QUINN MINUTE: Proper attire is important

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by Rix Quinn

A well-dressed person can go a long way in life. A naked person can’t go nearly as far…especially in snow.

That’s because the right garment selection can (1) impress others, (2) display your sense of style and taste, (3) make others think you know lots more than you do.

Would you borrow money from a bank officer dressed like a clown? (Personally, I would borrow from anyone.) But most folks would avoid both a banker clown, or funny money.

When I board a plane, I expect the pilot to wear a captain’s hat, uniform, and tie, and to display her wings above the jacket’s pocket.

However, I will leave immediately if her wings are shoulder-mounted, or if they flap spontaneously.

Because many uniforms are historically traditional, professionals should never exchange them. A chef’s hat looks great in a fine restaurant, but you don’t want to see it on a funeral director.

Nor would you likely share theological thoughts with a preacher dressed as a pirate.

The older you get, the more you appreciate individual fashion. Sometimes I dress as a referee, so I can call penalties on everybody I see.

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Anne-Sophie Mutter, Pablo Casals, and Walter Goehr: Timeless Voices in Classical Music

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Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Anne-Sophie Mutter

Vivaldi 4 Seasons and Tartini’s Devil’s Trill Sonata. Anne-Sophie Mutter, violinist and conductor of the Trondheim Soloists. Recorded 1999. Deutsche Grammophon 2894632592, compact disc.

Anne-Sophie Mutter

Anne-Sophie Mutter collaborated with Maestro Herbert von Karajan (1908-1988) and the Berlin Philharmonic on a very good record of the Mozart Violin Concertos 3 and 5, also on Deutsche Grammophon, back in 1977 when she was only 14 years old. And her playing was not merely that of a child prodigy flash in the pan but of a mature artist and musician, that record still making for worthwhile listening. Finally, to me personally, anything conducted by Karajan is worth hearing and owning.

The above 1999 CD has Anne-Sophie both playing and conducting six string instrumentalists and a harpsichordist in truly galvanizing performances of Antonio Vivaldi’s most well-known composition and the fiendishly difficult, aptly named Devil’s Trill Sonata of Giuseppe Tartini.

From 2002 to 2006, Mutter was the fifth wife of the late Andre Previn (1929-2019).

Pablo Casals

Conversations with Casals, by J. Ma. Corredor, translated from the French by Andre Mangeot. Published 1956 by Dutton Paperbacks.

Pablo Casals

Cellist Pablo Casals (1876-1973) married his third wife Marta Martinez in 1957 when he was 80, she 20. To those who commented about the age discrepancy, he replied, “I look at it like this. If she dies, she dies.”

He made numerous records as both cellist and conductor between the acoustic early 1900s and just a couple of years before his death in 1973 at the age of 97, setting new standards for the cello as a solo instrument. His most well known recordings include the 1930s Bach Cello Suites and Dvorak Cello Concerto, itself done with the Czech Philharmonic led by George Szell, in Prague, in 1937, just before the Nazi takeover. I also own a really good World War I acoustic Columbia shellac of him playing Camille Saint-Saens The Swan from Carnival of the Animals and several very early 1950s Columbia Masterworks LPs of him conducting music of Bach that were recorded at his summer music festivals in the mountain villages of Prades and Perpignan.

Casals appeared in a 1958 documentary film Windjammer depicting the voyage of a sailboat in its voyage from Oslo, Norway, to various ports including Portsmouth, New Hampshire. For a number of years during the 78s era, he was part of an all star trio recording chamber music of Beethoven, Schubert etc., with violinist Jacques Thibaud (1880-1953, who perished in a plane crash) and the phenomenal legendary French pianist Alfred Cortot (1878-1962).

Casals was involved in later years with the Puerto Rico and Marlboro Vermont summer music festivals.

In Conversations, author and long time friend Corredor talks with Casals about composers, performance and life experiences. One question is as follows:

“I read somewhere that when you first went to America, some impresarios were rather shocked to see a young performer nearly bald, for it was very much the fashion for musical virtuosos to wear long hair in those days!”

Casals: “Yes, one of these impresarios actually told me that he would raise my fee considerably if I agreed to wear a wig during the concerts. ”

A rumor spread during those youthful years that some impresario publicly announced that Casals was prematurely bald because he gave a lock of hair as a souvenir to all of his girlfriends attending the concerts.

Walter Goehr

Maestro Walter Goehr (1903-1960) recorded prolifically for the Concert Hall label of the early 1950s and its subsidiary inexpensive mail order Musical Masterpiece Society. His LPs of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony and Hebrides Overture, the Beethoven Pastoral and 9th Symphonies, the Grieg Piano Concerto with Grant Johannesen, the Schu­mann A minor and Chopin 1st Concertos with Mewton-Wood and Bach Violin Concertos with Riccardo Odnoposoff are of high merit.

During the 1930s and ‘40s, Goehr was one of EMI’s busiest house conductors in London and his work with instrumentalists and singers appeared on numerous 78s in the U.S.

In December 1960, after conducting Handel’s Messiah, Walter Goehr died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 57.

Most all of the above selections are accessible on YouTube.

FOR YOUR HEALTH: Children with Migraine May Be Left Without the Treatment They Need

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(NAPSI)—Migraine is a debilitating neurological disease that affects one billion people worldwide, but it is not just an adult disease. For the 1 in 10 children diagnosed with this complex and incurable condition, it can be a daily battle that affects academic performance, impacts friendships, and leads to diminished quality of life. And many struggle for years before receiving a proper diagnosis.

The Problem

Despite the lifelong consequence of untreated migraine, the landscape of evidence-based pediatric migraine care remains shockingly limited. Many prescription medications have not been evaluated in children or adolescents and were not originally developed for migraine treatment. In fact, only one migraine medication is FDA-approved for acute treatment in children as young as 8 years old, and no medications have been approved for preventive use in this age group. Additionally, they are often poorly tolerated, disruptive to normal activities, and require an adult to manage and properly administer medication to minimize adverse events.

An Answer

Fortunately, there is a non-drug alternative. Unfortunately, certain insurance companies are refusing to cover it. The Nerivio Remote Electrical Neuromodulation (REN) wearable is redefining what is possible for migraine care. It is the only FDA-cleared, non-drug treatment available for people with migraine ages eight and above, offering both migraine relief and prevention. Despite its proven efficacy, many families face an insurmountable barrier: high cost due to lack of insurance coverage.

“Any treatment with evidence of efficacy is something I discuss with my patients,” says Dr. Ryan P. Williams MD, EDM, a pediatric neurologist and headache specialist with Children’s Specialty Group and Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters—a network of comprehensive pediatric services. “I have noticed more families are seeking effective, non-medication options, and the Nerivio REN wearable fits that need perfectly. However, the cost of the treatment without insurance coverage prevents many patients from accessing it. Of those I prescribe it to, only about half can afford to move forward.”

One Child’s Story

For Kieran Johnston, a 15-year-old migraine patient, non-drug treatment has been transformative. Migraine was an exhausting battle when relying on medications that left him nauseated and sometimes sleepy. The Nerivio REN wearable offered a way to manage his migraine disease without the systemic side effects of drugs. Using the treatment every other day for prevention and for relief when a migraine starts, Johnston has reduced his school absences from 6 or 7 days a month to just 1 or 2. He’s back to playing soccer and football with friends—activities he often missed when using migraine medication.

Still, Johnston’s family is paying out of pocket for this non-drug, non-disruptive treatment.

“We thought about stopping because it’s expensive,” says Johnston. “But it works so well that we decided to keep using it. I just wish it was covered by insurance for our family and so more kids like me could try it.”

Dr. Williams emphasizes that early and effective treatment can make a significant difference for pediatric patients, reducing the risk of developing chronic migraine later in life. “Insurance companies should cover all safe and effective treatment options, and the Nerivio REN wearable deserves to be one of those options, so we can not only treat early, but safely, effectively, and, if desired, without drugs.”

Families and healthcare providers alike are urging insurance companies to take notice and prioritize evidence-based, non-drug treatments for migraine. With growing evidence and real-world success stories, many believe it’s time for insurers to provide equitable access for drug-free options, including the Nerivio REN wearable.

Learn More

Patients, caregivers, and advocates can visit NerivioCovered.com for resources to help fight for better coverage and close the gap in pediatric migraine care.

MAINE-LY GARDENING: What’s in the Garden? Potatoes!

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by Jude Hsiang

People have long known that the potato and tomato are related, and both arose in South America. But we might wonder why potatoes produce tubers when other members of the solanaceous or nightshade family – tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, tobacco, and petunias – do not. The word tuber is even found inside the name of three plants in Chile that look very much like modern potatoes and are called etuberosums, yet none of these plants form tubers. Genetic studies have shown that potatoes are more closely related to tomatoes than to the etuberosums.

So how did potatoes, such a basic part of our Maine food culture and a very important crop worldwide, develop? Recently scientists have followed the genetic trail and learned that ancient etuberosums hybridized with tomatoes about nine million years ago. The resulting potatoes inherited a gene from tomatoes that causes underground stems to begin to form tubers, even though tomatoes don’t do that. From the etuberosums, the potatoes inherited a gene that controls the growth of the tubers. Both genes are needed by potatoes to grow the tubers we eat.

Scientists learned that this was happening as the Andes mountains were forming and it seems that having tubers that store nutrients allowed this new kind of plant to adapt to the changing environment. The spuds on our tables turn out to have a more complicated story than we had previously thought.

In more recent times potatoes didn’t make their way from South America to North America by trade among the Indigenous peoples of the New World. Instead, potatoes were introduced to Europe by Spanish explorers. Once there, time passed before Europeans found them to be an acceptable addition to their diet. Eventually, the potato came back to the New World with European settlers, including a fellow named Joseph Houlton who brought a type of potato called the Early Blue to Aroostook County in 1807. The town of Houlton was named for Joseph.

Aroostook County’s soil was just what the potatoes wanted: sandy loam, free draining, fertile, and slightly acidic. For farmers and home gardeners around the world, the potato has been found to adapt to almost any soil.

Maine potatoes became a large part of the state’s economy and continue to have an impact. There’s more to the story of the simple potato – stay tuned for Part 2.

© Judith Chute Hsiang
Jude Hsiang is a retired Extension Master Gardener instructor and member of the China Community Garden.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: Cicada’s songs fill the air

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a cicada

Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

Last week, while doing some yard work, my wife noticed some insects on our outdoor fire pit. When summoned, I went over and identified the “bug” as the cicada exoskeleton, the part the cicada leaves behind its external skeleton, a hard, protective outer shell. We counted 11 of them. As a cicada grows, it outgrows its exoskeleton and must molt, shedding the old, hard shell and emerging as a larger, soft-bodied form.

The cicadas are a superfamily of insects, with more than 3,000 species described from around the world. Cicadas have prominent eyes set wide apart, short antennae, and membranous front wings. They have an exceptionally loud song, produced in most species by the rapid buckling and unbuckling of drum-like tymbals. They typically live in trees, feeding on watery sap from xylem tissue, and laying their eggs in a slit in the bark. Most cicadas are cryptic. The vast majority of species are active during the day as adults, with some calling at dawn or dusk. Only a rare few species are known to be nocturnal.

One exclusively North American genus, (the periodical cicadas), which spend most of their lives as underground nymphs, emerge in predictable intervals of 13 or 17 years, depending on the species and the location. The unusual duration and synchronization of their emergence may reduce the number of cicadas lost to predation, both by making them a less reliably available prey (so any predator that evolved to depend on cicadas for sustenance might starve waiting for their emergence), and by emerging in such huge numbers they will satiate any remaining predators before losing enough of their number to threaten their survival as a species.

The annual cicadas are species that emerge every year. Though these cicadas’ life cycles can vary from one to nine or more years as underground nymphs, their emergence above ground as adults is not synchronized, so some members of each species appear every year.

The “singing” of male cicadas is produced principally and in the majority of species using a special structure called a tymbal, a pair of which lies below each side of the anterior abdominal region. The structure is buckled by muscular action and, being made of resilin, unbuckles rapidly on muscle relaxation, producing their characteristic sounds. Some cicadas, however, have mechanisms for stridulation, sometimes in addition to the tymbals. Here, the wings are rubbed over a series of midthoracic ridges. Although only males produce the cicadas’ distinctive sounds, both sexes have membranous structures called tympana (singular – tympanum) by which they detect sounds, the equivalent of having ears.

cicada exoskeleton

For the human ear, telling precisely where a cicada song originates is often difficult. The pitch is nearly constant, the sound is continuous to the human ear, and cicadas sing in scattered groups. In addition to the mating song, many species have a distinct distress call, usually a broken and erratic sound emitted by the insect when seized or panicked. Some species also have courtship songs, generally quieter, and produced after a female has been drawn to the calling song. Males also produce encounter calls, whether in courtship or to maintain personal space within choruses.

Most cicadas go through a life cycle that lasts two – five years. Some species have much longer life cycles, such as the North American genus, which has a number of distinct “broods” that go through either a 17-year or in some parts of the region, a 13-year life cycle. For example, a 17-year cicada with a predator with a five-year life cycle will only be threatened by a peak predator population every 85 (5 × 17) years, while a non-prime cycle such as 15 would be endangered at every year of emergence. Cicadas are commonly eaten by birds and mammals, as well as bats, wasps, mantises, spiders, and robber flies. In times of mass emergence of cicadas, various amphibians, fish, reptiles, mammals, and birds change their foraging habits so as to benefit from the glut. Newly-hatched nymphs may be eaten by ants, and nymphs living underground are preyed on by burrowing mammals such as moles.but observations of predator responses refute the claim.

In mythology and folklore Cicadas have been used as money, in folk medicine, to forecast the weather, to provide song (in China), and in folklore and myths around the world.

Cicadas feed on sap; they do not bite or sting in a true sense, but may occasionally mistake a person’s arm for a plant limb and attempt to feed. Male cicadas produce very loud calls that can damage human hearing.

Cicadas are not major agricultural pests, but in some outbreak years, trees may be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of females laying their eggs in the shoots. Small trees may wilt and larger trees may lose small branches. Although in general, the feeding activities of the nymphs do little damage, during the year before an outbreak of periodic cicadas, the large nymphs feed heavily and plant growth may suffer.[111] Some species have turned from wild grasses to sugarcane, which affects the crop adversely, and in a few isolated cases, females have oviposited on cash crops such as date palms, grape vines, citrus trees, asparagus, and cotton. Cicadas sometimes cause damage to ornamental shrubs and trees, mainly in the form of scarring left on tree branches where the females have laid their eggs. Branches of young trees may die as a result.

Now we know a little more about the insect that makes that loud, buzzing noise in mid-summer.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

What former New England Patriots player was nicknamed “the law firm”?

Answer
Ben Jarvis-Green-Ellis.

MY POINT OF VIEW: Labor Day: Appreciation of the American workers

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by Gary Kennedy

Labor Day in the United States is always celebrated on the first Monday of September. This day is set aside to acknowledge and honor the economic and social achievements of the American worker. Monday is always a good day as it allows for a long weekend for most of us to share some quality time with family and friends. However, not all employment is so privileged. Restaurants, hotels, hospitals, fire departments and police departments, to mention only a few still have to keep our capitalistic society safe and strong. For the most part those that have to remain on the job are compensated with vacation pay or promises.

As we are all aware there are many countries who enslave their people and force them to do work without concern for them or their families. Sad but slavery is still alive and doing fine in many countries of the world. My heart goes out to those poor souls who suffer from this tyranny. The poor living in socialistic communistic countries are still carrying the yoke of the tyrant classes. They will probably never know freedom and equal opportunity, at least not in my life time. During the Labor Day holiday I can’t help but pray for those poor forgotten souls. We Americans have some history with that and that is part of how we came into existence. We arrived here in America from many parts of the world seeking religious and economic opportunity. For a couple hundred years we had to grow and spread our wings in order to incorporate what we have today. We fought wars in foreign lands and even turned on one another in order to accomplish what we have today.

With the advent of the Constitution and the help of some brilliant minds, we made a plan for all people to live and work in peace, as well to allow for some leisure time to enjoy the fruits of our labor. It was not always easy as there are always those who would like to exploit for selfish gain. Be that as it may, we became the most powerful and successful nation in the world. There is always someone out there who wants your share; the share that you worked so hard for. That’s one of the reasons Labor Day should be a time of reflection; remembering the history of our country and the people who made it great; the history of our people and how they grew since coming to America.

Recently we have seen those who would like to cause mayhem and discord for their own selfish way of thinking. They don’t think plurally but singularly and that causes discord in our very fragile society. These people have never worked in a mill, factory or farmed to name only a few professions. If they knew what work really was they would see the blessings here instead of initiating mayhem. Americans have already suffered through their growing pains. There were recorded periods of time when men worked 80-hour work weeks for very little remuneration. Can you even imagine doing that? Sure, some of us may work a little extra in order to achieve certain goals, but it’s our choice, not mandatory.

America is a country where one can grow with ones desires. In the opinion of this writer outside of Democracy and Capitalism there is only servitude and misery. One should be extremely grateful to be an American and enjoy the fruits of our labor. I believe that is why you see millions of people from other parts of the world illegally crossing our borders. Of course, there isn’t room for the entire world to come here but they certainly can pursue our way of life in their own countries. Americans for the most part are a generous society and for the most part are willing to share their ideology and values with those of good heart and ethics. In any case, for the most part, Labor Day for most of us is a time to rest from our labors and enjoy the camaraderie of family and friends. The days of Rosie the Riveter, the allegorical culture icon, may pass but the ethic for which she stood for will live forever.

We wish you all a very happy Labor Day weekend. Keep it safe and never forget those of lesser means or the veteran who helped make it happen. God bless you and yours.

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Masters in Performance: Moiseiwitsch, Rosenthal, Mutter, and Casals

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Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Benno Moiseiwitsch

Weber: Invitation to the Dance. Benno Moiseivitch, pianist. Victor Red Seal 18050, 12- inch 78.

Benno Moiseiwitsch

Moisevitch had a very playful type of piano artistry and joy in the pieces he chose to perform. The Weber Invitation has always been loved for its graceful opening depiction of somebody being asked to danced and then the jubilant dizzying waltz itself. Whether in this solo piano original scoring of Carl Maria von Weber or the brilliant orchestration of the genius father of 19th century romanticism, Hector Berlioz, it has a timeless beauty and charm. BTW, a good orchestral performance is the one of the quick tempered genius Maestro Arturo Toscanini and his finely honed NBC Symphony of the late ‘40s into the early ‘50s, also recorded by Victor Red Seal.

A number of other good piano versions include ones of Artur Schnabel and Leon Fleisher along with the Berlioz transcription conducted by Fritz Reiner and Eugene Ormandy.

Invitation to the Dance is also considered the first piece intended by its composer to be listened to, rather than for dancing.

During the 1940s, Benny Goodman based the theme of his radio broadcast series on this music.

Moriz Rosenthal

Chopin Preludes, Waltzes, etc. Pianist Moriz Rosenthal. Victor Red Seal M-338, four twelve-inch 78s .

Pianist Rosenthal had a nasty streak of sarcasm in his personality but his performances of selected Waltzes and Preludes from the unsurpassed poet of the piano Frederic Chopin, like those of such keyboard wonders as Arthur Rubinstein, Alexander Brailowsky, Ivan Moravec, Alfred Cortot and Maria Joao Pires, convey the unearthly range of emotion- joy, sorrow, melancholy, whimsicality etc. – that Chopin communicated through his one chosen instrument.

Castine Maine’s record critic David Hall (1916-2012) commented in one of his 4 Record Book volumes that, in order to get a true picture of Chopin’s genius, one needed to listen to every single one of his piano pieces, even the trivial ones. I agree that it is a worthwhile goal, although I have never had the stamina for the listening sieges he did (In a private 1985 interview at his house in Wilton, Connecticut, just before he sold it to move permanently to his summer place in Castine, he told me of doing weekly six-hour binges on Sunday of recordings for his reviews because he was otherwise working six days a week as Curator of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Archive of Recorded Sound at NYC’S Lincoln Center before his retirement the year of our visit.).

My all time favorite Chopin works however remain the 24 Preludes and 2nd Piano Concerto.

Anne Sophie-Mutter

Vivaldi 4 Seasons and Tartini’s Devil’s Trill Sonata. Anne-Sophie Mutter, violinist and conductor of the Trondheim Soloists. Recorded 1999. Deutsche Grammophon 2894632592, compact disc.

Anne Sophie-Mutter collaborated with Maestro Herbert von Karajan (1908-1988) and the Berlin Philharmonic on a very good record of the Mozart Violin Concertos 3 and 5 , also on Deutsche Grammophon, back in 1977 when she was only 14 years old. And her playing was not merely that of a child prodigy flash in the pan but of a mature artist and musician, that record still making for worthwhile listening. Finally, to me personally, anything conducted by Karajan is worth hearing and owning.

The above 1999 CD has Anne-Sophie both playing and conducting six string instrumentalists and a harpsichordist in truly galvanizing performances of Antonio Vivaldi’s most well-known composition and the fiendishly difficult, aptly named Devil’s Trill Sonata of Giuseppe Tartini.

From 2002 to 2006, Mutter was the fifth wife of the late Andre Previn (1929-2019).

Pablo Casals

Conversations with Casals, by J. Ma. Corredor, translated from the French by Andre Mangeot. Published 1956 by Dutton Paperbacks.

Cellist Pablo Casals (1876-1973) married his third wife Marta Martinez in 1957 when he was 80, she 20. To those who commented about the age discrepancy, he replied, “I look at it like this. If she dies, she dies.”

He made numerous records as both cellist and conductor between the acoustic early 1900s and just a couple of years before his death in 1973 at the age of 97, setting new standards for the cello as a solo instrument. His most well known recordings include the 1930s Bach Cello Suites and Dvorak Cello Concerto, itself done with the Czech Philharmonic led by George Szell, in Prague, in 1937, just before the Nazi takeover. I also own a really good World War I acoustic Columbia shellac of him playing Camille Saint-Saens The Swan from Carnival of the Animals and several very early 1950s Columbia Masterworks LPs of him conducting music of Bach that were recorded at his summer music festivals in the mountain villages of Prades and Perpignan.

Casals appeared in a 1958 documentary film Windjammer depicting the voyage of a sailboat in its voyage from Oslo, Norway, to various ports including Portsmouth, New Hampshire. For a number of years during the 78s era, he was part of an all star trio recording chamber music of Beethoven, Schubert etc., with violinist Jacques Thibaud (1880-1953, who perished in a plane crash) and the phenomenal legendary French pianist Alfred Cortot (1878-1962).
Casals was involved in later years with the Puerto Rico and Marlboro Vermont summer music festivals.

In Conversations, author and long time friend Corredor talks with Casals about composers, performance and life experiences. One question is as follows:

“I read somewhere that when you first went to America, some impresarios were rather shocked to see a young performer nearly bald, for it was very much the fashion for musical virtuosos to wear long hair in those days!”

Casals: “Yes, one of these impresarios actually told me that he would raise my fee considerably if I agreed to wear a wig during the concerts. ”

A rumor spread during those youthful years that some impresario publicly announced that Casals was prematurely bald because he gave a lock of hair as a souvenir to all of his girlfriends attending the concerts.

QUINN MINUTE: Are more people outspoken today?

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by Rix Quinn

Not long ago I saw a survey that said people are more outspoken than they used to be.

So last month — accompanied by a recorder, my friend George and his dog Gopher — we conducted our very own poll.

Completely on impulse ( Impulse is a street near our house), we asked ten people “Are folks more outspoken today than they were ten years ago?” Here’s what they said:

One little boy answered: “How should I know? I‘m only eight.”

A man in a funny hat said, “Absolutely…and so are the residents of my planet.”

One lady told me I would look better if I trimmed my eyebrows. I had trimmed them that morning.

Two guys asked me where I worked, and if there was an opening.

One woman tried to buy the dog, but changed her mind when George wouldn’t take a credit card.

A young couple locked in passionate embrace didn’t hear our question. Nor did they hear the policeman who ordered them to “turn down the heat.”

And one guy asked the dog’s name. When we told him Gopher, he said “Stupid name for a dog.”

We concluded with a phone survey. Again on Impulse – where I get a good cell signal – I called ten numbers. Four said “yes,” five hung up on me, and one psychic boldly predicted our survey would fail.

Is that rude, or what?

AARP Celebrates 90 years of Social Security

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Ninety years ago today, the Social Security Act was signed into law, marking a watershed moment for our country by providing American workers with a foundation for their financial security and dignity in retirement.

Today more than 69 million Americans receive Social Security, with that number expected to increase to 82 million people by the time Social Security turns 100.

Social Security helps tens of millions of Americans stay out of poverty and retire with dignity after a lifetime of hard work. For more than 40 percent of older Americans, Social Security is their primary source of income. And for many people, Social Security is the only inflation-protected income they have in retirement.

In Maine, more than one in four residents – 369,221 individuals – receives Social Security payments, including 161,365 who rely on it for over 50 percent of their income. As we look ahead to the next 90 years of Social Security, it is critical that it remains strong for Mainers for years to come.

“AARP Maine members and their families have been showing up at our events this month to celebrate the profound impact of Social Security for the past nine decades, and to urge Congress to keep the promise of Social Security in the future,” said Noël Bonam, AARP Maine State Director. “On Social Security’s 90th birthday, we commit to our members, and all older Mainers, that AARP will continue to fight to keep it strong for many decades to come.”

On Friday, August 22, Governor Janet Mills will officially proclaim the ’90th Anniversary of Social Security’ in Maine, recognizing the program’s enduring impact on the lives of Mainers and Americans nationwide. All are welcome to attend the proclamation signing in the Hall of Flags at the State House. To learn more and to register, visit us here.

MAINE-LY GARDENING: What’s in the garden? Planning for fall, and beyond

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by Jude Hsiang

October will be time
to plant garlic.

Many of us are now beginning to experience a tsunami of tomatoes, beans are still producing, and at last, sweet corn! At the same time some garden vegetables have peaked and there may be openings for some fall crops.

Over the next few weeks, we can plant a variety of lettuces which will appreciate the cooling weather and provide salads until frost. It’s probably not too late to plant peas, radishes, spinach, and turnips. Carrots planted now and harvested after a frost or two are often much sweeter than those planted in spring. Dill and cilantro will do well in the herb garden.

If you’ve used all the seeds purchased in spring or saved from previous years, don’t see much in the usual stores, and don’t want to chance that seeds ordered from catalogs or the internet will arrive in time, check your local Seed Library. A lot of public libraries have added this neighborly way to share extra seeds. Perhaps you’ll find a new variety of a family favorite to try.

Although you might be concerned about drought, or admit to being a little tired of the weeding, watering, harvesting, and storing routines of late summer, taking a bit of time to plant a few more things now will reward you when most of the garden is ready to be put to bed.

Looking ahead to mid-October, when the garden has been cleaned up, the last fairs are just memories, it will be time to plant garlic. Now is a good time to plan because excellent quality garlic for planting is still available. Here in Maine, most folks choose a hard neck variety as those respond best to cold winter weather. Planted in the fall and harvested in summer, garlic is just about the easiest thing to grow.

It is possible to plant garlic bought at the grocery store in a pinch, but you can’t be sure how well they’ll do in our climate. Take a chance and you may be rewarded with good results next summer. Look for bulbs with plenty of the papery skin and some roots attached. Some, but not all, garlic sold in groceries has been imported. If so, the root plate at the bottom of the bulb might have been removed to prevent spread of disease. Without the roots, the cloves will not grow.

While thinking about a few fall vegetable crops to plant, why not look ahead to a colorful spring by purchasing some flower bulbs? Although it won’t be time to plant until late October through early December, you’ll have lots to choose from if you order soon. Good spring bulb catalogs offer excellent selections and decades of gardening wisdom. Among the many spring bulbs available, daffodils are especially long lived, and the bulbs are toxic to deer and squirrels. If you are a frugal gardener and like yellow and white, you’ll be glad you planted a few – or a few dozen!

© Judith Chute Hsiang
Jude Hsiang Is a retired Extension Master Gardener instructor and member of the China Community Garden.