Greetings from the upper Midwest.  We have had a lot of flooding in the extended area, but here in Brownsville, we have not had any real problems.  Most of the flooding and problems have been many miles south on the Mississippi River and various areas east of us.  It has been real encouraging to see how people generally handle big problems here.  They quickly volunteer to deal with the problems rather then sit around and complain.  As an example, in one area volunteers sand bagged 25 miles of shore line.

Time to get to the serious business of the SRA.  First we will hear from Carole Gustin, the SRA President.


Dues:  Letters have been sent reminding our annual members to renew dues and asking for additional support in the form of gifts from both annual and life members.  Many have already responded.  THANK YOU.  If you havenšt, please do.  I urge our current members to encourage retiree and active staff friends to become members.  It's easy, and Sadye Lawson (<Sadye1012@aol.com>) will be happy to get them signed up.

Greeting Cards:  If you need to get on the birthday card list or know of someone who is ill or a member who needs a condolence card, please let Alice Donahue know.  She has moved to be with her daughter in Temecula.  You can reach her at (951) 302-9557.

DATES TO REMEMBER:

SEPTEMBER 15 —— NEXT GENERAL MEETING
NOVEMBER 1 —— HOMECOMING
DECEMBER 10 —— HOLIDAY GALA AT GALEN CENTER —— THIS IS THE CORRECT DATE.  Please join us for a celebration of the holidays at the Galen Center —— our 3rd year at this location.  Don't miss it!

Trojan ENCORE:  About 30 retirees have been permitted to put their resumes, job skills, desired positions, availability on line.  We are working with some hiring managers to allow them to begin listing part-time/short-term positions.  If you are interested in joining, please let me know (<cgustin@usc.edu>).

Trojan Football:  Our season tickets should be in the "mail" soon.  August 30th the season opens at Virginia against the Cavaliers (12:30 p.m. on ABC).

2009:  In June of 2009, the SRA will hold elections for: President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer.  Think about joining the SRA Board.  The current president and secretary are not able to be re-elected for those positions, so you might want to consider one of those.  Let me know if you have questions.

Carole Gustin
<cgustin@usc.edu>


HOPEFULLY HELPFUL TIPS

DID YOU KNOW THIS? — Have you ever wondered on which side of the car you would find the fuel-filler? If you have more than one car, or if you are using a strange car such as a rental, the question comes up frequently and leads often to frustration and an incorrect guess. Take a look at the gas-pump icon on your fuel gauge. Next to it, on most autos at least five years old and on many up to 10 years old, you will see a little triangle that points to the side of the auto on which one would find the gas-filler cap. (AAA Orange County Westways, June 2008, page 38)

TELEPHONE FRAUD — I ran across this in the AARP Bulletin, June 2008 — It is a way that cheats are able to charge calls to your phone.  They would first call you, often posing as service technicians, or as police officers, or ?.  Depending on your telephone service, they will ask you to dial *72, 72#, or 90#, which activates your call-forwarding function, a number they will then use to make long-distance calls for which you will be billed.  This will continue until you deactivate call forwarding.

GIFT CARDS — I am sure that you are very popular and therefore get many gift cards.  About 27 percent of recipients never use them.  If you are one of the "non-users," you can turn them into dollars by selling them on line.  You can expect to get from 60 to 80 percent of the face value, or for a couple of dollars, you can swap them for another card.  If you are a frugal shopper, you can buy gift cards at an 8-10 percent discount.  Check this out at <http://www.giftcardsagain.com>, or <http://www.Cardavenue.com>, or <http://www.giftcardbuyback.com>, or <http://www.swapagift.com>.  (AARP Bulletin, June 2008, page 22)

CELL PHONE PLANS FOR SENIORS — AT&T and Verizon Wireless offer cellphone plans for seniors over age 65.  Each plan costs $30 per month for a single line and includes 200 anytime minutes and 500 night and weekend minutes.  These may be only two of many such plans but should give you an idea of what is available.  To check out the AT&T plan, go to <http://wirelessplansinformation.blogspot.com/2007/11/at-senior-nation-200-plan.html>.  To get details on Verizon's American Choice 65 Plus plan, go to <http://www.mobiletechnews.com/info/2007/09/04/185548.html>.  (Kiplinger's Retirement Report, June 2008, page 8)

FOR NONTRADITIONAL FAMILIES — MetLife Mature Market Institute has compiled a tip sheet titled "Family Matters: Retirement Preparation tips for different Family Types."  It is to help in retirement planning for blended families and single women.  For a free copy call (203) 221-6580 or go to <http://www.metlife.com/FileAssets/MMI/CPFMTipSheet.pdf>.


End of important "stuff"-

Bonnie, my wife, told me I should not put the following in this newsletter.  She says I never listen to her.  At least I think that is what she said.

Shortly after arriving, I saw my friends, Ole and Sven, quietly sitting in a boat fishing, chewing, and drinking beer when suddenly Sven said, "I think I'm gonna divorce my wife, she ain't spoke to me in over two months."  Ole spit, took a sip of beer, and said, "Better think it over; women like that are hard to find."


HAPPY JULY 4th.  I hope you and your families have (or had) a great weekend.  I am always proud to be an American, but July 4th is still very special to me.  I hope we all can proudly say, "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: One Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.


C L A S S I F I E D  A D S
(Listed in order of receipt)

None this month.

[To have your free ad appear (for things to give away, to sell, to buy, etc.) in the next issue, please send to <len@winesland.net> before the first of the month.]


_______________________________________

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*The content of this E-mail Newsletter is for the information of the members of the USC SRA.  It is not a University of Southern California official publication.  There is no intent to promote any particular product or point of view.  Personal decisions regarding health, finance, exercise, or other matters should be made after consulting with the reader’s own professional advisors.