The music Alice Herz-Sommer knew and loved sustained her through the suffering of a Nazi death camp. Herz-Sommer, the oldest Holocaust survivor, 110, died last week. When she was 16, Herz-Sommer attended conservatory studies in Prague and as an older teenager, she was performing concerts…
One of our local grocery stores offers a seven per cent discount on Wednesdays to shoppers who are 55+. I make an effort to shop there on Wednesdays when I need groceries mid-week. The best part is watching the poor check-out clerks determine whom to…
Downton Abbey has become a Sunday night ritual for many television viewers. The program gives a glimpse into England during the last century as well as offering a greater understanding of what class differences brought –living upstairs or serving downstairs. The program’s writing is snappy…
Boomers worked to have it all – or at least as much of life as we possibly could. But boomers may not be as happy as once thought: And our unhappiness may be reflected in the increase in suicide among this generation (born between 1946-1964).…
Evonne Agnello lived through the loss of her dad and brother. Both men took their own lives. She wondered if she would fall to the disease, too. Then, she started to write. Writing offered a path to understanding herself and healing her pain. She shares…
President Barack Obama will honor 24 soldiers when they finally receive the commendation they deserve. Soldiers who willingly put themselves in the middle of exceptionally dangerous situations and acted heroically were overlooked at the time for the military’s highest honor – the Medal of Honor…
A Gonzaga University student called the other night asking for a contribution to the university. I always say “yes.” I donate money not because I am wealthy - I am not - but because I am grateful. A college education should be the right of…
Yes, Americans are nuts for their dogs; even crazy for dogs wherever they travel – to Sochi, for example. Olympian and U.S. silver medalist Gus Kenworthy has been adopted by several puppies and their mama. Yes, seems they have adopted him – that’s how dogs…
An unusual remedy is performing miracles for people who suffer with a potentially fatal infection called Clostridium difficile or “C. diff” as it is known in health care settings. The gastrointestinal infection kills 14,000 people each year and is caused by anti-biotics that kill off…
The foster children in our state are not being heard when it comes to the courtroom. No court-appointed attorney for our foster kids. An advocacy group rates Washington state 48th - that is right: 48th - when it comes to giving our vulnerable foster children…
The preacher who claimed his faith would keep him safe from snake bites has died – from a snake bite. Jamie Coots of Middlesboro, Kentucky, died hours after the rattlesnake he was handling at a church service bit him. He declined medical treatment – going…
They met as young adults, fell in love, but then he, Marty, left to serve his country. She, Kay, was a single mom who didn’t want a relationship. Eventually, each married someone else – and divorced. Decades later Kay started an online business and one…
Last week Bertha excavated her way through downtown Seattle and into history when the tunnel-drilling machine struck ancient gold...ummm…ivory. The find: an ancient mammoth's tusk that measures 8.5 feet in length and will be carbon dated to determine its age, estimated between 22,000 and 66,000…
My sister is in her fifth day of trekking up Mt. Kilimanjaro. I read succinct summaries of her journey from the sponsoring group’s website. Here is what I have learned: Day 1: Immediately the group had to take a three-hour detour due to muddy roads…
Former Vice-President Walter Mondale has undergone successful heart surgery and is expected to recover fully. His wife, Joan, died February 4 after a long illness. A tough month for this man of gracious ways and soft-spoken humor. He is from my home state – Minnesota…
A polar bear has died at a Stuttgart, Germany zoo from ingesting a purse – and a coat. Anton, a 25-year-old beloved polar bear, presented strange behavior and started spitting out pieces of fabric, alerting zookeepers that perhaps something was wrong. Heroic attempts to save…
She sang and tap danced her way into the hearts of anyone who watched her perform. She was adorable and talented. Shirley Temple became America’s first and most famous child star. Temple, 85, died Monday at her home near San Francisco with loved ones near.…
One of my three sisters left today to trek Mt. Kilimanjaro – and I can follow her journey from the comfort of my computer. She is the athletic and adventurous one of us. Her life has been filled with big transitions in the last year…
Obituaries offer a glimpse into a person's life. Often we learn of remarkable accomplishments through these brief summaries. Anne Heyman is a woman who transformed lives, offering life-saving hope.She is a woman whose legacy we should know. In 2005, when Anne Heyman learned of the…
What if each of us went into our local school and paid for the lunch of just one child – for the whole year? What difference would that make? One Texas man paid off the lunchroom debt of all 60 students who could not afford…
The Catholic sisters lost their beloved dog to lymphoma; an elderly dog languishing in a nearby shelter needs a home. Together they form a new family. Many shelters across America house abandoned or lost pets. According to The Humane Society of the United States each…
Retail pharmacy CVS will no longer sell tobacco. The company will lose an estimated $2 billion in sales, but CVS Pharmacy president Helen Foulkes believes it is a move that makes sense. CVS is the first large retail pharmacy chain to eliminate tobacco from its…
The Seattle Seahawks will ride down 4th Avenue this morning in celebration of their Super Bowl win. Friends set their alarm clocks for before sunrise to bundle up and commute into the big city seeking a good spot along the parade route. Amid all the…
He was an Oscar-winning actor, Screen Actors Guild winner, too; he was esteemed, wealthy, talented, a drug addict. The face of drug addiction seems to always surprise us – as though the addiction could be canceled out by an Oscar acceptance speech or a winning…
I am 59 years old today. I wrote a reflection when I turned 49 about all the birthdays I had ending in “9” and how good they were. A happy childhood at 9 –skating on those Minnesota ponds in winter; birthday cake and hot cocoa.…
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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