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Tuesday, October 25, 2011 – Daily News FEATURES Stay mentally active to prevent memory loss DEAR DOCTOR K: I'm in my mid-60s. As I get older, my biggest fear is becoming forget- ful. I've heard that keep- ing your mind active is a good way to stay sharp. Is this true? DEAR READER: A lot of my patients have the same fear you do. In fact, to be honest, I have the same fear. Who doesn't? And yet we all know that everyone is for- getful sometimes, and that we probably get somewhat more forgetful as we get older. Dr. K by Anthony L. Komaroff, M.D. poker. — Find books to read that make you stretch your mind. The challenges can be more complex: What you have heard is true: There are things you can do to ward off memory loss. The main thing is to keep yourself mentally chal- lenged and your mind active and engaged. Here's what I tell my patients who ask me the question you have. If you are not working, or if your work is "same-old, same-old" and doesn't present new chal- lenges, try finding new expe- riences. Get outside your comfort zone. We're not talking about something like bungee jumping, you under- stand. Even though I try to take my own advice, I don't plan to get that far out of my comfort zone. Instead, I am talking about things that take you out of your daily habits and make you think. Just varying your routine can help keep your mind active and engaged. The challenges you set for yourself can be pretty simple: — Try cooking new recipes. — Figure out new dri- ving routes to your usual destinations. — Do puzzles and brain- teasers. Crossword puzzles, math and word problems are all great. — Rediscover challeng- ing games you can play alone or with friends. Scrab- ble, Boggle, and many card and computer games really make you think. (MCT) —NEW YORK — Justin Bieber is playing Santa Claus this holiday season. — Plan a do-it-yourself project such as building a deck or designing a new gar- den layout. — Write about your life experiences. — Take a class in a new or old skill, such as playing a musical instrument or paint- ing. — Learn a new language. We have a lot more infor- mation on memory loss in our Special Health Report called "Improving Memory: Understanding Age-Related Memory Loss." You can find out more about it at my web- site (see below). I remember the first time I traveled outside the United States. I was 19. In the course of a week I traveled through three countries with different languages, different architecture, different rules (as on public transportation) and very different food. Unlike at home, nothing was "automatic"; I had to figure out how to do so many unfa- miliar things. Never for a moment was I bored. That's really the test. If you want to protect your mind against memory loss, avoid being bored. Our brains obey the same rules as our muscles: Use it or lose it. Dr. Komaroff is a physician and professor at Harvard Medical School.Go to his website to send questions and get additional inf or mation: www.AskDoctorK.com. — Get on the Internet, if you aren't already. You'll be learning computer skills and gaining access to a wealth of infor- mation. — Join a club to play chess, bridge or Cheating complicates cancer care Dear Annie: I come from a family of seven kids. Last spring, our oldest sister, ''Susan,'' was diagnosed with lung cancer, and it has spread. We have ral- lied around and take turns spending time with her. We her in, but we don't know how to broach the subject. — Perplexed Sib- lings found out that ''Tom,'' husband of 30 years, has been cheating on her for the past five. They live in a small town, and everybody knows. (I found out by overhearing women talking at the gro- cery store.) Susan filed for divorce two years ago, but when Tom was diag- nosed with prostate cancer, she stopped the process to take care of him. She thought this would wake him up, but apparently, his girlfriend was ''taking care'' of him, too. Tom has no problem being seen about town with this woman, who is also married with young children. In all of our visits, Susan has yet to mention the affair. We also don't know what to do about her two grown chil- dren who know nothing of their father's activities, even though all their friends are aware of it. Tom isn't likely to proceed with the divorce because it would make him look bad, but he undoubtedly thinks if he waits long enough, Susan will die. This is making us all sick. Any of us would gladly take recently Susan's Annie's Mailbox by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar Dear Siblings: Please allow Susan to bring up her husband's affair. There is no way to know whether she would be relieved to talk about it or whether it would simply be more stress than she can handle. It may comfort her to think her siblings believe her marriage is solid. Instead, tell her that all of you would like the opportunity to provide a place for her in your own homes. Let her know how much you love her and want this chance to spend time togeth- er. In spite of your loving offer, how- ever, Susan may prefer to stay where she is. (And please leave the kids out of it. We suspect they know more than you think.) Dear Annie: I have noticed dis- turbing behavior occurring on a web- site that is supposed to be used for edu- cational interaction between schools. One student taunted another and even said no one liked her. Is this classified as cyberbullying? What was said was certainly harmful and hurtful. How do you suggest I inform the school that this is going on? — Student Trying To Make a Differ- ence Dear Trying:Yes, this is cyberbul- lying and should be reported to all the schools that use this website. These sites should be regularly monitored to prevent just such activity. Talk to your parents, and ask them to call or visit the principal with a printout of the offending page, or ask if you can bring it up on the school computer. The prin- cipal should handle it from there. Dear Annie: ''Workplace Dilem- ma'' said her small office consists of only her and a part-time employee, and her boss's boss won't pay her over- time. You said an hour a week is not that much, but, Annie, in a year, it could add up to a week's pay. Also, not paying overtime could be against the law, depending on her position. She can find out at www.dol.gov/compli- ance/laws/comp-flsa.htm. ''Workplace'' should keep a note- book nearby and document everything she does, and then find time to talk to her boss objectively. Further, if the boss is so dependent upon her, she should get a significant raise. — New Hampshire Dear N.H.: Even though we said ''Workplace'' should be paid, many readers were angry with us because we also said an hour a week isn't that much if you like your job. (And a few pointed out that for an extra 12 minutes a day, they would gladly take her job.) We hope she will check to see whether she is legally owed overtime and then take the necessary steps to ensure she gets it. Annie's Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column. Please e-mail your questions to anniesmailboxcomcast.net, or write to: Annie's Mailbox, c/o Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Ste. 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045. Salvation Army needs volunteers The Salvation Army Red Bluff Corps is in need of volunteers to ring bells at their kettles this season starting Nov. 19- Dec. 24. Volunteers can sign up for two hour time periods to ring bells at a variety of locations throughout Red Bluff, Corning and Los Molinos. Hours available to volunteer are 9:30 a.m.- 7:30 p.m. For more information contact The Salvation Army Red Bluff Corps at 527-8530, or go into the office, 940 Walnut St., in Red Bluff. All monies raised in the 2011 Red Kettle Campaign stays in Tehama County. Proceeds go towards help- Bieber's charitable Christmas CalFire When "Under the Mistletoe" — the Beeb's Christmas album — hits stores Nov. 1, some of the sales will go to charities, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation. And that's a first for the Universal Music Group, the singer says. "Universal never actual- ly allowed money from the album to go to charity," he told The Associated Press last week. "So it's kind of a unique thing and I'm very happy and proud of what we've done." Universal owns Island Def Jam, where Bieber is signed. (MCT) — With the first month of the 2011 fall TV season now officially behind us, where stand the new- bies? There have already been a few cancellations ("The Playboy Club," "Free Agents," "Charlie's Angels") and rest assured there will be more. Here's a snapshot of the outright winners, fence- sitters and Humpty Dump- ties of the four major net- works: Winners: "Two Broke Girls," CBS (Broke no more ... they got a small hit.) "New Girl," Fox (Zippy dippy Zooey soars.) "Ringer," CW (Sarah Michelle Gellar, both of them, get a full season!) "The X Factor," Fox (Not what Simon boasted, er promised, but this will do.) "Up All Night," NBC (Network will take what it can get these days.) "Whitney," NBC (Net- work will take, etc.) "Suburgatory," ABC (Lucky to have "Modern "Under the Mistletoe" features collabos with Mari- ah Carey and Busta Rhymes, as well as Usher (natch) and country group Band Perry. "They've been really successful and great in the country world," Bieber said. "So I wanted to get them on my Christmas album and cross some barri- ers and try to get some dif- ferent audience members to listen to my music." The 17-year-old Canadi- an sensation said he wasn't sure how much money would be donated, but he thanked his team nonethe- less. "I tell them basically what I want and they kind of go and help me get it done." Kind of like Santa's elves. Rating the new tv shows Family" as lead-out. Very lucky.) "Revenge," ABC (Long Island drama rules! Sort of.) "Person of Interest," CBS (Clobbering "Grey's Anato- my.") Fence-sitters: "Man Up!," ABC (Could be Man Down by this week.) "Terra Nova," Fox (If only dinosaurs were in the viewing audience.) "Hart of Dixie," CW (Buzz-free.) "Last Man Standing," ABC (Expect this Tim Allen sitcom to keep standing.) "Unforgettable," CBS (Respectable, but not unbe- lievable ... ratings.) "A Gifted Man," CBS (Not gifted ratings, even though a Friday time period winner.) Losers: "The Secret Circle," CW (Nice pilot, no fans.) "Prime Suspect," NBC (Can't get arrested.) "Pan Am," ABC (Could be a hard landing.) goes pink Firefighting has long been a profession known for providing help to those in need. That's why it wasn't diffi- cult for CAL FIRE's fire- fighters, dispatchers and employees to decide to show their support for the battle against breast cancer by wearing modified CalFire T- shirts with pink logos on them. Oct. 24 - 28, CAL FIRE will join over 900 fire and police departments across the nation by partici- pating in the 2011 national "Cares Enough to Wear Pink" campaign. The campaign raises awareness and money for cancer research and is part of October's National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, when wearing pink signifies support for breast cancer research. "Cancer affects millions of people worldwide includ- ing firefighters," said Chief Ken Pimlott, CalFire direc- tor. "There is a proven corre- lation between cancer and our profession, that's why I'm proud the men and women of CalFire are join- ing me in sending a strong message that we "Care Enough to Wear Pink." All of the proceeds from the T-shirt sales generated by CalFire's employee's volun- tary participation are being donated to cancer related non-profit organizations. CalFire is one of the largest fire departments in the nation and the over 7,000 men and women of our department have an opportu- nity to make a significant contribution to this worth- while effort by voluntarily joining in on the "caring enough to wear pink" cam- paign.. ing individuals and families in need through handing out food bags, rental and water assistance (when available), clothing vouch- ers and other services/pro- grams offered by The Sal- vation Army. "We would like to see 95 percent of our Christ- mas Red Kettles manned by volunteers this season," said Lt. Heather Paap. "The more volunteers we have, the more money we can bring in to help individuals and families in Tehama County. Our goal this year is $63,463." That number is equiva- lent to the number of peo- ple who live in Tehama County, Paap said. "We definitely could go higher than that amount," Paap said. "I believe Tehama County can step up to the plate and help us go beyond this goal." To keep up with the lat- est Salvation Army news, like us on Facebook: The Salvation Army Red Bluff Corps. The Salvation Army is an international religious and charitable movement founded in 1865. The motivation of the organiza- tion is love of God and a practical concern for the needs of humanity. Led by current officers Frank and Susan Severs, Majors and Heather Paap, Lieutenant, The Salvation Army has been in Tehama County for more than 20 years. 3B