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One Thing or Another: Out With the New
By Mark McNease
It’s always One Thing or Another… a lighthearted look at aging, life, and the absurdities of it all.
As another year begins and we make promises to ourselves, if not outright resolutions, why not stop and consider the changes we don’t want to make? The things about our lives that we’re pleased to have in them: events, people, situations, even qualities about ourselves we would not change. I quite like most of my life, and while I want to lose some serious poundage for health and vanity, I can’t say there are many other things I would change about it.
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Being Well: Living with Sleep Apnea (and that CPAP Machine)
Being Well is a regular feature at LGBTSr highlighting health and wellness.
Editor’s note: This first appeared here at LGBTSr in March, 2020. I’ve been using a CPAP machine for almost four years now and thought it was a good time to revisit that topic. Many people benefit from them and lives can be saved. – Mark
A few years ago I began regularly waking up with headaches. I’m also a loud snorer, as my husband reminded me several times a night with nudges to turn on my side or just wake up long enough to stop. Headaches and snoring … something was probably going on. I made an appointment with a sleep specialist and did a home test for sleep apnea. It recorded 25+ “events” per hour. An event is when the person stops breathing due to sleep apnea. It can lead to multiple health issues, with headaches and snoring being two of the most obvious.
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EVENTS: Authors Mark McNease and Philip William Stover in Conversation at the Frenchtown Bookshop (February 4)
Save the date! I’ll be joining fellow author Philip William Stover for a reading and conversation about our books at the Frenchtown Bookshop on Friday, February 4. I’ll be talking about my newest release, Reservation for Murder: A Kyle Callahan Mystery, as well as the series and creating gay central characters.
Philip will be reading and discussing his romances The Hideaway Inn and The Beautiful Things Shop, set in New Hope, PA, just across the river from Lambertville, NJ, where most of my characters mysteriously moved when Frank and I relocated to nearby Kingwood.
Place: The Frenchtown Bookshop
Date: Friday, February 4
Time: 6:00 – 7:30 pm
Address: 28 Bridge Street, Frenchtown NJ
Phone: 908-628-9297 -
The Twist Podcast #179: Our Super Positive Be Happy Year End Twist Special
Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we close out a great year with good news aplenty: lots of inspiring people to namecheck, lots of uplifting headlines, our 2021 favorite Twist Tops, and a hearty goodbye to malaise! “Live or die, but don’t poison everything.” – Saul Bellow. Let’s get living.
Have your own Twist Top recommendation to share? Email us at Tops @ TheTwistPodcast.com and we’ll include it on the show!
Enjoy The Twist on Libsyn, iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and TheTwistPodcast.com.
Copyright 2021 MadeMark Publishing
Join Mark’s email list for updates, podcasts, giveaways, and his monthly newsletter! Reach us at: TheTwist @ TheTwistPodcast.com
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Kapok Aging and Caregiver Resources: Powerful Types of Self Care Journaling for Caregivers
By Angelica Herrera Venson, DrPH, MPH
The following excerpt is reprinted with permission from Kapok Aging and Caregiver Resources.
At its most basic, journaling involves recording your thoughts and feelings, often by making an entry each day. The habit is one that most of us have tried at least once before – and many have given up on. Yet, self care journaling is more powerful than you might realize. It offers a way to connect with yourself, to reflect, and to grow.
Journaling can also be critical to self care, especially for caregivers.
One reason is that journaling gives you the chance to reflect. It takes you out of the moment and lets you look back on the situation as a whole. Doing so matters, as caregivers can often get swept away with the tasks of the day. A journaling habit also helps you to start picking out the good things that happen, to hold onto them.
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Savvy Senior: How Older Drivers Can Save on Auto Insurance
By Jim Miller
Dear Savvy Senior,
Can you provide any tips to help seniors reduce their auto insurance premiums? I just got hit with a 15 percent increase on my car insurance and am looking for ways to save.
Fixed Income Frank
Dear Frank,
Unfortunately, auto insurance rates went up significantly over the past year as the pandemic eased and more Americans got back on the roads. But there are plenty of ways to cut your premium. To find out what discounts may be available to you, contact your auto insurer and inquire about these options, and any others that may benefit you.
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Terri Schlichenmeyer’s Bookworm Sez: Best Books of 2021 (Fiction and Non-Fiction)
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez
There’s still a lot of winter left.
That’s the fact staring you in the face. Once the holiday decorations are down, the toys are all put away, and you’ve rediscovered your gift certificates… what do you do with them?
You buy books, of course. And to get you started, here are a few sure-fire picks for the Best of 2021:
FICTION
What would you do if life throws you a curve-ball? In “The Guncle” by Steven Rowley (Putnam, $27.00), gay man, former TV star, Palm Springs fixture, no-responsibilities Patrick is asked to take care of his niece and nephew for the long-term. He never wanted kids at all. He never wanted to fall in love with them, either. Cute, sweet, funny, heartfelt – what more could you want?
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Terri Schlichenmeyer’s Bookworm Sez: Best Books of 2021 (Fiction and Non-Fiction)
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm SezThere’s still a lot of winter left.
That’s the fact staring you in the face. Once the holiday decorations are down, the toys are all put away, and you’ve rediscovered your gift certificates… what do you do with them?
You buy books, of course. And to get you started, here are a few sure-fire picks for the Best of 2021:
FICTION
What would you do if life throws you a curve-ball? In “The Guncle” by Steven Rowley (Putnam, $27.00), gay man, former TV star, Palm Springs fixture, no-responsibilities Patrick is asked to take care of his niece and nephew for the long-term. He never wanted kids at all. He never wanted to fall in love with them, either. Cute, sweet, funny, heartfelt – what more could you want?
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Ronni Sanlo’s This Day in LGBTQ History (November 26 – December 2)
Ronni Sanlo’s This Day in LGBTQ History makes the past ever-present with daily rundowns of historic events and people.
Ronni Sanlo
THIS DAY in LGBTQ HISTORY
DECEMBER 3 -
Podcast Pick: History Briefs with Host Brad Shreve
I’m not a podcast connoisseur but I know a good one when I hear it, and History Briefs, with host Brad Shreve, is a winner. Brad burst onto the scene with his Queer Writers of Crime podcast (full disclosure, I was a guest), a wonderful series of interviews with LGBTQ+ writers of mysteries, thrillers and crime fiction. And now he’s hit on an idea whose time has come: short, 20-minute-or-less podcasts about historical facts and events we may never have even known we wanted to learn about – but we do! These podcasts are addictive, and can be listened to on the drive to work, or getting your steps in, cleaning the kitchen, or just sitting spellbound while he tells us the real stories of the Mayo Clinic’s beginnings, the famous and infamous Combat Zone in Boston, the some-say-dubious accomplishments of Alfred Nobel, and more.
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The Twist Podcast #178: Moms for Fascism, Holiday Hate Fest, Twist Tops Fave List, and the Week in Headlines
Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we consider the dark money-funded ‘Moms for Liberty’ fake grassroots thought police, the popularity of hatred this holiday season, our own Twist Tops must lists, and the week in headlines.
Have your own Twist Top recommendation to share? Email us at Tops @ TheTwistPodcast.com and we’ll include it on the show!
Enjoy The Twist on Libsyn, iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, SoundCloud, and TheTwistPodcast.com.
Copyright 2021 MadeMark Publishing
Join Mark’s email list for updates, podcasts, giveaways, and his monthly newsletter! Reach us at: TheTwist @ TheTwistPodcast.com
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Savvy Senior: Senior Alert: Your old cellphone may not work in 2022
By Jim Miller
Dear Savvy Senior,
My 80-year-old father has an old flip phone he carries around with him for emergency purposes, but I’ve heard that these devices will soon be phased out. Is this true? If so, how can we know if his phone will be affected, and where can I find him a simple new one that he can operate.
Searching Daughter
Dear Searching,
Yes, it’s true! If your dad’s mobile phone is more than a few years old, he will probably need to upgrade it in the very near future.
Why?
Because all of the major cell phone carriers – AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile – are shutting down their older 3G networks in 2022 to free up airwaves for 5G and other advanced services. So, if your dad is using an old 3G phone, like millions of other older Americans, he’ll need to get a new device if he wants to make calls, text or reach 911.
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Kapok Aging and Caregiver Resources: How to be a Caregiver for a Diabetic Patient – The Ultimate Guide
By Angelica Herrera Venson, DrPH, MPH
The following excerpt is reprinted with permission from Kapok Aging and Caregiver Resources.
Whether you’re a family member to someone with diabetes or are a direct care worker, being a caregiver for a diabetic patient can get overwhelming fast. You may be juggling multiple visits to specialists, constantly taking inventory and restocking a long list of diabetes care supplies, checking lab work results online, or trying to follow their doctor’s insulin therapy protocol.
Images from Kapok article You may have many questions. Can they eat that piece of pie? What do you do when they feel dizzy?