WILL GAMBLING RESCUE EDUCATION?

Our city has taken a hit lately, in terms of population. Consequently, enrollment in elementary schools has dwindled, and several are being shut down. Fewer kids being born is a bad sign for the tax collectors. Worse yet, college enrollment at our local State university is on a downward spiral. From a high of 11,000, spring enrollment now stands at 8,000. We’re struggling from a loss of revenue, and trying to figure out what to do. There’s a proposal to raise taxes to build new high schools, but that referendum may not pass. There’s only one ray of hope. A new casino was finally granted a license to operate here next year. The politicians are desperately seeking new tax revenue, and it looks like that may be their best bet. Will gambling rescue education in our city?

First, let’s look at college enrollment. Young people don’t attend college simply for educational purposes. The typical freshman often doesn’t even declare a major. They are looking for a new experience away from home. The social life. Parties, clubs, sports, fraternities, sororities. Meeting new people from other places, who have similar intellectual interests. Often, finding a husband or wife along the way. And the unspoken status symbol of having gone on to college. At our university, a majority are first generation college students. That is, the first in their family to attend college. They’re moving up! And they spend a lot of money at local restaurants and businesses while they’re here..

But the Covid-19 pandemic has changed all that. Online classes aren’t glamorous or exciting. And who wants to wear a mask everywhere you go? How many men and women are attracted to someone when you don’t know what they look like? Unless you are academically talented, you’re apt to skip college all together in favor of a highly paid job that doesn’t require a college degree. Restaurant servers often make $500 a night in tips.

The casino had to be voted in and approved by our citizens. Many people objected, foreseeing an increase in gambling addiction and organized crime. Still, the referendum passed, because it’s our only hope to generate new taxes. Will gambling rescue education? It looks like it.

January 28, 2022January 28, 2022

TV NEWS CAUSES ANTI-VAX NEEDLE PHOBIA

In order to encourage everyone to get vaccinated, TV nightly news programs usually show someone getting a bloody shot in the arm. That’s supposed to help, but it makes everything worse if you have needle phobia. Consequently, after seeing such a scene, a person who has a deathly fear of needles will probably be less apt to get the Covid-19 vaccine. TV news causes anti-vax needle phobia.

Did you ever see anyone with a full blown case of needle phobia? I did. The person had scratched his eye and had to have some type of shot in the ER. I don’t remember if it was an antibiotic or tetanus shot. All I know that that when he stood up, he turned quite pale, and then fainted. The nurses caught him before he hit the floor. That person was my future husband. An otherwise robust, healthy individual who held an executive position and maintained his own home

It seems that about 10% of the population is afflicted with this phobia, otherwise known as trypanophobia.

Trypanophobia is the extreme fear of medical procedures involving injections or needles. It tends to be more common in children and may lessen as people grow older and gain more experience having medical procedures and injections involving needles. For some people, however, this fear can remain extreme and upsetting during adulthood.

In my husband’s case, he subsequently developed several medical problems that required injections. After awhile, he outgrew the phobia. And he was first in line the day seniors in our area were offered Covid-19 vaccinations.

Most people don’t have needle phobia, but that doesn’t mean they enjoy getting a shot. I still have to grit my teeth and close my eyes while getting my annual flu shot. Some nurses are better than others when administering injections. Often, you might only feel the tiniest pin prick. Other times, someone jabs you so hard with a needle that it vibrates through your entire system. Yikes.

Consequently , I believe the news media is taking the wrong approach by focusing on a long sharp needle as it punctures upper arm flesh. . Why not depict a person sitting down and calmly extending their arm, while exchanging smiles with a friendly nurse. Then fast forward to someone enjoying a picnic in the park, and saying , “I’m so glad I got vaccinated. It gives me peace of mind knowing that my loved ones won’t catch it from me.”

With so many people still resisting the Covid vaccine, a softer approach might be worth a try. TV news hours showing needle injections cause anti vax needle phobia in vulnerable people.

January 24, 2022January 23, 2022

PLEASE NOT CLINTON VS. TRUMP 2024

Just when I thought things couldn’t get much worse in this country, I see news flashes that the Democrats and Republicans have gone bonkers. They’re talking about a Clinton/Trump rematch for the next presidential election. Someone tell me this isn’t true. Please not Clinton vs. Trump 2024.

Since I’m older than both of them, I guess I can say this without it sounding like ageism. Why in the world would both parties run a couple of broken down, scandal ridden has-beens? Everything from White Water, to the fake Russian dossier, the Benghazi debacle and good buddy Epstein hang over Hillary’s head. From there, we go to Stormy Daniels, Trump University, the Covid debacle, and current investigations for fraud by the New York attorney General–all a dark cloud following Trump. And those are just a few of the problems each of them have faced. Enough already.

Someone once said that the best training for a future president of the United states is having served as a state governor. I’m not so sure of that. Reagan from California was a success, and former Texas governor Bush did get re elected. But look at poor Jimmy Carter, former governor of Georgia. He didn’t fare so well.

Nevertheless, I took the time to review the governors of every state in the union. The majority are Republicans. A lot of them are in their sixties and seventies. None of them strike me as red hot presidential material.

Naturally, I favor our own Indiana governor Holcomb, who is 53. He’s extremely well liked in Indiana, but I don’t think he’d stand a chance on the national stage. For one thing, he comes across as too honest and sincere. The media would see him as a dud. Others have mentioned fellow Hoosier and former mayor, Pete Buttigieg as a Democratic possibility. Maybe, but I’m not sure that a gay man could be elected president by the majority of the population.

That takes us down to the Senate and House of Congress. There must be dozens of young, charismatic office holders scattered throughout the country. Surely, the Democrats and Republicans can pick a winner out of that pool. Somebody. Anybody. But please not Clinton vs. Trump 2024.

January 21, 2022January 21, 2022

SHOULD YOU CALL, EMAIL OR TEXT?

For the first few decades of my life, the only means of remote communication with another person was by telephone or snail mail. As a teen, I spent hours talking on the phone with boyfriends and girlfriends. What about? With the girls, it was usually about boys. With the boys, a lot of gossip and complaining about parents. When we left town for college or work, we wrote letters. It was sometimes difficult writing a letter in cursive, but a joy to receive. However, both of those options for connecting with others are almost obsolete. First, email replaced phone calls, and now texting has replaced e mail. Consequently, the choices are complicated for seniors. Should you call call, email or text family , friends, and business people?

Most people my age refuse to text. My husband says arthritis makes texting impossible, but I suspect he wouldn’t do it anyway. When you ask a person why they dislike phone calls, they’re liable to admit it’s because they consider themselves introverts. I can understand that. I used to experience social anxiety when talking on the phone to a new boyfriend or girlfriend. Or, as a suburban housewife, calling someone and asking them to dinner. What if I couldn’t think what to say, or they didn’t seem friendly? Sometimes, my voice sounded too high or low to my own ears. If only I’d had the luxury of choice.

I chose e mail as soon as I learned to use a computer. Didn’t have to worry about sounding awkward or strained. Could go back over my e mail before hitting send. It’s still a pretty smooth way to connect if you really have something to ask, or explain. And you aren’t bothering people with a phone call at a busy time. Trouble is, people started getting so much spam email that they missed reading personal e mails. Most people under 60 now seem to prefer texting. I resisted it for years. And then, one day, the whole texting thing kicked into my psyche.

Texting is cool. I love sending and receiving pictures that I don’t want to put out on Facebook. With the pic collage app, I can send pretty, personal greeting cards. The uses are endless. You don’t have to make awkward conversation, or spend precious time composing e mails. If you’re a senior who thinks texting is too complicated, you will find that it simplifies your life. And helps extroverts keep in touch with introverts who don’t like talking on the telephone.

January 17, 2022January 17, 2022

STOP! DON’T THROW OUT THE HAMBONE

Did you bake a ham over the holidays? Ham was one of the best deals you could find in the supermarket. We baked one on Christmas Day, knowing full well we would never come close to consuming all of it. Fortunately, family stopped by and helped us out by fixing sandwiches and taking home leftovers. But still, there was enough left to make ham salad one day and a ham/potato casserole the next. Finally, I wrapped up the hambone and stashed it in the freezer. It’s been super cold the past few days, so I soaked some navy beans last night, thawed the hambone, and today have a huge pot of bean soup on the stove. Do you have a ham in your fridge? Stop! Don’t throw out the hambone.

I really didn’t need a recipe for bean soup, but I looked for one on the internet just to be sure I hadn’t forgotten something. There are tons of recipes, but as far as I was concerned, all of them were wrong. They said you should only simmer the beans for an hour and a half. This is not nearly long enough to have the kind of bean soup you can buy at fall festivals here in Indiana. Good bean soup has to be mushy, and that takes about 4 hours of simmering.

Old fashioned bean soup is great to serve during these inflationary times. It’s nutritious, economical, and delicious. Better yet, stir up a batch of cornbread to go with it. You’ll have enough for the whole family and then some. In our case, we’ll probably be eating bean soup for the next day or so. t.

Here’s the recipe

HAM AND NAVY BEAN SOUP

Ingredients:

1 # dry great Northern beans, soaked overnight in water, rinsed and drained

1 ham bone

1/2 cup chopped carrots

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 minced garlic clove

1 bay leaf

8 cups water

Directions:

Cover the beans with water and let sit overnight. Rinse and drain beans.

In a large pot, combine beans, water and all other ingredients.

Stir well, and simmer for 3 hours.

Remove ham bone and clean scraps. Stir in the chopped ham scraps and simmer for another hour

Makes 6 to 10 Servings

January 14, 2022January 14, 2022

6 WAYS TO BRIGHTEN A WINTER DAY

January 2022 seems especially dreary. It’s the third winter we’ve been stuck at home because of COVID-19. That first year, we did pretty well. It was kind of fun, battening down the hatches, sending for take out, and staying inside. The next winter, we had a little more hope because the vaccine came out in January, and we thought this would definitely be the end of Covid-19. We even started going to restaurants and family get togethers. Free at last!! But now, we’re back where we started. Masking up at the grocery store, staying home, washing our hands, and going nowhere fast. One good thing. The days are growing longer, and we’re seeing more sunny days. Here are 6 ways to brighten a winter day:

1. Clean the air. Indoor air is full of pollutants. It’s especially bad this winter, when we’re staying indoors more often than usual. Even when it’s cold outside, you should open some windows for five to ten minutes a day, just to bring in some fresh air. Next, brew a pot of boiling water on your stove top, and stir in teaspoons of cinnamon, ginger and cloves. It might even clear your sinuses if you breathe in the fragrant vapors for a few minutes. Keep the pot simmering as long as you like.

2. Catch some sunshine. Put on a winter coat and lie on a lounge chair on your deck or patio. The rays are so bright that you can get a slight sunburn—even in winter. If you don’t have your own outside space, go to a park, pick a bright spot, and lift your face toward the sun .

3. Plant a winter bulb garden. . The stores are full of potted hyacinths, tulips and daffodils.. Take that Christmas poinsettia off your coffee table, and bring in some lovely spring flowers in shades of pink, purple, and yellow.

4. Download some classical music. There are free apps on i phones and your computer. Frankly, I wouldn’t care to sit for hours in a concert hall and listen to long hair music. But it’s soothing in the background while you’re doing household chores or reading a book.

5. Walk outside. Even when the temperature drops below freezing, you can bundle up and take a short walk around the block or down the road. You’ll come back inside refreshed, and with a better attitude.

6. Try a new recipe. They are in the newspapers and all over the internet. Make something with an unusual ingredient that you’ve never tried before.

These are just a few way to enjoy the winter of 2022. Meanwhile, work a jigsaw puzzle, read a best seller, and look forward to a winter when we don’t have to worry about Covid=19..

January 12, 2022January 12, 2022

REPORTERS’ DIGS FASCINATE ON TV

One of the interesting things that came out of the pandemic was individual news reporting away from the studio. Instead of reporters or discussion panelists sitting around a table, they’re broadcasting live from their own homes. Their glitzy digs often steal the show. Especially on national news programs like Washington Week in Review. The moderator, Jamiche Alcidor, is in the studio. However, that’s not too interesting. But when we see the panelists inside their homes, it grabs my attention. Especially with high profile journalists in glamorous settings. I devour every detail. The plants, pictures, furniture, lamps, etc. Often, after the person has finished speaking, I can’t remember what they said. All I can recall is that beautiful sofa, the dramatic fiddle leaf philodendron, those upscale cabinets and other decorative highlights. Reporters’ digs fascinate on TV .

Consequently, you wonder how much time they spend setting the stage. Do they have a decorator come in and paint the walls—usually white—and arrange the furniture? Or is this how they really live? . After awhile, the backdrops seem to follow a pattern. At least half of them will have a bookcase in view. I guess that is supposed to indicate that they’re educated and well read. There’s often a plant. Do they actually water them, or were they just ordered from a florist? Pictures on the wall are carefully arranged along with interesting accessories.. I love it when someone is sitting in their kitchen, because I get to see all the sparkling, new fangled appliances

It’s even more fun watching home grown news programs like Indiana Week in Review. The Midwestern backdrops are modest in comparison to national news.. But it’s interesting to see the image they’re trying to project. Ann Delaney, the leading Democratic panelist, started out with upscale décor in a sophisticated setting. Now she’s switched to an egalitarian persona in a plainer room with a sloppily arranged bookcase. Mike Obrien, the major Republican panelist, has a patriotic, business like space, with plaques and flags and the usual white walls. I love reporter Mickey Kelley’s pink walls. Sometimes you can even spot a microwave in her kitchen.. Now, there’s a lady everyone can relate to. John Schwantes, the legal eagle, also sits in front of a bookcase where the books are slanted, not straight up as if unused.

Month: January 2022