Lora Scripps

I moved back home after 50 years of a satisfying teaching career. I tried to keep up with my old friends, but mostly lost touch. It is a fulfilling gift to reconnect with old friends. The question is “Why?”

M emorial Day arrives each year with the same familiar rhythm — flags placed neatly along sidewalks, families planning long weekends, stores advertising discounts and free meals. For many Americans, it marks the unofficial start of summer. But for those of us who wore the uniform, especially those who carried it into combat, Memorial Day is something far heavier. It is not a celebration. It is a reckoning.

H earing loss is often seen as an inevitable part of aging. However, data from the National Institutes of Health indicate that one in two people over the age of 85 has hearing loss, which suggests half of all individuals in that age bracket do not have this issue. That should be encouraging to individuals concerned by the prospect of losing their hearing in their golden years.