• Savvy Senior

    Savvy Senior: Is Skin Cancer Hereditary?

    June 28, 2022 /

    You can listen to my interview with Savvy Senior’s Jim Miller here.

    By Jim Miller

    Dear Savvy Senior,

    Is skin cancer hereditary? My 63-year-old brother died of melanoma last year, and I’m wondering if I’m at higher risk.

    Younger Sister 

    Dear Younger,

    While long-term sun exposure and sunburns are the biggest risk factors for melanoma – the deadliest form of skin cancer – having a sibling or parent with melanoma does indeed increase your risk, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.

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  • Book Reviews,  LGBTSR

    Book Review: In the Houses of Their Dead, by Terry Alford

    June 23, 2022 /

    By Terri Schlichenmeyer
    The Bookworm Sez

    In the Houses of Their Dead” by Terry Alford
    c.2022, Liveright
    $27.95  320 pages

    You’re talking to yourself again.

    That’s okay: it helps sort your thoughts, calm your brain, and settle your mind. But you’re not just talking to yourself: it may sound funny but it’s comforting to have one-sided conversations with people who would’ve shared their valuable wisdom, if they were still alive. You talk to those who gone sometimes, and in “In the Houses of Their Dead” by Terry Alford, you’ll see how that’s a habit that’s been around awhile.

    Even for the early 1800s, Edwin Booth grew up in an unconventional household.

    His father was an alcoholic actor who was prone to eccentricity, and he forced young Edwin to become his traveling companion and handler when the boy was just twelve years old. Edwin’s mother had lost a number of her children to nineteenth-century diseases. His younger siblings – especially Asia and John Wilkes – were as melodramatic as their father. As you might expect, the family was drawn toward the new mania for spiritualism.

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  • Kapok

    Kapok Aging and Caregiver Resources: Coping with the Role Reversal when Caring for Aging Parents

    June 23, 2022 /

    By Angelica Herrera Venson, DrPH, MPH

    The following excerpt is reprinted with permission from Kapok Aging and Caregiver Resources.

    The term role reversal often comes up when talking about caregiving. It’s a logical idea, right? Suddenly you’re the one telling your parents what they need to do, trying to cajole them into a doctor’s visit, or even helping them out in the bathroom.

    How do you cope with this role reversal when caring for aging parents?

    There are plenty of approaches that you can take to support yourself as a caregiver, including self-compassion techniques and learning to set boundaries.

    But, there’s something even more critical to talk about.

    To put it simply – caregiving isn’t a role reversal.

    Sure, the situation can feel like a role reversal at times, like when you’re trying to prevent yet another incontinence accident. Yet, there are also some clear differences, ones that need to considered.

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  • Tired Old Queen at the Movies

    Steve Hayes’ Tired Old Queen at the Movies: Bette Davis in ‘Dark Victory’

    June 23, 2022 /

    From Steve Hayes’ Tired Old Queen at the Movies (YouTube):

    Bette Davis gives an unforgettable performance as a woman on borrowed time, in her personal favorite of all her films, Edmund Goulding’s DARK VICTORY (’39). Costarring George Brent, Humphrey Bogart, Ronald Reagan and the refreshing Irish actress Geraldine Fitzgerald, in her screen debut, it’s a lush, romantic, melodrama that will keep you in tears and on the edge of your seat as you watch one of the legendary actresses do what seemingly nobody did better. Stream DARK VICTORY now! https://amzn.to/3wXKwDx

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  • Molly DeVoss

    Cat Talk Radio with Molly DeVoss and Co-Host Dewey: Your Cat Is Not a Dog

    June 23, 2022 /

    Welcome to a new shared feature at LGBTSr: Molly DeVoss’s Cat Talk Radio Podcast. Molly is a certified cat behaviorist who helped us a few years ago when we first adopted out cats Wilma and Peanut. There were some behavior issues, and Molly gave us excellent advice. She’s had her podcast for a few years now, and I want to share it with readers of LGBTSr. Have a questions about cats? Molly has a podcast for that!

    In this week’s episode, Molly and Dewey discuss the mistake some people make of treating their cats the same way they would treat dogs.

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  • Savvy Senior

    Savvy Senior: How to Choose a Medicare Supplemental (Medigap) Policy

    June 22, 2022 /

    By Jim Miller

    Dear Savvy Senior,

    I’m planning to enroll in original Medicare in a few months and have been told I probably need to get a Medicare supplemental policy too. Can you offer any tips on selecting one?

    Almost 65

    Dear Almost,

    If you’re enrolling in original Medicare, getting a supplemental policy (also known as Medigap insurance) too is a smart idea because it will help pay for things that aren’t covered by Medicare like copayments, coinsurance and the Part A deductible. Here are some tips to help you choose an appropriate plan.

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  • New

    A Killer Summer Giveaway! 2 Marshall James Thrillers FREE for Five Days

    June 21, 2022 /

    For the first five days of summer you can download two free Marshall James Thrillers for your Kindle reading pleasure. Settle in under your beach umbrella, and start those pages turning! Available from June 21 through 25.

    MURDER AT THE PAISLEY PARROTTime waits for no one, including Marshall James. Now 58 and living in New York City, Marshall has outlived the expiration date he was given with a cancer diagnosis three years ago. He beat the odds but he knows he may not beat the clock. So he’s decided to tell a story or three about some murders he was involved in back in the day.

    The year was 1983. The bar was the Paisley Parrot in Hollywood, a gay, mob-run dive where people came to drink and few of them remembered the night before. Marshall loves his job as a bartender there. But one night, among the regulars, a killer arrives.

    CLICK HERE FOR AMAZON PAGE

    BEAUTIFUL CORPSE

    “It was 1984. Prince ruled the airwaves. The Los Angeles Olympics had come and gone, taking with it a spotlight that had shone harshly on the city’s night crawlers and left them thankful for the shadows. AIDS was spreading its dark, black, wings over us all, and I was a happy guy. At least I thought I was, until things took a sudden turn for the deadly.” – Marshall James

    It’s been over a year since Marshall James first became intimately familiar with murder. He’s six months sober now and happily living with the love of his life, LAPD Detective Mac McElroy. Despite the coming storm of AIDS and its devastating toll on the world Marshall knows, his dark days seem to be behind him. Then one night he says the wrong thing, storms out in anger, and walks straight into a nightmare.

    CLICK HERE FOR AMAZON PAGE

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  • Savvy Senior

    Savvy Senior: How to Get Underutilized COVID Funeral Assistance Funds

    June 16, 2022 /

    By Jim Miller

    Dear Savvy Senior,

    I recently saw a news segment on TV about a government funeral assistance program available to families who lost loved ones during the pandemic. What can you tell me about this? I lost my 78-year-old mother to COVID in 2021 and want to find out if I’m still eligible for any funeral funds, and if so, what I need to do to get them.

    Still Sad

    Dear Sad,

    I’m very sorry about the loss of your mother. The government program you are asking about is the COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (or FEMA). This program is part of the American Rescue Plan, a stimulus package passed in 2021 in an effort to help the country financially manage amid the pandemic.

    This program, which has no end date, offers up to $9,000 to cover the cost of a funeral for someone who died of COVID-19 as far back as January 2020.

    Unfortunately, less than half the people believed eligible for funeral assistance have actually applied for it. Here’s what you should know about the program’s requirements and how to apply.

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