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Understanding Social Security Survivors’ Benefits

We are here for surviving family members when a worker dies. In the event of your death, certain members of your family may be eligible for survivors benefits. These include widows and widowers, divorced widows and widowers, children, and dependent parents. The amount of benefits your survivors receive depends on your lifetime earnings. The higher your earnings, the higher their benefits. That’s why it’s important to make sure your earnings history is correct in our records. You can do this by creating a personal my Social Security account at www.ssa.gov/myaccount. A my Social ...

Just Answer The Questions

Remember when you were in school and the teacher surprised you with a “pop quiz?” He or she would hand out a paper with 10 or 15 questions and slap it face down on your desks. With a groan you flip over the page and wait for the signal to begin. Your disdain for this quiz quickly turns to a more positive experience when you see that the teacher has posed the questions so that you have only to answer true or false. OK, this isn’t so bad. You figure you have a 50-50 chance of answering the questions correctly. And sometimes, guesses are better than not knowing the answers ...

Spooky Antiques to Enjoy at Halloween

We need a little spooky fun right about now. With the real fear of pandemics, quarantines and divisive politics, dressing up as a witch, goblin, ghost or any other ghoul, sounds appealing. Halloween takes folks of all ages into the world of make-believe and that’s a good thing. Collectors enjoy Halloween stuff tremendously. It seems as popular as Christmas in the vintage decorating world. Reproductions too abound. Vintage items like mid-20th century costumes and masks, treat bags, spooky lanterns and pumpkins are big in the collecting world. Of course, ghoulish masks are ...

Nuclear Stress Test Is Better Diagnostic Option For Heart Disease

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 64-year-old woman with a family history of heart disease. Both of my parents had heart attacks and open-heart surgery. At ages 50, 55 and 60, I experienced what I thought were signs of a heart attack. With each experience, I ended up in the hospital and was given a nuclear stress test. None of the tests showed blockages, and it was concluded I had severe acid reflux/GERD. (An endoscopy at age 50 showed a hiatal hernia.) Once again, I am experiencing symptoms that could be either heart- or acid-related. I take Protonix as needed. At present, the medication has ...

Family Fears Young Woman Is Addicted to Meth

DEAR ABBY: The 22-year-old daughter of close friends of ours has been living in a van during the pandemic. Her parents, my husband and I heard her on her cellphone talking about a party where her friends were doing meth. No one reacted except me. I said, “That’s terrifying!” and she answered, “Right?” I cannot stop worrying about this young woman, who I have watched grow since she was a baby. The red spots on her face, which I had assumed were from acne, now haunt me. What can I do? I had offered her the use of our driveway, if needed, but I don’t want meth users here ...

Trigger Finger Doesn’t Get Better on Its Own

DEAR DR. ROACH: My left thumb has been “clicking” and locking in position for the past five months. Moving it from one position (straight) to another position (bent) can be done with the help of my other hand. Trying to move it without the other hand’s assistance can be quite painful. It’s an acceptable level of pain during daytime, but it is unbearable during the night. I took to wearing a thumb splint, which helps, but the base of my thumb gets sore overnight. It clears up during the day. This cycle has been going at a steady level for the past four months. Is there a better ...