COMMENTS FROM CAROLE GUSTIN, THE SRA PRESIDENT

A BIG THANK YOU to all who attended our December 13th Holiday Celebration and to those members who made it possible: Jeanne and Bob Church, Lynn Williams, Dagmar Halamka, Carol Dougherty, and Donna Heinel, (USC Athletic Office) and Hector and Julie (Aramark).  Parmer Fuller was wonderful, again.

February is the month for sending in nominations for the staff Leibovitz Award.  The form can be downloaded from the Emeriti Center Web page, but a letter is fine, as well.  Remember this is for service to the retiree community/seniors—not just at USC.  It can be volunteer service in your community—a local senior center, retiree residential complexes.  The nomination requires your signature and a second person's signature.

The Board voted at the last meeting to open an endowment account for the Staff Retirement Association.  I will include more information in the March EC Newsletter.

There seems to be some confusion about all the mailings we receive asking for donations during the year.  One thing the Board will discuss at our January 17 meeting is the possibility of folding the SRA, the Emeriti Center and the Emeriti College requests into one solicitation.  This means that your SRA dues, gifts to the SRA, and gifts to the Emeriti Center would be requested at the same time.  Support for the SRA does not actually support the work of the Emeriti Center or the Emeriti College.  We have been donating $1,000 per year (at least the last 2 years) to the "Living History Project" from our SRA dues and gifts, but the Board decides this each year.

The Emeriti Center staff supports the SRA in many ways: taking RSVPs for our events, making the copier available for our needs, providing us the opportunity to participate in the pre-retiree programs throughout the year (we get new members from being able to "spread the word"), spearheading requests to the USC Board of Trustees to retain and a year ago obtain an increase in the Health Stipend, manage the data base for all retirees, manage the Gold Card program, supply the major financing of the EC Retiree Community Newsletter, operate the "Living History Project," and day-to-day serving as an information center for retirees, etc., etc., etc.

The Emeriti College is embarking on some new and exciting ventures in 2008.  There will be an effort to recruit more staff to participate as discussion leaders/presenters in their areas of interest and expertise.  "Learning groups" will be discussion questions that are of interest to the "self-selecting" participants and outreach programs will be offered to more venues.  We have the E-College as a source of programs for the SRA—remember "Jazz: A to Z" with Thom Mason?  How about Karen Lansky's The DaVinci Code series?

I would like input from our membership as to whether combining the requests for funds in this consolidated way would be welcome (only one ask per year) or whether you see problems.  Should we go this route, we would include a letter that would try to explain the benefits from each of the 3 entities to our membership.  The $15 for annual SRA dues would be the only item with a fixed amount and, for non-life members, insures your continued SRA membership.  All other contributions would be strictly up to you.  Please email any comments you have before January 15th.  <cgustin@usc.edu>

Save the Date: March 20 is the luncheon honoring those staff members who retired in 2007.  Louise Ball is busy making plans for an outstanding event.


A FEW HOPEFULLY HELPFUL TIPS

I generally suggest this tip at the beginning of each year.  You may want to put "2008" on about 10 or 20 checks to be used after January 1.  This will give you time to get used to the New Year.

LONG-TERM-CARE VIDEO – Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine along with John Hancock Life Insurance, has produced a video demystifying (their word) long-term care by exploring what it is, what it costs, and how to pay for it.  It can be viewed at <http://www.kiplinger.com/yourretirement/longterm>.

GUIDE TO HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS – You can <http://www.hsaed.com/> to have a free guide to health savings accounts emailed to you.

PROPERLY ADJUSTING YOUR AUTOMOBILE MIRRORS – You may think you know all about this, but it is a fact that most automobile mirrors are not adjusted properly.  Adjust the driver's seat to the correct position.  Lean your head and torso over to the left until your head contacts the window glass.  I know, that seems too far.  But trust me.  Now, adjust the left-side mirror outward until you can barely see your own fender in it.  Next, lean over to the right a similar distance from straight up, and adjust the right-side mirror so you can just see your own rear fender.  Sit up straight.  Your mirrors are now set to allow you to see other cars in your blind spot.  You won't need to swivel your neck around to be aware of traffic hiding at 60 mph right beside you.  And the interior mirror will still let you see the traffic directly behind.  This came off the web site of the Popular Mechanics Buyer's Guide, December 2007.

THE SRA WEB SITE – In case you are not familiar with the Emeriti\SRA Web site, I strongly suggest you check it out.  You can get the site at: <http://www.usc.edu/org/emeriti_center/> and check out the Emeriti Home Page.  Then go to Affiliated Organizations and click on SRA.  When you get to the SRA page, you can save it in your favorite places and go directly to it in the future or if you want to check out both sites, save the Emeriti site also on your favorite places and go to the SRA site from it.  On the SRA site you will find a wealth of information, from current and previous E-Newsletters to the Bylaws, the officers, retiree privileges, etc., etc.  Also, when you are on the Emeriti site, be sure to check out the video, "Connecting for Life."  Click on the title on the homepage.  Or you can go to Google and type in USC Emeriti Center in the search box, click on home page and then go to the SRA under Affiliated Organizations.



My friends Ole and Lena are getting on in years.  Ole is 92 and Lena is 89.  One evening they were sitting on the porch in their rockers, and Ole reached over and patted Lena on her knee.  "Lena, vat ever happened tew our sex relations?" he asked.  "Vell, Ole, I yust don't know," replied Lena.  "I don't tink ve even got a card from dem this Christmas."

For you folks who worry about miles per gallon, a recent study found the average American golfer walks about 900 miles a year.  Another study found American golfers drink, on average, 22 gallons of beer a year.  That means, on average, American golfers get about 41 miles to the gallon.  Golf anyone?

A longtime, hometown friend of mine told me he had been seeing a shrink for years about his fear of failure.  I told him, "But you are a failure."  "Thank God" he said, "I'm finally cured."

I had better get on my way for now.  I have been very busy over the Holidays.  I have been working on a smoke alarm that allows you to sleep in.  Anyone interested?

The following is from Les Tempo De Sagesse (I don't know what that is either):
"If someone declares that he is able to do everything at sixty that he was able to do at twenty, then he was not doing very much when he was twenty."



In closing, I would like to express a personal opinion.  Yesterday, or two days ago, depending on when I get this edition on its way, I attended the Rose Bowl game between USC and Illinois.  I was happy that the Trojans easily defeated Illinois, 49-17.  I was pulling for the Trojans to go for two on the last touchdown so they would have 50 points.  That would have been a Rose Bowl record.  However, I knew Pete Carroll would never go for that.

That game may be the last Rose Bowl I attend unless a future one would determine the national champion.  Here is why.

The love affair between the PAC 10 and the Big 10 no longer makes sense in this age of the BCS.  USC should have been playing Georgia, in my opinion.  I do not plan on spending $135+ a ticket to see the Trojans play a three game loser who is number 2 or 3 in the Big 10.  Since I am only a 28 year season ticket holder, I got to watch the game from behind the goal posts.  As all tickets are the same price, I wonder who gets to sit in the 40,000 or so seats between the goal lines.  (That is only a rhetorical question as I am quite sure I know the answer.)  In the future, I expect I will watch the game from my TV and not stand in various lines for several hours on Jan. 1st.  I'll get a 70-cent beer from my refrigerator rather then stand in a line for 30 minutes to get one for $6, all the while having a much better view of the game.

The End.


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