Retiree helps kids dreams come true

Photographer sees life through new lens

A life of musical richness

A Monthly Publication for Folks 50 and BetterMO

NT

AN

A March 2015

March 2015 2

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Savvy Senior ............................................Page 3Opinion ....................................................Page 4Volunteering .............................................Page 11

On the Menu ............................................Page 12Calendar ...................................................Page 13Strange But True ......................................Page 14

INSIDE

News Lite

World record for catching bridal bouquets? SALT LAKE CITY (AP) A Utah woman says she has

smashed the world record for catching bridal bouquets at wed-dings and now is seeking recognition for it.

Salt Lake Citys Jamie Jackson submitted an application to Guinness World Records, saying she has caught 46 bouquets since 1996 and has the documentation to prove it.

The current record of 11 bouquets caught by Stephanie Monyak of Pennsylvania has stood since 2004.

Jackson said she has attended as many as 100 weddings over the years because of her familys connections to musical theater and their church. She jokes that what started out as a hobby has turned into her sport.

It is something that you have to plan for and you have to be very strategic where you place yourself, she told KSL. My strategy is to be right up in the front because a lot of time the brides dont know how far they are going to throw it.

A lot of times it will hit a ceiling, itll hit a chandelier ... Ive had many, many catches where Ive had to jump for it. And Ive

hit little kids by accident.Before she could apply to Guinness, Jackson had to track down

all the brides whose bouquets she caught to obtain documentation and photos. She said she was happy to learn 44 of the 46 brides were still married. I consider myself a good luck charm, she said.

Jackson has dispelled the myth that a woman who catches a bouquet will be the next to get married. She said some people joke that shes purposely staying single to catch more bouquets, but she assures them that is not the case.

Its just been a fun process over the years, she said.

Wild boar causes flight delays MADRID (AP) Spains airport authority says a wild boar

that broke through a perimeter fence at Madrids international air-port caused runways to be shut briefly and two landings to be delayed.

The beast set off security alarms and when cameras focused on the spot, operators observed it turning around and loping off through the hole it had made.

Dear Savvy Senior,What kinds of legal documents are suggested for end-of-life

plans? I would like to get my affairs in order before its too late. Getting Old

Dear Getting, Every adult especially seniors should have at least four

essential legal documents to protect them and their family. These documents will make sure your wishes regarding your estate are legal and clear, and will help minimize any conflicts and confusion with your family and your health care providers if you become seriously ill or when you die. Here are the key documents you need, along with some tips to help you create them.

A Will: This document lets you spell out your wishes of how youd like your property and assets distributed after you die, whether its to family, friends or a charity. It also allows you to designate an executor to ensure your wishes are carried out, and allows you to name guardians if you have minor or dependent children. In addition to a will, if you own real estate or have considerable

assets, another option you may want to consider is a revocable living trust. This functions like a will but allows your estate to avoid the time and expense of probate (the public legal process that examines your estate after you die) and helps ensure your estates privacy. Durable Power of Attorney: This allows you to designate someone you trust to make financial, tax and legal decisions on your behalf if you lose your decision-making capacity. Advanced Health Care Directive: This includes two documents that spell out your wishes regarding your end-of-life medical treatment. The two documents are a living will which tells your doctor what kind of care you want to receive if you become incapacitated, and a health care power of attorney which names a person you authorize to make medical decisions on your behalf if you become unable to.

Do-it-yourself If you have a simple estate and an uncomplicated family

situation, there are several good do-it-yourself guides that can help you create all these documents for very little money. For creating a will, a top resource is the Quicken WillMaker Plus

2015 software (available at nolo.com) that costs $50, works with Windows personal computers and is valid in every state except

Louisiana. If you use a Mac, nolo.com offers an online will maker for $35. Or, if you only need to create an advance directive you can do it

for free at caringinfo.org (or call 800-658-8898), where you can get state-specific forms with instructions. Or for only $5, an even better tool is the Five Wishes document (agingwithdignity.org, 888-594-7437), which is valid in 42 states and will help you create a customized advance directive.

Get help If, however, you want or need assistance or if you have a

complicated financial situation, blended family or have considerable assets, you should hire an attorney. An experienced lawyer can make sure you cover all your bases especially when writing a will or living trust which can help avoid family confusion and squabbles after youre gone. Costs will vary depending on where you reside, but you can

expect to pay somewhere between $200 and $1,000 for a will, or $1,200 to $5,000 for a living trust. The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (actec.org)

and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (naela.org) websites are good resources that have directories to help you find someone in your area. If money is tight, check with your states bar association

(see findlegalhelp.org) to find low-cost legal help in your area. Or call the Eldercare Locater at 800-677-1116 for a referral. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443,

Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org.

Jim Miller, creator of the syndicated Savvy Senior information column, is a longtime advocate of senior issues. He has been featured in Time magazine; is author of The Savvy Senior: The Ultimate Guide to Health, Family and Finances for Senior Citizens; and is a regular contributor to the NBC Today show.

March 2015 3

Essential Legal Documents Seniors Should HaveAll

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Every month Montana Best Times quietly features a couple pages worth of volunteer positions available through the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, better known as RSVP.

Weve been doing it for years now, and figure its time to draw attention to this great outlet for senior talent.

RSVP is part of Senior Corps, which also includes the Foster Grandparents and Senior Companions programs. Senior Corps in turn is under the Corporation for National and Community Ser-vice, a federal agency that includes many other service groups.

The great thing about being an RSVP volunteer is there is tre-mendous flexibility in how often you volunteer and for how many hours. You also get training to do your job, and even get supplemental insurance while serving.

Each month Montana Best Times RSVP features openings across southern Montana counties where seniors and retirees can help their communities: Custer, Rosebud, Dawson, Fergus, Judith Basin, Gallatin, Musselshell, Golden Valley, Petroleum and Park.

In this issue, on pages 11 and 13, there are more than 60 open-ings. And as you can see, the variety of places to work is huge.

If your kids have left home and you want a new challenge, or if youre feeling lonely and want to reach out to someone else, RSVP is a great opportunity.

To get involved, use the contact information at the end of each countys listing, or call the national Senior Corps number at (800) 942-2677.

Get started today doing something for yourself by doing something for someone else.

Dwight HarrimanMontana Best Times Editor

March 2015 4

Opinion

Do something for yourself help someone else

A Monthly Publication for Folks 50 and BetterMONTA

NA

Dwight Harriman, Editor Tom Parisella, Designer

P.O. Box 2000, 401 S. Main St., Livingston MT 59047Tel. (406) 222-2000 or toll-free (800) 345-8412 Fax: (406) 222-8580 E-mail: montanabesttimes@livent.net Subscription rate: $25/yr. Published monthly by Yellowstone Newspapers, Livingston, Montana

By Christopher McConnell Montana Best Times

When I was nine, I decided I had enough of being poor, Curtis Wilson said, relaxed in his home in southeastern Mon-tana, reflecting on his journey in a share-cropping family in Minnesota through eight decades of a life he built entirely on his own.

Wilson, 85, grew up near Walnut Grove, Minnesota one of the areas Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote about in her Little House on the Prairie series and was born into the Great Depression.

Curtis ancestors came from Ireland and Scotland, where their name was McWills

son of Wills, or Will-son. They were captured by road agents and taken to the states to serve time as indentured servants. The family spread out to Kentucky and Ohio, and Wilsons parents became share-croppers in Minnesota.

Wilson left home at 9 and, after wander-ing for a period, he ended up with a Dutch family for a couple of years, milking cows on their farm and being home-schooled until an uncle found him. He stayed with the uncle until he enlisted in the Navy.

Musical beginningsWilsons first instrument was a harmon-

ica, which he started playing when Jimmie

Rogers was at his peak. One summer, he found an old guitar at the dump, put some used strings on it and learned a few chords. He began to play guitar and was asked to play at his schools class play between acts.

I played two Hank Williams songs with guitar and harmonica, and that was my first public performance, Wilson said. It made the music teacher (who was also the principal) mad cause he wanted to show off his own students.

In 1948 Wilson quit school in his junior year, bought a Martin 0-15 guitar and enlisted in the Navy.

Wilsons military test scores were high

March 2015 5

MT Best Times photos by Christopher McConnellAbove and on the cover: Curtis Wilson examines centuries-old violins in his basement workshop.

Curtis Wilson and a life of musical richness

and he was assigned to radar school. He eventually boarded the 935-foot U.S.S. Kearsarge attack carrier in New York and went through the Panama Canal the largest ship to pass through at that time on his way to fight in the Korean War. While the ship crossed the Pacific Ocean, Wilson had plenty of free time and played his guitar until his fingers literally bled.

He had a friend on the ship from Flori-da who was writing songs, and Curtis helped with a word or phrasing and began to write his own material. The duo per-formed in Tokyo on shore leave, and their shows were broadcast over shortwave radio back to the U.S. To their surprise, they found out their songs were being copied back in the states.

The songs were being performed by popular country western singers at the time, Wilson said. We heard three dif-ferent songs on the radio that had a word or two changed, but they were blatant copies. We quit doing it and just played for troops and in hospitals.

Wilson and his friend got copyright advice about the stolen songs, but they didnt have the resources to pursue it, and they just let it go.

After his service with the military end-ed, Wilson came to Montana with a friend and, after finishing his senior year of high school at age 25 and attending col-lege, began work as a schoolteacher in Ekalaka.

He started to collect, buy and sell musi-

cal instruments and stories.

Violins tell amazing storiesIn the late 1960s Wilson bought a violin

in Glendive from a man who was dying. The man told Wilson he would get his moneys worth out of the instrument and attempted to tell Wilson the story behind it, but he was confused. Wilson fixed it up and advertised it in a few newspapers.

A prospective buyer showed up with a newspaper article from New York, which identified the instrument and told its his-tory.

The violin was one of six used by a Jewish orchestra that played a perfor-mance at a Nazi function in the early 1940s. After they finished playing, the violins were put on a table and the orches-tra members were marched off to their deaths in the gas chamber. All the cases and five of the violins were eventually stolen, but the sixth violin was being repaired in the luthiers shop. It was sub-sequently put in a different case and smuggled out of the country.

Wilson and the man used the article to identify the violin and confirm its authen-ticity. Wilson had bought it for $800 and he sold it to the man for more, but nowhere near its real value of tens of thousands of dollars.

Wilson started to learn about instrument value and how to identify the best ones. He now owns violins more than 300 years

old, and guitars and banjos and mandolins that are 100 years old.

He owns a Maggini a contemporary of Stradivari from the late Renaissance that he purchased at a music shop for $165. He also has a violin, bow and case picked up from a Civil War battlefield. The latter was in poor shape, but he repaired it himself.

His collection of instruments is impres-sive, but the stories behind them and their journeys are just as fascinating.

Wilson knows his instruments, and he always traveled with a wad of cash just in case he came across something special, he said. He would go to auctions and garage sales and usually got what he wanted. He would fix up and sell some, save the best ones for himself and give others to children or school music pro-grams. He recently donated a dozen smaller guitars to the music teacher at Ekalaka.

RichnessWilson is also an antiques collector and

he has an impressive collection of Native American artifacts, most of which he found himself over the years.

Wilson left home at 9 because he was tired of being poor, and what he found in the course of 76 years was not riches, but richness. He found richness in teaching, richness in experience and richness in music. He is living and breathing history.

March 2015 6

Right: Curtis Wilson plays his Maggini violin in his home. The violin was made in 1682, during the end of the Italian Renaissance.

Below: Pictured in the case is the Maggini (light-colored) and another rare violin, which is a Russian-made instrument.

By Chaun Scott Montana Best Times

BILLINGS As baby boomers continue to reach the age of retirement, decisions loom on what to do after hanging up their hats and leaving the workforce behind for good. For most of us, traveling the world in search of exotic destinations are what we have dreamed of ever since our first deposit into our 401(k).

But what about people who want to keep their feet planted right here in Montana? People like Dave Evans, 66.

Making a difference in childrens livesEvans, who served in various positions for the Yellowstone

County Sheriffs Office including sheriffs deputy, SWAT member and undercover drug agent had spent the last 38 and a half years helping others and knew he would have to continue.

As an avid motorcycle enthusiast, Evans took his motorcycle to the streets in 2005 to help raise awareness for the Montana Hope Project by taking part in its annual Ride for Hope 500 rally, spon-

sored by the Montana Highway Patrol. The ride raises money for Montana children suffering from life-changing illnesses and gives them a trip of a lifetime.

After retiring in 2013 and finding himself with a lot of free time, Evans took over as coordinator of the rally and then was appointed area coordinator for eastern Montana. Although the appointment offers Evans only a minimal stipend, he has been traveling across eastern Montana to raise awareness and search for children the Montana Hope Project could benefit.

(After retirement), I had the time, said Evans. Theres not much more rewarding work than what we are doing. Its just a cool thing to do.

About Montana Hope ProjectThe Montana Hope Project began in 1984 when a handful of

Montana Highway Patrol officers reached out to a couple of chil-dren with life-threatening illnesses. The troopers dug into their own pockets, borrowed a van, and took the kids and their families on a trip to Glacier National Park. It was then that the project was born.

March 2015 7

Photo by Larry Mayer/The Billings GazetteJoslynn Baker hugs one of her friends after being given the good news about her trip to Orlando, Florida, for a dream vacation through the Montana Hope Project.

Montana Hope Project Retiree finds joy serving Montana children

Since then, the project has helped nearly 400 children and arranges trips for kids ages 2 to 18 to places like Walt Disney World and Hawaii to swim with the dolphins.

The Project gives the children and their family a weeks

reprieve, explained Evans. We have the child explain what they want for a wish.

The project also sponsors two reunions a year for the kids, who get to go every year for the rest of their lives. In the summer, Hope children and their families are invited to Glacier Park to stay at the Izaak Walton Inn in Essex, Montana.

Everything is done by volunteers, Evans said. The Cutbank Fire Department provides all the meals. The children even get to go up in a glass bottom helicopter they get to see a glacier that most people never see.

The second reunion is held in the winter at Fairmont Hot Springs. Everything is provided for the children and their fami-lies. Children like 10-year-old Joslynn Baker, a student of Sand-stone Elementary School in Billings who was diagnosed with a rare inoperable brain tumor called tectal plate glioma that has attached itself to Joslynns brain stem. Joslynn was diagnosed at the age of 6.

In survival modeAt the time of Joslynns diagnosis in 2011, her mother, Mary

Baker, was taking classes online at Montana State University and was forced to drop out to care for her daughter.

Its a tough decision, but in the end, you know its the right thing to do, Mary said.

As a single mother, Mary had no other choice but to dedicate her life to caring for Joslynn. In the first year after her diagnosis, Joslynn and her mother made 10 trips to the Seattle Childrens Hospital.

In the beginning, I felt I was in survival mode, Mary said. We made it to Seattle Childrens Hospital in six hours from Mis-soula. I was surviving on only three hours of sleep.

It was very taxing on the single mother. Marys husband passed away in 2009.

For Mary and Joslynn, the first trip was only the beginning. After a multitude of tests and consultations with a team of neu-

rosurgeons, it was determined that Joslynns tumor was posi-tioned in a place that was too dangerous to operate or even per-form a biopsy. She would have to live with the tumor for life.

Mary said she turned to God for help and strength to survive.I spoke to God and said, I give Joslynn to you. Do what you

will. I had to do that over and over, again and again, said Mary. I cant do this on my own.

March 2015 8

See Montana Hope Project, Page 12

Photo by Larry Mayer/The Billings GazetteMontana Highway Patrol troopers Toman Baukema, left, and Justin Moran bring Joslynn Baker the good news of her trip to Orlando. Joslynn was also presented with a $1,000 check for spending money while she is in Orlando and a Kodak Easyshare camera to record fun memories.

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Joslynn Baker gives Montana Hope Project Coordinator Dave Evans a hug at the Billings Public Library on Jan. 16.MT Best Times photo by Chaun Scott

By Alastair Baker Montana Best Times

RED LODGE When Ron Barker climbed his first tree in his 20s to begin his life as an arborist and looked out over the green vista before him, his life changed immediately.

Up to this point Barker had been a hunter and fisherman, and was into boxing, race cars and football.

The moment I got into those trees, it overpowered all other things, and took the place of everything, he recalled. It become a real joy, and it replaced the old hunting and fishing days, the days of the thrills and spills.

The scene presented him with a new spiritual plane and offered peace and serenity within natures structure and strength, Barker said.

Backtracking slightly, Barkers life had always been action-packed with a soupon of danger thrown in. He worked on the West Coast for a fire department for five years and then as an arc welder.

Barker, 75, admits that trees have always fascinated him, even in his previous lives, and said wherever his family was based, hed be in them.

He took his love of them further when he started up Barkers Tree Service in Billings that he ran for 40 years.

We even had a bumper sticker, Thank God For Trees, he

laughed.Very much a faith-based man, Barker, constantly acknowl-

edges the Boss, as he likes to say, up above for the efferves-cent chapters in his life.

Barker was blinded in one eye because this eye seemed to catch it every time in a wreck or on the tree, he said matter-of-factly.

Three injections in the eye with a combination of hamster and human hormones restored his eyesight that allowed him then to pursue his retirement hobby of photography. Its anoth-er reason to thank the Boss up there.

Reaction to photos is reward enoughThe interest in photography came from people taking shots

of him in the trees he was working on. He later picked up a camera and discovered a new hobby that has occupied his retirement for over 15 years.

To date, he has taken thousands of photos of everything and anything from rock formations to flowers, strikingly colorful moss, wildlife, the moon, abandoned corrals, wild horses, fenc-es and the ever-changing face of Montanas skies.

I see something in everything to look at, Barker said. There is beauty in all.

One of the many benefits of his photography is not monetary but seeing the reactions his work draws from peoples faces

March 2015 9

MT Best Times photos by Alastair BakerRon Barker is pictured in Red Lodge, recently.

Seeing through a new lens

An arboreal experience, an eye

injury and a friendly grouse change a

photographers life

and feelings.You get a certain feeling you get when you see their reac-

tion, and of course, its that gift to the Boss up there, telling us were doing something were pretty lucky to be doing, he said.

He recalls showing a Fromberg old-timer a photo of a corral where the cowboy used to work, and how the man teared up as the memories came flooding back.

Seeing people show their heart means everything to him, Barker said.

People ask me, What do I owe you? Well, you already paid for it, with that smile, hug or tear. I dont want to attach a dollar to it and ruin it. Ive already chased the dollar in my life its not important, he said.

Another photo, this one of a cattle drive has also resulted in him being acknowledged with a tear, a hug or a smile, Barker said.

These photos are really indicative of a culture in this coun-try, and were all a part of it. Some of these old-timers are down to their last cattle drive, Barker said.

The Boss gives you gives you your eye back so you can pursue photography so you can show this old-timer the corral, and he remembers his past, Barker said. Its all tied together. What a gift from the Boss again. Everything good goes back to him.

Amazing friendship with a grouseA further chapter in Barkers life is the amazing friendship

he developed with a grouse he came to call Sweetheart while he roamed Thompson Falls in northwest Montana.

He came across the bird at many times in his travels. It would hang with him on his 4-wheeler and would even allowed Barker to place a small towel across its back as Barker calmed it.

That bird was so special, he recalled. Its a heartbreaker how it turned out.

Barker explained that the last time he saw Sweetheart, she sat beside him along a road and made an odd sound.

It was almost like we werent going to see each other again, he said. She wanted to come home with me. Two hunt-ers came by, and watched us, and they came up and said, Were done hunting grouse.

Even biologists Barker has met cant explain the relation-ship, having never come across this before.

Such is Barkers passion in this chapter of his life that he now wants to set up a fund to help Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks do a study on grouse because out of it would come good management to help their numbers, he said.

To raise the funds Barker is, for the first time, hoping to sell some of his photographs at art galleries, splitting the sale cost between the galleries and the fund for the study.

I cant shake that grouse, so I have to do something. I want to see something go to helping grouse, he said.

If you are interested in helping Barker raise money for grouse studies call him at (406) 668-9024.

Alastair Baker can be reached at Alastair Baker news@car-boncountynews.com or (406) 446-2222.

March 2015 10

Photos by Ron BarkerClockwise from above left: Sweetheart, the friendly grouse, which had such an impact on Ron Barkers life; The Car and the Moon; and Cattle Drive.

March 2015 11

Custer & Rosebud counties- City of Miles City: Volunteer needed to

scan documents in the city clerks office. Training will be provided.- Clinic Ambassador: Need volunteer to

greet patients and visitors, providing direc-tions and more.- Custer County Food Bank: Volunteers

needed for food distribution Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.- Custer County Network Against Domestic

Violence: Crisis line volunteer needed.- Eagles Manor: Looking for a volunteer to

instruct exercise classes 1-2 days per week for residents. Training provided, or you may develop your own program. - Historic Miles City Academy: Volunteers

needed to assist in thrift store and mainte-nance.- Holy Rosary Health Care: Volunteer

receptionists needed at the front desk.- Soup Kitchen: Volunteers needed to greet,

serve and/or wash dishes, and make sand-wiches.- St. Vincent DePaul: Volunteers to assist in

several different capacities.- WaterWorks Art Museum: Volunteer

receptionists needed, 2-hour shifts Tuesdays-Sundays.If you are interested in these or other volun-

teer opportunities please contact: Betty Vail, RSVP Director; 210 Winchester Ave. #225, MT 59301; phone (406) 234-0505; email: rsvp05@midrivers.com.

Dawson County- Local Farm to Table Store: Someone to

help in and during store hours, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.- Makoshika Visitors Center: Volunteers

needed to assist on Mondays and Tues-days. Training provided.- If you have a need for or a special interest

or desire to volunteer somewhere in the com-munity, please contact: Patty Atwell, RSVP Director, 604 Grant, Glendive, MT 59330; phone (406) 377-4716; email: rsvp@midriv-ers.com.

Fergus & Judith Basin counties - Boys and Girls Club: Receptionist and

front desk greeter.- Community Cupboard (Food Bank): Vol-

unteers are needed to help any week morn-ings as well as with deliveries. - Council on Aging: Volunteers needed to

assist at the Senior Center (Grubstakes) and with home delivered meals and senior trans-portation. - Library and Art Center: Volunteer help

always appreciated. - ROWL (Recycle Our Waste Lewistown):

Recruiting volunteers for the third Saturday of the month to help sorting, baling and loading recyclables - Treasure Depot: Thrift store needs volun-

teers to sort, hang clothes and put other items on display for sale. - Always have various needs for your skills

and volunteer services in our community.- Current RSVP volunteers are encouraged

to turn in your hours each month; your con-tribution to the community is greatly appre-ciated! Contact: RSVP Volunteer Coordinator

Sara Wald, 404 W. Broadway, Wells Fargo Bank building, (upstairs), Lewistown, MT 59457; phone (406) 535-0077; email: rsv-plew@midrivers.com.

Gallatin County - American Cancer Society-Road to

Recovery: Drivers needed for patients receiving treatments from their home to the hospital - American Red Cross Blood Drive: Two

volunteer opportunities available: an ambas-sador needed to welcome, greet, thank and provide overview for blood donors; and phone team volunteers needed to remind, recruit or thank blood donors. Excellent cus-tomer service skills needed, training will be provided, flexible schedule. - Befrienders: Befriend a senior; visit on a

regular weekly basis. - Belgrade Senior Center: Meals on

Wheels needs regular and substitute drivers Monday-Friday, to deliver meals to seniors before noon. - Big Brothers Big Sisters: Be a positive

role model for only a few hours each week.- Bozeman and Belgrade Sacks Thrift

Stores: Need volunteers 2-3-hour shifts on any day, Monday-Saturday 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m.- Bozeman Deaconess Hospital: Volunteers

needed for the information desks in the Atri-um and the Perk, 8 a.m.-noon, noon-4 p.m.- Bozeman Senior Center Foot Clinic:

Retired or nearly retired nurses are urgently needed, 2 days a month, either 4- or 8-hour shifts.- Community Caf: Volunteer needed, 2-3

hours at the beginning and end of the month, to enter computer data into Excel spread-sheets.- Galavan: Volunteer drivers needed Mon-

day-Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. CDL required and Galavan will assist you in obtaining one. Volunteers also needed to make reminder calls and confirm rides for the following day.- Gallatin Rest Home: Volunteers wanted

for visiting the residents, sharing your knowledge of a craft, playing cards or read-ing to a resident.- Gallatin Valley Food Bank: Volunteers

needed to deliver commodities to seniors in their homes once a month. Deliveries in Bel-grade are especially needed.- HRDC Housing Department Ready to

Rent: Curriculum for families and individu-als who have rental barriers such as lack of poor rental history, property upkeep, renter responsibilities, landlord/tenant communica-tion and financial priorities. - HRDC Vita Program: Volunteer Income

Tax Assistance Program: Volunteers needed to help with paperwork. Training is provid-ed.- Habitat for Humanity Restore: Belgrade

store needs volunteers for general help, sort-ing donations and assisting customers.- Heart of The Valley: Compassionate vol-

unteers especially needed to love, play with and cuddle cats.- Help Center: Computer literate volunteer

interested in entering data into a social ser-vices database. Also volunteers needed to make phone calls to different agencies/pro-grams to make sure database is up to date and make safety calls to home bound seniors.- Jessie Wilber Gallery at The Emerson:

Volunteers needed on Wednesdays, Thurs-days, and Fridays to greet people at the main desk, answer questions and keep track the number of visitors.- MSU Alumni Association: Volunteers

needed to help with decorations for MSU graduation and reunion weekend.- Museum of the Rockies: Variety of oppor-

tunities available such as helping in the gift shop and more.- RSVP Handcrafters: Volunteers to quilt,

knit, crochet and embroider hats for chemo patients, baby blankets and other handmade goods once a week (can work from home). Items are on sale in our store in the RSVP office at the Senior Center. Donated yarn needed for the quilting, knitting and crochet-ing projects.- Three Forks Food Bank: Volunteer needed

on Mondays and/or Thursdays to help with administrative duties, including answer phones and questions, some paper and com-puter work. They will train.- Warming Center: Volunteers are needed

for overnight shifts at the center, training is provided.- Your unique skills and interests are need-

ed, without making a long-term commit-ment, in a variety of ongoing, special, one-time events.Contact: Debi Casagranda, RSVP Pro-

gram Coordinator, 807 N. Tracy, Bozeman, MT 59715; phone (406) 587-5444; fax (406) 582 8499; email: dcasagranda@thehrdc.org.

See RSVP, Page 13

Below is a list of volunteer openings available through the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) in communities across southern Montana. To learn more about RSVP, call 1-800-942-2677 or log on to www. seniorcorps.org.RSVP

On The Menu With Jim Durfey

March 2015 12

Barbecued Pork RibsPork loin back ribs, 5 to 6 lbs.1/4 c. vinegarBarbecue sauce

Put ribs in baking pan. Pour vinegar over ribs. Cover pan with aluminum foil. Bake at 320 for two hours. Brown on both sides on grill. Apply sauce three times. Spread sauce on ribs. Cook until brown on other side, about two to three minutes. Turn ribs over. Spread barbecue sauce on browned side. Turn once more. Remove from heat when last coating of sauce is heated.

Avocados with Simple Salsa2 ripe, large avocadosMedium ripe tomato, diced1/4 c. red onion, diced2 tbsp. cilantro, chopped2 tbsp. lime juiceSalt and pepper to taste

Cut avocados in half. Remove pits. Do not peel. Make salsa by combining rest of ingredients. Arrange avocado halves on plate with salsa in small bowl in middle of plate.

Montana Hope Project, from Page 8

When it comes to cooking ... Sibling rivalry is a good thing My brother Mike and I were born a year and a half apart. Weve had a friendly rivalry going ever since I can remember. He was a better chess player but I was a better student. He was a better swim-mer but I was a better baseball player. That competition is now centered in the kitchen. Hes a better cook than I am. While I would never admit that my younger brother is better at anything than I am, it wont matter in this case because he lives in San Diego and wont read this confes-sion. He has come up with two dishes that I was delighted to sample on a February vacation. The recipes for those dishes are listed below.The barbecued pork was scrumptious. It is a very good dish to serve when guests are present because the chef is inside the house for the preparation and for most of the cooking time. The barbecued pork ribs are on the grill just long enough to become nicely browned and

to make the barbecue sauce flavor penetrate the meat. Although it may look too simple to be special, the avocado with salsa recipe is definitely a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. My brother is fortunate to have lots of avocados to experiment with because he and my sister-in-law have an avocado tree. This is his favorite way to use avocados. Incidentally, Mike told me that his avocados never ripen on the tree. Even when they become big enough to fall from the tree, they still arent ripe. He gathers a half a dozen, puts them in a paper bag and waits as much as nine or 10 days for them to ripen. Your Best Times recipe contributor wasnt going to stand by while brother Mike got all the glory, of course. Family members and invited guests were treated to a taste of Montana one evening when I served an hors doeuvres of venison loin pieces with melted butter and blue cheese and venison brats for the main course.

Gift of a lifetimeThen she found the Montana Hope Proj-

ect during one of their trips to Seattle. It was at the Childrens Hospital, where a social worker gave Mary a brochure of the project.

I couldnt believe they had a project like this in Montana for Montana chil-dren, said Mary. Nobody I knew had heard anything about it.

Mary called Montana Hope, and so began her and Joslynns special bond with Evans. Evans and other volunteers, with the help of funds raised through the annual Ride for Hope 500 motorcycle rally and private donations, were able to help make Joslynns wish to go to Walt Disney World come true.

For Joslynn and her mother, it was the gift of a lifetime to have an all-expenses paid trip

to Orlando, Florida, and visit Walt Disney World and Sea World. Joslynn and her mom were special guests at the Walt Disney World Resort, where everything was provided from a 24-hour ice cream bar (a favorite of Joslynns) to a personal golf cart, entrance to a water park and tickets to all the rides and adventures Disney World has to offer.

They treat them like royalty, Evans said of the Disney World staff.

Evans was also allowed to attend the trip with Joslynn and her mother.

Volunteers who have never been on the trip before are allowed to go, said Evans.

The bond between Joslynn and Evans grew strong right from the start and contin-ues to grow. For Evans, his job doesnt end after a wish is granted. He continues to stay in touch with the children he has helped and

keeps traveling the state looking for new recipients for the Montana Hope Project.

Making a difference in the lives of the children has made Evans retirement a unique and highly rewarding experience.

How to helpIf you are interested in working as a vol-

unteer for Montana Hope Project and would like to hold a fundraiser in your community, would like to go on the next Ride for Hope 500, or you know of a child ages 2 to 18 who has been diagnosed with a life-chang-ing illness, call Dave Evans at (406) 949-7433 or visit www.montanahope.org.

All funds raised for the Montana Hope Project are used to benefit Montana children.

Reach Chaun Scott at ip-news@rangeweb.net or (406) 346-2149.

Friday, March 6 Barn Players, Inc. Dinner Theatre: Murder on the Oriental Rug, Park Place, Miles City

Saturday, March 14 Billings Symphony: Gone Country, 7:30 p.m., Alberta Baire Theater, Billings Run to the Pub Half Marathon, 9:15 a.m., East Main St., Bozeman

Monday, March 16 St. Patricks Day Events and Parade, through March 17, Butte

Thursday, March 19 The Yellowstone Special Sled Dog Races, through March 22, West Yellowstone

Friday, March 20 Wake Up and Lace Up Fund Raiser, Miles City

Saturday, March 21 Easter Extravaganzoo Easter Egg Hunt, 10-4 p.m., Billings Southwest Montana Building Industry Association Home Expo, through March 22, Saturday 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Brick Breeden Fieldhouse, Bozeman

Friday, March 27 Great Rockies Sportshow, through March 29. Friday: 1- 8 p.m.; Saturday: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; and Sunday: 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. Brick Breeden Fieldhouse, Bozeman

Saturday, March 28 Sweet Grass Arts and Crafts Spring Fling, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Big Timber Civic Center, Big Timber Shawn Drover Drum Madness, 7 p.m., Retro Theater, Glendive Made in Montana Trade Show for Food and Gifts, through March 28, Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds Exhibit Hall, Helena WaterWorks Art Museum Benefit Dinner, Miles City

March 2015 13

March Calendar

RSVP, from Page 11

Musselshell, Golden Valley & Petroleum counties- America Reads: Tutor students

in the important skill of reading. Other tutoring is intertwined with this program. - Food Bank: Distribute food

commodities to seniors and others in the community; help unload the truck as needed. - Meals on Wheels Program:

Deliver meals to the housebound in the community, just one day a week, an hour and a half, meal pro-vided. - Nursing Home: Piano players

and singers needed on Fridays to entertain residents, also assistant needed in activities for residents to enrich supported lifestyle.- School Lunch Program: Help

serve and supervise children in the lunch room, meal provided. - Senior Bus: Volunteers to pick-

up folks who are unable to drive themselves. - Senior Center: Volunteers are

needed to provide meals, clean up in the dining room and/or keep records; meal provided. - RSVP offers maximum flexibil-

ity and choice to its volunteers as it matches the personal interests and skills of older Americans with opportunities to serve their commu-nities. You choose how and where to serve. Volunteering is an oppor-tunity to learn new skills, make friends and connect with your com-munity. Contact: Amanda Turley, South-

central MT RSVP, 315 1/2 Main St., Ste. #1, Roundup, MT 59072; phone (406) 323-1403; fax (406) 323-4403; email: rdprsvp2@mid-rivers.com ; Facebook: South Cen-tral MT RSVP.

Park County- Big Brothers Big Sisters: Mentor

and positive role model to a boy or girl, one hour a week. Also needed is a Community Program Mentor, who matches children and adults to find that perfect fit for both.- City of Livingston: Needs volun-

teers to help with mailings and oth-er work stations that do require standing and walking.- Fix-It-Brigade: Needs volunteers

of all skill levels for 2-hour tasks on your schedule to help seniors or

veterans with small home repairs, such as changing a light bulb, shov-eling snow, or weatherization.- Links for Learning: Help needed

with 1st-5th-graders, one hour a week on Tuesday or Wednesday, after school, with reading, home-work, or playing games.- Livingston Health and Rehab:

Activity volunteers needed week-ends for bingo callers and movie showings; Monday-Friday, 9-11 a.m. for coffee and reading the local news; Tuesdays and Thurs-days 7 p.m. movie night.- Loaves and Fishes and/or the

food pantry: Many volunteer opportunities available, including cooking.- Meals on Wheels: Needed sub-

stitute drivers to deliver meals to seniors in their home.- RSVP Handcrafters: Volunteers

to knit and crochet caps and scarves for each child at Head Start, also as gifts for children of prenatal classes, Thursdays 1 p.m. at the Senior Center.- Senior Center Main Streeter

Thrift Store: Someone who enjoys working with the public. Help greet customers, ring up purchases, tag and hang clothes and accept dona-tions. - Shane Center: Friendly volun-

teers needed to greet, answer ques-tions and show people around the center on Tuesdays and Fridays. Also a need for volunteers to research the old East Side School building, collecting stories and finding pictures of past teachers, students and the building itself.- Stafford Animal Shelter: Volun-

teers needed to play with the cats and kittens, and to walk the dogs.- Transportation: Volunteer drivers

needed to help patients keep doctor appointments. Some gas mileage assistance may be provided. - Yellowstone Gateway Museum:

Volunteers needed for a variety of exciting projects.- Various other agencies are in

need of your unique skills and help in a variety of ongoing and one-time special events, including help with mailings needed.Contact: Deb Downs, Program

Coordinator, 111 S. Second St., Liv-ingston, MT 59047; phone (406) 222-2281; email: debdowns@ rsvpmt.org.

2015

Q. When researchers started piling up the numbers beyond the hundreds, the thousands, millions, billions, even right up to a trillion (1,000,000,000,000), what body part were they sniffing out?

A. A team led by scientist Leslie Vosshall of Rockefeller University in New York City set out to compute the total number of different odors some people might be able to discriminate, reports Bruce Bower in Science News magazine. With about 128 distinct odor molecules which can be blended into various cocktails, they estimated that an average study participant could detect at least 1 trillion different smells, and superior sniffers could do far more.

Think of it this way: If you live to be 100, you could detect a new odor every second with no duplicates: 3600 (seconds/hour) x 24 (hours/day) x 365 (days/year) x 100 (years), for a total of roughly 3 billion different smells over your lifetime. And to approach a trillion would take more than 300 times longer than this, or some 30,000 years. Now thats some nose!

Q. Can you put your finger on when and why the practice of painting ones nails got started?

A. In Babylon some 5000 years ago, warriors stained their nails with green and black kohl as war paint to frighten their enemies, says Elizabeth Segran in Mental Floss magazine. At about the same time in China, aristocrats soaked their nails in a mix of beeswax, egg whites and gelatin with orchids and roses added in. Around 600 BCE, Chinese noblemen and women grew extremely long fingernails protected by nail guards bejeweled in precious metals and gems, signifying they didnt have to do hard labor. And in 50 BCE, Egypts Cleopatra dyed her nails blood red with plant extracts, becoming among the first to apply color to just the nails, rather than the entire hand.

Much, much later in the 1870s in Paris,

nail salons opened to cater to fashionable men and women whose nails were powdered and buffed to a shine why its called nail polish. Then in 1917 in the US, Cutex produced the first liquid nail polish made with nitrocellulose, used also to make car paint. Fifteen years later, Revlon began substituting pigments for dyes in polish, making it possible to develop new shades of color.

For an offbeat note: In 2003 OPI created Pawlish, a line of nail lacquer for dogs, to cater to groomers giving furry friends pet-i-cures. (Unfortunately, it flopped.)

Q. On your flight from London to Sydney, your pilot announces shell be flying blind, that is, without looking out the windows. How worried should you be?

A. Surprising to most people, pilots dont generally need windows to fly a plane, says Martin Powell of Monarch Airlines of the United Kingdom, in New Scientist magazine. The climb, cruise, descent and sometimes actual landing can be done blind, using complex monitoring equipment. Weather radar allows pilots to avoid storm cells and generally at typical altitudes no cloud is thick enough to obscure cumulogranite in the flight path (what pilots call mountains). At times, limited forward visibility for example, due to fog may require special ground equipment and operational procedures.

But all civil aircraft take-offs are done visually and manually, keeping the aircraft straight on the runway by looking out of the forward windows to maintain track and to detect any lateral swing due to engine failure, adds the United Kingdoms Steve Moody, Airbus 320 Captain. This requires a minimum visibility of 125 meters (410 feet). Landings, though, can generally be done automatically, with but 75 meters (160 feet) visibility required, not for pilots but for ground vehicles in case of an incident.

Synthetic vision systems may eventually result in aircraft where all

external views are on screens and windows are no longer necessary. But please dont take away pilots views, Moody says. We are blessed with the best imaginable. I can spend hours watching the world go by beneath me. Its glorious.

Q. What in the world are snow rollers, aka snow logs, snow doughnuts, snow pipes, or snow onions? One of the columns co-authors has seen these from his office window.

A. Unlike large snowballs for building snowmen, rollers begin as chunks of snow blown along by the wind and picking up loose wet snow as they slide on icy ground. The balls get bigger and bigger, up to a couple of feet in diameter. An alternative engine of movement may be simple gravity, which is why snow rollers often form in hilly areas.

Unlike snowballs made by people, snow rollers are typically cylindrical in shape and are often hollow since the inner layers, which are the first layers to form, are weak and thin compared to the outer layers and can easily be blown away, leaving what looks like a doughnut, reports Wikipedia.com. The precise nature of these varied conditions makes snow rollers a rare meteorological phenomenon.

Q. When riding spellbound in the back seat of a Lexus one July day in 2014, MIT roboticist John Leonard said, I felt like I was at the launch at Kitty Hawk, as the Wright brothers ushered in the age of air travel 111 years ago. What was going on here?

A. No one was in the drivers seat of this self-driving car, reports Douglas Fox in Discover magazine. This was the same year that Google added 100 more prototypes to the mix, all lacking steering wheels. A Google car senses its surroundings through radar, cameras and range-finding lasers spinning atop the vehicle to create a 360-degree view of pedestrians, vehicles and intersections.

March 2015 14

By Bill Sones and Rich Sones, Ph.D.Send STRANGE questions to brothers Bill and Rich at strangetrue@cs.com

What? Humans can detect a trillion different odors?

Meanwhile, Audi and BMW unveiled their own versions.

The critical factor here is the cars com-puter with its carefully detailed maps that are generated by manually driving the sen-sor-loaded car to scan roads in advance, revealing potholes, stop signs and other fea-tures that are then processed into a detailed map and downloaded to the autonomous car. The real challenge is to create exact maps for the thousands of roads worldwide and to constantly update for safety purpos-es. And, Fox adds, autonomous cars will also need to read gestures and other cues from cyclists, pedestrians and traffic cops.

Q. The English language, like all liv-

ing languages, is constantly evolving, discarding obsolete words and adding new words as new ideas and new technol-ogies come along. Are you in the know about captcha, first used in 2001? Clue: Think of a kind of Turing test in reverse.

A. It was 1950 when mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing proposed that a computer could be considered intelli-gent if, while interacting with a human and a computer, someone could not tell which is wh ich , s ays Anu Garg on h i s A.Word.a.Day web site. Captcha, an acronym for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans

Apart, makes sure that a human and not a computer program is using a system. With-out knowing it, you may have taken such a test, usually involving reading distorted text when accessing online resources.

Q. Not your usual reading fare, but heres a Did You Know from Discov-er magazine: If every passenger on a Southwest Airlines flight from Boston to Denver remembered to go to the bath-room before boarding, how much would it save the airline in fuel?

A. Each passenger would eliminate an average of 0.2 liters of urine, allowing the airline to save two or three dollars for that flight, answers the magazine.

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Crossword

March 2015 15

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