Senior Living: Watch out for smokey skies

As we enter the usually most active wildfire months: July through September, here are some reminders to protect yourself from the dangers of wildfire smoke.

First, why is wildfire smoke a health risk?

• Wildfire smoke contains microscopic particles (PM2.5), which are so small (smaller than a red blood cell) that they can travel deep into the lungs, enter the bloodstream, trigger asthma, heart issues, and breathing problems.

• Wildfire smoke is more dangerous: it’s more concentrated, more toxic, more persistent, and more widespread.

• Strong or repeated short-term exposures can cause permanent damage.

Second, how do you know the air quality?

Air Quality Index (AQI) tells you how clean or polluted the outdoor air is based on the amount of PM2.5 particles in the air, along with associated health effects.

• 0–50 (Good, Green): Clean air, no risk.

• 51–100 (Moderate, Yellow): Mostly fine; very sensitive people may notice mild symptoms.

• 101–150 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, Orange): Children, older adults, and people with heart/lung disease should limit outdoor activity.

• 151–200 (Unhealthy, Red): Everyone may feel effects; sensitive groups should avoid being outside.

• 201–300 (Very Unhealthy, Purple): Health alert — stay indoors if possible.

• 301–500 (Hazardous, Maroon): Emergency conditions; serious risk for everyone.

There are several apps and websites where you can check the air quality in your area: Smoke Ready Gorge (smokereadygorge.org); AirNow’s Fire and Smoke Map (fire.airnow.gov); Oregon Smoke Blog (www.oregonsmoke.org).

And there is Watch Duty (www.watchduty.org). Although it doesn’t show the AQI, it does show the locations and sizes of all fires across the U.S.

Third, what can you do to protect yourself?

• When the air quality reaches an unhealthy level, wear an N95 mask.

• Choose indoor activities. Skip working in the garden or mowing the grass — which sounds good to me!

• Close windows and doors; run a portable air purifier continuously in one or more rooms.

• If you don’t have an air purifier, there is an inexpensive and surprisingly effective DIY air purifier: seal a 20–inch square MERV-13 furnace filter to a 20–inch box fan with tape or a bungee cord.

• Use recirculation mode in your car.

And the obvious, don’t accidentally start a fire! Seventy-five to 85% of Oregon wildfires are human caused.

You probably have heard all this before; at our age, what haven’t we heard? But as we enter the fire season, it’s good to remember what to do and why. As the old saying goes, hope for the best, and plan for the worst.

•••

Brain Tease: THE MISSING DOLLAR — a logic mystery puzzle.

Three friends pay $10 each for a $30 hotel room. The clerk later realizes the room was only $25 and gives the bellhop $5 to return. The bellhop keeps $2 and gives $1 back to each friend.

Now each friend paid $9 (total $27) and the bellhop kept $2.

Mystery: $27 + $2 = $29. Where did the missing dollar go?

•••

In 1971, President Nixon announced he would visit the People’s Republic of China (PRC). I received correct answers from Sam Bilyeu, Bruce Johnson, Doug Nelson, Lana Tepfer, Rhonda Spies, Dave Lutgens, Donna Mollet, Eva Summers, Debbie Medina, Linda Frizzell, Judy Kiser, Tom Schaefer, and Ken Jernstedt, this week’s winner of a quilt raffle ticket.

•••

And last week, while trying to wash the smudgy carbon paper ink off my fingers, I missed Dave Lutgens, Craig Terry, and Debbie Medina.

•••

In high school, I remember memorizing “The Gettysburg Address” and the nonsense poem, “Jabberwocky,” by Lewis Carroll. Another poem students were often assigned to memorize was written in 1888 about America’s pastime: baseball.

For this week’s “Remember When” question, who was the mighty slugger at bat in this poem, and what did he do that brought no joy in Mudville? Email your answer to www.mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, leave a message at 541-980-4645, or send it with a DVD of Disney’s animated version of the poem.

•••

Well, it’s been another week, trying to find that word sneaking around on the tip of my tongue. Until we meet again, every question has an answer — some are just not meant to be found.

•••

“Sometimes in our lives, we all have pain, we all have sorrow.

“But if we are wise, we know that there’s always tomorrow.”

— Bill Withers, “Lean On Me”