March 2006

70 years together

Seventy years of marriage have put a few wrinkles on Helen and Walter Carlson's faces, but their hearts remain true.

Helen is now 88 years old. Walter is 90 years old.

They are both originally from North Dakota, although they did not meet until they each got to Washington.

Walter survived the drought from 1929 to 1936 and remembers freezing 40-degree below temperatures.

"I told my dad I needed to go during the depression. He said, if you can sell the black bull, you can have the money," Walter recalled.

Neighborhood
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An open letter to keep litter out of the neighborhood

Dear Editor,

There are certain things you can almost expect from the combination of high school students and fast food restaurants. One of those is trash in the street. I live a block from Ballard High and overall the students are great for the neighborhood. They are respectful of the people who live here and not one of them has personally given me any trouble to speak of. However, I do have a problem with what very likely only a few of them leave behind, and that is trash from fast food restaurants.

Neighborhood
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The prince of Greenwood

My neighbor's dog died the other day. The cyclone fence between our homes didn't insulate me from the loss as much as I would've liked.

The first day I met Prince was the only day I didn't like him. I was considering renting this house, standing in the backyard and felt I was being watched. He stood stock still on my neighbor's porch, eyes locked on mine, looking like a statue, painted camel brown with patches of black. Even by German shepherd standards he was a proud dog.

Neighborhood
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Help with Medicare plan

Despite a lot of negative press, the Medicare Part D Prescription drug plan is helping many seniors who need assistance paying for their medications. Of course, the plan can't help you until you've done your homework. The first step for Medicare-eligible seniors is to find out more about what Part D has to offer.

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Three lives on different missions

Reading biography is like trying on someone else's life - these titles let the reader check the fit of England in the 1950s and 60s, contemporary China, and pre-Civil War Virginia.

Partridge, Elizabeth John Lennon, All I Want is the Truth

This is a stunning biography and I could not put it down. A bright youngster, John read widely, wrote for his own pleasure, and almost completely rebelled against academic expectations and the rules of his various schools. He was a leader and risk-taker, impressing his friends by his more and more aggressive and outrageous behavior.

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