Opinion

My Holiday Gift Ideas for You My holiday gift guide doesn’t include a box of chocolates or tickets for a Caribbean cruise. This is a boring old Social Security column, after all, so my gift suggestions are related to that government pension program.

Dear Annie: I am writing in hopes that you can provide a different and fresh perspective. I have two sons: “George,” 28, and “Fred,” 35. George has lived with us on and off for the past 10 years. I call him my “boomerang kid.” He has finally landed a decent job, and we are giving him six more months of living with us to get his finances in order so that he can get a place of his own.

Politico Europe, a publication marinated in green politics, has named Russian President Vladimir Putin as one of its “power players of the year” -- for, in the publication’s words, “advancing Europe’s green agenda.”

Almost nobody likes Kyrsten Sinema. Some 57% of Arizona Democrats hold an unfavorable view of their U.S. senator, who just declared herself an Independent. Republicans dislike her almost as much, according to the AARP poll. Independents are more mixed but give her a minus-10 approval rating.

In 1799, George Washington died at Mount Vernon, his home in Virginia. In 1819, Alabama was admitted as the 22nd U.S.

Last month, the flu hit our house and even though I’ve had my flu vaccine, I was sick for a solid two weeks. My cough lingered even longer. I have psoriatic arthritis. The biologic medication I take to treat it is an immunosuppressant drug. I had to stop my medication, so my body needed a fighting chance against the flu.

Dear Annie: I am the proud owner of a flip cellphone, and I probably wouldn’t have it if public telephones still existed. I use about 100 minutes a month and have sent, in my lifetime, no more than 300 text messages, most of them one or two words in response to a text sent to me. I use no data. I still use physical maps to navigate car trips.

I write this on a MacBook Pro running on a hotspot off my iPhone. I love Apple. In first grade, I got to work on an Apple II. By third grade, our school had an Apple IIe. By fourth grade, we had a computer lab filled with Apple IIe’s where we learned to type, learned the programming language Logo, and learned how to use AppleWorks. In sixth grade, we had BASIC programming on an Apple IIe. By eighth grade, we were rolling over to Macs and I fell in love with an Apple IIGS.

Today is the 347th day of 2022 and the 83rd day of autumn. TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1577, Sir Francis Drake left England on a three-year voyage around the world.

Dear Annie: In 1996, I met a man while traveling. At the time, I was a single mom of three in a new city and state away from family. I was struggling with finances, child care and transportation. My family and I weren’t close and had many disagreements, so I moved far away. When I arrived at my destination, this man got off with me and did not continue his journey.