Vol. 19: #12 • Board Games • (3-19-2023) Tidbits of Coachella Valley

by Janet Spencer

With all the shoot-’em-up video games getting so much attention in this digital age, Tidbits thinks it’s time to turn our attention back to the wholesome, hands-on fun still enjoyed by friends and family who gather at the table for some good old-fashioned board games. Follow along as we look back this week to see when and where many of these games originated, and why they’re still popular today.

THE OLDEST BOARD GAMES

• Did you know that some of the oldest board games in history came from India? It's here that both the games of chess and Pachesi began. Mancala came to us from Ghana, while backgammon originated in Mesopotamia. The world’s oldest playable board game where the rules are known is the Royal Game of Ur. It was created in what is now Iraq around 2500 BC.

• Game boards have been discovered all over the Middle East, Crete, and Sri Lanka. The most famous one was found in the Royal Tombs of Ur in ancient Iraq, from which the game gets its

TRIVIA NEWSFRONT

• When Marvin Glass was a kid in Chicago in the early 1900s, he paid little attention to schoolwork or his social life. He preferred crafts with paper, cardboard, scissors, and art supplies. He constructed castles and airplanes and fantasy characters. At the age of eight, he designed a toy submarine that fired wooden torpedoes. Later as a young man he moved into a small apartment with a roommate friend.

• His friend designed window dressings for storefronts for a living, and one day came home from work with the assignment to design some sort of toy that would capture the attention of passers-by. The two put their heads together, and came up with a device that would project the image of the Sunday comics on a wall. They were paid $500 for the rights to their creation, a princely sum for the middle of the Great Depression, but the company that manufactured it ended up earning over $30,000 from their idea. This ignited a fire in Glass. From then on he spent his life designing toys and selling the rights to companies for royalties on sales.

• Glass set up his own design factory, and his next creation was a hit. It was a Catholic Weather Chapel: when the weather was dry, a Sacred Heart popped out of the chapel; but when the weather was humid, Saint Barbara (patron saint of disasters) emerged.

disassembled and reassembled. It was a hit.

• Then there was the Haunted House game, which unfolded into a 3D Addams Family style mansion that stood upright. Each room had round holes for the player’s pegs. The owl spinner hooted every time it was spun, telling players how far they could advance their pegs as they progressed through rooms full of secret mechanical pop-up surprises such as vampires, skeletons, and ghosts, as they searched for the hidden treasure.

• The success of the Haunted House led to his biggest hit yet. He was inspired by a cartoon drawn by Rube Goldberg, which showed how to remove the cotton from a bottle of aspirin using a ridiculously convoluted contraption. Glass designed his own Rube Goldberg contraption using plastic parts set up on a game board: a crank rotated gears that caused a lever to move a stop sign so it hit a shoe which kicked a bucket causing a marble to roll down a staircase, enter a drainpipe, then nudge a rod with a hand that pushed a bowling ball off a ledge and into a bathtub then dropped through a hole, landing on a seesaw that launched a man backwards into a washtub that unbalanced a cage perched on top of a post so it dropped down and captured the mouse below. It was called Mouse Trap.

• Milton Bradley turned it down. Parker Brothers turned it down. Ideal Toy took it up. They couldn’t make it fast enough. Glass followed that with another hit: “Operation.”

• Marvin Glass died age 59 in 1974, having transformed the world of toys. □

1. MOVIES: What is the name of Scarlett and Rhett’s daughter in “Gone with the Wind”?

2. GEOGRAPHY: What body of water lies between Australia and New Zealand?

3. TELEVISION: Eric Camden is a minister on which TV dramedy?

4. CHEMISTRY: Which element has the Latin name stannum (Sn)?

5. LITERATURE: Which book is first written in C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series?

6. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What is the name of the bird logo on Twitter?

7. ANIMAL KINGDOM: How long does it take a sloth to digest food?

8. PSYCHOLOGY: What is the irrational fear represented by coulrophobia?

9. MYTHOLOGY: Which Greek god stared at his own reflection until he died?

10. INVENTIONS: What did Alessandro Volta invent?

Answers

• Many inventions followed. Some were hits, others not so much. There was a plastic chicken that laid plastic eggs when it was pressed down. Ten million of the Busy Biddee Chickens sold. Next was the Yakity-Yak Talking Teeth, the wind-up chattering dentures. Then there was the Merry-Go-Sips, the drinking cup containing a carousel of plastic cartoon animals that spun around when toddlers sucked their milk through the straw. The fake barf made from latex and bits of foam rubber, the doll that cried when its pacifier was removed, are but a few.

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• Now Glass was rolling. He was a charmer and a tyrant; a chain-smoking workaholic who demanded the same from others. When his marriage ended, it inspired Mr. Machine, a wind-up robot with a transparent plastic body that showed the inner workings of its gears as it marched forward, squawking. It could be

Contact your Tidbits representative immediately with changes or corrections.

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March 19, 2023 Vol. 19 - No. 12

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ROLFING:® How Does it Work?

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Call to schedule an appointment or for a free consultation:

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name. Back then, the game was likely called simply “the game of 20 squares.” Even King Tut’s senet board had this game etched into the reverse side. And, thanks to a curator at the British Museum, his translation of a cuneiform tablet written in Mesopotamia in 177 BC, tells us in detail what the game’s rules are.

• The game called Gioco dell’Oca, meaning Game of the Goose, was the first board game that was produced commercially. When Philip II of Spain received a copy as a gift from Duke Francesco de Medici sometime in the late 1500s, it became all the rage. Copies of the game dating between 1774 and the late 1800s include the rules in French, German and Italian.

KING TUT’S GAME

• When King Tut’s tomb was excavated in 1923, archaeologists found four board games among the treasures. One of them was recognized by the researchers because identical games had been found in other tombs and among other ruins.

• The game board had 30 squares. Hieroglyphs appeared on some of the squares, although which squares varied from game to game. Game pieces were variously cones or spools or figurines. Researchers knew that the game was called “senet” which means “passing” but the rules of the game eluded them.

• The oldest set dates to about 3000 BC, the time ancient Egypt was founded. Other excavations elsewhere showed that the same senet game was being played by Alexander the Great nearly 3,000 years later. Hieroglyphs of various ages depict the game being played, and ancient graffiti boasted about winning the game. Game boards were scratched into the floors of temples, carved in ancient wooden

loading docks on the Nile, and written about on a papyrus scroll. Artwork on the walls of Nefertari’s tomb showed her playing the game against an invisible opponent. The game is mentioned in the Book of the Dead which was written around the year 1250 BC.

• Use of the senet game seems to have tapered off after the fall of Rome, and the rules were lost to history. So perplexed were archaeologists about this enigmatic game that in 1946, researchers at the Metropolitan Museum of Art called in George Parker, founder of Parker Brothers game company, and asked him what he thought the rules of the game were. Parker invented his own set of rules, though it was all conjecture. Parker Brothers released a modern version of senet, which enjoyed moderate success and is still available today.

• Archaeologists excavating the ruins of Pompeii were amused to find a series of paintings on a wall that depicted two men playing a game of backgammon in a tavern, then getting into an argument over the game, then being kicked out by the innkeeper.

THE ADVENT OF BOARD GAMES

• One of the earliest commercially produced modern board games came out in England in 1800. It was called Mansion of Happiness, with the “mansion” being heaven, and players racing through the tribulations of life in order to get there. In 1860, Milton Bradley reworked it and released it as The Checkered Game of Life. Today it’s now known simply as The Game of Life.

In 1980, an American husband and wife team made a board game about scamming the government welfare programs. It was called "Public Assistance: Why Bother Working for a Living?" It was predictably soon banned by the U.S. government.

• The rules for backgammon were defined in the year 1743 by Edmond Hoyle, who published the rules of many games in a book originally entitled “Mr. Hoyle’s Treatises of Whist, Quadrille, Piquet, Chess and Back-Gammon.” It has now named simply “Hoyle’s Rules of Games.” It led to the common phrase, “according to Hoyle.”

• Board games increased in popularity in the early 1900s, when mass-production techniques allowed them to be made cheaply on a commercial scale, and transportation systems

distributed them easily to stores across the country.

Board Games: (from page one) by

MODERN GAMES

• Trivial Pursuit was the blockbuster sensation of the 1980s, selling 20 million copies in 1984, a year when top-selling Monopoly sold only three million copies (likely because most folks already had a Monopoly game). By 1986, one out of every four American homes owned a copy.

• “Snakes & Lattes” is a chain of board game cafes that opened in Toronto in 2010. Patrons pay a small fee to play board games with others while drinking coffee. The business was

Board Games: Turn to page 15

QUIZ BITS

1. What is the number one bestselling board game in America?

2. What is the second best-selling American board game?

(Answers page 16)

1.What’s

NUGGETS OF KNOWLEDGE

The Milton Bradley Company was about to go out of business during the Civil War when they got the idea of manufacturing pocket-size games that soldiers could easily carry with them, including checkers, chess, and backgammon. It saved their business and helped them become on of the biggest game manufacturers in the U.S.

2.What

1.VERNALEQUINOX

2.CROCUS

by Mary Hunt

By Lucie Winborne

* What’s in a gut bacterium? Possibly more than you might expect: Studies have shown that the types and amounts of such bacteria might influence your appetite, your food preferences and even the way nutrients are processed and stored in your body.

* In June 2022, the New York Public Library donated half a million books to kids under 18 so they could start their own personal book collections. Collecting and reading books has been found beneficial to learning, stress relief and even future success.

* And speaking of libraries, they’re not always just for books: The Buffalo Tool Library in Buffalo, New York, allows members to take out tools for home improvement, gardening and repair projects.

* Provincial law in Quebec prohibits a woman from taking her husband’s surname after marriage.

* Actor Morgan Freeman, after serving in the U.S. Air Force, got his first paid job in show business as a dancer at the 1964 World’s Fair.

* After having a double mastectomy in her senior years, the ever-outspoken Alice Lee Roosevelt Longworth, eldest child of President Theodore Roosevelt, took to referring to herself as “Washington’s only topless octogenarian.”

* Dolbear’s Law, which states the connection between air temperature and the rate at which crickets chirp, is accurate to within about one degree Fahrenheit for the field cricket.

Thought for the Day: “A champion is afraid of losing. Everyone else is afraid of winning.”

- Billie Jean King

(c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.

Know the Rules If You’re Going to Play the Game

STRATEGY: STOP FANTASIZING

Your credit card company doesn’t care about you. They want to win the game. When they increase your credit limit it’s not because you have achieved something noteworthy. They believe you respond well to flattery and they know how to pour it on. They want you to build your balance and pay only the minimum required payment each month.

STRATEGY: DON’T BE LATE

by Mary Hunt

It’s time to get it out in the open: Credit card companies are in it for the money. They are in business to make a profit. And it appears they are doing a bang-up job of it given information from Motley Fool that says card companies hauled in $176 billion in 2020. Wow. Imagine what that number will be for 2023.

If you own a credit card, you have chosen to participate in a kind of competition. And that’s OK, provided you know the rules of the game. It couldn’t hurt to study your competitor’s strategy.

Your opponent’s goal in this game is to develop you into a revolver -- industry lingo for one who carries a balance from month to month. Credit card companies reluctantly tolerate those of us they call deadbeats -- cardholders who always pay their balances in full and do not pay interest and fees. They hope that if we keep playing the game, eventually we’ll trip up and turn into revolvers.

If your win-loss record in the credit card game is embarrassingly pathetic, it might be because -- and forgive me for saying this -- you are ignorant. I want to help you to learn how to play the game and get into shape so you can even the score.

STRATEGY: KNOW THE RULES

Every credit card account has a specific set of rules about late fees (ouch!), over-limit fees (double ouch!!), grace period (you lose if it you carry a balance), billing methods, cash advances and so on. You can read them on the back of your monthly statement (look for small print, pale ink) or online. Now, do something you may have never done before: Read it.

If you don’t fully understand or if some rule is not disclosed on the statement, call customer service and let the robot know you need to speak with a human agent. Don’t be embarrassed to ask simple questions and don’t hang up until you are satisfied. Read your statement very carefully every month because the law allows your opponent to change the rules. Scrutinize every square millimeter and question anything you do not understand.

If you pay your bills the old-fashioned way, always use the preprinted envelope provided in your statement and do not add staples, paper clips or cute sticky notes. That will put your payment into a special pile to be processed manually, and you do not want that. If you have a message to convey, call customer service or mail it in a separate envelope.

Take Capital One for example. The last time I checked, this Virginia-based credit card issuer sorts and processes up to 600,000 customer payments each day. That takes 300 employees and lots of machines. It’s not someone with a letter opener. Any number of things can happen to delay your check arriving in time and being processed in a timely manner. Remember you are depending on something called the mail to get it there, so allow for inevitable delays.

If you use online banking, set up automatic payment for your credit card account. Then, watch it like a hawk. Make sure the payment goes through and is credited before the time it is due. Don’t assume anything. If you are hesitating to go auto because you live so close to the edge you are nervous about not having enough in the account at that specific moment, see this as a red flag.

STRATEGY: PAY EARLY

If you carry a balance, making your monthly payment early in the billing cycle (even before the stated due date on the billing statement) will save you money. Why? Because most credit card issuers use the average daily balance method to figure monthly interest or finance charges. If you make your monthly payment early, you reduce the daily balance for more days in that cycle.

* * *

Mary invites questions and comments at https://www.everydaycheapskate.com/contact/, “Ask Mary.” This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually. Mary Hunt is the founder of EverydayCheapskate. com, a frugal living blog, and the author of the book “Debt-Proof Living.”

COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS.COM

• The second book in history to be printed in the English language was about chess. William Caxton translated the manuscript from French into English in 1474, and then managed to have it printed. The title was, “The Game and Playe of the Chesse.” Two years later it was finally published in the French language.

• In 1925, a team of Russian researchers put the nation’s top-rated chess players through a series of psychological and intelligence tests to determine whether they possessed superior intellect. The results suggested that those who have exceptional knowledge about chess do not necessarily have exceptional brains.

• The modern-day chess set was standardized in 1849 by London game manufacturer John Jaques & Son. Called the Staunton design, it’s named after British chess champion Howard Staunton who endorsed the design just as global chess tournaments were becoming popular.

• Previously, different chess sets had various designs for different pieces, and it was easy to mistake a rook for a bishop or a bishop for a queen. The Staunton design made the weighted pieces instantly recognizable, from pawn to king. They were easily mass-produced, bringing the price down. In 1924 the world chess federation declared it to be the standard design.

• In 1918, chess Grand Master Ossip Bernstein was arrested by the Bolshevik secret police investigating “counter-revolutionary” crimes. As the firing squad lined up, a senior officer and chess enthusiast recognized Bernstein’s name. Privately not wanting the man’s life to have to end this way, he offered Bernstein a deal: They would play a game of chess, and if Bernstein won, he would win his freedom. However, if he lost or the game came to a draw, he would be shot along with the rest of the prisoners. Bernstein won easily and was released.

• At various times and in various places, the game of chess has been banned. Most recently, the Taliban outlawed it when they seized Afghanistan in the 1990s, arresting anyone caught playing it. In 2012, Saudi Arabia’s leaders declared it forbidden.

• The police raided a chess tournament in Cleveland in 1973, arresting the tournament director and confiscating the chess sets on charges of allowing gambling (by awarding cash prizes to winners) and possession of gambling devices (which consisted of the chess sets). Today there are over 1,000 international chess tournaments annually, plus innumerable local tournaments.

• Netflix’s adaptation of “The Queen’s Gambit,” from Walter Tevis’ novel, was released in 2020 starring Anya Taylor-Joy as prodigy Beth Harmon. Chess consultants Garry Kasparov and Bruce Pandolfini created every game for the series. The actors played every move of each game whether the game was shown onscreen or not.

• Chess is played at least once a year by 15% of Americans, 43% of Russians, and 70% of the populace of India.

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• For any given situation in chess, there are an average of 35 possible retaliatory moves.

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• There are over 1,000 different opening moves.

• The record number of moves made without a single capture of a single game piece was set in 1992, with one hundred moves made in a match between masters Thornton and Walker.

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• Germany’s Emanuel Lasker retained the World Chess Championship title longer than any other player ever: 26 years and 337 days.

• In 1985, the Soviet player Garry Kasparov became the youngest World Chess Champion ever at the age of 22 years and 210 days.

by Dana Jackson

Q: How is Bruce Willis doing since he was diagnosed with a neurological disorder? I’ve enjoyed his work ever since seeing him in “Moonlighting,” with Cybill Shepherd. -- P.I.

A: It’s hard to believe it’s been 38 years since Bruce Willis debuted as charming P.I. David Addison Jr., opposite his boss, former model Maddie Hayes, played by Cybill Shepherd. The two quarreled both on screen and off, but their chemistry was a hit with viewers, making the show last five seasons. Willis went on to be a mega movie star in the “Die Hard” franchise, among other films, but last March, it was announced that he was retiring from acting at age 67 after being diagnosed with a cognitive disorder called aphasia.

Sadly, in February of this year, his wife, Emma Heming Willis, announced that his condition has progressed and that they now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia. Fortunately, he has a wonderful support system that includes his ex-wife, actress Demi Moore, and their children, along with his two daughters with Emma. ***

Q: I only recently started watching the family saga “Succession” on HBO. What drew me in was the opening theme music. Is it an original piece for the show? -- A.K.

A: When composer Nicholas Britell was interviewed on the “CBS News Sunday Morning” show, he said that when he was a young boy, he asked his mother for piano lessons after hearing

the theme to the movie “Chariots of Fire.” This didn’t lead him down a straight path to Hollywood, however. He worked on Wall Street for a while before quitting, to chase his dream.

He told CBS he wanted the theme about a dysfunctional wealthy family to sound a little off: “The pianos are out of tune with each other. The strings are a little bit off. This should feel kind of like something’s a little wrong here.” His instincts were right, and it led to him winning an Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music.

Before being hired for “Succession,” he already had an excellent reputation in the industry, having earned Oscar nominations for three different movie scores: “Moonlight,” “If Beale Street Could Talk” and “Don’t Look Up.”

The fourth and final season of “Succession” returns to HBO on March 26. In the meantime, you can hear more of Britell’s creations with the

Disney+ series “Andor” and in the upcoming liveaction film “Mufasa: The Lion King.” ***

Q: What happened to Taylor Kinney on “Chicago Fire”? Did he leave the show? -- G.M.

A: On a recent episode of the hit NBC series “Chicago Fire,” it was mentioned that Taylor Kinney’s character, Lt. Kelly Severide, had gone to Alabama for arson investigation training. Offscreen, the actor has chosen to take a hiatus from the show for personal reasons. He’s still in the credits, though, and Capt. Tom Van Meter (Tim Hopper) assured Chief Boden (Eamonn Walker) that Severide isn’t “planning a transfer.”

Kinney has been with the show since 2012, so hopefully, he just needs a little R&R and will return before the season ends.

Send me your questions at NewCelebrityExtra@gmail.com, or write me at KFWS, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803.

(c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.

1. Creed III (PG-13) Michael B. Jordan, Tessa

1. Split (PG-13) James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy

2. Rings ............................... (PG-13) Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz, Alex Roe

3. A Dog’s Purpose ..................(PG) Josh Gad, Dennis Quaid

4. Hidden Figures ....................(PG) Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer

5. La La Land .................... (PG-13) Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone

6. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (R) Milla Jovovich, Iain Glen

7. Sing (PG) animated

8. Lion (PG-13) Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman

9. The Space Between Us (PG-13) Gary Oldman, Asa Butterfield

10. xXx: Return of Xander Cage (PG-13) Vin Diesel, Donnie Yen

© 2017 King Features Synd., Inc.

Bruce

Good Recipes from Crunchy Mustard Salmon

Using panko rather than regular breadcrumbs helps keep the topping thin for that perfect crunch.

1 pound green beans, trimmed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

1 clove garlic, crushed with press

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

4 salmon filets

3 tablespoon Dijonnaise

1. Heat oven to 400 F.

2. Toss, on jelly-roll pan, trimmed green beans, olive oil and 1/8 teaspoon each salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix panko (Japanese bread crumbs), parsley, grated lemon peel, garlic and 1/8 teaspoon each salt and pepper.

4. Place thawed salmon on foil-lined jellyroll pan. Brush 3 tablespoons Dijonnaise on top

of fish, then press even layer of panko mixture on top.

5. Roast both fish and green beans 12 minutes or until fish just turns opaque throughout.

 Makes 4 servings.

Lemon-Parsley Rice

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup water

1 cup brown rice

Salt

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 teaspoon grated fresh lemon peel

1. In 3-quart saucepan, heat broth and water to boiling over high heat. Stir in rice and 1/4 teaspoon salt; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer, until rice is tender and all liquid has been absorbed, 40 to 45 minutes.

2. Remove pan from heat and let stand 5 minutes.

3. To serve, fluff rice with fork. Stir in parsley and lemon peel. Makes 4 servings.

 Each serving: About 175 calories, 4g protein, 36g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 1g total fat (0g saturated), 0mg cholesterol, 175mg sodium.

* * *

For thousands of triple-tested recipes, visit our Web site at www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefinder/.

The future looks bright

Donald Duck by Walt

By John Allen

Brett Koth

Tidbits Word Search

"Battling Boards"

MUSCLE CARS

Cody’s Corner

Dog Talk with Uncle Matty

By Matthew Margolis

Dogs and Seniors

“I bought my mom a Yorkie for her birthday.”

“Yorkie, huh? Cute breed. How old is your mom?”

“She’s 93.”

And so began the story that, all told, included four trips to the hospital in five months for Mom, as she repeatedly tripped over, tangled with and stepped on her rambunctious gift.

Yeah... Happy birthday!

The potential benefits of pairing the elderly with pets are immeasurable, but clearly there are common sense factors to consider.

Large dogs can quickly and easily knock a frail person to the ground. Hyperactive or herding breeds require a lot of exercise and strength to control. Longhaired dogs tend to shed more, creating extra housework and requiring frequent grooming. Many purebreds and older dogs have health problems of their own, meaning frequent trips to the vet, medication and special care.

Basically, any dog can be a handful in the wrong hands -- or under the wrong feet.

Small dogs tend to get underfoot. Remember Paula Abdul? Made famous by her talent as a dancer, Abdul lost her balance and fell on her face trying to avoid stepping on her Chihuahua.

Toy dogs send their senior owners to the emergency room with broken hips, broken arms, broken legs... And a broken bone can lead to major complications for an elderly person -- physical, psychological and financial complications that can take a lasting toll on the individual’s quality of life.

This is why training and foresight are essential.

Foresight means you’ve considered the risks outlined above and determined that you are able to successfully navigate them. In giving the gift of a dog to an elderly person, foresight means asking hard questions:

--Will the dog outlive the person? Most dogs live about 15 years. If the recipient is 92, who will take care of the dog once that person is gone? A shelter should not be the answer.

Cody's Corner: Turn to Page 10

"We must reject the idea that every time a law is broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions."

-- Ronald Reagan

(CryptoQuip Solution on page

14

TIDBITS GOES JOY RIDING IN

SENIOR NEWS LINE

by Matilda Charles

Seniors Raising Grandchildren

A show of hands, please -- how many of us are suddenly raising our grandchildren just when we were about to retire? Or maybe after we've already retired from the workforce and have found ways to live satisfied lives in acceptable comfort with fewer resources and less income? There are something like three million of us doing just that.

It wasn't that long ago that we were on our own if a family situation fell apart and it became necessary for us to take in our grandchildren and raise them. But have you heard of a law entitled The Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act? It provides hope for those of us in this category to gain some assistance, and it's one that is supported by 40 different advocacy organizations.

The program has created an advisory council working under the Department of Health and Human Services to determine what's needed to help the children when it comes to health,

The Art of DESIGN

by Joseph Publillones

Country Houses

For many, living in country houses is as common as living in any city. For some it might be a second home or the dream of a retreat from the bustle and rush of urban life. As with any home, a country house can encompass all family activities or just serve as a backdrop for casual entertaining and relaxing with family and friends. Country houses range from big to small, formal to informal, historic to new or newly renovated.

Country houses needn’t be in another state or four or five hours away. They can be as accessible as you want them to be -- with just enough psychological distance to disconnect from your daily routine and connect you and your family to a slower and more intimate lifestyle. Country houses also come in a variety of styles, from those that hark back to colonial America, to fantastical French provincial and mellow Mediterranean revival.

Country homes for the most part require a rural setting. Some houses don a rustic branch fence around the acreage with the house sitting in the middle of the land, while others embrace an edge of the parcel for efficiency of deliveries, etc.

For those seeking a country home, usually the desire is to allude to some simple and casual lifestyle -- there might be a small garden to grow your own vegetables and fruits, capturing the fascinating farm-to-table concept now sweeping through America. Farm tables are all the rage, from heavy vintage Spanish style to the new de-

nutrition and education, as well as help with our own mental and physical health. The council has conducted research how to raise children, locate resources and so on, with an emphasis on children affected by drug addiction.

Relative caregivers may apply for free or low-cost health and dental insurance for the children they are raising through the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which provides health coverage to eligible children through both Medicaid and separate CHIP programs.

If you're hooked up with Social Services, give them a call and ask what help you can now get from this new law. They are supposed to provide a one-stop source for contacts and information.

Meanwhile, there are other places to seek help. Start with Grandfamilies.org [www.grandfamilies.org], which has information and support for those who are raising their grandchildren. Look for the state fact sheets to see what is available in your state. Look at the Search Laws section to make sure you know the local laws. Also go to aarp.org and do a search for "grandparents raising grandchildren."

Matilda Charles regrets that she cannot personally answer reader questions, but will incorporate them into her column whenever possible. Send email to columnreply2@ gmail.com.

Final

(c) KingFeaturesSyndicate

signs at Restoration Hardware.

Furnishing a country home can be quite fun. Depending on your stylistic preference, decorating your home can be either formal or relaxed. A country home does not mandate any specific type of decor. A country home can show off an owner’s love of contemporary furnishings, as well as a love of antiques. Of course, the decor should have a point of view, but your home’s history or your family’s background or ethnic heritage might serve as inspiration.

Because most people are in search of comfort in a country home, the decor shouldn’t be too precious. You should expect people to want to relax and prop their feet up on the coffee table or on an ottoman. Wood finishes, therefore, should not be too pristine. Favor the rustic, distressed woods such as cedar or knotty pine, or worn painted finishes that will do well over time as they weather even more.

By all means, consider doing slipcovers for furniture. This way you can change them with each season or as they need to be laundered. A bit of serendipity is expected in the country. Mismatched linens are absolutely a good way to go in bedrooms. Sure, you can use a straw hat as a shade for that lamp you don’t know why you bought. Transform a pair of boots into lamps, or maybe it’s time to use your aunt’s old furs as pillow covers. Antlers that are maybe frowned upon in the city are A-OK in the country. As a matter of fact, eclectic is definitely "in" in country furnishings. “Anything goes” is a good mantra for decorating a country house. * * *

Final

Cody’s Corner (from page 9)

--Can the recipient take care of the dog? Walk the dog? Remember to feed and water the dog? If not, who will?

--Can the person drive the dog to the vet and take charge of any medical needs that arise? If not, who will?

--Does the person want the responsibility of a dog? After all, the point of a gift is to bring joy, not stress, to the life of the recipient.

After foresight comes training. Training prevents accidents -- for the person and the pooch. No dog enjoys being run over by a wheelchair. And a dog properly trained to sit and stay will not only be out of harm’s way, but also will be the kind of calm, reassuring presence that would benefit an elderly owner.

The potential benefits are many and not to be overlooked: companionship, protection, the establishment of a daily routine, the great feeling of having a purpose and being needed, not to mention the good health rewards of exercise, playfulness, the smile a dog brings to the face and the relaxation induced by stroking his fur.

But before you give the gift of canine companionship, make sure the hard questions are asked and answered. And don’t underestimate the need for and the value of professional training.

After suggesting to her well-meaning son that it makes no sense to give a 93-year-old woman an untrained puppy, he indignantly replied, “Who has the money for professional dog training?”

Answer me this: Who has the money for four hospital stays in almost as many months?

Woof! * * *

Dog trainer Matthew “Uncle Matty” Margolis is the co-author of 18 books about dogs, a behaviorist, a popular radio and television guest, and the host of the PBS series “WOOF! It’s a Dog’s Life!” Read all of Uncle Matty’s columns at www.creators.com, and visit him at www.unclematty.com.

COPYRIGHT 2012 CREATORS.COM

Joseph Pubillones is the owner of Joseph Pubillones Interiors, an award-winning interior design firm based in Palm Beach, Fla. To find out more about Joseph Pubillones, or to read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY

by Tom Margenau

Disability Benefits for Senior Citizens

Many older folks are asking me about getting disability benefits from Social Security. I’ll offer some tips on how to go about doing that in a minute. But first, here are some ground rules that vary depending on your age.

If you are over your full retirement age, forget about it. Once you reach that age, disability benefits are no longer payable. Or to put that another way, the retirement benefit you are getting pays the same rate as any disability benefits you might be due.

If you are under age 62 and disabled, then you should definitely file for Social Security disability. There is information about how to do that later in this column.

If you are over 62 and not yet on Social Security, then you should file for retirement and disability benefits at the same time. The Social Security Administration can start your retirement payments right away. Then if your disability claim is eventually approved, they will switch you to the higher disability rate.

But if you are between age 62 and your full retirement age, and are already getting Social Security retirement benefits, you may or may not be eligible for disability payments. Or to be more precise, the closer you are to your full retirement age, the smaller your disability boost will be -- and you may decide it’s just not worth all the hassle.

That’s because your disability rate (normally equal to your full retirement age benefit) must be reduced for every month you’ve already received a Social Security retirement check. And you will eventually reach a point where you simply gain very little by filing for Social Security disability.

Here is a quick example of that. Sam filed for retirement benefits at age 62. His benefit was reduced roughly one-half of 1% for each month he was under his full retirement age. He is getting 75% of his FRA rate.

At 65, he had a heart attack. If he files for disability benefits and if his claim is approved, his regular disability rate, again equal to his FRA benefit, must be reduced by about one-half of 1% for each month he’s already received a retirement benefit. At age 65, he’s received 36 retirement checks, so his disability rate must be cut by about 18%. So instead of a 100% disability rate, he’d get about 82%. Sam would have to decide if it is worth all the hassle of filing for disability just to get bumped up from his current 75% rate to 82%.

I’ve used the phrase, “all the hassle,” twice already. Let me tell you what the hassle is by giving you a quick rundown of the Social Security disability application process.

First, you will fill out a bunch of papers. The primary one is a form that asks you to describe your disability and how it prevents you from working. That latter point is the key. You don’t get disability benefits simply because you have some kind of physical or mental impairment. You get disability benefits because you have a physical or mental impairment that keeps you from working, so you must describe in detail how your disability prevents you from doing your job.

That same form also asks you to list your medical providers. The government can’t make a decision about your case without having the evidence to back up your claim, so make sure you thoroughly list the names, addresses, phone numbers and any other contact information you have for every doctor, hospital, clinic or other medical professional from whom you’ve received treatment.

The Social Security Administration contracts out disability decisions to an agency in each state that is staffed with doctors and other medically trained personnel. They are the folks who decide if you meet the legal definition of “disability” for Social Security purposes. In a nutshell, the rules say your impairment must be one that will keep you from doing any kind of work for which you are suited and one that is expected to last at least 12 months.

There is a pretty good chance you will be asked to go to a Social Security doctor for additional evaluation. Make sure you don’t miss that appointment.

Your disability claim will usually take about three months to process. If it’s approved, you’ll start getting disability checks six months after they say your disability began. (That six-month waiting period is built into the law.)

If your claim is denied, you will have to decide if it is worth it to appeal that decision. If you decide to do that, the first appeal is usually just a review of your case by the state agency that made the first decision. If your claim is denied again, then you can file for a hearing before a Social Security judge. Because of backlogs, those hearings can take about a year to set up.

By the way, the “word on the street” is that all disability claims are denied the first time and that it takes a year or more to get a final decision. That’s just not true. About 35% of all disability claims are approved the first time in that 3-month window I mentioned earlier. Another 15% or so are approved after the first appeal. It’s only those claims that end up in the hearing judge’s backlog that take a long time to process.

Do you need a lawyer to handle your disability claim? Quick answer: not right away. You certainly don’t need legal help to file a disability claim or to file for the first review if the claim is denied. But if you find yourself heading for a hearing before an SSA judge, many folks feel more comfortable having a lawyer there to represent them. Just be aware that they are usually going to take about 25% of any back pay benefits you receive if they win the case for you.

So, to sum up, if you are a senior citizen with physical and/or mental health issues, you may or may not be eligible for Social Security disability benefits depending on the factors explained in this column.

If you have a Social Security question, Tom Margenau has two books with all the answers. One is called “Social Security -- Simple and Smart: 10 Easyto-Understand Fact Sheets That Will Answer All Your Questions About Social Security.” The other is “Social Security: 100 Myths and 100 Facts.” You can find the books at Amazon.com or other book outlets. To find out more about Tom Margenau and to read past columns and see features from other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

1. The book of Galatians is in the a) Old testament b) New testament c) Neither

2. In how many verses is the specific name of Satan used in the Old Testament? a) None b) One c) Ten d) Fifteen

3. From Genesis 36, which city was the home base of Esau? a) Petra b) Gilgal c) Beth-Shan d) Perga

4. Which of these persons hid in the cleft of a rock while God passed by? a) Elijah b) Moses c) Abraham d) Jacob

5. From Esther 5, who/what was Zeresh? a) King of Pershia b) Rich valley c) Wife of Haman d) Rapid river

6. In 1 Peter, to what animal is Satan compared? a) Wolf b) Angry serpent c) Vermin d) Lion

Sharpen your understanding of scripture with Wilson Casey's latest book, "Test Your Bible Knowledge," now available in stores and online.

(Answers on page 16)

For comments or more Bible Trivia go to www.TriviaGuy.com

Inc.

Inc.

NAC Supplement Helps Curb Cravings to Smoke

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’d like to have your thoughts on what value the NAC supplement may have in reducing cravings for marijuana or nicotine?

I’m 73 and have been smoking marijuana daily since I was 21. Now I’m quitting for health reasons. I’ve been taking 1,000 mg of NAC every morning, as I’ve read it helps with cravings to use the substance. It also seems to be used for anxiety and other mental health issues, lung and heart problems ... the list goes on.

I’m not going to smoke it anymore, but I’m just wondering what your take is on this, as I’m thinking of sending it to my 38-year-old son who’s been addicted to vaping/cigarettes since he was a young man. He has ADD, anxiety and problems with breath capacity, and he may have heart problems as well. He’s smoking to relieve his ADD and anxiety. And, of course, he’d like to quit, but it’s so hard to do so.

Can the NAC supplement help me with the urge to smoke? I think it has reduced the cravings, but how would I even know? -- M.M.

ANSWER: N-acetyl cysteine, a precursor to the amino acid cysteine, has several roles in medicine, as you say. When inhaled, it breaks up mucous, which helps people cough out thick sputum. When used intravenously, it’s a specific antidote to acetaminophen (Tylenol) overdose. It has been used in these capacaties for years and is safe and well-tolerated.

But, in addition, there is data that shows oral NAC (sold as a dietary supplement) may have a role in helping people overcome addictions to tobacco, with small trials showing a reduction in smoking as well as the relapse rate in people using NAC compared with a placebo. In people who want to reduce their cannabis use, most of the data on NAC has been on younger people (adolescents and young adults), but also shows some benefit. More stringent trials are ongoing.

It is very difficult for one single person (patient or physician) to tell whether it’s a “real” effect or a “placebo” effect that is causing the reduction in cravings. Only large-scale, placebocontrolled trials can show with confidence whether the treatment is more effective than a placebo.

But, since the supplement is inexpensive and highly safe, and since a third-party lab found that the brands of NAC sold at reputable stores are what they say they are, I say it might be helpful.

However, there are many other products that are proven to be safe and effective to help with quitting smoking, ranging from group tobacco cessation classes, to nicotine replacement therapy, to prescription medications like varenicline and bupropion -- all of which have many years of proven clinical efficacy.

Finally, there are a lot of people with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder who are not getting appropriate treatment as adults. Getting treatment by an expert in ADD might make quit-

ting smoking easier and may also improve many other areas of functioning for your son.

*

Dr. Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to ToYourGoodHealth@med.cornell.edu.

VETERANS POST  

by Freddie Groves

VA Cemetery Association Ranks High

On the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) the Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Cemetery Association was given the highest score ever received by any goods and services organization that ACSI covers. And not for the first time. This recent rating marks the seventh time in a row that the cemetery association has come in first in a survey covering over 400 U.S. corporations providing everything from utilities, health care and insurance to restaurants, travel and manufacturing ... and cemetery services.

That’s saying a lot. Given the nature of cemeteries in general and what they provide, for a cemetery association to be listed at the top of satisfaction surveys so many times is amazing, because there are many possible areas for unhappiness.

The VA’s National Cemetery Administration provides services to the families of veterans at 121 locations. These services include burial, headstones and markers, medallions, military honors and more. In one year alone, last year, the NCA buried over 145,000 veterans and family members. To determine if a veteran is eligible for VA burial benefits, go to www.cem.va.gov. Look for information on types of discharge, applying for a burial allowance and services provided.

If you’ve lost a veteran, are you familiar with the Veterans Legacy Memorial? It’s a digital platform with over 4.5 million veterans listed where friends and families can post biographies, documents and photos of their veteran. Each individual bio includes branch of service, dates of birth and death, war period, rank and more. The profiles can also be emailed and posted to Facebook and Twitter. (Unfortunately, Arlington National Cemetery is not included in this memorial.) To find the memorial, go to www.vlm.cem.va.gov

If you are a veteran who might be eligible for burial in a national cemetery, consider planning in advance. Search for “Pre-need eligibility” on the www.cem.va.gov website.

An amusing note: While the NCA received a satisfaction score of 97%, the overall rate for all government agencies was 66%. The Department of the Treasury, of course, came in last.

* * *

Freddy Groves regrets that he cannot personally answer reader questions, but will incorporate them into his column whenever possible. Send email to columnreply2@gmail.com.

-- by Jim Miller

DEAR SAVVY SENIOR: I have been taking care of my elderly father for over a year, and because I can only work parttime it’s taking a toll on my finances. Are there any resources you know about that can help family caregivers get paid for providing this help? -- Seeking Support

Dear Seeking: Caring for an elder parent can be challenging in many ways, but it can be especially difficult financially, especially if you have to miss work to provide needed care. Fortunately, there are a number of government programs and other tips that may be able to help you monetarily while you care for your dad. Here are some options to explore:

Medicaid Assistance

All 50 states and the District of Columbia offer self-directed Medicaid services for long-term care. These programs let states grant waivers that allow income-qualified individuals to manage their own long-term home-care services. In some states, that can include hiring a family member to provide care.

Benefits, coverage, eligibility and rules differ from state to state. Program names also vary. What’s called “consumer directed care” in one state, may be called “participant-directed services,” “in-home supportive services” or “cash and counseling” in another. Contact your state Medicaid program to ask about its options or to start the sign-up process.

Veterans Benefits

If your dad is a military veteran, there are several different VA programs he may be eligible for that provide financial assistance to family caregivers, including:

● Veteran-Directed Care: Available in most states, this program provides a needsbased monthly budget for long-term care services. (VA.gov/geriatrics/pages/Veteran-Directed_Care.asp)

● Aid & Attendance or Housebound

benefits: These programs provide a monthly payment to veterans and survivors who receive a VA pension and who either need assistance with activities of daily living (i.e., bathing, dressing, using the bathroom), or are housebound. (VA.gov/pension/aid-attendance-housebound)

● Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers: This provides a monthly stipend to family members who serve as caregivers for veterans who need assistance with daily living activities because of an injury or illness sustained in the line of duty. (Caregiver.va.gov/support/support_ benefits.asp)

Other Options

Or, if you’re paying for in-home care or adult day care for your dad so you can work, you might qualify for the Dependent Care Tax Credit which can be worth as much as $1,050. To claim this credit, you’ll need to fill out IRS Form 2441 (IRS.gov/pub/irs-pdf/ f2441.pdf) when you file your federal return.

Final Changes DUE:

If your dad has some savings or other assets, discuss the possibility of him paying you for the care you provide, or talk to your siblings to see if they can chip in.

If they agree, consider drafting a short-written contract that details the terms of your work and payment arrangements, so everyone involved knows what to expect. A contract will also help avoid potential problems should your dad ever need to apply for Medicaid for nursing home care.

Also, check to see if your dad has any long-term care insurance that covers inhome care. If he does, in some cases those benefits may be used to pay you.

Tax Breaks

There are also tax credits and deductions you may be eligible for as your dad’s caregiver that can help.

ADVERTISING PROOF

For example, if your dad lives with you and you’re paying at least half of his living expenses, and his gross income was less than $4,400 (in 2022) not counting his Social Security, you can claim him as a dependent on your taxes and get a $500 tax credit.

If you can’t claim him as a dependent, you may still be able to get a tax deduction if you’re paying more than half his living expenses including medical and long-term care costs, and they exceed 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income. You can include your own medical expenses in calculating the total. To see which medical expenses you can deduct, see IRS Publication 502 at IRS.gov/ pub/irs-pdf/p502.pdf

by Anne McCollam Creators

Porcelain Dishes Are the Berries

Q: Enclosed is a photo of a delicate berry dish set that was given to my husband, who is now 88 years old, by his grandmother many years ago. The large bowl measures over nine inches in diameter, and the four individual bowls are more than five inches in diameter.

The set is decorated with white flowers, pale yellow soft orange flowers and green leaves. The scalloped edges are green with gold trim, and the set is in perfect condition.

Marked on the back of each dish are a crown and a crest and the word “Bavaria.” They all have the number “1796,” and the master dish has the number “69,” and the individual ones have the number “58.”

Thank you for whatever information you can give me.

Q: I have never seen any appraisals of clothing in your column, but if you can, I would like to know about the following:

For Christmas 1959, I received a black cashmere cardigan sweater. It has beading around the neck and halfway down the front. I have enclosed a copy of the original label that is still in the sweater. I have never worn it, so it is in mint condition.

I hope you can tell if my sweater has any value.

Italian designer, Elsa Schiaparelli, had salons in Paris and New York.

A: Elsa Schiaparelli was born in Italy in 1890. She became one of the world’s most famous fashion designers in the 20th century. French designer, Coco Chanel, was one of her competitors. Many of Schiaparelli’s designs were inspired by surrealistic artists, including Salvador Dali, Man Ray and Giacometti.

She created both clothing and jewelry and had several perfume lines. Schiaparelli had fashion houses in Paris and New York. She died in 1973. Her vintage sweaters are popular, and yours would probably fetch anywhere from $175 to $400.

* * * Antiques expert and columnist Anne McCollam has recently retired and no longer receives inquiries nor answers reader letters. Due to the popularity of her column, this publication will continue to reprint previous columns of interest to our readers.

To find out more about Anne McCollam and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com

COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS.COM

A: Bavaria was the location of many porcelain factories in the 19th and early 20th centuries. A great deal of the factories included their name with their trademarks. Unfortunately some didn’t, and that makes it sometimes impossible to identify the maker.

Porcelain berry sets included a master bowl and usually had four to six individual bowls. Most were decorated with transfer print designs rather than hand painted.

“1796” refers to the set design and “69” indicates that it is the design of the master bowl, and “58” shows the dish is an individual bowl.

Your berry bowl set was made around 1900 and would probably be worth in the neighborhood $150 to $175.

Puzzle Solutions

What could you call the overhead money needed to maintain a moving stairway?

costs.

SOLUTION GO FIGURE

* On March 24, 1882, German scientist Robert Koch discovered the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis. Regarded today as the “father of modern bacteriology,” Koch was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1905.

* On March 20, 1922, Hubert Work gave an order that all American homes need to be equipped with an item that the majority of us undoubtedly take for granted today: a mailbox. Work was the country’s U.S. Postmaster General, and failure to comply with the order carried a penalty of giving up one’s mail delivery.

* On March 21, 1928, President Calvin Coolidge presented Charles Lindbergh with the Congressional Medal of Honor for “displaying heroic courage and skill as a navigator, at the risk of his life, by his nonstop flight in his airplane, the Spirit of St. Louis, from New York City to Paris, France, 20-21 May 1927. Lindbergh not only achieved the greatest individual triumph of any American citizen but demonstrated that travel across the ocean by aircraft was possible.”

* On March 23, 1973, Yoko Ono was granted permanent residence in the United States. However, the good news did not extend to her husband, former Beatle John Lennon. He was issued a 60-day notice to leave the country.

* On March 22, 1978, Karl Wallenda, founder of the Flying Wallendas, fell from a tightrope 10 stories to his death during a promotional appearance for the Pan American Circus. The 73-year-old acrobat was crossing between the two towers of the Condado Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

* On March 25, 1995, Howard G. (Ward) Cunningham, an American computer programmer and pioneer in both design patterns and extreme programming, introduced the wiki, or “user-editable website.” Today, Wikipedia is the world’s most wellknown and widely used wiki.

(c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.

"Before you start play today, the club manager says you first have to settle up on this sod company bill from your last game."

Porcelain berry set was made in Bavaria.

Board Games (from page 3)

so popular that they opened a corollary store called Snakes and Lagers, and then expanded into Chicago and Arizona.

• Similar stores have opened worldwide, including a chain of 130 storefronts in Seoul, South Korea, where they rent out a selection of over 1,000 board games by the hour, while also renting out the tables by the hour, and also selling refreshments on the side.

PARTING TRIVIA

• The phrase “back to square one” was inspired by Chutes and Ladders, also called Snakes and Ladders.

• The word “backgammon” comes from the words “back” and “game.”

• Milton Bradley once published a game called The Sinking of the Titanic, which caused such outrage that the name was changed to Abandon Ship a year later.

• To prevent Boggle players from using a certain swear word, the letters F and K only appear once on the same cube

• The prisoner on the jail space in Monopoly has a name: Jake the Jailbird.

• The “patient” in Operation is named “Cavity Sam.” For the game’s 40th anniversary in 2003, Americans were asked to vote for a new ailment for Cavity Sam: either a growling stomach, tennis elbow, or brain freeze. The winner was brain freeze, and players must now remove an ice cream cone from Cavity Sam’s brain.

• Back in the early ‘80s, a young waiter in Seattle, whenever he had downtime between dining customers, would choose a word from the dictionary at random and draw it for others to guess what it was. The result was Pictionary.

• While traditional Scrabble sets come with wooden tiles with grooved letters, these tiles aren’t used in high-level tournaments. That’s because players have been caught “brailling” while choosing tiles by feeling for a smooth surface, a sure sign that it's a valuable blank. □

Game Changers

by Jason Jenkins

STAN SMITH’S TENNIS CLASS

Deadly Headly

A good finish should have the left leg straight, the right thigh up close to the left leg, the right foot up on the toe, and the upper body arching back slightly. The trick is that the hips are now “tucked under” the upper body or the stomach is pushed forward. Many beginners, or players who don’t have good core strength, will finish with their hips pushed out behind their upper body. Learn to correct the finish by tucking the hips under or pushing your belt buckle forward in order to feel the correct position. Good leg work will assist in correct hip positioning as well.

There are several movements in the very beginning of the golf swing that can be quite detrimental to the success of the rest of the swing. One of these deadly moves is when the head moves toward the target as a result of poor body movement or weight shift. As a matter of fact, no great player in the history of golf has ever moved their head toward the target in the takeaway.

The takeaway should be a culmination of club, arm, shoulder, and body movements away from the target. The head does not have to move more than a few inches, but it should never go against the grain of the club and arm movement.

To get a better awareness of your own takeaway, place something on the ground in front of you where it aligns with the shadow of your head (left ear preferred). Watch your shadow to see that you don’t move toward the target!

When I work with a lot of beginning to intermediate players, the finish position requires extra attention. The body is contorting into an unusual position and needs to be balanced to be effective. Advanced players take the finish position for granted, especially when it comes to the small arch in the lower back.

Tuck It Under

Play Better Golf with JACK NICKLAUS

42390 Bob Hope Drive Ste. 1B 760-797-8496

HOURS:

2. GEOGRAPHY: What body of water lies between Australia and New Zealand?

3. TELEVISION: Eric Camden is a minister on which TV dramedy?

4. CHEMISTRY: Which element has the Latin name stannum (Sn)?

5. LITERATURE: Which book is first written in C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series?

6. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What is the name of the bird logo on Twitter?

7. ANIMAL KINGDOM: How long does it take a sloth to digest food?

8. PSYCHOLOGY: What is the irrational fear represented by coulrophobia?

9. MYTHOLOGY: Which Greek god stared at his own reflection until he died?

GO FIGURE!

10. INVENTIONS: What did Alessandro Volta invent? Answers

Monday & Tuesday;

by Linda Thistle

1. Bonnie Blue Butler.

2. Tasman Sea.

The idea of Go Figure is to arrive at the figures given at the bottom and right-hand columns of the diagram by following the arithmetic signs in the order they are given (that is, from left to right and top to bottom). Use only the numbers below the diagram to complete its blank squares and use each of the nine numbers

3. “7th Heaven.”

4. Tin.

5. “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.”

6. Larry.

7. An average of 16 days, and up to 30 days.

8. Fear of clowns.

9. Narcissus.

© 2023 King Features Synd., Inc. SERVICE, 32803 800-708-7311 EXT. 257 1. (B) New testament 2. (D) Fifteen 3. (A) Petra 4. (B) Moses 5. (C) Wife of Haman 6. (D) Lion