January 2026 Edition
January 2026 Edition
The light is coming back, and that's a good thing. But if you're not instantly heartened by the returning light and are dreading the next few months of cold and dark, this is what I've learned about coping with winter. Get outside. It doesn't matter what the temperature is or how strong the wind is blowing. Make it a point to get outside. Ideally, you'll spend 20 minutes walking or doing more vigorous exercise. If you're less than mobile, can you stand on your porch and look at the stars on a...
Welcome to 2026. As this new year starts, on behalf the Senior Voice Team, I express our thanks for the gifts through the cash, the subscriptions, and the advertising opportunities that you have allowed Senior Voice to be part of. Your donations allow the Senior Voice to have skin in the game by cost sharing in the production of the newspaper with our corporate donors. Without you, meeting the terms of the grant would not be possible. Again, thank you for your choice to invest in the Senior...
My cell phone rang late (9:45 p.m.) on a 2025 November night. I did not recognize the number, but have learned to pick up as it could easily be in regard to my husband's health. The voice at the other end said he was so and so with the Palmer Police Department. My mind immediately warned "scam." But I didn't hang up. The "officer" wanted to know if I was missing anything. "Not that I know of," I replied. "Did you do any shopping at the Palmer Fred Meyer store this evening?" Yes. "Did you get...
Emily Morgan, a 47-year-old Red Cross public health nurse, played an instrumental role during the deadly diphtheria outbreak in Nome, 101 years ago this month. The crisis began when children with sore throats and tonsillitis symptoms rapidly succumbed to the illness. Morgan, drawing on her experience with diphtheria from her nursing work in Kansas, was among the first to recognize the telltale signs of the disease after being called to attend 7-year-old Bessie Stanley. Despite the family's...
When Eleanor Frisby smiles, the entire dining room at the Palmer Veterans & Pioneers Home seems to brighten. Staff and residents say she has always had that kind of warm, steady and unmistakably strong presence. Frisby, who will celebrate her 100th birthday on Jan. 25, built her life on hard work, family devotion and an unwavering instinct to care for others. It's fitting she now lives where she worked as part of the original trio of staff hired when the home opened in the early 1970s. Even on...
On a cold Thursday morning in the Fairbanks Job Center, a small group of seniors gather to learn more about computers and how to work with them. Their guide is also a senior, also still learning about computers. The seniors are participants in the MASST program. MASST stands for Mature Alaskans Seeking Skills Training. It's a federal program of the Department of Labor, administered by the state of Alaska Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, within the Alaska Department of Labor. The MASST...
A new year is a blank slate. A chance to make and keep promises to yourself and maybe also to those you love by being present. One promise you can count on is that having a regular fitness routine leads to a life of independence. This doesn’t mean you need to spend hours lifting weights or running endless miles each week. You can start and maintain a regular fitness routine with the right mindset and a good pair of trainers. Start small If you’ve never exercised or haven’t done so in a while, consult your medical professional first....
Becoming hospitalized is a challenging situation —the goal is to become well with treatment for the condition, illness or injury, which brought you to being admitted in the first place. For these events, there is Medicare’s Part A, which provides insurance coverage for your in-patient admission to a hospital. This can be confusing, because not all treatment at a hospital is covered by Part A – most often, individuals are treated in an emergency room, or medical facility that provides care...
I have many stories about friends who have ignored signs their body is in trouble and made the problem worse. A friend called me one February and-unusual for her-was drunk on the phone and very angry about another friend's treatment of her. Then she complained of fevers and chills, but she said, "On the good side, I've lost 25 pounds in the last two months." My immediate thought: cancer. Within the month she was in a hospital where she lived hooked up to many machines. I watched two doctors...
Australian researchers have found compelling evidence that insomnia may be linked to disruptions in the brain's natural 24-hour rhythm of mental activity, shedding light on why some people struggle to 'switch off' at night. Published in the journal Sleep Medicine, the study led by the University of South Australia (UniSA) is the first to map how cognitive activity fluctuates across the day in individuals with chronic insomnia, compared to healthy sleepers. Insomnia affects about 10% of the...
Winter in Alaska is beautiful but hazardous. When temperatures drop below freezing, our bodies face risks from the cold. As we get older, these dangers become even more serious. But when you know what to watch for and how to respond, it can make all the difference between a minor problem and a medical emergency. Our bodies work hard to keep us warm, but sometimes the cold wins. Two main problems happen when we get too cold: frostbite and hypothermia. Frostbite happens when our skin and the...
Returning home to Alaska after serving with the Peace Corps in Botswana, Dom and I were often asked, "What was your most frightening experience in Africa?" I didn't have to think too long to relive that fateful day. It wasn't the time a green mamba slithered into my classroom, or when a flash flood almost swept our car away as we attempted to cross the bridge into our village. And then there was the time an enormous bull elephant challenged our Volkswagen Beetle when we were caught in the midst...
One day last summer Christy and I went out to dinner with some friends. During a lull in the conversation, they extended an enigmatic invitation: "Want to go on an all-day train ride with us?" I had to think about that one for a moment. "Um, what train? Going where?" "We leave from Anchorage and go up north past Talkeetna to Hurricane Gulch, then turn around and come back to Anchorage. It takes about 12 hours." I was still pretty much in the dark. "Why would I want to go on a 12-hour train trip...
