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EndNotes archive for Nov. 2013

THURSDAY, NOV. 28, 2013

Dan Stockwell, an inmate at Airway Heights Corrections Center, harvests carrots from the prison garden Sept. 20. (Tyler Tjomsland)

Thanksgiving words

The Thanksgivings by Harriet Maxwell Converse Translated from a traditional Iroquois prayer "We who are here present thank the Great Spirit that we are here to praise Him. We thank Him that He has created men and women, and ordered that these beings shall always…

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WEDNESDAY, NOV. 27, 2013

Roxanna Garcia, middle, waits in line to purchase gifts at the Target store in Burbank, Calif., on Nov. 22, 2012. Target will open earlier than ever this Thanksgiving, at 8 p.m. (Associated Press)

Thanksgiving and shopping?!

I remember when the stores closed on Sunday (I was a child, yes), while a few drug stores and gas stations remained open “for an emergency,” my parents said. No emergency ever made its way into our family on Sunday. And now…retailers are whining over…

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SUNDAY, NOV. 24, 2013


Executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who won an Emmy for outstanding reality-competition program for his work on "The Amazing Race," has four new television series slated for fall, which will give him a total of 10 prime-time programs.
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

Amazing (g)Race

Each Sunday my husband and I watch the Amazing Race: a reality show with pairs of people who “race” in various places around the world completing tasks. The last team most weeks is eliminated from the competition. At the end, the winner from the final…

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FRIDAY, NOV. 22, 2013

 This undated file photo shows the Kennedy brothers, John F. Kennedy, left, Robert Kennedy, and Ted Kennedy, right, in Hyannis Port, Mass. Ted Kennedy, has died after battling a brain tumor his family announced early Wednesday Aug. 26, 2009. (Associated Press)

November 22, 1963: Where were you?

Most Americans over the age of 55 remember the news from 50 years ago: President Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas. I was sitting in Miss Martinson’s third grade classroom. She was wearing a navy blue dress with pearls. Teachers were summoned to the…

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THURSDAY, NOV. 21, 2013

Catherine Johnston and Brian Drake adopted Alex, who was born in Paraguay, in 1994.

Welcome home!

This week people all over the country celebrate their new lives: walking down the aisle, making solemn promises with family and friends present and then all those witnesses who have been there before. The real deal. Yes, families all over the country begin new lives…

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Peanuts and peanut products are included in a host of unexpected foods, including everything from candy to chili to egg rolls.  (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

Oh, nuts!

Eat them. They are good for you and may lower your risk of cancer and death due to heart disease. Seems they will help you stay slimmer, too. While the study cannot prove cause and effect, it does seem to demonstrate a connection. So, grab…

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TUESDAY, NOV. 19, 2013

This artist’s rendition provided by NASA shows Kepler-69c, a super-Earth-size planet in the habitable zone of a star like our sun, located about 2,700 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cygnus. (Associated Press)

A perfect match

Sometimes I look in my closet and see two items hanging next to each other and think, “A perfect match! Never would have thought of it!” Sunday night CBS aired two segments on 60 Minutes adjacent to each other: The Giving Pledge and The Recyclers:…

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MONDAY, NOV. 18, 2013

In this Sept. 26, 2013 photo, 80-year-old Marianne Blomberg works out at a gym in Stockholm. Much of the world is not prepared to support the ballooning population of elderly people, including many of the fastest-aging countries, according to a global study scheduled to be released Tuesday, Oct. 1, by the United Nations and an elder rights group. The Swedish government has suggested people continue working beyond 65, a prospect Blomberg cautiously welcomes but warns should not be a requirement. (Jonas Ekstromer / Tt News Agency)

Do you see who I see?

Ted Ketcham’s Boomer U story today reminds readers of their view of the world - and who is in it. The invisibility factor presents not just with age, but with disabilities, sexual orientation, gender and other defining qualities. Yes, there is a certain grace that…

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SATURDAY, NOV. 16, 2013

John Ewing waits outside of City Hall for the Batkid, Miles Scott, 5, to make an appearance at a rally in San Francisco on Friday, Nov. 15, 2013. Miles is a leukemia survivor from Tulelake in Siskiyou County. After battling leukemia since he was a year old, Miles is now in remission. One of his heroes is Batman. To celebrate the end of this treatment, the Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area granted his wish to become Batkid for a day. (Gary Reyes / San Jose Mercury News)

Holy Smokes!

San Francisco left its heart with a small child who has already fought a great enemy: leukemia. Miles Scott charmed the city as he “fought” crime and enjoyed the privilege of “saving” the city during his day as his favorite superhero: Batman. Thousands of people…

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Tubbs Hill rainbow

Children who care

We know many older adults who are raising their grandchildren, but in our country 1.4 million children are primary caregivers for older adults. Chris Miller, 13, is the primary caregiver for his grandmother who suffers with chronic illness. She has been his guardian for the…

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FRIDAY, NOV. 15, 2013

Pilgrim’s Market in Coeur d’Alene is now making ice cream at the store in time for hot summer weather. Owner Joe Hamilton worked with the owner of Bi-Rite Creamery in San Francisco to develop the new offerings, which include (from left) mango sorbet, strawberry balsamic, melted chocolate chip and dairy-free coconut vanilla.

Fat chance

People who are overweight know they are overweight. So when a doctor says simply, “You are overweight and need to lose some pounds,” the words alone are not helpful. Would a doctor say the same for any other diagnosis? “You have cancer, you need to…

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THURSDAY, NOV. 14, 2013

Male or female boss: preference? 

While women have worked hard to work hard in the world, a recent poll reveals that more employees still prefer a male boss. Umm, me, too. Only because my best bosses have been men. One amazing female boss, several great men. Thoughts? Experiences?

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WEDNESDAY, NOV. 13, 2013

The St. Peter's Basilica is framed by the 30 meters (98 feet) Christmas tree that was lit for the first time at the Vatican, Friday  Dec. 16, 2011. The tree was supplied by Ukraine. (Gregorio Borgia / Associated Press)

It takes (only) a village

A young boy who had terminal brain cancer died knowing what some people never know or experience: he is loved. Devin Kohlman knew what he wanted in his last weeks of life: to be home with his family, in his community to celebrate his favorite…

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TUESDAY, NOV. 12, 2013


Actress Sarah Chalke gets a mammogram in this scene from "Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy," which will air on Lifetime.
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

Mammogram = lifesaver

ABC reporter Amy Robach, 40, took the assignment a bit reluctantly: have a mammogram as part of a Good Morning, America segment during October’s breast cancer awareness effort. When the results came back positive for cancer, she was stunned – and shared her reaction on…

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MONDAY, NOV. 11, 2013

A rainbow from a morning thunderstorm paints the background for an American flag in Lawrence, Kan., Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2011. (Orlin Wagner / Associated Press)

Veterans Day

We buy poppy flowers and wear them on Veterans Day to remember those who died in war. Where did the tradition originate? What is the story behind the poem? On behalf of our community, thank you to all who have served and continue to serve…

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SUNDAY, NOV. 10, 2013

Sharon Ledbetter, director of the Quilts for Valor Foundation, is seen at the quilt show.

Quilts of Valor

Many of us remember the Viet Nam war and the turbulence and rage that erupted within our country during that time. Many people took out their rage in a despicable way: on some of the veterans who returned from that war. For those of us…

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SATURDAY, NOV. 9, 2013

U.S. Marines of the 28th Regiment, 5th Division, raise the American flag atop Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima, on Feb. 23, 1945. (Associated Press)

A day for veterans

We would see flags displayed on Veterans Day when we were children and knew the day was about “soldiers.” I knew my dad had been a Marine and served in China toward the end of WWII. I have a little jade goat he brought home–…

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FRIDAY, NOV. 8, 2013

Mary Maxfield browses books in the Little Free Library in her front yard. (Dan Pelle)

My, what big eyes you …had

In a time I call BHE (Before Husband Era), a man who loved me held my hand and said, “Cathy, when you look at me with those big brown eyes, how can I ever say no to you?!” Never mind the man, the context or…

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THURSDAY, NOV. 7, 2013

Pope Francis wears an indigenous headdress given to him by Ubirai Matos from the Pataxo tribe, fourth from left, after the pontiff spoke at Rio's Municipal Theater to an audience mostly made up of Brazil's political, business and cultural elite in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, July 27, 2013. Pope Francis is on the sixth day of his trip to Brazil where he will attend the 2013 World Youth Day in Rio. (Monica Imbuzeiro / Agencia O Globo)

Leadership ~ Pope Francis style

Many baby boomers have spent days in conferences, workshops and endless events learning about leadership. As someone who supervised others for over 20 years, I remember when we were all “shifting our paradigms” and of course, “thinking outside the box.” Never did find the box.…

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WEDNESDAY, NOV. 6, 2013


Lovely R. Suanino, a respiratory therapist at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, N.J., demonstrates setting up a ventilator. 
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

Life's ending ~ our choice? 

If you were in a critically compromised health state (you determine what that means), would you choose to discontinue your life? An Indiana man did exactly that after suffering a fall. Tim Bowers, 32, fell out of a tree while hunting, crushing his C3, C4…

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TUESDAY, NOV. 5, 2013

Not only in grade school

Bullying is not limited to grade school playgrounds or high school locker rooms. Apparently, bullies appear in all strata of life – even the NFL. (Seahawks? not tolerated) When will torturing and teasing and intimidation be seen for what those behaviors may really be? Bullying.…

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MONDAY, NOV. 4, 2013

Larch tree needles turn to yellow and gold colors in October before they drop like leaves to the ground.  (Rich Landers)

Eyes of God

At Mass on Sunday a man came in and sat in the pew ahead of us. He may live on the streets, given his appearance and apparent lack of access to personal hygiene. And he may have mental health issues. I wondered about him, never…

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SUNDAY, NOV. 3, 2013

Tubbs Hill rainbow

A moment

With our country saturated with violence, we can easily become desensitized to the mayhem and evil. At LAX on Friday, another man, with a gun and the determination to kill, took another person’s life. It seems the least we can do is take a moment…

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SATURDAY, NOV. 2, 2013

In this July 3, 2013 photo, a woman watch at the Pacific Ocean from a waterfront promenade in the Chorrillos neighborhood of Lima, Peru. For roughly four months a year, the sun abandons Peru's seaside desert capital, suffocating it under a ponderous gray cloudbank and fog that coats the city with nighttime drizzles. The cold Humboldt current that runs north from Antarctica along the coast is the culprit, colliding with the warmer tropical atmosphere to create the blinding mists called "garua" in coastal Chile and Peru. (Rodrigo Abd / Associated Press)

Watch your step

We have all suffered something: loss, disappointment, pain. But Roya Cohen suffered horrible trauma as a young teen: she was sexually assaulted – twice. Now she is taking steps to heal: she is dancing. When Roya heard her dance instructor tell her, “You need to…

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FRIDAY, NOV. 1, 2013

“A little bit of all right”

All Saints’ Day today: we often think of saints as the officially named people who died as great martyrs centuries ago. But sometimes saints live among us – in the heroic actions of humble people we encounter. Last month Darnell Barton started his day as…

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Spokesman-Review features writer Rebecca Nappi, along with writer Catherine Johnston of Olympia, Wash., discuss here issues facing aging boomers, seniors and those experiencing serious illness, dying, death and other forms of loss.



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