Beverly Bull (Archives/Director's Office, TID, BSD, 2003) drove to Sacramento, CA on Friday, September 19th and spent some time with her dad. Her dad is William R. Howard and he retired from LLNL in 1981. He worked in the Computation Department for 20 years as a swing-shift supervisor before retiring. He is now 88 years old and still living on his own. He has outlived two wives. Bev's mother passed away 12-24-81, shortly after her father’s retirement party. He remarried October 20, 1990 at the age of 70. His second wife passed away October 23, 2007. At that point, he moved into an apartment saying the home they had lived in was just too big for one person.

Bev flew out early Saturday, September 20th from Sacramento, CA to Portland, OR where her oldest daughter, Christy, lives with her family. Christy is a fourth grade teacher so when Bev visits Christy lets her help grade papers. Bev especially loves math so she gets to grade math tests and this visit some spelling and vocabulary homework. This is all very good for those of us who are getting older and don’t use those particular skills.

Bev spent eight lovely, restful days grading papers and tests, reading the second and third books of the Twilight series and relaxing. The Twilight series is a series of four books that her children and grandchildren have read. Anytime there is a book or series that her grandchildren like, she reads them as it gives her more things to share with the grandchildren. Bev was able to have breakfast with her grandson, Austin, thirteen when he woke each day and they visited until he left to catch the bus for school. It was a very special time for both of them. Mom and dad were already at work so it was just the two of them. Again, when he came in from school they were alone for a few hours before everyone else came home. He would talk about his day, what his homework was, and just talk.

She also enjoyed some special time with her daughter, Christy. They went shopping, and visited a few different Starbucks while she was there. Christy is an easy person to be with. She’s thoughtful, insightful, interesting, intelligent and a dear friend as well as her daughter. Since she and her family live in Portland, OR, they make a point of spending extra time with each other every year. Bev flies there twice a year (spring and fall) for about a week, and Christy and Austin fly down over Labor Day weekend and over Christmas vacation.

Bev flew home Sunday, September 28th, and again went to visit her father. At 88, they try to have someone in the family visit him as often as possible, and they call him when they can’t visit. He told her about his week and she told him about her visit with the family in Oregon. Then it was time to drive home.

Jane Olson (Mechanical Engineering, 1993) visited her friend, Effie Hurley, (widow of Jim Hurley (Weapons, 1979)) in Cameron Park for three days in October. They went to Apple Hill to some of the apple farms that have craft vendors from September to December. They also went wine tasting at a road side tasting room complex for four different wineries. It also contained an art gallery. The lady manning the gallery turned out to be the daughter of Don Wythe (Electronics Engineering, 1986). He moved from Livermore to Camino, CA about four years ago after his wife died, to be near his daughter. At one of the tasting rooms, they talked with another couple from Livermore, who have a yet unnamed winery. It is indeed a small world.

Retirees who wish to take part in the Lab’s 2008 HOME Campaign, but do not have access to a LLNL computer, can come to Trailer 6526 Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:00-3:00pm to make their HOME (Helping Others More Effectively) Campaign donations online or call Carrie Martin at 4-4175 to schedule an appointment.

There is a need for volunteers to help middle and low income people with their income taxes.  These folks are generally those who never could or are no longer able to do their own, and the cost of a paid preparer is too high.  Training is provided in January and then they assist others (about 4 hrs per week) until April 15.  The help is provided at Libraries and Senior Centers here in the valley.  Last year they turned away some people due to a lack of Counselors.  In addition, there is a need for greeters, e-file transmitters, and computer coordinators. If you would like to help, contact Bob Hickman at Bob@LLNLretirees.org.

The November Retiree luncheon will be held on November 19th at the Elk’s Lodge, 940 Larkspur Dr., Livermore. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. and lunch is served at 12:00 noon. RESERVATIONS MUST BE MADE BY FRIDAY, November 14, 2008. Bob Bills and Lynn Soderstrom, LLNS, will discuss the options that were explored to arrive at the medical plan choices that will be available to retirees. Open enrollment packets will be mailed on October 27. Meetings to explain the plans will be held on Nov. 3 at the Tracy Community Center at 9-10:15 am or 1-2:15 pm for Medicare-eligible retirees, and at 10:30-11:45 am or 2:30-3:45 pm for Non-Medicare retirees and again at the Robert Livermore Community Center on Nov. 6 at 9-10:15 am or 1-2:15 pm for Medicare-eligible retirees, and at 10:30-11:45 am or 2:30-3:45 pm for Non-Medicare retirees. The open enrollment period for Medicare-eligible retirees is Nov. 5-28; the open enrollment period for Non-Medicare retirees is Nov. 10-21.

A Heads Up: In addition to the increasing cost of health care as discussed by Marcy Feit, over the next three years the Laboratory will move to an 80/20 cost split on health care (LANL has already completed this process). For active employees, the Lab currently pays 84% (no info on current split for retirees). There will be increased co-pays and deductibles. The Lab is eliminating Health Net and Pacific Care as providers. Kaiser and Anthem Blue Cross will be the only providers. In addition, retiree plans will be divided into two categories – Medicare and non-Medicare. Retiree plan costs will be different for these two categories, likely significantly higher for non-Medicare retirees. The details of these plans will be mailed to retirees on October 27.

The Retirees’ Corner needs some more travel input, so please send any input to Gus or Jane Olson (please include the date and department from which you retired). E-Mail: Jane@LLNLRetirees.org or Gus@LLNLRetirees.org.