Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/147363
Wednesday, July 31, 2013 – Daily News 3B FEATURES Reader fed up with pressure to have kids Scott's grandmother's 80th Dear Annie: My husbirthday, and his sisters have band, ''Scott,'' and I have told me that if they don't see been married for three a bump, they'll lock us in the years, and our families keep closet and not let us out until asking when we're going to I'm pregnant. I no longer have children. It's all they want to attend, and Scott talk about. feels trapped. I'm at the end I just became a licensed of my politeness rope. What physician's assistant, and Scott was accepted into an Annie's should I do? — Leave Us Alone Ivy League doctoral proDear Leave: You have to gram. No congratulations or kudos for either of us. by Kathy Mitchell be more assertive and less Scott's friends held a small and Marcy Sugar nice to these amazingly rude, intrusive people. Tell celebratory barbeque, and we invited his sisters and parents. them, ''We're sorry if you are disapAll they did was talk about how pointed, but the topic of pregnancy we'll never have time for kids with is not under discussion. Scott and I such busy careers. At my sister's will decide when to start a family. If bridal shower, my aunt asked you persist in bringing up the subwhether Scott and I were having ject, we will be forced to leave.'' fertility problems. I pointed out that Then ignore all angry comments in I'm only 28, and she laughed and response and leave if you need to. Every time. said, ''Better hurry up!'' Dear Annie: My sister recently Scott and I have a lot of student debt. We spent a lot of time apart died, and her son and daughter both during our studies and are now spoke at the funeral service. Her son finally able to make time for each said lovely things, but my niece was other and start putting away for the quite negative, making mean and future. I mentioned to my parents nasty remarks about her mother in that we were going on a cruise this front of family and friends. This summer, and my mother got all was upsetting and hurtful to me. Is this appropriate? Do children excited, assuming we were planning to get pregnant. I was dumbfounded take this opportunity to dump on and didn't respond. She later told their parents for things in the past? her friends that we were ''trying,'' Because of this, I have decided not and several of them contacted me to have a memorial service. I've told my husband to have me crewith congratulations. I do not understand this fascina- mated and my ashes dispersed at a tion with my sex life. It's embar- beach where we played as children rassing and annoying. We have a — no family or friends. No parent is big family reunion coming up for perfect, but my children were cared Mailbox for properly, and we helped them even when they were grown. I don't think they would do this terrible thing, but I'm — Not Taking Any Chances Dear Not: It is cruel to trash a parent at a funeral service, when the deceased cannot defend herself. It also makes the guests terribly uncomfortable. Your niece obviously harbors a great deal of anger and pain. We hope she will see a therapist and work through this in a more productive manner. Dear Annie: I had a similar experience to ''Want Duct Tape,'' whose father-in-law hummed during their drives. I drove my late mother-in-law to her doctor appointments, weekly Bingo games and the beautician. She read every single sign we passed — street signs, gas station signs, grocery store weekly specials, whatever. No one could have a conversation. She didn't want to talk to us, but she made sure we couldn't talk, either. I finally figured out that it was a passive-aggressive power play. We had to listen to her. The solution? Earplugs. — Been There and Bought the T-Shirt Annie's Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column. Please email your questions to anniesmailboxcomcast.net, or write to: Annie's Mailbox, c/o Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254. Forest Service Chief meets One Less Spark U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell was introduced to the statewide One Less Spark, One Less Wildfire interagency campaign during a recent visit to the Sacramento State Fair's Camp Smokey. Beth Brady, fire prevention officer from the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, briefed Tidwell about the One Less Spark background and its message to the public about fires that start from vehicles and equipment. The majority of fires are human-caused. Vehicles dragging chains and mowers hitting rocks in dry grass are major causes of wildland fires in California. The agencies sponsoring the campaign are the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, CalFire, Bureau of Land Management U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Cal- stays on the outDEAR DOCside of the metal TOR K: I love to shell of the vehigo outside during cle. a summer thunder— Seek shelter storm, but my sisin a large structure ter is convinced and avoid small I'll get hit by lightstructures. Small ning. Do I really buildings such as need to head Dr. K bus shelters or inside when by Anthony L. huts on golf there's a storm Komaroff, M.D. courses may brewing? increase the risk DEAR READER: At the end of a sti- of lightning injury if they flingly hot and humid day, are the tallest objects in an when lightning flashes area. Metal poles in tents and thunder rumbles, it can act as lightning rods. — Stay away from can be tempting to head outside into the cool del- clearings and single trees. uge. When I was young, I If you are in the woods, did that a lot. (In fact, I did don't head for a clearing. a lot of crazy things. Take cover in an area with That's because, like many small trees or bushes. If young people, I thought I you're in an open area, was immortal. Yes, in the don't stand near an isolatback of my mind I knew ed tree. Instead, find a that people die. I guess I low-lying area and squat thought there might be an with your feet together and hands over your ears. exception in my case.) — Don't wait till the Today, I know better, and I stay indoors during clouds are overhead. electrical storms. Your sis- Lightning can travel far ter is right: Lightning ahead of the storm clouds strikes that accompany producing rain. Light travthunderstorms can be haz- els a lot faster than sound; ardous. There's a lot of that's why you usually see electricity in a bolt of a flash of lightning and lightning. Don't misun- hear the thunder later. derstand: Getting hit by That difference in the lightning is not inevitably speed of light and the fatal. In fact, most people speed of sound helps you to guess how far away the live to tell the tale. Lightning can cause lightning is. Seek shelter first- and second-degree when the time between burns. Survivors of light- seeing lightning and hearning-related injuries may ing thunder is 30 seconds end up with neurological or less. — Don't go outside for and eye problems. And many victims experience at least 30 minutes after bad, unrelenting the last lightning seen. headaches for several This is a good general rule of thumb. If it's been a months. When lighting does half-hour since the last cause death, cardiac arrest lightning, the storm causis the most common ing the lightning probably cause. That's because the has passed. electricity scrambles the Dr. Komaroff is a heart's electrical system and sets off dangerous physician and professor at Harvard Medical irregular heart rhythms. To send Here are some School. questions, go to tips for staying safe in a AskDoctorK.com, or thunderstorm: — Seek shelter in a write: Ask Doctor K, 10 vehicle. If a car or bus gets Shattuck St., Second hit, the electrical current Floor, Boston, MA 02115. Geospatial technologies trans, California Fire Safe Councils, California Office of Emergency Services and the National Park Service. To learn more about the One Less Spark, One Less Wildfire fire preven- tion campaign, go to www.preventwildfireca.or g/one-less-spark-oneless-wildfire/. Grants offered for children's medical expenses The UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation (UHCCF) is seeking grant applications from families in need of financial assistance to help pay for their child's health care treatments, services or equipment not covered, or not fully covered, by their commercial health insurance plan. Qualifying families can receive up to $5,000 per grant to help pay for medical services and equipment such as physical, occupational and speech therapy, counseling services, surgeries, prescriptions, wheelchairs, orthotics, eyeglasses and hearing aids. To be eligible for a grant, children must be 16 years of age or younger. Families must meet economic guidelines, reside in Precautions protect against lightning the United States and have a commercial health insurance plan. Grants are available for medical expenses families have incurred 60 days prior to the date of application as well as for ongoing and future medical needs. Parents or legal guardians may apply for grants at www.uhccf.org, and there is no application deadline. Organizations or private donors can make tax-deductible donations to UHCCF at www.uhccf.org. Donations are used for grants to help children and families in the region in which they are received. "The UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation is dedicated to improving a child's health and quality of life by making it easier to access needed medical- related services. The grants enable families to focus on their children's health instead of worrying about how they'll pay their medical bills," said Brandon Cuevas, CEO, UnitedHealthcare of California. "Eligible families are encouraged to apply online for a medical grant today and take advantage of this valuable resource." In 2012, UHCCF awarded more than 1,300 grants, worth more than $4.1 million, to families across the United States for treatments associated with medical conditions such as cancer, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy, diabetes, hearing loss, autism, cystic fibrosis, Down syndrome, ADHD and cerebral palsy. In California, nearly 100 grants have been provided HELP WANTED AUTO ROUTES DRIVERS WANTED RED BLUFF & CORNING AREAS Must be 21 or older & bondable. Call or apply in person Circulation Dept. Red Bluff Daily News (530) 527-2151 ext 128 DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY in the past two years totaling more than $270,000. As successful fund-raising efforts continue to grow, UHCCF is hoping to help more children and families in 2013. Shasta College's GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Program would like to invite the public to a free open house tour of its lab 1-3 p.m. Aug. 5 and 12. This is an excellent opportunity to meet instructors and ask questions regarding the GIS programs offered at Shasta College. GIS careers feature strong growth potential and command excellent wages for qualified candidates. This is a great opportunity for newly graduated students or anyone interested in learning about a career in geospatial technologies. Participants will have an opportunity to use computer-aided mapping and other GIS tools to create maps. For more information, contact Dan Scollon at 242-2314 or email dscollon@shastacollege.edu.