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April 11, 2012 ~~ Marti and Stormy Mongiello have a love of all things culinary but espe- cially when they are at- tached to our nation's White House. That's why their Presi- dential Culinary Museum hosted its annual Egg Roll at The Inn of the Patriots bed and breakfast in Grover last week. Mongiello is a former White House chef who turned a collection of White House culinary artifacts into a museum inside the cou- ple'sRevolutionary War Rs Front Porch Music By Ron Isbell Easter themed bed and breakfast. In a town named for a for- mer president, the egg roll tradition begun at the White House, large spoons push- ing eggs across a green lawn in Grover was a natural. Of course there were prizes...a huge Easter basket and the export for which our Capital is most famous (cash). | Back in Rusty Springs. we leaned more toward the more traditional Easter Egg hunts. In my younger years that usually meant trying to figure out where Uncle Son might have stashed the 20 or The Kings Mountain Herald | www.kmherald.net PINION 25 dozen eggs Aunt Cork ‘had spent most of Saturday ' coloring. No matter what time we got to their house for Aunt Cork's Sunday din- ner, we were not allowed to pass through that barn lot gate until we got permis- sion. Then as many as 50 kids tried to get through that four foot opening at one time. Those eggs didn't stand a chance. The youngest were given free range in the open lot. ' Easy pickins, it seemed to we older ones. We headed for the barn, where Uncle Son's ability could be tested. Inside the auger of his com- bine. Under a "tent" he'd made from a few earns of corn. A blush of blue barely peeking from an oat bin. An- other inside an old work . glove. The pocket of an old denim jacket hung on a * wooden peg just inside the door. Tucked between two bales of straw. Inside his old Oliver wheat drill. One even returned to its original nest! He took his job seriously every Easter morning. What we had to have children of our own to discover was that his job wasn't hiding eggs, it was keeping us out of the way so Aunt Cork and her army could cook up the best Easter dinner on the planet. Chicken and noodles, green beans, okra, stuffed peppers, ham, baked beans, pumpkin pie and, of course, deviled eggs. All of that took time, but a little less if their were no kids under foot. And that wasn't the start of the day either. It began hours earlier. We were up by 4:30 that morning to milk cows, feed steers and hogs. Then it was off to church for sunrise service, followed by breakfast in the church base- ment and Sunday School. Bro. Hazeltine, not noted for short sermons, managed to keep it short this one Sun- day a year. He probably had a big dinner waiting for him, too. : Easter also played a role in my transition to parent- hood. I was taking pictures at the community egg hunt in Rusty Springs when a very pudgy, kinky-haired, happy faced four-year-old came bouncing down the steps to the stage straight to his mom. He was grinning ear-to-ear, holding his prize high above his head and chanting "I caught the golden egg. I caught the golden egg." ‘His name was Trevor. My introduction to that Page 5B name made it perfect, I thought, for my first son. That kind of joy, of unbri- dled happiness, needed to be shared. If my son could be that happy for even a small * portion of his life, I'd cele- brate that Easter again and again. I've helped with other community egg hunts since. Some were much bigger than any of these...once I helped hide 5,000 eggs in a beachside park .It took a herd of volunteers almost three hours to complete the task. It took an untold num- ber of kids less than 20 min- utes to undo all that work. I _ loved every one of those 20 short minutes. So, whether you used McCormick's food coloring «or a fancy Paz kit, I hope you broke out the fixins and made it a great Easter. Advance Directives — 'Just Plan It’ Guest column -. Monty Thornburg Director of the Patrick Sneior Center : =" Member of Journey Hearing the words “Ad- vance Directives”, can bring an array of thoughts and emotions to ones’ mind. ‘Death, end of life deci- sion making, quality of life verses quantity of life, hos- pice care, long term nursing facilities, sadness, depres- sion — are just a few of the thoughts that we as humans may think of when these two words are spoken. However, as quickly as they come to mind, they can un- fortunately be just as quickly forgotten or denied because as healthy living human beings, we may not want to face our own mor- tality and the mortality of our loved ones. Life is a journey and the best outcome with any jour- ney depends on how well we plan for it. We spend . months planning vacations but how much time do we spend planning for own de- parture from this life? Not talking about it does not make it go away but in; fact, makes it more difficult for everyone involved. That is why it should be ap- proached head on with a frank and open dialogue with family and loved ones long before the need arises. This is an important lesson I have learned after working in the field of aging for twenty-seven years. I have assisted many senior adults and their fam- ily members with the prepa- ration of Living Wills and - Health Care Power of Attor- ~ neys during my career. Completion of ‘these documents are two very important ways we can _ avoid an unhealthy family crisis dealing with end of life health choices and who better to make these choices than we ourselves while we are healthy and competent. Executing both docu- ments is a good idea. The Living Will makes your wishes known to those you love and care about. It takes the hard decisions out of your loved ones hands and lets them know in writing what you want done. The Health Care Power of Attor- ney allows you to name a trusted person to serve as your health care decision maker and this is important because many standardized living will forms can be limited in what they can ac- complish and what condi- tions they cover. For example, most pro- vide instructions that apply only if the individual is in a terminal condition or per- manently unconscious, yet Charles P. Sabatino, J.D. of the American Bar Associa- tion says that the majority of health care decisions that need to be pinks for patients lacking capacity concern questions about day-to-day care, placement options short of “pulling the plug”. Not only have I experi- enced this professionally but personally. Having to decide what a parent would want is a heart wrenching decision that none of us should have to make but my family has had to do that in the past and you may have to if you do not have these documents in place. It is because of my per- sonal and professional ex- periences in these matters that I executed these docu- ments for myself many years ago. And it is a mis- take to assume that having these documents does not mean “Don’t Treat”. Ad- vance directives are also 3 110 IY 11 BBE 3 TA) g used to say that the individ- ual wants all possible treat- ments within the range of generally accepted medical standards. What is said depends upon one’s particular wishes and values. Even when an advance directive avoids all life-sustaining treatments, one should al- ways assume and insist upon continuing pain con- trol, comfort care and re- spect for one’s dignity. Even though I have worked with mostly senior adults in these issues, please do not think of this as a senior or older adult issue. Often times we liken death and dying issues with old age, but that is a mis- take when it comes to ad- vance directives. See THORNBURG, 6B New Ways to Cash in on Your Life Insurace . Dear Savvy Senior, What can you tell me about life settle- ments? I have a life insurance policy , that I really don’t need any longer and I’ve heard that selling it can produce a nice payout. Interested In Selling Dear Interested, If you don’t need your life insurance policy any longer, are having a diffi- cult time keeping up: with the pre- mium payments or could just use the money, a life settlement is definitely an option worth considering. How it Works A life settlement is the sale of an ex- isting life insurance policy to a third party company for cash. Life settle- ments are typically best suited for people over age 65 who own a policy with a face value of $250,000 or more. Historically, if an owner of a life in- surance policy decided they no longer needed it, they would either let the policy lapse or turn it in for a meager cash surrender value. But now, with the life settlement option, you can ac- Are Your Loved Ones rT Ultra Protector Series whole life insurance from Americo | Financial Life and Annuity Insurance Company offers: "| LIFETIME PROTECTION - : ne will never have to worry about losing your coverage. medical questions on the pp) ication. your health history. NO MEDICAL EXAM REC UIRED: - just answer a few Sh GUARANTEED COVERAGE you can be covered no matter what RATES NEVER INCREASE - your initial rate will not increase for the life of the policy. Your coverage will not decrease or be cancelled tually sell your policy for two to three times more than the cash surrender value would be, but less than its net death benefit. Once you sell it however, the life set- tlement company then becomes the new owner of the policy, pays the fu- ture premiums and collects the death benefit when you die. How much money you can expect to get with a life settlement will depend on your age, health and life ex- pectancy, the type of insurance policy, the premium costs and the value of “your policy. Most sellers generally get 20 to 30 percent of the death benefit. If you're interested in a life settlement here are some things you should know: * Shop around: To ensure you get the best deal, get quotes from several bro- kers or life settlement providers. Also, find out what fees you'll be required to pay. To locate credible providers or brokers, the Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA) provides a referral service at lisa.org. Tax implications: Life settlements are also taxable if the cash surrender value of the policy exceeds the premi- ums paid on it. This can be very com- plicated, so be sure to consult a tax advisor. Also, be aware that receiving money from a life settlement can af- fect eligibility for public assistance programs like Medicaid or food stamps. Be cautious: Life settlements are not’ regulated in every state so be careful who you deal with. Make sure the broker or life settlement firm you choose is either licensed in your state or is a member of LISA. Other Options If you don’t like the idea of selling your life insurance policy but could use some extra cash, here are some other options your insurance agent can help you investigate: e Cash value withdraw: If you have any cash value in your policy, you can probably withdraw some of it to meet your immediate needs and keep your policy for your beneficiaries. ° A loan: You may also be able to use Policy your policy to secure a loan from the insurance company, as well as a bank, credit union or other lender. Annuity “1035” conversion: Find out if you're able to convert the cash value of your policy into an immedi- ate annuity, which will make regular payments to you for a set number of years or for the rest of your life. * Accelerated benefit: If you're termi- nally ill, some policies have an accel- - erated death benefit which pays some of the policy’s death benefit before you die. ¢ Reduced premiums: If premium payments are your problem, your life insurer may be able to convert your policy to a paid-up policy, or lower your. death benefit amount in order to reduce your premiums. Or, consider asking your beneficiaries to help pay the premiums. : Send your questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman OK 73070, or visit Savvysenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. refreshing! . Call TOA739-6772 1 rosrve | because of age or health. Forad Americo Finoncil Life ond Annuity Insurance Compa independent, outhorized ogeat of Americo. 12084-1-A61 (04/12) ict of Columbia and oll states except NY ond VT. "As ong as premiums are paid and there are no loans or accelerations. lsvance of pofcy may depend upon answers fo medical questions. “Subject fo issue oge limits ond state availability: Ulto Protector Series (Policy Series 281,/282/283,/284) is underwritten by Americo Finanol Life and Annuity Insurance Company (America), Kansas Cty, MO ond may vary in accordance with sote lows. Some product and benefits may not be vailoble inal sates” Some ides ar optional and may be available ot an additonal cos. Certain restrictions and variations apply. Consult plicy and riders for oll imitations and exclusions. Suzanne H. Amos is an Amenico, “mid ma onl rly: sea Sales Director for defails. 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The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
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April 11, 2012, edition 1
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