Last week, I met a beautiful couple from Turkey, in Spokane for a year doing university studies, whose baby died less than a month after being born. It was a privilege to meet them. They were surrounded by help and support from many people in…
If you know a couple who has been told that their baby will be stillborn or live just a short time after birth, please let them know about two programs for families like them in the Inland Northwest. Forget-Me-Not at Sacred Heart Children's Hospital walks…
Did you ever wonder what the connection is between poppies and Memorial Day? Read on... In Flanders Fields the poppies blow Between the crosses row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the…
A work buddy told me about a cool website, findagrave.com, where you can look for gravesites in a variety of ways. You can search on a name or search at a specific cemetery. I tried Fairmount Memorial Park on Spokane's North side. And though it…
When her marriage ended, writer Laura Fraser went to Italy and met an older Frenchman, whom she writes about in her memoir, "An Italian Affair." He is married, she is seeking. They make love, dine sumptuously, and explore new places as well as each other.…
One of the hardest activities for older people to give up is driving a car. Some even report feelings similar to the classic stages of grief. Denial that they shouldn’t drive. Bargaining with grown children who urge them to stop. Anger when the grown children…
Because of this column, I get emails from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency sends out a weekly morbidity and mortality report with other items of interest. Today, they had a little tidbit about Jamestown Canyon virus, spread by mosquitoes, and recently…
My husband and I, early birds, always have MSNBC's Morning Joe on while we drink coffee and read the newspaper together. Mark Haines, co-author of CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" died unexpectedly Tuesday. He was a little crotchety but smart with a good sense of…
Nancy Copeland-Payton, medical doctor and Presbyterian minister, will facilitate a one-day retreat in Sandpoint June 4 on the gifts that can result when a person is able to let go of losses. She is the author of the 2009 book: The Losses of Our Lives…
I have attended two funerals and one bed-side vigil in the last week. These experiences offer time to reflect on what is important in life as well as how we nurture our own spirituality. Travel writer, Rick Steves, recently interviewed by U.S. Catholic, offers information…
Some of us in our 50s and beyond often comment about growing up in smoke-filled homes. Almost all the parents of my childhood smoked. My husband's father was an insomniac and smoked all night in bed, in between reading. (My mother-in-law lived into her 90s,…
The end of the world, predicted by preacher Harold Camping, must be set for another day: we're still here. But we had fun with the pretend possibilities! The Baltimore Sun published a Q and A with must I return my library books or will I…
Hospice of Spokane has some excellent programs for people in grief. Here’s some information about a new offering, the Newly Bereaved Class, sent from Dale Hammond of Hospice of Spokane. The series will offer information, education and activities in a group setting. Instructors will lead…
It will likely be many more years until all printed books are replaced by e-books. But perhaps in history "books" it will someday be noted that on May 19, 2011 Amazon.com Inc. announced that "after less than four years of selling electronic books, it’s now…
Many years ago, I profiled several centenarians and asked a gerontologist the secret to living to 100. He said: "Choose your parents. Wear a seatbelt." In other words, genetics and safety. This week, the CDC released figures on seat belt use in the United States…
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched a new blog and social media campaign to help people prepare for emergencies. When I first read about it, I thought it was a spoof of some kind, but it's for real. They are telling people…
Our syndicated column this week answered a question about when a widowed person should take off his or her wedding ring. Right away? When you start dating? Never? The experts weighed in, but here we'd like to ask any widowers and widows out there: How…
Update: Harmon Killebrew died this morning at age 74. Here's Catherine's post from Sunday, with childhood photo of Catherine (with glasses holding puppy), her two sisters and the Killebrews, Elaine and Harmon. Harmon is heading for home Harmon Killebrew - Baseball Hall of Famer with…
Water, water everywhere! Rebecca's post reminds me of a story from our family history. In 1948 my great aunt and uncle (yes, they really were great!) lived in Vanport City, Oregon, a city quickly constructed in 1943 to house the workers at the wartime Kaiser…
Yesterday, I was at a meeting with folks who do emergency preparedness in the county and as part of the meeting, we were offered a tour of the Avista dams downtown. The last spot on the tour was an outside viewing section for the lower…
Comedian, author and actor Albert Brooks has a novel out about the near future. It takes place in the year 2030 and is named 2030: The Real Story of What Happens to America. In it, aging baby boomers are in a constant struggle with the…
One thing you'll see in this blog on occasion is the announcement, or the prediction, of technologies or ways of life that are dying off in our culture. Ideas, technology and trends have a life cycle and eventually die, too. Just like humans. In today's…
Today Sonny and Cher's daughter comes back to the world as their son. After decades of struggle to match his gender identity with his physical body, Chaz speaks about the painful struggle and what it took to align his self-understanding with his body. The book…
A friend of mine has a grown child who has struggled with mental illness for many years now. After the last update, not a good one, I said: "Let's ask any Catholics we know to pray for a miracle to cure your child's mental illness.…
The HBO Depression-era series, Mildred Pierce, along with the release last week of the Social Security Administration's top 1,000 baby names of 2010 got me thinking to the way names die off, too. One of my mom's closest friends, and an important mom from my…
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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