2008-01-02

Thyroid illness may sometimes be silent



DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My doctor says I have to take thyroid hormone because my lab tests show I’m not making enough of it. I don’t have a single symptom. I feel like I have always felt – fine. I don’t like the idea of taking medicines. What do you say about a situation like this? – A.K. ANSWER: When a […]

Moments in Time



• On Jan. 6, 1838, Samuel Morse’s telegraph system is demonstrated for the first time at the Speedwell Iron Works in Morristown, N.J.. In May 1844, Morse sent the first official telegram over the first telegraph line, with the message: “What hath God wrought!” • On Jan. 4, 1935, Billboard magazine publishes its first pop music chart. A song called […]

Strange But True



• If you’ve ever suffered from thermostat wars at your office, you might be interested in the following fact: Those who research such things conducted a study in 2004 on office temperatures. The results showed that workers were less productive and made more mistakes when office temperatures dropped from 77 F to 68 F. • Anyone who has read her […]

The way we were



Clips from Mountain Eagle front pages over the past 50 years January 2, 1958 County Judge-Elect Arthur Dixon and a new set of officials will take office Monday. Letcher County’s new official family will include Dixon, F. Byrd Hogg as county attorney, Johnny Fulton as sheriff, Robert Sexton as jailer, Charlie Wright as county court clerk, Mrs. Archie Craft as […]

Now here’s a tip



The Very Best Tips of 2007 • “After the rush of the holidays, our family has a little tradition of its own. We reserve one night to watch all our home movies from the season. We usually end up watching some of the other years’ too. And our son has become a whiz at putting together slideshows on DVD of […]

CLICK and CLACK TALK CARS

Tire salesman is not trying to snow reader

Dear Tom and Ray: I have a 2004 Mazda Miata (with rear-wheel drive). Most companies advise me that I need to put snow tires on all four wheels. Is this true for my rearwheel drive Miata? Or is this true only for front-wheel-drive cars? – Mark RAY: I understand why you’re suspicious, Mark. I mean, here’s a guy who sells […]

‘Old Christmas’ was once widely celebrated in eastern Kentucky



To the Editor: When I was growing up here in Letcher County, there were three holidays at the end of the year – Christmas, New Year’s Day, and Old Christmas. Of those three, New Year’s, sandwiched as it was between Old Christmas on January 6 and Christmas on December 25, sort of got lost. The major things that mark a […]

Wishing a late merry Christmas



To the Editor: I feel like God wanted me to write and wish all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. It seems like the lonely get lonelier and the cheerful get more cheerful. God loves us all and why we feel low time will answer. Like always, time does answer even after we fall asleep. Now a little […]

Media Beat

Forecast for 2008: Bad media

My crystal ball is usually in the shop, but I hope you’ll forgive me for a momentary lapse into predictive punditry. With 2007 now history, here are some thoughts about what’s likely to occur in the media world on 2008. One of the big media surprises of the last 12 months – the purchase of The Wall Street Journal by […]

‘Pinky’



I met her in a green room, which, like so many others, wasn’t even green. The woman doing makeup had no idea who she was and neither did the camera man, but they knew I was going on first, to discuss some OJ-like topic of no real importance, so they asked her to get out of the makeup chair so […]