Did Pope Pius XII, sometimes seen as the pope who did very little to save the Jews during World War II, come out of afterlife "retirement" to save one woman from a cancer death sentence? Maria Esposito, whose Stage IV Burkitt's lymphoma disappeared, thinks so.…
Our EndNotes column today explained what to do if a Japanese relative or friend has died and you want to show support for the family. The culture has some fairly strict etiquette rules. But I'd like to stress that condolences in any language are appreciated…
My email in-box was filled today with food and longevity stories. The message in all of them boil down to this. If you want to live a little longer, skip the salt, processed food and load up on fruits, vegetables and low-sodium foods. From the…
In my interactive editor days, when I gave a lot of speeches, I would ask people to remember a crabby neighbor and a welcoming neighbor and how interaction with both types helped the children of the neighborhood shape their world view.Crabby neighbors have a lot…
"He who conceals his disease, cannot expect to be cured," says the Ethiopian proverb. Former first lady Betty Ford died today. She will be remembered as a woman who did not conceal her disease - and consequently helped others to not conceal theirs, seeking to…
A man I never met but have long appreciated died recently. His name was Charley Vingo and he lived to 104. According to his obituary, "as a young man he worked hard trying different businesses until he finally found his niche as a district circulation…
Seven years ago this week I started treatment for early-stage breast cancer. Rebecca's post "Say it now" is a reminder for all of us - not just at retirement parties, or times of illness, but in the moments, as we experience those feelings - of…
Doug Floyd, who had a 42-year newspaper career, at the Spokane Daily Chronicle and The Spokesman-Review, retired Thursday. His send-off ceremony was standing-room only and people said kind and funny things. There were also some tears. Associate editor Gary Crooks wrote about him in his…
As a very young attorney in Spokane in the late 1940s, my dad, Joe Nappi, was given space in an office by Charles Cowan, an established and respected attorney. Our families soon became close friends and by the time I came along, Charles had died.…
Just finished What I I Learned When I Almost Died by Chris Licht, former producer of Morning Joe on MSNBC. At 38, he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage but came out of it with no brain damage. He also came out of it as ambitious as…
As American college students in Florence, Italy, we walked the city often – exploring, meandering, discovering new places, discovering who we were as 20-year-olds. One lovely autumn day David and I struck up a conversation with an elderly American gentleman who was sitting on a…
Princess Diana would have turned 50 this month. Newsweek published a story by Tina Brown speculating on Diana's life in 2011, had she lived. She was a young, unsuspecting bride, when she married Charles in 1981. And for all the royal pageantry, her life was…
My 90-year-old mother's friend, also 90, recently lost her sister-in-law. Her name was Maxine. I've been watching for Maxine's obituary in our newspaper this past week. I've spotted two or three Maxines in that time, but not the Maxine I was searching for. I soon…
Our column today is about what to say in condolence cards for co-workers in your workplace. What I didn't say in the column was this: When you have the chance to sign a communal card for a co-worker, be it condolence, birthday or retirement, always…
Spinal fluid tests can now "see" what are possible telltale signs of impending Alzheimer's disease. In a Reuters story about a report in the journal Neurology, the writer explained: Current spinal fluid tests for Alzheimer's look for an imbalance in two proteins: beta amyloid, which…
Our blog was filled this morning with spam posted as comments. Here's what it read: shoes 、 T-shirt 、 Sunglass、 Caps&hats 、 Handbags、Jersey The network shopping from the start Please look: tradetrusting One of the editors here said these ads are likely generated by workers…
I can't seem to forget about Frances Swan, the 106-year-old woman discovered by Stevens County sheriff's deputies last month. She was hungry and neglected by her "caregiver." She asked for food and wanted to be taken to a hospital where people would feed her and…
Actor Peter Falk died Thursday at 83. Everyone knew him as Detective Columbo in the crime series, but I loved him best in the foreign film Wings of Desire in which he plays an angel who had opted to fall from angelic status and live…
The day after my Sunday story about Spokane's "first" real adult soccer team (from the 1950s), a 93-year-old woman called me to tell me that there had, indeed, been an adult team in the early 1900s in Spokane. Indeed, she was right, and even though…
In the decades that I have worked in healthcare, there has been a hit parade of buzz words and phrases: “paradigm shift,” “at-the-end-of-the-day,” “thrown under the bus,”“low-hanging fruit” and…”are we complete?” That last one was from a consultant who brought his own hanger to meetings…
The Associated Press reported today that Ryan Dunn of reality show Jackass fame was really drink when he died in a car accident last week. Accoring to AP: Dunn's blood-alcohol level was 0.196 at the time of the crash early Monday morning. The report was…
Just finished Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand, author of the bestselling "Seabiscuit" made into a well-loved movie. Here's a summary of Unbroken, from a New York Times review: In late May 1943, the B-24 carrying the…
Lake Washington Technical College offers a unique program for people looking for work outside the box: funeral service education. This program is the first one of its kind in Washington state. Seven people graduated last week with nine more scheduled to finish their program in…
All last week, I worked on a Sunday story about the Spokane Spokes, a Spokane soccer team started in the late 1950s. My brother-in-law, Adam Deutsch, played on the team in 1959. Word got out in Spokane's German-American community that I was working on the…
Mental illness plagues many of our homeless neighbors. Their behavior is often interpreted as threatening or at least confusing and bothersome. The Seattle Police Department now has a mental health expert who rides with them, often as the initial contact for a person deemed experiencing…
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.