| Do Americans Save Enough? It Depends on What Calculator You Use
Every week, one financial services firm or another releases findings of its latest retirement study: Americans aren't saving enough. The savings rate is abysmal. Americans keep up with the Joneses at the expense of their Golden Years. They borrow against their homes to pay for luxuries, and so forth. But is the situation as dire as most people think? A New York Times story on January 27 cited a handful of academics who think Americans are saving plenty -- too much, in many cases. So who is right? There is no definitive answer, says Olivia S. Mitchell, professor of insurance and risk management at Wharton and executive director of the school's Pension Research Council. Some studies, including one of her own, suggest Americans are not headed for the old-age catastrophe that many predict.
Oldest woman impresses with her grace, not age
Stories about the oldest living person on the planet never touched me personally. They were always people who lived in remote regions, places I'd never see, until I realized that my father's friend, Miss Tillman, might just one day achieve that impressive title. And then on Jan. 24, she actually did. For four days, Emmaline Fanchon May Faust Tillman, of East Hartford, at the age of 114 years and 67 days, was the oldest living person on earth. And I actually knew her. OK, truth be told, I only met her a handful of times. But, she was friends with my father who always respectfully called her Miss Tillman. They met at the North End Senior Center in Hartford in 1983. That was when my dad retired from the Bristol Police Department and started frequenting the center. He'd spend his afternoons playing pinochle with Miss Tillman and the other seniors.
A little bit of home cooking on the UConn campus
(Storrs-WTNH) _ UConn students are getting a taste of home sweet home as a new program brings mom's home cooking to the masses. Rob Landolphi has a few more meals to add to his menu this semester and these came straight from mom's kitchen. "I think they're nice. I think that a lot of their recipes have a lot of flavor," said UConn student Rob Landolphi. UConn sent postcards home in hopes of bringing a little home cooking to its dining halls. The recipes are meant to satisfy hunger and homesickness. "College students love heat, love heat. They love stuff that's spicy," said Landolphi. "People connect so closely with food and it brings things that they remember from home into the dining hall. It's thoughtful. It's nice," said freshman Lia Albini.
'House dog' is big hit at senior home
When the folks at Sunrise at Annapolis Senior Living wanted a new "house dog" for the 90 residents, they called the Animal Resource Foundation in Chester. ARF and its executive director Susan Beall recently were featured in a story in The Capital that caught the eye of Lynn Norton, Sunrise's activity and volunteer coordinator. Ms. Norton visited ARF's center at Kent Narrows. That's when she met Bentley, a 3-year-old yellow Lab with an incredibly mellow demeanor. It was love at first sight. The house dog is a Sunrise "signature" amenity, proving warmth, unconditional love and affection for all of the residents. The house dog literally has "the run of the house," and is cared for by residents and staff members as part of the daily routine. "It takes a special dog to be everybody's dog," said Lauren Roane, ARF event coordinator, who introduced Bentley to the residents and the staff at a special reception on Monday.
3 attacked with saw at nursing home
A nursing home patient wielding a hand saw slashed a fellow resident, cut a worker and scraped a police officer Tuesday in a rampage that ended when he was subdued with a stun gun, authorities said. David J. Cooper, 53, of Petaluma was jailed on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and assault on a police officer at Sunrise Assisted Living after seriously injuring a woman who lived there. Officers found the woman in the lobby with head wounds when they arrived at about 1:30 a.m. Cooper was nearby with a wood-handled tree-trimming hand saw, said Petaluma police Sgt. Matthew Stapleton. As police closed in on Cooper, he threw a wheelchair down a stairwell at them and tossed his saw at an officer. Police fired bean bags and used a Taser to subdue him.
|
