial lights, and continue to water as needed.
Your microgreens are ready to harvest when the microgreens are two to four inches tall and the first set of true leaves – those that resemble the leaves of the mature plant – are just starting to emerge. This is usually seven to ten days but may be longer depending on the seeds you grow. Use a sharp knife or scissors to cut the greens about ¼” above the soil or grow pad. Gently rinse and spin dry the greens and enjoy.
Have fun as you grow a variety of microgreens to enjoy and share with friends and family.

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They don’t call him reckless for nothing
Ben Schneider calls himself Reckless Ben and he proved just how reckless he could be when he took a tightrope walk recently between a pair of abandoned 45 story high skyscrapers in Los Angeles. Not only did he risk his life if he were to fall from that height, he risked an encounter with LAPD officers who were on the sight.

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He now shares the title
Over the years, David Rush has earned 171 Guinness World Records by covering his head with shaving cream and then catching table tennis balls in the foam. Till now he had a partner. This time he bounced the table tennis balls off a wall himself. But, alas, he didn’t outscore the current title holder; he just matched him. And so he now shares the Guinness title with a co-holder.

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Now ‘hair’ this
Helen Williams was, apparently, not content with her Guinness Record for making the world’s longest wig that measures 1,152 feet and 5 inches in length. She said, "as a professional wigmaker, I look forward to breaking many more records in the wig category." It took her a month, but she now has a new Guinness award for producing a wig measuring 11 feet, 11 inches wide.

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Medal of Honor: Navy Lt. Orson L. Crandall
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News
Thanks to World War I and the advent of the submarine, U.S. naval divers mastered how to make and survive deep ocean dives. But by the 1930s, they were still trying to figure out how to successfully rescue survivors from sunken vessels.
They finally figured that out in 1939, when Navy Lt. Orson Leon Crandall and three other master divers used a new piece of equipment to rescue nearly three dozen sailors from a sub that sank during a training incident. Crandall's expertise and calmness under pressure earned him the Medal of Honor.
Crandall was born on Feb. 2, 1903, in St. Joseph, Missouri, to Marshall and Bertie Crandall. He had two brothers and a sister, all of whom were older.
Crandall enlisted in the Navy in 1922 when he was 19. For the next decade, he served on several ships before going into diver training in 1932. By March 1939, he held the rank of chief boatswain's mate and was designated a master diver, the highest level a diver can attain.
Only a few months later, a disaster off the coast of New Hampshire would require Crandall to utilize his expertise in the most harrowing of conditions.
On May 23, 1939, a diesel-electric submarine called the USS Squalus was practicing submerging at high speeds near the Isle of Shoals, an island chain off the coast of southern Maine, when it suffered a catastrophic valve failure. The sub — which carried 56 crew members and three civilian contractors — quickly filled with water and sank about 240 feet to the ocean floor.
Crandall was serving on the USS Falcon, which was tied up at New London, Connecticut, when the call for help came in. The Falcon was one of several salvage ships with divers that hurried to the scene to try to save anyone who was still alive inside the Squalus.
It took nearly a full day to prepare for the dangerous mission, but by the morning of the 24th, Crandall and about three dozen other divers were ready to get started.
"I remember that the water was rough and that the wind was pretty stiff, but after a while it calmed down some," Crandall recalled in a 1952 article in the Baltimore Evening Sun newspaper. "The descent was pretty fast — it took only about seven minutes to drop down to the 240-foot level where the submarine lay with her stern in about 12 feet of mud."
Shortly before noon, the Falcon lowered into the water a newly developed rescue device called the McCann-Erickson Rescue Chamber. Up until then, the chamber had only been used in training.
In theory, rescuers planned to lower the chamber via cables to the sub's deck, then seal it to one of the Squalus' hatches, according to Naval Institute archives. The crew would then blow the water out of the sub's chamber, open both hatches, and pull out the trapped submariners.
The process worked, but it took a long time.
"Because of the pressure, we could work for an average of only 18 minutes at a time. It took three hours to bring us to the surface," Crandall told the Baltimore Evening Sun, explaining that the slow ascent was necessary so they wouldn't get "the bends," a decompression sickness that happens when gas bubbles form in the blood stream from rapid changes in pressure.
Thanks to the skilled work of Crandall and three other master divers — Chief Petty Officer William Badders, Lt. Cmdr. John Mihalowski and Lt. James Harper McDonald — 33 men who survived the sinking were separated into four groups and rescued over the span of 13 hours.
At one point, Crandall narrowly escaped death. According to his Tampa Bay Times obituary, during one of his dives, carbon dioxide gas formed in his suit. As he lapsed into unconsciousness, he started to call out football signals — something he did as the quarterback of a shore-based Navy football squad. Thankfully, other crew members heard the strange chatter through his diving suit telephone and knew something was wrong, so they pulled him to the surface, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Over the next three months, divers and salvage crews worked to bring the Squalus back to the surface and retrieve the remaining 26 men stationed at the rear of the vessel who didn't survive. Crandall made more than 60 dives as part of that effort. The submarine was finally raised on Sept. 13, 1939. All but one of the sailors' bodies were found.
According to Naval Institute archives, a Navy court determined a mechanical malfunction caused the disaster. As a result, submarine hull valves were converted to quick-closing flapper valves to prevent future tragedies.
For Crandall's leadership, bravery and devotion to duty during the hazardous Squalus rescue, he was awarded the Medal of Honor on Jan. 19, 1940, during a ceremony in Washington, D.C. His fellow master divers during the mission — Badders, Mihalowski and McDonald — also received the honor.
Crandall remained in the Navy through World War II, and he became a commissioned officer and took part in several salvage and diving-related missions. He transferred into the Fleet Reserve in June 1946. He retired in December 1952 to St. Petersburg, Florida, where he decided to lay down roots.
At some point along the way, Crandall married a woman named Mary. According to the Tampa Bay Times, he operated a fishing guide boat out of Johns Pass during his retirement.
Crandall died May 10, 1960, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. The heavy salvage ship USS Crandall, which served the Navy from 1967 to 1993, was named in his honor.
As for the Squalus, it was decommissioned in November 1939, renamed Sailfish, and recommissioned on May 15, 1940. It was decommissioned again after World War II. Its conning tower was cut away and can now be found in a park at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard where memorial ceremonies are held every year in May.

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Anchors away
California constables ordered Etienne Constable of Seaside, CA to build a fence to hide the fishing boat he keeps in his driveway, apparently because it was an unappealing sight. So, with the help of a neighborhood artist, he built a fence featuring a life-like, detailed painting of his vessel. Neighbors and passers-by approved his solution as did the town’s City Manager, Nick Borges, who told reporters: "I thought, 'Wow, that's pretty creative.' I laughed at it. The only action I'm going to take is a high five."

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But they couldn’t prove it
It may seem unfair, but the gathering was so large that the Guinness World Record’s judges had to pass when evaluating the attempt of Drumheller, Alberta to gather the world’s biggest crowd of folks dressed as dinosaurs. Town officials said no less than 3,000 participants showed up for the event, but they couldn’t prove it, saying that “we could not obtain an exact measurement to officially break the record.” Notwithstanding the judges’ decision, the numbers attending the Alberta event were obviously so much larger than the 252 people who showed up in costume in Los Angeles in 2019 to win the event.

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You can do it if you want it
Al Blaschke won his first Guinness World Record for his skydive in 2020 when he was 103 years of age. But then a Swedish woman took the title; she was 103 and 259 days old. But when Al was approaching his 107 year old birthday recently, off he -- and his tandem partner -- went again into the wild blue yonder and took back his title. His advice for all of us as we grow older is to remember that "if you think you can't [do it, whatever it is], you're just underestimating yourself. Everyone is more capable than they think. They just need to make the decision to try."

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Serve summer safe with food safety tips from USDA

WASHINGTON – Memorial Day weekend is the official kickoff for summer, and as the weather heats up, so do the number of meals that will be served outside. Whether you’re eating with friends at the pool or family in a backyard cookout, food should be served safe to avoid foodborne illness. As you start to plan your outdoor activities and meals, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service is offering food safety tips to keep you safe from foodborne illness.
“The bacteria that cause foodborne illness love the summertime as much as we do because they thrive and multiply quickly in warmer temperatures. This causes illnesses to spike during the summer,” said Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Emilio Esteban. “As we all spend more time outside, it is important to remember these food safety steps to keep your friends and family safe.”
Wash Hands
The first step to serving summer foods safely is to start with clean hands. If running water is available, wet hands, lather with soap, scrub for 20 seconds, rinse and dry. If no running water is available, use hand sanitizer or moist towelettes that contain at least 60 percent alcohol.
Pack Perishables Safely
When traveling with perishable food to places like the pool, beach, summer camp, hiking, or a cookout, always use cold sources in coolers or insulated containers to keep food at a safe cold temperature below 40 F. Cold source options include ice, frozen gel packs, and frozen beverages (that do not require refrigeration for safety) such as water bottles, iced tea, and juices like apple and grape. Additional cooler tips:
Pack beverages in one cooler and perishable food in another cooler.
The beverage cooler may be opened frequently, causing the temperature inside the cooler to fluctuate and become unsafe for perishable foods.
Keep coolers and insulated bags out of the sun. Once outside, place them in the shade.
Full coolers or insulated bags will keep your perishable foods cold and safe for much longer than half-full ones.
Place an appliance thermometer (one traditionally used for the refrigerator or freezer) in the cooler so you can check to be sure the food stays at 40 F or below.
Keep Out of the Danger Zone
The Danger Zone is the temperature range where bacteria multiply rapidly between 40 and 140 F. Perishable foods, including meat and poultry, sliced fruits and vegetables, and cooked side dishes, should avoid the Danger Zone or be kept hot or cold to maintain food safety.
Cold foods must be kept at 40 F or below by placing them in the refrigerator, coolers, insulated containers, or nestled over ice.
Hot foods must be kept over 140 F by placing them on the grill, in heated chafing dishes, slow cooker, or warming trays.
Check the temperatures of cold and hot items frequently.
Follow the Two-Hour Rule
Foods that are kept hot or cold out of the Danger Zone or do not sit out for more than two hours (one hour if over 90 F) are safe to keep. Any other items would be considered unsafe and need to be discarded. When in doubt, throw it out!
If You Have Food Safety Questions
Call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854), email MPHotline@usda.gov or chat live at www.ask.usda.gov 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.

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Social Security Matters
by Russell Gloor, National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation, the non-profit arm of the Association of Mature American Citizens

Ask Rusty – I’m Working after age 65; Why Aren’t I Exempt from Medicare Part B Premium?

Dear Rusty: Why, as I continue to work after age 65 and have FICA taxes taken from my check, am I - or anyone - also compelled under the threat of penalties, rate increases, etc. to immediately take Medicare Part B? Am I not then effectively paying into the system twice? As more and more people over 65 continue to work, isn't that a consideration that should be evaluated by Congress - if one is working past 65, above a specific level of income and paying FICA taxes, the Medicare Part B premium is waived? Signed: Working Senior

Dear Working Senior: FYI, 6.2% of the FICA payroll taxes you pay while working goes to Social Security, and another 1.45% goes to fund Medicare Part A (hospitalization coverage, which is free to you). None of the FICA payroll tax you pay from your work earnings goes to fund Medicare Part B (coverage for outpatient services), which is the part of Medicare for which you must pay a premium.
Said another way, your FICA payroll taxes do fund Medicare Part A, which is free to you, but do not provide any funding for Medicare Part B. Part B is funded from two primary sources – the premiums paid by beneficiaries, and the federal government from the general Treasury. Premiums from enrollees pay for about 25% of Part B healthcare expenses and the remaining 75% of Part B operating expenses are paid from the general U.S. Treasury (not from Social Security money).
So, it’s necessary to separate Part B from your thinking about the payroll taxes you pay while working – you’re not paying anything to fund Part B through your FICA taxes. You aren’t compelled to enroll in Part B (it’s optional), but if you don’t enroll during your initial enrollment period (3 months on either side of the month you turn 65) and don’t have other equivalent “creditable” coverage from an employer, and you enroll in Part B later, a late enrollment penalty will apply (10% additional premium for each full year after age 65 you go without creditable healthcare coverage).
So, your premise in suggesting that Part B be free (the premium waived) if you’re working over a certain age or after an amount of time contributing to the program isn’t valid, because no one contributes to Medicare Part B through FICA payroll taxes – Part B beneficiary contributions are only made through premiums paid by those enrolled in it. And you don’t need to enroll in Part B if you have “creditable'' healthcare coverage from an employer. The Part B non-enrollment penalty only applies if you enroll after your initial enrollment period has expired and didn’t have “creditable” healthcare coverage after you turned 65. “Creditable” is a group plan with more than 20 participants.

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Ornamental and edible gardens and containers
By MELINDA MYERS

Boost the flavor and beauty of your landscape by adding a few ornamental edible plants to your garden beds and containers. Look for opportunities to substitute ornamental vegetables, fruit, herbs, and edible flowers for ornamental but nonedible plants.
A hanging basket of semi-determinate tomatoes like Lizzano and Torenzo or Pot-a-Peno peppers can dress up a deck or porch and keep the harvest within reach. Peppers like Quickfire and Cayenetta hot peppers, and sweet ones like Pretty N Sweet along with Patio Choice yellow cherry tomato are suitable for containers and small gardens.
Use asparagus as a backdrop in gardens. Look for disease-resistant cultivars like the recently introduced Millennium that is long-lived, cold-hardy, high-yielding, and adaptable to a variety of soils. After the harvest, the ferny greens create a nice backdrop and add a welcome texture to any flower garden.
Rhubarb makes a nice temporary shrub in sunny locations. The large leaves add bold texture and the colorful stems of Crimson Red and Canada Red varieties provide a bit of color to the garden bed. Just cut back the plants at the end of the season and watch for their return in spring.
Use strawberries as a groundcover. The white flowers, tasty red fruit, and fall color brighten the ground level of any full-to-part sun location in your landscape. Choose day-neutral or everbearing varieties to enjoy several harvests throughout the summer.
Include colorful tomato and pepper varieties in mixed borders and flower beds. Use decorative obelisks and supports when needed for added beauty in the garden.
Provide seasonal screening or add vertical interest to gardens by training the vining types of squash, melons, and cucumbers up supports. Growing vertically increases airflow and light penetration which helps reduce the risk of disease and increases productivity. Just sling heavy fruit to the support to prevent it from damaging the vines.
Purple, wax, and other colorful pole beans are another seasonal option that provides vertical interest in a garden bed or screens a bad view. You’ll find it easier to harvest and enjoy an extra picking with pole beans. Add colorful flowers and boost the hummingbird appeal by growing scarlet runner beans.
Or try Mascotte bush beans in containers. Grow this plant in a pretty container and, if needed, elevate it on a support for easy picking. You’ll enjoy a plentiful harvest of crisp slender beans held above the foliage for easy picking.
Dress up meals with edible flowers like nasturtiums, daylilies, and calendula. Just be sure they have not been treated with pesticides and remove the reproductive parts that can add bitterness to your meals.
Maximize the productivity of vegetable plants with proper care and regular harvesting, picking vegetables at their peak.

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‘Panda-monium’
Who would opt for a holiday visit to China? It’s not exactly among the world’s more glamorous holiday destinations. But if you love pandas it’s where you’ll find them-- usually. But beware: at least one zoo in China has run out of pandas and has been replacing them with Chow Chow dogs whose fur has been trimmed and dyed black-and-white to resemble the iconic Chinese bears.

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France wins ‘baguette’ award
Not to be outdone by their Italian neighbors, who held the Guinness World Record for the world’s longest baguette, French chefs baked away and produced a baguette that was 461 feet long. The Italians won the title in 2019 when they produced a 435-foot, 1-inch baguette. Soon after Guinness officials declared the French bakers were the new winners of the title they served the tasty bread to attendees at the show.

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He did it with ‘gator aid’
A trapper from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission wrestled with a nine foot long alligator that showed up at an elementary school in Wesley Chapel, Florida, recently. The gator won the first round when it tossed him off its back. But in the end the trapper, with help, was able to subdue the nasty critter as kids were leaving school for the day.

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5 tips to help seniors start exercising and get fit

Fredericksburg Fitness Studio, a private personal training studio, helps people of all ages with their health and fitness goals

FREDERICKSBURG, Virginia — National Senior Health and Fitness Day is held every year on the last Wednesday in May. It's a time to put seniors in the spotlight and encourage them to get started on a quest to get healthy and fitter. Even if they have never exercised regularly, they can still get started and reap tremendous benefits from their efforts. It comes down to knowing how to start one's journey toward better health and fitness.
"Exercise is for everyone, no matter what age you may be," explains Jennifer Scherer, a registered dietitian nutritionist, medical exercise specialist, certified personal trainer, and owner of Fredericksburg Fitness Studio. “If you are still alive, you are a good candidate for exercising and working on fitness goals!"
It's always possible to benefit from exercising. The journal BioMed Research International published a study that looked at the importance of physical activity exercise among older people. They report that physical activity is a driver for a healthy and long life in older people. Additionally, they report that being physically active provides some protective factors, helping to reduce risks of cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, and some types of cancer. It is also beneficial for improving mental health, delaying the onset of dementia, and improving quality of life and well-being.
According to the National Institute on Aging, deciding to become physically active can be one of the best things someone can do for their health. They suggest that adults aim to get at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking or line dancing. Those doing vigorous activity, such as running, can aim for 75 minutes weekly. They also recommend lifting weights on two days per week.
The good news is that getting started is not as difficult as it may seem. Here are 5 tips to help seniors start exercising and get fit:
Check with the doctor. This type of disclaimer is common, but it is a good idea to run it by the doctor to ensure no concerns. Most people will be given the green light, but it's a good idea to let the doctor know and see if there are any concerns or suggestions.
Know what is needed. Most types of exercise programs require some sort of equipment. At the very least, a new pair of good fitness shoes may be in order. Check to see what items are needed and get them so that there are no excuses or issues that arise.
Set some goals. Each person should determine what they want to accomplish with their new fitness goals. They should be written down to be evaluated at various benchmarks and adjusted. The only way to know if goals have been accomplished is to set them in the first place.
Start slowly. A big mistake that those new to exercising make is that they bite off more than they can comfortably chew. It's always a good idea to start slowly and build up to doing more. This gives the body (and mind) a chance to transition and get used to doing the activity.
Get support. Most people benefit from having a support system. Support increases one's chances of being successful at reaching goals and sticking with a new lifestyle change.
“We are happy to help seniors get started and provide them with the support they need to stick with it,” added Scherer. “We can tailor a program to fit your goals and needs, help you track the progress, and keep you moving.”
One program that many seniors can benefit from that is offered at Fredericksburg Fitness Studio is Pilates. Research published in the Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation shared the research results to see if Pilates helps with bone strength in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis. They concluded that Pilates increased bone mineral density and walking distance and helped to relieve pain.
Additionally, The European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology, and Education reported in March 2022 that Pilates can benefit the elderly. Their study found that those over the age of 60 who started doing Pilates improved their balance, strength, mobility, functional capacity, and mental and psychological health. They also report that it reduced the risk of falling.

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Medal of Honory: Army 1st Lt. Jimmie W. Monteith Jr.
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News
Of all the men who fought and died on D-Day, Army 1st Lt. Jimmie W. Monteith Jr.'s actions might have been the most crucial toward the Allies gaining a foothold in Europe. Through the chaos that ensued on Omaha Beach, Monteith led his soldiers through minefields and heavy fire, fighting their way up steep bluffs to cut past German defenses until they reached vital inland positions. Monteith didn't survive the day, but his efforts earned him the Medal of Honor.
Monteith was born July 1, 1917, in rural Low Moor, Virginia, to Caroline and James Monteith Sr. He had two older siblings, Robert and Nancy.
When Monteith was 9, his family moved to the state capital, Richmond. Growing up, he was an active student who was involved in several clubs, and his 6-foot-2-inch frame made him good at sports like basketball and football.
After graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1937, Monteith attended Virginia Tech University, where his father and brother both went. He studied mechanical engineering and was a member of the Corps of Cadets, where he was known to have a good sense of humor. However, after two years, he decided he didn't want to pursue college anymore, so he dropped out and went to work at a coal company where his father served as vice president.
A little more than two years later, in October 1941, Monteith was drafted into the Army. He earned a commission as an infantry officer by June 1942 and was sent to serve at Fort McClellan, Alabama. While there, he learned that his father had died and that his brother had received a commission into the Navy.
In April 1943, Monteith was shipped overseas to Algeria with the 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division. Within a few days, though, enemy troops in Africa surrendered, ending the campaign there. A short time later, Monteith's unit was sent to fight in Sicily, where Monteith received a promotion to first lieutenant.
By December 1943, the 1st Infantry Division was on its way to England to prepare for the Invasion of Normandy — an effort that would include more than 160,000 Allied forces to become the largest air, land and sea assault ever executed.
On June 6, 1944 — D-Day — Monteith landed in the initial wave of troops near Colleville-Sur-Mer, France, known as Omaha Beach. But a lot of problems hampered their arrival.
Omaha Beach was the most heavily defended of the five beaches attacked by Allies that day. Its cliffs and high bluffs were expected to be difficult for troops to traverse, but it turned out to be even worse than expected. Soldiers encountered pillboxes surrounded by barbed wire and were hammered by artillery, machine guns and flamethrowers as they tried to gain a foothold on the beach.
According to the Medal of Honor Museum, of the 36 amphibious tanks sent to support the 16th Infantry Regiment's assault, only five made it to the beach. Heavy seas and various underwater obstacles threw off the landings, and many men were killed by the barrage of gunfire before they made it to shore. A lot of the supporting equipment, including tanks, were swamped in waist-deep water.
Monteith and his fellow soldiers in L Company were on one of the boats that didn't hit their mark, instead landing 500 yards to the left of its targeted landing zone. However, according to the museum, the company was still one of only eight in that initial wave to remain operational as a unit. And under Monteith's leadership, they excelled despite the odds.
As soon as they landed, Monteith disregarded his own safety to move up and down the beach, reorganizing men before leading an assault through heavy fire over a ledge and across exposed terrain before reaching the comparative safety of a cliff. A letter from a soldier in Monteith's platoon later said that the first lieutenant led them through heavy barbed wire and two minefields to get there.
As those men regrouped, Monteith retraced his steps across the field to the beach, where he saw two operational Sherman tanks being bombarded by enemy artillery and machine gun fire. Monteith made his way to them and banged on their sides, telling the men inside to follow him. Despite intense fire, he led them on foot through a minefield and into firing positions, where they were able to destroy an enemy pillbox and two machine gun nests.
From there, Monteith rejoined his company and led them on an assault on a German strongpoint leading off the beach. After heavy fighting, his men captured an important position on a hill.
According to his Medal of Honor citation, Monteith supervised the defense of the position against repeated counterattacks, and continuing to ignore his own personal safety, he repeatedly crossed several hundred yards of embattled open terrain to strengthen links in his company's defensive chain and fight off new threats.
Eventually, enemy troops completely surrounded the unit. While leading the fight out of the situation, Monteith was struck by machine gun bullets and killed.
Monteith's intense valor and will to lead in a dire situation helped the Allies find an important pathway to push further into Normandy and seize inland objectives. His Medal of Honor citation said his gallantry and courage were "worthy of emulation."
On D-Day, American troops suffered the worst losses of all the Allied troops involved. About 2,400 casualties were reported on Omaha Beach alone — more than the other four beachheads combined.
According to a collection of records regarding Monteith's life kept at Virginia Tech's archives, Monteith was initially slated to get the Distinguished Service Cross. However, when Army Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower — the Allied supreme commander during World War II who led the Normandy invasion — was given Monteith's recommendation, the honor was adjusted.
"I must say that the thing looks like a Medal of Honor to me. This man was good," Eisenhower wrote his chief of staff about Monteith.
The Medal of Honor was presented to Monteith's mother during a ceremony at her home in Richmond on March 19, 1945. Afterward, his mother hung the medal across a picture of her son on her mantel. Monteith's brother, who served in the Navy, survived the war and went on to become an electrical engineer.
Monteith is buried in the Normandy American Cemetery in France, which overlooks Omaha Beach and the English Channel.
Monteith's memory lives on. When the war ended, a 15,000-seat amphitheater at Fort McClellan, where Monteith initially served, was renamed in his honor. Barracks for housing at the 16th Infantry Regiment headquarters in Furth, Germany, were also given his name.
In 1949, Virginia Tech named a new residence hall Monteith Hall. Other places that bear his name include a road at Fort Moore (formerly Fort Benning) and an Army Reserve center in Richmond. As recently as 1999, a Kosovo Security Force base taken over by U.S. Marines was named Camp Monteith in his honor.
Monteith's Medal of Honor is on display at Virginia Tech's Corps of Cadets Museum.

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Social Security Matters
By RUSSELL GLOOR
National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Future Retiree Worried About Social Security’s Future

Dear Rusty: I keep reading that the SSA will only be able to pay out 75% of benefits come 2033. If congress were to do nothing and this reduction in benefits occurred, would seniors already collecting benefits in 2033 have their benefits reduced or would it only be those who have not begun to collect have their future benefits reduced? I will be collecting my benefits no later than 2027 but my wife will not reach full retirement age until 2033 and we are looking for information on whether we need to adjust savings now to account for mine or my wife's possible reduction in benefits. Signed: Worried Senior
Dear Worried Senior: If Congress does nothing to prevent Social Security’s reserves from depletion, Social Security – by law - will only be able to pay out benefits equal to income, which is estimated to be about 23% to 25% short of what will be needed to pay full benefits starting in 2033. That would mean everyone who is already receiving monthly Social Security benefits would get a payment 23% to 25% less than they were previously receiving. And without reform, new beneficiaries would get benefits similarly reduced.
The action needed to prevent those cuts from happening resides with Congress, and any program reform they enact would likely only affect those who are not yet collecting. Whether or how that would affect you and your wife as future SS beneficiaries depends on the scope of reform Congress will enact which, of course, is not yet known. That uncertainty, itself, is reason enough to bolster your savings for your future retirement.
The probability of Congress allowing the Trust Funds to be depleted, thus necessitating an across the board cut in everyone’s benefit is, in my opinion, slim (it would be political suicide). Congress already knows how to fix Social Security’s financial woes – they just currently lack the bipartisanship and political fortitude to do so. And it’s doubtful any Social Security reform will happen this election year - rather, the opposing sides will likely just sling accusations at each other in 2024. But rest assured that both sides of Congress are acutely aware that reform of the Social Security program is needed soon, and we are already seeing signs that progress on reform may be forthcoming (but not until after the 2024 elections).
Congress is notorious for waiting until the last possible moment to act, and I don’t suggest you alter your Social Security claiming strategy based on the unknown. But building a bigger nest egg for retirement is always a prudent goal. Also, calling your Congressional Representative to endorse needed Social Security reform which ensures your future benefits will not be cut would be a good move.

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Gardening helps grow healthy, happy kids

by MELINDA MYERS

Gardeners know and research is proving that gardening, even viewing a garden, as well as spending time in nature is good for the mind, body, and spirit. It improves strength and flexibility, lowers blood pressure, and elevates our moods.
This is also true for the youngsters in our lives. Recent studies found that school-aged children who participate in outdoor activities have better vision than those who spend most of their time indoors. Children who engage in nature and gardening are more focused, score better on exams, and are less likely to develop or exhibit symptoms of ADHD. And kids who play outside and get a bit dirty also have stronger immune systems.
Help get the kids in your life involved in gardening. There are a variety of ways to get youngsters involved no matter how much space or time you have.
Consider giving each child their own garden space or a container garden to design, plant, and tend. Containers are a great option when planting space and time are limited. And just about anything can be grown in a pot. An old 5-gallon bucket or washtub with holes drilled into the bottom, recycled nursery pots, or a colorful raised planter make great gardens.
Provide them with some kid-sized tools and equipment. The tools’ smaller scale will be easier for them to handle and having their own tools that match yours makes gardening even more special. Consider investing in a set of kids’ gardening tools including hand tools, long-handled tools, and even a wheelbarrow like those at Corona Tools USA (coronatools.com).
Keep in mind the goal is for kids to have fun and develop an interest in gardening. You may need to bite your tongue when their combinations are rather unique, or plants are spaced improperly. Provide some guidance but be prepared to let them experiment and learn from their failures as well as successes.
Kids like to water even at an early age. The biggest challenge is getting the water to the plant but that will come with time, practice, and a few water-soaked outfits. Your efforts will be rewarded when your child takes over watering your container gardens.
You may notice kids often find bugs and worms more interesting than plants. Use this as a gateway into gardening. Get kids involved in worm composting or hunting for earthworms in the compost pile. They will have fun on the worm hunt while helping you turn your compost pile.
Use the “Pluck, Drop and Stomp” method to manage garden pests. Point out the bad guys and the damage they do. Be sure they know to watch for the good guys and leave them be to help the garden grow. Then have the children pluck the bad bugs off the plant, drop them to the ground, and stomp on them. This eco-friendly pest management strategy also burns some of that excess energy.
Include lots of color in the garden and containers. Michigan State University surveyed kids before creating their children’s garden. They found kids were much more excited and likely to participate when a garden is filled with color.
And as the flowers are maturing and your family is overrun with vegetables, consider sharing the harvest and a few bouquets of flowers. Giving helps children grow into caring, well-rounded adults. And food pantries in your community are always in need of fresh produce. Most of the food-insecure people in our communities are kids and seniors who greatly benefit from fresh nutritious vegetables.
Be sure to end the growing season with a harvest party. Use your homegrown produce to prepare a picnic or fancy dinner for family and friends. Then use some of those beautiful flowers you grew to decorate the table.

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‘Buzz’
Don’t dismiss it if your child is afraid of the “monster” in her bedroom; check it out. A North Carolina mom, Ashley Class, didn’t believe it when her three-year-old daughter told her that there was a “monster” hiding behind the wall in her bedroom. But when mom and dad heard odd, buzzing noises they called beekeeper Curtis Collins to check it out. Collins discovered the noises were coming from some 50,000 bees hiding inside the walls.

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The goat that got away
It was easy for Jeffrey the goat to make his getaway in Kansas City, Missouri. After all, he is a mountain goat. They found him hiding 80 feet off the ground under a roadway and rescuers managed to get a rope around him. But Jeffrey didn’t surrender. Instead, he tried to escape by jumping from ledge to ledge. He finally fell to the ground, landing on padding provided by local firefighters.

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Ophidiophobia Magnus
Half of our population suffers from Ophidiophobia, better known as the fear of snakes. But we shouldn’t, says Melissa Amarello, executive director of Advocates for Snake Preservation. After all, she says, “they swallow their food whole, and in the United States there are no snakes big enough to eat us.” However, researchers tell us that they’ve discovered the remains of a very large snake that roamed western India 47 million years ago and was big enough to swallow you whole. The remains showed it be as big as 50 feet long and could have weighed as much as 2,200 pounds. Pretty scary!

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Medal of Honor: Army Command Sgt. Maj. Robert M. Patterson

By KATIE LANGE
DOD News |

For a lot of military heroes, actions taken in battle are carried out without thinking, and they're sometimes hazy afterward due to the fog of war. For Army Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Martin Patterson, the actions that earned him the Medal of Honor during a firefight in Vietnam had to be reiterated to him because he couldn't remember most of it.
Patterson was born in Carpenter, North Carolina, and raised in nearby Fayetteville, near Fort Bragg. He had four sisters and an older brother. The family was poor, so at an early age, Patterson helped as best he could by working on the family's tobacco farm, where he said he plowed fields using a mule because they didn't have tractors.
During his last year of high school in 1966, Patterson dropped out to join the Army. He was initially placed with the 82nd Airborne Division before being transferred to the 101st Airborne Division's 17th Cavalry Regiment in August 1967 in preparation for a tour in Vietnam. The unit deployed that December.
In a Library of Congress Veterans History Project interview, Patterson said he was welcomed to Vietnam with an immediate mortar attack. In his first few months of deployment, he carried out several convoy escorts and search-and-destroy missions.
On May 6, 1968, Patterson's unit was tasked with sweeping an area near the village of La Chu to search for enemy soldiers who'd reportedly moved in.
Then a specialist fourth class, Patterson was a fire team leader in a 34-man platoon. He said they came across no problems until about 1 p.m., when they neared the village and ran into a well-armed and much larger North Vietnamese Army battalion. Patterson's platoon sergeant was shot almost immediately, and its lead squad was quickly pinned down by heavy automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenade fire from two enemy bunkers.
"It's strange to hear things go whistling over your head," Patterson said of the little he remembered from that day. "We had very little cover to get down behind — a little tree here, a mound of dirt over there."
After this point, Patterson said he doesn't remember anything for a few hours. But according to his Medal of Honor citation and what he was told, he and two members of his team moved forward under a hail of gunfire to destroy the enemy's bunkers.
Soon after, Patterson noticed that more of his comrades were being fired on by a third bunker that was being defended by enemy soldiers in one-man positions known as spider holes. Without hesitation, Patterson moved forward — despite the intense small-arms and grenade fire — to successfully assault and destroy those positions.
But again — Patterson doesn't remember it.
"The platoon sergeant being shot is the last thing I remember. Everything else is just a blank blur," Patterson said in his 2003 Library of Congress interview. "The next thing I knew, it was 5 o'clock that afternoon, and I was in a 500-pound-bomb crater."
He said he and several injured and fallen comrades stayed in the crater until eventually continuing their assault through the night.
In total, Patterson single-handedly destroyed five enemy bunkers, killed eight enemy soldiers and captured seven weapons. His courageous actions helped his unit advance, allowing them to eventually penetrate the enemy's defensive position.
The next day, Patterson received the Silver Star — something he was a bit confused by.
"I was thinking to myself, 'Why did I get this? I didn't do anything.' And that's when we found out that we had actually gone up against a reinforced regiment," Patterson said.
After that, Patterson continued with his deployment as usual until he returned home in December 1968, right after being promoted to sergeant. At some point, he married a woman named Linda and had two sons.
Several months after his return, in September 1969, Patterson said he was bewildered to learn that he had been nominated for the Medal of Honor. On Oct. 9, 1969, Patterson received the nation's highest honor for valor from President Richard M. Nixon during a White House ceremony. Three other soldiers also received the medal that day.
Patterson said that, over time, he's learned that wearing the medal is much harder than what it took to earn it.
"I think that a person who wears the Medal of Honor is not wearing it for themselves. They're wearing it for everyone who was there, particularly for those who didn't come back," he said. "Everything I do, before I do it, I will stop and think, 'Is it going to embarrass that medal?' … If it is, then I won't do it."
Patterson remained in the military until he retired as a command sergeant major in 1991 after serving in the Gulf War. He went on to work as a benefits counselor at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Patterson divorced at some point. While working for the VA in 2005, he met another woman named Linda, whom he married in 2007. The latter Linda Patterson said her husband was so humble that she didn't even know he had earned the Medal of Honor until six months after they'd started dating.
Patterson retired from the VA in 2010 after having triple bypass surgery, according to his wife. The couple eventually moved to Pensacola, Florida, where they currently live. Patterson enjoys NASCAR and watching golf, and he often speaks about his experiences at military and high school events.
Earlier this year, Patterson attended a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in recognition of Medal of Honor Day.

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Social Security Matters
By RUSSELL GLOOR
National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Widower’s Retirement Stymied by Social Security’s “WEP” and “GPO” Rules
Dear Rusty: My wife passed away 4 years ago. I want to retire so called SSA and was told I can collect my own SS at 62, reduced by WEP. My wife’s SS was greater than mine, but they said I do not qualify for hers at age 60 because of the GPO. This seems odd that I get zero for her, however I can collect mine at the two thirds reduction at 62. Is this true? This zero dollar amount places my retirement on hold for now. I was counting on her SS. Signed: Discouraged Widower
Dear Discouraged: The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) are two of the most confusing (and unpopular) of Social Security’s myriad rules. From the way you describe your conversation with the Social Security Administration, it doesn’t appear to have concluded with you fully understanding how these provisions work, so allow me to elaborate.
WEP and GPO affect anyone who has a retirement pension from a federal, state, or local government agency which did not participate in Social Security, meaning neither the employee nor the employer paid into Social Security based on the employee’s earnings. Obviously, you have such a pension, which means that WEP will reduce any Social Security retirement benefit you have earned from other employment where SS payroll taxes were withheld, and the GPO will affect any survivor benefit you are entitled to.
WEP affects only the SS retirement benefit you earned elsewhere; WEP does not affect any surviving spouse benefit you might be entitled to from your wife. Rather, it is the GPO which affects your survivor benefit, again because of your state retirement (called a “non-covered pension” - one earned without contributing to Social Security). The GPO will reduce any surviving spouse benefit you might be entitled to by 2/3rds of the amount of your “non-covered” state pension. Depending on the size of your state pension, that reduction may entirely eliminate your surviving spouse benefit from your wife.
Under normal SS rules, a surviving spouse does not become eligible for survivor benefits until they reach age 60 (age 50 if disabled). Normally, a surviving spouse benefit claimed at age 60 is reduced by 28.5% and it is the GPO (not WEP) that will affect your survivor benefit whenever you claim it. However, even without GPO, your age 60 survivor benefit amount would be only 71.5% of the amount your wife was receiving (or entitled to receive) at her death. If you are already collecting your non-covered state pension when you claim your SS survivor benefit from your wife, then that reduced age 60 survivor benefit would be offset by 2/3rds of the amount of your state pension. And that (according to what Social Security told you) is what eliminated your age 60 eligibility for a surviving spouse benefit from your wife. If you don’t claim it at 60 your survivor benefit will continue to grow until you reach your full retirement age (FRA) of 67, but if 2/3rds of your state pension is more than 100% of your SS survivor benefit, you still won’t get any surviving spouse benefit from your wife’s record.
A further consequence of your non-covered state pension is that the SS retirement benefit you earned elsewhere will be reduced by WEP. WEP will reduce, but cannot eliminate, your Social Security retirement benefit. The WEP formula is complex but, generally, your WEP-based Social Security retirement benefit will likely be roughly half of what you would get if you did not have a state “non-covered pension.” You could claim your WEP-reduced SS retirement benefit as early as age 62 or, if financially feasible, delay longer to get a somewhat higher (but still reduced) amount.
Just FYI, your state employer had an obligation to fully inform you of the consequences of not contributing to Social Security while earning your state pension. It appears as though they may not have fulfilled that obligation.

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10 healthy aging tips for older Americans

Alzheimer’s Foundation of America offers lifestyle choices that promote healthy aging & help reduce dementia risk

As part of Older Americans Month this May, the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) is offering 10 steps for healthy aging so that older adults can be proactive about their brain health.
“As we honor and celebrate the older adults who are a vital, vibrant part of our communities during National Older Americans Month, we also want to help them to be proactive about their brain health, because the risk of developing dementia increases with age,” said Jennifer Reeder, LCSW, AFA’s Director of Educational and Social Services. “Empowering older adults with information about positive, brain-healthy lifestyle choices they can make will go a long way to helping them remain active members of our society for years to come.”
Ten steps for healthy aging:
1. Eat Well- Adopt a low-fat diet high on fruits and vegetables such as strawberries, blueberries, and broccoli. Take daily vitamins. Limit intake of red meats, fried and processed foods, salt, and sugar. In general, foods that are “heart healthy” are also “brain healthy.”
2. Stay Active- Physical activity increases blood flow to the brain and can also help improve mood and general well-being. Brisk walking benefits brain health; aerobic exercise boosts your heart rate; weight training builds strength and flexibility.
3. Learn New Things- Learning new things exercises and strengthens your brain. Taking a class, trying a new activity, or engaging in any new cognitive pursuit causes your brain to think outside of its normal routine and provides cognitive stimulation. Even something as simple as brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand stimulates the brain.
4. Get Enough Sleep- Getting consistent sleep every night is key; at least seven to nine hours is ideal. Having a good sleep environment is also helpful. Make sure you do low-key activities before getting into bed so you are not overstimulated. Avoid caffeinated drinks close to your bedtime. Insomnia can have serious physical effects and negatively affect memory and thinking.
5. Mind Your Meds- Medication can affect everyone differently, especially as you age. When getting a new medication or something you have not taken recently, (whether over the counter or prescription), consult with your doctor or local pharmacist.
6. Stop Smoking and Limit Alcohol- Smoking can increase the risk of other serious illnesses, while too much alcohol can impair judgment and cause accidents, including falls, broken bones, and car crashes.
7. Stay Connected- Prolonged social isolation and loneliness are detrimental to your health, and can increase the risk of a number of different health conditions, including dementia-related illnesses, heart disease, and stroke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Spending time with loved ones and friends, participating in group activities, and getting involved in local community groups are all ways of connecting with other people, keeping your brain active, and helping you feel more engaged with the world around you.
8. Know Your Blood Pressure- Blood pressure can affect your cognitive functioning. Visit your physician regularly to check your blood pressure and make sure it is within normal range.
9. See Your Doctor- Maintain checkups. Health screenings are key to managing chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity, all of which can impact brain health. Speak with your physician about any health-related concerns or questions you have.
10. Get a Memory Screening- Memory impairments are not a normal part of aging; they can be caused by a number of different conditions. Because of this, early detection of memory impairments is essential. Memory screenings are quick, noninvasive screenings that should be part of everyone’s health and wellness routine, even if you’re not currently experiencing memory issues. AFA offers free virtual memory screenings every weekday, with no minimum age or insurance prerequisites—visit www.alzfdn.org or call AFA at 866-232-8484 for more information about getting a free virtual memory screening.
Individuals wishing to learn more about healthy aging and promoting good brain health can contact the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s Helpline at 866-232-8484 or visit AFA’s website, www.alzfdn.org. The Helpline is available seven days a week.

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Boost the beauty and comfort of your outdoor spaces
By MELINDA MYERS

Add some comfort and beauty to your outdoor spaces this year. Look for options that fit your lifestyle, budget, and schedule. Even simple changes can make a positive impact on the time you spend relaxing and entertaining on your patio, deck, or other outdoor spaces.
Freshen up the look and comfort of these areas with some new furniture. Look for comfortable pieces made of durable materials guaranteed to provide years of enjoyment. If this is not within your budget, consider refurbishing something you already have, are gifted from a friend, or find in a thrift shop. Adding a bit of paint, new cushions, or even colorful pillows can transform older pieces into something special.
Add some shade. A strategically placed umbrella can provide needed relief from the sun. Make sure it is stable and secure, especially in windy locations. Consider shade sails not only for the shade they provide but also for their aesthetic appeal. Make sure it is securely anchored and supported, properly managed during harsh weather, and made of fire-retardant fabric if this is a concern in your location. Pergolas are more permanent structures. Train deciduous vines up and over this structure for added shade in the summer. Then enjoy the warming sunlight when the vines drop their leaves during the cooler months of the year.
Create some privacy with strategically placed plantings and containers. Tall grasses, narrow upright shrubs, and vine-covered trellises can help block unwanted views while creating a private space outdoors. Consider the views you want to keep and those you want to block. Screen unsightly views and areas where neighbors can see into your space. You may only need a vine-covered trellis, several hanging baskets, a couple of pots, or a section of fencing rather than a long hedge or length of fencing.
Soften the look of fencing with some wall-mounted planters, a few potted plants or shrubs, and in-ground plantings if space allows. Use a diverse selection of plants when creating a living screen. This provides more seasonal interest and makes it easier to replace that one failed plant in a mature hedge of evergreens like arborvitaes.
Water is another way to add a bit of serenity to your space. A wall-mounted fountain, small container of water plants, or container fountain will add noise-blocking sound and a sense of serenity to any space.
To control pesky mosquitoes in water features (or in any standing water), add a mosquito control like Mosquito Dunks and Bits (SummitResponsibleSolutions.com) that contains a naturally occurring bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis to the water. This active ingredient kills mosquito larvae, preventing them from transforming into biting adults. Mosquito Bits quickly knock down the mosquito larval population, while the Mosquito Dunks provide 30 days of control. They both are safe for pets, fish, wildlife, and children.
Extend the time you can spend outdoors by adding a heat source for those chilly days and nights and a fan to keep air moving and the space cooler on hot days. Adding a fan also provides some relief from mosquitoes. These weak fliers can’t fight the breeze which will keep you out of their reach and much more comfortable.
Include lighting so you can enjoy your outdoor space in the evening. Consider a string of lights overhead, rail lights around the deck, or strategically placed illuminated plant containers. Create a more intimate experience with a few votive candles displayed in unique holders like old punch cups.
Light a few citronella candles for a bit of ambiance and mosquito control when enjoying your outdoor space in the evening. Citronella oil and the scented candles have some mosquito-repelling properties. Scatter lots of candles throughout the space when entertaining. Position the candles within a few feet of yourself and your guests for some short-term relief from these pests.
Start with a list of improvements you want to make. Then get busy researching the various options so you will be ready to boost the comfort and enjoyment of your patio, deck and other outdoor spaces this year.

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Brumation
This alligator managed to survive, thanks to brumation—the ability for reptiles to slow down their bodily functions. The critter had been trapped in a drainage pipe in Hilton Head, SC for some six months. According to wildlife expert Matt Kraycar, brumation “is basically like hibernation for reptiles. So as it gets cooler, they're going to shut their body down. So by doing that, he doesn't really need to eat as much as he typically would during the summer, and I'm sure there were still fish and turtles coming through those pipes as well, so it didn't look like he was starving by any means."

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The Key Lime pup
Golden Retrievers come in light golden, golden, and dark golden. But Shamrock, a newborn retriever belonging to Carole DeBruler, owner of Florida's Golden Treasures Kennel, came into this world wearing a rather attractive light green coat. The pup’s coloration was the result of biliverdin, a green bile sometimes found in the wombs of mother dogs, according to the experts. And, they say, Shamrock’s coat will eventually bear the standard yellow color of retrievers.

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It was fate
She lost her wedding ring on Galveston Island, TX but Deysi Maldonado was lucky enough to have the Galveston Island Treasure Hunters Club come to the rescue. But, as it turned out, it wasn’t the metal detectors that helped find her band of gold. It was a couple who accidentally came across the ring. Caleb Brignac and his girlfriend were digging in the sand, came across a fishing net that was partially buried and, as fate would have it, when they pulled it out of the sand out came the diamond ring.

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Medal of Honor: Army Tech. 5th Grade John J. Pinder Jr.

By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News

June 6, 1944, was a monumental day for Army Technician 5th Grade John Joseph Pinder Jr. Aside from it being his 32nd birthday, it was also when he joined thousands of other Allied troops to storm the beaches of Normandy, France, on D-Day. Omaha Beach was hell on earth for soldiers that day, but Pinder carried out his mission with honor before succumbing to his many wounds. His valor earned him a posthumous Medal of Honor.
Pinder was born June 6, 1912, in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, to Laura Belle and John Pinder Sr. He had two younger siblings, Martha and Harold, and he went by his middle name, Joe.
Pinder's father worked in the steel industry, which caused the family to relocate within the state a few times. Their first move was about a half-hour away, to Burgettstown, before relocating again about an hour north to Butler, where Pinder graduated as the valedictorian of his high school class in 1931.
Pinder excelled at baseball and played in the minor leagues for about seven years. He was a pitcher in Georgia and Florida for farm teams that fed players to the New York Yankees, Washington Senators and Cleveland Indians. During his time in the South, Pinder met and got engaged to a woman named Ruby Gillian.
Unfortunately, the two weren't able to marry before Pinder was drafted into the Army in January 1942. He was a radio operator assigned to the 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division.
Later that year, the unit left for England where, in 1943, Pinder was able to meet up with his younger brother, known as Hal, who had also been drafted as a bomber pilot in the Army Air Corps. At that time, the brothers hadn't seen each other in two years, a 1945 Pittsburgh Press article said.
While overseas, Joe Pinder took part in various combat campaigns, including those in Africa and Sicily, before being tapped to take part in D-Day — the biggest land, air and sea invasion in history that finally gave the Allies a foothold in Nazi Europe. By this time, Pinder had worked his way up to the rank of technician 5th grade, the equivalent of a corporal.
On June 6, 1944, Pinder's unit was in the first wave of Allied troops to assault Colleville-sur-Mer — better known as Omaha Beach. Unfortunately, the Germans were ready for them and immediately began pummeling transport ships before troops were able to land near shore.
An artillery shell landed near Pinder's boat and tore holes in it, killing some men immediately and causing chaos among those left inside. As the vessel began to fill with water, its ramp opened to let the men out about 100 yards offshore. Devasting machine gun and artillery fire rained down on them as they tried to wade their way to land in waist-deep water. Many were killed before they even got to shore.
As Pinder struggled through the waves, he carried vitally important radio equipment on his shoulder — and back then, radios used in war weighed about 80 pounds. He was only a few yards from his boat when he was hit twice by enemy fire, with one hit tearing into the left side of his face. Witnesses said Pinder continued forward holding the equipment in one arm and the flesh from his face with the other hand.
Refusing to take cover or get medical attention, Pinder delivered the radio to the shore. He then turned around and went back into the fire-swept surf to gather more parts and equipment. He knew setting up communications was crucial to directing naval and air support that could take out the German installations decimating the shoreline. It was the only way they would survive the ordeal.
Pinder ran back into the surf twice that day, despite the fierce pain he suffered. On the third trip, he was hit a few times by a machine gun, but he still refused to stop. He got back to the beach and helped troops set up the communications equipment before passing out from blood loss. He died later that day.
Meanwhile, in January 1944, Pinder's pilot brother crashed in Belgium during a raid over Germany and was taken prisoner. Pinder had worried about his brother for months and never got to find out if he survived. Hal Pinder spent 14 months in a prisoner-of-war camp, which is where he learned of his older brother's death. He was finally released and sent home when the war ended.
Of the five beaches on which the Allies landed on D-Day, Omaha Beach was the largest, and its troops suffered about 2,400 casualties — more than the other four beachfronts combined. Joe Pinder's bravery during the chaos served as huge inspiration for those who survived.
For his valor, Pinder was awarded the Medal of Honor. Pinder's father received the honor on his son's behalf on Jan. 26, 1945, during a ceremony at the 5th Regiment Armory in Baltimore. Pinder was one of 12 soldiers who took part in the D-Day landings to receive the nation's highest honor. Of the 12, nine received the award posthumously.
Pinder was initially buried at a U.S. military cemetery in Normandy, but his family chose to bring him home in 1947. He now rests in Grandview Cemetery in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, where a monument was dedicated to him in 2000. There's also a plaque dedicated to the fallen corporal at the McKees Rocks War Memorial.
Pinder Barracks, a U.S. military post near Nuremberg, Germany, stood in his honor from 1945 to 1995. After it was torn down, the park that replaced it was named Pinder Park.
Pinder's Medal of Honor was donated by his family to the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum in Pittsburgh, along with letters he wrote home and the contents of his wallet that were recovered in Normandy, according to a 2019 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article. The museum said Pinder's medal is part of its permanent collection, but it is currently on loan to the National Museum of the United States Army for the upcoming 80th commemoration of D-Day.

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House Call

Dr. Bala Simon, associate professor Department of Family and Preventive Medicine
College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Q:. What is Huntington's Disease?
A: A: Huntington’s disease (HD) is a rare disorder that affects the brain. An inherited condition, HD causes the nerve cells in the brain that control memory and movement to progressively break down and die. The Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center estimates that fewer than 5,000 people in the United States have HD.
HD is caused by a mutation in the gene that produces the protein huntingtin. A child of a parent who has HD has a 50% chance of inheriting the gene mutation. It is possible for HD to develop in people without a family history.
Symptoms can occur at any time, including in those younger than 20, but signs of HD often appear in people in their 30s and 40s. These symptoms may include depression, involuntary jerking movements, muscle rigidity, problems with speech or difficulty focusing on tasks.
There is no cure for HD, nor is there any way to prevent it. Treatment generally focuses on making symptoms tolerable, including drugs to control movement and manage emotions. Contact your health care provider if you experience symptoms related to HD, particularly if you have a family history.

Q: Why might a patient be placed in intensive care?
A: A: Intensive care units (ICUs) are sections in a hospital that provide specialized care and monitoring. They may also be referred to as critical care units or intensive care wards. Most of us are generally familiar with ICUs, whether from being in one or having experienced it with a family member or friend.
Patients admitted to an ICU have issues that can include needing support to breathe, a severe head injury, a serious short-term condition such as a heart attack, an infection such as pneumonia, or an extremely high or low pulse rate. Patients may also be in an ICU to recover from surgery.
ICU patients are monitored and treated with equipment such as catheters, feeding tubes, intravenous tubes for fluid or medications, an oscilloscope for heart rate, or ventilators. Monitoring occurs more frequently in an ICU, with vital signs such as blood pressure, oxygen levels, heart rate and respiratory rate continuously displayed.
An ICU can be a stressful place for patients, family members and friends. Visitation may be limited to allow the patient to adequately rest and to prevent the spread of infection. Many facilities offer support services related to an ICU such as counseling — do not hesitate to ask the health care provider if you have questions.

Q: What is neurofibromatosis?
A: A: Neurofibromatosis (NF) is a term for three genetic disorders that cause tumors to grow on nerves in the body. These tumors can affect any part of the nervous system, including the brain and spinal cord. The National Cancer Institute Division of Cancer Epidemiology & Genetics estimates that approximately 100,000 people in the U.S. are affected by neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) — the most common type.
NF can be inherited, but 30- 50% of cases are from spontaneous gene mutation. The risk of developing NF is higher if a parent has the disorder. NF affects both sexes and all races. Signs of NF may be present at birth or may develop between ages 3 and 5.
Symptoms of NF include flat brown spots on the skin, freckles in the armpits, loss of hearing or vision, learning difficulties or seizures. Cardiovascular conditions can result from NF, and those affected by the disorder are at higher risk of various cancers.
There is no cure for NF. Treatments include chemotherapy, medications to stop tumor cells from growing or the removal of tumors. Contact your health care provider if you experience symptoms and you have a family history of NF.

Q: How do you treat osteoporosis?
A: Osteoporosis is a disorder in which bones become weaker when the body makes too little or loses too much bone. When this occurs, bones are more likely to break. Osteoporosis can weaken bones so much that they may break during simple acts such as coughing or bumping into an object.
Women are affected by this condition more than men. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 20% percent of women age 50 and over have osteoporosis, compared to 5% percent of men in the same age bracket. White and Asian women who are past menopause have the highest risk for osteoporosis.
Many people do not realize they have the disorder until they break a bone. The early stages of bone loss often present no symptoms. As bones get weaker, symptoms may include lower back pain, a loss of height or the inability to stand up straight. Certain medications may also contribute to bone loss.
Regular exercise, including weight training, can strengthen your bones as well as the muscles supporting them. Vitamin and mineral supplements may be recommended, as well as medications specifically designed to treat osteoporosis. See your health care provider if you have questions.

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‘Crawl’ it a win
The Cambridge Dictionary defines a pub crawl as “a visit to several pubs, one after the other, having a drink or drinks at each one.” It’s not for the faint of heart. Nonetheless, 69-year-old David Clarkson of Sydney, Australia recently earned a page in the Guinness Book of World Records by “drinking his way” in and out of no less than 120 pubs in 24 hours. How did he do it? According to the Guinness judges: “Each visit had to incorporate a paid transaction for a beverage [non-alcoholic or alcoholic], as well as a minimum of 125 ml [milliliters] of liquid being consumed ... David notes that he consumed 20 litters of liquid in 24 hours, mostly consisting of soft drinks and juices.”

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En pointe
How many tutu-clad ballerinas can fit in the ballroom of New York’s Plaza Hotel? Enough to win the attention of the judges at the Guinness World Record-- 353 ballerinas, to be precise. The young dancers of the Youth America Grand Prix were “en pointe” – on their toes – and won the day and the Guinness prize. The organization’s Sergey Gordeev explained that "the big why of why we're doing it is to really let the world know that dance is a healing force. Dance is a power that brings us connection at a time when we're so disconnected."

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They’re on the loose
Lemurs are cute wet-nosed exotic animals found mainly in Madagascar. But a pair of pet Lemurs, belonging to an unidentified resident of Aransas Pass, Texas, got away recently and caused quite a stir. They are apparently still on the loose notwithstanding the fact that there have been numerous sightings. One local resident, Spencer Bell said he spotted one of the lemurs on his docked boat. The sighting took place on April 1 and, he said, “everybody thought it was an April Fools' joke.”

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Medal of Honor: Army Sgt. Joe Hayashi
By KATIE LANGE
Army Sgt. Joe Hayashi was days away from seeing the Germans surrender in Italy when he was killed. His actions in taking out enemy positions before that were integral to his unit's success in driving the enemy back. Hayashi initially earned a posthumous Distinguished Service Cross for his bravery, but that was eventually upgraded to the Medal of Honor.
Hayashi was born Aug. 14, 1920, in Salinas, California. His parents, Chiukichi and Toyo Hayashi, had emigrated from Japan nearly two decades earlier. Hayashi had two sisters, Chiye and Kiyo.
When Hayashi was 4, his father was killed in a work-related accident. His mother then moved the family to Pasadena, California, remarried and had three more children.
Hayashi grew up as a typical American child. He played football and baseball, was a member of the Boy Scouts and loved to play outside. A slight man — Hayashi was recorded as being 5'3", 125 pounds — he was also adept at car mechanics, which is what he chose to do for work after high school.
In October 1940, Hayashi registered for the draft. Seven months later, he enlisted in the Army. He was initially stationed in California, but after the Pearl Harbor attacks, which led to a deep distrust of Japanese Americans, he was transferred to Fort Sheridan, Illinois. Due to that same distrust, Hayashi's mother, stepfather and half-siblings were all forced to live at an internment camp in Wyoming until the war's end.
Hayashi was already in the military, but when the war started, other Japanese Americans — known as Nisei — were barred from service. They still wanted to serve, though, and were eventually able to in a few units, including the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which was activated in February 1943 and was composed of all Nisei men. Hayashi was reassigned as a drill sergeant in the unit as part of the 3rd Battalion's Company K.
The 442nd trained at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, before deploying to Italy in June 1944. Hayashi stayed behind with a cadre to continue training soldiers. Soon after, however, he volunteered to join the fight and was shipped to France in November 1944.
In March 1945, the 442nd joined in on the Po Valley Campaign. Their mission was to be a diversion for enemy troops to break them up and weaken their defensive line, known as the Gothic Line. The 442nd ended up being incredibly successful in this endeavor; not only did they force enemy troops from that area, but they pushed them far behind the Gothic Line.
By mid-April, nearly all of Germany's forces in the area were trying to retreat. The 442nd followed them and had moved to within 10 miles of a strategically located rail center, where the Germans were preparing to make a last stand.
At this stage of his career, Hayashi held the rank of staff sergeant; however, at some point while overseas, he was demoted to private after apparently defending fellow soldiers who had left their unit during heavy fighting, according to a June 2000 article in the Billings Gazette out of Billings, Montana. That's why, in his Medal of Honor citation, he's listed as a private.
On April 20, 1945, Hayashi's unit was ordered to find enemy machine gun nests along a strongly defended hill near the small village of Tendola, Italy. Hayashi led his men to within 75 yards of enemy positions before they were seen and fired upon.
Hayashi dragged some of his wounded comrades to safety before returning to danger and exposing himself to small-arms fire so he could direct deadly mortar fire onto the hostile positions. With the remaining men in his squad, Hayashi then attacked the hill and took over the enemy position. There, they discovered that the mortars Hayashi helped direct had destroyed three enemy machine guns, killed 27 enemy soldiers and wounded several more.
Meanwhile, the town of Tendola was still being held by about 50 Germans. So, two days later, Hayashi's unit attacked in a firefight that lasted into the night with house-to-house combat. Hayashi eventually maneuvered his squad up a steep, terraced hill to get within about 100 yards of another enemy machine gun nest. Under intense fire, Hayashi crawled toward it and threw a grenade, which killed one enemy soldier and forced the other members of the gun's crew to surrender.
From there, Hayashi noticed four more enemy machine gun nests taking aim at members of his platoon. He threw another grenade that destroyed one of them, then crawled to the right flank of a second and killed four enemy soldiers there.
Hayashi tried to follow the remaining members of the crew who were running away. Sadly, he was hit by gunfire and killed.
Hayashi's courage and leadership were integral to his company's success. They took control of that enemy position a day later, and within a few days, Germans had begun surrendering en masse since their retreat route was cut off. By May 2 — 10 days after Hayashi died — fighting in Italy ended as German forces formally surrendered.
The 442nd went on to become one of the most decorated military units in American history. Because of its success, the draft was reinstated in internment camps back in the U.S. Many of the men who served in the 442nd went on to have distinguished careers in science, higher education and government.
Hayashi posthumously earned the Distinguished Service Cross for his self-sacrificing actions. It wasn't until about a half-century later that a Congressional inquiry revealed that many Nisei service members like Hayashi had been passed up for the nation's highest honor for valor due to racial bias.
That wrong was finally remedied on June 21, 2000 — 55 years after Hayashi's death — when his medal was upgraded to the Medal of Honor, and he was promoted to sergeant. President Bill Clinton presented the medal to Hayashi's remaining family during a White House ceremony that also honored 21 other Asian-American military heroes whose medals were being upgraded. Sadly, only seven of the recipients were still alive. Eleven had died in combat, and the rest had passed in the years after the war.
For their heroic actions in combat and steadfast loyalty in the face of ethnic discrimination, members of the 442nd and their families — including Hayashi's — were also honored in 2011 with the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award for service given out by the U.S.
Hayashi was initially buried at a U.S. military cemetery in Italy, but his family requested he be brought home in 1948. He was reinterred with full military honors in March 1949 in Evergreen Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.
At the Nishi Hongwanji Temple in L.A., a bronze plaque bears Hayashi's name, along with the names of 15 other L.A.-area Nisei service members who were killed in the war.

Social Security Matters
By RUSSELL GLOOR
National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Minister Wants to Maximize Social Security Benefit
Dear Rusty: I want to apply for Social Security, but I want to make sure I get all the benefits I have earned. I am a veteran with a 10% disability rating (not sure if that matters). I am 68 years old. I am a minister and have been exempt from Social Security taxes for most of my income since I was about 30, but I still have the 40 quarters needed. I have also worked off and on in the secular workplace and continued paying Social Security taxes.
One hears a great deal about those who want to “help” us apply for Social Security, but which turn out to be a scam or want a fee. How do I apply and maximize my benefits with my unique situation? Signed: Seeking Answers
Dear Seeking: Don’t worry about fees here at the AMAC Foundation – there is never a fee for the services we provide (we are non-profit). And I want to thank you for your military service - you may find the “For Veterans” section at our AMAC Foundation website interesting – www.amacfoundation.org.
To your question: Your VA disability rating does not affect your Social Security benefit. At 68 years old, your Social Security benefit payment has been earning Delayed Retirement Credits (DRCs) since you reached your full retirement age (FRA) of 66 years and 4 months in July 2022. That means that your benefit, if you claim now, will be about 13% more than it would have been had you claimed at your FRA. FYI, if you continue to delay, your SS benefit will continue to grow (by 8% per additional year you delay), up to the month you turn 70. At that time, your SS benefit will be 29% higher than it would have been at your FRA. Nevertheless, if you wish to claim a smaller amount now, you can do so in a couple of ways:
• You can call Social Security (at 1.800.772.1213, or your local SS office) to request an appointment to apply. They will most likely set a date/time to call you to take your application over the phone (they discourage office visits these days). Once you have applied, it typically takes a month or two to process your application, but they will pay your benefits effective with the month you say you want them to begin. Note, they will likely also offer you six months of retroactive benefits but be aware that if you accept that offer your monthly payment will be permanently reduced by 4%.
• You can apply for your SS retirement benefit online at www.ssa.gov/apply. Applying online is, by far, the most efficient method, as shown in this short video: www.ssa.gov/hlp/video/iclaim_r01.htm. However, to apply online you will need to first create your personal “my Social Security” online account at www.ssa.gov/myaccount. Once you have your personal online account set up, you will be able to see what your SS retirement benefit will be now, and at future ages should you plan to wait longer to claim. Your SS retirement benefit will be based on your lifetime record of earnings from which Social Security FICA taxes were withheld (or self-employment earnings on which SS payroll taxes were levied). In any case, your SS benefit will be based on your lifetime earnings record contributing to Social Security, as well as your age when you claim. You’ll get your maximum benefit based on those factors.
Although your situation is somewhat uncommon, it is not exceptionally unique. Your VA disability rating does not affect your Social Security benefit and, because you are a member of the clergy, you are not subject to Social Security’s Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) – a rule which reduces SS benefits for those with a pension earned while not contributing to Social Security. In other words, your SS benefit will be based entirely on your lifetime record of earnings from which Social Security payroll taxes were withheld, and your age when your benefit starts.

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Ouch!
If you purchased a batch of cookies at the Sis Sweets Cookies & Café in Leavenworth, KS recently beware, you might break a tooth. Proprietor Dawn "Sis" Monroe says she lost a $4,000 diamond that fell from her ring and it just might have wound up in her cookie dough. She posted a notice on Facebook that reads: “My heart is beyond broken. It’s been on my hand for 36 years.”

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An unwanted guest
It’s not unusual to find critters in your house if you live in the country. Mary Hollenback was at home in Venice, Fl relaxing on her couch when she heard a noise. She got up and headed for the front door. "I thought it was somebody who didn't live here trying to get into the wrong house," she said. Instead, as she put it, “Oh my gosh, I have an alligator in my house.” She called 911 for help and Sarasota County authorities came to the rescue, quickly removing the nearly eight foot long critter.

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Party place for sale
Beer Can Island, Fl is up for sale. The 9-acre man-made atoll, also known as Pine Key, has long been a place for parties. It’s located off Apollo Beach, Fl near the MacDill Air Force Base and was man made in the 1940s. The owners have cleaned up the place, bagging hundreds of bags of trash and empty beer bottles and have listed it for a stiff $14 million. One potential buyer is trying to raise the money by selling ownership shares at $1,000 per share. He calls his enterprise the "Save Beer Can Island" project.

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Sky Light
“It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman!” No, it was mysterious streaks of light that filled the sky above California recently. Some guessed that it was the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Others guessed it was streaks of light caused by a falling space module. Whatever it was, it was, indeed, an amazing celestial event that lit up the dark night sky and provided earthlings with a lot to talk about.

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He was caught on film
Hammerin' Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run and broke Babe Ruth’s record fifty years ago on April 8, 1974 at the Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. He made baseball history and one, Charlie Russo, caught it all on film. The Associated Press reports that “the 81-year-old Russo is releasing his long-private footage of the moment,” what he calls a truly “magical” moment.

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Medal of Honor: Navy Cmdr. George L. Street III
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense
Navy Cmdr. George Levick Street III was a daring leader during crucial moments toward the end of World War II in the Pacific. His expertise and leadership allowed his submarine crew to sneak into an enemy harbor and destroy three ships without suffering any damage to their own vessel. That feat earned him the Medal of Honor.
Street was born on July 27, 1913, in Richmond, Virginia. His parents were Florence and George Street Jr., and he had two younger siblings, sister Melinda and brother Abbot, who also served in the Navy during World War II.
Street graduated from St. Christopher's School, a private school for boys, in 1931. Shortly afterward, he enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve. Two years later, he was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy, from which he graduated and commissioned as an ensign in June 1937.
Street spent his first three active-duty years serving at sea. In the fall of 1940, he requested to go to submariner school in New London, Connecticut. After, he received orders to serve on the new submarine USS Gar, which arrived at Pearl Harbor three days after the Japanese surprise attack that brought the U.S. into World War II. Street spent much of the war on the Gar, completing numerous patrols and earning two Silver Stars.
At some point during the war, Street met Mary McKimmey, of Norfolk, Virginia. They married and had two children, son George and daughter Kris.
In July 1944, Street had worked his way up the ranks and was given command of the newly commissioned submarine USS Tirante, which set sail for its first war patrol in March 1945 and would go on to sink at least six Japanese ships. It was during that first patrol that Street's leadership and bravery earned him the Medal of Honor.
Before dawn on April 14, 1945, then-Lt. Cmdr. Street and his crew were tasked with doing reconnaissance along the coastline of Quelpart Island off the southwest coast of Korea. Japanese surface forces were docked at the island's harbor, which was filled with underwater mines and shoals that caused obstructions. Above the water, several surface vessels patrolled. There were also five shore-based radar stations and enemy aircraft patrolling the skies.
Moving into that hostile area undetected was a daunting task, but Street was up for the challenge. As his sub crept into the harbor from the south to within a little more than a half-mile from the coast, the ship's crew readied itself at surface battle stations in case they were attacked. Then, Street ordered the launch of two torpedoes toward a large Japanese auxiliary transport ship called Juzan Maru. It exploded into a mountainous and blinding glare of white flames, Street's Medal of Honor citation said.
The flare made the Tirante plainly visible, causing enemy shore batteries to spot it immediately and open fire. Street quickly ordered the ship to turn and run, but as it did so, he fired its last torpedoes at two escort ships that were in aggressive pursuit. Two of the torpedoes hit the ship Nomi, which blew the ship in two. A dud torpedo hit a third ship, called Kaibokan No. 31, but it capsized and sank anyway due to a fire that the torpedo's strike caused in its after magazine.
Going full speed ahead, Street's crew managed to clear the debris-filled harbor and slip undetected along the shoreline, where they were able to dive deep and fully get away, even as another enemy ship dropped several depth charges right where they'd begun their dive.
According to Street's obituary in the Roanoke Times, the Tirante received word right before it began its mission that President Franklin D. Roosevelt had died. Afterward, the sub sent a message to its Pacific command, presumably in honor of the late president. It said, "Three for Franklin … sank ammunition ship, two escorts."
Street was promoted to commander three months later. His daring and skillful leadership during the Tirante's first patrol earned him the Medal of Honor, which he received from new President Harry S. Truman during a White House ceremony on Oct. 5, 1945, alongside 13 other recipients. The Tirante's crew also earned a Presidential Unit Citation for its brave actions.
Street was one of seven World War II submarine commanders to receive the Medal of Honor. He was also the last man from the submarine service to receive it, according to the Naval History and Heritage Command.
Two months after the Quelpart Island incident, Street led the Tirante into another skirmish that earned him the Navy Cross. On June 11, 1945, the sub sank several hostile vessels before moving through treacherously shallow waters into the heart of Nagasaki Harbor, where it sank another enemy ship and destroyed vital docking facilities. Once again, the Tirante managed to escape without being hit by enemy ships or shore gun batteries.
A few months after the war ended, Street left the Tirante to become the Navy's technical advisor for the submarine documentary film "The Silent Service." The Tirante's mission to Quelpart Island was also brought to life in the 1958 movie, "Run Silent, Run Deep," starring Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster.
Street eventually transferred to the Office of Naval Research, where he helped to organize the first Undersea Symposium. Over the next 20 years, he commanded various vessels, worked in research and development and gained more knowledge about his craft at various military schools. He even spent time as a professor of naval science at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Street retired from active duty in August 1966. He and his family settled in Andover, Massachusetts, about two hours north of Boston.
For the rest of his life, Street was an active member of several veterans' organizations. He was also a popular speaker at patriotic community events and at schools throughout New England. He even taught the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps at Woburn High School in Woburn, Massachusetts, until 1990.
Street died at 86 on Feb. 26, 2000, at a nursing home in Andover. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
In his honor, a bridge in Andover was renamed for him.

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‘Cicada-geddon’
Some cicadas surface every 13 years; others show up every 17 years. This year, according to the entomologists, the two species are expected to join forces and show up this spring. According to the University of Connecticut, the 13-year Brood XIX -- the largest of all periodical cicada broods “will co-emerge with 17-year Brood XIII.” They’ll be showing up mainly in the Southeast and in Illinois. Biophysicist Saad Bhamla at Georgia Tech says “trillions of these amazing living organisms [will] come out of the Earth, climb up on trees and it’s just a unique experience, a sight to behold. It’s like an entire alien species living underneath our feet and then some prime number years they come out to say hello.” Some experts call the event a "cicada-geddon"

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

A year after Woodrow Wilson’s presidency opened in 1913, World War I ramped up in Sarajevo; four years later he requested congressional authorization to dispatch troops to Germany.
“Wilson went on to lead what was at the time the largest war-mobilization effort in the country’s history,” according to History.com. “At first, Wilson asked only for volunteer soldiers, but soon realized voluntary enlistment would not raise a sufficient number of troops and signed the Selective Service Act in May 1917. The Selective Service Act required men between 21 and 35 years of age to register for the draft, increasing the size of the army from 200,000 troops to 4 million by the end of the war. One of the infantrymen who volunteered for active duty was future President Harry S. Truman.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Nico Mendina’s What Was World War I?

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The Civil War was the bloodiest in American History—with approximately six hundred and twenty thousand casualties--from the North and the South, combined. The conflict started in 1861 and ended April 9, 1865, with Robert E. Lee’s ceding of his armed troops to General Ulysses S. Grant in Appomattox, Virginia.
“Lee and Grant, both holding the highest rank in their respective armies, had known each other slightly during the Mexican War [1846-1848] and exchanged awkward personal inquiries. Characteristically, Grant arrived in his muddy field uniform while Lee had turned out in full dress attire, complete with sash and sword. Lee asked for the terms, and Grant hurriedly wrote them out. All officers and men were to be pardoned, and they would be sent home with their private property–most important, the horses, which could be used for a late spring planting. Officers would keep their side arms, and Lee’s starving men would be given Union rations,” History.com reports.
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Ethan S. Rafuse’s Robert E. Lee and the Fall of the Confederacy, 1863-1865.

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On April 14, 1865, the country’s jubilant End-of-War celebration veered into woe. President Lincoln was dead, shot “the night before by John Wilkes Booth, an actor and Confederate sympathizer.”
According to History.com, Booth was determined to avenge the outcome of the war. “Learning that Lincoln was to attend Laura Keene’s acclaimed performance in Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theater…Booth plotted the simultaneous assassination[s] of Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Secretary of State William H. Seward. By murdering the president and two of his possible successors, Booth and his conspirators hoped to throw the U.S. government into a paralyzing disarray ... On the evening of April 14, conspirator Lewis T. Powell burst into Secretary of State Seward’s home, seriously wounding him and three others, while George A. Atzerodt, assigned to Vice President Johnson, lost his nerve and fled. Meanwhile, just after 10 p.m., Booth entered Lincoln’s private box unnoticed and shot the president with a single bullet in the back of his head.”
The Grateful American Book Prize suggests James L. Swanson’s Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer.

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Social Security Matters
By RUSSELL GLOOR, National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – When Should my Wife Claim Her Social Security Benefit?

Dear Rusty: I just saw an article which said that certain spousal options were going away, but there are still good options for when a spouse can claim. I am filing for my Social Security to start in October when I turn 70. My wife's full retirement age (FRA) is in December, and she now plans to file then for half of what my FRA benefit would have been (our original plan was for both to file in August). My wife's main reason for delaying until her FRA is to lock her into my maximum benefit if she has to someday change to Survivor's Benefit. Will this be gone for us? Neither of us was born before January 1, 1954. Please advise. Signed: Planning for Both
Dear Planning: I expect that the article you refer to was speaking of the option to claim only a spousal benefit first and allow one’s personal SS retirement benefit to grow. That option was available only to those who were born before 1954 and had reached full retirement age. As you now know that option is not available to you.
Assuming your wife’s highest benefit entitlement will be as your spouse, your current strategy – you claim your maximum benefit to start in October at age 70 and your wife starts her benefit in December at her FRA - is a good one which will yield the maximum possible monthly benefit for both of you. But for clarity, your wife’s survivor benefit as your widow has nothing to do with when she claims her spouse benefits now.
The only thing which will affect your wife’s benefit as your surviving spouse is her age when she claims the survivor benefit. If she has already reached her FRA of 66 years and 8 months when you pass, she will get 100% of the amount you were receiving when you died, instead of the smaller spousal amount she was receiving while you were living. Her survivor benefit would only be less than 100% of yours if she claimed it before reaching her full retirement age (which, of course, we hope would not to be the case).
Just so you have the complete picture, your wife could, if desired, claim her Social Security to start at the same time as you in October but, since that would be earlier than her FRA, the amount she would get would be less than 50% of your FRA entitlement. Her spouse benefit would be reduced by 0.694% for each month earlier than her FRA it starts. For example, if your wife starts her spousal benefit in October when your benefit starts, she will get about 98.6% of the amount she would get if she waited until December to start her benefits. That’s a permanent reduction, so if your wife’s life expectancy is at least average (about 87), it’s likely still wisest for her to wait until her FRA to start benefits. But in any case, when your wife claims her spousal benefit now will have no effect on the survivor benefit she will get as your future widow.

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Medal of Honor: Army Sgt. Peter C. Lemon
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News
Army Sgt. Peter Charles Lemon was injured several times during a lopsided attack in Vietnam, but he took out several enemy soldiers and refused to quit fighting until he lost consciousness. His courage to defend his base and his fellow soldiers earned him the Medal of Honor.
Lemon was born on June 5, 1950, in Toronto, to Charles and Geraldine Lemon. He has a sister, Judy, and a brother, Richard.
The family immigrated to the U.S. when Lemon was 2 and set up their new lives in Tawas City, Michigan. About a decade later, he became a naturalized citizen.
Lemon graduated from Tawas Area High School in 1968 and started working in a factory in nearby Saginaw, according to a 1971 article in the Escanaba Daily Press of Escanaba, Michigan. By then, however, the Vietnam War was raging, so Lemon enlisted in the Army in February 1969.
After basic training, Lemon received advanced infantry training. He was sent to Vietnam in late July 1969, where he went to Recondo School, which teaches select troops about long-range reconnaissance techniques and small-unit tactics. The training earned him the coveted title of Army Ranger.
By the spring of 1970, then-Spc. 4 Lemon was serving as an assistant machine gunner at Fire Support Base Illingworth, which was 5 miles from the Cambodian border and overlooked a heavily used North Vietnamese Army route. Several units were stationed there at the time, including Lemon's — Company E, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division.
The enemy obviously didn't want them there, so on April 1, the NVA launched a massive barrage of fire toward the base before sending in about 400 soldiers, who chose the perimeter defended by Lemon's platoon as their point of attack.
The fight that ensued was too close for U.S. forces to use artillery. Soldiers also reported that dust from the large NVA contingent's movement was so thick that it jammed their machine guns and rifles.
Lemon, 19, was one of those whose weapons were affected. When his machine gun and rifle eventually malfunctioned, he used hand grenades to fend off the intensifying attack.
After taking out a few enemy soldiers in his vicinity, Lemon chased down another and killed him in hand-to-hand combat. Lemon suffered fragment wounds from an exploding grenade but made it back to his defensive position so he could carry a more seriously wounded soldier to an aid station. Shortly afterward, Lemon was wounded a second time by enemy fire.
Ignoring his injuries, the young specialist moved back to his position through a hail of gunfire and grenades. Quickly, he realized that their defensive sector was dangerously close to being overrun by the enemy. Without hesitation, Lemon pressed his counterattack, throwing hand grenades and engaging in hand-to-hand combat with enemy soldiers. He was injured a third time during the melee but still managed to successfully drive the enemy back.
Then, after finding a machine gun that worked, Lemon stood on top of an embankment and, despite being in full view of the enemy, fired until he collapsed from his wounds and exhaustion. Lemon was taken to an aid station where he regained consciousness, but even then, he refused to leave the area until his more seriously injured comrades were evacuated.
When the nearly three-hour battle was over, 24 U.S. soldiers were dead and more than 50 were wounded. Lemon was hospitalized for more than a month after the attack. He was also promoted to sergeant.
Lemon came home from Vietnam later that year. On June 15, 1971, he received the Medal of Honor from President Richard M. Nixon during a ceremony at the White House. The young soldier dedicated it to three of his closest friends who died in the battle — Sgt. Casey Waller, Cpl. Nathan Mann and Sgt. Brent Street.
Lemon left the Army the following year and returned to academics. He got a bachelor's degree from Colorado State University in 1979, then received his master's degree in business administration from the University of Northern Colorado two years later.
He and his wife, Diane, whom he married a few months before he received the Medal of Honor, have three children.
Lemon went on to have a successful career with various corporations and as a professional speaker. He also volunteered much of his time to schools, veterans' groups and other organizations.
In 1978, Lemon received the Certificate of Outstanding Achievement from President Jimmy Carter for his community efforts. In May 2009, he was presented with the Outstanding American by Choice award by President Barack Obama.
Lemon, who settled in Colorado Springs, Colorado, continues to receive accolades for his work and valor. He was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame in 1994. In 2020, a portion of a highway in Michigan going through his hometown was named in his honor. Reports show Lemon also donated his Medal of Honor to his former high school in 2005 to serve as an inspiration to students.

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Natalie had a little lamb
Natalie Renot, of Wiggins, MS, known for rescuing animals in need, has a new patient to care for—a lamb born with five legs who she calls Spider-Lamb. When she found her lamb he was in dire need but he has been responding to the care she and local veterinarians have provided. As she tells it, "I am still having to force-feed him, but I did stand him up and he walked a little bit, so I call that progress." Veterinarian Jason Gulas confirmed Natalie’s assessment, noting that "he definitely has some abnormalities. He might not be normal compared to other lambs, but I think that he will live a normal-for-him life,"

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Wet work
Talk about “muscle control.” Thirty-five-year-old Ma Hui, who hails from China, made it into the Guinness Book of World Records when he downed more than a gallon of water and then regurgitated it in a record-breaking 5 minutes and 51.88 seconds. According to Guinness, “water spouting is a trick which has been performed since the 17th century. It involves drinking large amounts of liquid (usually water) and regurgitating it using muscle control.”

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Making Whoopie
No, it’s not what you think it is. These whoopies are the real thing – genuine cookies filled with cream the way they were first made in Maine. They’re called whoopie pies and they are Maine’s official state treat. In fact, the Portland Sea Dogs baseball team, with the help of the bakers at Wicked Whoopie Pies, recently earned a page in the Guinness Book of World Record for making the longest line of whoopie pies consisting of no less than 2,121 whoopie pies.

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Six stress reduction tips for caregivers during National Stress Awareness Month in April

Tips for Family Caregivers from the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America

Stress doesn’t just affect your mood—it can have long-term health impacts as well if you don’t take steps to manage it constructively. For individuals who face the stressful task of caring for a family member with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia-related illness, the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) is offering six stress reduction tips for caregivers as part of National Stress Awareness Month (April).
“Family caregivers often find it challenging to make time for themselves, but being proactive about addressing caregiver stress and self-care is not selfish; it’s essential and it benefits both the caregiver and the person for whom they are caring,” said Jennifer Reeder, LCSW, AFA’s Director of Educational and Social Services. “Failing to manage stress increases the risks of caregiver burnout, depression, and many other mental and physical health issues. Caregivers need to take care of themselves so they can provide the best possible care for their loved ones.”
Family caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s and related dementias are at greater risk for anxiety, depression, and poorer quality of life than caregivers of people with other conditions, and provide care for a longer duration of time, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
AFA offers these six stress reduction tips for family caregivers:
Be adaptable and positive. Your attitude influences stress levels for both you and the person you’re caring for. If you can “go with the flow,” and avoid fighting the current, that will help you both stay relaxed—conversely, becoming aggravated or agitated will increase the chances that your person will as well. Focus on how to adjust to the situation in a constructive way.
Deal with what you can control. Some things are totally out of your control. What is in your power to control is how you respond and react to these outside factors. Concentrating on finding solutions can help make the problem itself a little less stressful.
Set realistic goals and go slow. Everything cannot be resolved at once, nor does it need to be. Don’t hold yourself to unrealistic expectations. Prioritize, set practical goals, do your best to achieve them, and take things one day at a time.
Mind your health. Inadequate rest, poor diet, and lack of exercise can all exacerbate stress (and cause other health problems as well). As best you can, make it a priority to get sleep, eat right, drink plenty of water and find ways to be active. You cannot provide quality care to a loved one if you don’t take care of yourself.
Clear and refresh your mind. Exercise, yoga, meditating, listening to music or even taking a few deep breaths can all help relax the mind and reduce stress. Find something that works for you and do it regularly!
Share your feelings. Disconnecting from your support structure and staying bottled-up increases stress. Whether it’s with a loved one, trusted friend or a professional, don’t be reluctant to talk about your stress, because that can actually help relieve it! AFA’s Helpline has licensed social workers available for caregivers seven days to provide support or even just listen.

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UAMS House Call

Dr. Daniel Knight is a professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Q: What can I do to keep my feet healthy? A: Taking care of your feet is an important part of maintaining overall health. Many of us are on our feet for a good portion of each day, and too often, it can be easy to take that part of our body for granted, only noticing when there is a problem. The foot is one of the most intricate structures in the body, consisting of 26 bones, 33 joints and more than 100 ligaments, muscles and tendons, in addition to a network of blood vessels and nerves. Your feet absorb all of your body weight and take the most punishment with normal daily activities. Actions to ensure healthy feet include daily washing and drying, keeping toenails short and clean, wearing shoes that are well-fitting and appropriate for what you’re doing, and checking your feet every day for cuts, dryness or sores. People with conditions such as diabetes should pay particular attention to their feet as blood flow to that area is often affected. Your primary care provider can help with basic treatment to ensure your feet remain healthy. Diseases or injuries to the feet may require a referral to an orthopaedist or a podiatrist for more specific care.

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Q: What does an occupational therapist do? A: An occupational therapist is a health care professional trained to assist patients who need help with fine motor skills and performing daily activities. The patient may have suffered mental or physical trauma or have developmental challenges. The occupational therapist can be an integral part of the care team in these instances. An occupational therapist and a physical therapist may perform similar functions, but their basic tasks are different. A physical therapist normally assists with rehabilitation from injury to a specific part of the body, such as regaining mobility and strength. The occupational therapist is involved the patient’s overall recovery. Occupational therapists are not physicians and cannot prescribe medication or perform a medical diagnosis. Licensure and certification are required to be become an occupational therapist, along with an undergraduate and graduate degree in occupational therapy. Candidates must also pass an exam administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy in addition to any other specific state or local requirements. Occupational therapy provides a chance to work one on one with a patient to not only accomplish everyday tasks but also to promote overall health and general well-being. The occupational therapist, primary care provider and a specialist may all be part of a patient’s return to normal.

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Q: How common is testicular cancer? A: Testicular cancer forms in the tissue of one or both testicles, although the disease in both testicles is less common. Testicular cancer occurs when germ cells come together and form a mass or tumor. It is unclear exactly how and why testicular cancer develops, and there is no way to prevent it. Fortunately, testicular cancer is rare. According to the National Cancer Institute testicular cancer accounted for only 0.5% of all cancer cases in 2023. Unlike many cancers, testicular cancer is more common in young men. The American Cancer Society notes that the average age of diagnosis is 33. Risk factors include having a family history and being a young adult. Issues that cause infertility can be linked with testicular cancer. The disease is also more common in non-Hispanic white men. Symptoms include a lump or swelling in either testicle, a dull ache in the groin or lower abdomen, or a feeling of heaviness in the scrotum. Testicular cancer is very treatable when detected early and the five-year survival rate is high (95.2% per the National Cancer Institute). Contact your health care provider if you have symptoms that do not quickly resolve. You may be referred to a urologist for further treatment.

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Q: How is infection control accomplished? A: Infection control is a key aspect of health care, and in many instances is more important than the actual care patients receive. Effective infection control prevents or stops the spread of infections. An ineffective infection control program can lead to an increased rate of infection, which can spread to not only the entire health care facility but also to the community at large. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends two tiers of precautions for infection control. Standard precautions include actions such as careful handling of laundry and textiles, hand hygiene and using personal protective equipment. Transmission-based precautions, used with patients who may be infected, include limiting patient transportation and ensuring appropriate patient placement. An infection preventionist is a health care professional who ensures health care workers and patients are practicing infection control. People who perform infection prevention duties may be doctors, microbiologists, nurses or public health officials. If you are a patient or family member, you can assist in infection control. Cleaning your hands frequently, asking to have your equipment or your room cleaned and inquiring about vaccinations are some ways this can be accomplished. As always, speak with your health care providers if you have concerns or questions.

Email your health questions to housecall@uams.edu.

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Social Security Matters
By RUSSELL GLOOR, National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation, the non-profit arm of the Association of Mature American Citizens

Ask Rusty – When Should We Claim Social Security?

Dear Rusty: I am almost 63 and my husband will be 61 soon, and we are looking to see when our best time would be to start our Social Security benefits. We would like to know if one of us qualifies for benefits from a previous marriage from 1984 to 1995. And we are wondering if I can start drawing at age 65, in two years, or if it is better that I wait until 67 because my spouse is 2 years younger than me. Also, if I were to continue working limited hours after 65, what would my earning limit be? Signed: Almost Ready
Dear Almost Ready: The first thing to understand is that full retirement age (FRA) for both of you is 67. If either of you claim before that, your monthly benefit amount will be permanently reduced and, because you are working, you will be subject to Social Security’s “earnings test.”
If you claim your benefit at age 65 your monthly payment will be about 87% of what you would get if you claimed at age 67. If your husband claims at age 62, his benefit will be about 70% of his FRA amount. The only way to get 100% of the benefit you’ve each earned from a lifetime of working is to claim at your FRA. You can choose to claim at age 65 as long as you’re comfortable with the benefit reduction which will occur, and as long as your annual work earnings do not significantly exceed the earnings limit for that year. In any case, when each of you claims will not affect the other’s retirement benefit amount.
Social Security’s “earnings test” for those claiming before FRA sets a limit for how much can be earned before some (or all) benefits are taken away. The earnings limit for 2024 is $22,320, but it changes yearly. If you claim early benefits and your work earnings exceed that year’s limit, Social Security will take away $1 in benefits for every $2 you are over the limit. They take away by withholding future benefits long enough to recover what you owe for exceeding the limit. If you significantly exceed the annual earnings limit, you may be temporarily ineligible to receive SS benefits until you either earn less or reach your FRA (the earnings test no longer applies after you reach your FRA). I cannot predict what the earnings limit will be two years from now, but it will be more than the 2024 limit and published at that time. FYI, in the year you turn 67 your pre-FRA earnings limit will be much higher, and when you reach your FRA the earnings test no longer applies.
Regarding your previous marriage, you cannot receive spousal benefits from an ex-spouse while you are currently married. But when to claim may also be influenced by whether either you or your current spouse will get a spousal benefit from the other. If the FRA (age 67) benefit amount for one of you is more than twice the other’s FRA entitlement, the one with the lower FRA amount will get a ”spousal boost” to their own amount when both of you are collecting.
Spouse benefits reach maximum at one’s FRA, but each person’s personal SS retirement amount will continue to grow if not claimed at FRA. Waiting past FRA to claim allows the SS retirement benefit to grow by 8% per year, up to age 70. So, with an FRA of 67, claiming at age 70 will yield a payment 24% higher than the FRA amount, 76% more than the age 62 amount, and about 37% more than the age 65 amount. But waiting beyond FRA is only smart if financially feasible and life expectancy is at least average (about 84 and 87 respectively for a man and woman your current ages). And, as a general rule, if one’s spousal benefit at FRA (50% of their partner’s FRA entitlement) is highest, then that spouse should claim at FRA to get their maximum benefit.

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To be a kid again
A pair of daring women in Florida are determined to make it into the Guinness Book of World Records by hopping into their cars for a 500 mile ride from Jacksonville to Key West. It doesn’t sound like a daring challenge but they are making the drive in two toy cars. No one has done it before, according to the Guinness judges. In an interview with reporters at WJXT-TV, the ladies explained that the idea came to them because they had toy cars when they were youngsters. "We used to ride around with toy cars as kids and have always wanted a Guinness World Record attempt. So we're like, this would be a fun way to kind of honor our childhood."

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Rough rider
The dictionary defines skijoring as “the action of being pulled over snow or ice on skis by a horse or dog or a motor vehicle, as a sport or recreation activity.” In fact, it’s an annual wintertime event in the Rocky Mountain town of Leadville, Colorado and this year daredevil Nick Burri donned his skis held tight to a rope pulled by a rider on a quarter horse at speeds reaching 40 mph. Why does he do it? Burri says “It’s just the pure adrenaline that gets me to do it. And then getting these two different groups of people together with the riders and the skiers. Usually they don’t hang out, and getting them together, we mesh pretty well.”

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A bird in hand
A pet parrot that goes by the name, Samba, got stranded for three days high in a tree in Lewisville, Texas. Samba survived attacks by predatory hawks before the bird’s owner, Giulio Ferrari, was able to get the bird he loves down from a tree. As he put it, "It's like my soul has reentered my body. When this happened my soul left my body for three days. I haven't been sleeping well, I haven't been eating. It's been tough. I'm exhausted, physically and mentally." All’s well that ends well.

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Medal of Honor: Army 1st Lt. Stephen H. Doane
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News
Army 1st Lt. Stephen Holden Doane could have remained in college during the Vietnam War, but he decided to serve his country instead. He was only 21 when he gave his life to save other soldiers around him. His valor and devotion earned him the Medal of Honor.
Doane was born on Oct. 13, 1947, in Beverly, Massachusetts, to David and Joan Doane. A few months after his birth, his father received his medical degree and joined the Navy, serving through the Korean War.
In 1953, Doane's father moved the family to Walton, New York, where Doane and his four siblings — sister Leslie and brothers Eric, Geoffrey and Michael — grew up. As a teen, Doane excelled in sports, especially wrestling. He was also a member of his school's band, orchestra and yearbook staff.
After graduating high school in 1965, Doane briefly attended the Tilton Academy, a prep school in Tilton, New Hampshire, before enrolling at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. In the one semester Doane attended, the college said he was on the wrestling team and in the process of joining to Phi Kappa Psi fraternity until he opted to join the Army in March 1967.
Doane's choice to service inspired his father to return to the military. His dad, who was now a doctor, joined the Army Reserve, serving as the commanding officer of a field hospital in Binghamton, New York.
About a year after enlisting, the younger Doane had become an Army Ranger and graduated from Officer Candidate School. He initially served as an instructor before being sent to Vietnam in January 1969. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division.
In the three months Doane was there, he earned a Bronze Star and Purple Heart. His most gallant actions came on March 25, 1969, when he gave his life to save his fellow soldiers.
On that day, Doane was serving as a platoon leader for Company B during a tactical operation when they came across an enemy force concealed in protected bunkers and trenches in Vietnam's Hau Nghia Province. A firefight ensued.
Three of the leading soldiers in the company — one of whom was seriously wounded -- were pinned down by enemy crossfire. According to Doane's Medal of Honor citation, one platoon tried to rescue the stranded soldiers. When that failed, it became clear that the only way to evacuate them was to send in a small group who could move close enough to destroy the enemy's position.
Doane knew how dangerous this mission would be, but that didn't deter him. He crawled to the nearest enemy bunker and silenced it. Despite being wounded, he continued on to a second enemy bunker. While he was preparing to throw a grenade into it, he was injured again.
Doane ignored the pain of his wounds, pulled the pin on the grenade and lunged with it into the enemy bunker, destroying the last obstacle that was impeding their rescue. By giving his life, Doane saved the trapped men and kept his company from suffering more casualties.
Doane's body was returned to the U.S. and buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
On Feb. 16, 1971, Doane's entire family was on hand to receive the Medal of Honor on his behalf from President Richard M. Nixon during a White House ceremony. Seven other soldiers and four Marines also posthumously received the high honor that day.
Around the same time, Doane's father — who joined the Reserves when his son joined the military — was inspired to act yet again, this time to go back on active-duty. The elder Doane was granted reactivation and served until 1981, retiring as a colonel.
1st Lt. Stephen Doane's sacrifice has not been forgotten. In 1997, the fallen soldier was inducted into the Army Ranger Hall of Fame. And while he only lived in Massachusetts for a few brief months of his life as an infant, the town of Beverly considers him a native son, naming a veterans' post there in his honor.
More recently, in 2018, Gettysburg College unveiled a Vietnam memorial that honored its alumni and staff members, including Doane, who died during the war. In July 2023, a bridge in Doane's hometown of Walton was renamed in his honor, and a memorial was presented to his family.

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Discover your backyarding personality type to “yard your way” this spring

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Spring and backyarding – the act of doing indoor activities such as dining, working, entertaining, and exercising in our own backyards – go hand in hand. As homeowners prepare to create the yard of their dreams this spring, the TurfMutt Foundation, which celebrates 15 years in 2024 teaching families how to save the planet one yard at a time, encourages them to start by identifying their backyarding personality type.
“Knowing your backyarding personality type can help you be better prepared to craft a yard that is not only beautiful but is also purposeful and specifically suited to how you backyard,” says Kris Kiser, President & CEO of the TurfMutt Foundation. “There really are no rules; Create an outdoor area that reflects your unique personality and style while supporting the things you like to do in your green space.”
Here are TurfMutt’s backyarding personality types to help inspire you to “yard your way” this spring:
• Outdoor Athlete: Likes to stay active in the fresh air.
The Outdoor Athlete’s gold medal backyard might include a strip of grass for running sprints, built-in outdoor fitness equipment, or even a lap pool to channel your inner Michael Phelps.
• Nature Lover: Favorite thing is watching birds and backyard wildlife.
The perfect backyard for Nature Lovers will feature native plants in bright colors that bloom year-round to attract, feed, and shelter pollinators and backyard wildlife. The Nature Lover will also need to find the perfect perch for backyard wildlife viewing.
• Work from Home Pro: Seals business deals in the sunshine.
A quiet corner of the yard complete with seating and shade (and a strong Wi-Fi signal) is the start to a beautiful and functional outdoor office. Other creature comforts like an outdoor heater, string lights, curtains, a warm rug, or even a semi-enclosed patio can enhance the space.
• Landscaper: Makes neighbors green with yard envy.
Put the right plant in the right place so your yard is always thriving and consult the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map to find plants that will do well in your location with minimal input. Having the right outdoor power equipment is key to success for Landscapers, who know when to call in the professionals to help with their backyarding to-dos.
• Entertainer Extraordinaire: Loves nothing more than treating great friends to delicious burgers in the backyard.
Ambiance is everything for this backyarder. String some lights, build a fire pit or fireplace, and even create an outdoor kitchen if the budget allows. Patio furniture and outdoor seating with comfortable cushions are a must, and colorful flowers in pots add a just-right touch.
• Zen Master: Wants an outdoor space to relax and unwind.
A hammock strung between a couple of shade trees, a soothing water feature that also beckons backyard birds, and simple, manicured plantings are just a few ways to create a peaceful setting outside.
• Kid Zone Creator: “Fun” is your middle name, and creating kid space is the name of the game.
Safe space that lures kids away from their screens and into the great outdoors right outside your home begins with a large patch of turfgrass, perfect for sports practice, cornhole, or pitching a tent. Trees are great for zip lines, treehouses, and swings. You can even plant a garden to teach kids about the origins of the food we eat.
• Pet Pamperer: Designs their yard as a pet sanctuary.
Who needs a dog park when you have a pet playground in your own backyard? Hardy turfgrass, sturdy plants, lots of shade trees, and shrubs that naturally section off pet “business” areas from the rest of the yard are some of the features you may want to consider. (Be sure to select non-toxic plants that are safe for pets.) Go all out with a splash pool or a sandbox for digging.

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Social Security Matters
By RUSSELL GLOOR, National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation, the non-profit arm of the Association of Mature American Citizens
Ask Rusty – Veteran Uncertain About Social Security and Healthcare Coverage
Dear Rusty: I'm not sure what I should sign up for in terms of Social Security: I am 64 and I am still employed full time and intend to stay employed until age 70. I am retired from the Navy and receive military retirement payments, and have military TriCare, as well as medical, dental, eye and life insurance through my employer. I don't want to lose benefits, but I also don't want to take Social Security until it reaches the maximum at age 70 (I think that is correct?). I will turn 65 in 4 months. Can you advise me? Signed: Uncertain Veteran
Dear Uncertain Veteran: First of all, thank you for your service to our country. From what you've shared, and since you're still working full time, not claiming Social Security yet is a smart decision. If you were born in 1959 your full retirement age (FRA) is 66 years and 10 months and, if you claim SS before your full retirement age, you'll be subject to Social Security's earning test which would likely make you ineligible to receive SS benefits at this time.
The 2024 earnings limit (limit changes yearly) when collecting Social Security early is $22,320 and, if that is exceeded, Social Security will take away $1 in benefits for every $2 over the limit (half of what you exceed the limit by). If you significantly exceed the limit, SS will declare you temporarily ineligible to collect SS benefits until you either reach your FRA or earn less. The earnings test no longer applies after you reach your FRA. So, if you're now employed full time and plan to stay so until age 70, and you expect at least average longevity (about 84 for someone your current age), delaying until age 70 to claim Social Security is how to get your maximum Social Security benefit.
As for your healthcare coverage as a veteran: TriCare requires you to enroll in Medicare Part A (inpatient hospitalization coverage) and Part B (coverage for outpatient services) at age 65, but you do not need to take Social Security when you enroll in Medicare. You must, however, enroll in Medicare at age 65 or you will lose your TriCare (military) healthcare coverage. You could choose to delay enrolling in Medicare at 65 because you have “creditable” employer coverage, but if you do so you will lose your current TriCare coverage and need to rely solely on your employer healthcare plan. In that case, you would still be able to enroll in both Medicare and TriCare-for-Life without penalty prior to your employer coverage ending and have coverage under both programs thereafter. I suggest you contact TriCare directly at 1-866-773-0404 to discuss your personal TriCare coverage after age 65. You can also go to www.TriCare4U.com.
Whenever you enroll, Medicare will be the primary payer of your healthcare costs and TriCare will be the secondary payor. Your vision, dental, and prescription drug coverage would be through TriCare (Medicare does not cover those services) or acquired separately. Just remember, you must be enrolled in Medicare Part A and Part B to have TriCare-for-Life coverage after age 65.

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Evoke positive emotions by adding the pantone color of the year to your garden
By MELINDA MYERS

Add a warm, cozy feel to this year’s gardens with the 2024 Pantone Color of the Year, Peach Fuzz. It was selected for generating a feeling of kindness and tenderness and encouraging sharing, community, and collaboration. Consider including this color in your garden to convey these emotions or as a good excuse to add more plants to your landscape.
This is the 25th year the Pantone Color Institute has selected a color that reflects the spirit of the times. These are colors you are likely to see in home furnishings, advertisements, and even our landscapes.
Peach Fuzz lies somewhere between pink and salmon. Many garden plants have flowers that fit into this color spectrum and can be used in containers and garden beds.
Dianthus Vivacia Orange is hardy to zone 7a but can be used as an annual in colder areas. The large double flowers top 10- to 16-inch-tall plants and are showy during the cooler months of the growing season. They combine nicely with other flowers and their sturdy stems make them suitable for cutting.
SuperTrouperÔ Orange Dianthus has similar colored flowers that are about 20% smaller. It is hardy in zones 5 to 9 and has a spicy fragrance.
Celosia Celway™ Salmon has the same heat and drought tolerance as other celosias. The spiky blooms are held atop 40- to 48-inch stems, making them great additions to the middle or back of the border.
If you love salvias, you can find a variety of peachy-colored blossoms. These plants tend to be deer-resistant and hummingbird magnets. Just check the plant tag for more specific information on the mature size and hardiness.
Luxury Lace daylily has subtly fragrant star-shaped flowers. Hardy in zones four to eight it has the same low maintenance requirements as other daylilies. Just water thoroughly when needed.
Geum ‘Mai Tai’ has vermillion red flowers that fade to a peachy pink early in the season. The 18-inch-tall burgundy stems are a nice contrast to the flowers. Grow it in full sun with moist soil in zones five to seven.
Last but certainly not least is threadleaf coreopsis ‘Crème Caramel’ (Coreopsis verticillata ‘Crème Caramel’). Hardy in zones five to nine, it slowly spreads making it a nice addition to a sunny slope or traditional border. The fine foliage blends nicely with other flowers, adding welcome texture to any planting. Watch the peachy-pink flowers deepen to salmon when temperatures cool.
Use the artist’s color wheel to find colors that pair well with these and other peach-fuzz-colored flowers and foliage. Then look for opportunities to add interesting texture for some additional pizzazz. You and your visitors will enjoy the cozy warm feeling when walking through your landscape.

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Dik-dik
Poor little dik-diks are as cute as cute can get. The little antelopes, the biggest of which grow to less than 16 inches in height and, at best, weigh in at somewhere between 6 and 15 pounds, may not be on an endangered species list but they are in danger, nonetheless. Carnivores in the grasslands of eastern and southern Africa such as jackals, lizards, hyenas, wild dogs, pythons, birds of prey hunt them. Humans, too, track and kill them for their hides to make fancy gloves.

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Help wanted
The U.K. Antarctic Heritage Trust owns and operates what is known as “the penguin post office” located at the Port Lockroy base on Goudier Island. It will soon be the beginning of winter down under and they need to hire three English employees to sort the mail and to keep watch over some 1,500 penguins. While it is, indeed, a “unique opportunity to live in a landscape that makes you feel pure awe and wonder” it’s not a job for anyone. The new employees will need to risk a few hardships such as cabin fever and the lack of running water.

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Mystery
They call themselves The Most Famous Artists and a few years ago they claimed that they were responsible for several silver monolith that mysteriously showed up in the U.S. and Europe in 2020. But no one has claimed the sudden appearance recently of a similar monolith on a hillside in Wales. Photographer Richard Haynes came across it and said that “it was about 10-foot-tall at least and triangular, definitely stainless steel. It was hollow and I imagine pretty light, light enough for two people to carry it up and plant it in the ground.”

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Medal of Honor: Army Tech. Sgt. Carlton W. Barrett

By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News

Army Tech. Sgt. Carlton W. Barrett is one of four soldiers who earned the Medal of Honor on D-Day when more than 160,000 Allied forces breached the shores of Nazi-occupied France as part of the biggest air, land and sea invasion ever executed. A lot of men died that day, but Barrett helped save as many as he could. For that, he earned the Medal of Honor.
Barrett was born on Nov. 24, 1919, in Fulton, New York, to Lester and Olive Barrett. He had two older siblings, Madeline and Roland, the latter of whom also joined the military during World War II.
Barrett dropped out of high school. In 1940, shortly before his 21st birthday, he decided to enlist in the Army. He was assigned to the 18th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division.
Within a year and a half, the U.S. had joined World War II, and Barrett was in the thick of it. He took part in the North Africa and Sicilian campaigns before being assigned to one of the most important missions of the war – the invasion of Normandy, France, so the Allies could regain a foothold on the European continent.
On June 6, 1944 – D-Day – then-Pvt. Barrett was a field guide who helped coordinate troops and communications. Early that morning near the shores of St. Laurent-sur-Mer, France, Barrett's landing craft dropped him and several other soldiers into neck-deep waters off Omaha Beach, where they immediately faced a bombardment of enemy mortar and small-arms fire while trying to wade ashore.
Several times, Barrett ignored the chaos and went back into the swirling waters to help his fellow soldiers, many of whom were floundering and drowning in the panic.
Despite being short and slight by nature – researchers said he was about 5'4" and 125 pounds — Barrett refused to be pinned down by the intense enemy barrage coming toward them. According to his Medal of Honor citation, Barrett's fierce determination led him to save several lives by carrying the wounded to an evacuation boat offshore.
Throughout the extreme stress of the day, Barrett rose up as a leader, doing more than what was required of him. His citation said he also carried dispatches across the entire fire-swept beach, calmed the shocked and helped treat the wounded, despite suffering four wounds himself. Barrett was injured in both hips, his left leg and his foot, wounds that eventually led to his own evacuation off the beachhead.
Barrett was sent back to the U.S. for treatment. He spent about five months in hospitals due to his injuries and two bouts of malaria that he suffered. He was finally discharged in October 1944 and sent back to the European theater.
Barrett's calm demeanor on D-Day earned him the Medal of Honor, which he received in Paris on Nov. 17, 1944, after he was promoted to corporal. The medal was given to him by Army Gen. John C.H. Lee, who commanded the European communications zone.
Three other Army soldiers earned the Medal of Honor for their actions on June 6, 1944: 1st Lt. Jimmie W. Monteith Jr., Tech. 5th Grade John J. Pinder Jr. and Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt Jr. Sadly, Barrett was the only one who survived to receive it in person; Pinder and Monteith died on D-Day, while Roosevelt died about a month later.
Newspaper reports showed that Barrett never liked to talk about his actions on D-Day. When he did, it was to deflect praise onto the men who didn't make it home.
In July 1945, shortly after the war ended in Europe, Barrett was discharged from the Army. According to a 1945 Brooklyn Daily Eagle article, he took a job with the Department of Internal Revenue (now the IRS) in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens, New York, where his aunt and uncle lived.
However, civilian life must not have suited him, because he reenlisted in the Army in May 1947. That same year, he married his wife, Josephine, who had also served in the war in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. The pair went on to have two daughters, Kathleen and Sharon.
Barrett was stationed for a time in Germany before the family moved to the Los Angeles area so he could serve at the Army and Air Force Recruiting Station in Culver City. The family chose to put down roots in California, remaining there when Barrett was discharged in June 1963 as a technical sergeant.
In his later years, Barrett moved to a senior living facility in Hawthorne, California. According to a Kansas City Times newspaper article, his right leg had to be amputated in 1984 as the result of a war injury.
Barrett died March 3, 1986, at the California Veterans Home in Yountville, California. His obituary in the Napa Valley Register said he died of pneumonia and heart failure after a long illness. Barrett is buried in Napa Valley Memorial Gardens in nearby Napa, California.
Barrett's memory lives on in the Army and in his hometown. In Fulton, June 6, 2023, was officially dubbed Cpl. Carlton William Barrett Day. Army enthusiasts can see his medal in person at a display at the First Division Museum at Cantigny in Wheaton, Illinois.

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Top eight usage mistakes when using outdoor power equipment

As the weather warms and people are coaxed outside to their yards and managed landscapes, it’s time for everyone to remember how to use their outdoor power equipment safely and properly.
“Think safety first,” says Kris Kiser, President and CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI), an international trade association representing outdoor power equipment, small engine, utility vehicle, golf car and personal transport vehicle manufacturers and suppliers. “I can’t stress enough to review manufacturer’s safety guidance before starting up any equipment—especially your lawn mower. Review your owner’s manual and do maintenance on your equipment.”
Also being aware of surroundings is key, he adds. “And be sure to keep kids and pets away from outdoor power equipment while it’s in use.”
OPEI urges homeowners and other equipment users to avoid these eight most common mistakes when using outdoor power equipment.
1. Thinking all mowers are the same. You need to know how to handle your specific equipment correctly, and do basic operations like turning it off or on and controlling speed. Review your owner’s manual and how to use the equipment before use.
2. Not inspecting equipment before use. Always look over equipment before operating it. Check the air filter, oil level and gasoline tank. Watch for loose belts and missing or damaged parts. Replace any parts needed or take your equipment to a qualified service representative.
3. Not walking through your yard or work area before starting to mow or using other outdoor power equipment. Always walk the area you intend to work in, and look for and remove objects, sticks and other items that could create a hazard.
4. Removing or not using safety guards on the equipment. Never alter or disable safety protection measures. If needed, take equipment to a qualified service representative for repairs and inspection.
5. Using fuels not designed for equipment. Loading up your outdoor power equipment with gasoline with more than 10% ethanol in it can cause running problems and damage the fuel line. Always use E10 or less.
6. Using batteries or chargers that are not specified by the manufacturer. While a host of batteries and chargers can be found for sale online, only use batteries and chargers specified by the equipment manufacturer.
7. Not storing fuel and batteries safely. Coffee cans, milk jugs and other non-approved containers should not be used to store fuel. Only store fuel in containers designed for it, and always use up fuel before it is 30 days old. Label fuel cans with the date of purchase and ethanol content. When battery packs are not in use, keep them away from other metal objects, like paper clips, coins, keys, nails, screws or other small metal objects, that can make a connection from one terminal to another. Shorting the battery terminals together may cause burns or a fire.
8. Not cleaning or storing equipment well. Equipment will run more efficiently and last longer if it’s cleaned. Always remove dirt, oil or grass before using and storing your equipment. Store equipment in a dry place, avoiding damp or wet environments.

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Shopping for Yard Equipment: Things to Know

With the weather warming up, now is the time to think about how you want your yard to serve your family, pets and wildlife. Maybe you’re aiming to have the best yard on the block, want to install an outdoor family room or outdoor office, or want to expand your space for entertaining. Perhaps your kids or pets could use a better space for play. Regardless of need, now is the time to get “backyard ready” for spring. What tools do you need?
“Completing big outdoor jobs is always easier with help from outdoor power equipment,” said Kris Kiser, President and CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI). “The right outdoor power equipment can help you get the work done faster and can help you safely maintain your yard.”
Here are some tips from Kiser to help you select the machinery you need to get the job done.
Plan your needs. Draw a sketch of your yard. Include any major features like trees, bushes, an herb or vegetable garden, flower beds, lawn furniture, play or sports equipment, an outdoor patio, or bird bath. Note where maintenance may be required. Will bushes need to be trimmed back from your home or garage? Do you want to put in some flowering bushes or a tree? Are you planning to install a fence and more grass because for your pet? Now list the tools and equipment needed to take care of your yard, and what will make the job easier.
Consider equipment needed. Visit your garage or shed and find your lawn and garden tools. Wheel out your mower and get out other equipment. Look it over and make a list of what is needed or could be upgraded. Repair anything that needs attention or identify where a newer or other machine is required. If you have a large vegetable garden, you may need a cultivator or tiller. If you have a large lawn, an upgrade to a riding lawn mower might make mowing easier. A string trimmer might make caring for bushes or trimming grass near a fence line easier. A pole pruner can help trim back limbs that are too high to reach safely with a saw, and a leaf blower can clear leaves faster than a rake.
Research equipment online before you buy. Think about efficiencies of scale. The right equipment can mean more time for other activities, and make doing yard work more enjoyable, too. Doing online research in advance will help you pick the right equipment for the job. Outdoor power equipment can be gas, electric or battery powered, and technology is rapidly impacting product design. There are even robotic lawn mowers available today. Equipment may be sized to handle a smaller job or a massive one. Ultimately, your decision should be based on your needs.
Ask questions. Talk with the staff at the store or ask online about the equipment. In the store, ask to pick up and hold equipment to determine its “fit” for you. Discuss safety features and ask about manufacturer fueling and care instructions. Find out how often equipment may need to be serviced.
Make a plan for storage and maintenance. Store your equipment in a cool and dry place. It also should typically be serviced at the end of the fall and the beginning of the spring. Put service dates on your calendar with a reminder.

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Three tips for creating nutritious, budget-friendly meals

Finding the ingredients to create healthy meals without breaking the bank might seem more difficult lately, but eating well does not have to be an impossible task. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) both encourage plenty of planning to make weekly meals and grocery shopping a success. Celebrate National Nutrition Month by using these three tips and tricks during your next trip to the store.
1. Have a plan.
Whether cooking for one person or a whole family, setting a budget and planning your meals for the week can save you time and money at the store. Make your grocery list based off of the meals you plan to make for the week and try to limit the extra items on your list to household supplies, hygiene items and other necessities. Including snacks in your meal plan might be a good idea if you tend to eat them during the day or have kids who expect them after school.
2. Shop deals.
If your grocery store sends out a weekly ad with coupons or if you typically shop at stores that have apps, check out their weekly deals as you choose your meals for the week. See what ingredients you can get on sale or at a reduced price, and consider switching up your menu if you want to spend less money. Coupons can be a great way to save money, and some stores also offer personalized deals based on past purchases. Buying generic or store-brand items can help cut costs as well.
3. Cook healthy meals.
Once you’ve done the planning and shopping, it’s time to make nutritious meals with your grocery haul. Buy lean proteins in bulk so you can separate them into smaller portions and freeze the ones you don’t plan to use immediately. Include frozen or canned fruits and vegetables in your recipes, too. Preparing large batches of food and freezing portions for later gives you healthier choices when you need a quick meal or haven’t made your weekly grocery run yet.

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Social Security Matters
By RUSSELL GLOOR, National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation, the non-profit arm of the Association of Mature American Citizens

Ask Rusty – How Do Survivor Benefits Work for a Married Couple?

Dear Rusty: How does Social Security handle the death of one spouse? Say, for example, the husband receives $2,000 per month in Social Security and his wife receives $1,000 per month. How is the death of either spouse handled? Signed: Concerned spouse
Dear Concerned: Benefits to a deceased beneficiary stop as soon as Social Security (SS) is notified of the death (notification usually done by the funeral director who handles arrangements). Benefits are not paid for the month of death, only for the preceding month when the beneficiary was alive for the entire month.
A surviving spouse is entitled to the higher of two benefits – their own personally earned SS retirement benefit, or an amount based on the deceased spouse’s benefit at death. In the example you cite, and assuming the surviving spouse has reached full retirement age (FRA): if the husband dies first the wife will receive the husband’s $2,000 monthly benefit instead of her previous $1,000 amount. But if the wife died first, the husband would continue receiving only his $2,000 monthly amount because that is more than his deceased wife was receiving. Note in either case, the surviving spouse would be entitled to a one-time lump sum “death benefit” of $255.
The surviving spouse would need to contact Social Security to claim the “death benefit” and - unless the surviving spouse was previously receiving only a spousal benefit – also to claim the higher monthly amount, if eligible. If the surviving spouse was previously receiving only a spousal benefit from the deceased (and not entitled to SS retirement benefits on their own), then Social Security would automatically award their higher survivor amount when notified of the death.
If a surviving spouse has reached full retirement age (somewhere between 66 and 67 depending on year of birth) and is eligible for a survivor benefit, the amount of the survivor benefit will be 100% of the deceased spouse’s benefit. But if the survivor claims the benefit before reaching FRA, the amount of the survivor benefit will be reduced (by 4.75% for each full year earlier). The survivor’s benefit reaches maximum at the survivor’s full retirement age.
If a surviving spouse has not yet reached their FRA, and if they are entitled to (not necessarily collecting) their own Social Security retirement benefit, the surviving spouse has the option to delay claiming the survivor benefit until it reaches maximum at their full retirement age. And if the survivor’s personal SS retirement benefit will ever be more than their maximum survivor benefit, the surviving spouse also has the option to claim only the smaller survivor benefit first and allow their personal SS retirement benefit to grow (to maximum at age 70 if desired).
With Social Security there is hardly ever a simple answer to a question but, in the example you use, if both are over their SS full retirement age:
• If the husband dies first, the wife will get 100% of the amount ($2000) the husband was receiving, instead of the small amount ($1000) she was previously receiving.
• If the wife dies first, the husband’s monthly benefit will remain at $2000, and he will get no increase in his monthly amount.
• In either case, the surviving spouse will be entitled to a one-time lump sum death benefit of $255.

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Medal of Honor: Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Richard Etchberger
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News
Many military men and women do heroic things that they can't get credit for because they're involved in classified missions. For Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Richard Loy Etchberger, he finally did get credit in the form of the Medal of Honor 42 years after he lost his life saving others during the Vietnam War.
Etchberger was born March 5, 1933, in Hamburg, Pennsylvania, to Donald and Kathryn Etchberger. He had an older brother named Robert.
When their father lost his job after the Pearl Harbor attacks, both boys started to work odd jobs to help with finances. Eventually, the family moved to nearby Minersville, Pennsylvania, so his dad could find more work. There, Etchberger became a star basketball player and excelled in academics. His brother said it helped that he had a photographic memory.
"When he would go upstairs to study, he would be done in 10 minutes. Then, he was back downstairs doing whatever he wanted. That used to infuriate me because I couldn't learn my lessons that quickly," Robert Etchberger said in an interview for an article on the Airmen Memorial Museum website.
After World War II ended, the family moved back to Hamburg, where Etchberger finished high school. He was the senior class president by the time he graduated in 1951.
A few weeks later, Etchberger enlisted in the Air Force. He initially wanted to be a pilot, his brother said, but due to an injury that lingered from his basketball days, he washed out of aviation school. Instead, he was trained as a radio operator and came to be known to be an electronics whiz.
A few years into his service, Etchberger met Catherine Vaccaria while on assignment in Utah. The pair married in 1956, with Etchberger taking on the role of stepfather to Catherine's son, Steve. By 1959, they had two more sons, Richard and Cory.
In August 1965, Etchberger and the whole family were transferred to Clark Air Base in the Philippines. Aside from his standard duties there, Etchberger was also the communications and electronics noncommissioned officer in charge of a radar control post on Hon Tree Island in Vietnam, where the U.S. was now at war.
After a brief stint back in the U.S., Etchberger was assigned to the 1043rd Radar Evaluation Squadron and placed on a top-secret Air Force/CIA mission code-named Project Heavy Green. It called for Etchberger and a small team to go to a small radar station on top of a remote mountain in Laos that was being used to direct U.S. air support to North Vietnam during the early years of the war.
The mission wasn't easy to join. Etchberger and the other airmen involved needed to be released from the Air Force and hired by Lockheed Corporation to avoid giving the perception that Laos was involved with the U.S. government in the war. When the mission was over, the airmen would be welcomed back into the Air Force.
In early 1968, Etchberger and his team made it to the radar station, which was called Lima Site 85. From that mountainous jungle perch, which was only 12 miles from North Vietnam, about 40 airmen controlled hundreds of air strikes into enemy territory during the 1968 Rolling Thunder campaign.
The North Vietnamese knew the value of the site, so they made many attempts to take it out. None were successful until March 10, 1968, when they began to attack the site with heavy artillery. By nightfall, Etchberger and his off-duty team realized their sleeping quarters were vulnerable to the shelling, so they hid with their guns and survival radios on a ledge partially protected by a rocky overhang for the rest of the night.
Early the next morning, enemy commandos scaled the cliff the compound was on, killing 11 of the 19 Americans working at the site. While Etchberger's team was initially spared, it didn't take long for the enemy to find them and start attacking, killing two airmen and seriously injuring two others.
Since Etchberger was a radar technician, he didn't have any formal combat training. But that didn't stop him from picking up arms and defending their position. For hours, Etchberger single-handedly held off the enemy with an M-16 rifle, all while calling for air rescue and directing air strikes that were practically right on top of him.
Once rescuers arrived, Etchberger risked his own life several times, running through heavy fire to put three of his wounded comrades into rescue slings hanging from the hovering rescue helicopter. But when he finally climbed into the sling himself and was lifted to the chopper, he was hit by a burst of gunfire. Etchberger survived the initial helicopter flight, but he died before he could be transported for further medical treatment.
Etchberger, who had turned 35 the week prior, gave his own life to save the lives of his remaining crew. Of the 19 men on the mountain that night, only seven made it out alive — three of them thanks to Etchberger's actions.
The slain airman's body was returned to the U.S. and buried in St. Johns Cemetery in his hometown.
Since details of the mission were classified, Etchberger was secretly awarded the Air Force Cross. Nine months after the mission, his wife, who accepted the honor on his behalf, was told the real story of what happened to her husband; however, she was sworn to secrecy. Etchberger's sons didn't even learn the truth until the late 1980's when the details were finally declassified.
Once his actions were no longer a secret, they remained relatively hidden in the past until the early 2000's. That's when Air Force Master Sgt. Robert Dilley read about Etchberger's heroism and thought more should be done to honor him. Dilley wrote his local congressman, and, together, they began a years-long movement to have Etchberger recognized with the Medal of Honor.
That dream came to fruition on Sept. 21, 2010, when Etchberger's sons received the nation's highest medal for valor in their father's name from President Barack Obama during a White House ceremony.
Etchberger's wife, Catherine, was also recognized for her own personal sacrifice in keeping the secret — something she never told anyone, even upon her death in 1994.
"She kept that promise, to her husband and her country, all those years, not even telling her own sons," Obama said. "So, today is also a tribute to Catherine Etchberger and a reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices that our military spouses make on behalf of our nation."
Etchberger's actions continue to be honored in the military today. Various Air Force bases have renamed streets and buildings for him, including Barksdale Air Force Base, which also displays his name etched in a granite monument. Etchberger's family donated his chief's uniform and various other items to a display honoring him at the Air Force Senior NCO Academy at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.

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5 nutritional powerhouses to easily add to your diet this month

Fredericksburg Fitness Studio, a private personal training studio, is dishing up tasty options to boost nutrition

FREDERICKSBURG, Virginia – March is National Nutrition Month, making it a great time to look at our diet and see if there is something we can add to make us healthier. We get plenty of information about what to remove from our diets, which can be difficult because we are creatures of habit, but adding a few powerful things can help boost our health and be convenient. Improving our nutritional intake doesn't have to be boring or difficult; it comes down to knowing which items pack a powerful nutritional punch.
"Let’s take a break from trying to remove things and focus more on adding in some healthy foods," explains Jennifer Scherer, a registered dietitian nutritionist, medical exercise specialist, certified personal trainer, and owner of Fredericksburg Fitness Studio. “Getting the right nutrients into the body can help in a variety of ways, and it is something that everyone can do."
According to the Centers for Disease and Prevention, adults who eat a healthy diet live longer and have a lower risk of obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. Healthy eating can also help manage chronic diseases. Additionally, research published in the journal Nutrients reports that nutrient inadequacies can impair immune function and weaken immune response. Macronutrients, including vitamins A, C, D, E, and zinc, help with having a healthy immune system.
Focusing on adding some nutritional powerhouses to the diet can be a simple way to meet more nutritional needs without feeling like people are making big sacrifices or getting rid of foods they love. Nutritional powerhouses can add a lot by providing macronutrients and antioxidants to the diet.
Here are 5 nutritional powerhouses to add this month:
Dark chocolate. Need we say more? Most people love chocolate, but they don't realize that it's a nutritional powerhouse when they opt for the dark variety. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, dark chocolate contains 50-90% cocoa, compared to milk chocolate, which contains 10-50% cocoa. They report that it provides iron, copper, magnesium, zinc, and antioxidants, which may help protect the heart. Opt for dark chocolate that is 70% or more cocoa to get the most benefit.
Beans. Adding more beans and legumes to the diet can have some great benefits. A study published in the journal Nutrients reports that phytochemicals found in beans and legumes are considerably beneficial in improving blood cholesterol levels and glycemic status, providing vascular protection, and reducing markers of chronic inflammation. They help to improve the gut microbiome, which is linked to everything from losing weight to brain health.
Ginger. Adding ginger to the diet can help in various ways, and it can be as easy as making a batch of ginger shots once a week and consuming one daily or adding it to oatmeal or chia seed pudding. According to the National Institutes of Health, ginger root improves immune system action and acts as an antibacterial/viral agent, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory agent, and anti-cancer agent.
Green tea. Tea, whether black or green, provides antioxidants that can help protect the body from free radicals. According to research published in the journal Chinese Medicine, the high amount of polyphenols and potent antioxidants in green tea may help reduce the risks of many chronic diseases. The researchers report that green tea may also help lower blood pressure, which can help reduce the risks of stroke and heart disease.
Kimchi. This fermented Korean food can easily be purchased in the produce section of most grocery stores. Keeping a jar in the refrigerator and eating a tablespoon or more daily can provide health benefits. A research study published in the journal Medicine reports that studies have shown that the biological compounds of kimchi stimulate immune function and reduce pro-oxidants, free radicals, certain cancers, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome risks, and aging.
“If you feel all five of these are simple enough to add, then go for it,” Scherer added. “If you are not yet ready for something like that, pick one or two. Adding one or two of these to your routine will be beneficial, and you can always add more later.”
Scherer is a registered dietitian nutritionist who helps people improve their diet, plan for sustainable weight loss, and learn to include healthier food choices. She and her team offer nutrition coaching services, wellness, personal training, in-home medical training, virtual personal training, and a Pilates reformer program, which features a versatile machine designed to provide resistance. It can be used when standing, sitting, or lying down. All workouts on it are custom-tailored for the individual to address their physical fitness concerns.

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Selecting the right potting mix for your plantings

By MELINDA MYERS

As gardeners, it seems we are all looking for an ideal potting mix for our houseplants and containers. As with any gardening endeavor, a lot depends on what is available, the plants you are growing, and the type of maintenance you provide.
That said, there are some things you can do to increase your success and reduce ongoing maintenance. It all starts by reviewing the label on the bag you plan to purchase. You’ll find a variety of bags labeled as planting mix, potting mix, container mix, and more. Check the label to see what the bag contains and recommendations for its use.
These mixes usually contain inorganic and organic materials and may also include sand and mineral soil. They may or may not be sterilized to kill weed seeds and pests. If it doesn’t say sterilized, it probably is not, and you should consider another product instead.
Many potting mixes are labeled as “soilless.” They consist of peat moss, sphagnum moss, and compost for moisture retention and vermiculite or perlite for drainage but do not contain mineral soils such as sand or clay. They are lightweight and blended to hold moisture while draining well.
Some potting mixes are modified to accommodate the needs of certain plants. Orchid mixes often contain more bark for better aeration while cacti and succulent mixes have more sand or perlite for better drainage. African Violet potting mix contains more organic matter to create a moist, rich growing medium.
Organic potting mixes are also available. Many gardeners prefer to know the ingredients are free of pesticides and other contaminants. Check for the word organic and OMRI on the label if you want an organic product.
Once again, check the label on the bag for more details on the potting mix. Some potting mixes contain a “starter charge” of fertilizer. This minimal amount of fertilizer is usually gone after two or three waterings. Some include additional fertilizer that provides small amounts of nutrients over a longer period. The label may say controlled-release, time-release, or slow-release fertilizer, meaning it provides your plants with nutrients for a certain amount of time.
Moisture retaining products are supposed to hold water near plant roots and reduce the frequency of watering. Research has not shown them to be effective. Some gardeners feel they are effective while others end up with root rot when using these.
Consider adding an organic product, like Wild Valley Farms wool pellets (wildvalleyfarms.com) to potting mixes that do not contain moisture-retaining products. It is sustainable, made from wool waste, University-tested, and has been shown to reduce watering by up to twenty percent, while also increasing air space and adding organic matter.
Select bags of potting mix that are light, fluffy, and moist. Avoid bags that are waterlogged and heavy. The mix can break down and become compacted and some of the slow-release fertilizer may be pre-released and damage young seedlings when saturated with water.
Spend a bit of time searching for the potting mix that best matches the plants you are growing and your watering regime. The time spent selecting your perfect potting mix will pay off with greater growing success.

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Here’s one for cinephiles
Die-hard movie buffs are celebrating a flick that was just released—for a second time. It made its first debut just about a hundred years ago featuring that femme fatale of the day, Miss Clara Bow. The film, The Pill Pounder, made its debut in 1923 and then was lost. Gary Huggins of Kansas City found it recently at an antique film fest in Omaha, NE when he purchased a stack of oldies for twenty bucks. He told reporters that "a distributor that had been in Omaha for decades had gone out of business a while ago and this auction house had some of their films. It was the best 20 dollars I've ever invested, for sure."

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The odds are one in 400 million
The cow was born with two heads. It happened in Cossinade, Louisiana. The odds were not one in a million, as the saying goes; it was one in 400 million, says Eric and Dawn Breaux who own the cow. The condition is called polycephaly and the experts say most of the time critters are stillborn or live just for a few hours or days. The cow was still alive on day eight when the news of its birth made headlines. At the time, Mrs. Breaux told reporters: “She has trouble lifting her head but is holding it up more and more as she is getting stronger. She is not standing on her own yet so she is unable to nurse on her mom. We have been bottle feeding her from the start.”

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Growing old
It took a while, but Fred Allen Smalls finally got his diploma from the Georgetown County High School in the town of Plantersville. He missed graduation when he moved to Washington, DC to help support his family. Born on February 5, 1918, he recently turned 106 years of age and he is still going strong. Tamara Baker, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, told NBC News that “it’s the positive social networks — the ones that are going to influence you, or get behind you to go to the doctor, to do the exercise, to eating properly. Even in some of the more impoverished neighborhoods, if you have that positive social network, that can go a long way.”

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Enjoy and protect hydrangeas from hungry deer
By MELINDA MYERS

Low maintenance, beautiful flowers, and plenty of varieties have made hydrangeas a favorite landscape plant. It seems you can’t visit a garden center or nursery without being tempted by one of the traditional favorites or newer hydrangea varieties.
Despite their easy-care nature, hungry deer can make it difficult to fully enjoy these plants. Rutgers University rates landscape plants based on their susceptibility to deer damage. According to Rutgers, hydrangeas are occasionally severely damaged by deer, meaning they are a plant preferred by deer and protection is advised. Your experience may be different and can vary from year to year, but it is always wise to be prepared to protect key plants in your landscape.
Deer like to browse leaves, tender shoots, flower buds, and blossoms. Damage is worse when populations are high, food is scarce, and when environmental stresses like cold and deep snow are present. Once deer find a place to dine, they tend to return. Their damage has a rough or torn appearance as opposed to a clean cut like that made by a pruner. Preventing damage is always the best way to maximize your enjoyment. Even if your plants have escaped damage in the past, continue to watch for deer tracks, droppings, and plant damage.
Fencing is one option but not always the most attractive or practical. An eight-foot fence is the recommended height for protecting large areas. The University of Minnesota found deer can be kept out of small gardens that are 8 x 16 feet or smaller with much shorter fences. Sturdy decorative posts and somewhat invisible deer fencing tend to make a less obtrusive fence. Always check with your local municipality for any fencing restrictions.
Many gardeners report success using high-test fishing line. Create a barrier using strong five-foot posts with the fishing line spaced at two-foot intervals.
Scare tactics may provide some short-term help. Motion-sensitive sprinklers, noise makers, and smells are often used. Several gardeners reported success placing colorful wine bottles inverted over rebar posts. The rattling helped discourage deer browsing and added an ornamental element to the garden. Change scare tactics to increase success.
Place key plants closer to your home, in the back of large beds, or surrounded by less susceptible plants. Making it hard to reach the plants can help discourage damage to hydrangeas.
Repellents are another option. Treat susceptible plants before the deer start browsing for the best results. Look for a rain and snow-resistant product, like organic Plantskydd (plantskydd.com), which does not need to be reapplied as often. That means you’ll save time applying and spend less money.
Maximize results by treating new growth according to the label directions. Most liquid repellents need time to dry and can only be applied when temperatures are above freezing. Always check the label for the product being applied and follow the directions for the best results.
Continue to monitor the landscape for signs of deer presence and damage and adjust your management strategies as needed. Be persistent so you can increase your success.

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10 principles that help make a great CEO

Many people dream of being a chief executive officer (CEO), and for good reason. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the mean annual wage for a CEO is nearly $250,000. Those in this position serve the operational activities at the highest management level. But what exactly does it take to get to the top? According to one CEO, some tried, and true principles must be a top priority for anyone who wants to make it to that position and thrive in it.
“Being a great CEO doesn’t just happen," says Arrive CEO Dan O’Toole. "It is something that you have to strive for and work toward. It’s crucial to have some principles that you stand by, so they can guide you along your journey.”
O'Toole has used a set of guiding principles to help him reach a comfortable level of success. His company has developed a new smart mailbox that it uses as a Mailbox-as-a-Service (Maas) platform. The mailbox has been designed to leverage AI to provide consumers with a way to receive deliveries that offer security, weather protection, video analytics, and much more. His ingenuity revolutionizes the final autonomous last mile delivery sector, helping consumers and businesses alike.
Here are 10 principles every CEO should live by to be successful:
Persistence pays. Sticking with the plan is a big part of succeeding. Too many people give up before reaching the level of success they are after.
Lead by example and be the group you want to deal with. Being a leader in the field will help people get farther than following others. Treating others how you want to be treated in the field will help in unforeseen ways.
Go boldly where no one has gone before. It is crucial not to be afraid to explore new territory. Sure, it may be a little scary, but that's okay and may be significant. We would only have new inventions if people adhered to this principle.
When one person has an idea, 10 people have that same idea simultaneously. Win the race. Execute!With billions of people on the planet, many people have had the same idea, so it all comes down to who takes action to see it through.
Remember where you came from. Every successful CEO should stick to loyalty, integrity, and love. Some people helped them get where they are and should be remembered and respected.
Own your actions. Be responsible.Always take responsibility for your decisions, even if the outcome wasn't expected or hoped for. This is how people earn respect and trust.
It’s the principle. Be principled.Determine what things will be a guiding force in the journey and stick to them. Don’t compromise on values.
Spend every dollar like it’s your last. Living by this principle will help the company financially, and this principle goes back to owning your actions.
Explore everything - optionality is everything.Being able to have choices is a good thing. There are only choices if you are willing to explore.
From within - consistently reward those who have rewarded you.Nobody is an island becoming a successful CEO on their own. Businesses can only rise to the top with the help of others. Be aware of those who have helped and help them back.
"Remember that you can always create your own principles, too,” O’Toole adds. "There are many great ones out there, but you need to find what resonates with you and use it to help you reach the top.”

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Remain calm
The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission issued a video report recently showing a rather large bear crawling out of a cabin’s rather small vent hole. The critter had apparently spent the winter indoors. The Commission did not identify the location of the home; instead it warned residents living in wildlife locations to beware of bears. They said that if you come across signs that there’s a den near your home, "remain calm, leave the area quickly and quietly, and do not disturb the den for the rest of the winter season."

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‘Firefall’
It sure looks like someone set fire to a waterfall in California’s Yosemite National Park. But it’s a trick the sun plays on visitors each year at this time. Photographer Jay Huang says he’s been trying to capture what he calls the Yosemite's Horsetail Fall “firefall effect” over the years but this time he got it just right on video “in the last 30 minutes of sunset without any obstruction from clouds.”

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He’s a record holder
Most Guinness World Record holders are proud of their achievements but David Rush, who has broken more than 250 Guinness World Records to date, is aiming to win more records than anyone else in the world. He’s currently the number two record-holder, having recently won a title for using his head to bounce a soccer ball into a trash can 52 feet and 5.9 inches away. Rush says he’s aiming to win a new record each and every week.

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Medal of Honor: Marine Corps Sgt. William Harrell

By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News

World War II's Battle of Iwo Jima is considered one of the bloodiest ever fought by Marines. Marine Corps Sgt. William George Harrell's story embodies the grim fortitude and exceptional valor put forth that day. Harrell lost both of his hands while fending off the Japanese. His fighting spirit despite those terrible wounds earned him the Medal of Honor.
Harrell was born June 26, 1922, in Rio Grande City, Texas, along the Mexico border, to parents Roy and Hazel Harrell. His father was a World War I cavalry veteran who, after the war, became a border patrol officer. Harrell had two older siblings, Dick and Virginia.
When their father died in 1931, Harrell's mother moved the family about an hour further east to Mercedes, Texas. Harrell thrived there, becoming a Boy Scout who loved to ride horses, something he picked up from his father. He liked to camp, hunt and boat, and he worked on a ranch during his high school summers before graduating in 1939.
Harrell went to Texas A&M University to study animal husbandry, but after two years, he needed to take a break to earn more money so he could finish those studies. A few months later, the attacks at Pearl Harbor happened, and he decided to join the military instead. Harrell initially tried to join the Army Air Corps and the Navy, but he was turned away due to colorblindness. The Marine Corps accepted his enlistment on July 3, 1942.
After boot camp, Harrell served in San Diego before leaving in February 1943 for Hawaii to serve as an armorer with Company A of the 1st Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division. After spending about two years there, the division was deployed to Saipan and Iwo Jima in the push by the Allies to reach the Japanese homeland.
Intense Battle
The first Marines landed on Iwo Jima on Feb. 19, 1945, with Harrell's unit being sent to the southern part of the volcanic island. By Feb. 24, Marines had taken Mount Suribachi, but elements of enemy resistance remained, hiding in terrain pocked with caves and ravines.
On March 3, Harrell was the leader of an assault group that had been involved in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy. He and another Marine, Pvt. Andrew Carter, took turns standing watch overnight in a narrow two-man foxhole on a little ridge 20 yards in front the company command post. In front of their foxhole, the ridge fell into a ravine that was Japanese territory.
At one point in the early morning, the pair had to repulse an attack. Carter killed four enemies while Harrell took out two. Carter's weapon jammed afterward, so he had to go back to the command post to get another one.
During that time, Japanese troops tried to take advantage. They quickly attacked with gunfire and grenades, forcing Harrell to open fire with his carbine rifle, killing two enemies who were emerging from the ravine. Harrell continued his one-man defense until enemy fire ripped off his left hand and fractured his thigh.
Harrell was trying in vain to reload his rifle when Carter finally returned. Around the same time, an enemy with a saber rushed their foxhole in the darkness, injuring them both. Harrell was able to shoot and kill the Japanese man with his pistol. Carter's knife wound was so serious that Harrell feared he might bleed out, so he ordered his comrade to fall back. Carter left, but only to get another rifle after his jammed again, according to the Marine Corps History Division.
Pushing Through Pain
Harrell himself was profusely bleeding, but he refused to give up. When two more enemy troops charged his position and put a grenade by his head, Harrell shot and killed one of them with his pistol. He then grabbed the live grenade with his right hand and, through pain, pushed it toward the second enemy soldier. It exploded, killing the Japanese assailant but also blowing off Harrell's remaining hand.
At dawn, when the fight had finally ended, fellow Marines found Harrell surrounded by 12 dead Japanese. He was credited with killing at least five of them while defending his post.
Harrell was evacuated to various field hospitals until he was sent back to the U.S. for extensive treatment. According to an article in the Valley Morning Star newspaper out of Harlingen, Texas, Harrell theorized that the combination of explosions and volcanic ash helped seal his wounds and keep him from bleeding to death.
The Battle of Iwo Jima lasted 36 days and is considered one of the bloodiest in Marine Corps history. The valor shown by Marines and Navy hospital corpsmen during the intense fighting led to the awarding of 27 Medals of Honor – the highest number of Medals of Honor ever received for one battle in U.S. history.
Harrell was receiving treatment at the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland (now Walter Reed National Military Medical Center) when he learned he would be one of those recipients. President Harry S. Truman bestowed it upon Harrell during a White House ceremony on Oct. 5, 1945. Thirteen other Marines and corpsmen were also on hand to receive the medal.
Carter, Harrell's companion in the trench during the battle, earned the Navy Cross.
Learning to Adapt
Harrell was discharged from the Marine Corps in February 1946. About a week later, he married Larena Anderson, a nurse he met while receiving treatment at Mare Island Naval Hospital in California. The pair went on to have two children, William and Linda.
After losing both of his hands during the battle, doctors fitted Harrell with prosthetic metal hooks that his family said he adapted to brilliantly. Over time, he was able to ride horses again and even become a good marksman. In a Valley Morning Star article, Harrell's nephew, Richard Harrell, said he was amazed at all the things his uncle could do with his hooks.
"He could do anything. He could drive a tractor, type on a typewriter, light a cigarette or pick up a dime off the floor," Richard Harrell said.
Harrell and his wife moved back to Mercedes before transferring to San Antonio in October 1946 so Harrell could work as a contact representative for amputees for the Department of Veterans Affairs. He was later promoted to chief of the Prosthetics Division. Harrell frequently spoke at events on behalf of disabled veterans.
Harrell and his wife eventually divorced. In 1951, he married again to a woman named Olive Cortese. They had two children, Christie Lee and Gary.
Harrell died on Aug. 9, 1964, at age 42 under uncertain circumstances and was buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio. After his death, his family told the Valley Morning Star he was humble and generous "to a fault" with time and money to friends and strangers.
Harrell's Medal of Honor and awards were put on permanent display at the Sam Houston Sanders Corps of Cadets Center on Texas A&M's campus in 2010, along with a bronze plaque of his military portrait. A dorm was also renamed for him in 1969.
In his hometown of Mercedes, a section of a granite war memorial is dedicated to him. The town high school's Junior ROTC building is named for him, as is the town's middle school in 2015.

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

In February 1692, two girls from Salem, Massachusetts took ill, and a local doctor surmised they were suffering from the effects of witchcraft. The following month, Sarah Goode, Sarah Osborne and - Tituba, a slave from Barbados - professed to be the cause of the nascent epidemic.
According to History.com, "with encouragement from a number of adults ni the community, the girls, who were soon joined by other 'afflicted' Salem residents, accused a widening circle of local residents of witchcraft, mostly middle-aged women but also several men and even one four-year-old child. During the next few months, afflicted area residents incriminated more than 150 women and men from Salem Village and the surrounding areas of Satanic practices."
For more about the witches of Salem, the Grateful American Book Prize recommends A Break with Charity: A Story about the Salem Witch Trials Ann Rinaldi.

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In March of 1876 - three days after receiving his patent - Alexander Graham Bell made the world's first telephone call to his assistant, Thomas Watson.
According to History.com, Bell emigrated to the United States in 1871. Then, he "went to Boston to demonstrate his father's method of teaching speech to
the deaf. The next year, he opened a school in Boston for training teachers of the deaf ... In his free time, Bell experimented with sound waves and became convinced that it would be possible to transmit speech over a telegraph-like system. He enlisted the aid of a gifted mechanic, Thomas Watson ... the two spent countless nights trying to convert Bell's ideas into practical form to transmit speech vibrations electrically between two receivers. in June 1875 [he] tested [the] invention."
Now, American processes approximately 2.4 billion cellphone-based calls each day; 27% come from landlines.
For more information, The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Reluctant Genius: The Passionate Life and Inventive Mind of Alexander Graham Bell by Charlotte Gray.

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America's first baseball pro-Harry Wright - started as a cricket player. On March 15, 1869, he organized--and played for the Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first professional baseball team.
According to History.com, "the Red Stockings finished the season with a 57-0 record -- 64-0 with exhibitions included. Baseball was still in the underhand-pitch iteration ... so the team
routinely scored dozens of runs in games. The Red Stockings defeated the Buckeyes of Cincinnati ... Wright, given roughly $10,000 to assemble the best team money could buy, signed his younger brother, George, to a team-high $1,400 salary." [$31,748,78 in 2024 dollars].
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Stephen D. Guschov's The Red Stockings of Cincinnati: Base Ball's First All-Professional Team and Its Historic 1869 and 1870 Seasons.

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UAMS House Call

With DR. BALA SIMON
Associate professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Q: How can I protect my eyes and still watch the upcoming eclipse?
A: A solar eclipse will occur April 8. Arkansas is in the “path of totality” — meaning many people here will have a chance to observe a total solar eclipse where the moon completely blocks the sun. Per NASA, this will be the last total solar eclipse visible in the United States until 2044.
An eclipse can be enjoyed safely by taking the proper precautions. Looking directly at the sun is never safe — even when the sun is partially hidden. The ultraviolet and infrared rays can damage the retina and potentially cause blindness. Sunglasses, regardless of how dark the lenses are, cannot safely protect your eyes from the sun’s rays. Binoculars, cameras without filters, or telescopes also will not protect your eyes from the sun.
Instead, use specially designed solar filters or solar viewing glasses (you may see them referred to as “eclipse glasses”) when observing an eclipse. These pieces of equipment are many times darker than regular sunglasses and should comply with the international standard.
There is a lot of excitement for the solar eclipse, particularly for those of us in areas where a total eclipse will occur. Take precaution in order to experience it safely.

Q: When are colonoscopies recommended
A: Colon cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer. The National Cancer Institute estimates that 153,020 cases of colon cancer were diagnosed in the United States in 2023, accounting for 8% of all new cancer cases. Only breast, prostate and lung cancers are diagnosed more frequently.
The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force recommends screenings for colon cancer beginning at age 45. Increased risk factors for colon cancer include having diabetes, an inflammatory bowel disease or a family history of the disease. Black people have an increased risk of the disease.
A colonoscopy is the most familiar type of screening test. You are sedated during this procedure during which a lighted tube is used to check for cancer and polyps inside the colon. Polyps can be removed during this process, and a biopsy is performed to determine if they are cancerous. The frequency of a colonoscopy depends on factors such as the results of the test and whether you are at increased risk for colon cancer.
Colon cancer is a disease that can be detected in its early stages. The disease is very treatable, and survival rates are excellent. Contact your health care provider if you have questions.

Q: How is tuberculosis treated?
A: Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial disease. Although it is often thought of as a lung illness, TB can also affect other parts of the body such as the brain, heart, kidneys, liver and skin. It can be fatal if not treated properly. Improvements in education and treatment have contributed to the reduction of TB cases in the United States.
The most common way for TB to spread is an infected person releasing germs through actions such as coughing, sneezing or talking. Symptoms of an active TB infection may include chest pain, coughing up blood, fatigue, night sweats or weight loss. People with weakened immune systems such as those with diabetes, kidney disease, or who have had organ transplants are at higher risk for the disease.
TB screening is conducted by either a blood or skin test. The skin test, where a protein substance is injected and checked 48 to 72 hours later, is the commonly known method. Antibiotics are used to treat TB, and it can take several months in some instances to get rid of the infection.
If you have symptoms or believe you have been in contact with someone infected with TB, immediately contact a health care provider.

Q: Do I need to see anyone else other than my primary care provider for health care?
A: Various factors such as age, individual desires and overall physical condition will determine whether a primary care provider (PCP) can take care of all your health-related needs. The PCP is your initial contact for basic health care needs and monitoring of acute illness such as colds and flu and such chronic illnesses as diabetes or high blood pressure.
However, you may have health concerns that require a specialist to monitor or provide care for a specific type of treatment unavailable from your PCP. The PCP can make a referral to a provider who specializes in the type of care provided. Some insurance plans do not require a patient to have a referral, but it is advisable to keep your PCP informed of any specialty visits.
Two areas where your PCP cannot fully assist are with eye and dental examinations. A comprehensive eye examination can only be conducted by an optometrist or an ophthalmologist, who can also prescribe contact lenses or eyeglasses if required. A pediatrician may perform childhood oral health exams, but a dentist is the best option.
Even if you have various providers for different health issues, your PCP should be aware of them in order to assist in managing your care.

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Social Security Matters
By RUSSELL GLOOR
National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Why Must I Pay Into Social Security when I’m Collecting Benefits?

Dear Rusty: I am collecting full Social Security benefits at age 72 and also working full time. Why is the Federal Government still taking money from my paycheck? I have written to Social Security experts on this issue, and they tell me “It’s the law.” That is not a good answer for me. Approximately $4,400 was taken from my pay in 2023 for Social Security and, yes, I get a pittance of a COLA increase, but not equal to what I pay. No one has been able to fully explain the Federal Government's thought process on taxing me for Social Security when I am getting full Social Security benefits. Can you? Signed: Working Senior
Dear Working Senior: Far be it from me to try to explain the federal government’s thought process on anything, but I can explain why those already collecting Social Security benefits must continue to pay Social Security payroll taxes while working.
It actually goes back to 1935 and the panel commissioned by President Roosevelt to create America’s Social Security program. Said panel determined how the program would be financed, Congress approved it, and FDR signed it. That methodology was essentially this:
Workers who earn (and their employers) must contribute to Social Security via payroll taxes to fund the program (we now know this as “FICA” for employees and “SECA” for the self-employed). When the program first started, certain employees and their employers were required to each contribute 1% of the employee’s first $3000 of earnings. Obviously, those amounts have risen over the decades. And, for clarity, only certain workers originally participated in Social Security, which has also changed over the decades so that now nearly everyone who works must pay Social Security payroll taxes.
Starting in 1937 and still today, SS payroll taxes paid by those now working are used by the federal government to pay benefits to those who are currently receiving. Said another way, Social Security is a “pay as you go” program where income from those working (and their employer) is used to pay benefits to those receiving. Payroll taxes collected aren’t put into a personal account for the worker; rather they are used to meet current SS payment obligations. Any excess money collected is invested in special issue government bonds as reserves for future use (although current annual SS income is less than annual program costs – an entirely different topic).
So, the financing method enacted in 1935 and started in 1937 still applies – those who work and earn (and their employers) must pay into the system to fund benefit payments to those who are now receiving - and that includes those workers who are already collecting their Social Security. FYI, there was a time when, if someone worked after starting their SS benefits, they lost all of their benefits. Fortunately, that rule no longer exists, so those who are collecting SS benefits can now continue to get benefits if they work, but they must also still pay into the program from their work earnings to help pay benefits to SS recipients.
I hope this provides some insight for why you must continue to contribute to Social Security even after you have started collecting your benefits. It is a result of how the program is financed – predominantly by workers through payroll taxes on their earnings (and to a lesser extent from interest on Trust Fund reserves and income tax on Social Security benefits). With very few exceptions, everyone who works helps pay benefits to those now receiving.

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Brighten every room in your home with plants

By MELINDA MYERS

Anytime is a great time to add a few houseplants to your home. Adding greenery indoors expands your gardening opportunities and provides the many benefits of living with and tending plants. It can boost your mood and reduce stress while adding beauty or nutritious food to your home.
Increase productivity and creativity by including plants in your home or work office. Greenery helps reduce stress even when working at your desk or tackling homework at the end of a long day. Set a few plants on or near your desk or other workspace. Expand your growing opportunities with the help of stylish, energy-efficient full spectrum plant lights to fit any décor while directing light where it is needed to promote healthy plant growth.
Boost the flavor and nutrition of meals year-round by growing leafy greens and herbs in a sunny window or under artificial lights. Start plants from seeds or purchase transplants to grow indoors. Place your indoor kitchen garden in a brightly lit location, free of cold drafts and with easy access to harvest and use. Turn family meals and friend gatherings into unique and memorable experiences by enlisting them to harvest some greens for their salad and herbs to season their meals.
Grow ferns, orchids, bromeliads, and other humidity-loving plants in your bathroom. Consider these and other low-light plants like cast iron, pothos, and philodendron if natural light is limited. You’ll enjoy stepping out of the shower into a mini tropical zone allowing you to ease into your day.
Get a good night’s sleep with a bit of homegrown aromatherapy in the bedroom. Grow lavender, rosemary, chamomile, and other soothing herbs in your bedroom near a sunny window, on a shelf, or in another naturally or artificially lit, bright location. Just give the plants a pet to release their fragrance into the air before crawling into bed for a long restful sleep.
Create a miniature tropical, moss or desert garden in a terrarium to serve as a focal point in any room or as a centerpiece on the dining room table. Use an open terrarium for succulents and other plants that need airflow, lower humidity, and space to grow. Enlist closed terrariums for moss and tropical plants that benefit from the high humidity and condensation that provides continual watering.
Indoor greenery always makes a nice addition when rethinking or refreshing your home décor in any space. You and your family will enjoy the beauty and many other benefits plants provide.

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‘Disco Bathroom’
The majority of couples opt for traditional weddings but there are those who go to great lengths to find unusual ways to wed. Some travel to Transylvania to tie the knot in Dracula’s Castle and not so long ago a couple exchanged their vows in a ceremony that took place at the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal. Recently, Logen Abney and Tiana Ailstock in Verona, OH got married in the so-called "disco bathroom" of a local gas station. As Logen told Tiana, “from the first dance in this disco bathroom I vow to hop through life with you." The couple then pressed a red button to play what Logen called “the funk beats and mellow melodies, every rhythm in life.”

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The ‘naked man festival’
About a thousand years ago, on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, the first "naked man festival" was celebrated in a temple in Oshu, Japan. Each year hundreds of loincloth-clad men assembled to pray for “a bountiful harvest, prosperity, good health and fertility.” According to the chief priest of the Kokusekiji Temple, the site of the annual event, "this decision is due to the aging of individuals involved in the festival and a shortage of successors,"

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Thundercow
A mystical cow roams the banks of Lake Thunderbird in Norman, OK; it’s known to locals as Thundercow. When a local resident, Natalie Bevill, came across the mystery cow for the first time she was baffled. As she told the reporters at KOCO-TV, "I was like, 'You know what, I can post on the neighborhood Facebook page just to kind of put out an alert,' and when I did that, that's when I started getting post after post after post in response telling me, ‘Oh, hey, that’s just Thundercow’."

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Medal of Honor : Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class George E. Wahlen

By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News

When Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class George Edward Wahlen was assigned as a hospital corpsman during World War II, he tried to get out of it. He couldn't, though, so he embraced the role instead. His bravery and valor in helping his fellow Marines despite his own wounds on the bloody battlefields of Iwo Jima earned him the Medal of Honor.
Wahlen was born on Aug. 8, 1924, in Ogden, Utah, to Albert and Doris Wahlen. When he was 12, Wahlen and his younger twin brothers, Jack and Gene, moved with their parents to a small farm where they did chores as they grew up.
As a teen, Wahlen said he got into boxing thanks to a neighbor who was a professional in the sport. He said he dropped out of high school and instead trained as a civilian aircraft mechanic at Hill Field (now Hill Air Force Base) just south of his hometown.
In a 2002 Library of Congress Veterans History Project interview, Wahlen said that when the U.S. entered World War II, he'd hoped to be drafted into the Army Air Corps. But the service said it didn't need more men with his skills, so he enlisted in the Navy Reserve in June 1943 because he was told they had airplanes, too. Wahlen said he'd wanted to continue working on aircraft, but he was sent to hospital corps training in San Diego instead.
Wahlen said he tried to get out of that duty by talking to the chief at the training school he was attending.
"I said, 'I want to become an aircraft mechanic. That's what I've been trained for.' He says, 'Well, I tell you what. You do good in school, I'll try to get you what you want.' So, I stayed up every night until midnight studying. I finally graduated fairly near the top of my class and went in and reminded him of what he told me. He looked at me and kind of grinned and said, 'We need good men in the hospital corps.' Then, I knew I was pretty well stuck," Wahlen remembered.
By early 1944, Wahlen had volunteered for a battalion within the Fleet Marine Force, which used Navy hospital corpsmen as medics. In February 1944, he was sent to serve in Hawaii with the 2nd Battalion, 26th Marines, 5th Marine Division. By November of that year, he'd worked his way up to pharmacist's mate 2nd class.
On Feb. 19, 1945, Wahlen's platoon, part of Company F, landed on the volcanic island of Iwo Jima to begin one of the fiercest battles in the Pacific Theater. Wahlen said his unit was meant to be held in reserve, but the casualties were so numerous that they were sent into battle the same day they landed.
"I'll always remember getting there. I wasn't too far from my platoon leader, a lieutenant, and … one of the platoon runners called over and said, 'Lieutenant, I lost my rifle coming out of the boat.' And the lieutenant said, 'Well, there's plenty of dead out here. Go find one,'" he remembered.
It was only a week later when Wahlen would become a casualty himself.
On Feb. 26, Wahlen was painfully wounded by a grenade, but he stayed on the battlefield, moving well forward of the front lines so he could carry a wounded Marine to safety despite heavy fire coming at them. Wahlen tirelessly attended to his injured comrades, consistently disregarding any danger to himself from the barrage of shrapnel and bullets.
When he learned that a nearby platoon had suffered heavy casualties, Wahlen ignored the pounding of heavy mortars and the enemy rifles surrounding him to care for those men, too, "working rapidly in an area swept by constant fire and treating 14 casualties before returning to his own platoon," his Medal of Honor citation read.
Days later, on March 2, Wahlen was wounded again when grenade shrapnel hit him in the face. The young corpsman said the injury temporarily shocked him, but he eventually wrapped his own bandages before crawling to help another wounded comrade. However, he couldn't quite reach that man because the enemy was firing at them from a foxhole. Instead, he asked a Marine down the hill from him to pass up a few grenades because Wahlen wasn't armed. Wahlen then crawled further up the hill, dodging enemy grenades to get to the foxhole. He had trouble arming the explosive at first, but he finally got it to work and tossed it into the foxhole, taking out the enemy soldier who had been injuring his comrades.
Afterward, Wahlen finally was able to get to the wounded Marine he'd initially been trying to help. He said another comrade came to help, and that's how they were both able to get off that hill.
Wahlen continued on with his company the next day, taking part in a furious assault across 600 yards of open terrain. He repeatedly gave aid to his comrades, despite the firepower aimed at him, before being wounded a third time by an artillery mortar.
"I went to stand up to get to and fell down. I couldn't walk," Wahlen said. "I looked down, and my boot had been torn off. I'd been hit in the leg and later found out my leg had been broken."
Wahlen said he bandaged his own leg and gave himself a shot of morphine, then crawled about 50 yards to help another Marine. Eventually, other corpsmen came to his aid. Finally, he agreed to be evacuated to a battalion aid station.
Wahlen's dauntless bravery was a constant inspiration to the men around him, helping to keep morale high through critical phases of the battle. Later, he said he was just doing what was expected of him.
"The thought that if one of these people died and I didn't do my job, how would I live with that for the rest of my life?" Wahlen questioned. "I think that was one of the big thoughts that was in my mind."
According to naval historians, over the course of the 36-day Battle of Iwo Jima, 332 hospital corpsmen were killed in action or died of their wounds, while another 659 were wounded badly enough to be evacuated. Their valor didn't go unnoticed, either. Iwo Jima corpsmen received 14 Navy Crosses, 108 Silver Stars and 287 Bronze Stars. Four of the 27 Medals of Honor awarded to Iwo Jima veterans were given to corpsmen, including Wahlen.
Wahlen spent nine months recovering and was still doing so when he received the Medal of Honor on Oct. 5, 1945. President Harry S. Truman bestowed it on Wahlen and 13 other men during Nimitz Day ceremonies at the White House. Naval historians said that Wahlen and one other corpsman, Francis Pierce, were the only two surviving corpsmen from Iwo Jima to receive the honor.
Wahlen was discharged from the Navy in December 1945. He married Melba Holley the following year. They went on to have five children.
After the war, Wahlen was known as a humble man who didn't talk much about his time in the war. His wife once told the Lakeside Review newspaper in Layton, Utah, that she didn't even know he'd received the Medal of Honor until a friend told her she was dating a war hero.
Wahlen went on to get a degree from Weber Junior College (now Weber State University) in his hometown before working for the Railway Messenger Service for a time. But he grew to miss the military community, so in November 1948, he enlisted in the Army as a recruiter. Soon after, he commissioned as an officer so he could continue his work in the medical service. Wahlen served in Korea and Vietnam, retiring at the rank of major in 1968.
For about a decade afterward, Wahlen worked for what is now the Department of Veterans Affairs before retiring for good at age 59. He also remained active in veterans' organizations throughout his community.
In 2004, special legislation was approved to make Wahlen the new namesake of the VA Medical Center in Salt Lake City. A veterans' nursing home that opened in 2010 in his hometown was also named in his honor.
A book called "The Quiet Hero: The Untold Medal of Honor Story of George E. Wahlen at the Battle for Iwo Jima," by Gary W. Toyn, was published in 2006.
Wahlen died on June 5, 2009, in Salt Lake City. He was 84. The Marine Corps said he was honored with a large memorial service attended by veterans from all services. He is buried in Lindquist's Memorial Gardens of the Wasatch in his hometown of Ogden.

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Debunking Fad Diets: Signs your diet is doing more harm than good

By SHELDON RIKLON, M.D.

For those looking to improve their health, fad diets are often a tempting solution. While these trendy eating plans may promise fast results, they often fail to deliver sustainable benefits. Overall, fad diets may not be the best approach for long-term health.
Most fad diets are restrictive, meaning they require you to cut out certain foods altogether. This can lead to short-term weight loss, but maintaining these results over time is rare. In fact, most people gain the weight back after their diet ends.
Now, weight loss is not everyone’s goal, nor should it be. The number on the scale is not actually the best measure of how healthy you are, and the restrictions we make while dieting can leave us without enough of the essential nutrients that keep our bodies working as they should.
Another limitation of fad diets is the one-size-fits-all approach. They often overlook individual differences in nutritional needs and health conditions. Each of us is unique, and what works for one person may not necessarily be suitable for another. It’s important to tailor our dietary choices to our own bodies and health circumstances. Plus, most of the claims made by fad diets are often not supported by scientific evidence. Beware of promises that sound too good to be true.
Beyond the physical effects, strict adherence to fad diets can also take a toll on our mental and emotional health. Rigid rules and restrictions can lead to increased stress, social isolation and an unhealthy relationship with food. A balanced mindset around eating helps us avoid feelings of guilt and anxiety.
Instead of focusing on what you can’t have, shift your attention to what you can. Whole foods like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains and healthy fats provide a wide range of nutrients essential for overall health and well-being. Maintaining a balanced approach to eating means enjoying a variety of foods in appropriate amounts.
Here are three key tips for a balanced diet:
1. Embrace variety. Eat different types of foods from each food group to give your body the nutrients it needs. A simple way to do this is to aim for a variety of colors on your plate throughout the day.
2. Listen to your body. Notice when you’re hungry, and when you’re full. That way, you can eat when you need to and stop when you feel satisfied. Paying attention to these signals can help you prevent mindless eating.
3. Practice moderation, not deprivation. It’s okay to indulge in your favorite foods, just keep it balanced. If you restrict yourself too much, it can backfire and make it harder to stick to a plan.
If you’re unsure about the best approach for your needs, consider seeking guidance from a registered dietitian or health care professional. They can provide personalized advice based on sound scientific evidence, helping you create a healthy eating plan that works for you.
Remember, healthy eating is about nourishing your body while enjoying the foods you love. It doesn’t have to be complicated or restrictive. By adopting a balanced and sustainable approach to nutrition, you can achieve long-lasting health.

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Tips for selecting the best tomatoes for your garden

By MELINDA MYERS

Whether you enjoy tomatoes sliced, sauced, or cooked in your favorite recipe, they taste best when grown and harvested from your garden or container. With more than 10,000 varieties available it can be difficult to select the best ones to grow in your garden.
Start by looking for those varieties best suited to the intended use whether for slicing, cooking, preserving, or snacking. Most seed catalogs and websites as well as plant tags and garden centers provide recommendations.
Bite-sized tomatoes are great for salads, relish trays, and snacking. Trailing varieties like Lizzano, Tumbling Tom, Litt’l Bites Cherry, and Red Robin also grow well in hanging baskets and even window boxes.
Paste and sauce tomatoes have meatier fruit making them perfect for sauces, soups, and preserving. Roma is the traditional favorite with an egg-shaped fruit that has thick walls and few seeds. The All-America Selections Early Resilience Roma has excellent disease and blossom end rot resistance and does not require staking. Use paste tomatoes during the growing season for sauces, chop and add them to an omelet, can or freeze them for future use.
Grow a few slicing tomatoes to enjoy on sandwiches, grilled, or on their own. Beefsteak and Better Boy are longtime favorites while Iron Lady, Galahad, and the colorful Chef’s Choice series are more recent additions to this category.
Perhaps you are looking for an heirloom tomato, one that has been grown for more than 50 years and maintained its original traits and popularity. Cherokee Purple’s rich flavor constantly rates high in taste tests. Brandywine, Black Cherry, Chocolate Stripes, Amana Orange, and Black Krim are also gardener favorites.
Coax reluctant veggie eaters of all ages to give tomatoes a try with some of the sweeter varieties like Sunsugar often called the candy of the garden. Consider having a taste test after growing a variety of super sweet tomatoes like Sungold, Super Sweet 100, Suncherry, and Sunrise Bumble Bee.
Boost your success by selecting disease-resistant varieties and growing your tomatoes in full sun and moist well-drained soil. Plant tags, internet sources, and catalog descriptions usually highlight this and other helpful information.
Look for tomato varieties suited to your growing conditions. Check with your University Extension for a list of recommended varieties for your area. You will also find helpful information on the best time to start tomato seeds indoors and when to place transplants in the garden.
Start enjoying the harvest sooner with fast-maturing tomatoes. Many of those varieties bred for the shorter growing seasons in the north also work well in southern gardens. Early Girl is a longtime favorite, Bush Early Girl produces more fruit on a compact plant and New Girl produces bigger fruit and has better disease resistance. Glacier, Sub Artic Party, and Juliet are a few to consider. Check the catalog description or plant tag for the number of days to harvest.
Select plants with the growth habit that best works with your garden space and gardening style. Determinate tomatoes are perfect for small space gardens and containers. They grow a certain height, stop growing, and produce their fruit over a relatively short time. Indeterminate tomatoes continue to grow throughout the season producing flowers and fruit until you prune out the tip or frost kills the plant. Stake or tower the plants to save space, reduce disease and insect problems, and make harvesting more convenient.
Gather your family and favorite recipes. Make a list of longtime favorites and new tomato varieties to include in this year’s garden. Be sure to save some space as you are likely to find a few additional varieties you just can’t resist planting this year.

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What are the odds?
Loose your wallet in a swimming pool and it’s easy enough to recover; drop it in the sea and you can kiss it goodbye. Marcie Callawaert lives near Tofino, British Columbia a town off the coast of Vancouver Island where she lost her wallet some eight months ago. She combed the beach and even snorkeled in search of it with no luck. And then, one day recently, she went for a beachside walk and “Lo and Behold” there it was, mixed in with trash that had washed up on the beach. "I knew right away. It stopped me right in my tracks."

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Ouch!
How far would you go for a page in the Guinness Book of World Records? Certainly, Denmark’s Peter von Tangen Buskov went to great lengths for his page in that book. Ouch! Peter shoved no less than 68 matchsticks into his nostrils for his award. Was it painful? "Surprisingly it didn't really hurt. I have fairly large nostrils and quite stretchy skin. I'm sure that helped a lot," Buskov explained.

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He forgot, what?
Travelers sometimes leave things behind at the end of a train trip, things like a book or a pair of glasses. But this guy forgot to take his bag containing some $30,000 in cash when he detrained at his stop on the Long Island Rail Road recently. As fate would have it, the team at New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority found the bag, discovered the cash and lost no time in tracking down the owner, contacting him and saving his day.

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

On Feb. 16, 1804, the British Viscount Horatio Nelson, [1758-1805], applauded U.S. Lieutenant Stephen Decatur on a military mission which he described as the “most daring act of the age.”
According to History.com, “after disguising himself and his men as Maltese sailors, Decatur’s force of 74 men, which included nine U.S. Marines, sailed into Tripoli harbor on a small two-mast ship. The Americans approached the USS Philadelphia without drawing fire from the Tripoli shore guns, boarded the ship, and attacked its Tripolitan crew, capturing or killing all but two. After setting fire to the frigate, Decatur and his men escaped without the loss of a single American. The Philadelphia subsequently exploded when its gunpowder reserve was lit by the spreading fire.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Our Country, Right or Wrong: The Life of Stephen Decatur, the U.S. Navy's Most Illustrious Commander by Leonard F. Guttridge.

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On Feb. 18, 1885, Samuel Clemens—known also as Mark Twain, put out The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Controversial and contentious - then and now, Ernest Hemingway, proclaimed that “all modern literature stems from this one book.”
History.com notes that “Twain introduced Huck Finn as the best friend of Tom Sawyer, hero of his tremendously successful novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876). Though Twain saw Huck’s story as a kind of sequel to his earlier book, the new novel was far more serious, focusing on the institution of slavery and other aspects of life in the antebellum South.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

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Mardi Gras is a world-wide celebration, but since Feb. 27, 1827… New Orleans, Louisiana has evolved into the place to be on “Fat Tuesday.” The holiday has a religious connotation but the celebration in New Orleans is decidedly secular.
“Early French settlers brought the tradition of Mardi Gras to the U.S. Gulf Coast at the end of the 17th century,” according to History.com. “In fact, Mobile, Alabama celebrated its first carnival in 1703. However, Spanish governors later banned the celebrations. After Louisiana Territory became part of the United States in 1803, New Orleanians managed to convince the city council to lift the ban on wearing masks and partying in the streets. The city’s new Mardi Gras tradition began…when the group of students, inspired by their experiences studying in Paris, donned masks and jester costumes and staged their own Fat Tuesday festivities.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Rosary O’Neill’s New Orleans Carnival Krewes: The History, Spirit & Secrets of Mardi Gras.

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Five ways to boost heart health

LITTLE ROCK – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. February is American Heart Month, and there’s no better time than the present to evaluate what you’re doing to prevent and lower your risk for heart disease. Here are five ways to boost your heart health.
1. Exercise regularly.
Maintaining a healthy weight is an important part of heart disease prevention, and regular exercise is one way to achieve this. The Surgeon General recommends that adults get two and a half hours of moderate physical activity like walking or biking weekly. Children and adolescents should aim for an hour of physical activity every day.
2. Eat healthy.
Establishing healthy eating habits is another way to maintain a healthy weight. Avoid foods that are high in saturated fat and trans fat. Opt for foods that are high in fiber and low in saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol to help prevent high cholesterol. Foods with lower sodium can help lower your blood pressure, and consuming foods with less sugar can help keep your blood sugar under control.
3. Set limits.
Limiting your alcohol intake and avoiding smoking can also help you prevent heart disease. Knowing your limits and setting boundaries can help you stay disciplined, which is another vital part of lowering your risk for heart disease.
4. Monitor health conditions.
If you struggle with high blood pressure or high cholesterol or have diabetes, managing these conditions is a key part of preventing and lowering your risk for heart disease. Consult with doctors and other members of your health team to see what their recommendations are for managing existing medical conditions. They may prescribe medicines to help manage your blood pressure, cholesterol or blood sugar, along with lifestyle changes to help.
5. Work with a team.
It's important to work with your health care team if any of your conditions change, if your family has a history of any of these medical conditions or if you suspect you might be at risk for them. Consult your doctor if you’ve already had a heart attack or if you struggle with mental health issues. Create a treatment plan that works for you and discuss it regularly, making adjustments when necessary. Don’t stop taking any prescribed medicines before talking to your doctor.
Prioritizing heart health is critical for preventing and lowering your risk for heart disease. For more tips to boost heart health, visit cdc.gov/heartdisease/prevention.htm.

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Social Security Matters
By RUSSELL GLOOR
National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Should I Claim Social Security at 68, or Wait Until I’m 70?

Dear Rusty: I have a question regarding my SS benefits. I turned 68 this month and work part time. I earned $28,000 last year but will probably gross $36,000 to $38,000 this year. My husband collects his SS, and he earned $25,000 last year. I was told by a financial planner that I should apply for my benefits now, instead of waiting until I'm 70. I would collect $1700/month at 68 and $1944/month if I wait. Which is the smarter move? Signed: Seeking Answers
Dear Seeking: I’m sure your financial advisor would agree that your decision on when to claim your Social Security comes down to just a few basic things – 1) how badly you need the money, 2) your life expectancy, and 3) whether you will receive a spousal boost from your husband when you claim.
Because you have already passed your full retirement age (FRA) of 66 years and 4 months, your work earnings won’t negatively affect your monthly SS benefit amount. If you claim now, however, your work earnings will affect how much of your SS benefits will be subject to income tax. Assuming you file your income tax as “married/filing jointly,” up to 85% of the Social Security benefits you receive during the tax year will become part of your income taxable by the IRS. If you do not urgently need the extra money that your SS will provide, then waiting longer to claim will also postpone paying income tax on your received benefits, and that may be a consideration.
Your life expectancy is key in making your decision on when to claim. You already know that your benefit will be $244 per month more if you wait until you are 70 to claim. If you claim at 68 (e.g., this month), you will collect about $40,800 by the time you reach 70. If you, instead, wait until age 70 to get that extra $244/month benefit, it will take you about 14 years collecting at the higher rate to offset the $40,800 you would have received had you claimed now (in other words, you would break even moneywise at about age 84). If your life expectancy is longer, then waiting to claim may be the better choice. Of course, no one knows how long they will live but, for general guidance, average life expectancy for a woman your current age is about 87. Family history and your current health are obviously influencing factors as well. If you wish to get a more personal estimate of your life expectancy, I suggest using this tool:
www.socialsecurityreport.org/tools/life-expectancy-calculator/.
In the end, if you believe you will attain at least average life expectancy and you don’t urgently need the money now, waiting longer will not only give you a higher monthly benefit in your later years, but also the most in cumulative lifetime benefits. If, however, you have reason to suspect you won’t achieve at least average life expectancy, or you need the SS money sooner, claiming before age 70 is likely the better move.
One other thing to consider: If your benefit as your husband’s spouse will be more than your own earned maximum SS retirement benefit, then you should claim your SS benefit now. Your maximum benefit as a spouse would be 50% of your husband’s full retirement age entitlement and, if that is more than your own benefit will be at age 70, then claiming now to get your maximum spousal benefit would be your best choice. To get a spousal benefit from your husband, your personal FRA entitlement (not your age 68 amount) would need to be less than half of his FRA entitlement. If that isn’t the case, then you should make your decision based only on your own Social Security entitlement, as described above.

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Starting plants from seeds indoors
By MELINDA MYERS

Keep your green thumb in shape this winter while getting a jump on the growing season by starting your favorite or hard-to-find plants indoors. It’s fun, simpler than you think, and can help stretch your plant budget.
Start with some clean containers that you purchase, recycle, or make from newspapers. Be sure to add drainage holes to any repurposed yogurt or similar containers you are using for starting seeds to avoid waterlogged soil. Always clean used pots by soaking them in a one-part bleach and nine-part water solution for ten minutes then rinse with clear water. This helps reduce the risk of disease.
Fill the containers with a moist well-drained potting mix or a sterile seed starting mix. Once the containers are filled, check the back of your seed packets for planting directions. Most contain all the information you need for when and how to plant the seeds. Some seed companies now provide this information on their website instead of the seed packets.
Most seeds are planted about twice the seed diameter deep while smaller seeds are often set on the soil surface and gently watered in place. Once again, check the seed packet for the seeds you are growing. Plant two seeds per container just in case one of the seeds fails to sprout.
Once planted, move the containers to a warm location. Many gardeners use heating pads designed for germinating seeds to help speed sprouting. Covering the containers with a sheet of plastic or one of the prefab domes will help conserve moisture so you will need to water less often.
Check the soil moisture daily and water often enough to keep the soil evenly moist but not soggy wet. Remove the plastic and move the containers to a sunny window or better yet, under artificial lights as soon as any green appears.
Regularly rotate plants that are growing in sunny windows to promote more even growth. Adjust artificial lights as plants grow. Most seedlings benefit from keeping the lights four to six inches above the top of the seedlings. Leave the lights on for 14 but no more than 16 hours a day. Using a timer is an easy way to make sure the plants receive the right amount of light each day.
Once the seedlings develop two sets of true leaves (these will look like the leaves of the plants you are growing), it is time to do some thinning. Remove the weakest seedling in each pot so only one strong seedling remains. Trimming the weaker seedlings back to ground level instead of pulling avoids damage to the remaining seedling.
Once seedlings have been thinned and are actively growing, use a fertilizer labeled for this use. Continue to water thoroughly and often enough to keep the planting mix slightly moist but not soggy wet.
Check the weather and seed packet to determine when it is safe to move your plants outdoors. You’ll need to prepare them for their new home outdoors with a technique called hardening off. Start by moving the plants to a sheltered and shaded location after the danger of frost has passed. Stop fertilizing, and check soil moisture daily but allow it to dry just slightly before watering thoroughly.
Gradually increase the amount of sunlight the plants receive each day. Cover or move them indoors when frost is in the forecast. Your transplants are ready to move to their permanent location after a week or two.
Start gathering your supplies and seeds now. And before you know it, you will be enjoying the beautiful blooms and tasty vegetables you started from seed yourself.

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Moose on the loose
The Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Wyoming attracts skiing enthusiasts from all over the world. It occasionally also draws a moose or two as was the case recently and as Ken Rynearson will testify. Ken and a few fellow skiers were pursued on the Jackson Hole slopes for quite a hair-raising moment by a moose who apparently got bored and took a turn for the better. However, a wildlife expert viewed a video tape of the encounter concluded the moose "doesn't really seem to be chasing anybody as much as just trying to kind of get out of the way."

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Flush your ex
How are couples celebrating Valentine’s Day this year? Most likely, they’ll go out for a romantic, candle-lit dinner. But, alas, what if the love of your life “did you wrong? There’s a new company out there that’s ready to lend a hand. The enterprise calls itself Who Gives A Crap and promises to turn old love letters into toilet paper. Their "Flush Your Ex” initiative suggests you "mail us those leftover love letters taking up psychic space in your sock drawer and we'll deliver them to our production facilities, where we magically transform their BS into TP.”

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Bombs away
It’s been nearly 80 years since the end of World War II but unexploded bombs from that era are still a threat—not just in what was war-torn Europe but here at home as well. A 1,000-pound bomb from that era was uncovered recently at a construction site in Florida. During the war, the site was the home of a wartime military airfield that is now the Brooksville-Tampa Bay Regional Airport where airmen were trained to fly B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators. As Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis put it "because it is so rusted and decayed, there's certainly no way of telling whether it's a live munition or inert." Fortunately, of course, it was inert.

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Medal of Honor: Army Sgt. Charles R. Long
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News
Illustration of a Medal of Honor medal with text reading "Medal of Honor Monday: Highlighting recipients of the nation's highest medal for valor."
When Army Sgt. Charles Richard Long offered to stay behind and cover his fellow soldiers' backs as they escaped a massive enemy onslaught in Korea, he likely knew it would be his last stand. He stayed put anyway, serving with dignity until he couldn't anymore. That sacrifice and valor earned him the Medal of Honor.
Long was born Dec. 10, 1923, in Kansas City, Missouri, to parents Fritz and Lois Long. He, his older brother, Robert, and his younger sister, Edith, all grew up nearby in Independence. Long went by his middle name, but immediate family called him Buddy.
Growing up, Long did what he could to help his family make ends meet. He worked as a paperboy for the Kansas City Star newspaper and sold soda at a bus station. After graduating from Northeast High School in 1941, he went to work for the Fairmount Inter-City News before being drafted into the Army in 1943.
Long served in Europe during the winter of 1944-1945, including during the bloody Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium. He was an infantryman with the 745th Tank Battalion, 1st Infantry Division, and received a Bronze Star for valor for helping the division cross the Rhine River in Germany.
After World War II, Long was discharged. He wanted to rejoin on active duty as an escort for fallen service members, but he was told he couldn't because he had high blood pressure. Instead, he remained in the Army as a reservist.
At some point, he married his girlfriend, Evelyn Tipton, and helped her raise her two daughters, Patricia and Sondra. Long returned to work at the Inter-City News and was also involved in church groups, the Boy Scouts and the YMCA in his free time.
About three months after war broke out in Korea in 1950, Long was called back to active duty and sent to the embattled peninsula to serve with Company M of the 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division.
By Feb. 12, 1951, his unit was in the area of Hoeng-Song when six enemy divisions launched an unexpected offensive, overwhelming South Korean forces and U.S. support troops. Company M had set up a defensive perimeter on Hill 300 when the attack came at about 3 a.m. Enemy forces greatly outnumbered them, so they were ordered to withdraw.
Long, who was a forward observer for the mortar platoon, volunteered to stay behind to cover his fleeing comrades. While maintaining radio contact with his platoon, he calmly directed mortar fire on the enemy while using his carbine and grenades to push the attackers back.
Eventually, Long was wounded and surrounded. According to a Department of Veterans Affairs account, when Long ran out of ammo, he made one final call to his platoon, asking them to fire 40 pounds of explosives on the enemy, including on his own position. The 27-year-old knowingly gave his life to allow as many of his fellow soldiers to get clear of the chaos as possible.
The lopsided battle at Hoeng-Song was one of the largest concentrations of American deaths during the Korean War. However, Long's actions halted the onslaught and enabled his company to withdraw, reorganize and counterattack, eventually regaining Hill 300.
For his sacrifice, Long's widow accepted the Medal of Honor on his behalf from Defense Secretary Robert Lovett during a Pentagon ceremony on Jan. 16, 1952. Nine other soldiers also received posthumous honors that day.
Long is buried in Mount Washington Cemetery in his hometown, Independence, which also happens to be the home of President Harry S. Truman and the Truman Presidential Library, which is where Long's medal is on display in a permanent exhibit.
The young Missourian's sacrifice has not been forgotten. The state's Army Reserve center and a bridge in Independence are named in his honor, as is a display at the Truman Memorial Building, not far from the Truman Library.
Camp Long in Wonju, South Korea, honored him before it closed in 2010. Long Road on Camp Humphreys in South Korea also bears his name.

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Unique gifts for your valentine
By MELINDA MYERS

Chocolates and roses are synonymous with Valentine’s Day. They are always a welcome gift but maybe this is the year you decide to give your Valentine something different.
Consider an indoor plant with heart-shaped leaves or flowers. Anthuriums are an easy-to-grow long blooming indoor plant. The red, pink, or white heart-shaped flowers rise above glossy green leaves. Grow it in a brightly lit location out of direct sunlight and water when the soil is slightly dry.
Heart-shaped leaves and colorful flowers of the florist cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum) make it an excellent choice. Its pink, red, purple, or white flowers rise above variegated leaves of green and silver. It prefers cool, draft-free locations and bright indirect light. Allow the soil to almost dry between waterings.
Valentine hoya, also known as Sweetheart hoya (Hoya kerrii), is usually sold as a single rooted leaf in a small container. It eventually grows into a vining plant and requires the same care as other hoyas. Grow it in a warm location with bright indirect light and well-drained soil.
String of hearts (Ceropegia woodii) is just that, a thin vine dotted with an abundance of small heart-shaped leaves. The leaves are dark green with silver highlights adding to its appeal. Grow it in bright light with well-drained soil and water it when the soil is dry.
Beginning and experienced gardeners will appreciate a low-maintenance pothos or philodendron with heart-shaped leaves. Select one of the variegated philodendron varieties like Brasil or Neon pothos with bright lime green leaves for a bit different look.
Purchase or create a heart-shaped topiary. At your favorite garden center, you’ll find many ready-to-buy or all the necessary materials to plant your own.
All you need is a pot with drainage holes, a couple of vining-type plants like wire vine or English ivy, and a piece of heavy gauge wire or a pre-formed heart-shaped topiary frame.
Small-leafed ivies and wire vines are easy to train into attractive topiaries. Look for small plants with long branches for immediate impact.
Bend the wire into a heart shape with one or two legs that will extend into the container. Fill the bottom half of the container with a well-drained potting mix. Set the topiary frame in place. Locate the plants in the container so the stems can be trained up either side of the heart. Cover the roots with soil and water. Secure the stems to the wireframe and add a decorative stone mulch, if desired.
If your recipient is an avid gardener, they may prefer assembling their own Valentine's topiary. Just provide all the materials and directions wrapped in pretty paper.
If you opt for fresh flowers, make sure to get the most from your floral investment. Look for the freshest flowers possible. A whiff of the water will let you know if the flowers are fresh and have been properly tended.
Look for upright and perky flowers with lots of firm buds that are just starting to open. Avoid cut flowers with drooping discolored leaves and slimy stems.
Give the recipient a packet of floral preservatives to add to some fresh water. Encourage them to remove any lower leaves and recut the stems before placing them in a clean vase.
If the roses bend at the neck soon after purchase, there is an easy cure. Remove them from their vase, recut the stems, and submerge the whole rose – stem, leaves, flowers, and all – in a sink or tub of warm water. Leave the roses submerged for 30 minutes. Recut the stem and place it in a clean vase with fresh water and a floral preservative.
Always protect your living Valentine's gift when transporting it between the store, your home, and your Valentine. Wrap plants or cut flowers to protect them from the weather and never leave them in a cold or hot car.

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Happy Birthday, Edie
Edith “Edie” Recagno Keenan Ceccarelli was born in the town of Willits, California, and still lives there. She’s the oldest resident in Willits, a town with a population just shy of 5,000 residents. In fact, at the age of 116 years, she’s the oldest woman in America and the second oldest woman in the world. Each year, on February 5, the whole town comes out to celebrate her birthday and Edie wonders, “Why am I still here? ” As one of her best friends put it, “God has a plan for you.”

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As the song goes, ‘Can’t Stop The Spring’
Punxsutawney Phil had good news for those of us who can’t wait for the warm and sunny days of springtime. The “biggest meteorological holiday of the year” took place on February 2 when that famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phill, emerged from his den. It was a cloudy day, so Phill did not see his shadow, the sign that springtime is just a few short weeks away -- maybe. Since 1887 Phill had it right 48% of the time but was wrong 52%. Your pick!

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How did he get in there?
Somehow three-year-old Ethan in Queensland, Australia managed to work his way into a claw machine via the chute through which prizes are dispensed. In this case it was a Hello Kitty plush toy machine. Using hand gestures Dad signaled his boy to stand far back in the machine’s container allowing police to smash through the glass pane. All’s well that ends well. When the ordeal came to a successful end, one of the police officers told Ethan, "You won a prize, which one do you want?"

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

On February 1, 1790, Chief Justice John Jay opened the Supreme Court's inaugural meeting on Broad Street in New York.
According to History.com, "The... Court later grew into arguably the most powerful judicial body in the world in terms of its central place in the U.S. political order. In times of constitutional crises, for better or worse, it always played a definitive role in resolving the great issues of the time."
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends William H. Rehnquist's The Supreme Court.

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Joe DiMaggio said Leroy "Satchel" Paige was the "best and fastest pitcher I’ve faced." Even so, it took Paige 50 years to be honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame - on February 8, 1971- as the first Negro League veteran to earn the recognition.
According to History.com, Paige was "a pitching legend known for his fastball, showmanship and the longevity of his playing career. Born in Mobile, Alabama, most likely on July 7, 1906, although the exact date remains a mystery, he earned his nickname, Satchel, as a boy when he earned money carrying passengers' bags at train stations. Baseball was segregated when Paige started playing baseball professionally in the 1920s, so he spent most of his career pitching for Negro League teams around the United States. During the winter season, he pitched for teams in the Caribbean and Central and South America. As a barnstorming player who traveled thousands of miles each season and played for whichever team met his asking price, he pitched an estimated 2,500 games, had 300 shut outs, and 55 no-hitters. In one month in 1935, he reportedly pitched 29 consecutive games."
For more information, The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend by Larry Tye.

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When Theodore Roosevelt refused to slay a bear during a hunting trip, the incident prompted a New York City inventor-toy store owner, Morris Michtom, to fashion two stuffed bears that were approved by the president. On February 15, 1903, he placed them in his window.
According to History.com, "Reports differ as to the exact details of the inspiration behind the teddy bear, but it is thought that while hunting in Mississippi in 1902, Roosevelt came upon an old injured black bear that his guides had tied to a tree. While some reports claim Roosevelt shot the bear out of pity for his suffering, others insist he set the bear free. Political cartoonists later portrayed the bear as a cub, implying that under the tough, outdoorsy and macho image of Roosevelt lay a much softer, more sensitive interior."
For more information, the Grateful American Book Prize recommends A Collector's History of the Teddy Bear by Patricia Schoonmaker.

House Call
Dr. Daniel Knight, professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Q: What is macular degeneration? A: Macular degeneration is a common eye disorder. Often referred to as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the condition affects the macula, which is the central part of the retina. The retina controls central vision, making it difficult for people with AMD to see things directly in front of them. AMD most commonly occurs in those over the age of 50. AMD presents itself in two forms — dry and wet. Dry AMD, the most common form of the disorder, is when yellow protein deposits collect under the macula. These deposits build up and eventually dry out and thin the macula. Wet AMD occurs when abnormal blood vessels develop under the retina and macula. These blood vessels leak blood and fluid, and the buildup forms a bulge in the macula. AMD can be inherited. It can also occur in those who have diabetes or have had head injuries. AMD symptoms may include blurred vision, changes in how you see colors, or blank or dark spots in your vision. An eye exam can help determine the presence of AMD. While the condition cannot be cured, certain vitamin supplements or medications may be recommended to slow the progression of AMD and make symptoms more manageable.
Q: What occurs during sepsis? A: Sepsis is the body’s abnormal internal reaction to an infection. The immune system naturally fights infections, but sepsis occurs when the immune system attacks healthy organs and tissues. It is a medical emergency and a life-threatening situation if not treated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 1.7 million people in the United States are diagnosed with sepsis each year. Bacterial, fungal, parasitic and viral infections can cause sepsis. Damage to tissues and organs may lead to inflammation throughout the body. Blood clots may also form, reducing blood flow to organs. Infections of the gastrointestinal system, lungs, skin and urinary tract are the common types that can lead to sepsis. Risk factors include being over the age of 65, people who have catheters or breathing tubes, those with weakened immune systems, or anyone with a recent long-term hospital stay. Sepsis symptoms may include confusion, elevated heart rate, feeling lightheaded or shivering. Quick diagnosis is the key to successful recovery, as sepsis progresses rapidly. Sepsis is often treated with antibiotics, intravenous fluids, and medications to tighten blood vessels to raise blood pressure. If you have an infection that is not getting better and you experience symptoms, contact a health care provider immediately. Q: What is the role of a phlebotomist? A: A phlebotomist is a health care professional specifically trained in collecting blood and preparing the samples for analysis and testing. Phlebotomy refers to the act of puncturing a vein. Blood samples may also be obtained by finger pricks (commonly used in blood sugar testing or determining a patient’s blood type) or by heel pricks in an infant. Anyone who has been treated by a health care provider has encountered a phlebotomist or a health care professional such as a nurse who is also trained in drawing blood. Phlebotomists work in locations such as assisted living facilities, blood donation centers, clinical laboratories, community health centers, doctors’ offices and hospitals. Many phlebotomists have a certification from an accredited phlebotomy program. These programs often include classwork, hands-on training and the passing of a certification exam. Phlebotomy programs generally take less than one year to complete. Collecting blood or other samples is often the first step in medical diagnosis. Blood may also be drawn while treating medical conditions such as high iron levels or sickle cell anemia, so phlebotomists perform a vital function. Patience and understanding are fundamental skills as many patients experience anxiety with the process of having blood drawn. Q: Can an electrocardiogram determine if I will have a heart attack? A: An electrocardiogram (often referred to as an ECG or EKG) measures and records the heart’s electric signals. Each heartbeat results in an electrical wave, and the EKG displays these waves and patterns. An EKG is a noninvasive and painless method to determine how the heart is functioning. While an EKG cannot predict whether a person will have a heart attack, it can show if a heart attack is happening at the time. It can also reveal whether a heart attack had previously occurred. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that each year about 805,000 people in the U.S. have a heart attack. Heart issues such as cardiomyopathy (enlarged or thickened heart walls), blocked or narrowed arteries or irregular heartbeats also can be detected with an EKG. The test can also be used to track the effectiveness of heart disease treatments or whether a patient is fit for surgery. EKG results are normally known soon after the test is performed, and your health care provider can review them with you. Even if you don’t have symptoms, an EKG may be recommended if you have a family history of heart disease.

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Party In The Potty
How do you attract a crowd in a convenience store? Easy! Throw a party in the potty. The HOP Shops chain of stores in Kentucky recently installed big red buttons in its bathrooms warning customers with a sign warning, “Do Not Push This Button." When you push the button – and that’s the idea – it triggers an array of colored lights, music and, of course, a disco ball and all of a sudden you find yourself in a mini dance club. It works. Store manager Mary Moss told WDKY-TV, "I had a 60-year-old woman who came out of the restroom and told me it was the best day of her life."

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How ‘cool’ is this
Katarzyna Jakubowska suggests that it’s in their genes for women to endure hardships. She should know, having earned a page in the Guinness Book of World Records when she withstood 3 hours, 6 minutes and 45 seconds in a box filled with ice up to her neck. As she put it, "I believe that we have great strength as women” and “I wanted to show that if we want something, we can do it."

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Not so sweet revenge
Valentine’s Day is approaching but there’s still enough time to find an appropriate memento for your not-so-loved one. If he or she is no longer the one you love and you want to show it, the Rhode Island animal shelter offers to bury your ex in kitty litter. For a $5 donation, they’ll write the name of an ex-friend or lover and bury it in a litter box for our shelter cats to poop all over. How's that for stinky retripootion?"

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Brighten any space with containers of summer-flowering bulbs
By MELINDA MYERS

Add unexpected beauty to your patio, deck, or balcony with summer-blooming bulbs. You may have grown elephant ears, lilies, dahlias, gladiolus, and caladiums in your garden, but did you know they also thrive in containers? Some summer bulbs grow even better in pots than they do in the garden. These include the exotic-looking flowers of Abyssinian gladiolus, calla lilies, pineapple lilies, and spider lilies.
One of the reasons these bulbs perform so well in containers is that you can be sure they get warm soil, consistent water, and plenty of nutrients. Taller plants like gladiolus, lilies, dahlias, cannas, and elephant ears are the perfect thrillers for large containers. Their bold foliage and extravagant blooms are sure to steal the show. Just plant the bulbs in spring along with your other annuals. As temperatures rise, these heat-loving bulbs will begin to fill in and soon burst into bloom providing added texture and color from late summer through fall.
You may find that summer-blooming bulbs like the pineapple lily (Eucomis), calla lily, and fragrant Hymenocallis perform better in their own containers because there is no competition with other plants for space, nutrients, and moisture. Before the bulbs begin flowering, their foliage provides an attractive backdrop for other container plants that bloom earlier in the season. Once flowering begins, you can move the pots front and center to fully enjoy the show. In cold climates, growing in containers also makes it easier to overwinter the bulbs. Just move the pots indoors to a cool, dark location until it’s time to replant the next spring.
Combine plants of different sizes and shapes to create visual excitement. Containers filled with tall plants such as gladiolus, cannas, tall varieties of dahlias, and large elephant ears provide striking vertical accents. Shorter plants like caladiums, pineapple lily, and triplet lily (Brodiaea) can be positioned in front of the larger pots. Add a few planters filled with your favorite annuals to keep the color going all season long.
Many summer-blooming bulbs are wonderfully fragrant. Growing these plants on a patio, deck, or balcony, ensures you won’t miss out on their delightful perfume. Late summer evenings are even sweeter when you are surrounded by containers filled with Oriental lilies, spider lilies, and acidanthera.
Small bulbs can grow into enormous plants, so choosing the right size container is important if you want your summer bulbs to reach their full potential. Longfield Gardens provides helpful tips in its Best Summer Bulbs for Containers article (www.longfield-gardens.com).
Most mid-sized dahlias will grow well in a five-gallon container. Dahlias that get to be more than 3 feet tall need a larger pot as well as sturdy stakes for extra support. Cannas and elephant ears are thirsty plants and can develop a very large root system in just a few short months. For these tropical beauties, the bigger the pot, the better!
Extend the bloom time for gladiolus and its cousin, Abyssinian gladiolus, by planting the bulbs in batches about two weeks apart. Both of these summer bulbs have sword-like foliage that provides vertical interest while you wait for the beautiful blooms. If you like cut flowers, grow a few extra pots of gladiolus so you can include them in summer arrangements.
Calla lilies are easy to grow in pots, even for gardeners in cool climates. Choose from a rainbow of beautiful flower colors, from white and yellow, to peach, red, and nearly black. The blossoms last for a month or more, and the lush foliage stays attractive all season long.
Extend the season into early fall with the exotic-looking flowers of Nerine bowdenii. Plant three or more bulbs per container and look forward to fragrant, candy-pink blossoms in September.
Let the unique flowers of pineapple lily (Eucomis) shine by growing them in their own container. The long-lasting flowers feature a green topknot that makes them resemble a pineapple. As with nerines, callas, and other non-hardy summer bulbs, Eucomis can be overwintered indoors and replanted in spring.
The possibilities are many. No matter which summer bulbs you choose, growing them in containers is a sure way to add pizzazz to your patio, deck, balcony, or entryway.

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How often should we wash our towels?

Key Findings:

3% of residents surveyed only wash their bathroom towels once a year, which equates to over 1.5 million people (1,595,646).
Almost one in 10 residents (8%) surveyed only wash their bathroom towels twice a year, equating to over 4 million people (4,255,056)
A third of those (33%) surveyed wash their bathroom towels just once every three months, this equates to over 17 million people (17,552,107)
Men are five times more likely to go a year without washing their towels
Through a survey of 2,200 residents, Showers to You’s research found that 3% of respondents wash their bathroom towels once a year, equating to 1,595,646 UK citizens.
Men were five times more likely to clean their bathroom towels just once a year, with 5% of male respondents admitting to giving them an annual wash, compared to 1% of women.
Almost one in 10 respondents (8%) stated they will only wash their bathroom towels twice a year, indicating over 1.5 million people across the country give their towels a clean every six months, while a third of respondents (33%) will only wash their bathroom towels once every three months at the most
However, it’s not all bad news for the nation’s bathroom hygiene, with almost one in five (38%) respondents stating they wash their towels once a month, almost a quarter (24%) washing their towels once a week and one in 20 (5%) health conscious residents washing their towels every single day.
Martin Smith, the founder of Showers to You commented:
“The bathroom should in theory be one of the cleanest rooms in the home, however our research shows that many people across the country could be ignoring a key step in ensuring proper bathroom hygiene.
“While it’s encouraging to see the data shows the majority of respondents are keeping up with regularly washing their bathroom towels, everyone should ensure they are ensuring a regular routine of washing their towels in line with guidance from health professionals, especially for those who only give their towels an annual wash.”
Visual cleanliness is the most common factor that causes people to wash their bathroom towels(67%), followed by smell (61%) and ‘number of uses’ (58%). Worryingly, however, one in sixrespondents (15%) stated they will only wash their towels once they have become stiff.
While the study found that one in 9 respondents (11%) aren’t concerned at all by bacteria or hygiene issues stemming from not washing their bathroom towels, the NHS advises that towels can spread germs if not washed frequently.
Commenting on the research, Dr. Hamdan Abdullah Hamed MBChB, a board-certified Dermatologist and Co-founder of PowerYourCurls.com, states:
“It is crucial to maintain proper hygiene in our everyday routines, including the use and care of bathroom towels. Regular washing of bathroom towels is important to maintain cleanliness and reduce the risk of infections. Towels tend to accumulate moisture, creating an environment conducive to bacterial and fungal growth. Bacteria like staphylococcus aureus can lead to skin infections, while fungi like Candida yeast can cause issues like athlete's foot or yeast infections. Additionally, dirty towels may contain allergens that can trigger allergic reactions or skin irritations in sensitive individuals. Therefore, it is recommended to wash towels after every three to four uses to eliminate bacteria, dirt, dead skin cells, and allergens, ensuring optimal hygiene and minimising health risks.”
https://ww.showerstoyou.co.uk/latest/2023/09/how-often-do-you-wash-your-bathroom-towels/
Methodology:
A survey of 2,200 UK residents asking respondents to state how often they wash their bathroom towels and the reasons behind the frequency.
Population statistics for UK adults (18 and over) taken from the Office of National Statistics.
Guidance on washing towels taken from Healthline.
Guidance on hygiene issues around washing towels taken from the NHS.
All data was collected in August 2023 and is correct as of then.

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Medal of Honor: Marine Corps Pfc. Ray "Mike" Clausen Jr.
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News

Marine Corps Pfc. Raymond Michael Clausen Jr. wasn't exactly known for acquiescing to authority during his time in Vietnam, and that lack of obedience helped save more than a dozen Marines who got trapped in a minefield in 1970. Clausen's fearless actions during that mission earned him the Medal of Honor.
Clausen, who went by Mike, was born on Oct. 14, 1947, in New Orleans to parents Ray Sr. and Mary Louise. He had a sister and three brothers, two of whom also served in the Marines.
After first grade, Clausen's family moved to Hammond, Louisiana, where he attended a Catholic primary school and was an altar boy at his church. Eventually, he switched to public school, graduating from Hammond High School in 1965. That fall, he started classes at nearby Southeastern Louisiana University, but after reading daily about all that was happening in Vietnam, he decided he needed to be part of the war effort.
Clausen enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in March 1966. By May of that year, he was discharged so he could join the regular Marines. After attending aviation school, Clausen was deployed to Vietnam, where he served as a jet helicopter mechanic with Marine Aircraft Group 16 of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing.
Clausen returned to the U.S. for a short time before volunteering to go back in November 1969. In a Veteran's History Project Library of Congress interview in the early 2000s, he said his mother didn't like the idea and asked him why he wanted to return.
"I said, 'There's something I've got to do. I haven't done it yet, but there's something I've got to do,'" Clausen remembered.
When he got back to Vietnam, he remained with MAG 16 in Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 263. As a helicopter crew chief, most of his missions were doing reconnaissance and Medevac flights. His job was to make sure all systems were a go for each flight, and while in the air, his role included clearing pilots in and out of landing zones and directing gunners.
On Jan. 31, 1970, his CH-46D Sea Knight and two other helicopters had dropped Marines into a field for a mission. A short time later, he said they were called back to extract some of those men, who had inadvertently stumbled into a minefield during a firefight with the enemy.
"The radio operator called up the helicopter and asked us if we'd come in and take up the wounded," Clausen recalled. When the pilot asked Clausen if they should go, the young crew chief replied, "Considering we put them in there, I think it's only right that we should get them out."
Nearly a dozen Marines had been wounded or killed, and those who remained held their positions for fear of detonating more mines if they moved. Clausen skillfully guided his pilot to a landing area that looked safe because several mines had already exploded there – although, he said, he really didn't know what a mine looked like and had no expertise on the matter.
Without hesitation, Clausen immediately ran off the chopper. When he reached the radio operator who had called for their help, that man pulled off Clausen's helmet and yelled at him about entering a minefield.
"So, I sort of flew back to the helicopter, not even touching the ground. I was on the ramp looking out. were carrying a stretcher toward the helicopter when one of the men carrying the stretcher stepped on a mine. The concussion and shrapnel knocked them all off their feet," Clausen remembered.
He said he immediately told his pilot that he was going back out. His pilot tried to tell him to stay put, but it was too late. "I was already disconnected. I was gone," Clausen said.
Despite the potential for hitting more mines, he went about his business collecting the injured.
"I picked up the ones who couldn't walk, and the ones who could walk sort of followed in my footsteps — thinking I knew what mines were," he said, chuckling at that thought. "We did all this under fire."
Clausen left the relative safety of the helicopter six times to carry out his rescue efforts. He said in total, they landed in three different areas twice, and he entered the minefield each time to help.
He remembered one occasion during a landing when they hit and detonated a mine right near a fallen corpsman whose body was still on the ground. Clausen hopped off the chopper and rescued three other wounded men before grabbing the slain corpsman to bring him home.
Only when Clausen was certain that all the Marines were safely aboard the helicopter did he signal to the pilot to head back to base. When they got there, Clausen said his pilot reprimanded him for not following orders, threatening a court martial. Clausen said he'd disobeyed authority several times — a 2004 Boston Globe profile about him said he'd been demoted after every promotion — but the reprimand never happened.
"[My pilot then] said, 'After what you did, there's no way in hell I can court martial you,'" Clausen remembered.
The 22-year-old was credited with saving 18 Marines that day.
"I personally carried six of the Marines out of the minefield, two in each place I landed. The rest of the Marines in the area who could walk … followed me out," he humbly said during the Library of Congress interview.
After that mission, Clausen came back to the U.S. and was released from active duty on Aug. 19, 1970. He took a job as an inspector for Boeing, but soon after, he got into a very serious car crash that temporarily left him in a coma. According to the Boston Globe, the crash nearly blinded him in one eye, and he had trouble walking for a while.
Clausen was at his home in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, recovering from the incident when he got a letter telling him he had earned the Medal of Honor. He received it on June 15, 1971, from President Richard M. Nixon during a White House ceremony. His accolades also include 98 Air Medals from the more than 3,000 hours he flew in combat.
In the Library of Congress interview, Clausen said he never considered himself a hero — just a man who did what had to be done. He said his Medal of Honor is shared with all of the helicopter crewmen with whom he served.
"Everybody that ever landed anywhere in Vietnam, ever flew in Vietnam — we all share in having the medal," he said.
In 1976, Clausen married his long-time girlfriend, Lois. He spent much of the rest of his life doing public speaking events and talking with veterans' organizations about his experience, even though his health was deteriorating.
Clausen died of liver failure on May 30, 2004, while receiving treatment at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. He was 56. Soon after, he was buried in Ponchatoula City Cemetery in the town in which he spent his later years.
About a decade before his death, Clausen donated his Medal of Honor to the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida, where it is on permanent display.
After his death, a Medal of Honor display that included one of his uniforms and a copy of his citation was set up at the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 1052 in Independence, Louisiana. In 2019, it was loaned to the New Orleans VA Medical Center for display during the 50th commemoration of the Vietnam War. It was then moved to the Hammond Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Clausen's hometown.

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Social Security Matters
By RUSSELL GLOOR, National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Will Withdrawing from 401(k) Affect My Social Security?

Dear Rusty: My full retirement age (FRA) is 66 and 8 months, which I’ll reach in September 2024. I’m still working 3 days a week. I want to cash in my 401K and want to know if I have to wait until my FRA for IRS purposes or can cash it in anytime in 2024. I don't want to affect my Social Security or end up paying taxes on my benefits. Signed: Seeking to Avoid Taxes
Dear Seeking: We’re not experts on IRS matters here at the AMAC Foundation so I can’t address 401(k) questions, but we can provide information on your Social Security circumstances and how 401(k) withdrawals may affect your SS. I assume from your question that you are now receiving early Social Security and wish to avoid any tax consequences thereto by cashing in your 401(k), as well as from working. Here’s what you need to know:
• Since you will reach your full retirement age (FRA) in 2024, your 2024 work earnings limit will be $59,520 up to the month you reach FRA. If you were born in January 1958, you’ll attain FRA in September 2024. After you have reached your FRA there is no longer a Social Security limit to how much you can earn from working, so your work earnings thereafter will not affect your monthly Social Security benefit regardless of how much you earn. If your part time work between January and August 2024 won’t put you over the $59,520 limit, your work earnings will not negatively affect your gross monthly Social Security benefit.
• Assuming you are on Medicare, the premium for which is deducted from your Social Security payment, withdrawals from your 401(k) might affect your net monthly Social Security payment in two years hence. Medicare premiums are based upon your combined income from all sources, including 50% of the SS benefits you received during the tax year. If your 401(k) withdrawal(s) put you over an income threshold for your tax filing status, you may be required to pay an “IRMAA” (Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount) on top of the standard Medicare premium. That IRMAA supplement would be deducted from your Social Security, which would affect the net amount of your Social Security payment. Your Medicare premium for each coming year is determined by your combined income from two years prior, so if you “cash in” your 401(K) in 2024, it would affect your net Social Security payments in 2026.
• Whether you will pay income tax on your Social Security benefits is determined by your combined income from everywhere, which the IRS calls your “Modified Adjusted Gross Income” or “MAGI.” MAGI is your income from all sources (except ROTH IRA withdrawals) and includes half of the SS benefits you received during the tax year. If you file your taxes as a single, and your MAGI is over $25,000 – or if you file your taxes as “married-jointly” and your MAGI is over $32,000 – then 50% of the Social Security benefits received during the tax year becomes part of your overall income taxed by the IRS (at your normal IRS tax rate). But if your MAGI as a single filer is more than $34,000 – or as a married/jointly filer over $44,000 – then up to 85% of the SS benefits received during the tax year becomes part of your overall income taxed by the IRS.
So, to recap:
1. Your part time work earnings in 2024 won’t affect your monthly Social Security benefit, unless your 2024 work earnings prior to September 2024 exceed $59,520.
2. Depending on the amount of your 401(k) withdrawals, your 2026 net Social Security payments may be impacted by Medicare’s IRMAA provision. But your 401(k) withdrawals will not affect your gross Social Security payments.
3. Depending on the amount of your 401(k) withdrawals, some of the Social Security benefits received during the 2024 tax year will likely be subject to income tax. That is, if your annual total income, including your 401(k) withdrawals, exceeds the MAGI thresholds described above.

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Get a Jump Start on Managing Plant Pests This Winter
By MELINDA MYERS

Just like us, insects spend their winters in different locations. Unlike us, they spend their winters in different stages of development. Some may overwinter as adults, others in their immature stage as grubs, caterpillars, or nymphs, while others will be in the pupal stage like a chrysalis or cocoon. Understanding their lifecycle and location can help us support beneficial insects while managing problem insect pests.
Invite beneficial insects like lady beetles, parasitic wasps, and predatory mites to your landscape to help manage populations of plant-damaging pests. Add a birdbath to encourage insect-eating songbirds into your gardens. Most songbirds eat insects or feed them to their young while adding color, movement, and entertainment to your garden.
Keeping your plants healthy with proper care is the first and an important step in any pest management strategy. Healthy plants are better able to tolerate pest attacks and are more likely to recover from the damage.
Despite your best efforts, insect pests may attack and damage your plants. Birds and predaceous insects often manage small populations but there may be times you decide to intercede. Winter is a great time to monitor and, in many cases, manage plant-damaging insects.
Scale insects can be one of these and come in a variety of colors and shapes, but all grow and reproduce under a waxy covering. This covering protects them from predators, desiccation, and pesticides. Depending on the scale species they may overwinter as an immature scale, fertilized female, or eggs under the protective covering.
Treating plant damaging scale in late winter or early spring is one way to jump-start control of this pest while having minimal or no impact on beneficial insects that will help manage this pest. Take some time now to check plants for problem pests like the invasive oystershell scale.
This insect is not native to North America and is a pest of more than 130 species of plants including poplars, ash, beech, maple, willows, dogwood, cotoneaster, and lilacs. Adult scale insects form a grayish to dark brown protective covering called a test that resembles an oyster or mussel shell. In the fall the mated female lays 20 to 100 eggs inside the test, dies and the eggs remain there throughout the winter.
Removing heavily infected twigs and branches is an option when the scale population is contained in a small portion of the plant. You can also gently scrape the scale off branches and stems with a plastic dish scrubber. Be careful not to damage thin-barked plants.
Another option is to apply organic lightweight horticulture oil like Summit Year-Roundâ Spray Oil (summitresponsiblesolutions.com) when plants are dormant. The temperatures must be 40 degrees or higher when treating. As always, read and follow label directions for effective and safe control. Since the eggs are so well protected, a second application of the horticulture oil can increase success. Make a second application, if needed, when the eggs hatch and the immature insects known as crawlers emerge in spring after the buds have burst.
As you survey your landscape this winter, pay special attention to stressed plants and those susceptible to oystershell scale and other insect pests common in your area. Plants exposed to road dust and pesticides may also be more vulnerable as these conditions negatively impact predators and parasites that help manage plant pests.
Regularly monitoring plant health, working with nature, and strategically managing invasive pests like the oystershell scale can help improve the health, vigor, and longevity of your landscape plants.

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Medal of Honor: Army Master Sgt. Nicholas Oresko
By KATIE LANGE
DOD News

When Army Master Sgt. Nicholas Oresko talked about the most pivotal actions he took during World War II, he often made it clear that the hardest part was the fact that he was alone.
"You don't know what it feels like to be alone in a situation like that," he said during a Library of Congress Veterans History Project interview in the early 2000s.
Despite being by himself in frigid Germany during a late-war enemy counterattack, Oresko pushed on anyway, singlehandedly clearing the way for his company to take their objective. That valor and bravery earned him the Medal of Honor.
Oresko was born Jan. 18, 1917, in Bayonne, New Jersey, to an American mother and a father who was a Russian immigrant. Despite being only 5'4", Oresko said he loved to play sports growing up. When he was young, Charles Lindbergh was one of his heroes, which made him want to be a pilot for a time.
Before the war, Oresko worked in the shipping department for Standard Oil. He was drafted into the Army in March 1942, about three months after he'd married his girlfriend, Jean Strang. He was initially assigned to the 77th Infantry Division but was later switched to the 1st Battalion, 302nd Infantry, 94th Infantry Division.
By late summer of 1944, Oresko's division was deployed to France. He told the Veterans History Project that they were meant to be a reserve unit, but at the start of the Battle of the Bulge – Hitler's last major attack that surprised the Allies – they were shipped to the front lines in Germany.
Oresko was a platoon leader for Company C during the frigid days of early 1945. His platoon had attacked enemy positions in the town of Tettingen, Germany, twice over two days and had been pushed back both times. For their next attempt, instead of using artillery to announce themselves, battalion leaders ordered a sneak attack.
In the early-morning hours of Jan. 23, 1945, Oresko ordered his men to begin the attack, but no one moved. He said he issued the order a second time, and they again didn't move, so he started toward the enemy without them.
"I felt so alone," Oresko said. "I looked up at the sky and said, 'Lord I know I'm going to die. Let's just make it fast.'"
He said a cold wave went over him and that he went numb, moving by instinct at that point.
"I stepped out of the trenches by myself, step by step through the snow, and the Germans didn't see me," he said.
His fellow soldiers finally started to follow him, but they were about 50 feet behind him when the Germans noticed the movement and opened fire, pinning the unit down.
Oresko, however, had still gone unnoticed. He knew he would have to take out the closest machine gun nest to help his soldiers, so he kept moving in stealth until he was close enough to throw a grenade into the enemy bunker. He rushed into it after it went off, using his rifle to take out the surviving occupants.
A second machine gun nest opened fire on Oresko, knocking him down and seriously injuring his hip.
"As I started to walk, I could feel warm stuff coming down my leg," he remembered. "I kept trudging ahead and figured, 'Oh well. I'm going to die anyway, so what difference does it make?'"
While bleeding, Oresko said he crawled past a booby trap that barely missed him, then laid in an indentation in the snow for a bit. He said the enemy must have thought he was dead because they began firing at his troops from a nearby bunker. Oresko couldn't move backward into the firefight, and in front of him lay the enemy bunker. In that moment, he knew what he had to do.
Grabbing some grenades and pulling the pin on one, he sneaked up to the machine gun at that bunker and dropped the live grenade in. After it went off, he again jumped into the trench and used his rifle to wipe out the remaining enemy soldiers manning it.
Oresko was credited with killing 12 Germans in his solo attack that made it possible for his company to take control of the enemy position. It was only when he knew they'd succeeded that he allowed his fellow soldiers to evacuate him.
Weak from blood loss, Oresko was sent to a hospital to recover. He was eventually put on limited duty until he was discharged in November 1945. He said he never saw the members of his platoon again.
On Oct. 12, 1945, Oresko received the Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman during a White House ceremony. Fourteen other soldiers also received the nation's highest honor that day.
Oresko and his wife moved to Tenafly, New Jersey, and they had a son named Robert. Oresko initially returned to his previous job, but when he found out Medal of Honor recipients could get a job with the Department of Veterans Affairs without a civil service test, he jumped at the chance, working for the department for 32 years.
"It was a joy," Oresko said of his post-war career, which included speaking gigs at schools. "That part of my life was rewarding."
He told the Asbury Park Press in 1978 that he and his wife traveled to Germany and France at some point, and he was able to show her some of the areas in which he fought. He said they also often visited London, where their son lived and worked.
Oresko died on Oct. 4, 2013, after complications from surgery for a broken leg – the same leg that was injured during his Medal of Honor actions. At the time of his death, the 96-year-old was the oldest living Medal of Honor recipient.
Oresko's wife died in 1980 and his son died in 2013, so he had no family to join him when he went to the hospital for the surgery. According to his obituary in the Northern Valley Suburbanite newspaper out of Englewood, New Jersey, Oresko was accompanied by veterans and service members who stayed by his side the entire time.
Oresko is buried in George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus, New Jersey.
His memory will certainly not be forgotten. In 2010, a school in his native Bayonne was named in Oresko's honor. In 2018, the Army Reserve's 94th Training Division at Fort Gregg-Adams, Virginia, named a new training center after him. That same year, a park and monument in Tenafly were built in Oresko's honor.

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As sweet as it gets
How cute is this kudu? Cute enough to warrant a lot more attention from its mom. Eric Byrd, zoological manager at the Cincinnati Zoo, noticed that a newborn lesser kudu calf wasn’t getting enough attention from first-time mom, Sabi, “so we stepped in and fed the calf.” If you’ve never seen a kudu, they’re as adorable as it gets and the good news is that it’s likely that Sabi will soon bond with her infant.

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Fishy noises
For the past several years residents in Tampa Bay, Florida, have been trying to find the source of low-pitched sounds. Many of them – including Dr. James Locascio, senior scientist at the Mote Marine Laboratory – believe it is the sound of fish mating, specifically ray-finned, black drum fish. Locascio would like to use underwater acoustic recorders to identify and confirm the sounds and a local resident is seeking to raise the $2,500 it would cost.

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An ‘awesome’ snow shark
It’s normal to avoid getting too close to a shark but droves of residents in Iowa City, Iowa, were attracted by a 20-foot-long sea-going predator recently. They weren’t afraid because in this case the shark was a “snow shark” created by sculptor Carlos Maldonado. After a powerful storm covered the town in heavy snow, it took him four-and-a-half hours to sculpt his Great White and another hour-and-a-half to give it color using acrylic paint. Maldonado told Iowa’s News Now that his kids wanted him to make a snowman but he decided to make something a little more grand.

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‘Tidy Mouse’
Eek! Do mice get a bum reputation? According to experts on the subject, mice “are fastidiously clean animals.” Rodney Holbrook of Builth Wells, Wales can attest to that; he noticed that “stuff” in his tool shed was being relocated each night in an orderly fashion. He planted a hidden camera and, sure enough, he caught what he calls a “tidy mouse” gathering nails, small tools, etcetera and neatly putting them in a small tray. The mouse usually works alone but sometimes has help from a “brother mouse.” As Wells put it to the BBC, "I don't bother to tidy up now, I leave things out of the box and they put it back in its place by the morning."

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This guy is no ‘pettifogger’
Chris Williams at Michigan's Wayne State University is head of a Word Warriors program, an effort to bring back "long-lost" words. The University started the program 15 years ago in an effort to remember words that most of us have forgotten over the years, words such as Rawgabbit. That’s what they once called a person who tries hard to sound like he knows what he’s talking about. Do you know wat “thunderplump” means? It’s all about heavy rains during a thunderstorm. How about blatherskite. It’s what they used to call someone who doesn’t make sense when he’s talking. Oh yeah, a pettifogger is someone who is underhanded or disreputable.

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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Australian Kathleen Murray of Sandford, Tasmania says "now my back yard looks like a real-life Hungry [hungry] Hippo game. I also have an echidna [a spiny anteater] that helps, and some chooks [chicken]." Kathleen is the proud winner of the first-ever World's Ugliest Lawn competition. As she puts it, "I used to think the bandicoots [Australasian marsupial mammal] were wildlife of mass destruction invading my lawn, but now I see that they've actually liberated me from ever having to mow it again. I'm all for guilt-free weekends, especially since my ex-husband left with the lawnmower back in 2016."

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Social Security Matters
By RUSSELL GLOOR
National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – How Can I Get Details about My Social Security Payment?

Dear Rusty: How do I find the actual breakdown of the Medicare insurance that I have auto deducted and my actual Social Security payment? I was just looking at a video which explained the 3% Cost of Living Adjustment we will be receiving this year, and it compared the current payout to the new payout. There seems to be a big difference in what I am getting and what they said in the video. Currently my Social Security payments are $1,431. My Medicare insurance is supposed to be $165, which means my total Social Security is about $1,596. On the video it said all retired workers are getting $1,848 with the new increase to take it to $1,938.00. There are a couple hundred dollars there that I seem to be missing out on. Can you help me understand that difference? Signed: Confused Senior
Dear Confused Senior: What you’re asking for is an itemized breakout of your gross Social Security benefit, any deductions being taken therefrom (e.g., your Medicare Part B premium), the amount of your COLA increase, and your net Social Security payment for 2024. If that is the case, the best way to get this detail is in your personal “my Social Security” online account, which provides all the information mentioned. You can access your online account at www.ssa.gov/myaccount, and if you don’t already have that online account set up, you’ll need to first establish your online access credentials (instructions for how to do that will be at that website).
I’m not sure which video you watched, but “all retired workers” do not get $1,848 (or $1,938). Everyone’s Social Security benefit is different, based on their lifetime earnings record and the age at which they claimed benefits. The numbers you heard in the video were likely average Social Security payments, not the actual amount you should personally be receiving. Here’s how it works:
• Your personal benefit is based on your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) which is the amount you get if you claim for your benefits to start at your full retirement age (FRA), which is somewhere between 66 and 67 depending on the year you were born. Claim before your FRA your benefit is permanently reduced; claim after your FRA it is higher. Your personal maximum benefit is achieved if you claim at age 70.
• The Medicare Part B premium (for outpatient healthcare services) is automatically deducted from your Social Security payment. Although the standard 2023 Part B premium was $164.90, the standard 2024 Part B premium is $174.70. You may also have other things (e.g., income tax) withheld from your monthly Social Security payment.
• The annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for 2024 is 3.2%. That means your gross Social Security benefit goes up by that percentage starting in 2024. But there was also a $9.80 increase in your Medicare Part B premium starting in 2024, which means that you won’t see all of the COLA increase in your Social Security payment. Since your Medicare premium is deducted from your Social Security, that Medicare increase will also be taken from your SS payment, so you won’t see the full 3.2% COLA increase in your 2024 Social Security payment.
To see all of this detail for you personally, I suggest you access your online “my Social Security” account as described above. As an alternative, you can also call Social Security at 1.800.772.1213 and request a Benefit Verification Letter which will include all the information you seek about your Social Security payment.

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Gear up for the 2024 garden season

By MELINDA MYERS

It’s never too early to prepare for the garden season ahead. Having the right tool for the job saves time, reduces the frustration of trying to make the wrong tool work, and allows you to garden longer with less muscle fatigue.
Take an inventory of all your tools. Be sure to check the shed, garage, or tool caddy. Make a list of those that need to be replaced or need an update. This is also a good time to clean and sharpen those tools you plan to use in the coming growing season.
As you update your tools, you may want to purchase a few hand tools with comfortable wooden handles and carbon steel heads. The wood adds a natural aesthetic that goes hand in hand with gardening.
Make sure you have the right shovels for those frequent digging tasks. Perhaps it is time to invest in a long-handled shovel with a narrow head that allows you to dig in small spaces. Corona’s DigMaster Nursery Shovel has a hardened steel blade and a handle for durability and long life. The ComfortGel grip allows you to keep working longer.
Like digging with the right-sized shovel, deadheading flowers with the right tool makes it easier and you’re more likely to get the job done. For those that do a lot of deadheading, select one with an ergonomic design, a finger loop for better control, and an easy-release lock like Corona’s Ergo Dead Header Snips.
Late winter and early spring are also the time to do a bit of trimming and pruning on indoor plants. Pruners and snips with specially shaped blades, like the Corona BP14623 Houseplant Pruner, make trimming individual leaves and stems easier, ensuring you make the cut where planned.
A scoop comes in handy when placing potting mix or fertilizer in containers. The more you use it, the more uses you will discover for scoops like Corona’s Multi-Scoop with a stainless-steel scoop and ComfortGel grip.
If you struggle to haul soil, mulch, and plants to the garden bed, it may be time to invest in a garden cart. Wheelbarrows are a traditional favorite but how about a 4-wheeled cart with pneumatic tires to make moving the load over rough ground easier? Consider one with sides that fold down for easier loading and unloading. Or perhaps one with a dumping mechanism, like Corona’s CR1000 Poly Dump Cart, that makes it easy to empty loads of mulch and soil where it is needed.
And don’t forget about the young gardeners in your life. Having their own set of properly sized hand tools, long-handled tools, and of course, a wheelbarrow will make working with you in the garden even more special. Kids, like adults, benefit from spending time in the garden. Give them their own garden patch or row to dig, plant, and tend. You’ll all have more fun.
When upgrading your garden tools, consider donating those that are still in good working order to a nearby community garden, school garden, or master gardener group. They can always use extra tools to help them grow gardeners of all ages. And those that have reached the end of life can be turned into garden art. It’s a great way to save memories of gardens’ past.

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Medal of Honor: Marine Corps Sgt. Richard Binder
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News
Like many men born in the mid-1800s, Marine Corps Sgt. Richard Binder immigrated to America to find better opportunities. By the time the Civil War came around, the U.S. was his adopted home, and he was ready to fight for it. Binder earned his stripes on ships throughout the war, and his actions earned him a Medal of Honor.
Binder was born on July 26, 1839, in Würtemmberg, Germany. According to a 2014 article in the Hidden City Daily, a Philadelphia historical online publication, Binder moved to New York in 1854 when he was 15 before settling in Philadelphia. The publication said he worked with another German immigrant as a barber. In 1860, he applied for and was granted U.S. citizenship.
Just ahead of his 22nd birthday, Binder enlisted in the Marine Corps on July 11, 1861, about three months after the Civil War broke out. Binder first served on a ship that sank during the Battle of Port Royal, South Carolina, in early November 1861. He moved on to other ships and was involved in various naval battles before being sent to serve on the USS Ticonderoga, a propeller-driven warship, in 1864.
By Christmas Day in December 1864, Union forces were carrying out their first assault on Fort Fisher near Wilmington, North Carolina. The fort was the last major coastal stronghold for the Confederates, as it still managed to get supplies through the Union blockade. Union troops weren't successful in this skirmish, so three weeks later, they tried again.
Binder was aboard the USS Ticonderoga during the second Battle of Fort Fisher, and this time, Union troops were better prepared. According to the Naval History and Heritage Command, about 40 ships on the front lines took aim at the fort using more than 600 guns. "The 50 cannons aboard the frigate Colorado alone were more than the number of guns guarding the walls of Fort Fisher," naval historians wrote.
On Jan. 13, the Navy began its bombardment. The Confederates responded with their own heavy return fire. At some point, a 100-pound Parrott rifle exploded on one of the Union ships, killing eight sailors and wounding at least a dozen more.
Throughout those first two days of battle, Binder, who was the captain of a gun, "performed his duties with skill and courage," according to his Medal of Honor citation. His actions remained steady as he continually took aim at Confederate batteries onshore, helping to lessen enemy fire as the assault went on.
By Jan. 15, naval forces landed on the shores of Fort Fisher. While many of them were repulsed, causing many Union casualties, their actions successfully distracted the fort's garrison from the Union Army's attack on the land side of the installation. Those soldiers eventually breached the walls of the fort and took over, staking a claim over one of the strongest fortifications possessed by the Confederates and severing the South's transatlantic supply routes.
According to the Naval History and Heritage Command, the fall of Fort Fisher led to the occupation of Wilmington, which directly contributed to the Confederate surrender in April 1865.
After the war, Binder was honorably discharged. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions on June 22, 1865, although a ceremony for the award wasn't held until the 1890s, according to Hidden City Daily. Nine other men from the Ticonderoga also earned Medals of Honor for their actions at Fort Fisher.
In 1868, Binder married a woman named Frederika, who had also emigrated from the same town in Germany years prior. They had a daughter, Laura, and a son, Richard Jr.
Binder eventually returned to cutting hair. By 1890, he'd become an astute businessman with four shops set up across Philadelphia. He was well-known in the industry and even expanded his business into tonics and toupees, Hidden City Daily reported.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Binder loved to collect canes and had about 600 of them, including one once used by President Abraham Lincoln.
Binder died Feb. 26, 1912, from heart disease, according to his Inquirer obituary. He is buried in West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala-Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia.

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

America’s first gasoline powered automobile appeared in 1893. Sixty years later, the Chevrolet Corvette ambushed the markets with a sports car that snatched a devoted following that entices tens of thousands of buyers annually.
According to History.com, “in the early 1950s, Harley Earl (1893-1969), the influential head designer for GM, then the world’s largest automaker, became interested in developing a two-seat sports car. At the time, European automakers dominated the sports car market. Following the debut of the Corvette prototype at the Motorama show in January 1953, the first production Corvette was completed at a Flint, Michigan plant on June 30, 1953. The car featured an all-fiberglass body, a white exterior and red interior, a relatively unremarkable 150-horsepower engine and a starting price tag of around $3,500 (not including taxes or an optional AM radio and heater).”
For more information, the Grateful American Book Prize recommends books such as The Complete Book of Corvette by Mike Mueller.

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Although California didn’t become a state until 1850, it was a territory in 1848 – just in time for America to benefit from the discovery of gold on January 24, 1848 in Sutter’s Creek, CA.
“A tributary to the South Fork of the American River east of the Sacramento Valley and San Francisco, Sutter’s Creek was named for a Swiss immigrant who came to Mexican California in 1839,” reports History.com. “John Augustus Sutter became a citizen of Mexico and won a grant of nearly 50,000 acres in the lush Sacramento Valley, where he hoped to create a thriving colony ... Sutter hired the millwright James Marshall to build a sawmill along the South Fork of the American River in January 1848. In order to redirect the flow of water to the mill’s waterwheel, Marshall supervised the excavation of a shallow millrace ... Marshall was looking over the freshly cut millrace when a sparkle of light in the dark earth caught his eye. Looking more closely, Marshall found that much of the millrace was speckled with what appeared to be small flakes of gold, and he rushed to tell Sutter. After an assayer confirmed that the flakes were indeed gold, Sutter quietly set about gathering up as much of the gold as he could, hoping to keep the discovery a secret. However, word soon leaked out and, within months, the largest gold rush in the world had begun.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends The Age of Gold: The California Gold Rush and the New American Dream by H.W. Brands.

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On January 31, 1865, the 13th Amendment-- ratified by the House of Representatives—stated “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude ... shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
According to History.com, “when the Civil War began, President Abraham Lincoln’s professed goal was the restoration of the Union. But early in the war, the Union began keeping escaped enslaved people rather than returning them to their owners, so slavery essentially ended wherever the Union army was victorious. In September 1862, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all enslaved people in areas that were still in rebellion against the Union. This measure opened the issue of what to do about slavery in border states that had not seceded or in areas that had been captured by the Union before the proclamation.”
The Grateful American Book Prize endorses Slavery and the Making of America by James Oliver Horton and Lois E. Horton.

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Social Security Matters
By RUSSELL GLOOR
National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Can Someone Work While Collecting Social Security Disability?

Dear Rusty: If a person is collecting Social Security disability benefits, can they, at any point, work at all? If they can, what is the maximum they can earn and still keep the disability benefit? I am asking because my husband is still young, but his injuries will not allow him to go back to the job he had prior to his injuries and surgeries. He does not just want to sit at home doing nothing! Signed: Concerned Wife
Dear Concerned: Actually, the Social Security Administration (SSA) encourages those collecting SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) benefits to attempt to go back to work and they provide considerable leeway for them to do so. The monthly earnings limit for those collecting SSDI benefits in 2024 is $1,550 and as long as your husband earns less than the limit while working, his SSDI benefits will not be in jeopardy. Your husband should contact Social Security’s Ticket to Work program directly to protect his disability status and discuss returning to work while collecting SSDI benefits.
The Ticket to Work program assists those now receiving SSDI benefits who wish to test their ability to return to work without putting their SSDI benefits at risk. The program provides considerable assistance, including new career training opportunities and connection to potential employers, and it is voluntary and costs nothing. Here is a link to Social Security’s information on the Ticket to Work program: https://choosework.ssa.gov/
It’s not mandatory for your husband to enroll in the Ticket to Work program but, in addition to other available assistance, he can request a Trial Work Period (TWP) which would allow for 9 months, over a rolling five year period, during which he can earn any amount (even over the normal monthly limit mentioned above) without risking his SSDI benefits. Within the Trial Work Period, only those months he earns over the normal monthly SSDI limit would count as a Trial Work Month. So, for example, your husband could work part time regularly earning under the normal monthly limit and if, in some months (up to nine), he earned more it wouldn’t affect his SSDI benefits.
So, your younger disabled husband can, indeed, work while on Social Security disability, for as long as he wishes while earning under the monthly SSDI limit (the SSDI earnings limit changes yearly). He may also wish to enroll in Social Security’s Ticket to Work program for assistance with developing a new career. Plus, he can take advantage of using trial work months in the event his work earnings will, at times, exceed the monthly SSDI limit. If your husband earns over the SSDI limit for more than the 9 trial work months and his benefits are consequently stopped, he can - within the 5-year Trial Work Period – have his benefits reinstated (without again going through the full application process) if his disability, once more, renders him unable to work full time.
For starters, I suggest your husband contact Social Security’s Ticket to Work program directly at 1.833-889-0108 to discuss returning to work part time. Social Security will guide him through the entire process.

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Testing, sharing, and saving leftover seeds

By MELINDA MYERS

As you scour the seed catalogs and websites for new and favorite flower and vegetable seeds, take time to inventory the seeds you have saved from previous years. You’ll save money by not buying more of the seeds you already have so you’ll have more to spend on something new.
Starting with fresh seeds from a reliable seed company helps boost your growing success. But what gardener can resist getting the most out of every purchase by saving and planting seeds left from previous years?
Seeds stored in a consistently cool, not freezing, dry, dark location can last for one to five or more years. Start by checking the packaging or expiration date on the packet. Onions, parsley, parsnips, and salsify seeds usually last one year while corn, okra, and pepper seeds last an average of two years. Beans and peas generally last for three years; tomatoes, turnips, beets chard, and watermelon four; and Brussels sprouts, cabbage, muskmelon, radishes, and spinach are the longest lasting at five years.
Perennial flower seeds last an average of two to four years while annual flower seeds last from one to three years depending on the species. There are always exceptions with a few seeds that were found lasting more than a hundred years.
You may find your properly stored seeds last longer than the averages. But once seeds pass their average life expectancy you may see a reduction in germination. Use this quick and easy test to see if your stored seeds will sprout and grow. Place ten seeds on a damp paper towel. Roll up the towel with the seeds safely tucked inside. Set the paper towel in a plastic bag and store it in a warm dark location.
After a week or so, unwrap the paper towel and check the seeds for sprouting. If nothing has happened, rewrap the seeds and wait a few more days.
If all the seeds have sprouted, you have one hundred percent germination and can plant the seeds according to the label directions. If only half the seeds sprout, you should plant the seeds twice as thick to compensate for the lower germination. You can plant these sprouted seeds if you have the available gardening space and the growing conditions are right for the seeds to grow.
If none of the seeds sprout, consider breaking out the glue and getting the family involved in turning these nonviable seeds into seed art. Then make some adjustments to your seed storage strategies in the future. Leave seeds in their original package so you have all the information you need when inventorying and planting the seeds the following season. Place the envelope in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator or a consistently cool, not freezing location.
If you’ve lost seeds to hungry rodents try storing them in the refrigerator or metal or glass containers. Sealed plastic containers are fine for the seeds, but hungry mice can eat their way through the plastic to your stored seeds.
You, like many gardeners, often end up with more seeds than you will ever grow. Consider sharing these with others by donating them to school groups, community gardeners, and master gardeners who will put them to use in various gardens in your community. Or organize a seed swap. Just gather your gardening friends or work colleagues, the seeds and catalogs, and throw a garden party. The last Saturday in January is National Seed Swap Day and a good excuse to gather and share.
Seed swaps are a great way to find unusual or unique seeds. It is also a great way to save money and get the greatest value by sharing extra seeds with friends and family.
Once the seed swapping is done you may want to break out the catalogs, check online seed retailers, and place a group seed order. Working together you’ll be able to order a wider variety of seeds for greater diversity in the garden. Everyone can take what they need so there will be fewer seeds to save in the future. Plus, ordering larger packets is usually more economical. And you’ll have an excuse for another party when you meet to divide up the goods.

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Medal of Honor: Army Spc. 4th Class Gary Wetzel
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News
Imagine losing your arm and suffering other severe injuries, yet still putting others' safety before your own. That's exactly what Army Spc. 4th Class Gary George Wetzel did during a firefight in Vietnam that took out his unit's helicopter. Wetzel miraculously survived the day, and his valor earned him the Medal of Honor.
Wetzel was born on Sept. 29, 1947, in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was one of nine children; he had five sisters and was the oldest of four boys. His father was a factory worker who'd served in World War II, and his mother went to work as a part-time nursing assistant once the kids were old enough to take care of themselves.
As a boy, Wetzel enjoyed sports and Boy Scout outings, and he idolized John Wayne. But school wasn't really his thing, so in February 1966, a few months after he turned 18, he joined the Army.
After basic training, he served as a heavy equipment instructor at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. In a 2003 interview with the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project, he said because he knew he would get sent to Vietnam eventually, he put in a request to deploy, but it was denied. Later, he put in another request that was accepted, and by October 1966, he found himself on his way to Vietnam.
Wetzel first served in an ordnance unit, but he wanted to do something with aviation, so while he was overseas, he reenlisted to get his choice of duty station. He was assigned to the 173rd Assault Helicopter Company of the 11th Combat Aviation Battalion, 1st Aviation Brigade. He got his first taste of combat experience in that unit and was shot down four times during his service.
It was the fifth time he got shot down — about 10 days before his second tour of duty would have concluded — that he earned the Medal of Honor.
On Jan. 8, 1968, then-Pfc. Wetzel's unit was doing flights to check for enemy activity near Ap Dong An in the southern end of Vietnam when they touched down in a landing zone that was immediately bombarded with enemy fire.
"The crossfire was tremendous," Wetzel, who was serving as his chopper's door gunner, later said.
Seconds after landing, a rocket hit the aircraft. As Wetzel and his crew chief, Bart Jarvis, tried to help their wounded aircraft commander, Tim Artman, two more enemy rockets exploded just inches from them. Those explosions blew Wetzel out of the helicopter and into a rice paddy.
Wetzel was critically wounded. He discovered his left arm was useless, and his right arm, chest and left leg were also bleeding profusely. However, he still managed to shoot down an enemy soldier who was about to throw a grenade.
Getting his bearings, Wetzel staggered back to his helicopter's gun well to return fire. According to his Medal of Honor citation, his machine gun was the only weapon effectively firing back at the enemy. Eventually, his shooting took out the automatic weapons emplacement that had pinned down and inflicted heavy casualties on U.S. troops.
Wetzel refused to attend to his extensive wounds and instead tried to drag himself back to Jarvis to help Artman; however, he passed out from blood loss. When he regained consciousness, he remained persistent in his effort to help his commander.
"I recall thinking even then how miraculous it was that the man was still alive," another soldier in Wetzel's helicopter said in a statement after the incident. "Pfc. Wetzel's actions, in my opinion, will stand out for years to come as a prime example of a truly selfless devotion to the survival of one's fellow man."
After an agonizing effort, Wetzel made it to Jarvis, who was still trying to drag the wounded Artman out of the rice paddy and to the safety of a nearby dike. Wetzel continued to assist him until he passed out again. Sadly, Artman didn't survive.
Wetzel said his crew fought for 10 to 12 hours before they got any help and were able to evacuate. He later said that he was determined to make it out of there because, even though he thought he was dying, he didn't want to do so in a rice paddy.
"Medically, I should have been dead," he said in his Library of Congress interview. Wetzel said he met some of the nurses who worked on him when the Vietnam Women's Memorial was erected in 1993. They told him he went through 18 units of blood during his immediate recovery.
Wetzel's arm had to be amputated at a field hospital. He was flown out of Vietnam and spent six months in hospitals before being discharged in June 1968.
That September, shortly after he turned 21, Wetzel said his superiors mentioned that he'd be going on a trip, but they couldn't tell him where or why. He eventually learned it would be to Washington, D.C., to receive the Medal of Honor.
President Lyndon B. Johnson presented Wetzel with the medal during a White House ceremony on Nov. 19, 1968. Wetzel's father, fiancée and several other family members were able to attend. Four other men received the same honor that day.
Since that day, Wetzel has taken his role as a recipient of the nation's highest honor for valor very seriously.
"It's been four and a half decades, and every time I have the privilege of wearing that blue ribbon around my neck, I am in awe," Wetzel said in a 2016 USA Today article. "I try to live up to it for the guys who aren't here."
Wetzel left the service shortly after the medal ceremony. He went on to marry his fiancée, Kathy, and they had a son.
Wetzel took a job as a welder for a time before working for Ameriprise starting in 1971. He has stayed involved with veterans' organizations and has taken part in several iterations of the annual Rolling Thunder motorcycle ride to D.C. over Memorial Day weekend. Wetzel often speaks to students about his time in the military and patriotism.
The Medal of Honor recipient has received many accolades in recent years, too.
In 2015, the Milwaukee County War Memorial Center unveiled a street sign and stone marker commemorating Wetzel's heroics. He was also the 2015 Milwaukee County veteran of the year and the first recipient of the Milwaukee County Purple Heart Pass.
The Gary G. Wetzel Way nature trail at Camp American Legion, Wisconsin, was named for him in 2016. The camp helps post-9/11 veterans and their families rehabilitate and heal.
That same year, Wetzel was seriously injured in a motorcycle crash, but he recovered after extensive rehab. When he returned to his South Milwaukee home, it was to a parade-like atmosphere, with neighbors, family and well-wishers welcoming him back – a very different homecoming than what he got in 1968. Wetzel's home had been renovated by the Gary Sinise Foundation to accommodate his needs due to his extensive injuries.
Most recently, May 18, 2017, was declared Gary G. Wetzel Day in South Milwaukee.

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Puppy love
Household puppies can do the strangest things. Take Clayton and Carrie Law of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They put $4,000 in cash in an envelope and put it on the kitchen counter to pay workers who were expected at their home. When they returned to the kitchen there was Cecil, their 7-year-old Goldendoodle puppy, chewing away at the envelope and the money. As Clayton put it to KDKA-TV, “He ate the money, he ate $4,000." Mr. and Mrs. Law wasted no time; they gathered shredded cash on the floor, put together some of the bills but had to wait for Cecil to vomit and poop to get the bulk of the money—about $3,550.

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Outdoor living room
Potholes can be fun? When an unknown resident of Grand Haven, Michgan, planted a leather recliner in a pothole in a nearby road it didn’t take a long time for someone to come along, steal it and put it up for sale online. A neighbor replaced it with another armchair. Soon, other nearby residents added other pieces of furniture, creating what turned out to be an “outdoor living room” that went viral online.

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Neither snow nor rain
According to the Postal Service, on average mail in the U.S. is delivered in a day or three. But sometimes it can take a bit longer, particularly when the address is incomplete. For example, a letter misaddressed to a family in DeKalb, Illinois in 1943 was finally delivered 80 years after it was posted. It took a dedicated post office employee to track down the George family now living in Portland, Oregon. The postman lived up to the motto that promises “the swift completion of their appointed rounds."

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Social Security Matters
By RUSSELL GLOOR,
National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Will My Friend’s Fiancée be Entitled to a Survivor Benefit?

Dear Rusty: I have a very good friend who has cancer and will begin chemotherapy this week. He is 71 years old and is currently receiving Social Security benefits. He has been living with his fiancée for a little more than 2 years, but they have been a couple for about 15 years and will be married in the next few weeks. She is 60 years old.

I am naturally concerned about his, and her, future so my questions are:

· What, if anything, should he and his wife do to ensure that she gets his Social Security benefits?

· What benefits will she be entitled to, and how soon will she be able to begin receiving them after his death?

Signed: A Friend with Questions

Dear Friend: You are kind to be concerned about your friend and his fiancée. Here’s what you need to know:

Social Security goes by state rules when it comes to what is often referred to as "common law marriage." That means that whether your friend's fiancée will receive any benefits as a surviving spouse in a "common law" relationship depends on whether they live in a state which recognizes common law marriage. Most states do not, but state laws have changed over the years and many states which once recognized such unions as "marriage" no longer do. Although they may have "been a couple" for 15 years, if your friend and his fiancée have been living together for only two it is likely only the last two years will count for Social Security benefit purposes. So, whether your friend's fiancée will get anything when your friend dies depends on where they live - unless they get married, in which case the rules are different.
In order for a married widow(er) to receive surviving spouse benefits, the couple must have been married for at least 9 months. If they marry and your friend lives longer than 9 months thereafter, then his wife will be entitled to a surviving spouse benefit from her husband. The amount of his wife’s benefit will be based upon the amount your friend is receiving at his death, adjusted for her age when she claims her surviving spouse benefit.
A surviving spouse can claim benefits from the deceased as early as age 60, but those benefits will be reduced for claiming before full retirement age (FRA). Taken at age 60, the wife's benefit would be 71.5% of your friend's SS benefit at his death. The wife need not claim the survivor benefit immediately; she could opt to delay claiming in order to get a higher percentage of the husband's amount. Survivor benefits reach maximum - 100% of the deceased's benefit amount - at the recipient's FRA.
So, if your friend and his fiancée now live in a state which currently recognizes common law marriage (CO, IA, KS, MT, NH, SC, TX, UT, RI, or in the District of Columbia), then your friend's partner will be considered his "wife" and entitled to survivor benefits as normal (the fiancée would need to prove they cohabitate in a marriage-like relationship to claim benefits).
If they do not live in one of those states, but they get married and the marriage lasts for at least 9 months, then the wife will be entitled to normal benefits as a surviving spouse (as described above).
But if the couple do not live in one of the above states which recognize “common law” relationships, or if their soon-to-occur marriage doesn’t last at least 9 months, or if they do not get married, I'm afraid your friend's partner will not be entitled to any survivor benefits from your friend.

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Recycle Your Christmas Tree into the Landscape
By MELINDA MYERS

Don’t drag that Christmas tree to the curb to be hauled away by the trash collectors. Give it a second, even third life, in your landscape. No live Christmas tree? Don’t worry. I’m sure your friends and neighbors will share theirs.
Move your locally grown Christmas tree outdoors after the holidays. Avoid trees imported from other states that may host invasive insects that can infest your landscape and nearby Christmas tree farms. Your local municipality or Department of Natural Resources has more information on any threats and disposal recommendations for your area.
Use your cut Christmas tree to protect evergreens in your landscape from winter winds and sun. They make excellent windbreaks while shading sensitive plants in your landscape. Strategically place your discarded tree on the windward side of rhododendron, boxwood, and other broadleaf evergreens to reduce problems with winter burn. Place it on the south side of these plants to shade them from the drying winter sun.
Or remove the branches and use them as winter mulch over bulbs and perennials. Layer the boughs over the plants and soil to keep the soil consistently cold. This reduces the risk of early sprouting and winter damage that can occur during winter thaws.
Or set the tree in the landscape for a bit of added greenery. Secure it in a snow pile or use stakes and guy wires in milder climates where the soil is not frozen. The birds will enjoy the added shelter and you will enjoy watching these visitors to your landscape.
Then consider adding a bit of food for your feathered visitors. Decorate the trees with fruits, berries, and seeds the birds can enjoy. Stringing cranberries and popcorn is a fun family activity and makes an attractive outdoor garland. Slices of oranges on colorful yarn and homemade bird ornaments can complete the adornments.
Sweep up the fallen needles that were under your tree indoors and use them as mulch in the garden. Place them directly on the soil or atop the snow. As the snow melts, the needles will be right where they belong. And don’t worry, they will not make the soil too acidic. In fact, as they break down, they add organic matter to the soil.
As spring arrives, consider chipping and shredding your tree into mulch for trees and shrubs or pathways in the landscape. No chipper? You and your neighbors may want to rent a chipper to shred these and other prunings for use as mulch in your landscapes.
And, if this is not possible, check for recycling resources in your community. Many municipalities have special pickups for Christmas trees. These are chipped, shredded, and made available for citizens to use in their landscapes.
Lake communities often sink the discarded trees to the bottom of lakes and ponds to provide habitat for the fish. Another great way to give your tree a second life.
And once you discover the value of this free resource you may find yourself collecting a few more from the neighborhood. However, your family may ask that you wait until dark to drag your evergreen treasures back home.

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Knickers galore
Having trouble putting on your underwear? Go visit Nicholas Manning in Brisbane, Australia. The Guinness Book of World Records says he holds the world record for the fastest time to put on his underpants. More accurately Manning won the honor when he donned ten pairs of undies in just 13.03 seconds.

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Cheezy delight
If you want extra cheese on your pizza just ask Chefs Benoît Bruel and Fabien Montellanico. You might recall that Chef Bruel set the Guinness record for the greatest variety of pizza pie cheeses in 2020 when he baked a pie adorned with 254 different cheeses but lost it when a rival baker produced a pie with 834 varieties of cheese. Not to be undone, Bruel got back the record recently when he joined with Chef Montellanico to produce a pizza festooned with no less than a thousand and one varieties of cheeses.

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Lucky ducks
Who can watch a batch of ducklings and resist the urge to smile? For sure, the officers of the League City, Texas Police Department who came to the rescue of eleven ducklings trapped in a storm drain were grinning when they returned the baby ducks to their Mama Duck. In a Facebook post, the police thanked Mama Duck for assisting the officers by “calling her ducklings back to the opening,” noting that she “quickly gathered them all together, and they all waddled their way back home."

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

America was very efficient when it came to shaping a government. On January 7, 1789, six years after the finish of the Revolutionary War Congress committed to a date for the first election; less than a month later, George Washington ascended to the presidency.
“Americans [still] vote for President and Vice President of the United States, they are actually voting for presidential electors, known collectively as the Electoral College. It is these electors, chosen by the people, who elect the chief executive... the United States still uses the Electoral College system, which today gives all American citizens over the age of 18 the right to vote for electors, who in turn vote for the president. The president and vice president are the only elected federal officials chosen by the Electoral College instead of by direct popular vote," according to History.com.
For more information, the Grateful American Book Prize suggests Kathleen Bartoloni- Tuazon's For Fear of an Elective King: George Washington and the Presidential Title Controversy of 1789.

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Wyatt Earp has been the subject of a plethora of books, movies, TV shows-and-even a song by Johnny Cash. He mythicized his gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, transposed himself into a bona fide cowboy-hero, and lived by his revolver until he reached eighty.
According to History.com, "the Earp brothers had long been competing with the Clanton-McClaury ranching families for political and economic control of Tombstone, Arizona, and the surrounding region. On October 26, 1881, the simmering tensions finally boiled over into violence, and Wyatt, his brothers Virgil and Morgan, and his close friend, Doc Holliday, killed three men from the Clanton and McLaury clans in a 30-second shoot-out on a Tombstone street near the O.K. Corral. A subsequent hearing found that the Earps and Holliday had been acting in their capacity as law officers and deputies, and they were acquitted of any wrongdoing.”
The Grateful American Book Prize endorses Wyatt Earp: The Life Behind the Legend by Casey Tefertiller.

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On January 14, 1639, Hartford, Connecticut endorsed its "Fundamental Orders:
"The Dutch discovered the Connecticut River in 1614, but English Puritans from Massachusetts largely accomplished European settlement of the region. During the 1630s, they flocked to the Connecticut valley from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and in 1638 representatives from the three major Puritan settlements in Connecticut met to set up unified government for the new colony ... Roger Ludlow, a lawyer, wrote much of the Fundamental Orders, and presented a binding and compact frame of government that put the welfare of the community above that of individuals. It was also the first written constitution in the world to declare the modern idea that ‘the foundation of authority is in the free consent of the people’,” says History.com.
The history of the U.S. Constitution is told in the book The Framers' Coup: The Making of the United States Constitution by Michael J. Klarman, says the Grateful American Book Prize.

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Medal of Honor: Army Tech. Sgt. Charles MacGillivary
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News
During the last frigid winter of World War II, Army Tech. Sgt. Charles Andrew MacGillivary and his company found themselves pinned down by Germans for weeks. To break out of the bleak situation, MacGillivary singlehandedly took out several enemy positions, despite suffering serious wounds. His leadership and bravery during a pivotal moment of the war earned him the Medal of Honor.
MacGillivary was born in Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island, Canada, on Jan. 7, 1917. He moved to the U.S. in 1933 at the age of 16 to live with his brother in Boston. The younger MacGillivary joined the Merchant Marine and spent the next several years sailing across the North Atlantic on various ships. However, once World War II began in Europe, the Atlantic grew more dangerous for ships due to the threat of German submarines torpedoing them, so he was ready to make a change.
Shortly after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, MacGillivary joined the Army. In 1999, when testifying in front of the U.S. Senate immigration subcommittee, he said that when recruiters learned he'd worked in the Merchant Marine, the Navy tried to sign him. But he wanted to be back on land again, so he continued his path with the Army.
Two weeks into signing up, MacGillivary said he was at Fort Devons, Massachusetts, when he was offered U.S. citizenship. Of course, he took it.
After basic training, MacGillivary joined the 71st Infantry Regiment, 44th Infantry Division, and they were sent to Scotland to train alongside British commandos. MacGillivary took part in the Invasion of Normandy that began June 6, 1944, landing on Omaha Beach.
By mid-December, the 44th had pushed its way through France to the town of Woelfing, along the German border. That's where they found themselves when Adolf Hitler launched the Battle of the Bulge, a surprise counterattack that was Germany's last major attempt to defeat the Allies.
On. Dec. 17, 1944, MacGillivary was a platoon sergeant for the 463rd Battalion's Company I when they became pinned down by the German 17th Panzer Division, which killed his commander and lieutenant, leaving him as the highest-ranking soldier in the group. He quickly took charge of the company, which continued to hold the line for as long as it could.
However, the weather was frigid, which diminished their ability to restock supplies. MacGillivary said that by Christmas Day, they were eating frozen oatmeal. Within days, he said they were almost completely out of ammunition and food. The Germans were promising his men food if they surrendered. MacGillivary said many considered it, so he had to remind them that there was nothing to surrender to and that they needed to keep fighting.
On Jan. 1, 1945, enemy elements finally broke through the line and attacked. MacGillivary knew where the enemy machine gun positions were, so he volunteered to take them out while another company closed in from another angle to assault other strongpoints.
"As the head of my company, I had a duty to do something. I decided to try to knock out some of the German machine guns that surrounded us," he told the Senate subcommittee. "I thought that this was the only way we were going to get out."
MacGillivary crept up on the first machine gun emplacement, circling through woods and snow to get there. He shot two camouflaged gunners from a few feet away, causing the position's other enemy forces to withdraw.
He pushed on, using any cover he could find to stalk the enemy to find another one of its machine guns, blasting its crew with a grenade. Picking up a submachine gun from the battlefield, MacGillivary then made it to within 10 yards of another machine gun before being spotted. The crewmen at that position quickly tried to swing their weapon around to take him out, but they weren't fast enough. The young sergeant charged them, jumping into their midst and killing them all with several bursts of his gun.
From there, MacGillivary crept, crawled and rushed from tree to tree until he got close enough to another machine gun nest to toss a grenade into it. The blast killed the crew inside, but MacGillivary was also seriously injured, having been shot by the machine gun in the chest, leg and arm.
"It took part of my arm off," he told the Senate subcommittee in 1999. "The only thing that saved me was the snow. I froze in the snow. If I had gotten hit in the South Pacific, I would have bled to death."
MacGillivary said that some Frenchmen picked him up and began taking him somewhere. At first, he thought he'd been captured, but he said he realized otherwise when a chaplain told him they were taking him back to an aid station. Once he was treated there, he was taken to Marseille, then transported to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, D.C. MacGillivary's arm couldn't be saved, but he made a full recovery otherwise.
MacGillivary took out four enemy machine guns during his one-man fight, disregarding his own safety to help his fellow soldiers continue the fight with minimum casualties. For his bravery, he received the Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman during a White House ceremony on Aug. 23, 1945. Twenty-eight other veterans also received the medal that day.
"I was very honored to have been included among so many distinguished recipients," MacGillivary said in 1999. "I was also very proud that I, as an immigrant, had been selected to receive this award."
MacGillivary returned to Boston after the ceremony and married his girlfriend, Ester, who had waited for him during the war. They eventually settled in Braintree, just south of Boston, and had three daughters.
According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, MacGillivary worked as a special agent for the Customs Bureau, which is now U.S. Customs and Border Protection, from about 1950 to 1975. He remained active in veterans' organizations, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion and AMVETS. He was the president of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society for two years in the 70s and spearheaded efforts to locate other immigrant recipients of the nation's highest medal for valor.
MacGillivary died on June 24, 2000, from stroke-related complications, his family said. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

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Merry Christmas
Sleigh bells ring, big time, in the Big Apple thanks to the iconic movie star sled that’s spending the holiday season in the heart of midtown Manhattan. It arrived last week in time for Christmas and is hanging out at Central Park thanks to Halesite, Long Island fire district manager, Larry Northcote. That’s where the sled spends most of the year. As Northcote put it, "Every year we have a little holiday committee, and they'll spruce it up, they'll paint it, they'll fix any cracks that have developed. We do our little part to spread some holiday cheer."

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Tis the season
Bailey Davis of Columbus, Ohio, was on her way to work. She made a rest stop and, perhaps because she was in a hurry, she left her engagement ring on the bathroom sink. She returned to her car, drove off and en route saw that her ring was missing. Back she went and, sure enough, the ring was gone. Luckily it was an honest young man by the name of Coty Warren who found it and went online in hopes of finding the ring’s owner. He found Davis’ post on Facebook and called her. So relieved was she that she offered him a $1,000 reward, which her hero, Warren, declined. A Christmas story if there ever was one!

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Fear not
It got pretty scary in Nashville and Indianapolis last week when pranksters posted photos on Facebook of lions on the loose in those two cities. The photos were shared “thousands of times.” The posts were scary but “incredibly false,” according to the authorities in each city. They noted that the pictures were eight years old and were taken in South Africa way back when.

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Boost your mood with fragrant indoor plants
By MELINDA MYERS

There’s no need to visit a spa for a bit of soothing aromatherapy. Grow fragrant plants indoors to improve your mood and promote a sense of relaxation.
Gardenias may be the first fragrant flowering plant that comes to mind. They can be challenging but are worth the effort. Grow them in moist acidic soil, in bright light, and surrounded by other plants or on a gravel tray to increase the humidity.
Jasmines are known for their sweet fragrant flowers. Arabian jasmine (Jasmine sambac) will flower indoors several times throughout the year if it receives sufficient light. Consider adding artificial lights to boost flowering. Grow this plant in a warm draft-free location and allow the soil to dry several inches below the surface before watering again.
Citrus are valued for their fruit, but they also produce fragrant flowers. Give them bright light and keep the soil slightly moist for the best results.
Stephanotis floribunda was frequently used in wedding bouquets. Grow it in a sunny window and watch for flowers to appear in spring on new growth. Complete all necessary pruning as soon as the plant stops flowering.
Plumeria are the fragrant flowers often used in Hawaiian leis. Provide bright light, moist well-drained soil, and fertilize throughout the summer to promote flowering. Allow the soil to go a bit drier during the winter. Don’t panic if the plants go dormant and drop their leaves in winter. New leaves will appear as temperatures warm.
String of pearls (Curio rowleyanus) is a trailing succulent with leaves that resemble peas. Grow these in a brightly lit location that is a bit cooler in the winter. This along with slightly drier soil in winter can promote flowering. Its cinnamon fragrance is one you’ll remember.
Another succulent that may reward you with flowers is hoya. Keep the soil a bit moister during the summer when the plant is actively growing. Allow the soil to dry slightly when the plant is resting during the winter. High humidity in spring and summer followed by cooler temperatures and drier soil in winter will encourage potbound plants to flower. Watch for fragrant flowers to form on the long leafless stems.
Give the leaves of scented geranium (Pelargonium) a pet and enjoy the lemon, rose, apple, peppermint, or pine fragrance. Although grown for their scented foliage they also produce pretty but less showy flowers. Place the plants in areas where you brush past the leaves or can easily give them a pat to release and enjoy the fragrance.
Find a cool spot in your home away from drafts of hot and cold air for your lavender plant. Make sure the plant receives plenty of sunlight from a south-facing or similar window. Consider adding artificial lights to increase your success. Water thoroughly when the top inch of soil is dry to the touch. Pour off any excess water that collects in the saucer.
Visit your local independent garden center or reputable online plant retailers that are more likely to sell these in winter. Then clear out some space on a sunny windowsill or invest in a few plant lights and start growing some fragrant plants.

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Medal of Honor: Navy Seaman 1st Class James R. Ward
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News

Navy Seaman 1st Class James Richard Ward only had moments to decide what to do on the sinking USS Oklahoma during the bombing of Pearl Harbor: save himself, or do what he could to save others? Ward chose the valiant option, giving his life so his fellow sailors could escape. He earned a posthumous Medal of Honor for his gallantry, and just recently, his remains were finally accounted for and buried.
Ward was born Sept. 10, 1921, in Springfield, Ohio, to parents Howard and Nancy Ward. He had a sister named Marjorie.
According a 2014 Dayton Daily News article, as a teen, Ward, who went by the nickname Dick, did odd jobs for his neighbors to earn some cash. He played football and the trumpet, but his real love was baseball. After graduating high school in 1939, the article said Ward took a factory job before landing a minor league baseball contract with the Shelby Colonels out of North Carolina. However, the gig only lasted a month before he was replaced. Ward then worked at a steel mill for a time before enlisting in the Navy on Nov. 25, 1940.
After basic training, Ward was sent to serve on the USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii. Since baseball was a huge pastime for service members, he was able to join the ship's team. Ward helped them win the Pacific Fleet championship, and he was even named top batter.
Unfortunately, Ward would not live to see beyond the opening moments of the United States' entry into World War II.
In the early morning hours of Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Oahu, surprising installations all over the island. The Pacific Fleet's ships that were moored at Pearl Harbor's Ford Island took the brunt of the assault, including the Oklahoma. In the first few minutes of the attack, the ship was hit by as many as nine aerial torpedoes, which ripped open more than 250 feet of hull on the ship's port side. The massive amount of damage caused the Oklahoma to roll over and sink in less than 20 minutes.
Ward was in one of the ship's turrets, which lost electricity immediately, leaving him and his fellow sailors in darkness. According to the Dayton Daily News, Ward was the only one in that turret with a flashlight.
When the order was given to abandon ship, Ward stayed in his turret, using the flashlight to allow the remainder of the crew to see to escape. While many of them made it out of the turret, Ward did not. At 20 years old, he sacrificed his own life for the lives of his fellow sailors.
All told, the Oklahoma lost 429 men that day. Thirty-two men who had been trapped inside its upturned hull were rescued days later.
In the aftermath of the attacks, it took a while for official death notices to go out. According to the Dayton Daily News, Ward's parents didn't learn of his official death until Feb. 20, 1942.
Despite the chaos of that fateful day, Ward's valor didn't go unnoticed. He was quickly nominated for the Medal of Honor, which was mailed to his parents in Springfield in March 1942, along with a letter from President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Navy Secretary Frank Knox.
In 1943, the capsized Oklahoma was rolled upright and raised in one of the salvage profession's greatest undertakings, naval historians said. Throughout the war, Navy personnel worked to recover the remains of the men who died inside the ship and bury them in temporary Hawaiian cemeteries.
After the war, the American Graves Registration Service was created to carry out a new mission -- to identify and recover our fallen service members from around the globe. AGRS members disinterred the remains of the men from the Oklahoma and transferred them to an Army laboratory, which confirmed the identities of 35 men at that time. The rest of the remains were buried in plots at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. By 1949, a military board classified those who hadn't been identified as "nonrecoverable," including Ward.
Nearly a lifetime went by before that changed.
In 2015, investigators – now with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency – exhumed the comingled remains of the buried unknown men from the Oklahoma to run tests using dental, anthropological and mitochondrial DNA analysis in the hope of finally identifying them. The agency compared those findings to DNA samples that had been provided years earlier by the 394 families of those who were never identified from the Oklahoma.
On Aug. 19, 2021, the DPAA announced it had finally accounted for Ward's remains. He was buried last week in Arlington National Cemetery – a decision that was made by Richard Ward Hanna, his nephew and namesake. Hanna, who lives in Gainesville, Florida, said his family didn't talk about Ward much while he grew up, but he knows how incredibly respected the fallen sailor is in his hometown of Springfield.
"It'll be very emotional," Hanna said in early December. "I've been asked a lot, ‘Does this really give you a sense of closure?' And for me personally, I wouldn't so much say it's closure. I think what's meaningful is he'll finally have a resting place that's permanent that people will know about. And being a Medal of Honor recipient is an incredible thing."
After the war, Ward's name was recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with many others who were missing during World War II. A rosette will now be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Even when Ward was missing for all those years, he was not forgotten. The Edsall-class destroyer escort USS J. Richard Ward, which commissioned in 1943 and was used throughout World War II, was named in his honor. Camp Ward at Farragut Naval Training Station in Idaho was also named for him, and in 1953, a Pearl Harbor baseball field was christened Ward Field. There's an "in memory" marker for Ward at Ferncliff Cemetery in Springfield, Ohio, as well as an American Legion there that bears his name.

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Social Security Matters
By RUSSELL GLOOR
National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Are Spousal Benefits Always a Factor?

Dear Rusty: Both my wife and I have worked our entire lives. When we retire, will we both be entitled to full benefit amount each, or will there always be a spousal factor in there? Also, how are those benefits calculated - based on your highest salaries throughout your career, or your ending salaries when you retire? Signed: Looking Ahead
Dear Looking: Prior to retiring from work is a smart time to investigate how Social Security will fit into your golden years. To answer your second question first, each person’s personal SS retirement benefit is based on the highest earning 35 years over their entire lifetime, with earlier years adjusted for inflation. The person’s Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME) - essentially the person’s lifetime average inflation-adjusted monthly earnings amount - is first determined. Using AIME, the person’s Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) is calculated using a special benefit formula which will yield a PIA of about 40% or less of the person’s AIME. The PIA is the amount received if benefits start in the month full retirement age or “FRA” is attained (as you can see, Social Security likes acronyms).
Since you and your wife were both born after 1959, FRA for both of you is 67. The age when you claim benefits, relative to your FRA, determines how much you’ll get. Claim before FRA and your benefit is reduced; claim after your FRA and your SS retirement benefit will be more (up to age 70 when maximum is reached); claim at your FRA and your benefit will equal your PIA – the full (100%) amount you’ve earned from a lifetime of working.
Spouse benefits only come into play if the PIA for one of you is less than 50% of the other’s PIA. In that case, the spouse with the lower PIA gets a “spousal boost” to their own SS retirement benefit when claimed. The amount of the “spousal boost” will be the difference between the lower PIA and half of the higher PIA, but the amount of the “spousal boost” (as well as the person’s own SS retirement amount) will be reduced if benefits are claimed before full retirement age. Any time SS benefits are claimed before full retirement age, those benefits are permanently reduced.
If one spouse is entitled to a “spousal boost” from the other, the spousal amount will reach maximum at the recipient’s full retirement age. Thus, if the lower earning partner’s highest benefit will be as a spouse, then that spouse should not wait beyond their FRA to claim. If, instead, the lower earning partner’s own SS benefit at age 70 is more than their spousal amount, waiting longer than FRA to claim could be prudent, depending on life expectancy.
So, as you can see, deciding when to claim Social Security benefits should consider many things, including financial need, work status if claiming before FRA, marital status, and life expectancy. But it is your lifetime earnings which determines your SS retirement benefit amount, and it is how your FRA entitlements compare to each other that determines whether spousal benefits will be paid.

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Tis the season to be grumpy?
For the most part “champions” are acclaimed, cheered and envied. Not so for the Gay family of Union Vale, New York. In 2012 they adorned their home with a record 346,283 Christmas lights. In 2014 they lit up the neighborhood with 601,736 lights. And, this year, they set a new Guinness Record when they covered their home with 720,426 lights. It’s not just the bright lights that are making some of their neighbors grumpy, it’s also the tens of thousands of drive-by visitors they attract,

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All’s well that ends well
The Richardson family chihuahua, Bean, escaped from his Staten Island, New York, home recently and wound up dodging traffic on the busy Staten Island Expressway. It was a close call but drivers slowed down when they saw the pooch. Kaitlyn McGinley got out of her car and chased Bean on foot. She said "The dog ran under my car and hid under my tire. Someone gave me a bag, and I scooped him up and put him in the car."

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One cat’s leap for life
They say that Coco the cat was spooked by a dog and chased up a utility pole on a roadway in Newfoundland, Canada. He was up there for some two hours as utility workers tried to rescue the frightened feline. Just as they got close enough to grab him, Coco took advantage of his nine lives, jumped for his life, made a soft landing and headed straight for home. His owner, Alice Reid, told reporters, “he's going to have to get used to being in the house more."

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Remembering Hyman Solomon’s 77 Years in Baseball

By JOE GUZZARDI

In 1901, Hyman Solomon, aka Jimmie Reese, was born in New York City to Russian-Jewish immigrant parents. After Hyman’s father died, the Solomon family moved to Los Angeles where the youngster worked as a newspaper boy, took his new name and fell in love with baseball. By the time Reese died at age 92, he had spent 77 years in baseball and is the oldest-ever person to have regularly worn a professional team’s uniform.
During nearly eight decades on the diamond, Reese threw batting practice fastballs to Lou Gehrig, roomed with Babe Ruth when the two were New York Yankees teammates, hit fungos to Nolan Ryan and gave fielding tips to Jim Edmonds. Referring to his time spent with Ruth on Yankees road trips, Reese memorably said that he didn’t room with the Babe in the traditional sense; he roomed with his suitcases.
Reese’s baseball life began as a boy when he finagled his way into the Pacific Coast League’s Los Angeles Angels practices, becoming at age 12 the team’s batboy, a job he gleefully carried out for six years. Chicago Cubs first baseman and Hall of Famer Frank Chance managed the Angels and worked with Reese to develop his skills. Reese was recognized as his high school’s most valuable player.
From high school, Reese moved up to semi-pro where his slick fielding impressed the Oakland Oaks who signed him in 1924 and launched him to the big leagues. In 1928, the Yankees purchased Reese’s contract from the Oaks. The year prior to Reese’s promotion to the star-studded Yankees, Reese hit .337 with one homer, 65 runs batted in, 24 stolen bases, and led all PCL second basemen with a .979 fielding average with 622 putouts in 190 games. Reese’s peers recognized him as one of the smoothest fielding second basemen in the game with near-acrobatic skills at the keystone corner.
In 1932, the Yanks sent Reese to the America Association’s Triple-A St. Paul Saints. The St. Louis Cardinals quickly picked him up to fill in for the injured Frankie Frisch. In 90 games with the Cards, Reese batted .265, hit two homers and drove in 26 runs. And so ended Reese’s three-year major league career; 232 games played with a respectable .278 batting average, eight homers and 70 RBIs.
Little did Reese realize in 1933 when the Cards sold him to the PCL Angels that his baseball career still had six decades remaining. Reese enjoyed outstanding seasons with the Angels and San Diego Padres. He compiled a PCL career batting average of .289 in 1,673 games and holds the league record for most putouts by a second baseman, 4,771, and most assists, 5,119. In 1937, Reese was chosen as the starting second baseman on the All-Time Pacific Coast League team, and in 2002 was elected to the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
Between 1938 and 1994, Reese worked for minor and major league teams as a coach, manager and scout. With a one-year baseball hiatus in 1944 when he served in the U.S. Army during World War II, Reese was continuously in baseball’s employ. In 1972, at age 71, Reese asked the Angels for a job and was hired as conditioning coach – a position he held until his death in 1994. Angels’ owner Gene Autry had given Reese a lifetime contract.
After the 25-year old righty Nolan Ryan was traded to the Angels from the New York Mets, he befriended Reese. Years later, Ryan said, “He’s the finest human being I've ever met.” Ryan’s second son is named Reese in Jimmie’s honor.
At the time of Reese’s death, he was still on the Angels payroll. A year after Reese passed, the Angels encased his locker in tinted Plexiglas. Inside were his beloved fungo bat and his uniform. His number 50 was retired, joining Ryan, Gene Autry and Rod Carew whose numbers no future Angels player would ever wear. The Angels retired number 26 in Autry’s honor. Baseball rosters had 25 men; Autry became the Angels “26th man.”
Today’s big baseball news is Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million, ten-year contract – “a record” as the headlines blare. But Ohtani’s mark won’t last long. Owners are printing money and, since they can jack up ticket prices at will and indefinitely, have no qualms about laying out cash. Reese’s 77-year baseball longevity record, however, will endure for ages and is a testimony to his love for the national pastime.

Joe Guzzardi is a Society for American Baseball Research and Internet Baseball Writers Association member. Contact him at guzzjoe@yahoo.com.

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Medal of Honor Monday: Navy Lt. Thomas Eadie
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News

Navy Lt. Thomas Eadie spent a combined 30 years of service in the Navy from the early 20th century to after World War II. His work as an expert diver salvaging shipwrecks earned him several accolades, especially when it came to saving a fellow diver who had gotten tangled far below the water. For that rescue, he earned the Medal of Honor.
Eadie was born on April 8, 1887, in Glasgow, Scotland. His parents, William and Rebecca, moved to the U.S. in 1890, settling the family in New Jersey. Eadie had a brother, George, and a sister, Margaret.
Eadie enlisted in the Navy in July 1905 shortly after he'd turned 18. Trained as a gunner's mate and as a diver, he remained in the service until 1913, when he moved to Newport, Rhode Island. At some point, he married Margaret Gerrie, and they had a daughter named Marion.
Eadie returned to the Navy during World War I, then worked as a civilian diver for a time before returning to the Navy yet again in 1926. By then, he had worked his way up in rank to chief petty officer.
Eadie was credited with helping to salvage two sunken submarines: the USS S-51, which sank off the coast of Rhode Island in 1925, and the USS S-4, which sank off the coast of Provincetown, Massachusetts. Both operations earned him a Navy Cross, but it was the latter that earned him the Medal of Honor.
On Dec. 18, 1927, the Coast Guard received calls that the USS S-4 submarine had been involved in a collision with a Coast Guard destroyer and sank off the coast of Provincetown while undergoing sea trials. Rescue efforts began immediately, although Eadie and a handful of other expert divers weren't able to arrive at the scene until the next day, thanks in part to bad weather that was thwarting the operation.
A few minutes after Eadie went into the water, he was able to locate the sunken sub. Reports show that when he tapped on its torpedo loading hatch to see if anyone had survived, he received six slow taps in reply, indicated six men were still alive. He got no other responses when he tapped on other sections of the hull, so he returned to the surface to report his findings and recuperate from the dive, which is necessary for all divers operating in deep waters. Other divers went down in his place to continue the mission.
That afternoon, another diver, Fred Michels, went down with a hose that they were hoping to connect to the S-4 to deliver the trapped men much-needed fresh air. However, as Michels was attempting to connect the air line to the sub at a depth of 102 feet, his tether became seriously entangled in the wreckage, trapping him.
When the team above water realized what was happening, Eadie quickly volunteered to go back down to help, even though he was still recovering from his first dive.
Eadie finally reached Michels after the trapped diver had been underwater for about an hour and a half. Eadie saw Michels' line was twisted up in the submarine's metal, so he requested that a hacksaw be lowered down. Eadie sawed at the wreckage for 45 minutes before he was able to release Michels from the tangle.
After more than two hours of extremely dangerous work, Eadie succeeded in getting Michels back to the surface. Michels was put in the ship's decompression chamber in serious condition, but he survived thanks to Eadie's skills and his ability to stay calm under pressure.
Sadly, the crew lost the hose that Michels had carried down to attach to the submarine, so they were never able to get fresh air inside it. All 39 crew members and one civilian observer on the S-4 died. The sub was raised on March 17, 1928, and eventually returned to service before being stricken from the register in 1936.
Eadie was quickly nominated for the Medal of Honor, which he received from President Calvin Coolidge during a White House ceremony on Feb. 23, 1928.
Eadie continued to serve the Navy for another decade before retiring from active duty in 1939; however, he returned yet again in April 1942 during World War II, when he was appointed as a chief gunner (warrant officer). He received a commission in August 1942, then retired for good as a lieutenant in September 1946 after a combined 30 years of service.
From 1941-1942, Eadie was the national commander of the U.S. Legion of Valor. While in London in 1960, he became an honorary member of the British Foreign Legion, according to his obituary in the Newport Mercury newspaper.
Eadie died on Nov. 14, 1964, at age 87 at the Brockton Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Brockton, Massachusetts. He is buried in Island Cemetery in Newport, Rhode Island, where he spent the last few decades of his life.

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

A phenomenal polymath, Benjamin Franklin was—perhaps—the most peripatetic of all the Founding Fathers: a statesman, diplomat, and philosopher, he published periodicals, Poor Richard’s Almanack--which sold 10,000 annually between 1732-1758--pamphlets, and a two-volume autobiography.
In the scientific sphere, he invented the still-available Franklin Stove— (1741); 1750’s Lightning Rod; the flexible catheter (1752)—and—bifocals (1784).
According to History.com, Franklin was just 12 years old in 1729 when he “became the official printer of currency for the colony of Pennsylvania.” He published Poor Richard’s just three years later "along with the Pennsylvania Gazette, one of the colonies’ first and best newspapers. In 1757 he went to London representing Pennsylvania in its dispute with England and later spent time in France. He returned to America in March 1775, with war on the horizon. He served on the Second Continental Congress and helped draft the Declaration of Independence. He was also instrumental in persuading the French to lend military assistance to the colonies. He died in Philadelphia in 1790.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Walter Isaacson’s Benjamin Franklin: An American Life.

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On December 23, 1783, George Washington resigned as Commander-In-Chief of the Continental Army, and retired to Mount Vernon.
In a pithy announcement to Congress, he declared: “Happy in the confirmation of our independence and sovereignty and pleased with the opportunity afforded the United States of becoming a respectable nation, I resign with satisfaction the appointment I accepted with diffidence, a diffidence in my abilities to accomplish so arduous a task; which however was superseded by a confidence in the rectitude of our cause, the support of the supreme power of the Union, and the patronage of Heaven."
History.com writes there were “political factions” in Congress that “wanted Washington to become the new nation’s king” but by declining the offer and resigning his military post at the end of the war fortified the republican foundations of the new nation.”
Six years later, he ascended to the presidency.
The Grateful American Book Prize suggests The Return of George Washington: 1783-1789 by Edward J. Larson.

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On December 28, 1869, the Knights of Labor had—what may have been--the first Labor Day ceremonies, but it wasn’t until 1884 that the American Federation of Labor declared First Monday-In-September Observance.
Over time, acknowledgement of the holiday has had a deep impact. According to History.com, “in the late 1800s, at the height of the Industrial Revolution in the United States, the average American worked 12-hour days seven-day weeks in order to eke out a basic living. Despite restrictions in some states, children as young as 5 or 6 toiled in mills, factories, and mines across the country, earning a fraction of their adult counterparts’ wages. People of all ages, particularly the very poor and recent immigrants, often faced extremely unsafe working conditions, with insufficient access to fresh air, sanitary facilities and breaks.”
The Grateful American Book Prize proposes Ferris M. Washington’s Labor Day, A Day To Remember.: All You Need To Know About Labor Day, Its History and Importance. How It Began and What It Now Means.

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Social Security Matters
By RUSSELL GLOOR, National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation
Ask Rusty – I’m 65 and Working; Can I Collect Ex-spouse Benefits?

Dear Rusty: I turned 65 earlier this year, and I still work full time. I was divorced four years ago after 38 years of marriage, but my ex-husband has been collecting Social Security for at least 10 years now. Can I start collecting Social Security and still work full time? And can I collect my ex-husband's amount if it is more than mine (and what is the best way to achieve this)? When I went to my local SSA office, they said they had no way of knowing that. Signed: Working Divorcee

Dear Working Divorcee: Although you are eligible to claim Social Security at age 65, because you are working full time you may wish to wait a bit longer to do so. That’s because Social Security has an “earnings test” which applies to anyone who collects benefits before full retirement age, and you have not yet reached yours.

The earnings test imposes a limit on how much you can earn before SS takes away some of your benefits. If you exceed the annual earnings limit ($22,320 for 2024), Social Security will want back $1 in benefits for every $2 you are over the limit and you will need to repay that, usually by having future benefits withheld. If you significantly exceed the limit, you may even be temporarily ineligible to receive SS benefits until you either earn less or reach your full retirement age (FRA) of 66 years and 8 months. So, if your earnings from working will significantly exceed the annual earnings limit (which changes yearly), it’s likely that your wisest move would be to wait longer to claim your Social Security. As a bonus for doing so, your monthly payment will have grown and will be higher when you claim later. The earnings test no longer applies after you reach FRA.

Regarding benefits from your ex-husband, you cannot collect his instead of yours. What you may be able to do, when you claim your own benefit, is to get an additional amount which brings your monthly payment up to 50% of his. In order for that to happen, you would need to satisfy the following criteria:

• You are not currently married.
• The personal benefit you are entitled to at your FRA must be less than 50% of your ex-husband’s FRA entitlement.

If the above are true, when you claim your own SS retirement benefit you will also get a “spousal boost” to bring your payment up to what you’re entitled to as an ex-spouse. The amount of the spousal boost, if you claim Social Security at your FRA, will be the difference between half of his FRA entitlement and your FRA entitlement. If you claim your benefit before your FRA, not only will your own benefit be reduced for claiming early, but the amount of your spousal boost will also be reduced (benefits claimed before FRA are always reduced).

Whenever you decide to claim Social Security, you will be automatically deemed to be filing for benefits from your ex-husband as well (you shouldn’t need to apply separately). You’ve already satisfied the basic criteria of at least 10 years married to get benefits from an ex-spouse and, if you satisfy the above criteria as well, you will be entitled to a spousal boost when you claim. But your current earnings from working full time will likely affect your eligibility to collect Social Security benefits at this time, so waiting until your full retirement age to claim may be your best choice.

If you will only slightly exceed the annual earnings limit you can consider claiming earlier, as long as you are comfortable with receiving a permanently reduced amount, and the prospect of not getting benefits for a number of months if you exceed the earnings limit (the number of months you will go without benefits depends on how much you exceed the limit by).

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Love conquers
It was love at first sight when a deer made a romantic Christmas pass at an ornamental doe in the front yard of a Camp Nelson, California, home recently. The statuesque female of the species didn’t have a chance when the would-be boyfriend sought to get passionate. His embrace resulted in considerable damage to the figurine and it was all caught on tape thanks to a security camera.

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Christmas, Texas style
Tis the season to get jolly, big time -- especially in Texas where everything is bigger. Take the gigantic inflatable Santa that mysteriously showed up in a vacant lot in Tyler, Texas, in time for the holiday season. Resident Marsha Daugherty told KETK-TV, "Nobody lives on this lot, so we don't know who installed Santa. But isn't that fun?" Locals will tell you that whoever is responsible for the gigantic Christmas present made the holiday all the better. It’s estimated that he or she who came up with the idea spent a thousand dollars or more to arrange the special holiday event.

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Gary’s back in town
The folks who live in Kentwood, Michigan, who were saddened when Gary the Turkey passed away last year are gleeful once again—a new wild turkey has shown up in town just in time for this year’s holiday season. They’re calling him Gary Jr. As local Cathy Kutschinski put it, "It's something that brings some positive light to dark times." She noted that Gary Jr is following in his predecessor’s footsteps. "Same antics of stopping traffic, chasing cars, blocking people from getting out of their driveways."

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Medal of Honor: Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Karl G. Taylor Sr.

By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News

When Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Karl Gorman Taylor Sr. was called upon to rescue a trapped platoon in Vietnam, he didn't hesitate to do whatever it took to get his comrades to safety. For Taylor, that meant giving his life for theirs — a sacrifice that earned him a posthumous Medal of Honor.
Taylor was born July 14, 1939, to parents Arthur and Anna Taylor. He and his younger brother, Walter, grew up on a small farm outside of Laurel, Maryland.
Taylor went to Arundel Senior High School but left after his junior year in 1956 to work in construction. In January 1959, both he and his brother joined the Marine Corps.
After infantry combat training, the elder Taylor served with the Fleet Marine Force at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. In the early days of his career, he was able to study for his high school equivalency diploma and, in 1961, earned that from the former Armed Forces Institute in Madison, Wisconsin.
Taylor served as a drill instructor for a time before going on inactive duty with the Marine Corps Reserve. However, about three months later, in late March 1963, he returned to active duty to serve at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia.
At some point during those years, he married Shirley Ann Piatt. They went on to have two boys, Karl Jr. and Kevin, as well as a daughter, Sheryl.
In August 1964, Taylor deployed to Vietnam with the 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division. A year later, he was reassigned as an instructor for the Non-Commissioned Officer Leadership School for Fleet Marine Force, Pacific.
He returned to Quantico in January 1966 for duty as a platoon sergeant at Officer Candidate School before being promoted to staff sergeant on Sept. 1, 1966.
In February 1968, Taylor returned to Vietnam for his second tour of duty, again with the 3rd Marine Division. He was assigned as a platoon sergeant and company gunnery sergeant of Company I of the 3rd Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment.
In December 1968, Taylor's unit was part of Operation Meade River, which was a combined search and destroy mission to regain control of various areas in Quang Nam Province — specifically, to push the enemy out of an area called Dodge City. That region was known to be a staging area and command post for the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong troops moving toward U.S. bases at Da Nang, which was about 10 miles south.
On the night of Dec. 8, 1968, Taylor was acting as the company gunnery sergeant when his unit got pinned down by heavy enemy fire. At some point, he learned that the commander of the lead platoon had been killed, so he and another Marine quickly staged a rescue effort to help the remaining members of the beleaguered platoon.
Both men crawled through a hail of hostile fire to reach the unit, where they shouted instructions and encouragement to the men and deployed them to covered positions. Several times, Taylor and the other Marine maneuvered across an open area to rescue seriously wounded platoon members who couldn't move themselves.
When Taylor learned that other seriously injured Marines were trapped in another open area near an enemy machine gun, he and four others moved across the fire-swept terrain to try to rescue them. Soon after, though, their progress was stopped by intense enemy fire, so Taylor ordered the others to go back to the company command post.
From there, Taylor grabbed a grenade launcher and, in full view of the enemy, charged across an open rice paddy toward the machine gun's position, unleashing devastating fire as he went. He was wounded several times but succeeded in getting to the enemy bunker and taking out its machine gun and gunners. Moments later, he was killed. However, his efforts saved the lives of several of his fellow Marines.
Taylor's brother, Walter, later told reporters that he was informed of his brother's death while he was a drill instructor in San Diego. He said Taylor was supposed to return from deployment a mere 20 days later.
Taylor is buried in Independence Cemetery in Independence, Pennsylvania, where his wife and children were living at the time of his death.
In honor of his sacrifice, Taylor was awarded the Medal of Honor. His wife and children were presented the medal by President Richard M. Nixon during a White House ceremony on Feb. 16, 1971. His youngest son, 4-year-old Kevin, even made the news for saluting Nixon after the presentation.
Eleven other men — three Marines and eight soldiers — also received the Medal of Honor that day.
To honor his father, Kevin Taylor went on to become a career Marine as well. When he was promoted to gunnery sergeant -- a rank his father was set to be advanced to before he died -- he dedicated the promotion to his father, according to a May 2005 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article. The younger Taylor retired from service that same year.

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Social Security Matters
By RUSSELL GLOOR,
National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – I’m Returning to Work; What Should I Do About Social Security?

Dear Rusty: I started collecting Social Security at age 62 earlier this year. I had an opportunity to partner in a new business this year that will allow me to earn about $200,000 in 2024. Because this is significantly above the allowed earnings when collecting early benefits, I need advice on how I handle this with the Social Security Administration. Am I supposed to call them and advise them of my change in income for 2024? If so, am I going to be penalized in any way? I expect they will stop all payments in 2024 once I alert them to the change. Will I be eligible for Social Security payments when I retire again? This is planned to take place before I reach full retirement age of 67. For information, my 2023 income will not exceed the 2023 allowable income limit. Signed: Un-retiring Temporarily.
Dear Un-retiring: You have a couple of options, considering that you recently claimed early Social Security benefits but are returning to work with income significantly more than the 2024 earnings limit of $22,320.
The first is to simply contact Social Security and tell them you are returning to the work force and tell them your anticipated 2024 income. They will suspend your SS benefits for all of 2024 (to avoid overpaying you and making you return those 2024 payments later). If you plan to continue in your new business beyond 2024, you can advise them of that as well and they will continue the suspension of your benefits, until such time as you either discontinue working or reach your full retirement age (the earnings test no longer applies after you reach your FRA). At that time, SS will resume your monthly Social Security payments and, at your FRA, will give you time credit for all months your benefits were suspended, providing you with a higher monthly payment after your full retirement age is attained (with an adjustment for benefits already paid).
Your other option is to contact Social Security soon and request that your recent application for Social Security benefits submitted earlier this year be withdrawn. You have 12 months from the date of your application to do this, but you will need to repay Social Security all money which they paid to you or on your behalf (including your monthly payments, any income tax you had withheld from those payments, and any dependent benefits which might have been paid based on your record). That will effectively “wipe the slate clean” with Social Security and will be as though you had never claimed, allowing you to simply wait until you stop working, or until your FRA, or even beyond your FRA, to re-apply for Social Security at a higher monthly amount. The advantage of this option is that when your benefit restarts there will be no adjustment (reduction) for past benefits paid.
What I suggest you not do is simply wait to see what happens. That would result in Social Security catching up after the IRS informs them of your 2024 earnings, resulting in you receiving an Overpayment Notice from the SSA demanding repayment of 2024 benefits paid. In that case, you would need to quickly repay Social Security in a large lump-sum or have your SS benefits withheld until the debt for exceeding the earnings limit was repaid. In a nutshell, I suggest you call Social Security and tell them you are returning to work, what your earnings are expected to be, and for how long.

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_______________________________________

Leaping lizard
The Collins family of Hollywood, Florida, found an unwelcome guest recently in their guestroom toilet—a rather large iguana. How it got there is anybody’s guess. It seemed to be dead at first, but when Mr. Collins brought in a neighbor to help catch the cagey cadger it tried to wriggle its way to freedom. In fact, Mr. Collins and his neighbor managed to trap the lazy lizard in a garbage bag and released it into the great outdoors where it belonged.

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It's no glass ring
The Glass family of Chino Hills, California, spent more than a year seeking to recover Jana Glass’ wedding ring. Somehow their 5-year-old son had accidentally flushed it down the toilet. They sought help from plumbers to no avail. Fourteen months later a public works crew working in the sewer near their home stopped in their tracks when they came across the sparkling diamond ring. They remembered that Mrs. Glass had lost her ring in the sewer, cleaned it up and, to her grateful surprise, returned it to her.

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How old is your turtle
St. Helena island in the South Atlantic Ocean is the home of the world’s oldest living creature – a giant tortoise that goes by the name of Jonathan and that is more than 191 years of age. According to the Guinness World Records Jonathan was at least 50 years old when it was brought to St. Helena from the Seychelles islands in 1882, making him the world’s oldest living land animal.

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10 backyarding trends for 2024

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – “Backyarding” – the act of taking activities typically associated with the indoors outside into the green space around us – will continue taking root in 2024, according to the TurfMutt Foundation, which advocates for the care and use of green space, including our own backyards, community parks, green space, and school yards. But next year, the TurfMutt Foundation expects the practice of “backyarding” to evolve into an ongoing sustainability practice.
“Now more than ever, homeowners are recognizing the power of their yards and parks doing environmental good, as well as benefitting their health and well-being,” says Kris Kiser, president and CEO of the TurfMutt Foundation and its parent organization the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI). “Homeowners are making improvements in their yards with many goals in mind, thinking about what’s good for their families, pets, and our planet.”
The TurfMutt Foundation predicts these 10 backyarding trends for 2024:
• Improving Existing Space (Rather Than Moving to a New One). High interest rates and low housing inventory mean more homeowners have chosen to renovate rather than move into a new home. With interior improvements complete, the focus turns to backyard improvements that customize the outdoor space and artfully merge indoor and outdoor living.
• Seeking a Home Near a Park or Nature. Even homeowners looking to downsize still want to maintain a connection with nature. They know backyarding can happen in any size yard and seek additional connection to nature through community parks, school yards, and other green space.
• Return of Neighborhood Parties…in the Backyard. Over the last several years, homeowners have invested in their outdoor living areas, and now they are using that space to bring back neighborhood block parties in their own backyards.
• Creating a Backyard Oasis for Fun. From parents looking for ways to lure their kids away from screens to neighbors wanting to connect with friends, homeowners are turning their backyards into a place for fun and games. Some go all out to install a pool or pickleball court while others take a simpler approach like designating a strip of grass for cornhole or a small soccer pitch.
• Taking Better Care of Living Landscapes. Since homeowners have come to value their lawns, trees, and plants more than ever, they are investing in their care like never before. This means investing in equipment for DIY work and calling in professionals, as needed, for pruning, rescuing diseased trees, and revitalizing turfgrass, just to name a few.
• Choosing Real Grass. The trend of ripping out real grass and replacing it with fake, plastic alternatives is fading as homeowners and communities recognize the limitations – and downsides – of plastic grass. Synthetic turf is hard to clean, hot on feet and paws, and difficult to recycle.
• Planting for Pollinators. Once a niche practice, planting for pollinator support is omnipresent. Homeowners understand the importance of their backyards to provide food and shelter to pollinators like birds, butterflies, and bats year-round. And they are selecting plants for their yards with pollinators in mind.
• Adding Drought Tolerant Plants. Plants that are especially adapted to drier landscapes are better for water-stressed areas in our environment. Homeowners are doing their research and selecting plants that will thrive in their micro-climates.
• Mixing Materials. As outdoor living has become incorporated into daily life, homeowners are taking care to design cohesive outdoor spaces. They factor in landscaping, hardscaping (patios, outdoor kitchens, etc.), and natural aesthetics (trees, boulders, etc.).
• Backyard Birding. The birdwatching craze really took flight during the pandemic, but it’s not a fleeting fad. Birdwatching is not only relaxing; it is a great way to connect with nature right outside our back doors.

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Medal of Honor: Army Spc. Ross A. McGinnis
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News
Army Spc. Ross Andrew McGinnis wanted to serve his country for as long as his family could remember, so it was no surprise to them that he joined up in the years after 9/11. He was sent to Iraq to fight in the global war on terror, and while he never came home from that mission, four other men did thanks to his courage. McGinnis' sacrifice earned him the Medal of Honor.
McGinnis was born on June 14, 1987, in Meadville, Pennsylvania, to parents Tom and Romayne McGinnis. He had two sisters, Becky and Katie.
When McGinnis was 3, the family moved about an hour southeast to Knox, Pennsylvania, where he went to Clarion County public schools, was a Boy Scout and played baseball, basketball and soccer.
As a teen, McGinnis worked part-time at a McDonald's and became a car enthusiast. He took classes at a nearby career center in automotive technology in the hopes of one day becoming an auto mechanic in the military — something he'd desired to be a part of since childhood. His mother said that during kindergarten, when he was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, he drew a picture of a soldier.
McGinnis got involved as soon as he could. In June 2004, on his 17th birthday, he enlisted in Army through its delayed entry program. After he graduated from Keystone Junior-Senior High School in 2005, he officially became a soldier.
After basic training, McGinnis was sent to serve in Schweinfurt, Germany. Many of the friends he made there said he was known for doing impersonations and making everyone laugh.
In August 2006, his unit, the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, was deployed to Iraq. He was only there for four months before he made the ultimate sacrifice for his fellow soldiers.
On Dec. 4, 2006, then-Pfc. McGinnis was serving as a machine gunner in Company C in the northeastern part of Baghdad. His platoon was working to control sectarian violence in the area, which was rampant at the time.
During that afternoon, while McGinnis was in position at the back of his vehicle, an insurgent threw a grenade from a roof, and it fell into McGinnis' Humvee. The private first class reacted quickly, yelling "Grenade!" to warn his four fellow soldiers stuck in the vehicle with him.
Instead of saving his own life by escaping through the gunnery hatch — as he was trained to do — McGinnis, who was the youngest in his platoon at 19, chose to give his own life to protect his crew, diving onto the live grenade to shield them from the blast. He died immediately.
The other soldiers in the vehicle with him — Sgt. 1st Class Cedric Thomas, the platoon sergeant and truck commander; Staff Sgt. Ian Newland, the squad leader; Sgt. Lyle Buehler, the driver; and medic Spc. Sean Lawson all survived thanks to his bravery and selflessness.
Shortly after his death, McGinnis' parents released a statement about him that said in part, "The lives of four men who were his Army brothers outweighed the value of his one life. … The choice for Ross was simple, but simple does not mean easy. His straightforward answer to a simple but difficult choice should stand as a shining example for the rest of us. We all face simple choices, but how often do we choose to make a sacrifice to get the right answer? The right choice sometimes requires honor."
On June 2, 2008, former President George W. Bush presented McGinnis' parents with the Medal of Honor during a White House ceremony. His sisters and the soldiers he helped save were also in attendance. McGinnis was posthumously promoted to specialist and also received the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
"I know medals never crossed his mind. He was always about friendships and relationships," McGinnis' father later said. "He just took that to the ultimate this time."
McGinnis is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. He's one of only three Medal of Honor recipients from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to be buried there.
McGinnis continues to be remembered across the military community and in his home state. In the past 15 years, the Pittsburgh military processing center was renamed in his honor, as was a post office in his hometown. In 2017, the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center in Columbus, Georgia, dedicated a statue bearing McGinnis' likeness as part of its Global War on Terrorism Memorial.
On Veterans Day 2009, former President Barack Obama left a presidential coin at the young soldier's grave after remembrance services at the cemetery. McGinnis' medal is on display at the First Infantry Division Museum in Wheaton, Illinois.

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Raise a glass without raising your weight

It’s the holiday season, and it’s the time when we gather — sometimes several times — with family and friends to celebrate. These multiple celebrations or parties often bring with them large amounts of food and drink.
TOPS Club, Inc. (Take Off Pounds SensiblySM), the nonprofit weight-loss support organization, with a “Real People. Real Weight Loss.®” philosophy, understands that the holidays can be a challenge for those trying to take — and keep — pounds off. TOPS encourages taking sensible steps to live well, and giving up alcohol altogether during gatherings isn’t necessarily a sensible first step. Having a little cup of what you love is allowed, but watching what you drink and drinking in moderation can help you maintain your weight during this “eating season.”
Here is everything you need to know about raising a glass without raising your weight:
Plan ahead
You’ve been to holiday parties before, so take some time to consider what you’ll be walking into. Think about how many alcoholic drinks you’re going to allow yourself, and make sure it’s a number you won’t regret the next morning. Then talk to a trusted family member or friend attending the same gathering and ask them to help keep you accountable.
Watch your calories
Calories can add up quickly when the drinks are flowing. Opt for a no-calorie drink, like water, coffee, tea, or diet soda. If that’s too much all at once, choose a low-calorie alcoholic drink, like swapping out eggnog with white wine. Finally, do not bring a high-caloric alcoholic drink with you to a party. Consider gifting hot chocolate or cider so there are other options at the gathering.
Stretch your drinks
Alcohol has a diuretic effect on your body, meaning it causes your body to eliminate fluids quickly, which makes you thirsty. To consume a limited amount of alcohol and stay hydrated, try adding water or ice cubes to your drink and nurse it for a few hours. Another option is to make sure your alcohol to water intake is 1:1. Drink a glass of water in between alcoholic drinks. Sparkling water even looks like a drink, and it’ll help you pace yourself.
Be nosy
You should always know what’s in your drink, not only for your safety, but also if you’re trying to avoid unnecessary calories. If you’re a fan of mixed drinks, avoid sugary options and try mixing your alcohol with diet soda, seltzer, or low-calorie fruit juice.
Be smart before and during the gathering
Remember alcohol affects the way you eat. Alcohol doesn’t make you feel full, so it’s easy to overeat. Don’t avoid eating during the day because you have a party later. Eat plenty of protein and vegetables before so you won’t feel the need to binge eat. When you’re at the gathering, talk and socialize away from the food and drink table.
What drinks are safest?
According to the National Institute of Health, alcoholic beverages that are 100 calories or fewer include: gin, vodka, rum, whiskey, tequila, brandy, champagne, and light beer, while beverages like red and white wine are more than 100 calories.
What does drinking in moderation look like?
The National Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention define moderate alcohol intake as one glass a day or seven per week for women, and two glasses a day or 14 per week for men.

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

On Saturday, December 6, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt advised Emperor Hirohito to withdraw his fleet of warships “for the sake of humanity.” The message was prompted by a Royal Australian Air Force pilot who had detected a formidable throng of Japanese warships headed for Thailand.
Meanwhile, according to History.com, “600 miles northwest of Hawaii, Admiral Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese fleet, announced to his men: ‘The rise or fall of the empire depends upon this battle. Everyone will do his duty with utmost efforts.’ Thailand was, in fact, a bluff. Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii was confirmed for Yamamoto as the Japanese target, after the Japanese consul in Hawaii had reported to Tokyo that a significant portion of the U.S. Pacific fleet would be anchored in the harbor—sitting ducks. The following morning, Sunday, December 7, was a good day to begin a raid.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Events That Changed the course of History: The Story of the Attack on Pearl Harbor 75 Years Later by Kimberly Sarmiento.

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William Frederick Cody—known as Buffalo Bill-- embodied the heroes of the Wild West. He garnered esteem for his service with the Pony Express --and later--as a Civil War hero for the Union. His dexterity with a six-gun was so remarkable that Ned Buntline [born Edward Judson] wrote 550 dime novels featuring Cody. After his The Scouts of the Prairie--was adapted for the stage--he persuaded Buffalo Bill “to abandon his real-life western adventures to play a highly exaggerated version of himself …” [on stage].
On December 11, 1872, Cody made his debut in Chicago.
According to History.com. “Once he had a taste of the performing life, Cody never looked back. Though he continued to spend time scouting or guiding hunt trips in the West, Cody remained on the Chicago stage for the next 11 years. Buffalo Bill Cody was the hero of more than 1,700 variant issues of dime novels [by a variety of authors], and his star shone even more brightly when his world-famous Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show debuted in 1883. The show was still touring when Buffalo Bill Cody died in 1917.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Buffalo Bill Cody: An Autobiography.

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The American Revolution, which ended in 1783, achieved America’s independence, and the Constitution--ratified on December 15, 1791--underscored freedom, and citizens’ rights.
Today, there are 27 amendments, but the first ten--the Bill of Rights—are the most important.
“Influenced by the English Bill of Rights of 1689, the Bill of Rights was also drawn from Virginia’s Declaration of Rights, drafted by George Mason in 1776,” according to History.com. “Mason, a native Virginian, was a lifelong champion of individual liberties, and in 1787 he attended the Constitutional Convention and criticized the final document for lacking constitutional protection of basic political rights. In the ratification struggle that followed, Mason and other critics agreed to support the Constitution in exchange for the assurance that amendments would be passed immediately.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Carol Berkin‘s The Bill of Rights: The Fight to Secure America's Liberties.

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UAMS House Call
Dr. Daniel Knight
Professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine

Q:. What is Parkinson's disease
A: Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative brain condition that affects the nervous system and parts of the body controlled by the nerves. Neurons (nerve cells in the brain) slowly break down and die in affected persons. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke estimates that approximately 500,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson’s.
Age is the most common risk factor in the development of Parkinson’s. The average age for onset of the disease is 70, and chances increase after 60. However, it is possible to have Parkinson’s as early as 50 years old. Men are more likely to experience Parkinson’s than women.
Symptoms vary from person to person, and early symptoms may not be evident. The most common sign are tremors, which frequently occur in a hand. This shaking is most noticeable while at rest. Other symptoms include muscle stiffness, impaired balance and coordination, speech changes, and the slowing of such movements as walking.
Parkinson’s has no cure, and it is unclear what causes the disease. A health care provider will likely recommend an affected person see a neurologist who specializes in treatment of this type of movement disorder.

Q: How can I maintain a healthy diet during the holidays?
A: The holidays can be a tough time for many trying to manage good eating habits. There are gatherings at home and at work. People are traveling, which can upset their normal eating routine. Even at home, attending events, hosting guests or shopping can disrupt schedules. Still, it is possible to enjoy yourself while watching what you eat.
It is always advisable to begin your day with a healthy breakfast. This will help establish a sense of normalcy in your daily activities, and it can be a way to keep your mind on the goal of sensible eating. If you have an exercise plan, do your best to stick to it.
For diabetics, planning is essential. Try to eat as close to your normal mealtimes as possible. Do not skip meals, as this makes managing blood sugar harder and makes you more likely to overeat at the next meal. Popular holiday beverages are high in calories or sugar, so be mindful of your consumption.
Make an appointment with your health care provider if you need assistance maintaining your diet during this period.

Q: Why do we get sick during colder weather?
A: When the temperature drops, your body goes through changes that may impact how it fights diseases and illnesses. When cold and dry air is breathed in, blood vessels in the respiratory system narrow to conserve heat, which makes it harder for white blood cells to move throughout the body to fight germs.
Viruses spread more easily in dry, winter air because there are fewer water molecules present to slow their movement. Heating your home in the winter also dries out the air. Nasal passages do not perform as efficiently in dry air, which can allow viruses to enter the body more easily.
Colder weather can also worsen preexisting conditions. Raynaud’s disease, which is the narrowing of blood vessels that supply blood to the skin, is aggravated by colder weather. People affected by arthritis will feel worse as restricted blood flow makes joints feel stiffer than normal. Colder air causes respiratory systems to work harder, exacerbating an ailment such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Contact your health care provider to work out a plan if you are concerned about your health as the weather turns colder, particularly if you have conditions intensified by cold.

Q: What is the difference between farsightedness and nearsightedness?
A: Farsightedness (hyperopia) and nearsightedness (myopia) are classified as refractive errors. Astigmatism (blurred or distorted vision at all distances) is also a refractive error. Refractive errors are the most common eye problems and are easily corrected. The National Eye Institute estimates more than 150 million Americans are affected by one of these conditions.
Farsightedness is when nearby objects appear blurry, but you can see distant objects clearly. In addition to having trouble seeing things up close, other symptoms of farsightedness include eye strain and headaches. Many people are born with farsightedness, but vision problems may not present themselves until later in life.
Nearsightedness is when you have trouble seeing objects farther away, but anything near appears clearly. Headaches, eye strain, and squinting are some symptoms of nearsightedness. Some people affected with nearsightedness also have blurry vision when the light is dim, such as during nighttime driving. Nearsightedness normally develops during childhood.
Schedule an appointment with an eye doctor if you experience symptoms associated with either condition. An eye exam will determine which issue you have. The most common treatments for farsightedness and nearsightedness are contact lenses or eyeglasses. Surgery may be required depending upon the extent of the problem.

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Social Security Matters
By RUSSELL GLOOR
National Social Security adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – We’re Planning to Claim at 62; What Do We Need to Know?
Dear Rusty: My wife (born May 1962) and I (born April 1963) are retired and will soon be looking to start collecting our Social Security as we each hit 62. As this is new to us, I'm wondering what things we may need to be aware of or consider as we get closer to her 62 birthday in May. Any advice or information will be appreciated! Signed: Planning Ahead
Dear Planning: If you and your wife are both retired from working and have decided to start your (reduced) Social Security as soon as you are eligible at age 62, then there is nothing you need to do in advance of applying. The Social Security retirement benefit amount for each of you will be determined by your individual lifetime earnings record and your age when you claim. If either of you will be eligible for a spousal boost from the other, that will be automatically applied when both of you are collecting.
If your wife plans to claim her Social Security as soon as she is eligible, she should apply for her benefits about 3 months in advance and choose the option on the application which states “I want benefits beginning with the earliest possible month and will accept an age-related reduction.” For information, an applicant must be 62 for an entire month to get benefits, so your wife’s first month of eligibility will be June 2024. Social Security deals only in whole months and pays benefits in the month following the month earned; so if your wife’s birthday is between the 11th and 20th of the month her first Social Security payment will be received in her bank account on the third Wednesday of July. All subsequent payments will be on that same schedule. Then, when it’s time for you to claim, you should follow the same process as your wife and, if either of you is entitled to a higher amount as a spouse, it will be automatically applied when your benefits later start.
Applying for benefits is a relatively simple process if done online at www.ssa.gov/apply. Note that to apply online your wife will need to first create her personal “my Social Security” account, which is easy to do at www.ssa.gov/myaccount. To prepare for applying later, you can also create your personal online account now (it’s required to apply online), at which you will see what your estimated benefit will be at different ages. Of course, your wife first (and later you) can also call Social Security at 1.800.772.1213 to request an appointment to apply for SS retirement benefits in person. Applications which are not done online are usually taken over the phone vs. requiring a visit to your local Social Security office, but applying online is, by far, the most efficient method (you can link to the application process from your online account).
One important thing to be aware of: By claiming at age 62, the monthly payment for each of you will be 70% of what it would be at your full retirement age (FRA) and that is a permanent reduction. If you expect at least average longevity - about 84 for you and 87 for your wife - and if it is financially feasible, then waiting longer to claim would yield a higher monthly amount as well as the most in cumulative lifetime benefits. For those with an FRA of 67, SS retirement benefits claimed at FRA are 30% higher than at 62 and, if claimed at 70 are 75% more than at 62. And, although the decision on when to claim is always personal, a married couple should also evaluate their joint needs when deciding.
One final word of caution: although you and your wife are now retired from working, be aware that if you claim SS benefits before your FRA and return to work, Social Security has an earnings test which limits how much you can earn before some benefits are taken away. The earnings test lasts until you reach your full retirement age.

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How hungry are you?
New York City is known for its costly restaurants. To prove it, just take a look at the special menu offered at the Serendipity3 eatery located in the upper reaches of the Big Apple. Among its specialties there is the $214 grilled cheese sandwich that goes well with a $200 side of “Creme de la Crème” French fries.

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Brown Friday
“Virtually every traditional Thanksgiving dish is a drain clogging culprit,” according to the experts at Roto-Rooter. In fact, they call the day after Thanksgiving "Brown Friday." It’s also known as the busiest day of the year for plumbers. As they explain it, "a house already has partially clogged drains that go unnoticed until holiday guests arrive and overwhelm the system. Even more problematic is that virtually every traditional Thanksgiving dish is a drain clogging culprit."

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Magpies beware?
Magpies can be bothersome critters, as Giulio Cuzzilla of New South Wales, Australia found out. He also found out that they could be scared off by owls, so he put together what he thought was a “scary” look-alike using paper and feathers. As it turned out It wasn’t very life-like; in fact, his fake owl seemed to attract magpies. As he put it, "I accidentally made a magpie god" that attracted instead of scared away the pesky birds.

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Medal of Honor: Army Lt. Col. Don C. Faith Jr.
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News
Army Lt. Col. Don Carlos Faith Jr. was one of thousands of men forced to fight through frigid conditions and overwhelming odds during the Korean War's Battle of Chosin Reservoir. He didn't survive the ordeal, but the leadership and bravery he showed while commanding troops earned him a posthumous Medal of Honor.
Faith was born Aug. 26, 1918, in Washington, Indiana, to parents Katherine and Don Faith Sr., who was a World War I Army general. As an Army brat, the younger Don and his two brothers, Francis and Edwin, grew up all over the world, including in China, the Philippines, Georgia and Washington, D.C.
In the late 1930s, Faith attended Georgetown University, where his father was then the director of veterans' education, according to a 1950 edition of the Washington, D.C, newspaper, The Evening Star. But by June 1941, he decided he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps by joining the Army, months before Pearl Harbor would thrust the U.S. into World War II.
After basic training, Faith went to Officer Candidate School and received his commission before being assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division. Faith was first stationed at Camp Claiborne in central Louisiana, where he met Barbara Wilbur. They married in November 1942 and eventually had a daughter, Bobbie.
Faith went on to serve in North Africa, Italy, France and Germany, earning two Bronze Stars and the French Croix de Guerre for his actions. When the war was over, he was stationed for a short time in the Philippines before being sent home to serve as the Army secretary to the United Nations Military Staff Committee.
In early 1948, Faith served in China before joining occupation forces in Japan, where he was stationed when the Korean War began in June 1950. By then, he was a lieutenant colonel and was given command of the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment. A short time later, they were sent to Korea.
By November 1950, United Nations troops, which were largely American, had pushed the North Koreans north toward the border with China. Around the same time, China decided to join the war on the enemy's side, so it sent thousands of its own troops south across the Yalu River to help the fleeing North Koreans.
The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, as the ensuing fight is now called, was one of the most savage battles of the war, playing out in rugged, hotly contested terrain during one of the coldest winters on record for the region. Temperatures, which reached about -40 degrees Fahrenheit, were so cold that weapons malfunctioned, and foxholes couldn't be dug because the ground was too hard, historians said.
Starting on Nov. 27, 1950, about 100,000 Chinese soldiers encircled the Chosin Reservoir near the village of Sasu-ri, quickly outnumbering and outgunning about 30,000 UN troops, including Faith's 1st Battalion. When enemy troops launched a fierce attack against them, Faith directed the action amid heavy fire and even led counterattacks to restore positions that had been breached.
At one point, Faith directed an attack that would help his battalion link up with another unit, the 31st Regimental Combat Team, which was in dire need of help. Faith did reconnaissance on the route they would take and personally directed the first elements of his command across the ice-covered reservoir. He then directed the battalion's vehicles, which were loaded with wounded men, until all his command had passed through enemy fire. Only then did he allow himself to cross the reservoir.
When the battalion reached the beleaguered 31st RCT, Faith assumed their command. Nicknamed Task Force Faith, the combined unit was ordered to organize its survivors and withdraw south about 14 miles to Hagaru-ri, where they would be able to join with more friendly forces.
Although they were all exhausted by the bitter cold and physical effort, Faith rallied his men and launched an attack. When they were quickly stopped by enemy fire, Faith ran forward and got his stalled men moving so they could blast their way through the enemy ring.
By Dec. 1, days had passed since the troops had begun their flight south, and they were still being attacked.
According to Faith's Medal of Honor citation, "As they came to a hairpin curve, enemy fire from a roadblock again pinned the column down. Faith organized a group of men and directed their attack on the enemy positions on the right flank. He then placed himself at the head of another group of men and, in the face of direct enemy fire, led an attack on the enemy roadblock, firing his pistol and throwing grenades."
Faith managed to get within about 30 yards of the roadblock when he was seriously wounded by grenade fragments; however, he continued to direct the attack until the roadblock was overrun. Unfortunately, Faith didn't survive his injuries and died the next day, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
By the end of the Battle of Chosin Reservoir on Dec. 13, UN troops managed to break through the enemy siege and move south far enough to evacuate more than 100,000 North Korean refugees.
Throughout five days of action during that movement, Faith continuously disregarded his own safety, often throwing himself into the most dangerous situations to keep others safe. His actions were a great inspiration to his men, which led to him posthumously earning the Medal of Honor. His wife and daughter received it on his behalf from famed World War II Army Gen. Omar Bradley.
"Mrs. Faith, I have known Don since he was a little boy, and I'm not surprised at his leadership and courage," Bradley told Faith's wife during a ceremony at the Pentagon, according to The Evening Star. The newspaper said nine other Korean War service members received the Medal of Honor during the same ceremony.

A Delayed Homecoming

Sadly, Faith's remains couldn't be repatriated because of battlefield conditions at the time, so the family had nothing to bury. Instead, his name was inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.
In 2004, joint investigators were allowed into North Korea to survey a field near the Chosin Reservoir, where they located a mass grave site, the DPAA said. Boxes of remains were exhumed and returned to the U.S. for identification. However, that process can take years due to the challenges that come with identifying remains that are lumped together.
In August 2012 — nearly 62 years after Faith died — the DPAA positively identified his remains as part of the batch that had been repatriated in 2004. Less than a year later, on April 17, 2013, Faith was finally laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.
To date, there are still 7,485 Americans who are unaccounted for from the Korean War, according to DPAA's website.
Faith's name continues to live on. In the 1990's, a headquarters building was built in his honor at Fort Drum, New York. His name is also inscribed on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., which was updated in 2022 to include the names of the fallen.

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Social Security Matters
By RUSSELL GLOOR
National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – About the Fairness of “WEP” and “GPO”
Dear Rusty: I was married to my ex-husband for 30 years. For 14 of those years, I was an unemployed mom and community volunteer. After my sons were grown, I began teaching in California and earned a teacher pension. That teacher pension eliminates ALL the spousal benefits my husband paid for. How can that be justified? I, like a number of my retired friends, rent out rooms in my house to be able to live on a small teacher’s pension and get none of my earned spousal benefits. Signed: Frustrated Teacher
Dear Frustrated Teacher: I can only say that your frustration is shared by many retirees from public service in States which do not participate in the federal Social Security program – that is, neither the employee nor the State contribute to the federal Social Security program. There are about 26 states (including California) which exempt at least some of their employees (and themselves) from paying Social Security payroll taxes, but those states are obligated to provide retirement benefits robust enough to offset the loss of Social Security benefits which will occur later in life after the employee retires. As controversial as these laws - the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) - are, they have withstood legal challenges since they were enacted four decades ago.
Because you have a “non-covered” pension from your state employment, WEP reduces any personal Social Security retirement benefit you may have earned elsewhere and, to your specific point, the GPO has eliminated the spousal benefit you might otherwise have been entitled to from your ex-husband. Like you, many who are affected believe this to be unfair, but Congress has steadfastly failed to enact legislation to repeal these provisions, or even to soften their impact. The likely reason is that Congress has evaluated the fundamental premise of the provisions and concluded they appropriately equalize the way benefits are paid to all Social Security beneficiaries.
It might help to think of it this way: in normal circumstances, if one spouse has a personally earned Social Security retirement benefit which is more than 50% of their partner’s full retirement age (FRA) amount, no spousal benefit is paid (the spouse benefit is offset by the recipient’s own SS retirement benefit). The GPO (the provision which affects SS spousal and survivor benefits) applies that same logic for a spouse who has a “non-covered” pension earned outside of the Social Security program, their spousal benefit is offset by the amount of the person’s own “non-covered” retirement pension. The one difference is that the GPO offset is actually a bit smaller (2/3rds of the non-covered pension vs. 100% offset for a spouse with their own SS retirement benefit).
Both WEP (which reduces SS retirement benefits) and the GPO (which reduces spousal or survivor benefits) are consequences of working for a State which has chosen to not participate in the federal Social Security program, and those states are obligated to inform their employees of those consequences. I know that doesn’t make your situation any less frustrating, but Congress “justifies” these provisions as being necessary to equalize how benefits are paid to all Social Security beneficiaries. There are about 2 million beneficiaries affected by WEP and over 700,000 affected by the GPO, most of whom share your displeasure. Nevertheless, Congress has so far maintained both these provisions as originally enacted. If you wish to add your voice to those who believe WEP and GPO are unfair, you may wish to contact your federal Congressional Representatives to express that point.

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Outdoor Winter Container Gardens
By MELINDA MYERS

Add a bit of greenery to your front steps, window box or patio with a winter container garden. You’ll find all the ingredients you need at your local garden center, craft store, and maybe even a few in your backyard.
Start with a walk through your yard and look for evergreens and other potential ingredients for your winter containers. Fruits like rose hips, winterberries, holly berries, crabapples and others add color to the container. Fluffy seedheads of grasses make a nice vertical accent and add a bit of motion to the arrangement.
Next, convert one or two of your summer or fall containers into a winter display. The container should be able to tolerate the winter conditions in your area. Concrete, iron, metal, wood and fiberglass containers are best suited for year-round use. Even plastic pots will last for a few years when left outside.
Or start a new container for winter. Repurpose or purchase a container. Nursery pots that once housed trees and shrubs make excellent options. These black containers provide the perfect backdrop for greenery and are available for free from most garden centers and fellow gardeners.
Make sure the pot has drainage holes to prevent water-logged soil and water from overflowing the pot. Fill the container about 7/8 full with a well-drained potting mix. The soil helps hold the greenery, twigs and other materials in place and adds weight to keep the pot upright throughout the winter.
Consider using a mix of greens for a variety of textures and various shades of green. Pine, spruce, arborvitae, boxwood and junipers may be growing in your landscape and most are available at garden centers. Spruce tips are popular, allowing you to add “mini” trees or create vertical accents in your containers.
Use greens to cover the pot and create an attractive base for your winter display. Place some branches upright and others at a 45-degree angle so the greens drape over the edge. Secure the stems by placing them at least four inches deep in the soil.
Now add some color and vertical interest with stems of red twig dogwoods, paper birch branches, berry-laden stems from holly and winterberry and curly willow branches. Artificial material and outdoor ornaments can also be used. It’s your opportunity to get creative.
Do consider adding other elements such as evergreen cones, seed pods, allium seedheads, and balloon plant pods. Leave them natural or add some paint and glitter.
Water thoroughly to remove air pockets and lock your ingredients in place. Keeping the soil moist until the potting mix freezes can help extend the beauty of the greenery. The winter containers will also last much longer in cooler temperatures. And those displayed in more sheltered locations out of direct sunlight and wind will suffer less drying.
Once your container is complete it is time to relax and enjoy your holiday celebrations.

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Get a haircut?
If you know a woman who is looking for a particularly distinct wig, you might want to get in touch with Nigerian wigmaker Helen Williams. Ms. Williams is a professional when it comes to toupees. In fact, she made headlines recently for what the Guinness World Record judges declared is the world’s longest handmade wig. It measures 1,152 feet and 5 inches in length. The question is where she got the 1,000 bundles of human hair that went into her rug.

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The cat’s meow
Here we go again. They’ve found another mysterious creature that has animal experts scratching their heads. This time it’s a mysterious big cat-like creature that was found roaming the hills in Arizona’s Phoenix Mountain Preserve. Tom Cadden at the Arizona Game and Fish Department told the Arizona Republic, "It's not one of our native big cat species, mountain lion, bobcat, ocelot or jaguar. It's pretty big for a house cat. My guess is that it's probably something that was bought at a wildlife auction. Could be from Africa or South America. It's nothing I'm familiar with, but it's not a house cat."

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He jumps for joy
Henry Cabelus is a pogo stick expert who already holds the record for making a 10.1 foot backflip jump. But he is not content and says his aim is to make a 10.6-foot backflip, at least. He’s been at it for 10 years now and has broken nine bones, four of which were in his face and admits that it’s pretty scary.

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Keeping Tropical Plants Healthy
By MELINDA MYERS

Tropical plants are filling our homes and workspaces, adding beauty, relieving stress, and boosting creativity, productivity, and focus. Keep these plants healthy and looking their best by providing for their basic needs.
Select plants that will thrive in the growing conditions found in your home or office and with your level of care. Busy gardeners should look for low-maintenance plants like ZZ plants, Chinese evergreens, pothos and philodendrons while others may choose ferns, peace lilies, baby tears and gardenias that require a bit more attention and care.
Light is the most common limiting factor when growing plants indoors. Matching the plants to the desired light is the first step in success. Plant tags, university websites and plant books can provide you with this information. If you are lucky enough to have an east- or west-facing window you can grow a wide variety of plants. High-light plants should be kept within two feet of these windows. Low-light plants can be set up to six feet back or off to the side of an east- or west-facing window or in front of one that faces north. Keep in mind buildings, awnings, trees, and sheers can decrease the amount of sunlight reaching the plants.
Fortunately, there are now more options for decorative energy-efficient grow lights available, expanding your indoor gardening opportunities. Pendants, clip-ons, floor lights and furniture-grade plant shelves provide the needed light for plants and add decorative elements to your home.
Proper watering is next on the list of key factors for healthy growth and longevity of indoor plants. Most tropical plants prefer evenly moist soil comparable to a wrung-out sponge. Water thoroughly preferable with tepid water when the top few inches of potting mix are starting to dry. Pour off any excess water that collects in the saucer. Allowing plants to sit in water can lead to root rot and plant death.
To achieve proper watering enlist the help of moisture-retaining products like organic Wild Valley Farms wool pellets (wildvalleyfarms.com). Made from wool waste, this sustainable product reduces watering by up to 25% and increases pore space in the soil for proper drainage and better plant growth.
Create attractive clusters of plants while increasing the humidity that most tropical plants need for healthier growth. As one plant loses moisture through the leaves, often called transpiration, the neighboring plants benefit. Go one step further by utilizing gravel trays. Set plant pots on pebble-filled saucers or trays. Allow excess water to collect in the pebbles below the pots. As this water evaporates, it increases the humidity around the plants. This also reduces your workload by eliminating the need to pour off excess water that collects in the plant saucer.
Add a few terrariums for plants like Venus fly trap, ferns and spike moss that grow best in high humidity and moist soil conditions. Purchase one or create your own from an old aquarium, or another clear glass container and add a lid to create a closed growing system. Select or create one that supports plant growth, complements your home’s décor, and reflects your personality.
Provide a warm, draft-free location for your tropical plants. Most prefer the same temperatures, 65-75 degrees, that we do. Don’t worry if you turn down the heat at night, most plants will be fine. Just do not trap them between the curtain and window where it is much colder than the rest of your home. Avoid cold drafts from doors and windows and hot drafts from heat registers that can be detrimental to your plant’s health.
You may need to move plants, adjust grow lights, and fine-tune watering as you get to know each plant’s needs. Once you place them in the right location and provide the correct amount of light and water, your plants will grow and prosper.

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Medal of Honor: Army Maj. Gen. George L. Mabry Jr.
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News
During the U.S. Army's push toward Berlin in World War II, Maj. Gen. George Lafayette Mabry Jr. nearly single-handedly forced his way through enemy fortifications to clear an area of German forest for Allied troops. His valor and leadership made him one of the most decorated soldiers of the war, including having earned the Medal of Honor.
Mabry was born Sept. 14, 1917, in the little town of Stateburg outside Sumter, South Carolina. He had two brothers and a sister.
After high school, Mabry went to Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina, where he majored in English and minored in psychology in the hopes of becoming a teacher. He also worked as a farm manager and played semi-pro baseball before graduating in June 1940. Everyone who attended the school was also required to be in ROTC, so when Mabry joined the Army, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant.
According to a Presbyterian College blog from 2020, Mabry later said that, while he didn't become a teacher, his studies in psychology helped him deal with stressed out soldiers.
After training, Mabry was assigned to the newly activated 4th Infantry Division's 8th Infantry Regiment. After about a year in the service, he married Eulena Myers. The pair went on to have a daughter and two sons, including one, George, who followed in his father's footsteps and eventually became an Army officer.
Mabry remained in the states until January 1944, when he was deployed to England. He and his 4th ID brethren took part in the D-Day landings on Utah Beach in Normandy on June 6. His valor that day earned him the Distinguished Service Cross and, later, a Silver Star.
Throughout the summer of 1944, the 4th ID pushed through occupied France, liberating towns along the way. By autumn, they and other Allied forces had made it to Germany's western border, the Siegfried Line, which was fortified for hundreds of miles with minefields, foxholes and other obstacles that the Allies would spend months trying to breach.
One of those areas was the Hurtgen Forest near Schevenhutte, Germany. Army historians say the forest was tough to maneuver: it had 100-foot tall fir trees that were closely spaced, saturated ground and dramatic elevation changes. Tanks and other supply vehicles struggled to get through its narrow dirt roads and trails.
Early in November 1944, parts of the 4th ID were tasked with clearing the southern part of the forest. However, those troops weren't able to penetrate enemy lines, so the rest of the division, including Mabry's unit, were told to push east to make a clearing and secure about three miles worth of roads between towns.
On Nov. 20, then-Lt. Col. Mabry was commanding the 8th Infantry's 2nd Battalion when they were attacked, and the forward elements of his battalion were immobilized by a minefield and heavy hostile fire. Mabry pushed forward alone through the minefield to set up a safe route for the rest of his soldiers.
He then moved ahead of his forwardmost scouts to personally lead the attack before he was stopped by razor wire laden with explosives. With help, Mabry disconnected the explosives and cut a path through the wire. When he got to the other side, he saw three enemy foxholes and captured their occupants using his bayonet.
Mabry kept moving forward and, racing ahead of his men again, found three log bunkers. The first bunker was deserted, so he pushed onto the second and was suddenly confronted by nine enemy soldiers. Mabry managed to take out one of them using the butt of his rifle and he bayonetted a second before his scouts joined him to neutralize the rest of the enemy soldiers.
With reinforcements by his side, Mabry then charged the third bunker — despite point-blank fire coming at him — and led the way inside to clear out its six enemy inhabitants.
Once that area was secure, Mabry led his battalion across 300 yards of fire-laden terrain to gain higher ground. There, they set up a defensive position that helped them take out the enemy on both flanks, giving them a solid foothold in the area. Within days, Mabry's division had secured two roads and had taken the town of Grosshau.
The four-month Battle of Hurtgen Forest, while not well-known among World War II battles, cost the Army a lot. More than 33,000 men died or were wounded. The 4th ID, which spent about one month fighting there, suffered more than 6,000 casualties.
Four days after Mabry's heroics, the 4th ID was relieved by another division. Two weeks later, however, they helped repel German troops during the Battle of the Bulge, the bloody campaign that was Germany's last major stand of the war.
On Aug. 23, 1945, Mabry was awarded the Medal of Honor for his courage and leadership during the Battle of Hurtgen Forest. He received the honor from President Harry S. Truman during a White House ceremony. Two other soldiers who fought in the battle were awarded the Medal of Honor: 1st Lt. Bernard Ray and Pfc. Marcario Garcia.
After the war, Mabry decided to make a career out of the Army. He spent several nonconsecutive years serving in the Panama Canal Zone, where he helped establish the Army's Jungle Warfare Training Center and, in the 1960s, was put in charge of developing and maintaining plans to protect and defend the canal.
Mabry spent time commanding troops in Korea after that conflict ended, and he also served two tours in Pentagon positions. In 1966, Mabry was selected to head a team to study combat effectiveness in Vietnam before becoming the commanding general of the Army Combat Developments Experimentation Command at Fort Ord, California.
In April 1969, after he'd attained the rank of major general, Mabry returned to Vietnam. While there, he had to deal with an incident involving a murder cover-up by a number of Green Berets. Mabry was the general court martial convening authority at the time and had decided to move forward with prosecuting the men involved. However, the case was eventually derailed by politics and a lack of cooperation by various parties involved, and the charges were dismissed.
In December 1970, Mabry left Vietnam and returned to the Panama Canal Zone one more time to head U.S. Army Southern Command. In January 1975, he took the reins of Army Readiness Region V at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, his final assignment before retiring in August 1975.
Mabry returned home to South Carolina and settled in Columbia, where he was active in the community, especially among youth and veterans' groups. He often spoke publicly about his time in World War II and other military-related events.
Mabry died July 13, 1990, of prostate cancer that had spread, one of his sons told the New York Times. He is buried in Holy Cross Episcopal Church Cemetery in Statesboro, South Carolina.
Mabry's name is well-known among soldiers and South Carolinians today. At Fort Carson, Colorado, a mile-long obstacle course is called the Mabry Mile in his honor. In 2016, a new headquarters building at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, was named for him, as was a memorial highway that runs through the county of his birth.

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Social Security Matters
By RUSSELL GLOOR
National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Can I Voluntarily Suspend My Social Security Payments?

Dear Rusty: My wife retired in 2015 and is receiving Social Security. I am past my full retirement age, and I still work. I recently filed for Social Security benefits and received my first payment earlier this month, and my benefits are around three times my wife’s. I now find that, due to other income, I am having some regrets about filing for Social Security, as the taxes will be complicated. So, my questions are:
1. If I do a “Voluntary Suspension”, can my wife still apply to get up to 50% of my benefits, or do I have to be “actively” receiving Social Security benefits? In other words, does the “Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015” prevent this?
2. If I do a “Voluntary Suspension”, how soon could I “restart” my benefits?
Signed: Having Second Thoughts
Dear Second Thoughts: The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 closed a loophole which previously allowed someone to file for their Social Security retirement benefit in order for their marital partner to claim a spousal benefit, after which the primary beneficiary could suspend their own benefit and allow it to grow to maximum at age 70. That “file and suspend” option went away in April of 2016; thus, your wife cannot claim her spousal benefit while your Social Security retirement benefits are suspended (you must be “actively” receiving benefits for your wife to get benefits on your record).
Nevertheless, because you’ve already reached your full retirement age, you can voluntarily suspend your benefit payments at any time to allow it to continue growing by simply calling Social Security at your local office (or at the national number 1.800.772.1213) and asking them to do so. Your wife will not receive her spousal benefits for any months your benefits are suspended, but she would continue to get her own SS retirement amount (only the spousal portion of her monthly amount would be suspended).
You will be able to restart your benefits at any time by calling Social Security again and asking that your benefits be resumed. You can suspend and restart your benefits as needed (no restriction on how many times), but they will only start/resume the suspension effective with the month following the month you call. And, as you likely already know, for each month your benefits are suspended you will earn Delayed Retirement Credits (DRCs) resulting in a higher payment amount later.
Just for clarity, voluntary suspension of benefits is only available to those who have reached full retirement age but is an excellent way to increase your monthly Social Security payment. Your benefit will grow by .667% for each month suspended and, if your benefit is still suspended when you turn 70 years old, Social Security will automatically resume payments at that time, at your higher maximum monthly amount.

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Medal of Honor : Navy Rear Adm. Daniel J. Callaghan
By KATIE LANGE
DOD News
Navy Rear Adm. Daniel Judson Callaghan had been in the service for a long time before World War II sent him to the Pacific, where he commanded ships fighting against a massive enemy force during one of the deadliest battles of the war. Callaghan didn't survive the ordeal, but his leadership, foresight and courage helped lead his sailors to victory. That earned him a posthumous Medal of Honor.
Callaghan was born July 26, 1890, in Oakland, California, to parents Charles and Rose Callaghan. He had two brothers and two sisters, and as a young man, he was an altar boy who enjoyed camping with his family in the Yosemite Valley. Callaghan went to Saint Ignatius, a Catholic preparatory school, before earning an appointment to the Naval Academy, from which he graduated in 1911.
From there, he began his long and fruitful service to the Navy, starting with a stint on the USS California, where he was part of the landing forces in Nicaragua under famed Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler.
In 1914, he married Mary Tormey. They eventually had a son, Daniel Jr.
During World War I, Callaghan was on the USS New Orleans serving as the ship's engineering officer before being named its executive officer. By the end of the war, he'd earned the permanent rank of lieutenant commander.
During the 1920s, Callaghan spent time on several ships and served as an aid to two commanders before becoming a commander himself in 1931. By 1938, he'd worked his way up to being the naval aid to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a position he held for three years.
By April 1942, when the U.S. was in the throes of World War II, Callaghan was promoted to rear admiral while commanding the cruiser USS San Francisco.
By November, parts of the South Pacific fleet, including the San Francisco, were in the middle of the bitterly fought Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. The Allies had retaken Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands in August 1942, and the Japanese were desperately trying to take it back. Their leaders figured their best way to do so would be to suppress and destroy U.S. aircraft flying out of Henderson Field on Guadalcanal.
On Nov. 12, 1942, Callaghan was commanding Task Force 67.4, which consisted of three light cruisers, eight destroyers and two heavy cruisers, including the San Francisco, the task force's flagship. Their main mission was to protect U.S. ships from submarine, air and surface attacks and to block Japanese ships from delivering troops to Guadalcanal's shores.
However, on that night, Callaghan learned an impending Japanese naval bombardment was heading toward his task force's position, which was in Iron Bottom Sound between Guadalcanal and Savo Island.
The Japanese ships were superior in numbers and in power. Callaghan's forces struggled to deal with navigational communications problems, yet they still managed to surprise the enemy. Once fighting started, however, it was chaos, according to naval historians — a chaos that made an accurate chronology of the battle's events hard to come by.
According to a 1942 article in the San Francisco Examiner, the USS San Francisco was the first to face enemy ships by taking on the Hiei, a Japanese battleship, in a head-on duel in the middle of the night. Callaghan and the San Francisco's commanding officer during the engagement, Capt. Cassin Young, were both on the ship's bridge wing directing close-range operations. The Hiei managed to fire off several shells, one of which killed Callaghan and Young.
The blast also knocked the ship's communications officer, Lt. Cmdr. Bruce McCandless, unconscious. When he woke up, he realized Callaghan and Young were gone, so he took command of the ship as well as the task force, ordering many of the ships to continue their bombardment. According to a newspaper column written by journalist Drew Pearson, McCandless didn't want to use the radio to tell the other ships in the task force that Callaghan had died for fear the messages would be intercepted by the Japanese. Because McCandless knew his superiors' plan of attack, he went forward with it.
By the end of the night, the San Francisco managed to silence and disable the Hiei at a range of less than 3,000 yards, while also sinking a destroyer and damaging two other Japanese vessels.
Eventually, Japanese Rear Adm. Hiroaki Abe, who was commanding the enemy ships, lost his nerve and ordered his crews to withdraw and regroup, according to Navy historians.
According to naval intelligence reports, the battle sunk or destroyed 26 Japanese ships and damaged 12 more. Most importantly, it kept Japanese troops from being able to bombard Henderson Field. The naval battle was the last in a series that forced the Japanese to surrender Guadalcanal for good, handing the Allies a strategic victory.
The win came at a heavy price for the Allies, too. Nine U.S. ships were sunk while about a dozen more were damaged. More than 1,700 Americans lost their lives, according to the American Battle Monuments Commission. The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal was one of the deadliest of the war.
Having taken 45 direct hits, the San Francisco was heavily damaged but lived to fight another day. It became one of the most decorated warships of World War II.
Callaghan was buried at sea. He's listed on the Wall of the Missing at the Manila Cemetery in the Philippines.
On Dec. 9, 1942, while visiting the White House, Callaghan's son, Navy Lt. j.g. Daniel J. Callaghan Jr., received the Medal of Honor on his father's behalf from President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
"Callaghan, with ingenious tactical skill and superb coordination of the units under his command, led his forces into battle against tremendous odds, thereby contributing decisively to the rout of a powerful invasion fleet, and to the consequent frustration of a formidable Japanese offensive," his Medal of Honor citation read. His actions contributed to turning the tide against the Japanese in the Pacific.
"This is a very sad occasion for me, you know. Dan Callaghan was a very good friend of mine," the president said during the ceremony.
Two others who were aboard the USS San Francisco during the battle — McCandless and Rear Admiral Norman Scott, who also died — received the Medal of Honor for their actions. McCandless went on to become a rear admiral himself, retiring from service in 1952.
Callaghan's name continues to be of relevance across the Navy. Not one but two destroyers were named for him after his death. The first USS Callaghan was in use from 1943 until it was lost during battle in Okinawa in 1945. The second USS Callaghan was in use from 1981-1998.
Callaghan Hall at Officer Training Command in Newport, Rhode Island, and Callaghan Fitness Center at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia, are named in his honor. There's also a monument to him in his native San Francisco, as well as an Admiral Callaghan Lane in Vallejo, California.

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A pond to ponder
Nature is always giving us something to ponder. This time it’s a pretty pink pond that emerged in Hawaii due to a lack of rain. Actually the new color of Kealia Pond on the island of Maui is actually described as a combination of “pink and purple.” The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says it’s the result of something called “halobacteria” – a salty condition resulting from drought conditions. The water is not believed to be toxic, but it is pretty.

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A daring deer
A leaping deer can be a sight to behold. But sometimes it can be a disaster in the making. It happened recently in New Jersey when a stag attempted to jump its way across a road. It soared with ease over a parked car but landed on a 2007 Chevy Silverado truck on the other side of the road. It turns out the owner of the truck was in the process of selling it. He completed the sale but had to drop his price by $1,000 to cover the damage. As for the deer, it continued its crossing with ease.

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Fiona is safe
Fiona, "Britain's loneliest sheep," has been rescued. Fiona fell off a Scottish cliff, survived the fall but wound stranded on a remote beach. Try as they might, it took local shepherds numerous attempts over some three years to rescue Fiona. Luckily, she was able to survive, allowing Cammy Wilson and a local team to save the isolated sheep. As Wilson put it, "we came up here with some heavy equipment and we got this sheep up an incredibly steep slope. She's in incredible condition."

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11 Tips For Safer Winter Generator Usage For Home & Business Owners

Follow manufacturer’s instructions and ensure proper ventilation, says OPEI

Winter will be here, and if your electricity goes out due to snow and ice, a generator can keep power flowing to your home or business. The Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI), an international trade association representing manufacturers and suppliers of outdoor power equipment, small engines, battery power systems, portable generators, utility and personal transport vehicles, and golf cars, reminds home and business owners to keep safety in mind when using generators this winter.
“Not having power when you need it is frustrating, so a generator can provide emergency backup power at a reasonable cost,” says Kris Kiser, President and CEO of OPEI. “It’s important to follow all manufacturer’s instructions, and never place a generator in your garage or inside your home or building. It should be a safe distance from the structure and not near an air intake.”
More tips include:
#1 - Take stock of your generator. Make sure equipment is in good working order before starting and using it. Do this before a storm hits.
#2 – Review the directions. Follow all manufacturer’s instructions. Review the owner’s manuals (look manuals up online if you cannot find them) so equipment is operated safely.
#3 - Install a battery operated carbon monoxide detector in your home. This alarm will sound if dangerous levels of carbon monoxide enter the building.
#4 - Have the right fuel on hand. Use the type of fuel recommended by the generator manufacturer to protect this important investment. It is illegal to use any fuel with more than 10% ethanol in outdoor power equipment. (For more information on proper fueling for outdoor power equipment visit www.LookBeforeYouPump.com). It’s best to use fresh fuel, but if you are using fuel that has been sitting in a gas can for more than 30 days, add fuel stabilizer to it. Store gas only in an approved container and away from heat sources.
#5 - Ensure portable generators have plenty of ventilation. Generators should NEVER be used in an enclosed area or placed inside a home, a building, or a garage, even if the windows or doors are open. Place the generator outside and away from windows, doors, and vents that could allow carbon monoxide to drift indoors.
#6 - Keep the generator dry. Do not use a generator in wet conditions. Cover and vent a generator. Model-specific tents or generator covers can be found online for purchase and at home centers and hardware stores.
#7 - Only add fuel to a cool generator. Before refueling, turn the generator off and let it cool down.
#8 – Charge & use battery-powered generators/inverters properly. Recharge only with the charger specified by the manufacturer. A charger that is suitable for one type of battery pack may not be compatible with another battery pack. Follow all charging instructions and do not charge the battery pack or equipment outside the temperature range specified in the instructions. Charging improperly or at temperatures outside the specified range may damage the battery.
#9 - Plug in safely. If you don’t yet have a transfer switch, you can use the outlets on the generator. It’s best to plug in appliances directly to the generator. If you must use an extension cord, it should be heavy-duty and designed for outdoor use. It should be rated (in watts or amps) at least equal to the sum of the connected appliance loads. Make sure the cord is free of cuts, and the plug has all three prongs.
#10 - Install a transfer switch. A transfer switch connects the generator to the circuit panel and lets you power hardwired appliances. Most transfer switches also help avoid overload by displaying wattage usage levels.
#11 - Do not use the generator to “backfeed” power into your home electrical system. Trying to power your home’s electrical wiring by “backfeeding” – where you plug the generator into a wall outlet – is dangerous. You could hurt utility workers and neighbors served by the same transformer. Backfeeding bypasses built-in circuit protection devices, so you could damage your electronics or start an electrical fire.

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Judge Landis winked at 1926 baseball gambling scandal

By JOE GUZZARDI

World Series 2023 had the lowest television ratings in history. No need to belabor the whys and wherefores. Instead of listening to the ceaseless chatter of announcer John Smoltz, fans would be better off acquainting themselves with the game’s rich history. A good start: read Dan Taylor’s “Baseball at the Abyss,” which takes a deep dive into the forgotten 1926 scandal that involved Hall of Fame greats Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker, as the principal scoundrels.
Baseball has a long, unhappy gambling history with wagering playing a prominent role that dates back before the 1919 Chicago Black Sox scandal. In baseball’s early days, bookmakers plied their trade in the open, working the ballpark areas inside and outside, taking wagers.
The 1919 World Series may have, in the words of F. Scott Fitzgerald, destroyed the faith of 50 million people, about half the U.S. population then, but throwing baseball games was commonplace. As Emil “Happy” Felsch, a White Sox fixer, said, “Playing rotten ain’t that hard to do.”
Author Taylor explains that the dirty deeds had their inception in 1919, when the Cleveland Indians were in Detroit to face the Tigers. Neither the Indians nor the Tigers were going to win the pennant, but the Tigers were in a tight scrum with the Yankees for third place. In the dead ball era, a third-place finish meant a small share of the post-season loot for every Tigers’ member. The Indians had second place locked up. Cobb and Speaker, the respective managers of the Tigers and Indians, huddled prior to the September 25 game to iron out the details.
Speaker assured Cobb that he “wouldn’t have to worry” about the game’s outcome. The Cleveland team preferred, Speaker insisted, that Detroit finish in third. By virtue of that finish, the Tigers were likely to make about $500 for each player. Cobb, Speaker, Tigers pitcher Dutch Leonard and Indians pitcher Smoky Joe Wood all agreed to conspire in the fix.
Years later, Leonard confessed the four had agreed that since their post-season share would be small, they might as well wager on the game. Cobb was to put up $2,000; Leonard, $1,500, and Speaker and Wood $1,000 each. Cobb suggested park attendant Fred West would be a good man to place the bets. But because Detroit was a 10-7 favorite and because the local bookmakers were unwilling to handle such large sums, West only managed to get down $600 against the bookmakers’ $420.
The Tigers won the September 25 game 9-5, plating four runs in the first two innings. The Indians committed three costly errors, and Cleveland starter Elmer Myers – perhaps tipped off to the fix or maybe acting on his own whimsy – floated pitches to the plate for the Detroit batters. Speaker banged out three hits, all of them well after the Tigers had control of the game and the outcome was clear. No one is certain whether Cobb, Speaker or anyone else actually received money from their bets. The scant remaining evidence indicates that the wrongdoers may not have been able to place all the bets they hoped to.
That winter, Cobb, Speaker, Wood and Leonard went home, but the four men exchanged letters about the incident, sharing their regret that they were unable to get their bets down in time and that their shared proposition fizzled. The letters came back to haunt the four.
Several years later, the stench from the fixing incident wafted out. A vengeful Leonard wanted to settle a score with his former teammate, Cobb, now the Tigers manager. Once, Cobb kept Leonard in a 1925 game in which the southpaw surrendered 20 runs, and the manager mocked the idea that he yank his humiliated starter. Leonard never forgot, and the memory ate at him.
Cobb released Leonard, and insiders said Ty discouraged other American League teams from signing the lefty. Dutch stewed, and in May 1926 he presented the letters he received from Cobb, Speaker and Wood – the evidence – to Tigers owner Frank Navin who turned them over to American League President Ban Johnson. To keep a lid on the percolating scandal, Johnson paid Leonard $20,000 to go back to Fresno where he owned a farm, and focus on his raisin growing. At the season’s end, Johnson forced Cobb and speaker to resign. Eventually, however, the superstars appealed their cases to Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis who, sensing that the public and the baseball writers were solidly behind the diamond, absolved Speaker and Cobb, facts be damned.
Landis read the room correctly. Baseball bugs were fed up with scandal. At least five World Series – 1905, 1912, 1914, 1918 and 1919 – were rumored to have been influenced by game-fixers. And the 1923 Teapot Dome Scandal that implicated President Warren G. Harding – considered the greatest presidential scandal until Watergate – was still reverberating among the citizenry.
Cobb and Speaker played until 1928, Speaker for one year with the Washington Senators and one year with the Philadelphia A’s, and Cobb two years with the A’s.
Better to remember Cobb as one of baseball’s all-time greats, .366 career batting average with nine consecutive titles, and Speaker, the “Gray Eagle” who holds outfielder records for assists, double plays and unassisted double plays. Balls hit to center field where Speaker patrolled were considered the place where triples go to die.
Cobb, Speaker, Wood and Leonard got off the hook, and played into their 40s. Pete Rose, however, who holds MLB career records for 4,256 career hits, 3,215 career singles, 3,562 career games played, 14,053 career at-bats and 15,890 career plate appearances, was permanently banned for his gambling infractions. In life, good timing is invaluable.

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UAMS Housecall

By DR. BALA SIMON
Associate professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Q: How can diabetes be managed? A: Diabetes affects how the body uses glucose, or sugar. Food is broken down into sugar, which is released into the bloodstream. The pancreas releases insulin, which lets sugar into cells for energy. People with diabetes either cannot make enough insulin or their bodies do not use it effectively, which results in too much sugar remaining in the bloodstream. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 37 million Americans have diabetes. The three main types of diabetes are Type 1, Type 2 and gestational (diabetes during pregnancy). With Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas makes little or no insulin. Type 2 diabetes is when the pancreas does not make enough insulin, and the cells take in less sugar in response to any produced insulin. Gestational diabetes can affect pregnancy and the health of the baby. Diabetes can be managed through diet, exercise and medication. Carbohydrates have a large impact on blood sugar levels. Regular exercise helps the body use insulin, as the muscles use glucose for energy. Use medications as prescribed in diabetes management. Although it is a chronic condition, millions of individuals live with diabetes and lead productive lives. Contact your health care provider to develop a management plan.
Q: What is the role of a nurse practitioner? A: A nurse practitioner, also known as an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN), is a nurse with additional education and training. In most instances, nurse practitioners have a Master of Science in Nursing degree. Nurse practitioners can perform several functions similar to physicians, such as ordering laboratory tests or X-rays, managing other nurses, prescribing medications, and conducting physical exams. The nurse practitioner role was developed in response to a shortage of physicians and to create wider access to medical care. Depending upon the state, a nurse practitioner may operate without the supervision of a physician. This means a nurse practitioner can serve as a primary care provider and in effect have full authority to practice. Nurse practitioners and registered nurses (RN) have many of the same duties, which can include analyzing test results, conducting patient assessments, creating patient care plans, and treating wounds or other injuries. You may find a nurse practitioner in areas such clinics, colleges, hospitals, nursing homes and urgent care centers. The nurse practitioner is a key piece of the health care system, particularly in areas where there are too few physicians.
Q: What is COPD? A: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the term for various conditions that affect the lungs and make it difficult to breathe. Chronic bronchitis and emphysema are the most common of these conditions. COPD is a progressive disease during which patients’ lung function deteriorates over time. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 16 million Americans have COPD. Chronic bronchitis is the inflammation of the lining of the bronchial tubes, which carry air to and from the lung’s alveoli, or air sacs. Emphysema is the damaging of lung’s alveoli. The inner walls weaken and rupture, and the amount of oxygen reaching the bloodstream is reduced. Many people with COPD have both illnesses. Exposure to tobacco smoke, air pollutants and other respiratory ailments are some causes of COPD. Symptoms of COPD include chest tightness, coughing with mucus for an extended period of time, shortness of breath and wheezing. The effects of COPD cannot be reversed, but there are methods to slow the progression of the disease and manage the symptoms. Treatments and options include antibiotics for lung infections, medications to improve air flow through the lungs, using supplemental oxygen and quitting smoking. See your health care provider if you experience these or similar symptoms, which do not improve or get worse.
Q: How can I maintain healthy skin? A: The skin is the body’s largest organ. Made up of three layers (epidermis, dermis and hypodermis) the skin contains fats, minerals, protein and water. The skin regulates body temperature, acts as protection against germs, and houses blood vessels, hair follicles, and sweat and oil glands. The epidermis (top layer) is the protective barrier that makes new skin and provides skin color. The dermis (middle layer) supplies blood, grows hair, and contain nerves related to touch and feeling pain. The hypodermis (bottom layer) cushions bones and muscle, contains connective tissue and stores energy in the form of fat. Protection from the sun is one of the main ways to keep your skin healthy. Overexposure to ultraviolet light, from the sun or artificial sources such as sunlamps, is the most common cause of skin cancer. Quitting smoking, eating a healthy diet and avoiding strong soaps are other methods of maintaining healthy skin. Limit long, hot showers as they remove oils from the skin. Contact your health care provider if you experience issues such as an unexplained rash or a change in size, color or shape of a mole. You may be referred to a dermatologist, who specializes in treating skin conditions.

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Gifts with multiple functions and styles
By MELINDA MYERS

The holidays are quickly approaching and finding the perfect gift for those on your list can be challenging. With many people downsizing or striving for a minimalistic lifestyle, finding the perfect gift gets even more difficult. Gifting something that is unique, useful and provides multiple functions may be the solution.
Consider gifts that help family and friends on your gift list save time and space and support their lifestyle and hobbies. These are gifts that are more likely to bring delight than end up in the donation box.
Most people, whether downsizing or not, are looking for ways to organize what they have and save space. Storage bins are often the best solution and come in a variety of styles. Those like the Mod Hod work well for gardeners, crafters and those looking to organize their pantries. Gardeners can use them to harvest their produce, wash off the soil right in the garden, and bring them into the house to store. Crafters can organize their supplies and everyone can stack and store snacks, produce, and just about anything in these.
For a more traditional look, consider the Garden Hod of wood and vinyl-covered mesh. These were originally used by Maine clam diggers to hold and rinse their catch. Gardeners use it to hold and rinse their garden produce, while crafters transport their supplies to their workstations. Those who like to entertain can fill it with and display party supplies at any event.
Help the gardeners on your list keep their seeds organized. Most gardeners have lots of open packets of seeds, newly purchased seeds, and those they have collected from their gardens. It can be challenging to keep them stored properly, safe from rodents, and organized so they are easy to find for future gardens. Management of seed inventory also saves money by preventing the purchasing of duplicate seeds.
Consider a seed-saver kit for the gardeners on your list. Make one from a plastic bin and hand-crafted dividers. Or purchase one like the Deluxe Galvanized Seed Saver Kit for avid gardeners with lots of seeds who prefer a more industrial look. The minimalist on your list may prefer a Bamboo Seed Saver Kit that contains storage envelopes, glass vials and compartments to hold everything in place. Crafters and other hobbyists in the family will also find something like this useful.
Going vertical in the garden and at home is a great way to maximize every square inch. Reaching items on the top shelf may require a step stool. Consider one that also functions as a basket and stool like the Bamboo Garden Stool and Basket Combo (gardeners.com). This sturdy basket with comfortable handles makes carrying tools to the garden, produce back from the garden or any project supplies an easy task. Once you arrive in the garden or workstation, empty the contents and flip it over so you have a comfortable seat.
Gardeners that grow vertically have lots of stakes, trellises, and other items to support plants throughout the growing season. Leaving them in the garden for winter may not be an option. Stuffing them into a shed or garage can take up valuable space needed for other tools, equipment, and the car. Contain and organize these items with wall storage. Offer to help your gift recipient install hooks on the wall to keep these items organized and out of the way. Or gift them something like the Plant Support Wall Storage container that can be mounted on the wall and is designed to hold plant supports of various sizes and shapes.
Cooks and gardeners alike can always use a cutting board. Gifting one that has multiple functions like the Do-It-All Culinary Cutting Board may eliminate the need for multiple kitchen items. This cutting board has a built-in mortar and pestle, a chopped food compartment, and a knife sharpener on two sides.
And for the person who has everything or wants nothing more, a living gift is the perfect option. A basket of forced spring flowering bulbs can brighten anyone’s mood as they watch the plants grow and bloom.
Finding the perfect gift is a challenge but consider the joy it will bring. When you see the look on the recipient's face and the item in use, you’ll both benefit from your efforts.

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

While America’s rebels cobbled a navy to go up against Great Britain, the Continental Congress was composing a defense strategy comprised of privateers to defy them.
On November 2, 1777, John Paul Jones—then at the helm of the USS Ranger with a crew of 140---sailed from Portsmouth, NH to take the war to the enemy. According to History.com his destination was “the naval port at Brest, France, where [he would] stop before heading toward the Irish Sea to begin raids on British warships. This was the first mission of its kind during the Revolutionary War.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Evan Thomas’s John Paul Jones: Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy.

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On November 10, the U.S. Marine Corps will celebrate its 248th birthday.
History.com says “During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress passe[d] a resolution... ‘two Battalions of Marines be raised’ for service as landing forces for the recently formed Continental Navy. The resolution, drafted by future U.S. president John Adams and adopted in Philadelphia, created the Continental Marines, and is now observed as the birth date of the United States Marine Corps,”
That position conforms to their motto of Semper Fidelis— a promise--to be “Always Faithful.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends USMC: United States Marine Corps- A Complete History by Jon J. Hoffman.

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After decades of British persecution, American patriots found a way to govern themselves. On November 15, 1777, the Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation. It took more than four years--but--on March of 1781-- the last of the 13 states ratified the declaration.
History.com says “Patriot leaders, stinging from British oppression, were reluctant to establish any form of government that might infringe on the right of individual states to govern their own affairs. The Articles of Confederation, then, provided for only a loose federation of American states. Congress was a single house, with each state having one vote, and a president elected to chair the assembly. Although Congress did not have the right to levy taxes, it did have authority over foreign affairs and could regulate a national army and declare war and peace ... On March 4, 1789, the modern United States was established when the U.S. Constitution formally replaced the Articles of Confederation.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Professor George William Van Cleve’s We Have Not a Government: The Articles of Confederation and the Road to the Constitution.

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Never too old: Tips for entrepreneurial success in your 50s and 60s

By JAMES HAROLD WEBB

I want to be my own boss.
How many of you have entertained that thought throughout your working life? Chances are, many. Entrepreneurship has been riding a big wave in recent years, and the Great Resignation gave rise to a surge in start-ups.
Yet, a lot of people who dream of being their own boss, enjoying that independence and eventually selling their business for a lucrative sum, never take the leap, for a variety of reasons. One reason is it’s a lot of work with significant risk. It’s a bit too far out of their comfort zone. Another is they reach a point where they think they’re too old.
Well, if that’s you, think again. Even if you’re in your 50s or 60s, it’s never too late to pursue your entrepreneurial dream. A study shows people in those age brackets who start businesses succeed as well or better than younger entrepreneurs.
Older people who enter the entrepreneurial world have some advantages:
Life experience with the ups and downs. This prepares them to stay poised, focused and flexible during the inevitable roller coaster that entrepreneurship can be.
Leveraging relevant career experience. The number of years one spends in the same industry as the startup is predictive of the company’s future performance.
Tapping into a wide network. Over the decades they have built relationships with trusted advisors, friends, colleagues, and clients who can help with the planning, strategy and scaling of the business.
But while those assets bode well for those middle-aged and up who are considering embarking on the entrepreneurial journey, there are precautions that need to be followed before taking the leap:
Assess the risk. Business almost always involves financial risk. Some people are big gamblers; they take huge swings and strike out often in pursuit of a home run.
People like me approach risk from a different angle, as a calculation. If a risk is huge but comes with a big upside, I’m suspicious but interested. And I’ll follow that interest until the risk-to-reward relationship either becomes untenable or irresistible.
Vet your idea with trusted sources. Thoroughly research the market, including all the competition. What differentiates your product and/or services? Does what you offer solve a problem? Can you scale the business? And never forget the exit strategy. Does the business have the potential to create a significant windfall for you when you sell it?
Analyze your financial situation. Do you have the complete financial picture that is essential to affording the entrepreneurial opportunity, including the costs of daily operations and future upgrades, while providing you sufficient fallback insurance if the venture fails?
Bottom line: You don’t want to put big chunks of your retirement funds at risk. It may be tempting to tap into them, but as an older person you likely won’t have enough time to build your account back to where you need it for retirement.
Regarding your savings, it’s not wise to pour the majority into your new business. Failure rates of start-ups are high, so if you’re going to take the leap into entrepreneurship in your 50s or 60s, it’s advisable that you have a nice cushion in your savings – and not touch a big portion of it. That way you can land softly in the event the business doesn’t work out. Ideally, when starting a business you’ll have at least three years’ worth of savings that you can devote to expenses related to the business, while still leaving most of your savings untouched.
Other items on your financial checklist before starting a business: pay down debts and eliminate what you can, especially high-interest credit cards; minimize your overhead business costs and invest judiciously in the start-up-related items you need.
Be open to mentoring. Don’t be too old or proud to lean on the knowledge and guidance of someone who can help you. You’ve worked long enough to know that there are a lot of things you don’t know. Understand the value of expert advice. Seek out people who are already in the business you want to be in. Make connections in your field with people that you trust and respect. Those relationships are a great source of advice and inspiration. A trusted mentor will help you as you navigate the challenges
Be all in, but have a contingency plan. Hope for the upside, but plan for the downside. Nowhere is this more relevant than when you jump into entrepreneurship in a later stage of life. If you have a contingency plan and make it a priority to evaluate opportunities and decisions with this mindset, you’ll help yourself avoid a lot of unnecessary heartache and stress.
Be prepared, and prepare your family, for the time commitment. In the beginning of owning and running your business, being your own boss isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be. You may work double the hours you did weekly during your career working for someone else. It may take a few years before the business is running smoothly, and you have found reliable workers who can grow with the company, allowing you to delegate and basically let others run the daily operations. Until then, it can be a tough journey with a huge workload that impacts not just you, but your family, your health, and your lifestyle.
Don’t let your age stop you from starting a business. By having an idea that you and those you trust believe in, by planning properly, and by being prepared for everything from family dynamics to finances, you’ll give yourself the chance to live your long-held entrepreneurial dream.

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Manly-man contest
Boys will be boys, as the saying goes. And so can grown-up men be boys. The proof is in the Florida Man Games, an event scheduled to kick off on February 24 in St. Augustine, Florida. The organizers of this first of its kind macho competition say: “From wrestling in the mud to running from actual sheriff's deputies, The Florida Man Games™ is where the bizarre meets brawn and sanity is optional! This isn't just a competition; it's a one-of-a-kind Floridian spectacle!” Events include the Beer Belly Florida Sumo contest, an evading Arrest Obstacle Course and much more.

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He did it!
For sure, members of the “Old Timers United” club are cheering for 92-year-old Alfredo Aliaga who recently completed a grueling 24-mile Grand Canyon walkabout. It’s believed that he is the oldest challenger to attempt such an event and he did it in 21 hours. Alfredo cares not whether the judges at Guinness World Records declare him a champion, he liked his “walk in the park” so much so that he’s planning to do it again next year. "You cannot say, 'I am too old to do things.’ I am healthy and happy."

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A true fish story
The Alligator Gar is said to be the largest freshwater fish in North America. It can grow to be about eight feet in length and more than 300 pounds in weight. Angler Art Weston recently landed his Gar in Lake Sam Rayburn near Jasper, Texas. His trophy size eight-and-a-third feet long, 283 pound catch is said to be about 100 years old. His International Game Fish Association fishing guide, Captain Kirk Kirkland, declared that it “broke the world record, the all-tackle world record, which is the heaviest fish that's ever been caught of that species on any land class up to 130 pounds. We broke the line class record. We broke the Texas state record, and we broke the water body record."

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Medal of Honor: Army Tech. 5th Grade James K. Okubo
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News
When World War II began, Japanese Americans like James Kazuo Okubo weren't allowed to join the fight because of fears that were stoked by the Pearl Harbor attacks. When that finally changed, Okubo enlisted in the Army to prove his meddle as a medic. He was part of one of the most storied regiments in U.S. history and years after his death, received the Medal of Honor for his heroics.
Okubo was born May 30, 1920, in Anacortes, Washington, to Kenzo and Fuyu Okubo, Japanese Americans who were raising a big family. He and his five siblings grew up in Bellingham, Washington, less than an hour from the Canadian border, where their parents owned a restaurant. At some point, when one of his aunts died, the family took in four of his cousins and raised them as their own.
Okubo, who went by Jim, played football at Bellingham High School. After graduation, he attended Western Washington University (then a college), where he was a good student who was active in the ski and press clubs.
But then Dec. 7, 1941, happened, thrusting the U.S. into war. Suspicion and fear regarding Japanese Americans quickly grew to the point that they were considered enemy aliens, meaning they weren't allowed to join the service to fight.
Spotlight: Commemorating World War IIBy February 1942, an executive order required Americans of Japanese descent to live in internment camps scattered throughout the western U.S. Okubo, a sophomore, dropped out of college to help his family prepare for their forced move in July of that year. They were first sent to Tule Lake, California, before eventually being moved to Heart Mountain in Wyoming.
According to a Department of Veterans Affairs profile on Okubo, he kept busy while in the camp, working as a well-respected orderly and nurse at a hospital. The VA said he considered using a student leave program to get out of the camp and study dentistry, but when his father died in March 1943 and his mother grew ill, he changed his mind.
Around the same time, the government reversed its policy on Japanese Americans serving in the military, so Okubo enlisted in the Army to help support his family. Two of his brothers and two cousins also joined. All but one of them were assigned to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a segregated unit activated in February 1943 made up entirely of Japanese Americans who had volunteered from Hawaii and the internment camps. Okubo became a medic for the 442nd and was assigned the rank of technician 5th grade, a short-lived rank for enlisted soldiers who had special technical skills but weren't trained as combat leaders.
The 442nd trained at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, before deploying to Italy in June 1944, where its soldiers joined in combat with the 100th Infantry Battalion — the first Japanese-American Army unit to be activated in the war. They proved to be such good fighters that they were sent to France to continue the push to Germany.
By fall 1944, Okubo's unit was sent to the Vosges Mountains to help rescue what became known as the "Lost Battalion," a group of about 200 soldiers who had been cut off from their division in a forest near Biffontaine, France.
On Oct. 28, Okubo's company came under strong enemy fire from behind mine fields and roadblocks. His fellow soldiers were being wounded left and right, so Okubo crawled 150 yards to within 40 yards of the enemy lines to try to carry them back. He exposed himself several times to do this and, at one point, two grenades were thrown at him. Despite a constant barrage of enemy small arms and machine gun fire, he was able to treat 17 men for their injuries. The following day, as the attacks continued, he was able to aid eight more.
Then, about a week later, on Nov. 4, Okubo ran exposed 75 yards through machine gun fire to evacuate and treat a seriously wounded soldier who was in a burning tank. The man would have died otherwise.
For his bravery during that tumultuous time, Okubo was considered for the Medal of Honor. Instead, however, he was awarded the Silver Star, the third highest military medal for valor. According to the U.S. Army Center of Military History, his command mistakenly believed the Silver Star was the highest award allowed for a medic.
By the end of World War II, the 442nd RCT had earned more than 18,000 individual medals, making it one of the most decorated units in military history.
Meanwhile, Okubo's family remained at the internment camp for two years of his service. When he returned from war, they moved to Michigan. Okubo finished his undergraduate degree at Wayne State University, then got his dentistry degree from the University of Detroit, where he eventually taught once he started practicing.
In May of 1951, he married Nobuyo "Nobi" Miyaya in Detroit. They went on to have two sons and a daughter.
Sadly, Okubo died on Jan. 29, 1967, in a car accident while on a ski trip with his family near Flint, Michigan. His wife and children were also in the car and were injured, but they survived, according to the Bellingham (Washington) Herald newspaper. Okubo is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit.
In 1996, legislators called for a review of the service records of Asian-American service members from World War II who had earned the Distinguished Service Cross. They wanted to determine if any of those men had been passed over for the Medal of Honor due to discrimination of the time.
Spotlight: Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage MonthConsidering the 442nd RCT's record and decorations, the reviews did find that discrimination was a factor. While Okubo hadn't earned a Distinguished Service Cross, he was also considered for the upgrade.
On June 21, 2000, 33 years after his death, Okubo's widow accepted the Medal of Honor on his behalf from President Bill Clinton during a ceremony at the White House. Twenty-one other Japanese Americans who had been passed over for the nation's highest honor during their service days also received the medal.
The upgrade led to more honors for Okubo. In 2001, the Okubo Barracks at Brooke Army Medical Center on Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, was built in his honor. A year later, the Okubo Medical and Dental Complex was opened at Madigan Army Medical Center on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. The hospital's Okubo Soldier-Centered Medical Home is also named for him.
In June 2019, Okubo also received a posthumous honorary degree from the school where he began his college career, Western Washington University.

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How dogs, cats and other companion animals can be a source of inspiration to do good

In every home where a companion animal resides, there are countless tales of comfort, companionship, and unspoken understanding. The animals we live with, especially dogs, become family. We love them fiercely and are driven to do everything in our power to make them happy and keep them healthy and safe.
When we open our hearts to one animal, a transformative journey begins. This journey often starts with the infectious warmth of a wagging tail or the soothing purr of a contented feline, but it soon extends far beyond the walls of our home. One pet can become a gateway to a more profound love and understanding of an entire species or the broader animal world.
Dogs and other animals also have a unique way of simplifying complex emotions and motives, bringing clarity to human endeavors, and compelling us to act with compassion.
This is exactly what happened to us. First, decades ago when Christine was walking her beloved dog Kelsey, the two were hit by a speeding train. Kelsey had managed to pull them slightly off course, thus preventing a head-on collision and likely saving their lives.
When Christine awoke from her coma, her first words were, “How’s Kelsey?” Thankfully, though Kelsey had suffered a broken hip the day of the accident, she was to live until the age of fifteen, dying just a few days after Christine finished school in 2005. Facing terrible memory loss and physical disability, Christine realized she had to forego her TV dreams. But with these challenges came a new sense of purpose. She promised that if she should ever recover from her injuries and walk again, she would devote her life to helping dogs. She went on to become an animal activist, and met fellow animal activist Carey Theil. Together we founded GREY2K USA -- a non-profit organization battling to bring greyhound racing and its cruelties to an end.
In 2008, we saw a photo of a spotted greyhound from Australia named Brooklyn with large, expressive brown eyes who had been kept for years in a dark, empty concrete cell at the Yat Yuen Canidrome in China -- the worst greyhound racing track in the world.
Upon seeing a photo of Brooklyn, we fell instantly in love with him and decided we wanted to adopt him. It took almost 6 years of tireless advocacy work, but the love in our hearts, paired with the simple question, “would Brooklyn and the thousands of other dogs in his predicament want us to keep fighting?” kept us going, through obstacles, setbacks and failures.
Over the course of 20 years, we led a coalition of ordinary dog lovers in fighting the multi-billion dollar greyhound racing gambling industry — and won. Together we brought greyhound racing in the US to an end. In 2018, we achieved the closing of the Canidrome of Macau. Christine and Carey then airlifted over 500 surviving dogs to freedom, including Brooklyn, who came home to live with us.
After coming home, Brooklyn’s health was poor but we cherished every moment of the [3] short years he was with us. We nursed and cared for him, pouring the same energy we continue to pour into helping greyhounds everywhere into his care.
Whether it's a dog, cat, bird, or any other companion animal, their stories have the power to inspire, mobilize, and bring about lasting change. Through the pure, unconditional love between humans and pets, we find our purpose and the strength to persevere.

Christine Dorchak and Carey Theil are the co-founders of GREY2K USA Worldwide. An attorney, Christine specializes in pari-mutuel law and has drafted laws to successfully prohibit dog racing in several states and countries. She has been featured in national publications including the Huffington Post, Forbes, and American Dog. A long-distance runner, she has competed in seven Boston Marathons. Carey has decades of legislative experience and has been quoted in hundreds of news articles about greyhound racing published across the globe. In his free time, Carey volunteers for various non-profit organizations and is a National Master in chess. Their book, Brooklyn Goes Home: The Rise and Fall of American Greyhound Racing and the Dog that Inspired a Movement is now available.

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Feeling stressed? Make these changes to help find relief!

Fredericksburg Fitness Studio, a private personal training studio, is serving up stress-reducing tips

FREDERICKSBURG, Virginia – November 1st is National Stress Awareness Day, making it a great time to put this critical issue in the spotlight. According to the American Psychological Association, half of all adults polled say they have been impacted by stress in the last month. Moreover, around 37% of them report that when stressed, they can't bring themselves to do anything, leaving people feeling overwhelmed, burned out, and run down. Not only does the stress take a toll on the mind, but also on the body, making health conditions worse. The good news is that there are some diet and exercise choices we can make to help ease the stress.
"Short-term stress is fine and normal, but when you have a lot of stress in your life, it can do some damage," explains Jennifer Scherer, a registered dietitian nutritionist, medical exercise specialist, certified personal trainer, and owner of Fredericksburg Fitness Studio. “Chronic stress can lead to mental and physical health problems. It’s important to take even small steps toward helping to ease the stress.”
Many people are aware of doing things like meditation, journaling, or yoga to help ease stress, but they may need to learn the connection between what we eat and how stressed we feel. While making drastic changes or trying to change everything all at once may seem daunting, even making one or two lifestyle changes can significantly impact stress levels and, ultimately, health.
Here are some ways that diet and exercise help to ease stress:
The Mayo Clinic reports that regular physical activity can lower blood pressure, which helps reduce the heart's stress. Aiming for at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day is a good idea. Plus, exercising releases endorphins, which will help to ease stress and lead to a better state of mind.
Adding more fruits and vegetables to the diet can help reduce inflammation, which lowers disease risks and helps improve your gut microbiome. The October 2022 issue of the journal Molecular Psychiatry reported on a study to see if dietary changes that impacted the microbiome would lead to a shift in stress scores. They found that nutritional approaches can reduce perceived stress.
Eating whole foods can help to improve mental clarity compared to processed and high-sugar foods. According to Harvard Medical School, the foods best for the brain include fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. They recommend getting protein from plant sources and fish, drinking tea and coffee, and eating walnuts.
Drinking herbal teas and adding fresh herbs to your cooking can help to reduce stress. A study published in Complementary Therapies in Medicine concluded that lavender herbal teas can help reduce depression and anxiety.
Skip the artificial sweeteners. A study published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine reports that artificial sweeteners offer no nutritional value. Still, they increase the harmful gut bacteria, negatively impacting our mood and anxiety levels. The same study says that increasing the amount of fiber consumed can help reduce inflammation in the body and reduce depression, stress, and anxiety.
“We all want to feel better, but most of us don’t think about our diet as helping us to make it happen," Scherer added. "What we eat and our physical activity level play an important role in managing stress. We have helped many people to establish and stick to healthy eating and exercise routines, which helps to reduce stress levels."
As a registered dietitian, Scherer helps people improve their diet, plan for sustainable weight loss, and help people include healthier food choices. She and her team offer nutrition coaching services, wellness, personal training, in-home medical training, virtual personal training, and a Pilates reformer program, which features a versatile machine designed to provide resistance. It can be used when standing, sitting, or lying down. All workouts on it are custom-tailored for the individual to address their physical fitness concerns.

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How to make haggling a cultural experience… and fun!

In many parts of the world -- from Turkey’s bustling bazaars to Morocco’s souks to lively street markets in Asia, the Caribbean and South America -- travelers are bound to find themselves haggling with locals. Also known as bargaining or negotiating, haggling is a back-and-forth discussion between a buyer and a seller to agree on a price.
Haggling isn’t just about getting a great deal. It is an experience that’s cultural, engaging, and fun. When you learn to haggle well, it’s like a game where everyone wins. The prizes are memories and a souvenir that will remind you of the experience.
For many Americans, for whom this isn’t a tradition, haggling can be daunting. Some people don’t know how to start. They assume that the exchange will be like dealing with a used car salesman. They worry about being taken advantage of or having to deal with unpleasant aggressiveness by the seller. Other people feel, “I have more money than they do, I’ll just pay what they’re asking.”
Erase those ideas. In places where haggling is a part of the culture, sellers expect people to negotiate prices. If you feel you want to help support the economy, don’t bargain quite as hard, but do haggle. If you don’t, you are depriving both you and the seller of a fun encounter.
In Turkey, haggling is almost a national sport. When you step into a Turkish shop, you’re not just entering a store; you’re beginning a ritual.
Once, passing through the grand bazaar in Istanbul, I saw unusual and lovely silver boxes on display. The owner beckoned me in and before I’d even looked around, he offered me a cup of sweet apple tea. Nodding my agreement, he sent his assistant to fetch tea and biscuits. This hospitality is not to be rushed; it’s part of the tradition.
I started to look around, asking questions about the items on display. Where had they been made and when? Which were traditional designs? How long did it take to make them?
While we sipped tea from delicate glass cups, he took time to explain how, where and why the objects were created. He demonstrated some of the techniques. Then came the big question for me, which ones did I like? We were about to settle into some serious haggling.
Nonchalantly, I pointed to several items that were appealing, but didn’t indicate which one I liked best. An hour and another cup of tea later, he told me about his plans to visit relatives in Detroit. All the while, he flirted and joked as we bantered over the price of a few different boxes. Eventually we came to an amount we agreed was fair, and I came away with two intricate engraved silver boxes. His assistant polished them, then carefully wrapped them and placed them into a buttery soft cloth carrying bag.
When I exited, the seller gave me a hug. We both enjoyed our afternoon. It’s important to always keep in mind that haggling isn’t about winning; it’s about participating in the ritual.
This is just one of countless examples I’ve collected over my 5 decades traveling to over 95 countries, many of them numerous times. In Fes, Morocco, I spent an hour intermittently bargaining and chatting with a jewelry shopkeeper named Ahmed. He sat me down on a tooled-leather hassock and brought me one cup after another of mint tea so sweet it made my teeth ache. He complimented my blue eyes, commenting on how one necklace he showed me matched them, and would attract every man I met. After a long stretch pretending to be shocked at the prices he quoted, and offering lowball figures that shocked him in return, we had agreed on a number. I paid several dollars, plus after fetching a new outfit at my hotel, I would give him the blue knit shirt I was wearing for his wife.
I’ve learned that you don’t need to be fluent, but a few phrases in the local language can make haggling more engaging.
In Mexico, a simple “Cuánto cuesta?” (How much does it cost?) or “Puedes hacerme un descuento?” (Can you give me a discount?) has produced smiles and an interest in working with me. A small calculator is helpful to show the seller the price you’re offering.
In Taxco, a city renowned for silver, the first shop I entered had spectacular jewelry. I suspected the rings and earrings were out of my price range. When I asked the price for a simple ring, my suspicions were confirmed. Rather than engage in bargaining, I said a respectful “gracias,” and left. The jewelry in the next shop was nice, but nothing really caught my eye. Again, I said “gracias,” and left. Bargaining, if you know you are unlikely to buy anything, is considered rude. Understanding what’s socially acceptable -- and is not -- is an important part of making haggling a good cultural experience. So is knowing when to walk away.

A few tips for haggling:

Know a bit about the local pricing of the items you’re interested in. You can do this by doing some casual shopping before you settle into a negotiation.
Make sure you allot enough time to shop and haggle at a leisurely pace.
The starting price is always high, and unrealistic. It would shock the seller to actually receive it. To begin the bargaining process, offer the seller one-third of their beginning amount. Sellers know that isn’t realistic on your part. The true price lies somewhere in the middle.
While haggling is fun, it’s also a serious business for the seller. Don’t engage unless you are ready to purchase. If you are just asking to learn about local pricing, tell them you are just looking and not planning to buy at the moment.
Before you go into a shop, think about how much you are willing to spend. Set that as an upper limit and stick to it.
Leave enough time to negotiate. A friend who bought an expensive rug in Turkey told me she haggled for six hours. You wouldn’t spend that much time to buy an inexpensive item, but for a major purchase it will probably take many cups of tea and a lot of time.
Once you’ve agreed on a price, never go back on it. That is considered disrespectful.
Most of all, have fun.

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Social Security Matters
By RUSSELL GLOOR,
National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – My Birthday is on the First of the Month; When Should I Claim Social Security?
Dear Rusty: I will be 62 on November first and I have chosen to take my benefits early. I know that my benefit will be less than it would be if I waited and that does not concern me, but I don’t want to be without income for a long period of time. I know that if my birthday is on the first or second of the month, then I can draw that month. Does that mean that when I turn 62 on November 1st that I can receive my first check on the second Wednesday of November? And should I select November as the month I’d like my benefits to start? I also read that I would be paid the month following the month I select, hence my confusion. Signed: Confused Senior
Dear Confused: There are a few different Social Security rules which come into play in your specific circumstance which are likely creating your confusion. First, since you will be 62 on November first, you will first become eligible for Social Security starting with the month of November. Those born on the first or second of the month are eligible for benefits for that entire month, whereas those who turn 62 later in the month wouldn’t be eligible for benefits until the following month. To claim benefits, you must be 62 for the entire month and, because your birthday is on the first, your first month being 62 for the entire month will be November, and that is the month you should specify as your benefit-start month on your application.
The next thing to be aware of is that Social Security pays benefits in the month following the month those benefits are earned. That means that your November benefits will be paid in December. The exact payment date is determined by the recipients birthday – born before the eleventh of the month, SS payments are made on the second Wednesday; born between the eleventh and twentieth of the month, payments are received on the third Wednesday of the month; and for those born after the twentieth of the month, payment is received on the fourth Wednesday. Thus, since you were born on the first of the month and are claiming benefits to start in November, your first Social Security payment will be deposited in your bank account on the second Wednesday of December, and all subsequent Social Security payments will be made on that same second-Wednesday schedule.
You can apply for your Social Security benefits up to 4 months prior to the month you wish them to start, and SS recommends you apply at least 2 months prior to allow time for processing your application. On the application, they will ask which month you wish your benefits to begin, and you can indicate November to get your earliest possible payment in December. Actually, you can simply select the following option on the Social Security benefit application: “I want benefits beginning with the earliest possible month and will accept an age-related reduction,” which will accomplish the same thing.

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A heady delight
It’s a fact: you can get quite a headache if you drink too much wine. But balancing a bunch of wine glasses on your head can land you a page in the Guinness Book of World Records. In fact, Aristotelis Valaoritis, a native Cypriot, earned the coveted title recently when he managed to balance 319 wine glasses on his head while walking and dancing. It’s a talent that, over the years, has earned him the title of “glass dancer.” As he puts it, "I enjoy doing it. I see the spectators' faces full of tension and agony like they're watching a movie."

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Oooh!
It’s a baffling Halloween mystery that goes back some four decades: how do a pair of pumpkins suddenly and mysteriously appear on the clocktower spires of New Hampshire's Plymouth State University. According to the school’s website, “Just how they get up there is a well-guarded secret, and conjuring the best, if far-fetched, tale on how it happens is a favorite campus past time.”

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Hotter than hot
Hot pepper fans have long declared that the Carolina Reaper is the world’s hottest pepper. But the creator of the Reaper, Ed Currie, has officially outdone himself. He recently introduced a hotter than hot pepper -- Pepper X -- that both he, and the judges at the Guinness World Records, call the world’s hottest Chili pepper. Currie, the founder of Puckerbutt Pepper Company and who calls himself a “pepperaholic,” says his creation is registered at a whopping 2.69 million Scoville Heat Units [SHU] – about a million SHUs hotter than the Reaper.

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Medal of Honor: Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Daniel J. Daly
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News
Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Daniel Joseph Daly is the only enlisted member of the Corps to have earned the Medal of Honor twice. In fact, he's one of only two Marines to have earned that dual distinction at all. His never-give-up attitude and fighting spirit carried him through several conflicts and are still worthy of the highest praise today.
Daly was born Nov. 11, 1873, in Brooklyn, New York, to parents John and Ellen Daly. He had a sister named Mary and a brother named David, and the family eventually moved to Glen Cove on Long Island.
According to Marine Corps University, Daly was a fighter from an early age, likely due to his small stature: he was only 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighed about 132 pounds.
As a young man, Daly spent his time working as a struggling newsboy in Manhattan before enlisting in the Marines in 1899 at the age of 26. Soon after he finished training, he was shipped to China to serve in Peking during the Boxer Rebellion.
Holding the Line
By early August 1900, Daly's unit was stationed along the Tartar Wall, which was a defensive position south of the American diplomatic compound. Toward the middle of the month, intense enemy gunfire forced them from the fortification, but then-Pvt. Daly and Capt. Newt Hall managed to crawl back onto the wall to mount a defense.
On Aug. 14, Hall left to get reinforcements, leaving Daly by himself to hold the position. The young Marine single-handedly fended off repeated sniper attacks and about 400 soldiers who tried to storm the wall until backup arrived. His valor in action that day earned him his first Medal of Honor, which he received in December 1901.
Over his career, Daly's service included sea duty on several ships, which took him all over the world, including to Panama, Cuba, Mexico and Puerto Rico.
In March 1911, Daly was on the USS Springfield when he managed to put out flames from gasoline that had caught fire before the general alarm could be sounded. If the fire had continued, the powder magazines on the ship could have exploded. Daly received commendations from his commanding officer and the Secretary of Navy for his quick thinking.
More Acts of Honor
By the summer of 1915, a revolt in the Republic of Haiti had begun to jeopardize American lives and property, so Marine expeditionary forces were sent in to preserve order and begin "bush" warfare, as Marine historians called it. Daly was serving with the 15th Company (Mounted), 2nd Marine Regiment, and they were ordered to carry out extensive patrols into the country's interior to seek out revolutionary fighters known as Caco bandits.
At one point, several of Daly's comrades had been taken prisoner. He tunneled under the walls of the prison where they were being held, killed the guards and set his men free. However, what earned him a second Medal of Honor happened in October during a reconnaissance mission from Fort Liberte.
On Oct. 24, 1915, then-Gunnery Sgt. Daly and his detachment were crossing a river after dark in a deep ravine not far from Fort Dipitie when they were suddenly fired upon from three sides by about 400 Caco bandits, who had been hiding in bushes about 100 yards from the enemy-held fort. The surprised Marines retreated to higher ground and found a good position that they maintained throughout the night, despite being constantly fired upon.
At daybreak, Daly and two other Marines, then-1st Lt. Edward A. Ostermann and then-Capt. William P. Upshur, led three squads forward in different directions to surprise and scatter the Cacos. Their effort worked, and it was instrumental in capturing Fort Dipitie.
Daly, Ostermann and Upshur all earned the Medal of Honor for their actions that day.
The Valor Continues
Daly remained in the military through World War I, serving in the American Expeditionary Forces in France from November 1917 to late April 1919. He was injured twice while fighting in several major campaigns, including the bloody Battle of Belleau Wood in June 1918. During that fight, he put out a fire at an ammo dump that could have caused a disastrous explosion. Then, a few days later, he attacked and captured an enemy machine gun emplacement all by himself before rescuing several wounded comrades while under fire.
At Belleau Wood, when his Marines were outnumbered, outgunned and pinned down, the then-1st sergeant famously ordered an attack and leapt forward, shouting this battle cry to his beleaguered men: "Come on, you sons of bitches. Do you want to live forever?"
Daly's tenacity helped lead the Marines to clear the woods and win the battle for Allied forces. His actions earned him the Army Distinguished Service Cross and the Navy Cross. From the French Government, he also received the Medaille Militaire, the Croix de Guerre with Palm and the French Victory Medal with four clasps.
When the war ended, Daly served with American occupation forces in Germany.
Daly remained on active duty until September 1919, when he transferred to the Fleet Marine Corps Reserve. He then took a job on Wall Street as a bank guard, a position he held for 17 years. Daly officially retired from the Marine Corps on Feb. 6, 1929, and was advanced to the rank of sergeant major.
Humble Till the End
Daly was offered a commission many times throughout his 30-year career, but he always turned it down on the grounds that he would rather be an outstanding sergeant than "just another officer."
Daly was known to talk about the exploits of others who fought bravely, but when it came to talking about himself, he was always tight-lipped. Marine Corps University's biography of Daly said that while he was a natural for publicity, he "disdained it and disliked all the fuss made over him."
He never married.
According to a 1932 article in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Daly was hospitalized that year after having a heart attack. Two years later, on April 27, 1937, he died of heart disease at his sister's home in the Glendale area of Queens.
Daly is buried in Cypress Hills National Cemetery in Brooklyn. Both of his Medals of Honor are housed at the National Museum of the U.S. Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia.
In March 1943, the Navy commissioned the USS Daly in his honor. The ship was christened by his niece.
Daly continues to be known as one of the most decorated men to serve as a Marine. Nicknamed "Devil Dog" by many of his compatriots, he was described by famed counterpart Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler — the only other Marine Corps double Medal of Honor recipient — as "the fightingest man ever to serve with the Marine Corps."

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Gift an amaryllis for colorful winter blooms
By MELINDA MYERS

This holiday, give a gift that keeps giving and requires no dusting. Gift friends and family a beautiful amaryllis that is sure to generate smiles as they watch the bulb transform into beautiful blossoms.
Select unique varieties for the avid gardeners on your list. Double Dancing Queen has 8” blooms with layers of ruffled snow-white petals adorned with brushstrokes of scarlet red. The flowers of Evergreen amaryllis feature mint green petals, and Wild Amazone has long, recurved petals in a blend of brick-red, maroon, ivory, and pale green. Simply nestle the bulbs into decorative bags, as the recipients are likely to have their own containers and potting mix.
Consider gifting the DIYers on your list with a growing kit that includes all the essentials: pot, potting mix, decorative moss to cover the soil, and bulb. It’s everything they’ll need to plant, watch and grow an amaryllis.
New gardeners and those who claim to have a brown thumb will appreciate receiving a pre-planted bulb. You will enjoy the selection and planting process, and the recipient will get to enjoy the satisfaction of growing this no-fuss gift.
Plant the bulbs in a quality potting mix with the top half above the soil surface. Grow a single bulb in a pot that is seven to eight inches deep and five to six inches across with drainage holes. Or group several bulbs together in a larger container. After planting, water the potting mix thoroughly and place the container in a cool sunny location. Water sparingly until the bulb sprouts, which can take several weeks to a month or more.
Amaryllis may also be grown without any soil at all. Place several inches of pebbles in the bottom of a glass vase or watertight container. Cover the pebbles with water. Set the bulb on top of the pebbles, adding more stones around the bulb to hold it in place, but leaving the top one-third of the bulb exposed. Add water as needed, keeping it just under and not touching the bottom of the bulb.
Look for unique containers, baskets, or other items to showcase these beauties. Check out Longfield Gardens’ free downloadable Winter-Blooming Bulbs Inspiration Book for creative ways to display and decorate your home with amaryllis.
Grow a few extra bulbs so you can enjoy the long-lasting blooms as cut flowers. Wait until the buds are fully formed and soft to the touch. Cut the stems to the desired length and place them in a clean vase with fresh water. Secure the stems in place with colorful stones, ornaments, faux berries, or use a vase with a narrow opening.
Create a gift that lasts even longer with a selection of amaryllis bulbs that bloom at different times. Include early blooming bulbs grown in the southern hemisphere, such as Alaska with its double white flowers, Opal Star with its single sun bleach red blooms, and Cape Horn with jumbo rose pink flowers. Plant these bulbs in early November so your recipient has colorful blooms for the holidays.
Keep the color coming by gifting amaryllis from Holland and other areas in the northern hemisphere. These bulbs bloom from January through March, depending on the variety and when they are planted. Three or more varieties will provide months of midwinter flowers.
Remind your gift recipient to relax while waiting for their amaryllis to start growing. The bulbs don’t sprout until they’re ready, and it’s impossible to know exactly when that will be. Once the bud begins to emerge, the daily transformation is thrilling to watch.
Gifting amaryllis is sure to bring you and those on your gift list lots of joy. Order bulbs early for the best selection, gather needed accessories, and have fun preparing this unique holiday gift.

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A hungry thief

Who can resist a plate of lasagna; not this bear. It happened in Barkhamsted, Connecticut, at the home of Helena Houlis who was away at the time, but security cameras kept watch while she was out and automatically followed the brash bruin as it wandered into the kitchen. The bear went straight to the fridge, opened the freezer and absconded with the frozen, but tasty treat. As Miss Houlis put it to reporters at WVIT-TV, "We have seen a lot of bears in the last few years, but nothing ever like this."

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‘Joy of joys’

Ernie on Sesame Street loved his rubber duckie; it was his “joy of joys,” as he put it. Likewise, Charlotte Lee up in Seattle loves rubber duckies so much that she has – so far – collected 5,631 of them to date. It was enough to get the attention of the judges at the Guinness Book of World Records who have declared it to be the largest rubber duckie collection on the planet. But that’s not enough for Ms. Lee to stop now. She told the guys at Guinness that her collection is still growing.

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Don’t hold your breath

Twenty-two-year old Jovante Carter hails from New Orleans but he secured his page in the Guinness Book of World Records in Milan, Italy where he pulled his lower lip over his nose for 62 seconds. It’s a long amount of time to go without breathing, enough to win the prize formerly held by China’s Shuquan Tang who held his breath for just 53 seconds. As Guinness judge Marco Frigatti explained, "when performing this trick with the face, you can't breathe. Effectively you need to suspend your breath, and also all the muscles involved get really tired."

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Enjoy apples now and for months to come

By MELINDA MYERS

We’ve all heard an apple a day keeps the doctor away. But did you know an apple before grocery shopping means you will buy more fruits and vegetables?
Researchers at Cornell University found that people who ate a healthy snack before grocery shopping purchased 25 to 28% more produce than those who ate a cookie or nothing at all before heading to the store.
Take advantage of apple season to incorporate this healthy habit into your lifestyle. Have an apple or other healthy snack before your next trip to the grocery store. Your healthier mindset will have you filling your cart with more fruits and vegetables.
Then tantalize your taste buds by trying some new-to-you apple varieties. You’ll find a wide variety at farmer’s markets, orchards, and retailers this time of year. Many offer samples and provide recipes and recommendations for the best snacking, baking, and processing varieties. Or buy a collection of apples and conduct your own taste test.
Extend your enjoyment with proper storage. Use bruised, cut, or damaged fruit as soon as possible and only store apples that are firm and blemish-free.
Mature apples store best in temperatures between 32 and 39 degrees with 95% humidity. Providing ideal storage conditions is not always possible. Maximize their storage life by placing apples in perforated plastic bags in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator. The plastic bag helps increase the humidity around the fruit while allowing air to flow through the holes.
If refrigerator space is limited, consider preserving some of the apples. Make them into sauce or apple pie filling for canning. Peel, chop, cook and dry apples into fruit leathers for snacking. Make and freeze apple pies for a quick and easy dessert to simply bake and serve when needed.
Then add some fun by converting a few apples into apple heads. This native American tradition was picked up by the settlers and is now a part of American folk art. All you need are a couple of apples, ½ cup lemon juice, 2 Tablespoons salt, a bowl of water, a pencil, and a knife.
Mix salt and lemon juice in a bowl of water and set aside. Peel the apple and core it, if you want to place it on a stick or prefer a long droopy face. Draw the outline of the face then carve the features into the apple.
Soak the carved apple in the bowl of salty lemon water for about ten minutes. Set on a cooling rack or hang the apples in a warm place to dry. Apples are ready when spongy or leathery to the touch.
Add a few details to the apple head by inserting beads for the eyes and rice for the teeth. Use it as a head for a doll or place it on a stick and add it to your Halloween decorations.
Take advantage of apple season to find new ways to include apples in your diet. You’ll enjoy the diversity of flavors and many uses this healthful fruit provides.

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Medal of Honor : Navy Gunner's Mate 1st Class Osmond Ingram
By KATIE LANGE
When a torpedo came toward Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Osmond Kelly Ingram's ship in World War I, he knew he had to do whatever he could to save lives. Ingram couldn't keep the ship from being hit, but he did succeed in saving others – just not himself. That extraordinary sacrifice earned him the Medal of Honor.
Ingram was born on Aug. 4, 1887, in Oneonta, Alabama, to parents Robert and Naomi Ingram. He had three siblings, and his family owned a lot of land in the area, which Ingram grew up farming.
At some point, the family also lived in Pratt City, outside of Birmingham. That's where Ingram enlisted in November 1903, signing up to be an apprentice seaman. The young man decided to make a career out of it, staying in the service for more than a decade before World War I would put him to the ultimate test.
On Oct. 15, 1917, about six months after the U.S. joined the Great War, Ingram was serving as a gunner's mate on the USS Cassin, a destroyer that was about 20 miles off the southern coast of Ireland. The crew had been searching for a German U-61 submarine.
The book "Blue Jackets of 1918" by Willis J. Abbot said target practice had just ended, and Ingram was cleaning his gun when he saw a torpedo coming directly at them.
Ingram realized that the torpedo was going to strike the boat's rear deck, the aft, in the vicinity of its depth charge storage area, so he bolted in that direction in hopes of releasing the highly explosive charges into the water before the torpedo got there. If the torpedo did strike that area, the whole ship likely would have exploded.
Ingram began to hurl the depth charges overboard, but unfortunately, the torpedo struck the ship before he could complete his mission. It did, indeed, set off the depth charges in a blast that killed Ingram and blew him overboard.
However, Ingram's sacrifice saved lives. While nine other sailors were injured, no one else was killed. If Ingram hadn't gotten a critical number of depth charges off the ship, the explosion would have likely been much larger and would have led to many more casualties.
While the Cassin's stern was heavily damaged and its rudder had been blown off, about an hour after the torpedo hit, the ship still managed to fire at the U-boat when it surfaced, forcing the Germans to abandon their attack. The Cassin was later towed to a naval base at Queenstown, Ireland, where it was repaired and returned to service.
Ingram was the first Navy enlisted man to be killed in action during World War I. His body was never recovered. To memorialize him, his name is listed on the Brookwood American Cemetery's Wall of the Missing in Brookwood, England.
Ingram was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in November of 1920, according to the newspaper Birmingham (Alabama) News. His medal can be found at the Birmingham Museum of Art in Birmingham.
Ingram's sacrifice has been honored in many ways since his death. In the 1920s, Camp Ingram at San Diego's Naval Training Center was named for him. It's now known as Ingram Plaza. The USS Osmond Ingram also became the first Navy ship to be named for an enlisted sailor. It was in service from 1919 to 1946.
In 2011, nearly 100 years after his death, Ingram was inducted into the Alabama Military Hall of Honor.

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize
Showing our children that their past is prelude to their future.

On October 16, 1973, Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, received the Nobel Peace Prize for his part in ending the Vietnam War. He was to share it with Le Duc Tho, but the Asian diplomat turned it down, because the conflict—still in process—would not end—until April 30, 1975.
Meanwhile, the peripatetic Kissinger just celebrated his 100th birthday on May 27th, and, as the Associated Press said, “in recent years [he] has continued to hold sway over Washington’s power brokers as an elder statesman. He has provided advice to Republican and Democratic presidents, including the White House during the Trump administration, while maintaining an international consulting business through which he delivers speeches in the German accent he has not lost since fleeing the Nazi regime with his family when he was a teenager.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Kissinger: A Biography by Walter Isaacson.

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On October 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy revealed to a stunned country that the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) had installed a military outpost in Cuba—90 miles away. As he said in a televised speech, “within the past week, unmistakable evidence has established the fact that a series of offensive missile sites is now in preparation on that imprisoned island. The purpose of these bases can be none other than to provide a nuclear strike capability against the Western Hemisphere.”
About a week earlier, according to History.com, “President Kennedy secretly convened an emergency meeting of his senior military, political, and diplomatic advisers to discuss the ominous development. The group became known as ExComm, short for Executive Committee. After rejecting a surgical air strike against the missile sites, ExComm decided on a naval quarantine and a demand that the bases be dismantled and missiles removed. On the night of October 22, Kennedy went on national television to announce his decision. During the next six days, the crisis escalated to a breaking point as the world tottered on the brink of nuclear war between the two superpowers.”
The Grateful American Book Prize endorses Norman H. Finkelstein’s Thirteen Days/Ninety Miles: The Cuban Missile Crisis.

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In 1959, “John Glenn, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps, was among the seven men chosen by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)…to… become one of America’s first astronauts. A decorated pilot, he had flown nearly 150 combat missions during World War II and the Korean War…” according to History.com.
At 41—in 1962--Glenn was the first of the “group” to circle the Earth- and be was hailed as a national hero. Thirty-six years later, the then Senator repeated the trip at 77, and became “the oldest human ever to travel in space. During the nine-day mission, he served as part of a NASA study on health problems associated with aging.”
Glenn passed away on December 8, 2016, at the age of 95.
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends The Last American Hero The Remarkable Life of John Glenn by Alice L. George.

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Social Security Matters
By RUSSELL GLOOR,
National Social Security adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – How Will My Wife’s Social Security Be Affected by her Teacher’s Pension?

Dear Rusty: My wife, born in 1960, was a Texas school teacher for about 10 years and receives a $1,000 per month pension from that work. She didn’t pay into Social Security while teaching, but she paid into it for about 23 years while working elsewhere. I paid into Social Security my entire life, the maximum in most years, so my SS benefit will be much greater than hers.
I understand there are some sort of penalties or restrictions on my wife’s Social Security benefits and also for spousal benefits due to her school pension. Please share the process I can use to estimate my wife’s Social Security and tell me if she can file for spousal benefits. Signed: Planning for the Future

Dear Planning: Because your wife has a Texas school teacher pension earned without contributing to Social Security, any SS benefits she is entitled to will be affected by two rules – first, by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) which will reduce her personally earned Social Security retirement benefit and, second, by the Government Pension Offset (GPO) which will reduce any spousal boost (if she is entitled to one) to her own benefit.
The amount of the WEP reduction to your wife’s personal SS retirement benefit will be computed using a special formula which considers the number of years she has contributed to Social Security through other (non-state) work. Since your wife became eligible for Social Security benefits in 2022 the maximum WEP reduction with 23 years contributing to SS will be $358. If your wife has already obtained an estimate of her Social Security retirement benefit, deduct $358 from that estimate and that will be pretty close to her actual SS retirement benefit when she claims. Social Security will figure out the exact amount of her WEP reduction when your wife applies, but you can also use Social Security’s “WEP Calculator” for an estimate, which you can find at this link: www.ssa.gov/benefits/calculators/.
Whether your wife will be entitled to a “spousal boost” to her own Social Security retirement benefit depends on how your respective FRA entitlements compare, and the GPO. The base amount of your wife’s spousal boost will be the difference between her pre-WEP FRA entitlement and 50% of your FRA entitlement. If your wife’s normal FRA entitlement is less than 50% of your FRA entitlement, the difference is a “spousal boost” added to your wife’s personal SS retirement benefit. However, that base spousal boost will be reduced if taken before your wife reaches her FRA, and even further reduced by the GPO (the GPO reduction will be 2/3rds your wife’s State of Texas pension, e.g., about $667). Any remainder left after these reductions to your wife’s spousal boost will be added to her own WEP-reduced SS retirement amount, but if the remainder is $0 then no spousal boost will be given, and your wife will get only her WEP-reduced Social Security retirement amount.
FYI, Social Security’s WEP and GPO provisions apply to anyone who has a pension earned without contributing to Social Security, including many public service retirees in the 26 states which do not participate in the federal Social Security program. I’ve published numerous articles about how these rules affect benefits, and also about the rationale behind both provisions, which you are welcome to review at this AMAC Foundation website: www.SocialSecurityReport.org.

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Plant a few trees for you and the bees

By MELINDA MYERS

Fall is a great time to add trees to your landscape. Not only do they provide shade, remove pollutants from the air, and help manage stormwater; but many also provide food for bees. Keep this in mind when selecting and planting new trees in your yard now and in the future.
Fruit trees are probably the first “bee” trees that come to mind. These spring flowering trees provide nectar and pollen many native bees, bumblebees and honeybees prefer. They also provide food and habitat for songbirds and other wildlife and fruit for us to enjoy. Many are grown on dwarfing rootstocks, allowing small-space gardeners the opportunity to grow these in their gardens and containers. Just make sure the plants selected are hardy for your location and have the varieties needed for pollination and fruit formation to occur.
Don’t overlook the North American native maples that bloom in early spring before most other plants are flowering. Their nectar and pollen provide a welcome food source for native bees and honeybees. Select the maple best suited to your growing conditions and available space.
Another spring bloomer is black tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica). Its highly prized honey is made by bees visiting the black and water tulepo (Nyssa aquatica). Black tupelo, also known as black gum or sour gum is hardy in zones 4 to 9 and is an excellent tree for supporting wildlife as well as bees. Water tupelo is a favorite of beekeepers and can be found growing in rivers or coastal swamps but is seldom seen in home landscapes.
Serviceberries (Amelanchier) are a four-season plant with spring blooms, fall color, and attractive bark in winter. These, along with crabapples and hawthorns, are popular ornamental landscape plants with flowers that support pollinators and fruit for the songbirds. Always look for disease-resistant cultivars when selecting the best crabapple for your garden.
The North American native yellowwood (Cladrastis kentukea) is a medium-sized shade tree with attractive spring flowers. It provides winter interest in the landscape, nesting sites for songbirds, and high-quality pollen for bees and other pollinators.
Boost your summer garden’s bee appeal with the addition of sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum), also known as Lily of the Valley tree and sorrel tree. The fragrant and showy flowers appeal to bees and other pollinators. Its ornamental fruit capsules feed songbirds while adding ornamental interest to the fall foliage display and winter garden.
End the season with a burst of fragrance and nectar-rich flowers for the bees, monarch butterflies, and other pollinators with the addition of the seven-son flower tree (Heptacodium miconioides). Once the flower petals fade and drop, the colorful calyx remains adding a vivid cherry red to rose-purple color to the fall landscape. The exfoliating bark adds year-round interest and texture to the garden.
These are just a few of the many bee-friendly trees suitable for home gardens. Try to include a variety of trees so your landscape provides needed nectar and pollen throughout the season or those that fill the flowering voids in your existing landscape.
Don’t worry if you have no time to plant trees this fall. Take advantage of the winter to do a bit more research on the best trees for your garden. Then locate potential planting spots with space to accommodate the tree’s mature size and the right growing conditions to help it thrive. Visit your local nursery in early spring and get started planting.

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Whoa there
Andrew O'Connor was enjoying a bike ride on a narrow dirt road near the town of Knock, England when he encountered a herd of cows headed his way. Trapped between two stone walls, he feared the worst. A farmer, presumably the owner of the bovine flock, saw his dilemma and shouted out, showing him how to confront and stop the herd by holding his hands up high and shouting “stop.” It worked and the whole event was caught by a video camera on his handlebars. He told ABC News that he learned a lesson: "Fake it until you make it, just put a brave face on."

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An unlikely support animal
Joie Henney was looking forward to attending a baseball game recently between Pennsylvania baseball rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Pittsburgh Pirates. He brought his licensed emotional support animal with him; he has had Wally for some seven years. But the powers that be were apparently antsy to have his support animal in attendance. Henney’s therapy pet happens to be an alligator.

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Pick the fattest bear week
There were fears that Alaska’s annual Fat Bear Week would get shut-down this year due to a potential government shutdown. However, a 45-day federal funding agreement was reached and the celebration was held as usual in Katmai National Park. Fat Bear Week is all about picking the fattest bruin just before the mammals settle in for the season to be sleeping. According to the Katmai park, "Over the course of the week, virtual visitors learn more about the lives and histories of individual bears while also gaining a greater understanding of Katmai’s ecosystem through a series of live events hosted on explore.org."

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Medal of Honor: Army Cpl. Robert H. Young
By KATIE LANGE
Army Cpl. Robert Harley Young was only 22 when he lost his life in Korea, but he did so courageously while trying to save the other members of his unit from complete annihilation. His valor and selflessness earned him a posthumous Medal of Honor.
Young was born on March 4, 1929, in Oroville, California, to parents Melvin and Dorothy Young. When he was still a child, Young's family moved him and his siblings to Chico and then Vallejo, California.
According to a June 2000 article in the Sacramento Bee, Young's relatives described him as "military crazy," and said he grew a mustache and lied about his age so he could join the Army in 1946. They said he spent part of his first tour of duty guarding famed Army Gen. George C. Marshall during a trip to Moscow.
Young re-enlisted in 1949, according to the Bee, and was eventually sent to Korea to serve with Company E of the 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division.
Stopping for Nothing
By October 1950, the 1st Cavalry Division had begun to close in on North Korea's capital city, Pyongyang. On Oct. 9, Young's company spearheaded a battalion drive north of the North Korean city of Kaesong when they were suddenly attacked by a devastating barrage of enemy mortar and automatic weapons fire. The assault wounded Young in the face and shoulder, and it quickly inflicted heavy causalities on his comrades.
Young, however, refused to be evacuated. He stayed in position and continued to fire at the enemy until he was hit again. While he waited to get first aid near the company's command post, the enemy tried to envelop their team. So, Young gave up on getting medical treatment and went back to an exposed position, where he managed to kill five enemy soldiers. During the firefight, he was hit a third time by a bullet that knocked him to the ground and destroyed his helmet.
Later, when tanks moved forward to support the company, Young remained in place to direct tank fire, which destroyed three enemy gun positions and helped the company advance.
Young was wounded a fourth time, this time by a mortar burst. However, he offered first aid to other injured comrades instead of himself and refused to be evacuated until everyone else was.
Young's leadership and valiant actions inspired his comrades and helped his company get out of the situation. Unfortunately, according to a 1956 Enterprise-Record newspaper article out of Chico, California, every man in Young's platoon was either killed, wounded or captured.
Young himself died from wounds he suffered during the battle on Nov. 5, 1950. He was posthumously upgraded to the rank of corporal.
On June 21, 1951, Young's father received the Medal of Honor on his son's behalf from Army Gen. Omar N. Bradley at a Pentagon ceremony. His entire family had been flown to Washington for the occasion, the Enterprise-Record said.
Young is buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California.
Leaving a Legacy
While Young was deployed to Korea, his family said he noticed a lot of homeless children, so he did his best to help them. According to the Sacramento Bee, Young spent a lot of his spare time helping dozens of orphans get necessary supplies and find shelter living at a place that later became known as Boys Town Korea, Sung Sim Won.
After Young died, a monument was erected at the orphanage in his honor. The city of Vallejo also held a Robert H. Young Day to remember him in which residents collected clothing and other donations to send to the orphanage.
Young's work with the children was so influential that his sister, Marjorie, later went to the orphanage and adopted a son, according to the Sacramento Bee. The boy's new parents named him Robert.

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Food and Mood

MILWAUKEE, WI – In an individual’s lifetime, there are occurrences that lead to stress. Whether it’s due to relationships, work, financial situation, or other stressors, people spend time worrying. At times, stress can feel like a constant.
It’s easy to turn to food when feeling down. This is called emotional overeating, or eating to squash feelings of sadness, fear, anger, boredom, loneliness, and/or stress. It often comes in a form of binge eating, eating whatever is around, sometimes without even realizing it.
Not only is emotional overeating harmful when trying to lose weight, but it can quickly become a pattern that’s hard to break. For example, you feel stressed, so you turn to junk food. Then you feel guilty about it, and that leads you to emotionally overeat. The whole cycle starts over again. So how do you break free?
The following suggestions are from TOPS Club, Inc. (Take Off Pounds SensiblySM), the nonprofit weight-loss support organization, with a “Real People. Real Weight Loss.®” philosophy that encourages its members to make lifestyle changes that last a lifetime.
Keep a food and mood diary
Start writing down what you eat, when you eat, and how much you eat. Also jot down how you felt before, during, and after you ate. As this becomes a habit, you may start to notice patterns between food and your mood. For example, you might see a common pattern of eating poorly after a long day at work.
Check in with yourself
Before you reach for that bag or chips or bowl of ice cream, wait a few minutes. While you wait, be honest with yourself about how you’re feeling. What’s going on emotionally? This allows you to recognize why you’re eating and might help you to think twice.
Substitute eating for healthier habits
One cause of emotional overeating is boredom. To nip boredom in the bud, try another activity to keep you busy. Read a book, go for a walk, call a friend, listen to music, or play with your pet.
Give yourself grace
If you slip up and overeat, forgive yourself and begin again the next day. Think about how you might try to avoid a similar situation but be sure to focus on the steps forward you’ve already made. Give yourself some credit for trying to establish better eating habits.
Join a support group
Lean on family and friends when you’re feeling down. Most TOPS members feel supported by their fellow peers and attribute their weight loss to the support of their fellow chapter members.
About TOPS®
TOPS Club Inc. (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) is the original weight-loss support and wellness education organization. Founded in 1948, TOPS is the only nonprofit, noncommercial weight-loss organization of its kind. TOPS promotes successful weight management with a “Real People. Real Weight Loss.®” philosophy that combines support from others at weekly chapter meetings, healthy eating, regular exercise, and wellness information.

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The Year-Round Currency of Kindness

In a world often defined by divisions and disparities, the concept of kindness emerges as a beacon of hope, transcending the boundaries of wealth and status. It serves as a timeless reminder that kindness is not confined to any particular season; it's a year-long virtue that can transform our lives and society as a whole.
In our fast-paced lives, kindness can sometimes take a backseat. We often find ourselves caught up in the hustle and bustle, where success is measured by wealth and social status. The problem lies in the fact that this mindset can create stark divides, maintaining inequality and supporting social hierarchies.
The Power of Small Act:
Kindness thrives in the simplest gestures. Small acts like holding the door for a stranger, helping someone in need, or offering a genuine smile are the building blocks of a more compassionate society. These acts cost nothing but can have a profound impact on individuals and communities.
It's in these small acts that the realization dawns upon us - kindness isn't about material wealth or social standing; it's about the currency of the heart.
Kindness as a Social Equalizer:
Wealth and status may create divides, but kindness operates as a social equalizer. Think of a volunteer event where individuals from various backgrounds converge to support a common cause. In that shared mission, wealth and status fade into the background as kindness unites hearts and minds.
A Path to Empathy:
Empathy, the ability to understand and share the feelings of others, is a cornerstone of kindness. It fosters a culture of understanding, compassion, and inclusion. Empathy enables us to see beyond wealth and status, connecting with people on a deeper, more profound level.
The Domino Effect:
Kindness, like a ripple in a pond, creates a domino effect. When one person performs a kind act, it inspires others to do the same. This chain reaction can lead to a groundswell of kindness that transcends wealth, status, and permeates every corner of society.
Encouraging Acts of Kindness:
To transform society through kindness, it's essential to encourage and promote acts of kindness at every level. Schools, workplaces, and communities should prioritize kindness education and create environments that nurture empathy and compassion.
In schools, for instance, kindness programs can teach children the value of empathy and the importance of treating others with respect. Such initiatives not only foster kindness at a young age but also set the foundation for a more inclusive and compassionate society.
Similarly, in workplaces, corporate social responsibility programs can encourage employees to engage in acts of kindness, such as volunteering or supporting charitable causes. This not only improves the workplace culture but also extends the positive impact into the community.
Overcoming the Fear of Vulnerability:
One of the barriers to kindness can be the fear of vulnerability. In a society that often values strength and independence, showing kindness can be seen as a sign of weakness. However, the reality is quite the opposite.
In a world where divisions persist, kindness stands as a unifying force, reminding us of our shared humanity and the potential for positive change that exists within each of us.
By recognizing the intrinsic value of kindness, promoting empathy, and encouraging acts of compassion, we can work together to build a more equitable, inclusive, and harmonious society.
Let's choose kindness today and watch it transform our world year-round.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kyle Poehls is a Marine Corps veteran whose life took a dramatic turn after surviving two comas during his military service. Born in 1985, he found his passion for writing in the final years of his service, and despite facing numerous seizures and another coma just before his planned exit, he persevered. In March of 2017, he began crafting "FROM NICHOLAS TO CHRISTMAS," a tale about the early life of Santa Claus. Today, with a reinvigorated outlook on life, he embodies the belief that every day should be lived as if it were the last.

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Cutting and enjoying fall perennial flowers
By MELINDA MYERS

Bring a bit of your fall garden indoors. Many of your fall flowering perennials make great cut flowers to enjoy in arrangements for your home and bouquets to share with others.
Harvest your flowers early in the morning whenever possible. This is when they are fully hydrated, helping to extend their vase life. Early evening is the next best time, but any time you need to cut your flowers will work.
Take along a clean bucket of water and a sharp pair of bypass pruners or snips to the garden. Immediately place the flowers in the water to help prolong their vase life.
Picking flowers at the right stage for the variety you are cutting is important to ensure the flowers showcase their best display and will last the longest in your arrangements. In general, spike-type flowers should be harvested when one-fourth to one-half of the individual flowers on the spike are open. Daisy-type flowers like rudbeckias, coneflowers, Heliopsis and Helenium are harvested when the flowers are fully open.
Asters and golden rods make a great combination in the garden as well as a vase. Harvest the golden rod as soon as the flower color is visible with half of the individual flowers in the cluster open. Look for and pick asters when one-fourth of the flowers in the cluster are open to enjoy them for as many as 7 to 12 days.
The native Agastache, you may know as lavender or anise hyssop, is a pollinator favorite and makes an excellent addition to flower arrangements. Wait for one-half to two-thirds of the flowers on the spike to open before picking. With proper harvesting and care, these flowers can last 6 to 10 days in your arrangement.
Watch as the individual flowers on the Liatris spike open from the top down. Harvest these when less than half of the flowers at the top of the spike are open and the remainder are in bud.
Once rudbeckias and coneflowers shed their petals, which are actually non-fertile ray flowers, the remaining seed heads still make an attractive addition to fall bouquets. Don’t overlook the wispy seed heads and foliage of ornamental and native grasses growing in the garden. These can be harvested at any time after the seed head emerges and last about a week.
Consider adding a few seed pods for added fall flare in your bouquets. The pods of native baptisia and milkweed as well as Siberian iris are a few to try.
Condition fresh flowers before arranging to further extend their vase life. Set the flowers in tepid water and place them in a cool place out of direct sunlight for at least several hours and preferably overnight before arranging.
Recut the stems on a 45º angle to the desired length when creating your arrangements. The angled cut prevents stems from sitting flat on the bottom of the vase, exposing more surface area to absorb water. Remove the lower leaves that would otherwise end up submerged in the water in the vase. Foliage in the water encourages microbial growth that can shorten the vase life of your cut flowers.
Always use a clean vase filled with fresh water. Add a floral preservative to the water to further extend the vase life of your flowers. Change the water often to keep flowers looking good for as long as possible. Remove individual flower stems as they fade and rearrange the remaining ones that still look fresh. Recut the stems as needed to keep the flowers absorbing water and lasting longer.
Add your own perennial flower favorites and evaluate how they perform as cut flowers. Make a few notes on those that worked well and do a bit of research to improve the vase life of those that did not. Even a short-lived arrangement will generate a smile and brighten your mood when bringing a bit of your garden indoors.

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Social Security Matters
By RUSSELL GLOOR,
National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – How Do Disability Programs Affect Social Security’s Budget?

Dear Rusty: I read with interest an analysis of the history, reasons, and financial costs of the SSI (Supplemental Security Income) and SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) programs. My question is, specifically, what portion of the Social Security budget goes toward SSI and SSDI vs. for regular SS retirement income for those who paid into the fund during their working lives? How are the costs of SSI and SSDI covered by the federal government? When did these two sections of the budget enter the law and what was the impetus behind them? Signed: An Inquiring Mind

Dear Inquiring Mind: No part of Social Security’s “budget” is used to pay SSI (Supplemental Security Income). SSI is a means-tested general assistance program for disadvantaged children and needy disabled adults and aged seniors who have very little income and very few assets. Federal SSI benefits are paid from the government’s General Treasury, not from Social Security Trust Funds. SSI is jointly administered by the person’s state of residence and the Social Security Administration, and the state usually provides additional benefits to supplement the financial assistance provided by the federal government under the SSI program. The Social Security Administration only administers the SSI program, it does not fund it.
By contrast, SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) benefits are for employed Americans who become disabled and unable to work full time. SSDI benefits are meant to provide limited income replacement for the disabled worker, and those benefits are paid from a separate Social Security “DI” (Disability Insurance) Trust Fund. The DI fund receives a portion (0.9%) of the FICA SS payroll taxes every American worker pays on their earnings and is used to pay disability benefits to eligible American workers who are unable to perform “substantial gainful activity” for a year or more. The eligibility criteria to collect SSDI are very strict, but those approved receive their benefits from this separate DI trust fund, not from Social Security’s Old Age and Survivors Trust Fund. Payroll taxes collected for disability purposes are deposited in the DI Trust Fund as interest-bearing government bonds, and those DI assets are redeemed as needed to pay SSDI benefits. FYI, SSDI (disability) benefits stop when the person reaches full retirement age, at which point the beneficiary is automatically switched to regular SS retirement, and after which their benefits are paid from the regular “OASI” Trust Fund.
“Regular” Social Security retirement benefits, spousal benefits, dependent benefits, and survivor benefits are paid from Social Security’s Old Age and Survivors Insurance (0ASI) Trust Fund, which receives most (5.3%) of the 6.2% FICA Social Security tax withheld from the paychecks of American workers. As of the end of 2022, the OASI Trust Fund held about $2.7 trillion in interest bearing government bonds. Neither SSI or SSDI affect this “regular” OASI Trust Fund - only true SS retirement benefits and benefits for dependents of the retiree are paid from the OASI Trust Fund (As an aside, Social Security reform is needed to prevent the OASI Trust Fund from being fully depleted in 2033).
To answer your last questions, the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Trust Fund was established in 1956, after which SSDI benefit payments to eligible disabled American workers began. Federal “Supplemental Security Income” (SSI) assistance was codified into law in 1974. And, as you likely know, Social Security retirement, spousal and dependent benefits were enacted in the 1930s, before the first monthly Social Security check was mailed in January 1940. The impetus behind these programs? Avoiding poverty for the neediest among us. Without these programs, at least 22 million more Americans would be living below the poverty line.

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Centenarian does it again
Dorothy Hoffner of Chicago, Illinois, celebrated her 100th birthday by jumping out of an airplane. She turned 104 recently and she decided to make another jump to observe the occasion. You can bet that the judges at the Guinness World Records will honor her achievement pretty soon by announcing that she is the oldest skydiving woman on record. The folks at Skydive Chicago have already petitioned the Guinness judges to certify her achievement.

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Hot stuff
Canadian Mike Jack is not just a vegan; he’s a vegan speed-eater who caught the attention of the Guinness Record judges when he downed 50 of the world's hottest chili peppers. They’ve officially announced that he chewed and swallowed the Carolina Reapers in the record-breaking time of 6 minutes and 49.2 seconds. The Reapers are not your ordinary jalapeno peppers; they are officially the World’s Hottest Pepper, hundreds of times hotter than jalapeno peppers. Jack apparently took a liking to the tasty hotter-than-hot treats. After he broke the record he swallowed down another 85 Reapers.

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The bird escaped
Sometimes a cop has to do what a cop’s gotta do. Such was the case when Jonesboro, Arkansas, police officer Nathan Swindle responded to a call about a determined chicken living on the porch of a local apartment building. The recalcitrant bird was determined to stay away from the police officer. As officer Swindle described the incident, "I was trying to shoo it off a little bit and it took off and so I was like, 'Man, I gotta catch it,' and so I immediately started running." The chicken eventually gave up but, by then, his fellow police officers had already given Swindle the nickname, “Rooster.”

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“Mattie and the Machine,” a first novel by Lynn Ng Quezon,
wins the 2023 Grateful American Book Prize

Island of Spies by Sheila Turnage and I Could Not Do Otherwise: The
Remarkable Life of Dr. Mary Edwards Walker by Sara Latta earn Honorable Mentions

WASHINGTON DC — Mattie and the Machine [Zest Books], a first novel by author, Lynn Ng Quezon, has been selected to receive the 2023 Grateful American Book Prize award, according to David Bruce Smith, co-founder of the Prize. The novel is “a fictionalized yet historically accurate account of Margaret E. Knight’s fight to obtain recognition as a 19th century female inventor.”
The Santa Monica Press called it “a fictionalized yet historically accurate account of Margaret E. Knight’s fight to obtain recognition as a 19th century female inventor,” while The Kirkus Reviews described it as “an intriguing story about a little-known woman…one of the first women inventors in the post-Civil War era,” and Marissa Meyer of the New York Times said it was “a surprisingly twisty tale, full of betrayal, romance, grit, friendships, machinery, and a protagonist you can’t help rooting for!”
Sheila Turnage’s Island of Spies, a riveting World War II spy mystery, and Sara Latta’s biography, I Could Not Do Otherwise: The Remarkable Life of Dr. Mary Edwards Walker–an early female physician/spy–will receive “Honorable Mentions.”
Smith, also an author, and an education advocate, founded the Grateful American Book Prize with the late Dr. Bruce Cole, the longest-serving chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities [2001 to 2009].
It comes with $13,000 in commemoration of the 13 Colonies; a lifetime membership at the New-York Historical Society, and a medallion created by Smith’s mother, the renowned artist, Clarice Smith.
The ”Honorable Mention” recipients get $500 each, and the medallion.

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Medal of Honor: Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael Novosel Sr.
By KATIE LANGE
Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael Joseph Novosel Sr. served in three wars, including a stint in which he flew side-by-side with his son. He was the last World War II pilot to actively fly in the military, and he's so revered across the services that he recently became the new namesake of a storied military base. With all these accolades, it's no surprise that he also earned the Medal of Honor.
Novosel was born on Sept. 3, 1922, in Etna, Pennsylvania. Since his parents emigrated from Yugoslavia and only spoke Croatian, Novosel said he didn't begin to learn English until he started school. He did well, however, and graduated high school in 1940.
Less than a year later, in February 1941, 18-year-old Novosel joined the Army Air Corps so he could further his education and pay back the U.S. for welcoming his family with open arms. The young man wanted to work on aircraft, but the Army assigned him to administration work unit his fellow soldiers convinced him to apply for the Air Corps cadet program. He did and, despite being just a shade under the height requirement of 5-foot 4-inches, he was accepted.
Learning to Fly, And Drive
Shortly after that, Pearl Harbor was attacked, and the U.S. went to war. Novosel and his fellow cadets were fast-tracked to flight school, but instead of being sent to the front after graduation from flight school, he was sent to Laredo Army Airfield in Texas to serve as a B-24 Liberator instructor. While he was there, Novosel gained invaluable flight time and experience in the cockpit.
Novosel eventually moved to Maxwell Army Air Field —now Maxwell Air Force Base— in Alabama to join the B-29 Superfortress program. He was then sent to the Pacific, where he flew four combat missions before World War II ended. He also got to fly in the massive formation over the USS Missouri during Japan's surrender signing, then took part in further missions dropping supplies to U.S. prisoners in the war's immediate aftermath. Novosel spent the rest of 1945 in Okinawa, where he flew more missions and finally learned to drive a car.
"Here I was, a B-29 aircraft commander — a squadron commander at that. I'd flown five different trainers, three pursuits, four transports and four bombers. But I couldn't drive a simple automobile," Novosel wrote in his autobiography titled, "Dustoff: The Memoir of an Army Aviator."
Novosel transitioned into the newly formed Air Force in 1947 and finally returned stateside that October. He married his childhood sweetheart, Ethel Mae Graham, shortly thereafter. They went on to have four children.
Novosel was stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, when he was caught in the force reduction of 1950 and discharged. However, civilian life didn't suit him, so he rejoined the Air Force in 1951 to serve in a noncombat role in Korea. When that war ended, he joined the Air Force Reserve, where he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1955.
During his Reserve years, Novosel also worked as a commercial airline pilot. At some point, he was diagnosed with glaucoma that doctors said could lead to blindness. He was worried he would lose his civilian job, so in 1963, shortly after President John F. Kennedy Jr. was assassinated, he decided to rejoin the active-duty military, which had different standards than commercial aviation. Novosel also wanted to share his knowledge with young military aviators as the U.S. got more involved in Vietnam, according to Billy Croslow, an Army aviation historian.
The Army During Vietnam
The Air Force denied Novosel's request to rejoin the service, so in 1964, he joined the Army to help alleviate its need for combat helicopter pilots. But instead of training young pilots, Novosel was sent to Fort Bragg, North Carolina — now Fort Liberty — to serve as a chief warrant officer with Green Berets in the 6th Special Forces Group. And even though he had 20 years of military flying experience, he was told he had to get a new official aeronautic rating at one of the Army's flight schools. So, Novosel was sent to Fort Wolters, Texas, with young pilots who were still learning the ropes.
"I was old enough to be the father of most people in the place," Novosel said in his memoir.
He eventually caught a break and was quickly designated an Army aviator. He reported to Fort Bragg in early September 1964 and flew missions in the Dominican Republic with his new unit in 1965. He was there when he learned he'd be going to Vietnam.
"When I volunteered for active duty with Army aviation, I believed that my considerable experience would be put to use training Army aviators," Novosel wrote in his memoir. "I never thought I'd be sent to Vietnam as a combatant, certainly not at my age."
But those were his orders, so that's what he did, landing in the country in January 1966. He was assigned to the 283rd Medical Detachment, an aeromedical evacuation "Dustoff" unit, which was a designation that became the universal call sign for all medevac units in the country. Not surprisingly, Novosel was the most experienced aviator in the unit and quickly became a leader who earned his fellow soldiers' trust.
According to Croslow, Novosel also had a lot of instrument flight experience – something no one else in the unit had but was critical to medevac missions. Novosel was able to teach that skill to a lot of the younger pilots while there.
"A lot of times there was severe weather that gunships and troop transports wouldn't necessarily fly in, but medevac always had to fly," Croslow explained. "While people had instrument ratings and all of that, had a great deal of experience in it. Driving a B-29 to deliver ordnance thousands of miles away is an instrument-heavy business."
The missions were dangerous, though, and the Dustoff units lost a lot of pilots.
Novosel returned home after a yearlong deployment, but he went back to Vietnam voluntarily in 1969, this time with the 82nd Medical Detachment, which was also a Dustoff unit. Croslow said Novosel took the assignment after having turned down a much safer one flying the fixed-wing P-2V Neptune.
Leave No One Behind
On Oct. 2, 1969, Novosel and his UH-1 Huey aircrew had been flying for about seven hours when they got a call to rescue a group of wounded Vietnamese soldiers who were pinned down by the Viet Cong. Without hesitating, Novosel steered his helicopter toward the stranded soldiers, who were in a heavily fortified enemy training area.
Novosel had to maneuver through machine-gun fire without any cover to find the wounded soldiers. There was no way to communicate with them, so he had to circle around the battle area several times, flying at a low level under constant fire to attract the attention of the scattered friendly troops until they finally realized they needed to assemble for evacuation.
Novosel and his crew were forced out of the battle area six times by enemy fire, but each time, they returned, coming back from a different direction to land and extract more and more men.
Toward the end of the mission, Novosel went in to get a wounded soldier who was spotted near an enemy bunker. Novosel knew he would attract a hail of enemy fire, but he went for it anyway, hovering backward to pull the man onboard. As his crew did so, the helicopter was hit by close-range automatic weapons fire, damaging the aircraft and hitting Novosel in the right leg and hand. The pilot momentarily lost control of the helicopter but quickly recovered and moved out of the area.
Throughout the whole ordeal, Novosel went in 15 times, dodging extremely hazardous conditions to extract wounded personnel. His selfless actions saved the lives of 29 soldiers.
A Father/Son Duo
In December of 1969, Novosel learned that his son, Michael Jr., had also earned his wings as an aviator and was to be sent to Vietnam to join his father's unit. The pair became the first father/son duo of the war to fly together in the same combat unit. Novosel said he had to rescue his son's unit once, only to have the rescue reciprocated a week later.
"Seven days after I saved them, that's when I got shot down. And who comes to rescue me? My son," Novosel said in a 2002 Library of Congress interview.
By the time Novosel returned to the U.S., he'd flown 2,543 missions that helped evacuate 5,589 wounded personnel, Army records showed.
Novosel went back to Fort Bragg to serve as the aviation officer for the Army's demonstration team, the Golden Knights. While there, he received a letter from his son, who was still in Vietnam, that said that the senior Novosel had been recommended for the Medal of Honor.
"It was difficult to grasp the immensity of the situation," Novosel said in his memoir. "This was a historic first: There never had been an occasion during any war that a soldier could write to his father, a fellow combatant, and tell him that the theater commander had recommended him for the Medal of Honor."
Novosel received the nation's highest honor for valor from President Richard M. Nixon on June 15, 1971, during a White House ceremony. His family attended with him.
A Base Renamed
After serving with the Golden Knights, Novosel was assigned to the Army Warrant Officer Career College as an author and lecturer and was in charge of the international relations desk. He then took a year-long assignment to Korea in the summer of 1976 before finishing his career as a safety officer at Fort Rucker in Alabama, which was recently renamed Fort Novosel in his honor.
While at Rucker, Novosel said he was talked into taking the 10-day air assault course — even though he was 62 – by a general who was having trouble getting younger officers and non-commissioned officers to sign up. The general told Novosel he wanted to "shame them" into doing it.
Novosel obliged, and he passed, pinning on his air assault badge shortly before he retired on Nov. 30, 1984. That same day, a main road on the post was named for him.
Novosel retired to Fort Walton, Florida, but his family also had a home in Enterprise, Alabama, just west of Fort Rucker. He published his memoir in 1999 and spent a lot of time doing speaking engagements about his life and career.
Novosel died April 2, 2006, after being hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for liver cancer complications, according to his Pittsburgh Post-Gazette obituary. The 83-year-old is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Novosel has been honored in many ways since his death, including via a bronze bust of his likeness that's on display at the Spaatz Center's Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base. However, no honor may be greater than the recent redesignation of Fort Novosel earlier this year.
The post is the home of Army aviation, so it's a fitting tribute. Novosel's medal is now housed in the U.S. Army Aviation Museum on the post.

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Create your own garden soil
By MELINDA MYERS

Fall is filled with preparing gardens for the following season, raking leaves, and harvesting. Use plant trimmings and fall leaves to create raised beds and a quality planting mix without disturbing the existing soil. When you minimize or eliminate tilling, you’ll increase organic matter in the soil, maintain and over time improve soil health and structure, save water, and boost plant growth.
This no-dig gardening technique employs sheet composting, also known as lasagna gardening, to create planting beds. Plant trimmings are used to create multi-layered beds like you would when building a compost pile. The mixture used is not as precise and you do not turn it like you would a compost pile.
Start your lasagna garden by measuring and marking the garden bed. Edge the outline of the garden bed, if needed, to slow the infiltration of the surrounding grass and weeds. Cut any grass and weeds in this area very short and cover with moist newspaper or cardboard to smother these unwanted plants. The grass, weeds, and paper layer will eventually decompose adding organic matter to the soil.
Sprinkle a layer of compost over the initial layer, if needed, to hold the newspaper or cardboard in place. Top this with four to ten inches of plant trimmings such as fall leaves, plant-based kitchen scraps, herbicide-free grass clippings, straw, or other similar materials. Sprinkle a low nitrogen, slow-release fertilizer over this layer to feed the microorganisms that will help convert the trimmings to a rich planting mix. Cover with an inch of compost. Repeat the layers, just like making lasagna, until your garden is 18 to 24 inches high.
Fall is a great time to create your beds since you have an abundant supply of the needed ingredients. Or stockpile these ingredients until you have time to build the garden beds. You can plant transplants directly in your lasagna garden bed at the start of the season, even in a freshly built garden bed. Just sprinkle compost or potting mix on top of the beds when planting seeds.
Hügelkultur, or mound gardens, have been used in Germany for many years and take this one step further by placing the garden at a lower elevation and perpendicular to water runoff. The garden can be started in a trench or on the soil surface. Starting the garden below ground captures more stormwater runoff but may require extra tools, equipment or help with digging.
The garden can be any size and height depending on the available materials and your gardening goals. The sides can be steep or more gently sloped which reduces the risk of freshly planted seeds washing out during rainfall.
The bottom layer is made of logs, branches, and fall leaves. Do not include black walnut, which is toxic to many plants, or cedar and black locust which are very slow to decompose. The rotting logs and branches absorb water, making it available to the plants in the garden. As the tree trimmings decompose, they add nutrients to the soil. Research and experience show these woody plant materials do not deprive plants of needed nitrogen. Instead, it will provide the plants with needed nutrients for five to ten or more years.
Next, add the layers of a lasagna garden atop the bottom layer. Then top it all off with several inches of soil.
You can also use these methods to create the planting mix needed to fill raised bed structures. Not only will you save money, but you will put landscape trimmings to work, creating a quality planting mix for growing your favorite vegetables and flowers.
These beds gradually settle but the benefits remain. Add compost or repeat the sheet composting process as needed to maintain the desired depth.
Building a healthy soil foundation is a long-term solution to growing productive gardens with fewer pest problems that require less ongoing maintenance.

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Ignobility?
The Ig Nobel Prize is not to be confused the Nobel Prize; it is an “ignoble” award that’s been around for more than three decades. Its purpose is to “celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginative and spur people's interest in science, medicine, and technology.” Its focus is to “first make people laugh, then make them think." For example, this year’s Chemistry and Geology Prize was presented to a researcher who delved in the reasons "why many scientists like to lick rocks." The Literature Prize went to a team that probed into “the sensations people feel when they repeat a single word many, many, many, many, many, many, many times."

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Teethpaste story
There are some would-be collectors who choose to focus on rare coins or trading cards. And then there is Dr. Val Kolpakov in Alpharetta, Georgia. He’s a dentist and so, naturally, he decided to start collecting tubes of toothpaste. His amazing collection of 2,037 toothpastes from all over the world earned him a Guinness World Record recently. His collection includes toothpastes with the flavors of rye, scotch, bourbon and, for those who might need a little jolt to wake up in the morning, he found toothpastes with the flavor of Japanese horseradish, better known as Wasabi.

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An abundance of ‘twin-dergarteners’
"While the first day of kindergarten can sometimes be anxiety-inducing for young children, having a built-in buddy along on the first day of school is one of the benefits for these incoming twin-dergarteners," says The Colonial School District in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The District made the remark in announcing that 17 sets of twins were starting kindergarten in the 2023-24 school year. As one kindergarten teacher in area put it: "I have been a kindergarten teacher for 20 years. Usually, there's maybe a couple sets of twins, if that."

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Medal of Honor: Navy Chief Aviation Pilot Francis E. Ormsbee Jr.
By KATIE LANGE
While naval aviation was still in its infancy, Navy Chief Aviation Pilot Francis Edward Ormsbee Jr. was ready and willing to take to the skies for his country. Before he officially became a pilot, however, he helped rescue a fellow sailor from a plane crash. His heroics earned him the Medal of Honor.
Ormsbee was born on April 30, 1892, in Providence, Rhode Island, to parents Francis Sr. and Sarah Ormsbee. He had at least one sibling – a brother named Harry – but otherwise, little else has been published about his childhood.
Ormsbee joined the Navy in 1917, the same year the U.S. entered World War I. Naval aviation was just getting off the ground, so to speak, and Ormsbee was interested in becoming a pilot. So, after basic training, he was sent to Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, where flight training activities were operating at a fever pitch in preparation for fighting overseas.
By fall of 1918, Ormsbee was a chief machinist's mate who was taking part in flight training. On Sept. 25, 1918, he was in a seaplane above Pensacola Bay with Ensign J.A. Jova when they saw another aircraft go into a tailspin and crash about three-quarters of a mile away. That aircraft was piloted by Ensign Thomas McCarthy and Petty Officer 3rd Class Paul Parsons.
Jova and Ormsbee quickly hopped into action. Jova landed his aircraft on the water nearby and taxied to the wreckage. Ormsbee then dove overboard to scour for survivors in the aircraft, which was underwater except for its wing tips.
Ormsbee succeeded in pulling Parsons far enough to the surface that his head was out of the water. He was able to hold Parsons in that position until a speedboat arrived to extricate him. Ormsbee then went back into the aircraft repeatedly, injuring his hands in the process, to try to dislodge McCarthy. Unfortunately, Ormsbee wasn't able to save him.
Ormsbee was initially awarded the Navy Cross, but that was upgraded to the Medal of Honor on Dec. 7, 1918, according to an article in the Atlanta Journal. He eventually learned to fly, receiving his wings of gold as the Navy's 25th naval aviation pilot — a designation that, at the time, was given to enlisted men who completed the flight training program.
Ormsbee left the Navy in 1929, but not aviation. The now-accomplished flier became a pilot for Pan American Airways on its inaugural mail routes. According to the U.S. Navy Memorial website, Ormsbee was transferred from Miami routes to the Panama Canal Zone at some point to help alleviate a chronic shortage of experienced pilots.
Naval historians said Ormsbee helped establish Pan Am's routes in Central and South America, including accompanying famed aviator Charles Lindbergh in his survey of those areas. Ormsbee even flew the world's longest airmail route at the time, which was from Miami to Santiago, Chile.
In 1935, Ormsbee went to work for the Department of Commerce as an air navigation inspector.
Sadly, he died in a plane crash about a year later, on Oct. 24, 1936. Official reports of the crash stated that he was flying from Washington, D.C., to Fort Worth, Texas, when the weather took a turn for the worse. He tried to land in Ardmore, Oklahoma, to wait out the storm, but he crashed into a mountain north of the town.
Ormsbee was buried in St. Francis Cemetery in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

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Fall landscape care with pollinators in mind
By MELINDA MYERS

No matter where you live, investing time caring for your landscape now will pay off with a healthier, more beautiful landscape next spring and for years to come. Incorporate the following practices into your fall maintenance to support pollinators and the plants in your landscape.
Don’t rake the leaves to the curb or haul them to your municipality’s composting center. Instead, handle them with your lawn mower. Shred leaves and leave them on the lawn as you mow this fall. As the leaves break down, they add organic matter to the soil and as long as you can see the grass through the leaf pieces, the lawn will be fine.
Put any extra fall leaves to work in the garden. Add shredded leaves to your compost pile or dig them into annual gardens as a soil amendment. Just dig a two-to-three-inch layer of shredded leaves into the top 12 inches of annual or new planting beds. The leaves will decompose over winter adding organic matter to the soil. By spring, your garden bed will be ready for you to finish preparing and planting.
Spread some of the fall leaves on top of the soil around permanent plants as a mulch. They help insulate the roots, conserve moisture, suppress weeds, and as they break down improve the soil. Fall mulching gives you a jump on next spring’s landscape chores. It also provides winter homes for some beneficial insects and insulation for bumblebee queens, frogs, and others that overwinter in the soil.
Leave healthy perennials to stand over winter. They will add motion and texture to the landscape. The seedheads add beauty and many provide food for the birds. Hollow stems of a variety of perennials provide winter homes for many native bees and other beneficial insects. This also increases winter survival as research found perennials left standing are better able to tolerate the rigors of winter.
Be sure to cut back and dispose of any diseased or insect-infested plants. Removing these reduces the source of disease and insect pest problems in next year’s garden. Use a bypass pruner to cut the plants back to just above the soil surface. Corona’s XSeries Pro bypass pruner (www.coronatoolsusa.com) is lightweight and professional grade with its blade ensuring smooth, clean cuts on both green and dry stems and branches.
Continue watering throughout the fall and only during the day when soil and air temperatures are at or above 40°F. Trees, shrubs and perennials suffering from drought stress in fall and early winter are more subject to root damage and subsequently insect pest and disease problems. Make sure new plantings, moisture lovers, evergreens and perennials in exposed sites are thoroughly watered when the top four to six inches are crumbly and slightly moist.
Add some new plants to the landscape this fall. The soil is warm and the air is cool, providing excellent conditions for planting and establishing trees, shrubs and perennials. Include some fall favorites like pansies, asters and mums to containers and garden beds for instant color and food for late-season pollinators. Many garden centers add healthy new plants to their inventory specifically for planting this fall.
No matter where you live or the size of your garden, get outdoors and enjoy the beauty of fall. And be sure to invest a bit of time and energy now to ensure your landscape is ready for the season ahead.

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A lot of bull
Fred Balawender’s daughter, Laurie, is proud of her dad and of his rather large pet, a 13-year-old bull that has grown to six feet, one inch in height, who goes by the name, Tommy and who made it into the Guinness Book of World Records. As she put it to the Guinness judges, since the day Tommy joined the family when he was one day old, "he just kept on growing and growing. He and my dad always had a special connection, and he became a really large, well-loved pet right away." To be precise, Tommy is a purebred Brown Swiss steer.

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This bird has talent
Not only do Cockatoos fly, at least one of them gets around on its very own scooter. He goes by the name of Chico and the folks at Guinness say he’s the world’s fastest bird on two wheels. A professional Bulgarian parrot breeder, Kaloyan Yavashev, built a special bird-size two-wheeler, trained him and watched Chico scoot his way a distance of 16.4 feet in 17.79 seconds.

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As Lady Gaga said, ‘I’m as free as my hair’
Fifteen year old Sidakdeep Singh Chahal of Uttar Pradesh, India is getting worldwide attention now that he’s been outed by the judges at the Guinness Book of World Records. They’ve declared him to be the boy with the world’s longest hair, a feat he achieved by never getting a haircut and letting his hair grow to a length of four feet, 9.5 inches. To be fair, Chahal is a Sikh, a religion that recognizes long hair to be symbol of spirituality.

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

The British Pilgrims were not the first Europeans to settle in America. According to the Library of Congress, “when the London Company sent out its first expedition to begin colonizing Virginia on December 20, 1606, it was by no means the first European attempt to exploit North America. In 1564... French Protestants (Huguenots) built a colony near what is now Jacksonville, Florida. This intrusion did not go unnoticed by the Spanish, who had previously claimed the region…”
A year later--on September 20, 1565--Spanish forces ambushed the French near Jacksonville, FL; they—then--retreated to Quebec and Nova Scotia.
For more information, the Grateful American Book Prize suggests The French in Early Florida: In the Eye of the Hurricane by John T. Mcgrath.

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On September 24, 1789, Congress passed the Judiciary Act; President George Washington signed it, and the United States Supreme Court was “born.” According to History.com, “President Washington nominated John Jay [that day] to preside as chief justice, and John Rutledge, William Cushing, John Blair, Robert Harrison and James Wilson to be associate justices.”
Two days later, the Senate confirmed their appointments.
As the History website put it, the Court “grew into the most important judicial body in the world in terms of its central place in the American political order. According to the Constitution, the size of the court is set by Congress, and the number of justices varied during the 19th century before stabilizing in 1869 at nine. This number, however, can be changed at any time by Congress. In times of constitutional crisis, the nation’s highest court has always played a definitive role in resolving, for better or worse, the great issues of the time.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends A People's History of the Supreme Court: The Men and Women Whose Cases and Decisions Have Shaped Our Constitution by Peter Irons.

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Wild Bill Hickok’s finesse with a firearm enabled his fame—and facilitated—his failure.
On September 27, 1869, Hickok—then sheriff of Ellis County, Kansas--confronted a rowdy throng in a Hays City saloon. A cowboy-- Samuel Strawhun—tried to rush him, but Wild Bill drew his gun, and killed him.
“Such were Wild Bill’s less-than-restrained law enforcement methods. Famous for his skill with a pistol and steely calm under fire, James Butler Hickok initially seemed to be the ideal man for the sheriff of Ellis County, Kansas. The good citizens of Hays City, the county seat, were tired of the wild brawls and destructiveness of the hard-drinking buffalo hunters and soldiers who took over their town every night,” says History.com.
A few months after the Hays City shooting, Hickok lost his job--in the next sheriff election--to his deputy; 144-89.
The Grateful American Book Prize endorses Joseph G. Rosa’s biography, They Called Him Wild Bill: The Life and Adventures of James Butler Hickok.

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It’s Healthy Aging Month: Follow These 10 Steps to Be Proactive About Your Brain Health

NEW YORK — As part of Healthy Aging Month this September, the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) is offering ten steps to promote healthy aging and good brain health.
“Lifestyle choices are integral to healthy aging, protecting brain health, and reducing the risk of developing dementia,” said Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr., AFA’s president & CEO. “Healthy aging month is a great time to remind people that healthy aging is something everyone should prioritize, because it’s never too soon to start.”

AFA encourages individuals to take the following ten steps to promote good brain health and healthy aging:

1. Eat Well- Adopt a low-fat diet high on fruits and veggies, like strawberries, blueberries, and broccoli. Take daily vitamins. Limit intake of red meats, fried and processed foods, salt, and sugar. In general, foods that are “heart healthy” are also “brain healthy.”
2. Stay Active- Physical activity increases blood flow to the brain and can also help improve mood and overall wellbeing. Brisk walking benefits brain health, while aerobics can boost your heart rate, and weight training builds strength and flexibility.
3. Learn New Things- Challenge your brain by starting a new hobby like playing tennis, learning to speak a foreign language, trying a cooking class, or something you have not done before. Even something as simple as brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand stimulates the brain by forcing it to think outside of its normal routine.
4. Get Enough Sleep- Getting a consistent sleep every night is key; at least seven to nine hours is ideal. Having a good sleep environment is also helpful. Insomnia or sleep apnea can have serious physical effects and negatively affect memory and thinking.
5. Mind Your Meds- Medication can affect everyone differently, especially as you age. When getting a new medication or something you have not taken in a while (whether over the counter or prescription), talk to your doctor or local pharmacist.
6. Stop Smoking and Limit Alcohol- Smoking can increase the risk of other serious illnesses, while too much alcohol can impair judgment and cause accidents, including falls, broken bones, and car crashes.
7. Stay Connected- Social interaction and maintaining an active social life are very important for brain health, cognitive stimulation and mood. Invite friends and family over for a meal, board games, or just to hang out. Engaging in your community and participating in group activities is also beneficial.
8. Know Your Blood Pressure- Blood pressure can impact your cognitive functioning. Visit your physician regularly to check your blood pressure and make sure it is in normal range.
9. See Your Doctor- Maintain checkups. Health screenings are key to managing chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity, all of which can impact brain health. Speak with your physician about any concerns or questions you have about your health.
10. Get a Memory Screening- Our brains need regular checkups, just as other parts of our bodies do. Memory screenings are quick, noninvasive exams for our brains. AFA offers free virtual memory screenings every weekday—visit www.alzfdn.org or call AFA at 866-232-8484 to learn more about getting a free virtual memory screening. You can also talk to your doctor about getting a screening as part of your annual wellness exam.
Individuals wishing to learn more about healthy aging and promoting good brain health can contact the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s Helpline at 866-232-8484 or visit AFA’s website, www.alzfdn.org.

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Tips to help protect your child’s mental health from harmful social media use

By Dr. Kevin U. Stephens Sr.,
Chief Medical Officer,
UnitedHealthcare of the MidSouth

Social media can be a great tool to help build connections, stay informed and engage with others. However, it can become all-consuming and potentially damaging to adolescent brain development, which is a cause for concern.  
A recent advisory issued by U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy calls attention to the potential harmful effects social media has on children’s mental health. According to the report, 95% of teens ages 13-17 say they use social media, with more than a third saying they use it “almost constantly.” In addition, 40% of children ages 8-12 use social media, even though most platforms require users to be at least 13 to participate.
According to a study in the report, teens who spend more than three hours a day on social media face twice the risk of experiencing mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety. Other potential issues referenced in the report include:
Body dissatisfaction, or disordered eating behaviors
Social comparison
Lower self-esteem
Poor sleep
The information in this report corroborates with the what UnitedHealthcare providers are often seeing: an increased rate of harmful comparison, limited in-person interaction, feelings of loneliness and an uptick in anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. Dr. Donald Tavakoli, national medical director for behavioral health at UnitedHealthcare, says the amount of time children spend online affects their overall development.
The Surgeon General’s advisory comes as youth mental health remains in a state of crisis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 5 children have a mental, emotional or behavioral disorder and only about 20% of those children receive care from a mental health provider.
These findings may be alarming for parents and tackling the issues surrounding social media use may feel overwhelming as well. These tips may help you and your child become more informed about social media use and, in turn, reduce potential harm:
Understand and monitor social media
Having a bit of background on the latest social media apps can help parents create better limits and boundaries for their kids. As children’s brains go through dramatic developmental changes, they could develop sensitivities associated with a desire for attention and may have undeveloped self-control, especially during early adolescence. Social channels that promote “likes” or excessive scrolling may pose issues for developing brains. Limit chat functions, especially with strangers, and restrict inappropriate content.
Create a family social media plan
Set guidelines and boundaries when it comes to your family’s social media use. This can be agreed-upon expectations of what social media use looks like to your family, including screen time limits, online safety and protecting personal privacy. The Academy of Pediatrics has a template that can guide you through the process.
Communication is key
Initiate open and honest conversations, without judgement, with your child about their activity on social media on a regular basis. Ask them about what they see on social media and pose hypotheticals, asking how they would respond in different scenarios. Ensure they know the signs of cyberbullying, and how permanent an online post can be.
Create tech-free zones
It can be helpful to restrict electronic use at least one hour before bedtime and through the night. Studies show two or more hours of screentime in the evening can greatly disrupt the melatonin surge needed to fall asleep. Keep mealtimes free from technology and encourage in-person conversations. Encourage children to foster in-person friendships and build social skills.
Model healthy social media behavior
Children often learn by watching your behaviors and habits, so make sure you’re limiting the time you spend on social media and be responsible with what you choose to post. When you are on your device, tell your children what you’re doing.
While the Surgeon General’s advisory focuses on the potential negative impacts of social media use on children and teens, it also acknowledges social media can provide some benefits. It can be helpful in creating community connection over shared interests, abilities and identities or providing space for self-expression. Encouraging children to form healthy relationships with technology is critical. 
Adults cannot afford to wait to understand the full impact of social media because adolescents’ brains are still developing. It’s crucial that parents take an active role in helping their children safely navigate social media.

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Medal of Honor: Army Sgt. 1st Class Christopher A. Celiz
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News

Army Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Andrew Celiz was known among his fellow Rangers to be selfless and determined, so it was no surprise when, during a firefight in Afghanistan, he gave his life to save others. That heroism earned him the Medal of Honor.
Celiz was born Jan. 12, 1986, in Summerville, South Carolina. He went to Summerville High School, where he took part in Junior ROTC and quickly earned a reputation as a natural-born leader. High school is also where he met his future wife, Katie, although she later told reporters that their paths didn't cross until both worked at a local grocery store.
In 2004, Celiz attended the military college known as The Citadel. He stayed for about two years but left in good standing in 2006 to enlist in the Army.
A year later, he and his wife were married. At some point, the couple converted to Judaism. They also had a daughter, Shannon, in 2010. Celiz loved riding his Harley motorcycle and playing guitar. His wife said he loved to crack jokes and relished the time he got to spend with his family.
Celiz was selected to join the 75th Ranger Regiment in 2013, and by 2018, he'd deployed several times to both Iraq and Afghanistan. During those deployments, he was always inclusive of others and known to encourage camaraderie.
His selflessness was put to the ultimate test on July 12, 2018, when Celiz was leading a special purpose unit that included 1st Battalion Rangers and partner forces in Afghanistan. The unit was tasked with clearing an area of enemy forces in the Paktia Province to disrupt future attacks against allied forces and the Afghan government.
He put himself last and everybody else first."
Around 5 a.m., as they came upon the ruins of an old storage shelter, at least 20 insurgents surrounded their convoy and attacked, critically wounding an ally on the team.
Celiz quickly sprang into action. He intentionally exposed himself to intense enemy fire so he could reach a heavy weapons system, which he turned on the enemy. With the help of his fellow soldiers, Celiz was able to clear a temporary path for his teammates to move their critically injured ally.
As a medical helicopter arrived, the enemy turned its fire to the air. Celiz knew how important it was to get their injured comrade onto the chopper, so he put himself between the evacuation team and the heavy insurgent gunfire.
"He really was selflessly body blocking that litter team and that helicopter crew as they were loading the casualty on the bird under a tremendous amount of fire," recalled 2nd Lt. Garrett White, who was part of the mission that day.
As soon as the injured ally was loaded into the helicopter, the carry team ran for cover, but Celiz stayed where he was to continue acting as a human shield and fire back at the enemy. It wasn't until the helicopter was back in the air that he tried to find cover for himself.
Unfortunately, that's when enemy fire hit Celiz in the chest. As he fell to the ground, he waved to the helicopter crew to get moving, knowing that if it remained, the chopper could crash, and more lives would be at risk.
Reports said that Celiz tried to crawl toward his teammates, but he eventually stopped. When they were able to pull him out of range of the gunfire, they tried calling the helicopter back to collect Celiz, but it was too late. The 32-year-old died that day, but his actions saved the life of his injured comrade, and they likely helped prevent further casualties among his unit and the aircrew.
"He put himself last and everybody else first," White told the Army News Service.
Celiz's selflessness earned him the Medal of Honor, which his wife and daughter received on Dec. 16, 2021, from President Joe Biden during a White House ceremony.
Celiz's memory continues to live on in his home state. On Veterans Day last year, The Citadel, which he attended but didn't graduate from, presented his family with a posthumous degree and a 2008 class ring.
"Chris was the guy who made everyone part of the team. His classmates wondered if he slept. All Citadel alumni knew 'go-to' guys in their company they could always count on. Chris was one of these in spades," said Citadel President Gen. Glenn Walters, a retired U.S. Marine, during the presentation. "He was, by all accounts, everything you wanted in a comrade and classmate."
Celiz's name was also added to The Citadel War Memorial in 2018.

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Social Security Matters
By RUSSELL GLOOR
National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Will Opening a Joint Account Affect My Disabled Father’s “SSI?”

Dear Rusty: I live in Michigan and my senior disabled father lives in rural Kentucky. His income is part Social Security and part disability. I talked to a local credit union near his home and explained I would like to open a joint account. They said as long as he comes in with his ID it's possible. My question is - will adding money to our joint account affect his SSI and disability? Signed: Caring Daughter
Dear Caring Daughter: First, I need to clarify that there are two types of disability programs administered by the Social Security Administration – Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The acronym “SSI” normally refers to “Supplemental Security Income” which is a benefit for disabled senior adults (and children) who have very little income and very few assets. “SSI” is not Social Security income; rather it is a general benefit program jointly administered by the Social Security Administration and the State in which your father lives. In contrast, Social Security Disability (SSDI) benefits are earned from working and are not affected by the recipient’s assets, as are “SSI” benefits.
From what you’ve written, I assume that your father may have a small Social Security retirement benefit (because he has reached his full retirement age and SSDI isn’t available after full retirement age), and he is also receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits. If this is the case, although your father’s Social Security retirement benefit would not be affected by opening a joint account at the credit union, his Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefit likely will be. As co-owner of the joint account your assets would count towards your father’s “SSI” asset limit, and your assets, as well as any “in kind” assistance you otherwise provide, would likely put your father over the SSI income/asset eligibility limit and result in his SSI benefits being terminated.
So, although the credit union may be willing to open a joint account for you and your father, I’m afraid that would result in your father losing his SSI (Supplemental Security Income) benefits, leaving him with only his small Social Security retirement benefit. You may wish to review the SSI eligibility information at this link: www.ssa.gov/ssi/eligibility or you could contact the Social Security Administration and ask to speak with someone experienced with Supplemental Security Income matters. For clarity, “SSI” assistance is jointly administered by the Social Security Administration and each State’s Human Services department, and assistance available varies somewhat depending on the recipient’s state of residence. Thus, since your father lives in Kentucky, you might also contact that state’s human services agency to discuss your options for providing remote assistance to your father without jeopardizing his Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit: www.chfs.ky.gov/Pages/contact.aspx.

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Daffodils with a difference
By MELINDA MYERS

There are so many reasons to love daffodils. These spring-blooming bulbs aren’t fussy about where they are planted. They come back to bloom again year after year and are not bothered by deer, rabbits, or other garden pests. But there’s also a whole world of beautiful daffodils beyond the classic yellow ones. Daffodils are available in unusual flower styles and unexpected colors that can bring a whole new look to spring gardens.
Get an early start on next year’s daffodil season with Barrett Browning, a variety with pure white petals and brilliant red-orange trumpets. It is an excellent choice for naturalizing. Pink Charm also boasts white petals but has a large coral-pink trumpet with ruffled edges. It is considered one of the best pink daffodils and is known for its vigor and reliability.
Add eye-catching color with the dependable heirloom Red Devon’s brilliant yellow petals and flashy orange cups. For a more subtle approach choose the pastel hues of British Gamble. Its white petals are a perfect backdrop for the ruffled peachy-pink trumpet on these enormous, 5” blossoms.
Change the shape of things with some split trumpet daffodils. Cassata is a strong grower with a ruffled lemon-yellow cup that lies almost flat against broad white petals. Cum Laude boasts big, bright, extra frilly flowers with peachy accents. Lemon Beauty’s flowers feature pure white petals, and its split trumpet resembles a bright yellow star.
Double daffodils add elegance to gardens and spring floral arrangements. They also stretch the season by blooming several weeks later than most other types. La Torch’s upward-facing fragrant double flowers are a mix of yellow petals and bright orange ruffles. Delnashaugh is a late-blooming double with layers of pure white petals interspersed with apricot-pink ruffles. Lingerie’s extra-large blooms have thickly ruffled centers of white and golden yellow petals.
Some daffodils produce a bouquet of blossoms on each stem. Pueblo grows just twelve inches tall, and its primrose yellow flowers gradually fade to creamy white. Beautiful Eyes has two to three flowers per stem, with white petals, bright orange cups and a gardenia-like fragrance.
Take it down in size by planting a few miniature daffodils. Tuck them into rock gardens, under shrubs, along paths, in containers, and mix them with other spring flowering bulbs and perennials. Tete a Tete has perky, bright yellow blossoms and grows just 7” tall. Tete Boucle is similar in size, but its double flowers display layers of yellow, gold, and green petals.
Jet Fire is another outstanding miniature daffodil. It has bright orange trumpets and golden yellow swept-back petals and is a great small-scale naturalizer in the landscape. Minnow is an adorable little gem with pale-yellow petals and bright yellow trumpets. Sundisc’s petite flowers have pale yellow petals and an almost flat, deep yellow trumpet. Miniature daffodils are a particularly good choice for perennials gardens, where they won’t overwhelm neighboring plants.
For more on these and other unique daffodils, see Longfield Gardens Types of Daffodils to Know and Grow. With so many daffodil varieties to choose from, you are sure to find new ways to add spring beauty to your yard and gardens.

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The lion gave up
Margot Lowe and guide Witness Mathebule were on safari near the Arathusa Safari Lodge in South Africa when they came across a herd of feeding hyenas. The critters suddenly stopped eating; they sensed danger. Out came the video camera and, sure enough, a large and scary lion entered the scene. The hyenas scattered but not fast enough for all of them to get away; one member of the herd was too slow and was singled out by the lion. But the big cat hesitated when it saw the hyena clan had turned around and was about to attack. It gave the lion’s captured prey enough time to get away.

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Rubber duckies
The citizens of Belfast, Maine, are scratching their heads for a third year in a row. This time of the year, in 2021, a lone “Giant” plastic duck made its first appearance in Belfast harbor; the word, “Joy,” was written on its chest. The Joy duck and a second inflatable duck showed up last year; the second duck bore the words “Greater Joy” on its chest. This year a third Giant ducky joined the clan; it bore the words, “Greatest Joy.” Anybody know who’s responsible for these joyous rubber duckies?

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Tricky awards
It happened in Australia. Noeline Cassettari’s pal, Megan Reimann, earned a Guinness World Records title for her cow’s bovine tricks. Not to be outdone, Nicole showed off the tricks that her miniature horse and her pet sheep were able to do and bagged two Guinness titles. Her mini-horse, Rose, was able to do 13 tricks in sixty seconds and Beanie, the sheep, completed 11 tricks in one minute.

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Social Security Matters
By RUSSELL GLOOR
National Social Security adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Why Is my Age 70 Benefit not Higher Than My January Amount?
Dear Rusty: I plan to retire in 2025 (the year I turn 70). Given that I'm still working, I'm delaying my Social Security until that year. I noticed on my Social Security statement that my payment in January of 2025 will not be much different than my age 70 amount in October of 2025. If that is truly the case, would it not be better for me to start taking Social Security payments starting in January of 2025. Am I missing anything here? Signed: Uncertain Senior
Dear Uncertain Senior: Your benefit in October 2025 at age 70 will be about 6% more than it will be in January 2025. If that isn’t shown on your Statement of Estimated Benefits, it may be due to a particular nuance in Social Security’s rules relating to Delayed Retirement Credits (DRCs). When benefits are claimed mid-year after full retirement age (FRA), the DRCs earned in that year aren’t applied until the following January. Thus, someone who claims benefits to start mid-year will initially get the DRCs they’ve earned through the end of the previous year, but not immediately get credit for the additional DRCs earned during the claim-year. Those extra DRCs earned between January and the month benefits started will be applied the following January.
By way of example, if someone beyond FRA claims benefits to start in October 2024, their initial SS retirement benefit will be what they were entitled to at the end of 2023 and would not include DRCs earned between January 2024 and September 2024. They will collect that initial January 2024 benefit until January 2025 when the DRCs earned in 2024 are applied, at which point their benefit would increase by 6%. There is, however, one exception to this rule, which is that all DRCs are immediately credited when benefits are claimed to start in the month age 70 is reached, so despite what your Statement of Estimated Benefits might reflect, if you claim for benefits to start in the month you turn 70 (October 2025) you will get your maximum age 70 benefit immediately and won’t need to wait until January 2026 for those extra DRCs to be applied.
Unfortunately, Social Security’s benefit estimator doesn’t explain how this nuance works and may show someone claiming mid-year receiving the same benefit as for the preceding January, without further explanation. That is, in my opinion, a flaw in the estimator which may result in people making a wrong decision on when to claim their Social Security benefit. Nevertheless, rest assured that your benefit in October 2025 (the month you turn 70) will be your maximum amount - 6% more than it would be if you claimed benefits to start in January 2025, and you won’t need to wait until the following January to get the DRCs earned earlier in 2025.

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Brighten your fall landscape with mums
By MELINDA MYERS

Mums are a favorite fall flower that adds weeks of seasonal color to containers, gardens and fall displays. They are also a popular gift plant in garden centers and floral shops. Choosing the right one for the purpose and providing proper care will help you achieve your desired results.
Start by selecting the best mum for your gardening goals. You’ll find mums labeled as garden, perennial, gift or florist mums. All these names for plants that look alike can be confusing. The answer lies in their response to day length, hardiness and use.
Mums set flowers based on day length. Growers can force them into bloom by covering them to create shorter days that initiate flowering. Those grown as gift mums, often called florist mums, usually require the longest periods of uninterrupted darkness or shorter days. When these mums are grown under natural daylight they usually don’t flower until late fall or early winter. These late bloomers are usually killed by cold temperatures before or soon after the flowers appear in colder areas.
Nurseries selling mums ready to flower in the fall often refer to them as garden mums. These may be perennial mums or “florist” mums forced to flower for fall displays. The intent is to use them as annuals. Select ones with lots of buds and just a few if any open flowers to maximize the bloom time and your enjoyment. Place one or two mums on the front steps, plant them in vacant spots in the garden or combine them with other fall favorites in containers.
These garden mums may be hardy and suited to the area but since all the energy is directed to the flowers little is left to establish a hardy, robust root system. If you have success overwintering your garden mums, feel free to brag. If your plants don’t survive or you don’t try, don’t worry. You are using them as a fall annual as they were intended. This also provides space for new plants in the spring and an opportunity to try a different color mum next fall.
Those mums sold as perennials are hardy enough to survive the winter and flower in late summer or early fall providing weeks of color in the garden. They are often sold alongside other perennials, labeled as perennials, or promoted as hardy for the area. Increase your success by planting them in spring. This allows the plant time to develop a robust root system before it begins flowering in the fall which will increase its ability to survive cold winters.
Place mums in an area with full sun and water thoroughly and often enough to keep the soil moist but not soggy wet. Check the soil in containers daily and water when the top few inches of soil are starting to dry. Always use a container with drainage holes or a self-watering pot.
Increase overwintering success by leaving the plants intact in the garden over winter. Those gardening in colder regions may opt to cover the plants with evergreen boughs after the ground freezes, providing extra insulation. Remove the mulch when temperatures begin hovering above freezing. Whether covered or not, prune out the dead stems in spring as new growth appears.
Whatever you call them, add a few colorful mums to your fall displays. You are sure to enjoy the blast of color they provide to your landscape before winter arrives.

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Medal of Honor: Marine Corps Sgt. Lawrence Peters
By KATIE LANGE, DOD News |

When you're in charge during battle, you do whatever you can to keep your comrades safe. Marine Corps Sgt. Lawrence David Peters led a squad of men as they fought their way out of a firefight in Vietnam. He didn't survive the ordeal, but his grace, leadership and bravery earned him the Medal of Honor.
Peters was born Sept. 16, 1946, in Johnson City, New York, to Clyde and Mildred Peters. He had three brothers and two sisters who called him Larry.
Peters' parents said he'd wanted to be a Marine since he was a child, so during the fall of his senior year of high school, he enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve. Peters was assigned to the 48th Rifle Company out of nearby Binghamton, New York.
After Peters graduated from Binghamton North High School in 1964, he went right into the Marines. He completed all his training by the end of the year, then went back to serve with the 48th in Binghamton until he was discharged and transferred to the active-duty Marines in January 1966.
In May of that year, Peters volunteered to go to Vietnam with the 3rd Marine Division, where he served as a squad leader and non-commissioned officer in charge of the Combined Action Company. That September, he was promoted to sergeant.
During that deployment, Peters' company worked and lived among Vietnamese villagers, building schools and teaching them how to protect themselves from the enemy. According to articles in the Binghamton newspaper Press and Sun-Bulletin, Vietnamese people knew him as a man who went out of his way to treat them as his equals. One article said he learned the local dialects and even a few songs, and helped found an orphanage. He then collected clothing, nonperishables and other gifts for those children and villagers when he was able to come back to the U.S. on leave.
Peters returned from his deployment in the spring of 1967, but according to the Press and Sun-Bulletin, he re-enlisted for another tour and went back to Vietnam that May. By July 1967, he was the squad leader of Company M of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division.
On Sept. 4, 1967, the U.S. launched Operation Swift, which was an effort to find and eliminate enemy forces in the Quang Tin Province after intelligence showed those forces were likely being built up to disrupt upcoming South Vietnamese elections.
As Company M patrolled their area that day, they were struck by intense mortar, machine gun and small-arms fire from an entrenched enemy force. Peters rallied his forces in defense and then maneuvered his squad in an assault on an enemy defended knoll. As enemy rounds landed all around him, he stood out in the open so he could point to enemy positions and direct his men's fire. Eventually, he was wounded in the leg, but he refused help and instead moved forward to continue the assault.
As the enemy fire increased in accuracy and volume, the squad lost its momentum and was temporarily pinned down. But that didn't stop Peters from again exposing himself to enemy fire so he could consolidate his position and render more effective fire. At some point, a mortar round exploded, wounding Peters a second time in the face and neck.
As the enemy tried to infiltrate an adjacent platoon's position, Peters stood up in full view, firing burst after burst at the enemy in an effort that forced them to disclose their camouflaged positions. Despite being wounded twice more, he continued to direct, encourage and supervise his squad, who eventually regained fire superiority, until he lost consciousness.
At some point during all of this, Navy Lt. Vincent Capodanno, a chaplain who had been injured while with the platoon, rushed forward to reach Peters. Capodanno stayed with the young Marine until he succumbed to his wounds. Capodanno did not survive the battle, either, but he also earned the nation's highest honor for valor for his selflessness.
Peters' family received the Medal of Honor during a White House ceremony hosted by Vice President Spiro Agnew on April 20, 1970. Peters' mother accepted the medal on her son's behalf and later told the Press and Sun-Bulletin that she hadn't heard how her son had died until the citation was read that day.
Peters is buried in Chenango Valley Cemetery in Binghamton. In his honor, his hometown opened a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in his name in 1984.

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It was no tall tale
Greg Potter was fishing off the coast of Waihau Bay in New Zealand when a shark rocked his pedal boat. But the shark was not assaulting Potter; it was chasing a seal. In the aftermath of the encounter, he told reporters: “When the seal hid under the kayak, the shark came crashing up from underneath and smashed into the bottom of the kayak. Then they did another few laps around the kayak, and then a second time, the shark again smashed the underside of the kayak." It was no silly fish story. Potter recorded the encounter.

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Her’s is no fairy tale
In the fable, Rapunzel used her incredibly long hair to escape the clutches of a witch. Tami Manis of Knoxville, Tennesee, grew her unusually long head of hair because she liked it that way and, as a result, she got herself a page in the Guinness Book of World Records. She trims the front and sides of her hair but she hasn’t cut the hair in the back of her head since 1990. Her mullet measures 5 feet, 8 inches.

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Honest, no bull
The cops in Norfolk, Nebraska, got a shock when they spotted a car with a full grown bull sitting in its passenger’s seat. They had gotten a call that there was "a car driving into town that had a cow in it,” according to Police Captain Chad Reiman. They thought they were going to find a calf in the car but when they got to the scene they saw that it was a huge bull. The car’s owner had modified the automobile to accommodate his enormous passenger. The police gave the driver a warning and sent him home.

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

Submarines were crucial to the success of America’s defense strategy during the two World Wars [1914-1918; 1939-1945,] but their maiden missions actually happened at the time of the American Revolution.
According to History.com, “[They] were first built by Dutch inventor Cornelius van Drebel in the early 17th century, but it was not until 150 years later that they were first used in naval combat. David Bushnell, an American inventor, began building underwater mines while a student at Yale University. Deciding that a submarine would be the best means of delivering his mines in warfare, he built an eight-foot-long wooden submersible that was christened the Turtle for its shape. Large enough to accommodate one operator…[it] was entirely hand powered. Lead ballast kept the craft balanced.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends The American Turtle Submarine, The Best-Kept Secret of the American Revolution by Arthur Lefkowitz.

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In June 1776, Founding Father Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed a congressional resolution: “That in all continental commissions, and other instruments, where, heretofore, the words ‘United Colonies’ have been used, the stile be altered for the future to the United States.”
History.com reports that “By September, the Declaration of Independence had been drafted, signed, printed, and sent to Great Britain. What Congress had declared to be true on paper in July was clearly the case in practice, as Patriot blood was spilled against the British on the battlefields of Boston, Montreal, Quebec and New York. Congress had created a country from a cluster of colonies and the nation’s new name reflected that reality.”
The Grateful American Book Prize endorses The Epic Story of 1776: 25 People, 13 Colonies and 1 War by Jenny L. Cote and Libby Carty McNamee.

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As country-wide know-how ascended in the 19th century, postal service fell behind; to bolster it; the Overland Mail Company was rolled out on September 15, 1858, with an investment of $1 million-- [$37,279,390 in 2023’s currency].
History.com says that funds were required to make a “winding 2,800-mile route and [to build] way stations at 10–15-mile intervals. Teams of thundering horses soon raced across the wide-open spaces of the West, pulling custom-built Concord coaches with seats for nine passengers and a rear boot for the mail.”
Known also as the Butterfield Overland Mail Company it “operated from 1858 to 1861 under contract with the U.S. Postal Department, providing transportation of U.S. mail between St. Louis, Mo. and San Francisco, Calif. The route proposed by the Butterfield Mail Co. became known as the ‘Oxbow Route’ because of its shape on a map, starting in St. Louis and then dipping southwesterly through Missouri, western Arkansas, and the Indian Territory, turning west across Texas and southern New Mexico and Arizona, and then curving north again in California to finish at San Francisco,” according to the company’s website.

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Social Security Matters
By RUSSELL GLOOR, National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation,

Ask Rusty – I’m 64. When Should I Claim My Social Security?

Dear Rusty: I am 64 years old and still working full time. My question is - when should I start my Social Security? I would like to start it in January 2024 and go part time at work, but would I be losing much Social Security by not waiting until full retirement age? Signed: Trying to Plan Ahead

Dear Trying, to Plan: You are smart to evaluate the impact of claiming your Social Security (SS) benefits early. First, be aware that your full retirement age (FRA) for Social Security purposes is 66 years and 8 months, and that is when you get 100% of the SS benefit you’ve earned from a lifetime of working.
It appears you already know that if you start benefits before your FRA, you’ll be subject to Social Security’s “earnings test” which limits how much you can earn from working before they take away some of your benefits. But if you go part time at work you can mitigate the earnings test and claim your benefits early – just understand that your payment will be permanently reduced by doing so.
If you claim your benefits to start in January 2024, you’ll be taking your Social Security about 18 months early, which means that instead of 100% of your FRA entitlement you’ll get about 90% (a reduction of 10%). The earnings test will still apply, and we don’t yet know what the 2024 earnings limit will be, but it will be something more than the 2023 limit of $21,240. If your 2024 earnings exceed the annual limit, SS will take away $1 in benefits for every $2 you are over the limit. They “take away” benefits by withholding future payments until they recover what you owe for exceeding the limit. If you work part time and don’t exceed the 2024 annual earnings limit, there will be no penalty and you will get every month’s SS payment. If you find you will exceed the annual 2024 earnings limit, you can call Social Security and inform them of that and by how much, and they will suspend your benefits for the number of months necessary to avoid overpaying you. If you don’t inform them and you exceed the annual 2024 limit, they will catch up in 2025 when they get your 2024 earnings info from the IRS and issue an Overpayment Notice requiring you to pay back the amount owed (half of what you exceeded the 2024 annual limit by). As you likely know, the earnings test no longer applies after you reach your full retirement age.
So, the decision on when to claim your Social Security benefit is yours to make, and you are smart to consider your work plans - but should also consider your life expectancy and marital status. If you are married and eventually die before your lower earning spouse, your spouse’s benefit as your survivor will be based on your benefit amount at the time of your death. Thus, your age when you claim your benefit may also affect your spouse’s benefit as your survivor; the longer you wait (up to age 70) the more your spouse’s survivor benefit would be. And if you enjoy at least average longevity, which is about 84 for a man your current age, then by waiting until your FRA or later to claim you’ll not only get a higher monthly payment but also get more in cumulative lifetime benefits. If, however, your financial circumstances are such that you need the SS money sooner, then claiming earlier may be the right decision, provided you don’t substantially exceed the annual earnings limit prior to reaching your full retirement age. I hope the above provides what you need to make an informed decision.

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Plant trees this fall for decades of benefits
By MELINDA MYERS

Fall is a great time to plant trees in the landscape. The soil is warm and air temperatures are generally cooler, creating a better environment for the tree and the gardener doing the planting. The cooler temperatures promote root growth which helps the tree establish a more robust root system before new growth begins the following spring.
Proper planting as well as timing is important for growing healthy long-lived trees that provide shade, reduce energy costs, help manage storm water and so much more. Reduce the risk of injury, inconvenience, and expense by calling 811 at least three business days before putting the first shovel in the ground. This free service contacts all the utility companies who will mark the location of the underground utilities in your work area. Look up and avoid planting trees under overhead utilities.
Select trees suited to the growing conditions and those that will fit the available space once they reach full size. Trying to keep a 40-foot-tall tree at 15 feet negatively impacts the tree’s natural beauty and requires lots of work on your part.
Once you select the right tree for the location make sure to give it a safe ride home. Transporting the tree in a pickup truck or trailer is easier for you and better for the tree. If this is not an option, consider spending a bit more money to have the nursery safely deliver your tree.
When transporting your tree, use a tarp to cover the top of the tree to prevent wind damage to its leaves. Protect the trunk by wrapping it with a towel where it will rest on the vehicle. Always move the tree by the root ball, not the trunk, to prevent damage to the roots.
Keep your tree in a cool, shaded location until planting. Mulch balled-and-burlapped trees with wood chips to help keep their roots moist. Water these and container-grown trees daily or as often as needed to keep the roots slightly moist.
Locate the tree’s root flare, also called the trunk flare. This is where the main roots angle away from the trunk. Dig the planting hole to the same depth as the distance between the root flare and the bottom of the root ball so the root flare is at or slightly above the soil surface. Digging deeper can result in the soil settling and water collecting in the depression around your tree. Make the hole at least three to five times wider than the root ball.
Roughen the sides of the planting hole to avoid glazed soil that can prevent the roots from growing into the surrounding soil. Carefully remove container-grown trees from the pot and loosen or slice pot bound and girdling roots circling the trunk and root ball before planting.
Place the tree in the planting hole so the trunk is straight and the tree is facing the desired direction. Remove the tags and twine and cut away any wire baskets and burlap on balled-and-burlapped trees.
Fill the planting hole with existing soil so the roots adjust to their new environment. Avoid amending the soil as this encourages the roots to stay in the planting hole instead of moving out into the surrounding soil.
Water thoroughly to settle the soil and moisten the root ball and surrounding soil. Spread a two- to three-inch layer of wood chips or shredded bark over the soil surface surrounding the tree. Pull the mulch back several inches from the trunk. Mulching helps conserve moisture, moderate soil temperature, reduce competition from grass, and prevent weeds. It also keeps tree-damaging mowers and weed whips away from the tree trunk while eliminating the need for you to hand trim.
Only remove broken, damaged, and rubbing branches at the time of planting. Research shows that the more leaves a tree has, the more energy it can produce, and the quicker it develops new roots and recovers from transplant shock. Begin structural pruning in a few years once the tree has adjusted to its new home.
Continue watering as needed. It takes several years for trees to develop a robust root system that is better able to access water from a larger area. Water thoroughly when the top four to six inches of soil is crumbly and moist. Apply enough water to wet the top twelve inches of soil.
The time you invest in proper planting and care will pay off in years of enjoying the shade, beauty, and other benefits your tree provides.

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Housecall
By DR. BALA SIMON
College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Q: How do I control my cholesterol?

A: Cholesterol is a substance in the blood that is required to build healthy cells. A lipid, cholesterol is a fatty material made by the body that does not dissolve in water. It helps control what enters or leaves cells, helps the liver digest food, and assists in producing vitamin D and certain hormones. Cholesterol attaches itself to proteins to form a lipoprotein. Many are familiar with the two types of cholesterol: low-density lipoprotein (LDL) known as “bad cholesterol,” and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) also referred to as “good cholesterol.” LDL builds up in the walls of arteries, while HDL transports excess cholesterol to the liver. The body makes enough cholesterol to function. Limiting foods high in saturated fat and eating foods naturally high in fiber can control cholesterol. Reducing alcohol consumption, exercising, quitting smoking, and maintaining a healthy weight are also recommended. Supplements such as fish oil or flaxseed can help control levels. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommends cholesterol screenings every one to two years for men ages 45 to 65 and for women ages 55 to 65. Annual screenings are advised for people older than 65. Contact your health care provider to develop a plan to monitor your cholesterol.

Q: What is Reye’s syndrome?

A: Reye’s syndrome is a serious condition that results in swelling in the brain and can cause large buildups of fat in the liver, as well as other organs. While generally thought of as an illness in young children, Reye’s syndrome mostly affects those under the age of 20. The exact cause of Reye’s syndrome is unknown. It normally occurs when recovering from a viral infection such as chicken pox or flu and when aspirin is given as part of managing those symptoms. Because aspirin has been linked with Reye’s syndrome, it is not recommended for use in children or teens. Instead, acetaminophen or ibuprofen is advised. Symptoms of Reye’s syndrome usually occur within three to five days after a viral infection begins. These can include rapid breathing, diarrhea, feeling sleepy or sluggish, or vomiting. A loss of consciousness or seizures may be present as the condition worsens. No specific test exists for Reye’s syndrome. Contact your health care provider immediately if a child presents with these or similar symptoms in relation to a viral illness. Treatments may include diuretics to reduce pressure around the brain, intravenous fluids, or plasma transfusions to aid with blood clotting.

Q: When should men begin screening for prostate cancer?

A: Prostate cancer is a malignant tumor of the prostate, an organ approximately the size of a walnut that tends to increase in size as men age. According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in American men (behind skin cancer), and about one out of every eight men will be diagnosed with the disease. Age is the most common risk factor with prostate cancer, even though all men are at risk. About 80% of prostate cancer cases are found in men older than 65, while less than 1% occurs in men younger than 50. Black men and men with a family history of prostate and other cancers are more likely to be diagnosed. When to screen for prostate cancer depends upon your age, ethnicity, family history and overall health along with recommendations from your health care provider. Black men and those with a history of cancer in their family may consider beginning screening around age 50. Prostate cancer generally grows slowly, and symptoms may not present themselves until the disease progresses to an advanced state. Fortunately, the survival rate for prostate cancer is excellent with early diagnosis and treatment.

Q: How can thyroid cancer be treated?

A: The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland at the base of the neck. It produces hormones that regulate metabolism as well as assist in controlling blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature. Symptoms of thyroid cancer include hoarseness, a lump in the neck, or changes in weight. The precise cause of thyroid cancer is unknown. Genetics, iodine deficiency and exposure to radiation as a child are thought to be factors. The disease is more common in women than men. Thyroid cancer is often diagnosed in women beginning in their 40s, while men with thyroid cancer are usually over the age of 60. A physician may test for thyroid cancer by feeling the thyroid gland to determine the presence of any masses or nodules. A blood test may also be ordered. Surgery to remove some or all of the thyroid gland is a common treatment. Other treatments may include chemotherapy, hormone therapy, or radiation therapy. The National Cancer Institute estimates that 1.2% of people will be diagnosed with thyroid cancer at some point, and thyroid cancer will be 2.2% of all new cancer cases in 2023. Thyroid cancer is very treatable with an extremely high (98.5%) survival rate.

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It’s a girl!
The Bright family zoo in Limestone, Tennessee, says that its newborn giraffe is lucky to have been born “in captivity.” Giraffes use their spots for camouflage and this baby female giraffe was born without spots and, in fact, is perhaps the only spotless giraffe on the planet. David Bright explained that “being solid colored, she may not be able to hide quite as well.” Tony Bright told reporters “the international coverage of our pattern-less baby giraffe has created a much-needed spotlight on giraffe conservation. Wild populations are silently slipping into extinction, with 40% of the wild giraffe population lost in just the last 3 decades.

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This senior jumps for joy
Kim Knor of Denver, Colorado, learned how to skydive when she was 20 years old; that was in 1959. She became a member of the inaugural U.S. Women's Parachute Team two years later. To date, the 84-year-old daredevil has made 600 jumps and is determined to reach her goal of 1,000 jumps. As she told one news outlet, "I have a choice of watching TV or sitting in front of a computer or going out and jumping and traveling across the country." In an interview with CBS News, she had a suggestion for her fellow octogenarians: "I feel fantastic! I mean, this is what I live for. Anytime life gets too difficult or too sad just go make a jump and then everything's good!"

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Bears will be bears
In that old yarn it was Goldilocks who broke into the home of the three bears. In the case of Brian of Kings Beach, California, it was a sleepy old bear that broke into his apartment, ate his food, wrecked his TV set and then took a nap on his bed. It was all caught on his Ring camera while Brian was out boating with friends on Lake Tahoe. Apparently the bears are out in numbers in the Lake Tahoe area; they have been visiting not only Brian’s apartment but have been caught by video surveillance cameras in several stores in the area.

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Medal of Honor: Marine Corps Lt. Col. Kenneth Walsh
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News

Marine Corps Lt. Col. Kenneth Ambrose Walsh was considered by many to be one of the toughest, most aggressive combat pilots of World War II. That reputation as a hard-fighting ace solidified in 1943 in the South Pacific when he took out several Japanese aircraft to help secure the Solomon Islands for the Allies. His bravery earned him the Medal of Honor.
Walsh was born Nov. 24, 1916, in Brooklyn, New York, to parents Ambrose and Irene Walsh. He had a sister named Claire.
According to a 1944 article in The Morning Post, a Camden, New Jersey, newspaper, when Walsh was only 7 his father died and the family moved to Harrison, New Jersey. It wasn't far from Newark (now, Liberty) International Airport, where Walsh would often ride his bike and spend hours watching small airplanes come and go.
Walsh was an outstanding track star for Dickinson High School, which he graduated from in 1933. The following December, he enlisted in the Marine Corps, not long after his 17th birthday.
His first orders were to Quantico, Virginia, where he served as an aviation mechanic. But Walsh wanted to be the one in the air — not fixing the aircraft — so from there, he went to flight training in Pensacola, Florida. He earned his wings in 1937 and spent the next few years serving on aircraft carriers.
In 1940, Walsh married Beulah Mae Barinott, and they had two sons, Kenneth Jr. and Thomas.
By September 1942, the U.S. was in the thick of the fighting of World War II, and Walsh had transferred into Marine Fighter Squadron 124. A month later, he was commissioned as second lieutenant.
Walsh was sent to the South Pacific in January 1943 with VMF-124, which became the first operational squadron to fly the F4U Corsair, one of the most capable carrier-based fighter-bombers of the war. Through April and May of 1943, then-1st Lt. Walsh shot down six enemy aircraft, making him the first ace to fly a Corsair.
His prowess in the skies only grew over the summer. By August, Walsh and his squadron were doing aerial combat missions in the Central Solomon Islands, well east of Papua New Guinea.
By Aug. 15, 1943, U.S. troops were trying to take over the small island of Vella Lavella, while Japanese aircraft were trying to thwart those efforts by bombing U.S. ground forces and the equipment that was flowing in. Walsh cut that attempt short by diving his aircraft into an enemy formation that vastly outnumbered his own by 6 to 1. He managed to take out two Japanese dive bombers and one fighter aircraft.
During the melee, Walsh's Corsair was hit by 20mm cannon fire, which blew holes into a wing and the fuel tank. The plane was destroyed, but he still managed to fly it back to safety and land.
About two weeks later, on Aug. 30, Walsh and three others from his squadron were called upon to escort Army B-24 Liberators on a strike against Kahili, an enemy airfield on the island of Bougainville. After refueling at a forward base before the attack, the four aircraft took off again to rendezvous with the bombers. But as they did, Walsh's aircraft began acting up and he was forced to make an emergency landing on the small island of Munda.

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Social Security Matters

By RUSSELL GLOOR
National Social Security advisor at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty - What About All the Money Congress Stole from Social Security?

Dear Rusty: Is there any way that Congress will vote to pay back the Social Security funds they took for their stupid reasons, and left IOUs in place of the funds? Because of the funds they took going back many years, we didn't have any decent COLAs for a few years. In fact, there were I think 3-5 years that we didn't get any COLA. Please Rusty, can you find out if this is true or false? Help us seniors! Signed: Resentful Senior
Dear Resentful Senior: I can assure you that I’ve fully investigated the allegation that politicians have squandered Social Security’s money and found that charge to be, simply speaking, a myth. I’ve gone back and looked at Social Security revenues and expenses since the government first started collecting FICA payroll taxes in 1937 and found that every dollar ever collected for Social Security has been used only for Social Security purposes. Over the years, various claims have been made that the money has been used for other things, but I’ve researched each of these charges and found them all to be false.
Where the misconception mostly originates is that any excess money collected from working Americans for Social Security is invested in “special issue government bonds” which pay interest, as mandated by President Roosevelt when Social Security began. As with any investment, a financial obligation instrument is given in return for dollars received. Remember when we used to buy “U.S. Savings Bonds?” We’d use our money to buy those bonds, hold them, and later redeem them for a higher amount than we paid. That’s exactly how Social Security contributions have always worked – excess money collected from working Americans is used to purchase special issue government bonds which are held in reserve, earning interest, for future Social Security needs. These special bonds reside in a Social Security Trust Fund and, as of the end of 2022, were worth about $2.8 trillion. Are these bonds “worthless IOUs” as some would claim? Hardly, since they are redeemable as needed to pay Social Security benefits.
Considering that, since 2010, Social Security’s income from payroll taxes on American workers has been less than needed to cover benefits paid out, redemption of bonds held in the Trust Fund is the only reason that Social Security has been able to continue paying full benefits to every beneficiary. The Trust Fund is a financial safety net which is now protecting all SS beneficiaries from having their benefits cut. Problem is, unless Congress acts soon to reform Social Security’s financial picture, the Trust Fund will be fully depleted in about 2033 resulting in about a 23% cut in everyone’s monthly Social Security benefit. I’m optimistic that will not happen (it would be political suicide) and, hopefully, Congress will act soon to reform Social Security and restore it to financial solvency and avoid a future cut in everyone’s benefits.
Regarding COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) and the lack thereof for several past years, COLA is determined by the government’s standard inflation measure – the Consumer Price Index (CPI). There were several years (2010, 2011, and 2016) in which the CPI showed no inflation so, therefore, no COLA increase was given. Last year, due to soaring inflation, everyone got an 8.7% increase in their Social Security benefit, but that doesn’t happen every year. FYI, the average annual COLA increase over the last two decades has been about 2.6%, although COLA for each year can be wildly different depending on each year’s inflation measure. In any case, the lack of a COLA increase in past years was not a result of any political chicanery, it was the result of low inflation during those years.

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Preserve basil for winter meals
By MELINDA MYERS
Don’t let a bumper crop of basil go to waste. Preserve its flavor and zest with proper storage and preservation.
xtend the life of fresh basil by removing any discolored leaves and cutting the bottom of the stems off at an angle. Set the stems in a jar with an inch or two of water. Loosely cover it with a plastic bag and set it on the herbs is easy but not the best option for basil. The flavor can change during the drying process. If you opt for this method, dry small amounts of basil in bundles hanging upside down. Secure the stems with a rubber band. As the stems shrink, so does the rubber band. Place the bundle in a brown paper bag with the stems sticking out of the bag to dry. Punch holes in the sides of the bag and hang it in a warm dry location where the air can circulate through the bag to speed drying. Avoid binding large amounts of basil together as it is more likely to dry slowly and mold.
Better yet, remove the leaves from the stems of freshly harvested basil. Speed drying with the help of a microwave or dehydrator. Evenly spread two cups of washed herb leaves on a double thickness of paper towel. Microwave on high for four to six minutes depending on your microwave. Follow the manufacturer’s directions when drying basil in a food dehydrator.
Fully dried herbs will be brittle and rattle when stirred. Store dried herbs in an airtight container in a cool, dry and dark location. Label the container with the name of the herb and the date preserved.
Dried herbs are usually three to four times stronger than fresh herbs. To substitute dried herbs in a recipe that calls for fresh herbs, use 1/4 to 1/3 of the amount listed in the recipe.
Freezing is another way to preserve basil. It does change the texture so frozen basil is best used in soups, stews, and other recipes but not as a garnish.
Remove the stems and blanch the leaves in boiling water for three seconds. Then quickly move the leaves to cold water for several seconds to cool quickly. Blanching helps basil retain its green color. Dry the leaves. Once dry, spread the leaves on a tray or cookie sheet and place them in the freezer. Once the leaves are frozen solid move them to airtight containers and store them in the freezer. You can also spread the leaves in layers separated by parchment paper, slide the layers into a freezer bag, then place it flat in the freezer.
Alternatively, chop leaves and place them into an ice cube tray. Fill the empty space with a little water or olive oil depending on how you plan to use it in the future. Allow these to freeze solid. Pop them out of the ice cube tray and place them in an airtight freezer-quality container, label and place them back in the freezer. Pesto can also be frozen using this ice cube method.
Preserving basil when it is bountiful allows you to enjoy it throughout the year. You’ll appreciate the homegrown flavor and money savings.

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Medal of Honor: Navy Ensign Charles Hammann
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News
Navy Ensign Charles Hazeltine Hammann was one of the first U.S. military aviators who went to battle when the country entered World War I, so it's fitting that his heroics in the skies over Europe made him the first aviator to earn the Medal of Honor.
Hammann was born March 16, 1892, in Baltimore, to parents Jacob and Elizabeth Hammann. He had a brother, Edward, and a sister named Lillian.
Called "Haze" by his friends, thanks to his middle name, Hammann played high school football at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute before graduating in 1910. He spent a few years working in business, including for a brewing company, before joining the Naval Reserve's Flying Corps in 1917.
Hammann learned how to fly at the Navy's only air station at the time, which was in Pensacola, Florida. He then sailed to France in June 1917. Over the next year, he got a lot of flight time under his belt and even learned how to do stunt piloting, according to a letter he wrote home to his brother.
By the spring of 1918, Hammann was sent to Italy to join the fight. On Aug. 21, he and three other pilots were sent on a patrol over an Austro-Hungarian naval base near the enemy stronghold of Pola, in modern-day Croatia. The pilots were flying Italian Macchi seaplanes when enemy aircraft came after them.
In the middle of the dogfight, the airplane of the lead pilot, Ensign George Ludlow, was hit by anti-aircraft fire. According to a 1938 Baltimore Sun article, the plane nose-dived about 12,000 feet before leveling off and landing safely in the water.
Hammann immediately did his best to dodge the remaining enemy aircraft to attempt a rescue. He dove down and landed on the water close to the disabled plane and took Ludlow onboard, even though his aircraft wasn't designed to hold two people. Hammann put Ludlow under the motor, a 1918 Baltimore Sun article said, before taking off again. The extra weight caused the plane to sway and strain with effort, but when enemy aircraft came for them, Hammann was still able to turn his machine guns in their direction, which caused them to flee.
Hammann's overweight aircraft almost made it back to Naval Air Station Porto Corsini in northeast Italy before it fully broke down. The plane fell into the water right off the coast. Hammann and Ludlow had to swim to shore — but they made it.
Two months after the incident, Hammann was commissioned as an ensign. He returned from overseas in January 1919.
Unfortunately, Hammann's life was cut short a few months later. The 27-year-old was killed on June 14 during a Flag Day celebration at Langley Field in Hampton, Virginia. According to a 1938 Baltimore Sun article, he was stunting in an aircraft when it went into a tailspin and crashed.
Hammann is buried in Oak Lawn Cemetery in Baltimore.
Hammann was nominated for the Medal of Honor before he died; however, it wasn't made available to his family until November 1920. Newspaper coverage at the time showed the holdup was due to a Congressional investigation into injustice within the Navy regarding the service's manner of distributing recognition of distinguished war-time service.
According to the Naval History and Heritage Command, Hammann was the first U.S. aviator of any service to receive the Medal of Honor. His August 1918 heroics also earned him the Silver Medal for Military Valor from the king of Italy and the Italian War Cross.
Hammann's name has not been forgotten within the Navy or in his hometown. A monument to the aviator and another Baltimore World War I Medal of Honor recipient, Army Private Henry Gilbert Costin, was erected in the city's downtown in 1939.
During World War II, there were actually two warships named for him. The first USS Hammann was a destroyer launched in 1939, but it was sunk in early 1942 during the Battle of Midway. Later that same year, a commissioned destroyer escort was renamed as the second USS Hammann.

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Leopard vs baboon
Who do you think would come out the winner in a leopard vs baboon fight? The experts say that if the leopard is big enough and the baboon is alone the cat has a good chance of killing and eating the baboon. But baboons are social creatures that travel in herds. So, when a hungry leopard came across a herd of some 50 baboons in the Kruger National Park in South Africa recently it took the chance of isolating one of them. A visitor, Ricky da Fonseca, saw the whole thing and reports that the baboons “attacked as a troop. This threw the leopard off and they capitalized, surrounding it, screaming, and biting at it. They showed no mercy at all." Luckily with a few bruises and cuts on his body, the leopard ran off. Surely his ego was more hurt than his body."

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Doggonit
Tina Kahlig of Hill Country Village, Texas, saw an unusual critter in her neighborhood. She wasted no time in getting her camera and snapping a picture. She posted the photo on a local Internet website, asking neighbors “what is that?” So far, visitors to the website have not been able to identify it, although a few respondents suggested that it might be a legendary chupacabra. Even experts have been unable to pin it down. However, they have suggested that it might just be a very mangy dog that was wandering in her neighborhood.

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Meow
A 13-year-old cat in Missouri that goes by the name of Kit Kat has broken a Guinness World Record for its jump-roping skills, skipping nine times in 60 seconds. No, Kit Kat didn’t do it all by himself, his owner Trisha Seifried handled the rope. Who said that you can’t teach a cat new tricks? In fact, Ms. Seifried says "by 6 months old Kit Kat was jumping rope in front of huge crowds of people, helping to bust myths that cats can't be trained."

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Social Security Matters

By RUSSELL GLOOR, National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – When Should My Wife Claim Social Security?
Dear Rusty: My wife will be 65 next year, and her full retirement age is 66 years plus 10 months. Can she collect 50% of my Social Security benefit at her full retirement age and then get her own higher personal amount at age 70? Her own amount at her full retirement age is $1,100 per month but her age 70 amount is $1,800. My Social Security is $2,300. Suggestions welcome. Signed: My Wife’s Helper
Dear Helper: Your wife cannot separate her spousal benefit from her personal Social Security retirement benefit – whenever she claims she will be automatically deemed to be filing for both her own benefit and her spousal entitlement. Thus, she cannot claim her spousal benefit first at her full retirement age and defer claiming her own SS retirement benefit until she is 70. When your wife should claim is, essentially, a decision which should consider the urgency of her need for the money, her life expectancy, whether she will be eligible for a spouse benefit from you, and whether she is working.
If your wife claims before her full retirement age (FRA) and is working, she’ll be subject to Social Security’s “earnings test” which limits how much she can earn before some SS benefits are taken away (Social Security’s earnings test goes away at FRA).
Average life expectancy for a woman your wife’s age is about 87. If your current $2,300 benefit is a result of you taking your Social Security at your full retirement age or earlier, then your wife will receive a small “spousal boost” from you. If she claims at her full retirement age, your wife’s total Social Security payment will be 50% of the amount you were entitled to at your FRA and that will be her permanent amount, except for annual COLA increases. However, from what you’ve shared, your wife’s age 70 amount is considerably more than her maximum spousal benefit so, if her life expectancy is long, that suggests she may wish to consider waiting until age 70 to claim her own maximum benefit. By doing so, your wife will get more in cumulative lifetime benefits if she achieves average life expectancy.
The unknown factor is your life expectancy because, as your widow, your wife will be entitled to 100% of the amount you were receiving at your death, instead of the smaller amount she is receiving on her own or as your spouse. If life expectancy is long for both of you, then your wife maximizing her own benefit by waiting until age 70 to claim is a prudent choice. But if your, or your wife’s, life expectancy is shorter, then your wife claiming at her full retirement age would be a better decision.

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

Roanoke Colony — just off the coast of North Carolina — was the first settlement in America. It was founded by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1585, but a year later, the newcomers were suffering so badly from “dwindling food supplies and Indian attacks” that they sailed back to England. History.com reports, “in 1587, Raleigh sent out another group of 100…under John White. [He sailed] to England to procure more supplies, but the war with Spain delayed his return…By the time [he] finally [re-appeared] in August 1590, everyone had vanished.”
Even today, nobody knows why.
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Roanoke: Solving the Mystery of the Lost Colony by Lee Miller.

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The Civil Rights Act of 1964 “was one of the most important pieces of legislation in American history, but it did not singlehandedly put a stop to discrimination in public education,” according to History.com. “Aside from the famous ‘Massive Resistance’ campaign against desegregation in the South, schools continued to fail racial minorities and students for whom English was not their first language.”
Because of that gap, the Equal Educational Opportunities Act (EEOA) was consummated on August 21, 1974. It categorically barred states from discriminating against students because of gender, race, color, or nationality—and--it obliged public schools to provide for students who did not speak English.
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends We Are Not Yet Equal: Understanding Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson and Tonya Bolden.

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As a lawyer for the “little man,” as History.com puts it, Thurgood Marshall, was an extraordinary attorney. He attended Howard University Law School and graduated magna cum laude in 1933. A year later he was working for the Baltimore NAACP, and by the time he was 32---in 1940--Marshall was the organization’s chief counsel.
“Over the next two decades, Marshall distinguished himself as one of the country’s leading advocates for individual rights, winning 29 of the 32 cases he argued in front of the Supreme Court.” In 1954, he protested the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka before the Supreme Court upending the so-called “separate but equal” principal of “laws designed to achieve racial segregation by means of separate and equal public facilities and services for African Americans and whites.”
On August 30, 1967, Thurgood Marshall became the first African American confirmed as a Supreme Court justice.
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary by Juan Williams.

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What’s for dinner
Amber Worrick of Southfield, Michigan, went grocery shopping recently. When she got home her daughter was helping her unpack and suddenly let out a scream when she spotted a live frog in the plastic package containing the spinach. “It was alive and moving,” according to Amber who told one TV reporter she didn’t want to become known as the “frog lady.” The grocery store manager, of course, gave her an apology and refunded the cost of the spinach.

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Iguanas and snakes
You can imagine the shock Crystal Collins of Hollywood, Florida, had when her husband discovered an iguana in a toilet bowl in their home recently. "We both looked at each other like what are we going to do. I joked about burning the house down. Neither of us do lizards." They wound up calling a friend to come over and help get rid of the creature. Meanwhile, in Tucson, AZ, Michelle Lespron had a similar shock when she returned from vacation; she lifted the lid of her toilet and found a black and pink coachwhip snake. "I slammed the lid back down right away when I saw it," she told reporters. Michelle wasted no time in contacting a snake wrangler who explained that coachwhip snakes aren’t poisonous but can get aggressive.

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A wedding they won’t forget
Cailyn McRossie-Martinez and Brandon Martinez of Boulder, Colorado, were married recently and, boy, did they have a wedding reception they’ll never forget. For one thing, the day featured what was described as monsoon rains and then a bear showed up at their wedding reception. The newlyweds took it in stride, though. As Brandon put it, “It’s not too often you go in to your dessert table and see a bear crashing it and eating all of it." Cailyn called it “the perfect Colorado wedding. Life doesn't always go to plan, but it's how you get through it together."

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Fall-planted cover crops provide many benefits to gardens
By MELINDA MYERS
Put your garden to work over winter by planting a cover crop this fall. Covering the soil with plants that are turned into the soil or smothered and allowed to decompose in spring provides many benefits.
Fall-planted cover crops protect the soil from erosion over winter and reduce stormwater runoff into nearby waterways and storm sewers. They also help reduce weeds by forming a dense mat that increases organic matter, adds nutrients, and improves the soil quality for your plants. These crops also help conserve soil moisture, and many provide welcome habitats for pollinators and other beneficial insects.
​​​​​​​Oats, winter rye, winter wheat, crimson clover, and hairy vetch are common fall-planted cover crops. The crimson clover and hairy vetch are legumes that can add a lot of nitrogen to the soil when they decompose. Try combining these with non-legumes when possible. Consider purchasing a cover crop mix like the True Leaf Market no-till pollinator-friendly cover crop mix which contains both and helps support pollinators.
Most cover crops go dormant over winter and resume growth in spring. Annuals like daikon radishes and oats are killed by cold winter temperatures. This makes oats a good choice if you want to get an early start to planting in spring.
Plant fall cover crops at least 4 weeks before the first killing frost to give them time to establish. Cereal rye is an exemption and can be planted right up to the first frost. You can plant the whole garden bed or just the area between vegetables that are still growing.
Remove any weeds, plants, and mulch when planting garden beds. Loosen the soil and rake it smooth before seeding. Just remove the mulch, loosen, and rake the soil between the rows of actively growing vegetables when planting cover crops in these spaces.
Check the seed packet for the amount of seed needed to cover the area you are planting. Spread the seed over the prepared soil by hand or with a broadcast spreader and gently rake the seeds into the soil. Make it easier to evenly spread tiny seeds by mixing them with compost and then spreading them. Once the seeds are planted, gently water using a fine mist.
Annual plants will be killed by cold winter temperatures, but the perennial cover crops will put on vigorous growth in late winter or early spring. Suppress this growth and kill the cover crop before it sets seed and at least 2 to 4 weeks before planting your garden. This allows microorganisms time to decompose the plant residue and avoid nitrogen deficiencies in spring plantings.
In spring use your mower or weed whip to cut the cover crop to the ground. You can till the residue into the soil at that time or cover the area with a black tarp or weed barrier for at least 2 weeks. Remove the tarp then incorporate the residue into the soil or plant your vegetables through the dead plant remains.
Avoid working wet soil that can result in compaction, hard as rock clods, and take years to repair the damage. Do a moisture test before working the soil. Grab a handful of soil and gently squeeze. If it breaks into smaller pieces with a tap of your finger, it is ready to work. If it remains in a mud ball, wait a few days.
Two weeks or more after the cover crop has been killed or tilled into the soil you can begin planting. Planting any earlier can result in nutrient deficiencies that will require a light spring fertilization.
Adding cover crops to your gardening routine will improve the soil, plant growth and is good for the environment. Like any new gardening practice, it can take time to adapt it to your space, climate, and gardening style. The cover crop growing guide at trueleafmarket.com can help. With time and experience, growing cover crops can soon become a part of your gardening routine.

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Medal of Honor Monday: Army Cpl. Lester Hammond Jr.
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News
It takes a lot of courage to make a decision in battle that you know will lead to your death. That's something Army Cpl. Lester Hammond Jr. did when his unit was ambushed in Korea. He sacrificed his life to save the lives of his fellow soldiers. That uncommon valor earned him the Medal of Honor.
Hammond was born on March 25, 1931, in Wayland, Missouri. His parents were Lester and Cora Hammond, and he had an older sister, Twila. At some point, the family moved to Quincy, Illinois, where Hammond graduated high school.
Hammond joined the Army in 1948, then reenlisted three years later before being sent to Korea in January 1952 with the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team. Paratroopers of the 187th had already made a name for themselves in Korea by participating in the amphibious landings at Inchon and helping to liberate Seoul, an action that made them the only airborne regiment to receive a Navy Presidential Citation.
Within a few months, the 21-year-old Hammond was serving in the area of Kumhwa, Korea, as a radio operator with Company A. On Aug. 14, 1952, he was part of a six-man reconnaissance patrol that had penetrated about two miles into enemy-held territory. Suddenly, they were ambushed and partly surrounded by a much larger enemy force.
Hammond's team opened fire to try to push the enemy back, but they were overpowered, so they quickly withdrew and tried to find cover in a ditch along a narrow ravine. According to teammate Cpl. William J. Liell, whose story was later told in a May 1953 article in the Kansas City Times, all six of the men were injured. Liell said he tried to help Hammond into the ditch, but he refused.
Instead, Hammond stayed exposed to the enemy so he could watch their movements and call for artillery fire to take them out. He was injured a second time during these airstrikes but managed to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy and kept them away from his fellow soldiers.
Liell and others who were there that day said they believed Hammond was hit by the artillery fire he directed, fully knowing it would end his life. Maj. Walter J. Klepeis was the officer who received Hammond's transmission requests for airstrikes. When Hammond requested a strike right on his position, Klepeis said the young soldier knew exactly what he was asking for.
"I wish … every American could have listened in to hear how a brave man dies," Klepeis later wrote in a report detailing the incident.
Thanks to Hammond's courage and devotion, another platoon was able to reach his beleaguered patrol and evacuate them to friendly lines. His valor also earned him a posthumous Medal of Honor, which was presented to his family on Aug. 5, 1953, by Earl D. Johnson, undersecretary of the Army, during a Pentagon ceremony.Spotlight: Commemorating the Korean WarHammond was initially buried in Greenmount Cemetery in Quincy, but in 1983, he was reinterred in the town's Sunset Cemetery at the Illinois Veterans Home and given a formal military burial. The cemetery's Medal of Honor Drive is dedicated to him and other Medal of Honor recipients.
Hammond's sacrifice has not been forgotten. On the campus of the Illinois Veterans Home is the All Wars Museum, which has a huge mural of Hammond that was completed in 1998. The memorial also includes a display case that holds his Medal of Honor, which the family gave to the museum in 1979.
In 2018, Sycamore Healthcare Center, a nursing home for veterans in Quincy, was revamped and renamed Hammond Hall in his honor. Ballparks in Korea and Japan have also been named for him, as have a housing project and a community center at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

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Social Security Matters

By RUSSELL GLOOR
National Social Security adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Why is Social Security Withholding My Monthly Payments?

Dear Rusty: I have been working since I started collecting Social Security when I turned 62. Last year I was apparently overpaid because of my job. I made $37,000 and now the Social Security Administration says I owe them $8,800 dollars because I made too much, and they have withheld my $2000 monthly SS payment. I am close to the maximum allowable again already this year. So, I am looking at quitting my job so I don't go over, but they are holding my payments so then I would have no money. Any help would be appreciated. Signed: Frustrated by Social Security
Dear Frustrated: You are being affected by Social Security’s “earnings test” which applies to everyone who collects early Social Security and also works before reaching their full retirement age (FRA). If your earned income exceeds the annual limit (which was $19,560 for 2022), Social Security will withhold $1 in benefits for every $2 you are over the limit. If you earned $37,000 in 2022 you were more than $17,000 over the limit and owe half of that back to Social Security. They usually recover what you owe by withholding your future benefit payments, so they won’t pay you benefits until they have recovered that $8,800, after which your benefits will resume - but only for a while.
If you are working full time and also collecting early Social Security benefits, the earnings test lasts until you reach your full retirement age, which for you is 66 years and 8 months. The earnings limit goes up a bit each year – for 2023 it is $21,240 – but if you continue to work full time, you’ll receive another overpayment notice and have more benefits withheld. A better approach might be to contact Social Security in advance and tell them what your 2023 earnings are expected to be, thus permitting them to suspend your benefits in advance and avoid overpaying you. I’m afraid there is no way around this – collecting early benefits while working full time means the “earnings test” will affect your benefit payments.
The “good news” in all of this is that when you reach your full retirement age, you will get time-credit for all months your benefits were withheld. By that I mean they will, at your FRA, recalculate your benefit entitlement as though you had claimed later (later by the number of months you had benefits withheld), which will result in a higher monthly payment after your FRA. In that way, you may eventually recover some or all of the benefits withheld by receiving a higher monthly amount for the rest of your life, starting at your full retirement age.
I suggest you contact Social Security at 1.800.772.1213 (or at your local office) and tell them you want to provide them with an estimate of your 2023 earnings because you are working and collecting early Social Security benefits. They will work with you to suspend your benefits for an appropriate number of (additional) months to avoid another overpayment situation. Note, you’ll likely need to do this each year you continue to work full time, until the year you reach your full retirement age when the earnings limit more than doubles. The earnings limit goes away when you reach your full retirement age.

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Old and bold
An “air chair” is not as comfy as it may sound -- especially if you are a nonagenarian. But that didn’t stop 94-year-old Ejnar Dyrr from sitting back on his hydrofoil, a sit-down platform pulled by a motorboat, as it skimmed across the Pineview Reservoir in Ogden Valley, Utah. His 8 children, 27 grandchildren and 30 or more great-grandchildren were on hand to cheer him on. The feat is likely to win him a page in the Guinness Book of World Records. Dyrr learned how to ride an air chair when he was younger -- at the age of 88.

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Excuse me!
How loud can you burp? Kimberly "Kimycola" Winter can belch as loud as a power lawn mower, 107 decibels loud. Indeed, her loud hiccup earned her a page in the Guinness Book of World Records recently. The sound she made is just 5.7 decibels short of the 112.7 decibel burp Neville Sharp of Australia made to win the men’s record in 2021.

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Masters of jugglery
It’s likely that David Rush and his partner, Arthur Lewbel did it again. They recently made 914 nonstop juggling catches and now they are awaiting word from the Guinness judges that they made it into the record book. In 2018 they earned the title by making 532 side-by-side juggling catches. Rush has earned some 250 Guinness Records in his lifetime for feats such as the world’s fastest juggler, juggling the most bowling balls and making the most consecutive ax-juggling catches. Oh yeah, he also won the Guinness World Record for using his nose to blow up 10 balloons in one minute.

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Tomato troubles

By MELINDA MYERS

Extreme heat, drought, torrential rains, and hungry critters may be wreaking havoc on your garden. After weeding, watering, and waiting you may be finding less, diseased, or misshapen tomatoes. Don’t give up. Make a few adjustments in garden maintenance to boost the current and future tomato harvests.
Blossom end rot is a common problem on the first set of fruit. It’s due to a calcium deficiency often caused by fluctuations in soil moisture frequently seen on the first set of fruit and those grown in containers.
Always water thoroughly to encourage a deep robust root system. Adjust your watering as needed and mulch the soil to help keep it consistently moist. Have your soil tested before adding any calcium fertilizer. Further reduce the risk of blossom end rot by avoiding root damage when staking and cultivating your garden. Eliminating some of the roots limits the plant’s ability to absorb water and nutrients. Avoid overfertilization and don’t use ammonium-based nitrogen fertilizers on tomatoes.
Fortunately, it is safe to eat the firm red portion of the affected tomato. Since this is a physiological disorder, not a disease or insect problem you can cut off the black portion and toss it into the compost pile.
Cracked fruit is also common in the garden. Fluctuating temperatures, moisture stress, and improper fertilization result in irregular development of the fruit that results in cracking. You can’t change the weather, but you can reduce the risk of this problem with thorough, less frequent watering to encourage deep roots. And just like blossom end rot, mulch the soil to keep it evenly moist and be sure to avoid root damage.
Several fungal diseases, such as early and late blight, septoria leaf spot, and anthracnose, can cause spots on the leaves and fruit of tomatoes. Minimize the problem by rotating your plantings whenever possible. Move your tomatoes to an area of the garden where unrelated crops, such as beans, lettuce, or onions, had been growing the previous season.
Mulching the soil also helps keep soil-borne fungal spores off the plant. Water early in the day and if possible, apply the water directly to the soil with a soaker hose, drip irrigation, or a watering wand to reduce the risk of disease.
Properly space and stake or tower your tomato plants to promote healthier growth and reduce the risk of disease. Remove any volunteer tomatoes that sprout and crowd out the current season’s planting.
Remove weeds as they appear. Many serve as hosts for insect pests and diseases and compete with tomato plants for water and nutrients. Removing them before they flower and set seed eliminates hundreds of weeds you would need to pull next year.
Always clean up and dispose of disease-infected plant material in the fall. Cultural practices and growing the most disease-resistant varieties available are often enough to keep these diseases under control.
If you choose to use a fungicide, select one labeled for food crops and apply it at the first sign of the disease. Repeat applications are usually needed. Be sure to read and follow all label directions carefully whether using organic, natural, or synthetic fungicides.
Enjoy this year’s harvest and continue to make any needed changes now and in the future to boost your gardening success. And as a gardener you know there is always next year.

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Medal of Honor: Army Capt. Loren D. Hagen
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News

Army Capt. Loren Douglas Hagen joined the Green Berets during the Vietnam War so he could find a childhood friend who'd never returned from deployment. Hagen didn't come home, either, but the extraordinary heroism he displayed while leading his men during a harrowing mission earned him a posthumous Medal of Honor.
Hagen was born on Feb. 25, 1946, to Loren and Eunice Hagen, and went by his middle name, Doug. For much of his childhood, he and his two younger brothers lived in Moorhead, Minnesota, on the border with Fargo, North Dakota, until their parents moved them to Decatur, Illinois. There, Hagen excelled at MacArthur High School, where he was an honor student and the president of the student council his senior year. He was also an Eagle Scout.
After high school, Hagen moved back to the Fargo area to attend North Dakota State University. He earned an engineering degree in 1968 before enlisting in the Army when the Vietnam War was still escalating.
"His goal was to find his best friend from high school, who had gone missing in action," said Sen. Bill Nelson in May 2015 during congressional testimony. That friend was Alan Boyer, who had disappeared during a mission in Vietnam on March 28, 1968.
Hagen was commissioned as an officer before training to join the Special Forces. He eventually served in the same unit Boyer had been in, according to a 2016 Decatur Herald and Review article. They were both part of the Military Assistance Command Vietnam Studies and Observations Group, which often conducted dangerous, classified missions in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
According to a 1971 article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Hagen, then a first lieutenant, was severely wounded in June 1971 in Vietnam and was recommended for the Silver Star at that time. He spent a few weeks in recovery before returning to the field.
Two weeks into that return, Hagen was appointed as the leader of a team consisting of six other U.S. special operators and nine indigenous soldiers called Montagnards. Known as Recon Team Kansas, they were sent to operate deep in enemy-held territory on the Laotian border.
According to Army documents, on the afternoon of Aug. 6, 1971, Recon Team Kansas was inserted into mountainous, rocky enemy terrain to do some reconnaissance and potentially rescue prisoners of war. After they set up defensive perimeters around the few bunkers near the hilltop, the team hunkered down for the night, occasionally detected enemy movement that they fired upon as needed.
Around 6 a.m. the next day, they were fiercely attacked by a large enemy force that was employing small-arms, automatic weapons and mortar and rocket fire against them.
Hagen quickly started returning fire and successfully led his team to repel the first attempted onslaught. They then spread out to get into better defensive positions before the enemy tried a second time to take them out.
On several occasions, Hagen exposed himself to enemy fire as he moved around the perimeter to rally the team, direct their fire and resupply them with fresh ammo, all while using his own gun and hand grenades to help push the enemy back. His Medal of Honor citation said that those courageous actions and leadership abilities were a great source of inspiration for his small team to continue the fight.
About an hour after the second wave of fighting started, Hagen saw an enemy rocket directly hit one of the team's bunkers, which Sgt. Bruce A. Berg was known to be in. Hagen knew that the enemy had totally overrun the area where that bunker was, but he didn't care. He directed his assistant team leader to assume command before moving toward the bunker anyway, hoping to find Berg and anyone else who may have been inside.
Hagen ignored his own safety and crawled through enemy fire, returning volleys with his own gun until he was hit and killed.
Two other Americans died that day — Berg and fellow Green Beret SSgt. Oran L. Bingham — along with six of the Montagnard commandos. The remaining men on the team were all wounded. Luckily, they were able to stave off the attack until backup and evacuation helicopters came.
One of Hagen's teammates, Sgt. Tony Anderson, discussed the ordeal in the book "SOG: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam," by retired Army Maj. John L. Plaster. Anderson attributed their survival to Hagen.
"It's amazing that any of us came through it with the amount of incoming that we were getting," Andersen said. " epitomized what a Special Forces officer should be — attentive to detail, a lot of rehearsals, followed through on things. … We were ready. I think that was probably the only thing that kept us from being totally overrun. Everybody was alert and knew what was happening."
According to Plaster's book, the Air Force said Hagen's team ended up killing 185 North Vietnamese soldiers during the fight and likely wounded twice as many.
A week after Hagen's death, he was posthumously promoted to captain. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
The Medal of Honor was presented to Hagen's family by Vice President Gerald R. Ford on Aug. 8, 1974, the day before Ford was inaugurated as president. Five other fallen Vietnam War soldiers received the medal that day: Maj. William Adams, Staff Sgt. Glenn English Jr., Staff Sgt. Robert Murray, Cpl. Frank Fratellenico and Spc. 4 Larry G. Dahl.
Hagen's two hometowns have not forgotten him. In 2015, American Legion Post 308 in West Fargo was named in his honor. At his former high school in Decatur, a Doug Hagen Scholarship for students was created in his name.
While he was alive, Hagen never did find out what happened to Boyer, his high school friend. It took another 45 years for those details to finally be uncovered.
In 2016, Boyer's sister, Judi Boyer-Bouchard, told the Decatur Herald and Review that she'd gotten a phone call from the Army saying that her brother's remains had been identified. The article said Boyer's body had been in the possession of remains traders in Laos before ending up with a peace activist. That activist turned them over to the U.S. government, which subsequently did DNA testing to confirm that they were Boyer.
Boyer now rests in Arlington National Cemetery, five rows in front of Hagen, the friend who went to Vietnam to find him so long ago.

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A whale of a tale
According to the International Whaling Commission “whale watching tourism is rapidly growing around the world.” But it is highly unlikely that the majority of the millions of whale watchers out there have seen what the Robert Addie family saw off the coast of Provincetown, MA recently: three humpback whales simultaneously breaching the Atlantic Ocean. Coincidentally, Robert had his video camera handy when the trio of whales soared out of the water at the same time.

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Go figure
It is estimated that hundreds of millions of online buyers make purchases via Amazon. Cindy Smith of Prince William County, VA is one of them, as is Liz Geltman of Washington, D.C. That’s not the only thing they have in common. Back in May Ms. Geltman reported that she received some 80 unsolicited packages of goods from the online “super” market over a period of time. More recently, Ms. Smith received more than 100 boxes containing a variety of products ranging from glue guns to binoculars. She, too, did not order the goodies she received. Believe it or not, according to the UPI news service: “Amazon officials said they looked into both incidents, and discovered both Smith and Geltman's packages were the result of vendors having packages shipped to random addresses in order to remove unsold merchandise from Amazon fulfillment centers.”

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Grin and “bear” it
The Chinese zookeepers insist that the Sun Bear on display at the Hangzhou Zoo in Zhejiang Province East China is real, despite a viral video that suggests the bear is actually a man wearing a costume. The video shows the bear standing upright on slim legs with baggy skin that certainly looks like an ill-fitting costume. According to the zoo, “when it comes to bears, the first thing that comes to mind is a huge figure and astonishing power. But not all bears are behemoths and danger personified."

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

According to History.com. “The USS Nautilus was constructed under the direction of U.S. Navy Captain Hyman G. Rickover, a brilliant Russian-born engineer who joined the U.S. atomic program in 1946. In 1947, he was put in charge of the navy’s nuclear-propulsion program and began work on an atomic submarine. Regarded as a fanatic by his detractors, Rickover succeeded in developing and delivering the world’s first nuclear submarine years ahead of schedule.
“In 1952, the Nautilus’ keel was laid by President Harry S. Truman, and on January 21, 1954, first lady Mamie Eisenhower broke a bottle of champagne across its bow as it was launched into the Thames River at Groton, Connecticut. Commissioned on September 30, 1954, it first ran under nuclear power on the morning of January 17, 1955,”
The inaugural voyage—to the North Pole—however, did not take place until August 3, 1958.
For more information, the Grateful American Book Prize recommends Nautilus to Columbia: 70 years of the US Navy's Nuclear Submarines by James C. Goodall.

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As she ascended to the Supreme Court--on August 8, 2009--the White House issued a news release describing Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor as "one of the ablest federal judges currently sitting" and "a role model of aspiration, discipline, commitment, intellectual prowess and integrity."
She was born in the Bronx to a Puerto Rican mother, and to a father who died when she was nine; according to History.com “…watching the CBS legal drama Perry Mason in her youth led her to aspire to a career as a judge. She received a scholarship to attend Princeton University, where she advocated strongly on behalf of the school's underserved minority communities and received her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1979.”
The Beloved World of Sonia Sotomayor won the Grateful American Book Prize in 2019.

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According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, one third of the colonists remained loyal to the British during the Revolutionary War. On August 13, 1781, Brigadier General Francis “Swamp Fox” Marion, and Colonel William Harden lured 450 Tories--under British commander Major Thomas Fraser--into a trap near the marshes of Parker’s Ferry, 30 miles northwest of Charleston, South Carolina.
“Marion, who earned his nickname for his ability to ‘outfox’ his opponents in the swamps of the South Carolina backcountry, sent his fastest riders ahead to tempt Fraser into a waiting Patriot trap,” according to History.com. “The maneuver succeeded. Fraser ordered his men to charge, and three successive volleys of musket fire by the Patriots mowed down the ranks of the Loyalist cavalry. Only a shortage of ammunition among the Patriots saved the Loyalists, who lost half their force in the skirmish. Fraser…was hit three times in the course of the engagement but managed to continue in command of his men.”
For more information, the Grateful American Book Prize recommends Our First Civil War: Patriots and Loyalists in the American Revolution by H. W. Brands.

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Medal of Honor: Marine Corps Pvt. Joseph Ozbourn

By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News

Service members caught in a firefight will do whatever they can to protect their comrades. Marine Corps Pvt. Joseph William Ozbourn was one of those people during World War II. His loyalty led to his death, but his personal sacrifice also earned him a posthumous Medal of Honor.
Ozbourn was born on Oct. 24, 1919, in Herrin, Illinois. He grew up there with his parents, Thomas and Eva Ozbourn, and his older brother, James, who served in the Army during World War II.
According to Ozbourn's father, who was interviewed in a 1963 South Bend Tribune article, his youngest son was well-liked by all who knew him and had quit school in the eighth grade to work at a factory. Ozbourn later worked as a coal mine trip rider for Old Ben Coal Corporation, like his father had, in nearby West Frankfurt, Illinois.
Ozbourn's mother died in 1939. In December of that year, he married Helen Meacham, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. They had a son named Ronald.
According to 1940 Census data, by 1940, Ozbourn was working as a laborer for the Work Projects Administration, a government agency formed under the New Deal.
Ozbourn enlisted in the Marine Corps on Oct. 30, 1943, right in the middle of World War II. He was assigned to the 4th Marine Division's 1st Battalion, 23d Marines, a unit that was activated in July of 1942. By late January 1944, the unit was deployed to the South Pacific. Ozbourn's father said it apparently happened with little warning, as his son had asked his family for funds to come home on furlough but was instead shipped overseas.
Pretty quickly, the 1st Battalion was thrown into battle at Roi-Namur, part of the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. After defeating the Japanese there, the division island-hopped by May 1944 to the Mariana Islands, which were the last bastion of Japan's Central Pacific perimeter. The Marines first took Saipan before moving onto Tinian Island.
On July 30, 1944, Ozbourn was on Tinian serving as a rifleman in a five-man platoon that was tasked with clearing out the remaining enemy troops from dugouts and pillboxes along a particular treeline. As Ozbourn was about to throw a hand grenade into one of those dugouts, an explosion from its entrance knocked him and the four other men backward, injuring them all.
Ozbourn quickly realized that his grenade was armed and ready to blow at any second. However, he was unable to throw it into the dugout, and he had no place else to get rid of it that didn't endanger the other Marines with him.
Without hesitation, the 24-year-old selflessly pulled the grenade close to his body and fell upon it as it exploded. He absorbed the full impact of the blast and died where he lay. But his sacrifice saved his comrades.
The Marines succeeded in beating the enemy at Tinian, and the Allies eventually took over all of the Marianas. The win severed the Japanese's southern supply lines and pushed their defense west of the Philippines while also opening the Japanese homeland to aerial assaults. Tinian later became the base of operations for the launch of the atomic bombs that ended the war.
Ozbourn was initially buried on Tinian, but his remains were later reinterred in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.
His widow, Helen, received the Medal of Honor on his behalf, though the date on which that happened is unclear. She had received it by the time she christened the destroyer named for her fallen husband in March 1946. The USS Ozbourn was commissioned at the Boston Naval Shipyard.
Ozbourn has been remembered in many ways in his home state, including along a portion of a highway in his hometown, which was renamed in his honor.

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Housecall

Dr. Daniel Knight is a professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Q: When should children begin getting eye exams? A: Opinions vary on when children should get their first eye exams. The health of the child, desires of the parents or guardians, family history, and recommendations from a health care provider all play a part in this decision. Vision problems in children are often the same as those in adults. Amblyopia (commonly referred to as lazy eye) is due to a communication fault between the brain and the affected eye, and is reversible if detected early. Blurred vision from nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism are refractive errors related to light and its focus on the retina. Epiphora (excess tearing) is normally due to a blockage of the tear drainage system. Strabismus (or crossed eyes) is when one eye is turned in a different direction than the other. Eye exams are normally part of a visit to a health care provider with an infant. A check of the eyes and lids, pupil response and eye movement may occur. A referral to an ophthalmologist may be in order if the child was born prematurely or if there are signs of eye disease. At a minimum, eye exams should occur prior to a child attending school. Vision problems can affect learning and overall development.

Q: How is psoriasis treated? A: Psoriasis is an autoimmune skin disorder in which skin cells grow much faster than normal. Skin cells generally grow and shed within 30 days. In a person affected by psoriasis, an overactive immune system causes skin cell growth to occur in three or four days and instead of shedding, they pile on top of one another. Psoriasis often presents itself between the ages of 15 and 25, but may start at any age and affects people of all ethnicities. Symptoms include patches of discolored skin. Depending upon the affected person’s skin tone, these patches may be red with silver scales, or brown or purple with gray scales. Skin may crack or bleed, or a person may experience problems with discoloration and pitting of fingernails and toenails. Triggers are specific to each individual and may include infections, cold, dry weather, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and certain medications. Psoriasis is not contagious. The specific cause of psoriasis is unknown. Your health care provider may take a skin sample to determine the type of psoriasis, as well as to rule out other medical conditions. Treatment options include creams and ointments, phototherapy (exposing skin to ultraviolet light), or oral and injected medications.

Q: What should I look for in a primary care provider? A: Choosing a primary care provider (PCP) is an important step in maintaining your health. Whether you are in relatively good shape and need minimal assistance, or you are someone who requires extensive care, the PCP establishes the foundation for your health care needs. Many patients stay with the same PCP for years. The PCP works with patients on a variety of health care concerns and is the first person you should see if you have a problem. PCP’s can help with issues such as preventive care, long-term care, early detection of conditions, routine checkups, treating acute and chronic illnesses, and making referrals to specialists. Several factors should be considered when choosing a PCP. Among them are your specific needs – family practice physicians treat patients of all ages, internal medicine practitioners normally treat adults in managing chronic conditions, while pediatricians treat patients under the age of 18. Checking with your insurance to determine which doctors are in network is also important. The accessibility of the PCP’s office, and whether they are accepting new patients should be considered. You may also inquire as to which hospital the PCP uses, and determine if you are comfortable with that facility.

Q: What is neurosurgery?
A: Neurosurgery involves diagnosing and treating individuals with injuries or disorders of the brain, spine and other parts of the nervous system. While neurosurgery is often associated with brain injuries, it does apply to other parts of the body. Neurosurgeons are doctors who specialize in neurosurgery. They provide operative and non-operative management of neurological disorders. Conditions for which you may need neurosurgery include brain injury or trauma, herniated disks, Parkinson’s disease, peripheral neuropathy, sciatica or spinal stenosis. Neurosurgery can remove blood clots, repair aneurysms, assist with carpal tunnel syndrome, remove tumors or fuse your spine. While some institutions don’t require a referral to see a neurosurgeon, it is advised to see your primary health care provider for initial examination and diagnosis. If more in-depth analysis is required or if a patient does not respond to other treatments or has unexplained neurological symptoms, they may be referred to a neurosurgeon. A visit to a neurosurgeon does not necessarily mean surgery is imminent. Neurosurgeons are able to provide surgical and nonsurgical options. If surgery is required, current technology allows for minimally invasive surgery as well as traditional surgery. Minimally invasive surgery often results in faster recovery times and less post-surgery pain.

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Social Security Matters
By Russell Gloor, National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – I’m a Veteran. How Do I Get My Extra Social Security?

Dear Rusty: As a military veteran, I was told that the final amount of my Social Security should be a little higher as a reward for military service. If so, I have two questions: 1. How much is the boost? 2. How can I know that amount has been applied? Signed: Unsure
Dear Unsure: We receive questions about this fairly often from our military veterans. I want to first thank you for your service to our country and then assure you that, as a military veteran myself, I have thoroughly investigated this subject - the so-called “Special Extra Credit for Military Service,” which is widely misunderstood. Although someone suggested that your Social Security benefit “is supposed to be a little higher” because you are a military veteran, allow me to share how this somewhat obscure rule actually works.
Any extra money for military veterans does not come in the form of a special “boost” to their Social Security benefit because of their military service; instead, certain older veterans receive extra credit to their earnings for the years they served. Those extra earnings are applied only to those who served in specific years, as additional dollars added to their actual earnings record for their service-years. The amount added to the veteran’s true service-year earnings varies a bit depending on which years you served. For example, if you served between 1957 – 1977, your actual earnings for each service-year would be increased by $300 for each full quarter you had active duty pay to a maximum of $1200 additional earnings per service-year. The credit is computed a bit differently for those who served between 1978 – 2001, but the maximum annual earnings credit for those service years is the same - $1,200. And, for clarity, those who served before 1957 get extra earnings credit under an entirely different formula, and those who served after 2001 receive no extra credits for their military service years.
So how might this affect your Social Security benefit? Well, when your benefit is claimed, Social Security reviews your lifetime earnings record, inflates each actual annual amount to equal today’s dollar equivalent, and selects the highest earning 35 years from your lifetime record to calculate your “Primary Insurance Amount” or “PIA” (your PIA is the amount you are entitled to at full retirement age). If your military service-years are among the 35 years used to compute your PIA when you claim, then the “Special Extra Credit for Military Service” will result in a somewhat higher PIA (a slightly higher monthly SS benefit). If the highest earning 35 years in your lifetime record do not include your military-service-years, then those extra credits added to your earnings for your military-service-years will have no effect on your Social Security benefit (because using those service-years would result in a lower benefit). How Social Security applies those special extra credits to your service-year earnings also varies depending on when you served. Those who served before 1968 needed to show their DD-214 to get the extra credits, but those who served in between 1968 – 2001 were automatically given the extra credits based on their military service records.
So, if your military service was between 1968 and 2001, your earnings during the years you served were automatically increased by SS to reflect your “special extra” earnings and - if those years are among the highest of the 35 years used to compute your SS benefit - you are now receiving the extra benefit amount you’re entitled to from those credits. If you have at least 35 years over your lifetime where you earned more than your pay while serving in the military, your current benefit is more than it would be if your military service years were included. If you have questions about your earnings during your military service years, you may wish to obtain a copy of your lifetime earnings history from Social Security to review those amounts (easiest way to get your lifetime earnings history is via your personal “my Social Security” account at www.ssa.gov/myaccount.

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Honoring Charles Durning, Character Actor and WWII Hero

By JOE GUZZARDI

Charles Durning’s D-Day memories were so painful that for decades he suppressed them. Drafted at age 20, Durning eventually earned a Silver Star for valor, a Bronze Star for meritorious service in a combat zone, and three Purple Hearts, given in the president’s name to those wounded or killed in military service. Just out of high school, which he didn’t complete until the war ended, Durning was the only survivor in a unit that landed on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944.
Durning’s World War II experiences are unfathomable, and his actions in defense of his fellow soldiers, selfless and heroic. During the Normandy battle, Durning killed seven German gunners, but suffered serious machine gun wounds to his right leg and shrapnel wounds throughout his body.
After a six-month recovery in England, Durning was rushed back to the front lines to fight against the German Ardennes offensive. During the Battle of the Bulge, Durning suffered more wounds, this time in hand-to-hand bayonet combat when he was stabbed eight times. Despite the vicious assault, Durning summoned up the strength to kill his attacker with a rock which earned him a second Purple Heart. Soon after, his company was captured and forced to march through the Malmedy Forest; in the ensuing “Malmedy massacre,” German troops opened fire on the prisoners, and Durning was among the few who escaped.
Durning would earn his third Purple Heart when, in March 1945, he moved into Germany with the 398th Infantry Regiment, where he was severely wounded when a bullet struck him in the chest. Private First Class Durning was evacuated to the U.S. to spend the remainder of his active Army career recovering until he was discharged in January 1946.
Born in 1923, Durning grew up in Highland Falls, N.Y., near the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. His father, James, an Irish immigrant who had joined the Army to gain U.S. citizenship, lost a leg during World War I and died when Charles was 12. James’ widow Louise supported her five children by working as a laundress at West Point. Four other children died from scarlet fever.
After the war, Durning used dance as physical therapy to strengthen his badly injured leg and speech therapy to smooth out a stutter that had developed. He began training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, but was told he lacked talent. Undeterred, he took small roles with Joseph Papp’s New York Shakespeare Company and taught ballroom dancing at the Fred Astaire studio.
Eventually, Durning achieved his lifelong goal when he landed parts in television and the movies. His most memorable silver screen appearances among his 200 films include The Sting, 1973; Dog Day Afternoon, 1975, and Tootsie, 1982. His significant honors include numerous Academy, Emmy and Tony Award nominations.
Reluctant to visit the site where so many of his comrades lay, Durning returned to Normandy only once after the war ended. Looking back during a 1994 Memorial Day service to recognize the invasion’s 50th anniversary, Durning noted remorsefully that the U.S. had engaged in at least five wars since World War II – Korea, Desert Storm, Panama, Grenada and Vietnam. He said that each war is pertinent to only the individual who was there.
“I don’t know what they went through; they don’t know what I went through,” said Durning. “Each person fights his own war. Each person is on a one-to-one basis with whoever’s opposite him.” Durning added: “That war changed history as we knew it. It was the greatest armada that ever hit any country, anywhere, anytime in the history of mankind. No one will ever see anything that enormous again.” World War II was, Durning said, the last war that had a well-defined purpose.
In January 2008, Durning was honored with the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, and his star was placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame adjacent to the actor he most admired, Jimmy Cagney. Durning died of natural causes at his Manhattan home on Christmas Eve December 24, 2012, aged 89. Two days later, Broadway theaters dimmed their lights in his honor. Durning is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, the ultimate tribute to an American hero.

Joe Guzzardi is an analyst for the Institute for Sound Public Policy. Contact him at jguzzardi@ifspp.org.
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A toothsome smile
Eleven-year-old Charlie Clinton went fishing in a local pond in Edmond, Oklahoma recently and got the shock of his young life when he landed a fish with a human-like toothsome smile. The pacu, a South American relative of the notoriously scary piranha, is known for choppers that look like they’re ready to chew away on a crackling, crispy man-sized meal. Fear not, however. Unlike the piranha, the pacus poses little danger for people. But they can grow to three-and-a-half feet in length and 88 pounds in weight, so the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation says, "anglers who catch pacu in Oklahoma are asked to remove them from the watershed and contact their local game warden."

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Don’t mess with this senior citizen
Baseball hero and New York Yankee legend, Casey Stengel, was known for his malaprops such as “when you come to a fork in the road, take it.” But he got it right when he said, “the trick is growing up without growing old.” Want proof? Ask California Angeleno Jim Arrington. He was named the world's oldest bodybuilder by the Guinness World Records in 2015, when he was 83 years old. He’s 90 years old now and he did it again. The referees at Guinness recently declared that he broke his own record at a recent International Federation of Body Building and Fitness Professional League event in Reno, Nevada. As Arrington put it "I wanted to be a superhero" and he is indeed a superhero, not only for senior citizens.

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Hot Dog!
Beenie Von Weenie is proof that “if at first you don't succeed, try, try again.” After years of trying, the dachshund finally was declared The Fastest Wienie of the West! at the 26th Wienerschnitzel Wiener Nationals at California’s Los Alamitos Race Course. Beenie’s owner, Nicolee Leonard, gleefully told KABC-TV, "Fantastic! I've been coming every year. And he nailed it. He won a doghouse and $1,000 and the title.”

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Medal of Honor: Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Oscar Nelson
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News
When a boiler exploded on Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Oscar Frederick Nelson's gunboat in 1905, he didn't hesitate to act. He pulled three men from the inferno and kept the crisis from potentially endangering people onshore. His efforts earned him the Medal of Honor.
Nelson was born on Nov. 5, 1881, in Denmark to parents Peter and Eliza Nielson. He had two siblings who were also born in Denmark. At some point in the 1890s, the family dropped the "i" in their last name and emigrated to the suburbs of Minneapolis.
According to the Brainerd Daily Dispatch out of Brainerd, Minnesota, Nelson worked in Northern Pacific railway shops in the town before enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1899.
On July 21, 1905, Nelson was serving as a machinist's mate 1st class on the USS Bennington, a gunboat that had arrived in San Diego harbor from Honolulu. While the ship was docked, a boiler exploded. Nelson explained in a 1917 Quad City Times article that out of 22 men in the ship's engine room, he was the only one to survive.
"I was blown back over the steering engines and found myself lying with three men on top of me," Nelson said in the newspaper, which is based out of Davenport, Iowa. "Boiling water was escaping from the steam pipes. The bulkheads were caved in, and I could feel the boat sinking. I was forced to grope my way about the engine room was so full of steam."
After Nelson escaped, he regrouped, then rushed back into the inferno that was the engine room to drag three men out of it. Unfortunately, they didn't survive.
Since the ship was only about 300 feet from shore, Nelson said it was also imperative that he flooded the powder magazines.
"In the magazines were 13 tons of smokeless powder and 10,000 rounds of 6-inch shells of the armor-piercing kind," Nelson said in a 1914 Brainerd Daily Dispatch article. "Had the contents of the magazine exploded, a great portion of the waterfront of San Diego would have been blown up."
According to the Quad City Times, when Nelson delivered the third man he'd tried to rescue to the upper deck, he was grabbed by attendants from various steamers that came to help. They rushed him to a hospital.
The Bennington sank shortly after that. It was hauled to shore by tugboats for repairs; however, later that year, it was decommissioned and sold for scrap, according to the Naval History and Heritage Command.
The explosion killed 67 of the ship's men and injured 49 others, reports showed.
For his bravery that day, Nelson received the Medal of Honor. It was presented to him on Jan. 6, 1906, by Nicholas Longworth, the son-in-law of President Teddy Roosevelt.
Nelson remained in the service afterward, serving on the torpedo boat destroyer USS Paul Jones, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He was honorably discharged a few years later.
According to Minnesota's St. Louis County Historical Society, Nelson eventually moved to Duluth, Minnesota, and worked for more than two decades for the Army Corps of Engineers. He retired in 1950.
At some point he married Anna Dahl, and they had a daughter, Beatrice.
Nelson died Sept. 26, 1951, at 69 years of age. He is buried in Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis.
Nelson's Medal of Honor can be found in the Depot of the Veterans' Memorial Hall Gallery in Duluth.

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Carrots: A healthy snack you can grow
By MELINDA MYERS

Nutritious and flavorful carrots make the perfect snack and addition to salads, stir-fries, soups, and stews. They have the crunch of chips and crackers without the fat and calories. High in vitamin A and easy to grow, plant now for a flavorful fall harvest.
You’ll find carrots in a variety of shapes and colors making them a fun and colorful addition to the garden and snack tray. Select from long and thin, short and stubby, round like a radish, and orange, red, yellow, white and even purple carrots.
Check the seed packet for the number of days from planting to harvest. Compare this to the number of days to the average first fall frost in your area. Finger-size carrots may be dwarf varieties or larger ones harvested when immature. These are usually ready to harvest in 50 to 60 days while other larger varieties grown to ¾” in diameter need a bit longer, 60 to 70 days, to reach full size.
Plant the seeds in a sunny well-drained location. Dig a shallow trench, planting the seeds ½ to ¾” deep in the summer when the soil is warm. Plant no more than two to three seeds per inch. Or mix the fine carrot seeds with potting mix and sprinkle this mixture over the soil surface. Be patient as it can take several weeks for the carrots to sprout. Gently water the new planting and keep the soil moist until the carrots sprout.
Make planting the small carrot seeds easier with pelleted seeds and seed tapes. Pelleted seeds are coated making them easier to handle while seed tapes have properly spaced seeds attached to a biodegradable paper strip.
Some gardeners double their harvest and reduce thinning by mixing radish and carrot seeds when planting. You’ll harvest the radish seeds in about 45 days leaving space for the carrots to continue to grow to their mature size.
No matter the variety of carrots or planting method selected make sure the plants have room to reach their mature size. Thin plantings by removing excess seedlings when an inch tall, leaving space for the remaining plants to reach full size. Use the thinnings (young plants removed) tops and all in salads and as a snack. Convert the greens on any size carrot into pesto.
Provide a bit of shade and keep the soil moist when planting carrots in the heat of summer. Continue to water as needed throughout the growing season. Remove weeds that compete with weak carrot seedlings for space, moisture and nutrients. Avoid deep cultivation that can damage the carrot when removing weeds.
Carefully dig the carrots when the roots have reached full size. Remove all but an inch of the greens and store them in a cool location around 41° F in a perforated plastic bag. You can also store them in the garden by covering the planting with straw mulch, floating row covers or a low tunnel. The goal is to keep the snow off and the soil cold but prevent it from freezing solid. Harvest carrots throughout the winter and enjoy their sweet flavor.
With proper planting and care you will have lots of carrots to enjoy. Try grating some into burgers, juicing a few, adding them to baked goods, mashing them as a side dish, and adding them to soups and stews.
Plant now for a bountiful fall harvest.

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Selling your business to a private equity firm? What you can expect after closing

By JASON HENDREN

You’ve worked extraordinarily hard to build your business, and now a private equity firm is interested in buying a majority stake in it. This could end up being a dream financial scenario for you – or, after the sale, the dynamics of the new partnership may keep you up at night.
As you consider a potential buyer and yourself staying on as a partner, it’s imperative to have a discussion with them about what the partnership will look like. Every buyer is different. They each have their own methods and often adapt those methods based upon the needs of the companies they partner with. And sometimes, there is no flexibility at all; there is a defined program that you will be forced to comply with.
You’ll have to ask yourself if that’s for you.
Understanding a buyer’s plan for your company will help you to evaluate them, especially when you have more than one buyer to choose from. What changes should you expect after closing the sale? Here are some key factors to keep in mind when preparing for a new partnership with a private equity firm:

Understanding your new partners

Remember that your new partners are a company. They have a structure, a hierarchy, and their own management team. Take time to understand how their company is organized and, specifically, how that structure will support your company as their newest investment.
Who will be your main contact? Typically, the investment firms have individuals who are responsible for being a primary point of contact for a few of the companies they own. They will effectively be your new boss, a concept that takes some adjustment for most entrepreneurs. They will check on the health of the company, evaluate progress on key initiatives, and support you as you tackle new challenges. They may also become a regular face within the halls of your company and someone who your executive team will get to know well.
Ask about resources. What are the resources the private equity firm has that are important to your growth strategy? This is another area where firms differ greatly. Larger firms often have deeper resources than smaller firms. Both of my private equity partners had an HR specialist on staff. I underestimated the value brought by that specific role. When my company was still relatively small, I did not have a VP-level HR person, so having someone with that expertise and experience was helpful as we started expanding into other states by tackling variations in healthcare and compensation laws.
Many firms have special competencies or programs that are there to support their operating companies. A firm may have someone on staff that does ERP systems or has expertise in global sourcing. They may also have resources to develop your team like leadership forums or continuous improvement training. If they are planning to grow through acquisition, ask how they support the deal sourcing and due diligence process.

Getting the team aligned and evaluated

Any good investor knows that human capital is among the most important ingredients for a healthy investment. Know that the investors have been evaluating you as a founder and CEO, as well as your entire team, since the moment you met.
After the investment is complete, the investors will be looking to validate their initial observations. They may do this in one-on-one meetings and in a group setting.
Reviewing the investment thesis. Every investment is backed by an investment thesis, which was used to value your company and justify the acquisition. In it will be the plans for the company, your team, the growth strategy, and how they hope to make a profitable exit. While it is rare to see this information before the closing, you may have access to it afterwards. You may want to ask your new partners about the post-closing business plan and see if it aligns with your vision for how the new partnership should operate.
Team-building. Ask your new potential partner what strategy they use to align the team. Do they bring everyone together in a cooperative planning session or have another method for kicking off the new partnership? You may also want to know what type of financial incentives the team will receive to execute the new plan, which may include stock options, value creation plans, or a transaction bonus.

Board meetings and progress checks

You should expect to travel to the equity firm’s headquarters for board meetings since it is not practical for them to travel four times a year to every company they have under management. A board process can range from very structured to very fluid depending on the approach favored by the firm you are joining.
In addition to board meetings, your new partners may have other methods for monitoring the progress of the companies they own. These can vary in formality. I have seen firms where the CFO has a monthly call with someone from the finance team of the investment group. I have also seen where, in addition to four quarterly board meetings per year, there are eight additional monthly meetings where the entire executive team comes together for a mini board meeting. If you consider that there are, on average, about 22 workdays a month, you might be spending 10 percent of your management’s time preparing for and holding review meetings. This may be counter to your culture, but if it is what your new partners require, it might be time to upgrade the chairs in your conference room.
Keep in mind that you only have influence, not control, in your post-closing role. Over the years, I have met many business owners who have shared stories of their private equity partnerships. Sometimes those stories are good, sometimes not.
As a seller, you should have an informed discussion with a potential buyer early in the relationship. Ask them about how they manage the companies they own and to describe how they will interact with you as their CEO. Find out about workplace policies and financial management and if they have strict policies and systems or if they largely leave yours in place.
Finally, see if they have internal resources in place to build value in your company and enhance the skills of your team.
In the end, this is largely a financial transaction for you as the selling entrepreneur. If
you are meeting your personal goals, you may not be inclined to blow up a deal over
these points. However, if you are truly looking for this partnership to be a key ingredient in getting your company to the next level, take the time to know what you are signing up for. Many acquirers may appear the same on the surface but can operate very differently as partners.

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Social Security Matters
By RUSSELL GLOOR
National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation, the non-profit arm of the Association of Mature American Citizens

Ask Rusty – When Should My Wife Claim Her Social Security Benefits?

Dear Rusty: My wife turns 65 in November of 2023. She was born on 11/21/1958. I am a year younger with an 8/1/1959 birthdate. I know my wife is not at full retirement age, but the difference in her SS payment is not much and collecting 3 years of the lower amount far exceeds her waiting until age 68. My question is: because half of my SS is more than her SS, if she retires this year, will she still get 50% of my SS when I retire? Signed: Planning Our Future
Dear Planning: Spouse benefits are one of Social Security’s trickiest areas, so you’re wise to get answers before either of you claim benefits. The short answer is, “No” - if your wife claims her own benefit this year, she will not get 50% of your benefit when you later claim. Here’s how it works:
Born in November 1958, your wife’s full retirement age (FRA) is 66 years plus 8 months, which she will attain in July 2025. Born in August 1959, your FRA is 66 years plus 10 months, which you will reach in June 2026.
Your wife will get a “spousal boost” to her personal SS benefit if her FRA entitlement is less than 50% of your FRA entitlement but, if she claims before reaching her FRA, her monthly payment when you claim will be less than 50% of your FRA entitlement (taking her own benefit early affects her total payment amount as your spouse). If, instead, your wife waits until her own FRA to claim her SS retirement benefit, her payment when you later claim will be increased to equal 50% of your FRA entitlement.
I assume your reference to your wife “waiting until age 68” refers to her age when you claim at your FRA, but there is no reason for your wife to wait past her own FRA to claim benefits because her spousal benefit will not be more if she waits longer. So, the question is whether your wife should claim this year and get a reduced payment when you later claim or, instead, wait until her FRA to claim her own benefit and get her maximum benefit later. And that depends on 1) whether your wife is working, and 2) what her life expectancy is:
1. If your wife is working and claims early SS benefits, she will be subject to Social Security’s “earnings test” which limits how much she can earn before some benefits are taken away. The earnings limit for 2023 is $21,240 and, if that is exceeded, SS will take away benefits equal to $1 for every $2 she is over the limit. The earnings limit lasts until she reaches her full retirement age.
2. If your wife’s life expectancy is long (average for a woman your wife’s current age is about 87), then maximizing her monthly benefit by waiting until her FRA to claim is likely her smartest choice.
If your wife’s FRA entitlement is less than 50% of your FRA entitlement, waiting until her FRA to claim will result in getting her full personal amount first and then later her maximum entitlement (including her spousal boost). If she claims now, her later payment (which includes her spousal boost) will be less than half of your FRA amount. If your wife’s life expectancy is at least average, waiting until her FRA to claim will likely yield the highest cumulative lifetime benefits.
But if your wife isn’t working full time, by claiming now (vs. at her FRA) she would get her reduced personal benefit for an extra 2 years. If you divide the amount your wife would collect over those two years by the difference between her current benefit amount and her maximum spousal amount (half of your FRA entitlement), you will see how long it would take for your wife to recover those 2 years of benefits. And if her life expectancy is less than that length of time, then claiming earlier is likely the right move.

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By MELINDA MYERS

Boost your fall garden harvest with some midsummer plantings. Fill vacant spaces left in the vegetable garden after harvesting lettuce, spinach, and other early maturing crops. Expand your edible plantings to other vacant spots in flowerbeds, mixed borders, and containers.
Sow seeds of beans, cucumbers, carrots, beets, and other vegetables that will have time to reach maturity before the end of your growing season. Simply count the number of days from planting to the average first fall frost in your area. You’ll find frost dates for your location on the internet, extension publications and other gardening resources. Next, check the back of the seed packet for the number of days needed from planting until harvest. As long as you have enough time for the seeds to sprout, grow and produce before the first frost, they can be added to the garden.
Some plants like collards, kale and broccoli tolerate, and even taste better, after a light freeze. This makes them great choices for a fall-harvested garden. Some garden centers sell transplants of these and other vegetables suitable for summer planting. Check the plant tags for the number of days needed for transplants to grow and start producing.
Extend the harvest season by providing frost protection in the fall. Cold frames and cloches that act like mini greenhouses for individual plants protect the plants from frost. Vent them on warm sunny days and close the lids when frost is in the forecast.
Use floating row cover fabrics for an even lower maintenance option. They are designed to let air, light, and water through to the plants while protecting them from frost. You will find row covers available in various weights that provide different levels of cold weather protection. Select the one best suited to your climate and the vegetables you are growing.
Loosely cover the plants with the fabric and anchor the edges with stones, boards, or landscape pins. Just lift the row cover to harvest, recover, and leave it in place until the harvest is complete, or the temperatures drop below what the row cover and plants can handle.
Wait for the soil to cool before planting lettuce, spinach, and other vegetable seeds that require cooler temperatures to germinate. Increase germination success by planting the seeds as directed, watering them in, and covering the row with a wooden lath to keep the soil cooler. Remove the lath as soon as the seeds sprout. Or start the plants indoors and move them into the garden as transplants. Then help keep the soil cool throughout the remainder of summer by mulching with leaves, evergreen needles, or other organic mulch.
Increase the health and productivity of your second planting by preparing the soil before planting seeds and transplants. Mix an inch of quality compost into the top six inches of soil or fertilize with organically rich low-nitrogen fertilizer.
Once your seeds and transplants are in the ground, be sure to water them properly. Keep the seedbed and roots of transplants moist for the first few weeks. Gradually reduce the watering frequency as seedlings sprout and grow, and transplants become established. Most plants need about an inch of water each week. Water thoroughly whenever the top few inches of soil are crumbly and slightly moist. Adjust your watering schedule based on your weekly rainfall, soil type, and air temperatures.
Harvest vegetables when they are at their peak of ripeness and early in the morning after the dew dries whenever possible. Regular picking avoids waste and results in a bigger harvest of flavorful and nutritious vegetables to enjoy throughout the fall.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation,
the non-profit arm of the Association of Mature American Citizens

Ask Rusty – Will WEP and GPO Affect My Wife’s Spousal Benefit?

Dear Rusty: My wife worked for the US Postal Service in New York for about 22 years, and then in the private sector for about 15 years. She began collecting her “deferred annuity” from the USPS at age 62 and she plans to collect her Social Security benefits at age 67, which is her full retirement age (FRA).
Her Social Security benefit before the Windfall Elimination Provision is less than 50% of my Primary Insurance Amount, so the plan is for her to start collecting a “spousal” benefit from me at age 67. My question is: will my wife’s spousal benefit be reduced by both the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset (GPO)? Signed: Inquiring Husband
Dear Inquiring Husband: Your wife cannot separate her personally earned Social Security retirement benefit from her Social Security spousal entitlement from you - whenever she applies for Social Security, your wife will be automatically deemed to be filing for all benefits she is entitled to when she claims.
Because your wife has a “non-covered pension” from the US Postal Service (USPS) - and assuming that pension is under the older “CSRS” (Civil Service Retirement System) - your wife’s personally earned SS retirement benefit will be reduced by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). WEP reduces Social Security retirement benefits for anyone who also has a pension earned while not contributing to Social Security.
The Government Pension Offset (GPO) is different: the GPO will affect any additional amount your wife is entitled to as your spouse, which we refer to as her “spousal boost.” The “spousal boost” amount is the difference between your wife’s pre-WEP FRA entitlement and 50% of your FRA entitlement, which is your Primary Insurance Amount. Because of her USPS pension, GPO will reduce your wife’s “spousal boost” by 2/3rds of the amount of her non-covered pension, which may eliminate her potential spousal boost.
So WEP will affect your wife’s personally earned SS benefit, and the GPO will affect her spousal entitlement from you. But, depending on the amount of her USPS pension, your wife will not be entitled to an additional amount as your spouse if 2/3rds of her USPS pension amount is more than her “spousal boost” amount. And if the GPO doesn’t completely eliminate your wife’s spousal boost, it will at least drastically reduce it.
I have previously published several articles about both WEP and GPO and how each provision works, which you are welcome to review at the AMAC Foundation’s special Social Security website – www.SocialSecurityReport.org. In particular, one such article providing more detail on how the GPO works can be found at this link: www.socialsecurityreport.org/ask-rusty-government-pension-offset-gpo/.
Social Security will make the final determination about your wife’s benefit entitlement under WEP and GPO when she applies for her Social Security benefits, but I’m afraid your wife’s entitlement may be much less than you are anticipating because of these two provisions. If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact us directly via email at SSAdvisor@amacfoundation.org or call us directly at 1.888.750.2622.

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Medal of Honor: Army Cpl. Charles Pendleton

By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News

When brave men are overwhelmed by an enemy in battle, they tend to square off like they have no choice but to win. That's what Army Cpl. Charles Frank Pendleton did when his unit was attacked by enemy forces in Korea. He didn't survive the fight, but his determination was so inspiring that it earned him the Medal of Honor.
Pendleton was born Sept. 26, 1931, in Camden, Tennessee, to parents Charles and Viola Pendleton. The family moved to Fort Worth, Texas, when he was still a boy.
Pendleton graduated from R.L. Paschal High School in Fort Worth in 1949, then went to what is now the University of North Texas in Denton. While he studied, he also worked part-time as a mail carrier and served in the Texas Army National Guard.
In September 1951, Pendleton married Mary Hubbard, who he'd met the summer before when they worked together filling roller skate orders at a Montgomery Ward department store, according to a 2010 Fort Worth Star-Telegram article.
"He loved to ice skate, and we would roller skate together," Hubbard, who was widowed by the war and eventually remarried and goes by Mary Snell, said in the article. "He also played tennis, and he loved to play broomball on the ice at Will Rogers Coliseum. He was a lot of fun.”
Pendleton had planned to finish college and go into the seminary to be a church music director. Unfortunately, that wasn't meant to be.
In June 1952, as the Korean War entered its second year, Pendleton was called up to active duty. He was shipped to Fort Hood (now Fort Cavazos), then California for more training before being sent to the Korean peninsula in March 1953 with the 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division.
On the evening of July 16, 1953, Pendleton was a machine gunner with Company D, which was tasked with defending a strategically important hill. Almost as soon as they'd finished setting up a perimeter, a nearby unit was attacked by a much larger enemy force. Quickly, Company D jumped to their aid.
From a trench, Pendleton threw grenades and emptied his machine gun into the foreign fighters as they approached, killing about 15 and throwing off the rest of their mission. However, the trench was too confined for him to protect the unit's flanks, so he took his machine gun off its tripod, moved into an exposed position, then sat his gun on his knees and started firing.
When an enemy fighter jumped into the trench Pendleton had just left, the young corporal swiveled around and took the man out before he could injure or kill other U.S. soldiers. Pendleton then continued to cause so much damage with his machine gun that the enemy had to retreat.
A little while later, the enemy regrouped, and a second wave of soldiers rushed forward to try to overrun the unit's position. When an enemy grenade landed near Pendleton, he quickly grabbed it and threw it back. Another grenade did explode near him, causing wounds to his chest and shoulder. Pendleton had also been burned by the hot shells ejecting from his machine gun, but he refused medical attention and kept firing at the enemy.
As the action increased in tempo and as night turned into morning, Pendleton's machine gun was eventually destroyed by a grenade. However, the 21-year-old remained undaunted. He grabbed a carbine rifle and continued to defend his position until he was hit by a mortar burst and killed.
Despite his death, Pendleton's drive and unflinching courage inspired his fellow soldiers to repel the enemy and hold the hill. The Army said when they found Pendleton's body after the fight was over, he was surrounded by 37 fallen enemies.
Ten days later, the armistice was signed, and the hostilities ended.
Less than a year later, on Jan. 18, 1954, Pendleton's family received the Medal of Honor on his behalf. It was presented to his widow by Army Secretary Robert Stevens during a ceremony at Fort Myer, Virginia.
Pendleton is buried in Laurel Land Memorial Cemetery in Fort Worth.
His hometown hasn't forgotten him. The ROTC wing of his former high school is named in his honor. Pendleton's Medal of Honor is on display there, too, after his family donated it and his other medals to the school in the 1970s.

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A Golden birthday party
They came from all corners of the earth to attend a birthday party at Guisachan House in the village of Glen Affric in the Scottish Highlands recently. The event was held to celebrate the birth of the first litter of Golden Retrievers 155 years ago. The event attracted 466 dogs and their owners. According to the Golden Retriever Club of Scotland, “the Golden as we know it today was bred at Guisachan, Glen Affric, near Inverness, the Scottish Estate of Lord Tweedmouth, from a series of matings which commenced by mating a good looking yellow coloured Flat Coated Retriever with a Tweed Water Spaniel called ‘Belle’ (a breed now extinct but believed to be a small liver coloured dog with a curly coat).”

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But it’s not a ‘real’ burger
Burger King has cheered up vegetarians with its newest fast-food offering: a meatless hamburger sandwich. So far it’s available in its stores in Thailand, only, and it is being called the “real cheeseburger” because the bun is filled with at least 20 slices of American cheese, but no burger, and it has gone viral throughout the country. At least one Thai Burger King location has had to curtail deliveries in order to ensure availability at its store. But not all customers think it is a tasty treat. One patron told CNN it’s a bit too much cheese. “I could only finish half of it,” she said.

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Home is where you make it
Thinking about moving to Nebraska? If so, you might want to check out a rather unusual residence-- a renovated missile silo. YouTube’s Andrew Flair purchased the nuclear bunker last year for $550,000 and turned it into an 2,000 square foot underground home. It’s listed for sale for $750,000 as "an opportunity to own a piece of cold-war military history and the ultimate survivalist retreat, weekend escape or perhaps an Airbnb." And it comes, “complete with electricity, hot and cold running water, working septic system with lift station, and a water purification system.”

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

America’s “dare devils” of the skies pack the history of aviation. The Wright brothers, for example, invented the airplane and flew the first powered flight in 1903, while other risk takers -- Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart -- piloted solo and non-stop across the Atlantic in 1927 and 1932, respectively.
And then there was Douglas Corrigan: an aircraft mechanic who salvaged an airplane from a trash heap, restored it, and soared from California to New York. He anticipated a transatlantic journey, but the authorities quashed it.
Even so, on July 17, 1938, Corrigan took off--allegedly for California, but reversed course, turned east, crossed the Atlantic, and ended up in Ireland 28 hours later.
Afterwards, he was --famously—known as “Wrong Way” Corrigan.
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Corrigan’s That's My Story.

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On July 20, 1969, the astronaut Neil Armstrong took “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” when he set foot on the moon became the first human to reach an extraterrestrial destination, and—also--satisfy President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 promise to the nation.
The achievement was challenging but according to History.com “NASA and its thousands of workers forged ahead, and in October 1968, Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo mission, orbited Earth and successfully tested many of the sophisticated systems needed to conduct a moon journey and landing. In December of the same year, Apollo 8 took three astronauts around the far side of the moon and orbited it 10 times before returning, and in March 1969 Apollo 9 tested the lunar module for the first time while in Earth orbit. Then in May, the three astronauts of Apollo 10 took the first complete Apollo spacecraft in 31 orbits around the moon in a dry run for the scheduled July landing mission.” And so, on July 16, “Apollo 11 took off from Kennedy Space Center with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin Jr., and Michael Collins aboard.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Moon Shot: The Inside Story of America's Apollo Moon Landings by Jay Barbree, Alan Shepard, Deke Slayton, and Neil Armstrong.

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On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, followed in January by America’s Explorer I. In July, Congress established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a civilian agency responsible for coordinating the country’s interstellar activities. The competitive chase to conquer the cosmos had begun.
According to History.com, “by landing on the moon, the United States effectively ‘won’ the space race that had begun with Sputnik’s launch in 1957. For their part, the Soviets made four failed attempts to launch a lunar landing craft between 1969 and 1972, including a spectacular launch-pad explosion in July 1969. From beginning to end, the American Soviet and U.S. space programs were heavily covered in the national media. This frenzy of interest was further encouraged by the new medium of television. Astronauts came to be seen as the ultimate American heroes, and earth-bound men and women seemed to enjoy living vicariously through them. Soviets, in turn, were pictured as the ultimate villains, with their massive, relentless efforts to surpass America and prove the power of the communist system.”
For more information, the Grateful American Book Prize suggests Spaceman: An Astronaut's Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe by Mike Massimino.

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Summer Bouquets from the Garden
By MELINDA MYERS

Make every day and summer gatherings special with the help of garden-fresh flower arrangements. You will be sure to generate smiles from family members and guests when including fresh flowers on the dinner table and other spaces in your home.
Gather your flowers in the morning after the dew has dried whenever possible. The temperatures are cool, and the plants are hydrated. The evening is the next best time. But don’t hesitate to harvest flowers right before guests arrive or when picking vegetables for the evening meal. The flowers may not last as long, but you will be able to enjoy them for that dinner or special event and a few more days.
Use a pair of sharp snips or bypass pruners to make the cut above a set of healthy leaves or back to an adjoining branch. Keep in mind the more flowers you harvest, the more flowers produced on annuals and some perennial plants.
Remove the lower leaves and immediately place the flowers in a bucket of water. Consider taking a bucket of water to the garden to keep the flowers fresh and hydrated while you’re busy collecting. Let the flowers stand in a cool place, out of direct sunlight, in tepid water for several hours or better yet overnight.
Recut the stems at a 45º angle when assembling the flower arrangements. This prevents them from sitting flat on the bottom of the vase and exposes more of the surface area to the water. Remove any additional leaves that will be submerged in water. Leaves covered by water tend to turn slimy, increasing the risk of bacterial growth that decreases the life of your cut flowers.
Always use a clean vase and fresh water to maximize your cut flowers’ vase life. Add a floral preservative to the water to further extend their longevity. Check the water level often, ensuring the cut ends are always covered with water. Change the water often to keep your flowers looking their best for as long as possible.
Since different flowers last in an arrangement for different lengths of time consider reworking your arrangements by removing flowers as they fade. This keeps it interesting while extending your enjoyment.
Start with a walk through your landscape looking for potential flowers and foliage to use in arrangements. Follow the general guidelines for harvesting and care to maximize the flowers’ vase life.
You may find a few summer bloomers do best when harvested at a particular stage of flowering. Wait for zinnias and marigold flowers to be fully open to harvest them.
Pick dahlias when the flowers are half or fully open. The back petals should be firm, not soft and limp, and stay attached when rubbing your hand over the back of the flower. Some gardeners set dahlias in warm (160 to 180°F) water with a preservative for one hour before arranging them. Others dip the stems in boiling water for 7 to 10 seconds, then cool water for a few hours.
Extend the vase life of hydrangeas by soaking the flowers, stem up and flowers down, in cold water for 1 hour. Allow them to drip dry then recut the stem and place in warm water overnight. Or dip the cut end in alum before placing it in the vase.
Look for greenery growing in the garden. Herbs, canna, hosta, lady’s mantle, papyrus, as well as deciduous and evergreen shrubs are great options. Don’t overlook the plants growing indoors. Prayer plants, monstera, ferns, and ivies add texture while highlighting the blooms.
When in doubt try including different flowers and greenery. Keep track of what works and how long they last. You may discover some new favorites.
Cutting and arranging flowers is a fun way to exercise your creativity and bring the beauty of your garden indoors. If the selection of flowers is limited in your garden, strike up a trade with fellow gardeners. Each of you can share what’s blooming in your landscape throughout the growing season.

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And the winner is???
It doesn’t get more exciting than the race that took place in England recently. There they were, no less than 150 contestants going as fast as they could in hopes of bringing home the winner’s cup in The Snail Racing World Championships in the U.K. town of Congham. Making the event more rousing is that the 50 year old race was suspended for three years due to the outbreak of the covid pandemic in 2020. And the winner was Larry the snail who finished the 13 inch race in just two minutes and forty seven seconds, 47 seconds shy of a mollusk by the name of Archie who covered the course in two minutes flat in 1996 and who remains the world record holder.

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A feat without feet
And the winner of the Guinness World Record for walking down 75 stairs in just 25.03 seconds is 29 year old Hari Chandra Giri who hails from Nepal and who did it the hard way-- on his hands. Hari had the edge, though; he’s been walking on his hands since he was eight years old. In fact, over the years he accrued a number of records for walking on his hands, sometimes with a soccer ball between his legs.

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Is it a car or is it a plane
The Federal Aviation Administration has given the green light to a unique California-based car company, Alef Aeronautics, for its modern day version of the "Model A" automobile, one that doubles as an airplane. Alef CEO Jim Dukhovny says “We're excited to receive this certification from the FAA. It allows us to move closer to bringing people an environmentally friendly and faster commute, saving individuals and companies hours each week. This is a one small step for planes, one giant step for cars." It’ll be a while before flying hot rods will be spreading their wings on the nation’s highways. The FAA says the “special airworthiness certificate” granted to Alef is for limited purposes such as exhibition, research and development.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – My State Pension Eliminated My Social Security Survivor Benefit

Dear Rusty: My husband of 21 years died in January 2022 at the age of 70. We were both retired at the time of his death, and they immediately stopped his Social Security payments. After many calls to Social Security asking why I was not receiving his benefits, I was finally told since I have my own pension from the State of Ohio that I would receive none of my husband’s Social Security.
I cannot see why my OH retirement has anything to do with my husband’s Social Security. I do get a small payment from SS based on my past earnings before I worked for the State of Ohio. Is there any chance of fighting this since we were married when they took money from his earnings for SS? If I wanted to write to an elected official to see if these rules could be changed, who would I write to or call? Signed: Upset Widow
Dear Upset Widow: Unfortunately, your entitlement to a Social Security survivor benefit from your husband is affected by a provision known as the Government Pension Offset, or “GPO,” which affects any surviving spouse with a federal, state, or local government pension earned without contributing to the Social Security program. Ohio is one of 26 states which have opted not to participate in Social Security, thus exempting state employees from paying Social Security taxes on their earnings. The OH state pension which resulted from your state employment means that any Social Security benefits earned outside of your state employment are reduced. The GPO reduction to your survivor benefit is severe – a reduction by 2/3rds of the amount of your Ohio state pension, which can - and often does - completely eliminate any SS survivor benefit you might otherwise be entitled to.
For clarity, the monthly SS payment your husband was receiving at his death stops automatically. At that point, your eligibility for additional SS benefits from your husband was assessed and, because of the GPO, Social Security offset your potential survivor benefit from your husband by 2/3rds of your Ohio state pension, which apparently eliminated your survivor benefit. As unfair as this may seem to you, note that the same thing happens to any surviving spouse who also has their own earned SS retirement benefit – their personal SS retirement benefit offsets their SS survivor benefit, so a spouse with a regular SS retirement benefit higher than their deceased spouse’s benefit gets no surviving spouse benefit.
FYI, the State of Ohio has an obligation to make clear that by not paying into Social Security your future SS spousal/survivor benefits are affected. Without knowing how that was presented to you during your OH state employment, here’s a quote from Ohio’s Public Employee Retirement System (OPERS) website: “If you are eligible for Social Security benefits and are receiving a retirement benefit from OPERS, your Social Security benefits may be affected by the Government Pension Offset or the Windfall Elimination Provision. The Government Pension Offset may also affect you if you are eligible for Social Security benefits through your spouse. The Windfall Elimination Provision may affect you if you qualify for Social Security benefits due to your own work history.”
In any case, you are certainly not alone in your feelings about how your Social Security benefits have been affected by the GPO. This provision was enacted in 1983 and has been challenged in just about every Congressional session since that time, without success. In fact, there is a legislative bill active in the current Congress – H.R. 82 – The Social Security Fairness Act - which was introduced on the House floor in January and “referred to committee” for consideration. Like all preceding WEP/GPO reform bills, this one sits idle in Committee. If you wish to add your voice to those who oppose the GPO, you should contact your Congressional Representative to solicit action on H.R. 82.

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Medal of Honor: Navy Ensign John J. Parle
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News
As the Allies prepared to invade Sicily during World War II, Navy Ensign John Joseph Parle was tasked with managing the small boats on his landing ship. When an accident on one of those boats threatened to give the whole operation away, Parle saved the day. The incident cost him his life, but his bravery and devotion earned him the Medal of Honor.
Parle was born on May 26, 1920, in Omaha, Nebraska. His parents, Harry and Mary Parle, went on to have eight more children, one of whom died in infancy.
As a boy, Parle was seen by those who didn't know him well as solemn and shy, but at home, his parents said he was full of wisecracks, according to a 1943 Omaha Evening World Herald article. The newspaper said that in the eighth grade, Parle decided he wanted to be a Catholic priest and even attended a seminary to prepare. However, it wasn't the right fit for him, so he came home after a few months.
Parle continued to want to be a priest through most of high school, but by the time he graduated, he'd given up on the idea, the Evening World Herald said. Instead, he went to Creighton University in Omaha, where he studied to be a certified public accountant.
In 1941, during his junior year of college, Parle joined Creighton's ROTC program. By January of 1942, the U.S. had entered World War II, so he enlisted in the Naval Reserve. After graduation, Parle began training at the University of Notre Dame, which had one of four midshipmen training centers that were set up during the war. He commissioned into the active-duty Navy on Jan. 28, 1943.
After an initial assignment in Norfolk, Virginia, Parle was assigned to the Northwest African Amphibious Force and attached to LST-375, a landing ship that delivered troops and equipment to beachheads. Parle was the ship's officer in charge of small landing boats during the invasion of Sicily.
On July 9, 1943, the night before the invasion, Parle's ship was among tens of thousands of Allied forces preparing for the surprise landing. Around 1:30 a.m. on July 10, his LST had started to swing its smaller landing craft onto the ship's small cranes to prepare to lower them into the water.
One boat was loaded with ammunition, explosives, detonating fuses and smoke pots, which were used to create large smokescreens that troop ships could hide behind. One of those smoke pots accidentally ignited. No one was on the boat, but Parle just happened to be walking past when the smoke pot caught fire. He knew that if it ignited any of the rest of the material on the boat, it would explode, causing a massive fireworks display that would give away the force's position to the enemy onshore.
Without hesitating, Parle jumped onto the small boat. Despite the fire and blinding smoke, he quickly managed to snuff out the burning fuse; however, he couldn't seem to put the actual pot out. He eventually grabbed it with both hands, ran to the side of the boat and threw it into the water.
Smoke pots were generally made of fog oil, diesel fuel and other noxious materials, of which Parle inhaled an extensive amount. Sadly, he died a week later, on July 17, due to the damage the smoke pot inflicted on his lungs.
However, Parle's actions kept the small boat from exploding, and more importantly, it ensured that the mission stayed secret. The invasion of Sicily went on to be a success for the Allies and gave U.S. troops a route onto mainland Italy. The victory delivered a devastating blow to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's fascist government and eventually toppled his regime.
Parle was quickly nominated for this country's highest military honor. On Jan. 26, 1944, Parle's parents received the Medal of Honor on his behalf from Capt. Dixie Kiefer during a high mass at St. John's Catholic Church on the Creighton University campus.
Parle's body was eventually returned to the U.S. and buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Omaha.
Parle's sacrifice wasn't forgotten. In July 1944, the Navy commissioned the destroyer escort USS Parle in his honor. The ship remained in service until 1970.
Creighton University renamed a section of roadway bordering the southern part of the campus as John Parle Drive. In 1993, the school also dedicated its military science building, which houses its ROTC program, to the fallen ensign. Inside that building hangs Parle's Medal of Honor, which was donated to the school by his family.

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

On April 19, 1775, shots were heard from Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts; the Revolutionary War had begun, but The Continental Congress did not deliver a Declaration of Independence until July 4th of the following year.
It proclaimed—in part: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends David McCullough’s 1776.

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Four days after its ratification, the first public reading of the Declaration took place at the Pennsylvania State House. Citizens were summoned by the sound of “the 2,000-pound copper-and-tin… ‘Liberty Bell’,” according to History.com.
Cast in 1752 England, the bell—stenciled with a message of, “Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land unto All the inhabitants thereof”—was shipped to Pennsylvania—and garnered incremental iconic status--because of its crack; a herald of liberty, according to the National Park Service.
The bell has “served to remind Americans of a time when they fought together for independence. Abolitionists, women’s suffrage advocates and Civil Rights leaders took inspiration from [its] inscription. Now a worldwide symbol, the…message of freedom remains reverberating and relevant.
For more information, The Grateful American Book Prize endorses Gary B. Nash’s The Liberty Bell.

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On July 12, 1862. Abraham Lincoln formulated the Medal of Honor during the Civil War to honor “noncommissioned officers and privates as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action, and other soldier-like qualities during the present insurrection.”
Eight months later Congress converted it into a permanent decoration and authorized it for all members of the armed forces, including commissioned officers.
The Grateful American Book Prize suggests The Medal of Honor: The Evolution of America's Highest Military Decoration by Dwight S. Mears.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Why Can’t I Collect Survivor Benefits from My Deceased Wife?

Dear Rusty: I am a 62 year old widower that is still working full time. While my late spouse was in hospice, I was able to get her to apply for Social Security disability and she received one payment before she passed away two years ago. I was told that I could collect a survivor benefit, so I called my local Social Security office, but they told me that I could not collect any type of benefits from my wife and that all the money she paid into SS for all of those years was basically gone for good. Would you please advise what I can do and if this is true? I was also told that Social Security’s agents will do everything they can to avoid paying out benefits. Signed: Frustrated Widower
Dear Frustrated Widower: I suspect that the reason Social Security said you were not eligible for benefits as a widower is because you are working full time. At age 62, you are subject to Social Security’s “earnings test” which limits how much you can earn while collecting early Social Security benefits. The 2023 earnings limit is $21,240 and, if that is exceeded, SS will take away $1 in benefits for every $2 you are over the limit. If your earnings are high enough, that could make you temporarily ineligible to collect benefits until 1) your earnings are less, or 2) you reach your full retirement age (FRA) when the earnings test no longer applies.
Assuming you have not yet claimed your personal SS retirement benefit, you are still eligible to collect a survivor benefit from your wife when your earnings are less or after you reach your full retirement age. One strategy you may wish to consider, if you plan to keep working full time, is to wait and claim only your surviving spouse benefit at your FRA (67), thus allowing your personal SS retirement benefit to continue growing until you are 70 when your personal SS retirement benefit will be about 75% more than it would be now. Although your survivor benefit reaches maximum at your FRA, your personal benefit doesn’t reach maximum until age 70, so it’s possible to collect your smaller survivor benefit from your wife first and claim your higher personal benefit later.
You were apparently given some confusing information when you contacted Social Security. If you haven’t already claimed your own SS retirement benefit, you are still eligible for a surviving spouse benefit from your wife but likely cannot collect a widower benefit at this time because you’re working full time. However, that doesn’t mean you can never collect a survivor benefit; only that you can’t collect it at this time because of the “earnings test.” The earnings test goes away when you reach age 67, so you can claim only your survivor benefit at that time (or before if you no longer work full time) and allow your personal SS retirement benefit to continue to grow (to age 70 if you like).
From our experience with the Social Security Administration, the skill level of SSA representatives varies but we have never suspected their goal was trying to avoid paying benefits due. Nevertheless, depending on the agent you spoke with, the information provided may have been less clear about the best claiming strategy for you - which is why the AMAC Foundation’s Social Security Advisory Service exists. Our advisors are all highly experienced and strive to provide you with complete and clear information which enables you to make an informed choice about how and when to claim the Social Security benefits you are entitled to. I hope we have succeeded.

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Still time to plant and enjoy beets

By MELINDA MYERS

Beets are one vegetable you can purchase most months of the year but those you grow yourself taste the best. The good news is there is still time to grow your own this season.
These flavorful vegetables contain fiber, vitamins A and C, calcium, potassium, phosphorous, and more iron than most vegetables. Betalain, the antioxidant and pigment in beets, can be used as a natural red dye and food coloring. In fact, it inspired the saying “red as a beet” and was used to provide that color in makeup.
Beets tolerate warm temperatures but germinate best during cooler weather. Plant seeds ½ inch deep and one to three inches apart every three to four weeks for a continuous harvest. Make your last planting about eight to ten weeks before the first fall frost.
Beet seeds are a cluster of seeds. Remove all but one seedling in the cluster soon after the seedlings appear. You will also need to remove any excess seedlings to provide the remaining seedlings the space they need to grow and reach full size. Take the sting out of this task by thinking of thinning as a form of harvesting. Use the beet greens removed during thinning as sprouts on sandwiches, salads, and in stir-fries, and other dishes.
Reduce the amount of thinning needed with the help of seed tapes. The seeds are secured onto biodegradable tapes at the proper spacing. Just dig a shallow furrow, lay in the tape, and cover it with soil at the proper planting depth. You’ll spend a little more money on seed tapes but save lots of time.
Make sure your plantings receive sufficient moisture throughout the growing season. The flavor is best during cooler weather. All leaves and no edible roots may be a problem you have experienced when growing beets, radishes, and carrots. Thinning and growing root vegetables in well-drained fertile soil at the proper spacing is key to growing success. Improve heavy clay soils by working several inches of organic matter into the top 8 to 12 inches of soil. If this hasn’t worked in the past, try growing your beets in containers filled with a quality potting mix.
Harvest beets in about 50 to 60 days when the roots are 1 to 1.5” in diameter. Pull or carefully dig the beets with a garden fork or shovel. Place the shovel several inches away from the root crops. Push it straight into the soil to avoid damaging the roots. Wiggle the shovel to loosen the soil and tilt to lift the beets free.
Trim the leaves back to an inch and leave the taproot intact. Rinse off the soil and allow the beets to dry before storing them in a perforated plastic bag in the refrigerator. Wash, and further trim your beets as needed right before using them. Minimize scraping, cutting, and slicing that will increase the loss of vitamins and flavor.
Most garden centers and mail-order catalogs still have beet seeds available for purchase. You’ll find red, purple, golden, and even white beets to grow and enjoy. Select the variety that best suits your gardening and cooking needs.

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Life with Barbie
As dismayed as it may be for the “woke” folk among us, the fact is that some 90% of three-to-ten year old American girls still own one or more Barbie dolls, according to Mattel, the company that introduced the iconic toys 60 years ago. A soon-to-be-released Barbie movie is a sexagenarian tribute to the plaything as is the real-life Malibu Barbie DreamHouse in California, which, for the occasion, is available for a short term via the Airbnb realtors for two-person, two-day stays.

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"48N48"
These fly boys broke the record for traversing mainland America, landing in each of the 48 states in less than 48 hours. Delta A350 Capt. Barry Behnfeldt and Aaron Wilson and technician Thomas Twiddy took off in their 1980 PA32R Piper Saratoga and landed in each of the contiguous 48 states from Michigan to Maine. And they made what they called their "48N48" trip not in 48 hours but in a record breaking 44 hours and seven minutes.

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An Irish tribute for Dolly Parton
In an interview during a visit to Ireland some time ago Dolly Parton declared that she has a love for Ireland. In return, an Irish gathering recently in the town of Listowel in County Kerry drew more than 1,100 participants, all of them dressed up and looking like Dolly. They all wore blonde wigs, cowboy boots and rhinestone-covered costumes. Their aim was to show their love for the Queen of Nashville and to raise funds for Kerry Hospice and Comfort for Chemo Kerry.

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Medal of Honor: Army Maj. William B. Hincks
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News
During the Civil War, a unit's battle flag was of critical importance. It led men into the fight and gave commanders an understanding of how a campaign was going. So, when you were able to capture a flag from your enemy, it was considered an act of heroics.
Union Army Maj. William Bliss Hincks captured an enemy flag during a pivotal point in time at the Battle of Gettysburg. That moment of bravery earned him the Medal of Honor.
Hincks was born Sept. 8, 1841, in Bucksport, Maine. His parents, John and Sarah Ann Hincks, eventually moved him and his brother, John, to Bridgeport, Connecticut, when he was still a boy.
Hincks enlisted in the Union Army in July 1862, a little more than a year into the Civil War. He was placed into Company A of the 14th Connecticut Infantry.
According to the Connecticut National Guard, the 14th was sent to the Battle of Antietam in September 1862 after they'd only had a few weeks of training, and they didn't fare well. During the deadliest single-day battle in U.S. history, the regiment suffered the highest number of casualties of any Connecticut regiment of the war.
By the time the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania rolled around, though, Hincks had worked his way up to sergeant major, and the 14th was ready to redeem itself.
On July 3, 1863 — the third and last day of the Gettysburg campaign — Confederate Gen. George Pickett's troops used heavy artillery to bombard Union defenses on Cemetery Ridge. About 10,000 of Pickett's men were then ordered to penetrate the center of Union forces on the ridge.
During the attack, known as Pickett's Charge, the colors of the Confederate 14th Tennessee Infantry were planted 50 yards in front of Hincks' regiment. While several enemy soldiers were lying down around the flag, none were standing near it.
Seeing that, Maj. Theodore Ellis, the commanding officer of Hincks' regiment, called for volunteers to capture the flag. Hincks and two other men jumped at the opportunity, leaping over the low stone wall that divided the two enemies.
One of the men was instantly shot. Hincks outran the third through a hail of gunfire. When he reached the Confederates lying on the ground around the flag, he swung his sword over them, "uttered a terrific yell," according to his Medal of Honor citation, then grabbed the flag and ran back to the Union line.
According to his citation, the 14th Tennessee carried 12 battle honors on its flag, meaning it had distinguished itself in 12 major engagements prior to Gettysburg. Capturing that flag was a big deal – something that really encouraged Hincks' fellow soldiers and led them to successfully protect one of the most important points of the Union line.
Soldiers of the 14th Connecticut Infantry Regiment captured five more enemy battle flags that day, according to the Connecticut National Guard.
Only one Confederate brigade was able to temporarily reach the top of the ridge, which was a highwater mark for the Confederacy. But with casualties at about 60%, the charge was a disaster for the South. As a consequence, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was forced to retreat and ultimately abandon his attempt to use Pennsylvania to reach Washington, D.C.
For his bravery in action, Hincks received the newly created Medal of Honor on Dec. 6, 1864, from Maj. Gen. George Meade near Petersburg, Virginia. Two other soldiers from his regiment also received the nation's highest honor for valor: Cpl. Christopher Flynn and Pvt. Elijah Bacon.
Hincks mustered out of the Army as a major on May 31, 1865, shortly after the war ended. He returned to Bridgeport, where he became one of the city's most prominent and successful citizens.
Records from Yale University show Hincks earned an honorary Masters of the Arts degree in 1878. He was the secretary and treasurer of Bridgeport's City Savings Bank, a member of the public school board of education and an officer of the Fairfield County Historical Society. With Hincks' help, fellow Bridgeport native and circus showman P.T. Barnum was able to establish the Barnum Museum and the Bridgeport Hospital.
The New York Times reported that Hincks was also the executor of Barnum's estate after he died, as well as the vice president of the Bridgeport Gas Light Company and the director of the Bridgeport Hydraulic Company, the Bridgeport National Bank and the Bridgeport Public Library.
At some point, Hincks married a woman named Mary Louise Hart, and they had two sons, William Jr. and Robert.
Hincks died Nov. 7, 1903, after being ill for several days, his obituary in the now-defunct Meriden Weekly Republican said. He is buried in Mountain Grove Cemetery in Bridgeport.
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A cute ugly dog
The uglier the dog, the more there is to love. That might make an appropriate motto for the folks behind the annual World's Ugliest Dog contest, a staple at the Sonoma-Marin fair in Petaluma, California, for the past 50 years. The aim is to celebrate imperfect canines and encourage adoption of pets in need of good homes. This year’s winner was Scooter, a 7-year-old Chinese crested dog born with backward hind legs belonging to Linda Celeste Elmquist of Tucson, Arizona. As Ms. Elmquist put it, "despite the challenges he has faced with his deformed hind legs, Scooter has defied all odds and shown us the true meaning of resilience and determination. He has become an inspiration to countless people around the world."

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Hyena does the dog paddle-- backwards
Hyenas look a lot like a dog ,but they are not canines; they are of a species all their own, known as Hyaenidae. You can find lots of them on a visit to Kruger National Park, in South Africa. All you have to do is to stand by a waterhole and you are likely to see a hyena waiting for prey. That’s what tourist Lambert Fourie did and, sure enough, a hyena appeared. But it wasn’t there to hunt; it was there to swim. In fact, as Fourie put it, "I could hardly believe my eyes as the hyena proceeded to perform what could only be described as a backstroke. All four paws in the air, he was splashing about without a care in the world." He caught it on tape, a video that has gone viral on the internet.

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For the love of dogs?
A recruitment agency had to take down its internet want ad that read: “Our returning client is seeking an exceptional and highly experienced Dog Nanny to provide top-tier care for their two beloved dogs. They are truly looking for someone at the top of their field who can ensure the overall well-being, happiness, and safety of their dogs.” The agency said it was overwhelmed by applicants. Perhaps it was because there are too many dog lovers out there. Or, maybe, it was that applicants were moved by the offer of the tidy sum of $127,000 a year.

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Dealing with tree surface roots
By MELINDA MYERS

Roots erupting through the soil surface that extend beyond the tree trunk are known as surface roots. This is a normal part of aging for shallow-rooted trees. The aging roots increase in circumference just like the tree’s branches and trunk. As they thicken, the upper portion of the roots appear above the soil surface.
These irritate gardeners when trying to grow and mow the grass under the tree. It is important not to bury, cut, dig up, or shave off these important roots. Covering or damaging the roots creates entryways for insects and diseases to enter and damage or even kill your tree.
Mulch is a simple solution. Use a 2-to-3-inch layer on the soil surrounding the tree. Pull the mulch away from the tree trunk to avoid insect, disease, and rodent problems. Create a mulch ring as large as possible. This eliminates the need to hand trim grass near the tree and makes mowing easier. Mulch is also better for the tree than grass growing up to the trunk. The grass is a big competitor for water and nutrients and can stunt the tree’s growth.
Reduce ongoing maintenance with the help of newspaper or cardboard. Start by edging the bed to disconnect the grass and weeds under the tree from the surrounding plants that can serve as their life support.
Now cut the grass and weeds as short as possible being careful not to harm the surface roots. Cover the area to be mulched with newspaper or cardboard. This creates a temporary but extra layer of mulch that helps kill the grass. The paper will eventually break down and improve the soil below. Cover this with a 2- to 3-inch layer of shredded bark or woodchips for years of weed control.
Consider shade-tolerant perennials and groundcovers if mulched beds do not fit your design style. These plants will eliminate the need to mow over surface roots, add seasonal interest, and they do not compete with the trees like lawn grass. Barrenwort, Canadian ginger, hostas, Variegated Solomon seal, coral bells, foam flower, Bergenia, and Siberian bugloss are a few to consider. Make sure the plants you select are suited to your growing conditions and your garden design.
Use caution when planting under mature trees. Avoid deep tilling that can damage, not only the surface roots but also the fine feeder roots that absorb water and nutrients. Instead, dig relatively small holes between major roots and allow the plants to fill in the area.
Mulch the soil surface with leaves, evergreen needles, or other organic mulch to conserve moisture and improve the soil as they decompose. Water thoroughly once plants are in the ground and often enough to keep the roots slightly moist throughout the summer.
Add a splash of color with a few potted annuals by setting them among the perennial groundcovers. This allows you to change the plantings as the seasons change. You can also permanently sink a few nursery pots in the ground. Then plant flowers in a slightly smaller container and set this pot in the one permanently buried in the ground. This method is less disruptive to the tree roots and easier on your back.

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Medal of Honor: Army Maj. Carlos C. Ogden
By KATIE LANGE
It takes a lot of bravery to move ahead in battle by yourself. That's what Army Maj. Carlos Carnes Ogden did when his unit was pinned down in the early days of the quest to liberate France during World War II. His dedication and leadership earned him the Medal of Honor.
Ogden was born May 9, 1917, and raised in Fairmount, Illinois, by his parents, Ray and Myrtle Ogden. He had two younger siblings, a sister named June and a brother, Robert.
After high school, Ogden attended Eastern Illinois University, where he was a standout on its football and basketball teams. However, by the spring of 1941, as the threat of World War II loomed, he was drafted into the Army. By November 1942, he'd been commissioned as a second lieutenant. He served as an instructor at Camp Roberts in central California before joining the 79th Infantry Division, which deployed to Europe in April 1944.
After the D-Day landings in Normandy in June 1944, the Allies had gained a foothold into France. In order to keep it, they needed to secure the port city of Cherbourg. The 79th was one of the divisions sent to capture it from the Germans.
Allied troops reached the city by June 22 and found it well-defended, especially Fort du Roule, which was built deep into the rocks surrounding the harbor and was reinforced by German pillboxes, gun emplacements and other defenses. It took U.S. troops three days to push close enough to make their final assault on the town.
On the morning of June 25, 1944, the 79th's 314th Infantry Regiment was tasked with taking the fort. Then-1st Lt. Ogden had just taken over Company K of the 3rd Battalion from its wounded commander when they became pinned down by two enemy machine guns and an 88 mm gun.
Ogden knew he had to do something for them to survive, so he grabbed an M1 rifle, a grenade launcher and several grenades, then moved up a slope on his own toward the fort's emplacements. Along the way, a machine gun bullet glanced off his head, knocking him down. The wound was painful, and more close-range enemy fire was headed his direction, but Ogden continued the climb anyway.
He eventually reached a vantage point where he was able to successfully take out the 88 mm gun using the grenade launcher. Then he chucked the hand grenades, which knocked out the two machine guns.
Ogden was injured a second time in the process, but his heroics inspired the men around him to push harder and reach their objectives. The attacks gradually led to various sections of the fort's top level to surrender. When all of Cherbourg was taken, it gave the Allies the ability to use the port for essential supplies that would sustain American forces liberating France.
Ogden was nominated for the Medal of Honor and received it May 30, 1945, a few weeks after victory in Europe had been declared. Army Lt. Gen. Alexander Patch III presented it to the first lieutenant during a ceremony in Augsburg, Germany. Another soldier from the 314th Infantry Regiment earned the Medal of Honor for his actions that day; however, Cpl. John D. Kelly, 23, didn't survive the war to receive it in person.
Ogden remained in the Army for two more years, reaching the rank of major before leaving the service in 1947. For about a decade after that, he worked as a counselor for the Department of Veterans Affairs at a VA hospital in San Jose, California, where he chose to settle after the war.
At some point, he married a woman named Louise Sanford, and they had four sons.
In 1958, Ogden became a manager for the San Jose Chamber of Commerce. In 1967, he became the state's director of selective service on Gov. Ronald Reagan's recommendation. At that time, he was also vice president of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, president of the United Veterans' Council and a former president of the San Jose Kiwanis Club.
He also turned down numerous requests to run for Congress, according to Eastern Illinois University.
Ogden never forgot his military roots. His alma mater said that in 1956, he went to France as a member of the official U.S. delegation to attend the dedication of the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. Two years later, at the invitation of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, he served as an honorary pallbearer at the internment of the World War II and Korea Unknown service members at Arlington National Cemetery. Ogden was also invited in 1964 to serve as one of 15 people from the U.S. to attend France's 20th anniversary commemoration of the Invasion of Normandy.
According to the San Jose City Council, Ogden spent much of his post-war life participating in Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and a variety of youth sports leagues.
Ogden died on April 2, 2001, in Palo Alto, California. His Los Angeles Times obituary said his death was due to complications from several strokes and a long battle with cancer.
Ogden is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation,

Ask Rusty – About Income Tax on Social Security Benefits

Dear Rusty: I just started receiving my Social Security in February of 2023. I am also working part time at a company 24 hours a week. My question is... I feel like I missed something when I signed up for Social Security because they are not taking any taxes out. What did I miss? How do I go about fixing it so I don't get hit at the end of the year? They are taking taxes out of my paycheck now, do they still take it out of my Social Security because I am working? Please help if I am not doing something right. Signed: Conscientious Senior

Dear Conscientious: Unfortunately, when the Social Security Administration processes your application for benefits, they don’t usually inform you that your Social Security benefits may become part of your taxable income. I expect that’s because your benefits only “may” become taxable – they do not definitely become taxable, because Social Security benefits are taxed only if you exceed a certain income threshold.
The thresholds at which Social Security benefits become part of your taxable income are different depending on your income tax filing status – those who file as an individual have a different threshold from those who file as “married – filing jointly.” And to further complicate matters there is more than one threshold for both individuals and joint filers. Here’s how it works:
If you file your income tax as an individual and your “combined income” from all sources is more than $25,000, then 50% of the Social Security benefits you received during the tax year becomes part of your overall taxable income at your particular IRS tax rate. But if your combined income as an individual tax filer is more than $34,000 then up to 85% of the SS benefits you received during the tax becomes part of your overall taxable income.
If your income tax filing status is “married – filing jointly” the thresholds are higher – if your combined income from all sources as a married couple exceeds $32,000 then 50% of the Social Security benefits you received during the tax year becomes part of your taxable income. But if your combined income as a married couple exceeds $44,000 then up to 85% of your SS benefits received during the tax year are taxable.
“Combined income” is also known as your “Modified Adjusted Gross Income” or “MAGI.” Your MAGI is your Adjusted Gross Income on your tax return, plus 50% of the Social Security benefits you received during the tax year, plus any non-taxable interest or untaxed foreign income you had (note that withdrawals from a Roth IRA are not included). If your “MAGI” exceeds the above thresholds, some of your Social Security benefits are taxable; if you are under the first threshold for your IRS filing status they are not.
Social Security doesn’t automatically withhold taxes from your monthly benefits, and the FICA tax being withheld from your earnings are not used for that purpose. Everyone who works and earns must pay SS tax on their earnings, which are mandatory contributions supporting the federal Social Security program. But that FICA payroll tax has nothing to do with income tax on your Social Security benefits. If you are working 24 hours per week and also collecting Social Security benefits, you will likely exceed the threshold for your tax filing status, which means that at least some of your 2023 benefits will become taxable. That could, as you suspect, result in a surprise “hit” when you file next year’s income tax return. Nevertheless, fixing this is quite easy:
Download IRS form W-4V from the IRS website here: www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4v.pdf. You will be able to choose the percentage of your Social Security benefits you wish to have withheld for income tax purposes. Complete the form and mail it to your local Social Security office (get the mailing address here: www.ssa.gov/locator). Social Security will then start withholding income tax from your monthly Social Security benefit payment, which will mitigate any additional tax due when you file your 2023 tax return next year.

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Medal of Honor: Army Lt. Col. William J. O'Brien
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News

Army Lt. Col. William Joseph O'Brien spent almost his entire adult life in the service of the military. He eventually made the ultimate sacrifice for the nation during World War II, but not before his leadership and actions during the Battle of Saipan earned him the Medal of Honor.
O'Brien was born Sept. 25, 1899, in Troy, New York, to parents Timothy and Charlotte O'Brien. He had two siblings, a brother named Frank and a sister named Evelyn.
According to a 1945 newspaper article from The Troy Record, O'Brien attended Troy Business College after high school, but his education was disrupted by World War I. In 1917, when O'Brien turned 18, he enlisted in the New York State Guard, which replaced the members of the New York National Guard who were drafted into active-duty service.
The Troy Record said O'Brien continued to serve until 1922, when he went back to business college and then worked for a variety of business firms. But his military training must have been calling him, because he eventually enlisted in the New York National Guard, which had returned to its regular duties since the end of World War I.
From there, he made a career out of it. O'Brien got his commission as an officer in 1926 and was promoted to captain by 1939. At some point, he married his wife, Mary, and had a son, William Jr.
In October 1940, as the prospects of entering World War II loomed, the New York National Guard mobilized for active duty with the Army's 27th Infantry Division. O'Brien continued to rise in the ranks, becoming a major in 1942 and then a lieutenant colonel by April 1943, when he was assigned to command the division's 1st Battalion, 105th Infantry Regiment. Eventually, they were sent to fight in the Pacific Theater.
Most of O'Brien's recorded heroics happened during the Battle of Saipan, which started when U.S. Marines landed on Saipan, an island in the Mariana Islands chain, on June 15, 1944. The 27th Infantry Division landed a day later and took the island's airfield within the first 24 hours. From there, the fighting was fierce.
On June 21, when assault elements of one of O'Brien's platoons were held up by intense enemy fire, the commander ordered three tanks to move forward to knock out the enemy's strongpoint. However, because of the enemy's heavy fire, the tanks' turrets were closed. That caused them to lose direction, and instead of firing toward the enemy, they started firing on friendly troops.
With no regard for his own safety, O'Brien ran into full view of the enemy to the tank in the lead. Using his pistol, he pounded on the tank to get the crew's attention. When he finally did, he mounted the tank — still under fire — and directed its assault until the enemy position had been wiped out.
About a week later, on June 28, O'Brien planned a maneuver to capture a bitterly defended ridge. During the action, he personally crossed 1,200 yards of sniper-infested underbrush by himself to get to a point where one of his platoon's was being held up by the enemy. As he ordered four men to stay behind to contain the enemy, he and four others moved into a narrow ravine behind the enemy's strongpoint. They managed to kill or drive off all the Japanese soldiers manning it, and they captured five machine guns and one 77 mm fieldpiece. O'Brien then organized and directed two platoons overnight as they defended against repeated counterattacks, all while managing to hold their ground.
After a few weeks of fighting, the Americans had whittled down the Japanese ranks to the point where they had no reinforcements or place to retreat. So, in the early morning on July 7, 1944, the Japanese commander ordered a final suicide banzai charge — a mass attack made in desperation to avoid surrender and dishonor.
O'Brien's battalion and another battalion got hit by the massive charge, which was estimated to be between 3,000 and 5,000 men. It led to bloody hand-to-hand fighting that overran the battalions' forward positions due to the sheer size of the force.
As people fell and ammunition ran low, O'Brien refused to leave the front lines. He walked among the men there, firing at the enemy with pistols in both hands. His bravery encouraged the other men and kept them in the fight.
Eventually, O'Brien was seriously wounded, but he still refused to be evacuated. When his pistols ran out of ammo, he mounted a jeep with a .50-caliber machine gun and began firing it.
Soldiers last saw O'Brien alive as he was firing at the hordes of Japanese that eventually enveloped his position. Sometime later, his body was found surrounded by the enemies he had killed.
Two days later, the Battle of Saipan ended, having wiped out nearly the entire Japanese garrison. The Allies' successful defeat isolated the few enemy soldiers who remained, and they had no hope for resupply or reinforcement. The battle marked the end of Japanese resistance in Saipan and finally put the Japanese mainland within range of Allied long-range B-29 bombers.
However, the battle still left its mark on the Americans who fought there. According to the New York National Guard, the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 105th infantry Regiment and the front line of the 27th Infantry Division lost about 650 men to injuries or death. In total, including the Marine forces, the U.S. lost about 3,000 fighters, while Japan lost about 29,000.
O'Brien was posthumously nominated for the Medal of Honor. His widow, Mary, received it on May 27, 1945, from Robert P. Patterson, the undersecretary of war, during a ceremony at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy. The Troy Record said that so many people showed up for the ceremony that they had to move it outside, even though it was raining.
Two other members of the 27th Infantry Division received the Medal of Honor for their actions that day: Pvt. Thomas A. Baker, who was under O'Brien's command, and Capt. Ben L. Salomon, a dentist for the 105th's 2nd Battalion.
O'Brien's body was eventually returned to the U.S. and buried in St. Peter's Cemetery in his hometown.
The state of New York has not forgotten him. The officers' quarters at Camp Smith, a New York Army National Guard training site, is named in his honor. In 2014, buildings at Fort Drum, where Guard units train yearly, were named for O'Brien and Baker: the O'Brien Readiness Training Center and the Baker Weapons Training Facility.

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Fist bumps, anyone?
David Rush may not have broken the most Guinness World Records; that honor belongs to 68-year-old Ashrita Furman who, thus far, has won no less than 600 records, including the record for breaking the most Guinness Records. But Rush has broken more than 250 records thus far including the record for the most fist bumps, which he achieved with the help of Howie Mandel, the host of the America's Got Talent TV show. Together they racked up 380 fist bumps in 30 seconds on a recent episode of the show.

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A special anniversary gift
Tim and Melinda O'Brien of Kansas City, Missouri, were married 40 years ago and spent their wedding night at what was then known as the Muehlebach Hotel, which presented them with a gift certificate good for a free room for the night in any year on the month of their wedding anniversary. The certificate was lost some time ago but as their anniversary approached this year, they found it. The hotel was sold to the Marriott Hotel Chain in 1996 but Tim decided to contact the new owners to see if they would still honor the gift certificate. The folks at Marriott agreed and said that, of course, they would for the same rate they paid in 1983 -- just $38.

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The gold dispenser
You can find a candy bar dispenser anywhere these days but you’ll have to go to South Korea if you want to find a gold bar dispenser. GS Retail, which operates some 10,000 convenience stores throughout that country, has been fitting them out with gold bar vending machines since last September. To date, just 29 of their stores have been fitted with the machines, but they’ve produced some $19 million dollars in revenues. Guess what? They are wasting no time in providing more and more of their stores with gold dispensers. A company representative told UPI, "The most popular gold bar is the smallest, the 0.13-ounce one, which is currently priced at around $225. People in their 20s and 30s appear to be the main buyers, purchasing physical gold as an investment vehicle, especially in times such as these, when its value is continuing to rise."

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Working Widow Seeks to Maximize Social Security Benefits

Dear Rusty: I was widowed years ago and, when I approached age 60, I looked into Social Security survivor benefits based on my late husband’s record. He started receiving Social Security shortly before he died at $1,200 per month. My income at age 60 was $42,000 and, since Social Security would keep $1 for every $2 above the limit (around $15,000 at that time), I did not apply. Next year I will reach my full retirement age of 66½, but I plan to work until I am 70. Will I be able to receive full survivor benefits next year if I continue to work? I plan to switch to my own Social Security benefit at age 70, which will be higher than my husband received. Since I am waiting to apply for survivor benefits, will there be an increase in the amount I receive? I am a municipal employee and when I retire, I will collect from the state retirement system. I paid into the state retirement system and also paid Social Security taxes, so will my state pension have any impact on my Social Security?
Signed: Still Working
Dear Still Working: Congratulations on having an excellent strategy for maximizing your survivor benefit as well as your personal SS retirement benefit. Once you reach your full retirement age (FRA) next year, you are no longer subject to Social Security’s “earnings test” and can collect Social Security benefits without those benefits being affected by your work earnings.
Your surviving spouse benefit will be more because you are waiting until your full retirement age to claim it. At your FRA you can claim your full survivor benefit from your deceased husband (without reduction) and collect only that while still allowing your personal SS retirement benefit to grow to maximum when you are 70. Then, at age 70, you can switch from your smaller survivor benefit to your maximum SS retirement benefit and collect that higher amount for the rest of your life. Essentially, your survivor benefit reaches maximum at your FRA and your personal SS retirement benefit reaches maximum at age 70.
Note that you should apply for your benefits a couple of months before you wish them to start. For example, if you reach your FRA in May of next year you can apply for your survivor benefit in February or March, specifying that you wish your survivor benefit to begin in May 2024 at your full retirement age. Just be sure to emphasize that you are applying only for your survivor benefit and wish your personal SS retirement benefit to continue to grow by earning Delayed Retirement Credits (DRCs) until you are 70.
You cannot apply for your survivor benefit online, so you will need to call Social Security, at either the national number (1.800.772.1213) or your local Social Security office, to make an appointment to apply for your benefit as your husband’s widow.
And to answer your last question, your state pension won’t affect your monthly Social Security payments because you paid Social Security FICA payroll taxes from your municipal earnings.

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Plan and Plant a Hummingbird Garden
By MELINDA MYERS

Whether you are making some late additions to your gardens or planning for the future include some hummingbird-favorite plants. Select plants and create combinations to attract and support them with a season-long supply of nectar.
Hummingbirds consume an average of two to three times their weight in nectar each day. Providing feeders and an abundance of flowers throughout the season will support the hummingbirds and help attract them to your gardens. Keep this in mind as you add plants to your landscape.
Shrubs like azalea, lilac, weigela, buttonbush, and Rose-of-Sharon provide shelter for birds and nectar-filled flowers for hummingbirds and other pollinators to enjoy. The North American native honeysuckle vine adds vertical interest and hummingbird appeal even in small spaces. Major Wheeler is a cultivar of the native honeysuckle vine that blooms all summer and is more resistant to powdery mildew. Watch as the hummingbirds munch on any aphids that attack this plant. They are great pest managers to have in the garden.
Another native vine, the trumpet vine, is a vigorous grower that can be trained into a small tree or onto a trellis. This plant will send out suckers requiring some regular maintenance. Be patient as it can take several years for this vine to begin flowering. Avoid overfertilization which results in an even bigger plant and no flowers.
Shorter vines, like the hummingbird’s favorite cardinal vine, make excellent thrillers in containers. Train them onto a decorative support and grow them in their own pot or combine them with other annuals.
Include perennials for added seasonal beauty and nectar. Early blooming lungwort is shade tolerant and provides some of the earliest nectar for these winged beauties. Leave the white or lavender flowers on your hostas for the hummingbirds. This popular shade-tolerant plant is often overlooked for its hummingbird appeal.
Garden phlox and bee balm are both hummingbird favorites that add color and nectar to the summer garden. Look for powdery mildew-resistant varieties or plant them among other tall plants to hide any discolored foliage that may occur. North American native anise hyssop and liatris are two more favorites you may want to include.
Fill vacant spots in the garden, containers, or hanging baskets with annuals known to attract hummingbirds. Fuchsias, begonias, and impatiens are perfect for shady locations. Cupheas are often sold under the common names, tiny mice and cigar plant, and prefer a sunnier location. The taller blue horizon ageratum, geranium, bidens, tall verbena, and petunias grow well in gardens and containers.
Both perennial and annual salvias attract hummingbirds. Place a pot or two of Black and Blue, Black and Bloom, and Wendy’s Wish near your windows, so you can enjoy the frequent visits of your resident hummingbirds.
Add one or more feeders to your landscape. Provide space between the feeders as hummingbirds are territorial. Make sure there is cover within 10 to 15 feet. Fill the container with a 1-part sugar to 4-part water solution. Replace the mixture and clean the feeders every few days. This provides additional food for the hummingbirds and viewing opportunities for you.
It may take a couple of years for the hummingbirds to find your nectar-filled garden. In the meantime, you will enjoy the flowers and other pollinators that stop by to dine.

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A penny saved
The Associated Press reports that more than 66 percent of Americans save their pennies. John Reyes in Los Angeles was cleaning out his deceased father-in-law’s home recently, the home he lived in for more than 50 years. Among his belongings were sealed bank bags full of pennies -- some, one million pennies. Reyes has put his find for sale online, asking $25,000 for the lot. But some are telling him to back off -- that there may be a penny in the stash that is worth much more than that. A 1944 Steel Wheat Penny sold for $408,000 and a 1943 Copper Wheat Penny brought in $250,000, according to one report.

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Whale watcher alert
The Science Times says it is unusual to come across a large pod of Killer Whales, but a team of Oceanic Society researchers came across a pod composed of some 24 of them off the coast of San Francisco recently. Michael Pierson, a member of the team, said that "just seeing them is always really exciting, but seeing such a large grouping was what made it a one-of-a-kind experience." It is uncertain why such a large gathering of Orcas showed up at the site, according to another member of the research team who said they could have been on a hunt or merely socializing.

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The troll apartment
A home -- even a one bedroom apartment -- can be pricey in Los Angeles, but a one-bedroom, one-bathroom home in the city of Alhambra in Los Angeles County has been posted for sale at the reasonably affordable price of $250,000. But that’s not what is attracting attention; it’s the fact that the "Troll Apartment," as it is known, is located under a road and over the arch of a bridge. Douglas Lee, who’s handling the sale at the Compass real estate agency, says "it's definitely the most unique listing I've ever had in my entire residential real estate career. There's a lot of just unique interest. And instead of it being off-putting to people, it's actually come off as very unique and cool."

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Medal of Honor: Army Pfc. Henry Svehla
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News

Through sheer determination, Army Pfc. Henry Svehla may have single-handedly helped his unit beat back an attack by North Korean forces in 1952. The young rifleman didn't survive, but the memory of his valor lived on through his family, which spent decades pushing for and eventually getting him the Medal of Honor.
Svehla was born Oct. 30, 1932, in Newark, New Jersey, but grew up in nearby Belleville. He was one of six children — the youngest of three sons — to parents John Svehla, a mechanic, and Susan Svehla, a stay-at-home mother. Henry loved fishing and was known to take care of everyone in the family.
Svehla, whose family nickname was Squeeky, enlisted in the Army in November 1951 as the Korean War was raging. He was sent to the island nation to fight in February 1952 as a member of the 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division.
On June 12, 1952, Svehla was serving as a rifleman with Company F in a region known as the "Iron Triangle" inside what is now the Demilitarized Zone. His company and another unit were doing reconnaissance on Hill 472, an enemy outpost northeast of Chorwon, South Korea, when they were attacked at the top of the hill.
Svehla's unit began to falter, and the young private knew something had to be done for them to survive. Svehla quickly leapt to his feet and charged at the enemy's positions, firing his weapon and throwing grenades as he went. His determination caught on, and his platoon rallied behind him with renewed vigor.
Svehla took out several enemy positions and inflicted heavy casualties before being hit by shrapnel from a mortar round that seriously wounded his face. However, he refused medical attention and kept fighting.
When an enemy grenade landed near several other soldiers, Svehla didn't hesitate — he threw himself on top of it to absorb the blast.
"Every human instinct, every impulse, would tell a person to turn away. But at that critical moment, Henry Svehla did the opposite. He threw himself on that grenade," said President Barack Obama at Svehla's Medal of Honor ceremony. "With his sacrifice, he saved the lives of his fellow soldiers."
Svehla's body remains unaccounted for. It wasn't recoverable at the time of his loss, and thus far, it's not been among the remains returned to the U.S. in the decades since the July 1953 armistice. According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, the North Korean government has not permitted investigations of the area where he died.
In lieu of a proper burial, Svehla is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. There, his name is displayed alongside the names of more than 8,000 other Americans missing from the Korean War.
Svehla initially received a posthumous Distinguished Service Cross in March 1953; however, his family thought he deserved more for his sacrifice. They tried to make that happen for 60 years, but there wasn't any movement on it until 2001 when Svehla's brother, John, and nephew, Andrew, contacted U.S. Rep Bill Pascrell.
For a decade, Pascrell's staff made it their mission to give Svehla the proper honor he deserved by uncovering his service records and giving them to the Defense Department for re-examination. That investigation finally got his family what they were hoping for.
On May 2, 2011, Svehla received the Medal of Honor from Obama during a White House ceremony. His sister, Dorothy, accepted it on his behalf. Sadly, his brother, John, who had pushed so hard for the honor, died within a year prior to the ceremony.
While there is no formal burial site for Svehla, his hometown has made a place for him to be remembered. A monument to Svehla was unveiled in Belleville in 2011, and in 2019, a town post office was also dedicated to the fallen soldier.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundations

Ask Rusty – Will Work Earnings Affect My Social Security at Age 80?

Dear Rusty: I am 80 years old, and I receive monthly Social Security benefits, but I’m thinking about returning to work. At this age, am I limited in how much income I generate without affecting my benefit? If so, how much can I earn without affecting it? Signed: Spry Octogenarian.
Dear Spry Octogenarian: Since you have already reached your full retirement age (FRA) for Social Security’s purposes, you can earn as much income from working as you like without your monthly Social Security payment being affected. Social Security’s earnings test applies only to those who collect benefits before reaching their full retirement age, which is somewhere between age 66 and 67, depending on year of birth.
However, although the earnings test will not apply to you, it’s important to know that Social Security benefits are subject to income tax if your annual combined income from all sources (also known as your “Modified Adjusted Gross Income” or “MAGI”) exceeds certain thresholds. Your income tax filing status is an influencing factor - if you file as a single and your MAGI is more than $25,000, or if you file as “married/jointly” and your MAGI is more than $32,000, then 50% of the SS benefits you received during the tax year becomes part of your overall taxable income. And if your MAGI as a single filer is more than $34,000 or, as a married filer more than $44,000, then up to 85% of the SS benefits you receive during the tax year becomes part of your overall taxable income at your standard IRS income tax rate. Thus, returning to work may result in Social Security benefits unexpectedly becoming taxable income.
For complete clarity, your “MAGI” is your regular Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) on your income tax return, plus 50% of the Social Security benefits you received during the tax year, plus any other non-taxable income (except Roth IRA withdrawals) you may have had.
So, while your earnings from working at age 80 (and beyond) will not affect your monthly Social Security benefit payment, you may - depending on your total income or “MAGI” - find that your Social Security benefits will become taxable if your combined income from all sources exceeds the above thresholds. And if your benefits will become taxable, you may wish to consider having income taxes withheld from your monthly Social Security payments, which you can do by submitting IRS form W-4V to your local Social Security field office.

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Make gardening with kids enjoyable
By MELINDA MYERS

Gardening is good for the mind, body, and spirit. It is also good for the youngsters in our lives. Research shows gardening helps relieve stress, improve focus, positively impacts mood and psychological well-being, builds a sense of confidence, and more.
Look for creative ways to get children involved in gardening. Tap into other interests or skills like art, reading, writing, insects, math, and computers if you need to persuade reluctant participants into growing plants.
Include lots of colors and unique plants that kids will love. Crested celosia resembles brains, making it a good choice for the zombie fans in the group. Eyeball plant (Acmella oleracea), balloon plant (Gomphocarpus physocarpus) with its hairy inflated seedpods, snake plant, and kangaroo paws (Anigozanthos favidus) are a few to consider. Gardeners of all ages will appreciate the popcorn plant (Senna didymobotrya) with its buttered popcorn-scented leaves or bat-faced cuphea and the hummingbirds it will attract.
Consider adding features that make the garden a fun space to visit. There is a reason bean teepees, sunflower houses, and tunnels in the garden have remained popular with kids of all ages for decades. Or grow a garden shaped like a slice of pizza planted with all the key ingredients or a salsa garden. Everyone will benefit when using freshly harvested ingredients to create these dishes.
A pot or flat of grass makes a nice field for superheroes and a lawn for dolls. A bare patch of soil is perfect for digging, driving cars and trucks, or sculpting hills and valleys. All these build skills that can be applied to future gardening efforts.
Plant some salad radishes that are ready to harvest in 25 to 30 days. This will help keep the kids interested in the garden when waiting for the tomatoes, beans, and other vegetables to ripen. Call it harvesting when you are thinning the radish planting. Use these greens as a snack or in a salad. Harvesting and eating is more fun for all of us than just thinning the excess plants.
Use rainy days to create plant labels from paint sticks or stones. Paint individual words on some of the stones and place them in the garden. Let children leave messages for each other or write poetry. Or repurpose pickle jars into garden treasure jars. Have children decorate the jars. Then you fill the jars with messages or treasures before hiding them in the garden.
Explore ways to reuse and recycle landscape trimmings. Put twigs to use creating small-scale wattle fences for a fairy, gnome, or zombie garden. This is great practice for building a larger-scale wattle fence for the garden.
Go on a bug hunt to see who is living in your garden, yard, or neighborhood. Look for good bugs like lady beetles that eat plant-damaging aphids and bees that pollinate our flowers. Then log what you find in a backyard journal.
Gentle guidance, realistic expectations, and age-appropriate activities will help get kids excited about gardening. The gardens they create and the plants they grow are often amazing but more importantly, it is the experience of growing together that makes it worthwhile.

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of The Grateful American Book Prize

On June 18, 1983, Sally Ride boarded the Challenger, and became the first American woman to traverse the cosmos. Originally, NASA had restricted its corps of astronauts to men, but, according to History.com, “in 1978 [the agency] changed its policy…[and] approved six women out of…3,000 original applicants to [emerge as] the first female astronauts in the U.S. space program.”
Ride—with “Stanford stamped” degrees in science and physics, was quickly positioned in the inaugural lineup. “She became an on-the-ground capsule communicator for NASA’s STS-2 and STS-3 [Space Transportation System] missions in 1981 and 1982, and an expert in controlling the shuttle’s robotic arm. NASA assigned Ride to be part of the STS-7 crew on April 30, 1982, serving as mission specialist and joining Commander Robert L. Crippen, mission specialist John M. Fabian, physician-astronaut Norman E. Thagard and pilot Frederick H. Hauck on the historic flight.”
For more information, The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Sally Ride’s and Susan Okie’s To Space & Back.

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After World War I, America’s unemployed veterans were promised Bonus Act payments for their services, but political delays left them adrift in poverty. Finally, on June 22, 1944, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the G.I Bill and ended the ordeal.
According to History.com, “as the last of its sweeping New Deal reforms, Roosevelt’s administration created the G.I. Bill (officially the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944) to avoid a relapse into the Great Depression after the war ended. FDR particularly wanted to prevent a repeat of the Bonus March of 1932, and when 20,000 unemployed veterans and their families flocked in protest to Washington. The American Legion, a veteran’s organization, successfully fought for many of the provisions included in the bill, which gave returning servicemen access to unemployment compensation, low-interest home and business loans, and—most importantly—funding for education.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends The GI Bill: The New Deal for Veterans by Glenn Altschuler and Stuart Blumin.

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On June 27, 1829, James Smithson, an English scientist--and well-to-do member of the National Academy of Sciences--died at the age of sixty-four, and left his entire fortune of $500,000 ($16,487,120 in 2023) “to the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of Smithsonian Institution an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”
Some people say the bequest was motivated, “in part--by revenge--against the rigidities of British society, which had denied Smithson, who was illegitimate, the right to use his father’s name.”
After Congress learned of the lucky largesse, it was decided to use the funds to build museums, conduct research, produce publications; invest in the sciences, the arts, and history.
Now, it is comprised of a worldwide network of 21 buildings, nine research facilities, a Zoo, and 2016’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Gore Vidal’s novel, The Smithsonian Institution.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation,

Ask Rusty – How Will Working Affect My First Year’s Benefits?

Dear Rusty: I retired from working in January of this year and have since claimed Social Security. I didn't work at all in February or March, but I began a part time job in April. I'm very confused about how Social Security counts earnings for the first year. I don't know if I need to keep each month's earnings under $1,770 or if they average it. Some of the literature I've found says each month must remain under $1,770 or NO benefit will be paid that month. Two people at the Social Security office told me that they'll just dock me $1 for every $2 I am over that, even in my first year. I also cannot find anything about when they count your income. Is it when it's earned or when it's paid? If I go over in a month because there are three pay periods, can they withhold the benefit for that month? I’m just so confused! Signed: Part Time Worker
Dear Part Time Worker: The Social Security earnings test during your first year collecting benefits before full retirement age is, indeed, somewhat confusing. The reason is because there are two methods which Social Security may use during your first calendar year collecting early benefits, and they will use the one which results in the least financial impact to you. To elaborate:
If you claim benefits mid-year before your full retirement age, for the remainder of that first year (starting in the month benefits begin and ending in December) you’ll be subject to a monthly earnings limit ($1,770 for 2023). If you exceed the monthly limit in any remaining month of that first calendar year, you won’t be entitled to benefits for that month, so Social Security would (eventually) take back that month’s benefit. That is, unless using the annual limit ($21,240 for 2023) instead will result in a smaller penalty. If your total earnings for your first year collecting are over the annual limit (e.g., $21,240 for 2023), the penalty would be $1 for every $2 over the annual limit and, if that is less than the penalty from using the monthly limit, they will assess the smaller penalty. In other words, Social Security will use the method which is most beneficial to you when assessing a penalty for exceeding the earnings limit during your first calendar year collecting benefits. And just for clarity, the earnings limits are much higher and the penalty less during the year you attain full retirement age (FRA).
Something else to be aware of: if you know in advance you will exceed the annual limit it would be best to inform Social Security in order to avoid an Overpayment Notice next year. If you don’t, Social Security won’t know about your 2023 earnings until you file your 2023 income taxes, so you’ll get your 2023 monthly payments as usual. But when the IRS informs Social Security of your 2023 earnings later next year, Social Security will ask you to detail your monthly work earnings for 2023. If you have exceeded the limits, they will determine an overpayment amount and will ask you to either pay back what is owed in a lump sum or will withhold your benefits for enough months to recover what you owe for exceeding the 2023 earnings limit. Then, after you reach full retirement age (FRA), you’ll get time credit for all months in which benefits were withheld, thus slightly increasing your monthly payment after your FRA.
Finally, it is when your income is earned that counts, not when it is paid. So, for example, if you worked in January 2023 and were paid for that work in February 2023, that is considered January income which wouldn’t count toward the February earnings limit.

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How to become self-made in any field: 10 lessons from my unconventional journey

My journey to becoming a successful entrepreneurial CPA and author is unconventional, to say the least. I never finished high school. Everything I've learned, I taught myself. Growing up in England, I was expelled from high school for failing too many courses. College wasn't in the cards for me either. In my early twenties, I could barely do simple math.
Yet a relative who worked for an accounting firm agreed to take me in and train me—following a plea from my mother. I flunked my first two attempts at the qualifying exams. With only one shot left—after three failures, you're out—I faced a stark choice: Do I want to continue to be a failure or secure this qualification and move on to a brighter future? I chose the latter. Once I decided I wanted to pass, I discovered that I could—and I did.
Today, almost four decades later, I have a thriving financial consulting practice.
Even more unusual for a CPA, I'm also a well-reviewed author. Five years ago, I ventured into creative nonfiction. I had stories to tell and thoughts to express. With no formal training in creative writing, I simply began. With the help of an editor, I've published two books, "Chasing Aphrodite" and "The Heart of New York," and a third is nearly complete.
While I don’t advocate for quitting high school, I firmly believe that people often view their credentials—or lack thereof—as limitations. They see themselves as qualified only for what they've been officially trained to do. But it doesn't have to be this way. I want everyone to know that they, too, can be self-made—in any field.
Here are some principles that helped me succeed as an entirely self-made professional and author, and I believe they can help you too:
Believe in yourself. The first step to achieving anything is believing that you can. My journey was marked by failures, but I never lost faith in my ability to improve and succeed.
Stay open to any and all suggestions. It’s so easy to say ‘no’ due to ego and preconceived notions. But opportunities come from saying ‘yes.’
Have the chutzpah to insert yourself into situations. Opportunities rarely fall into our laps. We need to have the courage to seize them, even if it means stepping out of our comfort zones.
Make strong connections with the right people. It's not just about networking—it's about building relationships with people who inspire, motivate, and support you.
Focus on relationships first, even more than closing a deal. I've always prioritized long-term relationships over short-term gains. This approach has brought me more success than any single deal ever could.
Come up with good ideas—and don’t be afraid to share and execute them. I once saved a client a significant amount in taxes with an innovative strategy my colleagues didn’t think of. He has been a faithful client ever since.
Laugh at yourself. Humor can be a powerful tool for acknowledging that nobody’s perfect and we’re all learning all of the time. It also keeps things in perspective and makes you more relatable.
Never stop learning by doing. Real-world experience has been my greatest teacher. It's how I learned accounting, and it's how I became a writer.
Practice integrity and generosity. Success isn't just about making money—it's about making a positive impact on others. What goes around comes around: your generosity and integrity will come back to you in the form of opportunities.
And above all, always dream big. It was my audacious dream to pass the CPA exam, which led me to a successful career. It was my daring dream to write books, which made me an author. Your dreams can lead you to extraordinary places, too. Don't let a lack of traditional credentials hold you back. You have the power to shape your own journey, just as I did.

Emil Rem is an eccentric accountant and an author who writes about eccentric characters in exotic locales.

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How fast is your ‘wheelie bin’
They put garbage cans on wheels to make it easier to take them to the curb for collection but British engineer Michael Wallhead decided to motorize his trash can. He, then, hopped in, accelerated to a speed of 55 miles an hour and is now seeking recognition in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the fastest ‘wheelie bin’ on the planet. The current record holder is another Englishman, Andy Jennings, who drove his garbage pail at a speed of 45 mph in May of 2021.

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How embarrassing
Between 2012 and 2016 the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration issued hundreds of thousands of license plates bearing a website address -- www.starspangled200.org/ -- in commemoration of the War of 1812. Some 798,000 autos still have those plates but, in the meantime, the patriotic online link changed hands and now it takes visitors to a Philippines-based Internet gambling site. It’s embarrassing and so MVA techies are scrambling to find a way to resolve the dilemma.

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How’s this for a deal
Imagine purchasing a 5 bedroom, 4 bathroom home, complete with an indoor basketball court for a measly $60,000. This 17,408-square-foot abode is located in Burbank, Oklahoma. It used to be a high school but realtors at Zillow claim: "The large lot size and open floor plan provide endless opportunities. With some imagination, this could be the perfect home for you."

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Medal of Honor: Army Sgt. Maj. Jon R. Cavaiani
By KATIE LANGE
DOD News

Army Sgt. Maj. Jon Robert Cavaiani fought an overwhelming North Vietnamese force until he couldn't fight anymore. His actions saved dozens of men who served under him, but they also earned him two years at a prisoner of war camp. When he finally returned home, the Special Forces legend was greeted with respect and, soon after, the Medal of Honor.
Cavaiani was born Jon Lemmons in Royston, England, to an American soldier named Pete Lemmons and a British mother, Dorothy. He had a younger brother named Carl.
When Jon was 4, he and his brother were sent to live with their uncle in California. Eventually, his parents came over, too, but they divorced. His mother remarried a man named Ugo Cavaiani in 1950, and they settled in the small community of Ballico, California. When his stepfather adopted him in the early 1960s, Jon decided to take the name Cavaiani.
According to the National Museum of the U.S. Army, a young Cavaiani toiled on his family's farm before working for a fertilizer company and gaining extensive knowledge about agriculture.
In 1964, he married a woman named Marianne. They had two daughters, but they divorced around the time Cavaiani became a naturalized citizen in 1968.
By then, Cavaiani had the itch to join the military because he said he had a few half-brothers who were already serving in Vietnam. He tried in 1969 to join the Army, but was deemed unfit because he had a severe allergy to bee stings. He said he eventually persuaded an Army doctor to fill out paperwork allowing him to enlist.

Joining the Fight

Cavaiani started boot camp at age 26 and quickly volunteered to join the Special Forces, training as a medic. He was sent to Vietnam in 1970 with Task Force 1, Vietnam Training Advisory Group, which later became known as the Military Advisory Command-Vietnam Studies and Observations Group, an elite reconnaissance unit.
When Cavaiani arrived in the country, he was first assigned as an agriculture advisor and veterinarian because of his background. However, he wanted to do more, so he switched to reconnaissance for a few months before volunteering to become a platoon leader. His unit's mission was to provide security for an isolated radio relay site called Hickory Hill, north of Khe Sanh Combat Base, which was located within enemy territory near the edge of the Demilitarized Zone. There weren't many men left to defend the hill when Cavaiani arrived – roughly about a dozen American Special Forces advisors and about 70 indigenous soldiers known as Montagnards, according to the National Museum of the U.S. Army.
"When I got up there, the camp was a disaster area. It was just waiting to be knocked over," Cavaiani said in a 2002 Library of Congress interview. He had it fixed up just as they started to see more activity from North Vietnamese in the area.

Overwhelmed

Cavaiani said he'd only been at Hickory Hill for about a month when the actions that defined his career took place. On the morning of June 4, 1971, the young staff sergeant woke up to find the entire camp under fire from a large enemy force. Without regard for his own safety, he put himself in harm's way several times to move around the camp's perimeter to rally and direct the platoon's return fire, using any weapon he could find to join them.
Eventually, it became clear they couldn't keep up the fight, so they were ordered to evacuate. Cavaiani and another Special Forces soldier, Sgt. John R. Jones, helped evacuate the men into helicopters. Most of the platoon were able to make it out, but Cavaiani said he and Jones stayed behind to destroy the site's sensitive equipment so it wouldn't fall into enemy hands.
The pair was forced to stay overnight at the site with a handful of Montagnard soldiers who remained. They strengthened their defenses as best they could before the enemy launched another major ground attack in the morning. Cavaiani returned a heavy barrage of small-arms and grenade fire, but was unable to slow the enemy down. He ordered the remaining men to escape, then grabbed a machine gun, stood on top of the bunker that was covering him and swept machine gun fire across the enemy soldiers headed their way.
"I started shooting at anybody trying to come in. Mostly, shooting at where I was seeing flashes, which meant somebody was shooting at me," he said.

Trapped

Cavaiani was hit several times while on the bunker, but thanks to his bravery, the other men — with the exception of Jones — were able to escape. The staff sergeant said he then tried to grab Jones out of the bunker, but the enemy had overrun the top of the hill by then, and he and Jones were trapped inside.
Cavaiani said they were able to take out two enemy soldiers who came into the bunker, but not before more North Vietnamese were alerted to their presence. Another enemy soldier threw a grenade inside the bunker, which seriously injured Jones.
"[Jones said] 'I'm going to surrender.' He walks out, unfortunately. He cursed to them in Vietnamese, and they shot him and killed him," Cavaiani remembered. "Next thing I know, a grenade came rolling in. It was one of ours, and I kicked it up against the radio, and I guess I yelled 'grenade.' And it went off … It took out my radio, so that was the last time anybody heard from me."
Cavaiani said he played dead when another enemy soldier came into the bunker to see if there were survivors. That soldier didn't notice he was alive, but when he left, he set the bunker on fire. Cavaiani had to get out quickly.
"I managed to make it to the door. I've got burning tar going down my face and my arms and my back. I get outside, and my machine gun [somehow] goes off and shoots me — the only time in the entire war I wore a steel helmet. It shot me right in the head," Cavaiani recalled.
He said the shot knocked him out. When he eventually came to, he crawled into another bunker and tried to hide under a bed. He said he passed out there but woke up to an enemy soldier playing with his boot – likely planning to steal it off what he presumed was a dead man – before the soldier got up and walked out.
"That sobered me up real fast," Cavaiani said. "I did a nice, neat little low crawl over to the door and out the side and over the berm and started escaping and evading."

Capture

Cavaiani spent about 11 days hiding in the jungle and made it to Firebase Fuller about 42 kilometers away. He said he had no weapons and was badly wounded with about 100 shrapnel wounds and bullet holes. He didn't realize the area was surrounded by North Vietnamese, who quickly captured him.
Cavaiani spent nearly two years as a prisoner of war before being repatriated to the U.S. in 1973 during Operation Homecoming.
Cavaiani was believed to have been killed in action when he was recommended for the Medal of Honor. Officials learned later that he was still alive. The 31-year-old staff sergeant received the nation's highest medal for valor from President Gerald R. Ford during a White House ceremony on Dec. 12, 1974. Army Chief Warrant Officer Two Louis R. Rocco also received the Medal of Honor that day for actions he took in Vietnam in 1970.
Cavaiani said he debated leaving the military after he recovered, but he decided to stay in the Army. He eventually ended up in Delta Force, serving in Berlin and working in counterterrorism before he retired as a sergeant major in May 1990.

After

Once again a civilian, Cavaiani went to culinary school and married his wife, Barbara, in 1992. They lived outside of Modesto, California, for several years before moving to Columbia, California, in 2001.
As for the Medal of Honor, Cavaiani was apparently not fond of being in such an elite club, saying in 2002, "I spent a long time trying to forget about Vietnam. Then you get the medal, and now all of a sudden, it's public knowledge."
However, he carried the responsibility with grace, traveling the country as a motivational speaker and to appear at veterans' events, as well as to teach children about Vietnam War history. He also served as a regional director of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society for a time. In 2011, he was inducted into the Special Forces Hall of Fame.
That same year – 40 years after the battle he would never forget — Cavaiani returned to Vietnam. This time, it was in search of the remains of Sgt. Jones, who was there with him during the ordeal, but didn't survive. Until that point, Jones' body had not been recovered. This time, however, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting agency found his remains and brought them home. Jones was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in 2012 during a ceremony that Cavaiani attended.
Less than two years later, on July 29, 2014, Cavaiani died of a bone marrow disorder at age 70. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, near Jones and other fallen Vietnam veterans.

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House Call
By Dr. Daniel Knight, professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Q: What is a hernia, and how is it treated?
A: A hernia is when organs or tissue squeeze through a weak spot in the surrounding muscle. Hernias often occur in the abdomen or the groin, most commonly at the inner and outer groin, the belly button or the upper stomach. Sometimes hernias also occur around an incision or cut.
Constipation, a pulling sensation, severe and sudden pain, or swelling in the abdomen or groin are some symptoms of a hernia. However, not everyone with a hernia will have symptoms. Immediately contact a health care professional if you experience fever, nausea and/or vomiting, or if you have a bulge that turns dark.
Treatment options depend upon the type and severity of the hernia. Your health care provider may simply recommend monitoring the situation and advise you to be aware of instances where the hernia can be aggravated, such as during physical exertion. In some cases, surgery is required as hernias tend to get worse over time.
People who have jobs that require heavy lifting, who have had a history of abdominal surgery, or who experience a pattern of persistent coughing or sneezing can be at risk of developing a hernia

Q: Why do I get migraines?
A: A migraine is a neurological disease, and the pain comes from the activation of nerves inside the blood vessels of the brain. The precise reason for migraines is unknown, as well as all of the factors which cause them. However, environment and genetics can play a role in the development of migraines, and they often run in families.
Migraines can be disabling. Symptoms of migraines include severe throbbing or intense pain on one or both sides of the head, nausea and/or vomiting, and sensitivity to light, noise and smells. “Aura” is a common type of migraine in which those affected may see black or colored dots, flashes of light, or may even experience temporary blindness. Other symptoms may include numbness in the body, muscle weakness, or dizziness.
Women tend to get migraines more often than men. Most individuals have their first migraine when they are young, but they can begin any time before age 40. Common migraine triggers are certain food and drink, hormone changes, changes in sleep patterns, stress, or changes in weather.
Over-the-counter medicines may help to relieve mild to moderate migraine pain. More severe pain may require prescription medication from a health care professional.
Q: Can cataracts be prevented?
A: Cataracts are the clouding of the lens of your eye. The eye’s lens is the clear part that helps focus light. Cataracts form when protein builds up in the lens, keeping light from passing through. This condition is common in older adults.
Cataracts normally develop slowly, so you may not notice the changes until your vision is impaired. This issue generally occurs in both eyes, although not necessarily at same the rate, so the level of impact may not be the same in each.
No specific process exists to avoid or slow the progression of cataracts. Symptoms of cataracts include changes in how you see colors, cloudy or foggy vision, difficulty with night vision, or sensitivity to glare. Some possible ways to prevent cataracts are protecting your eyes from the sun using a hat or sunglasses, and a healthy diet containing plenty of fruits and vegetables.
Adults over the age of 50 are advised to get an eye exam at least once a year. If cataracts are detected early, initial treatment may include using brighter lights at home or work, or getting a new contact or eyeglass prescription. Surgery may be recommended if cataracts begin to interfere with daily activities.

Q: What warning signs of Alzheimer's disease should I look for in a loved one?
A: Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia. Other types of dementia are fronto-temporal, Lewy body, and vascular. Dementia is a general term when someone loses the ability to remember or think to a level where it interferes with daily life.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that Alzheimer’s affects nearly 5.7 million Americans, and it is the fifth-leading cause of death for people age 65 or older. Alzheimer’s is a progressive brain disease for which there is no cure. The exact cause of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia are unknown, but it is believed environmental, genetic, and lifestyle factors may play a role.
Some warning signs of Alzheimer’s are anger or aggression, decreased or poor judgment, delusion, difficulty remembering new information, or forgetting names of family members. People affected by Alzheimer’s may also struggle to complete simple tasks or have trouble finding the correct words to express themselves.
If these or similar symptoms are observed, contact a health care provider who can give specialized directions regarding Alzheimer’s.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation,

Ask Rusty – What If I Delay but Die Before Claiming Social Security?

Dear Rusty: Hypothetically, if I plan to sign up for Social Security at 70 and pass away before that, I will get nothing. My spouse would still get a boost in the amount she receives because I made more, but everything I put into the program vanishes. I haven’t reached my full retirement age yet and I still have income, but if I sign up now at 63 my benefits will be withheld due to my income. Then at full retirement age (presuming I elected to claim earlier) a re-calculation will take place and my monthly amount would be adjusted. Well, what happens if I decide to wait until 70 but pass away before I claim? Are my contributions repaid in a lump sum, or will I (or someone else) still lose everything? Signed: Uncertain About My Future
Dear Uncertain: You are correct that if you pass away before collecting your earned Social Security benefits you won’t personally get anything. Social Security has, since inception, been a “pay as you go” program where those currently working and contributing to Social Security pay benefits for those currently receiving Social Security. That means that if you die before collecting, the monies you contributed will have already been used to pay other recipients, but the contributions you made may still entitle your dependents to benefits on your record. For those who are in their early 60s, average longevity is mid-80s, meaning your spouse would likely collect benefits on your record for more than two decades, any minor children could collect until they are adults, and any permanently disabled child you may have would get benefits from your record for the rest of their life as well.
The Social Security payroll taxes you contributed were not put into a private account in your name. And, on average, it is to the beneficiary’s advantage the program doesn’t work that way because that personal account would be depleted fairly quickly after you claim - rather than getting benefits for the rest of your life, you’d only get benefits (plus interest) from your personal account, which would run dry pretty fast. FYI, we have researched this very carefully and found that, on average, all payroll taxes contributed to Social Security by an individual will be recovered within about 5 years of starting benefits. The actual length of time to recoup one’s contributions varies somewhat depending on lifetime earnings and contributions made, but lower earning beneficiaries will recover everything contributed through payroll taxes within about 3 years, while it could take as much as 5 years for higher earners to get back everything they’ve paid into the program. And for clarity, since self-employed individuals pay both the employee and employer portion of the payroll tax, it does take longer for those who own their own business to recoup what they’ve contributed. Nevertheless, on average, most who claim benefits will get considerably more from the program than they paid in Social Security payroll taxes.
As to your specific question, if you die before collecting, the contributions you made weren’t deposited in a personal account for you and won’t be paid out in a lump sum. Rather, the payroll taxes you paid while working were used to pay benefits to beneficiaries receiving at the time, and those working and contributing after you die will fund the benefits paid to your spouse or disabled adult child until they die, or to your minor children until they are adults. The Social Security benefits you earned aren’t just for you - your eligible dependents will also benefit from your record.

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Medal of Honor: Army 1st Lt. Rudolph B. Davila
Department of Defense News
As the leader of a machine gun platoon during World War II, Army 1st Lt. Rudolph Bianco Davila's job was to cover the backs of the rifle company in front of him. When that company was about to be ambushed by Germans, he did all he could to keep them from being slaughtered. His bravery earned him the Distinguished Service Cross and eventually the Medal of Honor.
Davila was born on April 27, 1916, to his father, Nicolas Davila, who was Spanish, and his mother, Maria, who was Filipino. He was born in El Paso, Texas, but he, his sister and two brothers were raised in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles.
To help support his family during the Depression, Davila worked at vineyards and helped restore state missions as part of the Civilian Conservation Corps, an L.A. Times article said.
According to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Davila joined the Army in 1939 when job opportunities were scarce. He was busy training recruits for jungle fighting by the time U.S. involvement in World War II was in full swing. Davila said he expected to be sent to the Pacific theater, but because of his Asian heritage, he was instead sent to Italy in early 1944 to fight during what became known as the Battle of Anzio.
Davila said his heavy machine gun platoon, which was part of Company H of the 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, was halfway to Rome when he performed some of the most heroic duties of his life.
On May 28, 1944, Davila's division was near Artena, Italy, and was trying to break through the German mountain strongholds surrounding the Anzio beachhead where the Allies had come ashore. His platoon's mission was to protect a 130-man rifle company.
"They were ahead of me, climbing this hill. I was behind them," Davila said in a Congressional Medal of Honor Society interview. "The idea was that if they ran into trouble, I would bring out four of my machine guns and clear the way for them."
The rifle company was already on the other side of the hill when Davila crested it ahead of his platoon. As soon as he did, Germans who were waiting to ambush the rifle company fired on them.
"This hill was covered in tall grass, so there was no cover for the rifle company that was lying there on the forest floor," Davila said.
His machine gunners were still on the back side of the hill and reluctant to jump into the fray. Many of the men retreated, but Davila stayed and demanded their help.
"I yelled back, I said, ‘Bring up a gun.' And the gunners would not respond because they could see the bullets coming, just skimming the grass and barely missing me," he remembered.
Within a few seconds, he had those men pass him up the parts of a machine gun, which he put together while crawling on the ground. Then, from a kneeling position, he opened fire on the enemy so he could see if his shots hit, despite the fact that enemy bullets were whizzing past the gun's tripod and between his legs.
"I had my hand on the trigger already, so by the time I got up on my knees, the gun was already firing," Davila said. "I swept up and down the [railroad] tracks [below the hill] where the enemy was."
Davila ordered one of his gunners to take over the position so he could crawl forward to a better vantage point and direct the fire using hand and arm signals. Those actions silenced two enemy machine guns.
From there, Davila's platoon was able to set up its three remaining guns, which they used to drive the enemy to a reserve position 200 yards to its rear. Davila got shot in the leg at some point but ignored the wound and dashed to a burning tank. Despite the bullets crashing into its hull, he jumped into the tank and began shooting at the enemy from the vehicle's turret.
After causing some damage that way, Davila jumped off the tank and ran about 130 yards in short bursts before crawling about 20 more toward a house the enemy was using to hide its machine guns.
"I spotted two rifle barrels shooting from a window, so I took one grenade and pulled the pin and threw it into the building. Then I ran around the house where the door was," he explained. "There was a stairway going straight up, and there was a shell hole from a tank that fired into the house."
Climbing to the attic, Davila straddled the large hole and opened fire into it with a borrowed rifle, taking out five enemy soldiers who were running away. Despite walls crumbling around him, Davila continued to shoot until he'd destroyed two more enemy machine guns.
Thanks to Davila's heroism, the enemy fled the area, and the U.S. rifle company that likely would have been slaughtered survived.
After the fight, Davila received a battlefield commission to second lieutenant. He was eventually advanced in rank to first lieutenant, but his time in combat ended in late 1944 when he was seriously wounded in the right shoulder by a tank shell.
Davila's company captain told him he would recommend Davila for the Medal of Honor; however, he received the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation's second highest medal for valor, instead.
Over the next six years, Davila underwent more than a dozen operations on his damaged arm. According to the L.A. Times, during one surgery to remove scar tissue, a main nerve was accidentally cut, paralyzing that arm.
One good thing that came out of his time in hospitals was that he met his wife, Harriet, who worked in a Modesto, California, hospital during Davila's stay there. The pair went on to have five children.
Davila eventually went back to school, getting his bachelor's degree in education from the University of Southern California in 1959. After receiving his master's degree in sociology, he went on to teach high school history and work as a counselor for 30 years in the L.A. City School District.
The L.A. Times said Davila was known to be an excellent cook and gardener and that he built both the family home in L.A.'s Harbor City neighborhood, as well as a second home in Vista, California. That's where he and his wife moved in 1977 after he retired from teaching.
In 1996, the National Defense Authorization Act called for a review the records of Asian American, Native American and Pacific Islanders who received the Distinguished Service Cross and Navy Cross during World War II. The review was to see if any of those service members may have been passed over for the Medal of Honor due to prejudices of the time.
The review revealed that Davila had been affected. His medal was finally upgraded 56 years after his actions in World War II. He received it on June 21, 2000, from President Bill Clinton during a White House ceremony alongside 21 other men whose medals were also upgraded to the nation's top military honor. Davila was one of only seven who were still alive to receive it.
One other person who wasn't in attendance was his wife, who had petitioned the government for years on her husband's behalf to get the medal upgraded. Sadly, she died six months before the ceremony.
At the time of the award, Davila brushed off any suggestions that racial bias kept him from earning it.
"I'm very grateful for the nation that has honored me," he said in his Congressional Medal of Honor Society interview. "I hold no resentment against the fact that it took them this long."
He said part of that empathy stemmed from a lifelong philosophy his mother instilled in him when he was young: "Nobody is better than you are, but you are no better than anyone else."
Less than two years after received the Medal of Honor, on Jan. 26, 2002, Davila died after a long illness, according to the L.A. Times. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

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Wanderlust
Renowned author Robert Louis Stevenson put it this way in his book, Travels with a Donkey: "For my part I travel not to go anywhere, but to ... travel for travel's sake.” For Randy Williams, a San Diego DJ known as Ramblin' Randy, wanderlust motivated his goal of visiting every country on planet Earth and then some. It took him ten years but he finally achieved his ambition to visit all of the 193 nations recognized by the United Nations plus Vatican City, Palestine and the disputed lands of Kosovo, Western Sahara and Taiwan. Randy completed his bucket list just recently when he finally got to plant his feet on the ground of his final destination, Turkmenistan.

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A very, very pricey taste
The rare, fragrant, flavorful and extremely expensive white truffles that grow in Alba, Italy can put you back nearly $7,000 a pound. It’s the reason why Japanese company, Cellato, broke the Guinness record for the world’s priciest ice cream, a brand called Byakuya that would set you back $6,696 per serving. According to the company, "It took us over 1.5 years to develop, with a lot of trials and errors to get the taste right. Achieving a Guinness World Records title made the effort all worth it."

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A scary dust devil
"I couldn't breathe ... so I held my breath,” said 7 year old Bauer Zoya, the catcher for the little league Ponte Vedra Sharks when a sudden whirlwind encircled him during a recent baseball game in a suburb of Jacksonville, FL. The unexpected dust devil sent the players running in all directions but Bauer was trapped in the cone. Umpire 17-year-old Aidan Wiles came to the boy’s rescue; he told reporters that he was “freaked out” at first but quickly “decided to run in there and grab him out of it."

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Michelangelo, the barber
LeBron James lived up to the expectations of his fans early in the 2023 NBA Playoffs. He led the Los Angeles Lakers in upending the NBA champion Golden State Warriors on May 12, a day after one of his more ardent fans had barber Miguel Rosas, Director at New Style Hair Academy in Moline, Illinois, carve a good luck likeness of LeBron in the hair on the back of his head. It took Rosas two hours to create his masterpiece. There are those who might say that it did the trick and helped LeBron score 30 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for the Lakers.

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He proved that beer can give you gas
Like many of us these days, inventor Ky Michaelson of Bloomington, Minnesota, is fed up with the soaring cost gasoline. So he did something about it; he swapped the gas-powered engine of his motorcycle with a 14-gallon beer keg. A heating coil heats the brew to a temperature of about 300 degrees, superheating it into steam to drive the vehicle. Michaelson claims his new power source allows the bike to reach speeds of up to 150 mph. He told Fox News that "The price of gas is getting up there. I don't drink. I'm not a drinker, so I can't think of anything better than to use [beer] for fuel."

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A s-s-scary story
Amber Hall, her daughter and her son lived in their new home in Centennial, Colorado, for just two weeks before realizing that their abode was infested with slimy snakes. Her dogs were first to alert her; they found several slippery serpents slithering in and out of a garage wall. Hall called in pest control experts who, initially, found some 30 of the scary critters. It was of little comfort that they were not poisonous. "The snake wrangler said the snakes he caught look to be about 2 to 3 years old, so he imagines they've been here for a long time and there's a lot more," as she put it in an interview with KDVR-TV.

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Keep plants thriving despite the heat of summer
By MELINDA MYERS

Last year’s record-high temperatures across much of the country took a toll on gardens and landscapes. Once again, above-normal summer temperatures are in the forecast for many regions of the country. Adjusting how you manage your gardens and landscape can help plants thrive as temperatures rise.
Water plants thoroughly to promote deep drought-tolerant roots that help boost the plants’ pest resistance. Wait until the top few inches of soil are crumbly and moist before watering most plants. Newly planted perennials, trees, and shrubs need more attention and water than drought-tolerant plants or established ones with more robust root systems that are better able to absorb more moisture. During extended dry periods, even drought-tolerant and established plants may need supplemental water.
Water early in the day to reduce water lost to evaporation. Avoid late evening watering that leaves foliage wet at night, increasing the risk of disease.
Apply water directly to the soil above the plant roots using soaker hoses or drip irrigation whenever possible. Water is applied where needed and the slow, steady flow of water is better able to infiltrate the soil and moisten the roots with less runoff.
Check soil moisture daily in container gardens and several times a week for raised beds. Both dry out more quickly than in-ground gardens and need to be watered more often. Save time and water by incorporating Wild Valley Farms’ wool pellets into the growing mixes. This sustainable product is made from wool waste. University research found it reduced watering by up to 25% and increased air space in the soil, promoting healthy plant growth.
Further conserve water by spreading a two- to three-inch layer of shredded leaves, evergreen needles, or shredded bark mulch over the soil in garden beds and around trees and shrubs. Mulching conserves moisture, keeps roots cooler and moist, and suppresses weeds. As the organic mulch decomposes, it adds nutrients and organic matter to the soil. Just pull the mulch away from tree trunks, shrub stems, and the crowns of other plants to avoid rot.
Include plants that are more tolerant of the weather conditions in your area. Those that tolerate both heat and cold extremes will thrive with less care once established.
Incorporate organic matter like compost into the soil. It helps the soil accept and retain water so you will need to water less often. It also adds nutrients to the soil so over time you will need to fertilize less often.
Use a low-nitrogen, slow-release fertilizer if your garden plants need a nutrient boost. These types of fertilizers release small amounts of nutrients over an extended period. The low level of nitrogen reduces the risk of damaging heat-stressed plants.
Remove weeds from garden beds and borders as soon as they appear. These “plants out of place” steal water and nutrients from your desirable garden plants. Plus, many harbor insects and diseases that are harmful to your garden plants.
Provide stressed plants with a bit of shade from the hot afternoon sun. Container gardens can be moved to a more suitable spot during heat waves. Add a bit of temporary shade to garden plants that are struggling to survive in the blazing hot sun. A strategically placed chair, lattice, or umbrella may be all that is needed. As temperatures drop, you can move plants back in place and remove the temporary shade.
Your garden will greatly benefit from these changes to your summer garden care.

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

On May 18, 1860, Abraham Lincoln, a former member of the anti-slavery Whig Party, was nominated for the United States presidency at the Republican National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.
During the ramp up to the election Lincoln sparred with his rival, Stephen A. Douglas, for a November victory. According to History.com: “Lincoln ... first gained national stature during his campaign against Democratic Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois for a U.S. Senate seat in 1858. The senatorial campaign featured a remarkable series of public encounters on the slavery issue, known as the Lincoln-Douglas debates, in which Lincoln argued against the spread of slavery while Douglas maintained that each territory should have the right to decide whether it would become free or slave state. Lincoln lost the Senate race, but his campaign brought national attention to the young Republican Party.”
When the votes were tallied, Lincoln emerged as the 16th president—and the first Republican--to ascend to the office.
For more information, the Grateful American Book Prize recommends Lincoln and the Election of 1860 by Michael S. Green.

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By May 22,1843, the “Great Emigration” of pioneers heading West was gaining momentum; on that day, a caravan of 1,000 men, women and children climbed aboard their horses and steered out of Elm Grove, Missouri.
As History.com describes it, those pioneers brought with them “a herd of 5,000 oxen and cattle trailing behind. Dr. Elijah White, a Presbyterian missionary who had made the trip the year before, served as guide ... Dozens of books and lectures proclaimed Oregon’s agricultural potential, piquing the interest of white American farmers. The first overland immigrants to Oregon, intending primarily to farm, came in 1841 when a small band of 70 pioneers left Independence, Missouri. They followed a route blazed by fur traders, which took them west along the Platte River through the Rocky Mountains via the easy South Pass in Wyoming and then northwest to the Columbia River. In the years to come, pioneers came to call the route the Oregon Trail.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey by Rinker Buck.

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Johnstown, Pennsylvania—founded in 1800—has an anguished history; on May 31,1889, its South Fork Dam crumpled, flooded the town, and killed more than 2,200 of the 30,000 residents.
According to History.com, “People in the path of the rushing flood waters were often crushed as their homes and other structures were swept away. Thirty-three train engines were pulled into the raging waters, creating more hazards. Some people in Johnstown were able to make it to the top floors of the few tall buildings in town. However, whirlpools brought down many of these taller buildings. A bridge downstream from the town caught much of the debris and then proceeded to catch fire. Some people who had survived by floating on top of debris were burned to death in the fire. Reportedly, one baby survived on the floor of a house as it floated 75 miles from Johnstown ... [It was] one of the American Red Cross’s first major relief efforts. Clara Barton arrived five days later to lead the relief. It took five years to rebuild Johnstown, which again endured deadly floods in 1936 and 1977.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Through The Johnstown Flood by David J. Beale.

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Managing insects and diseases in the garden
By MELINDA MYERS

A bit of prevention goes a long way in minimizing insect and disease problems in the garden. Enlist a holistic approach known as Plant Health Care to manage your ornamental and edible gardens. It starts with proper plant selection and care and ends with using the most eco-friendly controls when problems do occur.
Start by selecting plants suited to the growing conditions. Match your plants to the light, soil, and other growing conditions in your yard. You’ll have healthier plants that require less ongoing care and are less prone to pests, helping to increase your gardening success.
Look for and purchase the most pest-resistant plants available. Garden phlox and bee balm are frequently attacked by powdery mildew. Purchase mildew-resistant varieties like Backlight with white flowers, Glamour Girl with hot coral pink blossoms, and the Ka-Pow series that comes in a variety of colors. Look for mildew-resistant bee balm varieties like the Sugar Buzz series in shades of lavender, pink and red, and the compact Balmy series to reduce the risk of this disease.
Provide proper care throughout the growing season. Water thoroughly and only as needed to encourage a deep robust root system better able to absorb needed nutrients and water. Apply water directly to the soil and early in the morning to reduce the risk of disease and water loss to evaporation. Mulch the soil surface with shredded leaves and evergreen needles to conserve moisture, suppress weeds, and improve the soil. This one task provides many benefits to you and your plants.
Avoid over-fertilization. Excess nitrogen promotes lush succulent growth that is more susceptible to insects and disease and may interfere with flowering and fruiting.
Check plants regularly and throughout the season for any signs of insects and disease. Look on the upper and lower surface of the leaves and along the stems. It is much easier to treat a small population of insects or pluck off a few diseased leaves than trying to control large pest populations.
Properly identify the pest. Most insects, over 97%, are good guys that pollinate our plants, eat insect pests, and help compost plant waste. Knowing the good from the bad and the harmful from those that are just annoying can save you time, money, and frustration. Consult your University Extension’s website, local botanic gardens, and other horticulture professionals for help with diagnosing and treating problems.
And if control is needed, look for eco-friendly options. A thorough cleanup is often enough to reduce insect and disease problems to a tolerable level. Spraying plants with a strong blast of water to dislodge aphids and mites, knocking problem insects into a can of soapy water, or removing spotted leaves may be all that’s needed.
Use barriers like floating row covers to prevent damage from cabbage worms and bean beetles. University research has found that with proper timing these products can also help reduce the risk of squash vine borer, squash bugs, and cucumber bacterial wilt.
If you opt for chemical control, look for an organic or the most eco-friendly product labeled for managing disease or insect pests. As always, read and follow label directions for the best and safest results.
Enlisting a holistic approach allows you to work with nature to grow a beautiful and productive garden.

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Medal of Honor: Marine Corps Maj. Henry Courtney, Jr.
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News

World War II Marine Corps Maj. Henry Alexius Courtney, Jr. never gave up on his objective as he led a group of battered men up a fire-swept hill in Okinawa. Courtney didn't come off the hill alive, but his courage led to a foiled Japanese counterattack and saved numerous American lives. Those actions earned him a posthumous Medal of Honor.
Courtney was born Jan. 6, 1916, in Duluth, Minnesota, to parents Florence and Henry Courtney Sr. He had three siblings — John, Elizabeth and Grace — and was the youngest of the four.
Courtney came from a well-known family of lawyers, according to the Duluth News Tribune. He wanted to follow in his father's footsteps, so after graduating high school, he went to the University of Minnesota, where he played football and earned his bachelor's degree. From there, the devout Catholic got his law degree from Loyola University in Chicago. While there, he also felt drawn to serve his country, so he joined the Marine Corps Reserve.
Courtney was commissioned as a second lieutenant in February 1940. He was permitted to practice at his father's law firm and was hoping to pass the bar before he left for active duty, according to a 1946 edition of Bench & Bar, a newsletter for the Minnesota State Bar Association. But that didn't happen. He was put in command of the Duluth unit of the Marine Corps Reserve, which was then mobilized in the buildup to war and sent to San Diego for training.
Life at War
Courtney served about 10 months in Iceland and learned about the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor while he was there. From late 1942 to early 1943, he commanded a company of the 1st Marine Division in the Solomon Islands during the Guadalcanal campaign, which was the first U.S. offensive of World War II.
While in the Solomons, Courtney suffered from a bout of malaria, so he was sent back to the U.S. to recover. He could have stayed stateside to train others, but he wanted to go back overseas to lead the newer, younger Marines, so he requested to return to combat duty. The request was granted. However, according to the Bench & Bar newsletter, Courtney also got the opportunity to sit for a special bar exam while he was on leave. He took it, and he passed with distinction.
Soon after, in November 1944, Courtney went back to the Pacific to join the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Marines of the 6th Marine Division. According to the Marine Corps University, his next combat action was during the Battle of Okinawa, where he would give his life for the cause.
Fortitude in Okinawa
The Allies first invaded Okinawa on April 1, 1945. A little more than a month later, Courtney's division joined the 1st Marine Division in preparing to attack Japan's main line of resistance on the island.
Before they could do so, though, they had to get over three small hills that housed part of the enemy's defensive complex. The first was a hill that the Marines codenamed Sugar Loaf.
On May 12, Company G was ordered to take Sugar Loaf Hill — something that proved to be a major challenge. The rocky hill was barren and pocked with caves and tunnels that kept the Marines at bay for days and decimated Company G's numbers. That first attempt ended in retreat.
Courtney's chance to assault the hill came on May 14, when he gathered what was left of Company G and another company to try again. After a prolonged firefight behind the hill, they were ordered to hold for the night. Courtney, however, felt they had a better chance of getting up the hill at night when they weren't as exposed. So, according to his Medal of Honor citation, he got permission to advance up the hill in the dark. He quickly explained the change of plans to his Marines before starting the climb.
"At one point, the major said, "Come on men, let's give them a Bonsai charge of our own,'" remembered Marine Cpl. Jack Houston in a 1996 letter written ahead of the 40th anniversary of the battle.
Leading By Example
Inspired by his courage, every man followed Courtney without hesitation. Despite heavy enemy gunfire, they boldly blasted cave positions and took out as many enemy guns as they could to skirt the hill on the right and reach its reverse slope. There, Courtney stopped his men for a minute and sent guides to the rear for more ammunition and possible replacements.
After acquiring 26 more men and a vehicle load of grenades, Courtney was determined to crush any planned counterattack before it could gain sufficient momentum. So, he pushed forward again, leading by example rather than by command.
"As we were getting ready to leave, I expected to hear that old familiar order, "Take off, men!'' Houston remembered. "Instead, it was, 'Follow me, men!' and the major led the way."
Courtney aggressively attacked, hurling grenades into caves and damaging many of the enemy's positions. When the men got to the top of the crest, they noticed Courtney's instincts had been correct — a huge number of Japanese were gathering for a counterattack less than 100 yards away. Courtney immediately charged the formation, killing several enemy combatants in an attack that caused the rest of the force to take cover in the caves.
Determined to hold the position, Courtney ordered his men to dig in while he rallied his weary troops, offered aid to the wounded and moved certain men to more advantageous ground, all while enemy fire grew more intense.
Sadly, Courtney wouldn't make it to the end of the fight. While moving among his men, a mortar burst killed him instantly, his Medal of Honor citation said.
"The last I saw of the major, he was going over the crest," Houston said. "For all the world he looked exactly like a heroic recruiting poster, and that's exactly what he was — a hero. No man with him could doubt his leadership and courage. This was a brave, brave man who died for his convictions, the Corps and his country. I feel honored to have served with him."
Courtney's courage, confidence and spirit disrupted the Japanese assault, allowed his men to take the hill, and it kept the enemy from overrunning Allied lines, which saved the lives of a countless number of troops.
"To this man alone, many Marines owe their lives," said 1st Lt. Robert O. Hutchings in a 1945 letter recommending Courtney for the Medal of Honor. "To him, those of us who fought there and lived owe an eternal debt of gratitude for his resplendent example of stark courage."
In July 1945, Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr., who recommended Courtney for the Medal of Honor, wrote to the fallen 29-year-old's parents to express his grief for their loss.
"Your son was loved by his men and admired by his many friends," Shepherd said. "Your boy died a hero. … I sincerely hope that the knowledge that your son sacrificed his life for his comrades-in-arms may be a comfort to you in your great loss."
Posthumous Honors
On Dec. 30, 1947, Courtney's parents received the Medal of Honor on his behalf from the commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Alexander A. Vandergrift, in a ceremony in Washington, D.C.
Twelve other Marines earned Medals of Honor for their actions during the Battle of Okinawa, 11 posthumously.
Courtney was initially buried in the 6th Marine Division Cemetery in Okinawa, but he was reinterred in 1948 in Calvary Cemetery in his hometown.
Courtney never married and he had no children, but he is remembered by his siblings and their children, as well as the military.
The USS Courtney II, a destroyer escort, was commissioned in September 1956 and used through 1973. Camp Courtney, a Marine Base that opened in Okinawa in 1956, was also named for him. It continues to be the home to the III Marine Expeditionary Force, 3rd Marine Division and the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade Headquarters.
In 2016, Courtney's nephew, Court Storey, told the Duluth News Tribune that he's learned a lot about his namesake over the years.
"My uncle was this very happy-go-lucky, joyful guy," Storey said. "He was like a Newfoundland dog, always kidding and lighthearted."
Courtney's Medal of Honor had initially been donated in the 1980s to the Freedoms Foundation in Pennsylvania by Courtney's sister, Elizabeth. However, his family and the St. Louis County Historical Society successfully pushed to get it returned to his hometown. It was sent back to Minnesota in May 2019 and is now on display at the Veterans' Memorial Hall Gallery in the Duluth Depot on a five-year, indefinitely recurring loan.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – I’m concerned about Social Security solvency

Dear Rusty: I retired at age 58. My husband and I worked 40 years of employment each. I had a 401K only...no other benefits. We saved, we invested through our financial adviser and have done okay watching our investments grow (except for the last 3 years). Neither my husband nor I have taken Social Security; we were both waiting until age 70 to get full benefits. Do you think this is still wise? I'm concerned there will not be any funds in 5 years when we both turn 70. Signed: Concerned Senior
Dear Concerned Senior: Your question relates to Social Security solvency, no doubt inspired by the recent spate of media discussion on this topic. Most articles I’ve read promote a “doomsday” scenario and, in fairness, Social Security’s financial issues are serious. The latest report from the Trustees of Social Security warned Congress that the reserves now held in Social Security’s Trust Fund (which enable full benefits to be paid) will be depleted as early as 2033. What you may not know is that this is not new news - the Trustees have sounded the same warning for decades to multiple Congresses which have neglected to enact corrective measures. And, unfortunately, they are likely to continue to drag their feet for a while because the reform needed is not politically palatable and the impact is still a few years away.
Nevertheless, although Social Security’s looming financial issues are serious, they are not fatal. Congress already knows how to fix Social Security’s financial issues - they just currently lack the bipartisan spirit and political will needed to do so. The clock, however, is ticking and Congress will be forced to act soon, which we are confident will happen before the Trust Funds run dry. What motivates most politicians is getting reelected and allowing an across the board cut to all Social Security recipients (which would happen if the Trust Fund reserves were depleted) would be political suicide. Therefore, I’m confident that reform will occur in time, and I don’t suggest changing your Social Security claiming strategy over worries about Social Security’s solvency.
Let me further allay your fears by explaining what would hypothetically happen in the worst case scenario (if Congress doesn’t act and Trust Funds are depleted). If that were to occur, when the reserves are depleted in about 2033 everyone would face an across the board benefit cut. Social Security can’t go bankrupt because there would still be about 175 million workers contributing to the program but, since Social Security (by law) can only pay benefits from revenue received, everyone’s benefit would be reduced by about 23% (according to the Trustees). Every beneficiary would still get benefits, but only to the extent available from income received. Which brings me to your specific question - whether it is still wise to wait until age 70 to claim (or to claim your benefits now).
Ask yourself this question: which would result in a larger monthly payment, a 23% cut to your age 70 SS payment amount, or a 23% cut to your current benefit amount? The answer, of course, is that your monthly payment would be more if you stay with your current strategy and wait until age 70 to claim (a plan which I assume you developed considering your current financial needs as well as your life expectancy, both of which are very important to that decision).
Again, I do not believe the worst case scenario will happen. Congress already knows how to restore Social Security to full solvency, and they will almost certainly act in time to avoid an across the board cut to everyone’s benefit. The Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) has proposed legislation which would restore the Social Security program to full solvency for generations without raising payroll taxes, a summary of which you are welcome to review here: www.amac.us/social-security. AMAC has provided this proposal to various members of Congress for consideration.

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Social Security Matters
National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Should Octogenarians Tell Social Security They Married?

Dear Rusty: We were married two years ago at age 78 and 81. Do we need to do anything with Social Security? Signed: Blissfully Happy
Dear Blissfully Happy: Congratulations on your fairly recent marriage and, yes, there are some things you should do. Specifically, you should contact Social Security to inform them of your marriage, see whether any additional benefits are available, and to make any changes needed to your contact information. Here are some things to consider:
• If a name change has occurred for one of you, that person should contact Social Security to report the change. A copy of your marriage certificate (and other ID) will be required, and a new Social Security card will be issued.
• If a change of address has also occurred for one or both of you, that must be reported. It’s important that Social Security has the correct mailing address, email, and contact phone number for every beneficiary.
• If there are any other changes to the contact Information on file with the Social Security Administration for either of you (e.g., your banking information), the affected person should inform Social Security of the changes needed.
• Social Security will evaluate whether any benefit increase is available as a result of your marriage, which may be the case if one of you is entitled to a “spousal boost” (an additional amount from the other now that you’re married). A spousal boost may be available if one has a monthly Social Security payment which is more than twice the other’s benefit. Social Security can answer that question for you when you call.
You can contact either your local Social Security office (find the number at www.ssa.gov/locator) or call the national number at 1.800.772.1213 and tell them you need to inform them of your marriage and update your contact information. If you have (or if you create) an online “my Social Security” account at www.ssa.gov/myaccount, you can initiate changes to your contact information online, but you will need to call Social Security directly via phone to record your marriage and see if any changes to monthly benefits are available. All of this can likely be done without requiring a visit to your local SS office.
It is very important that Social Security be made aware of your new marital status and to ensure that they have the correct contact information for both of you. Even if the contact information is unchanged for one of you, the other should contact Social Security as described above to update their contact information and to determine if any changes to monthly benefits are appropriate as a result of your marriage. Doing so now will avoid future issues and will make sure you are both getting the correct monthly Social Security payments as a married couple. And if one of you is entitled to a higher spousal amount, you should ask for the increase to be applied retroactively (SS will pay up to 6 months retroactively). I suggest you call Social Security as soon as possible to inform them of your marriage and make any necessary changes to your contact information.

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She stands alone
Talk about the oddities of life. Thirty-two year old Kelsey Grubb of Albuquerque, New Mexico, can stand proud with one foot turned forward and her other foot turned backward to an angle of 171.4 degrees. In fact, Kelsey’s “feat” got her into the Guinness Book of World Records. As she put it, "most people are grossed out and fascinated at the same time. The most common phrase I've heard about it is not that the movement itself is gross, just the ease at which I turn it."

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What they left behind
It’s not unusual for taxi drivers to find a phone, a purse, or a bag left behind by passengers. The 2023 Uber Lost & Found Index was recently made public and it contains a long list of not-so-common items that forgetful riders left behind in their cabs. Over the past year drivers turned in a variety of abandoned items found in the back seats of their cars such as an ankle monitor, fake blood, a fog machine, a Danny DeVito Christmas ornament and, oddly enough, six cheese cakes.

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‘Bee-lieve it or not’
A Delta Airlines flight could not take off recently at the Houston-Bush airport “after a friendly group of bees evidently wanted to talk shop with the winglet of our airplanes, no doubt to share the latest about flying conditions at the airport," according to the airline. Thousands of the pesky insects had settled on a wing of the aircraft to rest their wings, preventing a takeoff. No efforts, such as hosing down the plane, were allowed. But three hours later the pilot revved his engines scaring the swarm to take flight themselves, allowing the plane to take flight as well.

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Managing the heat of hot peppers
By MELINDA MYERS

Don’t worry if the rest of your family does not appreciate the spicy heat your favorite hot peppers add to entrees, beverages and desserts. Proper pepper selection, care and preparation can help you turn down the heat as needed.
Hot peppers’ spicy heat is measured in Scoville Heat Units named for Wilbur Scoville. The level of heat was originally determined by a panel of individual tasters. Chili peppers were ground and added to a sugar-water solution. The solution was continually diluted until the panelist found the solution no longer burned their mouth. Each pepper was assigned a number based on the amount of sugar-water solution needed to reach that point. Today a more accurate less subjective high–performance liquid chromatography method can be used for measuring the pungency of hot peppers.
Poblano and Siracha rate between 1,000 to 2,500, jalapenos up to 8,000, cayenne can peak at 50,000, habaneros up to 350,000 and one of the hottest, the ghost pepper, at as much as 2,200,000 units. If you like the citrusy flavor of habaneros but not the heat, try the All-America Selections winner Roulette.
Ornamental peppers are edible as well as pretty. Most rate anywhere from 10,000 to 50,000 Scoville units. Chilly Chili ornamental pepper produces an abundance of attractive yellow, orange and red upright fruit on 10 to 12” plants. As the name suggests, they have almost no heat. Mix with flowers for decorative displays in containers and garden beds.
Peppers grow and produce best when day temperatures are 70° to 80° F and night temperatures are 60° to 70° F. Cold, heat and drought are the most common cause of blossom drop, misshapen fruit, and a poor harvest.
Use a hand pruner or garden snips to harvest peppers without damaging the plants. Harvest most hot peppers when fully mature and red for the strongest flavor. Green chili and jalapeno peppers are harvested when green. And some like jalapeno, habanero and Anaheim, are hot whether harvested when green or red. When your summer is filled with long hot days hot peppers tend to be even hotter.
Avoid hot surprises when cooking by labeling hot peppers when growing, harvesting and storing them. Many sweet and hot pepper varieties look similar and confusing the two could be unpleasant. Just keep a glass of milk handy in case you need to neutralize the sting.
Turn down the heat, if needed or desired, when preparing your favorite recipes. Since most of the capsaicin, which gives hot peppers their heat, is in the white membrane that houses the seeds, just remove this and the seeds if you want the flavor with less heat.
Wear rubber gloves and avoid touching your face and eyes when working with hot peppers as they can burn. Wash your hands, utensils and cutting boards when finished.
Turn a portion of your pepper harvest into pickled peppers for the hot pickle fans in the family to enjoy throughout the winter. The key to success and safety is using a tested recipe that contains the right amount of ingredients and processing it properly. Check University or other vetted sources for safe recipes and processing guidelines.
Try some of these strategies and mention the many health benefits to encourage reluctant eaters to try hot peppers. Although hot peppers and spicy food can add to the pain and irritation of ulcers, they do not cause them contrary to some of the hot pepper myths. They do, however, provide gastric relief, kill cancer cells, prevent sinus infection, reduce inflammation, and even burn fat. Over time you may be able to turn up the heat on your favorite recipes for all to enjoy.

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Social Security Matters
National Social Security AdvisEr at the AMAC Foundation,

Ask Rusty – About “Survivor” Benefits vs. “Spousal” Benefits

Dear Rusty: I will be 70 in August and will file my application for benefits in May. I know I’ll get my maximum possible amount at age 70, but I need you to clarify things I have read. Per an award-winning TV host, author, and host of a money podcast "if the higher-earning spouse delays until age 70 to claim Social Security, that guarantees the survivor the biggest possible benefit." But then I read in a different article that if a person delays beyond their full retirement age to obtain a higher personal benefit (like I have), my spouse’s benefit would still be based on my FRA benefit amount. I am confused about which statement is the correct version. Signed: Confused About My Spouse’s Benefit
Dear Confused: I’m not surprised that you are confused about these seemingly contradictory statements. It is, indeed, quite logical (and common) for a widow or widower to think they must apply for a “spousal benefit” from their deceased spouse. And while that’s technically true, those of us who live in this often confusing world of Social Security jargon would say the widow or widower is applying for a survivor benefit, not a spousal benefit. What’s the difference? Well, when you’re speaking with a Social Security representative or an advisor, the term “spousal benefit” means something entirely different than the term “survivor benefit.”
The two articles you mention are, I believe, referring to two different types of Social Security benefit. The term “survivor benefit” is typically used to describe benefits available to a surviving spouse when the higher earner dies, but the term “spousal benefit” is typically used to denote benefits available to a lower earning spouse when both partners are still living. I agree this is confusing, and that distinction was apparently not clear in the articles you read. Therefore, to clear your confusion:
• If the higher earning spouse dies and has delayed claiming until age 70, that does, indeed, “guarantee the surviving spouse the biggest possible benefit.” The survivor’s benefit is based on the full amount the deceased was receiving at death.
• If both spouses are living and the higher-earning spouse delayed until age 70 to claim, their living spouse’s benefit, when the higher-earning spouse claims, will be a maximum of 50% of the higher-earning spouse’s full retirement age (FRA) amount. A living spouse’s benefit is based on their partner’s FRA amount, regardless of when their partner actually claimed.
So, in your case, your wife’s spousal benefit from you while you are both living will be based on your FRA entitlement, even though you waited longer to claim. But if you die first, your wife’s survivor benefit as your widow will be based on 100% of the amount you were receiving at your death. In effect, both statements you referred to in your question are true considering that they refer to two different benefit types. It is a terminology distinction which frequently causes misunderstanding.

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Medal of Honor: Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Telesforo Trinidad
By KATIE LANGE
Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Telesforo Trinidad rescued some of his shipmates when a boiler exploded on their cruiser in 1915. His actions made him the only Filipino sailor to receive the Medal of Honor and one of the last service members to earn it for noncombat valor.
Trinidad was born Nov. 25, 1890, in New Washington on the Philippine island of Panay to parents Juan Trinidad and Florentina De La Cruz.
In 1901, shortly after Spain ceded the Philippines to the U.S. after the Spanish-American War, President William McKinley established the Insular Force of the U.S. Navy that allowed the enlistment of 500 Filipino sailors.
Trinidad desperately wanted to be one of those sailors. His grandson, Rene Trinidad, told the Associated Press that Trinidad was so eager to join that when he was 20, he stowed away on a lifeboat from Panay to the main island, Luzon, so he could enlist at the Cavite Navy Yard, about an hour south of Manila.
At some point after enlistment, he met and married Eufemia Pagtakhan. The digital magazine Positively Filipino said the couple had 11 children, eight of whom lived to adulthood. Two of their sons followed their father into the Navy, the Associated Press said.
By 1915, Trinidad was working as a fireman on the armored cruiser USS San Diego. On Jan. 15, 1915, the ship was part of a naval patrol near La Paz, Mexico, in the Gulf of California. That day, historians said its captain decided to hold a four-hour endurance trial to make sure the cruiser could still maintain its officially rated flank speed. At the end of the trial, one of the boiler tubes had become blocked, causing an explosion that led to a chain reaction.
Trinidad was driven out of fireroom No. 2 by the blast, but he immediately went back in and picked up an injured fireman, R.E. Daly. As he was carrying Daly through fireroom No. 4, a second explosion in fireroom No. 3 hit Trinidad, severely burning his face.
Trinidad dismissed his own injuries and kept moving until he was able to pass Daly on to someone else. He then went back to fireroom No. 3 to save another man.
Five sailors died and seven others were injured that day, according to the Naval History and Heritage Command. But Trinidad's heroics helped rescue two, and that earned him the Medal of Honor, which was still being awarded for noncombat valor at the time. He received the honor in August 1915 and was also given $100 in gratuity pay for his efforts.
Nineteen years after the USS San Diego incident, another of Trinidad's shipmates, then-Ensign Robert Cary Jr., also received the Medal of Honor for his bravery that day.
Trinidad remained in the Navy for a long time, serving in both world wars, according to the Associated Press. He retired in 1945 and returned to the Philippines.
Trinidad died on May 8, 1968, at a hospital at the Cavite Navy Yard, where he began his naval career. He was 77.
Decades later, his heroics are still being remembered. In May 2022, the Navy announced it would name a future Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer the USS Telesforo Trinidad.
"Having a ship named after such a significant figure highlights our diverse culture and that our people will always be our strategic advantage against any adversary," said Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro when he made the announcement. "I hope the naming of this ship is a beacon for not only Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders but for all our sailors, Marines and civilians who serve across the Department of the Navy. The service and sacrifice of these men and women have made our military and our nation stronger and better."
Trinidad remains the only Filipino in the Navy to have earned the Medal of Honor.

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Grow Easy-Care Mandevillas for Season-Long Color

By MELINDA MYERS

Bold color, tropical beauty, and easy-care mandevillas make excellent additions to patios, decks, and gardens. Train them onto a trellis, allow them to cascade from a hanging basket, or combine them with other plants. Enjoy summer-long blossoms and the butterflies, hummingbirds, and other pollinators that stop by for a visit.
Once divided into two different groups, dipladenias and mandevillas, the botanists now consider them all mandevillas. You will find both names still in use, with dipladenias referring to those with a more mounded, shrub-like habit and mandevillas being more of a trailing vine. Whatever you call them you are sure to find one or more that complement your garden and container designs.
Mandevillas are grown as annuals in all but zones 10a to 11b where some varieties are hardy. They flower best in full sun but will tolerate some shade. These South American native plants thrive in the hot humid weather of summer. Wait for spring temperatures to remain in the 60s before planting them outdoors.
Select a potting mix or location with organically rich, well-drained soil. Use a slow-release fertilizer at the start of the season and make a second application, if needed mid-season. Read and follow the label directions when using fast-release liquid fertilizers.
Mandevillas are usually flowering when you purchase them at the garden center. They will continue to bloom on new growth throughout the summer and fall until frost kills the plant.
The well-behaved vining mandevilla will not strangle nearby plants. Just give it a trellis or obelisk for the vines to wrap around and climb. Their slightly woody stems provide greater stability than other vines that regularly need to be secured to the support. Just tuck any new tendrils through the trellis, pointing them in the desired direction as needed.
Use vining varieties in a container of their own or as a vertical accent on a trellis in mixed containers or flowerbeds. Set pots by an entrance to your home or garden for a colorful welcome or use them to dress up a bare wall or fence.
The more compact shrubby types can be planted with other annual flowers in the garden, grown in hanging baskets, or used as a filler in mixed container gardens. Just prune off or tuck any wayward branches behind neighboring plants.
Disease-resistant Sun Parasol® mandevillas offer an array of colors including white, yellow, apricot, pink, crimson, and even red and white striped flowers. The original shrubby Sun Parasol® mandevillas are available in the widest range of colors while the garden group makes excellent hanging baskets. Grow the vigorous climbing Giant group varieties for the largest flowers and the Pretty group when looking for a vine with the most flowers, dense vigorous growth, and more cold tolerance.
Include them on your patio, deck, or balcony, and situate a few outside your windows. You will enjoy the flowers and winged visitors whether inside looking out or relaxing in your outdoor spaces.

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Eat or be eaten
The Vollmer family was on the lookout for elephants when they visited the Addo Elephant National Park in South Africa recently. But, instead, they wound up watching a venomous cape cobra swallowing another snake. They returned from their vacation with quite a story. However, it’s not as uncommon as one might think. The Smithsonian Institution reports that the King Cobra, which can grow to a length of 12 feet, is also known for devouring weaker snakes when they get hungry, swallowing them whole after dosing them with neurotoxic venom via its fangs.

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A ‘fog of bees’
Golf is a sport that comes with a variety of “hazards” such as lakes, trees and thick vegetation. But golfers at the PGA Tour's Mexico Open in Vallarta, Mexico recently encountered an unexpected hazard that one observer tagged as a "fog of bees." Players wasted no time ducking and hugging the ground as the buzzing got closer and louder.

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The worth of knowledge
As the end of the school year approaches, high school seniors look forward to the challenges of college life. Many of them may be concerned with the high cost of the next phase of their academic lives. But not Dennis Barnes, a senior at International High School of New Orleans with a cumulative grade point average of 4.98. He applied to 200 colleges and has been accepted by 125 of them, thus far. In addition, much to the delight of his parents, he has been offered more than $9 million in scholarships.

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Medal of Honor: Army Capt. Jose Calugas
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News

Army Capt. Jose Cabalfin Calugas wasn't a U.S. citizen during World War II, but he fought valiantly for America when the Japanese invaded his homeland, the Philippines. He earned the Medal of Honor while doing so, but to receive it, he had to survive nearly two brutal years in captivity.
Calugas was born on Dec. 29, 1907, in the village of Leon on the Philippine island of Panay. He was the oldest of three children born to Antonio Calugas and Juliana Cabalfin. The family lived a modest life in their farming community, and Calugas unfortunately lost his mother when he was 12, according to the National World War II Museum.
In 1930, when Calugas was 23, he joined the Philippine Scouts of the U.S. Army. They were a special unit comprising Filipinos who served under the American forces that occupied the Philippines, which was a U.S. territory at the time.
Calugas went to basic and artillery training at Camp Sill, Oklahoma, before being assigned to the Scouts' 24th Artillery Regiment and posted to Fort Stotsenburg just north of Manila. Later, he was assigned to the 88th Artillery Regiment.
At some point, he married a woman named Nora and started a family. They had four children: Noel, Jose Jr., Minerva and Jorge.
By early 1942, World War II in the Pacific was raging, and the Japanese were fighting to take the Philippines from the U.S. As the enemy pushed inland on the main island of Luzon, Allied troops began to withdraw to the Bataan peninsula.
Early on the morning of Jan. 16, 1942, the Japanese attacked the 88th's 1st Battalion, which was stationed near the village of Culis on the Bataan peninsula. Several hours later, around 2 p.m., one of the battalion's batteries was bombed and shelled by the enemy. One gun was taken out of commission, and all the cannoneers were wounded or killed.
Calugas was working as a mess sergeant for another battery, Battery B, at the time. He was preparing meals for soldiers when he realized that the other battery had gone silent. When he figured out what happened, he knew he had to help.
Thanks to his artillery training, Calugas quickly organized about 16 volunteers, who tried to run about a half-mile through a barrage of shelling to get to the damaged battery position. Several of the men were forced back, but a few made it to the gun, including Calugas, who fixed the weapon. He and his men then directed its fire toward the enemy, which continued to fire constant, heavy artillery fire back at them.
After several hours of fighting, Calugas eventually went back to his mess duties so he could feed the starving men in his battalion.
About a month later, Calugas got word that he was going to receive the Medal of Honor for his bravery that day. But he wouldn't get it before the Japanese continued their sweep across the Philippines.
In April 1942, American troops were forced to surrender. Calugas and about 75,000 other Americans and Filipinos became prisoners of war, according to Army records. They were forcibly marched to POW camps in what became known as the infamous Bataan Death March – a 65-mile march that led to the deaths of thousands of men who were brutally mistreated by Japanese troops.
Calugas later told The News Tribune out of Tacoma, Washington, that he'd buried the general order about his Medal of Honor and made sure his fellow soldiers didn't mention it so the enemy guards wouldn't find out. That news would have singled Calugas out and made his punishment harsher — or worse, led to his death.
Somehow, he managed to survive, but he contracted malaria during the march. Calugas used that to his advantage, cleverly pretending the illness lasted longer than it did so his captors wouldn't look too closely at him.
"Every time they would come to inspect, I would wrap myself in burlap and I would shake as hard as I could," he later told The News Tribune.
An official in the province of Pampanga petitioned on Calugas' behalf for his release from prison, The News Tribune said. It was granted in January 1943 when Calugas, who'd suffered malnourishment and frequent beatings for months, was released to work at a rice mill.
While there, Calugas secretly joined a guerrilla spy network. According to the National World War II Museum, he first spied on the Japanese for the group from his camp at the mill, but he escaped in October 1943 to join them. He continued the fight until the Philippines were finally liberated by the Allies in early 1945.
After surviving two harrowing years, Calugas finally received the Medal of Honor on April 30, 1945, from Army Maj. Gen. Richard Marshall in a ceremony at Camp Olivas in Pampanga Province. For more than half a century, he was the only Filipino World War II veteran to receive the nation's highest award for valor. It wasn't until June of 2000 that another Filipino veteran, Army Staff Sgt. Rudolph Davila, was recognized with the honor by President Bill Clinton.
Calugas stayed with the Philippine Scouts after the war, serving with the 44th Infantry Regiment's occupation forces in Okinawa.
At some point, those who fought with the Philippine Scouts were offered U.S. citizenship as a reward for their service. Calugas happily accepted the offer, which included a waiver of residency and exam requirements, and a direct commission.
In 1955, Calugas was transferred to service at Fort Louis, Washington. One by one, he brought the rest of his family to the U.S. By 1963, his family had all successfully immigrated, with his four children eventually becoming citizens.
Calugas retired from the Army as a captain in 1957 and lived with his family in Tacoma, Washington. During summers, he farmed a small plot of land just outside of town. Calugas earned a business administration degree from the University of Puget Sound and worked for Boeing until he permanently retired in 1972.
Calugas died on Jan. 18, 1998, at the age of 90, and was buried in Tacoma's Mountain View Memorial Park. His daughter-in-law, Goody Calugas, told The News Tribune after his death that he was a modest man who didn't like to talk about the war.
"He never talked about his accomplishments — we had to read about them," she said. "He was a very simple, humble man."
Calugas' legacy has been honored in many ways. His family gave his Medal of Honor to the Fort Sam Houston Museum in San Antonio so it could be preserved. There's also a Calugas Circle named for him at the base.
In the Philippines at Mt. Samat, a national shrine to those who fought the Japanese in World War II, Calugas' legacy is remembered within a sculpture there. In 2006, an apartment building in Seattle was also named in his honor.

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7 steps for protecting employees during business travel

By ANUJA AGRAWAL AND MARY MILLER SALLAH

Business travel inherently puts some level of stress on a traveler. The more someone travels for business, the more their health risks can increase. And those risks and related costs don’t just affect employees and their families. They affect the employer, too, in terms of insurance and the temporary or lengthy loss of an employee.
In the context of business travel and employee health, duty of care obligates an employer to research, plan, develop, and implement a set of policies and operational procedures to mitigate the risks that employees might face when they travel for business. Duty of care encompasses both the legal and moral responsibility of organizations to care for their employees when traveling. Successfully evading risks is a matter of careful planning.
Post-COVID-19, many companies have elevated their focus on employee health, especially for business travel. Cédric Fraissinet, general manager Central Europe at International SOS, says travel health and security policies need to be intimately linked. “Just as 9/11 completely changed the security rules of the air transport industry, COVID-19 has done the same to travel risk-management practices,” Fraissinet says. “A siloed approach to health and security risks is no longer adequate; assessing employee fitness to travel, and on-trip support, is now needed more than ever before.”
From our research and experience, we have become convinced of the value of an organization assessing its objectives, its traveler needs, its culture, its current policy status, and its own unique needs before developing or revising travel policy. We have seen too many businesses that have borrowed travel policies or used policy templates to create rules that no one understands, rules that are inapplicable, or rules that may even be unnecessary.
We recommend a seven-step approach to achieving duty of care for business travel:
Internal assessment
Conduct an internal assessment to determine the foundational components that will form the basis for the travel program in general and how it relates to employee health in particular. Gathering all relevant materials – not just position descriptions but also existing travel policy directives and perceived risks – gets everything on the table for review, analysis, and ultimately, coordination.
For organizations looking to revise corporate travel policies under a duty-of-care model, we suggest inviting feedback from employees, those responsible for business travel, partners/vendors, and any other key stakeholders.
Risk assessment
The next step is to assess the health, safety, security risks, vulnerabilities, or exposure associated with the organization’s business travel requirements. The objective of any risk-management program is to mitigate risk to an acceptable level consistent with the organization’s business goals, governmental laws and regulations, and prevailing industry standards. Key risk factors to consider include:
Destination and location risks – weather, crime rates, civil unrest, political and socioeconomic factors.
Travel risks – issues with passports and visas, travel delays, missed connections, jet lag, fatigue.
Health risks – hygiene and sanitation issues, infectious or food-borne or water-borne diseases, unfamiliarity with surroundings.
Safety risks – the mode of travel, the accommodations, the neighborhood where the hotel or business meeting is to take place, the safety of local transportation.
Policy and procedure development
Travel policy is not about control or mere expense management. It should strike a fair balance between efficient use of the company’s resources and efforts to maintain the health, safety, well-being, and morale of traveling employees in a manner that encourages employee compliance with policy.
Key elements of establishing and revising policy and related procedures include:
Stating the purpose of the policy
Clearly stating your duty of care objectives
Identifying the products of step 2, including determination of essential and non-essential travel and locations approved for travel
Designating lead/responsible parties
Establishing guidelines and/or acceptable exceptions, processes, and procedures for relevant groups/locations.
Documenting policies and procedures for each step in the process, including pre-approvals, pre-travel risk assessment, reservations, monitoring, incident response, and feedback.
Employee education and training
Proactive communication is key to driving awareness and to anticipating or challenging misinformation. By educating everyone, an organization creates and reinforces a culture of risk awareness and discernment. Training everyone, including leadership, on policy and procedure is necessary for fulfilling duty-of-care responsibilities. All employees should be trained on the entirety of the policy itself, related procedures, processes, and protocols, and any supporting technology or other tools used by the organization.
Pretravel risk assessment
Identify anything that might compromise the safety, security, and well-being of a given traveling employee with respect to each specific business trip. Department managers and others responsible for managing travel should understand and carry out required reviews prior to each trip.
Monitoring employee travel
At a minimum, organizations should be able to track itineraries and see at a glance who is traveling, where they are, where they are staying, the length of stay, and how to contact them should an emergency arise.
Incident response
Should an incident occur, an organization must be able to coordinate efforts to react rapidly to the situation at hand and provide immediate and appropriate assistance to the employee. The capacity to respond quickly and efficiently is often hinged to measures taken to track and monitor employee well-being. Additionally, organizations should have comprehensive emergency response plans, including the ability to determine what constitutes an emergency, immediately implement emergency protocols, provide appropriate support and activate local support if needed.
Companies need to proactively, rather than reactively, develop policy that is thorough and explicitly addresses the health, safety, and well-being of employees. Outdated or ineffective policies create confusion and mistakes on the part of employees and often also their managers. Regular audits, analytics on compliance, and feedback collection are important tools in implementing policy and procedural changes that better ensure compliance.

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of The Grateful American Book Prize
Showing our children that their past is prelude to their future.

One year after the start of the American Revolution, Rhode Island ramped up its status and became the first colony to declare its independence from England.
According to History.com, Rhode Island’s seaside access allowed it to develop a “lucrative” maritime shipping business with the West Indies and Africa, trading rum and slaves. Thus “because it had independent wealth and trade coming through the two vibrant ports of Providence and Newport, Rhode Island was the only small state that could theoretically survive independent of the proposed federal union in 1787. The state had no desire to lose income in the form of import duties to the new federal government. As a result, Rhode Island was the last state to ratify the Constitution in 1790, when it was finally confronted with the prospect of the greater financial impositions it would suffer from being treated as a foreign country from the United States.”

For more information, the Grateful American Book Prize recommends William McLoughlin’s Rhode Island: A History.

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For decades after the Revolution, horses were the only method of bicoastal mobility; then in the 19th century that relationship was eclipsed by the Civil War, and progress was stymied until the conflict ended in 1865. By 1869 the Central Pacific Railroad traveling out of Sacramento, California on May 10, 1869, joined with the Union Pacific coming from Omaha, Nebraska at Promontory, Utah.
“For all the adversity they suffered,” says History.com, “the Union Pacific and Central Pacific workers were able to finish the railroad–laying nearly 2,000 miles of track by 1869, ahead of schedule and under budget. Journeys that had taken months by wagon train or weeks by boat now took only days. Their work had an immediate impact: The years following the construction of the railway were years of rapid growth and expansion for the United States, due in large part to the speed and ease of travel that the railroad provided.”
The Grateful American Book Prize suggests David Haward Bain’s Empire Express: Building the First Transcontinental Railroad.

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America’s second President John Adams, and his First Lady, Abigail, were the first inhabitants of the White House. Although President Adams demanded that federal employees relocate from Philadelphia to Washington D.C. by May 15, 1800, he and Abigail didn’t occupy the presidential mansion until November; they stayed four months—through the inauguration of Thomas Jefferson in March of 1801.
In a November 21, 1800, letter to her daughter, “Nabby,” Abigail wrote: “You must keep all this to yourself, and, when asked how I like it, say that I write you the situation is beautiful, which is true. The house is made habitable, but there is not a single apartment finished, and all withinside, except the plastering, has been done since [White House steward John] Briesler came. We have not the least fence, yard, or other convenience, without, and the great unfinished audience room I made a drying room of, to hang up the clothes in ... Upstairs there is the oval room, which is designed for the drawing room, and has the crimson furniture in it. It is a very handsome room now; but, when completed, it will be beautiful. If the twelve years, in which this place has been considered as the future seat of government, had been improved, as they would have been if in New England, very many of the present inconveniences would have been removed.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends John & Abigail Adams: America’s First Political Couple by Charles River Editors.

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Tips for designing and maintaining a low-maintenance garden
By MELINDA MYERS

Don’t let your spring garden enthusiasm lead to overplanting and the creation of a summer gardening nightmare. A design with maintenance in mind and some strategic care can help reduce the time you spend managing your gardens and landscape.
Consider using fewer plant species when designing perennial flowerbeds. Increase the number of each to boost the visual impact of the garden and reduce maintenance. You’ll have fewer species to manage, identify and differentiate from the weeds as they emerge in spring.
Select plants suited to the growing conditions and that do not require deadheading and staking. Avoid pest- and disease-prone plants as well as those that quickly multiply and overtake neighboring plants and the garden bed.
Design garden beds with gentle curves and avoid tight spaces that limit access and will make managing the surroundings difficult. Make sure all parts of the garden can easily be reached for planting, weeding, harvesting, and care. Add a path of wood chips or a few steppers, like Leaf Stepping Stones, to large garden beds as needed for easier access.
Reduce watering needs by growing plants suited to your area’s normal rainfall. Group moisture-loving plants together to minimize the amount of water used and time spent watering. Enlist the help of soaker hoses or drip irrigation like the Snip-n-Drip Soaker system (gardeners.com) when watering is needed. This irrigation system applies water to the soil where needed and can be cut with scissors to fit any garden that is planted in rows.
Reduce watering frequency, suppress weeds, and improve the soil with the help of organic mulches like leaves, evergreen needles, and wood chips. You’ll gain multiple benefits with this one task. Spread a one- to two-inch layer of mulch over the soil surface. Pull it away from tree trunks, shrub stems and off the crowns of flowering plants and vegetables. The finer the mulch material, the thinner the layer of mulch you’ll need.
Slow the infiltration of grass and weeds into garden beds and eliminate the need to hand trim with a bit of edging. Use a shovel to dig a V-shaped trench around the perimeter of the garden edge. Fill this with the same mulch used in your flowerbed to create a mowing strip around the garden bed.
Join forces with neighbors and rent an edging machine for the day or weekend. These machines can make it easier and quicker to accomplish this task. With a shared rental, you all save money and no one has to maintain and store the equipment.
Keep tools handy to save time and energy spent retrieving forgotten tools from the shed or garage. Weather-proof garden tool bags with multiple compartments make it easy to organize, store and carry hand tools, plant tags, gloves, and other small items to the garden. Or store them right where they are needed. Convert an old mailbox or invest in a small storage container like the waterproof Galvanized Garden Tool Storage Box. Mount it on the end of a raised bed, fence, or post to keep small tools, gloves, safety glasses, and more in a handy location.
Use carts, wagons, or a gardener’s summer sled when moving large or heavy loads. You’ll be able to accomplish the move with fewer trips and less muscle strain.
Take time this season to implement a few of these strategies. A few changes can save you time that you can instead spend relaxing, enjoying, or adding more gardens.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – About Social Security Benefits for My Minor Children

Dear Rusty: I will be 62 in 2024 and am considering starting benefits at that time. I will have two children under the age of 18. One of them will be 10 and the other 15. Will they be able to draw benefits in addition to my benefits? Signed: Father of Two

Dear Father of Two: Yes, if you claim your Social Security retirement benefits at 62, your minor children will be able to get benefits from you until they are 18 years old (or up to 19 if still in high school). You will likely be designated as Representative Payee for those benefits and will be obligated to use them only for your children’s behalf (which could include simply saving the money for their future). But there’s more to consider.
Normally, a minor child is eligible for 50% of the parent’s full retirement age (FRA) entitlement (even if you claim at 62), but Social Security’s Family Maximum will likely restrict each child’s benefit to make it less than 50%. Then, once the 15 year old ages-out of eligibility at 18 (or 19), the younger child’s benefit will increase to the full 50% of your FRA amount. That is - unless you are married and your wife will also be collecting a spousal benefit on your record. In that case the Family Maximum will limit payments for all of the dependents receiving payments based on your SS record (both your children and your wife). Generally, the Family Maximum is between 150% and 188% of your FRA entitlement, from which your own FRA entitlement is subtracted, leaving 50% to 88% of the Family Maximum for your dependents.
It's important to remember that by claiming your own SS retirement benefit at age 62 your monthly payment will be cut by 30% (you’ll get 70% of your FRA entitlement), and that is a permanent reduction. So, you may wish to evaluate whether the money your children will get until they are 18 will offset the lifetime reduction to your own benefit payment. Your life expectancy is important when making that decision, and if you wish to estimate your potential longevity I suggest using this tool: https://socialsecurityreport.org/tools/life-expectancy-calculator/.
It’s also important to remember that claiming benefits before your full retirement age will mean that, if you work, you’ll be subject to Social Security’s “earnings test” which limits how much you can earn before some of your benefits are taken away. The earnings limit changes annually (it’s $21,240 for 2023) and, if the limit is exceeded, SS will withhold $1 in benefits for every $2 you are over the limit. They will withhold future benefits to recover anything you owe for exceeding the earnings limit and, if your benefits are withheld for this reason, your dependents’ benefits will also be withheld for those same months. So, your plans for working should be weighed carefully in deciding whether to claim your Social Security benefits early.
To summarize: If you won’t work full time after age 62 and you’re comfortable with 70% of your FRA benefit entitlement for the rest of your life, then claiming at 62 will also entitle your children (and possibly your wife) to dependent benefits (restricted by the Family Maximum). But, if you continue to work full time, Social Security’s earnings test will likely mean neither you nor your dependents can receive full Social Security benefits at this time. And for clarity, the earnings limit no longer applies after you reach your full retirement age.

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The sky’s the limit for these seniors
It was a sight to behold at Skydive Perris in Orange County California when 101 freefalling 60-year-old senior citizens jumped from five airplanes in a record-breaking snowflake formation. The next day 95 of them broke another record when they leaped from their planes in a “sequential” formation. The organizers of these events are seeking recognition from the Guinness Book of World Records for these daring old men.

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A thirsty tale
Shortly after the turn of the last century, Frederick Miller first brewed his famed High Life beer and called it the Champagne of Beers. More than a hundred years later it is still promotionally compared to Champagne, much to the chagrin of the French brewers of their famous bubbly wine. Although Miller Beer is not exported to France, a shipment of more than 2,000 cans of it was making its way via Belgium recently, much to the chagrin of the French Champagne brewers who asked the Belgian Customs Administration to seize the shipment and destroy it, which they did. For sure, the Comité Champagne said Merci.

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Arnold is back
The former “Governator” of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is still ready to do what is needed to serve the state’s citizens. Most recently, the actor-turned-politician took it upon himself to roll up his sleeves, grab a shovel and fill in a pothole on a road near his home in Los Angeles. And it was all caught on film. As he put it in a Twitter post, “Today, after the whole neighborhood has been upset about this giant pothole that’s been screwing up cars and bicycles for weeks, I went out with my team and fixed it. I always say, let’s not complain, let’s do something about it. Here you go.”

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4 ways all leaders can multiply their impact

Leaders are all around us, in corporations, sports teams, civic clubs and other organizations.
In many cases, the work they do and its impact doesn’t extend much beyond their immediate sphere of influence.
But leaders also can guide, teach and inspire people in such a way that the impact will be felt far and wide – and maybe even linger long after the leader is gone, says Brendan P. Keegan (www.brendanpkeegan.com), author of The FUD Factor: Overcoming Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt to Achieve the Impossible.
“Leaders should ask themselves, ‘What do I want my legacy to be? What lasting impact do I want to leave on the world? How can I be an inspirational legend to others?’ ” says Keegan, who is chairman, CEO and president of the board for Merchants Fleet, a company that offers commercial vehicle leasing, maintenance, and other services.
He says some ways to make that legacy come about and to leave a greater imprint on the world include:
Lead others through a clear vision and the resources to achieve that vision—together. Ever notice with sports teams how successful head coaches leave a legacy of other head coaches who worked for or played for them? Keegan says the same can happen with leaders in other sectors. “When you make the decision to lead,” he says, “you build an exponential legacy of leadership. If you lead 10 people who then lead another 10 people who then lead another 10 people to achieve a common goal, you will have impacted over 1,000 lives.” That’s a lot of impact, Keegan says, and your efforts also have the added positive effect of removing fear, uncertainty, and doubt from people about their abilities, while instilling confidence.
Be a mentor. Keegan suggests looking around your circle of friends, family members, and colleagues and “picking a person to take under your wing and send down the path of leadership.” Mentors, he notes, are volunteers, even at companies with formally structured mentoring programs. Mentors also are focused on helping their mentee achieve their career goals, not the mentor’s goals, and doing so with no personal or professional benefit expected in return.
Coach others to be the best versions of themselves. Take time every week to invest a little extra time to show someone how to improve a specific skill or attribute. “Thirty minutes of coaching may change the trajectory of someone’s life,” Keegan says. Coaching has similarities to mentoring, he says, but there are differences. Mentoring plays a much broader role of cultivating an individual’s career and overall personal and professional development. Coaching drives at a specific goal through learning. For example, coaching someone to make a sales call, to perform a job function better, or to complete a 20-yard pass. “With coaching you do immediately see the impact you have on others,” Keegan says. “If leading and mentoring is the long game, then coaching is the short game.”
Cultivate. Leaders have opportunities each day in every interaction to inspire leadership not only at work but also in the communities in which they live, Keegan says. “Really anyone we meet is an opportunity to begin to light the fuse of leadership for another person,” he says. “That can be our neighbors, our kids, our social circles. It can happen in our places of faiths, or gyms or our coffee houses. So many people in life have never been told they, too, can be a leader, let alone have another person invest in them.”
Finally, Keegan says, find other ways to give without any expectation of receiving. Giving can mean sharing your time, encouragement and wisdom, and it can also mean philanthropy.
“We all have the opportunity to give in more ways every day and to do it with no expectation of getting anything in return,” Keegan says. “It can be running a 5K race for a cause, buying Girl Scout cookies, serving meals at a local shelter, coaching a youth sports team or donating blood. The opportunities are endless.”

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Medal of Honor: Marine Chief Warrant Officer 4 Harold Wilson

By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News

During a 30-year career, Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer 4 Harold Edward Wilson saw action during three major wars. His leadership during the Korean conflict helped his beleaguered unit survive an onslaught by Chinese forces. That bravery under fire earned him the Medal of Honor.
Wilson was born Dec. 5, 1921, in Birmingham, Alabama, to parents James and Leila Wilson. He had three brothers, William, Thomas and Walter, all of whom also eventually joined the Marine Corps.
Wilson earned the nickname "Speedy" as a grocery delivery boy. According to Marine Corps Col. James C. Carroll III, Wilson used a wagon when he first started the job, but he was pretty slow, so people called him "slow poke." Wilson wasn't fond of that moniker, so he saved up enough money to get a bike, which he used to speed around town delivering groceries. It earned him a new nickname that stuck with him for the rest of his life.
A few months after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Wilson enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve. The 20-year-old was assigned to active duty and spent more than two years stationed on Midway Island in the Pacific before being honorably discharged in the fall of 1945 when World War II was over.
Two years later, Wilson rejoined the Marine Corps Reserve. He was recalled to active duty in August 1950 when war broke out in Korea. His unit, the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines Regiment, 1st Marine Division, was sent to the peninsula in November 1950. Pretty quickly, they were involved in some of the war's first campaigns, including the famed Battle of Chosin Reservoir, where Wilson was wounded in December 1950.
A few months later, Wilson earned the Bronze Star for leading his platoon during several skirmishes in March 1951. Then, there was a lull in fighting for a few weeks, but on April 22, about 250,000 Chinese soldiers began their spring offensive. Their push south caused South Korea's 6th Division to collapse, so U.S. Marine Corps units were sent in to plug the gaps through which the enemy was advancing.
Wilson was the sergeant of his rifle platoon, which was attached to Company G. They were charged with plugging the gap on Hill 902 near the Hwachon Reservoir, just north of the 38th Parallel.
Around midnight on April 23rd, the Chinese overran Company G's outpost. Wilson's platoon was forced to defend themselves in hastily constructed foxholes from the heavy mortar, machine gun, grenade and small-arms fire coming at them from the enemy.
Wilson braved that intense fire to help survivors get back to their defensive line. He directed the treatment of casualties, and even though he'd been struck in the right arm and left leg, he refused aid for himself and continued to move through the men in his platoon, encouraging them to keep up the fight.
As the attack got worse, Wilson was wounded again, this time in the head and shoulder. But he again refused medical attention and insisted on staying with his unit. He couldn't use either of his arms to fire a gun, so instead, he went around resupplying his men with rifles and ammunition he'd collected from the wounded so they could continue firing.
After asking his company commander for help several times, the unit was finally issued reinforcements, and Wilson moved them into strategic positions along the defensive line. He then directed their fire until he was blown off his feet by a mortar round.
The explosion dazed and concussed Wilson and caused him to lose a lot of blood, but he still refused to get medical aid. Despite his weakened state, he continued to go from foxhole to foxhole directing fire, resupplying his men and giving them first aid and encouragement.
Thanks to Wilson, his unit was able to hold onto the position by rallying enough times that the enemy finally turned back.
At dawn, when the final attack had been repulsed, Wilson personally accounted for each man in his platoon before finally walking half a mile unassisted to the aid station to get help for himself. He was transferred to Yokosuka Naval Hospital in Japan and spent five months there before being sent back to the U.S.
Nearly a year later, on April 11, 1952, then-Master Sgt. Wilson received the Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman during a White House Rose Garden ceremony, which his parents and brothers attended. Two other Korean War comrades, Army 1st Lt. Lloyd Burke and Army Cpl. Rodolfo Hernandez, also received the nation's highest award for valor that day.
A few days later, Wilson was given the key to the city by Birmingham's mayor as his bravery was celebrated across his hometown.
That July, Wilson married Julia Sawls. They had two sons, John and Harold Jr., according to the South Carolina newspaper, The State.
Wilson earned his commission as a warrant officer in August 1952 and continued to work his way up the ranks for many more years. A decade later, in December 1962, he took over the post of adjutant of the Marine Corps Engineer Schools at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. A year later, he served in a similar role for the 2nd Tank Battalion.
During Vietnam, Wilson served with Marine Aircraft Group 13 before being assigned as the 6th Marine Corps district personnel officer in November 1968. He retired from the corps in February 1972 after nearly 30 years of service.
Wilson continued to help service members by working as a benefits counselor for the Veterans Administration. In 1974, he moved to Lexington, South Carolina, where he remained for the rest of his life.
Wilson died of lung cancer on March 29, 1998. He was buried in Lexington's Woodridge Memorial Park Cemetery.
The Marine Corps continues to honor Wilson and his achievements. In 2017, a weapons storage facility was named in his honor at Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, New York, where Wilson once worked. His son, John, spoke on his behalf at the event.
"Dad was so humble about his accomplishments and being a Medal of Honor recipient," John Wilson said at the building's dedication. "He would probably say everybody is making too much a big deal over this. He would probably say there are other people more deserving of having a building such as this named after him."
John Wilson said his father was a private and humble person but that he would be proud of the honor bestowed upon him.

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

California is the land of cloudless climate—and—episodic earthquakes. According to The U.S. Geological Survey tremors occur every three minutes, but most are undetectable.
Even so, two or three sizeable shocks pop up each year, which cause confined upheaval up to 5.5 on the Richter Scale.
On April 18, 1906, San Francisco was flattened by a once-in-a 200-year-7.8-seismic--calamity that rubbed out 3,000 residents and planed 30,000 buildings. According to History.com, it “was caused by a slip of the San Andreas Fault over a segment about 275 miles long, and shock waves could be felt from southern Oregon down to Los Angeles.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends A City Tossed and Broken: The Diary of Minnie Bonner: San Francisco, California, 1906 by Judy Blundell.

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John Paul Jones was—arguably—the greatest naval commander in the nation’s history; daring and dedicated during the Revolutionary War, he eventually earned the epithet “Father of the American Navy.”
On April 22, 1778, the audacious Jones led “a small detachment of two boats from his ship, the USS Ranger, to raid the shallow port at Whitehaven, England, where, by his own account, 400 British merchant ships were anchored,” according to History.com. He and 30 volunteers captured a fort, disabled its cannons, and set a fire that engulfed the town.
The captain’s seafaring tour de force occurred “when he led the frigate USS Bonhomme Richard, in[to] an engagement with the 50-gun British warship HMS Serapis...When the captain of the Serapis ordered Jones to surrender, Jones famously replied, I have not yet begun to fight! A few hours later, the captain and crew of the Serapis admitted defeat and Jones took command of the British ship.”
For more information, The Grateful American Book Prize recommends John Paul Jones: The Pirate Patriot by Armstrong Sperry.

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The Library of Congress has the world’s largest portfolio of books, films, videos, audio recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps, and manuscripts.
On April 24, 1800, President John Adams signed legislation that provided $5,000 for the purchase of books. Two years later, the library had 964 volumes and nine maps. But according to History.com “the British army invaded the city of Washington [during the War of 1812] and burned the Capitol, including the then 3,000-volume Library of Congress.”
Former president Thomas Jefferson came to the rescue [and sold] “his personal library [6,487 volumes], the largest and finest in the country,” to restart it. “In 1851, a second major fire at the library destroyed about two-thirds of its 55,000 volumes, including two-thirds of the [Jefferson’s books]. Congress responded quickly and generously to the disaster, and within a few years a majority of the lost books were replaced.”

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Why Can’t I Get Social Security Disability on My Own or My Husband’s Record?
Dear Rusty: I am considered disabled by State of Washington doctors, but Social Security has turned me down three times when I applied for disability saying I don't have enough work points. I am the wife of a retired, disabled veteran who served over 20 years in the US Navy. I raised three children, one of which is disabled. How do I get Social Security to accept my disability? Signed: Frustrated & Disabled
Dear Frustrated & Disabled: Social Security’s criteria for disability eligibility are separate and distinctly different from any other authority such as the State of Washington. To be eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, you must have earned a minimum number of credits on your own from working and contributing to Social Security, and that work must have occurred recently (you must have worked at least 5 of the last 10 years). If you did not personally earn the required credits through recent work, you cannot get SSDI benefits. I presume that is what Social Security has determined to be the case for you. And to clarify, you must be totally disabled (rendering you unable to work for at least one year) and that must be confirmed by your medical service providers, who will be contacted by Social Security’s representatives.
For information, SSDI is an individually earned entitlement, thus your husband’s lifetime earnings history applies only to him, and his earnings record does not extend to you for SSDI purposes (in other words, he might be eligible for early SSDI benefits on his own, but his eligibility for those benefits does not make you eligible too). Nevertheless, if your husband is collecting SSDI benefits and you are caring for your child who became disabled before age 22, or if your husband is collecting SS and any of your children are under age 16, you may be eligible for “child-in-care” spousal benefits. Child-in-care spouse benefits are available at any age, but your husband would need to be collecting either SSDI or his regular SS retirement benefit for you to be eligible for those benefits. And if your husband is collecting SS of any kind, his disabled child (or any minor children under 18) may also be eligible for dependent child benefits from him, subject to the Family Maximum.
So, to answer your specific question about how to get Social Security to “accept your disability,” unless you meet the recent work test and have earned the needed credits on your own as described above, and are totally disabled, you cannot. You may wish to confirm this by discussing your situation with an attorney who specializes in SSDI matters. You can find such an attorney online by searching for “SSDI attorney near me” - just be sure to fully vet any firm you are considering. SSDI attorneys should not charge for an initial consultation, and they will only take your case if they believe you can win (they take their fees from any back SSDI benefits they can secure for you). SSDI attorney fees are also limited by federal law, and seeking such counsel should not result in any out-of-pocket expense for you.

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Sharing the wealth
Oregon State Police could have charged Colin Davis McCarthy with littering when he was caught tossing wads of cash out the window while driving on Interstate 5 near the city of Eugene, Oregon, recently. Traffic came to a screeching halt and drivers behind him got out of their cars and scooped up as many of the estimated 2,000 hundred dollar bills as they could get their hands on. The cops said they searched the roadway for leftover cash but they couldn’t find any. Nonetheless, the next day would-be treasure-hunters could be seen searching the area for any leftover bills. McCarthy is said to have told the police that he and his family were "doing well and wanted to bless others with gifts of money."

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NYC gets a “Rat Czar”
It’s estimated that more than two million rats live in the City of New York. The creepy-crawly rodents used to stay underground for the most part until the covid outbreak. But, for whatever the reason, rats made their presence known, bigtime, during the pandemic years. Sightings and complaints grew to a record 21,600 -- a 74% year-to-year increase -- during the pandemic years. It prompted the Big Apple to hire its first ever “Rat Czar” -- a former school teacher Kathleen Corradi. Her official title is Director of Rodent Mitigation and as she put it: “New York may be famous for the Pizza Rat, but rats, and the conditions that help them thrive, will no longer be tolerated -- no more dirty curbs, unmanaged spaces or brazen burrowing. I look forward to sending the rats packing."

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A not-so-cheesy sandwich
Most of us wouldn’t even think of paying a couple of hundred dollars for a grilled cheese sandwich no matter how hungry we might be. But, just in case you crave what some call a “cheese toastie,” the New York City eatery, Serendipity 3, can accommodate you with Chef Joe Calderone’s Quintessential Grilled Cheese sandwich for a mere $214. The folks at the Guinness Book of World Records call it the most expensive sandwich on the planet. It’s bread is made with Dom Perignon Champagne, white truffle butter, rare caciocavallo podolico cheese that goes for about $50, give or take a buck or two, and after it’s toasted to a tempting golden brown it is actually gilded with edible 23-karat gold. Enjoy!

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Medal of Honor: Navy Ensign Frank W. Crilley
By KATIE LANGE
DOD News

When Navy Ensign Frank William Crilley joined the service, he likely didn't realize he would become the hero of some of the country's most dramatic undersea rescue and salvage operations of the 20th century. The master diver excelled in his craft, broke records and earned both the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross along the way.
Crilley was born Sept. 13, 1883, in Trenton, New Jersey, to parents Frank and Mary Crilley. He had a brother, Lawrence, who also served in the Navy, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. The family lived in Newton, New Jersey, and in Philadelphia, which is where Crilley joined the Navy at just 16 years old in March 1900.
Crilley started his service as a gunner's mate but became a master diver as the years went by. According to a March 2002 issue of Faceplate, an official newsletter for Navy divers and salvors, Crilley was one of the first members of the service's experimental dive team. He helped implement hard hat diving in the Navy and played a pivotal role in the development of submarine rescue procedures that continued to be used into the 21st century.
Breaking a Deep-Sea Diving Record
The first time Crilley really made a name for himself was about 15 years into his career.
On March 25, 1915, the submarine USS F-4, which was one of the first to be assigned to the new naval facilities in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, disappeared while on patrol off Honolulu's harbor. Officials eventually determined that its battery tank corroded, causing the commanding officer to lose control of the ship. It sank about 1.5 miles off Fort Armstrong in about 300 feet of water, killing all 21 sailors aboard.
The salvage operation would prove difficult because no one had ever raised a ship from those depths before. According to an issue of the Navy's All Hands Magazine, there were few deep-sea divers at the time, and escape and salvage equipment tailored for submarines didn't yet exist.
Regardless, within a few days of the sub's sinking, the Navy put together a team to try to salvage it. Five members of the service's experimental dive team — G. D. Stillson, Frederick Neilson, Stephen Drellishak, William Loughman and Crilley — arrived in Honolulu on April 14. Specialized dive gear, a recompression chamber and a diving physician came with them. The team had been experimenting with deep sea diving off the coast of Long Island, New York, prior to being called into action.
Two days later, Crilley made the first dive of the operation and found the ship at about 305 feet below sea level — a deep-sea diving record that stood for 25 years. Crilley noticed that the ship was still upright, but giant cables would have to be fastened around it to eventually lift it and move it to shore.
According to All Hands Magazine, it was a tedious job; to get 20 minutes of dive time at 300 feet, about three hours were required for the descent and ascent. Deep water divers need to descend slowly to allow air spaces, such as in the ears and mask, time to equalize to the pressure changes. Slow ascents are required, too, because divers can build up nitrogen in their tissue due to breathing pressurized air. A slow return to the surface gives the body time to eliminate that nitrogen and reacclimate without risking decompression sickness.
Saving a Friend
On April 17, the second day of the operation, the situation became perilous. Loughman had been working on one of the cables before starting his ascent back to the surface. At a depth of about 275 feet, he paused to rest beside the cable. Around the same time, a ground swell caused the cable to jerk and smack into him, fracturing his hip. Loughman managed to cling to the cable, but his lifeline and airhose became so badly tangled in the cable that he wasn't able to free himself. He was trapped.
When the men on the surface realized what had happened, Crilley immediately volunteered to help his comrade. Despite still recuperating from his own deep dive just two hours prior, Crilley put his diving suit back on and started to descend. When he reached Loughman's level, Crilley asked if he could transfer his own lifeline to the injured diver. That idea was quickly shot down, so Crilley had to instead go back to the surface — much faster than a diver usually would — to get another line. He then went back down to attach it to Loughman. Once the line was secure, Crilley loosened up Loughman's tangled lines as the crew pulled the injured man back to the surface.
Loughman, who had been stuck underwater for four hours, survived the ordeal. He had to spend nine hours in a recompression tank and several months in a hospital, Navy records showed. Crilley struggled upon his return to the surface, too, but was rehabilitated after a few hours of recompression and was able to continue with the mission.
It took several more months for the F-4 to be salvaged. It was finally raised by specially constructed pontoons on Aug. 29, 1915, and towed to Pearl Harbor.
Crilley's lifesaving actions earned him high praise, including the Silver Lifesaving Medal, which was issued to him by the Coast Guard in April 1916, according to the Philadelphia Public Ledger. It took 13 more years for him to be nationally recognized with the Medal of Honor, which he received on Feb. 15, 1929, from President Calvin Coolidge during a White House ceremony.
Becoming a Legend
After the life-saving incident with Loughman, Crilley continued to make a name for himself in the diving world. In 1917, he was appointed to the rank of chief warrant officer, and about a year later, he became an ensign in the Naval Reserve. He commanded the USS Salvor in 1919 before leaving active duty in July of that year. In the mid-1920s, he was involved in the salvage of USS S-51, which sank in 1925.
By 1928, Crilley had returned to active duty for a mission that would earn him the Navy Cross. He was brought back in to work on the recovery of the submarine USS S-4, which sank as the result of a collision off the coast of Provincetown, Massachusetts, on Dec. 17, 1927. In the months that followed, Crilley made several treacherous descents into the icy waters of the Atlantic to prepare the vessel to be raised, which finally happened on March 17, 1928.
According to various newspapers, Crilley left active duty again around 1930 but remained in the fleet reserve doing dive missions. This included a stint as the master diver on the submarine USS Nautilus as it embarked on a 3,000-mile journey to the North Pole in 1931. According to All Hands Magazine, famed explorer Sir Hubert Wilkins credited Crilley's dives on that expedition for much of its scientific accomplishments.
Crilley was also part of the salvage work done on the presidential yacht USS Mayflower, which sank in 1931. He had his name transferred to the retired list in May 1932 but was called up by the Navy again in 1939 to help with the salvage of the USS Squalus.
Outside of his dive career, Crilley raised a family. He married Gertrude Kelly in 1914, and they had two children together, Frank Jr. and Mary. Gertrude died in 1926, which led Crilley to eventually get remarried to Anne Moody.
Crilley died at age 64 on Nov. 23, 1947, at the Brooklyn Naval Hospital. He was buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery.
Crilley is remembered as a pioneer of naval diving. A heavy salvage lifting craft that was purchased by the Navy in 1967 was named in his honor. As recently as 2002, a new diving facility at the Consolidated Divers Unit in San Diego (now part of the Southwest Regional Maintenance Center) was dedicated in his memory.

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The entrepreneurial path: knowing when to pivot and when to persevere

By JAMES H HUNTER III

Entrepreneurs make seemingly countless decisions throughout their journey. But few, if any, will be more important than deciding whether to pivot or to persevere on the plan they’re following.
It’s a decision that can come up at several points during the life of the company, and each time it can determine whether the business survives only another year or so, or grows into a sustainable, profit-making enterprise.
Knowing when to pivot or when to persevere can be a delicate dance an entrepreneur does with his or her nature and market forces. Many entrepreneurs are oriented toward taking quick action, but in some cases that might mean an overreaction. A sub-par performance two quarters in a row, for example, doesn’t necessarily mean you should make wholesale changes. Entrepreneurs need to closely inspect every aspect of their business before deciding whether to change course or stay the course. They need to ask themselves if they’re pivoting due to impatience and restlessness or because they’ve uncovered details that call for tweaking the plan.
The Lean Startup Model
Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup, knows all about the importance of a business’ decision to pivot or persevere. In his book, Ries tells entrepreneurs that a great product and hard work in and of themselves will not lead to a successful and sustainable business; rather, it is the boring, mundane details and small individual choices that make or break a startup.
Ries formalized his Lean Startup method after years of experience, study, and the worldwide success of a business he co-founded, IMVU (an avatar-based social network). One of his principles, build-measure-learn, is central in determining when to pivot and when to persevere.
The Lean Startup model views the products that startups build as experiments; the outcome of those experiments is the learning of how to build a sustainable business. At its core is the build-measure-learn feedback loop, and the key to this feedback loop is to minimize the total time through it.
Build: Once your value hypothesis and growth hypothesis have been determined, the goal is to quickly enter the build phase with a minimum viable product (MVP) that you can get in front of customers and assess their response to it.
Measure: In this phase, you are measuring your value hypothesis (Does anyone even want this product?) and your growth hypothesis (Is it scalable?)
Learn: Using the data from your measure phase, it’s time to set up what Ries refers to as learning milestones, creating actionable metrics that enable you to assess the progress of your product, strategy, and growth accurately and objectively.
With the loop complete, it’s truth time: Should you pivot or persevere? Quickly determining that even one of your hypotheses is false allows a start-up to pivot swiftly and efficiently, saving time and money. If your hypotheses prove to be correct, you can confidently persevere on the same course, creating and testing new hypotheses until one of those hypotheses proves to be false. At that point, it’s truth time all over again.
Will pivots extend your runway?
Ries contends that pivots are the best measurement of a startup’s runway (how many months a business can continue operating before it runs out of money) rather than the standard measurement of a startup’s runway (cash in the bank divided by monthly spend rate). How many pivots can a business get to before it runs out of money? Think back to that build-measure-learn feedback loop. The faster and leaner a startup can continually get through that loop, the more pivots it can make in a shorter period of time. As a result, its chances of success will be better.
This is not to suggest that pivoting is easy. Pivots require an objective and open mindset, a purposeful and validated approach, and a bit of courage. After all, the need to pivot means that something along the way failed, and that can be a challenge to accept for some entrepreneurs. But if you are not failing, you are also not learning or innovating.
If you persevere when you should pivot, your business will not be able to maintain long-term sustainability. And if you pivot for the sake of change rather than because of measurable and validated data that leads you to a pivot, you will waste precious time, money, and morale that will pull your company down.
Key points to remember:
It’s important to purposely and continually assess whether your business should pivot or persevere.
The decision to pivot or persevere must be founded in objective and proven data.
Create products that fill a customer need and that customers will buy. You will not succeed by creating something that is shiny and new, but that no one will buy.
The first iteration of your product should be a minimum viable product that is tested on a finite group of early adopters.
Whether you decide to pivot or persevere, the key is to make those decisions intentionally. You can do so via a scientific methodology while channeling the human elements of vision, intuition, and judgment.

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Gardening gifts for any occasion
By MELINDA MYERS

Look to the garden when struggling to find the best gift for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, birthdays, or other occasions. A gift of plants, seeds, or gardening tools and accessories provides months and years of beauty and enjoyment.
With so many options it is easy to match the gardening gift to the recipient and your budget. Plants are always a great choice for gardening enthusiasts. Small, more affordable plants are fun for gardeners to tend, nurture, and watch grow. Giving larger plants or unique varieties provide a gift the recipient may be reluctant to purchase for themselves.
Do-it-yourself gardening gifts are good choices for both beginners and experienced gardeners who like the process as well as the results. An attractive container, some seeds or plants, and potting mix is a good place to start. Consider giving a self-watering pot to increase success and reduce maintenance. Add some plant tags you purchase or put your artistic talents to work creating your own.
Those who like to cook and garden will appreciate gifts that help them grow their own fresh herbs. Plants and seeds are always a good choice. Combine these with containers like the Provence self-watering planter that is compact and spill-proof for indoors. An elevated garden like the VegTrug® herb planter or the VegTrug® Self-Watering Herb Planter Box is a great way to grow, tend and harvest herbs in a sunny spot on the patio, deck, or balcony.
For those that like to garden outdoors, containers, stakes, trellises, and tools are always welcome gifts. A tool caddy that holds pruners, plant tags, and other small garden accessories is an easy way to store and transport hand tools to the garden. Consider a cart like the Mobile Tool Storage Caddy that allows easy transporting of long-handled tools, space for hand tools, and a basket for other supplies.
Make gardening more accessible with a gift of a kneeler, kneeling pad, or garden bench. Protecting joints and making kneeling and reaching into the garden easier reduces fatigue and extends the time and enjoyment of gardening. The Bamboo Garden Bench and Basket offer dual functions, allowing gardeners to sit and weed or easily carry their harvest from the garden to the house.
Vegetable and flower gardeners will appreciate a harvest basket like the Garden Hod. Hods were originally used by Maine clam diggers to hold and rinse their catch. The oil-finished pine-and-maple frame and food-grade vinyl-covered mesh of the Garden Hod lets you rinse dirt and debris from your veggies right in the garden.
Help your gift recipient bring in the birds with gifts of bird feeders and birdbaths. Adding these items to their landscape can help increase the number and variety of winged visitors. Bird watching and gardening provide enjoyment while also boosting our spirit and mood.
Consider adding the gift of time. Help assemble, place, or plant the gardening gift. Spending time together makes any gift more special and enjoyable for you both.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – What Can I Earn in My First Year Collecting Social Security?

Dear Rusty: My 62nd birthday is in late August of this year. I would like to start collecting Social Security, but after reading about the need to keep my earnings less than $21,240 in the first year it doesn't seem fair to those who have birthdays later in the year. I will have earned a lot by the end of August. Or am I missing the part where the year starts from the day you retire? Or is it a fiscal year? Please elaborate? Signed: Looking Ahead
Dear Looking Ahead: Born in late August, your first month of eligibility for Social Security will be September (you must be 62 for an entire month to be eligible for SS benefits). If you start your benefits in September, for the months of September through December 2023 you’ll have a monthly earnings limit of $1,770. If you exceed that limit in any of those 4 months, you won’t be eligible for SS benefits in any month that the $1770 monthly limit is exceeded. If you exceed the monthly limit in all of those months, you won’t be entitled to any benefits in 2023, unless using the annual earnings limit formula to determine your penalty would result in a lesser amount.
The penalty for exceeding the annual limit is $1 for every $2 you are over the 2023 limit and, if using that formula yields a penalty which is less than for exceeding the 2023 monthly limit for September – December, they will use the annual limit instead of the monthly limit to compute your penalty. Thus, your annual earnings earned before September will only count if using the annual limit will result in less of a penalty than using the monthly limit for the months after your benefits start. If you plan to retire from working before September, then there will be no penalty for exceeding the annual earnings limit prior to that, but if you continue to work full time there will likely be a penalty which will cause Social Security to take away some of your benefits.
Starting in 2024, only the annual earnings limit (which will be a bit more than the 2023 annual limit) will apply to you. Generally, if you continue working full time and will significantly exceed the annual earnings limit, it may be wise to reconsider claiming your Social Security until your income is below or closer to the annual limit each year, or until you reach your full retirement age after which the earnings limit no longer applies. And if you do claim early and exceed the earnings limit, and if you have benefits taken away for some number of months to satisfy the penalty, you’ll get time-credit for those months after you reach your full retirement age. That credit will, essentially, move your claim date forward by the number of months you didn’t get SS benefits, increasing your benefit amount accordingly after your full retirement age.

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Who’s dining in my garden?
by MELINDA MYERS

You take a walk through the garden and find branches trimmed, flowers missing or bark damaged. Of course, the culprit is nowhere to be seen. You may have suspects in mind but a close look at the damage and surroundings can help you identify who is dining on your plants. Knowing this can help you reduce the risk in the future.
Rabbits can be found year-round in the landscape. They have sharp teeth, making a 45-degree clean cut much like your bypass pruners. Their damage usually occurs within their 3-foot reach.
They eat a variety of flowers and vegetables throughout the spring and summer. As these plants fade in fall, they begin dining on trees and shrubs. You may find bark gnawed and branches, stems, and buds clipped off the plants.
Deer tear vegetation, leaving a ragged tip on browsed plants. You may find damage on a variety of flowers, vegetables, trees, shrubs, and plants pulled out of the ground with the distasteful ones left behind. In fall, the bucks rub trunks of young trees damaging the tender tissue below that transports water and nutrients between the roots and leaves. Deer usually feed at dusk but as they become comfortable around people they can often be seen dining during the day.
Voles are brown rodents that look similar to field mice with small ears and short tails. Their trails of disturbed grass found as the snow melts may be your first clue that they are present. These rodents are active year-round, unlike moles that hibernate for winter. They eat seeds, plant roots, and bulbs not insects like moles. As the snow recedes, you may also notice bark damage on trees and shrubs. They leave ¼” side-by-side grooves in the wood at the base of the plants.
Squirrels are fun to watch; that is until they eat all the birdseed and damage your plants. They dig bulbs and uproot other plants, eat and bury nuts in the lawn and garden, and take a bite out of multiple tomatoes, strawberries, and more. They damage trees by ripping off the bark and clipping off branches. If that wasn’t enough, they may gnaw on structures and furnishings. Treating the damaged area and a 12” radius around it with a repellent can help discourage more damage.
Chipmunks are active from spring through fall. They don’t hibernate but are inactive in winter depending upon their food stash to survive. You will find them digging in potted plants, hanging baskets, and rock walls. They eat grains, nuts, berries, seeds, insects, mushrooms, carrion, young birds, and bird eggs.
Their tunnels can be 20 to 30 feet long and are well hidden. The openings are only 2” in diameter with no surrounding mounds of soil.
Commercial and homemade scare tactics are an option. Unfortunately, most of these critters have become accustomed to people and are not deterred. Motion-activated ones are a bit more effective but make sure they are not annoying to you and your neighbors.
Fencing tight to the ground with a secure gate and at least 3 feet – preferably 4 feet – high is effective for preventing rabbit damage. Deer on the other hand need a much taller fence. Although they can jump 7 feet or higher, a 5-6’ fence is often enough to keep them out of smaller gardens. Sink fencing 4 to 6” into the ground to protect plants from voles.
Repellents labeled for controlling the critter that is causing the damage are another option. Organic Plantskydd (plantskydd.com) is labeled for repelling, not harming, all of these critters so you only need one product. Since it is rain and snow resistant, you won’t need to apply it as often. Always read and follow label directions for the most effective control.
A bit of defensive action goes a long way in protecting your gardens and landscape from hungry critters this season.

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Medal of Honor: Army Sgt. James W. Robinson Jr.
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News

Army Sgt. James William Robinson Jr. was surrounded by the enemy deep in the Vietnam jungle when he gave his last full measure of devotion to save his fellow soldiers. His bravery and selflessness were never forgotten, and they earned him the Medal of Honor.
Robinson was born Aug. 30, 1940, in Hinsdale, Illinois, to parents James Sr. and Ethel Robinson, but he was raised in nearby Lyons, Illinois, with his younger brother, Tom, and sister Joan.
Robinson was known to be a bright, pleasant boy who loved animals and became interested in health and fitness at a young age. As he grew up, he started to appreciate literature and wanted to become a writer, according to a letter from his father that was published online.
Robinson went to Morton West High School and played football before leaving to join the Marines in 1958. Much of his time in the service was spent in Okinawa, where he earned a black belt in karate.
When his enlistment expired, Robinson returned to civilian life. Several newspapers said he finished high school and enrolled in Morton Junior College. He eventually moved to Annandale, Virginia, where his father had moved after his parents split up. There, Robinson used his karate knowledge to operate a school for self-defense, Army documents show.
As U.S. involvement in Vietnam expanded, Robinson really wanted to do his part. He decided to enlist again in December 1963, but this time, he joined the Army. Robinson was initially deployed to Panama, but he wanted to fight in Vietnam so much that he consistently requested a transfer to the war zone until it was finally granted. In July 1965, Robinson shipped off to Vietnam, where he was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division based in Saigon.
Defending Saigon
By the spring of 1966, the battalion was part of Operation Abilene, which had a mission to search out and destroy enemy base camps and supply caches that had been set up in preparation for an attack on the capital.
On April 11, 1966, Robinson was part of Company C when it walked directly into an ambush set up by a Viet Cong battalion about 40 miles east of Saigon. At the time, the company was already light on men due to leave and injury, Army records showed. The heavy fire they were taking from all sides quickly started to decimate their numbers further. They tried to take cover, but it was hard in the dense jungle, where enemy snipers hidden in trees were able to easily spot them. Two other companies were supposed to back them up but had lost track of them in the jungle's dense foliage.
According to a 2019 Dupage County Chronicle article, at some point in the afternoon, Air Force pararescuemen had been able to cut a hole in the dense jungle canopy to repel down and airlift out about a dozen wounded men. But as the choppers flew away, intense enemy machine gun fire rained down on those who remained.
Despite the chaos, Robinson moved confidently among the men to instruct and inspire them, and to put them into strategic positions. Eventually, Robinson located one of the snipers who was inflicting the heaviest casualties. He grabbed a grenade launcher and successfully took that man out.
Soon after, Robinson watched as a nearby medic was hit while giving aid to another soldier. He knew the two men were now at the mercy of the enemy, so he ran through a hail of gunfire to grab them and drag them to safety, where he gave them both aid to help save their lives.
As casualties mounted and day turned into night, Robinson moved around under intense fire to collect weapons and ammunition from the wounded to redistribute them to soldiers who could still use them.
When another man went down in front of him, Robinson again ran out into enemy fire to bring him to safety. This time, though, he was hit in the shoulder and leg. Despite the pain, Robinson dragged his comrade to shelter and also gave him life-saving aid.
As he was patching up his own wounds, Robinson noticed one of the enemy machine guns that had been inflicting severe casualties on his men. He'd run out of ammo for his rifle, but he was determined to end its reign of terror, so he grabbed two grenades and charged at the entrenched enemy weapon.
As he did so, he got hit in the leg with a tracer round, which set fire to his clothing. Robison ripped off the flaming clothes and continued forward anyway. The enemy was now solely focused on him, and they shot him twice in the chest with a .50-caliber machine gun. Before Robinson lost strength, he was close enough to the gun that he was able to throw the two grenades into the entrenchment.
As the grenades exploded, destroying the enemy position, Robinson died where he had fallen. He was 25.
Robinson's bravery and devotion to the cause saved several lives and helped lead to the defeat of the enemy battalion. However, it came at a price. A 2019 Dupage County Chronicle newspaper article said that 80% of Robinson's unit was killed or wounded that day.
Always Remembered
Robinson's body was returned to the U.S. and buried in Clarendon Hills Cemetery in Westmont, Illinois.
For his extraordinary valor in action, the young soldier earned the Medal of Honor. His family received it from Army Secretary Stanley R. Resor during a ceremony at the Pentagon on July 16, 1967.
"Those of us who survived that day, and Vietnam … came home and had the rest of our life. Sgt. Robinson didn't get to have the rest of his life," remembered fellow soldier Phil Hall, who spoke to the Dupage County Chronicle for a story commemorating what would have been Robinson's 79th birthday. "He gave that to us."
In the many decades since Robinson's passing, his legacy has not been forgotten. The elementary school in his hometown of Lyons was renamed for him in 1967. A few years later, the Robinson Secondary School opened in Falls Church, Virginia, also in his honor. His family even donated Robinson's Medal of Honor to the school, which displays it in its entrance showcase.
The Robinson Army Reserve Training Center in Chicago and an annual military award commemorate his heroics. Robinson was also honored as recently as April 2021, when fellow members of the 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment dedicated a street in his name at Fort Riley.

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A mega-buck license plate
Some automobile owners are willing to pay an extra hundred bucks or so for customized plates. But that’s “chump change,” as they say, among auto aficionados attending a recent Most Noble Numbers charity auction in Dubai. A license plate with the letter and number “P-7” [the significance of which is a mystery] sold for $14,975,356 making it the most expensive license plate ever purchased, according to the judges at the Guinness Book of World Records. They don’t call them “vanity” plates for nothing.

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How to fill a pothole
Josh Anderson of Hopewell, Virginia, had had enough! He and his neighbors had been begging the town to fill in a dangerously huge pothole on a street where they live but it appeared they were being ignored -- for more than a year. So Josh took matters into his own. hands. He planted a small tree in the hole as a warning for local drivers. It got the attention of the township, which sent workers not to fill the pothole but to remove the tree. That didn’t discourage Josh; he promptly replaced the tree with another tree. But this time he adorned it with lights and, lo and behold, it worked. A day later a crew showed up and finally filled the hole.

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A hula hooping skater
"I love skating, but I am passionate about hula hooping," says 54-year-old Veronica Harris of Houston, Texas. And so off she went and twirled her hula hoop while skating backwards for 33 minutes and one second right winning entry into the Guinness Book of World Records.

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Class Of ‘23: How to boost your chances of finding your first job after college

It’s one thing to navigate four years of college successfully and earn a degree. It’s quite another challenge to land that first “real” job after graduation.
It may not take four years to find the job you want, but it can seem like it for anxious college graduates new to the hunt, worried about the job market in general and unsure of the most effective ways to stand out from the crowd, says Kathleen Quinn Votaw (www.talentrust.com), CEO of TalenTrust, a strategic recruiting and human capital consulting firm, and author of Dare to Care in the Workplace: A Guide to the New Way We Work.
“Young people nearing graduation or entering the job market in their early 20s are confused about applying for jobs and how to conduct themselves in interviews,” Quinn Votaw says. “They wonder, ‘Who wants to hire me, and what should I say in my application and in the interview?’
“They don’t teach you any of that in college or high school – the practical things like the type of conversation you should have in an interview, what your resume should look like, what employers are looking for in candidates, and how you can demonstrate values such as your work ethic, honesty and reliability.”
Quinn Votaw offers these tips for young job applicants pursuing their first career-type position:
Don’t “post and pray”: Be proactive and direct with your enthusiasm. Companies can receive hundreds of applications and inquiries for a single job listing, and Quinn Votaw says candidates who merely go online and post their application and cover letter like most everyone else aren’t doing enough to stand out. “If you post and pray that your application and resume will get noticed, you risk getting lost in the volume of candidates,” she says. “You need to go the extra step, which first means looking online and finding companies you want to work for and researching them. Second, send your resume to the CEO, president or owner and convey your enthusiasm about working for them.
“Ask them in your letter who you can talk to at the company to get hired. When they see your aggressiveness and sincere interest and know you’ve put in the time to research their company, you’ve got a much better chance of being interviewed.”
Start networking. The adage, It’s not what you know, it’s who you know still applies. Networking is a long-proven way of landing a job. “Contact professionals in your chosen field for informational consultations,” Quinn Votaw says. “Join a professional group related to your field and attend conferences and webinars. Along with attending networking events, get lists of alumni from your career office or alumni association and gain insight into their career path. See what contacts they have that could get your foot in the door for an interview. Do the same with past employers, faculty, friends and others who have observed you and know some of your strengths.”
Develop a personal website. This is an effective way to stand out in your job search. Linking to a personal website at the top of your resume or application gives the employer access to a larger display of your attributes. “Creating your own website gives you a platform to showcase your personality, skills and portfolio,” Quinn Votaw says. “You can add content reflecting who you are through blogs and videos. It goes well beyond a standard resume or application. And search results for your name will turn up your website, allowing you to reach more employers with more information about yourself.”
Prepare an elevator pitch. You never know: Your best break for a job might come unexpectedly at a store or restaurant. “That’s why it’s important that you have an elevator pitch ready,” Quinn Votaw says. “And preparing one starts with having a grasp of your strengths and aspirations, then boiling them down to a 30-second infomercial of yourself. You want to get right into the essence of who you are and what you’re looking for.”
“Looking for your first full-time career-type job can seem like a full-time job itself, but the payoff is big if you commit yourself completely to the process,” Quinn Votaw says. “Since job-seeking really isn’t taught in school, you’re learning a lot on the fly, but an organized, systematic approach can build confidence and increase your chances for success.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation,

Ask Rusty - Retired Public Servant Feels Government Pension Offset is “Unjust”
Dear Rusty: I’m a retired firefighter and live in Ohio. I earned Social Security from my side employment, but the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) hit my Social Security very hard. My wife worked in the school system and earned a state “SERS” pension. I understand the WEP offset and that doesn’t bother me as much as the fact that my wife doesn’t get my Social Security benefits when I die - her state pension is above the monthly limit for her to receive my Social Security. I earned that benefit by working extra jobs and being away from my family, and it seems unjust that my benefits expire with me. Thanks for letting me vent. Signed: Retired Public Servant
Dear Retired Public Servant: The provision you deem as "unjust" isn't the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) which affects SS retirement benefits for those who also have a "non-covered" pension (a pension earned without contributing to Social Security); rather it is the Government Pension Offset (GPO) which also affects those who have a pension earned without contributing to Social Security. Though I know it is no consolation, your frustration about the Government Pension Offset (GPO) is shared by nearly a million other Americans in a similar situation. The GPO has been law since 1983 and is intended to "equalize" how spousal and survivor benefits are paid to all beneficiaries. I'm certainly not defending it, but I’ve researched why the GPO was enacted decades ago.
Historically, ever since spousal and survivor benefits became part of Social Security's benefit structure in the late 1930s, if a spouse also has their own personally earned SS benefit, any spousal/survivor benefit they also became entitled to was offset by their personally earned SS retirement amount. The prevailing opinion in the 1983 Congress was that because regular spousal and survivor benefits are normally offset by the spouse's own earned SS benefit, it was unfair that a spouse who had a "non-covered pension" didn't incur the same offset as those who had no such non-covered pension. Thus, GPO was enacted in 1983 to "equalize" how spousal and survivor benefits were paid. It is the GPO which will affect your wife’s benefit as your surviving spouse because she earned her state pension while not contributing to Social Security.
To give you a more personal perspective, if your wife had, instead, worked outside of the OH school system and was entitled to a full Social Security benefit based on her own earnings from which she contributed to SS, any survivor benefit she might become entitled to from you would still be offset by her personally earned SS retirement benefit. If her own SS retirement benefit was more than her entitlement as your widow, she would get no additional amount as your surviving spouse. Or if her own SS retirement benefit was smaller than yours, her survivor benefit would still be offset by her own benefit (her benefit would be paid first and only a supplement added to bring her payment to the higher amount she was entitled to as your widow). The purpose of the Government Pension Offset is to equalize how spousal, or survivor benefits are paid to those with, and to those without, a non-covered pension. Indeed, because the GPO only offsets the potential spousal/survivor benefit by 2/3rds of a spouse's non-covered pension, the GPO is actually a bit more forgiving.

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A dog-eat-dog case
The question is what compelled the VIP Products company to make a dog toy resembling the iconic bottle of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee sour mash. Whatever the connection is between a pooch and a bottle of booze, it riled the folks at Jack Daniels who took their case to the highest court in the land where U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito posed the question, “Could any reasonable person think that Jack Daniel’s had approved this use of the mark?” On the other hand, Justice Elena Kagan seemed to be leaning in favor of the plaintiff and against the toy maker when she commented, “Maybe I just have no sense of humor.”

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Trendy astronauts
American astronauts will soon get a newer, more chic look in their new spacesuits in time for NASA’s much anticipated Artemis 3 moon mission in 2025. More important, the suits will be more comfortable and will allow astronauts to dress themselves. “This is going to be much more flexible suit. The range of motion is really going to improve the astronauts’ ability to do all the tasks they’re going to do when out exploring on the lunar surface,” Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut who is part of the Axiom Space, Inc. team. Prototypes of the spacesuits -- the first new suits in more than 50 years -- were recently displayed bearing black, blue and orange “to conceal the suit’s proprietary design.” The actual suits will be all white to reflect heat and keep modern day moonwalkers cool.

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Some like it hot
New Mexico officially is the first state in the nation to have an official aroma, namely the “sweet smell of green chili peppers roasting in the fall.” The state is a major producer of chili peppers and, in the most recent growing season, produced a record 53,000 tons of the spicy treats. In fact, the Rio Grande town of Hatch, NM, is known as the “Chili Capital of the World.”

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Medal of Honor: Army Sgt. 1st Class Edward Carter Jr.
By KATIE LANGE
DOD NEWS
Army Sgt. 1st Class Edward Allen Carter Jr. dealt with a lot of discrimination during World War II, but his determination to be part of the fight kept the pain of that at bay. His heroics in Germany in 1945 were downplayed for years, and he was even discharged unceremoniously for reasons he later learned had no basis in fact. After 50 years, though, those wrongs were finally righted, and Carter was posthumously given the Medal of Honor.
Carter was born on May 26, 1916, in Los Angeles to missionaries Edward Sr. and Mary Carter. He had two younger siblings, William and Miriam.
When Carter was 9, his parents moved the family to Calcutta, India, so they could start a church in his mother's homeland. While there, Carter became enthralled by the military and often snuck away to watch troops maneuver at a nearby British army base, according to the Association of the U.S. Army.
At some point, Carter's mother abandoned him, leaving him with his father, according to a biography written by a family member. In 1927, the boy's father then moved him and his siblings to Shanghai, where Carter was enrolled in a military school. He received extensive combat training and learned several languages, including German, Mandarin and Hindi.
By the age of 15, Carter was so determined to get involved in the military that he ran away from home and joined the Chinese Nationalist Army, which was fighting Japanese troops who had invaded Shanghai in hopes of controlling the area's natural resources. Carter wasn't with the army long before his father tracked him down and brought him home, but he was there long enough to earn the rank of lieutenant, a Department of Veterans Affairs article said.
Roadblocks
Carter tried to join the U.S. Army when he was 18, but he was rejected because of racial prejudices. He moved back to Los Angeles and, in 1936, joined the Merchant Marine instead. But that still wasn't enough action for him. By early 1937, he'd heard about the Spanish Civil War and decided to make his way to Spain, where he joined the Abraham Lincoln Brigade – an American volunteer military unit that fought against Gen. Francisco Franco and his fascist troops. By 1938, though, the unit was forced to flee to France, so Carter returned home.
Back in Los Angeles, Carter met Mildred Hoover in 1940. They married and had a son, Edward III. By September 1941, Carter tried to enlist in the U.S. Army again. This time, the U.S. buildup of troops due to World War II had begun, and he was accepted.
However, his time in the service wasn't easy. Carter trained at Fort Benning, Georgia, which was still segregated, so he and many other Black enlistees faced discrimination. Despite his prior military combat experiences, Carter was relegated to being a cook and a baker, as most Black men were at the time, according to AUSA. According to the VA, many Black men wouldn't put up with the discrimination and were dishonorably discharged. Carter, however, didn't want that, so he dealt with it, despite receiving several unjust demotions.
Carter still managed to rise to the rank of staff sergeant. While at Fort Benning, he and his wife had their second son, William.
By November 1944, Carter's unit, the 3535th Quartermaster Truck Company, was sent to France, where they were on supply duty. But when combat replacements started running short about a month later, as the Battle of the Bulge started, Army Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower called for more soldiers to be brought to the front lines. That order allowed Black soldiers to finally serve in white infantry and armored units.
After three years of trying, Carter was finally going to get to see combat. In order to do so, though, he had to give up his staff sergeant rank and volunteer as a private. That was because his superiors still wouldn't allow a Black man to command white troops.
Carter was placed with the all-Black 1st Infantry Company Provisional, 7th Army, which was attached to Company D of the 56th Armored Infantry Battalion, 12th Armored Division. He even got to serve temporarily as a guard for famed Army Gen. George S. Patton, who felt there was no room for prejudice in the ranks.
Saving the Day
On March 23, 1945, Carter's company was making its way toward Speyer, Germany, to secure a bridge needed to cross the Rhine River. At about 8:30 a.m., the tank Carter was riding in came under small arms and bazooka fire.
The men quickly took cover behind a road bank. Carter then volunteered to lead a three-man patrol to a warehouse from where soldiers had seen the bazooka fire originate. Their goal was to get about 150 yards across an open field so they could determine the size and strength of the enemy.
Naturally, the field exposed the patrol to enemy fire, so when the four men left their covered position, they were quickly bombarded. One of the patrol members was killed instantly. Carter then ordered the other two men to get back to cover so they could shoot at the enemy as he proceeded forward alone. Unfortunately, more enemy fire killed the second man and seriously wounded the third before they could get back to the safety of the road bank.
Carter continued forward and was shot three times in the left arm. He kept moving and was shot again in the left leg, a wound that knocked him off his feet. When he tried to drink from his canteen to wash down some wound tablets while lying on the ground, he was hit yet again, with a bullet going through his hand.
Despite all his injuries, Carter continued to advance, crawling within about 30 yards of the warehouse. When the enemy fire became too heavy, he took cover for about two hours behind a riverbank until eight German riflemen approached to try to take him prisoner. Carter got the jump on them, though, killing six of the soldiers and capturing the remaining two.
Thanks to his fluency in German, Carter was able to interrogate the two prisoners, who gave him valuable information that helped clear the route to Speyer for the Allies. Carter refused to get any medical attention until he'd briefed leaders on what had happened and what he'd learned.
More Discrimination
When Carter's wounds healed after about a month, he hitched a ride back to his unit on the front. His staff sergeant rank was restored, he was made an infantry squad leader, and he spent the rest of the war training troops. However, due to discrimination of the time, Carter only received the nation's second highest award for his actions, the Distinguished Service Cross.
By the war's end, Carter was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington, where he was promoted to sergeant first class. He tried to reenlist in 1949, but he was barred from doing so and discharged without explanation on Sept. 30, 1949.
It was eventually uncovered that the Army Counterintelligence Corps had opened an investigation into Carter early in his career due to his time living in the Far East and serving with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Investigators wanted to keep an eye on him for potential communist activity, so unbeknownst to Carter, his commanders had been reporting on his every move for years.
Heavily disappointed after being discharged, Carter returned to civilian life, which wasn't easy with the rumors of communism following him. According to the National Park Service, he lost two jobs because of the allegations and had trouble finding employment. He eventually found a job working in the vehicle tire industry while he continued to raise his family.
In 1962, doctors discovered Carter had lung cancer. While he had been a smoker, the doctors attributed the diagnosis to shrapnel from the war that was still in his neck, an Army article said.
Carter died on Jan. 30, 1963, at age 47. He was initially buried in the National Cemetery on the grounds of the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Wrongs Set Right
In 1992, a study was commissioned to review records of Black World War II soldiers to see if they may have been passed over for awards due to prejudices of the time. The study was completed in 1996. Carter was one of several men identified as someone who deserved an upgrade.
On Jan. 13, 1997, Carter was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. President Bill Clinton presented the medal to Carter's son, Edward Carter III, at a ceremony in Washington. Six other Black men retroactively received the honor, as well.
During the ceremony, Carter's family was also given three awards that his personnel file showed he qualified for but never received: the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal and the American Campaign Medal.
Days prior to the ceremony, Carter's body was exhumed, and he was honored in Los Angeles. He was reinterred at Arlington National Cemetery on Jan. 14, 1997, the day after the Medal of Honor ceremony.
After years of pressure from Carter's family, the Army formally apologized in November 1999 for discharging him so unceremoniously, and it officially erased the stain of suspicion of communism around him. The family was given a corrected set of military records, which cleared his name and gave him an honorable discharged backdated to October 1949. The records also stated that declassified intelligence records showed the suspicions against him had no basis in fact.
"He was destroyed. Now he has been restored," said Allene Carter, the wife of Carter's eldest son.
"Today, Sgt. Carter has been vindicated," she said at the time.
Allene Carter published a book about Sgt. 1st Class Carter's life and legacy in 2003.

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House Call

By Dr. Daniel Knigh

Q: I consider myself to be fit, so why do I still get sore the day after a workout? A: The soreness you experience the day after a workout is called delayed onset muscle soreness. This soreness or stiffness that occurs the day or two after exercise is normal, and can happen to someone new to an exercise routine or to an extremely fit athlete.
Delayed onset muscle soreness most often occurs when you begin a new exercise program, change your routine or change the duration or intensity of your exercise routine. It’s thought to be caused by microscopic tearing of the muscle fibers, and the more you move, the more muscle you tear. Therefore, the more new or intense movements you make that your body isn’t used to, the more sore you are going to be the next day. How do you treat it? Remedies such as ice, rest, anti-inflammatory medication, massage and heat are helpful in allowing the body to recuperate. However, the best way to break the soreness cycle is including regular stretching before and after your workout. It’s also important to give your muscles a break from the gym when they are too sore.
Q: What is LASIK eye surgery and is there an age limit for it?
A:
LASIK, which stands for laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis, can be used to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. During LASIK surgery, changes are made to the shape of the cornea, the clear dome at the front of the eye. The goal of LASIK is to reshape the cornea so that light traveling through it is properly focused on the retina at the back of the eye. The American Academy of Ophthalmology reports that nine out of 10 LASIK patients end up with vision between 20/20 and 20/40. However, the worse a patient’s vision before the surgery, the more likely glasses or contacts will be needed after the procedure. Also, LASIK surgery cannot correct presbyopia, the age-related diminished ability to focus on close objects, so older patients may still need reading glasses. Generally, patients seeking LASIK surgery need to be at least 18. Their vision should be stable with no eye changes for at least one year prior to the surgery. There is no generally recognized upper age limit, although patients should discuss all options with their surgeon.

Q: Why do I get the hiccups? A: Hiccups occur when the diaphragm — the muscle that separates the chest and abdomen and is responsible for pulling air into the lungs and pushing it back out — involuntarily contracts. Those spasms are followed by the vocal cords closing, which is what produces the “hic” sound. A number of things can irritate the diaphragm and cause hiccups, including eating too fast or too much, drinking carbonated beverages or too much alcohol, or swallowing air while chewing gum or sucking on candy. Excitement, emotional stress or a sudden change in temperature can also trigger a bout of pesky hiccups. For most of us, hiccups are a minor inconvenience that last for a few minutes and go away on their own. But for some people, hiccups can last for hours, days, months or even years. Hiccups lasting more than 48 hours are called persistent hiccups, a condition that men are more likely to develop than women. Persistent hiccups can damage your overall health, so call your doctor if you experience hiccups lasting 48 hours or more. There are a variety of treatments that can be used to treat persistent hiccups. Q: What is better — walking or running? A: Research shows that when it comes to lowering your risk for heart disease, brisk walking is as good as running. Walking is associated with fewer injuries and is accessible to more people. The catch? Walking takes more time than running to see the same benefits — simply because it takes longer to cover the same distance. For example, a 15-minute jog is equivalent to a half-hour brisk walk in terms of calorie burn. Also, recent research reported by the American Heart Association found that brisk walkers saw the same benefits as runners in terms of risk for diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Walking is a good option for those with joint issues, arthritis and other health conditions, like heart disease, because it doesn’t put as much stress on the body as running. If you have these conditions or other concerns, discuss it with your doctor before experimenting with running. The even better news? You can do both. Part of maintaining your health is giving your body variety. If you’re healthy enough to run, you can mix things up by incorporating both running and walking in your routine.
Dr. Daniel Knight is a professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. ###

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation
Ask Rusty - Why Should a Non-working Spouse be Entitled to Social Security Benefits?
Dear Rusty: Why can a non-working spouse claim half of their working spouse’s benefit even though they have not contributed to the Social Security system? This doesn’t seem right or fair to those of us who have contributed for years from our paychecks. Signed: Inquisitive
Dear Inquisitive: This is a question which needs a bit of historical background to properly explain: Social Security’s original purpose when it was enacted in 1935 was to prevent America’s seniors from living in poverty (remember, Social Security was enacted during the “Great Depression”). Even before the first Social Security check was sent to a retired worker in 1940, Congress had already changed the original Social Security law to, as well, provide anti-poverty benefits to non-working spouses of a worker (a predominant family reality at that time) and surviving spouses, as well as to their minor children. Social Security’s fundamental goal has always been to lift eligible Americans out of poverty, which it still does very effectively.
It’s important to note that this change did not (and does not) detract in any way from the benefits provided to those who work and contribute to Social Security thus earning their own SS retirement benefit. In other words, those who receive their personally earned SS retirement benefit are not at all penalized if their non-working spouse also receives a benefit (albeit a considerably smaller amount) on the worker’s record. Living expenses for two people are, simply, higher than for one, which was/is the rationale for also paying benefits to a dependent not eligible for Social Security benefits on their own work record. In the end, it all comes down to avoiding poverty.
Although the numbers vary somewhat by state, gender, and ethnicity, without Social Security about 38% of all Americans over age 65 would be living below the poverty line, whereas with Social Security only about 9% of Americans over 65 live below the poverty line. But that 9% number would be significantly higher if non-working spouses and survivors of eligible workers were also not entitled to Social Security benefits.
While it is true that Social Security is facing future solvency issues, the thought of restricting benefits to only those who have worked and contributed to the program (and not to their non-working spouses or minor children) is not something being considered by anyone with Congressional influence, regardless of political affiliation. Doing so would be devastating to a large segment of the American population, severely increasing poverty – the very thing that Social Security is designed to prevent.

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Medal of Honor Monday: Navy Cmdr. Donald A. Gary
By KATIE LANGE
DOD News
As an officer in the USS Franklin's engineering department during World War II, Navy Cmdr. Donald Arthur Gary knew all the ins and outs of the aircraft carrier. That knowledge helped him save hundreds of men who were trapped when the ship was nearly destroyed by the Japanese. His fortitude and leadership earned him the Medal of Honor.
Gary was born July 23, 1903, in Findlay, Ohio, to parents Henry and Katherine Gary, who already had seven children, three of whom had passed away before he was born. His parents had one more boy after him, but that son also died at a young age.
Gary attended one year of high school before enlisting in the Navy on Dec. 12, 1919, when he was 16 years old. In a speech he wrote later in life, Gary said he'd always wanted to be a fireman, so he joined the service to see the world and hopefully learn some skills that could help him find a job when he returned home, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.
Gary initially received training in San Francisco before being transferred to the Philippines, where he served on a gunboat and then a survey ship. He later told the Los Angeles Times that he had no plans to turn the Navy into a career, but after six years of service, he decided he liked it enough to stay, reenlisting in February 1926.
The young sailor worked in various positions and on several different ships over the next 15 years. He also married a woman named Dorothy, and they had a son, Kenneth.
Gary was serving at the headquarters of the 3rd Naval District in New York City when Pearl Harbor was attacked and the U.S. entered World War II. He told the LA Times that he'd planned to retire after 20 years of service, but when that happened, he knew he had to stay the course.
Fighting the Enemy
For the next two years, Gary's duties were to ships responsible for monitoring coastal U.S. waters from Canada to Jacksonville, Florida, through November 1943, when he received a commission as a lieutenant junior grade. He spent about a year assigned to an office out of Ohio before joining the USS Franklin in December 1944 as it shipped out to fight the Japanese.
By mid-March 1945, the Franklin was part of Task Force 58, which was carrying out a series of air attacks on the Japanese homeland in support of the invasion of Okinawa. Gary, who was 42 by then, was an engineering officer on the ship, which was about 50 miles off the southeast coast of Japan.
Shortly after sunrise on March 19, the Japanese struck back. The Franklin received a radio warning about incoming Japanese planes, but the overcast skies and cluttered air traffic kept crews from being able to see any foreign aircraft until it was too late. Three minutes after the warning came, the enemy dropped two 550-pound bombs on the vessel.
Since aerial operations were in effect, the ship's flight deck had 31 fully fueled and armed aircraft, while more than a dozen more were ready to go in its hangar bay. The results were catastrophic. The bombs caused the planes' fuel and ordnance to explode, which completely destroyed part of the flight deck, the hangar and gallery deck spaces. According to the National Museum of the U.S. Navy, there were 126 secondary explosions of various kinds.
On top of that, flooding from those trying to fight the fires caused the ship to list heavily. The Franklin lost power, and sailors immediately began evacuating areas that were filling with smoke and heat.
Gary was stationed on the third deck deep in the ship's belly when the explosions began. He quickly realized he was one of hundreds of men – including the ship's two remaining doctors who weren't killed by the blasts — who were stuck in a messing compartment that was filling with smoke.
As the panic of the trapped men increased, Gary assured them he would find a way to get them out. One of those trapped men, Reon G. Hillegass Jr., told the Virginian-Pilot newspaper decades after the ordeal that "Gary was the only one who could have saved us. He had a blueprint of the huge ship in his head."
According to the Naval History and Heritage Command, Gary used an oxygen mask with a very limited supply of air to grope through the dark, debris-filled corridors. After wandering about 600 feet through mangled ducting and uptakes, he found a way out. Gary acquired another oxygen mask somewhere along the way and headed back to bring the other trapped men to freedom, despite the intense flames, flood waters and threats of more explosions.
"We wet cloths and placed them over our faces to breathe through the smoke," Hillegass told the Virginian-Pilot. "It was so dark we couldn't see. Each man held the belt of the man in front of him as Gary led us away from the compartment."
The Virginian-Pilot article said Gary led them through a long hatchway into a funnel-like exhaust duct that went from the bottom of the ship toward the top. The duct happened to have ladder rungs, so they were able to climb up and onto a catwalk just below the destroyed, flame-covered flight deck.
Gary returned to the messing compartment three times, calmly leading large groups of men along that path through blankets of smoke until all of them – about 300 sailors – had made it to safety.
They might have made it out of that compartment alive, but they weren't out of the woods yet, and Gary knew that. He continued to rally the men to organize themselves and fight the fires still plaguing the ship, including the blazing flight deck. His Medal of Honor citation said that, after determining two of the ship's firerooms were no longer operable, Gary went into the third fireroom "and directed the raising of steam in one boiler in the face of extreme difficulty and hazard."
Gary's courage and leadership were inspiring, even though he remained modest about it throughout his life. In a 1950 LA Times interview, he said, "It was just a matter of knowing your ship, and I should have thought of the escape method sooner."
Other U.S. ships eventually came to the Franklin's aid to put out the fires and rescue the men who'd gone into the water. All told, around 800 men died or were missing, and about 300 more were wounded.
The ship was towed until it was able to resume travel under its own power and get to Ulithi Atoll, where it received emergency repairs. It then sailed to Pearl Harbor and onto New York City for a full overhaul.
The March 19 incident marked the fourth time the Franklin had been hit during the war. The damage it incurred that day led to it earning the title of being the most heavily damaged carrier in the war to survive.
Officially Honored
Gary received the Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman during a White House ceremony on Jan. 23, 1946. Three other heroes received the medal that day: Army Sgt. John R. McKinney, Army 1st Lt. Daniel Lee and Navy Lt. Cmdr. Joseph O'Callahan, who was also on the Franklin. The distinction made O'Callahan the first Navy chaplain to earn the Medal of Honor. Crew members of the Franklin also earned 19 Navy Crosses, 22 Silver Stars and 116 Bronze Stars.
About two months after the awards ceremony, Gary was promoted to lieutenant commander. He stayed with the Franklin until February 1947. Gary retired from active duty on June 1, 1950, and was advanced to the rank of commander thanks to his stellar service record. At 46, after having served on every type of vessel in naval service, he was ready to try civilian life for the first time.
Gary, his wife and his son moved to a home they had built in Garden Grove, California. The retired sailor remained there for the rest of his life, working as a realtor and as the part-owner of a nursery, according to the LA Times.
He also served as the Congressional Medal of Honor Society's national secretary from 1964 until April 9, 1977, when he died of lung cancer. Gary was buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego.
In 1976, a year before his death, the Garden Grove City Council honored Gary by naming its Civic Center mall the Commander Donald A. Gary Bicentennial Mall, his LA Times obituary said.
On Nov. 17, 1984, the Navy commissioned the guided missile frigate USS Gary to celebrate the Medal of Honor recipient. It was put to work extensively for decades, remaining in use until its decommissioning on July 23, 2015.

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Belly up to the bar
It’s official: Tennessee may have an average number of bars but the Volunteer State has the biggest bar in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. It’s located in the Humble Baron whiskey distillery in Shelbyville, Tennesee. The circular bar measures a whopping 518 feet and can accommodate more than 15,000 tipplers in a town with not quite 24,000 residents. But it’s about an hour’s drive from Nashville with its population of nearly 700,000. The folks at Guinness tell us that “in the center of the bar is an indoor stage where there are 17 stations featuring on tap, crafted cocktails made from Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey.

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Cheeky bristles
Lots of men prefer short, little goatee facial hair. Yet there are those who let their whiskers grow to more substantial lengths. Take Mr. Sarwan Singh who resides in Surrey, British Columbia. He’s been found by the Guinness World Record checkers to have grown the longest beard on the planet. It measures an amazing 8 feet and 3 inches long and it breaks the record that Mr. Singh has held when was only measured 7 feet and 8 inches long back in 2008. As he put it, "I'm blessed that I was chosen to be the person with the longest beard. As Sikhs, we all keep the beard and we grow it and comb it and go through the daily routines, but I feel lucky that I'm the one that has the longest beard."

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Frisky fingers
How long does it take you to complete a Rubik’s Cube puzzle? Nine-year-old Yiheng Wang who hails from China can do it faster than anyone else on the planet, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. In a recent playoff in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia he set a new record averaging an awesome 4.69 seconds in five attempts at solving a 3x3x3 cube.

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Travel Troubleshooter

By CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT

Does Amtrak owe me anything for a forced downgrade?
Daniel Onn books a business class ticket on Amtrak. Then the rail carrier removes the business class car. Does it owe him anything?
Q: I had a business class ticket on Amtrak's Coast Starlight train from Seattle to Los Angeles. I booked business class because of my low vision and the ability to have access to Amtrak's business class lounge. I also get 25 percent more Amtrak points for food and beverage purchases.
Just before my trip, Amtrak removed the business class car and downgraded my seats. I lost my lounge access in Los Angeles and my 25 percent Amtrak Guest Relations points after it changed my tickets from "value" to "standard" category.
I think Amtrak can do better. I'd like an upgrade to a roomette or access to the business class lounge at the train station and meal vouchers with drinks. Can you please help me fix this? -- Daniel Onn, Saratoga, Calif.
A: Amtrak routinely reconfigures its trains, but when it does, it needs to ensure the passengers who paid for a higher level of service get compensated. Amtrak's refund policy addresses downgrades made by passengers but not by the rail carrier.
And what does it have to say about those downgrades? It offers no refunds, but suggests a fare adjustment may be in order. Separately, the rail carrier says if it makes a schedule change, an equipment substitution or a cancellation and the new accommodation charge or rail fare is lower as a result, it will issue an eVoucher for any residual value. So check your account -- you should have some credit for your downgraded ticket.
You contacted me before your departure, meaning Amtrak may still have intended to respond to your request for additional compensation. I think a fare adjustment would have been appropriate. Certainly, as a goodwill gesture, a few additional points or an upgrade would have been a nice touch.
If you ever find Amtrak is responding too slowly -- or not at all -- you can contact the rail carrier through the Amtrak executive contacts I list on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org.
I contacted Amtrak on your behalf. A representative called and offered you 1,000 loyalty points and a $100 discount on a roomette upgrade. You are happy with that offer.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him on his site.

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A rare bongo
The Potter Park Zoo in Lansing, Michigan, described the bongo as “one of the most majestic and endangered members of the antelope family” in its announcement of the rare, recent birth of a female eastern bongo calf. How rare are bongos? According to the zoo, only about 100 eastern bongos remain in the wild and about 300 bongos are protected in accredited zoos; “their ornate horns and vibrant orange coat make them a target for hunting and poaching.”

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A rare catch
Fishing guides Dylan Wier and Blaine Kenny knew that the fish they had hooked on Orange Beach, Alabama, on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico was a big one. They thought they might have a tiger shark on their hook. About a half an hour later they, indeed, found themselves reeling in a shark but it wasn’t a tiger shark; it was an eleven foot great white shark, a species that is rare for the Alabama coast. In fact, the state’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resource, believes it might just be the very first great white caught off the Alabama coast.

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A rare tongue
Just a month ago the Guinness Book of World Records declared Nick Stoeberl of Salinas, California, had the longest tongue in the world. He wasted no time to seek a second award, visiting the Guinness offices in an attempt to set the record for touching his tongue to his nose. He didn’t break that record and so he used his nearly four inch long lingua to set the record for removing five blocks from an unstable tower of 54 blocks in less than a minute.

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Seven steps for protecting employees during business travel

By ANUJA AGRAWAL and MARY MILLER SALLAH

Business travel inherently puts some level of stress on a traveler. The more someone travels for business, the more their health risks can increase. And those risks and related costs don’t just affect employees and their families. They affect the employer, too, in terms of insurance and the temporary or lengthy loss of an employee.
In the context of business travel and employee health, duty of care obligates an employer to research, plan, develop, and implement a set of policies and operational procedures to mitigate the risks that employees might face when they travel for business. Duty of care encompasses both the legal and moral responsibility of organizations to care for their employees when traveling. Successfully evading risks is a matter of careful planning.
Post-COVID-19, many companies have elevated their focus on employee health, especially for business travel. Cédric Fraissinet, general manager Central Europe at International SOS, says travel health and security policies need to be intimately linked. “Just as 9/11 completely changed the security rules of the air transport industry, COVID-19 has done the same to travel risk-management practices,” Fraissinet says. “A siloed approach to health and security risks is no longer adequate; assessing employee fitness to travel, and on-trip support, is now needed more than ever before.”
From our research and experience, we have become convinced of the value of an organization assessing its objectives, its traveler needs, its culture, its current policy status, and its own unique needs before developing or revising travel policy. We have seen too many businesses that have borrowed travel policies or used policy templates to create rules that no one understands, rules that are inapplicable, or rules that may even be unnecessary.
We recommend a seven-step approach to achieving duty of care for business travel:
Internal assessment
Conduct an internal assessment to determine the foundational components that will form the basis for the travel program in general and how it relates to employee health in particular. Gathering all relevant materials – not just position descriptions but also existing travel policy directives and perceived risks – gets everything on the table for review, analysis, and ultimately, coordination.
For organizations looking to revise corporate travel policies under a duty-of-care model, we suggest inviting feedback from employees, those responsible for business travel, partners/vendors, and any other key stakeholders.
Risk assessment
The next step is to assess the health, safety, security risks, vulnerabilities, or exposure associated with the organization’s business travel requirements. The objective of any risk-management program is to mitigate risk to an acceptable level consistent with the organization’s business goals, governmental laws and regulations, and prevailing industry standards. Key risk factors to consider include:
Destination and location risks – weather, crime rates, civil unrest, political and socioeconomic factors.
Travel risks – issues with passports and visas, travel delays, missed connections, jet lag, fatigue.
Health risks – hygiene and sanitation issues, infectious or food-borne or water-borne diseases, unfamiliarity with surroundings.
Safety risks – the mode of travel, the accommodations, the neighborhood where the hotel or business meeting is to take place, the safety of local transportation
Policy and procedure development
Travel policy is not about control or mere expense management. It should strike a fair balance between efficient use of the company’s resources and efforts to maintain the health, safety, well-being, and morale of traveling employees in a manner that encourages employee compliance with policy.
Key elements of establishing and revising policy and related procedures include:
Stating the purpose of the policy
Clearly stating your duty of care objectives
Identifying the products of step 2, including determination of essential and non-essential travel and locations approved for travel
Designating lead/responsible parties
Establishing guidelines and/or acceptable exceptions, processes, and procedures for relevant groups/locations.
Documenting policies and procedures for each step in the process, including pre-approvals, pre-travel risk assessment, reservations, monitoring, incident response, and feedback.
Employee education and training
Proactive communication is key to driving awareness and to anticipating or challenging misinformation. By educating everyone, an organization creates and reinforces a culture of risk awareness and discernment. Training everyone, including leadership, on policy and procedure is necessary for fulfilling duty-of-care responsibilities. All employees should be trained on the entirety of the policy itself, related procedures, processes, and protocols, and any supporting technology or other tools used by the organization.
Pretravel risk assessment
Identify anything that might compromise the safety, security, and well-being of a given traveling employee with respect to each specific business trip. Department managers and others responsible for managing travel should understand and carry out required reviews prior to each trip.
Monitoring employee travel
At a minimum, organizations should be able to track itineraries and see at a glance who is traveling, where they are, where they are staying, the length of stay, and how to contact them should an emergency arise.
Incident response
Should an incident occur, an organization must be able to coordinate efforts to react rapidly to the situation at hand and provide immediate and appropriate assistance to the employee. The capacity to respond quickly and efficiently is often hinged to measures taken to track and monitor employee well-being. Additionally, organizations should have comprehensive emergency response plans, including the ability to determine what constitutes an emergency, immediately implement emergency protocols, provide appropriate support and activate local support if needed.
Companies need to proactively, rather than reactively, develop policy that is thorough and explicitly addresses the health, safety, and well-being of employees. Outdated or ineffective policies create confusion and mistakes on the part of employees and often also their managers. Regular audits, analytics on compliance, and feedback collection are important tools in implementing policy and procedural changes that better ensure compliance.

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Medal of Honor: Army Staff Sgt. Herbert Burr
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News
When it came to tank warfare, Army Staff Sgt. Herbert Hoover Burr seemed fearless. He saved the day twice during World War II during separate actions that earned him the Distinguished Service Cross and the Medal of Honor.
Burr was born to Maurice and Edna Burr on Sept. 13, 1920, in St. Joseph, Missouri. He had five brothers and two sisters and attended the town's Central High School before moving to nearby Kansas City when he was 17.
Burr told a reporter at the St. Joseph Gazette that he had tried to join every branch of the military when he was young, including the National Guard, but they all turned him down because he had bad teeth. However, by early 1942, when the U.S. war machine was in full swing, he was drafted into the Army. He trained as a tank gunner and was eventually sent to fight in France with Company C of the 41st Tank Battalion, 11th Armored Division.
Burr's bravery was evident throughout his time in Europe. On Jan. 15, 1945, he earned the Distinguished Service Cross for saving an injured soldier from a burning tank in Belgium. He then put the fire out and drove that tank back to U.S. lines.
What earned him the Medal of Honor happened about two months later, on March 19, 1945, near Dorrmoschel, Germany. Burr told the St. Joseph Gazette that he was in one of three Allied tanks moving through the area. The first tank was knocked out on the outskirts of town; the second was told to hold its position, and Burr's was told to explore the area.
A short time later, Burr's tank was hit by an enemy bazooka shell. The blast severely wounded the platoon sergeant, killed two men in its turret and forced the rest of the crew to abandon the vehicle.
"The big gun was over the top of the tank, and I couldn't get out," he told a reporter for the St. Joseph News-Press/Gazette in 1988. "I couldn't hear anything, but I could feel the vibrations and I knew the tank was running. I wasn't about to jump out with that guy with the bazooka out there."
Burr, who was the tank's bow gunner, had been deafened but was otherwise uninjured, so he immediately climbed into the driver's seat and kept the tank moving into town. But as he made a left turn, he realized it was the wrong choice — an 88-mm anti-tank gun was facing him at point-blank range.
"I guess there was not supposed to be a left turn there," Burr told the News-Press/Gazette reporter. "Well, it was too damn late to back up."
Even though there were no other crew members in the tank to man its guns, Burr made the bold move to directly charge the German weapon. It would have been easy for the Germans to take him out — Burr's Medal of Honor citation said the anti-tank gun was fully manned and only needed someone to pull the lanyard to send off a shell. But the German's were so surprised by Burr's unexpected and daring run toward them that he was able to drive his tank completely over it, destroying the weapon and causing its crew to flee in confusion.
Burr kept going, sideswiping and overturning a German truck before whipping back around and returning to his company's line.
Burr then climbed out of the tank and rank through sniper fire to find some medics, who had been looking for him. Burr pointed them toward one of his injured comrades, who was still alive in the tank's turret. Unfortunately, that man didn't survive the ordeal, the Gazette reported.
Burr's fearlessness and determination quickly earned him a Medal of Honor nomination, which allowed for him to be transferred back to the U.S., according to the St. Joseph Gazette. He was sent to serve as an instructor at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and then at a war college in Washington, D.C.
Burr received the Medal of Honor on Aug. 23, 1945, from President Harry S. Truman during a White House ceremony that honored 27 other war heroes. Burr's parents and his wife, Verna, were in attendance.
To add to his accolades, Burr also received the Distinguished Conduct Medal in 1946 — Great Britain's second highest military decoration at the time — and the Luxembourg Croix de Guerre — a rare foreign decoration bestowed on Allied troops — in 1947.
Burr was discharged from the Army after the war and returned to Kansas City. He and his wife went on to have three sons and a daughter.
Burr worked in construction and as a painter for the federal government until he retired in 1986. He was a member of the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the 11th Armored Division Association and was content to live a quiet life, according to a 1984 Kansas City Times article. Burr's son, Jack, said his father didn't like to talk about the war much and loved fishing.
Burr moved to Urbana, Missouri, in 1988. He died two years later, on Feb. 8, 1990, at a hospital near his home. He was buried in Mount Washington Cemetery in Independence, Missouri.

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Think you’re set up for success as a new entrepreneur? Not without a mentor

By TONY DISILVESTRO

Running a business is hard, and the early days of getting it off the ground can be rough.
I worked over 100 hours a week for years. I missed the first five years with my oldest daughter. I ran myself ragged, and it affected everything about my life.
I also wanted to grow, and I soon learned that I couldn’t do it burning the candle at both ends. Something had to give. But I didn’t have a mentor. I didn’t have anyone coaching me or teaching me how to market, delegate, train, and scale my business. I had to figure all of that out on my own – at least until I made one of my wisest decisions.
Are you a business owner or an entrepreneur?
As a young man in the early days of my business, I thought I was an entrepreneur, but the fact was, I wasn’t an entrepreneur at all. I was just a business owner. And a stressed out and busy one at that.
The main thing I wish I’d had in my early days is a coach. I suffered so many losses in the first years of business that could have been cut by at least 50 percent if I’d had someone guiding me. It wasn’t until I was 10 years into business that a mentor came into my life. His name was Don and he worked for one of the first marketing companies I worked with. He would sit with me and go over business trends.
When I first met Don I wasn’t growing. Eventually, I had to admit that. I had hit a ceiling, and to achieve my growth goals, I had to try something different. I was trying to do everything myself. The business was entirely dependent on me, and I’m only one person. So one day I took his advice and started looking at the big picture, thinking bigger. A huge part of this was learning to trust the systems I had in place and to begin delegating and trusting my employees to do the work without me. For years, Don had given me that advice over and over, but it wasn’t until I had a mindset shift that I followed it.
I’ve told him it was the best advice he’s ever given me. The most rewarding thing I do now is to be that mentor for others and to help them avoid making many of the mistakes that I did.
So if you’re ready, I’ll say the same thing to you: If you want to grow and scale, you have to move from a business owner to an entrepreneur and know the mindset that shift requires.
Willingness to fail leads to success
“Failing well” sounds like an oxymoron, but it’s part of the path to business success. One must take risks to push their business forward, and failing is inevitable within that process. Learning to fail well is essential to becoming an entrepreneur.
For me, there are two types of failures: micro and macro. A micro failure is something that won’t cripple your business. It could look like trying a new product, depending on how much your products cost, of course. At my store, adding a new menu item that does not do well is a micro failure. But a macro failure will sink you. I almost experienced a macro failure when I opened a bakery when I was young. I wasn’t prepared, and I didn’t have a coach guiding me.
A good business coach helps you avoid macro failures and will often push you toward micro failures. Too often we associate failure with negative outcomes, but failure teaches us so much. And most important for entrepreneurs, failure builds confidence. Often, to make the jump from business owner to entrepreneur, you need to get your feet wet with failure. You need to experience some small bumps and learn that you’ll survive so that you can get back up and try again.
Business owners who haven’t yet jumped into entrepreneurship are usually risk-averse and overly cautious. Entrepreneurs want to scale and grow. They know their business cannot depend solely on them. Thank goodness Don entered my life and got me to understand that critical point.
Everybody needs something a little different from a business coach. If you skew toward the business owner’s end of the spectrum, you likely need a coach to help grow your confidence and light a fire under you. If you’re more of a serial entrepreneur like me, you need someone to rein you in and help you make wise choices. Either way, one of the wisest decisions you can make is to have a mentor to help you on your journey.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation,

Ask Rusty – Widow Stung by Social Security’s “Claw Back” Rule

Dear Rusty: My husband of 48 years died on December 30th, and he received a Social Security direct deposit for December’s benefits in early January, but Social Security demanded the bank return his December payment. I used part of his December benefits to pay for household expenses, so his bank account was overdrawn after his bank paid back his Social Security for the December benefit. My questions are:
1. Is it legal for Social Security to demand a return of his benefits because he died one day prior to 1/1/2023? That just seems so wrong to me!
2. Am I legally responsible for the overdrawn amount his bank repaid to Social Security? I was not notified by Social Security or his bank before “the deed was done”.
3. Aren’t there Social Security spousal benefits available for the surviving spouse, and how do I apply for them? (Form #, please)
My husband medically retired early, and his Social Security benefits were always lower than mine, but I fear that my benefits may be affected by his death. Is that true? Signed: Grieving Widow, Feeling Wronged
Dear Grieving Widow: Please accept our sincere condolences on your husband’s passing. Unfortunately, I don’t have good news for you about his December benefit payment. Social Security pays benefits in the month following the month they are earned, and the recipient must live the entire month to be eligible for that month’s benefit. Even though your husband lived until almost the end of the month, Social Security’s rule says that he must live the entire month to be eligible for December benefits; thus, they took back (often referred to as “Clawed Back”) the December benefits paid in January.
So, is all of this legal? Yes, I’m afraid it is. From what you’ve shared Social Security took back the money they are legally entitled to, so you have no further obligation to Social Security. The bank had no choice but to return your husband’s December Social Security payment – they were legally obligated to do so. Thus, your obligation to resolve your husband’s overdrawn bank account resulting from the bank fulfilling its legal obligation to Social Security still remains.
As for any spousal or survivor benefits you might be entitled to – you say your husband’s Social Security payment was less than yours, which means you weren’t getting a spousal benefit and cannot get a surviving spouse benefit as a widow (you can only get your benefit or his, whichever is higher). You will, however, be eligible for a one-time lump sum death benefit of $255. I know it’s not much, but you’re entitled to it and should claim it. And, from what you’ve described - that your monthly Social Security amount is more than your husband’s - your own benefit will not be negatively affected by any of this.
This article is intended for information purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. It presents the opinions and interpretations of the AMAC Foundation’s staff, trained and accredited by the National Social Security Association (NSSA). NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other governmental entity. To submit a question, visit our website (amacfoundation.org/programs/social-security-advisory) or email us at ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org.

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Middle-of-the-road success vs. musical superstardom
Not every musician reaches the top, and that’s fine with many of them

Every year ambitious musicians eager to jumpstart their careers try to win a spot on such TV shows as American Idol and The Voice, hoping the exposure will hurl them into the music-career stratosphere.
But for every Kelly Clarkson or Jennifer Hudson who breaks clear of the crowd, untold numbers of musicians give up on the dream.
Yet superstar-level success or abject failure aren’t the only options. Somewhere between the extremes are thousands who find that success in the music business doesn’t have to mean becoming a household name.
“Success for musicians comes in a lot of different forms,” says John Kim Faye (www.johnfaye.com), former lead singer of the Caulfields and author of the new memoir The Yin and the Yang of It All: Rock ‘N’ Roll Memories from the Cusp, as Told By a Mixed-Up, Mixed-Race Kid.
“There is a huge community of what I call ‘middle-class musicians’ who all play, sing, write, and produce at the highest level. They go on tour, blow people’s minds when given the opportunity, and yet the general public has never heard of them. Trust me, there are a lot of us out there, just doing what we do and finding a way to keep on going.”
About 24,000 people in the United States are employed as musicians or singers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The median income is about $30 an hour, far below the multi-million-dollar contracts young musical dreamers might imagine.
How any individual artist defines success often depends on the person’s particular talents and strengths, as well as what they want their everyday life to look like.
“Some people want to reach a certain level of financial gain and are willing to play 250 shows a year to do it,” Faye says. “Others might be focused on writing and getting their songs placed in films or on Netflix. Others might put their efforts into building an online following and spend their days creating content. There are lots of different paths you can take. It’s a mosaic, not a monolith.”
Fleeting Success and One-Hit Wonders
Still, reaching the heights of Billboard popularity with a hit song that has the entire country singing along is enticing.
In his book, Faye mentions how much he enjoyed the song “Moonlight Feels Right,” a hit in 1976 for the group Starbuck. But Starbuck could never duplicate that success with its subsequent music, an example of how fleeting and flimsy music-industry success can be.
Faye knows because he soared to his own musical heights as lead singer for the alternative rock band the Caulfields, which recorded two albums in the 1990s for A&M Records.
“When I got my little taste of the trappings of success in the mid-90s, I basically convinced myself that ‘this is my life now,’ ” Faye says. “My record was on the radio. I was touring all over creation. I was paid a hefty advance for my publishing. The idea that it would all go away faster than it had arrived was definitely not something I kept in the front of my mind, and my behavior would confirm that because I blew through that money pretty fast.”
Faye says that’s why it’s important for budding musicians, especially those on the brink of major success, to realize that their so-called fifteen minutes of fame can’t be the main driver behind a sustained career path.
“Those opportunities in the spotlight do go away quickly,” he says. “But if you’re in it for the right reasons, you’ll gain the fortitude to put yourself in a position to learn from it, move forward, and maybe even parlay it into something more valuable down the road.”
As he looks back on his career so far, Faye says he would tell his younger self to “savor and appreciate every experience through the lens of connection.” Instead, he says, it was too easy to get caught up in the industry mindset that bigger is always better, and to think of the audience only in terms of the head count.
“But in many ways,” Faye says, “every time I got closer to the traditional idea of rock stardom, the further away I got from the true reason I started playing music in the first place, which was to use my voice and my songwriting to show people who I am. I want to be seen, and just as importantly, I want to see the people who are listening back. I want the experience to be symbiotic.”

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Moose News
There they were, a pair of brothers on snowmobiles out on an outing near Palisades, Idaho, when a menacing moose ruined their day. The moose managed to get in between Jeremiah Bigelow’s snowmobile and that of his brother and for whatever reason it decided to charge the brother’s sled. No one was hurt, although the moose did some damage to his snowmobile as it made its escape and Jeremiah videotaped the whole thing.

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Grow old, grow strong
Sixty-year-old Floridian Rob Stirling shows that age needn’t get you down. Stirling recently contested the Guinness World Record for doing the most pushups in one hour -- 3,264 pushups in sixty minutes, almost 54-and-a-half pushups per minute. Stirling is not done yet. He plans to set a new Guinness record for the most pushups in one minute. The current record holder earned his title by doing 144 pushups in the span of sixty seconds.

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Ready for a cup of café oleato
Coming soon to a Starbucks near you-- café oleato, coffee with a taste of extra virgin olive oil? Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz came up with the idea while on a visit to Italy. Food and wine publications, thus far, are giving the seemingly odd idea of mixing olive oil and coffee a cautious okay and Schultz is said to be preparing a global oleato roll out in the not too distant future.

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Four ways all leaders can multiply their impact

Leaders are all around us, in corporations, sports teams, civic clubs and other organizations.
In many cases, the work they do and its impact doesn’t extend much beyond their immediate sphere of influence.
But leaders also can guide, teach and inspire people in such a way that the impact will be felt far and wide – and maybe even linger long after the leader is gone, says Brendan P. Keegan (www.brendanpkeegan.com), author of The FUD Factor: Overcoming Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt to Achieve the Impossible.
“Leaders should ask themselves, ‘What do I want my legacy to be? What lasting impact do I want to leave on the world? How can I be an inspirational legend to others?’ ” says Keegan, who is chairman, CEO and president of the board for Merchants Fleet, a company that offers commercial vehicle leasing, maintenance, and other services.
He says some ways to make that legacy come about and to leave a greater imprint on the world include:
Lead others through a clear vision and the resources to achieve that vision—together. Ever notice with sports teams how successful head coaches leave a legacy of other head coaches who worked for or played for them? Keegan says the same can happen with leaders in other sectors. “When you make the decision to lead,” he says, “you build an exponential legacy of leadership. If you lead 10 people who then lead another 10 people who then lead another 10 people to achieve a common goal, you will have impacted over 1,000 lives.” That’s a lot of impact, Keegan says, and your efforts also have the added positive effect of removing fear, uncertainty, and doubt from people about their abilities, while instilling confidence.
Be a mentor. Keegan suggests looking around your circle of friends, family members, and colleagues and “picking a person to take under your wing and send down the path of leadership.” Mentors, he notes, are volunteers, even at companies with formally structured mentoring programs. Mentors also are focused on helping their mentee achieve their career goals, not the mentor’s goals, and doing so with no personal or professional benefit expected in return.
Coach others to be the best versions of themselves. Take time every week to invest a little extra time to show someone how to improve a specific skill or attribute. “Thirty minutes of coaching may change the trajectory of someone’s life,” Keegan says. Coaching has similarities to mentoring, he says, but there are differences. Mentoring plays a much broader role of cultivating an individual’s career and overall personal and professional development. Coaching drives at a specific goal through learning. For example, coaching someone to make a sales call, to perform a job function better, or to complete a 20-yard pass. “With coaching you do immediately see the impact you have on others,” Keegan says. “If leading and mentoring is the long game, then coaching is the short game.”
Cultivate. Leaders have opportunities each day in every interaction to inspire leadership not only at work but also in the communities in which they live, Keegan says. “Really anyone we meet is an opportunity to begin to light the fuse of leadership for another person,” he says. “That can be our neighbors, our kids, our social circles. It can happen in our places of faiths, or gyms or our coffee houses. So many people in life have never been told they, too, can be a leader, let alone have another person invest in them.”
Finally, Keegan says, find other ways to give without any expectation of receiving. Giving can mean sharing your time, encouragement and wisdom, and it can also mean philanthropy.
“We all have the opportunity to give in more ways every day and to do it with no expectation of getting anything in return,” Keegan says. “It can be running a 5K race for a cause, buying Girl Scout cookies, serving meals at a local shelter, coaching a youth sports team or donating blood. The opportunities are endless.”

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Medal of Honor: Navy Lt. j.g. Joseph Kerrey
By KATIE LANGE

Navy Lt. j.g. Joseph R. Kerrey has been a lot of notable things in his life: a business owner, a governor, a senator and even a presidential candidate. But perhaps one of the most well-known titles he holds is that of Medal of Honor recipient for his service as a Navy SEAL during the Vietnam War.
Kerrey was born on Aug. 27, 1943, in Lincoln, Nebraska, where his father, James, was stationed with the Army Air Corps during World War II. James and his wife, Elinor, stayed there after the war to raise their seven children.
Kerrey, who went by Bob — a nickname short for his middle name, Robert — said he had a standard childhood for the era. He became a Boy Scout and played football in high school, which he graduated from in 1961. He then went to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1965.
Kerrey was working as a pharmacist after college when the Vietnam War ramped up. He said in a Library of Congress interview that he knew he was going to be drafted after he received notice to get a physical. He wanted to have a say in what branch he joined, so he said he decided to enlist in the Navy in October 1966.
After Kerrey went to Officer Candidate School, he decided he wanted to join the SEALs, so he successfully completed that training in 1968. He eventually joined SEAL Team 1, which included two officers and 12 enlisted men. After some additional training, they were sent to Vietnam in January 1969.
Within three months, Kerrey’s team was called upon to try to capture important enemy political leaders. Kerrey said they had received reliable intelligence from a Viet Cong defector who knew enemy leaders had set up a base of operations on an island in the bay of Nha Trang, along Vietnam’s southcentral coast. The defector told Special Forces operators that he’d escaped from the island and was willing to lead them back there.
In the early morning hours of March 14, 1969, Kerrey led his SEAL team on a mission to the island to surprise the enemy. While the night was still dark, the group split into two — one team entered the island from the front, while Kerrey’s six-man team scaled a 350-foot cliff by hand from the back so they could end up above a ledge on which the enemy was located.
Kerrey said they’d even taken off their boots to scale the slope more quietly. But just as they were nearing their goal, the enemy found them.
"They were sleeping in two different groups," Kerrey said of the enemy encampment. "The second sleeping group — we got there a bit too late. They had broken camp and were on the move, and they made contact with us."
Kerrey said the Viet Cong fighters threw some sort of explosive device at them, setting off a firefight. Almost immediately, a grenade landed by Kerrey’s feet and exploded, causing massive injuries to his right leg. The blast threw him backward onto jagged rocks.
Kerrey said he quickly applied his own tourniquet and tried to stand but couldn’t. Despite heavy blood loss and pain, he knew he had to keep the mission moving. So, he directed the rest of his team’s fire into the heart of the enemy camp. With the help of his radioman, he then called for more fire support, which seriously confused the Viet Cong, who ended up in its devastating crossfire.
Kerrey, keeping calm and in control, had his team find an extraction site for a helicopter rescue. He said that a few of his men had been deployed before, so they knew what to do. By the end of the ordeal, Kerrey was nearly unconscious, but he continued to direct his team’s actions until they were all evacuated — even their enemy captors, who eventually provided critical intelligence for the allied effort.
Kerrey was evacuated to Japan before returning to the U.S., where he learned how bad his leg wounds were. He said he spent eight months at a naval hospital in Philadelphia, where his right leg had to be amputated below the knee.
"I saw real heroism there … both the patients who endured an awful lot — physically and psychologically — as well as the people who cared for us," he said of his time at the hospital.
On May 14, 1970, Kerrey was one of 12 service members to receive the Medal of Honor from President Richard M. Nixon during a White House ceremony — although he initially didn’t want to accept it. Kerrey said in his Library of Congress interview that he wasn’t a fan of medals or medal culture in the military, but he was talked into it by his fellow SEALs.
"I talked to some of the guys who I trusted," Kerrey said. "They talked me into accepting it for them and for other guys who didn’t get anything."
When Kerrey was discharged from the Navy, he went to work as a pharmacist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, according to an Omaha World-Herald article. From there, he decided to become a businessman. Kerrey co-owned a few restaurants and some other businesses through most of the 1970s. During that time, he also had several surgeries on his leg that allowed him to walk better and even run, a 1991 New York Times article said.
Kerrey married Beverly Defnall in 1974, although the marriage only lasted a few years before they divorced. The pair had two children, Ben and Lindsey.
By the 1980s, Kerrey had learned a lot from business and wanted to try to make a difference in the world, so he entered politics. He served as the governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987, then as a senator from 1989 to 2001. He even ran as a Democratic candidate for president in 1992 but lost the nomination to Bill Clinton.
Kerrey continued to keep busy into the new century. In 2001, he married writer Sarah Paley, and they had a son named Henry. From 2001 to 2010, Kerrey served as the president of The New School, a private research university in New York City. He also served on the 9/11 Commission and published an autobiography in 2002 called "When I Was a Young Man: A Memoir."
When Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson decided not to run for another term in 2012, Kerrey decided to throw his hat back in the ring for his old Senate seat. He lost that bid.
Over the past decade, Kerrey has served as a director for numerous companies in health care and other industries. Most recently, in October 2022, he was listed as the chairman of Tenet Healthcare Corporation.

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Promoting empathy as a leadership skill and debunking some myths

By DR. NICOLE PRICE

People who lack empathy, as I once did, share the belief that they can get a ton accomplished when they don’t concern themselves with “people issues.”
They think that lacking empathy just might provide the buoyancy to results rather than the barrier. But the tragedy is that sometimes we need to take a subjective view. We need to humanize the people in front of us. We need to step into situations and ask: “What would I want to happen if it were me?” “What does this person need most right now?”
The challenge is how do you get leaders to start prioritizing empathy if they don’t believe it belongs in their toolbox of leadership characteristics? The evidence that empathy in the workplace is a boon for business is quite convincing: 87 percent of CEOs believe a company’s financial performance is tied to empathy in the workplace, as do 79 percent of HR professionals.
But I understand why some well-meaning, logical, reasonable, results-focused leaders find it hard to comprehend why people simply cannot do their jobs. After all, they’ve committed themselves to these roles, so why would they need coaxing, cajoling, or hand-holding? It used to frustrate the heck out of me, too, until I recognized that commitment works both ways: employee to employer and employer to employee. If the employer is not committed to providing the employee the support, tools, and resources required to get their job done, they can’t expect an employee to keep their commitment to get their job done.
Memo to leaders: Empathy Is understanding your employees
Of course, for the employer to commit to providing the employee what’s needed to get the job done, they must understand what those needs are. This is why leading with empathy matters. Empathy is critical to this mutual understanding. Contrary to what many believe, leading with empathy is not about hand-holding or making excuses. It is the opposite. Empathy is the foundation that allows us to move forward.
Leading with empathy is about understanding others and then strategically leveraging that understanding to make progress. Yes, I used empathy, strategic, and leverage in the same sentence – I bet you didn’t expect that. The job to be done may be getting your team to arrive on time and ready to start meetings. If your team member is scheduled at a mandated meeting across town that ends 15 minutes before yours begins, and it takes 20 minutes to get across town, they rarely will be on time. If you don’t understand why they always arrive late (and stressed), you’re not going to solve the problem. In fact, a lack of understanding will make the problem worse.
Many people equate empathy with caring. When the topic of empathy comes up, it’s common for people to think, “Now you expect me to care about everyone – what they’re doing, how they’re feeling. I don’t have time for that.” While caring is often a natural consequence of practicing empathy, the truth is caring is not required. Understanding is. When you start with understanding, you might begin to care about the person’s plight.
Meantime, let’s clear up some misunderstandings – some long-standing myths about empathy, and debunk them:
Empathy requires you to adopt the other person’s beliefs and values.
Empathy is not believing another’s beliefs or living another’s values. Empathy is understanding why another person believes what they believe and values what they value, even if it’s different from your own.
Empathy is feeling sorry for another person. Empathy is understanding and being sensitive to another person’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences; it is not commiserating with another person, which is based on your own thoughts, feelings, and experiences. While there are times to feel sorry for people, that is not the definition of empathy.
Empathy makes you weak. Empathy takes the courage to acknowledge and sit with your own difficult feelings so that you can better understand and connect with those around you. Connecting to others strengthens relationships and has been shown to reduce depression and anxiety.
You can’t always practice empathy. Yes, you can. Empathy does not require action. It is the simple act of trying to understand and get into the shoes of another person. Your ability to respond better is improved as your level of understanding expands.
Empathy is give, give, give. This debunking involves three components:
While empathy can feel overwhelming at times, healthy empathy requires boundaries. You might burn out if you try to understand the feelings and circumstances of everyone around you 24 hours a day.
Acting with empathy provides benefits to the empathizer, too. For starters, it helps you understand and regulate your own emotions and promotes better connections with others.
You aren’t always the empathizer. You have been on the receiving end of empathy from those you choose to spend time with.
It comes down to this: empathy is a strength, not a weakness. It can be built and developed. And it’s critically important for leaders to know that. It’s vital that they strengthen their empathy muscle so they can connect with, galvanize and unify their workforce. Because a workforce that feels understood will help the leaders build a successful business.

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How and why leaders must head off America’s child-care crisis

As businesses figure out ways to recruit top-notch employees in a tight labor market, they face an added stumbling block.
A lack of affordable childcare has caused many people – especially women – to bow out of the workforce, creating an even greater shortage of qualified applicants to fill crucial roles.
Meanwhile, workers who are still on the job may not perform at their best if they lack confidence that their children are receiving good care, says John W. Mitchell (www.johnwmitchell.com), author of the upcoming book Fire Your Hiring Habits: Building an Environment that Attracts Top Talent in Today’s Workforce.
“As we are already finding, if there are not affordable options, they may be forced to leave the workforce entirely,” Mitchell says.
For some parents, there are no daycare options at all. About half the U.S. population lives in a childcare desert, according to a report by the American Center for Progress. Those who can find care often pay a steep price. The report says that, on average, the annual tuition for two children in childcare is nearly $20,000.
Families of color especially are harmed by the situation. They are more likely to face a lack of licensed daycare centers in their communities, and also more likely to struggle with the affordability of that care, according to a report by the not-for-profit organization Child Care Aware of America.
The repercussions of the childcare crisis on businesses, the economy, home life, and other aspects of American life are potentially staggering. Mitchell says corporations need to meet the child-care crisis head-on and he offers ideas on how they can do that:
Be flexible. Companies can provide flexibility to employees who are parents in a number of ways, such as compressed work weeks, telework or hybrid work, Mitchell says. But the flexibility can go even beyond that. A parent who needs to take a child to the doctor usually must take a full day or a half day off, even if they just need two hours. Offering flex time would allow the parent to avoid raiding their paid time off when they don’t need to, Mitchell adds.
Offer child care referral services and subsidies. The best employees are hard to come by, so companies and their bottom lines will suffer if the employees leave because they can’t find safe and affordable childcare, Mitchell says. One option to consider is offering referral services and subsidies. With so many daycare center closings, Mitchell says, it’s also time to examine allowing licensed providers to come into the homes of working parents.
Don’t push a “come to work at all costs” mentality. If they haven't already done so, companies need to move away from the insistence that people come to work even when they are sick, Mitchell says. Sometimes this is an unspoken policy, but one that’s generally understood among nervous employees. “Illnesses spread when people who are legitimately sick come to the workplace because they are afraid for their jobs or performance,” he says. Ideally, providing enough paid sick time and personal time should take care of this.
Support the mental health of employees. Some people are simply juggling too much, according to Mitchell, and parents can be pulled in different directions, such as when a child comes down with a fever and can’t go to daycare, but the parent needs to be in an important meeting. “Parents are exhausted and work-life balance can seem unattainable,” Mitchell says. Employees will feel valued if they know the company supports them and provides access to services that help with stress, such as mental health counselors, or on-site yoga or rest areas.
Finally, Mitchell says, companies should explore the possibility of onsite partnerships with daycare centers.
That not only solves the parents’ problem of finding childcare, but provides more peace of mind because the child is so close by.
Businesses with a large number of employees who are parents also benefit when they help address the childcare crisis, Mitchell says. Employees will be more committed to their jobs and, as a result, those businesses will experience reduced absenteeism, better recidivism, increased productivity, and higher employee morale.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Advisoer at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – How Do I Withdraw My Application for Social Security?
Dear Rusty: I will be 67 next month and reached my full retirement age in July 2022. My wife and I are discussing whether we should take Social Security now or wait until we are age 70 to get a higher benefit. I remember reading that you can start Social Security and, if not needed, pay it back within a year and then “reset” to get a higher benefit by waiting longer. Please describe the steps of this process to take now and repay the year’s benefits if we do not need them. Signed: Uncertain
Dear Uncertain: Well, to exercise the so-called “do over option” (which is essentially withdrawing your application for benefits), you need to contact Social Security (1.800.772.1213 or your local SS field office) and request that your application for benefits be withdrawn. You can also download and complete form SSA-521 and deliver the same to your local Social Security office. You can get that form at this link: www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-521.pdf.
This “do-over option” is only available within 12 months of the date you submit your application and can only be done once in your lifetime. If you use it, you will be required to repay Social Security for all payments made on your behalf, including not only your monthly payments but also any income taxes you had withheld, and any Medicare premiums which were withheld from your monthly payments (Social Security will inform you how much you must repay). Once the repayment is made, it will be as though you never applied for benefits, meaning your benefit amount will be higher when you later re-apply (which would also be the case if you simply didn’t apply – your benefit entitlement continues to grow until you claim, up to age 70 when your maximum SS benefit is attained).This process would be the same for both you and your wife.
However, I suggest you consider whether you really need to withdraw your application. Be aware that since you’ve already reached your full retirement age (FRA) you can claim now and, if you later decide you don’t need the monthly SS money, you can simply temporarily suspend your benefit payments to avoid repaying Social Security everything they’ve already paid to you and on your behalf (you don’t need to formally withdraw your application). By simply suspending (and not withdrawing), your benefit amount will start growing again with each month your benefits are suspended (about .67% more for each month you do not get benefits) and you can keep everything you’ve already received to the point you suspend your payments. To suspend your payments just call Social Security at the number provided above and tell them you wish to suspend your benefits and grow your payment amount. While you can only use the withdrawal process once in your lifetime, you can temporarily suspend your benefit payments multiple times if necessary.

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Kiss me mate
Good news for those lonely couples engaged in a long-distance romance. China’s Changzhou Vocational Institute of Mechatronic Technology has come up with a device that lets absent lovers to share a kiss via their cell phones. He and she simply download the kissing app to their phones, dial up their partners and exchange a life-like smooch using silicon lips that fit into their phones’ charging ports.

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Ugly is in the eye of the beholder
Calling all owners of ugly dogs: this year’s annual The World's Ugliest Dog Contest will be held in June at California’s Sonoma-Marin Fair. The fairground authorities’ invitation notes that “while the World's Ugliest Dog contest is a celebration of the imperfections that make our dogs lovable, a good many of them are rescues from shelters and puppy mills, so we use the fun and notoriety of this competition to raise awareness for dog adoption." Last year’s contest winner was Mr. Happy, a Chinese crested Chihuahua mix.

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Boy oh boy
Lathan Williams, who hails from Hammond, LA, is likely to have his picture on a baseball card pretty soon. In fact, seven-year-old Lathan the Kid Umpire, as he’s known around town and his growing social media fan club, may soon be declared the world’s youngest baseball umpire by the judges at the Guinness World Record. He’s been calling plays on baseball fields since he turned five-years-old.

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Planning to sell your business? Align your employees or risk derailing the sale

Business owners are used to calling the shots and controlling as much as they can of their company’s destiny. That’s part of the appeal of being an entrepreneur – being one’s own boss.
So it’s only natural for many business owners, if they’re considering selling their company, to see themselves as the one person who’s in control of the transaction. But failing to take their employees, especially their key people, into consideration during the process could be a big mistake, says Jason Hendren (https://hendrenba.com), the author of Things I Wish I Knew Before I Sold To Private Equity.
One question an owner must ask himself or herself, Hendren says, is how do I align my employees’ interests with my plans to sell? Conversely, hiding the news from them – and employees finding out in other ways – can make the owner’s life and sale of the company more difficult.
“Too many business owners are willing to risk their employees finding out about a sale in the wrong way,” Hendren says. “Owners are afraid of creating fear, uncertainty, and doubt, so they worry that if they tell the employees what’s about to happen, they’ll freak out and complicate matters in a way that will derail the sales process. Unfortunately, there is a higher likelihood of that happening if the employees aren’t told.
“A pending sale of the company can leave your people feeling threatened. That can lead to untimely turnover, which could cause potential buyers to question the company’s stability. So controlling the narrative with your people and incentivizing them can be crucial to a successful sale. The more an employee knows about their role and their compensation, the more likely they will be to remain engaged.”
Hendren offers these ways for owners to align their interests with their employees’ interests when it comes to selling the business:
A tiered approach to communication. Hendren says this approach should start with the owner informing their chief financial officer. “This is the one person you need to have in lockstep with you,” he says. “Any investor who is interested in your company will ask for your financials, budgets, etc. Having that CFO in the know will make obtaining those documents easy and can give buyers confidence in your team.”
From there, Hendren says, an owner’s heads of departments and all employees whose departure during the sales process would be highly disruptive should be brought in.
An options agreement. During the sale process, Hendren says owners should discuss incentives for executives, managers and key employees because it will keep them engaged. If an owner has long-term plans to sell (greater than 18 months), an options agreement can create alignment.
“For example,” Hendren says, “if your company is valued at $1 per share, you can structure an agreement in which, if the company sells for value above $1 per share, they get the increase in value over a defined set of shares. That kind of agreement says to the employee: Grow the value with us, and you will share in the success.”
A phantom equity plan. The difference between this and an options plan is there is no option to buy the shares before the sale of the company. “The payout is triggered on a sale, and the value of the payout is dictated by the share price at the time of sale,” Hendren says. “This is also good for the employee because it can create a handsome payout at the time of exit without creating the incentive to buy shares early before the exit value is known.”
A success bonus plan. If an owner’s sales timeline is shorter than 18 months, Hendren recommends the owner presenting employees with a success bonus plan. “That way,” he says, “you simultaneously communicate and financially align. I prefer to do bonuses that are based on the employee’s base salary. For the executive team, a bonus equal to one year’s salary is a great motivator while, for other key people, three to six months of salary will be meaningful.”
“Overlooking the human aspect of the sale could potentially derail an owner’s plans,” Hendren says. “Owners who are selling their business need to know the best ways to work with their employees throughout the process.”

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Medal of Honor: Army Col. Lewis Millett Sr.
By KATIE LANGE
DOD News

It's not often that overzealousness can lead to a court martial on charges of desertion, but that was the case for Army Col. Lewis Lee Millett Sr. during World War II. He had a long military career after that incident, though, later solidifying his legacy when he earned the Medal of Honor for leading the last major American bayonet charge in military history.
Millett was born Dec. 15, 1920, in Mechanic Falls, Maine. His parents, George and Elsie, divorced when he was a toddler, so he moved with his mother to Dartmouth, Massachusetts, at a young age. He had a brother, Albert, and three sisters, Alice, Ellen and Marion.
Millett grew up hearing stories about his grandfather, who served in the Civil War, and his uncle, who served during World War I. Those stories of leadership led him to become the vice president of his senior class and a National Guard member while he was still in high school.
In a Hurry to Fight
By the time Millett graduated in 1940, war had broken out in Europe. He wanted to serve, so he enlisted in the Army Air Corps. But after a few months, Millett didn't think the U.S. was ever going to join the war. He was so eager to fight that he left the Army to join the Royal Canadian Artillery Regiment, which had joined the war on the side of the Allies.
Millett went through that unit's training, but by the time he was sent to Europe, the attacks on Pearl Harbor had happened, leading the U.S. to enter the war. So, while serving in London as a radar operator for Canada, Millett turned himself in to the U.S. Embassy. Officials put him back in the U.S. Army and assigned him to the 1st Armored Division.
Millett was eventually sent to fight in North Africa as an antitank gunner. While in Tunisia, he earned the Silver Star for saving several Allied soldiers. During the incident, Millet saw a burning halftrack that was likely going to blow up. The halftrack – a truck with wheels in the front and tank-like tread in the back – was filled with ammunition, so Millett jumped into it and drove it away from the other soldiers. He managed to jump to safety just before it exploded. On another occasion, Millett also shot down a German fighter plane using a vehicle-mounted machine gun.
Not Your Typical Court Martial
By the time Millett got to Italy, though, his desertion to join the Canadian forces finally caught up to him. He was court martialed and convicted, which led to a $52 fine and the denial of leave.
"He didn't give a hoot about the leave privileges because he wasn't going anyway, but he was a little annoyed about the 52 bucks," Millett's brother, Albert, told the Boston Globe in 2009. "They told him they had to do that so they could promote him."
A few weeks later, Millett earned a battlefield commission.
After the war, Millett joined the 103rd Infantry of the Maine National Guard. At some point he married a woman named Virginia Young, but that ended in divorce, Millett's Boston Globe obituary said. As a civilian, he went to Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, for about three years. But by 1949, he was called back to active duty.
Millet was eventually sent to Korea with the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment of the 25th Infantry Division. It was during a pivotal assault that became known as the Battle of Bayonet Hill where Millett earned his Medal of Honor.
Charge!
In early February 1951, Millett led Company E through a rice paddy into an attack against a well-fortified enemy position around Hill 180 near Soam-Ni, Korea. After two days of fighting, Millett and his men were eventually pushed back down to the base of the hill.
On Feb. 7, one of the company's platoons got pinned down by heavy fire. Millett knew they had to get to higher ground. He also had read a translated enemy report that claimed U.S. troops weren't willing to engage in close combat, and that was something he wanted to prove wrong.
So, Millett ordered the other two platoons forward and, putting himself at the head of the charge, fixed his bayonet onto his rifle. He then ordered everyone to do the same and follow him up the hill in a close-combat assault that became the last major American bayonet charge in military history.
During the fierce fight, Millett stabbed two enemy soldiers with his bayonet, threw a bunch of grenades, then clubbed and bayonetted his way through more enemy fighters as he urged his men forward. According to a 2019 article written by the 51st Fighter Wing's public affairs unit, since Millett was leading the charge, he had to dodge enemy and friendly grenades. He managed to avoid eight of them, but a ninth injured him, leaving shrapnel in his legs and back.
Eventually, the U.S. platoons fought their way to the top of the hill. As the enemy fled, Millett signaled to his men that they'd made it. The skirmish led to the deaths of nine friendly fighters and about 100 enemy soldiers. Millett refused to be evacuated for his wounds until the hill was firmly secured.
For his bravery and leadership, Millett received the Medal of Honor on July 5, 1951, from President Harry S. Truman during a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden. Three other Korean War soldiers — Col. Raymond Harvey, Master Sgt. Stanley Adams and Sgt. Einar Ingman — also received the high honor that day.
During the festivities surrounding the ceremony, Millett met a woman named Winona Williams. They eventually married and had four kids: Lewis Jr., Timothy, Elizabeth and John, the latter of whom joined the service, too, but died alongside 255 other soldiers who were killed in an airplane crash in 1985.
Meanwhile, Millett continued with his military career. He went to Ranger School and eventually ran a 101st Airborne Division school for reconnaissance training. He served in several special operations advisory assignments overseas during the Vietnam War and even helped found the Royal Thai Army Ranger School.
At some point during the 1960's, Millett also earned his bachelor's degree from Park College in Missouri, the Boston Globe said.
Always Honorable
Millett finally retired from the Army in 1973. He then went on to serve for more than 15 years as the honorary colonel of the 27th Infantry Regiment Association.
Millett's later life was spent living in Idyllwild, California. Even though he was retired, he remained active in the veteran community and with units at March Air Reserve Base. In June 2000, Millett was one of eight Korean War veterans who returned to South Korea to serve as keynote speaker at the Army's 225th Birthday Ball. One of his last acts of service was as grand marshal of a Salute to Veterans parade in April 2009 in Riverside, California.
Millett died Nov. 14, 2009, from congestive heart failure as he got treatment at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Loma Linda, California. The 88-year-old was then buried at Riverside National Cemetery near its Medal of Honor Memorial.
Shortly before Millett's death, Navy Operational Support Center Moreno Valley, which had close ties with the retired colonel, created a unit excellence award in his name.
In 1952, about a year after Millett's heroics, the U.S. Air Force built Osan Air Base around what it considered to be Hill 180 (there are varying opinions about where, exactly, the hill was located). The base erected a memorial site for the battle and has been holding a yearly commemoration there since 1994, when Millett was honored at the inaugural ceremony. There's also a road that runs up the hill called Millett Road.

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

A century and a half before the birth of Amazon, Henry Wells and William G. Fargo were traversing the country, and selling their merchandise to gobs of Gold Rush hopefuls in California. Business was so profitable that on March 18, 1852, they--and a coterie of investors--convened in New York City to inaugurate Wells, Fargo & Company.
The organization “also served as a bank—buying gold dust, selling paper bank drafts and providing loans to help fuel California’s growing economy,” according to History.com.
Since then, it has morphed into a worldwide financial titan.
For more information, The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Ralph Moody’s Wells Fargo.

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On March 23, 1775, Patrick Henry dropped some heated words on the Second Virginia Convention:
“I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”
Throughout the years, a fury had festered in the territories; King George III imposed onerous taxes and formal military rule; British officials were exempted from criminal prosecution, and the Quartering Act permitted England to house its troops in American barracks, homes, inns, alehouses and barns.
According to History.com, “With the other colonies watching intently, Massachusetts led the resistance to the British, forming a shadow revolutionary government…establishing militias to resist the increasing British military presence across the colony. In April 1775, Thomas Gage…British governor of Massachusetts, ordered [his] troops to march to Concord, Massachusetts, where a Patriot arsenal was known to be located. On April 19, 1775, the British…encountered…American militiamen at Lexington, and the first volleys of the American Revolutionary War were fired.”
A little more than a year later—on July 4, 1776--America proclaimed its independence.
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Lion of Liberty: Patrick Henry and the Call to a New Nation by Harlow Giles Unger.

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The first British colony in America was Jamestown, Virginia--founded in 1607. Eventually, 12 more new lands would come; Maryland, for example, was fashioned on March 25, 1634, from a Potomac River island charter granted to George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore.
According to History.com “religious conflict was strong in the ensuing years as the American Puritans, growing more numerous in Maryland and supported by Puritans in England, set out to revoke the religious freedoms guaranteed in the founding of the colony. In 1649, Maryland Governor William Stone responded by passing an act ensuring religious liberty and justice to all. In 1654, however, the so-called Toleration Act was repealed after Puritans seized control of the colony, leading to a brief civil war that ended with Lord Baltimore losing control of propriety rights over Maryland in March 1655.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends the History of the Colony of Maryland by Liz Sonneborn.

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Talk about your tongue twisters
It’s official: Nick Stoeberl who hails from Salinas, California, has the longest tongue of any man on earth. The folks at the Guinness World Records confirm that it measures nearly four inches -- 3.97 inches from teeth to tip, to be precise, and he uses it to paint pictures. His paintings have sold for as much as $1,200 and have earned him the nickname, Likasso.

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A sad keepsake
So, how did a Polaroid photo of President John F. Kennedy on the day of his assassination wind up in the Souls Harbor Thrift Store in Ferris, Texas? George Rebele, who hails from Ferris, mysteriously found it when he opened a CD case containing a cassette he had purchased. It’s a mystery that is not likely to be resolved anytime soon. JFK historian Farris Rookstool says the photo appears to have been taken as President Kennedy’s motorcade was traveling from Love Field to downtown Dallas that sad day -- November 22, 1963.

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How big is your sunflower?
The average, garden variety Sunflower is said to weigh a pound or two, a mere fraction of the sunflowers the Welsh Fortey farming family are used to. In 2021 the Forteys earned the Guinness World Record for growing an 11.5 pound sunflower; this year they outdid themselves nurturing a sunflower that weighed in at more than 14.21 pounds. It’s not surprising; the family has been growing sunflowers for more than a century and their seeds are known to grow what are officially known as Fortey Giant Sunflowers.

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Social Security Matters

By National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation,

Ask Rusty - Cutting Social Security Will Make Me Lose My Home!
Dear Rusty: Politicians are talking about taking money from Social Security, but I need that money to support my daughter and pay for my home. I’m a widow, and my husband passed in 2017. I’ll lose my home if my Social Security benefits are cut. Please help. Signed: Widowed Senior
Dear Widowed Senior: Despite what you might read or hear in the media, the main threat for you to lose any of your Social Security money is if Social Security is not reformed. In that case, everyone who receives benefits will see a cut of about 23% to their monthly benefit starting in about 2034. The way to avoid that is by updating the current Social Security law to address two primary issues:
1. People now live much longer than when Social Security was enacted in 1935 and when the last major program change occurred in 1983. Average life expectancy of beneficiaries today is mid-80s, compared to mid-60s when the program started. In other words, people now collect benefits for much longer (often decades longer) than the program is designed to support.
2. The number of workers contributing to the program is growing much slower than the growth in beneficiaries receiving benefits. That means the ratio of contributors to recipients is much less now than it has been in the past, which means program costs are growing faster than incoming revenue.
Reality is that reform is necessary now to avoid cuts to everyone’s benefits later. But here’s a very important point that should comfort you – any reform enacted will almost certainly affect only those who have not yet claimed their Social Security benefits. That means you should not be affected because you’re already receiving benefits, and you will continue to do so at the same amount except for the increases you will get from Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA). Every Social Security change ever made has affected only future beneficiaries, not current ones. The only real threat to your Social Security benefit is if no changes are made and, even then, any cuts wouldn’t happen until about 2034.
So please rest assured that your personal Social Security benefits will not be cut. Anything you hear now implying otherwise is a scare tactic designed to make headlines for political gain. The program must be reformed or face insolvency in a bit more than 10 years, and that is what both Republicans and Democrats want to prevent. The difference between the parties is that one side wants to solve the problem mainly by raising Social Security payroll taxes on workers, whereas the other side wants to adjust the program to deal with the above two factors causing the problem. What is needed is bipartisan cooperation to reach a compromise, which Congress will hopefully eventually achieve. They already know how to fix Social Security; they just need to find the bipartisan spirit needed to do so. For its part, the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) has, for years, proposed changes which would restore Social Security to full solvency without raising taxes on American workers, and AMAC’s proposal has been well received by many in Congress. If you wish to review AMAC’s proposal, please go to www.amac.us/social-security/.
In any case, contrary to what you might hear in the media, your current Social Security benefits should not be negatively affected by any future Social Security reform enacted.

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Medal of Honor: Marine Corps Pfc. James Anderson Jr.
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News

Marine Corps Pfc. James Anderson Jr. had a plan for his future, but when the Vietnam War began, he felt compelled to serve. The 20-year-old never returned home to fulfill the plans he had for himself, but the valor he showed during his short time in service earned him the Medal of Honor.
Anderson was born in Compton, California, on Jan. 2, 1947, to Aggiethine and James Anderson Sr. He was the first boy born to the couple, who already had five daughters. He also had a younger brother, Jack.
Growing up, Anderson liked to sing in the choir; he was also a fabulous dancer and took part in service organizations, such as the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, according to his niece, Denise Johnson-Cross. Anderson played clarinet in the band at Centennial High School and graduated 10th in his class in 1964. Johnson-Cross said her uncle, who was 14 when she was born, wanted to be minister.
Marine Corps Pfc. James Anderson Jr. earned the Medal of Honor when he saved his comrades from a grenade during a battle in Vietnam on Feb. 28, 1967.
After high school, Anderson went to L.A. Harbor College to study pre-law for a year and a half. When the Vietnam War started, he didn't want to be drafted into the Army, so he enlisted in the Marine Corps in February 1966 and was sent to Vietnam in December. Anderson was trained as a rifleman – even though his sister, Mary, told the Los Angeles Times in 1984 that he said he couldn't kill anyone.
On Feb. 28, 1967, Anderson had just celebrated his 20th birthday and his one-year anniversary in the Marines when he was put to the ultimate test.
Anderson was serving as a rifleman in Company F, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, in the Quang Tri province on Vietnam's central coast. He and his platoon were on a mission to rescue a heavily besieged reconnaissance patrol when they came upon heavy enemy fire in dense jungle northwest of Cam Lo.
The platoon reacted quickly and began firing back. Anderson found himself on the ground in a tightly packed group of Marines within about 20 meters of the enemy and began firing back at them.
All of a sudden, a grenade landed within feet of Anderson's head. Without hesitation, Anderson selflessly grabbed the grenade, pulled it into his chest and wrapped himself around it before it detonated.
Anderson's body absorbed the blast. He was immediately killed. Thanks to his actions, though, the Marines around him survived with just minor injuries.
Anderson's extraordinary valor and self-sacrifice were a testament to his courage, and that's why he received the Medal of Honor posthumously on Aug. 21, 1968. His parents accepted it on his behalf from Navy Secretary Paul R. Ignatius during a ceremony at Marine Barracks Washington.
The honor made Anderson the first Black Marine to receive the nation's highest award for valor.
Anderson's sister, Mary, told the Los Angeles Times that he did what he did in Vietnam "because of his faith and his belief in mankind. He always cared about other people."
Anderson's sacrifice has not been forgotten. In 1983, the U.S. Navy showed its appreciation for his gallantry by renaming a maritime prepositioning ship after him. The USNS Pfc. James Anderson Jr. was based in the Indian Ocean and carried equipment to support a Marine expeditionary brigade until 2009. His name also adorns Anderson Hall at Marine Corps Base Hawaii.
More recently, a bill passed by Congress in December 2022 will rename a post office in Anderson's hometown for the distinguished Marine. The bill was introduced in 2020 by U.S. Rep. Nanette Barragan of California, who first heard about Anderson from Compton Mayor Emma Sharif. Johnson-Cross said that Sharif was visiting Anderson's burial site at Lincoln Memorial Park when she noticed he didn't have the appropriate headstone for a Medal of Honor recipient. Sharif brought it to Barragan's attention, who got the ball rolling on the post office legislation.
A park in Carson, California, near Anderson's home, was also named in his honor.

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House Call
By Dr. Bala Simon
UAMS Department of Family and Preventive Medicine

Q: When should a girl start seeing a gynecologist?
A: A teen girl’s first visit to the gynecologist should be around age 13-15, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. This visit can be with a gynecologist or with a primary care provider. Many primary care providers, including internal medicine, family medicine and pediatricians, are trained to provide preventive care for younger women.
The first visit usually doesn't include a pelvic exam, but will focus on education, screening and counseling. The doctor will discuss the reproductive cycle, associated problems, contraception, HPV vaccination and sexually transmitted infections, and screen for these infections if the patient is sexually active. The doctor may also do a breast exam to check for lumps.
Pap tests are not indicated until age 21, and an internal pelvic examination is only needed for younger patients who are having symptoms such as menstrual disorders, vaginal discharge or pelvic pain. A pap test also may be necessary if the young patient has symptoms but has not started her cycle yet.
It’s important to remember that anything the patient discusses with the gynecologist or primary care provider is confidential.

Q: I am 32 and keep getting strep throat. Should I have my tonsils removed?
A: People tend to think illnesses that affect your tonsils, such as strep throat, only occur in children. However, adults can be affected as well.
One of the most common reasons a surgeon would remove your tonsils is to stop recurrent strep throat infections. As such, you might be a good tonsillectomy candidate.
However, since you are an adult, there is a risk for more complications. Adults generally do not recover as quickly as children, so expect to take at least a week or two away from work to recuperate. Many people experience nausea and vomiting, throat pain, difficulty swallowing, low grade fever, bad breath, earaches and fatigue. Also, because the tonsils are close to major blood vessels, bleeding is a special concern after surgery.
Even though there are possible complications, the long-range benefits outweigh the short-term discomforts. It is estimated that roughly 380,000 tonsillectomies are performed annually in the United States. By far, the majority of these operations are considered successful. If your recurrent strep throat infections are keeping you from work and good quality of life, the surgery may be worth it.

Q: What should I do if I think I'm depressed?
A: First of all, know that you are not alone. Depression is an illness that affects an estimated 21 million adults in the United States each year. Women are twice as likely as men to develop major, also known as clinical, depression.
While everyone experiences the blues occasionally, depression is more than a bad day. Common symptoms include a continuous sad or anxious mood; changes in weight or appetite; changes in sleep patterns; increased restlessness or irritability; lack of enjoyment in activities that once brought pleasure; fatigue or decreased energy; feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness; inability to concentrate or make decisions; or thoughts of death or suicide.
If you are regularly experiencing five or more of these symptoms for two weeks or more, you may be suffering from major depression and should make an appointment with your primary care physician who can guide you toward the best course of treatment.
If you are thinking of committing suicide, please seek help immediately. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline has counselors available at all hours by calling or texting 988 or visiting 988lifeline.org. Or, go to your nearest Emergency Department or mental health facility.

Q: When should I definitely go to the emergency room?
A: Many conditions warrant a trip to the emergency room, but other times, it’s not so clear.
It’s human nature to second-guess ourselves or “not want to be a bother.” But there are several warning signs of potentially serious illnesses that should never be ignored or put off until later.
Weakness in your arms, legs or face, especially on one side of your body, could be signs of a stroke. Remember the acronym BE FAST — balance difficulties, eyesight changes, face drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty and time to call 911.
Chest pain is important to have checked out, because it can be a sign of heart disease or a heart attack. A tight or heavy feeling in the chest that lasts for a few minutes or is reoccurring is also a sign to get help.
Tenderness and pain in the back of your lower leg can be a sign of a blood clot called deep vein thrombosis. It is more common after you’ve been sitting for a long time, such as on a plane ride, or have been bedbound because of an illness.
Blood in the urine, wheezing, passing out, severe shortness of breath and suicidal thoughts should also never be ignored.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – What’s the Best Way to Start Receiving My Survivor Benefit?
Dear Rusty: When one becomes a widow/widower, what is the most efficient way to start receiving the deceased's monthly Social Security. Signed: Still Grieving
Dear Still Grieving: There is really only one way to start receiving surviving spouse benefits – you must contact Social Security directly to apply. You can call 1.800.772.1213 or call your local SS field office (find the number at www.ssa.gov/locator) to make an appointment to apply for your survivor benefits. These appointments are normally conducted over the phone, so a personal visit to the Social Security office isn’t usually necessary.
The larger question to consider is when you should claim the survivor benefit. Like most other Social Security benefits, your age when you claim determines how much your survivor benefit will be. And a survivor benefit isn’t payable in all cases. Consider these points:
If the surviving spouse is already receiving their own SS retirement benefit and that is more than the deceased spouse was receiving, the surviving spouse continues to receive only their own higher benefit but will get a one-time lump sum death benefit of $255.
If the surviving spouse’s own benefit is less than the deceased was receiving, the surviving spouse’s benefit will be based on the higher amount.
If the surviving spouse has reached their full retirement age (FRA), the survivor’s benefit will be 100% of the amount the deceased was receiving. If the widow(er) has not yet reached their FRA when they claim their survivor benefit, the amount will be reduced (by 4.75% for each full year earlier than FRA).
A survivor benefit reaches maximum at the survivor’s FRA. If the surviving spouse hasn’t yet reached FRA, they have the option to delay claiming their survivor benefit until it reaches maximum at their FRA. There is one exception to this: if the surviving spouse was already receiving only a spousal benefit from the deceased (and not their own SS retirement benefit), the survivor benefit will be automatically awarded regardless of the survivor’s age.
If the surviving spouse hasn’t yet claimed their own SS retirement benefit, they have the option to claim only their survivor benefit first and permit their personal SS retirement benefit to grow (up to age 70). That would be prudent if the survivor’s own SS retirement benefit at age 70 will be higher than their maximum survivor benefit at their full retirement age.
If you haven’t yet reached your full retirement age and are still working, Social Security has an earnings test which limits how much you can earn before some benefits are taken away. The limit for 2023 is $21,240 and if that is exceeded, they will take away benefits equal to $1 for every $2 you are over the limit. The earnings test goes away when you reach your FRA.
So, as you can see, there are several things to consider as you decide when to claim your Social Security benefits as a widow or widower. I hope the above information helps you make an informed choice.

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

When Helen Keller was 19 months old in 1882, she caught a fever that seized her eyesight and snatched her speech.
Five years later, 20-year-old-Annie Sullivan “…arrived at Ivy Green, the Keller family estate…and began working to socialize her wild, stubborn student and teach her by “[using a finger to] spell out words in Keller’s hand,” according to History.com. “Keller went on to learn how to read, write and speak. With Sullivan’s assistance, Keller attended Radcliffe College…graduated with honors in [1904”], morphed into a public speaker, an author, and “even formed a vaudeville act [with Sullivan] to educate the public and earn money. [Sullivan passed away in 1936] Helen Keller died on June 1, 1968 at 87 leaving her mark on the world by helping to alter perceptions about the disabled.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Helen Keller: Lighting the Way for the Blind and Deaf by Carin T. Ford.

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“Scripturient,” is a term which refers to people who are ardent correspondents. John Adams married Abigail Smith in 1764, but his peripatetic political career kept the couple apart for long periods, and they emerged into prolific epistlers.
According to History.com, “the remarkable correspondence between Abigail and John Adams—numbering 1,160 letters in total—covered topics ranging from politics and military strategy to household economy and family health. Their mutual respect and adoration served as evidence that even in an age when women were unable to vote, there were nonetheless marriages in which wives and husbands were true intellectual and emotional equals.”
On March 7, 1777-- while he was tending to his duties in the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, John wrote three letters to Abigail and he received two from her—postmarked from their home in Braintree, MA.
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Joseph J. Ellis’ First Family: Abigail and John Adams.

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Brave and dedicated American men and women joined the fight in World War II, but it was not just them who labored to preserve freedom. The War Dogs of the U.S. Army’s K-9 Corps—started March 13, 1942-- played a major role, too.
“When the country entered World War II in December 1941, the American Kennel Association and a group called Dogs for Defense began a movement to mobilize dog owners to donate healthy and capable animals to the Quartermaster Corps of the U.S. Army. Training began in March 1942, and that fall the QMC was given the task of training dogs for the U.S. Navy, Marines and Coast Guard as well,” says History.com.
An estimated 20,000 war dogs helped guard military posts, delivered battlefield messages, abetted the rescue of downed pilots, and led troops through enemy territory.
For more information, the Grateful American Book Prize suggests The Dogs of War: The Courage, Love, and Loyalty of Military Working Dogs by Lisa Rogak

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This old hog sold for a record-breaking price.
A used Harley-Davidson motorcycle sold for nearly a million dollars recently. No, inflation is not what caused the extravagant price tag. This bike of dreams sold at auction for a record-breaking $935,000 because it was in excellent condition considering that it was 115 years old. Greg Arnold, who heads up the motorcycle division of the Mecum Auction house in Las Vegas, said this “hog” had “many of its original parts, which makes it that much more rare." Strap Tank Harleys like this one got the moniker due to the nickel-plated steel bands that suspend the fuel and oil tanks and are rare, indeed.

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Love conquers all, as the saying goes!
Most of us can hold our breath underwater for a max of two minutes or so. However, Beth Neale and her fiancé, Miles Cloutier, managed to stay under for four-minutes and six-seconds, the time it took them to steal a prolonged kiss while immersed in a hotel pool in the romantic Maldives Islands. They did it because they are in love, obviously, and because they were intent on breaking the Guinness World Record for the longest underwater kiss.

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What’s in the time capsule?
They were taking down a building on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign recently when they found a 116-year-old time capsule in the building’s cornerstone. It caused quite a stir as there was no record of the capsule. There’s plenty of time to think about what might be in the capsule; it won’t be opened until next fall when the university celebrates its 150th anniversary.

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Creating Solutions: 3 principles to guide you and your business during a challenge

By ANDREW LIMOURIS

Albert Einstein is considered by many to be one of the most significant scientific experts of all time. He’s also famed for the quote, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
Every January, I think about this quote. I also think about the countless leaders I’ve witnessed over the years, attacking every new challenge and obstacle the same as every obstacle that came before – but hoping the same approach yields different results.
That mindset always baffles me. And forgive me for stating the obvious, but each new year brings a new set of challenges. The obstacles you and your business face in 2023 will ultimately vary from those you faced in 2022, 2021, and so on. I understand the desire to play it safe and stay within your comfort zone, but new times call for innovative, new solutions.
That said, I do think it’s important to have a basic framework to lean on. Whether business- or personal-related, I use three principles as a guide when creating solutions to a challenge.
Follow your purpose and values
No matter what I’m facing, I use my purpose and values to guide me. If you haven’t already, it’s incredibly important for you (and your company) to use Simon Sinek’s exercise and take time to define your “why.” Questions like, “Why do you do what you do?” and “Why do you exist?” Those are great starting points, but continue asking why until you can’t any longer. Then use your answers in Sinek’s exercise to build and define your purpose and values.
Never stop learning
Each year brings new challenges, and you must immerse yourself in a continuous cycle of growth and learning. My approach is that learning often takes a “first-day mentality.” This simply means that I maintain the same thirst for knowledge now as I did on my first day on the job. Those first few days/months at a new job are often consumed with questions. Days are filled with training and learning how to succeed, and I continue this approach even as a veteran in my day-to-day. Attending conferences, reading business books, and listening to podcasts are just a few of the ways I expand my knowledge.
Whatever resources you choose, the desire to never stop learning ultimately brings unique perspectives and ways of doing things, and this results in innovative and creative solutions to challenges.
Connect the dots
As obstacles arise, take the time to connect the dots. Connecting the dots means taking time to understand the situation and facts that are before you, and connecting that with other situations or events you may have learned about.
It’s also about connecting knowledgeable perspectives and resources when necessary and requires that you’re always learning and listening, then recalling what you learned when the time is right. This also requires that your network, and those you surround yourself with, can hold each other accountable and fill in the gaps where others may fall short. It will take some practice, but before you know it you’ll be connecting the dots with creative solutions for any challenge you face.
Obstacles are inevitable, and unfortunately, they’re everywhere. This year, I hope you’ll use my three principles (or take the time to build and customize your own) to guide new and innovative solutions for all the challenges that lie ahead.

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Pain relief found in the garden

By MELINDA MYERS

Look to the garden, farmer’s market, or refrigerator next time you are battling sore muscles, indigestion, and headaches. These five foods fresh from the garden contain powerful pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory properties.
Mint
Infuse mint into your tea or ice water to refresh and rejuvenate. It also helps relieve headaches and general aches and pain. Grow this vigorous perennial herb in a container so it won’t overtake your other plants. And at the end of the season, root a few cuttings to start new plants to grow indoors. All you need are a sunny window, quality potting mix, and regular watering.
Hot Peppers
Capsaicin, the spicy element in chili, jalapeno, habanero, and cayenne peppers, is a great pain-fighting tool and is often used in topical creams to help treat backaches, arthritis, and muscle pain. Plant hot peppers after the soil and air warm, at the same time you are planting sweet peppers and tomatoes. They are ready to harvest when they are fully colored. Purchase extra hot peppers to dry and enjoy year-round.
Cherries
Manage muscle pain and inflammation with sour cherries. They are loaded with disease-fighting chemicals and antioxidants and help fight inflammation and relieve pain. Purchase plenty of cherries to juice, dry, and preserve so you can enjoy their health benefits all year long. And consider planting a sour cherry tree in your backyard. Montmorency is the most popular sour cherry needing only 700 hours of air temperatures between 34 and 45 degrees to initiate flowering for fruit development. New hardier dwarf introductions from the University of Saskatchewan can be grown in colder regions including zone 2. Although it takes several years for cherry plants to start producing fruit, you’ll enjoy watching your tree grow into maturity and bear its first crop. Just make sure to cover the plants with netting so the birds don’t eat your harvest.
Ginger
Ginger helps reduce inflammation and combat migraines, muscle pain, arthritis, and post-workout or post-gardening soreness. All this plus it helps fight nausea. Although it’s a tropical plant you can find plants or rhizomes (the part you eat) online. Or join other enthusiastic gardeners who have had success rooting the rhizomes they purchased at the grocery store to start new plants. Grow your ginger in a pot outdoors or sunny window alongside your other indoor plants.
Sage
Sage tea has long been used to soothe scratchy and irritated throats and showed positive results in a 2006 clinical trial. Harvest a few sage leaves, add hot water, and brew a bit of sore throat relief. Grow this herb in the garden or a container. It thrives in a sunny spot with well-drained soil. Harvest leaves as needed throughout the season. Regular harvesting encourages more growth for future harvests. You can remove as much as one-third of the plant at one time for preservation.
So next time you’re feeling a bit of pain, pass by the medicine cabinet and look to the garden for a bit of relief. Even the simple act of tending your garden and harvesting produce can elevate your mood, lower your blood pressure, and start you on the road to feeling better.

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Medal of Honor: Army Sgt. 1st Class Melvin Morris
By KATIE LANGE
In 1969, Army Sgt. 1st Class Melvin Morris waded through a blistering firefight in Vietnam to rescue a fallen comrade and keep crucial information out of the enemy's hands. He was injured three times during the fight, but after recovering, went on with his military career. Forty-four years later, the initial accolades Morris received for his actions were upgraded to the Medal of Honor.
Morris was born Jan. 7, 1942, in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, a rural community east of Oklahoma City. His father, John, was a handyman who found work when he could, while his mother was a homemaker. Morris said when he was young, he enjoyed fishing, hunting and hanging out with his three brothers and four sisters.
Unfortunately, he grew up during an era of recessions, so there were few career opportunities in his area. But there was the military — something in which most of the men in his family had served, including his two older brothers and an uncle who was a member of the all-Black 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion during World War II. Morris said he admired those men and their uniforms and that serving was something he considered from a young age.
There weren't many Black men in the Oklahoma Army National Guard in the late 1950s, but the service was recruiting, so in 1959, Morris signed up. After about a year, he requested to join the active-duty Army. He attended artillery and airborne training before deciding he wanted to join the newly created Special Forces. He started that training in 1961, and by September 1963, was a fully qualified Green Beret.
"I was 5 foot 4 inches, 117 pounds," Morris said during a 2015 Library of Congress Veterans History Project interview. "But I was a strong little fella."
Morris said that at some point, he was reassigned to the 82nd Airborne Division and sent to the Dominican Republic for about a year and a half as the U.S. intervened in that country's civil war. But by 1967, he'd returned to the Green Berets as part of the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne).
While he was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Morris met Mary Nesbitt, whom he married three months later. The pair went on to have two sons and a daughter before he volunteered to go to Vietnam in February 1969.
Into the Jungle
Morris said he saw combat pretty quickly after his arrival, which prepared him for the hard test he would go through in September 1969. Then a staff sergeant, Morris was the commander of a five-man Special Forces team within IV Mobile Strike Force that supported South Vietnamese troops and other local soldiers.
On Sept. 17, 1969, his unit was on a search-and-destroy mission in southern Vietnam's Mekong Delta, near the Cambodian border. Morris said his company was behind two others who had gone through a village that seemed mostly empty. But shortly afterward, the two companies at the front were ambushed.
Several men were injured very quickly and had to be evacuated by helicopter, Morris said. Soon after, he learned by radio that another team commander, Master Sgt. Ronald Hagen, had been killed near an enemy bunker.
Morris immediately reorganized his men to defend their position, then took two men with him to go forward and bring back the fallen commander. Morris said when they reached Hagen, enemy gunfire stopped just long enough for him to pray over the body. Quickly, though, hostile fire reignited, wounding the two men with him.
Morris helped them back to safety, then recruited two more men to continue the mission. With only their team's gunfire to protect them, the trio rushed forward through heavy enemy machine gun fire. As they neared the bunker closest to Hagen, Morris took out the enemy soldiers inside, grabbed Hagen, then began the arduous journey back to friendly lines.
Morris said he made it back unscathed, but he realized that a map case of Hagen's had fallen to the ground along the way. It included vital, classified information that couldn't get into the hands of the enemy, so he and another soldier had to go back for it.
Having collected as many grenades as he could, Morris launched them at every bunker he could find along the route, taking out four. He and his comrade were able to retrieve the map case and run, but on the way back, Morris was shot at close range.
"I could see bubbles coming out of my chest," he remembered.
Morris said he patched himself up behind a palm tree, then threw his last grenade toward nearby enemy soldiers. That's when he got shot in his right arm, which caused him to drop his weapon out of range of where he could easily pick it back up.
Morris needed help badly, so he said he radioed the Air Force to ask for close-air support. They didn't have a defined target, though, so they were concerned they might hit him if they dropped artillery. Instead, Morris contacted Navy Seabees, who had a helicopter in the area. He got them to drop smaller explosives on top of the enemy, which gave him a chance to reach his weapon again and start firing, despite getting hit a third time in the finger.
"I fired every magazine I had," Morris said. "My training was kicking in and I was recalling everything I had to do. Believe in your training. That's all I got to say. I was trained well."
The chaos gave Morris just enough time to get out of the path of direct fire and back to friendly lines. He was eventually medevac'd to a field hospital, then Saigon, then Japan for treatment before being flown back home to Fort Bragg. He spent about three months in hospitals to recover from his wounds.
Soon after, he learned that he'd earned the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions. The military's second highest award for valor was presented to him by Lt. Gen. John T. Tolson in April 1970 during a ceremony at Fort Bragg, according to the Okmulgee Daily Times newspaper.
Within a few weeks, Morris volunteered to go back to Vietnam for a second tour of duty. This one lasted 13 months.
Morris left the Army around 1975 and stayed out for about three years, but his desire to serve pulled him back in by 1978. He eventually retired in May 1985 after serving for 23 years.
Morris said he initially struggled with returning to civilian life, as well as post-traumatic stress from what he'd seen in Vietnam. But he said he eventually sought help and, with the help of the veteran community and his family, was able to get his life back on track.
Overdue Honors
In the early 2000s, Congress mandated a review of service records of several service members from earlier wars to determine if any of those men had been passed over for the Medal of Honor due to discrimination of the time. The review determined that several men should have gotten the nation's highest honor for their valor.
So, in May 2013, Morris got a phone call he wasn't expecting. President Barack Obama was on the line to tell him that his Distinguished Service Cross was being upgraded.
"He also told me I had to keep it confidential. … Keep your lips zipped for 10 months? That's tough," he joked in his Veterans History Project interview.
Morris received the Medal of Honor on March 18, 2014, from Obama during a long-overdue White House ceremony. Nearly two-dozen other service members received the upgraded medal that day for their service in Vietnam, Korea and World War II.
Morris later said that the honor wasn't for him alone; it was for all the soldiers who were with him that day, especially those who died heroes and never had the chance to be recognized.
"This is for them and for the whole nation," he said.
Since receiving the Medal of Honor, Morris has spent a lot of time talking to people in the military community, as well as school students. He said he wants to pass his knowledge on to the younger generation.
"These children today are our leaders of tomorrow. If they don't have the knowledge or the ability, we're slipping," Morris said in his Veterans History Project interview. "A nation that fails to recognize its heroes fails as a nation."
In 2015, a bronze statue of Morris was unveiled at Riverfront Park in Cocoa, Florida, where he and his wife currently reside.

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It can get pretty chilly in Chile
Chilean swimmer, Bárbara Hernández, has broken the Guinness World Record for swimming a distance of 1.55 miles in the frigid waters of Antarctica. And she did it wearing nothing more than a simple one-piece swimsuit in the 2.2 degrees Celsius waters off the coast of Greenwich Island. She had a purpose in mind when she decided to take a dip in some of the coldest waters on the planet. As she put it, "Swimming in Antarctica has been a dream I've had for years, and part of my longtime ambition to swim in parts of all seven of the world's oceans. Physically it has been incredibly tough, but all worth it if the message on the need for urgent action to protect these amazing waters reaches decision-makers."

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Woodpeckers love acorns
Exterminators were called in when the owners of a home in Sonoma County, California, started seeing maggots and mealworms coming out of a bedroom wall. At first the pest control technician assumed that a small animal may have found its way into the wall. But he discovered that woodpeckers had been poking holes in the home’s chimney stack to stash acorns. So, he went back inside and cut a hole in the wall and, sure enough, out came a lot of acorns-- an estimated 700 pounds of acorns. He figured the pesky woodpeckers had been at it for several years.

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A funny lady with a funny story
Diana Shulman, also known as D'yan Forest, is a multi-talented performer; she sings and plays several musical instruments. But the Guinness Book of Records picked her for being the world’s oldest professional comedienne. At the age of 88, she’s been at it for more than 20 years. When is she going to retire? As she put it in a recent TV appearance, “it ain’t over until the fat lady is dead.”

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How thinking like an engineer can solve our economic problems

By JARL JENSEN

If there is one thing everyone wants, it’s economic vision. But that’s difficult to attain.
All the best economists admit that they don’t know what’s going to happen next. Even after their long, exhaustive years of academic study, they all graduated with blindfolds on. And yet, here we are asking economists to help us solve our biggest problems.
So, how do you develop X-ray economic vision? The same way engineers are able to predict the future for bridges, buildings and just about anything else they build. They use science and apply it to make predictions about how things will behave in the future – and they do so to an incredible degree of accuracy and dependability.
Imagine if our economy could be run the same way. Imagine if it was possible to “see” the economy like an engineer sees the product being designed. Imagine the insights one could get into what is going to happen next.
Obviously, you don’t want to think like an economist if you want to have relevant insight into what the economy will do. So, start thinking like an engineer. An engineer looks at the inputs into a system to determine the output. The mistake economists make is they start with the output and try to figure out what the output will do next, with little luck.
Believe it or not, economists look at human behavior, which is the output of the economy, for their answers.
Starting point: The banking system
An engineer always starts with the input into a system, which in the economy is the monetary policy of the banking system. Monetary policy is the real “engineerable” input into the economy and society. So, the way to see through all the nonsense coming from the wonkish economists is to start with the banking system and what it's doing to our world, society and humanity.
This can quickly become a profit-making tool. Because as it turns out, the banking system’s monetary policy is in broad daylight and hasn’t changed significantly in over a century. In short, the banking system needs to keep the economy growing by balancing interest rates, and now by quantitative easing – a monetary policy used by central banks to increase the money supply and spur lending and investment. But what we need is a better option that is both capitalist and small government while eliminating the need for social safety nets. We need a system that unites us rather than divides us.
The best way to build consensus in how to operate our economic system is to destroy the arguments of both parties and unite them in a singular pursuit, which in a nutshell is to replace the way we currently think about and use money (which forces people into a life of dependence on government safety nets) and follow a more natural system that allows for dignity, liberty and growth.
From an engineering perspective, I can envision ways we can fix many of our problems and have a future that looks like this:
Where technology increasingly contributes to the common good, for poor people and rich people and all the people in between;
Where supermarkets aren’t throwing out 60% of their produce while people just up the street from the supermarket are going hungry;
Where 5 million children don’t die a poverty-related death on an annual basis;
Where the bottom 25% of the population no longer has absolutely nothing in their savings – and instead, they have the means to continue saving as the years go by;
A future where savings accounts yield a handsome return and not the insulting near-zero interest rates of modern times
A future where sustainability is possible for nature, humanity and wildlife
A future where jobs are not precious, but instead ubiquitous, and not thought of as a rare commodity and manipulated to control wages.
The bottom line is, if we change how money flows into our reality, then we will fundamentally change reality.
Surprisingly, the biggest obstacle is not the government or bureaucracy. The main problem lies in what humanity collectively believes money to be. In order to solve the world’s problems, we’re going to have to dismantle our definition of money and how we believe it’s supposed to work.

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Medal of Honor: Navy Chief Commissary Stewart Daniel Atkins
By KATIE LANGE
Navy Chief Commissary Stewart Daniel John Atkins was serving on a ship near Cuba during the Spanish-American War when a harsh storm blew one of his shipmates overboard. Despite choppy waters that threatened to consume anyone who went in them, Atkins jumped in to try to save the wayward sailor. That bravery earned him the Medal of Honor.
Not a lot of details about Atkins' life have been published. His birth records show he was born on Nov. 18, 1866, in Brunswick, Virginia, to Jack and Ann Atkins. However, the record lists him as "John Daniel Atkins." All other references refer to him as Daniel, so it's unclear if the first and middle names were flipped later in life or if they were recorded incorrectly.
Military records show Atkins had a sister named Fanny and that he had considered himself a "laborer" before enlisting in the Navy on Jan. 27, 1888. At the time, the Army was still segregated, but the Navy had always allowed Black men to serve, according to historian and Howard University professor Joseph P. Reidy. So, that's likely why Atkins picked the service.
Atkins entered the Navy as a landsman, but by reenlisting several times, he slowly moved up the ranks. By the time the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898, he had attained the rank of ship's cook first class and was sent to serve on the Navy's first torpedo boat, USS Cushing.
On Feb. 11, 1898, the Cushing was on its way from Key West, Florida, to Havana to deliver stores to the battleship USS Maine, which was there to protect American interests during Cuba's revolt against the Spanish government.
Most of the details of what happened next were told in a letter written by Navy Rear Adm. Albert Gleaves to the father of Ensign Joseph C. Breckinridge, who was the Cushing's executive officer. The letter was published in various U.S. newspapers a few days after the incident that earned Atkins the Medal of Honor.
According to Gleaves, the Cushing was close to the Havana shore when the weather suddenly turned dark and the sea became "heavy." Around 1:30 p.m., Greaves said the ship pitched violently, and Breckinridge, who was walking along the deck, was thrown into a lifeline by a huge wave. The lifeline broke, and Breckinridge was swept over the deck into the roiling sea.
The Cushing's sailors jumped into action to try to save Breckinridge, but they struggled. A boat that was dispatched for a rescue flipped over in the thrashing waters, and its two crew members had to be hauled back onto the Cushing, Gleaves said. One of those men was Gunner's Mate 1st Class John Everetts.
According to Gleaves, Breckinridge was only about 30 feet away from the Cushing, so Everetts jumped back overboard, swam through the choppy waters and managed to tie a lifeline around Breckinridge's body.
Seeing that Everetts was struggling with exhaustion, Atkins, who had been part of the rescue effort, knew more help was needed. According to an account of the incident in a 1969 Pittsburgh Courier article, Atkins tied another lifeline around his waist and jumped into the icy waters. When he reached the other two men, he tied ropes around both. One at a time, they were pulled back to the ship.
Unfortunately, crews weren't able to resuscitate Breckinridge, who was eventually pronounced dead. In his honor, the Navy named the World War II destroyer USS Breckinridge for him.
Atkins and Everetts were still honored for their valiant efforts in attempting to save Breckinridge's life. Both men were awarded the Medal of Honor, with Atkins receiving his on May 20, 1898. Newspapers at the time reported that each man also earned gold pins from the Life Saving Department Association of New York.
Atkins remained in the Navy for another two decades, serving on several ships. Military records show he was likely married twice: in April 1900, his next-of-kin was listed as his wife, Carrie Atkins. However, by 1904, the records showed he was single and listed his next-of-kin as his sister. By June 1917, records showed his next-of-kin was a different wife, Luvinia Atkins.
Atkins finally retired from service in October 1921 after attaining the rank of chief commissary steward. He lived with his wife in Portsmouth, Virginia, but unfortunately, his retirement was short-lived. Atkins died of a cerebral hemorrhage on May 11, 1923, at the age of 56. He was buried at the Captain Ted Conaway Memorial Naval Cemetery in Portsmouth.
This Black History Month, we honor Atkins and all the brave men who served during tumultuous times in our nation.

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Keep your houseplants safe from cats
By MELINDA MYERS

Growing houseplants when curious cats are in the house can be challenging. We want our cats to be safe and happy while keeping our houseplants intact. You can accomplish both with a few simple strategies.
Boost indoor gardening success by selecting plants suited to your home’s growing conditions and gardening style. Then be sure to remove any toxic plants to ensure your pet’s safety. Consult with your veterinarian and visit the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) website for a list of pet-safe and toxic plants.
Create a list of all the plants you are growing. Include both common and botanical names for accurate identification. Do a bit of research on the care they need and their toxicity to your pets. If you suspect your pet has ingested a toxic plant, you’ll have the proper plant name when contacting your veterinarian.
Match the pet-friendly plants you select to their preferred light conditions. An east- or west-facing window provides enough light for most indoor plants. Keep those that need brighter light within two feet of a window. Those that prefer lower light can be grown near a north-facing window or up to six feet back or off to the side of an east- or west-facing window.
Keep toxic plants out of the reach of curious cats. This can be challenging if your cat is skilled at jumping and climbing. There are so many beautiful houseplants it may be safer to simply avoid those that are toxic.
Make your houseplants less appealing to your cat with the smell of citrus. Spray a mixture of lemon, lime, or orange juice diluted with some water on the leaves of your plant. Or purchase one of the commercial mixes. If you don’t want to spray your plants, place citrus peels in the pot.
Give your cat a pot of grass to nibble on and enjoy instead of your houseplants. Most cat grass kits contain wheatgrass, oat grass, ryegrass, or a mixture of these. A pot of cat grass can help entertain your cat, provide fiber and some micronutrients, and aid in digestion.
There are several theories as to cats’ attraction to greenery. One theory suggests plants were used to help them regurgitate undigested parts of their prey. Many cat owners find it also works for hairballs. Another theory suggests that greens provide vitamins and minerals, may promote health, and aid in digestion.
Busy and new gardeners can successfully grow a pot of cat grass. Look for an easy-care growing kit like True Leaf Market’s Organic Self-Watering Cat Grass Kit (trueleafmarket.com). You’ll only need to fill the water reservoir twice a week and the container helps eliminate messes and spills that often happen with traditional pots.
Prevent curious cats from knocking over any of your plant containers with the help of mounting putty. A couple of pieces on the bottom of the pot will help reduce the risk of toppling.
Prevent cats from using indoor plants as litter boxes. Cover the soil surface with coarse mulch, like cork or large nugget mulch. If this is not an option, spray the soil surface with the citrus and water mix to help discourage digging.
Regular play can entertain your cat, help reduce stress, and even reduce plant nibbling. This is also good for your well-being and the beauty of your indoor plants.
Implement these strategies and you’ll be able to help your cats and plants coexist in your home.

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The Grubhub Kid
Remember that old TV show, Kids Say The Darndest Things? They are also likely to do the darndest things. Take the Grubhub Kid in Chesterfield Township, Michigan, better known as six-year-old Mason Stonehouse. His dad, Keith, let him play with his cell phone one evening unaware that he had left his Grubhub app open. All of a sudden a stream of delivery drivers were knocking at the door with arrays of fast food orders-- some $1,000 worth of shrimp dishes, pita wraps, French fries and lots and lots of ice cream and pizzas. According to CNN, it took Keith a while but he finally figured it out and confronted his son. “I was trying to explain to him that this wasn’t good,” he said. But, he added, Mason put his hand up and interrupted him saying, ‘Dad, did the pepperoni pizzas come yet?’ I had to walk out of the room. I didn’t know if I should get mad or laugh.”

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It was a very close call
There they were, the Sasaki family, getting ready for an evening of TV in their new home in Honolulu when the unthinkable happened. Three giant boulders came rolling down a hill and one of them smashed through a wall, causing havoc and narrowly missing Caroline Sasaki just as she made her way into the living room to watch TV. It was a close call, but no one was injured. How big was the boulder? It was big enough to crash through a cinderblock outer wall, hit the family car, break through a glass door into the living room and then break through another wall, winding up in a bedroom.

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A dream come true
Nine-year-old Molly Sampson of Calvert County, Maryland, dreams of becoming a paleontologist when she grows up; she wants to study the history of life on Earth. Meantime, she likes to search the local beaches for sharks’ teeth and recently came across a rather large tooth that belonged to the biggest shark that ever lived -- a giant 15 million-year-old shark known as a Megalodon. She took it to the Calvert Marine Museum on Solomon’s Island where the paleontology department confirmed her find.

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Medal of Honor: Army Sgt. 1st Class Eugene Ashley, Jr.
By KATIE LANGE
Army Sgt. 1st Class Eugene Ashley, Jr.'s, bravery was integral in rescuing Special Forces troops during the Battle of Lang Vei, which marked the first enemy use of tanks in the Vietnam War. Ashley, a Green Beret, never made it home from the war, but his determination earned him unending respect and the Medal of Honor.
Ashley was born on Oct. 12, 1931, in Wilmington, North Carolina, to Eugene and Cornelia Ashley. He had two sisters, Gertrude and Louis.
Not long after Ashely was born, the family moved to New York City, where he grew up and attended Alexander Hamilton High School. After graduation, Ashley was weary of going into a dead-end job, so on Dec. 7, 1950, he joined the Army.
Since the Korean War was in progress, Ashley was initially sent to serve there with the 187th Regimental Combat Team. In the years after he returned, he served in many capacities, including as an infantryman, ambulance driver, anti-aircraft ammunition handler and as a specialist in heavy weapons and parachute repair. He also served as a cavalry and armored battle group squad leader, as well as a company sergeant.
Ashley was in the 82nd Airborne Division when he volunteered to join the Special Forces. After training, he was assigned to Company C of the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces.
At some point, Ashley met and married his wife, Barbara. They had five children before he was sent to Vietnam in January 1968, just as North Vietnam's Tet Offensive was beginning.
By February, Ashley was serving as a senior advisor in the 5th SFG's Detachment A-101 at Special Forces Camp Lang Vei in the northwest corner of South Vietnam. Located about a mile from the Laos border and 8 kilometers west of the U.S. Marine base at Khe Sanh, the camp was established in December 1966 as an outpost where Ashley's detachment could train and equip locally recruited Vietnamese soldiers.
According to an Army Center of Military History publication by late Army Col. John A. Cash, the enemy infiltrated Lang Vei in May 1967, so the camp was moved further west that September. From that time on, the area became battered by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong artillery fire, including on Feb. 6, 1968.
Tanks and Trapped Soldiers
That night, shortly after midnight, North Vietnamese troops drove Soviet-built tanks into the camp's outskirts, marking the first time the enemy had used tanks in combat. According to an Army Special Warfare Center publication, "although the team radioed for help, they could not convince anyone in Khe Sanh … that tanks were indeed ‘in the wire.'" Cash said that Khe Sanh's leaders denied several requests for help because they were concerned about ground relief forces being ambushed, as well as assaults via helicopter not being helpful "because it was dark and the enemy had armor."
To the Green Berets and few local soldiers who were willing to fight, that meant they were on their own. And because the camp didn't have adequate anti-tank weapons, the tanks were able to breach the camp's inner perimeter, trapping several U.S. soldiers, most of whom were inside the camp's command bunker.
Ashley happened to be at the old camp further east as the attack unfolded. Since the enemy had chosen to leave that area largely unscathed, he immediately began coordinating a defense that included high-explosive and illumination mortar rounds. When communications were lost with the main camp, the 36-year-old assumed the additional responsibility of directing air strikes and artillery support.
Ashley was also put in charge of a small assault force that included two other American soldiers, Sgt. Richard H. Allen and Spc. 4 Joel Johnson, and local friendly personnel. Their mission: to rescue the men trapped inside the main camp. Unfortunately, the local soldiers refused to go into the camp to fight until daybreak.
When dawn finally came, Ashley led that team on five intense assaults against the enemy. Each time, he put himself in the direct line of fire of grenades, machine guns and automatic weapons, and he had to dodge several booby-trapped satchel charges. He also continued to call for more air strikes. Each attempt diverted the enemy's attention away from the trapped men in the command bunker.
Eventually, Ashley was hit by machine-gun fire that tore through the right side of his chest and went through the radio on his back. It was a serious wound, but he was only 30 yards from the command bunker, so he refused to give up.
Shortly after 11 a.m., Ashley adjusted air strikes one more time so they would come down nearly on top of his unit. The move forced the enemy to withdraw and carved an escape path for the men trapped in the bunker.
As that was happening, Ashley lost consciousness. According to Cash, Johnson and Allen managed to drag him out of the line of fire and, with help from some local soldiers, carried him back to an area of relative safety. When a Jeep arrived, they loaded Ashley into it and drove off. Unfortunately, when the Jeep stopped and Allen jumped out in search of bandages, Cash reported that "an enemy artillery round burst nearby, killing Ashley and knocking Johnson unconscious."
By the end of the battle, Lang Vei was lost to the enemy. Of the 24 Americans stationed at the camp, 10 were killed or missing, including Ashley, and 11 more were wounded.
Ashley's valor and his disregard for his own safety inspired the men around him. According to an Army Special Warfare Center publication, many of his fellow soldiers considered him a fatherly type of man, and they said that without his steadfast commitment that day, there likely would have been no survivors.
For paying the ultimate sacrifice, the Medal of Honor was posthumously bestowed upon Ashley. His family received it from Vice President Spiro Agnew during a Dec. 2, 1969, ceremony in Washington. Two other men who gave their lives in Vietnam -- Army Staff Sgt. Clifford Sims and Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Terrence Graves -- were also honored with the medal that day.
Ashley's body was eventually returned to the U.S. He was buried in Rockfish Memorial Park Cemetery in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
The Green Beret's legacy has lived on in the Army and in his hometown. In 2001, the Eugene Ashley Jr. High School, located south of Wilmington, was dedicated in his honor. In 2013, a Fort Campbell operations complex for the 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) was named Ashley Hall. In 2019, Ashley was inducted into the U.S. Special Operations Command's Commando Hall of Honor.
Ashley's son, Darrin, who was 2 in 1968, said his hero father's legacy led him to become a soldier, according to a 1991 South Bend (Indiana) Tribune article. Darrin Ashley served during the Gulf War and retired in the early 2000s.

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Beautify your home with a bit of greenery
By MELINDA MYERS

Whether you want to create a tropical oasis indoors or dress up your décor, plants are the answer. A few plants set on the floor, hanging from the ceiling, or displayed on a table can beautify any room, boost your mood, and reduce stress.
Select plants suited to the growing conditions and your gardening style. This reduces ongoing maintenance and increases your growing success. If you tend to overwater, look for plants that thrive in moist soil conditions. Grow more drought-tolerant plants if you are a gardener that tends to underwater. Check plant tags for tips on light and water needs.
Use large floor plants to create a focal point, provide height and balance in the room and brighten bare walls. Fiddle leaf and weeping figs, rubber plants, dragon trees (Dracaena marginata), and palms are a few popular plants available as indoor trees. Set them on a plant caddy to protect your floors. This also makes it easier to move them for cleaning and maintenance.
Large plants and indoor trees are often pictured far from a window or placed in a dark corner of the room. Make sure the plants receive sufficient light or supplement natural light with attractive energy-efficient plant lights like the Alden Grow Lamp with a full spectrum LED bulb to help keep them healthy and looking their best.
Hang trailing plants like pothos, philodendrons, ivy, and others from the ceiling, in front of windows, or set them on shelves. The cascading foliage provides a bit of screening and softens hard surfaces for a cozier look and feel. Elevating plants also helps keep them away from curious pets and children.
Dress up any room, small or large, with wall-mounted planters like the Kira Grow Light Hanging Planter with a built-in light or the Triple Wall Planter or Wall Shelf with Planter. Plant-filled wall planters serve as living art, providing added color, texture, and form to any blank space.
Use plant stands like the Crisscross Cascading Plant Stand to expand your indoor garden to various levels throughout the house. Furniture grade and multifunctional stands like the Mobile LED Grow Light Cart (gardeners.com) allow you to maximize the function and growing space in your home.
Brighten any room with colorful and flowering plants. Crotons, prayer plants, dracaenas, and philodendrons are just a few indoor plants with colorful leaves. Grow peace lilies, anthuriums, bromeliads, and moth orchids for a bit of floral beauty.
Boost the renewal powers of a good night’s sleep by including a few plants in your bedroom. The added greenery can create a sense of calm. The oxygen and boost in humidity the plants provide are also beneficial.
Elevate your bathroom to spa level with some greenery. The humidity in the bathroom is great for ferns, air plants, prayer plants, and a variety of other tropical plants. You’ll enjoy this splash of greenery when stepping out of the shower or tub.
Add a few plants to your home office. Looking at and tending plants can help increase focus and creativity.
Containers are an important part of your indoor garden. They should contain drainage holes to reduce the risk of soggy soil and root rot. Self-watering pots help take the guesswork out of watering, reduce maintenance, and for many will increase gardening success. No need to have matching pots but consider using those made from similar materials and design elements. This helps provide unity throughout your indoor garden and home’s décor.
Start your plant makeovers one room at a time. Just like any home decorating project, dividing it into smaller tasks is easier on the budget and makes the process less overwhelming.

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

In May of 1801, the United States got tangled in the First Barbary War. Pirates perched along the North African states of Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, and Libya were looting American ships in the Mediterranean; in June, President Thomas Jefferson deployed the Navy to provide protection. Two years later, the USS Philadelphia, -- America’s state-of-the-art warship-- was snatched when it ran aground near Tripoli and ramped up apprehension about whether the raiders would snag its advanced accoutrements to jazz up their vessels.
According to Histoy.com, “hoping to prevent the Barbary pirates from gaining this military advantage, Lieutenant Stephen Decatur led a daring expedition into Tripoli harbor to destroy the captured American vessel on February 16, 1804.” Decatur and his marines and sailors managed to blow up the ship before its advanced features could be copied by the enemy. It was such an audacious excursion, famed British Admiral Horatio Nelson declared it to be the “most daring act of the age.”
For more information, the Grateful American Book Prize recommends Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates: The War That Changed American History by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger.

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Florida became a Spanish colony in 1565; in 1763, the Treaty of Paris ended the French and Indian War, and the territory was ceded to Britain. Later gyrations of geography generated 1783’s Second Treaty of Paris, the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, and Spain’s re-possession of Florida.
“Spain’s hold on Florida was tenuous in the years after American independence, and numerous boundary disputes developed with the United States,” says History.com. On February 22, 1819, “after years of negotiations, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams achieved a diplomatic coup with the signing of the Florida Purchase Treaty, which officially put Florida into U.S. hands at no cost beyond the U.S. assumption of some $5 millions of claims by U.S. citizens against Spain.”
For more information, the Grateful American Book Prize suggests A Voyage Long and Strange: On the Trail of Vikings, Conquistadors, Lost Colonists, and Other Adventurers in Early America by Tony Horwitz.

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It's time for tent caterpillar management
By MELINDA MYERS
Start this year’s tree pest management with a stroll through the landscape. As you enjoy the scenery, be sure to look for any unwelcome pests that may be overwintering on the twigs of trees.
Look for and remove egg masses of tent caterpillars now through spring. These clusters of eggs look like shiny blobs of mud surrounding the twigs. Each egg mass contains hundreds and in some cases thousands of eggs.
The forest tent caterpillar is the most widely distributed tent caterpillar. It attacks a variety of trees that vary with the region. Check any sugar maples, aspen, cherries, apples, oaks, birch, ash, alder, elm, basswood, or water tupelo trees growing in your landscape.
Trees may suffer damage when large populations of these caterpillars devour the majority of the tree’s leaves for several years in a row. This can result in reduced tree growth, top dieback, and tree mortality. There are several natural predators of this insect pest so working with nature is a great way to help reduce damage. Remove the egg masses found on small twigs that are more easily reached on smaller trees. After the eggs hatch, look for the caterpillars in a silken mat, not a tent like the other tent caterpillars. Remove the young caterpillars from branch tips or squash those resting on the main stem in the evening or on cool days.
You may also see similar egg masses of the Western or Eastern tent caterpillars depending on where you live. Their egg masses look similar to those of the forest tent caterpillar. Remove the egg masses of these tent caterpillars in spring before the eggs hatch.
Once the eggs hatch, the caterpillars begin forming a webby tent in the crotch of the tree. As they feed and grow, the tent expands. They remain in the tent during the hot part of the day and rainy weather.
Knock the tents, caterpillars and all, out of the tree when the majority of caterpillars are in the tent. Smash or dump the caterpillars in a can of soapy water.
Do not burn the tents. This old practice is hazardous and the fire can severely damage the tree, much worse than the insects.
Control is usually not needed on healthy and established trees. If you decide to intervene, consider using an organic insecticide with the active ingredient Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Btk). It is effective when applied to the tents soon after they start to form and when the caterpillars are small. Just spray the tent and the surrounding 1.5 feet of leaves. These products only kill caterpillars and will not harm other insects or birds feeding on these pests.
When working with nature, we have help from predatory insects and songbirds when managing these and other garden pests. Taking time this winter for a bit of prevention can go a long way in reducing damage from tent caterpillars.

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He picked himself up
Floridian Wesley Williams broke his back a couple of years ago when he fell off his 27 foot unicycle at a Spain's Got Talent event. He survived the fall and, to paraphrase that old song suggests, he picked himself up, dusted himself off and started all over again. But his time he didn’t break any bones but he did break the Guinness record for building the world’s tallest unicycle -- nearly 32 feet in height -- and riding it for a distance of nearly 28 feet 27 feet.

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Toadzilla
Forest rangers in Queensland, Australia on patrol in Conway National Park got quite a shock recently when they came across Toadzilla. The average toad weighs in at about 3 ounces. Toadzilla, the name the rangers gave the cane toad they found, weighed nearly six pounds. Ranger Kylee Gray said she “reached down and grabbed the cane toad and couldn’t believe how big and heavy it was ... A cane toad that size will eat anything it can fit into its mouth, and that includes insects, reptiles and small mammals.”

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A very big pizza pie
In 2012 Italian pizza chefs set the record for the largest pizza known to man -- a very hungry man, of course. It measured 13,580.28 square feet. Not to be outdone, America’s Pizza Hut chain outdid the Italians by baking a 14,100 square foot pizza pie on the floor of the Los Angeles Convention Center. They layed out the dough, topped it with cheese and sauce and then used heat lamps to bake the [tasty?] treat. Why did they do it? The chain wanted to break the Guinness Record and tell us that they were bringing back its Big New Yorker pizza -- a somewhat bigger version of their standard pizza pie -- that they discontinued 25 years ago.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Will Social Security Be There for Me?

Dear Rusty: I am 56 and hope to hold out to get maximum Social Security at age 70. However, with all of the talk of Social Security funds being depleted, is it wise to continue with this mindset? Will there even BE Social Security benefits for folks in my age bracket? Should I think about starting Social Security benefits as soon as I am eligible? I am employed; however, I don’t have a large amount of savings. I contribute to my company's 401(k) and receive the match, and I own my own home (almost paid off) with an estimated $250,000.00 in equity, but I won’t be able to stay in the home long term. Any insight you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Signed: Weary Worker

Dear Weary Worker: I don’t suggest changing your strategy due to fears of Social Security not being there – it will be. Although the program is facing some future financial issues, the very worst that could happen is that everyone’s benefits might be cut by 20+% if Congress fails to act to restore the program to solvency before the Trust Funds are depleted in the early to mid-2030s. In my opinion, Congress will not likely fail to act because to do so would be political suicide. The fact is, they already know how to fix Social Security’s financial issues; they just lack the bipartisan spirit and political fortitude to do so until they extract every possible ounce of political capital from the issue. So, it’s largely a matter of how long Congress will wait to reform the program.
Right now, the Social Security Trust Funds hold about $2.8 trillion in reserves to ensure full benefits will be paid. But Social Security now pays out more in benefits than it receives in revenue, so the extra money needed to pay full benefits is taken from those reserves. What is needed is reform which addresses the reality that people today are living much longer and collecting benefits for much longer than the program is structured to accommodate. Many possible solutions are on the table in Congress, including raising the full retirement age a bit to deal with the reality of people living much longer, and increasing the program’s tax revenue by withholding a bit more from American workers. The eventual reform will likely include some variation of both, as well as other “tweaks” which further guarantee the program will be there for future generations.
As for the thought of claiming your benefits as soon as you are eligible (age 62), be aware that Social Security has an “earnings test” which applies to anyone who collects benefits before reaching full retirement age (FRA). If you are working full time when you first become age-eligible, you likely wouldn’t be able to collect benefits because your benefit amount would be insufficient to pay the penalty for exceeding the earnings limit ($1 for every $2 over the limit) within one year. And, as you may already know, your age 62 benefit would be cut by about 30% from your FRA amount, while your benefit at age 70 would be about 76% more than your age 62 benefit.
So even if the worst case scenario happens (which it almost certainly won’t), an across the board cut of 20+% to your age 70 benefit would yield a higher monthly payment than that same cut to your age 62 benefit amount. So, I suggest you stick with your current strategy to continue working and wait as long as practical to claim your benefits (up to age 70). As an aside, AMAC (Association of Mature American Citizens) has, for years, been proposing (to Congress) its “Social Security Guarantee Plus” which would restore Social Security to solvency for generations to come and would not require an increased payroll tax rate. Congressional reaction has been generally positive, leading us to be hopeful for a reasonable solution to the problem.

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Medal of Honor: Army Col. Gordon Johnston
By KATIE LANGE
Army Col. Gordon Johnston had a remarkable career that spanned multiple continents and conflicts and led to a lifelong friendship with a famed colonel-turned-president. His life ended tragically during a game of polo, but prior to that it was marked with many triumphs, including earning the Medal of Honor.
Johnston was born May 25, 1874, in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Confederate Gen. Robert Johnston and his wife, Elizabeth. According to a 1919 Washington Post article, he had seven siblings, including Louise, who died at age 6, and Ewart, who also served in the Army.
At some point, the family moved to Birmingham, Alabama. Johnston initially went to public school before attending a private academy in Pantops, Virginia, where he played football and baseball. Even at an early age, he was known to be a leader, according to a biography of his life written by his widow, Anna Julia Johnston.
In the fall of 1892, Johnston went to Princeton College (now university), where a friend, Barney Haines, said Johnston helped to devise the honor system in their freshman class. He was a member of the board of the Princetonian newspaper, as well as a member of the Tiger Inn, one of the school's most prestigious clubs. According to family, he also played tackle for Princeton's football team.
After graduation in 1896, Johnston became the head coach of the University of North Carolina's football team for a year. He then worked for a time in the insurance industry in Memphis, but found "business life uncongenial," his biography said.
So, in the spring of 1898, Johnston enlisted in the Army's 2nd Mississippi Infantry to serve in the Spanish-American War, which lasted from April to August of that year. He wanted to get to the front quickly, so he traveled to Tampa, Florida, to see if he could get transferred into the famed 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment — Army Lt. Col. Teddy Roosevelt's "Rough Riders." His bid was successful, but he ended up in the regiment's only unit that didn't get sent to the war in Cuba.
Over that summer, Johnston and another soldier were sent to Montauk Point, New York, with some of the unit's horses ahead of their accompanying soldiers. That's where he met Roosevelt, and they started a lifelong friendship.
Friends with a Living Legend
According to Johnston's biography, while stationed in Montauk Point, Roosevelt had been looking for an orderly to assist him, so the 24-year-old Johnston volunteered. He spent about two days riding around on horseback with Roosevelt, who told him the entire story of the Battle of San Juan Hill (for which Roosevelt earned the Medal of Honor belatedly in 2001). Roosevelt then requested Johnston permanently ride with him during their time in New York.
Johnston said the two of them would often ride their horses along the beach. At one point, Roosevelt was adamant about going into the ocean when the waves were incredibly high.
"They seemed to rush at the beach with crests 15 or 20 feet high and then crash down like a great building falling," Johnston wrote in personal correspondence. "In spite of all my efforts, stripped off on the beach and rushed at the sea."
Johnston said Roosevelt dove into the waves again and again, then came back to shore and insisted that Johnston do the same. Johnston, a self-described "inland boy," was not a great swimmer and protested out of sheer terror, but he eventually gave into the colonel's insistence.
"It was the hardest thing I ever had to do in my life, but the colonel held both horses, cheering me on," Johnston recalled. "I have a hazy idea of swallowing gallons of water, and much sand, and finally being dumped on the beach as if I had dropped from a 10-story building. … thought it was great sport, but I never did."
Later that year, when Johnston mustered out of the regiment, he said he waited at a train station to catch a train to New York City, but Roosevelt drove up and insisted he join him and the other officers in their vehicle instead. Not wanting to turn down his superiors, Johnston hopped in. Instead of heading toward the city, they ended up spending a week on Long Island at Roosevelt's home, Sagamore Hill.
Onward and Upward
By October 1898, Johnston had returned to civilian life and was working with his uncle in Baltimore when he met Anna Julia, and a years-long courtship began. They eventually married on Johnston's 30th birthday — May 25, 1904.
Civilian life still didn't suit Johnston much, so he returned to the volunteer military in 1899 when he was offered a lieutenant's commission on Roosevelt's recommendation. Johnston was posted to the Philippines, where he served with the 43rd Infantry Regiment during the Philippine-American War. According to his biography, Johnston's actions in 1900 as the leader of a small detachment of scouts earned him the Distinguished Service Cross.
By 1902, the war was over, so Johnston returned to the states. In his biography, he said he learned he'd been commissioned into the Coast Artillery of the Regular Army, but he turned it down because he only wanted to be in the cavalry. However, upon visiting the War Department in Washington, D.C., he said he was informed by an officer "who was rather rough with me" that turning it down wasn't possible.
Later that day, Johnston happened to run into someone he knew, who took him into the White House to visit his friend, the now-President Roosevelt. When the details of his commission came up, Roosevelt asked War Secretary Elihu Root — who happened to be in the room at the time — if the situation could be fixed. Root said yes and got on it right away.
"On my arrival in Baltimore, I received a telegram from the same officer who had disciplined me on this matter, informing me that my commission had been transferred to the cavalry," Johnston said. "This commission I accepted."
Injuries and High Honors
In early 1906, Johnston volunteered to return to the Philippines to live during the post-war occupation, this time accompanied by his wife. That March, Johnston was sent 16 hours from his island home via steamer to Jolo Island, where Filipino natives were still fighting U.S. troops at Mount Bud-Dajo. That's where he earned his Medal of Honor.
On March 6, 1906, Johnston got permission to lead a charge toward the fort at the top of the hillside, despite heavy fire coming from the fort's defenders. Johnston was one of the first to reach the top, despite being shot in the right shoulder in the process.
According to Maj. Omar Bundy, who recommended Johnston for the Medal of Honor, Johnston's "especially brave action … distinguished his conduct above that of his comrades."
Johnston's serious wounds required him to spend 10 days in a hospital before being allowed to return to his Philippines home to recover. According to Johnston's biography, Roosevelt cabled him after the ordeal to see how he was doing. Johnston's wife said she later learned that the surgeons working on him thought they might have to amputate his arm. Thankfully, instead, he was sent to doctors in San Francisco who were able to save the crucial appendage. After about a month there, Johnston was sent home to Baltimore.
A few years later, on Nov. 10, 1910, Johnston received the Medal of Honor from President William Taft during a White House ceremony.
Germany & World War I
Johnston eventually received orders to study cavalry tactics in Hanover, Germany. As an outstanding rider, he was stationed with the Royal Military Riding Academy and, during his time there, participated in the 1911 International Horse Show in London as part of the U.S. Army Officers Team.
He also enjoyed playing polo, which was significant in the military at the time because it helped improve the riding skills of cavalrymen and taught leadership, teamwork and strategy.
By 1915, the U.S. had begun training officers in what was called the National Army to supplement the insufficient number of officers in the Regular Army, just in case the U.S. joined World War I, which had already broken out in Europe. Johnston was the adjutant of one of those training camps in Plattsburg, New York.
Then, in 1916, Johnston was appointed as a colonel of the 12th New York Infantry, joining them to serve along the border with Mexico that July. The troops were there to prevent incursions into U.S. territory by Mexican forces, who were in the midst of a civil war. Eventually, though, Johnston decided to resign as colonel and return to his command in the cavalry.
When mobilization to join World War I in Europe was officially ordered in August 1917, Johnston was made a temporary National Army major. He was sent as division adjutant to the newly activated 83rd Division at Camp Sherman near Chillicothe, Ohio, and quickly advanced in rank, becoming a colonel by October 1918.
During the war, Johnston served with the 82nd Infantry Division and helped direct the unit's Argonne-area operations. A 2019 U.S. Army North article said he took part in the successful rescue effort for Maj. Charles Whittlesey's 77th Division — famously known as the Lost Battalion. His actions earned him the Distinguished Service Medal and the title of acting chief of staff for VII Army Corps.
Johnston returned to the U.S. in June 1919, seven months after the war ended. A year later, he was given the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Regular Army and selected to be part of a 1921 mission to the Philippines as an assistant to the governor general.
Johnston eventually returned to the states yet again. By 1926, he'd attended and graduated from a cavalry advanced course and from the Army War College. In 1929, he was promoted one last time to colonel of the Regular Army.
Throughout the 1920s, Johnston and his wife continued their international travels while he served. In 1923, the couple went with Army Gen. Leonard Wood and his wife to Java; they ended up moving there for a brief time in 1928 as part of the American Electoral Mission, his biography said. By 1929, they were living for a stint in Mexico City.
A Tragic Ending
In 1934, Johnston was stationed as the chief of staff for the Army's 2nd Infantry Division at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. On March 7, he was playing in a polo tournament when disaster struck. According to his wife's account, Johnston was riding a new horse when there was a rush down the field to the goal.
"When the melee dissolved, one player lay unmoving on the ground. ‘It's Gordon!' I cried," Anna Julia Johnston remembered. "I ran to the group of players that surrounded G.J. … he opened his eyes and gave me a long, deep look before he closed them forever on the things of this world."
Records show his horse tripped, rolled over and crushed him. Johnston died shortly thereafter. He was 59.
Johnston was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. By the time of his death, he was one of the most decorated soldiers in the U.S.
While Johnston and his wife never had children, his legacy still lives on. During World War II, Camp Gordon Johnston, a training center in Carrabelle, Florida, was named for him. It closed in 1946 but has since been turned into a museum. In more recent years, the U.S. Polo Association created the Col. Gordon Johnston Sportsmanship Award, which was first presented it in 2019. Johnston's wife's family also continues to share his story, including for this article.
Johnston's Medal of Honor is located at the Princeton University Library.

History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

President James K. Polk was anchored to his belief in “Manifest Destiny”—that the nation was meant to spread far and wide in North America. According to History.com, “he sent his Commanding General of the Army Zachary Taylor and his troops to claim territory along the Rio Grande River between the U.S. and Mexico…” They skirmished in the Mexican American War, signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo on February 2, 1848, and annexed 525,000 miles with the eventual boost of Texas, California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona; parts of Colorado and Wyoming.
Although the U.S. was victorious, Polk’s policies generated 1,773 casualties, $100 million in costs—nearly $3 billion today—and a downturn in public opinion. Polk departed office in compromised health and died three months later. Zachary Taylor succeeded him.
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends The Mexican American War by John DiConsiglio for more information.

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On February 10, 1763, the French and Indian War ended. The Treaty of Paris terminated the hostilities, but the “Republique” was forced to cede virtually all of its North American territories, including Canada and Louisiana. The British scooped up Florida from Spain.
According to History.com, “the treaty ensured the colonial and maritime supremacy of Britain and strengthened the 13 American colonies by removing their European rivals to the north and the south.” Fifteen years later, French bitterness over the loss of most of their colonial empire contributed to their intervention in the American Revolution on the side of the Patriots.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends The War That Made America: A Short History of the French and Indian war by Fred Anderson.

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On February 15, 1898, an American battleship -- anchored in Havana harbor -- exploded; two hundred sixty sailors -- out of approximately 400 -- perished.
A U.S. Navy court investigated the incident and ruled that a mine had been used to sink the ship. The court did not blame Spain for the incident. But according to History.com, “much of Congress and a majority of the American public expressed little doubt that Spain was responsible and called for a declaration of war ... Subsequent diplomatic [overtures] failed to resolve the…matter, coupled with [the] United States’ indignation over Spain’s brutal suppression of the Cuban rebellion and continued losses to American investment, led to the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in April 1898.”
Four months later, an armistice was declared, and by the end of the year, a treaty was signed.
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Theodore Roosevelt’s The Rough Riders. The 26th president fought in the Spanish-American War.

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Medal of Honor: Navy Rear Adm. Robert Cary Jr.

By KATIE LANGE
Navy Rear Adm. Robert W. Cary Jr. had a long military career that included both world wars, but the actions that earned him the Medal of Honor happened when he was only a few months into life as a commissioned officer.
Cary was born on Aug. 18, 1890, in Kansas City, Missouri, to Robert and Lalla Cary. According to a Kansas City Times article, he was a descendant of Meredith Miles Marmaduke, the governor of Missouri in 1844.
After graduating from Kansas City's Westport High School, Cary went to William Jewell College and the University of Missouri before attending the U.S. Naval Academy, which he graduated from in 1914. About seven months later, he found himself serving as an ensign on the USS San Diego.
On Jan. 21, 1915, the San Diego was off the coast of La Paz, Mexico, conducting a four-hour, full-speed endurance trial, when all hell broke loose.
Toward the end of the trial, Cary was working in the ship's boiler rooms with the job of taking steam pressure readings from every boiler every half-hour. He had just read the steam and air pressure on the No. 2 boilers and had stepped through the electric watertight door into the No. 1 boiler room when the No. 2 boilers exploded.
Apparently, one of the boiler tubes had become blocked, causing an explosion that led to a chain reaction.
As the emergency unfolded, the ship's bridge started to electronically close the doors between the rooms. Cary didn't want the men in the No. 2 room to be trapped, so he forced the doors to remain open so they could escape, even as the steam from the ruptured boilers swirled around him. That quick thinking saved the lives of three men.
Cary's cool demeanor also kept the men in the No. 1 boiler room calm enough to remain at their posts, even though five nearby boilers had exploded and more were expected to explode at any time.
Eventually, Cary was able to direct the men in the No. 1 boiler room into a bunker for safety. The entire incident killed five men and injured at least seven others, according to the Naval History and Heritage Command.
Cary was cool and collected during the ordeal and showed a lot of bravery during a dire situation. But it would be 19 years before he would earn the Medal of Honor for those actions.
Cary continued his service in the Navy. During World War I, he served on destroyers and earned the Navy Cross for bravery when the potential for an explosion threated another ship. On Nov. 7, 1918, Cary was an executive officer on the USS Sampson when, during a heavy storm, a depth charge on the ship's fantail broke loose – something that could lead to an explosion. Cary and three enlisted men quickly went to the fantail and secured the depth charge to quell the danger, despite almost being washed overboard.
At some point early in his career, Cary married a woman named Jane Watt. After she died in 1931, he remarried a woman named Jane Christian. Between the two marriages, Cary had a son, Robert, and four daughters.
After World War I, Cary remained in the Navy, serving in many capacities at several duty stations. It was during this period between wars that he finally received the Medal of Honor for the 1915 incident on the San Diego. On May 23, 1934, then-Lt. Cmdr. Cary received the nation's highest award for valor. The ceremony was held at the Bremerton Navy Yard, where Cary's ship at the time, the USS Arizona, was in port. A fellow sailor from the San Diego, Petty Officer 2nd Class Telesforo Trinidad, also received the medal for his efforts in rescuing crew members that day.
Cary went on to serve in various European campaigns during World War II, including as the commanding officer of the USS Savannah during the U.S. invasion of Italy. On Sept. 11, 1943, the ship was struck by a German glide bomb off the coast of Salerno. About 200 sailors were lost during the incident, but the ship managed to make it to Malta to be salvaged.
According to an article in the Kansas City Times, Cary earned the British Distinguished Service Order from King George VI during World War II. He returned to the U.S. in 1944 to command Naval Station Treasure Island in San Francisco.
By the time Cary retired from the Navy in 1946, he'd reached the rank of rear admiral. As a civilian, he worked various jobs in industry and business. He also owned and operated a farm in his home state for about 10 years, according to the Lima, Ohio, newspaper, The Lima Times.
Cary died of a heart attack while in Toledo, Ohio, on July 15, 1967. At the time, he was the chairman of the board of Trans-World Service Inc., Toledo's largest freight forwarder. He was 76.
Cary was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

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Tips for growing beautiful dahlias
By MELINDA MYERS

Growing beautiful dahlias is easier than you think. Proper planting and care will result in an abundance of beautiful blooms for you to enjoy in your garden and summer bouquets. Use these strategies to boost your dahlia growing success:
Start Early for a Long Season of Flowers
Dahlias grow from sweet-potato-like tuberous roots often called tubers that are usually planted in late spring. For earlier blooms, start your dahlias indoors about four to six weeks before the last spring frost. Use one- or two-gallon pots with drainage holes. Fill them with a damp growing mix and cover the tip of the tubers with one to two inches of soil. Water sparingly until the sprouts emerge, which can take two to four weeks.
Plant Outdoors in Late Spring
Grow dahlias as you would tomatoes. Choose a sunny location with fertile, well-drained soil. To encourage healthy root growth, take time to loosen the soil in the planting area at least 12 inches deep. Don’t be in a rush to plant your dahlias. Wait until the soil is warm and all danger of frost has passed.
Good air circulation encourages strong, healthy growth. Space border dahlias 15 inches apart from the center of one plant to the next. Taller types should be spaced at least 18 to 24 inches on center. Plant so the top of the tuber is no more than one to two inches below the soil surface. It can take several weeks for the first sprouts to emerge, but once they do, the plants grow very quickly.
Pinch for Fuller Growth and More Blooms
When your dahlias reach a height of 10 to 12 inches, use scissors or sharp pruning shears to remove the top two or three sets of leaves. Pinched plants produce more side branches, resulting in sturdier growth and lots more flowers. Pinching will set the plants back by a week or two, but they will come back quickly.
Stake to Avoid Broken Stems
Dahlias that grow more than three feet tall benefit from staking. This is especially true for varieties that produce large flowers. Staking helps plants stay upright, minimizes damage from wind and rain, keeps the flowers more visible, and makes it easier to deadhead. To avoid damaging the tubers, add the stakes at planting time or soon after. For more information on staking and pinching dahlias to increase flower production, read Longfield Gardens’ How to Pinch and Stake Dahlias (Longfield-gardens.com) article.
Feed Your Plants and Don’t Let Them Go Thirsty
Dahlias perform best when they receive a consistent amount of moisture throughout the growing season. Too much or too little water causes stress and can reduce flower production. When the weather is dry, water deeply once or twice a week, using drip irrigation, a soaker hose, or a watering wand. Keep the foliage as dry as possible to minimize disease. Mulching the soil with shredded leaves, evergreen needles, or other organic material will conserve moisture, moderate soil temperature, and suppress weeds.
Dahlias perform best when they are well-fed. Enrich the soil with compost and add a low-nitrogen, slow-release fertilizer at planting time. Once the plants are 12-18 inches tall, many gardeners boost performance with an additional slow-release fertilizer application or several liquid fertilizer applications every three to four weeks. Follow the label directions for the timing and application rates of the fertilizers you select.
Pruning and Deadheading
The more flowers you cut, the more flowers you’ll get. Harvesting flowers twice a week will encourage a plentiful supply of blooms. Spent flowers should be removed immediately (deadheading) to minimize pest and disease problems. Always use sharp bypass pruners or snips to make clean cuts. If you want flowers with long stems, be willing to sacrifice some side buds. Stems come back longer and stronger when you cut deep into the plant and close to a main branch.
Dahlias require a little more time and attention than many other flowering plants. But your efforts will be handsomely rewarded with a bounty of beautiful blooms and a sense of accomplishment.

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The catch of the day
It’s a good guess that 12 year old Campbell Keenan is going to be telling his grandchildren and maybe even his great grandchildren this story. The Keenan family was visiting Florida recently and Campbell’s mom decided to take him fishing. They chartered a boat and off they went. The youngster cast his line when they were about a mile offshore. He got a bite and, with the much needed help of the charter boat’s captain, Paul Paolucci, almost an hour later Campbell landed an eleven foot long, 700 pound great white shark. Great white sharks are protected to the point where you are not even allowed to take them out of the water if you hook one, so Paolucci pulled it close enough for him to tag it and released it back into the ocean. But Campbell has enough photos and videos of the event to last him a lifetime.

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Duh?
Criminals can be cunning but then again, once in a while, the police come across bad guys and gals who virtually turn themselves in. For example, a pair of burglars who apparently were having a tough time carrying off their loot called 911 for help. The Associated Press reports that “while talking to deputies, the female suspect told them that she had called 911 for the purpose of having law enforcement help them move their belongings from the house they were burglarizing. They also wanted to get a ride to the airport so they could spend the weekend in New York,” according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

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It was a horse, of course
Donna Bevan made a double take when she pulled up into a drive-thru lane of a MacDonald’s in New South Wales, Australia, recently. There sitting in the back seat of a car in the next lane was a horse. Donna wasted no time saving the encounter on vide, including a brief conversation with a passenger in the car who explained that the horse was excited because he knew he was going to have his ice cream.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation,

Ask Rusty – About Difficulty with Social Security’s Sign-in Process

Dear Rusty: Last month I tried to contact Social Security who never picked up a phone on their end. The same with the IRS. When I finally got through, they said I had to join ID.me before they could help me. That took me over a week, and many applications and rejects, to get through. The last step was holding up my Social Security card and my driver’s license on a Zoom call to an ID.me representative. I found this very peculiar - why do I have to go through this place to get information from my government agencies? Now I am receiving catalog offers to buy things from ID.me online. I think this is very strange and out of line. How do I get unregistered from this place? I am very afraid they will share my information with the world. Is this a government agency and why do we have to register there, only to have offers to buy things? Signed: Frustrated Senior
Dear Frustrated: Many others have shared with us their frustration when seeking enrollment in the federal government's newest credential verification programs so, though I know it's no comfort, you are not alone.
Social Security has, since September 18, 2021, required all newly created online accounts to use either ID.me or Login.gov to authenticate the user's identity. “ID.me” is a private company contracted by the government to ensure that you are who you say you are, thus avoiding any fraudulent activities. Login.gov is the government's own authentication program set up to allow access to multiple government agencies for the same purpose. The intent of both is to give you one set of sign in credentials which can be used to access multiple government agencies, rather than a unique login procedure for each agency. And, most importantly, the purpose is to protect you from any fraudulent activities which could cause you financial harm. Rest assured that your personal information is safe using either of these government-sponsored methods to verify your identity for government business.
Those who have a "my Social Security" account set up before September 2021 can still use their previous SSA-unique identity verification method (a “2-factor ID process”) to access their “my Social Security” online account. This method is as secure as the newer methods but is only good for accessing your Social Security account (not the IRS or any other government agency). Nevertheless, creating a new online Social Security account now requires you use the government’s current identity verification methods - either ID.me or Login.gov. If you select ID.me (a private company) you do have control over the type of communication you receive from them and can opt out of receiving any offers for additional services. To do so, it is basically a matter of signing into your ID.me account, accessing your Profile, and selecting "Unsubscribe All" in the Preferences section. And in the meantime, you can also select "Unsubscribe" at the bottom of any promotional email you receive from ID.me.

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5 facts about how exercise helps you live longer

FREDERICKSBURG, Virginia – Most people think exercising is a good idea. They know it’s likely good for them, but they may not know just how good it is for their longevity. According to research by Harvard Health, those who follow the minimum guidelines for physical activity reduce their risk of early death by as much as 21%. Those who exercised two to four times that amount per week reduced it by 31%. Those are some excellent reasons to make exercise a regular part of the routine.
“Being physically active regularly is important to living a better quality life,” explains Jennifer Scherer, medical exercise specialist, certified personal trainer, and owner of Fredericksburg Fitness Studio. “Understanding how important exercise is to longevity is the first step.”
Here are 5 facts about how exercise helps people live longer:
Heart Health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Exercise can help reduce the risk of diseases like cardiovascular disease. Harvard Health reports that physical activity leads the body to make healthy changes in blood vessels, muscles, metabolism, and the brain. All of these things together lead to a healthier heart.
Creating Balance. An exercise program focusing on strength, flexibility, balance, endurance, and body awareness can help reduce the risk of falls that can lead to other health issues. The CDC reports that each year there are around 34,000 deaths caused by falls in those over the age of 65.
Improving Mood. Exercise can improve your mental health and lower the risk of anxiety and depression, leading to a happier and healthier lifestyle. The Mayo Clinic reports that exercise eases the symptoms of depression and anxiety by releasing feel-good endorphins and taking the mind off of negative thoughts. Additionally, it helps people to be more confident.
Being Social. Exercise can bring people together and help build lifelong relationships, aiding in a longer and happier life. Many people find that being a part of a social group helps to improve their quality of life. Whether joining a walking club, bowling team, or biking club, there are social benefits to being physically active with others.
Healthier Eating. Those who are more physically active tend to care more about their diet. Focusing on a balanced nutrition plan and an exercise program provides the perfect marriage for a long healthful life. Diet and exercise combine to create a healthier body that will help people live longer. It's hard to outrun a horrible diet, but exercising regularly makes people more aware of the fuel they are taking in.
"Exercising regularly seems like a hurdle to many people," added Scherer. "The hardest part is getting started and then keeping it going. We help people to create and stick with healthy plans for the long haul."
Fredericksburg Fitness Studio is a private personal training studio that offers a range of services to improve health and wellness, including medical exercise, personal training, in-home medical training, virtual personal training, nutrition coaching, and a Pilates reformer program. All workouts on it are custom-tailored for the individual to address their physical fitness concerns. The Pilates Reformer program features a versatile machine designed to provide resistance. It can be used when standing, sitting, or lying down.

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Grow tasty and nutritious leafy greens indoors
By MELINDA MYERS

Boost the flavor and nutritional value of winter meals by growing a container of greens indoors. Plant, tend and harvest greens for garden-fresh flavor now and throughout the year.
Green leafy vegetables are healthy sources of carbohydrates, typically rich in fiber and nutrients, while also being low in fat and calories. Many of these vegetables can help reduce the risk of stroke, anemia, high blood pressure, certain cancers, and diabetes. They also help improve the health of your gut, heart, bone, and skin while boosting your body’s immunity.
To create your own indoor garden of greens, all you need are seeds, a container, potting mix, and a sunny window or artificial lights. Select a container or planter with drainage holes or reduce maintenance with the help of self-watering containers like the Viva Round or Square self-watering planters. Their water reservoirs reduce watering frequency.
Fill the container with a quality potting mix that is well-drained and retains moisture. Plant seeds as recommended on the seed packet. You can grow each type of green in its own container or mix them up for an attractive display in larger planters like the Tartu Elevated Rectangular Planter (gardeners.com).
Water thoroughly and often enough to keep the soil moist while waiting for the seeds to sprout. Reduce the need for frequent watering by covering newly planted containers with a plastic sheet or dome. Once sprouts appear, remove the plastic and begin watering thoroughly when the top inch of soil begins to dry.
Boost productivity and increase planting space with the help of artificial lights. You will find a variety of setups for any space in your home. Counter and tabletop light stands like the Micro Grow Light Garden can be conveniently located in the kitchen or dining room. Stand-alone light shelves provide more growing space within a small footprint. Furniture-grade light stands make them easy to use in any room in the house.
Grow greens you and your family like to use in your favorite recipes and salads. Green or red leaf lettuce is easy to grow indoors and its mild flavor is most appealing to children and picky eaters.
Spinach is another popular and easy-to-grow leafy green vegetable used fresh in salads and smoothies or added to soups and sauces. It contains many vitamins and nutrients, including iron, folic acid, and calcium.
Kale is considered a superfood. This nutrient-dense vegetable is packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. If the flavor is a bit too intense for you, try the baby leaf types that are milder in flavor, or try braising kale for a milder flavor and more tender texture.
Add a bit of peppery flavor to salads, soups, pastas, and other dishes with arugula. Add a spicier flavor with mustard greens. Sauté mustard greens or add them to your favorite Southern, Asian, Indian or savory dish.
Include color and flavor in your winter meals with beet greens. The leafy part of this vegetable is often overlooked but is the most nutritious part of the plant. Use these the same way you would spinach or kale. You can purchase beet varieties selected for growing the best greens to harvest from baby to full size.
Make it more fun by getting others involved. Hand family members and guests a plate and kitchen shears so they can harvest and help prepare the meal.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – What Counts for Social Security’s Earnings Limit?

Dear Rusty: I retired on February 1st of this year (2022). I collect a pension from my employer plus a union pension, as well as Social Security, all of which started in February 2022. I am married and I'm 65 years old. I only worked 4 weeks in 2022 before retiring, but my income ended up being far more than expected. I got 5 weeks’ vacation pay and a retroactive check from an overdue labor contract. I also got hazard pay and a small check for a class action lawsuit my union filed years ago. All of that brings my 2022 income to about $35,000 which means I have exceeded what I can make as far as Social Security goes. My question is, should I contribute some money to my IRA to offset my earned income? And is it even possible for me to do that? Signed: Retired but Concerned
Dear Retired: Generally, income earned before starting your Social Security benefits (such as accumulated vacation pay) doesn’t count toward Social Security’s earnings limit for those who have not yet reached their full retirement age (FRA), nor do your earnings from working in the 4 weeks of 2022 before your SS benefits started. Similarly, the check for retroactive labor contract benefits, hazard pay for past work, and income from the class action suit do not count toward Social Security’s earnings limit. The only thing that counts towards the limit is earnings from working after your Social Security benefits started, which you apparently did not do. Thus, from what you’ve shared, you should not be subject to any impact to your monthly SS benefits as a result of your total 2022 income. Note, you may still get an inquiry from Social Security next year about your 2022 earnings, but only earnings from actually working after your Social Security benefits started (which you did not) would count toward Social Security’s earnings limit.
You may, however, wish to consult with a qualified tax advisor because some of your Social Security benefits received in 2022 will be subject to income tax on your 2022 tax return. Assuming you file your tax return as “married/jointly,” if your combined income from all sources exceeded $32,000 then 50% of the SS benefits you received during the tax year will become part of your overall taxable income; and if your 2022 combined income from all sources (including your wife’s income) exceeded $44,000, then up to 85% of your SS benefits received in 2022 will become taxable income. A tax advisor can give you more information on that, and also help you decide if it would be wise to contribute to an IRA. But, in any case, contributing to an IRA will not affect your monthly Social Security benefit.

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PROBLEM SOLVED

By CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT

What's an "as is" sale and why won't Samsung fix my washer?

Sheri Lau's Samsung washer doesn't work, despite many repairs. Now the manufacturer claims it sold her the appliance "as is" and won't help her fix it. Is she out of luck?

Q: I bought a Samsung washer from Best Buy in 2019. It was a total lemon! They replaced it in August 2020. But the second washer failed in June 2022.
I called Samsung, and a representative told me the washer was out of warranty and I would have to pay for repairs. Samsung set up an appointment with one of their repair services. They quoted me $90 for the service call.
A technician said my washer needed a drain pump. He ordered one and charged me $120. He called me later and said the part was unavailable, but I could order one online, and they would come back to install it.
I asked him why he couldn't order it, and he said Samsung only allowed them to buy their parts from them. Just wanting my washer fixed, I ordered the part. When it came in, the technician came back and installed it. He charged me another $120 for the service call.
The washer didn't work. When I tried to do my first load of laundry, water gushed out of the bottom. I called the repair center repeatedly and left messages for three days, and no response. Initially, Samsung agreed to repair the machine. But then it said it could not find the right parts and canceled, claiming it had sold me the washer "as is." I just want a working washer. Can you help me? -- Sheri Lau, Dexter, Mich.
A: Samsung should have fixed your washer as promised. You can't just say you'll help a customer and then refuse, claiming there's no warranty on the washer.
If you buy something "as is," it means it's not covered by any warranty. You'll find "as is" most frequently used for used cars and appliances. But it's highly unusual for a manufacturer to sell a new appliance "as is." Some states prohibit retailers from selling appliances "as is," but unfortunately, Michigan isn't one of them.
I would have argued that even though your written warranty (also called an express warranty) no longer covered your washer, an implied warranty did. I have more about implied warranties in my ultimate guide to fixing your appliance on Elliott.org, my consumer advocacy site. Basically, a washing machine should last 13 years, and the manufacturer implies that it will last about that long. Two years is far too short a lifespan.
But here's what made me take your case: Samsung told you that it would fix your ailing washer and then changed its mind because it couldn't find the right parts. Excuse me? The manufacturer can't find its own parts? Perhaps it should look inward for the solution.
I see companies doing this all the time -- they blame another department, or company policy, for not being able to help a customer. But they ignore the fact that they are in control of the other department, and they set company policy. So, from the perspective of a consumer, those excuses are inexcusable..
You could have reached out to one of the executive contacts for Samsung I publish on my consumer advocacy website. A brief but firm email detailing your troubles might have fixed this appliance problem.
I contacted Samsung on your behalf. If offered you a $563 refund, which represents the depreciated value of your Samsung washer. Maybe your next washer shouldn't be a Samsung.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him on his site.

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Saved by the bell
Mauricio Henao parked his car at the base of a hillside on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California, and got out to answer his cell phone; it saved his life. A few moments later a rockslide -- including a giant boulder -- landed on the car, compressing it in a manner seconds. It happened in the wake of recent torrential rains; the call saved his life. Henao was succinct when he described it: “I was in the driver’s seat, walked out, got a call, ran back inside, came out and the car was just totaled,” he told KTLA-TV.

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This boa was no scarf
The lady was all set to board her flight at Tampa International Airport in Florida recently, but when she put her carry-on bag through the checkpoint X-Ray machine the TSA agents saw that the boa in her bag was not a kind of decorative scarf, it was a boa constrictor. She claimed the snake was her emotional support pet; the TSA said, in an Instagram post, “Our officers at Tampa International Airport didn’t find this hyssssssterical! Coiled up in a passenger’s carry-on was a 4-foot boa constrictor! We really have no adder-ation for discovering any pet going through an x-ray machine.”

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He lives for his headstands
Twenty-years ago this spry Canadian gymnast, Bruce Ives, started a birthday tradition of standing on his head to celebrate the occasion. He is 82 now and he’s still at it. In fact, the Guinness Book of World Records has declared him to be the oldest man on the planet to perform headstands, taking the title away from the previous record holder who was a mere 75. Says Ives, "In my 60s, when my grandchildren were around in my lawn in the summertime, I just gave it a shot to get them involved in gymnastics as well. It just grew from there -- it became a custom on my birthdays.”

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A whale of a tale
It is said that the top two reasons to go whale watching are the experience and the thrill. But surely the passengers aboard Captain Dave's Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari off the coast of California recently got much more than an experience and a thrill of a lifetime recently. They got to watch a whale giving birth to an offspring. "For a minute, many of us thought it may be a shark or predatory event. But no, instead of the end of life, it was the beginning of a new one," according to a passenger who got it all tape.

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Moose on the loose
Craig Lapointe, a homeowner in Saskatoon, Canada, returned home one afternoon recently to find two broken front room windows, apparently the work of a moose on the loose in his neighborhood. Lapointe suggests the moose was foraging for food, got too close to his home causing a pet dog and a pet cat to make their presence known which, in turn, riled the moose causing it to break the windows. Ryan Brook, a wildlife researcher, says it is a likely explanation. "If there was a pet, and in this case, there sounds like there was more than one pet, the animal may have hit more than once on purpose. Moose can be very aggressive. They're big. Often the biggest animal around. They have a tendency, if they're startled by animals or people, they may go on the offensive."

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This just in
And the award goes to a gutsy, young bar-tailed godwit that dared to fly non-stop for eleven days from Alaska to Australia, a daring 8,435 miles. How does the Guinness World Records know that the bird didn’t land for a rest en route? Eric Woehler of Birdlife Tasmania explains that other species of birds might land on the water to rest and feed but not a godwit. If it lands on water, “it's dead. It doesn't have the webbing in its feet, it has no way of getting off. So if it falls onto the ocean's surface from exhaustion, or if bad weather forces it to land, that's the end.” The previous record for such a flight was held by another godwit that flew 8,218, according to the record keepers at Guinness.

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Are you camera-shy in virtual meetings? 5 tips to connect better with your team

By JONATHAN D. REYNOLDS

Remote work may be here to stay. In fact, it is on the rise.
But making the adjustment to remote work and staying connected with work teams can be difficult for some people, says Jonathan D. Reynolds (www.jonathandreynolds.com), author of Right Seats, Right People: A Leader’s Guide to Hiring and Developing Top Performers.
“Even with the best of intentions there can be a degree of isolation,” says Reynolds, CEO of Titus Talent Strategies, a nationwide recruiting agency. “Video calls are still relatively new. It’s not a natural way to communicate. There is an art form to maintain a strong connection in a remote world, requiring several steps to become consistently comfortable, communicative and productive.”
Reynolds offers these tips to smooth the remote connection individuals have with their teams when video conferencing:
Set yourself up for an “illuminated” conversation. Reynolds says good lighting and positioning are keys to effective virtual communication. “Centralizing yourself on the screen, being well-lit and allowing people to see you has a profound effect on the subconscious aspects of the connection,” he says.
Maintain eye contact. Being present and focused are essential to connecting with people in a virtual meeting environment, and Reynolds says multitasking during a meeting while on camera is a no-no. “If you do need to check something, then jump off camera,” he says. “Maintaining eye contact is important, so remember, when you are speaking, take your eyes off of yourself and look at your camera.”
Prepare for the conversations and presentations. Many people fear public speaking, and video conferencing can add another layer to that anxiety, Reynolds says. “That’s why preparation is important,” he says. “If you’re conducting or participating in a meeting, it can be helpful to prepare a loose script, especially when you need to have a critical conversation.” Reynolds says if you plan to just wing a critical conversation, chances are you won’t be very successful. “Even if it’s only five to 10 minutes, set aside time to gather your thoughts and make note of the key things you want to address,” he says. “In addition to preparing your talking points, you also want to prepare yourself mentally. Get into a place where you’re open and expecting to receive constructive feedback, too.”
Know how to use the mute button. Sometimes people on a video conference get overly concerned with background noise and eliminate emotion. “Let people hear you laugh,” Reynolds says. “If you’re in a small group meeting of five people or less and you have minimal background noise, then leave the mute button alone. Jump in with a comment, and keep the interactions lively. It helps keep things as real and connected as they can possibly be.” On the other hand, in a larger group setting where it’s not practical to come off mute, Reynolds says to make use of the chat box, including the use of appropriate emojis and memes that communicate what you are feeling.
Have an authentic or attractive background. “Some people love a good background and use it as a branding tool,” Reynolds says. “They share a dream location or provide a snapshot into their world – guitars on the wall, a chic coffee shop, sitting outside in beautiful scenery. Location through what’s seen in the background can invite conversation and allow for a strong connection.”
“In the changing working world, a video conference is an entirely new interactive experience for most people,” Reynolds says. “It requires adapting your habits, perspective and tactics in order to make it work effectively for you.”

About Jonathan D. Reynolds
Jonathan Reynolds (www.Jonathandreynolds.com) is CEO of Titus Talent Strategies, a nationwide recruiting agency, and author of Right Seats, Right People: A Leader’s Guide to Hiring and Developing Top Performers. A visionary in his field, Reynolds is energized by inspiring company leaders and equipping them with unique approaches to better understand their people, foster organizational alignment, and create optimum team performance. He started Titus Talent after experiencing firsthand that the traditional recruiting model was broken and had to be changed to produce better results and create lasting partnerships. His company has made the Inc. 5000 fastest-growing companies list for four straight years. Reynolds, who grew up in the United Kingdom, has almost 20 years of experience in the recruiting industry.

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Neurodiversity and the art of managing an inclusive workplace

By DR. NIKA WHITE

When people think about diversity, equity and inclusion, their attention focuses naturally on race, gender and other traits easily visible to anyone who wanders through the workplace.
But the world of DEI encompasses much more than that.
One area overlooked is neurodiversity, which recognizes that not everyone’s brain works the same way and that a person who struggles under some working conditions can soar when modifications are made, says Dr. Nika White, president and CEO of Nika White Consulting (www.nikawhite.com) and the author of Inclusion Uncomplicated: A Transformative Guide to Simplify DEI.

Failing To Make Accommodations

Neurodiversity includes ADHD, learning disabilities, autism, dyslexia, Tourette’s syndrome and other conditions.
“More and more people are coming out as neurodiverse, which means the odds are high that any particular business will have neurodivergent people on staff,” White says.
About 15 to 20% of people worldwide fall under at least one of the neurodiverse categories, according to a study published in the British Medical Bulletin and shared online by the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Yet, when companies consider how they can promote the goals of DEI, they don’t always take into account the accommodations they can and should make for all of those neurodiverse people, White says.
Of course, part of the reason could be that leaders in the business, even those charged with putting DEI policies into action, fail to recognize their neurodivergent employees, who are left to find their own ways to overcome obstacles they face at work, she says.
As just one example, an employee might struggle in noisy environments, but shine if given a quiet room where they can carry out their duties.

Valuing Different Work Styles

“But it’s important to remember that employees are individuals, so you won’t find one-size-fits-all solutions,” White says.
With that said, there are ways an attentive leader can help their neurodiverse employees succeed, White says, such as assigning a manager to serve as a trusted ally who will listen to the employee’s concerns and can suggest inclusive policy and practice changes.
“You also can design a variety of workspaces that meet the work needs of different types of people,” she says. “That could be a mixture of closed door offices and open areas where people can work together. It could even involve different types of furniture or wall colors. An added advantage of this is that this can help not only neurodivergent employees, but all employees.”
It’s also important for businesses to encourage other employees to value the different working styles of others. Some employees may not understand why someone else prefers a particular work situation, and they may even look down on people who are neurodivergent, White says. The organization can help by providing training that encourages employees to be “compassionate and respectful” in those scenarios, she says.
But here’s the tricky part: Even as businesses make accommodations, White says, they should take care to avoid making the person feel they are being labeled as some “other” category of person or employee.
“The goal is for managers to provide neurodivergent employees with the tools and the environment they need to succeed,” she says, “without labeling or making them feel exposed or embarrassed about making personal requests for their work or wellbeing.”

About Dr. Nika White

Dr. Nika White, the author of Inclusion Uncomplicated: A Transformative Guide to Simplify DEI, is president and CEO of Nika White Consulting (www.nikawhite.com). Dr. White is an award-winning management and leadership consultant, keynote speaker, published author, and executive practitioner for DEI efforts in the areas of business, government, non-profit and education. Her work helping organizations break barriers and integrate DEI into their business frameworks led to her being recognized by Forbes as a Top 10 Diversity and Inclusion Trailblazer. The focus of Dr. White’s consulting work is to create professional spaces where people can collaborate through a lens of compassion, empathy, and understanding.

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Medal of Honor : Army Tech. Sgt. Russell Dunham
By KATIE LANGE
Army Tech. Sgt. Russell Everett Dunham had been shot in the back and was a clear target for the Germans when he was defending a hill in France in 1945. But neither issue stopped him from single-handedly taking out three enemy machine-gun nests. His bravery and determination to stop the enemy attack earned him the Medal of Honor.
Dunham was born on Feb. 23, 1920, in East Carondelet, Illinois, just south of St. Louis. His parents, Ola and Dorothy Dunham, eventually moved the family about 40 minutes north to Fosterburg, Illinois.
Dunham was part of a large family; he had eight brothers and five sisters. He attended grade school but dropped out before high school to help tend to the family farm. According to a Washington Post article, Dunham moved to St. Louis with his brother, Ralph, at 16. The two young men sold soup and tamales on the street and in bars to make ends meet during the Great Depression.
During a Library of Congress 2003 Veterans History Project interview, Dunham said that in 1940, he, Ralph and a friend went to Peoria, Illinois, to try to get a job at Caterpillar, but the company wasn't hiring. Instead, the three men signed up to join the Army. Both Dunhams were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division when the U.S. joined World War II.
On Nov. 8, 1942, Dunham landed in North Africa, where he fought in combat until his unit was sent to Sicily in July 1943. From there they went to Italy, where Dunham was wounded in the Battle of Anzio. Soon after, the 3rd ID was sent to France, where Dunham, then a technical sergeant, would face one of the toughest fights of his life.
An Uphill Battle
On the afternoon of Jan. 8, 1945, Dunham was with 2nd Platoon, Company I in the Alsace-Lorraine region of France. The platoon was attacking the enemy at the base of a snow-covered hill near Kaysersberg when they got pinned down between enemy artillery and machine-gun fire.
The only choice they had, Dunham said, was to go up the hill. So, he camouflaged himself in a white mattress cover to blend in with the knee-deep snow and started the climb. Carrying 12 carbine magazines and a dozen hand grenades, he crawled about 75 yards under heavy direct fire toward one enemy machine-gun nest. With about 10 yards to go and his platoon about 35 yards behind him, Dunham jumped to his feet and charged the enemy emplacement. He was hit by machine-gun fire that ripped a 10-inch gash across his back and sent him spinning 15 yards back down the hill.
"They said if had been deeper, it would have split my spine in two," Dunham recalled in the Library of Congress interview.
He said he jumped right back up, though, and kept going because he didn't want to get hit by incoming artillery. Right then, a German grenade landed beside him. Dunham kicked it before it exploded about five yards from him. At the same time, he managed to shoot and kill the German machine gunner and his assistant. Since his carbine was out of ammo, he then jumped into the timber-covered foxhole and hauled a third member of the enemy gun crew out by the collar.
Dunham was in intense pain and bleeding through his white mattress cover, making him a big target, but he kept up the fight. Dodging more bullets, he continued another 50 yards up the hill to attack a second machine-gun nest. He launched two grenades into it, which took out the gun's crew. He then fired his carbine into nearby foxholes to get rid of any additional enemy riflemen.
Despite his condition, and the heavy grenade and gunfire being launched in his direction, Dunham crawled further up the hill by himself. About 15 yards from the third and final machine-gun nest, he jumped to his feet, staggered to the hole, and killed its crew with more hand grenades. An enemy soldier fired at him at point-blank range, but miraculously missed. Dunham took that soldier out, then drove the rest of the Germans out of their hiding spots with his carbine.
In total, Dunham's actions killed nine Germans, wounded seven more and captured two, according to his citation. Dunham said he was initially recommended for the Distinguished Service Cross, but it was upgraded to the Medal of Honor.
Before he could receive it, though, he had to make it through France. After the fight near Kaysersberg, Dunham was treated by medics until he was mostly healed, but he was quickly sent back to the front.
Captured by the Germans
On Jan. 22, 1945, Dunham's unit was surrounded by enemy tanks at Holtzwihr, France, and most of the men were forced to surrender. In an attempt to escape, Dunham said he hid in a sauerkraut barrel by a barn all night, but he was caught the next day.
Dunham got lucky, though. The guards who searched him fought over the cigarettes and candy he had in his pockets, so they didn't notice the pistol he was carrying. The guards put him in a vehicle and drove him toward German lines, but when one man stopped at a chateau for a drink, Dunham shot the other guard, then ran.
A few days later, Dunham came across some U.S. engineers working on a bridge over the Ill River. He said they thought he was a German at first, but eventually a medic he knew came along and recognized him. The medic took care of him and saved his frostbitten feet from amputation.
Dunham and his unit eventually pushed into Germany. On April 23, 1945, the 25-year-old received the Medal of Honor from Lt. Gen. Alexander M. Patch III at Zepman Stadium in Nuremberg. During the ceremony, Patch said that Dunham's actions saved the lives of 120 pinned-down U.S. soldiers.
Dunham also earned France's Croix de Guerre and several other accolades. However, he was always quick to remind others that his brother, who also fought in the unit, received every decoration he did, except the Medal of Honor. About two weeks after the medal ceremony, the war in Europe ended and their unit was sent home.
When Dunham left the Army, he returned to Illinois and got a job working as a benefits counselor for what was then called the Veterans Administration in St. Louis, helping veterans for 32 years before he retired in 1975. To honor his fellow infantrymen, Dunham also pushed to get a monument erected at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis to honor the soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division.
Dunham married twice. He had a daughter, Mary Neal, with his first wife, who was also named Mary. He later remarried Wilda Long-Bazzell and helped raise her two children, Annette Wilson and David Bazzell.
His family said he loved to recount his war days to anyone who would listen, including at conventions and for school students.
"A lot of people come home — they don't want to talk about it, and they have nightmares or something like that," Annette Wilson said in Dunham's Chicago Tribune obituary. "He talked about it all the time."
Dunham died of heart failure at his home in Godfrey, Illinois, on April 6, 2009, at age 89. He had moved there from nearby Jerseyville, Illinois, only a few weeks before. He was buried in the town's Valhalla Memorial Park.

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Medal of Honor: Army Pfc. Garfield Langhorn
By KATIE LANGE
Army Pfc. Garfield McConnell Langhorn was only 20 years old when he lost his life fighting in Vietnam. He sacrificed himself to save his fellow soldiers from harm in an act of valor that earned him the Medal of Honor.
Langhorn was born to Garfield and Mary Langhorn in Cumberland, Virginia, on Sept. 10, 1948. At some point, the family —his parents, him and his two sisters— moved to Riverhead, a town on Long Island, New York.
As a young man, Langhorn was a devout Christian who served as an usher at his church. He graduated from Riverside High School in 1967 and worked for Suffolk County, New York, before being drafted into the Army in 1968.
Langhorn was assigned to the 7th Squadron, 17th Cavalry of the 1st Aviation Brigade. He deployed to Vietnam in November 1968, but not before getting engaged to his childhood sweetheart, Joan Brown-Smith.
On Jan. 15, 1969, Pfc. Langhorn was serving as a radio operator with Troop C, which was inserted into a landing zone near Plei Djereng, Vietnam. The platoon was on a mission to rescue two U.S. AH-1 Cobra helicopter pilots who had been shot down by enemy fire on a heavily wooded slope.
While the platoon's soldiers hacked their way through dense jungle to get to the wreckage, Langhorn coordinated with command-and-control aircraft overhead. Unfortunately, when they got to the wreckage site, they found both pilots dead. As they were taking the bodies back to the pickup site, the platoon suddenly came under attack from North Vietnamese soldiers hiding in camouflaged bunkers. Within minutes, they were surrounded.
Langhorn immediately radioed for help from the gunships flying above. As air support fired minigun and rocket fire onto the enemy, the private called for cover fire for the wounded who had been moved to the center of their small perimeter.
Eventually the sun went down, leaving the platoon in darkness and making it impossible for the gunships to provide accurate support. That gave the enemy enough courage to start probing the surrounded soldiers' perimeter.
When an enemy grenade landed in front of Langhorn and several wounded men, his fellow soldiers said he didn't hesitate. Several soldiers reported after the incident that Langhorn said, "someone's got to care!" before throwing himself onto the explosive device and absorbing the blast as it went off.
Langhorn sacrificed himself to save his fellow soldiers, many of whom survived the war.
For his extraordinary sacrifice, he posthumously received the Medal of Honor. President Richard M. Nixon presented it to Langhorn's mother, father and sisters during a White House ceremony on April 7, 1970.
In interviews years later, Langhorn's fiancée remembered the smile he always had on his face.
"In his official portrait and the pictures you see of him, he always looks so serious, but that wasn't Garfield at all. Garfield had the most beautiful smile, and he was always smiling," Brown-Smith recalled in a 2013 article in the Riverhead Local, an online news site. "I want people to know that about him."
Langhorn was buried in Riverhead Cemetery in his hometown, which has carried on the legacy of its only Medal of Honor recipient in many ways over the past 50 years.
In 1993, a bronze bust of Langhorn was erected in front of Riverhead's town hall. Years after that, the town's post office was renamed in his honor. Among many other tributes to the fallen private is an annual school essay contest for sixth graders who are asked to answer the question, "How can I emulate and honor Pfc. Langhorn in my everyday life?"
Aside from his hometown honors, Langhorn was also inducted into the Army Aviation Hall of Fame in 1998.

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Avoid the 5 empathizer traps and resolve to show more empathy in the new year

By DR. NICOLE PRICE

As another new year begins, many people are focusing on resolutions, such as losing weight, making more money, doing more for their community, taking up a new hobby, learning a new skill, etc.
But here’s a resolution plenty of people would be wise to make for 2023: Having more empathy. Why not make this year the one when we build our empathy muscle?
Empathy is one of the most important gifts we can give someone who is struggling. As we look ahead to how we can improve ourselves in the new year and positively impact others, we also should reflect on why we don’t show empathy often enough throughout a given year.
Empathy is the ability to emotionally understand what other people feel and to imagine yourself in their place. Sometimes, though, it’s hard to have empathy. Empathy requires experience, and until we’ve walked in another person’s shoes, we may find it difficult to understand the emotions they are experiencing or why they do the things they do.
It isn’t fair to judge others based on our own experiences, but we do it all the time. Often we don’t even realize it. This is not because we are bad people. It may be that we simply haven’t developed empathy yet.
Or, maybe we do practice empathy, but we’ve fallen into an empathy trap.
Take a moment to review the following five empathizer traps and honestly acknowledge ones that you have fallen into and how you can do better. And don’t forget to celebrate the ones you’ve overcome.

Stingy empathizer

The stingy empathizer chooses who is and isn’t worthy of their empathy. We all can easily fall into this trap without realizing it, especially when it’s a perspective or situation drastically different from our own. For example, someone who has never lost a job or had to face a difficult challenge on their own may perceive someone who is living on the street and begging for money as lazy with no one to blame but themselves for their situation.
But if you believe that each of us has the same inherent worth and is deserving of the same dignity that we each believe we deserve ourselves, then you will believe that everyone is worthy of empathy. We need to stop being stingy with our willingness to understand another human being. We have all sought empathy in our lives. If we all seek it, shouldn’t we all offer it as well?

Reluctant empathizer

This is someone who has developed their empathy muscle and puts it into practice, but who on occasion finds themselves holding their empathy back. Unlike the stingy empathizer, it is not because they don’t think the individual or group is deserving; rather, it is based on concern for the consequences of displaying their empathy. When the idea that empathy equals weakness is so prevalent in our society, it can be easier to sit on the sidelines and withhold your empathy than to risk being perceived as weak or unaligned with the majority.
If you’ve ever been bullied and your friends watched and then empathized with you in private, or you’ve been the friend who stood there and did nothing, you know what I’m talking about. It happens all the time in the work environment and in public and social settings. The desire to empathize is there, but instead we choose to turn away. We need to stop holding back our empathy for fear of how we will be perceived. When we display our empathy unapologetically and with confidence, others will begin to perceive it as the incredibly beneficial strength that it is.

Impatient empathizer

This type empathizes with the person they are listening to, but once the exchange has happened, they want the other person to move on already. But empathy doesn’t work that way. It includes supporting a person through the time and space they need to work through their feelings or circumstances.
When we find ourselves unable to empathize with why someone continues to feel the way they do, we have another choice: We offer grace and kindness instead of pushing them to get over it or move forward before they are ready.

Natural empathizer

Some people are born with an already developed empathy muscle that enables them to empathize without having to think about it. But natural empathizers have empathy traps, too. Some think they don’t need to work their empathy muscle, that they don’t need to pay attention to how they empathize. Are they, at times, being reluctant or stingy?
They may not understand that we are all evolving empathizers who must continue to strengthen our empathy muscles. I think the traps that natural empathizers fall into are true for anyone with a natural skill or talent. The key is to recognize the potential traps and work to avoid them.

Judging empathizer

The judging empathizer judges those of us who may not always be on top of our empathy game. In those instances, judging empathizers may not say it, but they are certainly thinking, “What is wrong with you? How can you be so unsympathetic?”
Rather than judging another’s lack of empathy in that moment, take the opportunity to be a nurturing empathizer by helping and encouraging others to develop their own empathy muscle. The nurturing empathizer doesn’t fall into any of the empathy traps. They are the empathizers who are willing to help others on their empathy journey.
I love novelist and essayist Leslie Jamison’s description of empathy as a kind of travel: “Empathy requires us to be a respectful guest who is there to observe, reflect, and seek to understand another person’s experience.” To be able to develop the ability to feel another’s experience, we must extend ourselves to travel across our borders and into someone else’s experiences, allowing us to peer into someone else’s feelings, thoughts, and ideas to find where they intersect with our own.

About Dr. Nicole Price

Dr. Nicole Price (www.drnicoleprice.com) is the Forbes Books author of Spark The Heart: Engineering Empathy In Your Organization. She also is the CEO of Lively Paradox, a professional coaching business that focuses on practicing empathy in leadership. Originally trained as an engineer, Dr. Price's technical background enhances her objective approach to solving process problems and helping people focus on solutions.

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As workplaces speed into the future, are hiring practices glued to the past?

By JOHN W. MITCHELL, Ph.D.

Work isn’t what it used to be.
Technology transformed the modern workplace, and COVID-19 transformed it some more.
But even as that evolution continues, some things remain stubbornly stuck in the past, including how businesses recruit, hire, train and keep their workers, says John W. Mitchell (www.johnwmitchell.com), author of the upcoming book Fire Your Hiring Habits: Building an Environment that Attracts Top Talent in Today’s Workforce.
“We still recruit pretty much as we did decades ago,” Mitchell says. “In a time of unprecedented changes, hiring managers remain laser-focused on outdated requirements as far as degrees expected, credentials, amount of experience, and the number of fancy letters after someone’s name.”
Too often, he says, the process boils down to reviewing a resume to make sure the correct boxes are checked. Yes, they have this. Yes, they did that.
“But what about people who can deliver the outcomes with some specialized training without checking off those boxes?” Mitchell asks. “What about people who can actually do the work, but we place so many obstacles requiring years of expensive and time-consuming advanced degrees that many of those people never make it into the positions we desperately need filled.”
As hiring practices try to keep up with the rest of the workplace’s march of progress, Mitchell offers these suggestions for those who want to get ahead of the game:
Fire your old mindset. One thing undermining recruiting could be your own mindset, Mitchell says. He suggests revisiting, and possibly ditching, persistent myths that no longer hold true. Some of that involves laying aside those degree or experience requirements that may be unnecessary and ultimately irrelevant. Another example, he says, is that hiring managers at times are leery of hiring older workers because they may think the person is going to retire in five years and they don’t want to bring them aboard for the short term. “This way of thinking misses out on great candidates,” Mitchell says, “because we hold onto the idea that we need lengthier commitments.”
Understand who you are recruiting. Different generations have different characteristics and often different desires when it comes to work. This means that even for the same position, the messaging can be tweaked when recruiting from these various cohorts. “What attracts someone from Generation X or a Millennial will not be the same as a Baby Boomer in most cases,” Mitchell says. As an example, many Millennials view their jobs as just one part of their lives, whereas for older cohorts, the job may have been the main focus of their lives. “For these Millennials, flexibility for outside pursuits, for work-life balance, is important,” he says. “While you cannot be all things to all people, and not every job is right for every person, the same job can appeal to all generations. What you need to do is offer messaging focusing on what’s important to each group as you recruit them.”
Make use of the “Rule of Three.” Even if the first job candidate you interview seems perfect for the job, explore further before making an offer, Mitchell says. He advocates following the Rule of Three, the idea that final interviews should be whittled to three candidates. Mitchell takes that rule even further for hiring managers and executives. “My own Rule of Three is that in the interview process for managers/executives, there should be a narrowing down of three different people, interviewed three different times by three different people, at three different venues,” he says. “It is too easy in a singular interview to only get a ‘snapshot’ of the candidate, how they present themselves at that one point in time.”
Finally, although some people insist you shouldn’t hire friends or relatives, Mitchell is less adamant about that. Yes, there are downsides, he says, but there are also advantages.
“When you're interviewing a job candidate, that person might spend a total of three hours with you and your team,” Mitchell says. “However, if I know somebody, if I've worked with them or they are a family member or a friend, then I have years of experience with them.”
Here’s the tricky part, he says: If they don’t perform, make sure you are willing to fire them, just as you would any other employee.

About John W. Mitchell, Ph.D.

John W. Mitchell, Ph.D. (www.johnwmitchell.com), author of the upcoming book Fire Your Hiring Habits: Building an Environment that Attracts Top Talent in Today’s Workforce, is president and CEO of the global electronics industry’s trade organization, IPC. Mitchell began his engineering career at General Electric Aerospace before moving into leadership positions at Alpine Electronics and Bose. His academic credentials include a doctorate in higher education management from University of Georgia’s Institute of Higher Education, a Master of Business Administration from Pepperdine University, and a Bachelor of Science in electrical and computer engineering from Brigham Young University.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Will My Work Earnings Affect My Social Security Benefits?

Dear Rusty: I am presently 67 years of age and am still working full time. I am receiving Medicare coverage, but I have not yet applied for monthly Social Security payments. I have been told that I can take SS payments even if I am still working. Is that correct? Is there a limit to how much I can earn each year and still receive SS payments? Signed: Working but Wondering
Dear Working: Social Security’s so-called “earnings test” applies only to those who haven’t yet reached their full retirement age. At 67 years of age, you are already past your SS full retirement age (FRA) of 66 years and 2 months, which means there is no longer a limit to how much you can earn from working. Regardless of how much you earn, your monthly Social Security benefits will not be affected, so you can claim your Social Security at any time and not worry about your benefits being affected.
You should also know that because you haven’t yet claimed your Social Security, your monthly benefit has been growing since you reached your full retirement age in October of 2021. You’ve been earning Delayed Retirement Credits (DRCs) at the rate of .667% more benefit for each month you have delayed claiming, so your benefit now at 67 would be over 8% more than it would have been at your FRA last year. And, if you wish to, you can continue waiting to claim SS and continue to earn those DRCs to get a still higher benefit. But DRCs stop when you reach 70, when you would get your maximum Social Security benefit – about 31% more than your FRA amount – so never wait past age 70 to claim.
To recap: because you’ve already passed your full retirement age you can claim your SS benefit now (e.g., to start in January) and get a benefit which is 8+% more than you would have gotten if you claimed at your full retirement age, or you can continue to wait and get an even higher amount by claiming even later. Which way to go depends a lot on your current financial needs and your life expectancy. If you don’t urgently need the money now and are in good health and expect at least average longevity (about 84 for a man your current age), then waiting longer to claim would be a smart move. But if you need (or want) the money now, then claiming at this time would also be a wise choice. In either case, you don’t need to worry about your earnings from work negatively affecting your monthly Social Security benefit – they won’t.

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Who said it wouldn’t last
At last, we have the secret for a long and happy marriage. With his wife of 80 years, Edith Mae, at his side, Robert Schaum of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, said, it’s simple: “don't go to bed mad." They met in high school in 1936, courted and got married the day after Christmas in 1942. Alas, in 1943, Robert shipped out to the Pacific theater of World War II at the behest of Uncle Sam. The pair of 102-year-olds have two kids and a very happy marriage. Alas, what they don’t have is the record for the longest marriage; it was set by Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher of North Carolina. According to the folks at the Guinness Book of World Records, they were married for nearly 87 years until Herbert passed away at the age of 106.

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Maybe she forgot her glasses
Joni Keeney of Shepherdsville, Kentucky, usually gets a thumbs up and a smile for her front yard Christmas decorations, but this year one passerby called the cops. Keeney’s display featured a character from the classic National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation in which the scantily clad character, Cousin Eddie, stands outside of his RV emptying its toilet tank. The onlooker, whoever she was, didn’t get the joke and called the police, complaining that there was an improperly dressed man standing outside of the Kenney home exposing himself. When the police showed up they quickly saw that the caller mistook the dummy for a depraved exhibitioner and they laughed out loud.

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B-r-r-r-r!
The weathermen tell us that “mild weather prevails during most of the winter” in Austin, Texas. But this year, just in time for Christmas, the outdoor thermometers fell to a freezing 10 degrees, what the National Weather Service called one of the nation’s “greatest extents of winter weather warnings and advisories ever.” Whether the folks at the HEB Car Wash in the Austin suburb of Lakeway forgot to turn its spigots off or a pipe burst open is anybody’s guess the overnight freeze turned the establishment into a winter wonder that attracted gangs of gawkers.

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

On January 5, 1920, George Herman Ruth— “The Babe”—was sold by the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees for $125,000—or approximately $2 Million in today’s currency.
The announcement fevered up the baseball fans in Boston. Ruth was a legend, who had guided his home team through three World Series wins.
“The deal paid off—in spades—for New York, as Ruth went on to smash his own home run record in 1920, hitting 54 home runs,” according to History.com. “He connected for 59 homers in 1921, dominating the game and increasing Yankee revenues to the point that the team was able to leave the Polo Grounds (shared with the New York Giants baseball team) and build Yankee Stadium, which opened in 1923 and became known as “the house that Ruth built.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends The Big Bam: The Life and Times of Babe Ruth by Leigh Montville.

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Wildcatters started drilling for Texas oil during the last of the 1800s, but the first major gusher wasn’t discovered until January 10, 1901, at Spindletop Hill near Beaumont, Texas. The crude soared high and wide, flowing at an initial rate of more than 100,000 barrels each day.
It took nine days to cap the well.
“Following the discovery, petroleum, which until that time had been used in the U.S. primarily as a lubricant and in kerosene for lamps, would become the main fuel source for new inventions such as cars and airplanes; coal-powered forms of transportation including ships and trains would also convert to the liquid fuel,” says History.com.
It was the beginning of the world’s first trillion-dollar industry.
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Giant Under the Hill: A History of the Spindletop Oil Discovery at Beaumont, Texas, in 1901 by Jo Stiles, Judith Walker Linsley and Ellen Walker Rienstra.

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On January 15th, the nation will celebrate the birth of Michael Luther King Jr. His father, Michael Senior, apparently got inspired by the German protestant reformer, Martin Luther, changed his name--and his son’s-- to Martin Luther King. Each morphed into civil rights reformers.
Martin Luther King, Jr., was a compassionate, intelligent person who skipped grades nine through 12, and--in 1944--enrolled in Morehouse College, according to History.com. He earned his “divinity degree from Pennsylvania’s Crozer Theological Seminary [then] attended graduate school at Boston University, where he received his Ph.D. degree in 1955 ... on May 17, 1957, before a crowd estimated at between 15,000 and 30,000, King delivered his first national address on the topic of voting rights. His speech, in which he urged America to ‘give us the ballot,’ drew strong reviews and positioned him at the forefront of the civil rights leadership.”
The night before King’s April 4, 1968, murder in Memphis, he addressed the congregation at the Mason Temple Church. “Like anybody,” he said, “I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now … I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not go there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. And I’m happy tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends The Trumpet of Conscience by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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Medal of Honor: Army SFC Junior Edwards
By Katie Lange
Korea was a hard place to be in winter, especially during war and over a holiday, and Army Sgt. 1st Class Junior Dean Edwards knew that. His quick thinking and courage in early 1951 were the linchpin to his platoon holding a critical position during battle. Edwards sacrificed his life for the cause, and his valor earned him the Medal of Honor.
Edwards was born Oct. 7, 1926, in Indianola, Iowa, to Walter and Anna Edwards. He was part of a big family that included four brothers and four sisters.
Edwards attended school but dropped out in the ninth grade to work, according to a 1951 article in the Des Moines Tribune. He was drafted into the Army in 1945, shortly after his 18th birthday. Edwards worked as a cook and was being trained as an infantryman when World War II ended. He was discharged in August 1946, but his family said he didn't have a lot to do when he returned home, so he reenlisted in June 1947.
"He was always laughing and joking," his sister, A.K. Moldenhauer, said in the 1951 Des Moines Tribune article. "I think he got a kick out of the Army. He wrote us a lot and always seemed to see the funny side of things."
By August 1950, Edwards was sent to Korea, where he served as a noncommissioned officer with Company E of the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division.
On Jan. 2, 1951, Edwards and his company were working near Changbong-ni to wipe out an enemy roadblock that had stopped the flow of supplies to South Korean troops. Edwards' platoon had been defending a strategic hill when they were attacked by an enemy machine gun nest set up on adjacent high ground and forced from their position.
Edwards quickly ordered a counterattack.
"As the fire of the enemy still covered the area, some of the men were reluctant to move forward," Maj. Perry A. Sager, Company E's commander, said in his account of the battle. "Edwards personally led four of the men to foxholes that were within 50 yards of the enemy position. During these trips he was fully exposed to the enemy."
Edwards then directed fire on the enemy; however, he quickly realized that it wouldn't do much since the enemy was hidden in a hole. He also knew he couldn't use mortar fire against them because of their proximity to friendly troops, so Edwards grabbed several grenades and single-handedly charged the hostile nest.
The enemy withdrew but quickly returned when Edwards ran out of grenades. Edwards ran back to replenish his supply, then charged forward again. This time, he managed to land a grenade inside the hole the enemy was in, destroying its weapon and killing its crew.
However, Edwards was forced back yet again when he ran out of grenades a second time. He ran back for more as the enemy replaced its destroyed machine gun with another and resumed fire. When Edwards had collected more grenades, he rushed the hostile emplacement a third time through a vicious hail of fire and again managed to take out the crew and its gun.
Unfortunately, the 24-year-old was seriously wounded during that run and died. However, his courageous sacrifice gave his platoonmates time to regain their strength and take their position back. They wiped out the roadblock, which allowed the South Korean troops who had been cut off to withdraw with a minimum loss of men and equipment.
When Edwards' remains were returned to the U.S., he was buried in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Cemetery in his hometown.
For giving his life in battle, the young sergeant received the Medal of Honor. His father accepted it from Defense Secretary Robert A. Lovett at a Pentagon ceremony on Jan. 16, 1952. Edwards' mother, a sister and two brothers were also in attendance.
Edwards Hall at the former Fort Des Moines in Iowa and the former Camp Edwards near Kumchon, Korea, were named in his honor.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Will the Family Maximum Limit My Benefits?

Dear Rusty: I have a question about the family maximum SS retirement benefit. As I understand it, if the breadwinner is drawing retirement benefits or is deceased, the family maximum is calculated from a formula that yields a figure between 150 percent and 188 percent of the breadwinner’s primary insurance amount — his or her monthly benefit if claimed at full retirement age. That age is 66 and 4 months for people born in 1956 and will gradually increase to 67 over the next few years. Is this calculation only applicable at full retirement age (in my case 66 and 4 months) or is it still applicable if I delay taking SS until 68 or 70? My assumption is the "breadwinner" is the spouse with the higher income. Signed: Planning my Retirement
Dear Planning: The Family Maximum applies only when more than one dependent is collecting benefits from the record of a worker who is either deceased or collecting Social Security retirement benefits (the “breadwinner”). That might typically be a spouse and a minor child, multiple minor children, or, perhaps, multiple children and a spouse as well.
The Family Maximum doesn’t apply, for example, when both a current spouse and an ex-spouse are collecting benefits from that “breadwinner” – only when a current spouse and minor children are collecting too. The Family Maximum also does not apply when only one dependent (e.g., a spouse) is collecting benefits from the “breadwinner,” or when no dependents are collecting benefits on the “breadwinner’s” record. Neither would the Family Maximum restrict your benefit if you wait until you are age 70 to claim your maximum personal benefit. So, if your concern is that the Family Maximum might limit your, or your wife’s benefit if you wait until age 68 or 70 to claim, you can discard that concern.
You are correct that the Family Maximum formula, when it applies, yields a maximum total limit of 150% to 188% of the worker’s “primary insurance amount” or “PIA,” which is the amount the worker is due at full retirement age (FRA) and, as you know, your FRA is determined by your year of birth. If the Family Maximum applies because multiple dependents are collecting SS benefits on your record, Social Security will determine your maximum family dollar amount, deduct your PIA (your FRA benefit) from that amount, and the remainder would be available to be shared equally among your multiple dependents. But if no one else, or only your wife, is collecting benefits on your record, the Family Maximum does not apply.

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2023 winning flower and vegetable varieties
By MELINDA MYERS

It’s never too early to start planning new additions to this year’s gardens and containers. Start compiling your list now so you are ready to place your seed order or buy plants early when the selection is the greatest.
Consider including a few All-America Selections (AAS) winners. These plants have been “Tested Nationally & Proven Locally™” for their superior performance in home gardens and containers. Grow a few of these 2023 flower winners for a new look to some long-time favorites.
Coral Candy Coleus is part of the Premium Sun series of coleus. It is the first coleus grown from seed to be selected as an AAS Winner. This uniformly compact coleus has unique narrow, serrated, multicolored leaves. The AAS judges found this variety maintained the color even when grown in full sun. It performed well all season and had almost no flowers. You will only need three seeds to fill a 14 to 16” container.
Bring a bit of the tropics to your garden, patio, or balcony with Royal Hawaiian® Waikiki colocasia. This beautiful elephant ear wowed the judges with its sturdy burgundy stems and large glossy leaves featuring pink veins and creamy white centers. Waikiki reveals these striking colors earlier than other variegated colocasia. This compact variety holds up well in wind and rain.
The stunning orange flowers of Doubleshot snapdragons will have you looking for spaces in the garden and containers to include this winner. This 18 to 20” tall snapdragon features open faced double flowers that start out in shades of orange and orange-red transitioning to a dusty shade as they age. Its strong stems produce lots of flower-filled branches all season long that don’t break off in high winds.
Blue By You salvia is bursting with bright blue flowers from late spring into fall when spent flowers are removed. This perennial blooms up to two weeks earlier than similar varieties already on the market. It was tested over three seasons, including winters and proven to be hardy in zones 4b to 9a. It is a favorite of hummingbirds and butterflies, makes a great cut flower, is suitable for containers, and is heat tolerant. All this and it’s less favored by deer and rabbits.
Make space in the vegetable garden for the high-yielding Kabocha Sweet Jade winter squash. The fruit weighs between one and two pounds, making it perfect for single servings of squash, as an edible soup bowl, or added to a variety of Asian-style dishes where a sweet, earthy nutritious squash is typically recommended. Roast, bake, or puree Sweet Jade’s deep orange flesh that has a dry texture with a sweet flavor.
Grow San Joaquin jalapeno pepper when looking for big harvests in a short timeframe. This means you’ll have lots of peppers available for canning, pickling, and serving roasted and stuffed to large groups of guests. Leave them on the plant longer, allowing them to turn a beautiful red while maintaining their flavor. These thick-walled peppers have just a hint of heat at 2,500-6,000 Scoville units.
Make room in your gardens and containers for these and other winning varieties. Adding new introductions that have been trialed by horticulture professionals across North America helps increase your gardening success.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Can International College Students Get Social Security Benefits?

Dear Rusty: We have hosted international college students for years, all of whom needed to apply for a Social Security Number upon arrival in the United States. Would these students be entitled to some Social Security funds at some point? Some have worked as paid graduate assistants, but others have not worked while going to school. Signed: Wondering
Dear Wondering: In order to collect Social Security benefits later in life, the students you host would need to have at least 40 “quarters” of credit working and earning in the U.S. and contributing to U.S. Social Security from their “substantial” U.S. earnings. Forty is the minimum number of credits for anyone to claim Social Security retirement benefits. Foreign students who earn only some “quarters” of U.S. Social Security credit (minimum of 6) may, later in life, be able to collect U.S. benefits depending on their country of citizenship/residence. The U.S. has bilateral “totalization” agreements regarding Social Security eligibility with most of its allies and, in some cases, a foreign citizen can “totalize” their Social Security credits from both countries to become eligible for U.S. benefits. Eligibility rules, however, vary somewhat by country, and Social Security payments cannot be made to certain countries (e.g., Cuba and North Korea). Payments to those living in countries with which the U.S. has no bilateral Social Security agreement may also be restricted.
In any case, U.S. Social Security benefits would not be available to any of these students until they are at least 62 years old, and then only if they had worked and earned sufficient U.S. credits (40) to be independently eligible for U.S. benefits on their own U.S. earnings record, or they later became eligible for U.S. benefits because they worked some in the U.S. and were eligible for benefits under a “totalization” agreement between the U.S. and their home country. In any case, any U.S. Social Security benefits earned under a totalization agreement would be based only on their actual U.S. earnings (and not earnings in their home country) and, thus, would likely be very small.
I assume that most international students you host are only in the U.S. for a short time, perhaps one year. The maximum Social Security credits that can be earned each year is four, so it’s highly doubtful that the students you host for such a short time would later become eligible for U.S. Social Security benefits, unless they extend their U.S. presence and continue to work and earn in the United States long enough to later become eligible for U.S. benefits.

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A holiday record
Joel Strasser of Kuna, Idaho, took Christmas decorations to a new level, earning himself a page in the Guinness Book of World Records. He did it by decorating his beard with 710 Christmas baubles, knickknacks and ornaments. It is the fourth time in four successive years that he’s been honored by the Guinness judges. In 2019 he set the record with 302 baubles, in 2020 he did it again with 542 ornaments and last year he managed to adorn his whiskers using 686 festive knickknacks. His secret: "My technique has evolved and gotten a lot more specialized over the years that I've been breaking the record. I stuck them in a lot more haphazardly at first and that's why those first beard bauble record numbers were so low ... I found that if I take my time and really focus on the individual strands of beard hair and small groups of hair, I can manage to fit so many more in there."

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A Hanukkah menorah of biblical proportions
While Christians celebrated Christmas this year, the Jewish population of the U.S. observed the seven day festival of Hanukkah lighting the seven candles of their menorahs. Rabbi Yonaton Nuszen and 425 Jewish teens in Denver, Colorado, celebrated the festival by creating a potentially record breaking menorah. They built it using 25,000 LEGO pieces. It stood 24 and a half feet tall. But Rabbi Yonaton said "It's not about the height - it's about the unity it created. Our entire Jewish community came together to build this mammoth of a LEGO menorah."

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A Christmas story
And then there was the holiday home invasion that occurred in Waxhaw, North Carolina, the invader being a cute little squirrel. The homeowner, Taylor Stading, suspects it found its way into the house via a loose roof shingle. The squirrel led Stading and her family on a merry chase as it sought to settle in the branches of the family Christmas tree. Eventually she used a dust mop to help the critter exit the premises via an open window. It was all caught on video, providing the family with their own, very funny version of the classic Chevy Chase film National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

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Medal of Honor: Army Maj. Thomas McGuire Jr.
By KATIE LANGE

During World War II, Army Air Corps Maj. Thomas B. McGuire Jr. was a legend. The young pilot became one of the top-scoring airmen in U.S. air combat history in a very short timeframe. His skills and prowess in the air also helped him earn the Medal of Honor over Christmas 1944.
McGuire was born Aug. 1, 1920, in Ridgewood, New Jersey, to parents Thomas and Pauline. He was the only child of the fairly affluent couple, who owned an automobile dealership.
McGuire's parents eventually separated, so he moved with his mother to Sebring, Florida, where he spent his teenage years playing various musical instruments and becoming a sports car enthusiast. He also grew interested in flying after hearing stories from an uncle who was a World War I pilot.
After graduating high school, McGuire went to the Georgia School of Technology (now Georgia Tech) to study aeronautical engineering. However, he left in July 1941 after his third year of studies to join the Army Air Corps as World War II raged. McGuire trained to be a fighter pilot, earning his wings and a commission in February 1942.
His first assignment was flying patrols over the Aleutian Islands and Alaska in a P-39 Airacobra. That's where he honed his instincts as a pilot – something that seemed to come natural to him. In December 1942, McGuire transitioned to flying the P-38 Lightning. That same month, he married Marilynn Giesler, whom he had met during training in Texas.
In March 1942, McGuire, who went by the nickname Mickey, was sent to Australia with the 49th Fighter Group. A few months into his deployment, the 475th Fighter Group was created, and he was chosen to join it as part of the 431st Fighter Squadron. Nicknamed "Satan's Angels," the 431st flew all over the South Pacific on missions that ranged from escorting bombers to making fighter bomber sweeps. He also helped the armorers with testing new machine guns and cannons on the P-38s.
In August 1943, McGuire got his first taste of aerial combat. Over the span of two days, he shot down five enemy aircraft while protecting bombers over New Guinea. By the end of the month, he had scored two more kills, received a Silver Star and earned three Distinguished Flying Crosses — a record made over an eight-day period that no one in Air Force history has surpassed.
During the summer of 1944, McGuire struck up a friendship with famed aviator Charles Lindbergh, who was visiting the 475th in the Pacific as a civilian consultant. According to the newspaper The Ridgewood News, McGuire and Lindbergh bunked together in a hut in New Guinea, and Lindbergh flew the occasional secret mission with McGuire in his P-38.
On Christmas Day 1944, McGuire volunteered to lead a squadron of 15 P-38s as protection for heavy bombers attacking a Japanese-held airfield over Luzon Island in the Philippines. They were on their way when the formation was attacked by 20 Japanese fighter aircraft.
McGuire repeatedly flew to the aid of his embattled comrades and drove off enemy assaults, even though he was sometimes outnumbered three to one. At one point, his guns jammed, but he continued the fight by forcing an enemy aircraft into his wingman's line of fire. He had shot down three Japanese Zeros by the time he headed back to his base.
On the 26th, McGuire led more escort fighters on a mission to Luzon's Clark Field, which the Japanese had taken from the U.S. when it invaded the Philippines earlier in the war. While he was trying to rescue a crippled bomber, he shot down one aircraft, then evaded four other enemy fighters, one of which he shot down. McGuire destroyed two more aircraft before the mission was over.
According to The News, a newspaper from Paterson, New Jersey, McGuire was hospitalized for three days due to injuries he suffered during those missions.
By this point, McGuire had 38 kills and was closing in on the record for aerial victories for the 5th Air Force. He was second only to Maj. Richard Bong, who had shot down 40 enemy aircraft.
McGuire hoped to add to his tally and become the No. 1 ace, so on Jan. 7, 1945, he led a group on a volunteer mission to another Japanese-held airstrip on Los Negros Island. When a Japanese Zero aircraft came toward them, McGuire had his squadron surround the Zero, which tried to get out of the snare by dropping down to 200 feet. According to the Air Force Historical Support Division, "there, the formation scattered, and the enemy plane maneuvered into position on the tail of one of the Lightnings." McGuire came to that pilot's rescue, but the dangerous maneuver he tried to use caused his aircraft to stall and crash.
After 325 missions, McGuire was reported as missing in action. His remains were eventually found in June 1949 in the jungles of Los Negros near a pineapple plantation. He was repatriated to the U.S. and buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
McGuire's aerial accomplishments were honored well before that, though. On May 8, 1946, his wife accepted the Medal of Honor on his behalf from Army Gen. George C. Kenney during a ceremony in Paterson, New Jersey. That honor was added to the many other accolades McGuire had received during his career, including the Distinguished Service Cross, three Silver Stars, six Distinguished Flying Crosses and 15 Air Medals.
McGuire is still the highest-ranking American ace to have been killed in action.
Perhaps the biggest honor of his career came around the time his remains were finally found. In June 1949, the airfield at Fort Dix, New Jersey, was renamed McGuire Air Force Base. According to The Ridgeway News, a WWII P-38 was flown to the base in 1981 and resides there in his honor.

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Housecall
By Dr. Bala Simon
associate professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
Q: How do I know if I’m lactose intolerant?
A:People with lactose intolerance have diarrhea, gas and bloating after consuming dairy products like milk, ice cream, cheese, yogurt, butter and sour cream. Dairy is often an ingredient in processed foods, so it is important to check the label. Symptoms might appear 30 minutes to two hours after ingesting dairy. If you suspect a child might be lactose intolerant, look for: loose stools and gas; diarrhea and gas; stomach bloating, flatulence and nausea; skin rashes and frequent colds; and general stomach pain and cramping. Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest significant amounts of lactose, the natural sugar found in milk and other dairy products. Lactose intolerance can develop in late childhood or adolescence and become more problematic in adulthood. The condition is not life-threatening and has no long-term complications. As many as 50 million American adults are lactose intolerant, with certain ethnic and racial groups more widely affected than others. About 80% of all African American and Native American adults, and more than 90% of Asian-American adults, are lactose intolerant. The condition is least common among people of northern European descent. Q: Is the loss of bladder control unavoidable as we age? A. Urinary incontinence — leaking urine that you can’t control — is common and doesn’t just affect older people. About a third of older men and half of all women accidentally leak occasionally, and it’s more common after pregnancy, childbirth or menopause. But there are ways to manage it. Urinary incontinence can be caused by obesity, anxiety, smoking, rostate problems, or nerve damage from diabetes, Parkinson’s or from consuming too much alcohol or caffeine or from an infection or structural problem, so you should see your doctor to identify the cause.
It may help to establish a routine for urinating every two or three hours and work to extend the time in between. Don’t reduce fluid intake, though, as that can lead to overly strong urine, which can irritate the bladder. The size of the bladder isn’t the issue. Instead, the bladder can’t hold the usual amount of urine (about two cups) or has lost the ability to stretch and retain that amount. Strengthening the pelvic floor muscles with Kegel exercises that tighten and relax the muscles and release and stop the flow of urine can mprove bladder control. Q: What is plantar fasciitis, and how is it treated? A: This painful foot condition is the result of inflammation of the fascia or thick, fibrous band of tissue connecting the heel to the toes and supporting the foot muscles and the arch. When the fascia is overly stretched, small tears occur. Plantar fasciitis is more common in women and those who are overweight or on their feet for several hours daily. Additional risk factors include wearing worn-out, thin-soled shoes; regularly wearing high heels; having a very high arch or flat feet; an unusual walk or foot position; or tight Achilles tendons or heel cords. Symptoms include pain in the bottom of the foot at either the center or front of the heel bone. Some experience pain that’s worse uponwaking in the morning or when they have sat for a long period. Plantar fasciitis is usually diagnosed by a physician examining the tender area, often determining the cause by its location. The condition usually improves on its own after a few months, but rest, applying an ice pack or taking over-the-counter pain medications can help reduce swelling and ease discomfort. If the condition doesn’t improve or redness or bruising on the heel appears, notify your doctor.

Q: How do I know if I am getting enough iron?
A: Iron is a mineral the body uses to make hemoglobin, which helps transport oxygen in the blood throughout the body. A lack of iron can limit that flow of oxygen and may lead to anemia. There are different types of anemia, but iron-deficiency anemia is the most common. Poor diet or serious illness can cause iron deficiency. Those most at risk are women, beginning with the onset of menstrual cycles, and older adults whose appetites have decreased. Others at risk are those taking treatments or medicines, like blood thinners that rob the body of iron, and those with chronic illnesses causing blood loss. Symptoms of iron deficiency include fatigue; constant chills; paleness, especially around the eyes; dry skin; bruising; and feeling bloated. Blood tests will confirm anemia, but a physical exam and sharing medical history with a physician often leads to an initial diagnosis. When t is determined that diet is the cause, iron-rich foods such as spinach, red meat, peanut butter, kidney beans, dried fruits, pumpkin or squash seeds, and oysters may be recommended. The physician may also recommend an over-the-counter iron supplement. Email your health questions to: housecall@uams.edu. ###

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Around the world in 180 days
Phileas Fogg went Around the World in 80 Days in the classic 1956 movie. But Fogg was a fictional character and so he didn’t make it into the Guinness Book of World Records. But, recently, Laura Massey-Pugh and Stevie Massey circumnavigated the world in 180 days on a tandem bicycle and won Guinness’ official recognition for their 18,000 mile triumph. It was the first time that the record keepers awarded recognition for the event to a male-female tandem team. A women’s team holds the record for their event, having biked the world in 263 days, 8 hours and 7 minutes; a men’s team did it in 281 days, 22 hours and 20 minutes.

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What’ll he do when he turns nine
Maddock Lipp of Golden, CO is eight years old and likely to soon receive recognition by the Guinness World Record judges for being the youngest person to have skied the slopes of all the world’s seven continents. According to Guinness, to date “the youngest person to ski on all seven continents is Victoria Rae White beginning at the age of 9 years 88 days in Zermatt, Switzerland and ending aged 10 years 79 days in Winter Park, Colorado, USA, 16 March 2008.” Despite his age Maddock has been skiing for half his life, so far; he put skis on for the first time when he was four years old.

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This is no tall story
Colombian Edward Hernandez recently surrendered his Guinness World Record title to Azerbeijanian Afshin Ghaderzadeh. What is the title, you ask? It turns out that Ghaderzadeh is 2.7 inches shorter than the former record holder. He recently measured in as the shortest man on the planet at a height of 2 feet, 1.6 inches compared to Hernandez’ 2 feet, 4 inches. Ghaderzadeh was one and a half pounds when he was born; he’s 20 years old now and weighs in at 14.3 pounds.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Can I Get Survivor Benefits While Still Working?
Dear Rusty: I lost my wife several years ago and I qualified for Social Security Spousal benefits. Unfortunately, because of my income, I have not been able to take advantage of this benefit. I am currently 64 and still working. I believe I have until the age of 70 to receive this. Is there any way to claim any of this before I start taking my Social Security in a couple of years? Signed: Working Widower
Dear Working Widower: Your entitlement to surviving spouse benefits from your wife actually never expires so, you can wait until you stop working full time, or until you reach your full retirement age (FRA), to claim your benefit as a widower.
Social Security’s “earnings test” lasts until you reach your full retirement age which, for you, is 66 years and 8 months. That is the age at which your earnings from working will no longer affect your Social Security benefit. So, you can simply defer claiming your survivor benefit until you reach your FRA, or until you stop working full time and won’t exceed the annual earnings limit (the earnings limit changes yearly; for 2023 it is $21,240). But there is no way to avoid the earnings test if you’re collecting SS benefits of any kind before you reach your full retirement age. If you collect your surviving spouse benefit early and exceed the earnings limit, SS will take away benefits equal to $1 for every $2 you are over the limit (half of what you exceed the limit by), and if your work earnings are high enough it can temporarily disqualify you from receiving SS benefits. The penalty for exceeding the earnings limit is also less severe in the year you reach your FRA.
You might take some comfort in knowing, anyway, that taking your survivor benefit before your FRA would mean it would be reduced (by 4.75% for each full year early) but waiting until you reach your FRA to claim it would mean you’ll get 100% of the survivor benefit you’re entitled to (the same amount your wife was entitled to when she died). And you can claim your survivor benefit (only) first and collect that, while allowing your personal SS retirement amount to continue to grow, up to age 70 if you wish. You should strive to maximize whichever benefit will be highest – your own, or your survivor benefit – and collect that benefit for the rest of your life. If you choose to claim your survivor benefit at your FRA and switch to your own higher amount at 70, your personal SS retirement benefit at 70 will be almost 27% more than it will be at your full retirement age. That would be a good way to avoid the earnings test, maximize both benefits, and secure the highest possible Social Security benefit for as long as you live.
Whether waiting until 70 to claim your own SS retirement benefit makes sense depends on whether it will be higher at age 70 than your survivor benefit at your FRA, and on your life expectancy. Average life expectancy for a man your current age is about 84 and you would break even moneywise at about age 81 if you wait until age 70 to claim your own SS retirement benefit. So, you’d get the most in cumulative lifetime benefits by waiting until your FRA to claim your survivor benefit and - if it will be higher - waiting until you’re 70 to claim your own SS retirement benefit. The choice is yours to make but longevity is the key, so you should carefully assess your potential life expectancy, including your family history, your current health, and your lifestyle to help you decide.

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Remarkable, inspirational
Baseballer Joe Musgrove recently traveled to Antarctica to celebrate his 30th birthday and to break the record for the world’s fastest pitch, according to the Guinness Book of World Records -- an 86 miles per hour fastball. Joe was accompanied by his San Diego Padre teammates and athletes from the Challenged Athletes Foundation, including 16-year old Landis Sims who’s accomplishment defies probability. Sims was born without hands or feet yet he earned the position of second baseman on his Elizabeth, Indiana, high school varsity team. He idolizes Musgrove. As he put it in an interview with KGO-TV in San Francisco: "The first time I met Joe Musgrove, he told me, 'Life rewards those who start.' So I think every day, if I start going, if I start working, then I'm going to be rewarded at some point."

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Isn’t golf a gentleman’s sport?
Who knows what they were arguing about. It had something to do with a golf game. Fifty-one year old Mark Curtis Wells of Biloxi, Mississippi, got into an argument with an unnamed fellow golfer and wound up biting the guy’s nose off. Biloxi’s SunHerald news reports that Wells, his victim and other golfers had been arguing about a game played earlier that day. They took the quarrel into the parking lot where the cops found the victim with a “disfiguring facial injury.” The cops arrested Wells on a charge of felony mayhem. It cost him $5,000 to bail himself out but he will soon be facing charges that could land him up to seven years in prison.

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Believe it or not
What could be more offensive than a pair of old, very old used jeans? How about a pair of 165 year old denims that were found in a trunk in a shipwreck dating back to 1857. The pants may well be worth the $114,000 one bidder paid for the slacks at auction if they turn out to be an early version of the pants made famous by the legendary creator of blue jeans, Levi Strauss. They were found in a sunken old ship off the coast of North Carolina. Strauss didn’t start making jeans at his San Francisco-based Levi Strauss & Co. factory. The company’s historians say it’s “speculation” and that Strauss didn’t start his company until 1873. But the bidder apparently believes that they must be connected with his first brand old dungarees.

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

A powerful potpourri of European countries—Spain, Netherlands, and France—boosted America’s resolve to free itself of Great Britain during the Revolutionary War. The French supplied arms, ammunition, troops, and maritime reinforcement. And, while victory was not declared until 1783, they recognized America’s independence on December 17, 1777, and divulged the alliance two months later.
According to History.com, “Franklin had quickly mustered French support upon his arrival in December 1776. France’s humiliating loss of North America to the British in the Seven Years’ War made the French eager to see an American victory. However, the French king was reluctant to back the rebels openly. Instead, in May 1776, Louis XVI sent unofficial aid to the Continental forces and the playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais helped Franklin organize private assistance for the American cause.”
For more information, the Grateful American Book Prize recommends America's First Ally: France in the Revolutionary War by Norman Desmarais.

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On December 21, 1891, Coach James Naismith invented basketball in Springfield, MA-- the only major sport conceived in America. The inspiration came to him--during the winter-- at the International Young Men’s Christian Association Training School-- when the students were restless and needed an indoor activity.
In 1939 Naismith was interviewed on New York’s WOR-AM radio and explained that he “called the boys to the gym, divided them up into teams of nine and gave them a little soccer ball. I showed them two peach baskets I’d nailed up at each end of the gym, and I told them the idea was to throw the ball into the opposing team’s peach basket. I blew the whistle, and the first game of basketball began ... The invention of basketball was not an accident. It was developed to meet a need.”
Basketball is America’s second favorite sport--after football. Thirty-six percent of the population are fans of the National Basketball Association [NBA].
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Becoming Kareem: Growing Up On and Off the Court by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld.

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Early on, Thomas Edison’s successes would have seemed unlikely. He wrestled with attention deficit disorder; scarlet fever; and a sequence of hearing infections that stripped away much of his hearing. Even so, he once said, “Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 perspiration.”
He dreamed up the motion picture camera; improved Samuel Morse’s telegraph, enhanced Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone, and—according to History.com—re-worked the first light bulb “to be long-lasting enough to be practical for widespread use…the first incandescent lamp had been produced 40 years earlier, [but] no inventor had been able to come up with a practical design until Edison embraced the challenge in the late 1870s. After countless tests, he developed a high-resistance carbon-thread filament that burned steadily for hours and an electric generator sophisticated enough to power a large lighting system.”
On New Year’s Eve, 1879, the re-worked version was displayed in Menlo Park, NJ; more than 3,000 persons showed for the demonstration.
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Thomas Edison: The Inspirational Life Story of Thomas Edison by Helen Boone.

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How can you help make big change happen? Grow it from the grassroots

We live in a time when many people throughout the world want to see positive changes in different aspects of society. But making those changes happen starting from the grassroots level can be difficult – especially when people trying to initiate advances don’t have a strategic roadmap or the right tools to navigate the obstacles.
With solid organization and an effective process, grassroots advocacy – making change happen from the bottom up – can work, despite the common perception that only people in a position of power can make a difference, says Dr. Tarek Kteleh, author of The Six Pillars of Advocacy: Embrace Your Cause and Transform Lives. Dr. Kteleh has led numerous successful advocacy efforts, saving lives, helping to sanction a war criminal, and standing up for healthcare workers and patients.
“You’ve heard these sentences before: ‘You’re powerless to change the status quo,’ ‘“ he says. “Or, ‘You’re no match for the special interests embedded in the U.S. government.’ Or, ‘You’ve lost the battle before you’ve even begun.’ But I’m here to tell you none of that is true.
“I know because my community and I have achieved success, working through multiple levels of the American political system and taking on everyone from war criminals to profit-driven corporations and come out ahead. If you’re passionate about helping a community or cause and willing to selflessly dedicate your time and energy to service for others, you have a strong foundation for making change. You just need to know the tools required to fight for those who desperately need change or are unable to stand up for themselves.”
Dr. Kteleh offers the following keys to successful grassroots advocacy:
A noble cause. “Pour your limited time, energy, and financial resources into a campaign that benefits the many, not the few,” Dr. Kteleh says. “Find and fight for a cause that lifts up entire communities and inspires dedication from those around you.”
Networking. Once you’ve committed to a noble cause, seek out a community of kindred spirits who share your goals, Dr. Kteleh says. “The difficulty lies in connecting with them,” he says. “Start with your neighbors, colleagues, and professional associations.” Online search engines and social media sites also can be valuable tools for finding like-minded organizations.
Education. Dr. Kteleh says the challenge here is two-fold: “Teaching your supporters about your cause and undoing a lifetime of indoctrination that tells us the powerful hold all the cards.”
Fundraising. Even with a noble cause, asking family, friends, and supporters for financial help can be daunting. But Dr. Kteleh says if you’ve built a vibrant network and developed strong educational messaging, you’ve already done the heavy lifting. “Communicate to your supporters the results you hope to achieve and, specifically, how to achieve them,” he says. “Potential donors will then understand what their hard-earned dollars can fund and justify donating.”
Organization. With the help of an accountant or lawyer, Dr. Kteleh says, define your group’s mission and legally register an entity within your state. There are three primary classifications for advocacy organizations. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization is for charitable and educational purposes. Contributions from donors are tax-deductible. A 501(c)(4) is not tax-deductible but it has more flexibility in its activities than the 501(c)(3) and can lobby decision-makers without limits. A political action committee (PAC) is a vehicle for supporting policymakers who can further your legislative priorities.
Advocacy Tools. Dr. Kteleh says there are numerous tools for advancing your cause through policymakers and the public: a professional staff, ideally with requisite lobbying experience; the media, including op-eds about your topic, newspaper coverage of it, and commercials; social media, especially via targeted Facebook and Google ads; and face-to-face meetings with policymakers.
“Human beings were created to bring positive change to the world,” Dr. Kteleh says. “No matter what cause you work toward, the people whose lives you seek to change need and deserve your full commitment.”

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Medal of Honor: Army Tech Sgt. Ralph Neppel
By Katie Lange, DOD News

Army Tech. Sgt. Ralph George Neppel suffered devastating injuries after being blown up by a tank in Germany toward the end of World War II. He lost both of his legs in the ordeal, but his bravery and courage in holding German forces back earned him the Medal of Honor.
Neppel was born Oct. 31, 1923, in Willey, Iowa. His parents, Max and Rose, had a 200-acre farm on which they raised him, his three brothers and three sisters.
Neppel was only 9 when his father died, so he spent a lot of his youth and teenage years helping his mother with the farm. He was doing that until March 20, 1943, when he enlisted in the Army to serve during World War II.
After training, Neppel was assigned to the 329th Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division, which landed on the beaches of Normandy less than two weeks after D-Day. By the end of September 1944, they had made it through France and into Luxembourg. From there, the division fought its way into Germany.
By December 1944, the 329th had taken over most of the town of Birgel, Germany. However, German forces needed the village to be able to press on with their surprise counteroffensive in the Ardennes Forest — which would later be known as the Battle of the Bulge. So, German officers ordered that Birgel be retaken.
At dusk on Dec. 14, the Germans made their move. Then-Sgt. Neppel was the leader of a machine gun squad in Company M when it happened. At the time, his unit was defending an entrance into the village when a Germany tank and 20 enemy infantrymen attacked their position.
Neppel fired as they approached, but he waited until the enemy was about 100 yards out before raking their foot soldiers with his machine gun and killing at least a dozen of them at once.
The tank continued to move forward. When it was about 30 yards out, it fired a high-velocity shell into Neppel's unit's position. The blast wounded the entire squad and blew Neppel about 10 yards from his gun. One leg was severed below the knee, while the other was torn up terribly.
Despite those horrific injuries, the young sergeant dragged himself back to his gun on his elbows. As the tank and enemy infantrymen continued to move toward him, he remounted his gun and fired, killing the remaining enemy foot soldiers. When the tank's crew realized it no longer had any infantry protection, they withdrew.
Neppel's courage despite devastating injuries helped break the enemy counterattack. The 21-year-old survived his wounds, but he spent a lot of time in hospitals and his remaining leg had to be amputated due to the severity of the damage.
On Aug. 23, 1945, Neppel and 26 other men received the Medal of Honor for their actions during the war. Neppel's mother, his sister, Arlene and his fiancé, Jean Moore, joined him at the White House ceremony as he received the medal from President Harry S. Truman.
A few months later, Neppel and Moore got married. They went on to have two sons, Max and Brian, and two daughters, Vernona and Gail.
Neppel was discharged from the Army on Feb. 18, 1946. Prior to that, he was promoted to the rank of technical sergeant and fitted with prosthetic legs, according to an article in the December 1947 edition of the Des Moines Register. Neppel moved back to his hometown, where he continued to help his mother run the family farm.
According to the Iowa City Press-Citizen newspaper, Neppel went back to school, graduating from Buena Vista College (now Buena Vista University) in 1952 before doing some graduate work at Drake University. For several years, Neppel was a part-time real estate agent, the Press-Citizen said. He also worked for the Iowa City Veterans Affairs Medical Center for nearly two decades before retiring in 1971.
Neppel and his wife moved to Iowa City at some point in the 1970s. The Press-Citizen said he represented Iowa in September 1986 at the dedication of a memorial in Caen, France, that commemorated the Normandy landings. He also served on the Iowa Governor's Committee for the Employment of the Handicapped.
The Press-Citizen said Neppel was the owner and president of Johnson County Propane from 1979 until his death on Jan. 27, 1987, after a short illness. He was 63.
Neppel was buried in the Holy Family Cemetery in Lidderdale, Iowa.
His home state has not forgotten him. In 1988, an addition to the Iowa City Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center was dedicated to Neppel.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Retired federal employee has small Social Security benefit

Dear Rusty: When I started getting Social Security at 62, I was told by the SS office I would get a smaller monthly amount because I worked for the Federal Government and received a Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) pension. I paid into Social Security for about 20 years working outside the government, and I now receive only about $280 a month in Social Security. It just seems like I should be getting more. How can I look into this matter that Social Security calls a “windfall?” Signed: Federal Retiree
Dear Federal Retiree: From what you've shared, you didn't contribute to Social Security while earning your CSRS pension, but you did contribute to SS while working elsewhere, thus earning a Social Security retirement benefit in addition to your CSRS pension. Those who receive a federal pension under the old Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) are affected by Social Security’s Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), which reduces any Social Security benefit they become entitled to through other work outside the Federal government, and this is the reason your SS benefit is only $280 per month. For clarity, federal employees who retire under the newer Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) are not affected by WEP because they contribute to Social Security.
The formula for computing Social Security when WEP applies is rather complicated and depends on the number of years you contributed to Social Security from substantial earnings in the private sector. With 20 or fewer years contributing to SS you incur the maximum WEP penalty for your "eligibility year" (the year you turned 62), but with more than 20 years contributing to Social Security the WEP reduction is mitigated, and with 30 or more years contributing to SS, WEP no longer applies.
If you were receiving your CSRS pension when you claimed Social Security, your WEP-reduced SS benefit was computed at that time and has continued. But if you had additional years working and contributing to Social Security after you first claimed, it's possible that you now have more than 20 years contributing, in which case you may be entitled to a smaller WEP reduction and thus a higher Social Security benefit. The only way to find out if you're now entitled to a higher benefit due to additional years contributing is to call Social Security, either at your local office or at the national number (1.800.772.1213) and ask them to review your current benefit under WEP. If you now have more years contributing to Social Security than you had when you first claimed, you may be entitled to a benefit increase.
Before calling SS, you may wish to first review your lifetime earnings record on file at Social Security and determine how many years of contributions from substantial SS earnings you actually have. You can get a copy of your lifetime SS earnings record from Social Security, most easily from your personal online "my Social Security" account. If you don't yet have an online account set up, you can easily do so at www.ssa.gov/myaccount. Then, you can review your lifetime SS-earnings against the chart at the following link which shows what your earnings must have been each year to count under WEP: www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10045.pdf.
So, to recap: if you continued to work after starting your WEP-reduced Social Security benefits, you may be entitled to a smaller WEP reduction and thus a higher Social Security benefit now, but you will need to contact Social Security to evaluate your current status (and, if appropriate, increase your Social Security benefit).

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Pied Piper wanted
Rats are overwhelming New York City in the end days of the covid pandemic. It’s gotten so bad that the mayor has posted a want ad for the city’s own Pied Piper -- someone who can lure rats to their death with or without a magic flute. It is estimated that the rat population has grown to as many as 35 million since the start of the covid pandemic. New York’s Director of Rodent Migration will need “the drive, determination and killer instinct needed to fight the real enemy -- New York City's relentless rat population,” according to the city’s want ad.

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Boy, did he get lucky
This poor guy in Windham, New Hampshire, got lucky. Kevin Butler accidentally tossed his wife’s wedding rings out with the trash. No sooner did the garbage truck leave, he found his wife searching for a paper napkin containing the rings. She’d wrapped them in the napkin to dry after cleaning them. Against all odds, Kevin made his way to the dump and told the general services director what had happened. Despite the fact that they would have to search through about 20 tons of trash, Kevin managed to spot his trash bag. They opened it and, luckily, came across the napkin containing his wife’s rings.

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Age is only a number
This cat doesn’t need nine lives. Flossie is her name and she has been declared the oldest feline on the planet by the folks at the Guinness Book of World Records. The average cat can get to be about 20 years; Flossie is fast approaching 27 years, the equivalent of 120 human years, and she’s still going strong. The folks new owner says “she is still playful and curious, unbothered by her deafness and quickly adapts to new environments despite her lack of sight.

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Medal of Honor Monday: Navy Rear Adm. Samuel Fuqua
By KATIE LANGE, DOD News

More than 1,100 sailors died on the USS Arizona when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Those who survived the chaos did their best to help others before the explosion-ravaged battleship sank. Navy Rear Adm. Samuel Glenn Fuqua was one of those men. For his bravery and leadership that day, he earned the Medal of Honor.
Fuqua was born Oct. 15, 1899, in Laddonia, Missouri, to parents Lulu Belle and Samuel. He was the youngest of four siblings.
After graduating from high school, Fuqua spent a year at the University of Missouri, where he joined the Army's ROTC program. He served for a brief time as a soldier during World War I before earning an appointment to the Naval Academy in July 1919.
Fuqua commissioned into the Navy in June of 1923. Two weeks later, he married his childhood sweetheart, Edna Hammett, according to an Atlanta Constitution newspaper article.
Fuqua's first assignment was on the USS Arizona. For more than a decade after that, he served on various other ships and at shore stations before becoming the commanding officer of the minesweeper USS Bittern. After a stint at Naval Training Station in Great Lakes, Illinois, he returned to the Arizona in February 1941 as the battleship's damage control officer and first lieutenant. He was on the doomed ship as it was moored in Pearl Harbor's Battleship Row on Dec. 7, 1941, when the U.S. was thrust into World War II.
That morning, then-Lt. Cmdr. Fuqua was eating breakfast when the ship's air raid alarm sounded. Fuqua calmly ordered for general quarters to be sounded, according to a statement he gave after the attack.
Through a porthole on the side of the ship, Fuqua saw a Japanese airplane fly by, so he ran to the ship's quarterdeck. Immediately, he was knocked unconscious by a massive explosion that rocked the area. The bomb penetrated several decks and ignited a huge fire.
When Fuqua came to, he quickly started directing sailors to fight the fire and rescue those who were wounded. According to a National WWII Museum accounting of the attack, Fuqua's sailors used handheld carbon dioxide extinguishers because there was no pressure in the fire hoses. The extinguishers were no match for the growing inferno on the ship, but they knocked down the flames enough to allow some men to escape.
Soon after that, a torpedo struck the ship, causing a massive explosion that made the ship appear to rise out of the water and shudder before it settled back down. The whole forward part of the ship was enveloped in flames, which were spreading rapidly. Wounded men were pouring out of the ship onto the quarterdeck, where Fuqua was.
"I saw men on fire burning to death, and they fought the fire until they fell dead at their battle stations. When we picked them up, flesh fell from their hands," Fuqua later recalled.
As the enemy kept bombing and strafing the Arizona and other nearby ships, Fuqua continued to direct other sailors to fight the flames so they could get as many wounded men off the ship as possible. According to his Medal of Honor citation, he "supervised the rescue of these men in such an amazingly calm and cool manner and with such excellent judgment that it inspired everyone who saw him" to carry on despite the pandemonium.
Eventually, Fuqua realized the ship couldn't be saved. As he was now the senior surviving officer on board — Capt. Franklin Van Valkenburgh and Rear Adm. Isaac C. Kidd had both died — he ordered the Arizona’s remaining sailors to abandon ship. Fuqua stayed on the quarterdeck and directed the exodus until he was satisfied that all the men who could have been saved were off the ship. Only then did he leave the Arizona on its last boatload of survivors.
Even though 1,177 of the ship's crew were killed — almost half of the total deaths from that day — Fuqua’s calm demeanor and outstanding leadership undoubtedly helped save many lives. The Arizona burned for more than two days. During attempts to salvage it, Fuqua continued to help with its rescue and recovery efforts.
Fuqua received the Medal of Honor on March 19, 1942, from Adm. Royal E. Intersoll during a ceremony at the U.S. Naval Training Station in Newport, Rhode Island. Fourteen other sailors received the medal for their actions at Pearl Harbor. Ten of those honors were handed out posthumously, including to the Arizona's Van Valkenburgh and Kidd.
Fuqua spent most of 1942 as an officer on the cruiser USS Tuscaloosa before serving at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and then attending the Naval War College. Toward the end of the war, the then-captain helped to plan and execute several amphibious operations in the Philippines and on the island of Borneo.
After the war, Fuqua served in various staff positions. He commanded the destroyer tender USS Dixie from 1949-1950 before serving as chief of staff of the Eighth Naval District. When Fuqua retired from active-duty service in July 1953, he was given the rank of rear admiral due to his many combat awards.
Fuqua returned to civilian life as a student. He went to Stanford University, where he received a master's degree in political science in 1957, according to the Atlanta Constitution. He went on to teach mathematics at Fort Union Military Academy in Virginia, then civics at St. Petersburg Junior College in Florida. In 1970, he and his wife moved to the Atlanta area to be closer to their daughter, Pat.
Fuqua suffered several strokes in 1985, so he moved into a nursing care unit at the Atlanta VA Medical Center in Decatur, Georgia. He was still living there when he died on Jan. 27, 1987.
Fuqua was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
The USS Arizona still rests on the bottom of Pearl Harbor. Its memorial, which opened in 1962, was erected over the ship’s sunken hull and serves as a reminder of the lives lost on that fateful day. The ship itself was designated a national cemetery. One of its barbettes, which held a gun turret, can still be seen above the water.

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Do You Have Quiet Quitters? You Won’t If You Change The Employee Experience

By KATHLEEN QUINN VOTAW

The Great Resignation has proved problematic for many employers. Meanwhile “quiet quitting” – where employees do the bare minimum as a protest over feeling underappreciated – has become a big issue.
But the solution for both really isn’t that elusive or far away. If leaders of those affected companies changed their approach and focused more on the employee experience, they would likely see The Great Retention instead.
A survey of U.S. workers and employers identified significant gaps between how employers think things are going at their company and how employees see things. In sum, the vast majority of businesses surveyed thought employees were satisfied or well supported in the major areas – compensation, training, mental health, and job empowerment. But most workers who were polled disagreed, and one in three would quit their current jobs without a backup plan.
The good news for employers is that those trends could be reversible. The survey found 69% of the employees polled would consider staying if things with their current employer changed for the better. That change can happen if company leaders see the need to better engage their employees – acknowledging how that dynamic is directly related to production and retention – and follow through with consistent actions.
The bottom line is this: If you do not provide a good employee experience, you cannot retain the best talent or compete for the best talent. Unfortunately, too many leaders are out of touch with their employees’ needs. They can change that by addressing these points:
See and treat your company as a community
Leaders should start with this mindset: You’re not just building a company; you’re building a community that is about relationships, trust, and common values. Just as every company is unique, so are the communities they develop.
Leaders have the responsibility to make sure communities work for members. Today workplace communities are off the charts with change. Workspace is radically different now than it was pre-pandemic. Technology and work from home have redesigned our idea of what an office is. Remote and hybrid employees bring their coworkers into their homes, and now homes, along with families and pets, are part of the work community.
Navigating this shift can be overwhelming for everyone. At this moment, over two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, some people are still scared, stressed, and exhausted. They want to be listened to, they want to be treated as the individuals they are, they want to be treated as a valuable asset to the company, and they want to be safe.
So put your people first. Model the behavior you want to see. Show genuine interest and care. It is up to leaders to create community out of various employee experiences – and their struggles provide an opportunity to lean on HR. HR understands how to build listening, fairness, inclusivity and flexibility and can be a great resource for leaders.
Employers need to get on board with flexibility, because it is here to stay. Part of building your community will be defining flexibility with a discussion around fairness. Let your employees come up with personal solutions versus getting stuck in the old model of command and control, where management made all the decisions.
Communicate and celebrate
Today, if you want to attract and retain top talent, you must treat your employees with respect and empathy, and you must communicate way more than you think is necessary.
The old model of running a company, with top-down management and little flexibility or humanity, has created unprecedented stress, fear, and lack of trust in the modern workplace. Leaders who do not communicate openly, clearly, and regularly about what they expect and why need to step right out of that selfish mindset where everything is about the company’s or owner’s wants, needs, or pocketbook. They might have gotten away with that in the past, but thankfully, that form of leadership is no longer acceptable.
You need to reward and celebrate employee achievements as part of your communication and performance programs. Lack of recognition is the No. 1 reason people quit – and recognizing people is such an easy, fun thing to do.
The key pillars for any community are simple. Communicate and listen. Communication of any sort is greatly appreciated by employees and is a meaningful way to show you are listening and you care. It is crucial to embrace technology to facilitate your community connections. Have an open house or fireside chat to welcome your people into your home and connect on a deeper level. YouTube is one of the biggest social media channels, and it is being underused in building community within companies.
Create even a collection of silly videos for those times your people need a mental break. Look for ways to be creative and flexible using Instagram, Facebook, and snail mail to communicate.
Community is a mutual concept and experience. Ask your people what they want their community to look like, and they will tell you. Your employees are experiencing you, but are you being purposeful about what they experience? It is a subtle shift in thinking for leadership and how you engage with employees and vice versa, and it could make all the difference in the world in your ability to retain your best employees.

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A quick bite
Miki Sudo and her husband, Nicholas Wehry, are known as The Hungry Couple in their hometown of Tampa, Florida. They earned their moniker not because they eat a lot, but because they eat so fast -- fast enough to get in the Guinness Book of World Records. Between them they recently downed 18 hot dogs for Guinness records -- she scoffed down six frankfurters in one minute and he gulped 12 wieners in three minutes. Oh yeah, Miki also holds the record for eating a whole burrito in 31.47 seconds.

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Yet another fish story
Goldfish are one of the most popular pets for kids. They are easy to take care of and hardy enough to live as long as ten years. They grow to a manageable six inches in a tank. How big can they grow in a lake, for example? A British angler recently landed a monster of a goldfish in a lake in Champagne, France. It weighed in at 67 and a half pounds.

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Mink on the run
It’s suspected that it was the Animal Liberation Front [ALF] that broke into a mink farm in Van Wert County, Ohio, recently and “freed” as many as 40,000 of the little critters -- enough to make as many as 500 mink coats. If the ALF thought they were saving the lives of the little mammals, they were mistaken; many of them remained on the farm, but most of them got away and were killed when caught. The local sheriff’s department warned that “minks are carnivorous mammals that stick to a diet consisting of fresh kills. They regularly hunt prey bigger than themselves. As a result, they can be a bothersome pest for homeowners, livestock owners, and property managers.”

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

America is a “melting pot”: a country composed—generously—of immigrants. In 1938, Enrico Fermi immigrated from Italy after garnering the Nobel Prize in physics. Afterwards, he obtained a professorship at the University of Chicago, conceived the world’s first nuclear reactor, designed the atomic bomb, and advanced the applications of statistical mechanics and quantum theory.
According to History.com, Fermi “created a jury-rigged laboratory with the necessary equipment, which he called an ‘atomic pile,’ in a squash court in the basement of Stagg Field at the University of Chicago. With colleagues and other physicists looking on, Fermi produced the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction and the ‘new world’ of nuclear power was born.” A cryptic message was sent to President Roosevelt to signal the success. It read, "the Italian navigator has just landed in the New World."
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends The Last Man Who Knew Everything: The Life and Times of Enrico Fermi, Father of the Nuclear Age by David N. Schwartz.

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At 2:10 p.m.. on Dec. 5, 1945, five U.S. Navy Avenger torpedo-bombers lifted off for a routine training mission from the Ft. Lauderdale Naval Air Station:
“Two hours after the flight began, the leader of the squadron, who had been flying in the area for more than six months, reported that his compass and backup compass had failed and that his position was unknown. The other planes experienced similar instrument malfunctions. Radio facilities on land were contacted to find the location of the lost squadron, but none were successful. After two more hours of confused messages from the fliers, a distorted radio transmission from the squadron leader was heard at 6:20 p.m., apparently calling for his men to prepare to ditch their aircraft simultaneously because of lack of fuel,”
Reports History.com.
At 7:27 p.m. a search and rescue Mariner aircraft departed with a 13-man crew to search for the lost squadron. It was never seen again.
“Naval officials maintained that the remains of the six aircraft and 27 men were not found because stormy weather destroyed the evidence, [but] the story of the ‘Lost Squadron’ helped cement the legend of the Bermuda Triangle, an area of the Atlantic Ocean where ships and aircraft are said to disappear without a trace.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Into the Bermuda Triangle: Pursuing the Truth Behind the World's Greatest Mystery by Gian Quasar.

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Most American women did not nab the vote until 1920—except those residing in Wyoming. Their rights were bestowed on Dec. 10, 1869.
History.com tells us that “though some men recognized the important role women played in frontier settlement, others voted for women’s suffrage only to bolster the strength of conservative voting blocks. In Wyoming, some men were also motivated by sheer loneliness–in 1869, the territory had over 6,000 adult males and only 1,000 females, and area men hoped women would be more likely to settle in the rugged and isolated country if they were granted the right to vote.”
For more information, the Grateful American Book Prize recommends New Women in the Old West: From Settlers to Suffragists, an Untold American Story by Winifred Gallagher.

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Medal of Honor: Marine Corps Pvt. Hector Cafferata Jr.
By KATIE LANGE, DOD News

When one of the most vicious battles of the Korean War broke out, Marine Corps Pvt. Hector A. Cafferata Jr. almost singlehandedly kept enemy forces from pushing through a line that, if broken, would have left thousands of U.S. troops stranded. For his never-ending courage through that ordeal, he earned the Medal of Honor.
Cafferata was born on Nov. 4, 1929, in New York City. His father, Hector Sr., was a Peruvian immigrant who ran a paper mill. The family eventually moved to the area of Montville, New Jersey, where his mother, Helen, grew up. Cafferata had two brothers, Godfrey and William.
Those who knew Cafferata when he was young said he was always looking out for others. He liked chess and loved to hunt — even doing so on his way to school sometimes, according to the Daily Record newspaper out of Morristown, New Jersey.
After graduating from Boonton High School, Cafferata played semi-pro football while also working at a manufacturing plant for the Sun Dial Corporation. He joined the Marine Corps Reserve on Feb. 15, 1948, and served with a local unit until he was called to active duty on Sept. 6, 1950. Cafferata was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division. By mid-October, he was on his way to Korea.
Once Cafferata arrived in the newly war-torn country, his unit was ordered to march 75 miles from the Sea of Japan up the frozen peninsula to the Chosin Reservoir to push North Korean forces over the border into China.
This mission led to the storied Battle of Chosin Reservoir. Starting in late November and lasting for about 17 days, the battle was one of the most brutal of the war. About 30,000 troops from the United Nations, many of whom were U.S. Marines and soldiers, were ambushed and surrounded by about 120,000 Chinese fighters. They were forced to beat the enemy back and escape despite the rugged terrain and subzero temperatures.
During this crisis, Cafferata was one of about 220 Marines in Company F who were tasked with holding a three-mile mountain pass called Fox Hill, which overlooked the Toktong Pass. The route was vital for about 11,000 trapped Marines and soldiers to break free from the enemy that surrounded them.
In the early hours of Nov. 28, 1950, Cafferata snapped awake to the sounds of about 1,400 Chinese troops ambushing his company on the hill. Very quickly, all the other members of his fire team were killed or seriously wounded, except for him and fellow Pvt. Kenneth Benson.
Cafferata knew that if the enemy took the hill, it would create a gap in the line that the trapped UN troops were using to escape. So, without stopping to put his shoes on — despite ankle-deep snow — he got to work defending the hill. For about five hours, he fought the enemy using grenades and his rifle, with Benson feeding him ammunition.
Despite being targeted by the enemy, Cafferata moved up and down the line delivering accurate and effective fire. He killed several enemy fighters, wounded many more and forced others to withdraw until reinforcements could consolidate the enemy position.
When an enemy grenade landed in a shallow entrenchment that was sheltering wounded Marines, Cafferata evaded heavy gunfire to grab it and toss it away. The device exploded as it was leaving his grasp, severing part of a finger and seriously wounding his right hand and arm. Ignoring the intense pain, though, Cafferata fought on until a sniper's bullet struck him and forced him to evacuate to a first-aid tent.
By the end of the fight on the hill, only 82 Marines from Cafferata's unit were left standing, Army records showed. However, Cafferata was credited with saving many more men from dying. He was also considered an essential part of his unit’s ability to keep the path open for the other thousands of trapped Marines to escape.
According to his Washington Post obituary, field medics who first treated Cafferata saw that his feet were blue from frostbite since he’d fought for hours without boots or a coat. He was flown back to the U.S. and spent about a year and a half in hospitals recovering from his injuries, with doctors unsure at first if he would live. He did, becoming one of the men who survived the battle and were notably dubbed the "Chosin Few."
According to an Army writer, when the humble Cafferata first learned he had earned the Medal of Honor, he asked if it could be mailed to him. That request was turned down. Instead, Cafferata was flown to Washington, D.C. He received the Medal of Honor on Nov. 24, 1952, from President Harry S. Truman during a White House ceremony.
Cafferata's Medal of Honor citation said he killed 15 enemy fighters during the intense firefight. However, author Peter Collier wrote in a book about the battle that the private's fellow Marines counted more than 100 dead around the ditch where he had fought. Collier said that those Marines decided they wouldn't put that number in their reports because they didn’t think it would be believed.
Cafferata retired from the service due to his wounds. He returned to New Jersey and spent the next few decades selling hunting and fishing equipment, working for the state's Division of Fish and Game and owning a bar. In 1965, he married Doris Giblock, and they had four children: Lynn, Deborah, Heather and Dale, the latter of whom attended the Air Force Academy and became a helicopter pilot.
The Medal of Honor recipient eventually retired to Venice, Florida, but continued to embrace the military community. Cafferata served as the parade grand marshal several times during the annual Armed Forces Day celebration at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey. He also joined President Barack Obama in Seoul, South Korea, in 2010 to mark the 60th anniversary of the Korean War.
Cafferata died in Venice on April 12, 2016, at the age of 86. He was buried at Quantico National Cemetery in Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, about a week later.
To honor him, a school in Cape Coral, Florida, now goes by the name Hector A. Cafferata Jr. Elementary School.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Can A Working Widow Collect Survivor Benefits?
Dear Rusty: I'm 63 and still employed. My husband passed away 7 years ago at the age of 58. Am I able to collect my husband's Social Security while I'm still working? Signed: Working Widow
Dear Working Widow: Technically at age 63 you’re eligible to collect a survivor benefit from your husband but, since you’re working, we need to dig a bit deeper.
Any time benefits are taken before reaching full retirement age, Social Security’s earnings test applies. The earnings test limits how much you can earn from working before they take away some (or even all) of your Social Security benefits. If your annual earnings for 2023 will be more than $21,240, then Social Security will take away benefits equal to $1 for every $2 you are over that limit. If you earn substantially more than the limit, that could even temporarily disqualify you from eligibility to collect your survivor benefit (because your benefit amount may be insufficient to offset the penalty for exceeding the limit). So, if you’re working part time and will not exceed the limit or only slightly exceed it, then you can claim your survivor benefit from your husband now and simply pay the penalty from your benefits. But if you’re working full time and will exceed the annual limit by a lot, then you may wish to defer claiming your survivor benefit until you either reach your full retirement age (FRA) or stop working.
If you turned 63 in 2022, your FRA is 66 years and 10 months, and the earnings test applies until you reach that age. Four months earlier is when your survivor benefit from your husband will reach maximum (claimed any earlier it will be reduced by 4.75% per full year early). So, what should you do? I suggest you look at your own estimated maximum (age 70) benefit and compare that to your maximum survivor benefit from your husband. You should strive to maximize whichever benefit will be highest and claim that maximum benefit for the rest of your life. For example, if your survivor benefit at your FRA will be more than your personal age 70 benefit will be, then it would be smart to wait until your FRA to claim your survivor benefit and collect that for the rest of your life. If, instead, your personal age 70 benefit will be higher than your maximum survivor benefit at your FRA, then you may wish to claim the survivor benefit first and allow your personal benefit to reach maximum and switch to your own higher benefit at age 70.
In any case, because you’re working you must be careful of the earnings limit until you reach your full retirement age. The earnings limit goes up a bit each year, and in the year that you reach your FRA it goes way up (by about 2.5 times) and the penalty is less. There is no longer an earnings limit once you reach your full retirement age, but if you decide to claim Social Security before your FRA you should stay keenly aware of whether your earnings will exceed each year’s annual limit.

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Been there, done that: The benefits of having a mentor as an entrepreneur

By JAMES H HUNTER III

My first mentor was a tough old guy. The company I took over at that time failed, but my mentor taught me significant lessons that I still use today.
Now I am the one with years of experience that I am eager to share. If I can help a new entrepreneur be more prepared than I was – so that even if they experience failure, it won’t be as catastrophic as mine – I’m happy to do so.
The other reason I am motivated by mentoring is that I believe in the free-market system that is fostered in the United States. America has something good that we need to preserve, and the more people who understand that and are able to take advantage of the opportunity, the stronger the country will be.
It is during your college years that you will have the most opportunities to take advantage of free entrepreneurial resources, such as a mentor. If you happen to be at a small school or one that doesn’t offer a wide range of entrepreneurial resources, don’t despair. Help and guidance are always available online and within your community. Two key organizations that offer assistance are SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) and the SBA (Small Business Administration).
The importance of a mentor cannot be overstated. Kabbage Inc. surveyed more than 200 small businesses throughout the U.S. to understand the importance of mentorship to small business owners. Here’s what the survey showed:
Only 22 percent of small business owners had mentors when they started their business.
Only 17 percent indicated they have an advisor, which suggests a paid relationship for consulting and advice.
A whopping 92 percent agreed that mentors have a direct impact on the growth and survival of their business.
Interestingly, 61 percent of small business owners mentor others, and 58 percent specifically mentor younger entrepreneurs.
Kabbage’s report shows the willingness of small business owners to mentor young entrepreneurs; you just need to reach out to them. If there are local business owners whom you admire and/or know, pick up the phone and call them. Even if they are not the right mentor for you, they may direct you to someone who is.
Characteristics of a strong mentor
A mentor has been there and done that, as they say. They’ve walked in your shoes, and their real-world experience is invaluable to a young entrepreneur trying to feel their way.
By definition, a mentor is an experienced individual who teaches or helps a less-experienced individual. For a mentor to be effective, they should possess important characteristics. Key attributes SCORE looks for in their volunteer mentor are the ability to:
Stop and suspend judgment
Listen and learn
Assess and analyze
Test ideas and teach with tools
Set expectations and encourage the dream
Whether you find a mentor in a family member, friend, organizations like SCORE or through school, it’s important to vet them to ensure they are the right mentor for you. Think about the list above, and determine if the person you are thinking of asking to mentor you or is already serving as your mentor meets those qualifications.
I also recommend that mentors have experience in your business sector or a related sector. They should also have a clear understanding of ownership structures and financial statements. Finally, do you trust them and feel supported by them? What is your gut telling you? If you don’t feel good about the experience and aren’t learning, it’s OK to end the mentorship and look for a new mentor.
Mentoring’s role in intergenerational leadership
For the first time in history there are five generations in the workforce. From oldest to youngest, they are: traditionalists, baby boomers, Generation X, Generation Y, and Generation Z. What you have with this mix of numerous generations is a great opportunity for traditional mentoring, and reverse mentoring – a younger person mentoring an older employee. Both scenarios are another way to improve a company’s overall performance and the workplace culture.
A young entrepreneur who’s being mentored – and later on becomes a mentor – can see how mentoring at different levels of their company and with different ages can strengthen its intergenerational leadership, which is about meaningful engagement between leaders across generations. That engagement includes recognizing opportunities for partnerships and collaboration.
A mix of age brackets, experience levels and backgrounds does pose new challenges and opportunities for managers and leaders, but the solutions are learning to optimize skills and attributes and manage the inherent differences. Here are some keys to intergenerational leadership and mentoring’s role in it:
Respect each other’s competencies.
Have empathy – walking in a young person’s shoes when you’re older, and vice versa.
Be open, curious and kind.
Collaborate by facilitating an exchange of resources, skills and knowledge.
Identify strengths and learn from each other.
Accept different attitudes, values, priorities and styles.
Having a mentor can certainly increase an entrepreneur’s chances for success, while also helping the new business owner deal with and overcome struggles and failures along the way. As your relationship with your mentor develops over time, you’ll gain trust in them, in addition to insights that might help you avoid certain pitfalls that they encountered.

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Health Care 2023: A pressing need to move from reactive to proactive

By JEFF MARGOLIS

The functionality, accessibility and affordability of U.S. health care has been a front-and-center issue for a long time. The COVID-19 crisis, which began in March of 2020, enlarged the magnifying lens on the industry.
As we start to emerge, somewhat, from the dark COVID cloud, there were some rays of sunshine in terms of progress that health care made in 2022. For starters, Congress acted in a bipartisan manner to provide funding for research and vaccines, and oddly enough spent little energy arguing about whether people deserved health care or not.
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, signed into law by President Joe Biden in August, included important health provisions. Among them: lowering prescription drug prices in Medicare through price negotiation with manufacturers; requiring drug companies to pay rebates if prices rise faster than inflation for drugs used by Medicare beneficiaries; capping out-of-pocket drug spending for beneficiaries in Medicare Part D at $2,000 annually; and extending for three years the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that Congress passed last year as part of the American Rescue Plan Act.
In the second half of ’22, there was enough confidence in vaccination and control measures around COVID-19 to start thinking about a new normal in health care. Data affirmed that those who maintained overall better health and well-being fared far better than those with underlying conditions and less healthy lifestyles. But it also reminded us that sometimes, even very healthy people are overcome by novel diseases.
Looking ahead, our health care system needs significant improvements, starting with decision-makers in both the industry and government getting on the same wavelength more often. The 2022 election cycle affords the opportunity for non-productive, hyperbolized political rhetoric that splits U.S. human-beings into labels of high-needs, elderly, and “everyone else.” And there is still not an adequate systematic shift across the industry to understand people as individuals vs. simply putting them into categories based on their economic and geographic demographics
But let’s take solace in the fact that elected government officials, policy makers and employers are starting to understand that health care is broader than just providing access to reactive sick care.
Americans deserve a health-care system that supports health in our daily living and doesn’t only fix us when we’re sick. It is our daily living – the actions we take regarding nutrition, fitness, sleep, mental health, relationships, financial management and how these are impacted by social determinants – that make up the vast majority of what governs our health and total well-being. Yet, our health-care system primarily treats sickness with limited support for preventing illness.
Here are some health-care predictions for 2023 and things I think need to be done in ‘23 to move from sick care to health care:
2023 predictions
Inflation and insurance affect the industry. Unfortunately, inflation in sick-care labor and supply resources is going to disrupt some of the progress from 2022. Local and regional hospital systems are going to struggle to cover costs. Though inflation related to medical sick-care costs will get in check by late ‘23, the insurance rate increases for 2023 and 2024 will be brutal.
Adversaries look for common ground. Politicians will keep publicly attacking pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies as the cause of the economic challenges to health care, but they will work together in the background as private industry supports the innovation imperative.
Mental health gets more attention. Mental health will get a long-awaited day in the sun. There will be bipartisan and private-industry support for expanded mental health resources, ranging from severe conditions to stress management and resilience-building. In addition, a focus on issues such as loneliness among the elderly and teenage populations will start to get some traction.
Advancement in therapies and personalized medicine. Serious progress will accelerate in therapies that make some of the scariest health conditions less scary, such as difficult types of cancer and dementia. And the application of individualized genomics, metabolomics and proteomics will more commonly become embedded in personalized treatments available in multiple academic medical centers and in leading specialty and community hospitals.
Businesses will see health care through a wider lens. Large employers are going to zoom out ahead of governmental approaches to health benefits and address total well-being while also emphasizing primary care connections to consumers through digital, virtual and physical means.
2023 needs list – To move from sick care to health care
A wider perspective in benefit plans. Medicare, Medicaid, military and commercial plans need to be looked at through the lenses of physical health; mental health; social health; financial health; and to the extent possible, individual purpose. These categories should start to show up more clearly in descriptions of benefits in addition to doctors visits, hospital visits, drugs, ER visits, etc.
Better communication by employers. Employers, who by and large already have a belief system in total well-being, need to communicate the broader set of total health and well-being benefits more clearly and educate their employees on what is available.
Cost focus by CMS. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) needs to take a step back and look at how less costly support for lifestyle and daily living (e.g., nutrition and reducing loneliness) can dramatically reduce the cost of traditional medical care.
Combined data usage. Consumer permissions to combine non-health-care data with health-care data in the best interest of their health need to become commonplace when enrolling in health benefits.
Imagine a world in which the health-care system actually works with people on improving their total health – a world where health care becomes proactive instead of reactive.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – About Social Security’s “First Year Rule”

Dear Rusty: I'm considering filing for my SS at age 64 in February, before my full retirement age of 66 years and 10 months. I’m working full time and would like to continue earning until I meet the $21,240 limit for this year. When does the $21,240 limit go into effect? Does it start after receiving my first SS benefit deposit? Or does Social Security go by my year-to-date earnings starting on January 1st?
If I file in February and it takes 90 days to receive my first SS deposit, and at that point my year-to-date earnings are $18,500, can I continue to work until I earn the balance of the $21,240 ($2,740) and then stop working? Or do they only count the earnings after I receive the first benefit payment? I know that for anything earned over $21,240 I’ll need to repay $1 for every $2 over the limit. Signed: Ready to Retire
Dear Ready: Since you haven’t yet reached your full retirement age (FRA), if you claim now and are working, things will work somewhat differently during your first year collecting benefits.
If you claim for your benefits to start in February, only your earnings starting in February count toward the earnings limit. But during your first calendar year, once your benefits start, you’ll be subject to a monthly earnings limit of $1,770 and, if that is exceeded in any month (February – December), you won’t be eligible for benefits for that month. That means that they could withhold your entire monthly amount for any 2023 month after January that exceeds the monthly limit. This is part of Social Security’s “first year rule,” which applies only during your first calendar year collecting. If, instead, you claim for your benefits to start in March, then the monthly limit will apply from March thru December. Remember, it’s not when your payment is received that counts; it’s when your benefits start (SS pays benefits in the month following the month earned). Beginning in 2024 only the annual limit would apply.
Nevertheless, the “first year rule” offers some latitude on your earnings. If the penalty for exceeding the annual earnings limit ($21,240 for 2023) is less than the penalty which results from using the monthly limit, Social Security will use the annual limit and assess the smaller penalty amount. So, if your annual (full year) 2023 earnings are less than $21,240, no penalty will be assessed, or if you only exceed the annual limit by a small amount, you’ll be assessed a penalty of $1 for every $2 you are over the limit. But if your annual earnings are substantially more than the 2023 limit, Social Security may deem you temporarily ineligible to get benefits. When you complete your application there will be a section asking you to tell them about this year’s earnings as well as what you expect next year’s earnings to be. From that they will decide whether you are currently eligible to collect benefits.
So, if your goal is to work only to the point that no penalty will be assessed, you can work until your 2023 earnings reach $21,240 (whenever that is). Or you could work even a little bit longer and simply take the penalty (half of what you exceed the annual limit by), in which case SS will simply withhold future benefits for enough months for them to recover what is owed for exceeding the limit. But if you continue working full time and will substantially exceed the annual limit, it’s likely Social Security will say you are temporarily ineligible to collect benefits (until your earnings are less or you reach your full retirement age when the earnings test no longer applies).

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The ‘slackline walk’
Tightrope walking is hard enough but taking a walk on a not-so-tight rope suspended between two mile-high-plus hot air balloons takes a special sense of balance. Take Rafael Bridi who did it recently for a second time this year. Bridi earned the Guinness World Record earlier this year for what is known as a slackline walk 6,236 feet over Santa Catarina, Brazil. This time he did it high above his hometown of Florianopolis, Brazil.

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You’re Feet’s Too Big
The late, great American jazz comedian and pianist of the early 20th century, Fats Waller, wrote and performed a hit song called Your Feet’s Too Big. Tanya Herbert of Houston, Texas, has big feet -- big enough to be honored by the Guinness Book of World Records -- but they are definitely not too big for her. Tanya stands 6’ 9” tall and wears woman’s size 18 shoes, which are hard to find. So, she says she buys “the largest shoes I could find online and manipulate those to extend them out a little longer and make them a little wider so that they fit my feet."

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A big, thick and heavy book
You don’t want a judge throwing this book at you; it’s the world’s biggest book ever -- 7 feet tall, 11 feet wide and weighing in at 496 pounds. It has the appropriate title, I Am Texas, and was authored by 1,000 “great state“ elementary and high school students. It was the brainchild of the Literacy nonprofit iWRITE and The Bryan Museum in Galveston, Texas.

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Medal of Honor: Marine Corps 1st Lt. William Hawkins
By Katie Lange , DOD News

Marine Corps 1st Lt. William Deane Hawkins gave everything he had to help the Allies wrestle control of the strategic atoll of Tarawa from the Japanese during the latter half of World War II. While he never returned home from that small island, his efforts earned him a posthumous Medal of Honor.
Hawkins was born on April 19, 1914, in Fort Scott, Kansas, to parents William and Clara Jane Hawkins. When he was 3, Hawkins suffered severe injuries after accidentally being scalded by a pot of boiling water. According to a 1986 El Paso Herald-Post article, burns covered a third of his body, and it left him with "one leg drawn up and an arm so crooked that doctors wanted to cut the muscle to straighten it." The young boy persevered, though, relearning how to walk and recovering better than expected.
Within a few years of the incident, Hawkins' parents relocated to El Paso, Texas. His father died when he was 8, according to a 1980 El Paso Times article, so his mom, who was a nurse, went back to school to become a teacher to better support him.
Hawkins was an excellent student. His keen intellect allowed him to skip fifth grade and, according to the El Paso Historical Society, he once won the state chemistry essay contest.
After graduating from El Paso High School at 16, Hawkins went to the Texas College of Mines — now the University of Texas at El Paso — on a scholarship to study engineering. During that time, he worked a lot of odd jobs to make money, including laying pipeline in New Mexico when he was 17, the historical society said.
When the U.S. was plunged into World War II, Hawkins felt compelled to serve. He was denied entry into the Army and Navy, so on Jan. 5, 1942, he joined the Marine Corps. He attended scout sniper school in July 1942 and was sent to the Pacific not long after with the 2nd Marines, 2nd Marine Division.
Hawkins' superiors noticed he was a natural leader, so he was promoted a few times rather quickly. He accepted a battlefield commission in the Solomons Islands on Nov. 18, 1942, during the Guadalcanal campaign. By June of the following year, he’d been promoted again to first lieutenant.
By the fall of 1943, he had been named the commanding officer of a scout sniper platoon attached to the assault regiment that was preparing to attack Japanese-held Tarawa Atoll. The small island of Betio on the southwest side of the atoll had a strategic airfield, of which the Allies wanted to gain control.
On Nov. 20, Hawkins' platoon was tasked with landing on Betio ahead of the primary wave of troops to make way for them. The island, which was only 2 miles long and about 800 yards wide, was well-defended by the Japanese, so they faced intense fighting immediately — a first for any of the Pacific campaigns.
Hawkins was the first to get off the transport. Without hesitation, he moved forward through heavy enemy fire, quickly working to neutralize enemy emplacements. Throughout the day and night, he led his men in joining other Marines trying to gain a foothold on the nearby beachhead and repeatedly risked his life to direct and lead attacks on pillboxes and other enemy strongholds.
At dawn on the 21st, the platoon continued its effort to clear the small beachhead of enemy resistance. Hawkins initiated an assault on a position fortified by five enemy machine guns. During a moment of withering fire, he crawled forward toward the emplacement, fired his gun point-blank into it and then destroyed it with grenades.
Hawkins was seriously wounded five times during the battle, including in the chest during that last assault. However, he refused treatment and kept fighting. Hawkins destroyed three more pillboxes before he was severely injured by Japanese shellfire.
According to the El Paso Herald-Post, he died that evening aboard a hospital ship. However, his daring tactics during a crucial phase of the battle gave inspiration to the men around him, which was instrumental in the 2nd Marines taking the island and winning the entire atoll.
"It's not often that you can credit a first lieutenant with winning a battle, but Hawkins came as near to it as any may could," said assault commander Col. David M. Shoup after the battle. "He was truly an inspiration."
On Aug. 30, 1944, Hawkins' mother received the Medal of Honor on her son's behalf from President Franklin D. Roosevelt during a White House ceremony.
Hawkins was initially buried on Tarawa, but his remains were reinterred in 1949 at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.
In the brave first lieutenant's honor, a naval destroyer originally called the USS Beatty was renamed the USS Hawkins and commissioned in February 1945. The air strip on Betio Island that his fellow Marines helped capture was also named Hawkins Field. As recently as 2020, Hawkins' alma mater, the University of Texas at El Paso, created a scholarship for deserving undergrads in his name.
Hawkins' Medal of Honor is housed at the El Paso County Historical Society in El Paso.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – For Some Simple Guidance About Medicare
Dear Rusty: I’m nearing 68 years old, have never signed up for Medicare but thinking that I should look into it. I’m currently covered by my wife’s health insurance through her employer. I would greatly appreciate some simple guidance regarding Medicare. I've tried watching some videos about the subject, but it was always so boring that I never finished watching. I get lost in all the Part This & Part That. I would just like some solid insight into the coverage that I truly need & the cost. Signed: Confused
Dear Confused: Medicare is, indeed, a confusing topic, but I’ll try to clear it all up for you. Think of it this way – Medicare has two main parts – one which provides coverage for in-patient hospitalization services (that’s called Part A) and another which covers outpatient services like doctors, medical tests, etc. (that’s called Part B). Part A is usually free (if you’re getting or will get Social Security), but there is a monthly premium for Part B. For 2023, the monthly Part B premium will be $164.90, and that’s either deducted from your Social Security payment, or paid directly to Medicare if you’re not yet collecting Social Security.
There are deductibles and copays for both Part A and Part B, so they don’t cover 100% of your healthcare expenses - they generally cover about 80% of specific types of medical services, after deductibles are satisfied. The deductibles aren’t high - $226 for Part B and $1600 for Part A - but that still leaves you with some uncovered healthcare costs under Medicare. And for those uncovered costs, many people choose to get additional private coverage, known as a “Medigap” (or Medicare Supplement) plan, or a Medicare Advantage plan (which is usually called Medicare “Part C”). This additional coverage isn’t mandatory, but usually prudent to have.
The standard age for enrolling in Medicare is age 65, but if you have other “creditable” healthcare coverage from your wife’s employer you can defer enrolling in Medicare until that employer coverage ends or is about to end. Having that “creditable” employer coverage after age 65 protects you from incurring a Late Enrollment Penalty for enrolling in Medicare after age 65. From what you’ve written (assuming your employer coverage is “creditable”) you can enroll in Medicare at any time now without a penalty for enrolling after 65. You can enroll online at www.ssa.gov/medicare, or by calling Social Security at 1.800.772.1213.
Medicare Part A and Part B do not include coverage for prescription drugs. For that, you would need to acquire a private Prescription Drug plan (called Medicare Part D), if you wish such coverage after age 65 and after your employer drug coverage ends. Part D plans aren’t usually expensive – in the $15 - $50 per month range - depending on the specific plan and drug “formulary” (the amounts the plan pays for each type of drug). To sort all of this out and figure out your best options for additional coverage, you may wish to contact AMAC’s Medicare department (www.amac.us/medicare) and speak with a Medicare insurance specialist.
To recap, in your personal circumstances you are eligible to enroll in Medicare without penalty, even though you’re now 68, because you have had “creditable” healthcare coverage through your wife’s employer since you were 65 (“creditable'' is a group plan with at least 20 participants). You can also simply stay on that employer plan if you wish, and only enroll in Medicare when your employer coverage ends or is about to end. At that time, you will enter a Medicare Special Enrollment Period during which you can enroll in Medicare without incurring a late enrollment penalty. The bottom line? If your current coverage from your wife’s employer is creditable and suits your current needs, you can wait until that coverage ends to enroll in Medicare. The only caveat is that you must take free Medicare Part A if you collect Social Security after age 65.

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Another fish story
The crew and the folks who chartered their boat got a rude awakening while fishing for Kingfish off the coast of New Zealand recently when a very large Mako shark took their bait instead. It was quite a surprise, but nothing compared to what happened next: the shark jumped out of the water and landed on the bow of the boat flopping, flipping and giving the crew and their guests a scare and a fish story they can tell and retell for quite some time to come.

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If the shoe fits
With apologies to Mother Goose who allegedly wrote all those nursery rhymes, you don’t have to be an old woman to live in a shoe. The new owners of a three bedroom home shaped like a shoe in York County, Pennsylvania, have put it up for short term rentals. The house was built in 1948 by Mahlon Haines who owned a chain of shoe stores and was known as the "Shoe Wizard." Its three bedrooms are called the "Shoelace Space," the "Instep Suite" and the "Ankle Abode."

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Fuzzy face kids
Facial hair is all the rage in Casper, Wyoming, according to the Association of Mature American Citizens [AMAC]. Just ask the judges at the Guinness Book of World Records, who say the citizens of that town broke the record for the longest beard chain. As the Casper Star Tribune described it, “To participate, competitors needed to sport a beard at least 8 inches in length. They stood side-by-side, one lengthy beard attached to the next until the chain stretched through the room. Once they were all clipped together, someone took a tape measure to determine the length of this cable of historic facial hair: 150 feet.”

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

On November 17, 1777, the Articles of Confederation were submitted to the 13 original colonies “to establish and preserve [their] independence.” Twelve years later, they were supplanted by the Constitution, and revised the Law of the Land.
According to the Library of Congress [LOC], “The Articles created a loose confederation of sovereign states and a weak central government, leaving most of the power with the state governments. Once peace removed the rationale of wartime necessity the weaknesses of the 1777 Articles of Confederation became increasingly apparent. Divisions among the states and even local rebellions threatened to destroy the fruits of the Revolution. Nationalists, led by James Madison, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Wilson, almost immediately began working toward strengthening the federal government. They turned a series of regional commercial conferences into a national constitutional convention at Philadelphia in 1787.”
The LOC says the difference between the Articles and the Constitution is “that the Articles sovereignty resided in the states, and the Constitution was declared the law of the land when it was ratified which significantly increased the power of the federal government.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends We Have Not a Government: The Articles of Confederation and the Road to the Constitution by George William Van Cleve.

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Elizabeth Jaffray was a White House housekeeper during the presidency of William Howard Taft; in a November 27, 1911, diary entry, she expressed concern about his health, noting that she’d had a talk with him and the First Lady “about the Commander-in-Chief’s ever-expanding waistline,” says History.com.
“Taft’s 5′ 11″ frame carried anywhere between 270 pounds and 340 pounds over the course of his adult life. According to his biographers, he had to have his shoes tied by his valet and often got stuck in the White House bathtub and had to be lifted out by two or more men. Once, while visiting the czar of Russia, Taft split his pants seam while descending from a carriage.”
Even so, he completed his one term presidency, jettisoned to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1921—and lost weight--but never recouped his health. Taft died in April 1930, one month after vacating the Bench.
For more information, the Grateful American Book Prize suggests William Howard Taft: The American Presidents Series: The 27th President, 1909-1913 by Jeffrey Rosen

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Turkey, pumpkin pie, and football-- it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without them! It’s been a fact of American life for 146 years when, on November 30, 1876, Yale defeated Princeton, 2-0, in a showdown in Hoboken, New Jersey. The holiday was on November 30, that year when the tradition was born, according to History.com.
A thousand fans attended, and the New York Times reported "The friends of both colleges mustered in good force. Several carriages containing ladies were on the ground, and a goodly number of Alumni were there to cheer the contestants." The Daily Herald noted that "The Yale team wore blue skullcaps, shirts, stockings of the same color and white flannel trowsers [sic]. The Princeton lads were gorgeous in their orange and black uniforms."
Unlike the civility of 21st century play, back then the game was a ragtag event “resembling Greco-Roman wrestling.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Thanksgiving: The True Story by Penny Colman.

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Medal of Honor: Navy Rear Adm. Bruce McCandless
By KATIE LANGE
World War II Navy Rear Adm. Bruce McCandless lost most of his ship's senior officers during an intense fight during the naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Instead of floundering, he stepped up to take charge. His actions helped win the battle and earned him the Medal of Honor.
McCandless was born Aug. 12, 1911, in the District of Columbia, to Byron and Velma McCandless. The younger McCandless' affinity for the Navy was likely developed at a young age; his father was in the service and, when he was still young, became a rear admiral who earned the Navy Cross during World War I.
As many military families do, the McCandless' moved around a lot when McCandless and his sister, Velma, were growing up. It was probably no surprise that he chose to follow in his father's footsteps, earning an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy after high school.
In June 1932, McCandless graduated from Annapolis and spent his first few years in the Navy at sea on the USS Louisville, USS Indianapolis and USS Case. While serving on the Louisville, he met and married Sue Bradley, whose father was a World War I Medal of Honor recipient. The pair went on to have two sons and two daughters.
McCandless eventually attended postgraduate school in Annapolis. After graduating in 1939, he began serving on the heavy cruiser USS San Francisco. That's where he was when World War II began, and that's where he would be when he earned the Medal of Honor.
In the fall of 1942, the ship took part in the massive naval Battle of Guadalcanal in the South Pacific's Solomon Islands chain. Their mission was to keep Japanese ships from delivering troops onto Guadalcanal's shores. The naval battle was the last in a series that forced the Japanese to surrender the island, handing the Allies a strategic victory.
On Nov. 12-13, then-Lt. Cmdr. McCandless was the San Francisco's communications officer as it battled Japanese forces off the coast of nearby Savo Island. Throughout the course of the night, a massive bombardment by the Japanese heavily damaged the ship and knocked McCandless unconscious. The relentless fire also killed many of the senior officers on the ship's bridge, including Capt. Cassin Young and Rear Adm. Daniel J. Callaghan, the commander of the task force of ships to which San Francisco belonged.
Despite serious injuries, McCandless knew someone had to take control of the vessel, which now lacked leadership. He quickly assumed command and ordered the ship to fire back at the enemy. Not only that, but the 31-year-old gave orders to the other ships in the task force, which weren't yet aware that Callaghan had died.
According to a newspaper column written by journalist Drew Pearson, McCandless didn't want to use the radio to tell the other ships in the task force that Callaghan had died for fear the messages would be intercepted by the Japanese. Because McCandless knew his superiors' plan of attack, he went forward with it, but he worried he would be court martialed if he survived the battle, Pearson wrote.
McCandless did survive, as did the San Francisco. The Japanese finally stopped their attack on Guadalcanal and left the area.
According to naval intelligence reports, the battle sunk or destroyed 26 Japanese ships and damaged 12 more. But the win came at a heavy price for the Allies, too. The U.S. lost nine ships, and 11 more were damaged. The naval Battle of Guadalcanal was one of the deadliest of the war.
Instead of a court martial, McCandless was quickly promoted to commander and told he had earned the Medal of Honor. He received the nation's highest award for valor on Dec. 12, one month after the incident for which he earned it. Adm. Ernest J. King placed the medal around McCandless' neck on board the USS San Francisco as it was in port in San Francisco. At the time of the ceremony, McCandless' father was the commander of a destroyer base in San Diego, according to a 1942 Associated Press article.
During the rest of the war, the younger McCandless went on to command the USS Gregory during the 1945 Iwo Jima operation and the following invasion of Okinawa, where the ship was badly damaged by a kamikaze aircraft that April. McCandless earned a Silver Star for his actions during that time, a 1968 Washington Post News Service article said.
After the war, McCandless took a staff position at a naval base in San Pedro, California, before returning to Washington, D.C., in November 1946 to serve in the office of the deputy chief of naval operations. McCandless returned to the sea in May 1949 to command a mine division on the USS Shannon before taking a role at the Naval Academy and being promoted to captain in early 1951.
McCandless was hospitalized for a time due to physical disabilities, so by September 1952, he chose to leave active duty. He was promoted to rear admiral on the retired list in honor of his two decades of distinguished service.
Soon after that retirement, McCandless learned that he had multiple sclerosis, according to the Independent newspaper in Long Beach, California. The diagnosis quickly relegated him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
After leaving the service, McCandless and his wife moved to Long Beach, where he picked up his studies at California State College (now California State University, Long Beach) and earned a master's degree in 1953. Eventually, they moved back to Annapolis.
McCandless died from complications related to his disease on Jan. 24, 1968. The 56-year-old was buried in the cemetery at his cherished alma mater, the Naval Academy.
The McCandless name has lived on. The USS McCandless, which was commissioned in 1972 and served through the Gulf War, was named for both Bruce McCandless and his father. A community living center for veterans in Florence, Colorado, was named for the younger McCandless.
And if you Google Bruce McCandless, you'll find plenty of information on the Medal of Honor recipient, but you may find more on his son, Bruce McCandless II. The younger Bruce also attended the Naval Academy and went on to have a storied career with NASA as an astronaut. He was the first man to walk in space untethered.

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Travel Troubleshooter

By CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT

Help! My American Cruise Lines protection plan isn't protecting me

Edward Marks buys a "cancel for any reason" protection plan for his cruise. But when he has to cancel, he finds that it's worthless. What went wrong?

Q: I had to cancel my American Cruise Lines cruise from Memphis to New Orleans for medical reasons.
I called American Cruise Lines and inquired about rebooking for a cruise this fall using my cancellation credits. I had paid $570 for a "cancel for any reason" protection plan.
A representative informed me that I only had $350 in credit instead of the 80 percent of the original fare of $5,745. When I asked for an explanation, referring to the "cancel for any reason" protection plan, he said that I had canceled less than nine days before the start of my cruise. That's not true. I canceled a day before the deadline.
I hoped that upon investigation, American Cruise Lines would find that it made a mistake and decide to take a more responsible attitude. But it hasn't. Can you help? -- Edward Marks, Washington, D.C.
A: Your "cancel for any reason" travel protection should have covered your cancellation. But the American Cruise Lines protection plan comes with some important restrictions. First, it's not insurance but "protection." You're paying $570 for more lenient cancellation terms. And those terms state that you must cancel nine days or more before the start of your cruise package to receive an 80 percent cruise credit. A standard cancel for any reason insurance policy would let you cancel within less time -- usually 48 hours before your trip -- and receive a 50 to 75 percent refund.
Travel insurance is something worth considering for any cruise. Cruises can be expensive, and a lot can go wrong. (Believe me, I know.) But you have to shop carefully. Never take the first travel insurance or "protection" policy that someone offers. Talk to your travel advisor or spend a little time online. Based on the reviews I've seen, the protection you had was a little pricey and had some significant limitations. You might have found something better elsewhere.
You canceled your cruise on the ninth day before departure, so the cruise line should have honored your claim. Instead, it apparently considers day nine to be past your deadline. Technically, that would have been nine calendar days before you checked into your hotel in Memphis, which is the start of your trip.
You could have appealed this to an executive at the cruise line. I list the names, numbers and email addresses of the American Cruise Lines executives on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. I also publish a few helpful tips on how you can negotiate a refund.
I thought American Cruise Lines should review your case one more time. Losing $4,596 over a few hours and on a technicality seems wrong.
I contacted American Cruise Lines on your behalf. It agreed. A representative contacted you and said the cruise line restored the 80% you should have received under your protection plan.

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Brighten the holidays with colorful plants
By MELINDA MYERS
Garden centers, florists and grocery stores are filling their shelves with a variety of holiday plants; a sure sign the holidays are approaching. This is the time of year to give, receive or fill your home with colorful poinsettias, Christmas cactus, cyclamen, and other holiday plants. Extend their beauty and longevity with proper care.
Start by selecting healthy plants that have been receiving proper care. The plants should be free of insects, disease and have no yellow leaves, brown leaf edges and spots. Flowering plants should have just a few open flowers, some buds showing color, and the rest healthy plump buds. You will enjoy watching the flower buds open, blooms expand, and a longer flowering period.
Always protect your gift plants from the harsh outdoors. Professional florists and garden center staff should provide a care tag and wrap your plants in a plastic or paper sleeve for the ride home.
Carefully remove the wrap as soon as you get home. This is especially important when caring for poinsettias. The upturned leaves emit ethylene, a ripening hormone that can shorten the longevity of your poinsettia’s colorful display.
Rewrap your holiday plant anytime you move it outdoors and never leave it sitting in a cold car while running errands. A chilled plant looks fine until it warms. By the next day, the plant turns grayish-green, wilts and may die. Not such a nice gift or addition to your holiday décor after all.
Once home, place it in a cool, brightly lit location. The cool temperatures and indirect light help the blooms last longer. Remove or fold down the foil wrap, if present, to allow sunlight to reach all the leaves. Avoid drafts of hot and cold air. These can dry or chill the plant resulting in leaf and blossom drop.
Check the tag for watering instructions. Most holiday plants prefer moist but not wet soil. Use your finger as a moisture meter. Water thoroughly whenever the top few inches of soil are crumbly and just slightly moist or according to the directions on the care tag.
Pour out any water that collects in the foil, basket, decorative pot or saucer. Or place pebbles in the bottom of these or the saucer to elevate the plant above sitting water. This reduces the risk of root rot and makes care much easier.
Lengthen the time between watering and increase success by amending the potting mix with a moisture-retaining product like wool pellets (wildvalleyfarms.com). This organic and sustainable product reduces watering by up to 25%. Just spread it over the soil surface and push it into the soil around the plant.
Keep your floral display looking its best by removing spent flowers from azaleas, Christmas cactus, cyclamen and kalanchoes. This keeps the plant looking fresh and often encourages more blooms.
Once the holidays have passed, keep enjoying these plants through the gray days of winter. Move the plants to a sunny window, fertilize with a dilute solution of complete or flowering plant fertilizer, and water as needed.
Add some artificial berries, cut flowers in water picks, or silk blooms to replace the faded flowers. Use colorful stakes or natural twigs for added beauty and to support floppy leaves and stems.
Boost your spirits and those of family and friends this holiday season with a few colorful plants. Giving them as gifts and using them to decorate your home is guaranteed to brighten your holiday celebrations.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – How Do I Avoid Pitfalls and Get Maximum Social Security?

Dear Rusty: I turned 70 in June of this year and want to start receiving benefits. I am currently working full time as well. I want to set things up and get started in the most advantageous way so that my benefit is maximized even when I stop working. What are your recommendations for me to intelligently start the process and avoid any pitfalls? Signed: Ready to Claim

Dear Ready to Claim: Since you are past 70 years of age, you have already maximized your Social Security benefit based on your current lifetime earnings record -- that occurred when you turned 70 in June. However, since you’re still working, Social Security will review your earnings every year (after last year’s income is received from the IRS) to see if your more recent earnings warrant a further increase to your monthly benefit. That you are still working shouldn’t deter you from claiming your Social Security benefit now, and you should ask for benefits to be paid retroactive to June when your current maximum benefit was attained. Doing so will start your benefits at the maximum amount you are entitled to at this time, and you can rest assured that SS will further increase your benefit annually if your current earnings call for it.

After your benefits start, the key to whether your benefit will increase depends on how your more recent earnings compare to the earnings originally used to compute your benefit when you claimed. Your benefit is based on the highest-earning 35 years over your lifetime, and for your current earnings to cause an increase they would need to be higher than one of those 35 years originally used. Be aware, however, that your earnings in past years were adjusted for inflation to compute your benefit, so your current earnings would need to be more than the inflation-adjusted previous earnings to cause a benefit increase. As an example, the inflated value of $50,000 earned in 1990 is about $105,000 in today’s dollars, and it is the indexed amount that must be exceeded to cause a benefit increase. In any case, if your current earnings exceed the indexed amount in any of the 35 years used to compute your benefit when you claimed, your benefit will be increased accordingly.

So, how do you start the process and avoid any pitfalls? You should apply for your benefits now and request benefits retroactive to the month you turned 70. Social Security will pay up to six months of retroactive benefits, so the pitfall is that waiting beyond six months past age 70 will result in lost money. If you like, they will pay you for a full six months retroactively now, but if that is earlier than the month you turned 70, doing so would result in payment less than your age 70 amount. To maximize, ask that your benefit-start-month be June 2022 and no earlier.

You can apply for your benefits by calling Social Security (1.800.772.1213) and scheduling an appointment to do so, or you can apply for your benefits online at www.ssa.gov/retire. Applying online is by far the most efficient method, but you will need to first create your personal “my Social Security” online account, which is easy to do at www.ssa.gov/myaccount.

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This trick was a real treat
In the good old days, Halloween displays might feature a bigger-than-life pumpkin or an oversized wicked witch on a broom. But this is the 21st Century and technology and an overactive imagination might compel some of us to up the ante. Take the Halloween display Dave and Aubrey Appel created in Plainfield, Illinois. It attracted crowds of onlookers so big that it got them into trouble with their neighbors. The gawkers scratched their heads as they watched a “real life” levitation display, as a no-strings-attached mannequin floated over the Appel’s front yard. How did they do it? They’re not telling.

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Wild life in the city
The wild life in most of America’s big cities might include a wild rat or two, nut-chasing squirrels and messy pigeons. But, according to National Geographic, “Los Angeles is the only major metropolitan area in the world with a bevy of mountain lions [cougars].” And so, it comes as no surprise that the Los Angeles Police Department was called out to track down and capture one of those lions recently. It was causing consternation, at best, for the residents of the Brentwood neighborhood. The cops found the big cat, shot it three times with tranquilizer darts, but it got away. It was finally cornered and captured in a back yard and relocated to the Angeles National Forest.

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Not so scary story for Halloween
It was Halloween and Kristina Kallman of Waconia, Minnesota, was off to a party. So she left a bowl of candy on her porch so that trick-or-treaters could help themselves. Along came 12-year-old Abby and her younger brother Levi and found that other kids had already emptied the bowl. So what did they do? Abby and Levi reached into the candies they had already collected and refilled bowl. When their mom told them that it was the right thing to do, Abby replied, "Well I didn't want other kids to not have candy."

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How can you help make big change happen? Grow it from the grassroots

We live in a time when many people throughout the world want to see positive changes in different aspects of society. But making those changes happen starting from the grassroots level can be difficult – especially when people trying to initiate advances don’t have a strategic roadmap or the right tools to navigate the obstacles.
With solid organization and an effective process, grassroots advocacy – making change happen from the bottom up – can work, despite the common perception that only people in a position of power can make a difference, says Dr. Tarek Kteleh, author of The Six Pillars of Advocacy: Embrace Your Cause and Transform Lives. Dr. Kteleh has led numerous successful advocacy efforts, saving lives, helping to sanction a war criminal, and standing up for healthcare workers and patients.
“You’ve heard these sentences before: ‘You’re powerless to change the status quo,’ ‘“ he says. “Or, ‘You’re no match for the special interests embedded in the U.S. government.’ Or, ‘You’ve lost the battle before you’ve even begun.’ But I’m here to tell you none of that is true.
“I know because my community and I have achieved success, working through multiple levels of the American political system and taking on everyone from war criminals to profit-driven corporations and come out ahead. If you’re passionate about helping a community or cause and willing to selflessly dedicate your time and energy to service for others, you have a strong foundation for making change. You just need to know the tools required to fight for those who desperately need change or are unable to stand up for themselves.”
Dr. Kteleh offers the following keys to successful grassroots advocacy:
A noble cause. “Pour your limited time, energy, and financial resources into a campaign that benefits the many, not the few,” Dr. Kteleh says. “Find and fight for a cause that lifts up entire communities and inspires dedication from those around you.”
Networking. Once you’ve committed to a noble cause, seek out a community of kindred spirits who share your goals, Dr. Kteleh says. “The difficulty lies in connecting with them,” he says. “Start with your neighbors, colleagues, and professional associations.” Online search engines and social media sites also can be valuable tools for finding like-minded organizations.
Education. Dr. Kteleh says the challenge here is two-fold: “Teaching your supporters about your cause and undoing a lifetime of indoctrination that tells us the powerful hold all the cards.”
Fundraising. Even with a noble cause, asking family, friends, and supporters for financial help can be daunting. But Dr. Kteleh says if you’ve built a vibrant network and developed strong educational messaging, you’ve already done the heavy lifting. “Communicate to your supporters the results you hope to achieve and, specifically, how to achieve them,” he says. “Potential donors will then understand what their hard-earned dollars can fund and justify donating.”
Organization. With the help of an accountant or lawyer, Dr. Kteleh says, define your group’s mission and legally register an entity within your state. There are three primary classifications for advocacy organizations. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization is for charitable and educational purposes. Contributions from donors are tax-deductible. A 501(c)(4) is not tax-deductible but it has more flexibility in its activities than the 501(c)(3) and can lobby decision-makers without limits. A political action committee (PAC) is a vehicle for supporting policymakers who can further your legislative priorities.
Advocacy Tools. Dr. Kteleh says there are numerous tools for advancing your cause through policymakers and the public: a professional staff, ideally with requisite lobbying experience; the media, including op-eds about your topic, newspaper coverage of it, and commercials; social media, especially via targeted Facebook and Google ads; and face-to-face meetings with policymakers.
“Human beings were created to bring positive change to the world,” Dr. Kteleh says. “No matter what cause you work toward, the people whose lives you seek to change need and deserve your full commitment.”

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New ways to display poinsettias this holiday season
By MELINDA MYERS

Nothing says the holidays like a poinsettia. This year, try some new ways to display this festive plant.
Poinsettias are available in a variety of colors including white, pink, hot pink, yellow, peach, marbled and speckled. These colorful parts of the plant, often referred to as flowers, are actually modified leaves called bracts. The real flowers are small, yellow and appear at the tip of the stem surrounded by the bract.
Look for new places to display your poinsettia. Place a plant on a side or serving table. Remove the foil and set the plant in a decorative container. Try a hot pink poinsettia in a white pot or several different colors set in a serving tray, basket, or unique container. Add a table runner, candlestick, bowl of colorful fruit or other decorative touches.
Dress up individual or a group of poinsettias. White poinsettias donned with colorful berries, Chinese lantern pods and bobbles may be all you need for an eye-catching display.
Use poinsettias as a centerpiece for your holiday meals. Place several potted poinsettias in the middle of the table. Cover the plastic pots with greens. Then add some colorful pepper berries, cranberries, apples, or ornaments. Compact poinsettias like the Princettia® poinsettia with its abundant vibrant flowers work well for this application. Your guests will be able to see across the table as they visit over dinner, enjoying the holiday ambience created by these beautiful plants.
Dress up each place setting with a cut poinsettia bloom. Simply cut the flowers off a potted poinsettia plant to the desired length. Place it in a floral water pick, the water-filled tubes used for cut flowers. Tuck the bloom into a napkin, set it in a small bud vase or add a ribbon to dress it up. They make great party favors for your guests.
Look for other ways to include these in your holiday décor. Even one cut poinsettia flower set among a bowl of silver, gold or white ornaments adds a nice holiday touch. Set a few cut flowers aside to use as unique package adornments. Just secure the flower, floral pick and all, with a colorful ribbon to the gift.
Use cut poinsettia flowers in a vase like you would other blooms. Even one of these large blossoms puts on quite the display and is sure to brighten even the smallest of rooms.
Combine your poinsettia with a few greens and other flowers. Quickly sear the cut end of the poinsettia stems to prevent the sticky sap from leaking into the water. Dress up your arrangement by filling the vase with cranberries, small ornaments, or other colorful adornments.
While enjoying your holidays, a discussion on the proper pronunciation of the plant’s name may arise. Some say Poinsett-a and don’t pronounce the second i. Others include it and say Poinsett-e-a? You will find both pronunciations in various dictionaries. In other words, either one is considered correct, so no one loses this debate.
These colorful plants are sure to brighten your spirits throughout the holiday season, so be sure to make some space for a few poinsettia displays.

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Medal of Honor: Army Pfc. Joe Nishimoto
By KATIE LANGE
Army Pfc. Joe Nishimoto faced discrimination during World War II because of his Japanese lineage, but that didn't stop him from joining the military when he had the chance to prove his allegiance to the U.S. He never came home from battle, but his efforts weren't forgotten. Many years after making the ultimate sacrifice, he was bestowed the Medal of Honor.
Nishimoto was born on Feb. 21, 1919, in the Fresno area of California to Japanese immigrants Giichi and Kiyo Nishimoto. He had an older brother, Frank, and two sisters, Akie and Marie. Not much is known about his childhood, but Nishimoto was working on a farm he owned in Fresno when World War II began.
The bombing of Pearl Harbor caused rampant fear in the U.S. of anyone of Japanese heritage, which led to an executive order that forced the internment of about 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans in camps across the country. Nishimoto was taken from his home and put into the Jerome Concentration Camp in southeast Arkansas, which held about 8,500 people over the course of the war. Nishimoto's parents were taken to nearby Rohwer Concentration Camp.
The Marion Star newspaper out of Marion, Ohio, said Nishimoto was eventually granted permission by the FBI to settle somewhere in the east, so he moved to Marion, near where his sisters and their husbands had settled prior to the war.
Nishimoto volunteered for the Army almost as soon as he got there, but it took about seven months for his enlistment to go through. The Marion Star said that during that time, he worked at the Olds Poultry Farm and Hatchery from January to July 1943.
Nishimoto finally entered service on Oct. 4, 1943, and was sent to Camp Shelby in Mississippi to train with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Activated in February 1943, the 442nd was a segregated unit made up entirely of Japanese Americans who were initially barred from military service after the Pearl Harbor attack. Nishimoto's brother, Frank, was also a part of the 442nd.
After training, Nishimoto and the 442nd deployed to Italy in June 1944, where they joined in combat with the 100th Infantry Battalion, the first all Japanese American unit to be activated during the war. Within two months, Nishimoto earned a Silver Star by leading a daring daylight crossing of a river in which he provided cover for other soldiers, then destroyed a machine gun post and stole enemy equipment.
The 442nd did such a great job in battle in its first few months overseas that it was reassigned to Southern France, where its soldiers took part in heavy combat in the Vosges Mountains. Over the span of a month that autumn, the unit liberated Bruyeres and Biffontaine and helped rescue the 141st Infantry's 1st Battalion — now known as the Lost Battalion — which had been surrounded by Germans.
By November, the 442nd was near La Houssiere, France, and had been under stress due to enemy fire and hidden mines. On Nov. 7, after his company spent three unsuccessful days trying to dislodge the enemy from the ridge it was defending, Nishimoto decided to step up the fight.
Without concern for his own safety, he crawled forward through an area filled with mines and other booby traps. When he came across an enemy machine gun nest, he destroyed it with a grenade. He then moved on to the back of another machine gun nest and fired his submachine gun inside at point-blank range, killing one gunner and wounding another. Nishimoto then chased after two other enemy soldiers, killing one of them before driving another machine gun crew from their position.
Having lost those three strongholds, the enemy decided it had no choice but to flee — all thanks to Nishimoto's extraordinary bravery.
Sadly, Nishimoto didn't live long enough to gain recognition for his actions. The 25-year-old was killed in combat a week later. His parents were notified while they were still in the internment camp they were sent to at the start of the war. When Nishimoto's body was returned home, he was buried at Washington Colony Cemetery in Fresno.
The young private initially earned the Distinguished Service Cross for his bravery on Nov. 7. But for many years, those who knew him thought he deserved more.
In the 1990s — decades after Nishimoto's actions — legislators called for a review of his service record and those of other Asian-American service members from World War II. They wanted to determine if any of those men had been passed over for the Medal of Honor due to discrimination of the time.
Considering the 442nd RCT is still one of the most decorated units in U.S. history, the reviews did, indeed, find that discrimination was a factor.
On June 21, 2000, that wrong was finally rectified for 22 men who served in segregated Asian American units during World War II. During a White House ceremony, President Bill Clinton presented Nishimoto's eldest sister, Akie, with her brother's long overdue Medal of Honor.
In 2014, the medal was donated by his family to the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., to be part of the Smithsonian's permanent collection.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – When Is My Wife Eligible for Full Survivor Benefits?

Dear Rusty: I heard my spouse will get 100% of my Social Security when I pass if she is at her full retirement age (FRA), which is 66 years and 8 months. But I also heard that full widow benefits for those born in 1958 are available at 66 years and 4 months. Which is correct?
Then I heard that her getting 100% of my social security is NOT the case because I started social security at 70. I heard this is because widow benefits are based on my benefit at my full retirement age. So, will my wife get 100% of my Social Security if she starts it at her FRA, or will she get my smaller FRA amount?
My wife is now getting spousal benefits and I also heard that for those getting spousal benefits, Social Security automatically changes that to widow benefits when the other spouse passes. If I die before my wife reaches her FRA, can she tell Social Security to NOT give her widow benefits at that time? Can she wait until she is at her FRA and then start widow benefits to get 100% of mine?Signed: Concerned Husband
Dear Concerned: I’ll be happy to clear all this up for you. There are two “full retirement age” numbers which will be in effect for your wife if you pass first – 1) her “normal” full retirement age (FRA), and 2) her “widow’s full retirement age.”
Your wife’s “normal FRA” is 66 years and 8 months and that is when her personal SS retirement benefit can be claimed without reduction, and when she will no longer be subject to Social Security’s earnings test if she is still working. Your wife’s “widow’s FRA” is determined by subtracting two years from her birth year and the FRA number for that year becomes her “widows FRA,” which is the age at which she becomes eligible for unreduced survivor benefits. In your wife’s case her “widow’s FRA” is 4 months earlier than her normal FRA, or 66 years and 4 months.
The confusion about whether your wife’s survivor benefit will be based on your FRA entitlement, or your age 70 amount usually stems from the fact that a spouse’s benefit while both partners are living is based on FRA amounts, whereas your wife’s benefit as your surviving spouse is based on the full amount you were receiving when you died. Thus, your wife’s current benefit as your spouse is based on your age 66 amount, but her benefit as your widow will be based on your age 70 amount. If you predeceased her, your wife’s benefit as your survivor (if she has reached her “widow’s FRA” of 66 plus 4 months) will be 100% of your age 70 amount (including any cost of living adjustments subsequently awarded), and that will replace the smaller benefit she is now receiving as your spouse.
Whether your wife’s survivor benefit will be automatically awarded depends on whether her current benefit consists of her own Social Security retirement benefit from her own lifetime work record plus a spousal boost from your record. If that is the case, then her survivor benefit will not be awarded until she claims it. If, however, your wife’s current benefit is based solely on your record, when Social Security receives notification of your death, they will automatically award your wife’s benefit as your surviving widow. If she has already reached her “widow’s FRA” when that happens, her new benefit amount will be the same as you were receiving when you died. But if your wife hasn’t yet reached her widow’s FRA, her survivor benefit will be awarded at that time but reduced by .396% for each month earlier than her FRA. So, if her current benefit is based solely on your Social Security earnings record, your wife will not have the option to delay her survivor benefit until her widow’s FRA.

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Travel Troubleshooter

BY CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT

Budget billed me a $450 cleaning fee for dog hair. I don't have a dog.
When Budget charges Russ DeVries $450 for a pet cleaning fee on his rental, he has a problem paying: He doesn't have a dog. Can he get this charge removed?
Q: Budget charged me a $450 cleaning fee for a vehicle that had dog hair in the back seat. I only had the rental car for one day. I traveled from the airport to my meeting, to the hotel and then back to the airport the following day. I never had an animal in the vehicle at any time. Can you help? -- Russ DeVries, Midlothian, Va.
A: If you didn't bring a dog with you, then you should not have to pay a cleaning fee.
Car rental companies have been clamping down on customers who trash their vehicles. I reviewed the correspondence between you and Budget, and here's how it justified the fee.
"Charges for cleaning vehicles that are returned in such poor condition that the vehicle must be sent out for detailing, will be charged in proportion to the level of cleaning that is needed," it said in an email. "This includes, but is not limited to, vehicles returned with food stains on the seats, dog or animal hair that cannot be removed through normal vacuuming of the car, excessive odor, smoke odor, and cigarette burns. We find that the location has provided documentation of the condition of the vehicle at return."
Budget said it would gladly remove the charge if you could show the condition of the car before you rented it. That's a valid request. You should always take a picture of your car -- inside and outside -- before you leave the lot. If someone forgot to clean the vehicle, or if it has dings or dents on the outside, ask for a different car.
Budget then told you about the dog hair, which you vehemently denied. You were on a business trip and did not bring a dog with you.
In the end, it's difficult to prove you didn't have a dog. I see cases like this all the time. Among the car rental companies' favorite fees is charging nonsmokers a cleaning fee for "smoking" in a rental vehicle. But pet cleaning fees seem to be a close second. And it's not limited to car rental companies. A few years ago, a vacation rental management company in Sedona, Ariz., tried to charge me for dog hair in my vacation rental. I don't have a dog. When I pointed that out, the company dropped the fee.
I would have pressed Budget for more proof. In your email correspondence, the company insisted it had the evidence. But it couldn't show you any evidence that proves you (or your non-existent dog) messed up the back seat of your rental. I wonder why? If a car rental company wants to charge you an extra $450, it should at least have something to show for it.
Here's another problem with your case: Budget didn't notify you of the cleaning fee. Instead, it simply charged your credit card. You had to ask the car rental company about a mysterious $450 charge on your card. Come on. At least the company could have let you know it was billing you -- and maybe asked for your side of the story.
A brief, polite email to one of the executives at Budget might have produced more evidence. Or it might have convinced the powers that be of your innocence. There was no dog, and therefore no dog hair.
I contacted Budget on your behalf. It refunded the $450 it charged your card.

Christopher Elliott's latest book is “How To Be The World’s Smartest Traveler” (National Geographic). Get help by contacting him at http://www.elliott.org/help

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The 2023 Grateful American Book Prize is accepting entries

WASHINGTON, DC — The 2023 Grateful American Book Prize is now accepting submissions. They should be books of non-fiction, fiction, or biographies suitable for 7th to 9th graders, published between August 1, 2022, and July 31, 2023.
“Over the past several decades schools have gradually de-emphasized history in the classroom with the result that kids today do not know who George Washington and Benjamin Franklin were,” according to David Bruce Smith. Cofounder of the Prize. “It’s been a lingering problem for quite some time and so, at the behest and in collaboration with the late Dr. Bruce Cole, the former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, we established the Prize as an incentive for authors and publishers to focus on history for young readers. As Dr. Cole put it, ‘we are a country of historical amnesiacs’ and perhaps historical ‘page turners’ for kids may be just what the doctor ordered.”
The Prize comes with a $13,000 cash award in commemoration of the 13 original Colonies, a lifetime membership at the New-York Historical Society, and a medallion created by Smith’s mother, the renowned artist, Clarice Smith.
Honorable Mention recipients receive a cash award of $500 each, and the medallion.

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Happy Birthday
It was Kason Johnson’s eighth birthday. There he was in Mountain Grove, Missouri, hanging on to a lot of birthday balloons. He lost his grip and up they went, sky high and seemingly lost forever. Alas, they floated away. Five hundred miles later they made landfall in the yard of Todd Huyler in Cleveland, Tennessee. He found an envelope attached to the bouquet of balloons. It provided the address of Kason’s school. Huyler wasted no time putting together a batch of goodies, as well as $100, sending them to Kason along with his Happy Birthday wishes.

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It’s a scary coaster
It takes a die-hard daredevil to seek out and take a ride on the fastest, steepest, most complex rollercoaster. If you are fearless and adventurous enough, you may want to book a trip to Dubai. It’s there you’ll find what the judges at the Guinness World Records say is the fastest vertical-launch rollercoaster on the planet. It is called the Storm Coaster. Beware, it has a vertical launch speed of 25 mph and accelerates to a top speed of some 48 miles per hour.

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Pea whee!
Its seems that the folks at the Guinness Book of World Records search far and wide to find what some might call off-beat categories. Take, for example, the award it gives out to a contender who can blow a pea farther than anyone else. David Rush keeps breaking that record over and over again. He outdid his competitors and himself recently by putting his lips together and blowing his pea a distance of 84 feet, 11.28 inches. It was Rush’s 250th win not just for pea blowing but for a variety of Guinness records.

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s presidency began on November 8, 1932. Afterwards, he was re-elected in 1936, 1940 and 1944. During the administrations, he guided the country through the Great Depression and World War II--but he died April 12, 1945—three and a half weeks before the combat ended.
In a tribute written for University of Virginia’s Miller Center, historian William E. Leuchtenburg wrote:
“Under Roosevelt's leadership, the United States emerged from World War II as the world's foremost economic, political, and military power. FDR's contributions to domestic life during his presidency were just as vital. While his "New Deal" did not end the Great Depression, Roosevelt's leadership gave Americans hope and confidence in their darkest hours and fundamentally reshaped the relationship between the federal government and the American people. FDR so dominated American politics that he almost single-handedly launched the Democratic Party into a position of prolonged political dominance. During his tenure, FDR also lifted both the standing and power of the American presidency to unprecedented heights.”
For more information, the Grateful American Book Prize recommends Young Mr. Roosevelt: FDR's Introduction to War, Politics, and Life by Stanley Weintraub.

There are approximately 400,000 veterans in Arlington National Cemetery with engraved ranks, branches of service; dates of birth and death; on their headstones. Except one:
History.com reports that “Exactly three years after the end of World War I [on November 11, 1921], the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier [was] dedicated at Arlington Cemetery in Virginia during an Armistice Day ceremony presided over by President Warren G. Harding.”
According to the Arlington National Cemetery, a “Vietnam War Unknown lay in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda from May 25 to 28, 1984. On Memorial Day, May 28, a military procession transported the casket to Arlington National Cemetery for burial. President Ronald Reagan presided over the interment ceremony.” When DNA became available in 1998, it was used to discover the identity of the unknown soldier, who was then reinterred in accordance with the wishes of his family.
“On September 17, 1999 — National POW/MIA Recognition Day — [his tomb] was rededicated to honor all missing U.S. service members from the Vietnam War.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier written by Jeff Gottesfeld and illustrated Matt Tavares.

In 1892, Annie Moore-- a 15-year-old Irish immigrant---was the first of more than 12 million who were welcomed to Ellis Island--until it was decommissioned--in November of 1954. Even now, appreciable numbers of visitors, tourists and genealogy buffs still pass through every year.
“Not all immigrants who sailed into New York had to go through Ellis Island. First- and second-class passengers submitted to a brief shipboard inspection and then disembarked at the piers in New York or New Jersey, where they passed through customs. People in third class, though, were transported to Ellis Island, where they underwent medical and legal inspections to ensure they didn’t have a contagious disease or some condition that would make them a burden to the government. Only two percent of all immigrants were denied entrance into the U.S.,” according to History.com.
The Grateful American Book Prize suggests books such as American Passage: The History of Ellis Island by Vincent J. Cannato for more information.

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Medal of Honor: Marine Corps Maj. George O'Brien Jr.

By KATIE LANGE, DOD News
Marine Corps Maj. George Herman O'Brien Jr. led several "kids," as he described them, into a lopsided battle to maintain the main line of resistance in Korea. His daring and forceful leadership inspired the men around him, which helped them push the enemy back. For his bravery, O'Brien earned the Medal of Honor.
O'Brien was born Sept. 10, 1926, in Fort Worth, Texas. His father, George, was a traveling salesman, and his mother, Della, was a minister, according to the Texas State Historical Association.
O'Brien's parents eventually moved him and his younger brother, Larry, to Big Spring, Texas, where they grew up. O'Brien — a self-described problem child — said he went to a few different schools because he was disruptive in class. He said he was finally given a wartime diploma from Big Spring High School in 1944.
O'Brien then spent about a year and a half as a Merchant Marine on a gas tanker, which included a stint in the Pacific Ocean during the end of World War II. He eventually swapped that for college, attending Texas Tech University and graduating in 1950 with a degree in geology. During his college days, he also joined the Marine Corps Reserve.
In November 1951, O'Brien was called to active duty. He was commissioned as an officer at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, and then trained at Camp Pendleton, California, before being sent to fight in the Korean War with the 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division in September 1952. There, he became the commander of 1st Platoon, Company H of the 3rd Battalion.
Less than two months later, the then-2nd lieutenant would take part in the fight of his life.
On Oct. 27, 1952, O'Brien's unit was one of many defending the 38th Parallel, the main line of resistance, when they learned that another company that was holding a vital hill in an area known as The Hook was overrun by a huge Chinese force. O'Brien's company had been waiting in reserve for hours but was soon told to retake the hill.
"They moved us up as far as they could with the trucks. We marched the rest of the way," O'Brien said, referring to the area where the other Marines had been overrun. "There was no trench line there. It had been completely wiped out with bombs and mortars and artillery, and there were several straggling troops there."
As his platoon prepared to make their assault, the enemy bombarded them with mortars and artillery. That didn't stop O'Brien, though. When he got the signal, he leapt from his trench and shouted for his men to follow, then raced across an exposed area and up the enemy-entrenched hill through a hail of gunfire.
As he got within range of the Chinese soldiers, he was shot in the arm and thrown to the ground. But he got back on his feet and waved his men on as he continued to spearhead the assault, even as he stopped to help a wounded Marine.
O'Brien hurled hand grenades into enemy bunkers and killed at least three enemy soldiers in hand-to-hand combat. He was knocked down three times by concussion grenades, but each time, he got back up, refusing medical treatment. For four hours, O'Brien continued to keep up the assault and encouraged his platoonmates to push forward, too.
When a lull came in the attack, O'Brien organized his remaining men in a defensive position just in case the enemy returned. He personally checked each spot, then helped the wounded while expediting their evacuation. When another unit eventually came to their relief, O'Brien stayed behind to cover the withdrawal of his platoon to make sure no one was left behind.
Thanks to his efforts, U.S. forces recaptured the hill. However, it came at a cost he would never forget.
"We moved in on our objective, and we took it. [But we] left a lot of good kids [behind]," he said through tears during a Veterans History Project interview decades later.
O'Brien earned a Purple Heart for his actions. He was treated for his injuries on a hospital ship, but he returned to combat a few weeks later. He earned a second Purple Heart for more wounds he suffered later in his deployment.
The young 2nd lieutenant returned to the states with other troops on a transport ship in the summer of 1953. Along the way, he learned some big news.
"When we were coming into San Francisco harbor, one of my friends picked up the radio from San Francisco, and he told me, he said, ‘George, I just heard over the radio that you are going to receive the Medal of Honor,'" O'Brien remembered.
A year to the day after his actions in Korea, President Dwight D. Eisenhower presented O'Brien with the nation's highest medal for valor during a White House ceremony.
Seven other service members received the honor that day, too. O'Brien said he and three of the other recipients – Marine Corps Capt. Ray Murphy, Army Cpl. Hiroshi Miyamura and Marine Corps Pfc. Bob Simanek — grew very close afterward and met every year for many years after that.
O'Brien said the Medal of Honor represents the immense sacrifices made by the Marines he led in war — those who came home and those who didn't.
"This medal's not mine. It belongs to those kids who never grew up to be grandfathers," he said through tears. "It's in trust, and I hope I wear it well."
After the war, O'Brien returned to West Texas to work in the oil and gas industry as a petroleum geologist. The state historical association said he also operated wells in southeastern New Mexico.
O'Brien stayed in the Marine Corps Reserve, retiring as a major in 1963. He married twice and had two sons and a daughter. One son, Mike O'Brien, said his father rarely talked about his war days or the accolades he received. Those who knew him said he was humble and gracious.
O'Brien died on March 11, 2005, in Midland, Texas. He was buried in Texas State Cemetery in Austin.
His name lives on in the places he called home. The veteran's medical center in Big Spring was renamed the George H. O'Brien Jr. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in January 2012. In March 2020, O'Brien's medal was loaned to Texas Tech so it could be put on display. His son, Mike, said he thought it was time to share it with the university that his father loved.

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Give the gift of preserving the garden’s harvest
By MELINDA MYERS

Give a gift that helps your favorite gardeners enjoy the flavors of their garden well past the end of the growing season. Both new and experienced gardeners often spend their gardening budget on plants and seeds, leaving little or none to invest in food preservation equipment and supplies. Prepare your favorite gardener for the next harvest season with some food preservation supplies and equipment.
Canning jars, freezer containers, spice cubes and airtight bottles for canning, freezing, and storing dehydrated herbs and vegetables are always welcome gifts. These supplies come in handy throughout the harvest season and are often in short supply when food preservation is at its peak.
Most gardeners grow their own fresh herbs and drying is the easiest way to preserve the harvest. Simply gather stems, secure with a rubber band, and suspend in a warm, dry location. As the stems dry and shrink, the rubber band does as well, keeping the stems secure. Use a spring clothespin to secure the herb bundles to wires or other support. Create your own drying set up or invest in one of the commercial herb drying racks.
If space is limited, your gift recipient will appreciate a system like the Stack-it Herb Drying Rack (gardeners.com) that allows them to dry lots of herbs in a very small footprint. The drying system you purchase or create should provide the needed space for the harvest and allow sufficient air circulation for fast drying.
Herbs with high moisture content like basil, oregano, lemon balm and mints will mold if not dried quickly. If this has been a problem in the past, try placing a small bunch in a paper bag with holes in the side and stems outside the bag. Hang these from a drying rack or speed up the process by using a microwave or food dehydrator.
Many gardeners grow onions, garlic, and potatoes for long-term storage. All three of these vegetables prefer cool, dark storage locations with good air circulation. Separate potatoes from onions that give off pungent gases that can taint the potatoes’ flavor.
Avoid plastic bags that retain moisture and can shorten these vegetables storage life. Breathable potato and onion storage baskets have been used by gardeners for centuries. Boost the style and space savings with the Stackable Bamboo Harvest Storage Basket with Lid. Just stack as needed and place on the rolling base for easy storage and accessibility.
Help your gift recipient turn their harvest into something delicious. Fermentation is a relatively easy preservation technique that has been used for thousands of years. Preserve some of your cucumbers as pickles, cabbage as sauerkraut, and berries as preserves with fermentation.
For most projects you just need the fruit or vegetables, water, salt, and spices. The desired ingredients are placed in a covered vessel like a Stoneware Pickling Crock. Weights are used to keep the fruit and vegetables submerged in water throughout the fermentation process.
Consider smaller fermentation kits for those with limited space. A three-liter glass jar with an air-lock lid and ceramic weights will allow you to ferment small quantities of vegetables.
Reduce the workload and boost the enjoyment for those making tomato juice, sauces, and soups. Hand crank and electric tomato presses, strainers and sauce makers allow gardeners to separate the skins and seeds from the tomato meat for quicker and easier processing.
Giving a gift that helps preserve flavors from the recipient’s garden will be useful and remembered for seasons to come.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – How Do I Get My Social Security As Soon As Possible?

Dear Rusty: I am a few weeks away from my 61st birthday in November 2022. I was wondering how far in advance of my 62nd birthday next year should I file my Social Security benefits paperwork in order to get my first check the same month I turn 62? I usually work a part time job during the winter months - but that job fell through this fall 2022. So, I do not want to waste any time getting that first check arriving the minute I turn 62 in November 2023. I don't want to take any chances of delays in starting my Social Security retirement benefits since I am currently not working. Signed: Ready to Retire Soon
Dear Ready to Retire: Unless you were born on November 1st or 2nd, you will first become eligible for Social Security in December of 2023. That’s because you must be 62 for the entire month before you can get Social Security for that month. If you were born on either the 1st or 2nd of November, then November 2023 will be your first month of eligibility and your first payment will be received in December. But if you turn 62 after November 2nd, your first month of eligibility will be December 2023 and your first payment will be received in January 2024 (Social Security pays benefits in the month following the month they are earned).
Social Security recommends you apply for your retirement benefit about 3 months before you wish your payments to begin, but you can apply as much as four months prior. When you complete the application there will be a question asking when you wish your benefits to start, and you should select the one that says, “I want benefits beginning with the earliest possible month and will accept an age-related reduction.” Be aware that your age 62 benefit amount will be permanently reduced (your age 62 benefit will be 70% of the amount you would get at your full retirement age (FRA) of 67).
By applying as suggested above, you will get your first Social Security payment as early as possible, but you should also know that the exact date of your payment depends on the day of the month you were born. If you were born between the 1st and 10th of the month, you’ll get your payment in your bank account on the 2nd Wednesday of every month; if you were born between the 11th and 20th of the month, your payment will be received on the 3rd Wednesday of every month; and if your birthday is after the 20th of the month, the payment will be in your account on the 4th Wednesday of every month.
You can apply for benefits by making an appointment to do so at 1.800.772.1213 or by calling your local SS office, but the most efficient way to apply is online at www.ssa.gov/retire. To apply online, you’ll need to first create your personal “my Social Security” online account, which is easy to do at www.ssa.gov/myaccount.

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Medal of Honor: Navy Capt. David McCampbell
By KATIE LANGE
Navy Capt. David McCampbell wasn't just the top naval ace of World War II — he's considered the service's all-time leader in aerial combat. His spirit and leadership are what made his air group one of the war's most decorated, and they earned him the Medal of Honor.
McCampbell was born Jan. 16, 1910, in Bessemer, Alabama, to parents Andrew and Elizabeth McCampbell. When he was about 12, the family moved him and his older sister, Frances, to West Palm Beach, Florida.
As a teen, McCampbell moved north to attend the Staunton Military Academy in Virginia. His graduation in 1928 earned him an Army commission, according to the Army University Press. Instead, he chose to attend the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he played football and was on the swim team. He also joined Navy ROTC, which led to his appointment to the Naval Academy. While in Annapolis, McCampbell became an accomplished swimmer and diver, competing in and winning various NCAA regional championships.
McCampbell graduated in June of 1933, but since Great Depression-related economic issues had affected the number of commissions that were available, he immediately went into the Naval Reserve. He returned to Alabama to work in construction and at an aircraft assembly plant for a year before finally receiving orders in June 1934 to report for active duty.
The young ensign's first duty station was aboard the USS Portland. By May 1937, he'd worked his way up in the ranks and began flight school in Pensacola, Florida, earning his wings in April 1938. His first few years as an aviator were spent serving on the USS Ranger and the USS Wasp.
World War II began while McCampbell was on the Wasp. The aircraft carrier spent the first half of 1942 in the European theater before being transferred to the Pacific. On Sept. 15, 1942, the ship was sunk during the Guadalcanal campaign. McCampbell, surviving its demise, was promoted to lieutenant commander and brought back to the U.S.
By late 1943, McCampbell was in command of a fighter squadron attached to the USS Essex. He was promoted to commander in January 1944 and put in charge of the ship's Air Group 15 — one of the war's most decorated air groups. It was in this position that McCampbell became one of World War II's great aces.
McCampbell took out his first Japanese aircraft on June 11, 1944. About a week later, during the First Battle of the Philippine Sea, he led several F6F Hellcat fighter aircraft against 80 Japanese carrier-based planes that were headed toward the U.S. fleet. McCampbell personally destroyed seven of those hostile aircraft — five bombers and two fighters — which helped his outnumbered men virtually annihilate the enemy. According to the Encyclopedia of Alabama, McCampbell's team accounted for about 68 of the 600 Japanese downed aircraft.
On Oct. 24, 1944, during the infamous Battle of Leyte Gulf, McCampbell and a fellow pilot, Ensign Roy Rushing, took on 60 hostile Japanese aircraft that were approaching U.S. ships. Despite the overwhelming airpower against them, McCampbell shot down nine Japanese aircraft, setting a U.S. single mission aerial combat record. Rushing took out another six enemy warplanes. Their successes completely threw off the Japanese air group; the remaining aircraft abandoned their mission before any of them reached the U.S. fleet.
In a 1987 U.S. Naval Institute interview, McCampbell explained how he nearly didn't make it back to his ship after that engagement.
"When I got over the ship, I found they had a flight deck full of planes, and I knew that to launch all those planes would take a good 20 minutes, and I didn't have that much gas left," he said.
When the ship did make room for him to land, he said, "I ran out of gas on the deck. They had to push me out of the landing gear area. I found out from the mechanic that re-ammunitioned the guns that I had exactly six rounds left in the starboard outboard gun, and they were all jammed."
"But it worked out all right," he added nonchalantly.
McCampbell returned to the U.S. in December 1944. By then, he had become the Navy's all-time leading ace and top F6F Hellcat ace, having downed 34 Japanese aircraft during his months of aerial combat. His impressive tally made him the third-highest American scoring ace of World War II, behind only Army Maj. Richard Bong and Army Maj. Thomas B. McGuire, neither of whom survived the war.
For his bravery in the skies, McCampbell received the Medal of Honor on Jan. 10, 1945, from President Franklin D. Roosevelt during a ceremony at the White House.
After the war, McCampbell served in various positions, including as a senior naval aviation advisor to the Argentine Navy. After becoming a captain in July 1952, he also notably served as the captain of the aircraft carrier USS Bonhomme Richard and as a member of the Joint Staff in Washington, D.C. In the latter position, McCampbell helped draw up contingency invasion plans during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, according to a 1996 Palm Beach Post article.
McCampbell was married a few times and had three children, Frances, David and John. He finally retired from the Navy in 1964 after 31 years of service.
According to the Palm Beach Post, McCampbell "dabbled in real estate in the Bahamas" before setting back down near West Palm Beach, where he lived for the rest of his life.
McCampbell died on June 30, 1996, at a veteran's home he'd been living at for about a year. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
His legendary exploits have not been forgotten. The destroyer USS McCampbell was named in his honor. There's also the David McCampbell terminal at the Palm Beach International Airport, which was named for him when the airport opened in 1988.
McCampbell's medal is on display at the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

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Go beyond the traditional with unique amaryllis varieties
By MELINDA MYERS

Boost your spirits and winter décor with new shapes and colors of amaryllis. Today there are many beautiful options beyond the traditional red.
Double amaryllis have jumbo flowers with multiple layers of petals. Kick off the season with the early-blooming variety Alaska. Its frilly white petals contrast nicely with the lime green throat and the flowers last for weeks. Early blooming amaryllis are grown in the southern hemisphere and, if planted by early November, they bloom in time for holiday decorating and gift-giving.
Extend amaryllis season with doubles that are grown in the northern hemisphere. Start these amaryllis bulbs any time before January for flowers in mid to late winter. Sweet Nymph has layers of creamy white petals that are decorated with coral pink stripes. The blossoms add romantic charm to any setting. The extra-large flowers of Giant Amadeus change colors as they go from bud to mature bloom. The blossoms start out mostly white with a fine red outline. The color of the petals gradually intensifies to blushing pink, rose, and coral.
Doublet is another stunning winter-blooming double. Its flowers feature narrow petals in a variety of widths, all with red and white candy cane stripes. You can expect two or three flower stalks from each bulb and as many as a dozen flowers. For more subtle beauty, consider double amaryllis Elvas with white petals outlined in red.
New varieties of single amaryllis can be equally dramatic. Opal Star is an early bloomer with slightly longer and narrower petals than most. Its muted, pale red flowers feature a chartreuse and white star in the center that extends to the tips of the petals. Cape Horn has broad, rose-pink petals and a white star. Remember to plant these early-blooming amaryllis in the fall so you can share living bouquets for the holidays.
Keep the flowers coming with varieties that bloom in January and February. Terra Cotta Star is sure to attract attention with its striking colors and exquisite details. The salmon, rose, buttercream and pistachio petals have dark red veining that makes each blossom a standout. Yellow Star is another unique variety with elegant ivory and lime green flowers that are sure to lift your spirits. Rosy Star’s exquisite flowers feature snowy white petals and a rose-pink blush.
Don’t underestimate red amaryllis as there are many exciting variations to choose from. Charisma is an early-blooming single with petals that display an ombre effect of red and white. Gervase and Flamenco Queen are later blooming singles with a similar fade on their petals. For extra bold red and white flowers, consider single amaryllis Spartacus or Minerva, and the double variety Splash.
Order your amaryllis bulbs early for the best selection. When the bulbs arrive, store them in a cool, dry dark place until you are ready to plant. After you pot up the bulbs, place them in a warm, bright location to encourage them to break dormancy. Once the first bud emerges, you can expect to have flowers in two to four weeks. Enjoy all the beauty that growing amaryllis (Longfield-Gardens.com) provides with only minimal care.

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Travel Troubleshooter

By CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT

Hertz demands an additional $658 one year after rental. Can it do that?

Almost a year after another driver rear-ends his Hertz rental, Michael Edgar receives a demand for an additional $658. How can he get the company to drop the bill?

Q: I rented a car from Hertz more than a year ago. Another motorist rear-ended my rental. I was slightly hurt, and the rental sustained minor damage to the bumper.
I followed all the rules during the claims process. The other driver's insurance paid a $2,000 claim to Hertz. A Hertz representative told me the claim was closed.
I got a call almost 10 months after the accident from Hertz telling me I still owe them $658 for loss of use, underpayment by the other driver's insurance and a processing fee. Hertz claims it called me "many times." But it was the first time I had heard from the company.
I can't file another claim with my insurance because I'm past the 60-day limit. I thought it was a scam because it was so long after the accident, it just didn’t seem realistic. Hertz has now sent my case to collections.
What can I do? I’ve sent emails to customer relations, and I used your reference guide to email corporate members of Hertz. But I keep getting the runaround. Hertz now refuses to speak to me, only referring me to the outside collection agency. I would appreciate any assistance in this matter. -- Michael Edgar, Vancouver, Wash.
A: Hertz should have closed your claim when it said it did. The fees it's charging for loss of use and processing are controversial. Some might even call them junk fees. Loss of use covers the hypothetical revenue the car rental company would get if the vehicle wasn't in the repair shop. Many insurance adjusters won't cover this fee. Chances are, the other driver's insurance wouldn't cover it -- leaving you with the bill.
The administrative fee is also problematic. It's essentially asking you to cover the car rental company's other costs associated with repairing the vehicle, such as employee salaries and other overhead expenses. Again, I'm betting her insurance refused to pay this junk fee.
If an employee tells you that you're good to go, you should be good to go. But it's best to get this decision in writing. That's particularly true when you're dealing with a car rental damage claim.
I see you tried to use the executive contacts for Hertz on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. Someone should have responded quickly and fixed this for you.
I contacted Hertz on your behalf. It dropped the claim against you.

Christopher Elliott's latest book is “How To Be The World’s Smartest Traveler” (National Geographic). Get help by contacting him at http://www.elliott.org/help

© 2022 Christopher Elliott.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation,

Ask Rusty – How Do I Handle an Overpayment Notice from Social Security?

Dear Rusty: Things have gone good for me until now. I got a job and have enjoyed going back to work after being retired. But I just got some bad news - a letter from Social Security saying I owe them $17,000 because when I went back to work, I earned more than allowed in 2021. They never mentioned that I told them I was going back to work! They now say they can't pay me benefits in 2022 because I am working. Good job SSA, since I told you when I went back to work! Anyway, I can't repay them all at once, I’m lucky to buy gas to get groceries. They list items for a waiver, but I am not sure what is best for me. I was planning on moving for health reasons, but if I paid them all at once I have nothing left for the move. I just started my research on how to handle this but hoped you would have some insight. Signed: Un-retired Worker
Dear Un-retired Worker: Sorry to hear of the Overpayment Notice you have received from Social Security. Here are my thoughts: The repayment options they offered you are probably a) remit the entire amount in full or b) have your SS benefits withheld until they recover what you owe, or c) ask for special payment terms because doing either of the above is a hardship
At this juncture, you can request a waiver of the Overpayment in either of two ways:

· File form SSA-632, which essentially says you agree you’ve been overpaid but think you shouldn’t be required to pay it back because it wasn’t your fault (it was Social Security’s fault because you notified them when you returned to work).

· File form SSA-634, which essentially says you agree you’ve been overpaid and want to pay it back, but you can’t afford to pay it back in the manner they’ve offered.
I suggest you start by filing SSA-632, mainly because you notified them in August of 2021 that you had returned to work and they, nevertheless, continued to pay you thus causing the overpayment themselves (see Section 3, question.12 of SSA-632). While I can’t predict the probability of you having the entire amount waived, I think there’s a reasonably good chance they may provide you with some special accommodation because the overpayment was, indeed, a result of their own inaction after you notified them you had returned to work.
I suspect what happened is that they simply neglected to act after you notified them, and then when they received your 2021 earnings data from the IRS, they found you had earned more than the 2021 limit, causing them to issue the Overpayment Notice. But their lack of action shouldn’t result in a financial hardship for you, which is why I suggest you seek a waiver. Be aware too that if your waiver request is denied you have the right to appeal that denial, including requesting a hearing by an independent Administrative Law Judge, or by the SS Appeals Council, or even in Federal court if desired.
In any event, while your case is pending, they shouldn’t require you to repay them – they should temporarily suspend the repayment demand until your case is adjudicated.
Assuming you are still working full time, it’s probable that your benefits are now suspended because your income is too high. FYI, you will later get credit for any months your benefits are suspended, which will result in your benefit amount increasing after you reach your full retirement age (FRA). Thus, you may be able to, over time, recover some of the SS benefits you’ve lost because of your earnings prior to reaching your full retirement age.

Ask Rusty – Why Don’t I Get Annual Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA)?

Dear Rusty: I get a NET amount of $210 from Social Security plus get an alimony check of $1,400. Other people I know get a COLA increase every year, but I was told I am not eligible? But no reason was given. Why am I not eligible? Signed: Struggling Senior
Dear Struggling Senior: Everyone who collects Social Security receives the annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), so whoever told you that you aren’t eligible for a COLA increase was incorrect. However, keep in mind that COLA is applied to your gross Social Security payment, not your net payment. One thing which can happen, especially to those whose Social Security payment is small, is that an increase to the Medicare Part B premium may consume your COLA increase. Here’s an example of how that might occur:
You say your NET Social Security amount is $210. Assuming you are enrolled in Medicare, your gross Social Security payment (before the Medicare Part B premium is deducted) is probably about $380. The COLA increase for 2022 was 5.9%, which would increase your gross Social Security payment from about $380 to about $402, an increase of about $22. However, the 2022 Medicare Part B premium also increased by nearly $22 and, since your Medicare premium is deducted from your Social Security benefit, your NET Social Security payment wouldn’t change. I suspect this is why you didn’t see the Cost of Living Adjustment in your Social Security payment - an increase to your Medicare Part B premium most likely offset all of your COLA increase.
I know (and agree) this seems unfair, but inflation has also affected healthcare costs in general and Medicare premiums in particular, and a Medicare premium increase unfortunately offsets at least some of, and sometimes all of, the annual COLA received by all Social Security beneficiaries. I suspect the above, or some variation of it, is why you are not seeing a COLA increase in your net Social Security payment. Rest assured, however, that you ARE receiving an annual COLA increase to your gross Social Security amount – every recipient of Social Security receives each COLA increase granted.

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Fall Care of Perennials
By MELINDA MYERS

As you transition your gardens from fall to winter, you may be contemplating a bit of garden clean up. Before reaching for the pruners and rakes, consider all the benefits and beauty of leaving healthy perennials stand for winter.
The seed heads of many perennials like coneflower, rudbeckias, liatris and bee balm attract seed-eating songbirds like finches, sparrow, chickadees, juncos, and jays to the winter garden. These winged visitors add motion and color to the winter garden. Best of all, you don’t need to refill and clean this natural food source.
Many of these plants provide homes for beneficial insects, including native bees and other pollinators. A variety of these insects overwinter in or near the stems of perennials.
Native plants have evolved with many of these insects, birds and wildlife and most provide homes and food for native insects, songbirds, and wildlife. Purple coneflower, liatris, rudbeckias, sunflowers, asters, goldenrod, yucca, and Joe Pye weed are just a few of these native plants you might be growing.
Enjoy the winter foliage of evergreen and semi-evergreen perennials by leaving them intact in the garden. Watch for and avoid disturbing the green leaves at the base of perennials like yarrow, Shasta daisy, and globe thistle.
Leave borderline hardy perennials intact to improve their chances of surviving a harsher-than-normal winter. The stems capture any snow and helps retain any additional winter mulch, both providing needed root insulation.
Remove any diseased or insect-pest-infested plants. Removing this from the garden in fall reduces the risk of these problems occurring next year. Discard do not compost this material as most compost piles do not heat up to high enough temperatures to kill them. Contact your local municipality for disposal options.
Remove hosta leaves once the fall color fades and leaves die to reduce the risk of leaf nematodes overwintering in the crown of the plants. It also eliminates a winter home for slugs and their eggs.
Wait for several hard frosts when cutting back perennials in the fall. In milder climates, wait for leaves to brown and dry completely. This ensures the plant has stored all the energy it produced in the roots for healthy growth next spring.
Use sharp bypass pruners to make a clean cut through the stem. Disinfect tools by dipping in rubbing alcohol or spraying with a disinfect spray to prevent the spread of disease.
Rake leaves into the garden over the soil surface around the plants instead of to the curb. Fall leaves make great mulch that moderates soil temperature, suppresses weeds, conserves moisture, and improves the soil as they break down. Plus, they are free.
Wait to finish removing perennials until spring temperatures regularly hover in the 50’s. This allows overwintering insects a chance to leave their winter homes. It also provides songbirds much needed food in spring before many of our plants begin producing seeds and berries.
Once the garden is set for winter, you can relax and make plans for the spring garden.

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Surgical music
Strange as it may seem, surgeons in Italy recently performed brain surgery on a patient who performed on his saxophone during the operation. They explained that it helped them map the brain’s functionality was they cut away. Chief surgeon, Dr. Christian Brogna, explained that "Awake surgery makes it possible to map with extreme precision during surgery the neuronal networks that underlie the various brain functions such as playing, speaking, moving, remembering, counting."

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You’re never too old
"Gosh, no! I believe retirement is the enemy of longevity. Even in my younger years, I never once contemplated retirement. When you love what you do and are still capable of doing it, why would you want to retire?" So says Dr. Howard Tucker of Cleveland, Ohio, who was first declared the world’s oldest practicing physician at the age of 98. He’s still going strong at the age of 100, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, which recently reaffirmed his title. His wife, Dr. Sue, who is 89 years old, is still a practicing psychoanalyst.

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Jumping Jehoshaphat
These eight “JOES” are an inspiration for America’s senior citizens. They call themselves, JOES, because they belong to a group known as the Jumpers Over Eighty Society. And they recently showed the stuff they’re made of when they jumped in formation at the International Skydiving Hall of Fame Celebration in DeLand, Florida. Oh yeah, the stunt earned them a place in the Guinness Book of World Records previously held by a six man skydiving team of octogenarians.

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Medal of Honor: Army 2nd Lt. Harold Durham Jr.
By KATIE LANGE
When his unit was overwhelmed in Vietnam, Army 2nd Lt. Harold Bascom Durham Jr. didn't hesitate to unleash a barrage of artillery on the enemy to save the lives of his fellow soldiers. Durham didn't survive to tell the tale, but his bravery was detailed to others by the men who were there with him. For his actions, he earned the Medal of Honor.
Durham was born Oct. 12, 1942, in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. That day, he earned the nickname he would go by for the rest of his life: Pinky, reportedly because the hospital where he was born ran out of blue blankets, so he received a pink one instead.
Within a few months of his birth, Durham's father, a Marine World War II veteran, and his mother, Grace, moved the family to Tifton, Georgia, where they raised Durham and his two siblings, older brother John and younger sister Eugenia.
Durham, who was known to be charming, engaging and kind, graduated from high school in May 1960. Military records show that he moved to Durango, Colorado, in December of that year. While in the state, he studied at Fort Lewis A&M College (now Fort Lewis College) and worked in the hotel industry before moving back home to Georgia in September 1963.
When Durham's brother joined the Army, he decided to do the same, enlisting in February 1964. While he was doing a tour of Vietnam as a helicopter and airplane mechanic, he accepted an offer to go to Field Artillery Officer Candidate School, according to a 1999 article in the Rocky Mount Telegram. After receiving his commission in December 1966, Durham volunteered to go back to Vietnam. The Army obliged, and he returned to the embattled country in September 1967, the Telegram said.
Durham was a member of the 1st Infantry Division's 15th Field Artillery Regiment, but on Oct. 17, 1967, he was serving as a forward observer with Company D of the 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Division, about 56 miles northwest of Saigon. Their goal was to do reconnaissance in the area, and Durham's job was to plan and radio in requests for artillery fire to support infantry soldiers.
What they didn't know was that they were walking into a Viet Cong stronghold.
Around 10:15 a.m., Durham's battalion was ambushed by a well-camouflaged enemy force that outnumbered them as much as 10 to one. The young second lieutenant quickly moved into an exposed position so he could adjust supporting artillery fire on the enemy fighters.
During a brief lull, Durham treated wounded men around him despite being the target of heavy sniper fire. A few minutes later, he learned that the forward observer for Company A, which was bearing the brunt of the attack, had been killed. Later, he would learn that entire company had been wiped out.
Durham quickly moved to take the place of the fallen forward observer. As he was getting into place, enemy soldiers blew up a claymore mine near him, causing severe injuries to his head and impairing his vision. Despite the intense pain, Durham continued to direct supporting artillery fire on the enemy and even used his own weapon to support the infantrymen around him. At one point, when the enemy was really pressing the attack, Durham called for supporting fire to come down almost directly on his position.
It was only after the insurgents were driven back twice — with many dead and wounded left in their wake — that Durham allowed himself to be taken to a secondary defensive position.
" Lt. Welch remembers seeing the brave artillery lieutenant pressing the 'press-to-talk' button switch on his radio handset with the stub of his wrist, because his hand had been blown off," retired Brig. Gen. James E. Shelton, the operations officer that day, wrote in "The Beast Was Out There," a book about the battle, which became known as the Battle of Ong Thanh.
Even though he was extremely weak, Durham continued to call artillery fire on the enemy and refused to find cover. Instead, he positioned himself in a small clearing that gave him a better vantage point of the enemy's location so he could adjust artillery fire more accurately. But quickly, he was hit by enemy machine gun fire.
As Durham lay on the ground near death, he saw two Viet Cong fighters approaching and shooting defenseless injured soldiers. Mustering his last bit of strength, he shouted a warning to a nearby soldier, who was able to kill the two enemy fighters.
The 25-year-old died soon after that. The radio handset he'd used to call in support fire was still in his hand.
According to Army records, Durham was one of 56 U.S. and South Vietnamese soldiers killed that day; 75 more were wounded, and two were declared missing. Durham's efforts likely kept those numbers from being higher.
For his bravery, Durham posthumously received the Medal of Honor. The nation's highest award for valor was given to his mother on Oct. 31, 1969, by Vice President Spiro Agnew and Gen. William Westmoreland, the Army's chief of staff. Unfortunately, Durham's father died the same year his son did, and he never knew of his son's honor.
Durham was buried in Oakridge Cemetery in his hometown.
His name has not been forgotten. Fort Sill's Artillery Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame was named Durham Hall in his honor in 1999. In October 2016, the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton created the Freedom Gallery as a tribute to him.

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Have mobility issues? Personal training and medical exercise may help!

FREDERICKSBURG, Virginia – One of the main concerns with aging is mobility. According to the National Institutes of Health, mobility issues, such as walking and freely moving around, may occur as we age. They report that a lack of physical activity or exercise makes people more likely to have mobility issues. The good news for those who already have mobility issues is that they may be able to improve their situation through personal training and medical exercise.
“Having a consistent training program will help with joint and muscle lubrication, help avoid injury, and help you move better,” explains Jennifer Scherer, medical exercise specialist, certified personal trainer, and owner of Fredericksburg Fitness Studio. “Having total body mobility will carry over to injury prevention as well as feeling empowered to do the things you want to do in life, whatever that may be.”
As Scherer points out, mobility issues arise due to various reasons like our lifestyle, jobs, hobbies, etc. Many jobs create a sedentary environment, which aids in a lack of mobility. Various lifestyles can create deficits in mobility in different areas of our bodies. Personal training and medical exercise can help with many areas of someone's fitness, including strength, flexibility, range of motion, cardiovascular health, and mobility.
Working on total body strengthening and stretching will allow the body to overcome muscle tightness, fatigue, mobility issues, etc. Here are three exercises that can help promote better mobility:
Open book exercise. Lying on your side with your arms straight out on the floor, palms together, and knees bent at 90 degrees, slowly open the top arm up and back towards the other side of the floor, following with your head. Repeat 10 times on each side, and do two sets.
Dumbbell front to side raise. While standing tall with good posture and dumbbells in your hands by your sides, palms facing you, raise your arms to parallel with the shoulders and out to the sides like a T, and then back down to starting position. Repeat this 10 times, and do two sets.
Walking lunges. While standing tall with good posture and feet together, take a large step forward with your left leg, bend both knees down to reach 90 degrees, and bring the right leg up to meet the left. Repeat this 10 times, and do two sets.

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How will the COLA increase affect your retirement

By BENJAMIN J. KOVAL

Inflation in the United States has been hovering at or near a 40-year high in recent months, and the entire country seems to be feeling the squeeze of rising prices, regardless of income level.
Understandably, American consumers have questions and concerns. First, as the value of the dollar decreases, which lifestyle adjustments can be made to compensate for the loss in buying power?
Second, won’t somebody do something?
This year, the Federal Reserve has taken action by raising interest rates several times in an effort to curb spending and cut demand, ideally forcing the price of goods down, or at the very least, leading them to stagnate. But lately, the Fed has been criticized by experts worried that their actions may not be having the desired effect, and instead may be bringing on a recession.
So, what other actions can the government take to protect people from inflation? For retirees and those collecting Social Security benefits, the Social Security Administration implements an annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA.
Big raise in the COLA
The COLA in 2023 will be 8.7% – the highest increase in 40 years. The SSA introduced a COLA in 1975 to counter inflation for Social Security. Social Security beneficiaries, which include individuals who have reached at least the age of 62 or have qualifying disabilities, can receive an increase in their benefit based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or the CPI-W.
For example, at the beginning of this year, Social Security beneficiaries may have noticed their checks increased by 5.9%. That addition didn’t happen by chance or because of a missed decimal point in the accounting department. It was a carefully constructed adjustment based on 2021’s inflation rate of 7%, ideally giving those living on fixed income an offset against rising costs.
Retiring isn’t easy, and there’s a reason workers open IRAs and employer-sponsored retirement accounts such as 401(k)s early in their careers to begin building for the future. Retirement comes with a great deal of financial risk, and one of the biggest contributors to that risk is inflation.
Retirees often live on fixed incomes, withdrawing money from savings accounts, retirement accounts, pensions, annuities, investments and Social Security to cover their living expenses. Though a proper financial plan accounts for inflation, it can be difficult to foresee spikes such as those seen in 2021 and 2022, potentially upsetting expectations of how long your money will last. Though imperfect, the COLA can offer retirees an increase in a key source of retirement income, hopefully offsetting the compounding effect of inflation that can occur over the course of decades.
The COLA doesn’t always cover inflation
Though an increase in your Social Security check might sound entirely positive, there are drawbacks to COLA and the problems it aims to correct. The COLA is intended to cover the difference between the current and previous year’s costs of living, but it is possible that the extra money in your benefit will only partly cover your increased living expenses.
The calculations used by Social Security to compute the COLA are not necessarily aligned with overall inflation, thus it’s possible for prices to rise faster than Social Security’s adjustment. For example, 2021 inflation was 7% while the COLA only increased by 5.9%. Also, the COLA can remain unchanged year over year, as it did in 2009, 2010 and 2015, when inflation rose 2.7%, 1.5% and 0.7%, respectively.
While not completely reflective of each other, the COLA and inflation do correlate, but inflation is currently outpacing wages. In fact, in 2021, wages and salaries actually saw a 3.5% drop after adjusting for rising prices. Though this doesn’t directly affect Social Security beneficiaries, the Social Security trust funds are built by contributions from income taxes. It stands to reason that inflation outpacing wages would mean that the Social Security trust funds, which currently project to only be able to pay at their current rate until 2035, would deplete even quicker.
As dependable and helpful as Social Security and a COLA can be to a retiree, inflation can be fickle and, as recent times indicate, difficult to control. Therefore, developing the right financial plan can be the difference between having adequate funds for your desired lifestyle or running out of money. Social Security is only one income stream, and backup plans with alternative sources of income are vital.

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As obstacles mount, how small business owners can survive with resilience

With high inflation and widespread economic uncertainty confronting the nation, small business owners have concerns similar to consumers. Add continuing supply chain issues and labor shortages, and there are plenty of worries that can keep entrepreneurs up at night.
But the good news is that, according to a survey, many small business owners have shown the resilience to face, adjust to and overcome these challenges that proliferated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Some are finding new supply sources, increasing wages and training to retain top employees, reducing expenses and reevaluating pricing. Taking such actions reflects the resilience, flexibility and problem-solving that are required to weather the storms in business – and help owners prepare better for future turbulent times, says James Webb (www.jamesharoldwebb.com), a successful entrepreneur in the medical and fitness sectors and author of A Country Boy’s Journey To Prosperity.
“The pandemic has posed a serious test for small business owners, forcing some to shut down and many to pivot,” Webb says. “Having resilience is a huge factor that separates those who have succeeded in overcoming the challenges from those who haven’t.
“Resilience is the most important thing in life and in business. It is the key ingredient of success that will never let you down.”
Webb offers three tips on how small business owners can show resilience in the face of challenges:
Don’t fear taking leaps and choosing new landings. This approach involves a business owner reimagining their company and taking calculated risks. Webb says it’s a necessity now given changing consumer habits, such as more online shopping. That company reimagination could also mean re-assessing current products and services, determining which should be removed or changed, seeing market voids and innovating. “When certain obstacles arise, other pathways and opportunities are presented,” he says. “You can stay the course to your company’s demise, or you can lift your head to seek further horizons and re-energize your employees and your company.”
Lead with clarity, provide guidance and incentives, but don’t be afraid to terminate. Webb says weeding out underperforming employees is essential, as is hiring people who can cover the owner’s shortfalls. “You have to know your strengths and weaknesses as well as everyone else’s,” he says. “Create clarity for those you manage. Management is a service, not a power play. Provide people with the best possible chance to succeed by ensuring they are in the right job, make the objectives crystal clear, support their needs and reward them for a job well done. But if people are in the wrong job or unable to meet objectives, or if they’re unable or unwilling to move into another or expanded role, you owe it to them and your company’s survival to set them free.”
Trust your gut and keep moving forward. Webb says disappointments, failures, big changes and sacrifices all build resilience, and the combination of those experiences can strengthen a business owner and create more confidence in decision-making for the long run. “Endurance is an essential element of resilience,” Webb says. “Persevere. Learn from your mistakes and trust what you know. Going with your gut is a popular phrase, but it makes more sense to do so when you’ve acquired the experience – good and bad -– to trust your instincts and your knowledge.”
“Resilient people find a way of working things out,” Webb says. “They don’t sit around and complain and hope that their complaining leads to results. They roll up their sleeves and make something good out of a bad situation.

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Age is just a number
There’s your birthday age and there’s your lifestyle age, according to the senior advocacy organization. Ray Ruschel as proof that you are only as old as you feel. Not only did he go back to school at the age of 49, when he enrolled in the North Dakota State College of Science he signed up to play football to boot. But the single father of two grown children who has served for 20 years in the U.S. Army in Afghanistan and Jordan and the National Guard also works the overnight shift at the Minn-Dak Farmers’ Cooperative, one of the largest sugar beet producers in North Dakota and Minnesota, according to the Associated Press. The AP reports that he “fits in a couple of hours at the gym after he gets off at 8 a.m. each day ... After a few hours of schoolwork online at his apartment near campus, Ruschel grabs some rest before afternoon practice, which runs until about 7 p.m. Then it’s back to his apartment, where Ruschel showers and eats before lying down for whatever rest he can get before it all begins again with his overnight shift.”

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Doodle House
The Cambridge Dictionary defines doodling as idly drawing pictures while thinking about something else. But British artist Sam Cox, who calls himself Mr. Doodle, was obviously thinking about doodling when he embarked on the task of covering every square inch of the inside and outside surfaces of his U.K. mansion with doodles. It took Mr. Doodle two years, 240 gallons of paint, 401 cans of spray paint and 2,296 pens to complete the task. Apparently it was not just whim; Cox says he, his wife and his dog are going to go on living full time in their black and white Doodle House.

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How big is your jack-o'-lantern?
You know it’s almost Halloween when the road to the Great Pumpkin Farm in Clarence, New York, is backed up with vehicles carrying big -- very big -- pumpkins. Scott Andrusz, of Williamsville, New York, has a leg up in the competition; his 2,554 pound gourd certainly makes it the biggest in the U.S. thus far. But it’s kind of a lightweight when compared to the 2,702 pound pumpkin an Italian farmer grew in 2021, winning the still standing Guinness World Record.

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5 facts about workplace bullying everyone should know

FAIRFAX, Virginia – Most people are familiar with what a problem bullying is with kids, but they are not the only ones who get bullied. Those who have experienced workplace bullying know just how damaging it can be. October is National Bullying Prevention Month, making it an excellent time to turn the spotlight on an issue that doesn't get enough attention but is a considerable problem – workplace bullying.
"I was a victim of workplace bullying, and it's something that I don't want others ever to have to experience," explains Andi Geloo, an attorney in Fairfax, Virginia. “The more we can help people understand the realities of what is going on, the more we can help bring it to an end.”
Geloo was surprised to find herself the target of two other attorneys who worked in the same courthouse where she practiced law. She jumped through hoops to get to the bottom of who was behind the cyberbullying aimed at her and filed a defamation lawsuit. When she did, they offered money to make the situation go away. She refused the money, just wanting an apology, which she never received.
Her case set her on a mission to change things, which led her to get Andi’s Law passed. The law helps make it easier for victims of cyberbullying to get information quicker regarding who is behind the anonymous posts and bullying online. She remains on a mission to help raise awareness regarding workplace bullying and help those victims of it.
Here are 5 things for those experiencing workplace bullying to do:
Document everything. It's essential to keep detailed information regarding all the bullying that is taking place.
Speak with an attorney. Most people don't want a legal issue regarding bullying. This is a great way to help address the problem quickly.
Don't retaliate. Avoid any urge to respond to cyberbullying because it could lead to more problems.
Stay calm. It may seem difficult not to get stressed out and worked up, but it's important not to. Keep calm, document everything, and pursue legal action.
Stay focused. Remember that you are not the one who picked the fight and didn't bring the bullying on. You still must take a legal route to defend yourself and stop it.
“Nobody should suffer through workplace bullying,” adds Geloo. "Bullies pick on people who they feel are weak and will take it. Stand up to them through legal means, and you will see how quickly it ends the bullying."
According to Purdue University, workplace bullying includes threatening, work interference, and verbal abuse. They report that nearly 49 million Americans are bullied at work, and 30% of Americans have suffered abusive conduct at work. They report that bullying even happens in virtual meetings and that women bullies bully women at twice the rate they bully men. Workplace bullying can lead to anxiety, depression, skin disorders, panic attacks, hypertension, irritable bowel syndrome, and more.
Andi Geloo is an attorney in Fairfax, Virginia, who focuses on Virginia appeals, misdemeanor, and traffic defense, criminal defense, juvenile defense, prison law, felony crimes against people, personal injury cases, and civil litigation. She offers free consultations. To get more information, visit the site here: http://www.misdemeanorandtraffic.com.

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Forcing spring flowering bulbs into bloom
By MELINDA MYERS

Brighten your indoor décor, patio, deck, or balcony by forcing a few spring flowering bulbs into bloom. Just plant, give them a chill and enjoy a few extra daffodils, hyacinths, tulips, crocus and grape hyacinths this winter and spring.
All you need is a suitable container, some well-drained potting mix, the bulbs and a place to give the bulbs the chill necessary to force them to bloom. Select a container with drainage holes that is deep enough to accommodate the largest bulbs. Cover the bottom few inches of the container with a well-drained potting mix. Place larger and taller bulbs like tulips, daffodils and hyacinths in the center surrounded by shorter varieties. They can be planted close together, about one half the bulb width apart with the neck of larger bulbs at or just below the soil surface. Set tulips with the flat side of the bulb facing the pot for a better display.
If you are using a deep container, plant layers of bulbs for a more robust and longer-lasting display. Set the largest bulbs on the potting mix near the bottom of the container. Cover these bulbs with soil and add the smaller bulbs like grape hyacinths and crocus on the next level. Plant these bulbs close to each other, covering the surface, for greater impact. Cover this layer with at least an inch of soil. Water thoroughly so the excess water drains out the bottom of the pot.
Move the bulb-filled container to a cool location where temperatures remain above freezing and between 35 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit for 12 to 15 weeks. A spare refrigerator works well for this. Just avoid storing the bulbs in a refrigerator with fruit like apples and pears that emit ethylene gas that can negatively impact flowering. If refrigerator space is limited, you can store the unplanted bulbs in a paper bag, so they take up less space in the fridge for the needed chill before planting.
Those gardening in colder climates can also store the pots in an unheated garage. Just water the containers whenever the soil is thawed and dry. Or sink the container into a vacant garden space in your landscape. Mulch the soil once the ground starts to freeze with evergreen boughs. The winter mulch makes retrieving the container easier in winter or spring.
Once the 12- to 15-week cold period is complete, you can begin moving the pots indoors. Remove a few pots every week to extend the bloom time and your enjoyment. Place the pot in a cool bright location to encourage more compact growth. Water thoroughly when the top few inches of soil begin to dry. Soon the leaves will begin to sprout and flowers will appear in about four weeks.
Provide ongoing care if you plan on moving the bulbs into the garden. Remove the faded flowers and place the leafy plants in a sunny window and water thoroughly whenever the top inch of soil is dry. Fertilize with a dilute solution of any flowering houseplant fertilizer.
When the danger of frost has passed, you can move these plants into the garden if they are suited to your growing conditions. These plants may not bloom the following spring but usually do the next year and for several beyond.
Or you can toss the forced bulbs into the compost pile so they can return to your garden as wonderful compost.
Investing time forcing a few spring flowering bulbs into bloom is sure to boost your spirits this winter. Consider planting a few extra pots of bulbs to do the same for friends and family.

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Whether by ambition or necessity, businesses vie for limited loan money

Entrepreneur Toni Brewer is undaunted by the current economic climate.
Brewer, a former educator who owns five daycare centers in and around Atlanta, speaks with self-assurance about ambitious plans for her next business ventures – a sports bar and a salon and spa. Like many small business owners, though, Brewer needs cash to realize her dream, and that typically means securing a business loan, which in turn means making certain the loan application is in good order.
“It’s basically getting your documentation together, getting approval, and then moving forward,” Brewer says.
Borrowing money is something plenty of businesses are doing, even at a time when rising interest rates and talk of a recession might cause others to balk. Some business owners, such as Brewer, aren’t dissuaded by such talk because they have ambitions they want to fulfill. Others look to take on debt because they have little choice, forced to seek loans because inflation or other factors put their businesses in need of cash.
In fact, 40 percent of small businesses reported taking out a loan in the third quarter of this year to combat inflation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce reported in its quarterly Small Business Index.
But getting a business loan isn’t always an easy task. Plenty of lenders look askance at loan applications that fall short of their borrowing requirements, and they send luckless entrepreneurs on their way because of poor credit, the business is relatively new, the owner lacks a solid business plan, or for other reasons.
Understanding what loan opportunities are available and what lenders look for can mean the difference in a loan application’s success or failure, says Elijah McCoy, CEO of McCoy Brokerage Service (www.mccoybrokerageservice.com).
It was McCoy who helped Brewer secure most of her capital, other than a hard money loan that she later refinanced with his assistance.
“Different lenders target different types of investments for their portfolios, so it helps to know which lender is best for your type of business,” McCoy says. “The trick is to match the business owner’s objectives with the most appropriate lender in the most timely manner.”
Because business loans aren’t always easy to come by, the Biden administration recently announced a proposed policy change that would let new lenders take advantage of the Small Business Administration’s loan guarantee. The goal is to make more money available to small businesses, especially in minority and other underserved markets “where borrowers are most acutely shut out of current lending,” the White House announced.
The more opportunities, the better, says McCoy, who founded his company in 2006 after witnessing too many business owners struggling to obtain financing. Within two years of his brokerage’s birth, the nation fell into the Great Recession and lending in general dropped off. In the post-recession years, small business lending recovered, but the recovery was weak. That was at least in part because of a decline in the number of large banks, community banks, credit unions and thrifts, a trend that had begun as early as 2004, according to a Consumer Financial Protection Unit study.
Those factors make it even more important that small business owners in need of money learn as much as they can about lenders and their requirements, or at least team up with someone who has that knowledge, McCoy says.
“Put all your ducks in a row,” he says. “Do your homework, do all of your due diligence. Know the company you are going to submit your information to.”
McCoy says money is out there along with opportunities, whether the business owner plans a startup, an expansion or just needs working capital. But borrowers need to know all the places to look and the correct moves that are necessary for accomplishing the goal.
Then, just as Toni Brewer has done with her five daycare centers and plans for the sports bar and salon spa, it’s a matter of making those business dreams come true.

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Contemplating a fresh start? Now is a perfect time!

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida – Many people today are bored, restless, and tired of where they are in life. They want more and would love a fresh start, but they don't know when the right time is to leap or even how to help make it happen. The good news is that one popular impact coach says that not only can people create a fresh start in their lives, but that now is the perfect time to do it.
“The best day to do something to change the course of your life is today,” explains Katie Sandler, personal development and career coach. "Don't let another day slip by without taking action to help make things change and improve."
It's easy for people to get caught up in the mundane tasks of life, living day after day without change. One of the problems with this is that when people stand by and wait for change to come to them, it typically doesn't happen. We must consciously decide to start anew and do things that will support a fresh start.
Here are several things that Sandler says will help people in their quest for a fresh start:
Choose your mindset. It's easy to get swept up in emotions and let the mind control you, but if you want a better life, you must learn to control your mindset. You will see that things change when you change how you see things.
Become curious, open, and unshakeable. Many adults have lost their curiosity and openness and become shaken at minor things. Become more outgoing and less irked by the world, and you will have more joy and be on the path toward a fresh start.
Financial issues are significant for many people because people want more money. The critical thing to remember is that if you want more money, work on yourself because the more you evolve, the more your bank account will also.
Believing you are worth working on is essential. Too many people put all their energy and time into helping to care for others yet take very little time to focus on improving and caring for themselves.
"It's so important to envision what it is that you want the fresh start to look like," added Sandler. "You can make an impact, but you must be willing to take steps to get there."
atie Sandler and her services, or to see the retreat schedule, visit the site: https://katiesandler.com/.

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Medal of Honor: Navy Chief Gunner's Mate Oscar Schmidt Jr.
By KATIE LANGE, DOD News

Navy Chief Gunner's Mate Oscar Schmidt Jr. likely knew working on a ship during World War I would be perilous, but he probably didn't expect to save two lives before he even reached the shores of Europe. He did that during an incident at sea, and his bravery earned him the Medal of Honor.
Schmidt was born in Philadelphia on March 25, 1896. According to a 1962 York Dispatch article, he joined the Navy in 1913 and remained in until 1919. During World War I, he served on the fuel ship USS Chestnut Hill.
On Oct. 9, 1918, the ship was part of a convoy crossing the Atlantic for war in Europe when disaster struck.
According to the York Dispatch, the Chestnut Hill was fueling submarine chaser 219 near the Azores when there was an explosion in the small ship's forward tanks. The blast threw several crew members into the air and required the chaser to be abandoned.
Schmidt, watching from the Chestnut Hill, saw a man whose legs had been partly blown off while hanging on a line from the bow of the chaser. Schmidt jumped overboard, swam to the man and carried him from the bow to the stern. There, a member of the chaser's crew helped him put the injured man on the submarine's afterdeck.
Schmidt then tried to push his way toward the middle of the ship to get another man who was seriously burned, but the flames from the explosion were too hot to pass through. Schmidt eventually saw the man fall overboard, and when he drifted toward the stern, Schmidt grabbed the man and helped him aboard.
According to the York Dispatch, when a reporter later asked Schmidt what he was feeling during the rescue, he replied, "I didn't think before I acted. If I would have thought about it, I would not have done it."
For his heroic deeds, Schmidt received the Medal of Honor on March 15, 1919. He also received the Italian War Cross, the York Dispatch reported.
After the war, Schmidt left the Navy and moved to York, Pennsylvania, where his father bought him a house in 1920. By then he was married to Helen Goldey, and they had two sons, Robert and Wesley. Both boys went on to serve in the military as well, in the Navy and Air Force, respectively.
Schmidt worked at the York Safe and Lock Company, where his dad was employed. In 1929, the company sent him to Japan to supervise construction of a Tokyo bank vault that Emperor Hirohito later used as a bomb shelter during World War II, according to the Indiana Evening Gazette of Indiana, Pennsylvania.
Schmidt was the supervisor of one of the company's assembly lines during World War II, his obituary in the York Daily Record said. The newspaper also reported that Schmidt headed the guard force at the York Naval Ordnance Plant when the Navy took it over in 1946.
Schmidt's wife, Helen, died in 1951. That same year, he switched careers, buying and operating the Hotel Lincoln in York.
Schmidt was a member of the Army and Navy Legion of Valor. In May 1958, he joined dozens of other Medal of Honor recipients at a Memorial Day ceremony in the Rose Garden of the White House, where he met President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Schmidt continued working in the hotel industry until 1963 when, according to the York Daily Record, he moved to Somers Point, New Jersey. There, he married a woman named Louise.
Schmidt died in Somers Point on March 24, 1973, a day before his 77th birthday. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Schmidt's Medal of Honor can be found at the Freedoms Foundation in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

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Why leaders struggle to build a culture of accountability and how they can do it

By TRAMICO HERMAN

A company’s success is attributable to many factors, but for businesses built to thrive over the long term, accountability is essential.
Accountability is about taking responsibility for one’s actions. It’s difficult to develop a high-performing team if accountability is lacking, because little gets done when no one takes ownership for addressing issues and solving problems. One person’s missed deadline becomes the team’s delay, and mistakes that are tolerated become the dysfunctional norm. The team and the company suffer.
Effective leadership is about getting team members to be accountable and take ownership, and it goes hand in hand with leaders promoting autonomy among workers. With employee engagement a problem, companies trying to increase accountability alone can create a culture of micromanagement that leads to unhappy workers who will leave. But focusing instead on creating a culture of autonomy can increase employee engagement and ownership of their work. Employees who feel a high sense of ownership are more productive because they take pride in their work, and such a culture produces a domino effect that leads to consistently good results.
Here are some challenges leaders face that prevent them from promoting team autonomy and accountability, and what they can do overcome those challenges:
Stress, leading to micromanaging
A micromanaged staff is ineffective and results in passive-aggressive behavior, feelings of incompetence, stress, and an overall unhealthy working enviroment. The inability to delegate work and empower team members to act with autonomy is one of the quickest ways to alienate them.
Micromanaging happens often when leaders are under pressure, already saddled with demands and expectations. When they feel like they don’t have a good handle on things, they tighten their grip on everything, often killing creativity and confidence, and driving down performance. That causes tension and mental instability for their team and themselves.
Tip for leaders: Do a self-check on your mood. Evaluate your stress level and identify triggers such as competing deadlines, correcting mistakes you did not make, and accommodating others’ work styles. Resolve as best you can.
Not knowing your team
If leaders don’t make the effort to know their teams, a lack of trust between them results. In that case it’s unsurprising if you aren’t comfortable giving them more freedom.
Tips for leaders: 1) Meet with team members regularly, individually and as a group, and really listen to them. Treat them like an extended family. Advocate for them and serve as a guide. Set clear expectations but also be flexible and willing to hear them out when mistakes happen. Make modifications to processes if necessary. Doing so will show them you do listen and that their input matters. 2) Teams take ownership of their mistakes when leaders own up to theirs. By acknowledging their mistakes, leaders can build stronger relationships with team members and create more trust because the employees see the leader as honest and fair.
Lack of leadership training
Far too many leaders are unsatisfied in their work and are disengaged. A high number of them aren’t given the critical skills to succeed, which points to inadequate leadership training. Many organizations do not have formal training for managers or senior leaders, and many leaders require proper onboarding, collaboration with other key leaders, ongoing training, mentoring and support.
It needs to be structured with one or more people assigned to you to help get a handle on the current state of things and what is expected. A new leader can’t fix everything on the first day; impacting productivity is a four- or five-month process.
Tip for leaders: Ensure you have what you need to perform your role, especially training that homes in on understanding how your department should run and the alignment of team members. Also, learn effective ways to communicate with stakeholders, teams, external vendors, and other senior leaders.
The benefits of promoting team autonomy and accountability? A strong, cohesive and passionate team is ready for any challenge that comes their way. Why? Because they have a leader who respects and trusts them, solid training to efficiently complete their roles and responsibilities, healthy relationships with one another, and clear expectations of daily tasks so they can take ownership.

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of The Grateful American Book Prize

The storied Texas Rangers tracks its history to 1823, when Stephen F. Austin, the “Father of Texas” gave them the name, while the-then territory, was luring colonists from all over the country.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, “There was no regular army to protect them, so Austin called the citizens together and organized a group to provide the needed protection.”
It wasn’t until October 17, 1835, that Texas approved a resolution officially recognizing the Rangers as a corps of armed and mounted lawmen designed to “range and guard the frontier between the Brazos and Trinity Rivers.” The province proclaimed its independence from Mexico in 1836. Nine years later, it became America’s 28th state.
According to The Texas Department of Public Safety, “The Rangers [now] oversee the department’s tactical program and operations, which includes the DPS SWAT Team, six Regional Special Response Teams, a Ranger Recon Team, an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team and crisis negotiators”
For more information, The Grateful American Book Prize recommends The Lone Star Ranger by Zane Grey.

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In 1767, the colonies of Pennsylvania and Maryland were tackling a fiery border dispute, which surveyors Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon were entrusted to neutralize.
“Both… claimed the area between the 39th and 40th parallel,” according to History.com. But on October 18 [they] set the boundary at the northern latitude of 39 degrees and 43 minutes, which became known as the Mason-Dixon Line. “The line was marked using stones, with Pennsylvania’s crest on one side and Maryland’s on the other.”
Years later the Mason-Dixon Line officially separated America’s pro-slavery south from the pro-freedom north. “One hundred years after Mason and Dixon began their effort to chart the boundary, soldiers from opposite sides of the line let their blood stain the fields of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in the Southern states’ final and fatal attempt to breach the Mason-Dixon line during the Civil War. One hundred and one years after the Britons completed their line, the United States finally admitted men of any complexion born within the nation to the rights of citizenship with the ratification of the 14th Amendment.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Drawing the Line: How Mason and Dixon Surveyed the Most Famous Border in America by Edwin Danson

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In 1904, George McClellan was the Mayor of New York City. On October 27th of that year, the Interborough Rapid Transit Company [IRT] opened its subway system with McClellan at the controls. According to History.com, he “so enjoyed his stint as engineer that he stayed at the controls all the way from City Hall to 103rd Street.”
That first underground railway line swept 9.1 miles underneath Manhattan; today, it travels 230 miles above and below New York’s five boroughs, which includes 24 lines and 468 stations -- more than any other metro system, according to the Railway-Technology website. As of 2012 annual ridership was approximately 1.665 billion.
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends The New York City Subway: The History of America’s Largest and Most Famous Subway System published by Charles River Editors.

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Social Security Matters
by National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation,
the non-profit arm of the Association of Mature American Citizens

Ask Rusty – How Do Social Security Survivor Benefits Work?

Dear Rusty: Social Security is confusing in itself and gets even more confusing when you receive multiple answers to the same question from multiple sources. During my research I came across your organization, and I hope you can assist me in making educated choices regarding my Social Security benefits.
My husband of 20+ years passed away in 1998 and I have not remarried. I will be turning 65 next month (born in 1957), and my full retirement age is 66 years and 6 months. I work full-time, have not made any specific retirement plans, and my current gross salary is over $60,000. So, my questions are: Can I collect any of my late husband’s social security? If yes, when, and how? Signed: Confused Widow
Dear Confused Widow: From the facts you provided, you are eligible to collect a survivor benefit from your deceased husband, but because you are working full time earning over $60,000 you will not be able to collect those benefits at this time. Here’s why:
ocial Security imposes an “earnings test” for anyone who collects benefits before reaching their full retirement age. The penalty for exceeding the earnings limit is $1 for every $2 you are over the limit (which is $19,560 for 2022). With $60,000 in earnings, you would be $40,440 over the limit, for which SS would impose a penalty of $20,220. That essentially means that your survivor benefit would be entirely (or almost entirely) offset by the penalty for exceeding the earnings limit, leaving you unable to collect a survivor benefit at this time. The earnings test is in effect until you reach your full retirement age (FRA), after which your earnings will no longer affect your Social Security benefits.
here are also other nuances you should know about. Claiming any SS benefit before reaching your FRA will result in a permanently reduced benefit. If claimed at your FRA, your survivor benefit would be 100% of the amount your husband was receiving (or entitled to) at this death but claimed at age 65 your survivor benefit would be reduced to about 93% of his benefit entitlement. Also, you will be eligible for your full widow’s benefit at 66 years and 2 months of age because – in your specific case - your “widow’s FRA” is less than your normal full retirement age. However, the earnings test previously described is still in effect until you reach your normal FRA of 66 years and 6 months.
In the year you reach your normal full retirement age, the earnings limit (for the months prior to reaching your FRA) increases by about 2.5 times. You’ll reach your normal FRA in February 2024 and, at your current earnings level, wouldn’t exceed the higher earnings limit in 2024. That means the earnings test shouldn’t affect your SS benefits in 2024 at your current income level, so you could claim your full survivor benefit effective January 2024 without penalty.
You will also have the option, if desired, to claim only your survivor benefit and permit your personally earned SS retirement benefit grow. It would be wise to do that if your personally earned SS retirement benefit at maximum will be more than your maximum survivor benefit as a widow. After reaching your FRA, your personal benefit will grow by .667% for each month you wait to claim it, up to age 70 when your own benefit would be 28% more than it would be at your normal FRA. So, you could collect your full survivor benefit at your normal FRA, continue to work if desired, and switch to your higher personal benefit at age 70 (and collect that for the rest of your life). If you expect to achieve at least average longevity (about 87 for a woman your current age), and your own maximum benefit will be more than your benefit as a widow, that is an option you may wish to consider.

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Is your company stuck or in chaos? These 3 steps can spur a transformation

By ALI DAVACHI

What is your purpose?
I’m not talking about putting together your company’s mission statement. I’m talking about what the organization’s ultimate goal is.
With a baseball team, the answer is obvious: win the World Series. The key to that is to maintain a high winning percentage throughout the season, so you can contend at season’s end. For a business, however, desired outcomes may not be so obvious. The leadership may be uncertain as to which direction to take the company. Or they may just be unsuccessful communicating those goals to the staff.
Whatever the case, the rest of the company lacks clarity. People aren’t sure what they’re working toward, so their efforts are scattershot. And because they’re not unified in their goals, success is going to be difficult if not impossible.
In that scenario, it’s time for a complete reset. Three key phases of a successful transformation that I employ are research, analysis and planning, and I’ll break down each one here:
The research phase
Unless we build a foundation grounded in facts, the odds are we’re going to react to the wrong stimuli and make fear-based decisions, rather than ones that reflect reality. What you don’t know can kill your business. And the research phase is all about making sure you do know everything, so you can not only survive but thrive.
Research doesn’t just precede a transformation – it continues throughout the process. There will always be a new fact that pops up along the way that motivates you to dig deeper. You just have to be open to new information and willing to utilize it in a useful way to inform your decision-making.
Under the umbrella of the research phrase, there is a sequence of three other Rs that should be followed:
Results. This is basically a diagnostic check of the company’s health – its current results. Results can refer to goals, outcomes, key performance indicators or milestones. It’s all about being able to document those results in an actionable manner. Those results should then be matched up with what the results should be, not just for you, your team or organization, but, more importantly, for your customers. That way you can see if you’re falling short or meeting their expectations.
Specifically, what type of value is the customer looking for from what you offer? What’s the “why” behind your business? Looking at the current results will help everyone to see what they’re delivering – and what they’re not delivering. Sometimes there’s a jarring disconnect between leadership perception and those interfacing with the customers, who are complaining loudly.
Reconnaissance. This is generally a passive process. You gather data on the people involved just by observing and asking questions. Watch how people interact with each other. How is the leadership interacting with the team under fire? How does that team interact with other departments in the company? What does the team’s internal interaction look like?
I’ve found the best approach is to ask an open-ended question. If they can’t just answer yes or no, they’re forced to talk for a longer period of time. And the more I let them talk, the more they’re likely to feel so comfortable that they inadvertently tell me some revealing information. All points of view serve to build a complete picture of the past and current environment.
When engaging in the reconnaissance phase, it’s critical that you control the narrative and not fall prey to anyone else’s, especially in the early stages. It takes a while to establish the trust you need to get real information, and no one’s going to give you that level of trust until they see some positive action taken.
Review. Here is where you sort all the information you’ve gathered into two distinct categories: areas of friction and areas of value creation.
Areas of friction in a company represent all the things that are preventing success, both in terms of what’s not working internally at the company and what’s not working for customers. What is causing the loss of momentum? What lowers productivity rates?
Value creation is the opposite end of the spectrum. When I align my research from inside the company all the way to the customer experience, I can more easily see where there are opportunities to improve value elements for the customer.
The review stage should be revisited on a regular basis, perhaps when milestones are reached or at a logical point where everyone needs to see exactly where they are with their efforts.
The analyze phase
This is not just a matter of gathering the information and examining it in a simplistic or cursory fashion. There’s a creative aspect required, where you apply your experience and expertise to the facts in order to devise the best possible outcome, instead of settling on a simplistic solution that won’t do you any good. The analyze phase is where you take a deep dive into the data collected from the research phase to determine its underlying meaning and, from there, move into the plan phase.
For most business situations, the analyze phase should cover at least four distinct categories:
People. Here you’re looking at how well people in a company are being utilized. I end up finding lots of friction hotspots in an organization’s personnel. Sometimes I find one person who seems to be doing a lot of work, while three others don’t seem to be doing much at all. Sometimes the worker efficiency problems stem from job description, job design, or a lack of delegation, capability or autonomy.
Finance. I only do a financial analysis when there is a serious risk of an organization failing. My goal is to compare and contrast the allocation of resources to customer results. And depending on whether the financial data provides all the information I need, I sometimes ask to speak with other departments.
Product. My first goal is to understand what the business thinks the product is – from the perspective of management, employees and customers. Nail down certain baseline facts, which to me are the table stakes. In business, table stakes are the minimum entry requirements for a market. They can include price, cost model, technology or other capabilities that give the product a credible baseline position in a marketplace.
Technology. The first thing I look for here are flaws in systems, platforms and other tech. A flaw indicates an architectural problem that will absolutely limit future applicability, current use and customer purchase.
The plan phase
In the plan phase, you must create a viable path toward improvement and growth, understanding that negativity is your biggest enemy when you’re trying to induce a turnaround. Unfortunately, negativity is also the prevalent emotion in the firm by the time we’re called in to help, and that negativity is also one of the primary reasons why management has been unable to make productive change happen. They’re too mired in pessimism to think straight.
So a complete reset is necessary. Attitudes have to be improved. You can’t walk around obsessing about the business going under, even though problems might be incredibly serious. Instead, you have to encourage a fresh perception where people genuinely believe things can be improved. The way you do that is with a realistic but forward-thinking blueprint for progress that offers genuine hope to a company that’s starved for it.
Now is the time when real momentum can happen, because all the researching and thinking combines to create action. That action must address people, process and product. If just one of the three are out of whack, it will drag down the other two.
People plan. There are two ways the people part of the business equation can go wrong: skills and culture. Once you’ve determined certain skill sets are lacking, you have to ascertain how to approach the problem. You can also encounter employees who possess the right skills but are a complete disaster in terms of fitting in the company culture. Their negative impact has to be mitigated.
Process plan. Needs tend to change over time, and often the processes don’t change with them. What we find is that a process a company is using may make things more complex rather than more efficient. Bureaucracy and people’s tendency to keep doing things the way they’ve always done them keep these outdated processes in place. Look for opportunities where a new process will improve workflow and deliver value. That kind of process gap analysis might identify multiple divisions and/or teams where more streamlined procedures would boost results.
Product plan. Here there are two distinct aspects to zero in on – the actual products and/or services the client is delivering to their customer, and the internal processes the client uses to monitor the value they’re realizing from those products and/or services. We often find that one department in particular is seen as failing to meet the needs of the other departments. But most friction points are easy to fix, especially with today’s cloud environments. Coming up with a way to manage the data internally so it’s a more seamless, less stressful process empowers everyone
Many companies think there’s a magical solution that will solve everything, such as a new platform. But sometimes the company actually goes out of business because the problem was never about the platform. The problem was the company didn’t know how to approach and implement a successful transformation.

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Living life to the fullest
Cyril Derreumaux of Marin County, California, woke up one morning back in June, got into his kayak and paddled his way to Hawaii; he made the trip in a mere 91 days. Derreumaux told ABC News it was a personal, spiritual journey, "I wanted to do this to enjoy life,” he said. He had modified his 22-foot kayak for the trip by adding “pedals and a small sleeping cabin but no motor or sail.” Derreumaux paddled a total of 10 hours a day, four hours in the morning, two in the afternoon and four more in the evening. He said he hoped that "People outside of the kayaking world, outside of the ultra-endurance adventure, connected with the message of living life to the fullest."

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A fixer upper
When the U.S. Government put the Hooper Island Lighthouse in Chesapeake Bay up for auction the opening bid was set at a mere $15,000. After all, said the Associated Press, it was in pretty bad shape. The AP wrote that, “The rusting lighthouse known locally as the ‘sparkplug’ has an outer ladder but no nearby dock for a boat to moor. A 2019 inspection also found lead-based paint, asbestos, benzene and other dangerous substances inside, where there is no water, electricity or other utilities.” Nonetheless, in less than two months five bidders drove the selling price up to $192,000, not to mention that the new owners will have to spend quite a sum of cash on renovations and upkeep. However, “there are people out there that love lighthouses,” says General Services Administration spokesman Will Powell.

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Kids say the darndest things
The HuffPost website recently confirmed that, as Art Linkletter once told us, kids say the darndest things. In a recent publication, the news outlet published a list of “hilarious malaprops” provided by parents via Twitter. For example, “My son calls grated parmesan cheese spaghetti sprinkles,” according to one mom. Another said her 4-year-old calls her bikini her zucchini. Yet another said her daughter says, “arts and craps” instead of “arts and crafts.” And then there is the child that calls Toys R Us “toys for us,” the 7-year-old who says “skelotope” instead of telescope and the daughter who calls the cemetery the “underground town” and refers to waitresses as “fooders.”

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Boost your indoor garden’s beauty
By MELINDA MYERS

Whether your indoor garden has outgrown its location or you are looking to expand your garden, a bit of pinching, pruning or propagating may be the answer. Grooming houseplants keeps your indoor garden looking its best and plants contained to the available space. You can use some of the trimmings to start new plants.
Give plants with long, leggy stems a pinch. Removing a small or large portion of the growing tip encourages the plant to form more branches and compact growth. Pinching removes a growth hormone produced in the stem tip called auxin. This hormone encourages upward growth of the stem. Removing the stem tip reduces the auxin and allows more branches to develop along the stem.
A soft pinch removes just the uppermost portion of the stem with developing leaves and the stem tip. A hard pinch, more like pruning, removes the tip and several inches of the leafy stem. These stem pieces can be used to start new plants.
Some gardeners pinch with their fingers, but I prefer using sharp snips like Corona Tools ComfortGEL® micro snips with stainless steel blades that resist the buildup of plant residue or Corona bypass pruners that make a clean cut that closes quickly and looks better.
When pinching and pruning your houseplants make the cuts just above a set of leaves. The plant remains relatively attractive while you wait for new leaves and stems to grow. Avoid leaving stubs by making cuts elsewhere as these detract from the plant’s appearance and can create entryways for insects and disease.
Houseplants can be propagated in several different ways. Avoid propagating patented plants protected by patent laws. These laws are designed to protect the investment of the plant breeder. Respecting patent laws allows companies to continue breeding improvements into plants for all of us to enjoy in the future.
Use leaf stem cuttings to start a variety of houseplants like inch plants, philodendron, pothos, dieffenbachias, dracaenas, jade plants and many more. Use a sharp knife, snips or bypass pruner to cut three- to six-inch-long pieces from firm, mature, non-woody stems. Remove the lowest leaf or two that will be buried in the potting mix. This is where new roots will form. If you have had trouble rooting cuttings in the past, try using rooting hormone labeled for use on houseplants. It contains fungicides to fight disease and hormones to encourage root development.
Root cuttings in a small container filled with vermiculate or a well-drained potting mix. Make a hole in the mix, insert the cut end, and gently push the potting mix around the stem. Loosely cover the potted cutting with a plastic bag left open at the top. This increases the humidity around the cutting to compensate for the lack of roots. Set the container in a bright location out of direct sun for several weeks as roots develop. Give the stem a gentle tug to see if roots have formed. Move the rooted cutting into a container filled with well-drained potting mix, place it in a location with the proper amount of sunlight and water as needed.
You’ll be amazed at how a bit of grooming and propagating can perk up a tired indoor garden. Share or trade extra rooted cuttings with family and friends so each of you can grow your indoor garden and memories.

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Medal of Honor: Army Air Forces Lt. Col. Addison Baker
By KATIE LANGE
World War II Army Lt. Col. Addison Baker was one of four men who earned the Medal of Honor during a daring raid over Romania. The veteran pilot was declared missing after that flight, but thanks to DNA technology and the tenacity of scientists dedicated to bringing missing service members home, his remains were recently identified. After nearly 80 years, Baker was given the burial he deserved.
Baker was born Jan. 1, 1907, in Chicago, to parents Edith and Earl Baker. He had two brothers, Russell and Harold. When Baker was still young, the family moved to Akron, Ohio, so his dad could take a new job.
Baker went to Central High School and was known to be a bit of a wild child, according to a recent interview with his grandniece, Mary Ostrow, in the Akron Beacon Journal. A 1962 edition of the newspaper said he quit school and eventually joined the Army, going through flight school training that enabled him to earn his pilot's wings in 1931. In December 1934, he married Frances Rodgers.
Baker spent several years in aviation before transferring to the Army Reserve in 1939, but he was called back to active duty in 1940. He worked his way up to the rank of lieutenant colonel by the time the United States was heavily involved in World War II. During the summer of 1943, Baker was stationed in North Africa and was the commander of the 328th Bombardment Squadron's 93rd Heavy Bomb Group.
On Aug. 1, 1943, Baker and several other men took part in Operation Tidal Wave, a daring attack that aimed to destroy one of the Nazi's largest oil refineries at Ploiesti, Romania. Baker and his B-24 Liberator, named "Hell's Wench," took off from Libya to join nearly 180 other bombers on the mission.
Baker was the first aircraft in the second of five formations that flew for 18 hours on the 2,400-mile roundtrip trek. As they neared the target area, Baker and several other pilots noticed that the mission's lead pilot, Col. K.K. Compton, turned at the wrong point and was heading toward Bucharest instead of Ploiesti. Records show that Compton didn’t respond to calls to warn him of the error, so Baker made a split decision — he broke formation and led the rest of the men in the 93rd Bomb Group back on the right track.
Baker was the first of the bombers to reach Ploiesti. Like all of the mission's pilots, he was flying low to avoid enemy radar. But once they got to the target area, the Hell's Wench was hit by an antiaircraft shell that caused serious damage, including a fire. Baker knew he was flying over territory on which he could land, but he ignored that and stuck to the plan. He continued to lead the bombers to the target and dropped his bombs, successfully completing the mission.
After that, Baker left the formation and, with the help of his co-pilot, Maj. John Jerstad, avoided hitting other planes as they tried to gain enough altitude for their crew to parachute to safety. Unfortunately, their efforts failed, and the aircraft went down in flames. No one on the plane survived.
Posthumous Honors
The Allies suffered a lot of losses during the raid — 54 bombers were destroyed, and 532 of the 1,726 personnel involved died, were declared missing or were taken prisoner. But the mission itself was a success. The attack destroyed 42 percent of the oil refinery's facilities, which struck a heavy blow to the Germans for several weeks.
Baker and three others who took part in Tidal Wave – Jerstad, 2nd Lt. Lloyd Hughes and Col. John Kane – all received Medals of Honor for their bravery that day. According to an Airman Magazine article, some traditionalists initially objected to Baker and Jerstad getting the medals, arguing the men had disobeyed orders by breaking away from the formation. But outraged airmen who took part in the mission quelled that dissent, and the awards were approved.
On March 2, 1944, Baker's widow and parents received the Medal of Honor on his behalf from Brig. Gen. Uzal Ent during a ceremony at First Presbyterian Church in Akron. That medal can now be found at the National Museum of the Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
A Long-Awaited Homecoming
Since Baker's remains weren't identified after the crash, his name was listed on the Wall of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery in Impruneta, Italy. That "missing" status stayed the same for nearly 80 years — until this past spring.
On April 8, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced that experts had finally accounted for his remains.
According to the DPAA, remains of U.S. service members involved in the attack who couldn't be identified were initially buried in a cemetery in Ploiesti. After the war, those remains were disinterred for identification. The American Graves Registration Command, which led the search for and recovery of fallen personnel, still couldn’t identify about 80 of the Unknown service members. So, those remains were reinterred at Ardennes American Cemetery and Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, both of which are in Belgium. They weren't touched again until 2017, when the DPAA started to exhume the 80 Unknowns who were believed to have been associated with Operation Tidal Wave.
Back in the U.S., scientists used anthropological analysis, circumstantial evidence, and mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome DNA analysis to positively identify Baker's remains. After nearly 80 years of being lost, it took DPAA experts one year, eight months and 17 days to positively identify Baker.
"At 36 years old, Lt. Col. Baker was the oldest unaccounted for service member, and this is a trait that could be used to help identify him," said Dr. Megan Ingvoldstad, a DPAA anthropologist and the Operation Tidal Wave project lead. "In this case, the forensic anthropologist assigned to Baker's case noted an older skeletal age. Not only was this consistent with Lt. Col. Baker, but it was able to exclude all other reasonable Operation Tidal Wave candidates, making his identification even stronger."
Thirty-six of the 80 individuals who were unaccounted-for from Operation Tidal Wave have been identified to date, Ingvoldstad said.
Baker, who was 36 when he died in 1944, was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery on Sept. 12. While Baker had no children, several of his descendants attended the ceremony, and they recently joined Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III at the Pentagon for the annual National POW/MIA Recognition Day commemoration ceremony. According to ANC historian Kevin Hymel, a few of those descendants were named Addison to honor the hero in their bloodline.
"Out of respect for our mom and her family, we named our son Addison," said Joshua Greenberg, a great nephew of Baker's. "He grew up hearing stories about childhood, but also his heroism."
Baker's name will remain on the Wall of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery, with one notable change; a rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he's been accounted for.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Octogenarian Asks About Wife’s Spousal and Survivor Benefits

Dear Rusty: I am now 80 and my wife is 76, and we both took early Social Security benefits at age 62. When my wife took her Social Security, it was a lot smaller than mine, so they took a portion of mine and added it to hers. How does that work? Also, when I die, will my wife get all of mine or just a percentage? Signed: Curious Senior
Dear Curious: Social Security’s standard process is to pay a beneficiary’s personally earned retirement benefit first, and then add an additional amount as necessary to bring the payment up to what they are entitled to as a spouse, or as a surviving spouse. So, in your wife’s case, she is now (while you are both living) receiving her own earned Social Security benefit plus a “spousal boost” to make her payment equal what she’s due as your spouse. Your wife’s spousal boost was not taken from your benefit payment – you still get your own retirement benefit – but her spousal boost amount was computed by comparing the amount she was entitled to at her full retirement age (FRA) to 50% of your FRA benefit amount and then reducing her spousal boost amount because she claimed at age 62 (all Social Security benefits, except disability benefits, taken before FRA are reduced).
Regarding your wife’s benefit as your survivor, since her own SS retirement benefit is smaller, if you die first the added “spousal boost” amount your wife now gets will stop and be replaced by a higher supplement which brings her total payment up to what she is entitled to as your surviving widow.
As your spouse while you are still living, the most your wife could have gotten was 50% of the benefit amount you were entitled to at your full retirement age (FRA) of 66, but she gets less than that because she claimed at age 62. However, if you die, your wife will get a higher total amount consisting of her personally earned age 62 benefit, plus a supplemental amount to make her payment equal to 100% of the amount you were receiving when you died. In fact, her benefit amount at your death may even be more than you were getting when you died, because she will get at least 82.5% of your “primary insurance amount” or “PIA”, which is the benefit you were due at age 66 (your FRA).
Think of it this way – as your surviving spouse your wife’s total benefit payment amount will be either 100% of the benefit you were receiving when you died, or 82.5% of the benefit you were entitled to at age 66, whichever amount is higher. And that will replace the smaller amount your wife is now getting as your spouse while you are both living. Of course, your wife will need to notify Social Security of your death and should do so in a timely manner to get the higher benefit she is entitled to as your surviving spouse flowing as soon as possible.

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Daredevil dares again
Nathan Paulin is, indeed, a “daring young man]. But, instead of flying through the air “with the greatest of ease ... on the flying Trapeze,” he prefers tightrope walking for long distances high up in the air. He first made a name for himself when, in 2017, he crossed a 2,198-foot-long rope suspended 230 feet above the River Seine in Paris. This time the adventurous highliner took a breezy 7,218 foot walk nearly 330 feet above Mont Saint Michel in Normandy.

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Close call
An unidentified motorist had a close call recently when a herd of deer came at his car on a highway in southern Michigan. One of the agile stags avoided a collision by easily leaping over the vehicle. A state police trooper captured the event on his cruiser’s dashboard camera and posted the footage on social media with the warning: “Reminder: If deer cross your path - apply controlled braking; steer straight; don’t swerve.”

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The ring was found
Raquel Aiken of Denver, Colorado, lost her diamond engagement ring after finishing a tennis game but didn’t immediately realize the loss. Her dismay was not simply because it was an expensive piece of jewelry; it was because her fiancé gave her the ring shortly before he passed away. A local TV station interviewed Raquel and a fellow by the name of Dude Olguin saw the interview. It turns out that Olguin had found the ring. "My first reaction, you know, temptation -- maybe [was to] go pawn it or to find a jeweler to tell me more about it. But really, my faith told me just to hold onto it and just wait and listen." When he saw Raquel’s interview, he wasted no time to call her, meet up with her and return her ring.

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House Calls

By By Dr. Daniel Knight is a professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Dr. Knight
Q. Could I have coronary artery disease and not know it?
A. Coronary artery disease (CAD) causes the blood flow through arteries to the heart to slow or even stop, preventing the blood from bringing oxygen to the heart muscle. CAD occurs when arteries are weakened or damaged over time.
Smoking, high cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure can all cause inflammation that weakens and damages blood vessels, while ongoing inflammation can cause a fatty buildup known as plaque to develop inside the arteries and narrow or block them. The plaque can break off into clots, causing strokes or heart attacks. Lack of exercise is another risk factor.
Shortness of breath and chest pain or tightness, usually brought on by stress or activity, are the first signs of CAD; however, there are often no symptoms in the early stages of the disease. The symptoms are different between men and women, who may experience fatigue, a feeling of fullness and pain at the end of the sternum.
Healthy lifestyle changes can lower your risks of developing CAD. These include eating a healthy diet, exercising, not smoking, drinking in moderation and managing your weight and stress. If you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes, managing these conditions will also lower your risks.

Q. What are some things that can interfere with my immune system?
A. Lack of sleep can increase your chances of getting sick and can delay your recovery. Your body releases cytokines, which are certain proteins that aid the immune system, only when you’re sleeping.
You can also worry yourself sick. Your immune response can weaken as quickly as 30 minutes after having anxious thoughts, and constant stress can make it more difficult to fight off viruses.
Lack of vitamin D and too little time outdoors also can play a role. Sunlight may ramp up the immune system’s T-cells that help fight infections, while many plants produce phytoncides and other substances that, when breathed in, appear to help immunity.
Ingesting the wrong things, such as too much alcohol, marijuana, nicotine from tobacco products or the chemicals in vaping liquids, can weaken your immune system.
What you eat also plays a role. A diet lacking in plant-based foods, like nuts and fresh produce, can hamper the work of your immune system. Over time, high-fat diets can alter the balance of bacteria in your gut that helps the immune system respond.
Certain medications, too little aerobic exercise and prolonged grief can also suppress immunity.

Q. How can you tell the difference between anxiety and depression?
A. These two common mental health disorders, twice as common in women than men, are believed to be caused by a combination of genes and environmental factors such as trauma and stress. They often occur at the same time, with about 60% of people who have one eventually developing the other.
It may be hard to distinguish between the two, but there are some differences.
Anxiety is more common, affecting more than twice as many people as depression. It often develops first, usually just before or at the beginning of adolescence, while depression usually presents between adolescence to mid-adulthood.
Symptoms of anxiety include irritability, restlessness, trouble concentrating and uncontrollable feelings of worry, while those with depression have feelings of hopelessness, sadness and a loss of interest in things you once enjoyed.
Other symptoms such as trouble sleeping, fatigue, feeling anxious or pains and aches without a clear cause, can signal either disorder. A potentially fatal symptom of both disorders is feeling suicidal.
If you’re experiencing symptoms of either anxiety or depression, visit with your doctor who can discuss treatment options, which include talk therapy, medications or both.

Q. When does a breathing problem require medical attention?
A. Asthma and other breathing-related conditions affect one out of 13 people in the U.S. Common asthma symptoms include coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and chest tightness, pain or pressure.
It can be easy to explain away these symptoms, but you should take them seriously. Some respiratory problems also can indicate a medical emergency. Shortness of breath can be caused by something as simple as being out of shape but can also indicate a life-threatening blood clot. Heavy breathing is normal after physical exertion but should not be accompanied by a high heart rate, heavy chest, fainting, paleness, dizziness or fatigue. Painful breathing accompanied by chest pain, pressure or heaviness could indicate a heart attack.
If not addressed, these breathing problems can lead to serious medical complications, such as a pulmonary embolism or other problems with your airway system, and possibly damage the muscles or nerves that control breathing.
Other breathing problems can be symptoms of COVID-19, air not passing through your airway correctly or a problem with moving oxygen from your lungs to your bloodstream.
Visit with your doctor regarding any breathing problems you may experience.

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Plant alliums this fall to add variety and beauty to your garden
By MELINDA MYERS

Take your garden to new heights with alliums. This ornamental member of the onion family provides welcome color as spring bulbs fade and before summer perennials fill our gardens with colorful blooms.
Most people have seen pictures of the giant allium but there are many other options of flower sizes and heights suitable for any size and style garden. Most allium flowers are globe shaped and all are made of tiny florets. They make great cut flowers, the pollinators love them, and deer tend to leave them be.
Plan for months of color by including a variety of alliums that bloom from late spring through early summer. Longfield Gardens’ Planning Guide for Alliums (Longfield-gardens.com) showcases the various alliums, their size and bloom time to help you plan. Add alliums to the zone four to eight garden in fall when planting your other spring flowering bulbs like tulips and daffodils.
Dress up the front of a flowerbed or rock garden with Allium karataviense. It may be small in stature at only eight to ten inches tall, but the broad grey-green leaves and five-inch round, silvery-pink flowers provide big impact in the late spring garden.
Add years of spring beauty with Purple Sensation. Its shimmering four-inch diameter, violet-purple flowers are held above the leaves on 24 to 30” tall stems. It provides nice height and vibrant color to the early season garden. You will enjoy these alliums and their offspring for years to come.
For something uniquely different add Allium bulgaricum, also known as Nectaroscordum bulgaricum, to perennial and informal gardens. The cluster of drooping cream and burgundy bell-shaped flowers are followed by seedpods that lift themselves skyward. This provides an interesting vertical accent in the garden.
Gladiator and Globemaster are sure to have passersby and visitors stopping to take a second look at your garden. Mix them in amongst perennials and add to mixed borders. Gladiator has blue-violet, six-inch diameter flowers that are smaller than Globemaster but Gladiator blooms earlier and stands a foot taller and the leaves are long lasting. Both are sure to grab your attention and that of pollinators.
Stretch your enjoyment into early summer with Ambassador. Its dense five- to six-inch, violet-blue flowers are a deeper color than most alliums. What’s even more impressive is these large flowers are atop four- to five-foot stems. Like the other alliums, bees and butterflies love it.
It’s no surprise that Allium christophii is a favorite among gardeners. The eight- to ten-inch diameter, violet-pink flowers have spikey florets and a silvery sheen that makes them look like globes in the garden. Though this allium is only 12-18” tall, it has a big presence in the garden and is very long-lasting.
Allium schubertii produces even larger, 12” diameter flowers on stems of a similar height. Some of the star-like florets are closer to the center of the flower than others and this makes the blossom appear to be expanding, like fireworks in the garden. Save some of the seedheads and use them in dried flower arrangements.
The flowers of heirloom Allium atropurpureum are dome-shaped rather than round. Their dramatic, dark burgundy color and upright stature add structure to the garden. They are also long-lasting cut flowers.
End the season with Drumstick allium. The egg-shaped flowers are raspberry on top and green on the bottom with long slender stems. They are perfect grow-through plants and good companions for ornamental grasses.
Add a variety of alliums to your garden this fall and enjoy the added color, texture, and height this group of plants provide. You and the pollinators will be glad you did.

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Medal of Honor: The Unknown Recipients

By KATIE LANGE
A graphic says "Medal of Honor Monday" shows an Army Medal of Honor.
Medal of Honor Monday usually highlights a particular person and their uncommon acts of valor. However, many may not know that several unidentified soldiers from 20th century conflicts also received the Medal of Honor in tribute to all fallen service members who were never identified.
The Medal of Honor was awarded to the remains of nine unidentified service members. These include the four unidentified U.S. service members, eventually buried at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and its three crypts at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, as well as five unidentified World War I recipients from Great Britain, France, Belgium, Italy and Romania.
Each medal is inextricably linked to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Last year marked the centennial of the Tomb's creation in 1921 and included major anniversary events and special projects.
In October 1921, one unidentified U.S. service member who died in World War I was chosen at random to represent "the soul of America and the supreme sacrifice of her heroic dead," according to legislation authorizing the burial. On Nov. 11, 1921, a ceremony was held at ANC's newly built Memorial Amphitheater to inter this service member in a newly created, temporary tomb. President Warren G. Harding bestowed the Medal of Honor upon the casket during the funeral ceremony.
During the ceremony, several foreign awards were also presented to the Unknown Soldier, including the Belgian Croix de Guerre, the French Croix de Guerre and Medaille Militaire, Great Britain's Victoria Cross and the Italian Gold Medal for Bravery. Romania, Czechoslovakia and Poland also presented their highest honors for military valor. The permanent Tomb was not completed until 1932.
A massive crowd of people looks toward a podium, where a casket lies.
The other three U.S. Medals of Honor came later as unidentified service members were chosen to represent the fallen of World War II and the Korean and the Vietnam wars.
Since WWII and Korea were fought within a relatively short time span, a dual funeral was held for the pair on May 30, 1958. President Dwight D. Eisenhower presented a Medal of Honor for each Unknown Soldier at the ceremony.
In 1984, one set of recovered U.S. remains from the Vietnam War was designated to represent that war's fallen at the Tomb. The Unknown Soldier from the Vietnam War was interred during a ceremony on May 28, 1984. President Ronald Reagan bestowed the Medal of Honor upon the casket.
In 1998, thanks to advances in DNA technology, the Defense Department positively identified the remains of the Vietnam War Unknown Soldier as those of U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Michael J. Blassie. At the request of his family, Blassie was reburied at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in Missouri; however, the empty crypt in Arlington still honors all missing and unaccounted for personnel from the Vietnam War.
Living Medal of Honor recipients have also played a large role in these burials. Tim Frank, an ANC historian, said recipients played special roles during the funerals for each Unknown. For example, Army Master Sgt. Ernest Kouma, a Korean War Medal of Honor recipient, presented a folded flag to Eisenhower during the dual 1958 ceremony. Retired Army SFC Ronald Rosser, another Korean War recipient, presented then-Vice President Richard M. Nixon with the flag that draped the Korean Unknown's casket. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Allan Kellogg Jr., who earned the Medal of Honor during Vietnam, was chosen to be the person to designate the remains that became the Vietnam Unknown recipient.
Foreign Recipients, Honors Bestowed
The five foreign World War I recipients who are buried overseas represent the unidentified fallen of their nations; however, it's important to make clear that none of them was a U.S. service member. They were allied soldiers of France, Belgium, Italy, Romania and Great Britain to whom representatives presented the Medal of Honor on behalf of the U.S.
Several men look at a row of soldiers with rifles slung over their shoulders.
The Medal of Honor for the British Unknown Warrior is on display in Westminster Abbey in London. Frank said a copy of the medal for the Belgian Unknown is buried with that service member. It's unclear if the other three medals are buried with their respective Unknowns or if they're on display.
No foreign Unknown service member from any other war has received the award.
"The U.S. is one of the very few — if not the only — countries that buried Unknowns in the Tomb from subsequent wars," said Allison Finkelstein, ANC's senior historian. "At Westminster Abbey at the British Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, there was only one set of remains, and that is from World War I. They never added and buried remains from subsequent conflicts. It's something that makes the U.S. rather unique."
Frank said bestowing the Medal of Honor upon the foreign Unknown service members is what led to the back-and-forth swapping of honors between nations.
"The Americans presented the Medal of Honor to the [British] Unknown Warrior, and then that started the discussion on the British side of awarding a Victoria Cross to the Unknown American," he said.
A medal is displayed on a purple ribbon.
Over the years, other countries have bestowed their highest military medals for valor to the U.S. Unknowns from the conflicts after World War I. South Korean dignitaries bestowed the Taegeuk Medal — that nation's highest military award for valor — upon the Korean War Unknown in March of 1960. Belgium also bestowed the Croix de Guerre on the World War II and Korean War recipients, and France’s President Francois Hollande presented its Legion of Honour to the WWII Unknown in 2014.
Keeping History Alive
The medals presented to the four U.S. Unknown service members remain under the stewardship of Arlington National Cemetery's history office and are taken care of by civilian historians and curators — not the Army's 3rd Infantry Regiment, known as "The Old Guard," which guards the Tomb.
A folded U.S. flag and several medals are displayed inside a display case.
Four columns mark the entrance to a room filled with display cases and memorabilia
The medals are on display in the Memorial Amphitheater's Display Room exhibit, located near the Tomb and open to the public. They're kept under low-level light and undergo basic conservation, ANC historians said.
"The goal of these exhibits is to raise awareness about the history and meanings of the Tomb, and a big part of the exhibit in the Display Room is talking about the Medal of Honor," Finkelstein said.
Due to advances in technology, historians said there will likely never be another unidentified soldier buried in the Tomb again. These nine Medal of Honor recipients will probably be the last Unknowns to receive this distinction.

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History Matters
A biweekly feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

On October 3, 1895, Stephen Crane’s Red Badge of Courage was published—and almost immediately praised; eventually, it realized respect, reverence—and—a vast readership in the nation’s schools.
A historically accurate novel, which depicts the Civil War from the viewpoint of a Union soldier, it debuted in a newspaper serial, and has never been out of print.
According to a 2021 New Yorker magazine review: “It’s the story of a teen-age boy, of his immersion and panic in battle, during the Civil War, and of his achievement of the ‘red badge’ — a wound, though thankfully not a fatal one. Red Badge is one of the great American acts of originality; and if [Crane Biographer Paul] Auster is right that it has largely vanished from [curriculum], its exile is hard to explain, given that it crosses no pieties, offends no taboos, and steps on no obviously inflamed corn. It is relentlessly apolitical, in a way that, as many critics have remarked, removes the reasons for the war from the war.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage.

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On October 8, 1956, New York Yankee Don Larson made baseball history when he pitched the first and only no hitter in a World Series game against the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Yankees and the Dodgers had been perennial rivals, but the event signaled there would be no reconciliation anytime soon.
"I was so happy. I felt like crying," Larson told reporters after New York’s 2 to 1 win in the fifth game of the series.
According to History.com, “Over two hours, six minutes and 97 pitches, Larsen retired all 27 batters. On a 1-2 pitch, he struck out Dale Mitchell to end the game and catcher Yogi Berra raced toward Larsen, jumping into his arms. The scene was captured in an iconic image ... Larsen pitched 14 seasons in the big leagues, finishing his career in 1967 with an 81-91 record. He died at age 90 on Jan. 1, 2020.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Dodgers vs. Yankees: The Long-Standing Rivalry Between Two of Baseball's Greatest Teams by Michael Schiavone.

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By the time the American Revolution gathered momentum, the British navy already had a worldwide—and formidable—reputation. When it became known—in the colonies--that an armada was on its way, the Continental Congress resolved to fashion an American navy; on October 13, 1775, the Congress officially ordered the construction of a naval force, --now known as the United States Navy.
“Congress also named four captains to the new service: Dudley Saltonstall, Abraham Whipple, Nicholas Biddle, and John Burroughs Hopkins. Their respective vessels, the 24-gun frigates Alfred and Columbus, the 14-gun brigs Andrew Doria and Cabot, as well as three schooners, the Hornet, the Wasp, and the Fly, became the first ships of the Navy’s fleet. Five first lieutenants, including future American hero John Paul Jones, five second lieutenants and three third lieutenants also received their commissions,” says History.com.
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy by Ian W. Toll.

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Social Security Matters

by National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation,
the non-profit arm of the Association of Mature American Citizens

Ask Rusty – Veteran Asks About Disability and Ex-Spouse Benefits
Dear Rusty: I am a military veteran with a total & permanent disability. I was married for over ten years to a military man who has since honorably separated from military service. I was originally on Social Security disability, which automatically converted to regular Social Security retirement benefits when I turned 65 -- with the amount remaining at the "disabled" level instead of the "regular" rate based on my Social Security employment contribution record. Why wasn't my "regular" Social Security rate used when I turned 65? Also, I contacted Social Security regarding my ex-husband's Social Security since I was married to him for over 10 years but was told I am not entitled to a portion of his Social Security benefit. Why not? I was told the amount I would receive wouldn’t subtract from his SS entitlement. Signed: Disable Veteran
Dear Disabled Veteran: First, I want to thank you for your service to our country. Your sacrifice is sincerely appreciated, and I’ll be honored to answer your Social Security questions.
Regarding your current Social Security amount versus your previous disability amount, the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefit you were receiving was, in fact, the amount you were entitled to at your full retirement age, even though you claimed disability benefits earlier. Your SSDI benefit, when awarded, was computed using your entire lifetime earnings history up to the point that you became disabled, resulting in you getting your earned full amount as your disability benefit before you reached your full retirement age. And that is why the amount stayed the same when it automatically converted to your normal SS retirement benefit (at your full retirement age which, by the way, was 66 if you were born before 1955). Said simply, SSDI is the full Social Security amount you have earned up to the point you stopped earning, so it stays the same when you reach your full retirement age.
As for additional benefits from your ex-husband, although you meet the length of marriage rule for ex-spouse benefits, there are additional criteria as well - you must not have remarried and remained so, and your ex-husband must be already receiving his own Social Security benefit (unless you’ve been divorced at least two years, in which case your ex need only be eligible to collect). But you can only get an additional benefit, known as a “spousal boost,” if you meet all the other criteria and half (50%) of the benefit your ex-husband is/was entitled to at his full retirement age is more than your current Social Security benefit. Since Social Security said you aren’t entitled to an ex-spouse benefit, you apparently do not meet all of the eligibility criteria mentioned above. And to address your last point, if you had met all criteria and been entitled to an ex-spouse benefit it, indeed, would not have affected your ex-husband’s benefit in any way.
Again, please accept my sincere gratitude for your military service. You may wish to visit the “For Veterans” section at our www.amacfoundation.org website.

______________________

Life is a marshmallow
You’d think the judges at Guinness World Records would honor David Rush for the numbers of world records he’s broken -- some 250 Guinness records to date]. Most recently he broke the record for catching the most marshmallows in his mouth in one minute -- at least 60 of them. His brother-in-law, Jonathan Hannon, helped him out by operating a makeshift, handheld catapult to deliver the sweet treats at an event in New York City recently to celebrate the launch of the 2023 Guinness Book of World Records.

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Who doesn’t love a cannoli
It was a tasty record that a team of chefs from all over Italy concocted recently -- a mouthwatering 70-foot, 3.7-inch cannoli. Its crispy, tasty shell was filled with 1,500 pounds of sweet ricotta much to the delight of the residents of Caltanissetta, Sicily, which is known as the birthplace of the cannoli.

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It is the “wurst” of times
Oktoberfest is back! The fest was postponed for two years due to covid, much to the chagrin of beer lovers from around the world. The legendary annual German beer celebration has been attracting local and international tourists since 1810. In recent years -- prior to the pandemic -- some six to seven million tipplers, ale addicts and hops handlers would gather in Munich each year at about this time for the festivities, downing millions of liters of the brew and devouring millions of bratwursts, bockwursts, weisswursts and any other kind of wurst you desire. The festgoers are back, they are thirsty and hungry. Wunderbar!

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Stuck in a rut? How to focus on self-improvement and have an impact

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida – (September 20, 2022) –Many people get to a point in their lives when they feel stuck in a rut. Day in and day out, everything is the same. Punch a clock here, drive there, watch this, go to bed, and do the same thing the next day. With September being Self-Improvement Month, it's an excellent time for those who feel stuck to get their bearings and effectively and happily move on, make changes, and feel alive again.
“This is the month to take action and make it happen,” explains Katie Sandler, personal development and career coach. "It's time to eliminate the negative things in your life holding you back. There's no better time to do it than right now.”
A poll conducted by SWNS Digital found that 80% of Americans admit to feeling stuck in a routine. Most people who participated in the survey think their lives mimic the scenes from "Groundhog Day," where the same things keep playing daily. Nearly half of the people felt that their routine was too narrow. The good news is that those who feel stuck in the routine of life can take action to help shake things up in a good way.
Here are ways to make meaningful changes to become unstuck this month:
Get real. Those who feel stuck or in a rut must be honest with themselves. It's time to take stock of what is going on, identify the problems, and commit to doing the work to achieve something new.
Make a plan. There are a few things that need mapping out. Determine those things by deciding what needs to be changed and when. Hone in on the negativity that needs to be removed and plan the phasing out of it.
Work with a coach. A coach can do wonders to help people get out of their way. Coaches can bring out the best in people, help them determine their weaknesses and strengths, and help facilitate a successful game plan. Whether working with a coach one-on-one or attending a retreat, excellent benefits can be gained.
Focus on impact. To get out of a rut, there has to be a shift that makes an impact. Determine where the most effect and change is desired, such as in one’s professional life, personal life, or both.
Change your perspective. It's all about the mindset. One's perspective is how one views things. Two people can look at the same thing, and both may have different takes on what is happening. When we change our perspective and start seeing things from a more positive light, we will tend to get great results and enjoy life more. Changing perspective can change everything, even though nothing physically has changed in front of us. It's all about working on having a healthy and positive attitude.
“The truth is that most people are holding themselves back through their thoughts,” added Sandler. “Learning how to mind your thoughts is powerful and life-changing. It's the key to moving forward and making an impact."

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Ready to take on life’s challenges? 4 ways to get prepared

Anytime people try to accomplish just about anything – launch a business, embark on a new career, plan a trip – obstacles get in the way.
How well they respond depends on not just whether they are ready for the unexpected, but whether they have made the proper preparations to see them through, says Dr. Akintoye Akindele, the Forbes Books co-author with Olakunle Soriyan of A Love Affair with Failure: When Hitting Bottom Becomes a Launchpad to Success.
“People often confuse preparation with readiness, but they are totally different things,” Akindele says. “Preparation occurs in a controlled environment, while readiness takes place in the ‘real world,’ where events have no respect for your expectations and are not dictated by your preferences or prejudices.”
In other words, he says, preparation depends on factors within your control. That can involve leveraging strengths, removing weaknesses, exploiting opportunities or eliminating identified threats. Readiness involves confronting a slew of internal and external factors outside your direct influence.
“You can be prepared based on seemingly airtight plans and hypotheses and still be unready for what reality will bring,” Soriyan says. “Yet you will never be ready if you do not prepare.”
Akindele and Soiryan say there are four overlapping dimensions of preparation that get people ready to face real-life challenges. They are physical preparedness, mental preparedness, emotional preparedness, and spiritual preparedness.

Here’s a breakdown for each:

Physical preparedness. Regardless of what activities you’re involved in – whether for recreation or business – it’s important to stay fit, Akindele says. “You cannot afford to play with your health,” he says. “Your body may not feature prominently on your balance sheet, but it is the strongest asset in your possession.” That means exercise, eat well, and get regular checkups. “Physical preparedness also includes your appearance,” Akindele says. “How you show up and the impressions you create matter more than we like to admit. Significant personal and business decisions are made almost every minute based on appearance.”
Mental preparedness. Devote significant effort and time to acquiring knowledge, building competencies, and improving your resilience and focus, Soriyan says. “Developing our mental capacity positions us to better anticipate and eliminate possible obstacles, understand the competition where it exists, conceive of well-thought-out backup plans, and map out strategies,” he says.
Emotional preparedness. You will need a lot of positive reinforcement along the way, which is why it’s important to surround yourself with people who believe in you and your journey, Akindele says. “Speak to anyone who is successful at anything, and they will tell you the role that an investment in people and relationships played in their success,” he says. “From advising and helping you prepare for the road ahead to holding your hand and helping you cross your barriers, from standing in for you when everyone has deserted you to helping you get back on track when you feel like quitting, emotional assets and resources help create winners.”
Spiritual preparedness. Spirituality isn’t necessarily about religion. “Spirituality is about connectedness,” Soriyan says. “Connectedness with people, places, experiences, seasons, and energies is the character of spirituality at any level.” Spirituality is also linked to happiness, and happy people are more likely to achieve their goals than unhappy ones, he says. “To invest in activities that make you happy is wise,” he says. “Pursue what gives you peace. Invest in family, charity, philanthropy, faith in God, reading, traveling, talking, and even silence.”
“To fulfill any goal, you must first identify that goal and define it,” Akindele says. “But preparation is the foundation upon which success and the attainment of your goals are built.”

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty - About Applying for Social Security Benefits
Dear Rusty: I will be turning 65 this December and will most likely continue working until July of 2024 at my current job. It is possible I could leave a year earlier. With that being said, when should I submit paperwork to start collecting Social Security benefits? Is there anything I should know previous to applying that will make sure the process is relatively seamless? Signed: Ready to Retire
Dear Ready to Retire: Social Security recommends you apply for benefits 2 to 3 months before you wish your benefit payments to begin, but you can apply up to 4 months prior. When you apply, you will specify your desired benefit-start-month on the application, and that is when your benefits will start. Be aware that Social Security pays benefits “in arrears,” meaning your benefit is paid in the month following the month earned. So, for example, if you apply for your benefits to start in January your January benefit will be paid in February.
The exact date of your payment depends on the day of the month you were born – born between the 1st and 10th of the month, you get your payment on the 2nd Wednesday; born between the 11th and 20th of the month, payment is made on the 3rd Wednesday; born after the 20th of the month your payment will be received in your bank account on the 4th Wednesday of every month.
You can apply in person, either over the phone or by visiting your local Social Security office, or you can apply for your benefits online at www.ssa.gov/retire. Applying online is, by far, the most efficient method. To apply online, you will first need to set up your personal “my Social Security” online account which is easy to do at www.ssa.gov/myaccount. I suggest you create your online account now, even if you don’t plan to claim your SS for a while yet. Once you have your online account set up, you can see your estimated benefit amounts at different ages, which can help you decide when to claim.
Since you are still working, you should be aware that if you claim at any time prior to reaching your full retirement age (FRA) you will be subject to Social Security’s earnings test. If you will be 65 in December 2022 your FRA is 67, and that is the point at which you will get 100% of the SS benefit you’ve earned from a lifetime of working. If you claim any earlier, your benefit will be permanently reduced, and the Social Security “earnings test” will apply. The earnings limit for 2023 will be a bit more than the 2022 limit of $19,560. If you are collecting SS and exceed the earnings limit, they will take away benefits equal to $1 for every $2 you are over the limit. In the year you reach your FRA (2024) your earnings limit will be about 2 ½ times more than the normal annual limit and the penalty is less, and once you have reached your FRA there is no longer a limit to how much you can earn. For clarity, you can also wait and claim after your FRA and gain a higher benefit (your benefit will grow up to age 70).
So, how can you make the process “relatively seamless?” Create your online “my Social Security” account in advance and verify that your lifetime earnings as recorded by Social Security are accurate. Then, when you’re ready to claim, simply go to www.ssa.gov/retire and follow the instructions. The online application process is quite intuitive, and you should have no trouble even if you have limited computer skills. Social Security will contact you if they need more information after you apply online. Of course, you can also apply whenever you’re ready by calling Social Security to make an appointment to apply over the phone but applying online is much more efficient.

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Reblooming poinsettias and Christmas cactus
By MELINDA MYERS

Gardeners like a challenge and the sense of accomplishment when trying something new. Forcing poinsettias and Christmas cactus to rebloom provides such an opportunity.
These plants need 14 hours of uninterrupted darkness each night to set flowers for the winter holidays. Starting between late September and October 1st, cover or move your plants into a dark location each night. Shield them from any outdoor, street or reading lights that can delay or prevent flowering.
Uncover or move your plants back to a brightly lit location each morning. Growing the plants in a cooler location, especially at night, and keeping the soil slightly drier will help stimulate bloom. Some experts believe this is all that is needed to rebloom Christmas cactus. A combination of the two treatments seems to give the best results.
The colorful parts of the poinsettia are the bracts, often called the flowers. These are leaves that turn color after the dark treatment. The true poinsettia flower is the knobby yellow growth that appears in the center of the colorful bracts at the tip of stem.
Continue the dark treatment until the poinsettia bracts are fully colored or your Christmas cactus is covered with well-developed buds. Move the flowering plants to a cool, bright location free of hot and cold drafts. Continue to water thoroughly and often enough to keep the soil slightly moist while the plants are flowering. This is especially important to prevent bud and flower drop on Christmas cactus.
Consistently providing the required dark period is key to having flowers for the holidays. Each missed or interrupted 14-hour night delays blooming by one day. There is no need to give up after a couple of interrupted nights. Just enjoy the event when your poinsettia does bloom. Their colorful bracts are sure to brighten any winter day.
If your poinsettia fails to flower, you can still enjoy your plant this winter. Just add some faux poinsettia blooms, berry sprays or other floral décor. No one needs to know this wasn’t the plan all along.
Don’t be surprised if flowers appear on your Christmas cactus at Thanksgiving. Although sold as a Christmas cactus, it may truly be a Thanksgiving cactus or a hybrid of the two. The true Christmas cactus has small segments with smooth edges and blooms later than the Thanksgiving cactus with toothed or jagged segments.
Fortunately, the Christmas and Thanksgiving cactus’ growing requirements and care are basically the same. The plants will do fine; they just bloom during different holidays. Both are native to the tropical rain forests, not the desert, as their common name implies. They both prefer bright light, high humidity, and a thorough watering when the top few inches of soil begin to dry when they are actively growing.
Enjoy the experience as well as the results. As with any gardening endeavor, the fun is in trying something new.

_________________________________

A toothsome tale
An avid, anonymous baseball fan took “a bite” of the history of America’s National Pastime recently when he [or she] took possession of Ty Cobb’s false teeth at auction for $18,000]. When the legendary center fielder for the Detroit Tigers passed away in 1961 Cobb’s biographer, Al Stump, wound up with his dentures. Karen Shemonsky purchased them at auction in 1999 for $7,475, telling the New York Post: “This is such a thrill to me to now own a piece of baseball history.” This time around, the auction house, SCP, described Cobb’s choppers as being “well-preserved.”

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Riding the wake
The first time around, “Wakesurfer” Lori Keeton set the Guinness world Wakesurfing record for going at it for 8 hours straight; that was in 2021. She outdid herself this time around, breaking her record behind a motorboat for 15 hours, although her goal was to keep Wakesurfing for 24 hours. For those new to the sport, Wakesurfing involves riding a surfboard behind a motorboat without the benefit of a tow rope. She did it to raise money for the nonprofit Wake For Warriors organization who help veterans access water sports.

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He got clipped
A pair of pranksters got their moment of fame [so to speak] when one of them proceeded to give his partner a haircut during this year’s U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, New York. U.S. Tennis Association Brendan McIntyre told the Associated Press: “When someone saw it, security went to the two individuals. They were escorted out of their seats and then off the grounds for disruption of play. There’s a first time for anything.” But a social media buff managed to get a video of their sideshow.

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

On September 17, 1976, America’s inaugural space shuttle, the Constitution, was scheduled for lift off, but then according to the National Air and Space Museum---it was “rebranded” the USS Enterprise after “President Ford reportedly received thousands of petition signatures from avid Star Trek fans across the country.”
Subsequently, regular exploration of the heavens did not resume until the USS Columbia took off in April of 1981 from Cape Canaveral, FL. Its two solid-rocket boosters put the capsule into orbit for a two-day shakedown mission, and a “glider-like” return to Edwards Air Force in California.
For more information, the Grateful American Book Prize recommends The History of the American Space Shuttle by Dennis R. Jenkins.

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When the Revolutionary War started in 1775, the British navy was believed to be—unbeatable--until John Paul Jones, a bold, young, senior lieutenant in the newly established Continental Navy, “distinguished himself in actions against British ships in the Bahamas, the Atlantic Ocean and the English Channel,” according to History.com.
Then, on September 23, 1779, Commander Jones—while aboard his vessel, the Bonhomme Richard—sighted two British warships on the eastern coast of England: the HMS Serapis, and the HMS Countess of Scarborough:
“After inflicting considerable damage to the Bonhomme Richard, Richard Pearson, the captain of the Serapis, asked Jones [to strike] his colors, the naval signal indicating surrender. From his disabled ship, Jones replied, “I have not yet begun to fight.” After three more hours of frenetic fighting, the Serapis and the Countess of Scarborough surrendered.
The Grateful American Book Prize suggests Evan Thomas’ John Paul Jones: Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy.

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During the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress dispatched John Adams to France “as minister plenipotentiary in charge of negotiating treaties of peace and commerce with Great Britain,” according to History.com.
By late in 1782, “The tide of the war was turning in America’s favor” and Adams returned to Paris in October of that year along with John Jay and Benjamin Franklin. Their mission was to negotiate a peace treaty between the American colonies and Great Britain and to put an end to the rebellion. It took almost a year but eventually, in early September of 1783 both sides signed the Treaty of Paris ending the American Revolution and formally recognizing the United States as an independent nation.
Adams was a Founding Father, America’s first vice president under George Washington, and the country’s second president.
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends The Treaty of Paris: The Precursor to a New Nation by Edward J Renehan Jr.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Surviving Spouse Benefits Explained

Dear Rusty: If I file at age 63 what percentage does my wife receive if I die? Does this percentage change if I wait to file closer to my full retirement age? And what does my wife receive if I die before I file for my benefits? Signed: Planning Ahead
Dear Planning: When you file for your own Social Security benefit will affect the survivor benefit your wife is entitled to as your widow. If you claim at age 63, her benefit as your widow will be based on your age 63 amount. If you wait longer to claim your own Social Security, your own benefit will be higher and so will your wife’s entitlement as your survivor. In other words, your wife’s benefit as your widow will be based on the amount you are receiving when you die, and the longer you wait to claim your own Social Security, the higher your wife’s survivor entitlement will be.
Exactly how much your wife will get monthly as your widow depends also on her own age when she claims her survivor benefit. If you were to die first, your wife can claim a reduced survivor benefit as early as age 60 but doing so will result in a benefit which is 28.5% lower than it would be if she waits until her own full retirement age (67) to claim. Survivor benefits do not reach maximum until the survivor reaches full retirement age (FRA) and, if claimed before that, the benefit will be reduced by 4.75% for each full year early, to a maximum reduction of 28.5%. So, although your wife’s base survivor benefit will be the actual (100%) amount you were receiving when you die, her monthly survivor payment will be reduced if she claims the survivor benefit before her FRA. It is an actuarial reduction of .396% less survivor benefit for each month prior to FRA the survivor benefit is claimed.
If you wait to file for your own benefit but die before you actually start collecting your benefits, your wife’s entitlement as your widow will be based upon the amount you were entitled to when you died. She will not lose her survivor benefit - it will be based upon the amount you were entitled to when you died, even though you had not yet claimed. Your wife can also delay claiming her survivor benefit until she reaches her FRA to maximize her benefit as your widow. But there is more to consider.
If your wife is working full time, it is often not prudent (and may not be possible) to collect Social Security benefits before reaching full retirement age. That’s because of Social Security’s earnings test, which limits how much can be earned while collecting SS benefits before FRA. The earnings limit for 2022 is $19,560 (changes yearly) and if that is exceeded SS will take away benefits equal to $1 for every $2 over the limit. If the limit is significantly exceeded your wife could be temporarily ineligible to get benefits, until her earnings are less, or until she reaches her full retirement age (the earnings limit no longer applies when FRA is reached).
Finally, it’s important to note that all Social Security rules are gender-neutral, meaning that the rules apply equally to both spouses. But in any case, a surviving spouse can only get one benefit – either their own or their survivor benefit, whichever is highest.

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Harvesting red and green tomatoes

By MELINDA MYERS

Nothing beats the flavor of fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes. Harvesting when they are fully ripe ensures the best flavor for eating fresh, cooking, and preserving.
Visit your garden often and watch for the fruit to turn from green to fully colored. Then leave them on the plant for five to eight days. Vine-ripened tomatoes have the best flavor for using fresh or preserving.
Check plants regularly and keep harvesting, so the plants continue to produce. This also reduces problems with insects and disease organisms attacking overripe or rotting fruit. Store mature, fully colored tomatoes in cool, 45-to-50-degree conditions with high humidity. They will last about seven to 14 days in these conditions.
When growing indeterminate tomatoes, you will notice the plants keep growing and producing more flowers and fruit until the frost kills the plant. Redirect the plant’s energy from sprouting new blossoms and fruit to ripening the fruit that is already on the plant. Prune off the stem tip of indeterminate tomatoes about a month before the average first fall frost in your area. This allows the existing flowers to develop into fruit and the existing fruit to mature before the end of the growing season.
Extend the harvest season with the help of floating row covers. These fabrics allow air, light, and water through, but trap heat around the plants. Protecting plants from the first few fall frosts often provides time for more tomatoes to ripen.
Sometimes you cannot protect plants from frost or hungry critters prevent you from leaving the tomatoes on the plant to fully ripen. You can pick any tomatoes that are starting to show color before the killing frost and finish ripening them indoors. The blossom end should be greenish white or starting to color up. Use blemished and cracked fruit right away since these do not store well.
Store green and under-ripe tomatoes in a cool 60-to-65-degree location to maximize their storage life. Set the tomatoes on heavy paper spread apart so they are not touching. Or wrap them individually in newspaper so the fruit do not make direct contact. This helps prevent rot spreading from one fruit to the next.
These tomatoes will ripen over the next few weeks. You can speed up the process by moving a few tomatoes to a bright, warm location a few days before they are needed.
Extend the tomato season next year by growing a Long Keeper. The flavor is not as good as vine-ripened fruit, but you can pick these before the first fall frost and enjoy garden tomatoes for up to three months.
And don't let the rest of the green tomatoes go to waste. Use them for frying, chow chow, green salsa, and other tasty treats.
Keep harvesting and enjoying your garden-fresh tomatoes as long as your growing season allows. Then make space to store them a few weeks after the first fall frost.

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Why today’s leaders need to admit mistakes and show a human side

By WARREN RUSTAND

Leaders make mistakes, just like anybody else. And when they do mess up, it’s essential – if they want to remain credible and not lose the trust of their employees – that leaders own up to their errors and hold themselves accountable.
I had a front-row seat for one of the most egregious mistakes ever made by a high-level leader in the history of the United States. And what made it worse – for him and the country – was that President Richard Nixon didn’t own up to it, and instead tried to cover it up.
I was working in the White House then, eventually becoming Appointments and Cabinet Secretary for Gerald Ford after he replaced Nixon, who was forced to resign on Aug. 9, 1974, due to the June 17, 1972, break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Office Building. Nixon resigned to avoid certain impeachment. He was unwilling to acknowledge that he knew about the break-in and continued to cover that up for many months, until he had no credibility left.
In the decades since Watergate, of course, we’ve often seen public figures cover up mistakes, or not being willing to express regret or acknowledge errors, and almost always the coverup is worse than the mistake.
Three great qualities of leadership are transparency, honesty and vulnerability. When a leader practices each of those qualities, his or her trust factor and respect factor among employees and peers increases. Also, the company culture can then become more solid because a strong ethical example is being set at the top. Therefore, it’s critical that a leader admit when he or she makes a mistake, and just as importantly, explain the acknowledgement as well.
However hard it might be, leaders of any organization, small to large, have to be willing to admit they’ve made errors. One big mistake doesn’t necessarily have to mean the end of their tenure or the downslide of their business or organization. If a leader handles it correctly, it might even be a turning point in a positive direction.
It shows strength to be vulnerable
Leaders don’t know everything. They don’t have all the answers. If they acknowledge those facts, it creates an opportunity for collaboration with their colleagues, which opens the possibilities for more and fresher ideas, solutions and strategies. It allows leaders to have a different, more open and productive dialogue with people. It shows the kind of humility, vulnerability and relatability that makes for a stronger leader because those qualities make them easier for people to follow.
But many leaders have a tough time admitting they don't know. Their egos are in the way. They think they’re supposed to have all the answers. We went through a period of time in world history when we simply thought the best leaders were the smartest people, but it takes a lot more than smarts to make it all work. We’ve actually lived through decades of expecting leaders to be strong and have all the answers – a command-and-control type of leadership.
But that’s really not the era we’re living in today. I think there’s a greater sensitivity surrounding leadership these days. Good leaders are ones to be trusted, who speak the truth, admit they don’t know, and seek counsel and advice from other people. That’s a great change historically from where we’ve been in terms of how strong leadership has been characterized or perceived.
Why the change? I think we’ve been caught up in the last 30 years in numerous significant events that prove leaders not only don’t know everything, they get caught flat-footed like the rest of us and struggle to find quick solutions. There’s no better example of that than COVID-19. And there’s been SARS, HIV and AIDS, the swine flu, the dot-com bubble/tech crash of 2000, the Great Recession of 2008, and now we could be heading into another recession. We’ve seen an acceleration of challenging events for leaders, and they’re frequently stunned by what’s happening. The degree to which leaders can open up about that and embrace input from others will make them better and stronger leaders.
Seeing outside their bubble
Millennials have driven the new definition of modern leadership. There are 75 million millennials in the workforce who feel strongly that leaders should be open and trustworthy; that leaders should be forward-thinking; and in getting a sense of what’s coming at us in the future, that leaders should be proactive, not reactive, and very importantly, be collaborative.
So we’re entering a new era of leadership – more externally-facing leadership than internally-facing. Leaders will have to be much more aware of what’s going on in the broader world from a macro sense, because it has an impact on their businesses, family and communities. COVID is an example. It’s been all-encompassing and we saw many leaders who didn’t know how to respond.
There will still be leaders who will bury their heads in the sand and only worry about getting widgets out the door and cars out of the factory. But there are other leaders who are looking at the context within which the world is functioning. And those who can admit they made a mistake or that they don’t have all the answers. These more humble, more vulnerable, more communicative and collaborative types of leaders will be the strongest and most successful going forward in an uncertain world.

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5 ways society benefits when kids spend more time with dad

STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvania – According to Pew Research Center, 63% of dads report that they feel they don't get to spend enough time with their children. When it comes to dads in co-parenting situations, that number is likely even higher. What may come as a surprise to many is that society is also missing out on something when this happens. Children around the nation are greatly missing out on things when they don't get enough time with their fathers.
“When fathers are actively involved in their lives our children are happier and safer, and our society is healthier and more productive,” said Dads’ Resource Center Founder and Chair Dr. Joel N. Myers. “But instead of celebrating fatherhood and looking for ways to ensure father involvement, our government pours hundreds of billions of tax payer dollars a year into public assistance and social services.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 121 million men in the country are biological fathers of at least one child under 18. This demonstrates that the impact that fathers have on the lives of these children is going to be far-reaching.
Several years ago, Fortune reported that men who spend more time with their kids make happier employees. Based on research, it was suggested that companies should give men more time to spend with their families to increase retention rates. Having happier men at work is one way society benefits when dad gets more time with the kids.
Here are 5 additional ways society benefits when kids spend more time with dad:
Generational impact. A study published in the journal Parenting Science and Practice reports that patterns of father involvement and the quality of father-child relationships tend to be passed down across generations. Dads who are allowed to be more involved in their child's life will, in turn, raise sons who go on to be dads who are more active in their own children's lives. In other words, the current relationship is impacting the future ones.
Healthier societies. Fewer children raised in nuclear families are considered to be in poor health. Research published in The Linacre Quarterly showed that 12% of children raised in a nuclear family were considered in poor health, compared to 22% of children of a single parent.
Financial stability. According to research published in The Linacre Quarterly,custodial mothers lose up to 50% of their household income and are more likely to receive public assistance. The median income of divorced mothers is only 47% of married-couple households. Children living with their mothers are more likely to be in poverty. When a dad plays an active role in a child's life, there is likely to be more financial stability.
Better educated citizens. In a study published in the journal Sociological Science, researchers report that parental divorce lowers a child's educational attainment. This is due to the decline in family stability, family income, and the child's psychosocial skills. They report that a child's emotional well-being declines, which harms their educational attainment.
Overall better societies. Dads’ Resource Center shares studies showing that children who spend more time with their dad are less likely to commit crimes, use government assistance programs, and smoke and use drugs. They are more likely to finish high school and college and be contributing members of society when they become adults.
"We live in a time where men are more engaged and involved in raising their children than ever,” said Dads’ Resource Center Executive Director Jeffrey Steiner. “Unfortunately, far too many able and willing fathers are being denied that opportunity. Their children, and our society, suffer greatly when this happens.”

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Break these bad habits when using credit

PHOENIX – Credit card use has surged across the country as Americans face higher prices in recent months. With more individuals turning to credit for everyday purchases, the potential grows to develop bad habits that can negatively impact their finances.
“Credit has become an increasingly necessary tool to participate in today’s financial world,” said Amy Maliga, a financial educator with Take Charge America, a nonprofit credit counseling and debt management agency. “That’s why it’s important for individuals to use credit responsibly so they don’t derail their life and money goals.”
Maliga breaks down four bad habits to avoid when using credit:
Paying the minimum. It may be easier, but only paying the minimum payment on your credit card each month is a habit that will keep you in debt. This also leads you to paying way more in interest than necessary. Instead, work to pay off your balance in full every month to avoid finance charges.
Credit churning. This is the process of opening multiple credit cards to collect new customer bonuses like miles and cash back. The practice can have potentially disastrous effects on your credit score and ability to get new credit when you really need it. Opening several accounts in succession is often seen as a red flag. Also, the more credit cards you have, the greater risk of missing payments. Instead, use one or two main cards regularly to build and maintain good credit.
Buy now pay later. No, BNPL isn’t a credit card in the traditional sense. But these popular services are a form of credit that come with financial risks including potential late fees, a temptation to spend more and no consumer protections. Instead of using BNPL, only buy items you can afford at the time of purchase.
Cash advances. One of the most expensive credit card transactions, cash advances typically have the highest interest rate. Plus, with no grace period, interest begins accruing immediately. There’s also a fee for every cash advance transaction. If you’re using credit cards to get cash, stop immediately. Evaluate your spending for ways to free up extra cash so you don’t need to resort to costly cash advances.
For individuals overwhelmed with credit card debt you may find relief with nonprofit credit counseling. After going through a free credit counseling session online or over the phone, receive a free action plan with customized solutions to get out of debt.

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Medal of Honor: Army Maj. John J. Duffy
By KATIE LANGE
Army Maj. John J. Duffy often operated behind enemy lines during his four tours of duty in Vietnam. During one of those deployments, he single-handedly saved a South Vietnamese battalion from decimation. Fifty years later, the Distinguished Service Cross he received for those actions was upgraded to the Medal of Honor.
Duffy was born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 16, 1938, and joined the Army in March 1955 when he was only 17. By 1963, he'd earned his commission as an officer and joined the 5th Special Forces Group as an elite Green Beret.
Commemorating the Vietnam War
Duffy deployed to Vietnam four times during his career; in 1967, 1968, 1971 and 1973. It was during his third tour of duty that he earned the Medal of Honor.
The Battle
In early April 1972, Duffy was a senior advisor to an elite battalion of the South Vietnamese army. When North Vietnamese forces tried to overrun Fire Support Base Charlie in the country's Central Highlands, Duffy's soldiers were tasked with holding off the battalion-sized unit.
As the offensive neared the end of its second week, the South Vietnamese commander working with Duffy had been killed, the battalion's command post was destroyed, and food, water and ammunition were running out. Duffy had been injured twice but refused to be evacuated.
In the early morning hours of April 14, Duffy tried but failed to set up a landing zone for resupply aircraft. Pushing on, he managed to make his way close to the enemy's anti-aircraft positions to call in airstrikes. The major was wounded a third time by rifle fragments but again refused medical attention.
Shortly after that, the North Vietnamese started blasting the base with artillery. Duffy remained out in the open so he could direct U.S. gunships toward enemy positions to shut down the assault. When that success led to a lull in battle, the major assessed the damage to the base and made sure the wounded South Vietnamese soldiers were moved to relative safety. He also made sure any leftover ammunition was distributed to the men who could still defend the base.
Soon after, the enemy resumed its assault; Duffy continued directing gunship fire on them. By the late afternoon, enemy soldiers started to move onto the base from all directions. Duffy had to move from position to position to adjust counterfire, spot targets for artillery observers and even direct gunship fire on his own position, which had been compromised.
No Man Left Behind
By the evening, it was clear that Duffy and his men would be overrun. He started organizing a retreat, and, under the code name Dusty Cyanide, he continued calling in gunship support for cover fire and was the last man to leave the base.
Early the next morning, the enemy ambushed the remaining South Vietnamese soldiers as they retreated, causing additional casualties and scattering the able-bodied men. Duffy set up defensive positions so his soldiers could push the enemy back. After, he led the remaining men — many of whom were seriously injured — to an evacuation area, even as the enemy continued to pursue them.
Once they got to the evacuation site, Duffy again directed gunship fire on the enemy and marked a landing zone for the rescue helicopters. Duffy refused to get on one of the choppers until all the other men were onboard. According to an account of the evacuation in the San Diego Union Tribune, as Duffy balanced on a strut of his helicopter while it pulled away, he saved a South Vietnamese paratrooper who had begun to fall out of the helicopter, grabbing him and pulling him back in. He then helped a helicopter door gunner who had been wounded during the evacuation.
An Upgraded Honor
Duffy initially received the Distinguished Service Cross for the actions described above; however, that honor was recently upgraded to the Medal of Honor. With his brother, Tom, by his side, the now-84-year-old Duffy received the nation's highest award for military valor from President Joseph R. Biden during a White House ceremony on July 5, 2022.
"It seemed unfathomable that some 40 men with no food, water or ammunition could still be alive amidst the swarm of enemy fighters," Army Gen. Joseph M. Martin, the vice chief of staff of the Army, said during the ceremony. "It was Major Duffy's many heroic acts, including calling for strikes on his own position to allow his battalion to retreat, that enabled the escape. Major Duffy's Vietnamese brothers … credit him with saving their battalion from complete annihilation."
Three other Vietnam War service members received the medal at the same time as Duffy; Army Spc. 5 Dennis M. Fujii, Army Staff Sgt. Edward N. Kaneshiro and Army Spc. 5 Dwight Birdwell.
From Warrior to Poet
Duffy retired in May 1977. During his 22 years of service, he received 63 other awards and decorations, including eight purple hearts.
The major moved to Santa Cruz, California, after his retirement and eventually met and married a woman named Mary. As a civilian, he was the president of a publishing company before becoming a stockbroker and founding a discount brokerage firm that was eventually bought out by TD Ameritrade.
Duffy also became a poet, detailing some of his combat experiences in his writings as a way to pass the stories along to future generations. Many of his poems are posted online. The major has written six books of poetry and was once nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
One poem Duffy wrote, called "The Forward Air Controller," was inscribed on a monument in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to honor the sacrifices of forward air controllers. According to Duffy's website, he also wrote a requiem that he delivered during the monument's dedication ceremony. That requiem was later added in bronze to the monument's centerpiece.
A fellow former soldier, retired Army Col. William Reeder Jr., wrote "Extraordinary Valor: The Fight for Charlie Hill in Vietnam," a book that details Duffy's exploits during the 1972 battle.
According to Duffy's website, he was a founding member of the Special Operations Association and, in 2013, was inducted into the Infantry OCS Hall Of Fame at Fort Benning, Georgia.

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3 key financial factors to consider when weighing a new job offer

By CHRISTOPHER DREW

With a labor shortage in numerous industries, some job seekers are in the driver’s seat as employers, hard-pressed to find the right talent, sweeten the pot with higher salaries, beefier bonuses and impressive commissions.
But it’s important for those who are in transition or considering an employment move to look beyond the income potential and weigh the entire compensation package being offered. There’s a lot more to it than salary.
Before you decide to accept a job offer, do your research on these three important financial factors:
Retirement plans
These are the main things to think about regarding retirement plans when considering a new employer or whether you should stay put in your current job: 1) Do they have an employer-sponsored retirement plan? 2) And if so, what is the vesting period? 3) Do they offer a company match, and if so, what is the percentage?
And if you do take the new job, what will you do with the 401(k) you have with your previous employer? You have four options with the former retirement plan: cash it out, leave your money in that plan, transfer it into your new employer’s plan, or roll your money directly into an IRA. The idea behind employer-sponsored retirement plans is you benefit from the tax-deferred growth and compounded accumulation over time. So it’s better in the long run to keep the funds in a retirement plan; it’s just a question of whether you transfer the old 401(k) into the new retirement plan or keep them separate. If your new company’s 401(k) investment options are attractive, it may make sense to transfer the old funds to the new plan. Or, if you roll the old 401(k) funds directly into an IRA, be aware that account fees may be higher than the employer-sponsored plan.
Also, it’s important to remember that withdrawing retirement funds before you reach age 59½ means a 10% penalty. In addition, the tax-deferred distribution is taxed as ordinary income.
Insurance plans and other benefits
How will your insurance and other benefits change at a new job you’re considering? Study the details of the insurance plan you’re being offered and the other benefits. If the company wooing you is offering a higher salary than your current or former employer, but the overall benefits aren’t as good, that may be a deciding factor to stay where you are. A benefits package can provide substantial value; along with health insurance and retirement plans, it can include stock options, sick pay, vacation pay, family leave, etc. If stock ownership is being offered, look at the details, such as: What type of stock is being offered and what are the different tax implications? What is the vesting schedule and what are the payout rules? If you leave the company, will you be able to purchase your options?
Make sure that the company offers health insurance. Under the Affordable Care Act, employers with fewer than 50 employees aren’t required to provide health insurance. If the company doesn’t offer insurance, would your new salary be enough for you to afford private health insurance? If the company does offer insurance, how much of the premiums do the new company pay compared to your previous employer? What are your monthly costs and annual deductibles? Are specific treatments you need covered? If not, would your higher salary help you cover the costs, or would you want to?
Relocation
If the new job requires relocation to another state, investigate the cost of living there compared to where you reside now, including differences regarding state and local income taxes. The higher salary being offered may look good on the surface, but it may not be so great if the new area significantly affects your take-home pay. Visit and thoroughly research the new location before deciding whether to make the move.
How much is the prospective employer willing to help with the move, the sale of your old house and the search for a new house? Would they pay for your temporary housing as you adjust to the new location and find a permanent place to live? You might be able to negotiate those options. Carefully evaluate any relocation offer; some companies will pay for all or some of your moving expenses, but make sure you look at the tax and income considerations of any relocation package. If your employer does not help with moving expenses, you may be eligible for tax deductions.
Choosing whether to take a new job is one of the most important decisions you will make. Taking it ideally means a step up in your career, your finances, and your life. Or perhaps when you weigh all the factors between a current job and the potential new one, you’ll discover the grass isn’t greener around the corner. The bottom line is two-fold: more money won’t by itself buy happiness, and you need to consider every financial aspect to make the decision that’s right for you.

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What’s in a name
Every occupation has a vocabulary of its own; those whose business is to keep track of the weather are no exception. They come up with what is known as “wacky weather words” every once in a while. Take the term “frog strangler.” Meteorologists down south in 1870 are said to have come with the term when describing a particularly heavy downpours. More recently, just a couple of years ago, a meteorologist in Texas, Reed Timmer, dreamed up the term "Gorilla Hail" when he reported a particularly nasty hail storm. And "Bear's Cage" was first used to describe a tornado in the 1996 movie Twister.

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Heavenly timing
The 39,000 citizens of the tiny 62 square mile principality of Liechtenstein, located between Switzerland and Austria, were a bit shaken by back-to-back earthquakes recently. But they weren’t as stunned as was parliamentarian Bettina Petzold-Maehr who at the time was discussing legislation regarding the need for -- you got it -- earthquake insurance. Bettina, at least, took it all in stride, chuckling at the timing of the two quakes. No one was injured.

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Imbecilli!
Teen tourists from Australia decided to do some surfing in Venice’s famous Grand Canal not long ago; Mayor Luigi Brugnaro call them "imbecilli," fining them to the tune of $1,500 each for their miscreant behavior. Brugnaro also described them as “two overbearing idiots who make a mockery of the City.” Tourists and locals used their phones to videotape the boys on their motorized surf boards. To say that the mayor was upset by the incident is an understatement; he promised to find other reasons to prosecute them.

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Colorful mums for fall gardens and containers
By MELINDA MYERS

Add a burst of fresh color to the fall landscape with mums. This traditional fall flower is still a favorite of many. These fall beauties come in a wide range of colors and provide weeks of floral beauty. Mums are great in containers, the garden, and cut flower bouquets. Fall just wouldn’t be the same without them.
When shopping for mums you may see them labeled as garden, perennial, gift, or florist mums. All these different names for plants that basically look alike can be confusing. The answer lies in their response to day length, hardiness, and use.
Mums set flowers based on day length. Growers can force them into bloom by covering them to create the shorter days that initiate flowering. Those grown as gift and holiday plants are often called florist mums. These usually require the longest periods of uninterrupted darkness or shorter days. When these mums are grown under natural daylight they usually don’t flower until late fall or early winter. These late bloomers are usually killed by cold temperature before or soon after the flowers appear in colder parts of the country.
Nurseries selling mums in full bloom in the fall often refer to them as garden mums. These may be perennial or “florist” mums forced to flower for fall displays. The intent is to use them as annuals. Set a pot on the steps, pop a plant in a vacant spot in the garden or combine them with other fall favorites.
Even if these garden mums are hardy and suited to your growing conditions, they may not survive the winter. Since all the energy of flowering fall-planted mums is directed to the flowers, little is left to establish a hardy robust root system. If you have success overwintering your garden mum, feel free to brag. If your plants don’t survive or you don’t try, don’t worry. You are using them as a fall annual as they were intended. This provides space for new plants in the spring and an opportunity to try a different color mum next fall.
Those mums sold as perennials are hardy enough to survive the winter and flower in late summer or early fall, providing weeks of color in the garden. They are often sold alongside other perennials, labeled as perennials, or promoted as hardy for the area. Increase your success by planting them in spring. This allows the plant time to develop a robust root system before it begins flowering in the fall. This increases the plant’s ability to survive cold winter weather.
Increase overwintering success of fall planted perennial mums with proper care. Make sure the plants receive sufficient moisture throughout the remainder of the growing season and leave the plants intact in the garden for winter. Those in colder climates may want to add winter mulch. Wait for the ground to freeze. Then cover with weed-free straw or evergreen boughs. Remove the mulch in spring as temperatures hover near freezing or the plants begin to grow. Cut back the dead stems and wait for new growth to appear.
Whatever you call them, add a few mums to your fall display. You are sure to enjoy that last blast of color before winter arrives.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation,

Ask Rusty – About the “Restricted Application for Spousal Benefits Only”
Dear Rusty: You wrote an article about a man who was collecting spouse benefits but was applying for his own benefit at age 70, under an old law. What are the circumstances surrounding that gentleman’s ability to collect spousal benefits? Why was he eligible? And was he working clear up into the age of 70 before applying for his own Social Security? Signed: An Inquiring Mind
Dear Inquiring Mind: The “old law,” under which the gentleman in the article was collecting only a spousal benefit from his wife, is no longer available to anyone born after January 1, 1954, which means it is largely unavailable to those applying for Social Security today. Here’s how the “old law” worked:
It was once possible for someone who reached their full retirement age (FRA) of 66, who had not yet applied for their own Social Security, and whose spouse was already collecting SS retirement benefits, to file a “restricted application” to collect only spousal benefits. This enabled a higher earning spouse to claim a spouse benefit (only) without claiming their own SS retirement benefit, thus allowing the latter to continue to grow in value. That resulted in the higher earning spouse collecting half of their spouse’s FRA benefit, at the same time maximizing their personal benefit to be claimed at a later age (usually at age 70).
Such was the case for the gentleman in the article you refer to – his wife had claimed her own SS retirement benefit earlier, and the husband had filed a restricted application for spouse benefits only. The husband collected a spouse benefit from his wife while his own SS retirement benefit continued to grow. Now, as he was turning 70, he was ready to switch to his maximized personal SS retirement benefit. His work status was insignificant because he had already reached his full retirement age when he filed the restricted application, but by delaying the claim for his own SS benefit he earned Delayed Retirement Credits (DRCs). The DRCs made his personal age 70 benefit 32% higher than his benefit would have been had he claimed it at age 66.
This strategy wasn’t documented as a specific option under old Social Security law; rather it was a “loophole” which many took advantage of because Social Security law at the time didn’t prevent it. In other words, Social Security law, as written years ago, allowed anyone who had reached their full retirement age to file a restricted application for spouse benefits without filing for their own benefit. That (along with another option known as “file and suspend”) was considered a loophole and was eliminated by the “deemed filing” provision of the Bipartisan Budget Act (BBA) of 2015. The BBA stipulated that those who turned 62 after 2015 (those born after January 1, 1954) would, whenever they filed for benefits, be automatically deemed to be filing for all Social Security retirement and spousal benefits available to them at the time. And that essentially eliminated the “restricted application for spouse benefits only” option for anyone born after January 1, 1954. The gentleman in the article was born in 1952, thus eligible to take advantage of the loophole. Today, only those born before January 2, 1954, who are not yet collecting Social Security but have a spouse who is, are eligible.

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Medal of Honor: Marine Corps Maj. Douglas Jacobson
By KATIE LANGE
Marine Corps Maj. Douglas Thomas Jacobson was one of more than two-dozen men whose valor earned him the Medal of Honor at Iwo Jima. The five-week fight on the tiny Pacific island was the Marines' bloodiest battle of World War II, and Jacobson played a major role in winning a crucial part of that fight.
Jacobson was born Nov. 25, 1925, in Rochester, New York, but moved with his parents to Port Washington on Long Island when he was still a baby. He was an only child.
Jacobson attended high school, but he left before graduating to work as a draftsman for his father, Hans, who was a carpenter. He also worked as a lifeguard.
By 1942, World War II was raging, and he wanted to serve. Jacobson enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in January 1943 at the age of 17.
By December 1943, Jacobson was a private first class on active duty who had been transferred to the Pacific war zone as part of the 3rd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division. He spent the next year battling in campaigns in the Marshall and Marianas islands. But the biggest fight of his life — and that of many Marines — was still to come.
On Feb. 19, Jacobson and about 70,000 other Marines stormed ashore on tiny Iwo Jima, an 8-square-mile island made of volcanic ash. Iwo Jima was crucial to the allies because its airfields were necessary for U.S. bombers to be within striking range of Japan's mainland. Once the fight began, it didn't let up for more than a month.
On Feb. 26, 1945, Jacobson's Company I was called upon to assault Japanese defenses on Hill 382, the highest point north of Mount Suribachi that was used for field artillery and anti-tank positions. According to his Medal of Honor citation, it was the heart of Japan's cross-island defense.
When the company's anti-tank missile gunner was killed, Jacobson grabbed the man's bazooka and destroyed an enemy 20 mm antiaircraft gun and its crew. The bazooka was a weapon meant for use by two people, but Jacobson managed to use it with deadly accuracy by himself when his platoon was pinned down by heavy enemy fire. He destroyed two enemy machine gun positions, neutralized a large observation fortification known as a blockhouse, then he took out the five-man crew of a pillbox before blowing up the bunker.
Jacobson kept moving up the hill, wiping out a hidden rifle emplacement. When he realized there was a cluster of similar emplacements near him making up the perimeter of the enemy's defenses, he continued forward anyway. He was able to take out all six guns and 10 enemy fighters, which allowed allied forces to take over the position.
Jacobson wasn't done, though. He was determined to widen the allied breach of Japanese defenses, so he volunteered to help an adjacent assault company. He neutralized a pillbox that had pinned down the company, then he opened fire on an enemy tank that had been raining gunfire on an allied tank. Jacobson then smashed the enemy tank's gun turret and singlehandedly subdued another blockhouse.
With his fearless actions, Jacobson destroyed 16 enemy positions and took out about 75 enemy fighters. Hill 382 was finally captured by the allies after four days, and Jacobson's efforts were an essential contribution to that victory.
The Battle of Iwo Jima didn't end until May 26, 1945, and it was the bloodiest in Marine Corps history. Aside from Jacobson, 26 other Marines and sailors earned the nation's top honor for valor for their actions.
After Iwo Jima, Jacobson was promoted to corporal. When the war ended a few months later, he returned to the U.S. and was assigned to Marine Corps Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
He received the Medal of Honor on Oct. 5, 1945, from President Harry S. Truman during a White House ceremony. Thirteen other men received the award that day, including fellow Marines Cpl. Hershel Williams and Lt. Col. Gregory Boyington.
Jacobson was discharged from the Marines in December 1945 but reenlisted the following April. He was discharged again in 1949 and spent a few years as a civilian before rejoining again in 1953. At that point, he went to Officer Candidates School to earn his commission, which he received in March 1954.
Jacobson was assigned to Camp Pendleton, California, before being sent to Japan, where he commanded a company of the 9th Marines. He met his wife, Joan, while he was there. According to a 2000 article in the Newsday newspaper out of Melville, New York, she was working for the Defense Department in Okinawa as a schoolteacher. They married in 1962 and had three daughters.
When the couple returned to the states, Jacobson spent several years serving at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina. He went back to Okinawa for a stint before retiring out of LeJeune as a major in 1967. Before he did so, however, he completed one more milestone: he earned the high school diploma he never got as a teen.
Jacobson lived in New Jersey and sold real estate for many years before moving his family to Florida in 1987. His wife said he rarely talked about the war unless someone asked him about it. However, in those later years, he did spend time talking with schools and veterans' groups, and he remained active in the veteran community.
Jacobson died Aug 20, 2000, at a hospital in Port Charlotte, Florida, not far from his home in North Port. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
In his honor, the Douglas T. Jacobson State Veterans' Nursing Home in Port Charlotte was named for him.

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Worried about inflation eroding your retirement? 4 solutions to build a hedge

By BENJAMIN J. KOVAL

Exiting the workforce and beginning the next chapter of your life can be infinitely exciting. After a long career, the free time afforded by retirement offers a great opportunity to check off long-awaited bucket list items and develop closer relationships with friends and loved ones.
You might also stop setting alarms in the morning, making sure that you get the right amount of sleep to propel you toward your dreams. There is, however, one area in which you might not want to hit the snooze button: your finances.
Along with improvements in science and medicine have come increases in life expectancy, extending the length of retirement for the average modern worker. While it’s great to be around longer to pursue passions and spend time with others, longer life expectancy does present a challenge. Retirees used to plan for 10 to 15 years of retirement, but it’s no longer strange for someone to live to 100, meaning that retirement could potentially last 30 or more years.
Prolonged retirement increases longevity risk, defined as the chance of running out of money while still alive. And inflation is your enemy when it comes to making your money last. Inflation decreases the purchasing power of the dollar, which can create a serious problem for retirees living on fixed incomes and retirement accounts they’ve built over the course of their careers.
Inflation is now at a 40-year peak and can cause specific headaches for those entering retirement as they’re forced to deplete savings faster than they might have under lower inflation rates. But fortunately, there are factors that may alleviate some of the pain points when it comes to inflation in retirement:
Contributions to your retirement accounts early in your career. You can begin planning for retirement too late, but you can never begin too early.
Some investment vehicles designed to build retirement assets for your future include employer-sponsored 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs (Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees-Individual Retirement Account) and SEP-IRAs (Simplified Employee Pension-Individual Retirement Account) plans.
Traditional 401(k) and IRA accounts grow tax-deferred, meaning that contributions will be made with pre-tax money, to be taxed upon distribution after retirement. Roth accounts are distributed and grow tax-free if all IRS regulations are followed, but initial contributions are made with post-tax dollars. However, these accounts grow with compound interest, which Albert Einstein called the eighth wonder of the world. Compound interest means you will accrue accelerated interest through time based on your growing account balance, so taking the time to feed those accounts when you’re younger can be extremely rewarding.
Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment when calculating benefits. Some years, Social Security provides a cost-of-living adjustment or COLA, based on the federal government’s Consumer Price Index called the CPI-W. In 2021, Social Security beneficiaries received a 5.9% COLA, which was the highest increase since 1982, but it’s important to remember that COLA may not always cover increased costs. For example, beneficiaries received no increase in 2015 despite an incremental 0.12% inflation rate.
Annuities. Annuities are contracts between buyers and issuing insurance companies that guarantee annuity payments based on the insurance carrier’s claims-paying ability as well as the terms of the contract. An annuity can provide you with a steady income, which is especially important in retirement, when other sources of income may be limited. Annuities also may offer some protection against inflation. Whether an annuity owner collects their retirement income through annuitization or a lifetime income rider, they generally will have a choice of either receiving a level income amount (which doesn’t increase or decrease) or an increasing income option that will increase at a rate tied to an index, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The level income option will provide you with a set monthly payment for life, but it won’t keep up with inflation. On the other hand, the increasing income option will increase your payments each year to help offset the effects of inflation and, in some cases, exceed the inflation rate.
Fixed index annuities and variable annuities with lifetime income riders are two types of annuities that offer protection against inflation. Some annuities are specifically designed to combat inflation by offering a COLA. With annuities that offer a COLA, the predetermined payments may be adjusted to account for inflation. Keep in mind that annuities aren’t for everyone and the yields and costs
involved should be reviewed carefully with a qualified and unbiased advisor.
A diversified portfolio. Your portfolio should be a mix of different assets, such as stocks and bonds, and the allocation should be determined by your risk tolerance, time horizon, cash-flow needs and tax strategy. The further away you are from needing the money, the more stock exposure you can have in your portfolio.
Some of your fixed income can be in Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS), which are similar to traditional Treasury bonds, issued and backed by the U.S. government. TIPS offer protection against inflation because the principal portion changes with inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). A diversified portfolio also should include growth and value stocks, along with mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Also, consider companies that pay dividends regularly, which can help weather volatility.
Retirement is to be enjoyed. Those are hard-earned years. Don’t let inflation hamper or derail them. Plan and save well to put yourself in a good position.

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Looking to invest in real estate? 3 options you may not have considered

By CLINT COONS

If you’ve considered diving into real estate investing, you’re in good company.
A significant percentage of home sales in the first half of this year were driven by investors rather than by people who planned to live in the homes. In the first quarter of the year, investors accounted for 20.1 percent of homes that were bought, and in the second quarter that still held strong at 19.4 percent, according to a report from Redfin, a real estate brokerage.
For perspective, in the pre-pandemic days of 2019, investors’ share of quarterly homes sales hovered around 15 percent.
Clearly, plenty of people see real estate investing as profitable. But here’s something worth knowing. While buying a single-family home or a multi-family complex as an investment and watching the rent money come in is certainly a viable option, there are other ways to invest in real estate, some of which may not come immediately to mind for the average investor.
Let’s take a look at three:
Airbnb. One reason operating an Airbnb is worth considering is the tax advantages it brings. With traditional rental property – such as single-family units – you cannot take losses from your real estate and offset them against the income you generate from your W-2 job. Something called passive loss rules prevents this. An Airbnb is different, though, because the people who rent space from you aren’t staying for the long haul as they do with a six-month or one-year lease. Typically, an Airbnb stay is seven days or less, which means the Airbnb is considered an active business. Without getting into all the legalities here, what that means is that most likely you will be able to deduct your losses for depreciation and for the initial cost to furnish and equip these places. That can mean substantial tax deductions and savings.
House hacking. This is sort of a case of having your home and renting it, too. With house hacking, you purchase a house with multiple dwelling units—either apartments or individual rooms—and you live in the property while letting tenants pay most or all of your costs. The rent you bring in from tenants pays your mortgage. And while you’re paying down the mortgage, of course, you can borrow the equity back out to buy another property. House hacking is an especially nice strategy for younger investors who are making their first foray into real estate and don’t have the money needed to buy investment properties.
Mobile home investing. One of the key differences between mobile home investing and investing in traditional housing is that with mobile homes, the land and the home do not necessarily go together. Some mobile home investors own the land and don’t own the trailers. The tenants bring their own and rent the pads. In other cases, such as in my own mobile home property, we own both the pads and the trailers, and we rent both out to the tenants. But for business purposes, we separate them. The pads are in one limited liability company, which also owns the land. We put the trailers in a different LLC. Then we lease both of them to an operating company, which deals with the tenants. The reason we do this, of course, is that we want to separate the land from the trailers and from the tenant. If anything happens, we’ve minimized our overall risk exposure.
Each of these options could be a great investment for you, but all of them come with their own set of legal questions, such as how best to structure your business and what might result in a tax deduction – and what doesn’t. Before you get started – and potentially make mistakes you’ll likely regret – seek assistance from an attorney skilled in the ins and outs of real estate investing.
Then dive in. Real estate investing can be lucrative for those who come to grips with how to best manage it and profit from it.

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5 proof positive tips for having a healthier lifestyle

TUSTIN, Calif. – The American Psychological Association reports that over 57% of people surveyed want to lose weight, and 50% say they want to live a healthier lifestyle. Despite that, they feel they don't have the willpower to do it, with only 1 in 5 achieving those goals. The good news is that more people can live healthier lifestyles if they have the right ideas to help them get there.
"It’s more than just willpower that is needed to help people live a healthier lifestyle,” says Dr. TJ Tsay, the medical director at Ageless MD. "People need to know what to do to obtain their goals. People have more willpower than they think if they have a clear plan of what needs to be done."
Dr. Tsay has not only helped many people obtain their healthy lifestyle goals, but he also stands out to those who see him. While he's in his 50s, he looks like he's in his 30s. He has made having a healthy lifestyle a top priority and is happy to share with others the tips that can help them do the same.
Here are 5 proof positive tips for having a healthier lifestyle (just in time for self-improvement month):
Epiphany. There needs to be an eye-opening moment that leads to change. When there is a realization that you need to have a balanced lifestyle, things begin to move in the right direction. There has to be a defining moment in one’s life to make you want to create change. Whether it's being diagnosed with coronary artery disease, uncontrolled diabetes, or ending up in the emergency department for a heart scare. That defining moment is where it all begins.
Control the mind. It’s essential to overcome the mental blocks to achieve a healthier lifestyle. Determine what things are mentally holding you back, and then work through them. Each of those roadblocks can be removed if you do the work to identify them and change the way you think.
Set small goals. Celebrate the victories to keep you going. You don't have to reach a big goal to celebrate along the way. As you continue down the path in the right direction, celebrate the milestones you have. Each of those is leading you to where you want to be.
Time. The longer you stick with it, a healthy lifestyle becomes a part of who you are. Once you have done it enough, it will not feel much like work. It will become like second nature and be how you usually do things. You are working toward creating a new, healthier, everyday lifestyle.
Get support. Find a community or role model that keeps you motivated and accountable. Those who have support tend to have more success. Whether you join a support group, work with a personal coach, or buddy up with friends who want to make changes, you will find it helps keep you going in the right direction and strengthens your willpower. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that when you work out with a partner, you feel more motivated and adventurous and will be more consistent.
"If you don't have your health, you are limited in what you can accomplish." added Dr. Tsay. "It's never too late to change your life to take you down a healthier path."
Dr. Tsay is committed to living a healthy lifestyle. He was motivated to do so to have more energy to spend more time with his kids, which was his defining moment. When he was diagnosed with a sleep disorder, it motivated him further to lose weight, dropping 35 pounds. Some things that have helped him to be healthier over the years include testosterone replacement therapy, clean eating, limiting alcohol and sugar intake, and exercising 5-6 days per week. He also loads up on antioxidants daily like vitamin C (orally tablets and vitamin C serum) and wears SPF 50 and above sunscreen and sunglasses outdoors, so the squinting doesn't lead to wrinkles.
Ageless MD, located in Tustin, Calif., offices a full range of cutting-edge and advanced aesthetic procedures. They serve Orange County and the surrounding area. Their expertise is in non-invasive face and skin rejuvenation, including addressing wrinkles, acne, and atrophy. They offer a nonsurgical facelift, nonsurgical noselift, eyelid tightening, nonsurgical butt-lift, and more. The office has laser and energy devices to tighten loose skin, lighten pigmentation, address brown spots, etc. Additionally, they offer injectables, dermal fillers, double chin treatment, body procedures, and special procedures for men, including penile enhancement and delivering treatments for erectile dysfunction and hair loss. To learn more or schedule an appointment, visit the site at: https://www.ageless-md.com

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He has quite an appetite
Does the name Joey Chestnut ring a bell? He’s the guy who keeps winning those hot dog eating contests that take place in Coney Island each Fourth of July. Apparently frankfurters aren’t the only tasty delight that piques his interest. He holds 55 eating records having devoured record breaking amounts of pork brain tacos, Jalapeno Poppers and even Twinkies, to name a few. And, no, he apparently does not hold the record for eating chestnuts. However, most recently he broke the record for popcorn when he downed 32 twenty-four ounce servings of popcorn in just 8 minutes at a contest held in Indianapolis.

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Bulls will be bulls
A rather angry bull escaped from a farm near Tel Aviv, Israel recently, made its way into town and wound up in a local bank chasing employees and customers through its hallways. The authorities wound up getting a local veterinarian to shoot the angry critter with a tranquillizer dart. The farmer showed up after about 30 minutes of mayhem, tied it up and managed to take his bull back to the farm. A security camera video of the incident has gone viral around the world.

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A monster of a moth
The state of Washington’s Department of Agriculture [WDA] is on a moth hunt but it’s not your normal, pesky moths that eat holes in your favorite woolen sweater. This moth is the humongous, giant Atlas moth with a nearly 10-inch wing span. Despite the fact that the Atlas moth has never before been seen in the U.S. and that it makes its home in tropical climates, one was spotted in Bellevue, WA recently. WDA entomologist Sven Spichiger is quoted in a department news release saying "This is a 'gee-whiz' type of insect because it is so large. Even if you aren't on the lookout for insects, this is the type that people get their phones out and take a picture of -- they are that striking." In fact, that’s exactly what a University of Washington professor did when he found the behemoth of a moth clinging to the wall of his garage one day. He pulled out his phone and snapped away.

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Housecalls

With Dr. Bala Simon associate professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Q. What causes round patchy spots of hair loss, and how is it treated?
A. About 2% of the population will develop round, well-defined circular bald patches, known as alopecia areata, at some point in their life. Exactly how or why alopecia areata develops is not clear. Children who develop this condition before puberty are more likely to develop more widespread and persistent hair loss.
Alopecia also can cover the entire scalp (alopecia totalis) or extend over the entire body (alopecia universalis).
Researchers believe alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease in which your body attacks the roots of the hair follicles deep inside the skin, inflaming them although there is no redness and little or no pain. Unlike other autoimmune diseases, the hair follicles are not completely destroyed and could re-grow if the inflammation subsides; however, the longer the hair is gone, the more difficult it is to restore it.
Treatments include corticosteroid creams applied to the bald patches, which is only successful for the very mildest cases, injecting corticosteroid solutions into the bald patches and taking corticosteroids in a pill form. Visit with your doctor if you are concerned, and to see what options might be available for you.

Q. What are some benefits of sex?
A. In studies of couples in committed relationships, scientists found that having sex once a week makes both partners happier. The hormone oxytocin, released during sex, leads to feelings of affection, closeness and intimacy, which helps partners bond and develop a stable, strong relationship.
Adults in committed relationships who have more sex are less likely to be depressed or take medicine for mental health issues. The release of a surge of oxytocin and endorphins in both men and women, triggered by an orgasm, dulls pain, including migraine headaches, reduces anxiety and relaxes you, which can help you sleep more easily.
Sex can be as good for you as moderate exercise, increasing your heart rate as much as a slow bike ride or a fast walk. Women who have sex twice a week are less likely to get heart disease than those who have it once a month.
People who had sex twice a week had more cold-fighting antibodies than those who had sex less often, and couples who have an active sex life in middle age are more likely to continue to do so as they get older, which is linked to health and happiness.

Q. What are some signs that your body is aging faster than it should be?
A. If your walking pace slows while you’re in your 40s, it may signal that you are aging faster than normal. Walking is one of the best and easiest forms of exercise. Start with five minutes a day and work up to 30 minutes, trying to work up to 100 steps a minute.
Those over 50 may notice brown sun spots in their face, arms and hands. Most are harmless but see your doctor if they change shape, bleed, have a rough border or are black.
Other symptoms of aging include dry skin, bruising more easily, problems climbing stairs, a larger waistline (more than 35 inches for women and more than 40 for men) as body fat tends to shift to the belly. Grip strength usually begins declining in your 50s. For women, irregular periods usually begin in their late 30s or early 40s. Women whose periods suddenly become very different or painful, especially in their 30s, should visit with their doctor.
Eye problems, including trouble seeing things close-up, cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration, also arrive after the age of 40.

Q. Who is at risk of getting shingles?
A. About a third of all Americans will develop shingles, which is caused by the varicella-zoster virus — the same virus that causes the chickenpox. Chickenpox causes hundreds of itchy blisters and lasts five days to a week, while shingles causes painful rashes, blisters and nerve pain and can last about a month. After you’ve had chickenpox, the virus remains dormant and can later trigger shingles, which is more common in people over 50.
Shingles can also affect the eyes, possibly leading to glaucoma, scarring or blindness. While rare, shingles also can lead to brain swelling, partial paralysis of the face or hearing damage.
An antiviral medicine can be given to reduce the pain and possibly get rid of shingles sooner if it’s taken within the first three days after the rash appears.
Two doses of the Shingrix vaccine taken two to six months apart can reduce the chances of getting shingles by more than 90%. The Centers for Disease Control recommends the vaccine for healthy adults 50 or older and those 19 years old or older who are immunocompromised. Exceptions include those who have shingles, are pregnant or a test shows they have immunity.

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Medal of Honor: Navy Machinist Charles Willey

By KATIE LANGE

Navy Machinist Charles H. Willey never expected to have to save the lives of his crewmates during a peacetime mission, but that's exactly what he did during an unexpected tsunami that happened while his ship was anchored near the Dominican Republic in 1916. He paid a physical price for his actions, but they also earned him the Medal of Honor.
Willey was born on March 31, 1889, in Boston. Not much is known about his life until August 1908, when he enlisted in the Navy. Six years later, on Dec. 28, 1914, he was appointed to the warrant officer rank of machinist, according to Congressional records. That same year, he married a woman named Grace.
By August 1916, Willey was serving aboard the armored cruiser USS Memphis, which had changed its name from the USS Tennessee earlier in the year. The ship had been in the Caribbean and was sent to Santo Domingo — the modern-day Dominican Republic — in late July for a peacekeeping patrol off the rebellion-torn republic's shores.
A Freak Incident
The area was known for dangerous weather, so the crew was prepared to move to deeper waters if there were any weather threats. But on Aug. 29, bad weather came without a warning.
At about 3:45 p.m., the ship's commanding officer thought the swell appeared to be increasing, according to an account from Navy Lt. Cmdr. Thomas Withers Jr., who was on the ship at the time. So, sailors in the engine room, including Willey, readied the ship's boilers and engines to get underway. But before the ship was able to move further out to sea, waves reported to be up to 75 feet high — unaccompanied by wind — started smashing into the ship without warning.
"Wave followed wave at intervals of perhaps 30-40 seconds," Withers recounted in a journal. "These waves were so large, and their faces became so steep that they simply flowed over the ship."
The ship was being dragged toward the beach, and anyone who was below deck was trapped in a precarious position. In the engine room, boilers and steam pipes burst open. Willey was scalded by steam as thousands of tons of water came down on him. However, he remained in the room in near darkness as long as the engines would turn. He left his post only when he was ordered to.
When the boilers exploded, Willey and two other men rushed into the rooms where the boilers were kept. Despite their injuries, they were able to drag and carry the men trapped there into rooms where the air was breathable.
Throughout the evening, lifelines from Memphis to the shore were set up to get many of the men to safety. However, 43 men died during the incident, and many more were seriously injured, including Willey.
A 1932 Boston Globe article said Willey was unconscious in a Washington, D.C., hospital for nearly three months after the tragedy. It took him 18 months to fully recover, the Globe said.
Willey had hoped to return to the seas, but that wasn't in the cards. He was medically retired on July 30, 1917, according to a Congressional report. By then, he lived in East Concord, New Hampshire. He and his wife, Grace, went on to have three children: Richard, Doris and Walter.
A Ship's Demise, a Sailor's Honor
After the incident, the USS Memphis didn't appear to be damaged above the waterline, but below deck was a different story. The hull was crushed by rocks and coral, and the lower decks were flooded, leaving the ship stranded in shallow water. That's where the wreck remained until 1937, when ship-breaking capabilities became available to salvage it.
An investigation later revealed that a tropical disturbance had passed south of the area the night before in the incident, but it didn't cause any other markers of severe weather except the heavy swells that caused the tragedy.
Sixteen years later, Willey was given the Medal of Honor for his bravery that day. The medal was presented to him on Aug. 19, 1932, by Rear Adm. Clarence S. Kempff at the Navy Yard in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Two of his shipmates also received the honor; then-Lt. Claud A. Jones and Chief Machinist's Mate George William Rud, who died during the incident. The three men were some of the last to receive the medal for peacetime actions.
At the time of the medal ceremony, Willey worked at a poultry farm in the Concord area, the Boston Globe said. He also did some technical and mechanical writing for periodicals.
Willey died on Sept. 11, 1977, in Manchester, New Hampshire. He was buried at Maple Grove Cemetery in Concord.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation,

Ask Rusty – Younger Widow Asks About Collecting Survivor Benefits

Dear Rusty: My husband died several years ago in 2019. It is my understanding that I should be receiving some portion of his Social Security payments. However, when I called to notify Social Security that he passed, they told me not to touch his last check because it would be taken back. I was 8 years younger than my husband, so I am still only 58. I also have always made more income than he did. How do I find out if there is some sort of residual that I should still be receiving? Signed: Widowed Wife
Dear Widowed Wife: The reason you were told “not to touch” your husband’s last check is because benefits are not payable for the month a person dies. Social Security pays benefits in the month following the month they are earned, so someone who dies before month ends isn’t entitled to benefits for that month. Social Security will, indeed, take that payment back. As a survivor, you aren’t entitled to those benefits because they were awarded to your deceased husband and will be taken back because he didn’t live the full month.
As for any benefits you are entitled to as your husband’s survivor, you cannot collect a monthly survivor benefit until you are at least 60 years old (unless you are disabled, in which case you can collect as early as age 50). Sixty is the earliest age to collect survivor benefits, but claimed at age 60 the survivor benefit will be reduced by 28.5% from what it would be at your full retirement age (FRA) of 67. Survivor benefits reach maximum at your FRA, but taken any earlier will be reduced by .396% per month early, to a maximum reduction of 28.5%. You are, however, entitled to a one-time lump sum death benefit of $255, for which you can contact Social Security at 1.800.772.1213 (or at your local SS office).
You should also be aware that taking any monthly SS benefit before reaching your full retirement age of 67 will subject you to Social Security’s “earnings test,” which limits how much you can earn before they take back some (or all) of your benefits. The earnings limit changes annually but for 2022 the limit is $19,560 and, if that is exceeded, SS will take back benefits equal to $1 for every $2 over the limit (they “take back” by withholding future benefit payments or requiring you to repay in a lump sum). If you’re working full time and earning substantially more than the annual earnings limit, it’s usually not prudent (and may not even be possible) to claim your monthly survivor benefit before your full retirement age.
From what you’ve shared, it doesn’t appear that you are currently entitled to any Social Security survivor benefit, other than the one-time death benefit of $255. You may consider claiming a survivor benefit when you are sixty, but your work status and earnings level may restrict or eliminate your ability to collect a monthly survivor benefit at that time. Once you reach your FRA, however, the earnings test no longer applies, and you can apply for any benefit available to you. When the earnings test goes away at your FRA, you can also choose to take your smaller survivor benefit first and let your personal SS retirement benefit grow, to maximum at age 70 if you wish.

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History Matters
The Grateful American Book Prize

In 1624, the Dutch West India Company formed the colony of New Amsterdam; later, the name was changed to New York—to honor the Duke of York--and it emerged as America’s first capital in 1788.
According to History.com, the Dutch colony “grew to encompass all of present-day New York City and parts of Long Island, Connecticut and New Jersey. A successful Dutch settlement in the colony [also] grew up on the southern tip of Manhattan Island and was christened New Amsterdam.”
An oft repeated tale is that the Dutch purchased Manhattan for $24 worth of guilders and trinkets in 1646, but the actual transaction occurred—in 1626-- between Peter Minuit, a Dutch agent for the West India company, and the Native Americans.
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America by Russell Shorto.

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The American Revolution might have commenced April 19,1775, but by September 9, 1776, the Continental Congress had officially changed the name of the country from the United Colonies to the “United States of America.” The declaration stated, “That in all continental commissions, and other instruments, where, heretofore, the words ‘United Colonies’ have been used, the stile be altered for the future to the ‘United States’.”
“A resolution by Richard Henry Lee, which had been presented to Congress on June 7 and approved on July 2, 1776, issued the resolve, ‘That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States….’ As a result, John Adams thought July 2 would be celebrated as “the most memorable epoch in the history of America.” Instead, the day has been largely forgotten in favor of July 4, when Jefferson’s edited Declaration of Independence was adopted,” according to History.com.
For more information, the Grateful American Book Prize recommends A Young People's History of the United States by author Howard Zinn and Rebecca Stefoff.

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During the American Revolution, Great Britain’s navy was the most powerful maritime force in the world--until a squadron of its warships encountered an American fleet commanded by Captain Oliver Hazard Perry. On September 10, 1813, an English armada faced off with Perry in the Battle of Lake Erie.
History.com notes that “Perry’s flagship Lawrence was reduced to a defenseless wreck. He then transferred to the Niagara and sailed directly into the British line, firing broadsides and forcing the British to surrender. Perry had won a complete victory at the cost of 27 Americans killed and 96 wounded; British casualties were 40 dead and 94 wounded. After the battle, Perry sent a famous dispatch to U.S. General William Henry Harrison that read, ‘We have met the enemy, and they are ours’.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends The Battle of Lake Erie: One Young American's Adventure in the War of 1812 by David Vining

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Splooting squirrels
It gets hot and humid in New York City come summertime but the city’s most prolific inhabitants -- its squirrels -- have found a way to keep cool. It’s called “splooting.” There they are on their stomachs on the cool ground, limbs spread out in the coolest possible position. Lest you think the words “sploot” and “splooting” are the result of someone’s overactive imagination, check out the definition at Dictionary.com: “Sploot” is slang for the pose four-legged animals make when lying down in that position. It makes for a good snapshot and New Yorkers have been flooding online social media sites with iPhone pictures of splooting squirrels all summer long.

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A hairy story
Asha Mandela of Clermont, FL and her 19 foot, 6.5 inch head of hair made it into the Guinness Book of World Records in 2009. In the ensuing 13 years her locks continued to grow and have now reached the 110 foot mark. It’s a good thing she has a hairdresser for a husband because she says she is not going to get a haircut anytime soon. She calls her mane, Cobra, because as she told the folks at Guinness: “I don't like the term dreadlocks because I don't think there's anything [to] dread about my locks ... When I'm ready to go into my sleep chamber with my Cobra baby, I would have them tied up in a little sack and we cuddle and talk to each other."

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What’s in your mollusk?
Sometimes you get more than you bargained for. Take the Overland family of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. They were out for a seafood dinner and dad, Scott, was enjoying an order of northern quahog clams when he got quite a surprise; one of those tasty mollusks came with a bonus-- a pretty but rare purple pearl. Scott said he thought he’d “bit down on a piece of shell or something." Like many of us, he thought pearls were only found in oysters. However, shellfish expert Tim Parsons says they are also found in clams and not as rare as you might think. He says diners report findings two or three times a year. How much is it worth? It’s anybody’s guess, but surely it can bring in three, four or five hundred dollars or more.

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Superbugs are getting stronger. Our defenses are getting weaker.
By David Thomas and Emily Wheeler

Drug-resistant infections pose a growing threat to public health. We're not prepared to meet it.
That's because the pipeline of new antibiotics to fend off superbugs has fallen off. Superbugs are strains of bacteria and fungi that have developed immunity to the medicines used to kill them. Antimicrobials are critical tools in our fight against these pathogens.
The problem is that we're not developing nearly enough of them and many of the medicines we have are no longer effective. It's imperative that we act now to bolster our defenses against these serious and life-threatening infections.
There are only 64 antibacterial therapeutics currently in clinical development. That's compared to 1,300 treatments in development for various cancers.
The antibacterial pipeline is shrinking. In the last 35 years, just one antibacterial with a novel way to target bacteria has been approved.
Meanwhile, superbugs continue to grow stronger. New research estimates they claimed 1.27 million lives in 2019 -- more than twice the estimated number of annual deaths just five years prior.
Why is our development of new antibacterials declining while new pathogens are on the rise?
The problem is not the lack of success in developing new treatments. In the past decade, antibacterial drugs in clinical trials were twice as likely to move from early human testing to FDA approval versus drugs for all other diseases.
Instead, the problem is a misaligned market for antimicrobials.
Take the experience of the biotech firm Achaogen, which secured FDA approval in 2018 for its novel antibiotic plazomicin after 15 years of development.
While important for the overall armamentarium, novel antimicrobials are used sparingly to prevent pathogens from developing resistance to our strongest medications. As a result, clinicians hold novel antibiotics in reserve, using them judiciously to preserve effectiveness. That means companies like Achaogen don't sell large quantities of the drugs they develop -- or earn back the capital they invested in research and development.
Achaogen filed for bankruptcy in 2019. In the three years since, several other small biotech companies have seen a similar fate.
The market conditions are so discouraging that most large biopharmaceutical companies have pulled out of the sector entirely. These dynamics are causing investors to vacate the antimicrobial sector, too.
If nothing changes, 10 million people worldwide could die of drug-resistant infections annually by 2050 -- surpassing cancer as a leading cause of death.
Government intervention and incentives can help change the game for private companies to develop these medications.
One solution is the bipartisan, bicameral Pioneering Antimicrobial Subscriptions To End Upsurging Resistance (PASTEUR) Act, which would change the current dose-based payment model for certain antimicrobials. Under PASTEUR, the government would offer developers of critically needed antimicrobials between $750 million and $3 billion up front in exchange for access to their medications once they hit the market. This approach provides developers with the predictable return on investment needed to fuel much-needed antimicrobial innovation.
Another bill under consideration is the Developing an Innovative Strategy for Antimicrobial Resistant Microorganisms (DISARM) Act. The legislation would increase Medicare reimbursements for certain antimicrobials, ensuring patients have access to the best novel antibiotics for their individual needs.
Superbugs are here to stay. We have policy solutions on the table that can help prevent them from taking a growing number of lives. It's long past time to take action.
David Thomas, MS, is vice president of industry research at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization. Emily Wheeler is director of infectious disease policy at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization. A version of this piece originally ran in MedPage Today.

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4 hidden benefits of hospice care, making the final months more comfortable

While some people are more aware today of the many elements hospice care involves, others believe it’s only applicable for the final days of a terminally ill person’s life. According to figures compiled by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, a large percentage of patients access hospice care late in the course of an illness.
But there are some hidden benefits about hospice care that people may not know about, and those can enhance the patient’s quality of life if taken advantage of much earlier, says Debbie Johnston (www.debbiejohnston.com), author of The Hospice Handbook: Nurse Debbie’s Compassionate Guide To Navigating End-Of-Life Care.
“Society often associates hospice care with the last days, and families often use hospice as a last resort when a loved one takes a turn for the worse or their care becomes unmanageable,” Johnston says. “But hospice professionals hear families say all the time, ‘If I had only known all of what hospice entailed,’ they would have done it for their loved one much sooner.
“The underlying philosophy of hospice care is to help people maintain a comfortable and dignified quality of life while looking at their circumstances with clarity and complete caring, and it also takes into consideration their family members. The wide range of care is a plus for the whole family.”
Johnston offers the following overlooked or hidden benefits of hospice care:
Expressive therapy. This is an integral part of most hospice programs and includes music therapy, massage therapy, art therapy, narrative therapy and pet therapy. “All these interactive treatments engage the physical body and the mind and promote well-being,” Johnston says. “It took us a long time in the West to truly accept that the mind, spirit and body are all connected. They’ve known this in Eastern civilization for a much longer time. If you work on improving one aspect of health, you are actually helping your overall well-being.”
It’s more than end-of-life care. Johnston points out that hospice care isn’t just for the last weeks of someone’s life; it can be extended over several months. “For people with a chronic illness diagnosis such as congestive heart failure, cancer, dementia or other diseases, they have an opportunity for quality-of-life care, making them more comfortable for an extended period,” she says. “They may live for a long time with the illness, and they could benefit from getting the collaborative care available to them long before they are in crisis or their last days.”
Supporting the whole family. Seeing a loved one decline and near death is hard on family members, and Johnston says quality hospice care includes support services for them as well. “Hospice aims to bring quality of life and comfort of all types to the whole family unit. It provides professionals like social workers and spiritual care counselors who help family members through a tough time. The hospice team educates the family and helps them to understand the process and what their loved one is experiencing.”
Continuous care. One of the lesser-known services offered through hospice is continuous care, or crisis care. It’s one of the four levels of hospice care included in Medicare Hospice Benefits and required by Medicare Hospice regulations. The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization explains continuous care as “predominantly nursing care, covered for at least eight hours, and up to 24 hours…“The purpose of continuous home care is to achieve palliation (helping the patient feel more comfortable and improve their quality of life) and management of acute medical symptoms. Continuous home care is only furnished during brief periods of crisis and as necessary to maintain the terminally ill patient at home.”
The two primary benefits of continuous care, Johnston says, are allowing patients to comfortably live out the remainder of their life at home, and provide families with access to a team of dedicated individuals who specialize in this level of care.
“There’s a trend towards patients wishing to remain at home for the remainder of their days,” she says. “This intensive level of medical support removes the burden of hands-on care from the family and lets them be exactly what they are in the patient’s life – son, daughter, spouse, grandchild, etc.”
“Hospice care is a validation of our dignity,” Johnston says, “and a celebration of what it means to be human. It’s love in action.”

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Medal of Honor: Army Staff Sgt. Edward Kaneshiro
By KATIE LANGE
When Army Staff Sgt. Edward Noboru Kaneshiro learned his fellow soldiers were in trouble in Vietnam, he didn't hesitate to take on the enemy alone. His fearlessness and courage saved his comrades and led to mission success. More than five decades after that feat, the award Kaneshiro initially earned was upgraded to the Medal of Honor.
Kaneshiro was born July 22, 1928, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Japanese immigrants. He was the 8th of 16 children – nine boys and seven girls – and grew up working on his family's farm. He graduated from Leilehua High School in June 1946 and worked for several civilian employers before enlisting in the Army on April 2, 1959, four months before Hawaii became a state.
The 30-year-old was initially stationed on Oahu with the 25th Infantry Division and served in noncombat tours in Japan and South Korea. At some point, Kaneshiro married his girlfriend, Mitsuko, and they had five children.
Kaneshiro was eventually reassigned to the 9th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division. In July 1966, he deployed to Vietnam.
Undaunted Courage
Kaneshiro was about four months into his deployment when he found himself as the leader of a squadron that was part of a search-and-destroy mission along Vietnam's central coast. They were trying to rout the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters from the Kim Son Valley.
Spotlight: Commemorating the Vietnam War
On the morning of Dec. 1, 1966, their platoon came upon a village. Two of the platoon's squads had deployed to its center, while Kaneshiro's squad scouted more open terrain to the village's east. No one in the platoon knew the village was heavily fortified with a bunker and concealed trench system that was harboring a massive force of enemy fighters.
Those fighters eventually burst from the trenches, laying heavy machine gun and small arms fire on the U.S. soldiers in the village center. The attack killed the platoon leader and its point man, wounded four others and pinned down the rest of the soldiers.
Kaneshiro and his squad heard the assault and moved toward the sounds of gunfire. The staff sergeant saw that if anyone was going to survive, the fire from the trench had to be stopped. He ordered his men take cover, then crawled forward to attack the enemy alone, armed with only six grenades and his M-16 rifle.
While flattened to the ground, Kaneshiro threw his first grenade from the trench wall into an opening in the bunker, which took out the machine gunner who was firing at the pinned-down Americans. He then jumped into the trench and went to work. Over a distance of about 115 feet, Kaneshiro took out one enemy group with his rifle and two others with his remaining grenades. By the end of his sweep, the pinned-down Americans who were still in fighting shape were able to get back up and move their dead and wounded.
Thanks to Kaneshiro's incredible bravery, the squads were able to get to safety and reorganize as a platoon, which led to many saved lives and a successful withdrawal from the village.
Kaneshiro survived the ordeal but unfortunately didn't survive the war. He was shot and killed on March 6, 1967, as he tried to help a wounded comrade during an ambush, according to an article in the Honolulu Advertiser. He was 38.
Before his death, Kaneshiro had been awarded the Silver Star for his actions in the Kim Son Valley. According to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, he was being considered for the Medal of Honor at the time. Instead, his Silver Star was upgraded to the military's second highest award, the Distinguished Service Cross, in October 1967.
A Long-Awaited Honor
Over the past few years, the U.S. military has reviewed past service member awards to see if any should be upgraded, particularly for minorities who may have been overlooked due to bias and bigotry. In December 2021, the National Defense Authorization Act passed by Congress waived the time limit that required Medals of Honor be awarded within five years of the combat action.
That legislation paved the way for something Kaneshiro's children had been requesting since the 1990s — that their father's Distinguished Service Cross be upgraded to the Medal of Honor. They finally got the call approving the upgrade in June.
"My whole body was shaking," Kaneshiro's eldest daughter, Naomi Viloria, told Stars and Stripes newspaper of the call from President Joseph R. Biden. "Sometimes I try to imagine what went through — like, would I be able to do that? It's very inspiring that he was just fearless. Or maybe he had fear, but he did it anyway. That takes a lot of courage, to do that alone. Since he was so humble, I believe in his mind he was just serving his country."
Unfortunately, Kaneshiro's wife, Mitsuko, died a few weeks before the news came.
On July 5, 2022, Biden awarded the Medal of Honor, posthumously, to Kaneshiro. It was received by his youngest son, John, who was 4 months old when his father deployed to Vietnam. John Kaneshiro followed in his dad's footsteps by joining the Army; he reached the rank of master sergeant before retirement.
"I'm very proud to accept the Medal of Honor on behalf of my family and just say, ‘Yes, dad, this is for you,'" John Kaneshiro said.
Over the decades, Kaneshiro has been remembered across the military community. A housing complex at Fort Detrick, Maryland, was named in honor of Kaneshiro in 1998. He was also inducted into the Gallery of Heroes at Fort DeRussy Army Museum in Honolulu in 2009.
Kaneshiro is buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. His wife was buried beside him a few weeks after the Medal of Honor ceremony.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty - Military Wife Turning 65 Seeks Information About Medicare

Dear Rusty: My husband is 63 and I will be 65 in a few months. He’s retired from the Air Force, so we currently have Tricare Select. As I understand it, I only need to sign up for Medicare Part B, which I think I can do now. Can I do this online, or do I need to go somewhere to enroll? And how do I find the cost? We also currently are enrolled in and pay for FEDVIP for our dental and vision. Is vision handled under Medicare? All our adult life we’ve just used Air Force bases and now we have to pay attention and we don’t know where to start. Any guidance is appreciated. Signed: Retired Military Wife
Dear Military Wife: First, please extend my gratitude to your husband for his military service. I’m happy to assist you with your questions.
With few exceptions (mainly those on active duty and military reservists) TriCare requires that you enroll in Medicare Part B as soon as you are eligible (age 65) to retain your Tricare coverage. If you’re already collecting Social Security, you’ll be automatically enrolled in Medicare Part A and Part B at age 65 and won’t need to do a separate enrollment. If not, enrolling can be easily done online by going to this link: www.ssa.gov/benefits/medicare/. Here you’ll see an explanation of how Medicare works, and you can scroll down to the “Apply for Medicare Only” tab to start your application. You will need to first have your personal “my Social Security” online account set up to apply online for Medicare, which is easy to do at www.ssa.gov/myaccount. You should enroll in Medicare during your Initial Enrollment Period (IEP) which starts 3 months before the month you turn 65 and ends three months after the month you turn 65. So, if you are within 3 months of age 65 you can enroll in Medicare now and your coverage will start in the month you turn 65. Your Medicare coverage will start on the first of the month you turn 65, even if your birthday isn’t until later in the month. If you have any trouble enrolling in Medicare online, you can call Social Security at 1.800.772.1213 to enroll in Medicare.
It’s important to understand Medicare’s various “parts.” Medicare Part A is coverage for inpatient hospitalization services and is free for anyone who is also eligible for Social Security (you don’t need to be collecting SS, only eligible to). Medicare Part B is coverage for outpatient medical services (e.g., doctors, tests, etc.) and there is a monthly premium associated with Part B. The 2022 Part B premium is $170.10 per month and, unless you’re on Social Security, you’ll make arrangements when you enroll in Medicare to pay those premiums separately, usually quarterly. If you’re already collecting Social Security, the Medicare Part B premium will be deducted from your monthly SS payment. When your Medicare coverage starts, Medicare will become the primary payor of your healthcare expenses and TriCare will become secondary payor.
Medicare Part C is an “Advantage” plan obtained through a private insurer and used instead of Part A and Part B. Medicare also has a Part D which is for prescription drug coverage, and which you probably won’t need because TriCare likely covers any prescription drug needs you may have.
Medicare Part B does not provide routine dental services, and only provides very limited vision services (screenings for glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and screening for and treatment of macular degeneration), but routine eye screenings, contacts, eyeglasses, and frames, etc., are not covered. TriCare’s vision coverage is also very limited, so if your current FEDVIP is not adequate for your needs, you may wish to explore your options for private dental and vision coverage.
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Her mind believed and her body achieved
You don’t want to mess with Tamara Walcott of Laurel, MD. She’s the new Guinness World Record holder for cumulative weightlifting, having won the title by lifting a combined total of 1,620.4 pounds in a squat, bench press and the deadlift competition in Manassas, Virginia, sponsored by the World Raw Powerlifting Federation. Tamara lived up to her motto that says, “the impossible is possible.”

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At long last
Raymond Turner lives Fort Worth, Texas, and works at the Cook Children's Hospital there. Christina Sadberry also lives in Fort Worth and frequently takes her 4-year-old son to the very same hospital for medical treatments. One day not so long ago Turner’s wife, Maria, got him one of those DNA kits that tells you about your genetic heritage. And, you guessed it, Ms. Sadberry was a match. So, Maria tracked her down on Facebook and they made a connection. Christina got a chance to see a photo of Mr. Turner and recalled seeing him at the hospital that very same day. The long-lost siblings had finally found each other.

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How sweet it is
That sweet tooth of yours might land you a $78,000 [$100,000 Canadian dollars] a year job. The online company, Candy Funhouse, located in Ontario, Canada, is looking for a Chief Candy Officer whose principal task is to conduct taste tests. The company’s Chief Executive Officer, Jamal Hejazi, had this to say about the job: "Imagine your best memories around candy, and having that every day at work."

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

It is a 432-year-old unsolved mystery: how did 100—or more--colonists disappear on Roanoke Island?
According to History.com, “The Roanoke…colony, the first English settlement in the New World, was founded by English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh in August 1585. The first Roanoke colonists did not fare well, suffering from dwindling food supplies and Indian attacks, and in 1586 they returned to England aboard a ship captained by Sir Francis Drake. In 1587, Raleigh sent out another group of 100 colonists under John White. White returned to England to procure more supplies, but the war with Spain delayed his return to Roanoke. By the time he finally returned on August 18, 1590, everyone had vanished.”
But one clue was left behind: “CROATOAN,” was carved on the wooden barricade of the outpost. White speculated the pilgrims had moved to Croatoan Island fifty miles away, but no survivors were ever found.
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Roanoke: A Novel of the Lost Colony by Sonia Levitin.

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War and other crises beget snooping, scrutinizing, and spying. According to the National Park Service, “Around 1850, [Allan Pinkerton] organized America's first private detective agency specializing in railway thefts. Its motto was ‘We never sleep’ and its logo - a prominent, unblinking eye - came to be associated with all future ‘private eyes.’
Shortly before the beginning of the Civil War, the sleuth was hired to protect President Lincoln—and later--to supervise the Union’s new secret service agency working to detain Confederate agents; by August 23, 1861, he had unveiled a Washington DC espionage network operated by the widowed socialite, Rose O’Neal Greenhow. She was detained, imprisoned briefly, and deported to Virginia, with her daughter, “Little Rose.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Lincoln’s Spymaster: Allan Pinkerton, America's First Private Eye by Samantha Seiple.

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The website of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People [NAACP] remembers Thurgood Marshall as “a civil rights lawyer who used the courts to fight Jim Crow and dismantle segregation in the U.S.”
He was the nation’s first African American Supreme Court Justice, best known for arguing the historic 1954’s Brown v. Board of Education—which affirmed that segregated schools—across the land--were unconstitutional.
Nominated by President Lyndon Johnson, and confirmed 69-11 by the Senate on August 30, 1967, Marshall sat on the bench 24 years, and left a formidable legacy of decisions based on “equal justice for all.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Larry Gibson’s Young Thurgood: The Making of a Supreme Court Justice.

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Medal of Honor: Army Spc. 5 Dennis M. Fujii
By KATIE LANGE
In 1971, Army Spc. 5 Dennis M. Fujii spent five grueling days fending off enemy fighters after his medevac helicopter crashed during a rescue attempt in Laos. During that time, he took care of wounded South Vietnamese soldiers and found a way for U.S. air support to successfully extract him. Fujii recently received the Medal of Honor for those actions, more than 50 years after the ordeal made him a hero.
Fujii was born March 1, 1949, in Hanapepe on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. He was one of six children of Gladys and Charles Fujii, the latter of whom had served in the National Guard.
Growing up, his mother said he liked to hunt in the mountains, which might have helped him survive his ordeal in Vietnam. Fujii played football and basketball, too. According to a 1971 Miami Herald article, his high school coach said he was an athlete with a "burning desire to excel."
Fujii enlisted in the Army in the middle of his senior year of high school in 1968, and he was able to earn his diploma while he was in the service. He deployed to Vietnam that same year as an assistant machine gunner with the 4th Infantry Division.
The young soldier returned home but was deployed again in 1970, this time with the 237th Medical Detachment, 61st Medical Battalion of the 67th Medical Group.
On Feb. 18, 1971, Fujii was serving as the crew chief aboard a medevac helicopter, which was sent to evacuate seriously wounded South Vietnamese soldiers from a raging battle in Laos. Laos borders Vietnam to the northwest, and battles were being waged there because part of the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail went through the country. North Vietnamese troops used the trail to infiltrate South Vietnam.
As Fujii's helicopter tried to land, it was met with heavy enemy fire. Fujii later told reporters that he and a medic began pulling screaming Vietnamese soldiers into the aircraft. But, as it tried to take off, a mortar round exploded through the chopper, causing it to crash during the fight.
Fujii said he and two medics sought cover in a nearby bunker. As he ran there, he was hit in the shoulder by shrapnel from a mortar explosion.
About 45 minutes later, another U.S. helicopter successfully landed near the wreckage of the first. Fujii and the survivors of the medevac ran toward it, but Fujii was again hit by shrapnel, this time in the eye. By the time he'd reoriented himself, the intense enemy fire had been redirected at him.
"I knew that there was no way I could make it from where I was into the chopper," he said in a later interview. "And the longer I stayed there and waited, I was putting everybody at risk, so I just waved the bird off."
Fujii was now the only American left on the ground, surrounded by the enemy. Quickly, he found a radio transmitter and told other U.S. aircraft in the area not to try any more rescue attempts because of intense enemy anti-aircraft fire at the landing zone. Fujii spent the night and the next day in the hot zone, offering first aid to wounded South Vietnamese troops while ignoring his own injuries.
The evening of his second day there, a reinforced enemy regiment began assaulting the small unit's perimeter with heavy artillery. Using the call sign "Papa Whiskey," Fujii grabbed the radio and began directing air strikes at the enemy to repel them. He later told reporters that he'd never done that before, but he was the only man on the ground who could speak English, so he learned quickly. Fujii also said that U.S. observation aircraft dropped smoke canisters to him that he used to create reference points to guide the airstrikes.
For more than 17 hours, Fujii continued to direct airstrikes in this way, repeatedly leaving the safety of his entrenchment to get a better view of enemy troop positions to relay to U.S. air support. He said that North Vietnamese troops tried to overrun their position at least three times. His citation said that the fighting was so intense at some points that Fujii had to stop his radio transmissions to fire at encroaching enemy fighters.
By Feb. 20, Fujii was exhausted and in pain, but he continued to bear the responsibility for the surrounded South Vietnamese troops until another helicopter successfully rescued him. That medevac, however, was also shot up and forced to crash-land at another South Vietnamese encampment about two miles away.
Fujii remained at that camp for two more days. Finally, on Feb. 22, yet another helicopter picked him up and took him to safety.
At a hospital after the ordeal, Fujii told reporters that he thought he was going to be court-martialed for fighting in Laos. At the time, President Richard M. Nixon had promised the American people that the war wouldn't spread into Vietnam's neighboring countries. While Fujii's mission wasn't to fight in Laos, he ended up doing that to survive. Instead of a court martial, however, the 22-year-old received a hero's welcome when he returned to Hawaii on leave a few weeks after the incident.
Fujii's bravery during those days on the battlefield initially earned him a Silver Star, which was later upgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross. He also received two Purple Hearts and, by the end of 1971, was named Army Aviation Soldier of the Year. For that, he was flown to Washington, D.C., where he met the Army secretary, according to a 2004 Honolulu Advertiser article.
That same year, Fujii left active-duty service and transferred to the Hawaii National Guard and the Pacific Army Reserve. He attended college and eventually married. He and his wife, Raynette, had a daughter.
According to the Hawaii Herald, Fujii went on to work for the Hawaiian Telephone Co., a Maui cable television company, and as a utilities and logistics technician at the Johnston Atoll Wildlife Refuge Island. Eventually, he retired in Honolulu. In 2004, Fujii was inducted into the Army Aviation Museum's Hall of Fame and into the U.S. Army Museum of Hawaii's Gallery of Heroes.
A Belated High Honor
Over the past few years, the U.S. military began reviewing past service member awards to see if any should be upgraded, particularly for minorities who may have been overlooked due to bias and bigotry of the times in which they served. In December 2021, the National Defense Authorization Act passed by Congress waived the time limit that required Medals of Honor be awarded within five years of the combat action. The legislation named Fujii in it, and it paved the way for his Distinguished Service Cross to be upgraded to the Medal of Honor.
Fujii, now 74, received the nation's highest honor for valor from President Joseph R. Biden on July 5, 2022, during a White House ceremony. The event also honored three other Vietnam service members whose awards were upgraded to Medals of Honor.
"More than 50 years have passed — 50 years — since the jungles of Vietnam where, as young men, these soldiers first proved their mettle," Biden said during the ceremony. "But time has not diminished their astonishing bravery, their selflessness in putting the lives of others ahead of their own, and the gratitude that we, as a nation, owe them."
Ahead of the ceremony, Fujii told reporters that the award upgrade was a great honor for him, considering he was content with the honor he'd earned decades before.
"I was happy the way things were, and I came home in one piece," he said.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Can My Wife Claim a Spouse Benefit First?
Dear Rusty: I have been getting Social Security since age 66. My wife turned 62 in June. We are thinking of taking her spouse benefits on my record since it would be higher than hers (we checked online). We began filling out the application but do not see a way to let them know we want her to receive spouse benefits and not her own. How do we do that? Signed: Trying to Apply
Dear Trying: You don’t see that option because your wife doesn’t have the option to collect only a spousal benefit from you without also claiming her own benefit. That option was eliminated by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 for anyone born after January 1, 1954. So, if your wife claims any SS benefit now, she will be automatically deemed to be filing for both her own benefit (from her own work record) as well as her spousal benefit from you. She can’t delay taking her own benefit when she claims. Your wife’s benefit will consist of her own benefit plus, if she is entitled to one, a “spousal boost” to bring her payment up to her spousal entitlement and, claimed at age 62, both her own benefit and her spousal boost will be reduced. But there are some other factors to consider:
• If your wife is still working, she will be subject to Social Security’s “earnings test” until she reaches her full retirement age (FRA) of 67. The earnings test limits how much your wife can earn from working and, if the limit ($19,560 for 2022) is exceeded, SS will take away benefits equal to $1 for every $2 she is over the limit. If her current work earnings are high enough, it could even disqualify her from receiving early SS benefits. The earnings limit lasts until your wife reaches her full retirement age.
• Your wife cannot collect her full benefits – 100% of her own benefit or 50% of your FRA benefit amount – unless she waits until her full retirement age (67) to claim. But whether she should even claim a spouse benefit at FRA should consider whether her own SS benefit, at maximum, will be more than her spouse benefit will be. Your wife’s maximum spouse benefit (at age 67) will be 50% of your FRA benefit amount, but if she delays claiming past her FRA her own SS retirement benefit will continue to grow (at 8% per year) until she is 70. If your wife’s personal age 70 benefit will be more than her spousal benefit from you, she may wish to consider forgoing her spouse benefit and waiting until age 70 to claim her own higher personal benefit. It’s a question of which will benefit her most for the rest of her life, which is where her life-expectancy enters the picture. Generally, if your wife is in good health and expects at least average longevity (about 87 for a woman her current age), waiting until the highest available benefit (either her own or her spouse benefit) reaches maximum is usually a prudent choice.
• Your wife’s survivor benefit as your widow may be a consideration as well. If her benefit as your survivor will be larger than any other benefit she is entitled to, then claiming her other benefits earlier may be smart. For example, if her benefit as your widow (100% of the benefit you were receiving at your death if claimed at or after her FRA) will be higher than either her maximum spousal benefit or her maximum personal benefit, then her best option may be to claim her retirement and spousal benefits earlier. How much earlier would depend on whether she is working and will exceed the earnings limit before age 67.
As you can see there are a number of factors for your wife to consider before claiming her Social Security, but she cannot claim only her spouse benefit at age 62 and permit her own benefit to continue growing.

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Ready To Take On Life’s Challenges?

4 Ways To Get Prepared

Anytime people try to accomplish just about anything – launch a business, embark on a new career, plan a trip – obstacles get in the way.

How well they respond depends on not just whether they are ready for the unexpected, but whether they have made the proper preparations to see them through, says Dr. Akintoye Akindele, the Forbes Books co-author with Olakunle Soriyan of A Love Affair with Failure: When Hitting Bottom Becomes a Launchpad to Success.

“People often confuse preparation with readiness, but they are totally different things,” Akindele says. “Preparation occurs in a controlled environment, while readiness takes place in the ‘real world,’ where events have no respect for your expectations and are not dictated by your preferences or prejudices.”

In other words, he says, preparation depends on factors within your control. That can involve leveraging strengths, removing weaknesses, exploiting opportunities or eliminating identified threats. Readiness involves confronting a slew of internal and external factors outside your direct influence.

“You can be prepared based on seemingly airtight plans and hypotheses and still be unready for what reality will bring,” Soriyan says. “Yet you will never be ready if you do not prepare.”

Akindele and Soiryan say there are four overlapping dimensions of preparation that get people ready to face real-life challenges. They are physical preparedness, mental preparedness, emotional preparedness, and spiritual preparedness.

Here’s a breakdown for each:

Physical preparedness. Regardless of what activities you’re involved in – whether for recreation or business – it’s important to stay fit, Akindele says. “You cannot afford to play with your health,” he says. “Your body may not feature prominently on your balance sheet, but it is the strongest asset in your possession.” That means exercise, eat well, and get regular checkups. “Physical preparedness also includes your appearance,” Akindele says. “How you show up and the impressions you create matter more than we like to admit. Significant personal and business decisions are made almost every minute based on appearance.”
Mental preparedness. Devote significant effort and time to acquiring knowledge, building competencies, and improving your resilience and focus, Soriyan says. “Developing our mental capacity positions us to better anticipate and eliminate possible obstacles, understand the competition where it exists, conceive of well-thought-out backup plans, and map out strategies,” he says.
Emotional preparedness. You will need a lot of positive reinforcement along the way, which is why it’s important to surround yourself with people who believe in you and your journey, Akindele says. “Speak to anyone who is successful at anything, and they will tell you the role that an investment in people and relationships played in their success,” he says. “From advising and helping you prepare for the road ahead to holding your hand and helping you cross your barriers, from standing in for you when everyone has deserted you to helping you get back on track when you feel like quitting, emotional assets and resources help create winners.”
Spiritual preparedness. Spirituality isn’t necessarily about religion. “Spirituality is about connectedness,” Soriyan says. “Connectedness with people, places, experiences, seasons, and energies is the character of spirituality at any level.” Spirituality is also linked to happiness, and happy people are more likely to achieve their goals than unhappy ones, he says. “To invest in activities that make you happy is wise,” he says. “Pursue what gives you peace. Invest in family, charity, philanthropy, faith in God, reading, traveling, talking, and even silence.”
“To fulfill any goal, you must first identify that goal and define it,” Akindele says. “But preparation is the foundation upon which success and the attainment of your goals are built.”

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Ah, it’s great to be young and agile
Limbo dancing was quite the fad in the 50s and 60s. If you are not old enough to remember the craze, limbo is a dance where you have to duck lower and lower to get underneath a pole without touching the pole or the ground. It can be a challenge. Imagine how hard it gets if you’re on roller skates and the pole is just about eight inches above the ground -- about the distance between the pavement and the undercarriage of a car. That was the challenge waiting for a seven year old girl in India. In fact, she put on her skates, bent over forwards [the hard way] and successfully made her way under, not one car, but 20 cars. You guessed it. The stunt earned Deshna Nahar of Pune, India a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.

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How ‘embarrassing’
It was an “embarrassing” moment for golf pro Mark Hubbard on the 11th hole of the PGA Tour's Rocket Mortgage Classic at the Detroit Golf Club. Hubbard teed off, let go of his club and covered his eyes sure that he had dubbed it, as they say. But, instead, the ball sailed through the air, landed on the green, bounced a few times and then rolled right into the cup, giving him his ninth hole in one.

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Buried treasure
Richard and Suzanne Gilson bought their cottage in Wildwood, New Jersey, about four years ago and have been hard at work fixing it up all this time. They were turning the ground in their front yard recently and came across what they thought were weeds. Instead, what they dug up were bundles of cash - $2,000 worth of the paper money. The cash was dated 1934 when $2,000 had the buying power of about $40,000 today. They tracked down the granddaughter of the folks who owned the house back then who explained that her grandfather told her mother to bury the loot as a precaution. The Gilsons have decided not to spend the dough; it has more value today as a memento, they say.

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Medal of Honor: Navy Quartermaster John Cooper

By KATIE LANGE

Navy Quartermaster John Cooper wasn't born in the United States, but once he immigrated here at age 17, he chose to serve his adopted country. By doing so, he became one of only 19 Medal of Honor recipients to earn the military’s highest honor twice.
Cooper was born John Laver Mather in Dublin, Ireland, on July 24, 1828. Little is known about his life before he moved to the U.S., but after he did so in August 1845, he immediately joined the Navy and decided to go by the last name Cooper.
According to military pension documents, Cooper served in the Mexican-American War before being discharged in 1849. In 1856, he married Mary O'Keeffe. The couple went on to have three sons: John Jr., Edward and William.
When the Civil War broke out, the 36-year-old Cooper re-enlisted in the Navy and spent time on several ships over the next few years.
The action for which he earned his first Medal of Honor happened on Aug. 5, 1864, while he was serving as a coxswain on the USS Brooklyn. As the ship and others in its fleet sailed past Forts Morgan and Gaines and into Mobile Bay, Alabama, they were engaged by rebels from the forts and in gunboats, including the Confederate navy ramming ship CSS Tennessee.
Enemy fire severely damaged the USS Brooklyn and killed several of its men, but Cooper remained calm, using his gun with "skill and courage," according to his Medal of Honor citation. By the end of the battle, the Union ships had succeeded in anchoring beyond the reach of the Confederate forts' guns. The fighting heavily damaged batteries at Fort Morgan, and it led to the surrender of the Tennessee, which was eventually incorporated into the Union Navy and was used throughout the rest of the war.
The general order that awarded Cooper the highest medal for valor was announced on Dec. 31, 1864. It's unclear when he actually received it.
Cooper earned his second Medal of Honor on April 26, 1865, just weeks after the Civil War ended. Still in Mobile, he was stationed on the USS Stockdale and served as a quartermaster on Acting Rear Adm. H.K. Thatcher's staff.
According to historical records, ordnance stores at a warehouse in the city exploded, setting a good section of the city on fire. Some of the debris even landed on the Union fleet's flagship about three-quarters of a mile away, naval records show. With part of the city on fire, help of any kind was needed, so several sailors from the fleet were called upon to assist firefighters.
Despite the threat of being hit by exploding shells coming from the warehouse, Cooper moved through the burning city to search for survivors. His citation says he rescued a wounded man from certain death, carrying the man on his back to safety.
About two months later, it was announced that Cooper would earn a second Medal of Honor for that feat. Only one other sailor received two Medals of Honor from the Civil War era — Boatswain's Mate Patrick Mullen.
Cooper was discharged from the Navy in October 1866.
It's unclear what Cooper did during his post-war life, but he lived for another 25 years. He died at age 63 on Aug. 22, 1891, at a hospital on Staten Island, New York. Cooper was buried in Cypress Hills National Cemetery in Brooklyn.

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4 tips to help worried young adults deal with high inflation worries

By TOBY MATHIS

Inflation weighs heavily on adults of all ages. And it can be particularly burdensome on young professionals who are just starting to gain traction in their career, have bought their first home and are starting to raise a family.
Significant increases in the costs of most goods and services decrease purchasing power and hinder the quality of our daily lives. These days inflation is hovering above 9%, its highest level in 40 years. If we are honest with ourselves, it is really the highest inflation ever as the way we calculate inflation has dramatically changed over the year and, under the methodology for calculating inflation in the 1980s, we would be closer to 17% than 9%.
What does that mean for people in their 20s and 30s with a growing set of responsibilities and the desire to enjoy the fruits of their labors?
There are steps they can take and actions to avoid to help them navigate a lengthy period of high inflation. I will outline several below:
Use the 70/30 Rule to live below your means and avoid debt. As with any journey that involves overcoming adversity, before lifting the weight off your shoulders, you have to learn how to carry it for an indefinite period of time. For consumers, that means living below your means and avoiding debt during the inflationary period. If you are using debt to maintain your standard of living, you have a ticking time bomb on your hands. Statistically, it is only a matter of time before you run out of credit and face financial ruin. My best advice during inflationary times is to live off of 70% of your take-home pay to give yourself some wiggle room as prices creep higher. Use the remaining 30% for giving (yes, I said giving), paying down debt, and investing in fairly equal amounts. If you have no debt, just add that portion to your investing.
Postpone the new car purchase. New car prices have been hovering at record highs, driven by pandemic-related parts shortages, factory shutdowns and a scarcity of computer chips. Used-car and truck prices also have soared 16% over the past year, but have been dropping. These facts tell us to delay any major purchases and to possibly take advantage of the inflated car market if you have a car in good condition to sell. The inflation in used cars can give the seller a nice cash infusion if it is not needed or can be replaced with a car at a lesser cost. Repos are up, so time is on the side of the buyer, and be patient if you are in the car market. If you absolutely must buy a car now, make sure you are doing so without incurring debt on the purchase. Car debt is horrible debt.
Continue investing. If you are an investor, you should be looking at companies that are also "living below their means" – i.e., profitable. Look at companies with free cash flow (i.e., ones that bring in more money than they spend) and that share that cash with their shareholders in the form of dividend payouts. You will want to invest in companies that either have proven brand recognition that attracts people regardless of increases in price, or companies that are financially strong and create products that are in demand regardless of inflation.
The classic example of a brand people want regardless of inflation is Coca-Cola. It has prospered during previous inflationary cycles. Examples of brands people need are utilities, mining companies, and even real estate investment trusts (REITs). There remains strong demand for all three even though Inflation is at its highest levels in half a century.
Reduce your expenses. This is easier said than done, but taking a deeper look at your bills and finding ways to reduce or eliminate some can make a notable difference in your monthly budget during an inflation crunch. There are really three levels of spending: need, want and wish. Figure out your “need” budget such as rent and food and write it down. Then add in your “wants” – your cell phone, cable, Netflix, eating out, your three gym memberships, etc. – and write those down. Wishes are things like once-in-a-lifetime trips or expensive expenditures. Once you know your categories, concentrate on what items in the wants and wishes list you can do without for now. Those will be your sources of greatest savings.
I know it can be painful to cut something you really want and like, but consider it a temporary gesture that your future self will appreciate. You will see others get hopelessly in credit card debt and face the consequences, which is far more painful than temporary cuts.
Simply put, as young people grow in their careers and grow a family, they’ll have to be smart and more disciplined than ever to prevent inflation from getting them down. These challenging times will pass. They need to keep their eye on what’s important in the future in order to pass the test they face now.

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Social Security Matters
by National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – What Are My Wife’s Benefits While I’m Living and as My Widow?

Dear Rusty: I will be 70 in January and my wife will be 65 in February, at which time we will both go on Medicare. I am currently working, and my approximate Social Security benefit will be around $2,900. My wife was a stay-at-home mom and, therefore, has minimal Social Security benefits on her own. At 65 she is eligible for $870 and at full retirement age will qualify for $990. A few questions: if she starts to draw benefits at 65, what would be her total spousal benefit? If she waited until her full retirement age, what would the amount be? Of greater concern, what would be her survivor benefit given the same criteria as mentioned above. Signed: Planning Ahead
Dear Planning Ahead: Based on the Social Security amounts in your email, your wife is eligible for a spousal benefit while you are both living. Her spouse benefit when she claims will consist of her own Social Security retirement benefit plus a spousal boost to bring her payment to her spousal entitlement. Spouse benefits are computed using full retirement age (FRA) benefit amounts, so if your age 70 benefit is “around $2900” then your FRA (age 66) benefit amount (known as your “primary insurance amount”) should be around $2,225. Your wife’s base spousal boost would be the difference between her FRA amount and 50% of your FRA amount, so her total benefit, if taken at her full retirement age, would be about $1,112 (her $990 plus a $122 spousal boost). But taken at age 65, both her own benefit and her spousal boost would be reduced. At age 65 your wife’s total benefit would be around $963 (her own $870 plus a reduced spousal boost of about $93).
Regarding your wife’s survivor benefit as your widow, if she has reached her full retirement age (66 years and 8 months), at your death she would get the same amount you were getting when you died – the $2,900 you will get by claiming at age 70. Your wife’s survivor benefit as your widow will replace the smaller spousal amount she was receiving while you were both living. Since your wife will be already collecting a spousal benefit from you, if she has reached her FRA when you pass your wife will be automatically awarded her survivor benefit at that time. If she hasn’t yet reached her FRA when you pass, the spousal portion of her benefit will stop but she can request a reduced survivor benefit early. In that case her early survivor benefit will be actuarially reduced by .396% for each month before her FRA it is claimed. If you were to die in the month your wife turns 65, her early survivor benefit would be about $2668.
One final thought about Medicare: if you continue to work and have “creditable” healthcare coverage from your employer, you can defer enrolling in Medicare Part B (coverage for outpatient services), thus avoiding the Part B premium until you stop working. If your wife is covered under your “creditable” employer healthcare plan, she can also defer enrolling in Medicare Part B until that coverage ends (“creditable” is a group plan with at least 20 participants). However, enrolling in Medicare Part A (coverage for inpatient hospitalization services), for which there is no premium, is mandatory to collect Social Security after age 65.

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Eight simple hacks to stop travel sickness

Worried passengers are being advised on how to ease the symptoms of travel sickness when commuting this summer.
The holiday car rental experts at StressFreeCarRental.com have researched eight easy solutions to prevent holidaymakers from experiencing travel sickness.
Travel sickness is caused by consistent movements during travelling and is found to be most common among children and pregnant women.
Simple tips such as sitting at the front of the car and rolling down the windows can make a big difference to anyone who develops symptoms of headaches and dizziness.
(Getting in the fresh air can help stop travel sickness/Image credit: Pixabay)
A spokesperson from StressFreeCarRental.com said: “One of the biggest fears for travellers is getting travel sickness which could lead to a trip being ruined.
“Using simple methods such as chewing gum and staying away from scrolling on your phone can relax symptoms such as nausea.
“Following this essential advice can make all the difference for passengers and allow them to get to their destination with a peace of mind.”
Here are eight helpful tips from StressFreeCarRental.com to prevent travel sickness:
Roll down the windows
Taking in the fresh air is vital when a passenger is experiencing sickness. Breathing in the fresh air can ease nausea symptoms. When travelling by plane, turn on the air conditioning to relax the sickness feeling.
Stay hydrated
Water is key to reducing the severity of a headache caused by travel sickness. Drink plenty and avoid the temptation of a glass of prosecco or fizzy drinks.
Pack the gum
Having chewing gum can relax your stomach, as the coolness can relax stomach muscles and takes your mind off the pain. Bring both peppermint and ginger flavoured gum to help the sickness.
Snack lightly
Avoid heavy and greasy foods on the journey. Choose some lightly salted snacks such as seaweed bites or dry crackers which won’t disturb the stomach pains.
Play some good tunes
Distraction is one of the best ways to help your mind forget about the burden of travel sickness. Play your favourite songs on the radio at a low volume to focus your mind on something else other than feeling sick.
Bring a sick bag
A last resort option may be needed if you can’t do anything to stop sickness. Having a sick bag on board can make you feel calmer, as you know there is another option available.
Get in the front seat
Whether it’s in a family car-hire or a road-trip with friends, sitting at the front lets you focus on the road and minimise the likelihood of travel sickness.
Stay off the screen
As tempting as it can be, scrolling on social media can worsen headaches by straining your eyes from looking at bright screens. It’s best to put the phone away until the end of journey.

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Want to become self-employed?

Here’s what that means for taxes

The thought of being your own boss can be enticing, but being self-employed also comes with responsibilities – including tax implications that may be obvious and not-so obvious.
“It’s easy to make mistakes, so guidance from a professional could make a difference in how much or you pay or don’t pay,” says Rob Cordasco (www.cordasco.cpa), a CPA and author of A Framework for Growth: Smart Financial and Tax Planning Strategies Throughout the Entrepreneurial Life Cycle.
It’s also easy to get behind on paying what you owe because, unlike someone who works for an employer, a self-employed person doesn’t have taxes held out of each paycheck. That means they need to set aside money so they can make quarterly estimated tax payments to the IRS, Cordasco says.
A few other tips worth knowing for the self-employed, Cordasco says, include:
Be sure to deduct business expenses – but be careful about what’s allowed. If you were accustomed to working for a business, someone else worried about what business expenses were deductible. But as a self-employed person, that responsibility now falls to you, Cordasco says. One possibility could be a deduction for a home office if you have a dedicated part of your house that you use for work. In addition, deductions are allowed for supplies and travel expenses, although Cordasco notes that there are rules that apply to such things.
It is also possible to deduct 50 percent of the cost of a business meal, but there also are rules attached to that. For example, you or someone you employ need to be physically at the meal, Cordasco says. Also, you can’t just deduct a random lunch that happens during business hours, but you can deduct a meal if you are traveling on business or you take a client out for a meal. For all business expenses, it’s imperative to keep good records so you can make your case if the IRS challenges something, Cordasco says. It’s also important to make sure you deduct only legitimate business expenses. A hobby that you make money from occasionally, but don’t operate as a business, could create red flags at IRS headquarters, he says.
Plan for retirement. It’s common for people who work for corporations to have a retirement plan they can contribute to, with money coming out of their paycheck and the employer sometimes adding a matching amount. A self-employed person doesn’t have that system available, but they can still create a retirement plan of their own, Cordasco says. One option for doing that would be to simply open a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA and make regular contributions. But IRS rules also permit self-employed people to set up a SEP-IRA, which allows for larger annual contributions. SEP stands for simplified employee pension. You can contribute up to 25 percent of your net earnings from self-employment up to a maximum contribution of $61,000 for 2022. By comparison, annual contributions to traditional and Roth IRAs are generally limited to $6,000.
Be diligent with recordkeeping. It’s critical to keep good records that track your income and expenses in case you are audited by the IRS or a state or local tax authority, Cordasco says. Without good records, you won’t be able to give an accurate accounting of your income, which means come tax filing time you could face one big confusing mess, he says. Also, as mentioned previously with those expenses, if you can’t document them you can’t deduct them.
These are just a few of the many issues a self-employed person can encounter, Cordasco says.
“While you might be able to handle your needs on your own, it’s a good idea to consult with a professional who can provide guidance on what’s allowed, what’s not, and a host of issues you might not have thought about,” Cordasco says. “Beyond that, the tax laws are constantly changing so you need to make sure you have the most up-to-date information.”

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A whale of a tale
Plymouth Harbormaster Chad Hunter told WCVB-TV "The boat was in the right place at the wrong time” after a whale breached in the harbor and landed smack, dab on a fishing boat. Fortunately, no one was hurt and the boat suffered minor damage. Hunter said an abundance of fish attracted both the fishing boats and the whale, noting that “This could have been much worse for all involved ... An incident like this is pretty rare but very dangerous to boaters."

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Row, row, row your boat
You can bet that Libby Costello, Sophia Denison-Johnston, Brooke Downes and Adrienne Smith were exhausted, achy and very, very tired when they landed their row boat in Honolulu. They had been rowing nonstop after leaving San Francisco 34 days, 14 hours and 11 minutes earlier in hopes of breaking the record for the 2,400 nautical mile journey. How did they do it? They rowed in 2-hour paired shifts for 24 hours a day, averaging about an hour and a half of sleep per day. That’s apparently faster than another team of rowers have ever achieved and it is likely they’ll make it into the Guinness Book of World Records.

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A psychedelic road trip
They were supposed to paint the yellow and white traffic lines in a slightly curved pattern in order to slow down traffic, according to Hollister, CA Mayor Ignacio Velazquez. The contractors created a confusing, psychedelic, zigzagging pattern. Mayor Velazquez told KSBW-TV "I saw it later in the afternoon on my way home from work, and I thought, 'Woah, this is the strangest thing I've seen’." Rest assured the contractors will repaint the lanes at no cost to the city.

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Medal of Honor: Army 2nd Lt. Lloyd Hughes
By KATIE LANGE
During Army 2nd Lt. Lloyd Herbert Hughes' last mission over the skies of Europe in World War II, he had a choice to make — abort the mission to save himself and his crew, or finish what they'd started for the cause. Hughes chose the latter, which earned him the Medal of Honor.
Hughes was born on July 12, 1921, in Alexandria, Louisiana, to Lloyd Sr. and Mildred Hughes. By 1923, however, his father was out of the picture, so his mother moved the two of them to Texas. She started working for the postal service, remarried and had four more sons. The family moved around the state a bit but eventually settled in Corpus Christi.
Hughes, who was nicknamed Pete, went to Refugio High School, where he was captain of his football and basketball teams. After graduation, he went to Corpus Christi Junior College but transferred to A&M College of Texas (now Texas A&M University), where he studied petroleum engineering and was a member of the Corps of Cadets. According to the Texas State Historical Association, he left school in early December 1941 so he could help take care of his family, as his stepfather was in poor health.
According to the Corpus Christi Times, Hughes also worked at an oil field in Corpus Christi before he enlisted in the Army Air Corps in January 1942 as an aviation cadet. On Nov. 10, 1942 — two days after he married his girlfriend, Hazel Dean Ewing — he received his pilot's wings.
Hughes earned his commission as a second lieutenant in 1943. He served briefly at a few locations across the states before being sent to North Africa in June 1943 with the 564th Bombardment Squadron, 389th Bombardment Group of the 9th Air Force. He took part in four combat missions in Italy and Romania before the fateful flight that earned him the Medal of Honor.
Spotlight: Commemorating World War II
On Aug. 1, 1943, Hughes was part of Operation Tidal Wave. Nearly 180 B-24 Liberator bombers were tasked with flying for 18 hours on a 2,400-mile roundtrip mission to Ploiesti, Romania. Their goal: to destroy an oil refinery that was one of the Nazi's largest.
The 22-year-old was piloting "Ole Kickapoo," one of the B-24s flying at the tail end of the formation. That placement meant that by the time they reached the target area, the enemy was clearly aware of their presence. Hughes had to fly through intense antiaircraft fire and dense balloon barrages, which were strategically placed to deny low-level airspace to enemy aircraft.
Before Hughes' aircraft could reach the target, it had suffered heavy damage, including a gas tank rupture that sent fuel streaming from its bomb bay and left wing. Hughes had time to make a forced landing in several nearby grain fields, but he was focused on completing the mission. Instead, he set his sights on the refinery, which was already blazing with fire due to burning oil tanks and other damage from the initial wave of bombs.
Hughes knew the consequences of flying a gas-leaking plane into an inferno, but in his mind, the mission came first. Instead of making that forced landing or aborting the mission, he didn't hesitate to fly into a wall of fire about 30 feet above the ground.
The plane emerged from the area, having successfully dropped bombs on its target, but its wing was on fire. Only then did Hughes try to force a landing. Unfortunately, the aircraft was too damaged to be saved; it crashed and was consumed by flames.
Of the aircraft's 10 crew members, Hughes and six others died immediately. An eighth died two days later, while the two remaining men were taken prisoner until the war’s end.
Despite the loss, reports indicated that the area Hughes and the other bombers targeted was so heavily damaged that it didn't resume production for the rest of the war.
By sacrificing his life for the mission, Hughes earned the Medal of Honor. It was given to his widow during a ceremony at Kelly Field in San Antonio on April 19, 1944. Four other men who took part in Operation Tidal Wave — Col. Leon Johnson, Col. John Kane, Lt. Col. Addison Baker and Maj. John Jerstad — also received the nation's highest honor for valor that day.
According to the TSHA, Hughes' body was initially buried in Romania, but he was brought back to the U.S. in 1950 and reinterred at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio.
Over the years, plenty of tributes have cemented in stone Hughes' name and contributions. The former Williams Air Force Base in Arizona had a residence hall named in his honor; a dorm at Texas A&M still does.
The young pilot's medal is on display at the Sam Houston Sanders Corps of Cadets Center, a museum on the campus of Texas A&M University. There's also a duplicate on display at the Memorial Student Center at the same College Station campus, where a portrait of Hughes still hangs.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – Do My Canadian Earnings Count Toward U.S. Social Security?

Dear Rusty: I am a 62 year old Canadian holding a green card and I have lived in the US for nearly twenty-three years. For 19 years prior I contributed to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) which is the equivalent of US Social Security. I am contemplating retirement in the US and have been told that I can draw my old age pension from either the US, or from Canada, but I cannot draw from both.
My 19 years of contributions to the Canadian Pension Plan are not accounted for in the calculation of my U.S. SS benefits. Conversations with the U.S. Social Security office suggested that my contributions to the CPP would “probably” be applied to my U.S. pension upon application for benefits. However, the individual I spoke with was not sure how that would work. Do you know the process for having my Canadian earnings transferred to my U.S. SS account and how I might find out what my combined benefits will be? Signed: Retiring Canadian
Dear Retiring Canadian: Allow me to clarify how things work under the bi-lateral agreement between the U.S. and Canada. Although you worked and contributed to CPP while living in Canada, your earnings in Canada do not count when computing your U.S. Social Security benefits (nor do your U.S. earnings contribute to your CPP benefit entitlement). Although the bi-lateral US/Canada agreement permits earnings credits from both countries to be combined to gain eligibility for benefits, computation of benefit amounts in each country uses only dollars earned in-country. Thus, your U.S. entitlement is based only on your U.S. earnings.
Because of your years contributing to the Canadian program, you are also eligible to separately collect a CPP pension, and you can apply for your CPP pension through your local U.S. Social Security office by submitting SSA form CDN-USA1. Your local SS office can provide the correct form and needed guidance to apply for your CPP benefits. You should be aware, however, that collecting your CPP pension will impact the amount of your U.S. benefit because of a U.S. regulation known as the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). WEP reduces the U.S. Social Security benefit for anyone who has a pension earned separately without contributing to Social Security (that includes some U.S. state & local government employees, as well as those who have a pension from another country).
Your U.S. benefit will be computed using a special WEP formula which considers the number of years you contributed to the U.S. program from “substantial earnings.” Assuming you have 23 years of substantial U.S. earnings from which you contributed to the U.S. SS program, your U.S. benefit will be reduced by approximately 35%. Your CPP pension will cause WEP to apply, which will reduce your U.S. pension, but it cannot reduce it by more than 50% of your CPP benefit amount.
FYI, WEP and international benefits are complex topics, and it’s not especially unusual that SS representatives you first encounter (e.g., on the phone) aren’t fully versed in how those benefits work. You may wish to make an appointment to apply for your CPP benefits in person at your local Social Security office and at the same time obtain more specific information on how WEP will affect your U.S. Social Security benefits. That may require speaking with a senior person who is well versed in WEP and international pensions.
Finally, be aware that at age 62 your U.S. benefit will be further reduced because you haven’t yet reached your full retirement age (which is 66 years and 10 months). Be aware, too, that until you reach your full retirement age, you’ll be subject to Social Security’s earnings test, which limits how much you can earn before some benefits are taken away.

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Impossible?
Changing a tire on your car in one-minute-17-seconds is a challenging feat in itself but Gianluca Folco did it while his pal, Manuel Zoldan, was driving their car. Sounds like it would be impossible. Not for these daredevils. Zoldan simply drove up a ramp and flipped their BMW onto two wheels while Folco, hanging out of the car, changed a tire. The Guinness Book of World Records recognized their achievement, noting that it took the previous record holders a relatively slow minute and a half to change their tire.

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Odoriferous, with a capital ‘O’
The Amorphophallus Titanum stinks. Better known as the “corpse flower,” the rare plant emits a noxious odor when it blooms. The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden was expecting their corpse flower to bloom recently and prepared for the crowds it would attract. Resident horticulturist Jerome Stenger told reporters, "We've all heard how bad the smell is, but it's just one of those things that you want to experience in order to describe it in your own words. And the fact that the occurrence is so rare, sometimes just blooming once in a decade, makes everyone want to see it."

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Another fish story
Quite a bit of excitement at this year’s Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo. April Jones and her family of Saraland, AL were startled when a five foot, 400 pound eagle ray suddenly jumped out of the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and landed in their boat, glancing off of April’s shoulder. According to her husband, Jeremy, “She starts screaming, I hear stuff breaking and flopping, my grandpa falls into me, I look back, this ray is laying in the back of the boat.” Once things settled down they headed for the Dauphin Island Sea Lab to get help returning the creature back into the water. Their son, eight-year-old Gunner, described the incident as “kind of cool.”

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History Matters
A feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

On August 1, 1864, General Ulysses S. Grant appointed General Philip Sheridan to command the Army of the Shenandoah, just as Jubal Early’s Confederate troops were nearing the U.S. capital for a likely capture.
According to History.com, Grant was “frustrated by the inability of Generals Franz Sigel and David Hunter to effectively deal with Early’s force in the Shenandoah [so he] turned to General Philip Sheridan, a skilled general who served with him in the west before Grant became the overall commander of Union forces in early 1864.” Sheridan decimated Early’s Confederate army, “nearly all possible sources of Rebel supplies,” and hastened the finish of the War.
Nine months later Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate troops to Grant in Appomattox, Virginia, and the war was ended.
For more information, the Grateful American Book Prize recommends Sheridan's Lieutenants: Phil Sheridan, His Generals, and the Final Year of the Civil War by David Coffey.

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Abraham Lincoln was the first president to levy an income tax, and on August 5, 1861, the Revenue Act was signed into law.
According to History.com., the country “was [s]trapped for cash [because of the Civil War, so] Lincoln and Congress agreed to [a] 3 percent tariff on annual incomes over $800…Congress repealed Lincoln’s tax law in 1871, but the 16th Amendment…passed in 1909, which set in place the income-tax system used today. Congress ratified the Amendment in 1913.”
But William Howard Taft, president from 1909-1913, converted the tariff into permanence.
He also popularized golf, satiated himself with the first presidential limousine, and—in his post White House years—was appointed Chief Justice of the United States.
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends The Interesting History of Income Tax by William J. Federer.

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When Franklin Delano Roosevelt ascended to the presidency in 1933, America was in the third year of the Great Depression, which History.com described as “the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world.”
It started with the stock market crash of October 1929; then, Wall Street was tossed into a frenzy, and millions of people were pitched into unemployment and poverty.
On August 14, 1935, the president signed the Social Security Act into law: This “measure gives at least some protection to thirty millions of our citizens who will reap direct benefits through unemployment compensation, through old-age pensions and through increased services for the protection of children and the prevention of ill health.”
The law was intended to assist the towering amount of people who could not find employment, but it evolved into a powerful safety net for retirees, the disabled, and recipients of death benefits.
For more information, the Grateful American Book Prize recommends The Struggle for Social Security, 1900–1935 by Roy Lubove.

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Create a dream yard for your dog
From the TurfMutt Foundation
According to the ASPCA, 23 million households in America – and 3.7 million in Canada – welcomed a new pet into their pack during the pandemic. People have been using their backyards more in recent years for everything from working and entertaining to vacationing and working out. But for dogs, this backyard business is old hat.
“No one loves the family yard as much as the family dog,” notes Kris Kiser, President of the TurfMutt Foundation, an organization that advocates for the care for and use of green spaces, as well as pet rescue. “It’s my rescue dog, Mulligan’s, favorite place to be, so I do everything I can to make it safe and enjoyable for her, which ultimately makes it better for me, too.”
Kiser and Mulligan have advice for creating a dream yard for your pets and the whole family this summer:
Plant Real Grass
Plastic grass is uncomfortable on paws (and bare feet), gets very hot during the summer, is difficult to clean, and is worse for the environment since it requires water for cleaning and usually can’t be recycled. The bottom line: real grass is the best option for pets, people and the environment.
Select the Right Plants & Grasses
Choose a type of turf grass that will withstand the “ruff” housing of your pet. Buffalo and Bermuda grasses can be a good choice, depending on your climate zone. For other plants and shrubs, check the ASPCA’s list of toxic and non-toxic garden plants for advice before planting. You’ll want soft, sturdy foliage near walkways. Save delicate, decorative flowers for elevated flowerbeds and patio pots. Pro tip: place plants close together in areas you want to designate as off-limits to your dog to create boundaries.
Consider Pollinators & Other Wildlife
Nature starts in your backyard, which provides habitat and food for birds, butterflies, bees and more. Each of these species help pollinate food crops and flowering plants, so take them into consideration, too, when you’re selecting plants for your backyard.
Plan for Fun
Add a splash pool, build a sandbox for digging or even create a canine obstacle course to provide hours of fun. After a day of play, your dog will need a place to relax so think of where you can plant trees or bushes that provide shade for snoozing.

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Tempted to unretire? Maybe you just need a purpose

Retirement doesn’t work out well for everyone.
Some retirees end up reentering the job market because of financial struggles. Others do so simply because they grow restless, unfulfilled by playing endless rounds of golf or binge watching TV shows.
In the latter case, those retirees have discovered that life without purpose and meaning isn’t much of a life at all, says Mark Goldsmith (www.marklgoldsmith.com), founder and CEO emeritus of Getting Out and Staying Out (GOSO), a nonprofit that provides educational, vocational, job readiness, counseling and other services to young men who have been incarcerated.
Goldsmith, who relates how he launched GOSO in the book From Madison Avenue to Rikers Island, became involved in his cause after he retired from the world of corporate advertising. Retired or not, older people have plenty to offer, and returning to work isn’t the only option, he says.
“Many have a remarkable variety of skills that could greatly impact the nonprofit world,” Goldsmith says. “Combining those hard-earned skills with a passion to help cure a social ill can make a huge difference in the lives of people in need.”
About 3.2% of workers who were retired in March 2021 were working again by March of this year, according to an Indeed Hiring Lab report from April. That amounts to roughly 1.7 million retired people who decided to become unretired, either for financial or fulfillment reasons.
Goldsmith understands why some of those retirees may have just grown bored with their new life.
“Many people give little thought to what they might do once their time at a workplace comes to an end,” he says. “At best they have vague plans.”
His advice to those seeking a retirement with meaning:
Be open to possibilities. An opportunity to find direction in retirement could come from an unexpected source. That’s what happened with Goldsmith, whose wife suggested he volunteer for an annual Principal for a Day program where volunteers go into New York public schools to talk to students about their future. He asked for the toughest school, not realizing that meant an education program inside the infamous jail at Rikers Island. But he was inspired by his time with the inmates and the experience eventually led to the creation of GOSO and Goldsmith’s efforts to help incarcerated young men become productive citizens rather than repeat offenders.
Take an inventory of your skills and experiences. Think about your personal attributes, Goldsmith says. What are you good at? What personality traits characterize you and make you appealing to others? Why do people listen to you? “Evaluate yourself to determine what makes you feel good about accomplishing difficult tasks,” he says. “How you personally like to spend your time is important. When you volunteer, make sure you’re doing it for a cause that you love.”
Be prepared to get more than you give. Goldsmith isn’t speaking of material rewards, but instead the feeling that comes from making a difference in someone’s life. “At GOSO, what happens during virtually every volunteer effort is that the volunteers end up getting as much out of the sessions, if not more, than the recipients of the service do,” he says. “This is the exact same overall reaction that I personally have experienced.”
“When I made the decision to shift my skills and passion, I not only helped create brand-new lives for my clients, but I also created a whole new life for myself,” Goldsmith says. “I feel privileged to be able to do the work that I now do, and it never feels like a job or a chore.”

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Medal of Honor: Army Spc. 5 Dwight W. Birdwell
By KATIE LANGE
Army Spc. 5 Dwight W. Birdwell was one of the first U.S. soldiers to engage with the enemy during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam. He wasn't in charge of his unit, but when soldiers fell, he stepped forward to fill the leadership gap. The Silver Star he earned for his bravery was recently upgraded to the Medal of Honor.
Birdwell was born on Jan. 19, 1948, in Amarillo, Texas, but he grew up in the small town of Bell, Oklahoma, a mostly Native American community. Birdwell, who is Cherokee, said he learned to fish and hunt from his father— skills that likely helped him survive in Vietnam.
Birdwell graduated from Stilwell High School in 1966 and joined the Army shortly thereafter. He received training at the Armored School in Fort Knox, Kentucky, and was sent to Korea, according to the Stilwell Democratic Journal. According to the newspaper, after coming home on leave in September 1967, Birdwell was reassigned to the 2nd Battalion, 34th Armored Division, which was already in Vietnam. Birdwell was eventually reassigned to the 4th Cavalry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division.
The 20-year-old was near Saigon in South Vietnam when the Tet Offensive began in late January 1968. He was assigned to Troop C of the regiment's 3rd Squadron.
On Jan. 31, Troop C was ordered to move south to help repel an enemy attack on Tan Son Nhut Air Base. They were the first U.S. ground unit from outside of the air base to respond.
As their column of tanks and armored vehicles approached the base's west gate, they came under intense enemy fire. The unit didn't know it, but they had driven directly into the midst of three enemy battalions. Troop C tried to push through the attack, but their lead tank had been crippled by a rocket-propelled grenade and was blocking their ability to move forward.
As enemy fire came from both sides of the road, Birdwell ran to his wounded tank commander's aid and moved him to safety. Birdwell then mounted the tank and took over. From the tank commander’s hatch and with his upper body exposed, Birdwell used the tank's .50-caliber machine gun and its 90 mm main gun to subdue the enemy.
When the 90 mm gun ran out of ammunition and the machine gun overheated, Birdwell switched to his M-16 rifle. In doing so, he exposed his entire body to the enemy several times so he could gain a better vantage point.
Birdwell finally moved when a U.S. helicopter crashed nearby. Still under enemy fire, he ran to the chopper to collect two M-60 machine guns and ammunition that were inside. After giving one to a fellow soldier, he remounted the tank and began using the other until the M-60 was damaged by enemy fire.
Birdwell suffered injuries to his face, neck, chest and arms, but he didn't quit. He got off the tank, refused medical attention, and rallied his fellow soldiers to move toward the front of the armored column to set up a defensive position.
There, by a large tree, Birdwell and his men continued to fire M-16s and grenades. As the enemy fire lessened, Birdwell grabbed more ammunition from disabled vehicles and helped wounded soldiers move to safer positions.
Birdwell's strength and courage inspired his fellow soldiers to continue the lopsided fight, which they eventually won. The 3rd Squadron was able to keep enemy reinforcements from getting near the base. By the afternoon, the base was once again secure.
During the course of his service in Vietnam, Birdwell earned two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star for meritorious service and two Silver Stars, the first of which was for the battle at the air base. He earned the second Silver Star on July 4, 1968, by risking his life again to rescue more Americans who were stranded in a battle zone in an enemy-occupied village.
Birdwell came back to the states in December 1968 and got married a few months later. He and his wife, Virginia, had two children, a daughter named Stephanie and a son, Edward.
Army Gen. Glenn Otis, Birdwell's commander in Vietnam, worked for decades after the war to get Birdwell’s Silver Star from the air base battle upgraded to the Medal of Honor. In a 2011 letter to an Oklahoma congressman, Otis asked for support for Birdwell's cause, saying "bureaucratic missteps" were the reason for the initial oversight that he was hoping to correct. Otis died in 2013, but others took over the effort, which eventually got the attention of the Pentagon.
Recently, that decades-long quest was realized. Birdwell, 74, received the Medal of Honor from President Joe Biden on July 5, 2022, during a White House ceremony. Two other soldiers who served in Vietnam were also given the nation's top honor for valor that day. A fourth soldier was awarded the medal posthumously.
Birdwell is the 33rd Native American to earn the Medal of Honor.
After Vietnam, Birdwell left the Army and enrolled at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. He continued his education at the University of Oklahoma, graduating with a law degree in 1976.
Birdwell was a member of the Judicial Appeals Tribunal (Supreme Court) of the Cherokee Nation from 1987 to 1999, serving as its chief justice twice. He still practices law in Oklahoma City with a focus on energy, natural resources and Native American law.
Birdwell also co-wrote a book called "A Hundred Miles of Bad Road," which detailed his experiences in Vietnam.

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Practicing self-care helps ensure overall well-being

It is important for individuals to make self-care a priority throughout their lives, Janette Wheat, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) professor and Cooperative Extension Program human development specialist, said.
“Self-care should not be overlooked or ignored – it is one of the cornerstones of an individual’s well-being,” she said. “It is important for maintaining our mental, physical and spiritual health. Making self-care a priority goes a long way in ensuring our overall health and happiness.”
But what exactly is self-care? Dr. Wheat said self-care refers to an individual putting their needs first. When a person prioritizes their own mental health and well-being, they are then better able to function in other spheres of their lives such as at home or in the office.”
“Some people may worry whether self-care is selfish, but that is not the case” she said. “Improving yourself and your own well-being does not have to come at the cost of others. By working on your own inner peace, you will likely find that you are better able to function in your relationships with family members, friends or coworkers.”
Dr. Wheat said self-care comes in many forms, and it is up to individuals to decide what suits them best.
“Practicing self-care can be as simple as going out for a walk, taking a relaxing drive, reading a good book or putting on your favorite music,” she said. “Some may plan a special activity such as getting a massage or meeting an old friend for lunch.”
Other self-care activities can be practiced regularly, over long periods of time. For example, individuals can work on maintaining healthy eating patterns, exercising regularly, practicing personal hygiene and following a consistent sleep schedule. Paying bills on time and putting money into savings can be considered forms of financial self-care, while decluttering the house and monitoring time on social media are forms of environmental self-care.
“Meditation is an important practice that improves mental and overall well-being when practiced regularly,” Dr. Wheat said. “Taking a few minutes each day to quiet your mind can build self-awareness and stress-management skills and increase patience and productivity.”
Dr. Wheat also recommends that individuals try journaling to monitor their progress and relieve stress. Keeping a reflective journal can help document the small steps being taken every day to ensure someone’s internal harmony.
“Some people may like to make a list of the ways they would like to practice self-care for the rest of the year,” she said. “Remember that the list can be composed of both simple, everyday activities, as well as planned special occasions. For example, having a cup of tea every morning can bring a sense of calm, while going to an occasional concert or movie can bring some excitement and variation into our life.”

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House calls
By Dr. Knight

Dr. Daniel Knight is a professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Q. How can I increase my metabolism?
A. Your metabolism rate determines how fast your body burns calories, which it constantly does, even at rest. You can increase your metabolism, but there are some factors you can’t control like genetics, gender (men burn more calories than women), and age (metabolism steadily slows after age 40).
Strength training will help because those with more muscle have much higher average daily and resting metabolic rates. Also adjust your current aerobic workout by adding interval training, such as short bursts of jogging during your regular walk.
Diet also plays a role. You need water to process calories, and metabolism may slow if you are even slightly dehydrated. Black coffee and green or oolong tea, in moderation, can temporarily increase your metabolic rate.
Eating smaller, more frequent meals or snacks, including spicy foods like chopped red or green chili pepper or red pepper flakes, and replacing some fat and carbohydrates with lean protein, which requires more calories to digest, can also help.
Crash diets with too few daily calories (less than 1,200 for women and 1,800 for men) don’t provide enough nutrition, so while you may lose weight, you will also lose muscle, which will slow the metabolism.
Dr. Daniel Knight is a professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Q. Can I do strength training exercises at home?
A. Body-weight exercises target several muscles, building strength and stability. They use your body’s weight as resistance so no machines or weights are needed, which means you can do them just about anywhere.
Probably the most well-known type of these exercises is the pushup, which uses chest muscles and triceps. With this exercise, your shoulder muscles support your arm’s movement and your abdominal muscles keep your core tight. Squats, using the main muscles in your legs, help with flexibility and increase lower body strength.

Planking, an exercise in which you hold your body up parallel to the ground, is a great way to increase flexibility and balance and strengthen your core, which can ease lower back pain, stress on the spine and help improve posture.
Lunges focus on working leg muscles and are great for those who play sports that use lunging movements. Crunches strengthen abdominal muscles, while step-ups, which require a set of stairs, target gluteal muscles, hamstrings and quadriceps. The pelvic tilt exercise strengthens muscles in your buttocks and core.
Before beginning any exercise program, visit with your doctor and learn how to do the exercises correctly to avoid any possible injuries.

Q. What are some causes of memory loss?
A. Lack of sleep makes it more difficult to remember things. Sleep also improves the bonds between brain cells that help with long-term memory, so not getting enough sleep interferes with forming memories. Avoid alcohol and caffeine late in the day, exercise daily and stick to a regular schedule to get a least eight hours of sleep nightly.
Some medications, including sleep aids and blood pressure medicine, can affect memory. If you have memory issues after beginning a new medicine, talk to your doctor.
Diabetics are more likely to develop memory problems, including dementia, possibly because high blood sugar damages tiny blood vessel in the brain or high insulin levels harm brain cells.
Age is a factor, too. The number of people with Alzheimer’s, the most common type of dementia, doubles every five years after age 65. While genetics, which can’t be altered, play a role in who develops dementia, healthier lifestyle choices, including diet and exercise, lessen the risk of brain decline.
Depression and anxiety make it harder to concentrate or remember things. A traumatic brain injury can affect short-term memory, while repeated hits to the head increase the risk for dementia later in life.

Q. What are the different types of skin cancer?
A. Exposure to the ultraviolet (UV) rays of the sun increases the risk of skin cancer. Using a broad-spectrum sunscreen of SPF30 or higher, wearing a UPF fabric hat, sunglasses and covering skin with clothing all help prevent skin damage.
There are several types of skin cancer, including Bowen Disease, an early form of cancer that looks like a red, scaly patch on the skin, and squamous cell carcinoma, which can be cured if it’s treated early. Basal cell carcinoma, the most common type of skin cancer, spreads slowly and is easiest to treat.
Melanoma is less common but is the most serious of the skin cancers. It may spread to organs and bones but can be cured with early treatment. Symptoms may include the change in the appearance of a colored area or a mole. Use the ABCDE rule in examining a mole for melanoma. Look for asymmetry, borders that are irregular, several colors within a spot, a diameter larger than ¼ inch (about the size of a pencil eraser), and a spot that evolves or changes in size, shape or color. Point out anything you’re concerned about to your doctor.

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Get proactive with your mental health - 5 tips and tricks

Katie Sandler, career development and impact coach, offers ways people can help keep their mental health in check

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida – We live in a time when people are stressed out, easily irritated, over stimulated and overwhelmed. This can lead to problems with our mental health, such as stress, anxiety, low mood and depression. While most people know how important physical exercise is for their body's health, they are not as aware of what they can do to protect their mental health. Learning how to protect one's mental health can go a long way toward helping people navigate the ever-changing terrain they encounter and still come out feeling good.
“Many people do things like exercise, eat healthier food, and go for routine check-ups to help protect their physical body, but they don’t do much beyond that to help protect their mental health,” explains Katie Sandler, personal development and career coach. "This can lead to an array of issues that ultimately lead to dissatisfaction with one’s life in-general. People often feel stuck, disappointed, unhappy, and frustrated with no idea how to get ahead."
According to the Anxiety & Depression Association of America, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the country, affecting 40 million adults. Anxiety is when people have an irrational level of fear and worry about everyday situations. They may experience a sense of overwhelm, increased heart rate, feel tired for no reason or feel revved up with pressured breath. Additionally, people may have depression or stress-related issues that keep them from living their life to the fullest.
When people suffer from anxiety, depression, or other mental health issues, they may get stuck in their life, unable to make decisions, move forward, or achieve goals. It's vital that people make protecting their mental health a high priority and that they do things regularly to be proactive in keeping a healthy mindset. Knowing these 5 things can help improve one's mental health and quality of life.
Here are 5 ways to help protect one’s mental health:
Self-care. Making healthy-living-choices a high priority will go a long way toward protecting one’s mental health. This includes tending to the mind-body connection by eating healthy, regularly moving the body, spending time in nature, getting enough sleep each night, etc. Self-care should be at the top of the list for everyone because it impacts so many areas of one's life.
Meditation. According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, meditation has found to be beneficial for anxiety, depression, chronic pain, insomnia, sleep quality, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse recovery, eating behaviors, etc. The simple practice of daily meditation can help people become calmer, less reactive, achieve more equanimity, and feel a greater sense of contentment. Meditation is something many people stigmatize out of not understanding, but it's a simple practice that anyone can do.
Boundaries. Having established and respected boundaries is a necessity for one’s mental health. Boundaries are a unique set of guidelines someone will follow to honor their values in order to feel life satisfaction. An essential part of self-care, they help people feel safe and in control.
Support system. Many people find it difficult to ask for help, but sometimes that's what is needed most. There's no shame in getting guidance or bouncing ideas off of others. A support system can help people reduce stress and feel a sense of belonging. You are not in this alone.
Things that feed your soul. Everyone has something they enjoy doing that helps to energize their soul. Determine what those things are and then make it a “thing” to engage in them regularly. These things do not have to be big or complex. Whether taking a hike, reading, playing music, or something else, do the things that create joy.
“Put mental health care on your calendar or to-do list, just like you do other things,” added Sandler. “Your mental health is just as important as a dentist or hair appointment. Make time for the things that will help keep your mind in a good place.”

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Social Security Matters
by National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation,
the non-profit arm of the Association of Mature American Citizens

Ask Rusty – How Do We Apply for My Wife’s Spousal Benefit?

Dear Rusty: I am 70 years old and just started receiving my Social Security benefits about 4 months ago and I get close to $3700 per month. My wife is 65 years old and worked sporadically over the years so is entitled to her own benefits. If we applied under her account, she would get around $300 a month. If she applies under the spousal benefits, she should get a lot more, but we are not exactly sure how to apply for spousal benefits under her existing account. Can you help guide us? Signed: Uncertain How to Proceed
Dear Uncertain: Your wife can apply for both her own SS retirement benefit (from her own lifetime work record) and her spousal benefit from you, at the same time. In fact, when she applies for her own Social Security benefit, since you are now collecting your benefits she will be automatically deemed to be filing also for her spousal benefit from you.
Your wife’s Social Security payment will actually consist of two elements – her own earned benefit and a “spousal boost” to bring her to her spousal entitlement. So, when she applies for her own SS benefit, she will also get a spousal boost to make her payment equal to what she is entitled to as your spouse. She can apply by calling Social Security at your local office or calling the national service center at 1.800.772.1213 to request an appointment. She also has the option to apply for her benefits online at www.ssa.gov which is, by far, the most efficient way. To apply online, your wife will need to first create her personal “my Social Security” online account, which is easy to do at www.ssa.gov/myaccount. When your wife fills out the application for her benefits, she will be able to identify you as her spouse, and she should use the “Remarks” section of the application to emphasize that she wishes to receive her spousal benefits as well.
Just for your awareness, your wife’s spousal benefit will be based on your full retirement age (FRA) benefit amount, not your age 70 amount, and if she claims at age 65 her benefits will be reduced because she hasn’t yet reached her own full retirement age (which is 66 years and 4 months if she was born in 1956). Your wife’s personal benefit will be reduced by .556% for each month earlier than her FRA that she claims, and her spousal boost will be reduced by .694% for each month earlier than her FRA she claims. So, if your wife claims her benefit before her full retirement age, her payment will be less than 50% of your FRA benefit amount.

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Hot weather garden woes
By MELINDA MYERS

Poor flowering and misshapen or a lack of fruit on tomatoes, peppers and squash may be due to the weather, not your gardening skills. Temperature extremes can interfere with flowering and fruit set on these and other vegetables in your garden.
We watch for and can’t wait to taste that first red ripe tomato. It is certainly frustrating when we see flowers drop or the plant fails to form fruit. Tomatoes thrive in warm sunny conditions; but temperature extremes can prevent fruiting, cause misshapen fruit, or reduce the size of the harvest.
When daytime temperatures rise above 90°F and night temperatures remain above 70° F blossom drop and poor fruit development may occur. Combine this with low humidity and the pollen is not viable. In hot and humid conditions, the pollen is too sticky and doesn’t move from the male to the female part of the flower. Without pollination the flowers won’t be fertilized, and fruit will not develop.
Cool weather can result in poor fruiting. Night temperatures below the optimum of 59° to 68°F will reduce the amount and viability of pollen that the plant produces. Less viable pollen means fewer fruit will form. Cooler temperatures below 55°F can result in misshapen fruit and catfacing. Fortunately, the malformed fruit is still tasty and safe to eat.
Temperature extremes also impact pepper productivity. When temperatures climb to 95°F or higher the pollen is sterile and flowers may drop. Small fruit may also fall from the plant during such hot spells. Pepper plants also experience poor fruit set when night temperatures drop below 60°F or rise above 75° F.
Tomatoes and peppers aren’t the only vegetables impacted by temperature extremes. Eggplants, a close relative to tomatoes and peppers, do not set fruit until night temperatures are above 55°F. Beans stop flowering or the flowers die when temperatures rise above 85° F.
Flowering in squash and cucumber plants is also influenced by temperature and other environmental factors. These plants produce separate male and female flowers. The male flowers usually appear first and it is not until both the male and female flowers are present that pollination, fertilization and fruit production can occur.
Research found cool temperatures, bright sunlight, and shorter days encourage female flower production while male flowers are more prolific during warmer temperatures, less sunlight and close spacing. Flowering on squash and cucumbers is also impacted by nitrogen fertilization. Too much can prevent female flower formation while insufficient amounts can reduce the number of male flowers.
The simplest solution is to wait for optimum temperatures and the proper humidity levels to return. Once this happens, the plants will begin producing fruit.
If poor productivity related to the weather is a yearly problem, consider planting more heat tolerant varieties, adjust planting times and look for more suitable growing locations.
When the harvest is delayed, extend the season with the help of row covers. These fabrics allow sunlight, air, and water through while trapping heat around the plants. Just loosely cover plants and anchor the edges with stones, boards, or landscape stapes when frost is in the forecast. You can leave the fabric in place for the remainder of the year. Just lift it to harvest and secure the fabric when done.
If this summer’s weather leaves you disappointed with the harvest, remember there is always next year.

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4 saving and funding tips to make college affordable for your child

Many professions consider a college education to be a vital step toward establishing a career. A survey of 500 professional recruiters showed all of them look for candidates with a college degree.
But while the average graduate with a bachelor’s degree earns $1.2 million more over their lifetime than a person with only a high school diploma, many young people sacrifice this potential income due to the continually rising cost of a college education.
Despite escalating costs, good financial planning helps many families put their children on a solid path to a four-year degree, says Benjamin J. Koval (www.soundpathretirement.com), president and founder of SoundPath Retirement Strategies.
“Planning for college expenses well in advance helps reduce stress, especially when it comes to external factors, such as hikes in tuition or student loan interest rates,” Koval says. “But though many families would like to see their kids go to college, many don’t have a plan on how to pay for it.
“Largely as a result, many young adults are saddled with enormous college loan debt. Others who would benefit greatly from college but can’t afford it don’t go, avoiding the debt but missing out on perhaps a life-changing opportunity. The idea of paying for a college education can seem daunting, but there are options to help pay for it. Unfortunately, many people aren’t taking advantage of those options.”
Koval offers these tips on saving and funding for college:
Start a Section 529 plan. “These plans are a solid savings option since they are not taxable as long as the money is used for college-related expenses,” Koval says. “Ideally you set up a 529 savings plan when your kids are little. It’s an investment plan that matures over the lifetime of the plan. Initially, the investments take prudent risks in order to multiply faster, then move to more conservative options as the student nears college age.”
Get college credits while in high school. Many U.S. high schools offer Advanced Placement (AP) and dual-enrollment classes. By taking these higher-level courses while still in high school, students can be awarded college credits early. “AP classes are generally more difficult classes targeting specific areas of study within a subject,” Koval says. “Colleges may award credits based on scores that would be evident of the student mastering the material.
“Dual-enrollment classes function as a partnership between high schools and colleges. A dual-enrollment class holds high school students to the college-level standard and curriculum. Both types of classes can save students and parents valuable time and money in their pursuit of higher education.”
Familiarize yourself with the aid process. Koval says students should fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which uses their information to determine how much financial aid they might qualify for, including money from grants or state-funded assistance. “It also can determine how much a student could qualify for in loans if they become necessary,” Koval says.
There are many types of student aid, and amounts can vary based on many factors. Besides scholarships based on academic or athletic performance, Koval says students can also look into Pell Grants or privately funded scholarships awarded by foundations, religious groups or other organizations based on need or merit.
Consider the community college route. Community colleges are a good option for students who don’t receive much aid from family or scholarship opportunities, Koval says. “The average cost per credit hour at a two-year community college is less than half the average cost at a four-year university,” he says. “And after two years at a community college, students can usually transfer their credits to a four-year university to finish a four-year degree.”
“The shock of paying for college won’t be so severe if families begin planning well in advance,” Koval says. “When you plan earlier you have less stress and more money to put into education and your child’s future.”

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7 Tips for an organized & stress-free back-to-school season

The new school year is just around the bend! The back-to-school season can be a hectic time for parents, guardians, and kids alike, as it means everyone needs to be back on a daily schedule and homework, tests, and after-school activities are back in full swing. However, this doesn’t mean the school days need to be filled with stress and anxiety — with a bit of planning now, you and your family can enter the school year organized, confident, and relaxed.
In my experience as the Professional Organizer and Brand Ambassador of Modular Closets (DIY customizable closet units that organize any space in your home), I have discovered a number of helpful ways to make the back-to-school season much more organized and less hectic for families. Here are just a few strategies for a stress-free school year:

Get the Kids on a Weekly Sleep Schedule ASAP

Yes, the kiddos probably loved having sleepovers with friends on random weekdays and staying up until the wee hours playing Minecraft during the summer, but now it is essential to get their sleep schedules back on track. The night before the first day of school, you wouldn’t want your kids struggling to fall asleep much earlier than they’ve been used to! So implement an earlier bedtime now so they have time to adjust to the new sleep schedule. Remember, great sleep hygiene is critical for academic excellence!
To make this easier, set a daily “bedtime routine” alarm on your phone that indicates when your kids should shower, get in their pajamas, brush their teeth, etc. to get ready for sleep. Then set another alarm to indicate when everyone needs to be in bed. I also recommend keeping all phones, iPads, and portable gaming consoles in a container outside of their rooms so they won’t be tempted to go on them after their bedtime. If you implement this routine a few weeks before school starts, this will give your children sufficient time to adjust to the new sleep schedule.

Lay Out All School Outfits the Night Before

Isn’t it the worst when one child can’t find their favorite sweater and another is running around trying to find a missing shoe right before the school bus is supposed to arrive? Eliminate this stress by laying out each kid’s outfit for school the night before. It will only take a few minutes to do and will help the whole family leave the house ready to conquer the day, rather than feeling rushed and full of anxiety. Also, it’s wonderful to have the kids help out with this, as it aids in a sense of confidence and empowerment.

Set Up an “Out the Door Possibilities” Bin

Wouldn’t it be so stressful if your family is getting in the car for the morning drive to school and then it starts downpouring rain? Then it’s time to make a mad dash to find umbrellas and raincoats! However, you can be prepared for any weather scenario if you set up an “out the door possibilities” bin in the garage or mudroom. In the bin, you can include umbrellas, raincoats, rain boots, sunglasses, chapstick, hats, etc. To be even more prepared, check the weekly weather report each Sunday and fill the bin with items that you know your kids will need on certain days.

Prep Breakfasts & School Lunches the Night Before

Making breakfasts and school lunches can easily be the most stressful parts of rushing out the door. That said, prepping them the night before will be a HUGE help in ensuring school mornings are a breeze. You can place cereal boxes, bowls, and spoons on the kitchen table, or set up a make-your-own toast station on the kitchen counter the night before to prepare for breakfasts. Or, mix a big bowl of pancake batter the night before so it is all ready for next morning’s breakfast! To make school lunch prep a breeze, add non-perishable snacks and napkins to lunch boxes the night before.

Declutter Your Car Once a Week

Keeping your space decluttered and organized truly affects everything from your stress level, anxiety, and mood, to your outlook on life. This goes not only for your living space, but also for your car! Trust me, school drop-offs, pick-ups, and drives to soccer practice will be much more stressful if your car is filled with old homework papers, empty sports drink bottles, snack wrappers, stale food crumbs, and other trash. So make a concerted effort to declutter and clean out your car once a week so it is neat and tidy for the school morning drives.

Add a Trash Bin to Your Car

Going off of the last point, you can help eliminate trash and clutter in your car by placing a trash bin in your vehicle. This will make it easy for the kids to throw away their food wrappers, breakfast leftovers they can’t finish, and other trash that could accumulate on car rides to school or sports practices. Then you can easily empty the bin out once a week when you declutter your car. To keep any funky smells from the trash bin at bay, I also recommend adding in a car freshener that eliminates odors (like the PURGGO car air eco-purifier & freshener) — don’t use a car air freshener that uses strong scents to try to mask odors.
Have the Whole Family Follow an “8-Minute Cleaning” Rule Each Day
Keeping the house clean and organized doesn't have to be a major endeavor — all it takes is 8 minutes! Set a timer for 8 minutes, and get the whole family to put items away and tidy up their rooms until the timer goes off. Whatever you all can put away in 8 minutes is terrific. This is going to prevent your home from getting chaotic. Eventually, this will become a habit, and when it becomes a part of your family’s lifestyle, your home will never get out of control. The goal is not to put every single item away (of course, if that happens, even better) but the goal is to put whatever you can away within that time.

To Wrap It All Up

The start of school doesn’t have to be a hectic time for families! You can have an organized and stress-free back-to-school season by getting the kids on a weekly sleep schedule ASAP, laying out all school outfits the night before, and setting up an “out the door possibilities” bin. Also, prep breakfasts and school lunches the night before, declutter your car once a week, add a trash bin to your vehicle, and get the whole family to start following an “8-minute cleaning” rule. All of these strategies will help your whole family have the best school year yet!

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Bling!
Hey, guys, if you’re in love and are looking for a sure-fire way to pop the question, you might want to get in touch with Abdul Gafur Anadiyan, managing director at SWA Diamonds. You’ll find him in Malappuram, India and, if you have the dough, he has an engagement ring that will knock your lady’s socks off. It features 24,679 diamonds and the Guinness Book of World Records attests to the fact that it’s a one of a kind. Guinness describes Abdul as specializing “in diamond jewelry with a mission of making it affordable for all.” Sure enough, he’s asking a mere $95,243 for this piece of bling.

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A sunny story
It happened on July 12 -- a New York City event known as “Manhattanhenge,” when the sun sets in perfect alignment with the streets of Manhattan. And as usual, huge crowds of tourists joined Manhattanites to get a glimpse of the phenomenon. They gathered on the East side of town facing due West to watch the sun as it made its descent beyond the Hudson River, its rays falling perfectly between Manhattan’s sky scrapers. It happens each year for two days in May and two days in July. Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson came up with the moniker, Manhattanhenge, comparing it to Britain’s Stonehenge.

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Don’t wake the sea lions
It can get pretty crowded at the balmy beaches of La Jolla, California, and, recently, the crowd at La Jolla Cove got a wakeup call when a beachgoer accidentally roused a group of sea lions. Apparently, the sleeping mammals were awakened by a visitor who had gotten too close to them. She was frightened and started running away, the sea lions allegedly ran after her, which in turn caused a panicked mass evacuation of sunbathers. The sea lions eventually returned to the water and no one was hurt.

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3 lessons for those struggling to overcome dark times

Getting your life back on track after a major crisis is never easy, but it’s perhaps even tougher when your reputation is on the line.
Carlos Legaspy (www.carloslegaspy.com), owner and CEO of Insight Securities, knows about such trials and tribulations. When he blew the whistle on a massive Ponzi scheme run by a company his firm had provided services to, the fraud’s perpetrators shifted the blame to him, and he was quickly facing accusations of negligence and fraud – accusations that set him back emotionally and professionally.
“There was intense fear, like I was looking at the end – not the end of my life but the destruction of my business, my career, and my reputation,” he says. “But pushing back against that feeling of dread was acceptance, combined with a will to fight.”
Only after years of battles and litigation – and settlements that he made grudgingly – is he finally clearing his name. Legaspy recounts his story in the book Going for Broke: How One Of Latin America's Largest Financial Frauds Became A Blessing In Disguise.
He believes his experience may hold lessons for others who face hardships, no matter how different those may be from his own situation. Those lessons include:
The best defense is a strong offense. Regardless of the crisis a person faces, it’s important to realize that you don’t have to cower in a corner, Legaspy says. At some point, you can go on the offensive, whatever that means for your circumstances, he says. “I’m a big rugby fan and one of the cool things about rugby, unlike, say, American football, is that if you’re on the pitch, you play both defense and offense,” he says. “I applied some of the lessons of the sport that I loved to my crisis, defending my territory while simultaneously striking back.”
Never give up. Before his resolve was tested by his legal troubles, Legaspy faced a situation where his very life hung in the balance. He and a friend were stranded in the Cañon de Guadalupe in Mexico when their rented vehicle became stuck on a sandbar. They endured a six-hour walk out of the wilderness in 120-degree heat with limited water. “In such moments, when faced with an impossible task or insurmountable odds, there will be part of you that is tempted to give up, give in. To stop fighting,” Legaspy says. But he willed himself to keep going, and the memory of that day helped him later when his ability to adjust to misfortune was put to the test in his legal fight.
There is joy even in the darkest moments. Bad times can seem overwhelming. “In the darkest days of the crisis, I felt like Thelma and Louise in that famous climactic scene of the movie,” Legaspy says. “Boxed in, chased from all directions, with no way out except by driving off the precipice into the canyon below.” That was clearly a mindset he didn’t want to be in, so he found pleasure and happiness where he could. “In difficult times, one thing you can do is connect with family and friends,” he says. Also, hours spent in a pastime, such as Legaspy’s favorite, rugby, help to take your mind off your woes and add pleasure to your life, he says.
“What I also have learned about difficult times is that I can either shut down, wither and fade away – or I can fight back,” Legaspy says. “I can accept the reality of failure and not be ashamed of it, but instead accept that every great success story is, on closer inspection, made up of many smaller failures along the way. I imagine that it is part of some divine plan that God, the universe, fate, or whatever word you prefer has for each of us.”

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Medal of Honor: Union Army Maj. Gen. Daniel Sickles
By Katie Lange
Many Civil War Medal of Honor recipients didn't get their medals until well after the conflict ended. So, it's no surprise that Union Army Maj. Gen. Daniel Sickles didn't receive his medal until decades later. Although Sickles was instrumental in creating Gettysburg National Battlefield Park, he had a controversial life, and he might be the only recipient to have earned the medal while disobeying a direct order.
Sickles was born to wealthy New York City landowners George and Susan Sickles on Oct. 20, 1819. Few details are known about his childhood, but scandal tended to follow him through life.
Sickles studied at University of the City of New York, now known as New York University, before studying law and passing the bar in 1846. His political connections got him a job as corporation counsel tending to New York City's legal affairs, as well as a state Senate seat in 1847.
Early Controversies
In 1852, Sickles married his much younger wife, Teresa. A year later, they had a daughter, Laura. According to the American Battlefield Trust, Sickles often told people he was born in 1825. Historians believe he said that because his wife was about half his age and he wanted to seem younger to make their age gap less of a scandal.
In 1856, Sickles was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, so he and his family moved to Washington, D.C., where they lived a lavish lifestyle in a mansion off Lafayette Square, across from the White House.
It was also well-known that neither husband nor wife were exactly faithful to each other. One of perhaps Sickles' biggest scandals was the fact that he shot and killed his wife's lover, Philip Barton Key, a public prosecutor and the son of famed "Star-Spangled Banner" author Francis Scott Key. When the affair was uncovered in February 1859, Sickles shot Key three times in broad daylight. According to the American Battlefield Trust, future War Secretary Edwin Stanton represented Sickles in what became the first use of temporary insanity as a successful defense.
Sickles was acquitted for the killing and even took his wife back, which was a shock to Washington's elite. According to the ABT, the Sickles became social pariahs. Few people socialized with them, and one diarist noted that Sickles was "left alone as if he had the smallpox."
Wartime Battles and Orders Disobeyed
Sickles continued to serve in Congress until March 1861, a few weeks before the Civil War began. He then joined the military, entering service as a colonel for the 70th New York Infantry. Later, he was appointed as brigadier general of volunteers and put in command if New York's Excelsior Brigade. By November 1862, he’d been promoted to major general. He commanded a division during the December 1862 Battle of Fredericksburg before being put in charge of the Third Corps ahead of the Chancellorsville campaign in the spring of 1863.
At Chancellorsville, Sickles argued over orders given to him by his superior. He did that again at Gettysburg — this time disobeying direct orders from Maj. Gen. George C. Meade, who commanded the Army of the Potomac. Amazingly, instead of earning a reprimand, Sickles earned the Medal of Honor.
The actions for which he earned it happened on July 2, 1863, the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg. Sickles, who was still in command of the Third Corps, was ordered to occupy Little Round Top, a small hill on the Union Army's left flank. Instead, he moved his men to the Peach Orchard about a mile away. The ABT said as a result of his defiance, Sickles lost his leg, and the Third Corps was overrun and driven from the field.
According to a 1902 article in the New York Tribune, Sickles had been hit with a cannonball in the right leg and put on a stretcher after his boot filled with blood. Somehow it was reported that he — their commander — was dead, so the demoralized troops began to fall back. To boost their dampened spirits, Sickles commanded that he stay on the line in the stretcher. "To further reassure his men that he was still alive, he sat up and smoked a cigar," the article said.
Sickles didn't receive the Medal of Honor until nearly 35 years later, on Oct. 30, 1897. According to the citation, he "displayed most conspicuous gallantry on the field, vigorously contesting the advance of the enemy and continuing to encourage his troops after being himself severely wounded."
Despite the disaster that unfolded by Sickles disobeying a direct order, the Union still managed to hold the line that day and went on to win the pivotal battle. Sickles' actions have been debated ever since and are one of Gettysburg's most enduring controversies, said James Hessler, a Civil War author and licensed battlefield guide at Gettysburg National Military Park.
Post-War Politics
Meanwhile, Sickles' leg was amputated above the knee while he was still in the field. He was transferred to a D.C. hospital the next day and recovered well enough to get back on a horse two months later, according to the National Museum of Health and Medicine. Sickles donated the limb to the Army Medical Museum. It’s now known as the NMHM as mentioned above, and it still keeps the bones on display to this day. According to the museum, Sickles visited the limb for years after he donated it, often bringing invited guests — including Mark Twain.
After the war, Sickles held a slew of positions in government, including as New York's sheriff, as chairman of the city's Civil Service Commission and as a foreign diplomat to Colombia. During a stint as the military governor of South Carolina, Sickles was tasked with assessing the effects of slavery on Black people and making suggestions for future reconstruction.
Sickles disgraced wife, Teresa, died from a lingering cold in 1867. Sickles then spent most of the 1870s living abroad. In 1871, while working as the U.S. minister of Spain, he married another woman, Caroline, who was only a few years older than his daughter, Laura. At about the same time, Sickles and Laura became estranged. Sadly, she died years before him, in 1892 at the age of 38, according to a 1945 New York Daily News article.
Sickles and his second wife had a son, Stanton, and a daughter named Edna. But eventually Caroline also became estranged from Sickles. Daily News sources said she refused to leave Spain when he was ready to return to America, so she stayed while he came back alone.
A Leader In Battlefield Preservation
Upon his return, Sickles saw Civil War veterans begging for money and was so moved by it that he decided to get more involved in veterans' affairs, the author Hessler reported. This included revisiting the battlefields at Gettysburg — visits that led to him becoming instrumental in the early preservation and development of Gettysburg National Battlefield Park.
In 1886, the New York State Monuments Commission was created, and Sickles was made its chairman. His role: to oversee the placement of monuments at Gettysburg that highlighted New York soldiers' contributions to the battle.
Sickles was also re-elected to Congress in late 1892, more than 30 years after he initially left office to join the war effort. During his second tenure, he actively championed veterans' affairs and anything pertaining to the Gettysburg battlefield. In 1893, he played a key role in stopping the commercial destruction of the battlefield — even though the federal government’s ability to buy the land for preservation purposes didn’t come until after his death more than 20 years later. In February 1895, he pushed legislation through Congress that made the area an official park, even establishing its initial boundaries, which remained unchanged until 1974, Hessler reported.
In 1912, Sickles was involved in one more scandal. He was removed as chairman of the New York State Monuments Commission after an audit of the commission's books found that about $28,000 was missing, Hessler reported. Then in his early nineties, Sickles was in failing health, and most people involved in the case assumed the discrepancy happened through his inability to manage the finances of a large organization -- not through devious means.
Sickles died of a cerebral hemorrhage on May 3, 1914, in New York City, with his estranged wife, Caroline, by his side. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
While controversy often followed his name, Sickles' legacy is noticeable all over Gettysburg. Sickles Avenue is a prominent lane running through the park, while various monuments and markers commemorate him and depict his unit’s efforts.

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Yikes!
The experts say that your rubber tires will not stop lightning from striking your car. It’s a lesson that Mr. and Mrs. Edward Whalen learned the hard way as they were driving in a storm near Tampa, Florida, recently. Edward was in his truck and Michelle was behind him in her car when a bolt of lightning struck the truck and proceeded to hit her car. It was a fierce storm and it was all caught on video. A county deputy, Kristen Miceli, happened to be driving in the next lane and saw the whole thing. No one was injured.

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Ooh-la-la
If you are old enough, you may recall the frenzy Brigitte Bardot and her bikini caused around the world in the 1952 French film The Girl in the Bikini. At first it was scandalous. Some 68 years later, we’ve become accustomed to the skimpy swim suit. But the fact is that the bikini actually made its debut in 1946 when on July 5th fashion icon Louis Reard first introduced the two piece bathing suit. Because it was so “explosive” he named it the “bikini” after America’s famous nuclear test that took place on Bikini Atoll in July of 1945. Thus, the annual celebration of International Bikini Day takes place on July the 5th.

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Ritzy spuds
A side of French fries goes for a couple of bucks in most eateries. But at the pricey Serendipity3 restaurant on the Upper East Side of Manhattan they don’t call them French fries, they call them Creme de la Creme Pommes Frites and they will set you back $200. After all it’s not just potatoes fried up by a hash slinger, it takes a genuine culinarian to do the cooking and a list of ingredients that few of us have ever encountered: Chipperbeck potatoes, Dom Perignon Champagne, J. LeBlanc French Champagne Ardenne Vinegar, cage-free goose fat from France, Guerande Truffle Salt, truffle oil, Crete Senesi Pecorino Tartufello cheese, shaved black summer truffles from Italy, truffle butter, organic A2 100% grass fed cream from Jersey Cows, Gruyere Truffled Swiss Raclette and a topping of 23-karat edible gold dust.

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History Matters
A biweekly feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize
Showing our children that their past is prelude to their future
by John Grimaldi and David Bruce Smith

July 16 to July 31
On July 16, 1790, the Founding Fathers ensconced the nation’s capital in what History.com described as “a swampy, humid, muddy and mosquito-infested site on the Potomac River between Maryland and Virginia,” named for George Washington “who saw the area’s potential economic, and accessibility benefits due to the proximity of navigable rivers.”
The French architect, Pierre L Enfant, was tasked with mapping out the city’s layout, and George Hoban worked up the design for the White House, but George Washington would never live there because he died in 1799—a year before it was completed.
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Secrets of Our Nation's Capital: Weird and Wonderful Facts About Washington, DC by Susan Schader Lee.

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On July 22, 1862, Abraham Lincoln rounded up his cabinet and advisors to divulge his intention to issue an Emancipation Proclamation that would abolish slavery.
“Attempting to stitch together a nation mired in a bloody civil war, Abraham Lincoln made a last ditch, but carefully calculated, executive decision regarding the institution of slavery in America. At the time of the meeting with his cabinet, things were not looking good for the Union. The Confederate Army had overcome Union troops in significant battles and Britain and France were set to officially recognize the Confederacy as a separate nation,” History.com reports.
Lincoln, however, waited until Sept. 22, 1862, to release a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all enslaved people in the rebellious states--as of January 1, 1863.
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln and the Dawn of Liberty by Tonya Bolden.

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On July 30, 1619, the first legislature was assembled in Jamestown, Virginia.
According to History.com, “Earlier that year, the London Company, which had established the Jamestown settlement 12 years before, directed Virginia Governor Sir George Yeardley to summon a ‘General Assembly’ elected by the settlers, with every free adult male voting. Twenty-two representatives from the 11 Jamestown boroughs were chosen, and Master John Pory was appointed the assembly’s speaker. On July 30, the House of Burgesses (an English word for “citizens”) convened for the first time. Its first law, which, like all its laws, would have to be approved by the London Company, required tobacco to be sold for at least three shillings per pound. Other laws passed during its first six-day session included prohibitions against gambling, drunkenness and idleness, and a measure that made Sabbath observance mandatory.”
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends James Horn’s 1619: Jamestown and the Forging of American Democracy.

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Shoes in the shower cap: How to pack perfectly this summer

Over-packers and novice travellers are being offered tips on how to pack perfectly for their summer holiday.
The holiday car rental experts at StressFreeCarRental.com have rounded up their top tips for those looking to save space and ensure they pack all of the essentials.
Among the top hacks are packing necklaces in straws to avoid them becoming tangled and placing dirty shoes in a shower cap.
Overpackers should aim to wear some of their more bulky items, like boots or jackets, on the plane to relieve the stress of fitting everything in your suitcase.
A spokesperson from StressFreeCarRental.com said: “Packing the perfect amount of items to fit in your suitcase before a holiday is a real art. Often, holiday-makers over pack and chuck in a number of outfits for each day, just in case they are in need of extra items - only to bring the majority home unworn and full of creases.
“To avoid this, travellers should plan ahead and make a list of the items they need. Easy tips for saving space include only taking the essential toiletries and decanting items like shampoo, conditioner and shower gel into small travel bottles.”

Here are StressFreeCarRental.com ’s top packing hacks:

Heavy items
Place any heavier or bulkier items by the wheels of your case so when it is stood, the heavy items will be at the bottom.

Dryer sheets
Travellers preparing for long-haul flights or for those who don't like to unpack when they get to their destination should place dryer sheets in their luggage. This will keep everything smelling fresh.

Prevent spillages
To avoid any liquids spilling all over your case, unscrew the lid of your bottles and place a small piece of cling film over the opening and screw the lid back on. Alternatively, pack all liquids in a plastic bag.

Packing chargers
Avoid wires getting tangled amongst your belongings by wrapping up all chargers and electricals and packing them together in a small bag or packing cube.

Outfit packing
Before packing, arrange your items of clothing into outfits rather than individual items. This will encourage you to think more strategically about the clothes you need and will help to stop temptations for overpacking.

Jewellery
Getting on holiday to find all of your necklaces have tangled in your bag is frustrating. To prevent this, pop your necklaces into reusable straws.

Roll up
Rather than folding all of your clothes, try rolling them up to take up less space and avoid lots of creases.

Bulky clothes
Wear heavy clothes and shoes at the airport rather than stuffing them into your case. Layer up with jumpers and jackets and wear your heaviest shoes.

Wrap up shoes
Cotton bags are great for holding shoes inside a suitcase as they can be washed as soon as you're home. Alternatively, shower caps are great for holding muddy or dirty shoes and means you can keep them away from your clean clothes.

Fragile items
Avoid breakages of glass perfume and aftershave bottles by putting them inside your packed shoes or in a sock for extra padding.

Hats
Those heading off on sunny holidays and planning on packing hats should stuff them with smaller items like socks and underwear. This will save space and help your hats keep their shape.

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Medal of Honor: Army Staff Sgt. Gerald Leon Endl
By KATIE LANGE
Department of Defense News

Four men carry a person on a stretcher through jungle toward a Jeep on which another man is laying.
Medal of Honor Monday: Army Staff Sgt. Gerald Leon Endl
July 11, 2022 | By Katie Lange
Army Staff Sgt. Gerald L. Endl spent more than two years serving in the South Pacific before he lost his life, but he did so with honor while saving several of his platoon-mates. For making the ultimate sacrifice so that others could live, Endl earned the Medal of Honor.
Endl was born Aug. 20, 1915, in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. His parents were Ferdinand and Ellen Endl, and he had two older sisters, Isabel and Mildred.
According to the 1930 census, Endl worked for a messenger for Western Union while he attended Fort Atkinson High School. After graduating in 1933, he served in the Wisconsin National Guard for a short time while working at the James Manufacturing Company as a machinist for poultry equipment.
On Jan. 1, 1941, Endl married his wife, Anna Marie, then moved about half an hour south to Janesville, Wisconsin. About three months later, he was drafted into the Army. Endl trained in Louisiana and was eventually placed with the 128th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division.
The 32nd was slated to deploy to England, but as the war shifted to the South Pacific, so did their plans. The division was instead rerouted to Australia and New Guinea in April 1942.
In December 1942, Endl was wounded in the shoulder and knee during battle. He was hospitalized in Australia for several months before returning to active duty in May 1943. Previously, he received the Purple Heart for his actions and was promoted to the rank of sergeant. A few months later, he was promoted to staff sergeant.
Endl managed to survive more than two years of fighting overseas; unfortunately, he never made it home.
On July 11, 1944, the 28-year-old's platoon was taking part in Operation Cartwheel, which aimed to neutralize a major Japanese base at Rabaul. According to a War Department release, Endl and his platoon had been on the move and hadn't eaten or rested in more than 30 hours.
Spotlight: Commemorating World War II
Endl was at the front of the company's lead platoon on a jungle trail near Anamo, New Guinea, when they ran into enemy troops. The Japanese quickly unleashed rifle, machine gun and grenade fire. Endl's platoon leader was injured, so Endl quickly took over command. He had his platoon get into a firing line at a fork in the trail toward which the enemy attack was directed.
The dense jungle terrain made it hard for them to see and move easily, so Endl tried to make his way further down the trail to a grass clearing. But as he did so, he detected the enemy — which had at least six light and two heavy machine guns — trying to close in on both flanks.
A second platoon was sent to move up on Endl's platoon's left flank to help, but the enemy closed in on them quickly, threatening to isolate and annihilate both units. Twelve members of Endl's unit had been wounded, while seven others had been cut off by the enemy’s advance.
Endl knew that if his unit was forced back further, those stranded men would likely be captured or killed by the Japanese. So, he decided to try to rescue them, even though he knew it was likely a death sentence. Endl pushed on alone through heavy fire, engaging Japanese soldiers in a close-range firefight for a good 10 minutes. His effort held off the enemy long enough for his platoon-mates to crawl forward undercover, grab the trapped and wounded men and get them to relative safety.
However, four wounded men were still left on the trail in enemy territory, and Endl refused to leave them there. One by one, he brought them back to safety. It was while he was carrying the last man in his arms that he was struck by a heavy burst of fire and killed.
Thanks to Endl's efforts, all but one man was evacuated, and both platoons successfully got away with their wounded in tow.
Endl's comrades later remembered his bravery.
"He knew that to attempt to move ahead into the face of the enemy advance was almost certain death," said Army Staff Sgt. Edward R. Lane, Endl's platoon-mate who was later killed in action. "Yet, in his cool and determined manner, he said, ‘I've got to get those men out.' And he went out alone to get them."
Another platoon-mate, Pfc. Andrew W. Danielinko, called Endl "the most calm and efficient man I ever saw."
On March 27, 1945, Endl's widow was given the Medal of Honor on his behalf. It was presented to her in their hometown by Army Col. W. Lutz Krigbaum, the commanding officer of Camp (now Fort) McCoy, about two hours northwest of Janesville.
Endl was initially buried in New Guinea, but his remains were repatriated in July 1948 and interred in St. Joseph's Cemetery in his hometown. His medal was eventually donated to the Wisconsin Veterans Museum.
Streets on numerous military bases have been named in Endl's honor.

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Phlox adds color and pollinator appeal to the garden all season long
By MELINDA MYERS

Fill your gardens with color from spring through summer and even into fall with a variety of pollinator-friendly phlox. The beauty, diversity, and usefulness in the garden of this group of plants had the National Garden Bureau declare 2022 Year of the Phlox.
Start out the growing season with creeping phlox (Phlox subulata). This low growing phlox is perfect for rock gardens, as a groundcover or planted at the front of a perennial garden. Grow it in full sun with well-drained soil in zones three to nine. Once the flowers fade, shear the plants back halfway to encourage attractive new growth that will last all season long.
Woodland phlox (Phlox divaricata) is native to Midwestern woods and fields and hardy in zones three to eight. The periwinkle blue flowers add some welcome color to shady spots in spring. Grow it in moist rich soil and watch for hummingbirds and butterflies that visit the blooms.
The Garden Club of America named Blue Moon woodland phlox its Plant of the Year, awarding it with the 2022 Montine McDaniel Freeman Horticulture Award. This award is given to native underutilized plants with superior ecological and ornamental attributes. Their goal is to increase the use of these plants in gardens. Blue Moon is mildew resistant, long blooming and like the species is an early source of pollen for native bees, swallowtail butterflies and nectar for the hummingbirds.
Downy or prairie phlox (Phlox pilosa) is another North American native phlox that can be found in prairies and is hardy in zones three to nine. The pale pink to purple-pink blossoms appear in spring. Grow it in full sun with moist to well-drained loam or sandy soils. Like other phlox, it attracts and supports butterflies and hummingbirds.
Marsh phlox (Phlox globerrima) is native to wet prairies and open woodlands and thrives in moist soil and even damp clay. The intense magenta flowers appear June to July and are a hummingbird magnet. Grow this phlox in zones four to eight.
The North American native tall garden phlox has long been popular with gardeners. It blooms mid-season, adding color and height to any garden bed or mixed border. The perfectly round flower clusters top each stem and come in a variety of colors from white to pink, purple, salmon and more. Grow these in full sun with moist, rich well-drained soil.
The flowers of many tall phlox varieties are fragrant, attract pollinators and make great cut flowers. Remove faded flowers and provide sufficient moisture and nutrients to encourage more blooms. The Fashionably Early series of tall phlox bloom early and for a long period with rebloom in fall.
Grow tall phlox in full sun, provide sufficient space and avoid overhead watering to reduce the risk of powdery mildew. Select mildew resistant varieties like LUMINARY™, Opening Act, Sweet Summer and Super Ka-pow to reduce the risk of this disease.
Consider adding a variety of phlox plants to your garden this season or next. You and the pollinators will appreciate the long season of beautiful flowers, pollen, and nectar.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Adviser at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – What Do My Wife, and my Ex-wife, Get If I Die?
Dear Rusty: I am a 77 year old married male. I am retired and started drawing Social Security at age 66, and my monthly amount is a little over $3,000. My present wife is 52 and employed, and we have been married for 22 years. I also have an ex-wife who is 85, not married, and drawing Social Security. My ex-wife and I were married 13 years.
When I am deceased, what happens to my Social Security benefits? When my present wife decides to receive SS benefits, would she draw the higher benefit of our monthly amounts? Would my ex-wife be able to increase her benefit? Signed: Planning Ahead
Dear Planning Ahead: In the event of your death, here is how Social Security eligibility would work for your current wife and for your ex-wife:
For your current wife, unless she is disabled, she cannot collect a survivor benefit as your widow until she is at least 60 years old. However, if she claims her survivor benefit before reaching her full retirement age (FRA), it will be reduced. Claimed at age 60, her benefit as your widow would be 71.5% of the amount you were receiving at your death. If she waited beyond age 60 to claim, her survivor benefit would continue to grow until it reached maximum at her FRA of age 67 (100% of the benefit you were receiving when you died). She would also have the option to wait until age 62 and claim her own reduced personally-earned SS benefit first while allowing her survivor benefit to grow to maximum at age 67; or she could take her reduced survivor benefit only first and allow her personally-earned SS benefit to grow to maximum at age 70. She should choose whichever strategy would give her the highest benefit for the rest of her life.
Note, too, that if your current wife were to collect any benefit before reaching her full retirement age (67) and she works, she would be subject to Social Security's earnings test. The earnings test limits how much can be earned before some of her benefits are taken away by Social Security. For reference, the 2022 earnings limit is $19,560, but it changes annually. If the annual earnings limit in force when your wife claims is exceeded, and she hasn’t yet reached age 67, SS will take away benefits equal to $1 for every $2 over the limit. The limit is higher, and the penalty is less in the year FRA is reached, and the earnings test goes away when your current wife is 67.
Regarding your ex-wife, if you die first, and because you were married for more than 10 years, your ex-wife will be entitled to collect a survivor benefit from you, if that amount (what you were receiving at your death) is more than she is currently receiving based on her own lifetime work record (she would get the higher of the two amounts). Your ex-wife would need to contact Social Security to claim her survivor benefit from you, and your ex-wife collecting a survivor benefit from you will not affect your current wife's benefit in any way - both can get their full survivor benefit from you independent of each other and neither will be reduced because more than one wife is collecting.
For clarity, since you and your ex-wife are both already collecting Social Security, your ex-wife may be entitled to a spousal boost from you while you are both living, if her own personally-earned FRA benefit amount is less than 50% of your SS benefit, and that would have no effect on either your own current benefit or your current wife's survivor entitlement. Your ex-wife would need to contact Social Security directly to apply for her ex-spouse benefit from you while you are both living.

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Milestone moments federal employees should be alert to as retirement nears

Retirement seems a distant rumor when a federal employee shows up for their first day on the job.
But eventually time passes and retirement comes speeding into view, whether you’re ready or not. So just when should federal employees stop thinking of retirement as a far-off dream and get serious about making sure they are on track to take care of their needs once their working years end?
“It's hard to put a pin on an exact date of when you should sit down with a financial advisor as retirement nears,” says Galen Bargerstock, president and founder of Government & Civil Employee Services (www.gces.us), a company that offers state and federal employees access to professional retirement and benefits services.
But he and Clinton Smith, CEO of GCES, say there are key moments when extra attention is warranted. Those are:
Ages 49 and 54. Federal employees enrolled in the Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) see automatic increases in what they pay for group term coverage at age 50 and again at age 55 (and every five years after that). So they should review their situation at ages 49 and 54, before those increases take effect. “If you've elected additional options above the basic life coverage your increases could be pretty steep,” Bargerstock says. “This is a great time to figure out if your elections are still the best coverage for you and your family.”
Five years from retirement. Review your health insurance coverage as a family and your spouse’s coverage specifically, Smith says. “If your spouse's coverage is cheaper while you're working as a federal employee, and that is where you are covered, that is fine,” he says. “However, check into the details of what happens to your spouse’s coverage when they retire.” If they are not allowed to keep coverage in retirement, there is going to be a gap in your coverage after you retire, Smith says. “You're going to want to fix that gap by getting coverage through the federal government,” he says. “You are required to have health coverage as a federal employee for the last five years before retirement if you want to maintain coverage in retirement.”
Age 59½. In most cases, the IRS allows you to move your retirement funds without penalty after age 59½. “If you’re a federal employee putting money into the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), then 59½ is the time to consider moving that money into an account that fits your retirement needs,” Bargerstock says. “There are many options available to federal employees, most of them better than the options if you leave your money in the TSP.” He suggests connecting with a financial professional who can understand your needs and make recommendations about what’s available to you.
Two years before retirement. With retirement closing in, do a full financial analysis and take a detailed look at your retirement income sources, Smith says. “Most federal employees have difficulty figuring out how their pension, Social security, and other funds work together and what their final income per month will be from all sources,” he says. “This is the time to figure out your retirement budget and get a picture of how much you will be making in retirement versus what you are making while you are working.” This is especially important because, this close to retirement, you don’t have much time left to make changes that would have an impact, Smith says.
Ideally, federal employees would begin making good decisions about retirement right from the start of their employment, Smith and Bargerstock say.
“But that never happens,” Bargerstock says. “So, at the minimum, sitting down with an advisor when you're vested at five years and know that you'll receive a pension is the next best time to make sure you're on the right track. If that has already passed and you've been working there for 10-plus years, yesterday would be the best time.”

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A long, non-stop flight

Being a flight attendant doesn’t get any more glamorous than the job Bette Nash has. After all she’s been at it -- non-stop, as they say -- since 1957. The 86-year-old stewardess started her career flying for Eastern Airlines and now works for American Airlines and the Guinness Book of World Record recently declared her to be the world’s oldest airline steward still on the job. Back in the day, 65 years ago when she got started, "You had to be a certain height, you had to be a certain weight,” she said. “It used to be horrible. You put on a few pounds and you had to keep weighing yourself, and then if you stayed that way, they would take you off the payroll."

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Did you hear the one about...

Seriously, the first of July, came and went and many of us didn’t know it was International Joke Day. The British online learning platform, Global Dimension, explains Joke Day “was started for a laugh by comedian and writer Wayne Reinagel in 1994 so he could publicize his own joke books. It has no official status and it is unclear how many people really observe it, but that just makes it all the more charming. Jokes aren’t just a trivial matter, they lift others up when they’re sad, they reveal useful cultural insights and importantly, they allow us to be more honest. This is a day to celebrate the importance of jokes and comedy in our lives.”

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The world’s most lovable pooch?

Each year the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, America’s oldest dog show, celebrates the world’s “most perfect dogs.” But, what about the not-so-perfect hounds? They get their chance for international attention at the World's Ugliest Dog Contest in Petaluma, CA.-- an annual event that dates back to the 1970s. Mr. Happy Face, a Chinese crested-chihuahua mix, won this year’s competition on June 24. In a bio for the event, the pooch’s owner Janeda Banelly of Arizona described Happy Face as a “humble soul” and “an example, in subtle ways, to help humans realize that even old dogs need love and a family too."

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Increase flowers with a bit of deadheading
By MELINDA MYERS

Keep your garden looking its best with a bit of deadheading. Removing faded flowers can promote repeat bloom on some plants, encourage fuller, more compact growth, and tidy up the garden.
Use a bypass pruner or deadheading snips to remove faded flowers. These tools have two sharp blades like scissors. This results in a clean cut that closes quickly, leaving your plant looking its best.
The type of flower will influence how and where to make the cut. In general, remove the stem of faded blooms back to the first set of healthy leaves or nearby flower buds.
Deadhead flowers like salvia, veronica, and snapdragons by removing faded flowers to encourage more blooms. Make cuts below the faded flower and above a set of healthy leaves or new flower stems.
Encourage additional blossoms and improve Shasta daisy’s appearance by removing faded flowers. Prune back just above a set of healthy leaves.
Cut the flowers of Armeria, coral bells and other flowers back to the base of the flower stems that arise from the foliage. This improves the appearance and encourages more blooms on some of this type of flowering perennial.
Plants like daylilies and balloon flowers require a bit different care for a tidier look. Remove the individual blooms as they fade. Once bloomed out, you can cut the flower stem back at the base. Allowing the faded flowers to hang on the stem until it is all bloomed out won’t hurt the plant, it just detracts from the plant’s overall beauty.
Removing fading flowers of fuchsia and lantana will prevent the plants from going to seed and encourage more blooms. Remove any berries that do form to keep these plants flowering.
Some plants like impatiens, cuphea and calibrachoas are self-cleaning. Old blossoms fall off the plants as new flowers form, eliminating the need for deadheading.
Deadhead heavy seeders like columbine to reduce the number of seedlings and contain the spread. Or allow some seeds to develop if you have space to fill or want lots of seedlings to transplant to new garden beds.
Allow seedheads to develop on coneflowers, rudbeckias, and other plants that provide winter interest and food for the birds.
Remove flowers as they appear on coleus to promote more compact growth. Late blooming, flowerless varieties and self-branching coleus hybrids reduce or eliminate time spent on this task.
Consider skipping the deadheading of late blooming perennials. This allows them to prepare for winter and form seedpods for a bit of winter interest.
Improve the appearance of leggy plants with long stems and few leaves with a bit of pruning. Cut back further into the leafy stem when deadheading to encourage fuller growth as well as more flowers.
Make deadheading part of your regular garden maintenance. Investing time throughout the season will help keep your garden looking its best.

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House Call
From Dr. Bala Simon, associate professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Q. What are some water-related illnesses?
A. Viruses, bacteria and chemicals often are present in natural swimming areas. While chlorine kills most germs in pools, splash fountains and hot tubs, it doesn’t work immediately.
Swimmer’s ear is an outer-ear infection that can occur if water remains in the outer ear canal for an extended period. Some bacteria in spas and hot tubs, where higher temperatures cause chlorine to break down faster, can cause rashes and Legionnaire’s Disease, a type of pneumonia that spreads through inhaled water droplets.
In natural swimming areas, risks include diarrhea, rashes, pink eye and lung problems from swimming near toxic algae. Avoid water that is discolored, scummy, cloudy or has a strong chemical odor.
Rare infections include flesh-eating bacteria, which can be serious for those with compromised immunities. About three cases of a brain-eating amoeba, which is caused by a tiny organism in warm freshwater that enters through the nose, occurs each year in the United States. These infections are almost always fatal.
To protect yourself and others, cover open wounds with a waterproof bandage, don’t drink the water while swimming, shower before and after swimming or soaking in hot tub, and wash swimsuits after use. If you have diarrhea, don’t enter the water.
Q. How can I lower my risks of having a stroke?
A. A stroke occurs when plaque builds up in arteries, blocking blood from flowing to part of the brain. When this happens, cells begin to die and the areas that control muscles, speech, and memory may be damaged.
A number of conditions increase your risk for stroke, including high blood pressure, being overweight or having diabetes. Those with an irregular heart rhythm known as AFib, are five times more likely to have a stroke.
High levels of LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, and low levels of HDL, or “good” cholesterol, can increase the chances of having a stroke. Lower your LDL by reducing your intake of saturated and trans fats and increase your HDL by exercising.
Eating a healthy diet with about 25 grams of fiber daily and exercising regularly are key. Losing as little as 10 pounds can lower the chances of having a stroke.
The risk of having a stroke may decrease if you have one alcoholic beverage a day; however, it increases dramatically if you drink more than two a day. Smoking increases your chances of having a stroke.
Finally, reducing stress can help lessen your chances of stroke, so explore some relaxing activities.
Q. What are some unexpected signs of lung cancer?
A. Typically there aren’t any obvious symptoms in the early stages of lung cancer; however, in later stages, signs can include wheezing, coughing and chest pain.
There are also lesser-known symptoms. Lung tumors make hormone-like chemicals that can cause fingertips to look thicker or larger than normal; other symptoms may be kidney trouble, cramps and nausea.
In some people, lung cancer leads to higher calcium levels, causing constipation, queasiness or stomach pain. High calcium levels also can affect the immune system or hormones, causing depression, anxiety, confusion or foggy thinking.
People with cancer that develops in the upper part of the lungs and spreads to ribs, spine, and nerves are more likely to experience shoulder or back pain instead of respiratory issues. These types of tumors can also affect the nerves to the eyes.
Other lesser-known cancer symptoms include puffy arms, neck or face when a tumor restricts blood flow, swollen breasts in men, heart problems, headaches, and blood clots in the arms, legs or lungs.
Lung cancer isn’t the only cause of these symptoms, so someone experiencing any of them should consult their physician.
Q. What causes feet to become numb or tingle?
A. Peripheral neuropathy is when a nerve or group of nerves outside the brain and spinal cord are injured or don’t function properly. There are more than 100 types of peripheral neuropathy, and more than 20 million Americans, most of them older adults, are estimated to experience this condition.
Diabetes is one of the most common causes of peripheral neuropathy, accounting for about 30% of all cases. In diabetic neuropathy, tingling and other symptoms often first develop in both feet and go up the legs, followed by tingling and other symptoms that affect both hands and travel up the arms. In many cases, these symptoms are the first signs of diabetes.
Tingling in hands and feet is also a common symptom of multiple sclerosis. Peripheral neuropathy may also be caused by alcohol consumption, kidney disorders, liver disease, vascular damage, blood diseases, hormonal imbalances or vitamin deficiencies, cancers or benign tumors that press on nerves.
Other possible causes include toxins, including heavy metals, industrial and environmental chemicals, certain medications, infections, autoimmune diseases, inherited disorders or an injury.
If the symptoms persist, visit with your doctor to determine the cause and identify treatment options.

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Medal of Honor: Marine Corps Pfc. Melvin Newlin
By KATIE LANGE
Just because you don't have the best upbringing doesn't mean you can't go on to do great things.
That was the case for Marine Corps Private 1st Class Melvin E. Newlin. He didn't have the ideal life growing up, but the actions he performed in Vietnam to save his fellow Marines during combat made him a name that will forever be remembered. For his sacrifice, he received the Medal of Honor.
Newlin was born Sept. 27, 1948, in Wellsville, Ohio, a small town about an hour west of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Newlin's parents, Joseph and Ruth, had seven other children and struggled to support them all, according to a 2004 article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. So, Newlin spent time in foster care growing up.
By his senior year of high school, Newlin had briefly reunited with his parents. According to his brother Joe, that ended after a bout of apparent domestic violence, he told the Post-Gazette. So, the teenaged Newlin moved in with Joe and his wife.
Newlin graduated from Wellsville High School in 1966 — the only one of the siblings to get a diploma, said another brother, Richard.
About a month later, at the age of 17, Newlin enlisted in the Marine Corps. He became a machine gunner with Company F of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division.
In November 1966, Newlin was sent to Vietnam. According to a 1969 edition of the Ohio newspaper The Evening Review, he had been wounded a few times in various battles before his Medal of Honor-earning actions. He was also given the opportunity to take a desk job but refused, the paper said.
On the night of July 3, 1967, Newlin's unit was at an outpost at Nong Son Mountain, southwest of Da Nang, when about 400 Northern Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong fighters launched a savage and well-coordinated attack. Newlin and four other members of his platoon were manning a key position on the outpost’s perimeter. Quickly, all four of his comrades were killed.
Newlin himself was seriously injured, but he kept fighting. Propping himself against his machine gun, the 18-year-old blasted the enemy charging at him with a deadly stream of fire. Newlin was repeatedly hit by small-arms fire, but his efforts repelled the enemy's attempts to overrun his position twice.
During a third attempt, a grenade explosion knocked Newlin unconscious. The Viet Cong guerrillas assumed he was dead, so they charged past him and continued their assault on the main force behind Newlin's platoon.
When Newlin regained consciousness, he crawled back to his machine gun and sprayed fire into the backs of the enemy soldiers, who were thrown off by the unexpected attack. Newlin then noticed more enemy soldiers trying to use a recoilless weapon they'd captured from the Americans, so he shifted his fire onto those men, inflicting heavy casualties and keeping them from firing the captured weapon.
Newlin shifted his focus back to the main enemy force. They were keenly aware of him now, so the enemy soldiers stopped their assault on the Marines' bunkers and turned their fire toward him. Newlin fought off two more assaults before enemy fire finally killed him in the early hours of July 4, 1967.
Newlin's efforts singlehandedly threw the enemy’s assault into chaos, causing them to lose their momentum. The slowdown was long enough for more Marines to organize a defense and beat off the secondary attack.
For his selfless courage and unwavering devotion to duty, Newlin posthumously earned the Medal of Honor. President Richard M. Nixon presented the medal to his parents during a White House ceremony on March 18, 1969.
Newlin's remains were returned to the U.S. and interred in Spring Hill Cemetery in his hometown. His medal was eventually donated to the Museum of the Soldier in La Porte, Indiana.
Newlin's name is a recognizable one for people in his town and for Marines who serve today. The Marine Corps Warfighting Lab is housed in Newlin Hall in Quantico, Virginia. A section of highway between his native Wellsville and East Liverpool, Ohio, was also named in his honor.

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History Matters
A biweekly feature courtesy of
The Grateful American Book Prize

July 1 to July 31

The Battle of Gettysburg—arguably the decisive skirmish of the Civil War-- started as an accidental encounter between the Union and Confederate forces. General Robert E. Lee was preoccupied with taxing the northern troops on their territory as he led his 75,000-person army through Maryland and into Pennsylvania. But, as History.com describes it, “a Confederate division under General Henry Heth marched into Gettysburg hoping to seize supplies but finding instead three brigades of Union cavalry. Thus began the Battle of Gettysburg, and Lee and [Union General George] Meade ordered their massive armies to converge on the impromptu battle site.”
The rendezvous took place July 1, 1863 and ended three days later—in blood. Lee lost 25,000 in casualties, and the Union piled up 23,000 killed, wounded, and missing in action.
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Gettysburg: The True Account of Two Young Heroes in the Greatest Battle of the Civil War by Iain C. Martin.

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During the Revolutionary War women fought alongside their husbands. Some disguised themselves as men and joined George Washington’s army. Deborah Sampson, for example, called herself Robert Shurtleff, became a private in the Light Infantry Company of the 4th Massachusetts Regiment, and was the first female to receive a military pension.
Loretta Walsh was the first to enlist in 1917’s American military service.
But it wasn’t until June 9, 1947, that a woman was elevated to the rank of an officer. Florence Blanchfield was promoted to lieutenant colonel by General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
For more information about distaff in the armed services, the Grateful American Book Prize recommends They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the Civil War by De Anne Blanton and Lauren M. Cook.

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These days, a gallon of gas costs $5.00 or more, but for Ernst Pfenning—a dentist from Chicago, IL--the price was just a few pennies. On July 15, 1903, he became the first person to purchase an automobile from the Ford Motor Company. According to History.com, it was “an $850 two-cylinder Model A automobile with a tonneau (or backseat). The car, produced at Ford’s plant on Mack Street (now Mack Avenue) in Detroit, [and]was delivered to Dr. Pfenning just over a week later.
“Designed primarily by Ford’s assistant C. Harold Wills, the Model A could accommodate two people side-by-side on a bench; it had no top, and was painted red. The car’s biggest selling point was its engine, which at two cylinders and eight-horsepower was the most powerful to be found in a passenger car. It had relatively simple controls, including two forward gears that the driver operated with a foot pedal, and could reach speeds of up to 30 miles per hour (comparable to the car’s biggest competition at the time, the curved-dash Oldsmobile).”
For more information about America’s early automobiles, the Grateful American Book Prize recommends The Life of the Automobile: The Complete History of the Motor Car by Steven Parissien.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – About Working While Collecting Early Benefits

Dear Rusty: How much would be withheld from my social security benefits? I am 62 and can claim about $1,900 a month now. I’m still working, making about $75K per year. How much of my benefits would I get? What would be withheld from me and when would I get it back? And would there be any penalty? Signed: Eligible but Working
Dear Eligible: In the scenario you describe, you will not be eligible to collect Social Security retirement benefits at this time because your earnings are too high. Here’s how that is determined:
• At age 62, you are subject to Social Security’s “earnings test” which limits how much you can earn while collecting early benefits. The earnings limit applies until you reach your full retirement age (FRA), which for you is 67.
• Your penalty for exceeding the earnings limit now would be $1 for every $2 you are over the limit. At your current salary of $75K per year, you will be over the 2022 annual earnings limit of $19,560 by $55,440, which means you would owe Social Security $27,720. Since your age 62 benefit amount is about $1900 per month ($22,800/year), your annual SS benefit would be insufficient to offset the penalty for exceeding the earnings limit, thus you would not be entitled to a Social Security benefit because of your current earnings. You will again be eligible to collect SS when your earnings are substantially less, or when you reach your full retirement age, whichever occurs first.
Social Security’s earnings test affects everyone who works and earns when collecting benefits before reaching full retirement age. Each year, Social Security sets a limit for how much can be earned before benefits are affected (the 2022 limit is $19,560; it increases slightly each year). Those who exceed the limit pay a “penalty” of $1 for every $2 they are over the limit, which must be paid to SS either in a lump sum, or by having benefits withheld for enough months for SS to recover what is owed. If your Social Security benefit isn’t enough to offset the penalty for exceeding the earnings limit, no benefits will be paid.
Those collecting early benefits who earn only slightly more than the annual earnings limit can collect some benefits each year because their penalty is small enough. For example, someone earning $25,000 per year would exceed the 2022 earnings limit by $5440 and, thus, incur a penalty of $2720. That would probably mean about 2 months of withheld benefits, enabling them to get benefits for the remaining 10 months of the year. Social Security will withhold benefits for enough months to recover whatever the beneficiary owes for exceeding the limit.
The rules surrounding Social Security’s earning test are somewhat complex. For example, there is a “first year rule” which exempts salary earned prior to claiming SS from counting toward the earnings limit. When someone first claims Social Security mid-year they are, instead, subject to a monthly limit ($1630 for 2022) for the remaining months of the calendar year. If the monthly limit is exceeded, no benefits are payable for that month. The earnings limit no longer applies when full retirement age is reached but is still in effect in the months of that year prior to attaining FRA. The earnings limit during those months is much higher and the “penalty” for exceeding it is less.
Social Security prefers that those working and collecting early benefits contact them in advance to withhold benefits for as long as needed to offset the expected penalty. Doing so will avoid an Overpayment Notice being issued in the following year when your earnings amount is received from the IRS.
After full retirement age, Social Security will adjust the beneficiary’s payment to account for months benefits were withheld and increase the monthly amount accordingly. That will result in some, or perhaps all, of the withheld benefits being recovered over time (depending on longevity).

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Healthy workers = a healthy company: 5 benefits of a wellness program

The benefits companies offer play a key role in attracting employees and retaining them. Workplace wellness has grown in importance to both employees and employers in recent years, and such programs will continue to evolve in 2022 – in part as a response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the Great Resignation.
Organizations that place an emphasis on comprehensive employee wellness often are successful, creating holistic environments that foster a mentally and physically healthier workforce that’s better positioned to thrive, says James Webb (www.jamesharoldwebb.com), a successful entrepreneur in the medical and fitness sectors and author of A Country Boy’s Journey To Prosperity.
“You have to make all of your employees feel fully supported and appreciated,” Webb says. “In today’s hyper-competitive context of workers having leverage and leaving for greener pastures, the benefits and wellness features companies offer are as important as salary to many employees. Companies that want to compete for and keep talented and dedicated workers, and to grow their business, have to make wellness a priority.
“At the same time, companies can’t afford chronic absenteeism. Employees drive results. Companies are paying more for employees’ health insurance and workers are paying more. So companies and employees have a huge stake in saving on health-care expenses, and it behooves businesses to look at health holistically and as directly linked to their financial future.”
Webb offers the following benefits of having wellness programs in the workplace:
Improves employee health behaviors. A wellness program doesn’t guarantee good health for all employees, Webb says, but it does educate them about changing and improving health behaviors. “By improving the behaviors of the workforce, employees lower their health risks and adopt healthy habits,” Webb says. “Eating healthier, exercising more, and managing stress are important parts of a holistic health approach.”
Increases productivity. Research shows that employees who are healthier tend to be more productive in the workplace. “That’s because they’re more rested, energized and motivated to complete their work,” Webb says. “With an effective wellness program, you have less absenteeism. And healthy people are more able to do a variety of tasks, focus for long periods, and have the drive required to perform at a consistently high level.”
Improves employee engagement. “When companies create a culture focused on employee wellness, they typically have a more engaged workforce,” Webb says. “Weight-loss challenges, walking groups and other wellness activities help employees feel more connected to the company they work for and to their co-workers.”
Makes mental health as important as physical health. One area of workplace wellness that has trended in a positive direction has been access to mental health services. One survey found that 39% of employers have updated their mental health plans since the start of the pandemic to expand access to various avenues of help. “With enough space for psychological wellness,” Webb says, “your employees will be able to solve problems more easily than if they were fatigued, distracted or anxious.”
Creates an environment of opportunity. Webb says a healthier workforce means many individuals have a better chance to reach their potential while helping the company grow toward its goals. Professional development and career-tracking, he says, should be tied into a corporate wellness program. “As leaders and mentors we have an opportunity to create an environment of opportunity,” he says. “We can do this by helping employees discover for themselves what is best for their lives, and that will ultimately be what is best for the organization as well. Creating a space within your organization that presents opportunities for growth and exploration for your employees can be a powerful thing.”
“A comprehensive wellness program will help you create a culture of caring, a strong sense of loyalty, and a much stronger company,” Webb says. “When you put the health and overall well-being of your workforce first, top-flight recruiting and all-important retention take care of themselves.”

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Baby jumpers
Each year in June moms in the Spanish village of Castrillo de Murcia assemble in the town square and carefully place their newborn babies on strategically placed mattresses for the annual baby jumping festival known as El Salto del Colacho. A cadre of pious locals dressed in black chase El Colacho -- the devil himself -- forcing him to run and jump over the babies in a ceremony that is said to cleanse the infants, providing them with protection from disease and bad luck. The festival, which dates back to 1620, begins with a rowdy, whip wielding assembly of locals chasing bystanders through the streets of the village.

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Author, author
Your average five-year-old may be content to have mom or dad read him or her a story once in a while. But Bella-Jay Dark, who lives in the town of Weymouth, UK, not only reads her books, she writes them, as well. Bella-Jay had her storybook, The Lost Cat, published by Ginger Fyre Press and it is available for purchase on Amazon. In addition to making her parents proud, Bella-Jay earned the Guinness Record title of youngest person to write and publish a book.

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She sought freedom
Her name is Happy and she was allegedly being held against her wishes. But the New York Court of Appeals ruled that she has no right to a writ of habeas corpus in order to seek her freedom simply because Happy is an elephant who is being detained in the Bronx Zoo. The petition was filed by the Nonhuman Rights Project, which sought to release her after 50 years in “captivity” at the zoo so that she can spend her remaining years in an elephant sanctuary. Five judges ruled against Happy, but two objected saying that though she may be an elephant she had a right to “freedom.”

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Medal of Honor: Navy Cmdr. Clyde Everett Lassen
By KATIE LANGE
Not many helicopter pilots could pull off a mission to fly into enemy territory in complete darkness and rescue their stranded comrades. During the Vietnam War, however, Navy Cmdr. Clyde Everett Lassen did just that. It took him several attempts to make the pickup, and he barely made it back to tell the tale. But the valor he showed that day earned him the Medal of Honor.
Lassen was born in Fort Myers, Florida, on March 14, 1942. Since World War II was raging, and his father, Arthur, was in the service, Lassen's mother, Jacqueline, moved in with her family in Lake Placid, New York, when Lassen was still an infant. His parents reunited when he was three years old, and they moved to Englewood, Florida, and had another son, Gary.
Lassen grew up in that area, eventually graduating from Venice High School in 1960. He attended San Diego City College in California and Pensacola Junior College in Florida before joining the Navy in September 1961.
Lassen was an aviation electronics technician, but he wanted more from his military career. So, in 1964, he was accepted into the Naval Aviation Cadet Program. On Oct. 12, 1965, he received his commission and Wings of Gold as a helicopter pilot. That same month, he married his high school sweetheart, Linda. They went on to have two children, Daryl and Lynne.
Lassen's first assignment was with Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 1, where he practiced search-and-rescue techniques in the Philippine jungle. Eventually, HC-1 was redesignated Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 7. Lassen became the officer in charge of the squadron's Detachment 104 aboard USS Preble, which was deployed off the coast of Vietnam during the war.
As the aircraft commander of a search-and-rescue helicopter, Lassen was called on June 19, 1968, to rescue two downed aviators in North Vietnam. The pair had ejected 20 miles into enemy territory after their F-4J Phantom II was hit by a surface-to-air missile.
It was shortly after midnight on a pitch-black night when then-Lt. j.g. Lassen took off from the Preble in a UH-2A Seasprite light utility helicopter, despite the aircraft not being fit for the mission. According to Hill Goodspeed, historian for the National Naval Aviation Museum, the helicopter was too heavy and couldn't take off with a full fuel load; Lassen also had to make the dangerous move of diving toward the water to gain flying speed.
Once off the ship, Lassen flew deep into hostile terrain to a steep, tree-covered hill where the survivors, Navy Lt. Cmdrs. John Holtzclaw and John A. Burns, had been located. Despite taking enemy fire, Lassen initially landed in a clearing near the base of the hill. However, the undergrowth was so dense that Holtzclaw and Burns couldn't reach the helicopter.
The two survivors were asked to send up flares so Lassen could find them from the air. He successfully put the chopper in a hover between two trees about 50 feet above the men's position. Lassen was hoping he could pull them up via a rescue hoist, but the flares died before the rescue could begin, leaving the helicopter in darkness and in a precarious position. The chopper collided with a tree and fell into a sharp decent. Thankfully, Lassen's expert abilities helped him to right the aircraft and move away from the trees.
He remained in the area, determined to rescue the men. Lassen even encouraged the survivors to head down the hill to a clearing for pickup while his chopper waited for another aircraft to bring more flares.
Lassen made a second unsuccessful attempt to land. By now, his fuel was dangerously low, and the aircraft had suffered significant damage. But Lassen remained focused on the mission. He launched again and tried for a third rescue attempt, all the while enemy fire continued to come at him. During this attempt, the flares died yet again. Lassen knew that turning on his helicopter's landing lights would give away his position to the enemy, but he did it anyway so he could land.
According to Goodspeed, Lassen kept the chopper's weight off the wheels so they wouldn't get stuck in the mud, steadily hovering over a rice patty for about two minutes. The helicopter's gunners lit up the tree line with their machine guns as Holtzclaw and Burns ran toward the escape craft. Within seconds of the gunners yanking the two men into the chopper, they were in the air again and on their way out of the area, Goodspeed said.
Lassen later said it was that return flight that made him the most nervous. Along the way, he successfully dodged more hostile anti-aircraft fire. With only five minutes of fuel left to spare, he successfully landed the beaten-up helicopter aboard the USS Jouett.
For his bravery and refusal to give up, Lassen received the Medal of Honor from President Lyndon B. Johnson at a White House ceremony on Jan. 16, 1969. He became the first of only three naval aviators to earn the nation's highest honor for actions taken in Vietnam.
Lassen remained in the Navy until retiring as a commander in December 1982 after more than 20 years in the service.
Goodspeed said Lassen rarely talked about the night that earned him the Medal of Honor; however, his children finally learned the full story from their father in 1993 during a National Museum of Naval Aviation symposium that reunited the rescue's participants. Lassen donated his medal to the museum that same year.
Lassen died April 1, 1994, after a battle with cancer. He is buried at Barrancas National Cemetery in Pensacola, Florida.
In his honor, the guided missile destroyer USS Lassen was commissioned in 2001 and is still in use today. The Clyde E. Lassen State Veterans' Nursing Home in St. Augustine, Florida, also pays homage to him.

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Composting directly in the garden
By MELINDA MYERS

Don’t toss those imperfect lettuce leaves, onion tops and strawberry tops into the trash. Instead, convert them into compost right in the garden.
Worm and pile composting are great ways to manage these scraps. But if these methods aren’t for you, try trench composting. This centuries old technique is low effort and effective. The process is basically invisible, eliminates the need to turn a pile of plant debris, requires minimal space and doesn’t smell.
Simply dig a 12-inch-deep trench between the rows of vegetables, in the pathway, or in any vacant spot in the garden. Be careful not to damage the plant roots. Add about four to six inches of kitchen scraps, mix with soil and cover with at least eight inches of soil that you removed from the hole. Covering with this much soil helps prevent animals from digging. Repeat until the trench is filled with plant debris and covered in soil.
Just like other composting methods, use plant-based materials only. Do not add meat, dairy and fat that can attract animals and rodents. And this is no place for perennial weeds like quackgrass, annual weeds gone to seed, or invasive plants that can survive the composting and take over the garden.
You can also trench compost one hole at a time. Just dig a hole in a vacant space in the garden, toss in the materials, mix, and cover with soil. I grew up with this method. After dinner or once we had a bowl full of kitchen scraps, we were sent to the garden to dig a hole, dump, and cover.
For those that want to rotate plantings as well as compost, you may want to try one of these two methods. Plant in wide rows and trench compost in the pathway. Next year, move the garden to the path location and make last year’s garden the path. You will be rotating your plantings while improving the soil.
Or designate separate adjacent areas for planting, paths, and composting. Next year, rotate so last year’s composting area becomes garden, the garden becomes the path, and the path is the new section for trench composting. In three years, you will have rotated crops and improved the soil in all three areas.
Start by contacting your local municipality to make sure there are no restrictions on any type of composting. Then get out the shovel and dig your way to healthier soil and a more productive garden.

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Supermom
Halima Cissé knew she would be giving birth to a goodly number of babies when her time came. In fact, the doctors told her she could count on septuplets, perhaps even, octuplets as she went into labor. Close but no cigar! She’s the first known mother in the world to have nonuplets -- that’s nine babies in one fell swoop! It happened last year, but it was announced just recently. Halima hails from the Republic of Mali in West Africa but spent the first year with her newborns in Morocco where she gave birth. It was a precautionary stay. What did Halima have to say? “I hope God blesses everyone who doesn’t yet have children, that they can have what we, the parents of nonuplets, currently have.”

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Good deed
Vicky Umodu of San Bernardino, California found the living room furniture she needed for her new home on Craigslist and it didn’t cost her a dime. But, when she brought the two couches and an armchair home, she got quite a shock. Stuffed in one of the cushions were numerous envelopes, each filled with cold, hard cash, totaling more than $36,000. It brought the best out of Vicky. Instead of quietly keeping the money, she called the previous owner who told her the furniture belonged to a deceased relative and that they, too, had discovered a bunch of cash filled envelopes in his home. The man, who remained anonymous, was so moved with Vickey’s innate honesty, presented her with a $2,000 reward for her good deed. Vicky, never for a moment, thought to take the money and keep quiet. “I knew I couldn’t keep it. I knew I had to give it back.”

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Helicamper
U.S. Coast Guard helicopter pilots stationed in Mobile, Alabama, Blake Morris and Maggie Morton, were browsing the Facebook Marketplace website when they came across a helicopter body for sale. They wasted no time in acquiring the hulk and quickly got into the task of repurposing it into a very unique camper. Their “helicamper” conversion is well on its way to completion. Meanwhile, Blake and Maggie have been busy gathering the chopper’s history. According to Blake, it belonged to “the German military police first, then it got bought from there and used in Afghanistan with U.S. troops for a few years then it came here in about 2011 back in the states."

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Medal of Honor: Army Lt. Col. Matt Urban
By KATIE LANGE
Army Lt. Col. Matt Urban was only 24 when he became his battalion's commander as the Allies pushed further into France during the summer of 1944. His tenacity and outstanding leadership during that campaign led to him becoming one of the most decorated soldiers of all-time — including as a Medal of Honor recipient.
Urban was born Matthew Louis Urbanowicz on Aug. 25, 1919, in Buffalo, New York. His parents, Stanley and Helen Urbanowicz, were Polish immigrants. He had two older brothers, as well as a younger sibling who died at an early age. Urban shortened his first and last names early in life but had them legally changed after World War II.
Urban went to East High School in Buffalo, where he excelled in three sports. He then went to the prestigious Cornell University, where he joined ROTC and was on the track and boxing teams. He graduated in mid-June 1941 with a bachelor's degree in history and government. He also received an Army commission, so on July 2, 1941, he shipped off to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to begin his service.
Throughout World War II, Urban served with the 60th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. He fought in six campaigns in Europe and the Mediterranean, including Operation Torch that began Nov. 8, 1942, in North Africa — service for which he earned two Silver Stars. Urban fought in Sicily and Germany, too. But he earned his Medal of Honor for his actions in France and Belgium in the summer of 1944.

A Season of Uncommon Valor

On June 14, 1944 — six days after landing at Normandy with the 2nd Battalion — then-Capt. Urban started a remarkable run of heroic leadership and personal bravery. His unit, Company F, was being decimated by heavy enemy small-arms and tank fire near Renouf, France. Urban knew he had to act quickly, so he picked up a bazooka and moved toward two enemy tanks.
Urban worked his way through hedgerows despite a continuing barrage of fire. When he got close enough, he popped into the enemy's view and fired the bazooka, destroying both tanks. His actions allowed his company to move forward and take out the rest of the enemies in the area, earning him a Bronze Star.
Later that afternoon, Urban was hit in the leg by a 37-mm tank gun when Company F was near the town of Orglandes. However, he refused to be evacuated and continued to lead his unit until they were able to move into defensive positions for the night.
At 5 a.m. the next day, Urban remained with his company and directed another attack, even though he was badly wounded. He was injured again during that battle and evacuated to England.
About a month later, Urban was recovering from his wounds when he learned his unit had suffered severe losses. He knew they needed battle-tested leaders to survive, so he voluntarily left the hospital and hitchhiked his way back to his unit, which was now near the town of Saint-Lo.
Shortly before noon on July 25, 1944, Urban arrived at the 2nd Battalion's command post to find that his unit had left within the hour to attempt to break through German defenses in the area. Limping from his leg wound, Urban made his way to the unit and retook command.
As he did so, Company F was having trouble moving forward. Two supporting Allied tanks had been destroyed, while another that was still intact wasn't moving because it had no commander or gunner.
Urban found a lieutenant in charge of the tanks and began directing a plan of attack; however, that lieutenant and a fellow soldier were immediately killed as they tried to mount the remaining tank. So, Urban — knowing how crucial it was to get that tank moving — dashed through enemy fire despite his bad leg and mounted the tank himself.
Even though bullets ricocheted all around him, Urban ordered the tank forward and, using its machine gun himself, delivered devastating fire back on the enemy. The battalion's soldiers took notice of his bravery and leadership, and it galvanized their courage. They were able to attack and destroy the enemy position.
Urban's heroic actions were far from over. On August 2, he was wounded in the chest by shell fragments but again refused evacuation. Four days later, at only 24 years old, he took the lead over the 2nd Battalion after its initial commander was killed in action. Nine days after that, he was again wounded but still chose to stay with his men on the battlefield.
On Sept. 3, 1944, the 2nd Battalion was tasked with finding a point to cross the Meuse River near Heer, Belgium; however, the Germans were hoping to stop the Allied advance there. They were waiting with a heavy concentration of their own forces.
As the 2nd Battalion moved toward the crossing point it had located, they were held back by fierce enemy artillery, small-arms and mortar fire. Urban moved quickly from his command post to the battalion's lead position and reorganized the attacking elements. He then personally led the charge toward the enemy's strongpoint.
As the men moved across open terrain, Urban was hit in the neck — a life-threatening injury that tore out one of his vocal cords. Urban could barely talk above a whisper, but he still refused to be evacuated until his men had won the battle and secured the crossing point over the river.
Urban's courage and extraordinary actions became legendary to the soldiers in his battalion, as well as among the enemy. In fact, he’d earned the nickname "The Ghost" from the Germans because he kept coming back to the fight.
Army doctors gave Urban no hope for survival once he was finally evacuated from the battlefield, but he recovered undeterred by their prognoses, even though his vocal cords remained damaged and left him with a permanent raspy voice.
Urban was promoted to the rank of major in October 1944. He became a lieutenant colonel before medically retiring from the Army in February 1946.
Urban moved to Port Huron, Michigan, where he served for several years as the town's recreation and community centers director. During the 1960s, he met his wife, Jennie, and they had a daughter, Jennifer. In 1972, the family moved to Holland, Michigan. According to Cornell University, over the course of his civilian career, Urban coached several sports programs and trained athletes who became Olympians and Golden Glove champions. He was eventually appointed the chair of the Michigan Olympic Boxing Committee.

Belated Honors

Meanwhile, Army Staff Sgt. Earl G. Evans, who served with Urban in Europe and Africa, was released from a German prisoner of war camp in July 1945. Upon Evans' return home, he recommended Urban for the Medal of Honor, but his letter apparently got lost and never made it to the correct authorities. Thankfully, though, a copy of it had been filed in Urban's official records.
That letter remained there until a request for information about it was submitted in June 1978. The Army eventually reviewed the Medal of Honor recommendation and agreed.
More than 35 years after that summer in 1944, Urban was notified he would be awarded the nation's highest military honor for valor. He received it on July 19, 1980, from President Jimmy Carter during a ceremony at the White House. It was attended by his wife and daughter, as well as hundreds of his fellow 9th Infantry Division soldiers.
Urban's other awards include the Croix de Guerre with Bronze Star from France, the Belgian Fourragere and seven Purple Hearts for the wounds he suffered throughout the war. All of his accolades make him one of the most decorated soldiers in U.S. history, on par with famed Army Maj. Audie Murphy.
Service Until the End
Urban retired from his civilian career in 1989, but he remained active in the Red Cross. According to Cornell, he also directed camps that served underprivileged children; was a Cub Scout leader, Boys Club director and a Boy Scouts chairman; and was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Michigan Amateur Softball Association.
Urban died on March 4, 1995, in Holland, Michigan, as the result of complications from a collapsed lung brought on by one of his war wounds. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
The 2nd Battalion's headquarters building at Fort Jackson was named for Urban in 2017. A duplicate of his Medal of Honor is housed at the Michigan Heroes Museum in Frankenmuth, Michigan.

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Social Security Matters
By National Social Security Advisor at the AMAC Foundation

Ask Rusty – How Does Social Security Disability Work with Private Disability Insurance?

Dear Rusty: If someone is collecting long-term disability through their company and the company states the employee also must apply through Social Security, how does this work? Does the amount of Social Security decrease from the amount that the person would normally receive upon retirement? Is long-term disability for life, or just until you are of retirement age? How about for the spouse of that individual? Would it have any impact on them? Signed: Concerned
Dear Concerned: It’s common for private long term disability (LTD) insurers to require that you apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. Typically, the private LTD benefit will be offset (reduced) by the federal SSDI benefit.
The SSDI benefit amount, if awarded, will be the full Social Security benefit earned up to the point the recipient becomes disabled and unable to work. That means someone on SSDI before full retirement age (FRA) gets their FRA amount earlier (FRA is somewhere between 66 and 67 depending on the year of birth). The SSDI benefit will be based on the disabled person’s lifetime earnings history, unreduced for claiming earlier than full retirement age. SSDI will automatically convert to regular SS retirement benefits at the same amount when FRA is attained. Thus, getting SSDI doesn’t detract from the person’s FRA benefit amount; rather they get their FRA amount earlier.
Social Security disability benefits last for as long as you remain disabled, or up to your SS full retirement age. To be eligible, the disability must be expected to last for at least one year, and the disability must render you unable to perform significant work. You must also have worked recently (usually at least 5 of the last 10 years) to maintain eligibility, and you must have contributed Social Security FICA payroll taxes (or self-employment taxes) from your work earnings. Only very limited work earnings are allowed when collecting Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, and Social Security may periodically require confirmation of continued SSDI eligibility.
Applying for SSDI is a relatively easy process which can be done online at www.ssa.gov/applyfordisability, or by calling SS directly at 1.800.772.1213. Depending on the nature of the disability, it usually takes 3 to 5 months to obtain a determination and, if SSDI is approved, there is a 5 month wait for benefits to start. If the SSDI application is initially denied (about 65% of all initial applications are) you can exercise several levels of appeal, starting with simply requesting a reconsideration by Social Security, followed, if necessary, by a hearing with an independent Administrative Law Judge, a review by the SSDI Appeals Council, or even an appeal to Federal Court. Hopefully, if the applicant is now on private long term disability, the SSDI application will be initially approved.
As for whether the spouse of a person on SSDI is affected, much depends on the spouse’s age and how the spouse’s own SS retirement benefit compares to the disabled partner’s SSDI benefit. Benefits for a spouse are available as early as age 62, but the spouse’s personal FRA benefit amount (from their own lifetime earnings record) must be less than 50% of the disabled partner’s SSDI amount to get a spousal boost from the disabled spouse. Otherwise, one marriage partner being on SSDI will not affect the other partner’s personal Social Security retirement benefit.

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History Matters
The Grateful American Book Prize

“Don’t one of you fire until you see the whites of their eyes!” said American General William Prescott to his rag-tag squad of amateur soldiers; on June 17, 1775; they were about to confront a squad of Great Britain’s professional armed forces at the base of Bunker hill, MA. When the Redcoats were approximately 120 feet away, they “let loose with a lethal barrage of musket fire,” according to History.com.
The Englishmen, commanded by the experienced, battle worn General Thomas Gage, were caught off guard; they retreated and reconstituted; attacked again, and withdrew.
General Gage, who was not about to surrender, guided his troops into a third confrontation. By then, Prescott’s revolutionaries--low on ammunition-- were forced to stand their ground and engage the enemy in head-to-head, hand-to-hand combat. The rebels were unyielding against staggering odds and, though the Americans lost the Battle of Bunker Hill, it “was a morale-builder for the Americans, convincing them that patriotic dedication could overcome superior British military might,” as reported by History.com.
For more information, the Grateful American Book Prize recommends Patriots, A Story of Bunker Hill for Young Adults by Gregory T. Edgar.

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The legendary mountain man, Joe Meek, did not live passively. Born in 1810 Virginia, he “was a friendly and relentlessly good-humored young man, but he had too much rambunctious energy to do well in school,” according to History.com; he became a frontiersman who trapped and hunted his way through the western territories.
Mountain men used to gather each year at various “wild west” locations to exchange information and to tell tales about their wilderness ventures. Their stories were “…often exaggerated,” says History.com. Meek was a natural-born spinner of half-myths, and better than most at amplifying his exploits, such as how he “wrestled an attacking grizzly with his bare hands.”
Eventually, he settled in the Willamette Valley of western Oregon, became a farmer, and a political activist. In 1847, he led a delegation to Washington, D.C., seeking territorial status for Oregon. The self-described envoy/minister/plenipotentiary from the Republic of Oregon [traveled] to the Court of the United States” and got what he wanted.
Meek died June 20, 1875.
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Stanley Vestal’s Joe Meek: The Merry Mountain Man.

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America won the war; now, all it needed was a constitution to empower itself to flourish. The Articles of Confederation had released the country from Great Britain’s rule, but a better plan was required for the future.
So, as History.com described it, “Congress endorsed a plan to draft a new constitution, and on May 25, 1787, the Constitutional Convention convened at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. On September 17, 1787, after three months of debate moderated by convention president George Washington, the new U.S. constitution, which created a strong federal government with an intricate system of checks and balances, was signed by 38 of the 41 delegates present at the conclusion of the convention. As dictated by Article VII, the document would not become binding until it was ratified by nine of the 13 states.”
On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire cast its ballot -- the ninth in favor of ratifying the U.S. Constitution-- making it the law of the land.
The Grateful American Book Prize recommends Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788 by Pauline Maier.

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Once in a very long lifetime
What’s in your bucket list? Perhaps you’d like to see the Pyramids In Egypt, go white water rafting or write a book. Not for Bertha Komor. This resident of Farmington, Connecticut, says she has always wanted to pet a penguin. They’re not so easy to find in that part of the world, but the local chapter of the Twilight Wish Foundation made it happen in time for the celebration of her 104th birthday. She was thrilled and kind of cuddled with the flightless seabird saying, "I didn't expect this. It's wonderful. Just petting the penguin and seeing him close up."

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With the greatest of ease
And then there is Ruth Larsson of Motala, Sweden. It wasn’t enough of a feat having made a tandem parachute jump two years ago when she was a mere 101 years of age, so she did it again -- this time at the age of 103 years and 259 days old. A Guinness World Record official was on hand to watch her as she flew through the air with the greatest of ease and declared her to be the oldest woman ever to make the jump. She replaced the previous record holder, Kathryn Hodges of Snohomish, Washington, who was 103 years and 129 days old when she won the title in 2019.

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Chase the cheese
The Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling race sounds like a pretty tame competition. It takes place each year in the quaint British village of Brockworth. But it’s not for the faint of heart. It was an officially sanctioned event until 2010 when things got a bit out of hand as the result of its growing popularity. Too many contenders were showing up causing near-riot conditions as contestants chased a nine-pound wheel of Double Gloucester cheese down a very steep hillside. Notwithstanding the likelihood of breaking an arm or a leg, the race continues to attract the hundreds of participants from all over the world. The dangers were heightened at this year’s event due to wet weather.

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Save money by planting flower seeds directly in the garden
By MELINDA MYERS

Don’t worry if you have already spent most of your plant budget for the year. Fill voids in your gardens and containers with heat tolerant annuals planted from seeds directly in the garden.
Zinnia and marigolds are traditional favorites often started from seeds planted directly in the garden. These germinate quickly and begin flowering in about eight weeks.
Zinnias are heat and drought tolerant once established. The Profusion series are compact, disease resistant, and produce flowers early and all season long. The Zahara series of zinnias are also heat and drought tolerant and resistant to leaf spot and mildew. Zinnias have excellent pollinator appeal and make great cut flowers.
Moss rose’s drought tolerance makes it an excellent choice for sandy, gravelly, and rocky areas. The fine seeds make it a bit more challenging to plant. Try mixing the seeds with sand to help distribute the seeds more evenly. Look for varieties like Afternoon Delight and the Happy Hour and Sundial series with flowers that open earlier or stay open later in the day, extending your enjoyment.
Cleome is a big annual that can easily fill the space between those small, newly planted shrubs. It prefers full sun and moist well-drained soil but will tolerate dry conditions. Thin seeds so the final spacing of plants is between 1 to 3 feet. The more space, the fuller and bushier the plant. These plants reseed readily so watch for volunteer plants in next year’s garden.
Sunflowers are commonly started from seeds in the garden. You will find single and double flowered varieties ranging in height from 18 inches to 12 feet or more. Stagger your planting to extend the bloom time. Plant seeds every two weeks, so you have lots of fresh flowers to enjoy. Just check the seed packet for the number of days from planting until flowering. Make sure your last planting has time to reach maturity and bloom before the end of your growing season.
Mexican sunflower is not as well known as the common sunflower but is just as welcome in the garden. The bright orange flowers combine nicely with yellow, blue, and purple flowers and attract butterflies and other pollinators to the garden. Grow these in a sunny area with well-drained soil. Avoid windy locations that may cause the brittle stems to break. Give this big plant plenty of room to reach its mature size. Mexican sunflower grows four to six feet tall and two to three feet wide. Fiesta del Sol and Goldfinger are shorter varieties that are a better fit for smaller spaces.
Check the seed packet for more details on planting seeds of these and other flowers directly in the garden. With proper planting and care you will have lots of flowers to enjoy this season.

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How to Tell If you Are Burned Out (and What to Do About It)

Katie Sandler, career development and impact coach, helps people re-charge and make an impact

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida – Many people suffer from burnout in their careers and life in general, but may not realize it. Going through the motions, dreading the fact that it's time to go to work, and feeling mentally exhausted are draining, but they can take a toll on one's attitude, work performance, and quality of life. Knowing the signs of burnout and what to do about it can make a difference.
“We live in a time when all we do is rush from one point to the next, constantly being busy with work, tasks, and life chores,” explains Katie Sandler, personal development and career coach. “Before long, this can lead to people feeling emotionally depleted.”
Recognizing the signs and taking action can help people overcome them and feel great. It can also help ensure that it doesn't happen again. According to the National Institutes of Health, burnout is a term that was coined in the 1970s by an American psychologist. The term is widely used today to describe the condition where people experience various symptoms, including mental exhaustion, feeling unmotivated, detached and helpless, feeling like a failure, having an increasingly pessimistic outlook, and not feeling satisfied with life.
People who experience burnout often feel like they have a lot of bad days, that the things they do don't matter, and that they are not appreciated. These feelings all lead to a decrease in life satisfaction, and until it's addressed, things will stay the same or even continue to decline.
Here are some things that can be done to address burnout:
Take a serious look at your job. Burnout is often caused because people are not satisfied with their job. When this happens, it is time to determine what can be changed. Perhaps it is time to switch jobs or make a plan to move into a new career field.
Cut back on the number of hours worked that may be contributing to the problem. Some people put too many hours in at the office, and others still take their work home once they leave it. Set boundaries so that there are hours when work is not a part of your life and schedule.
Work on improving your attitude by practicing gratitude, meditation, exercising regularly, and engaging in activities that bring you joy. Your work-life balance must be balanced in order to help create happiness.
Pay close attention to those you surround yourself with to limit the time spent with people who are overly negative or drain you emotionally. This goes for people at work and in your personal life.
Take some time off. Taking a sabbatical or planning a vacation doesn't have to be fancy. It just needs to be something that will allow you to relax, unwind, and re-charge. Relaxation time needs to be a part of your weekly schedule, too.
Get help if you feel that you cannot overcome it. Work with an impact coach, career coach, or counselor to get the help you need to help move things in the right direction.
“I’ve worked with many people to help them address and avoid burnout,” added Sandler. “When you finally take control and stop letting it control you, you will improve your quality of life. It's better to address it now rather than let it go on, getting worse."
Sandler has worked with many people who experience burnout to help them identify a plan for personal achievement, take steps to reach goals, and identify areas that need to be worked on. She provides people with meaningful tools that they can use to help bring calm and insight into their life. In addition to working with individuals, she offers luxury impact retreats.
Sandler has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master's degree in mental health counseling, has a strong foundation in mindfulness-based stress reduction, and has worked in hospitals and private practice. She previously spent time as a research assistant while at Johns Hopkins, focusing on purpose in life. To learn more about Katie Sandler and her services, or to see the retreat schedule, visit the site: https://katiesandler.com/.

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