OH, YEAH!? Emily Poulin, of South China, snapped this gold finch and tufted titmouse during a feeding confrontation.
DAWN’S EARLY LIGHT: Pat Clark, of Palermo, captured this sunrise.
THE GUARDIAN: Joan Chaffee, of Clinton, photographed this bald eagle as it stands as a sentry.
If you’re thinking of retiring early, it’s a healthy idea to plan for health care coverage beforehand.
(NAPSI)—More Americans may be looking to retire before age 65, according to several studies. However, they need to understand their financial needs, both long term and before age 65. This includes enrolling in health insurance to cover the gap before they are Medicare-eligible at age 65.
“Choosing the right health coverage may seem difficult as many people have never shopped for their own health insurance or worry that they cannot afford it,” said Mark Smith, president of HealthMarkets Insurance Agency, one of the largest independent health insurance agencies in the United States. “There is a wide range of coverage options available to meet your unique care needs and financial situation pre-retirement.”
And the time to decide what may work best for you is before you retire. So “Step One,” know your options.
Health Care Coverage Guidance and Enrollment Support
People can find support through healthcare marketplaces, insurance carriers, insurance brokers and other licensed insurance agents to help determine what plans are best for them.
For example, GetCovered, powered by HealthMarkets, is a free service that provides guidance for people who need health coverage. Working with licensed insurance agents, people can learn what they are eligible for, including government options such as Medicare/Medicaid, or find commercial health plans that best meet their individual needs. Agents can also help them enroll in many of these plans.
Questions to Ask
To find the right coverage, it’s important to know what’s available, what to ask, and what information you need to enroll. To narrow your options, know:
•When your current coverage ends.
• If you have coverage under an employer group health plan, does your company offer COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act).—Under COBRA, people maintain their current plan benefits. They pay the total cost of the insurance including their premiums plus the dollars formerly contributed by their employers. Worth noting: People who voluntarily leave their places of employment are not eligible for COBRA premium assistance – such assistance ends at the end of September 2021.
• What benefits do you need or want.
• Will you be seeking part-time employment—or do you have a part-time job lined up. If yes, are health benefits offered to part-time workers?
• What can you afford. Think about what portion of your monthly budget can be used for health coverage or other insurance. You may be eligible for additional options based on your specific financial situation.
Health Coverage Options
If coverage under COBRA or Medicare are not options—and you are not planning on working even part time, here are others to consider:
• Medicaid—Eligibility is based on income, disability, and other circumstances.
• Individual exchange/marketplace plans—These ACA plans are available through federal or state enrollment sites. Based on your income, you may be eligible for plan subsidies making one of these plans more affordable. Unemployment would be a “qualifying life event” to enroll in an ACA plan outside of the annual Open Enrollment Period.
• Short-term plans—Short-term limited insurance plans provide coverage to bridge the gap between longer-term insurance coverage. These plans have a fixed duration of a few months to several years and do not have the same coverage requirements as ACA plans.
“Health coverage decisions can be made simpler—and there are resources to help,” Smith said. “Regardless if you choose to do your own research and enrollment or engage outside services, determining what you need and can afford will help you find good health coverage that ensures you have access to care.”
Learn More
To get started with healthcare coverage and for further facts, call (877) 270-0029 or visit www.getcovered.com.
by Evangeline T.Hello and welcome to Maine Memories, little snippets of life from our home state.
For this installment, I’m remembering when I raised chickens.
At about age 12, each girl in a club I belonged to had to do a summer project.
Being raised on a farm, I opted to raise bantam chickens. Bantams aren’t as big as regular chickens and are sometimes referred to as miniatures. I had two females and one rooster.
Now Bantams, at least mine, could fly, not too far, 200 feet or so and not high up in the air, maybe 20 feet. My point is, a fenced in yard wasn’t much help, as each day they flew over the fence and out.
Dad fixed that problem. He trimmed some feathers on one wing of each bird. Trimming didn’t hurt them in any way, but they’d become off-balanced when flying. It worked on the females, but let me tell you, that frisky little rooster continued with his messy daily flights, off balance or not!
Our driveway was a circle, which had a section of lawn and a pine tree in it. That rooster loved to fly and perch himself in the pine tree every morning. If you have ever visited or lived on a farm that had a rooster, you’ve probably heard an early morning sunrise “cock a doodle do”! My bantam rooster had a problem; his voice wouldn’t produce a nice morning “cock a doodle do”. It came out sounding more like rough a rough, ending sharply. Each morning at sun rise, he’d sit in that pine and try again and again, but the sound was always the same.
You have to give him credit, though. He never gave up, and his rough a rough lives on in my memory.
There’s a lesson here we can all take to heart: keep on trying. You just might get it right! Cock-a-doodle-do!
Mary McCarthy
by Peter CatesNovelist Mary McCarthy (1912-1989) summered in Castine for years and received honorary degrees from Colby College, in Waterville, and Bowdoin College, in Brunswick. She possessed a feisty, at times savagely critical brilliance as seen in her novels and essays.
I have read two of the novels, 1954’s A Charmed Life and 1963’s The Group, which became a bestseller and was turned into a Hollywood film.
A Charmed Life is a thinly disguised fictional depiction of her brief marriage to the renowned and fascinatingly brilliant essayist and critic Edmund Wilson (1896-1972) and not very flattering.
For reasons of space, I will mention one detail. He used to lock her in their bedroom for two-and-a-half hours to force her to write.
She also flirted, as did many other intellectuals, with communism during the 1930s depression but broke off with those who supported Joseph Stalin.
In the 1960s, she travelled to North Vietnam and wrote two books in which she claimed that the Viet Cong were not brutal at all in their treatment of civilians, a point of view that has been rightfully refuted and rebuked.
She appeared on the Dick Cavett Show in 1979 and caused controversy and a lawsuit brought against her by playwright Lillian Hellmann (1905-1984); McCarthy charged Hellmann’s Memoirs with being nothing but lies, “even her a’s, an’s and the’s were lies.” Her allegations about Hellmann engendered much investigation by journalists, proved McCarthy to be telling the truth and led to a decline in Hellmann’s reputation.
One of McCarthy’s three younger brothers was the actor Kevin McCarthy (1914-2010) who achieved fame as the star of the 1956 movie classic The Invasion of the Body Snatchers and who gave a consummate performance as a serial killer in a 1968 guest appearance on Jack Lord’s Hawaii Five-O.
Karl Bohm (1894-1981) left many fine recordings as a conductor. One particular LP (Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft 139159, early 1960s) contains the Mozart Sym phonies 26, 31 (known as the Paris Symphony) and 34. Bohm’s conducting of the Berlin Philharmonic yielded performances of bracing rhythmic energy, the most savvy phrasing, exquisitely underscored detail and graceful elegance.
Bohm did conduct in Germany during the Hitler years and supported several of his policies. Somehow, he did get de-nazified after World War II by the Allies and, very strangely, became bosom buddies with composer/conductor Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990).
Continuing with paragraphs from Robert PT Coffin’s essay Kennebec Crystals:
“And the steel-bright days went by. No thaws came by to erase the grooves in the checkerboards. The icehouses were filled to their eaves and the last tier roofed in the aisles between the cakes. Roughage was heaped over all. The doors were closed and sealed.”
by Emily CatesDoes this sound familiar? The intentions were innocent, artfully combined, and dutifully cared for: A few rows of fine, well-prepared garden soil, a few wheel barrelfuls of rich compost, a few packets of seeds, and the gentle stream of water from the watering can; The delicate seedlings, under the watchful eye and loving shadow of the gardener, became strong and thrived. Suddenly, it happened! The veggies decided to proliferate. The zucchini are ballooning into baseball bats, the beans barreling headlong into full production, and the plums are breaking branches. Tomato plants are tumbling onto the ground from the weight of their full fruitage. The climbing squash and cucumber vines, in attempts to grow heavenward, are engulfing every plant and tree in their paths. As the gardener strolls into the garden to check on everything and discovers the profusion, shrieks of nervous delight are heard throughout the land!
In cases like this, timing is everything. The peak of perfection of perishable produce is the point at which procrastination will result in poor results. Wait another day, and the garden treasures will be apt to become garden trash. In other words, start cooking! Not a chef? Not a problem. Preserving the harvest need not be complicated, and, in the company of dear friends and family, it can be a highly anticipated event worth looking forward to. The following are a few suggestions that, hopefully, will help dig you out of that looming mountain of delicious produce begging to be used up in a dignified manner of culinary adventure. This time let’s take a quick look at fruit sauces.
What a delightful dilemma to be overrun with fruit! Fruit sauces and butters can be made with just one ingredient or a mixture of what’s on hand. (My favorite sauce is made from Purple Heart plums. If you know of another plum that even compares, please let me know!) Blackberries, elderberries, blueberries, grapes, and other berries that ripen the same time as apples, pears, peaches, and plums are oftentimes a winning combo.
Try using a sauce maker if there’s a lot of fruit, as it saves time and makes a smoother product. I like these contraptions because they make the job much easier, as there is no need to core, peel, or seed the fruit. To begin, wash away any dirt and cut out any bad spots. Then place the prepared fruit in a cooking pot and add some water if necessary. To preserve the character and nutrition of the sauce, I prefer not to overcook a pan of fruit- just enough to soften it for the sauce maker. Then pour the fruit into the sauce maker and crank the handle. The resulting sauce can be stored for short lengths of time in the fridge- or canned or frozen in jars for the long term. For a special treat, bake the sauce down into fruit butter or dry it into fruit leathers. The aroma in the kitchen will transport anyone within a nose’s distance to a land of scented bliss.
by Roland D. HalleeWell, we are approaching that sad time of year when my wife and I are readying to shutter camp for the winter. It’s with mixed emotions because we really enjoy camp (we live there from May to October), but it’s football season, and we are both avid New England Patriots fans, and home is where we like to be for Sunday afternoon kickoffs.
The big question that comes to mind is which do we prefer, the sounds of the loons’ eerie calls in the night, the barred owls caterwauling at each other in the early morning hours, peepers in the spring and all the other wonderful sounds of nature, or… the sounds of ridiculously large pickup trucks revving their oversized engines with the loud exhaust belching fumes and smoke into the air, squealing tires, police sirens blaring at all hours of the night, barking dogs, arguing neighbors, etc? Living in the middle of Waterville, those sounds always make me think, “Welcome home.” I think the answer to my question is a no-brainer.
With that in mind, here are some of the more memorable things that I witnessed this past summer at camp.
First, we’ll talk about the bald eagles consistently seen circling over Webber Pond in search of food. On two occasions this past summer, while fishing, we witnessed bald eagles come swooping down from a high perch in the trees, to scoop up fish from the surface of the water with their sharp, deadly talons. One time the bird came as close as 20 yards from our boat. The second time, it was a little further away, but still as magnificent.
Then, there was the morning when, on my way to work on the Seaward Mills Road, in Vassalboro, I saw a rafter of geese crossing the road in front of me. I had to come to a standstill because one of the adult turkeys was stationed smack in the middle of the road while the rest of the brood crossed, in single file, with an adult leading the way. That turkey resembled a school crossing guard as he stopped traffic for the kids to cross.
Not two long after, on the same road, I saw another flock of turkeys crossing the road, but this time they were accompanied by a house cat, who showed all the techniques of a border collie herding sheep. It would move around the flock to keep the young ones in line as they navigated the asphalt. Quite something to see. The cat showed no interest in harming any of the fowl.
There was also the night, which I mentioned before in this column, of the barred owls as they caterwauled to each other late one night. They started quite innocently as you would expect to hear an owl. These, being barred owls, would call out “who cooks for you, who cooks for you, all.” However, the calling began to intensify and before long the calls began to sound like barking dogs, something I had never heard before from barred owls.
Finally, in mid-May, there was the night we heard noises off in the distance that sounded like a small dog wailing from discomfort. It was a yelping sound, followed by a whine. “An injured dog,” was the first thought. However, as the sound persisted, it became clear that the calling was from red foxes calling out to each other during the mating season. The foxes have been around all summer, but the callings have stopped.
Nature has sounds of its own, and even though they can be loud at times, still trump (Oops, there’s that word, again) the sounds of the city.
Every year, the weekend after Labor Day, we make a fishing trip to Nesowadnehunk Lake, in a remote area abutting Baxter Park to the west, where we can lay in our cots in the tent, and listen to the coyotes howl in the distance. Ah, the wonderful sounds to which to fall asleep.
What was the name of the fictitious former Boston Red Sox relief pitcher played by Ted Danson in the hit TV comedy Cheers?
POSING: Tina Richard, of Clinton, was fortunate to capture this bald eagle posing for her camera.
PRETTY BIRD: Joan Chaffee, of Clinton, photographed this male cardinal perched in a tree.
RAINBOW OVER CHINA: Robert Bernheim snapped this photo of a rainbow from Killdeer Point, on China Lake.
Female Healthcare workers at a nursing home wearing protective face masks
by Debbie WalkerI found this information on Facebook, and I have no idea who originally wrote it, but I applaud them. The title is 40 Old-Fashioned Skills That Kids Need to Know Today! I was pleased when I realized Kathy and I taught some of these to our little first graders. They are not in any particular order, but I wish I had seen this when I was raising my daughter. A check list for parents to go by would have been helpful.
{ } How to write a letter; { } How to make a phone call. {1 } How to take a message. {2 } How to get to know an older person. { } How to play with a baby. { } How to sew on a button. (There are people who throw away a shirt or a blouse because they lost a button! Not in my house!); { 3} How to make a genuine apology. { } How to read slowly. { } How to hammer a nail. { } How to shake hands. { } How to introduce yourself. { } How to take notice of needs around you. { 4} How to make a scrambled egg. { } How to see a job/task through to completion. { } How to write a thank you note. { } How to fix something instead of replacing it. { } How to hang a picture. { } How to wash dishes. { } How to wait and save for something. { } How to ask questions to get to know someone better { } How to read a map. { } How to find a book in the library. { } How to ask for assistance from an elder. { } How to select a gift that the receiver will appreciate. { } How to admit a mistake. { } How to iron a shirt. { } How to give someone the benefit of the doubt. { }How to weigh out the pros and the cons of a decision { }.
{1} If your child is not old enough to take a message properly, hands off the phone. {2}Practice on the grandparents either on the phone or in person; You will be giving them both quite a gift, { 3 } An apology given with rolled eyes or a sarcastic voice is worse than never getting one, it’s the same thing. {4 } Allow your child to make scrambled eggs before he/she becomes 18. Yes, that was sarcastic because I have seen parents cutting meat for kids who were 16: they didn’t want them to get cut.
I am sure you have some answers or two for some of these comments as I do. Would you like to share them with me or just add them to the list? My thought behind these is for parents to use as a check list for teaching their children. Little things like a child who has not learned to tie their shoelaces before they enter school, please put them in Velcro sneakers. Teachers don’t need to tie 19 pairs of sneakers once or twice a day. And not all teachers have an aide.
Ok, that’s enough time for me, now it’s your turn. I’m just curious how many of you will share with me. I’ll be waiting at DebbieWalker@townline.org. Have a great week and thanks for reading.
by Peter CatesA ten-inch acoustically recorded shellac, Columbia A2179, featured singer and banjo player Harry C. Browne (1878-1954) performing Balm of Gilead, while side two contained another banjoist Fred Van Epps (1878-1960) playing Southern Medley, comprised of such quaint tunes as Old Folks at Home, Jordan Is a Hard Road to Travel, Kentucky Home, Clime Up Chillern and Carve that Possum.
Harry C. Browne was a native of North Adams, Massachusetts, and fought with his home state regiment in the Spanish American War. He was also a noted actor and appeared in several staged productions, including Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (whose author Kate Douglas Wiggin attended Gorham Female Seminary, now University of Southern Maine, and whose home in Hollis still exists and can be seen in a Google photograph) and later found his way to Hollywood where he starred in several films during the silent era.
Browne was a very active campaigner for the Democratic party and, in 1914, was offered a diplomatic post by then Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925) which he declined.
During the late 1920s, Browne was an announcer for CBS radio.
He started recording for Columbia records in 1916, scoring a hit with Turkey in the Straw; that selection’s initial title was horrifically racist and won’t be mentioned here.
Balm of Gilead was recorded later the same year on October 16; side two was set down for posterity on November 29.
Fred Van Epps was the father of jazz guitarist George Van Epps (1913-1998), one of the busiest studio session players for various LP record labels.
Continuing with paragraphs from Robert PT Coffin’s essay Kennebec Crystals:
“Inside, men caught the thundering cakes and switched them, this one to the right, this one to the left, to their places. The walls of cakes rose gradually, aisles of air spaces left between the walls of solid crystal. The workers here were in their shirt sleeves. They were the youngest of the men, sons more often than fathers. Their work made them glow inside like cookstoves. The sweat ran down their faces. They stood by the cataracts of ice and flung the bright streams each way, stepping as in a dance to keep clear of a blow that would shatter their bones. The work was like the thunder of summer in their ears, thunder all day long. And the house filled up with the cakes. Square cakes piled as even as the sides of a barn, true and deep blue in the steaming dusk. The men walked between walls of Maine’s cold wealth.”