By Jim Schuh

Every day brings a host of news items – the latest reports on government and politics, stories about celebrities, scientific breakthroughs and just about every other topic.

I’ve accumulated some news and headlines that may have slipped under your radar and offer them for your consideration along with a few personal comments as well.

The first one comes from Business Insider – “Babies learn most of their vocabulary from their fathers, according to recent research” which took place at a Chinese University. It has to do with DNA and Y chromosomes passed on by the father. This report suggests father should watch their language, lest they leave junior with a salty vocabulary in the formative years.

How do you get kids to eat their dinners? Researchers in Denmark have found it’s the way you arrange food on their plates. Seven and eight-year-old girls prefer items not touch each other, while boys the same age didn’t care much about arrangements. Children between 12 and 14 liked items either mixed together or separated. The researchers suggest keeping item separated is more likely to get young people to eat their meals – they can mix them together if they wish, but if they’re mixed to begin with, they can’t separate them. The researchers didn’t explain why they undertook their work.

Who smokes pot? Apparently, quite a few people do. I’ve never tried it and may be an old fogie with my head in the sand, but as far as I know, none in our circle of friends smokes pot. Of course, that doesn’t mean they didn’t try it as younger adults.

A study by the University of Michigan reveals that about four in ten college students ages 19 to 22 smoked pot at least once last year. One in five said they’d used it the previous month. The study also found four in ten high school grads who don’t go to college fulltime used marijuana in the last year.

What about older folks? A federal survey reveals almost one in ten adults between the ages of 50 and 64 have used marijuana in the past year. For those over 65, the figure is three percent. Many of them used pot back in the sixties and are returning to it as it becomes more socially acceptable.

Are you old enough to remember your folks calling the doctor to stop by to treat you when you were sick? I recall the doctor showing up at our house after his office visits were finished. We may be returning to that practice – sort of.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported a start-up outfit, “Heal,” is sending physicians to company offices in California to see and treat employees.

The MDs deliver non-emergency care to cut down on expensive emergency room visits which cost up to four times as much. The doctors accept health insurance or payments from patients. “Heal” says it’s profitable and plans to expand to New York and Georgia.

The doctors involved like the process, too, saying that unlike what happens at their offices, they can spend as much time as they need with patients.
Convenience Store News published a couple reports that might be surprising. One is that almost half of all grocery shoppers view shopping as a chore. The other is that just ten percent of us plan as far ahead as what we’ll have for dinner.

Since so many of us look at grocery shopping as a chore, there’s been a big decline in “stock up” trips and more people now shop on “need-based” trips. Many supermarket operators are trying to combat these feeling by rearranging and modernizing stores and adding new features.

Where’s a good place to retire? Several people we know have relocated in warmer places like Florida when they’ve wrapped up their working years. They also like that state’s tax structure.

We’re staying put – we dealt with cold weather by spending a month in the south in late winter as a reward for toughing it out here. It also gives us something to look forward to each year.

Staying here in retirement also keeps us close to friends and acquaintances. Maybe the biggest reason(or possibly “excuse”) to remain here is that we have too much “stuff” and don’t have the desire or courage to sort through and get rid of what we don’t need!

But if you’re adventurous, you might not only consider moving south or west in retirement, you could look abroad for a good spot to spend your remaining years. Natixis Investment Managers has released its annual ranking of countries for consideration, based on finances, health and well-being and quality of life. The firm rates the United States as 16th in the world

Switzerland, Iceland and Norway top the list, in that order, followed by Sweden and New Zealand. The rest of the top 10 are Australia, Ireland, Denmark, Canada and The Netherlands.

Moving to any of seven of those countries probably would require studying a new language. If that doesn’t appeal to you, the language of New Zealand, Australia and Canada is English – although living in New Zealand and Australia would require learning plenty of new words, phrases and slang.

The big negative in moving to Oceania is the cost – so if it still appeals to you, you’ve got some tough evaluating to do before making a move. And keep in mind that if you were to move abroad, unless you renounced your citizenship, you still must pay U. S. taxes.