This and that, and maybe more

Dear friends and readers, I had asked you to consider contributing to someone in Nicaragua for his son with Type 1 childhood-onset diabetes, as I have also done. But now I'm asking you to hold off on doing anything more until my daughter Stephanie in Hawaii, my personal financial adviser, investigates a bit further. It's very hard to verify the legitimacy of these matters in a developing country located quite distant from us, especially in one with a hostile government, as in Nicaragua. So far, the main recipient of my own recent donation really does seem to be the man I had once met as a child back in Nicaragua so many years ago, and his family's needs appear to be totally legitimate. But Steph is still trying to find out for sure--as sure as anyone can be from here. I don't really know why I suddenly had doubts as there was nothing to specifically to arouse them, nothing that I can actually put my finger on, just a feeling. 

Fortunately, my daughter Stephanie will be arriving here soon for a visit, so then we will investigate together, then let you know.  Obviously, we all want to help folks where it is merited, also to encourage others to do the same, but we do need to verify everything first. If contributing to a legitimate bona fide US-based charity here, there would be no problem, but contributing to an individual needy family in another country is much trickier because of so many possible scams.  

Charity Watch here in the US advises: Hey there! Checking a charity before you give is a super smart move to make sure your hard-earned money actually helps people instead of lining a scammer's pockets.

But when the recipient of our donation is in another country and is a private citizen there, especially in an unfriendly country like Nicaragua, that can be quite challenging. Is this guy now asking me for money for his diabetic son really who he says he is? Is he someone I've actually met there? Does he, in fact, have a diabetic young son? 

So, please stand by and we will investigate as thoroughly as possible and if we determine that contributions are merited, we will not only contribute more ourselves, but will then let you know in case you would want to follow suit. If so, then we all can rest assured that your money and our own will be going where we intend it to go.  

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Here at our home in West Virginia, our dog Willow sometimes lies on her back, feet in the air, looking just like she is dead.  But then she rolls over, sits up, and looks us right in the eye, as if saying, "No, I'm not really dead; I was just joking." 

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Wash. Post, Supreme Court blocks Trump’s mail ballot restrictions for midterms

A major defeat for the president prohibits changes that could have had significant impacts for millions in elections that will determine control of Congress.

Election 2026

CNN

Trump lashes out at Supreme Court justices, saying his appointees ‘are not the people I interviewed’

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I've been contacted recently by a former colleague who had worked with me on our occupational therapy magazine, OT Week--a publication that I used to put together weekly some 25 years ago. I am not an occupational therapist myself, rather, a former social worker, editor, ghost writer of books and articles, and Spanish interpreter and translator.  But I've always found occupational therapy to be compatible with my skills and interests. So I really enjoyed working on our weekly magazine--arranging the layout, the photos, and the stories to be included each week, some written by our own therapist members, which I then had to edit for length and style.

My former colleague who used to help me put together our weekly occupational therapy magazine now lives in Seattle. She is seen below sorting clothes at Catholic Charities, where she now volunteers. How did she ever even find me again after so many years? 

Not long ago, she told me, 
I started volunteering at St. Francis House, a Catholic charity that provides services to those who need them: simple meals, clothes and shoes, household items, etc. So far, I really like the work.

She has also managed to find several other former colleagues who had worked with us at the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), which is still located in Bethesda, Md. and now publishes a magazine called OT Practice.  Apparently, OT Week is no more. 

I left AOTA in late 1999, then joined the Peace Corps in Honduras.  But I still remain a big supporter of occupational therapy, which helps people, often with disabilities, do whatever they want to do, whether it be work, a hobby, or even volunteering. or just meeting up with family and friends,  

Here is what Google says: Occupational therapy (OT) is a healthcare profession that helps people of all ages learn, recover, or improve the skills needed for daily living and working.

Most people seek out purposeful activity. They don't want to just lie on the couch all day, watching TV or listening to the radio; they really want to be doing something interesting and meaningful. Even primates in the zoo are given tasks to keep them from getting bored, such as extracting goodies from hollow cylinders or climbing up to reach special treats.   

And here I am now writing this blog, which I hope folks are actually reading. That's my own purposeful activity right now. 

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How long can a baby born in our country be expected to live? How long can any of us expect to go on living?

 We are not now trying to beat the world record of 

the oldest verified person in history, Jeanne Calment of France, who lived to be 122 years and 164 days old.  That actually seems rather too long.

But living even to age 100 is no longer considered rare. I might even aspire to live to 100 myself. But that seems quite long enough, though if and when I do reach 100, I might even extend to 105. 

US male average life expectancy at birth has been rising, now reaching 76.5 years, while US female life expectancy is almost 5 years higher, at 81.4 years. Since I am already beyond that age myself, I'm enjoying a few bonus years right now at age 88. Nor does age 100 seem un-attainable, as that's less than 12 years for me now and the last 12 years went by pretty fast. But age 100 seems quite old enough. Much beyond that point, we risk outliving younger family members and being left all alone. 

 CNN, 

Japan has been gripped by a declining population for decades, but one age group is adding new members and there are more of them than ever.

For the first time in Japan, the number of people aged 100 or older has surpassed more than 100,000 – a new record in the country known for longevity. The population of centenarians rose again – for the 56th consecutive year – to 107,677 in September, up almost 8,000 from the previous year, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said Tuesday. Most are women, accounting for 88% or 94,298 of the total, the ministry added. 

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Wash. Post, Why Houthi control of the ‘Gate of Tears’ may be Iran’s biggest victory yet

The Bab al-Mandab Strait, which links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, is a busy transit point for crude oil, cars and other manufactured goods.

Wash. Post, Iranian strikes have damaged hundreds of structures at U.S. bases, watchdog says

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Here now is a view of Bangkok, Thailand, a beautiful city that I visited many years ago, a place where I found so many gentle and hospitable people. Is welcoming strangers part of their culture? But I never was able to master their language at all, as the grammar and pronunciation seemed much too complicated.  A woman there, someone I had never even formally met, one day just took me by the hand and showed me all around everywhere. When I tried to pay her, she refused to take it.  She said something then, but I really don't know what she said.