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One Thing or Another: Panic in Aisle 9
By Mark McNease
It’s always One Thing or Another… a lighthearted look at aging, life, and the absurdities of it all.
This one’s for posterity, since the terms ‘coronavirus’ and ‘covid-19’ will hopefully be behind us in a few months.
Who needs that much toilet paper, seriously? I can understand a couple of 12-packs, but an entire shopping cart? Are these people planning on being housebound for the next month? And what do they expect the rest of us to do—the ones who don’t think filling our garage with paper products is the best use of resources at a time of national crisis?
I’m not one to take a pandemic lightly. Not only am I at the age most ripe for paying the steep price of negligence, but I care about my friends, neighbors and co-workers. A good Corona beer joke seemed acceptable a couple of weeks ago, now, not at all. I’ve always been one to admit what I don’t know, and I don’t know, as most of us do not, how this will play out. Will we see a surge in people running to the emergency rooms, overwhelming our healthcare infrastructure and exhausting our healthcare workers? Will fatalities begin to pile up, expanding exponentially as this novel virus spreads like a silent, gaseous killer among the population?
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One Thing or Another: Panic in Aisle 9
By Mark McNease
It’s always One Thing or Another… a lighthearted look at aging, life, and the absurdities of it all.
This one’s for posterity, since the terms ‘coronavirus’ and ‘covid-19’ will hopefully be behind us in a few months.
Who needs that much toilet paper, seriously? I can understand a couple of 12-packs, but an entire shopping cart? Are these people planning on being housebound for the next month? And what do they expect the rest of us to do—the ones who don’t think filling our garage with paper products is the best use of resources at a time of national crisis?
I’m not one to take a pandemic lightly. Not only am I at the age most ripe for paying the steep price of negligence, but I care about my friends, neighbors and co-workers. A good Corona beer joke seemed acceptable a couple of weeks ago, now, not at all. I’ve always been one to admit what I don’t know, and I don’t know, as most of us do not, how this will play out. Will we see a surge in people running to the emergency rooms, overwhelming our healthcare infrastructure and exhausting our healthcare workers? Will fatalities begin to pile up, expanding exponentially as this novel virus spreads like a silent, gaseous killer among the population?
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The Savvy Senior: How to Prevent the Silent Epidemic of Kidney Disease
Dear Savvy Senior,
Do kidney problems run in families? My mother died from kidney failure 10 years ago at age 74 but didn’t know she had a kidney problem until it was too late.
Just Turned 60
Dear 60,
Anyone who has a family history of kidney disease, or who has high blood pressure or diabetes is at increased risk and needs to have their kidneys tested.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, around 37 million U.S adults have chronic kidney disease (when the kidneys can’t properly do their job of cleaning toxins and wastes from the blood), and millions more are at risk of developing it, yet most people don’t realize it. That’s because kidney disease develops very slowly over many years before any symptoms arise. But left untreated, the disease can eventually require people to spend hours hooked up to a dialysis machine or get a kidney transplant. Even mild kidney problems can double a person’s risk of heart attack and stroke, as well as cause anemia and bone disease.
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Lee Lynch’s Amazon Trail: Mick’s Potato Fertilizer
Photo by Sue Hardesty The Amazon Trail: Mick’s Potato Fertilizer
By Lee LynchWhen I asked for advice about growing potatoes, our friend Mary wrote, “Here is what Mick does: blood meal, green sand, or wood ash, bone meal, a handful of each above item for each potato you plant, mix in wheel barrel with dirt and some peat moss, and steer poop. Love M&M.”
Or, said Mick, who grows blue and other exotic potatoes, we can just buy an organic fertilizer. Whew. I found the prospect of mixing manure with soil a bit unappetizing. Which is why, last year, when a neighbor gave us her handmade wooden raised bed, I put off loading it at all and used it only as a support for plastic planters and grow bags. Not exactly best practice.
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What’s Cooking: Etouffee All Day
What’s Cooking is a feature at LGBTSr highlighting readers’ favorite recipes.
This week’s What’s Cookin’ recipe comes from Rick Rose, Special Projects Director for Discover Media and co-host of The Twist 2.0 Podcast.
A Yankee who moved to the Deep South, Rick mastered many Cajun recipes including his favorite, Crawfish Etouffee. This photo is with his New Orleans buddy, Lynn, the year he first tasted this incredible southern dish.
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‘Beautiful Corpse: A Marshall James Thriller’ Now Available for Pre-Order, Releasing March 30
We haven’t seen the last of Marshall James, as he returns to tell another harrowing story of another series of murders back in the day. It’s been over a year since Murder at the Paisley Parrot saw Marshall barely surviving a brush with the mob, a close encounter with a serial killer, and a tumble into love with LAPD Detective Mac McElroy. All is well and the bad days seem behind him … until suddenly they’re not.
You can pre-order Beautiful Corpse for the reduced, pre-order price of $1.99 at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Apple Books. Get ready for a killer read when the book arrives March 30.
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My Guest Turn on the Gay Mystery Podcast Available Now for Listening!
What fun! My guest turn on Brad Shreve’s Gay Mystery Podcast is now available for listening. Fasten your headphones as we talk about writing, books, gay mysteries, and, of course, me! CLICK TO LISTEN.
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Teaser for My Upcoming Interview with Host Brad Shreve on the Gay Mystery Podcast
What fun it was talking with host Brad Shreve on his Gay Mystery Podcast. In this teaser, I’m explaining the inspiration for my first Kyle Callahan mystery. The full interview drops this coming Thursday, March 9, at the Gay Mystery Podcast and wherever your favorite podcasts are enjoyed.
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What’s Cooking: Broiled Salmon with Scallions and Sesame
What’s Cooking is a feature at LGBTSR highlighting readers’ favorite recipes.Let’s start this new food feature off with one of my husband Frank Murray’s favorites. It’s simple and delicious, and among the meals he qualifies as “good enough for guests.”
Frank really started cooking in retirement, a good thing since I still work. It’s also proven to be a bit of a passion for him, and this is one of his best, easiest dishes, courtesy of Bon Appetit. -
Calling All Recipes! New ‘What’s Cookin” Feature at LGBTSR
There’s a lot cookin’ at LGBTSR in 2020, including the new Being Well feature, the One Thing or Another Podcast, and now something to whet your appetite: the What’s Cookin’ feature, offering favorite recipes from everyday foodies like you. Look for something tasty each week, and don’t forget to subscribe to the website for your Thursday newsletter bringing new content right to your virtual doorstep. Send your favorite recipe to: recipes @ lgbtsr.com. Include a few words about yourself and a photo if you’d like them included.
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Being Well with LGBTSR: Living with Sleep Apnea
Being Well is a regular feature at LGBTSR highlighting health and wellness.
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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Being Well with LGBTSR: Living with Sleep Apnea
Being Well is a regular feature at LGBTSR highlighting health and wellness.
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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LGBTSr Podcast Pick: Cat Talk Radio with Molly DeVoss and Dewey
A new feature here at LGBTSR, for those who like to listen in: a regular Podcast Pick. This week I’m recommending Cat Talk Radio, with cat behaviorist Molly DeVoss and co-host Dewey. I met Molly through a friend when we’d adopted our cat Wilma from the Bucks County SPCA. Wilma had come from a hoarder home and had issues we’d never experienced before. With Molly’s help, Wilma, and then Peanut, are now best friends and beloved family members. You can listen to my interview with Molly on the One Thing or Another Podcast HERE.
The latest episode is on fostering aggressive, shy or shut-down cats. LISTEN HERE.