From the U.S. News & World Report website
The U.S. News & World Report ranking of the Best Places to Retire can help you select where to spend your retirement years. The analysis compares the 150 most populous metropolitan areas in the country as potential places to retire.
The Best Places to Retire ranking includes data about housing affordability, happiness, desirability, retiree taxes, the job market and access to quality health care. These factors are weighted based on a U.S. News online survey of people age 45 and older about their retirement preferences.
Knee replacement surgery is increasingly common among people over 80 sidelined with knee pain, and the procedure isn’t as hazardous for them as often assumed.
That’s the main message from a new study of more than 1.7 million seniors who underwent knee replacement surgery.
The findings come as no surprise to Dr. Thomas Fleeter, whose oldest knee replacement patient was 96.
This undated photograph shows Geraldo Gapol working in the Weapons Shop. Gerald served many years as a technician before his retirement.
From the U.S. News & World Report website
When his mother could no longer fend for herself, William Pabst learned there’s no playbook for assuming a parent’s medical, financial and legal affairs if their mental capacity quickly deteriorates. And when his mother passed away in the fall of 2020, difficulties and frustrations continued.
Having power of attorney makes it possible to assume a parent’s financial responsibilities – but not necessarily easy. Barriers can remain in the form of institutional procedures and online security measures. The effort to sort it all out drains more time and effort than adult children could ever expect.
Recently, the U.S. Social Security Administration sent out an email to subscribers of its official blog explaining how to access social security statements online. Most people know to be suspicious of seemingly official emails with links to websites asking for credentials.
But for older adults who are wary of the prevalence of scams targeting their demographic, such an email can be particularly alarming since they have been told that the SSA never sends emails. From our research designing cybersecurity safeguards for older adults, we believe there is legitimate cause for alarm.
Pfizer is voluntarily recalling some lots of its blood pressure pill Accuretic that have elevated levels of nitrosamine, an impurity that can increase the risk of cancer.
The company said in a statement that it is recalling six lots of brand-name Accuretic tablets with nitrosamine levels above the acceptable daily intake, along with several lots of generic versions of this blood pressure drug.
This undated photograph show Roy Yamane and Michael Kang, both members of the Machine Shop during the F-4 Phantom era. The skills of Roy, Mike and other members of the Machine Shop were an important part of maintenance’s efforts to “keep ‘um flying”.
From the Air Force Magazine website
The Department of the Air Force is requesting $234.1 billion in its 2023 budget request, of which $40.1 billion is “pass-through funds,” or money the services will never see, while $169.5 billion is for USAF and $24.5 billion is for the Space Force. The budget request looks to cut 240 aircraft, including 33 fifth-generation F-22 stealth fighters and the majority of the AWACS fleet, to pay for additional research and development, long-delayed nuclear modernization programs, and the growing Space Force. It also significantly reduces the F-35 buy.
Keep a complete list of your important personal property and their original cost. This list will help determine the total value of your personal property and identify what has been lost in case of fire or theft.
For more consumer information, visit http://cca.hawaii.gov/ins/resources
National Vietnam War Veterans Day is observed every year on March 29 and is a way to thank and honor America’s Vietnam veterans and their families for their service and sacrifice. There are 5 objectives with Vietnam Commemoration and the other four are:
– Highlight the service of our Armed Forces and support organizations during the war
– Pay tribute to wartime contributions at home by American citizens
– Highlight technology, science and medical advances made during the war
– Recognize contributions by our Allies.
Who does Vietnam War Commemoration Honor?
U.S. Armed Forces personnel with active duty service between November 1, 1955 to May 15, 1975, regardless of location of service which includes:
– Nine million Americans serving during that time
– 6.4 million Americans living today
– 2.7 million U.S. service members who served in Vietnam
– 58,000 whose names are memorialized on a black granite wall in our Nation’s capital
– 304,000 who were wounded
– 1,253 Missing in Action (MIA) heroes who have not yet returned to American soil.
– 2,500 Prisoners of War (POWs)
POW/MIA numbers have declined over the years through the Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s continuing actions.
The commemoration makes no distinction between veterans who served in-county, in-theater, or were stationed elsewhere during those 20 years.
Hawaii Air National Guard retiree Douglas Awana and his wife, Diane are on a 2-3 year RV road trip of the continental 49 states. One of the goals of their once-in-a-lifetime trip is to visit as many HIANG retirees as possible.
Doug just emailed Retiree News about his visit with Gerald Lum, another HIANG retiree.
As we begin our 3rd year of RVing the Continental 49 we finally met-up with our second HIANG connection (the first was JC back in June 2020). Not sure if you know/remember Gerard Lum. He was a technician in Egress shop back in the CAMRON days when Craig Harimoto was the shop chief. He transferred from the HIANG to the North Carolina ANG in 1995 after meeting his future wife, Catherine, at McGhee Tyson NCO Academy. He retired militarily from the Guard and now works for “NetApp”, a data storage company where he is a Support Account Manager. His primary customer base is the US Air Force and Space Force. His area of responsibility stretches from Qatar to South Korea and every base, program and weapons system in-between. Gerard and Catherine have two daughters (both in their 20’s) and live near Raleigh, North Carolina.
We met with Gerard and Catherine for dinner last night. Seated at the table in the attached group photo is: Gerard, Catherine, Nan (my 90 year old mother-in-law), Diane, and myself. [sidebar: we bring my mother-in-law up to join us for 6-8 weeks at a time. Usually every 3-4 months, depending on where we are) so that Diane can spend time with her mom. Truly a blessing to see mom and daughter enjoying each others time together.]
As for Diane and I we are in our 26th month (of our projected 45 month) of RVing and loving every mile of it. We just finished “wintering” in Florida, our 36th state. We are currently headed up the east coast to visit the 7 remaining states that we haven’t visited yet (see attached map). From there we head to Isle Royale National Park (couldn’t get a reservation last year) in the Upper Peninsula before heading to Colorado. While we had hoped to get together with more of our HIANG ohana, finding them has been a challenge. Seems that most are in Nevada (Vegas, Reno) which we won’t get to until 2023, or our route does not bring us close to them. Oh well, we take what God gives us and continue to keep an eye out for future opportunities.
What a life adventure!
From the Kaiser Health News website
Starting with a new doctor when you are 60 or older is a challenge!
I hadn’t expected the tears.
My primary care doctor and I were saying goodbye after nearly 30 years together.
“You are a kind and a good person,” he told me after the physical exam, as we wished each other good luck and good health.
“I trust you completely — and always have,” I told him, my eyes overflowing.
“That means so much to me,” he responded, bowing his head.
Will I ever have another relationship like the one with this physician, who took time to ask me how I was doing each time he saw me? Who knew me from my first months as a young mother, when my thyroid went haywire, and who since oversaw all my medical concerns, both large and small?
All U.S. veterans, active-duty service members and their spouses now qualify for Home Depot’s everyday military discount thanks to an expansion announced by the home improvement retailer.
In the past, only active-duty troops, military retirees and their dependents could use the discount. Veterans were permitted to use it only on Memorial Day, July 4 and Veterans Day.
We all want to be as efficient with our money as possible, and one way to accomplish that is to minimize the amount we pay in taxes.
Unfortunately, many of us aren’t as good about that as we should be. Often, people make financial decisions throughout the year without giving any thought to the tax implications and whether a different approach might have been wiser.
Retiree News 