www.tidbitscda.com For Ad Rates call: (208) 755-9120 evelyn2318@gmail.com

of Kootenai County, Idaho Issue #11 March 11th

by Kathy Wolfe This week, Tidbits has lots of informa-tion about the Irish, everything from St. Patrick to Notre Dame. Celebrate St. Paddy’s Day by learning some interesting facts about the Emer-ald Isle. •Themanhasadaynamedafterhim,butwho exactly was St. Patrick? Strangely enough, his name wasn’t Patrick, and he wasn’t born in Ireland, but rather in Scotland! Maewyn Succat was born in the late fourth century to a wealthy family, but at the age of 16, he was kidnapped from the family estate by a group of Irish raid-ers and sold into slavery. During his six years of captivity, he was a shepherd, and experienced a conversion to Christianity. According to folk-lore, a voice came to him urging him to escape, which he did, aboard a pirate ship. Yet the voice further counseled him to return to Ireland as a missionary to convert the Irish to Christianity. •After15yearsofstudyfor thepriest-hood, during which time Succat took on the name Patricius, he began his 29-year-long mis-sion in Ireland. Ancient legend tells of Patrick standing on a hilltop holding up his wooden staff, banishing all the snakes from Ireland. Because there were no snakes in Ireland, it’s believed this was merely symbolic of Patrick driving out the evil and pagan philosophies. turn the page for more!

TIDBITS® BRINGS YOU SOME IRISH INFO

Page 2 Tidbits® of CDA

Ten locally owned and oper-ated dining establishments in the greater Coeur d’Alene area have joined together to offer an Eating Contest! All you have to do is enjoy the great cuisine at each of these ten establishments by april 20th 2013. Youmustspendat least$15ateachlo-cation, save your receipts and drop them off at Franklin’s(501N.4thStreet,Coeurd’Alene),byMarch 20, 2013. All entries will be entered into adrawingtowina$20giftcertificatetoeachofthe establishments – that’s $200 in FREE, great, local dining! See page 8 for locations and see below for an introduction to each restaurant.

• Side Street Place, Post Falls – The Side Street Place offers full breakfast and lunch menus for all tastes with a neighborly atmosphere for the whole family to enjoy.• Broken Egg Café, Coeur d’Alene – The Bro-ken Egg Café features traditional American Cui-sine for breakfast and lunch, with large portions for a great price.• Sargent’s, Hayden – Sargents offers great steaks for lunch and dinner at a wonderful price and the atmosphere will be enjoyed by all.• Fu-Ki Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar, Post Falls – If you are looking for great Japanese cuisine, Fu-Ki is the place to visit. Your personal Chef cooks your dinner right in front of you on a Teppan stove, putting on a great show for the whole family.• 315 Cuisine,Coeurd’Alene–315islocatedinthe beautiful, historical Greenbriar Inn. Here you will enjoy a hand-crafted martini bar and small-plate menu with some main dish traditional fare also offered, all in a great atmosphere with car-ing, friendly staff.• Angelo’s Ristorante, Coeur d’Alene – If you enjoy authentic Italian, you can’t go wrong with Angelo’s. Wonderful food in a great atmosphere, best choice for a quiet, memorable date night.• Elmer’s, Coeur d’Alene – A wonderful “Amer-ican” family restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner with great food for all tastes and ex-ceptional service.• Chinese Gardens, Coeur d’Alene – A great se-lection of Szechuan and Taiwan home-cooking for an unbeatable price.• Franklin’s, Coeur d’Alene – Franklin’s Hoa-gies features fresh ingredients, great breakfasts and amazing sandwiches, including their famous Original Cheesesteak Hoagie, all served by friendly staff in a great local atmosphere.• GW Hunters, Post Falls – Famous steak and seafood restaurant offering a great menu includ-ing incredible wild game dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They serve large portions at great prices in an atmosphere of very tastefully displayed wildlife museum décor.

See advertisement on Page 8!

Questions about the contest ? Call Evelyn at 208-755-9120

www.tidbitscda.com

Greetings, my name is

Evelyn Bevacqua

IRISHINFO(continued): •P atrick wasn’t made a saint until theearly 17th century, hundreds of years after his deathintheyear461.March17istheanniver-sary of his death and is his religious feast day. •Althoughwe thinkof the color greenwhenSt.Patrickismentioned,bluewasthefirstcolor to represent the hero. In 1783, The Order of St. Patrick was founded, the senior order of chivalry and fellowship of knights. The Order of the Thistle already used green for their uniforms and the Order of the Garter used dark blue, so the Order of St. Patrick used a shade of sky blue. Military uniforms were of “St. Patrick’s Blue” and during the time of King Henry VIII, and the flagofIrelandwasagoldharponablueback-ground. The harp remains as the country’s na-tional emblem today. • Between 1846 and 1900, about2,873,000 people emigrated from Ireland to America, making it the second largest national-ity group of immigrants, second only to Germa-ny. The most predominant occupation of those newcomers was that of skilled weaver. • In2010,about34.7millionU.S.resi-dents claimed ancestors from Ireland. What were the most common Irish surnames of these folks? The last names of Murphy, Kelly, and O’Sullivan are considered the top three “most Irish.” Other common Irish surnames include Walsh, O’Brien, Byrne, Ryan, O’Connor, O’Neill, and O’Reilly. • Ireland has had its influence on geo-graphical locations in theU.S. Seven commu-nities are named Shamrock, including locations in Texas, Oklahoma, and West Virginia. Sixteen other towns are named Dublin, sharing the name with Ireland’s capital. North Carolina is home to the community of Emerald Isle, population 3,655.

Page 3 Tidbits® of CDA www.tidbitscda.comwww.tidbitscda.com

IRISHINFO(continued): •St.Patrick’sDayoftenbringsbeerandtaverns to mind, but that tradition didn’t start in Ireland. The Irish Parliament declared the day a religious holiday in 1903, meaning that all the pubs were closed. In 1970, that bill was over-turned and the day became a national holiday rather than a religious observance. • The tradition of a St. Patrick’s Dayparade began in America, not Ireland. New YorkCitywashometothefirstparade,heldonMarch 17, 1762. Irish soldiers serving in the British army organized the celebration to honor the Catholic feast day of Ireland’s patron saint. Today, New York’s parade is the largest in the world with more than 200,000 marchers along the Fifth Avenue route. Close to three million spectators observe the parade, which does not allowautomobilesorfloats. •Canada’s longest-runningparade is inthecityofMontreal,whereitfirsttookplacein1824.. • The three-color Irish flag – orange,green,andwhite–wascreatedin1848,andissymbolic of the country’s politics. The orange stands for the Irish Protestants, green for the Catholics, and white represents the hope that peace be reached between the two. •Have you ever heard of the trifoliumdubium? That’s the name given to the sham-rock by botanists. The early Celts referred to the shamrock as the seamroy, and considered this three-leafed clover a sacred plant with mystical properties. Legend has it that St. Patrick used theshamrocktoexplaintheHolyTrinitytofirst-century Irish pagans. During the 17th century when the English began seizing Irish land and prohibiting the use of their native language and Catholic

Gold & Treasureby GoldFever Bob Lowe Gold and treasure, two words whether used together or separately, have conjured up dreams and excitement throughout all history. They have been the symbols of royalty and power and have been used as expressions of love and devotion. Civilizations have used gold to create treasures that have transcended time, survived conflicts andsometimes, have lain hidden or lost until recovered by future treasure hunters. Onlyabout15%ofallthegoldexistingonearthhasbeenfoundandwiththehighpriceofgold the past few years, more and more gold is being found by modern day prospectors. Gold can be found with very little investment and in most cases less than what it takes to go fishing.Ashovel,bucket,screenandgoldpanwillgetyoustarted.Ofcourse,aswithalloflife’spursuits, you can go overboard with your new pastime. Fresh air, physical activity and the comrade offellowprospectorsaddstotheexcitementofthepossibilityoffindingabignuggetinthenextshovelful of dirt. Just remember, when GoldFever strikes, don’t quit your day job. If prospecting was easy, everyone would be doing it. Treasure hunting will cost a little more to get started, but the return on investment is much more than just monetary. Again, fresh air and physical activity makes way for locating nuggets, coins, tokens, jewelry and possibly, a hoard of treasure hidden by some scoundrel in the past. The best way to “test the waters” with gold prospecting and/or treasure hunting is to join a club. In our area, the NorthWest Gold Prospectors Association in Coeur d’Alene and the Northwest Treasure Hunters Club in Spokane are two of the best ways to hone your skills. Both have monthly meetings and seasonal outings for the whole family to enjoy. The NWGPA has 12 claims that can be accessed by members. Eagle City Park near Murray, Idaho hosts both prospectors and treasure hunters in their quest for gold and treasure. The NWTHC host many coin hunts throughout the year with big hunt on Father’s Day weekend at Farragut State Park. Bothclubsandothervendorswillberepresentedatthe14thAnnualGold&TreasureShow,March16th&17thattheKootenaiCountyFairgroundswhereyoucanlearnallaboutsmallscalemining&theexcitinghobbyofrecreationalgoldpanning.Youwillseethelatestinsmallscale mining equipment and metal detectors. You and your family can try your luck at our panning booths. Learn how and where to prospect for gold or look for treasure. Get ideas on how to turn your treasures into keepsakes and collectibles. Visit gold displays and talk to our members about their equipment displays and experiences. (See our ad elsewhere in this issue for details). Contact:NWGPAathttp://www.goldfe-verminingsupply.comandtheNWTHCathttp://home.netcom.com/~nwthc

2492

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208.215.3261www.diskandspinenorthwest.com1341 Northwood Center Court,

Coeur d’Alene(Beside Outback Steakhouse)

COMPLIMENTARY CONSULTATIONYou and your spouse are invited to meet with one of our doctors,

who will review your problems and your MRI’s/X-rays to see if you are a candidate for “spinal decompression”.

“I now stand straight up with my head over my shoulders and not looking like a turtle.” My name is Alma Craig. I am an almost 88 years woman who has suffered horrendous low back pain for the past 7 years, ever since I had back surgery. I was told by the surgeon I would be in a wheelchair within 6 months if I did not do his surgery. He was partially correct….his surgery made my back pain so much worse that I had been using a walker ever since then. I saw an ad in the newspaper about a new clinic that treated symptoms and conditions that I had. I was worried when I started treatment that their treatments would not help me as I had already tried physical therapy on 5 separate occasions, epidural steroid shots, massage for my failed back surgery and nothing really helped me very much and I viewed Disk and Spine

Northwest as my last hope!! I was amazed that after my third treatment at Disk and Spine Northwest, my back pain was pretty much gone and by the second week, I no longer needed my walker as my strength had came back in my legs. That is not all that got better…I now stand straight up with my head over my shoulders and not looking like a turtle, my Range of motions in my entire spine are literally twice as much as I previously had and no motions cause pain anymore, my strength in my hands has doubled and I am still getting stronger, my energy has increased so much that I now try and go for walks and exercise daily and my daily headaches are gone. Also, my chronic digestive problems are substantially better as those nerves being choked off in my low back are now able to send the proper messages

and energy to my intestines I believe. I want to tell my friends and everyone who has severe back problems to come try this amazing system at Disk and Spine Northwest out, it WILL work!! –Alma Craig

Spinal Decompression Therapy A NON-SURGICAL, DRUG FREE Procedure for Herniated/Bulging/Slipped disks, Failed Back Surgeries, Degenerative Disks, Severe Back Pain and Sciatica.

Tidbits® of Dallas County Page 4 Tidbits® of CDA www.tidbitscda.com

SENIOR NEWS LINEIRISHINFO(continued): religion, many Irish started wearing the shamrock as a symbol of pride in their heritage. •TheIrishwordlobaircinmeans“small-bodied fellow,”andhasbeenmodifiedabit tothe English word “leprechaun.” These little imps date back to the early Celtic beliefs in fairies, those tiny men and women with magical pow-ers, who used those powers for either good or evil. Leprechauns were seen as grumpy little men, whose duties were to mend the shoes of the other fairies. We’ve all heard of the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Folklore claims that the little men have great treasures stored in crocks, and use trickery to protect it from oth-ers. If a leprechaun is captured by a human, he has the magical power to grant three wishes in exchangeforhisrelease.In1959,WaltDisneyStudiosreleasedthefilmDarbyO’GillandtheLittle People, which gave us the image of cheer-ful and friendly leprechauns, but in Irish folk-lore, they are cantankerous and mischievous. •Indiana’sUniversityofNotreDameishome to the Fighting Irish, a team that played its inaugural game in November of 1887. In 1918, Knute Rockne took over as head coach and his recordofthehighestwinningpercentage(.881)in football history, either college or professional, still stands. Notre Dame has produced the second largest number of players drafted into the NFL, the greatest number of Heisman Trophy winners, and ten former Irish have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Every home game has been sold out since 1966, with the exception of one Thanksgiving Day contest against the Air Force in 1973, when the students had gone home for the holiday.

Sometimes brochures and cards that come in the mail look like something real and legitimate. I receivedacard thatatfirstglanceappeared to have come from Social Security. It invitedmetosendbackthecard(postagepaid)to receive a free brochure entitled "New Social SecurityChangesandBenefits." It was only when I looked at the very bottom at the fine print (and yes, I had to useamagnifyingglassbecauseitwassotiny) thatI learned thesenderwasnotaffiliatedwith thegovernment:Itwasasalespitch!WhenItraceddown the person named on the card, it turned out he's selling investments. I found the same card on a marketing site on the Internet. Marketing companies sell the cards as a direct-mail piece, part of a lead-gen-eration program for salespeople. Somehow they gotmynameandaddress,andhopedI'dfillouteven more information on the card (date of birth, home phone number and email address) andmail it back to them. With that information, they could start calling me to push whatever they're selling. I found a similar website, one that deals with promotional mailers, with this banner streamingacrossthetop:"SocialSecurityLeadsareHOT...mailerspulling5percent-plus."Thatmeans that one in every 20 people who receive the mailing piece will respond. The lesson in all this is to hesitate before youfilloutsomethingyougetinthemail,evenif it appears to be legitimate. Get out your mag-nifyingglassandlookcarefully.Youmightfinda line or two of the truth at the bottom.Matilda Charles regrets that she cannot personally an-swer reader questions, but will incorporate them into her column whenever possible. Write to her in care of King FeaturesWeeklyService,P.O.Box536475,Orlando,FL32853-6475,orsende-mailtocolumnreply@gmail.com.

(c)2013KingFeaturesSynd.,Inc.

Read the Fine Printby Matilda Charles

Page 5For Advertising Call (334) 505-0674For Advertising Call 208-755-9120www.tidbitscda.com

Read the Fine Print

by Samantha Weaver

•Itwasscreenwriter,playwright,novelist, director and producer Ben Hecht who madethefollowingsageobservation:"Tryingto determine what is going on in the world by reading newspapers is like trying to tell the time by watching the second hand of a clock." •Thosewhostudysuchthingssaythatthe Earth spins faster on its axis in September than it does in March. •WhentheTVshow"Bewitched"firststartedfilming,thestar,ElizabethMontgomery,was just a month away from giving birth to her firstchild,sothefirstfiveepisodeswereshotalmost in their entirety without her. It wasn't until the baby was a few weeks old that she was abletogoonthesettofilmherscenes. •Ifyou'reafanoftheBeatles,youprobably won't be surprised to learn that dur-ing the decade of the 1960s, they had more top 10 hits and more No. 1 records than any other recording artist. •BeforetheJune1944invasionofNormandy, a crossword puzzle that was printed in the London Daily Telegraph contained the words "mulberry," "Neptune," "Omaha," "over-lord"and"Utah."Thatmaynotseemtobeafact of much interest, but it turns out that those were all secret code words used by the Allied military in planning the upcoming offensive. The puzzle's author, a schoolteacher, was tracked down and interrogated, but the puzzle's content was ultimately chalked up to coinci-dence. •Thecountry'sfirstpayphonewasinstalled in a bank in Hartford, Conn., in 1889. Itcost5centstoplaceacall,theequivalentof$1.25today.

***ThoughtfortheDay:"Whoeveriscarelesswiththe truth in small matters cannot be trusted with

important matters." -- Albert Einstein(c)2013KingFeaturesSynd.,Inc.

Tidbits® of Dallas County Page 6 Tidbits® of CDA www.tidbitscda.com

Adrenals: The Stress and Energy Gland Too little attention is paid today to a couple of small glands called the “Adrenals”. The adrenals are responsible for a multitude of critical functions in the body and when they are not working up to par, many systems are impaired. The adrenals are a part of a complex system of hor-mone-producing glands that control nearly every metabolic function in the body. This system, the Endocrine System, is a complex, interdependent, organized system, which has an intricate feedback response to any chemical changes in the body.

The adrenals are small, yet powerful little guys! They are separated into 2 structures, the adrenal cortex and medulla. Each produces hormones critical for function, especially in response to stress. The adrenal cortex mainly produces or synthesizes corticosteroid hormones such as cortisol, corticosteroneandandrogens(testosterone,DHEAandaldosterone).Itisregulatedbyhormonessecreted by the pituitary and hypothalamus.

Theadrenalmedullamostlyproducesepinephrine(adrenaline)andnorepinephrine(nora-drenaline)whichareimportantcatecholaminesnecessaryforthefight-or-flight(orstress)response.It is controlled by the sympathetic nervous system.

This complexity of hormones control many systems such as response to stress or danger, sustainedenergy,bloodpressure,bloodsugarlevels,inflammation,mineralsaltregulationandsexhormones. In fact, when a woman is menopausal, it is the adrenal glands that become the major source of circulating sex hormones. It is the adrenals job to regulate how well you respond to stress. The more stressed the adrenals become, the less capable of handling stress you become. According toDr.JamesL.Wilson,(coinedtheterm“adrenalfatigue”),“…howwellyoulivedependsagreatdeal on how well your adrenal glands function.”

There are many things that affect adrenal function. Stress is number one. The adrenals were designed for a once-in-awhile great burst of cortisol and adrenaline when danger presents itself (fight-or-flightresponse).Thebodygoesintoaction,then,whenallissafe,everythinggetsrestoredbackto“normal”.Noharmdone.However,stressisachronic,longtermfight-or-flightresponse.Achronic, unrelenting series of adrenaline and cortisol bursts.

Cortisol is one of the hormones secreted by the adrenals. Sustained low levels of Cortisol are beneficial.Itisconverted,inasense,tocortisone,thebody’snaturalanti-inflammatoryhormone.Butwhenitsurges,asitdoesinafight-or-flightresponseorinexcessintakeofsugar,itisnowharm-ful.Itbecomespro-inflammatoryandtellsthebodytostoremorebellyfat.

Whenyouradrenalsarestressed,yourbodyhasadifficult timerespondingandadaptingproperly to emotional and physical stresses. You feel fatigued, sleep is unrestful, and you tend to gain weight and can’t seem to lose it and more.

How your adrenals get weakened and how to improve the health of your adrenals will be discussedinaclassentitled:Adrenal&Thyroid:AnswerstoFatigue&WeightGainonWednesday,March27th7pmatVitalHealthinCDA.ClassFee:$10.RSVP:208-765-1994.

Dr. Holly Carling is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Licensed Acu-puncturist, Doctor of Naturopathy, Clinical Nutritionist and Master Herbo-logistwithover34yearsofexperience.Dr.Carlingiscurrentlyacceptingnew patients and offers natural health care services and whole food nutri-tional supplements in her Coeur d’ Alene clinic. Visit Dr. Carling’s website atwww.vitalhealthandfitness.comtolearnmoreaboutDr.Carling,viewalist of upcoming health classes and read other informative articles. Dr. Car-lingcanbereachedat208-765-1994andwouldbehappy toansweranyquestions regarding this topic.

Page 7For Advertising Call (334) 505-0674For Advertising Call 208-755-9120www.tidbitscda.com

VA 'Walks the Walk' on Mental Health In April 2012, the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Eric Shinseki, announced his intention to beef up the number of mental-health professionals at the VA. Specifically, it wouldhire 1,600 nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists, marriage counselors, family therapists, addic-tion therapists and social workers, along with 300 support personnel. A few months later, President Obama signed an Executive Order instructing the VA to boost its mental health staff by 1,600, with 300 support personnel, by the end of June 2013. At this point, the VA is well on its way, with1,058providersand223supportpersonnelhired. In addition, and per the Executive Order, theVAhasincreasedby50percentthecallca-pacity of its crisis line. One wonders, however, how an Execu-tive Order comes into play here. Historically, these orders have been huge. Some have ordered wars, or integration of the military, or desegre-gation of schools, or Japanese-Americans to be forced into camps, or have allowed the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on phone calls without a warrant. UsinganExecutiveOrdertoinstructtheVAaboutstaffinglevels,withspecificnumbersof personnel to hire, after the VA has already stated its intentions, is a bit curious. Meanwhile, if you're a mental-health professional and want to work with the VA, go online to www.vacareers.va.gov and www.usa-jobs.gov. If you're a veteran and need help, call the nearest VA facility or go online to www.va.gov. If you have a mental health emergency, whether you're a veteran or family/friend of a veteran, call the crisis line (1-800-273-8255, press 1).You can do an online chat as well at www.veter-anscrisisline.netortextto838255. Just so you know, most of the people on the other end of the phone at the crisis line are veterans, too.

Write to Freddy Groves in care of King Features WeeklyService,P.O.Box536475,Orlando,FL32853-6475, or send e-mail to columnreply@gmail.com.

by Freddy Groves