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2B Daily News – Thursday, November 10, 2011 FEATURES Age anxiety assures approaching affair Dear Annie: I recently turned 50, and I hate it. I wasn't bothered when I turned 40, but this birthday is really eating at me. I used to be very athletic, but with all the abuse I put my body through, I had to quit playing sports. I was well on my way into a depression when a woman half my age came into my life. Annie's Mailbox I love my wife dearly, and we have been together for more than 25 years. I would never cheat on her, but I can't seem to get ''Wanda'' out of my head. She really has shown an interest in me. We email each other and have gone out for lunch a couple of times, and I find myself growing quite fond of her. Is this what they call a midlife crisis? I want to tell Wanda how I feel about her, thinking maybe it would scare her away. I don't know what to do. Well, I do know what to do. I just need to hear it from some- one else. — Desperate for Help Dear Desperate: Yes, this is what is called a midlife crisis. You are at a vulnerable age. Your life is probably past the halfway point, and it is intoxicating to find that Wanda is attracted to you. It makes you feel young again. The flirtation is already a form of betrayal, and continued contact is likely to lead to an affair, whether you intend it or not. You are smart enough to realize this. by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar Please don't make your wife pay for your fears about aging. Do something to rekindle the spark in your marriage. Have a romantic dinner. Stay overnight at a hotel. Get counseling if you need it. Those couples who get through these rough spots often find their mar- riages are stronger and more fulfilling. We hope you will be one of them. Dear Annie: For many years, I have hosted my fam- ily for Thanksgiving dinner. I remind them three months in advance and call a week before the date. Because I live alone, I don't like to buy more food than I can safely freeze as leftovers, but I cer- tainly want everyone to have as much as they like. Last year, one couple behaved strangely. They called the day before to ask if they could come earlier so we'd have more time to visit. Then they actually showed up later than everyone else, ate quickly and left. Since then, I have not seen or heard a word from them, even though they live five minutes from my home. Here's the problem. For the past several years, I have had a long- standing invitation to stop at their house before the holidays. The date is always the same. Should I just show up as usual, or do I wait to hear from them first? I don't want to go where I'm not wanted. — Baf- fled in the South Dear Baffled: This shouldn't be so difficult. Pick up the phone. Say you've missed them and want to see how they are doing. Hopefully, they will invite you to stop by for your annual visit. But if they don't bring it up, you can casually ask, ''Is it convenient for me to stop by on the 15th as usual?'' This gives them the opportunity to let you know if their circumstances have changed. Dear Annie: This is in response to ''Miserable.'' I experienced exactly the same problem. For six years, my husband and I were mere- ly housemates. There was never an affectionate word, no intimate con- tact, no touching, nothing. He assured me there was no one else; he just had no desire. Finally, he developed some phys- ical issues and went for testing. It turned out that his testosterone level was quite low. Once he began tak- ing weekly testosterone injections, we immediately returned to honey- mooners' status. If testosterone isn't the problem, it could be another hormone. Please tell her to get her husband to an endocrinologist. — Understand in North Carolina 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. Company wants your valuables The International Gold, Silver, and Diamond Buy- ers will be making a stop in Red Bluff at the Com- fort Inn, 90 Sale Lane, on Monday Nov. 14 through Friday, Nov. 18. The show hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 9 a.m.to 4 p.m., Friday. The company will be purchasing coins, paper currency, gold and silver on behalf of their global network of collectors, dealers and refineries. This event is free and open to the public. Traveling from small towns to large cities, the company hosts hundreds of events each year where local residents are encour- aged to bring in their pre- cious metals, diamonds and paper money to earn Coconut oil not a healthy substitute DEAR DOC- TOR K: Until recently, I had never noticed coconut oil in the grocery store. Now it seems I can't avoid it. Is it true that it's better for you than other cooking oils? DEAR READ- ER: Most plant oils are full of "good" fats — monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats — and contain relatively few "bad" fats, particularly saturated fats. Plant oils such as olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil and saf- flower oil are all definitely better for you than other sources of fat, such as but- ter, hard margarine and lard. What about coconut oil? It's a plant oil, too. On paper, coconut oil doesn't seem like it should be good for you. That's because it's about 90 per- cent saturated fat. That's more saturated fat than is in butter (about 64 per- cent), beef fat (40 percent) or even lard (also 40 per- cent), which are all bad for the heart when they are used or eaten frequently. Too much saturated fat in the diet is unhealthy because it raises "bad" LDL cholesterol levels. This in turn increases the risk of heart disease. High levels of LDL cholesterol increase the chances you will develop atherosclero- sis in your heart arteries. So it would seem that coconut oil would be bad news for our hearts. So why is coconut oil catching on these days, even among the health conscious? One interest- ing thing about coconut oil is that it also gives "good" HDL cholesterol a boost. Higher levels of HDL cholesterol are Dr. K by Anthony L. Komaroff, M.D. called "good" because they're good for the heart. They lower your risk of developing atherosclerosis. Fat in the diet, whether it's satu- rated or unsaturat- ed, tends to nudge HDL levels upward. Coconut oil seems to be especially good at doing this. Despite the fact that it has a greater tendency to raise "good" HDL choles- terol, coconut oil also rais- es "bad" LDL cholesterol. Although it seems like it has positive effects on cholesterol, we don't real- ly know how coconut oil affects heart disease. So I'd say it's probably wise to use coconut oil sparing- ly for now. It's unlikely that coconut oil is as healthful as vegetable oils such as olive oil and soy- bean oil. For many years you've probably heard that fat in the diet was bad for your health. That is just plain wrong. There are good fats and bad fats. You absolutely need the good fats in your diet, and you need to minimize your intake of bad fats. Knowing what foods contain good and bad fats is important to your health. We have a lot more information on healthy eating in our Special Health Report, "Healthy Eating: A Guide to the New Nutrition." You can find out more about it at my website. Dr. Komaroff is a physician and professor at Harvard Medical School. Go to his website to send questions and get additional information: www.AskDoctorK.com. CalVet, colleges to ease extra cash. If the guest decides to accept the offer made, a check will be issued on the spot. For more information, call 217-726-7590 or send an e-mail to matthew.enright@thrasso- ciates.com. Alumni host career panel on campus KCSC, California State University, Chico's award-winning student-run radio station, is cele- brating its 60-year anniversary this weekend with many former staff members and DJs returning to campus for a panel discussion. The event, which is free and open to the public, is at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12, in BMU 210. KCSC alumni will speak about the long-time campus radio station and how their KCSC experi- ences shaped their career paths in the music, broad- casting, journalism, entertainment and communica- FREE! •COATS • HATS • GLOVES • SCARVES • BLANKETS • COLD WEATHER CLOTHING Free Goodies & Info Everyone Welcome Don't Miss Out! FREE MEAL SAT. NOV. 12th 8 a.m. to Noon At Bethel Church 625 Luther Rd, Red Bluff Call 527-2151 for more information tions industries. KCSC, which debuted on campus on March 14, 1951, is a program of the Associated Students. Approximately 120 students currently intern or vol- unteer at the station. In 1987, KCSC was named "Best College Radio Station" in SPIN magazine. Jon Slaughter, director of AS programs and gov- ernment affairs, said, "KCSC has been recognized and won awards over the decades for being an avant garde station in the best sense of the word. They were cable radio before cable radio got big, and were on the Internet before that got big." Panel discussion participants Saturday will include Roland West (Island Def Jam promotion and marketing manager, APD/MD/DJ at KITS "LIVE 105", DJ at KROQ, MD/DJ at KNAC); Sylvia Massey (multiple Grammy-winning record producer/engineer/ journalist, owner of RadioStar Studios); Stephanie Swengel (vice president pro- duction at 20th Century Fox, marketing director of LA Weekly, Ticketmaster and Avalon Attractions); Pam Wolf (DJ at 91X, WBCN, The End, Live 105, KVRE, KOZT, KZOK, KCAL); Dred Scott (DJ at KFOG, KITS "LIVE 105", Indie 103.1, The Sound 100.3, 91X, writer, producer at Westwood One); Toni Smith (creative director/owner, happylucky, Inc. a global design and branding company that has worked with Adidas, Salomon, MS Society, the Girl Effect, Nike and Doc Martens); Anita Rivas (enter- tainment lawyer and music consultant, former tal- ent buyer for The I Beam, The Kennel Club and Bill Graham Presents); Michael Cloward (founder of 28th Day, Devil in the Woods Records and DIW Magazine); Pete Beck (senior web user interface developer; Blue Shield of California, Devil In The Woods Records, DIW Magazine). Liz MacDonald (KFM, KISW and TV stations KCPM, KHSL) will moderate the panel. Mental health board to meet Tuesday The Tehama County Mental Health Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at the Peking Restaurant, 860 Main St., Red Bluff. For more information call me at 527-8491 HELP US SPREAD THE WORD extension 3018. transition for veterans Secretary Peter J. Gravett announced the Califor- nia Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) and the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office have signed a memorandum of understanding that will facilitate enrollment in a community college for members of the military exiting active duty. The California Community Colleges already enroll 75 percent of the veterans utilizing GI Bill education benefits in California. Under the new agreement, vet- erans will find it even easier to connect with a com- munity college to begin their transition to civilian life and the state's workforce. Under terms of the memorandum of understand- ing, CalVet will help veterans to streamline their community college application process by providing a direct link from calvet.ca.gov to CCCApply.org and icanaffordcollege.com websites. "We're thrilled with Chancellor Scott's willingness to work so closely with CalVet on community college applications for our military and veterans," said Sec- retary Peter J. Gravett. "Returning veterans face so many challenges in their attempts to re-enter civilian life, it's wonderful to be able to simplify a process that might otherwise overwhelm a veteran and dis- courage them from pursuing their college education," he said. CalVet also will inform veterans of their surround- ing community colleges after they complete a reinte- gration form. CalVet will contact all veterans who complete the form and, based on their zip code, will inform them about their local community colleges, how to apply to those colleges and ways to use their Veterans Administration education benefits to pay for school. The service member, veteran or family mem- ber may also receive information on the many other federal, state, and local benefits, resources and ser- vices they may be eligible to receive. The responsibilities of the Chancellor's Office detailed in the memorandum of understanding include providing CalVet with details on all 112 col- leges and their respective regions, college contacts and student veteran websites. This way, service mem- bers, veterans and their family members may be referred directly to colleges by indicating an interest either on the reintegration form or via a myCalVet request. "Our returning service members need access to the training offered at our colleges and this memo of understanding just reaffirms the commitment my office and CalVet have to these veterans to get them enrolled and working toward their educational goals," said Chancellor Scott. "Community colleges wel- come the growing numbers of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and we are pleased to work closely with the Department of Veterans Affairs to help us provide the best possible service to them." The Chancellor's Office has a webpage devoted to veterans' issues: http://californiacommunitycol- leges.cccco.edu/Students/SucceedInCollege/Veter- ans.aspx. Sponsored by associates of the