I’M JUST CURIOUS: Daffinitions & technical terms

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by Debbie Walker

You know I like comical things and I love words. When I came across this material in a Blum’s Farmer’s and Planter’s Almanac from 2018, I saved this page for future reference. I think this is ‘future enough’. I hope it brings you a chuckle or two.

Avoidable: what a bullfighter tries to do. (Avoid-a-bull)

Baloney: where some hemlines fall. (below-the-knee)

Bernadette: the act of torching a mortgage. (Burn-a-det)

Heroes: what a guy in a boat does. (hee-rows)

Paradox: two physicians. (par-a-docs)

Pharmacist: a helper on the farm. (farm-uh-sist)

Relief: what trees do in the spring. (Ree-leaf)

Rubberneck: what you do to relax your wife. (rub-’er-neck)

Seamstress: describes 200 lbs. in a size 2. (seam-stress)

Selfish: what the owner of a seafood store does. (sel-fish)

Subdued: a guy that works on a submarine. ((sub-dude)

TECH:

Log on: when you want to make the homestead warmer.

Log off: TIMBerrrrrrr

Mega Hertz: when you are not careful getting the firewood.

Laptop: where the cat sleeps.

Hard drive: maneuvering through those rocky fields on the northern range when there is snow on the ground.

Windows: what to shut when it’s cold outside.

Byte: what mosquitoes do.

Modem: what I did to the hay fields.

Keyboard: where the keys hang.

Mouse: critters that eat the grain in the barn.

I have room to go over odd uses for ordinary products. The Jello column was different so now I think we will do Colgate toothpaste, the plain old fashion one, nothing fancy added.

To start: Did you know an inch of Colgate to wash your hands with when you are handling fish, onions, or garlic to remove the smell. I never would have guessed it.

I haven’t tried it yet, but Joey Green had it on his list of hacks. Ink can be removed from cloth with Colgate Toothpaste. I have tried hairspray and that worked.

Colgate can be used for removing hair dye from skin. Wish I had known that when I was dying my hair. Not sorry that’s over!

Grass stains used to be an issue when we were growing up. Wish Mom had known about Colgate and grass stains. She might now have been so upset with us!

It’s no secret that I enjoy Joey Green’s books. Helpful and entertaining! He now has a monthly newsletter that you might want to check. Just try your search engine with his name and see what comes up. Enjoy!

Changing up a little: If you have a shedding pet, try this (maybe). If when you are brushing the pet looks wonderful, but you look like a shaggy critter. I read about a possible answer. Cut a pair of pantyhose into pieces just big enough to fit over the brush’s head, allowing the bristles to poke fully through the material. Fur will cling to pantyhose instead of your shirt. Then pull off pantyhose and put in trash. (Try this out on Piper, Mim)

The cup holder in my car is always nasty and hard to clean. I read today to put a silicone cupcake liner in it and it will be easy to keep clean. I’ll let you know.

One more thing before I finish. Some doctors are saying good ole’ soap and water will kill as many germs without the use of alcohol or other chemicals in the hand sanitizers. Just saying….

I’m just curious if you have any ideas you want to share. Contact me at DebbieWalker@townline.org with any comments or questions. Have a wonderful week.

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Mad Men, The Death of Stalin

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Jon Hamm

Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Mad Men

The seven seasons of Mad Men, which ran on AMC from 2007 to 2015,was an interesting viewing experience throughout the last three to four months via Amazon Prime but, now that all 97 episodes have been watched, I feel tremendous relief that it’s over.

It depicts the world of Madison Avenue advertising agencies and their executives and other employees from 1960 to ’70 and does good work in recreating lifestyles, clothing and, most importantly, attitudes against the backdrop of American history during that decade – JFK, Vietnam, rock music, social media, the rising crime in Manhattan, the quiet desperation resulting from prosperity and the good life. And every episode would end with a song appropriate to that episode.

My gripe with the series was how tiresome most of the characters eventually became; the main character Don Draper, as portrayed by Jon Hamm, is insufferable in his selfishness, disloyalty and arrogance as he becomes a golden boy for creating successful ad campaigns; I was rooting for him to fail miserably, which he does by the end of the series when he has a rude awakening permeated with insincere repentance and accountability.

Only two performances really stood out – the late Robert Morse as the founder/CEO of the agency where Draper is a partner; and the extraordinary actress Elizabeth Ann Reaser who appears in a couple of episodes in season seven as the waitress Diane.

Reaser conveyed the depths of torment in her characterization of somebody who is apparently a loose cannon but who still evokes tremendous sympathy as a human being.

The actress graduated with honors as a theater major from Juilliard and, after struggling for a few years with bit parts, landed a role on daytime TV’s The Guiding Light. She gave an interview with the following comment about her upbringing:

“My father raised me from the time I was 12 years old. And it never occurred to me that I wouldn’t be strong – I wasn’t raised like that. ”

The Death of Stalin

Robert Morse

Elizabeth Ann Reaser

A 2017 film, The Death of Stalin, has three outstanding performances – Simon Russell Beale as Stalin’s KGB police chief Lavrenty Beria, Olga Kurylenko as Stalin’s favorite classical pianist Maria Yudina who sends a personal note to the Dictator telling him how much she loathes him, and Jason Isaacs as the Soviet military hero Marshal Zhukov who participates with other Central Committee members in the kidnapping and execution of Beria ten months after Stalin’s March 1953 death.

Otherwise this film, promoted as a satirical black comedy, is, as I commented to a friend, quite vile.

 

 

 

 

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THE BEST VIEW: Am I a literary snob?

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by Norma Best Boucher

“Hello. My name is Norma. I am an English major and a literary snob.”

If there were such groups as Literary Snobs Anonymous, I would stand before their podium addressing my captured audience saying those exact words to my fellow literary snobs. Then, when they finally gave me the proverbial shepherd’s hook to drag me from my pulpit, I would confess my deepest, darkest truth: “I also love mysteries.”

As a high school English teacher, I basically had to prod gently my students to get their insights about the books I had assigned for them to read.

Today I belong to a book club. Some months I like the book. Some months I don’t like the book. Every month, though, I enjoy animated discussions with the very intelligent, very diverse and very assertive women in the group. They all have their own opinions and express them clearly, coherently, and, sometimes, even eloquently.

In my own defense I must explain that I was at the mercy of English teachers throughout my high school and college years. All required reading books were from the classics. I loved the classics.

As a teacher I also introduced my students to the classics. Some students may say that I tortured them with the classics, but I always assured them that the book titles, the characters and even the quoted texts would remain with them throughout their lives. Like it or not.

In my own everyday life, I am constantly reminded of classic book characters and their quotes. Whenever I see a man rubbing his hands together, I am reminded of Uriah Heep, the antagonist in Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield.

Who can forget the revengeful phrase “One down” in Alexandre Dumas’ novel The Count of Monte Cristo, or the quote “All for one and one for all” in Dumas’ The Three Musketeers?

Can we forget the characters and lessons learned from Silas in Silas Marner, Huck in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, Jo March and her sisters in Little Women, or Jane Eyre and Cathy and Heathcliff from the two Bronte sisters? I think not.

Of course, there’s always Shakespeare’s famous quotes: “Take thee to a nunnery” from Hamlet to Ophelia, “Out damned spot” from Lady Macbeth, “A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse” from Richard III, Hamlet’s Polonius’s “To thine own self be true,” and the unforgettable Julius Caesar’s dying recognition “Et Tu, Brute?”

I cannot be the only one who remembers and frankly relishes these great works of literature. Highfalutin they may be but unforgettable they remain, at least to me.

I knew a man for 50 years. We tolerated each other. I am sure that he never recognized one single word of wisdom I may have offered, and, to tell the truth, in those five decades I only gleaned one sentence of wisdom from him.

He was in his mid-70s at the time. Someone asked him to attend a function. He thought silently for a few moments and then literally thought out loud, “I don’t have that much time left to waste.”

I stored in my memory that tidbit of wisdom. Now, whenever I start reading a new book, I ask myself whether I am enjoying the book or whether by reading this particular book I am wasting precious time. Sometimes book and time decisions are made just like that.

My book tastes and time decisions may sometimes appear to be old-fashioned, but the modern day me is sitting right here right now writing this declaration or confession, if you will, wearing a newly-purchased tee shirt that reads, “That’s what I do. I read books, and I know things.”

Back to the original question, “Am I a literary snob?”

In Shakespeare’s words, “Egads!”

In my own words, “I hope so.”

GROWING YOUR BUSINESS: Please don’t do this!

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by Dan Beaulieu
Business consultant

A good customer is your most important asset!

One of the biggest complaints that people I know have about local contractors is that some of them, when they get busy, won’t give them the time of day. Not all of them mind you, but more than a few seem to act with a certain…dare we say smugness when their schedule gets filled up. If you are a contractor, whether a landscaper, a tree service, a builder, a plumber, or electrician and because of Covid-19 you now have a waiting list as long as you proverbial arm, please remember the lean times. Please remember what a privilege it is to have customers.

Look I know you are going to get very busy in the next few months. So many projects have been put on hold that, of course, you have a backlog of customers’ projects waiting to be attended to. And of course, you cannot get to them all at the same time. That is understandable and only makes sense. There are only 24 hours in a day and only seven days in a week, so there is only so much that you can do, and only so many projects that you can attack at one time.

I’m not asking that you take on more than you can handle, I’m not asking that you make promises you can’t keep, All I am asking is that you treat all your customers like you care. Let them know that their business and most importantly their loyalty is important to you and you are going to do the very best you can to get to them as quickly as you can.

Here are a few simple guidelines to make sure that you treat your customers right while they wait for you to get to their projects:

  • Return their calls as soon as possible. Making a customer wait for you to return their call is insulting and sends the message that you don’t care about their business.
  • If the customer has a project for you to get started on, politely explain that you are busy, that you will make time to visit the customer and take a look at the project within 24 or 48 hours.
  • And keep that appointment by all means. There is nothing more insulting to a customer than standing him up.
  • Quote the job as quickly and efficiently as possible.
  • With the quote include the time in your quote you are going to be able to get to their project and make sure you are accurate as possible with this timing.
  • And at all times, no matter how busy you are right now, make sure your customers realize how important they are to you.

These are just a few simple rules of business courtesy, but they are more important now than ever. Always remember the lean times and how much you appreciate your customers’ business in those times. And then consider these simple business courtesy guidelines as an investment in your future. An investment that will certainly help you grow your business.

SMALL SPACE GARDENING: Plant a few trees for you and the bees

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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 four to nine 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.

Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books, including the recently released Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, 2nd Edition and Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” instant video and DVD series and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment TV & radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine. Myers’ website is www.MelindaMyers.com.

FOR YOUR HEALTH: How The Climate Crisis Affects You — And What You Can Do About It

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(NAPSI)—Families across the country cope with the effects of the climate crisis as extreme storms, wildfires, heat and floods grow in frequency and intensity. In fact, one of the nation’s leaders in disaster relief, the American Red Cross, now responds to nearly twice as many large disasters across the country as it did a decade ago.

National Preparedness Month in September is an important reminder to help your family and pets stay safe by taking action now with three simple steps: Get a kit, make a plan and be informed. 

Get a Kit

Build your emergency kit with a gallon of water per person, per day; non-perishable food; a flashlight; and a battery-powered radio. Also include a first aid kit, medications, supplies for infants or pets, a multi-purpose tool and personal hygiene items. Don’t forget to add copies of important papers, cell phone chargers, blankets, maps of the area and emergency contact information.

Make a Plan

Plan what to do in case you are separated from your family during an emergency and need to evacuate. Make sure to coordinate your plan with your child’s school, your work and your community’s emergency plans.

Be Informed

Find out what disasters or emergency situations may occur where you live, work and go to school; how officials will contact you during a disaster; and how you will get important information, such as evacuation orders.

Depending on your household’s needs, you may have additional considerations as part of your emergency planning. Visit redcross.org/prepare for more information and tips.

How to Help Others

The increase in large disaster responses also means that more people need help across the country. As a part of this, the Red Cross is calling for new volunteers to help grow its disaster workforce—90% comprised of trained volunteers—to deliver shelter, food, health and mental health support, and one-on-one recovery assistance. Learn more and become a volunteer at redcross.org/VolunteerToday. 

Weather Affects  the National Blood Supply

Blood and platelet donations that go uncollected due to climate-related events, such as hurricanes, wildfires and extreme heat, can put further strain on the national blood supply. As extreme weather events are worsening, the Red Cross—which provides about 40% of the nation’s blood supply—is seeing that translate into more blood drive cancellations. In 2022, over 1,300 blood drives were canceled due to weather—about 23% higher than the average of the prior nine years. 

Fewer donors than needed have given blood this summer, drawing down the national blood supply and reducing distributions of some of the most needed blood types to hospitals. 

People depend on the generosity of blood donors. To ensure the nation’s blood supply is prepared for all emergencies, the Red Cross urges individuals to schedule an appointment to donate today using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, by visiting RedCrossBlood.org or by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767). If you are unable to give blood, you can volunteer to support blood collections at redcross.org/VolunteerToday. 

I’M JUST CURIOUS: Clean the season

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by Debbie Walker

I always thought that Spring is the season of cleaning, but I read a column in our local newspaper, Citrus Chronicle, not so. Maybe someone changed the season, and I missed it! Thanks to Patricia Shannon I read about it in August and just settled down now to write.

You will, of course, go by your weather for mowing and that will obviously be different here in Florida. The timing will be different, but the care will be very much like ours. Before you store it inside it will have to be cleaned. You will have to remove any stuck-on debris. If you wait until spring it will be much more of a job. I suggest you get out your owner’s manual for correct instructions. I imagine the instructions for cleaning will have the details for sharpening, remove the filter and battery and sharpen the blades, drain the gasoline, replace the oil and cover machine.

If you must bring your grill inside for the next season (they must be cleaned here, too, just not so often here). If it is time to clean your grill for a season, you probably need to get it done before you need to use your slow cooker for the winter recipes.

If you own a pool, bring out pool toys and equipment that need to be cleaned and stored. Check them first for wear and tear. It may be time to trash some pieces. Maybe if you look you will find some things marked down for the end of season.

End of season sales may also include bathing suits and pool towels. Remember the Salad Spinners you used to see advertised on TV? If you still have it make a habit of rinsing suits out and spin them almost dry. Your last pool towel washing should be done in hot water (not your suits).

Time to clean the window screens. It does collect over a few months even if we don’t realize it. Once you begin cleaning you will be wondering, “How did that happen?” Once cleaned, it is a good time to make any repairs to the screen or the window frame. (I hate bugs, especially the ones that buzz and bite me!}

Cleaning outdoor cushions and furniture is also included in the list of fall activities. When I worked at a recreation club at their pool. I lined my furniture and cushions out for a hose down party using whatever is my cleaning product at the time. Once done the party, hose yourself to get rid of any chemicals trying to hitchhike on you.

We use our ceiling fans year-round and I did when I lived in Maine. I like to feel the air moving. Since I have allergies, I may be a little more aware of the dust content on my fans. I don’t wait for the sneezing to clean them. Once a month seems to help me.

When you are finished with your fall cleaning why not go out and pick apples. Take a group for extra fun. Just be careful.

I’m just curious what I am forgetting to add to the list, maybe you would let me know. Contact me with any questions or comments at DebbieWalker@townline.org. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful week.

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Richard Nixon

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Richard M. Nixon

Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Richard Nixon

The 37th President Richard Milhous Nixon (1913-1994) would often take long walks along the beach at his San Clemente vacation house on the Pacific Coast. I vividly remember seeing photos of him taken from a distance by the journalists whom he despised and whose favor he rarely, if ever, sought.

Regardless of the pressures any president of the United States experiences even in recent years, Nixon conveyed a definite aura of mien in his bearing (During the final months of his presidency when Watergate was the most frequently reported topic, Press Secretary Ron Ziegler made the mistake of speaking to the president who suddenly lashed out at Ziegler with his arms.)

Nixon doggedly fought his way up the ladder, did well in school growing up in Whittier, California, and attending Whittier College before getting a scholarship to Duke University Law School; he was elected to the House of Representatives in 1946 and became Senator in 1950. And he wasn’t above using smear tactics in both campaigns.

In 1952, Dwight D. Eisenhower picked Nixon as his running mate, although reluctantly since he didn’t particularly like Nixon as a human being, because Nixon had strong appeal to the very conservative Midwest and California Republicans which Eisenhower lacked as a more moderate Eastern establishment candidate.

After eight years as Ike’s Veep, the defeat in 1960 for the White House and the unsuccessful California Governor’s race in 1962, Nixon bided his time until a chain of circumstances, some of them perhaps engineered by Nixon himself, led to his being chosen as the Republican candidate in 1968, with Maryland Governor Spiro T. Agnew as the running mate, in a three-way race with Hubert Humphrey and Maine’s Edmund Muskie for the Democrats and the American Independent Party’s George Wallace and Curtis Lemay. Nixon and Agnew won by a narrow margin.

Rather than getting into Nixon’s leadership legacy which is voluminously documented, I wish to share a couple of brief personal items. When Nixon attended Whittier College, he took history courses with Professor David Henley who was married to my grandmother Cates’s first cousin, and East Vassalboro native, Lila Upham.

Secondly, uncles Paul and George Cates went to a Republican rally, in Augusta, in 1964, for Congressman Clifford McIntire who ran unsuccessfully against Muskie for the Senate; Nixon came that day to drum up support .

To conclude, I found a quote from Gore Vidal in a piece he wrote about the 1968 Republican convention at Miami Beach that nominated Nixon. Vidal is describing Ronald Reagan who had thrown his own hat in the ring after being elected in 1966 as the Governor of California. Vidal is remembering Reagan at the 1964 convention in San Francisco.

“I recalled my last glimpse of him, at the Cow Palace, in San Francisco, four years ago. The Reagans were seated in a box, listening to Eisenhower. While Mrs. Reagan darted angry looks about the hall (displeased at the press?), the star of Death Valley Days was staring intently at the speaker on the platform: as the age of television progresses, the Reagans will be the rule, not the exception.”

Back during the 1960s, I really didn’t think Ronald Reagan ever had a chance of becoming president.

George McGovern

In later years, the former president did a series of interviews with Diane Sawyer and David Frost and mentioned that two of his closest friends were Ed Muskie and George McGovern, Nixon’s Democratic opponent in the 1972 race who carried only one state out of the 50.

On March 16, 1974, Nixon appeared on a Grand Ole Opry TV special in Nashville with country music legend Roy Acuff (1903-1982) who taught the president how to manipulate the yo yo and talked him into playing the piano.

Another country legend Hank Williams may have best summed up Acuff’s appeal:

“He’s the biggest singer this music ever knew. You booked him and you didn’t worry about crowds. For drawing power in the South, it was Roy Acuff, then God.”

Two ten-inch 78s here at the house feature Acuff’s uniquely down home singing and fiddling with his long time colleagues, the Smoky Mountain Boys.

Okeh 05297 from July 5 and 6, 1939, contains two sacred music selections, Drifting Too Far from the Shore, and Eyes are Watching You; Columbia 36856, recorded August 2, 1945, has Pins and Needles, and a song composed by Acuff’s business partner Fred Rose, We Live in Two Different Worlds.

FINANCIAL FOCUS: Retired? Consider benefits of part-time work

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submitted by Sasha Fitzpatrick

After spending decades in the workforce, you might look forward to the day you retire. But if you decide, for one reason or another, that you’d like to redefine “retirement” to include part-time work or consulting, you could enjoy exercising your skills and meeting new people. But you can also receive some key financial benefits.

Specifically, bringing in some paychecks in your retirement can help you in these areas:

You could contribute more to your IRA. During your working years, you may have contributed regularly to an IRA, but once you retired, you might have thought those days were over. But there’s no age limit – if you have any earned income, you can contribute to an IRA and boost the financial resources you have available for retirement.

You could potentially lower your withdrawal rate. Once you’re retired, you will likely need to rely on your investment portfolio to provide you with some – or maybe most – of your income. Consequently, you’ll need to establish an appropriate withdrawal rate – a percentage of your portfolio that you can take out each year without running the risk of potentially outliving your money. Income from part-time work or consulting may lower your dependency on investment income, thereby reducing your annual withdrawal rate and extending the overall longevity of your investment portfolio.

You could add to your grandchildren’s 529 plans. When you invest in a 529 education savings plan, the earnings and withdrawals are federally tax-free, provided the money is used for qualified education expenses. As a grandparent, you can contribute to a 529 plan with your grandchildren as beneficiaries. And a 529 plan can be used for more than college – it can fund some programs at trade schools and K-12 expenses in some states. So, by putting some of your earned income to work in a 529 plan, you can help improve your grandchildren’s prospects.

You could reduce your debts. By the time you reach retirement, you may or may not have retired your mortgage, but you might have other debts on your books. If you can apply some of your earned income to these debts, you can improve your cash flow and possibly avoid dipping into your retirement accounts for short-term needs.

Of course, you’ll also have to consider some issues if you end up working in retirement, particularly if you bring in a sizable amount of money. For example, if you’re earning income and collecting Social Security before you reach your “full” retirement age – which is likely between 66 and 67 – your monthly benefits will be reduced. (However, these “lost” benefits will be restored once you do reach your full retirement age.) Also, the added income could push you into a higher tax bracket or even cause you to pay the Medicare premium surcharge or the 3.8 percent surtax on net investment income if your income reaches certain levels. So, before embarking on any employment that may yield a large additional income, consult with your tax advisor.

Overall, though, the financial benefits of part-time employment income during your retirement years may be worth it – so give some thought to “unretiring.”

This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor.
Edward Jones, Member SIPC

VETERANS CORNER: Sleep apnea testing: don’t go it alone

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by Gary Kennedy

I had someone ask me this week where our newspaper was. I was at the Cony Hannaford at the time and knew that the location had been changed the previous week. I showed the customer the new location but low and behold the papers were gone. This was on Saturday. I explained this was unusual and I would keep an eye open to see how the paper was being used. I had a couple of extra issues that I ended up with at Togus VA as my wife and I volunteer to deliver them to the various waiting rooms and doctors offices who have requested copies because of interest. We gave them one. Saturday is very early for Hannaford to be running out so we will see what is happening.

Now I will get on with some of the VA business of the week. Many veterans pursue claims on their own. I have warned against this in several of my veteran claims articles. One that many veterans feel that they can pursue on their own is Sleep Apnea. It seems simple but in most cases it is not. I would venture to say that many applications fail the first time. Even if you go through your Primary Care Provider, (PCP) failure in my opinion is probable.

I believe it really shouldn’t be that way but it’s been my experience that many cases have failed even going through a ground level Veteran Service Officer, V.S.O.. The reason that I have discovered is due to the inexperience of some V.S.O.’s. I don’t say this in a condescending way but unless the V.S.O has had years of experience he/she might not have prepared the veteran for the test which is quite detailed and telling. Believe it or not the best advice to give the veteran is to go to the sleep study and act naturally.

Veterans will have questions regarding preparation as, assume they need to act a certain way or do certain things in order to pass/fail the exam in order to get a C-pap machine and/or the monetary benefit that could go along with it. However, it has been my experience that if I am convinced that the veteran actually has the problem it will show up in the study during the night as a natural occurrence and can be evaluated by the examiner as to its validity and severity. This will be the basis to the examiner’s report which will be given a rating by the Bureau of Veterans Affairs, VBA. The sleep study for the most part is considered quite reliable. However, I have challenged the examination results and on more than one occasion have won my challenge.

Sleep Apnea is a disorder that can manifest itself in several different ways. However, in most of these cases it involves the stoppage of breathing. This can be for a few seconds or for more than a minute. If the later occurs than the examiner will approach the bed to initiate breathing if necessary. I have sleep apnea and was told that I have more than 129 apneas and one was for more than a minute. Scary, huh? Needless to say I was given a C-Pap machine which works very well. This all being said, I should add some of the experienced events which generally accompany this event

According to Mayo Clinic this disorder can have several episodic events accompanying it. (Snoring, restless legs, twitching, dreams not remembered, urinary frequency and constant wakefulness). A C-Pap machine will help with these issues.

Polysomnography – is the sleep study which monitors your heart, lungs, brain activity and breathing activity while you sleep. Blood O2 level as well as bodily movements are also monitored. The study can help people who have sudden bouts of sleep during the day known as Narcolepsy. This is an entirely different study or sleep disorder. We will discuss this at another time.

Just remember, if you have these problems you and your family should not have to live with them. Sleep on your side, not your back. This will help your problem and make life in your bed more pleasant for all. Also, it will help keep you safe. I will discuss other issues next week. The final word here lies with your PCP and V.S.O… Don’t try to live with what is controllable.

VA is here for you. God bless you and yours. Always remember we are here and always available to help and guide you. Dial 623-6938 for an appointment. Or you can dial me if necessary at 458-2832. Don’t go it alone.