Kansas Senior Press Service Weekly Newsletters Kansas Senior Press Service Weekly Newsletters By Annette McDaniel
Kansas Senior Press Service
“Lost yesterday, somewhere between Sunrise and Sunset, two golden hours each set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered, for they are gone forever.”
Horace Mann penned this poetic prose to emphasize the value of time. Still, it makes me uneasy.
If I dawdle over that second cup of coffee, am I wasting time? In summer I like to sit on my deck in the cool of the morning and watch the swallows swoop toward the creek, chasing gnats. And I can spend more than two golden hours (diamond minutes and all) watching a sunset fade from orange to indigo. And please don’t tell me that people-watching is a waste of time! Are we all slaves to the second hand that relentlessly ticks away?
After retirement, I removed my watch and vowed that I would sleep late and free myself from anything that buzzed or beeped to awaken me. Unfortunately, I did not inform my internal clock. Attempts to go back to sleep were futile. My eyes popped open at 6:15 a.m. and refused to close. Two and a half years later, I have been unable to convince that persistent nag, my brain, to doze beyond 6:50 a.m. Even staying up late does not work. I’m groggy but wide awake at that arbitrary hour each morning.
Naturally we need to keep track of appointments and important events like meal time. We must consider time when traveling, too. But, since the airlines ask everyone to arrive two to three hours ahead of schedule, aren’t we wasting time (unless we are people-watching)?
My sister is the ultimate clock-watcher. On a trip to the Middle East, she wore one wristwatch with the local time and another set to the time in Israel. The problem was figuring out whether 9:00 a.m. in Jerusalem was 4:00 a.m. or p.m. in the states. After crossing several time zones and acquiring a touch of jet lag, I had enough trouble deciding whether I was hungry when the tour guide insisted we eat. (By the way, keeping track of time was not nearly as essential as keeping track of my sister. She could weave her way around street vendors and other attractions like a heat-seeking missile.)
Are we annoyed in the spring when daylight-saving time robs us of that one hour we will not recoup until November? We can thank Benjamin Franklin for that. In 1784, he extolled the virtues of the concept because it would save candles. Years later, our federal government agreed. After diddling with the issue around World War I to save fuel, Congress convinced the country, post-World War II, to observe daylight-saving nationally. When proponents of the idea found that the energy savings would equal one percent per day, the Uniform Time Act of 1966 was passed. Hold-out states finally cooperated as late as 2005 (in the case of Indiana), when the Energy Policy Act was initiated.
Our perception of time is the real issue. Remember when we were children and special occasions seemed as if they would never come? Now birthdays arrive with speedy regularity that some would just as soon forget. Just keep in mind, it’s the party, not the reason for the party, that brings pleasure.
Time is like a river. We can sit on the bank and watch it flow by, or we can launch out into it. Choosing to go with or against the current is our decision, too. Either way, time spent doing what we enjoy is never lost.
Annette McDaniel is a former elementary teacher, former accountant, and sometime poet and writer, who lives in Edgerton.
Pawsing with our pets: Do our animals become us?
By Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell
Kansas Senior Press Service
We’ve all heard the adage that the longer we have our pets, the more they start to look like us (or we start to look like them).
Now a British study finds that our pets may not only start to resemble us physically — they may pick up our personality traits, as well!
Richard Wiseman, a professor at the University of Hertfordshire in Great Britain, told ABC News that his research is finding that pet owners believe their pets share at least some of their personality traits.
“What we’ve seen across the board, whether it’s cat owners or dog owners, is amazing personalities,” Wiseman said. “So, if you have someone who has a good sense of humor, they are claiming their animal also has that sense of humor. Someone who is outgoing has an extrovert cat or dog. So, there’s a lot of similarity between owners and their pets.”
When pondering how much my dogs resemble me, the question becomes what came first — the pet or the personality.
Our dearly departed dachshund, Hershey, probably mimicked my husband and me more closely than any of our other animals. Like us, Hershey loved to be outdoors in the boat on the lake — probably even more than we do. She loved going camping, and once caught a fish that was jumping out of the water.
While my husband and I have a close circle of friends, we usually prefer just hanging out with our pets and enjoying each other. Hershey was like that, as well. She was a two-person dog, and only wanted to be with us. She didn’t like strangers and would snap if pesky children got too fresh with her (much as I would like to!).
But are these personality traits a sign that she adapted to us, or did we just choose the right dog for our family? Dachshunds are, after all, known for their loyalty to their humans. And we chose Hershey (or she chose us) based on an afternoon of playing ball while we were at her former owner’s house. We knew she enjoyed fun activities before we got her. We also knew she didn’t get along well with children, particularly if they were being loud or tormenting her.
Wiseman believes that our animals adapt their personalities in line with the devotion and attention we give them. That may be partially true. I believe our pets pick up on our emotions. If we’re excited and happy to be going out on the boat, our dog may well get excited, too. I notice that when I take our fearsome four for a walk, if I’m low on energy and really not into the walk, they seem to be the same. If I’m high in energy and show it, my dogs seem to have a better time.
I think we can have an effect on how our dogs feel, but I’m not so sure they pick up our personality traits. If it’s true, I sure wish my dogs would quit smelling each other’s rear ends and just offer a friendly handshake when they meet each other.
Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell is a freelance journalist, business writer, editor, photographer, instructor, and facilitator. She is immediate past president of the Kansas City Press Club.
By Kansas Senior Press Service
With Kansans now in the process of preparing their income tax returns, Kathy Greenlee, Secretary of Aging, reminds them that filing their state returns also gives them the opportunity to help Meals on Wheels programs across the state.
The Senior Citizen Meals on Wheels Contribution Program was created in 2002 by the Kansas Legislature to allow taxpayers to make voluntary donations to support home-delivered meals.
“In 2007, more than $132,000 was contributed through the check-off,” Greenlee said. “That money supplements nutrition services for the elderly and individuals with disabilities and makes it possible for them to live independently in their own homes for as long as possible.”
Individuals receiving a state income tax refund can indicate in the designated space on the tax form an amount of the refund they would like to contribute to the Meals on Wheels program. Contributions can range from a dollar to all of their refund.
Individuals who owe state taxes can also contribute by indicating the amount they want to donate in the designated space and writing a check for the tax balance due plus the amount contributed to the Meals on Wheels program.
Last year, nearly 1.8 million meals were provided to eligible participants in their homes, and another 1.6 million meals were served at congregate meal sites throughout the state. Of those receiving home-delivered meals, about 70 percent were women age 75 or older and more than 50 percent lived alone.
The check-off funds are distributed to the meal programs according to a formula based on the number of meals served. The money supplements client donations and local, state, and private funds that are leveraged by the federal Old Americans Act funds to support Meals on Wheels, as well as voluntary support for these programs.
The federally funded Nutrition Program for the Elderly, which provides meals to older adults in senior centers, nutrition sites, and in their own homes, began more than 30 years ago.
By Kansas Senior Press Service
Medicare beneficiaries who have chosen to change their health and drug coverage for 2008 should experience very few difficulties when getting their covered prescription drugs through Medicare Part D, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
While CMS does not expect beneficiaries to encounter difficulties at the pharmacy counter due to the collaborative work among beneficiaries, partners and advocates, pharmacies, and plans, nevertheless, those beneficiaries who have newly enrolled or changed plans should keep these four tips in mind when visiting the pharmacy:
1. Bring your red, white, and blue Medicare card, a photo ID, and your new drug plan membership card – these items will help the pharmacist in verifying your coverage;
2. Bring an enrollment acknowledgement, confirmation letter, or the name of your new drug plan if you have not received a plan membership card – your enrollment search might take longer, but these items will assist the pharmacist in verifying your coverage;
3. Keep copies of your receipts – in the rare instance where the pharmacist cannot confirm enrollment, you can work with your new plan prospectively to obtain reimbursement; and
4. Don’t leave the pharmacy counter without your medicine – if you cannot pay out of pocket, call Medicare at 1-800-633-4227 (TTY 1-877-486-2048) for assistance or ask the pharmacist to dial the special hotline for these cases.
You may call Medicare 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
You may also contact the Senior Health Insurance Counseling for Kansas (SHICK) program for one-on-one help. SHICK is a network of volunteers who can help with your Medicare questions. Call 800-860-5260.
These articles are also available electronically at the Center on Aging Website: http://www2.kumc.edu/coa/Senior_Press_Article/Topic_Index.htm