I’M JUST CURIOUS: Starting with downsizing

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by Debbie Walker

Are you planning a downsizing or just want to clean up a little like maybe spring cleaning? Did you put away all your Christmas decorations? Come now, haven’t you found one or two things you forgot? In the Woman’s World magazine dated March March 28, 2022, there is an article Surprising Down Sizing Tricks. I am sharing some of it in this column.

So, let’s start with that. Before you put away anything. Are there any items you might be able to redecorate for another holiday? If there are it ought to be fun. There is the old trick of “three piles”, you use one for maybes (that’s the tricky one). Yes, there is one for you to keep the special things (this one can be tricky, too, but I’ll get back to this later) and there is one to definitely throw away or donate.

Come to think of it they are all tricky. This has to all be up to you, something you really want to do. Then remember that just because someone special gave this or that to you, does not mean you really have to keep it. If they ever have reason to know, they may have forgotten all about it.

In the magazines it is also mentioned about possibly taking pictures of things that you think you might want to make later. Just don’t clutter up your picture space but if you do you can clean that up later! Or, the idea I liked was things you really loved such as children’s art work, and other things and make a coffee table book of all these wonderful things.

Oh, and they suggested in this magazine that we could all take old jewelry and baubles to decorate some of our “art work” projects. However, unless you want to wind up with the kind of messes I presently have you might want to pass on this one. Maybe a better idea is to make a box of art project items for a nursing home perhaps. This is one of those “Do as I say, not as I do” kind of thing.

On to a different subject, that comes from First magazine also dated March 28, 2022. These come under the page on Smart Home Solutions, page 78.

This first one that caught my eye was a Do-it-yourself lazy-susan. You will need a handful of marbles and two pie plates. Place one pie plate on the counter, add the marbles in plate. Then place the second pie plate on top of the marbles. Top plate will now ride around on top of the marbles but better yet you place the spices you use very often on the top plate. Things won’t come sliding off and it will keep things handy for when you need it.

The final one for the night is “pesky spots on your glassware” remover. It is to: Add two to four tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide to dish washer’s rinse compartment and run as usual. I haven’t tried it (no room for a dishwasher in my camper!)

Okay, that’s my last piece of educational material for this issue.

I am just curious if you will try any of these. Let me know at DebbieWalker@townline.org. In the meantime have a great week and thanks for reading.

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Mercury LPs

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Chad Mitchell Trio

Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Back during the last century old days of my adolescent youth, I was quite enamored by the Mercury dollar cut out LPs of the Chad Mitchell Trio that I bought at downtown Waterville Center’s Department Store. The group’s brand of folk music making thrilled me- their sing­ing of such classics as You Were On My Mind, The Last Thing On My Mind, 4 Strong Winds, I Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound, etc. In addition the impeccable artistry of backup guitarist Paul Prestopino and the precision honed arrangements of Milt Okun contributed to the pleasure of these records.

The Kingston Trio

Seeking similar splendors, I bought my first album of the much more well known Kingston Trio, Close Up, which I believe was the first to feature John Stewart (1939-2008), who replaced the departing Dave Guard in 1961. Guard, along with Nick Reynolds and Bob Shane, formed the group in 1957 and hit the charts with Tom Dooley.

Stewart had already gotten experience with the less successful but musically gifted Cumberland 3, which recorded an album devoted to songs of the Civil War. He was a gifted songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist- meaning outstanding interpreter of his songs, since his singing was not especially beautiful- ; and he would assume most of the duties as Master of Ceremonies during the Trio’s concerts, being very quick on his feet with witty repartee.

The early ‘60s folk music boom soon busted with the on­slaught of the Beach Boys, Beatles, Rolling Stones and their contemporaries but the Trio continued performing and recording as long as feasibly possible, finally calling it quits in 1967.

John Stewart

Meanwhile John Stewart accumulated a significant body of work and recorded his first of just over 60 al­bums in 1968, the exquisite Signals Through the Glass with his then-girlfriend and later wife, Buffy Ford. The album was a stunning example of great 20th century American music and on the same scale as the music of Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Stephen Sondheim, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, just to name a few examples

Parallels in art and literature would be painters Winslow Homer, Grant Wood, Edward Hopper and Andrew Wyeth, the poets Robert Frost and Carl Sandburg and the novelists Willa Cather, William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway.

The song titles on that first album included Nebraska Widow, July You’re a Woman, Mr. Lincoln’s Train and Muddy Truckee River.

I recently listened to three of his albums: Lonesome Picker Rides Again, from 1971; 1992’s Bullets in the Hour Glass; and the 2006 The Day the River Sang.

Lonesome Picker had the wistful Just an Old Love Song; the very delectable celebration of village life, Bolinas, with its lovely strings and English horn; the most famous song Stewart ever wrote and a megahit for the Monkees and Anne Murray, Daydream Believer; and, since horses and horse races were subjects dear to Stewart’s heart (his father was a horse trainer), side two’s concluding Wild Horse Road, and All the Brave Horses.

Bullets in the Hour Glass was considered a rather desultory bad day for the singer by one otherwise loyal fan but I found only one dud, a monolog entitled Bad Rats. The River, Dealing with the Night, a very eloquent The Wheel Within the Clay, Women (with backup vocals by Rosanne Cash) and The Man Who Would Be King (it with Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary fame as backup) are first class. By this time, Stewart’s vocal chords were a bit more frayed than during the ‘60s and ‘70s but the solid beauty of the material was still in ample evidence.

In addition, there was a more frequent utilization of New Age synthesizer effects, as opposed to the straight folk rock of the 70s, yet used with taste and intelligence.

The Day the River Sang was a top notch Last Hurrah. While Stewart’s own singing had deteriorated even more in any semblance of beauty, the total quality control of material and arrangements prevailed. The choice Baby It’s You, East of Denver, the title song, Sister Mercy and Midnight Train warrant very close attention.

I attended two concerts of the singer, one in 2001 at the Town Crier Club in Pawling , New York, a village distinguished by the presence of headquarters for Norman Vincent Peale’s Guideposts publication and a separate set of buildings for the Jehovah’s Witnesses; and the second in 2006 at the Augusta St. Mark’s Episcopalian Church just off of Lithgow Street.

He put on great shows both times.

Sadly by 2007, Stewart’s health, which had been problematical for a few years, was showing signs of Alzheimer’s and he died in early 2008 at the age of 68.

FOR YOUR HEALTH: Long COVID Upends Lives, Even In The Young And Healthy

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Young, strong, and healthy, Rob Smith didn’t think he had to ­worry about COVID. He did—and it changed his life forever.

by We Can Do This COVID-19
Public Education Campaign

(NAPSI)—Running was Rob Smith’s passion. He ran every day, ate healthy foods, and had good sleep habits. Because of his healthy lifestyle, Smith believed that it was very unlikely COVID-19 would have a serious effect on his health. In September 2020, at the age of 22, Smith contracted the virus, and his life changed forever.

“I used to run 5 or 6 miles a day. Now, when I walk up a flight of stairs, I’m gasping for air,” said Smith, who misses his daily exercise. “It feels like my brain is clouded, and I can’t think straight. It’s surreal.”

Smith is not alone. Though many healthy young people who contract COVID have mild symptoms and recover quickly, others experience a wide range of new, returning or ongoing health problems that can persist for months. This condition is referred to as long COVID. As scientists work to learn more about long COVID, many mysteries remain.

“COVID is extremely unpredictable,” said Ann Marie Pettis, immediate past president of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology in Rochester, NY. “It is impossible to know who will recover readily, who will experience severe life-threatening illness, or who will have long COVID haunt them for months or even longer. Staying up to date on vaccines is the best way to prevent the devastating consequences of long COVID.”

Symptoms of long COVID can vary. Many, like Smith, report shortness of breath and difficulty with memory and thinking, often described as “brain fog.” Other common symptoms of long COVID include fatigue, pain, fast or irregular heartbeat, loss of taste and smell, memory problems, mood changes, and hair loss.

Katelyn Van Dyke, an athletic 20-year-old, contracted COVID in November 2020. Two months later she began to experience severe symptoms of long COVID. Van Dyke began having trouble remembering things, and she struggled to breathe with simple activity.

“I was a varsity soccer player in high school, and now I get winded just from walking,” Van Dyke said. “I can’t remember things. It’s unbearable.”

It is common for people with long COVID to have breathing issues, a possible indication of lung damage. COVID can damage organs including the lungs, heart, and brain. Symptoms can last many months after COVID illness.

Recent studies have also found serious increases in the risk for many kinds of cardiovascular disease in COVID survivors, including for people who were not hospitalized for COVID. Cardiovascular risks can be significantly higher for people who have had COVID regardless of their age, race, sex, or other cardiovascular risk factors.

Three weeks after getting COVID, dancer Isaiah Smith began experiencing chest pains.

“I used to be able to dance all day,” said Smith, who is 26. “But now just getting up gives me chest pain. And I can’t comprehend words at times. This has honestly been a very scary journey. I’m telling my long COVID story because I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.”

The risk of contracting long COVID is real—especially for those who have not been vaccinated and boosted. Remaining up to date on vaccinations provides the best protection against severe illness and long COVID.

Learn More

For accurate, science-based information about vaccines, visit www.vaccines.gov.

CRITTER CHATTER: Preparing for the arrival of spring

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The late Carleen Cote with a baby fox. (Duck Pond file photo)

by Jayne Winters

While the recent signs of an early spring encourage most of us to anxiously look forward to warmer days and more outside activities, this time of year is one of mixed emotions for Don Cote and the volunteers at Duck Pond Wildlife Care Center.

These last weeks of winter still require shoveling, plowing, and sanding; freeing water tubs from ice; replacing soiled and sometimes frozen bedding; cleaning pens; doing multiple loads of daily laundry; washing and disinfecting food dishes; preparing meals; and tending to injured and sick animals. Wildlife rehabbers are not ‘fair weather’ friends: whether it rains or snows or the wind howls, the critters must be cared for several times a day.

Don also takes care of a variety of his own ducks and geese year ‘round, requiring nesting materials, fresh water and different feed. So, while the folks at Duck Pond won’t miss doing chores in frigid temperatures, they’re also thinking about the busyness of the coming spring and how to begin preparing for it.

As Carleen [Cote] wrote in 2004, March is when they begin looking at catalogues and deciding what supplies will be needed. Orders for milk, milk replacements, supplements, electrolytes, vitamins, and foodstuffs for so many animals are mind boggling. Typical spring admissions include squirrels, chipmunks, woodchucks, skunks, raccoons, porcupines, foxes, opossums, fawns, and the occasional mice, rabbits, birds, coyotes, and bobcats. It’s hard to plan for so many different needs.

In addition, Don has to be sure there are special bottles, nipples and syringes for feeding the very young babies, as well as enough medications, bandages and other first aid items for emergency treatment of wounds and broken bones on injured, abandoned or orphaned animals that will soon arrive.

With warmer weather come more admissions from vehicular accidents, especially youngsters who haven’t yet learned the dangers and survival skills of living in the wild. There are also admissions from well-meaning citizens who think little ones have been abandoned by their mothers, when in actuality they may be seeking food or a better den area to raise their brood.

On a happier and more rewarding note, this is the time of year to think about when and where to release the animals that have overwintered at Duck Pond because they were too young or not well enough for fall release. This May will see the three bobcat kittens, several deer, foxes and raccoons return to the fields and forests that await them. Although I’m sure some of the young residents at the Care Center hold a special place in Don’s and the volunteers’ hearts, I’m also sure they feel a sense of gratitude to know their months of nurturing care truly made a difference.

Don plans to continue to gradually keep admissions and long-term residents to a more manageable level by transferring many rescued critters to other rehabbers who have so generously offered to assist in their care. Please check these websites to see if there is a rehabber closer to you to help make critter care at Duck Pond more practicable: https://www.mainevetmed.org/wildlife-rehabilitation or https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/wildlife/living-with-wildlife/orphaned-injured-wildlife/rehabilitation.html. Donald Cote operates Duck Pond Wildlife Care Center on Rte. 3 in Vassalboro. It is a non-profit state permitted rehab facility supported by his own resources & outside donations. Mailing address: 1787 North Belfast Ave., Vassalboro ME 04989 TEL: (207) 445-4326.

OPINIONS: Who needs broadband? What can you do?

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Photo credit: Barta IV, https://www.flickr.com/photos/98640399@N08/9287370881

COMMUNITY COMMENTARY

by Amy Davidoff

Who needs broadband? We all do. Do we all have it? Undoubtedly not, but we don’t know and need to find out. A town broadband committee can encourage speed testing and get us the information we need.

Broadband availability and affordability are critical for the health and welfare of our town. What is broadband? Maine broadband standards are now 100 mbps download and upload speeds. Very few of us have that speed. There are federal funds available to build infrastructure and expand access to broadband, but we can’t tap into it without knowing what we need.

As we have learned through the past two years, access to the internet is critical for so much in our lives. It is critical for educational opportunities for kids and adults, for telehealth appointments and medical information, for attracting/retaining businesses, for improving citizen engagement. Some of us have adequate internet speeds, at least for now, while others have either slow speeds (underserved) or no internet at all (unserved). Whether it is available and whether it is affordable to our citizens are important questions to answer.

So, what can you do?

Take the internet speed test:

The Maine Broadband Coalition has the way to collect the data: https://www.mainebroadbandcoalition.org.

This will help us identify who has no internet access (by indicating that you have no service), and what internet speeds the rest of us have.

Want to do more?

The Vassalboro Select Board members agreed to form an ad hoc Broadband Committee. Your passion and/or expertise would be most welcomed. Want to know more? Please contact Amy Davidoff, (207) 284-3417, adavidoff@une.edu.

SCORES & OUTDOORS – Osprey vs. eagle: ruling the skies

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Osprey and bald eagle do battle. (photo by Gary Kennedy)

Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

Recently, a regular contributor to The Town Line, Gary Kennedy, of Chelsea, and his wife Julie witnessed a battle between an osprey and a bald eagle, probably over territorial rites – or food.

I could relate to the story as my wife and I witnessed the same a few years ago while fishing on Webber Pond. In both instances, the bald eagle won the day. So, do bald eagles and ospreys get along?

Opportunistic bald eagles and ospreys share much of the same habitat, so ospreys are frequently the victims of nest raids by the eagles. Proud, powerful and the national symbol of the United States, bald eagles are birds of prey that are extremely territorial during nesting season but highly social at other times.

They use their talons to fish; or, instead of catching their own, they’ll go after an osprey or another fish-eating bird, forcing it to drop its prey, which the eagle grabs in midair.

Opportunists, they’ll also scavenge carrion or catch and eat amphibians, invertebrates, small mammals, reptiles and other birds’ fledglings.

Once an eagle gets you in its sights, it can be a vigorous foe—as that osprey recently learned.

Ospreys require nest sites in open surroundings for easy approach, with wide, sturdy bases and safety from ground predators, such as raccoons.

In Kennedy’s video, you see a bald eagle and an osprey do combat. As part of their plan of attack, at dusk, with both osprey parents away, the bald eagle will sweep in from over the water toward the nest containing three chicks. One of the osprey parents will engage the eagle, ready to defend the nest, but it can’t match the speed and strength of the eagle, which manages to nab one of the chicks with its huge talons before taking off.

It’s not uncommon for osprey to lose their entire brood to eagle attacks.

Adept at soaring and diving but not as maneuverable as other hawks, ospreys fly with stiff wingbeats in a steady, rowing motion. They do, however, vigorously chase birds that encroach on their nests.

But ospreys, too, launch their share of attacks ­– and some of them are on eagles. They have been observed attacking a Canada gooose who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Is it a coincidence that bald eagles will frequently build their nests near osprey nests. Not really. It’s just the bald eagle is smart enough to know that if it nests near ospreys, that it will have ample opportunity to steal fish from the ospreys throughout summer?

However, there are many differences between ospreys and bald eagles.

Size: Osprey have an average 59- to 70-inch wingspan and weigh three to four pounds. They have long, narrow wings with a marked kink that makes them look like an M-shape from below.

The bald eagle is one of the largest birds in North America, with an average 80-inch wingspan and weighing 6.5 to almost 14 pounds.

Diet: Osprey eat a diet of about 99 percent fish, usually 4 – 12 inches long. The type of fish varies depending on where in the world the osprey lives.

Bald eagles love fish as well, and sometimes rather than doing their own hunting they will harass osprey, making them drop their fish or even steal their fish right out of their talons.

Bald eagles also eat birds, reptiles, amphibians, rabbits and muskrat, both live or as carrion. They sometimes gorge on food and digest it over several days, and they can also survive fasting for many days or even weeks.

Beak: An osprey’s beak is black, short and has a sharp hook that helps it tear into fish to eat.

Bald eagles have a yellow beak which is also hooked for tearing into flesh.

Special abilities: Osprey can dive about three feet into the water to catch fish, and they can dive both head and feet first. They also have the ability to take off straight from the water instead of having to swim to shore.

Sometimes bald eagles hunt cooperatively, with one individual flushing prey toward another.

Nest: Osprey nests are built of sticks and lined with bark, sod, grasses, corn stalks and other softer materials. Most nesting platforms are about 5 feet wide and a foot deep. However, it has been seen that osprey who nest in the same place year after year have ended up with nests 10-13 feet deep and 3-6 feet in diameter.

Osprey also like to nest in open areas, usually built on snags, treetops, cliffs or human-built platforms, cell phone towers or light towers.

Bald eagles nest in trees, usually conifers, and create huge nests — five to six feet wide and two to four feet deep – out of sticks lined with grass, moss or corn stalks. Nests can take up to three months to build. Bald eagles typically build near the trunk of a tree, high but not at the crown like osprey. Some eagles also nest on the ground when necessary, using kelp or driftwood for construction near coastal shorelines.

Ospreys and bald eagles, although they usually share territory, and in the case of the eagle, the osprey’s catch of the day, are quite different in their own right.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Has anyone pitched a no-hitter in the World Series?

Answer can be found here.

FOR YOUR HEALTH: Gym Or No Gym? Finding Your Ideal Exercise Routine

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The immersive JRNY digital fitness platform features hundreds of workouts.

(NAPSI)—They say old habits die hard, but for a lot of people the last two years have proven otherwise. The COVID-19 pandemic fueled a seismic shift in the way people view physical and mental health—and lately, many have had a chance to reflect on old habits and routines.

If you’re looking to improve your physical or mental health, there may be no better tool than exercise. It offers numerous benefits including lower blood pressure, improved bone health and reduced risk of diseases. Moving your body stimulates different parts of your brain to release feel-good chemicals including serotonin, endorphins and dopamine, leading to a cascade effect of better sleep, sharper thinking, reduced stress and enhanced mood.

With the mass adoption of hybrid work models that let you swap your morning commutes with a sweat session or moment of mindfulness, the reopening of gyms and fitness centers and spring right around the corner, now’s a good time to replace your old, tired routines.

Tom Holland, exercise physiologist and Bowflex fitness advisor, says it’s an exciting moment in fitness and a great time for people to begin thinking about what their exercise routine might look like, with so many options available including working out at home, outside or at the gym.

Here are a few ideas to help you get started:

• Take up a new at-home routine: At-home workouts are the new normal for many and can be just as effective as a workout done at a gym—not to mention easier to fit into a busy routine. Fitness apps such as the JRNY digital fitness platform (https://www.bowflex.com/jrny.html)—which offers a range of classes including strength, stretching, yoga and Pilates—can be great tools to take the guesswork out of trying a new exercise.

“At-home fitness equipment is better than ever before and you no longer need a gym membership to get in a great workout,” says Holland. “With new digital technologies such as wearables and connected machines, you can get the kind of customized, comprehensive fitness plans that were once reserved for professional athletes.”

Versatile home equipment such as the Bowflex VeloCore Bike 22” (https://www.bowflex.com/bikes/velocore/100914.html) are great for getting in a cardio session without the need to go to a gym. With the JRNY app on the VeloCore bike, you can tour new cities, participate in trainer-led rides or catch up on your favorite shows on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max and Disney+.

• Sweat the small stuff: Even small amounts of exercise can be beneficial. If you’re at a desk or sitting still most of the day, try standing up at frequent intervals throughout the day, going for walks or doing short workouts such as jumping jacks or squats. This can help counter the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle, which is especially important in the work-from-home era.

• Get outside: There’s a strong link between time spent outdoors and physiological benefits, including reduced stress and mental fatigue and improved mood.

“Consider taking a daily walk or picking up an outdoor hobby to ensure you’re getting enough time outside,” suggests Holland. “Pets can be a great reason to get outside more frequently, so if you’ve ever thought about getting a dog, maybe now is the time!”

• Take up a family or group activity: Exercise doesn’t have to be a solo activity. In fact, it can be a great opportunity to spend some quality time with friends and family. Recreational sports such as pickleball are easy to learn and can be accessible fun for the whole family, no matter the age or ability level.

“Pickleball is a new activity I’ve discovered and one my whole family has been enjoying,” Holland adds. “If you’re thinking about giving it a try but are concerned about your fitness level, I recommend exercises like bodyweight squats, skaters and jumping jacks as a warm-up to get your body in pickleball-playing shape.”

GROWING YOUR BUSINESS: The book business owners should read

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Growing your businessby Dan Beaulieu
Business consultant

Here is a book all business owners should read:

Leaders Eat Last: Why some teams pull together, and others don’t.
By Simon Sinek
Copyright 2014 Portfolio/Penguin Random House L.L.C.
Price: $18.00 Paperback
Pages: 350 pages with index
A time for leaders

Leaders create culture and culture; the right culture, is what makes great companies and organizations. Leaders lead by example. Leaders allow the key word there being allow their teams to be great.

No matter the size of your organization from three people to 3,000 people, culture is always important. Culture is what makes a great company in the end. And that must come from the top.

The simple example of a company president walking down the hall of his company and bending down to pick up a piece of paper off the floor is powerful. Much more powerful than all the talks about keeping the place clean.

Leaders look out for their people. In fact, author Simon Sinek says that we need to treat employees like our children and look out for them the same way we would our children.

A few years back, in the ‘80s, when Milton Friedman’s economics declared that companies only goal was to make money for the shareholders. Yikes! Look where that got us.

The big heroes at that time were Jack Welch and Al Chainsaw Dunlap whose answer to every problem was to cut heads. And whenever they did that, Wall Street cheered!

As an aside the children and now grandchildren of these headless victims watched this happen. It affected them first hand. No wonder they come to us today with a deep built-in distrust of corporations.

Consider where we are today, now when these ensuing generations are wary of joining companies, They don’t trust companies. They witnessed first hand that lauded leaders like Mr. Welch bragged about laying off ten percent of his management staff every year. What are they supposed to think?

No longer is this style treatment working, nor will it work in the future. The new trend of leader eats last. This means she takes care of here people first…and then they will take care of her.

As an example of the new kind of leader, the kind who is succeeding today, the author relates the story of Bob Chapman and his company Barry-Wehmiller. Bob Chapman is known for buying distressed companies and making them better. When one of these companies ran into trouble, Bob did not want to lay off people, which went against everything that he had been taught. He felt that if his family ran into financial difficulties, he would not send a couple of his kids away. And the same thing applied to his company.

Instead of laying off people he talked to his people, and they found ways to cooperate with one another to make sure everyone took care of everyone else.

This is just one example of how leaders eat last. How they are finding ways to take care of their people which in turn will take care of the company.

Okay, I can hear some of you humming Kumbaya in disgust. Sorry you feel that way, for your own sake. You had better read this book and get religion, or you are going to be one of those companies that goes out of business for lack of a work force. It will certainly help you be a great leader of a growing company.

I’M JUST CURIOUS: Old time remedies continued

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by Debbie Walker

This week I want to thank Tom for sending me another remedy for getting rid of warts. It went something like this: “Take two pennies (one for each hand) and go to a place out of doors such as a field. Take a penny and rub it on the warts of the opposite hand and then throw it over that shoulder (left hand rubbed, throw over that shoulder.” Tom says after a couple of weeks, the warts turned black and fell off, never to return. Me, I just like the results without the fancy reason.

I have a friend whose mother taught him something a little different. If you get cut and it doesn’t want to quit bleeding, you pour black pepper in it. I did see that work. Don’t forget if you have question you might want to talk to your nurse, or maybe your pharmacist.

Banish Headaches:

Strong coffee may lesson the severity of a sick headache (sometimes called a migraine).

Soaking the hands in very in very hot water will ease pain in the head.

The distinctive fragrance of fresh green apples is very useful for relieving the pain of a migraine headache.

Coughs, Congestion and Sore Throats:

Chew honeycomb every day to relieve breathing tract problems. It will make you immune to allergy producing germs; honeycomb is most effective when it when it comes from bees in local hives.

Ease a sore throat and stop sinus drainage with one teaspoon vinegar in a glass of water. Gargle once an hour until cured.

Toast thinly sliced bread and then spread butter on both sides. Cover with scalded milk and spoon feed it to those suffering with a fever or the aches of flu.

I have a few things completely off topic that I would like to share with you while you are still in your winter months:

Outsmart Common Winter Stains:

Erase hot chocolate spills with salt: Simply blot the stain with water, cover with salt, then buff with a damp sponge dipped in laundry detergent.

Lift candle wax with this hot and cold trick: To easily get rid of wax stains, first rub the spots with an ice cube (this hardens the wax) scrape off with a butter knife. Then place folded paper towels on the area and press with a warm (not hot) dry iron to remelt and absorb any excess wax and voila!

Eliminate lotion marks with dishwashing liquid: greasy lotion is great for dry skin, but it leaves stains on your clothes! To remove them stir 1 teaspoon of dishwashing detergent ( it breaks down and lifts grease) into three teaspoons of water and pour onto stain, Pat liquid into the stain with a clean toothbrush then let sit for two minutes before rinsing with cool water,

I’m just curious what you will be doing with your time this week. Take time to relax whenever you can. It’s important. Contact me at DebbieWalker@yahoo.com.

REVIEW POTPOURRI – Conductor/violinist: Lorin Maazel

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Lorin Maazel

Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Lorin Maazel

Conductor/violinist Lorin Maazel (1930-2015) was a child prodigy and at 9 years of age guest-conducted the New York Philharmonic at the 1939 World’s Fair at the invitation of Leopold Stokowski.

Maazel had a reputation for being a little supercilious prig; when he inquired at a rehearsal, “What are we playing today, gentlemen?”, someone yelled out, “How about cowboys and Indians?”

When he was in third grade, he was enrolled in advanced French and calculus. As a teenager, he was a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony during its years under the holy terror leadership of Fritz Reiner and was one of the founding members of that city’s renowned Fine Arts Quartet (its cellist George Sopkin retired to the Maine woods in the late 70s).

Maazel headed to Europe for further study and made an impression in guest-conducting engagements. In 1960, he was the first American to conduct at the summer Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, Germany.

By 1965, he was music director of the West Berlin Deutsche Opera and Radio Symphony Orchestra, with which he recorded Verdi’s Traviata, Beethoven’s Fidelio, and Puccini’s Tosca at the opera and Bach’s B minor Mass and Mozart’s Symphonies 38 and 39, to name a few that stand out.

Also exemplary were sets of the Tchaikovsky 6 Symphonies and Sibelius’s 7 with the Vienna Philharmonic.

Maazel’s conducting style was a strange mixture of very exciting and willfully hum drum, as though he was either ignited by a particular piece or didn’t give a hoot. Interestingly, I noticed in having attended two of his concerts that, when he was willfully hum drum in the performance, he seemed to be enjoying himself and quite transfixed.

His technique was crystal clear, he had a photogenic memory and he learned new works at the speed of light.

His appearances in the United States were slow to come but he did guest-conduct several times with the New York Philharmonic during the early to mid ‘60s when Leonard Bernstein was out of town.

Then in 1972, he succeeded the late George Szell as music director of the Cleveland Orchestra and won Grammies for the orchestra’s recordings of the complete Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet ballet and George Gershwin’s opera Porgy and Bess.

His appointment there did spark controversy. He was one of four candidates with the others being Istvan Kertesz, Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos and Claudio Abbado and was the last choice in a poll taken among the players in the orchestra, but the trustees and other moneymen pulled a fast one and chose Maazel.

I cherish his Cleveland sets of the Beethoven 9 and Brahms 4 Symphonies for, again, their feisty and perverse eccentricities and the very colorful Moussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition.

From 1982 to 1985, Maazel spent very turbulent years as music director of the Vienna State Opera, succeeded André Previn in Pittsburgh in 1988, took a position in 1996 with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, in Munich, and then led the New York Philharmonic from 2002 to 2008.

Maazel owned a 600-acre farm in Castleton, Virginia, where he and his third wife set up a summer music school and festival during the 2000s.

By early 2014, the conductor’s health was failing and he died in July of that year.

His widow is still running the Castleton Summer Music Festival.

Much of Lorin Maazel’s music making can be accessed on YouTube.