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MARCH 2023
During my first few years of college, I was obsessed with studying hard for every exam. One year, I invited a bunch of political science buddies over to my parents’ house (where I lived at the time) to prepare for our test. We were up half the night quizzing each other on questions like, “What is option identification?” and “Name four things that are part of U.S. public policy.” We ate our way through several bags of chips (no regrets) and other junk food snacks, joked around, and sipped endless cups of coffee. When they finally left around midnight, I didn’t go to bed. Instead, I stayed up to write a paper! I’m still not 100% sure how I managed to keep my eyes open all night while I scribbled away at my parents’ dining room table. But I know my method definitely involved Oreos — and I kept the coffee pot going until dawn! By the time I stumbled into class and passed my paper to the teacher’s desk, I felt like laying my head down and snoring. After class, I met up with a few friends to talk about the day’s exams, and they immediately started giving me the side-eye. MY COLLEGE ALL-NIGHTER GONE WRONG SLEEP DEPRIVATION IS DANGEROUS!
17 hours is equivalent to a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .05%, and staying up for 24 hours is as bad as a BAC of .1%.
It took a few more years after college for this lesson to truly sink in (you can read another one of my sleep deprivation stories on Page 2), but I make good sleep a priority these days. I can’t imagine pulling an all-nighter knowing how dangerous it is, especially if I need to have a difficult conversation, do challenging work for a client, or drive a car the next day! Drowsy driving is just as dangerous as drunk driving. I’ve handled dozens of cases for people injured in car wrecks because the person driving fell asleep at the wheel or another driver fell asleep and smashed into them. This can happen even if you don’t feel tired. If you only slept a few hours or have a medical condition like sleep apnea that wakes you up in the middle of the night, you might still nod off without realizing it.
I’m very aware of those CDC statistics these days. A few years ago, my flight home from another city was delayed, and it landed at Blue Grass Airport in the dark. I was exhausted from a full day of travel, so instead of making the hour-long drive home, I decided to eat the cost and stay at a nearby hotel. I even called an Uber to get me there — I didn’t trust myself to drive even for 10 minutes! I know that not everyone can afford to pay for a hotel room at the last minute, but you always have options to avoid drowsy driving. Call a friend or family member for a ride, call an Uber, or pull over to take a nap. It’s always better to be safe than risk hurting yourself or someone else, and as I learned in college, a cup of coffee won’t do it!
Finally, one of them asked, “Melissa, have you been drinking?”
“Of course not!” I said, “Come on, you know I’m don't drink, and besides, I live with my parents!”
My exhaustion was making me so loopy that I seemed buzzed. My balance was off, my speech was slow, and my brain just wasn’t working right. All of my friends could tell that I was off my game. Looking back, my symptoms make total sense. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fatigue can impair your mental and emotional state just as badly as alcohol! The CDC reports that staying up for
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HAVE YOU CLEANED YOUR WASHING MACHINE FILTER?
Most of us may know that after you dry a load of laundry in the dryer, you should clean out the lint filter to ensure everything continues to work properly. But did you know your washing machine has a filter you should clean as well? What is a washing machine filter, and where is it located? When you throw your clothes into your washing machine, they can have lint, loose hair strands, and other particles on them that could clog your washing machine. But your filter will catch these items and ensure your washing machine continues to work correctly. Since all washing machines are different, it’s best to consult your owner’s manual or search your unit online for more information. Common places where your filter could be located are in front of the unit behind a hatch, at the end of a drainage hose, under the center agitator, or in the drum’s lid. Why and when should you clean it? If you don’t clean your washing machine filter, your appliance won’t work as effectively. Your clothes can smell musty, and you may notice detergent or DROWSY DRIVING ALMOST KILLED ME!
lint residue on your clothes when you take them out. In addition, the filter can develop mildew and mold, which can seep through your clothes.
Professionals recommend cleaning and inspecting your filter every three months. But be sure to consult your owner’s manual for more information. However, if your machine is draining slowly, or you smell strange odors or notice lint or detergent residue, it may be time to clean the filter. How do you clean the filter? You first want to remove the filter from your unit and wipe away any lint, hair, and debris with a damp washcloth. Then, use the cloth to wipe the inside of the filter housing unit. Next, fill a bowl with hot water, add a teaspoon of dish soap or laundry detergent, and soak the filter for 10 minutes. After soaking, use a soft-bristle toothbrush to scrub the filter and remove additional buildup. Finally, place the filter back in the washing machine and run a short wash cycle. If you notice your washing machine is still having issues cleaning your clothes, contact your local technician for more assistance. They can do a diagnostic test on your unit and come up with a solution. The bill flapped like crazy in the wind, almost taking off without me! But my strategy worked. I had to stay awake to keep the paper from sliding between my fingers — and I managed to keep my eyes open all the way to our hotel. This was an absolutely horrible idea. Looking back now, it turns my stomach to think how close my family came to a deadly car wreck, all because I was too stubborn to pull over into a Walmart parking lot and take a nap. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), drowsy driving kills hundreds of people every year. In 2020, 633 people died in drowsy driving-related crashes, and thousands more were injured, and according to NHTSA’s website, “in 2017, 91,000 police-reported crashes involved drowsy drivers. These crashes led to an estimated 50,000 people injured and nearly 800 deaths.” Drowsy driving is just as dangerous as drunk driving, and it’s just as preventable. The most reliable way to stay safe is to get a good night’s sleep every night and encourage other drivers in your family to do the same. You should also stay off the roads during what NHTSA calls “peak sleepiness periods” (late afternoon and midnight–6 a.m.) and avoid driving after taking medications that cause drowsiness. As a last resort, pull over for a 20-minute nap and/or load up on caffeine.
How to Stay Awake on the Road
Almost 20 years ago, I made a driving decision that could have injured or even killed my family. We were on the way to Florida for spring break, and because of a string of bad luck involving a missing purse and some very important traveler’s checks, we were running hours behind schedule.
It was long after midnight. I’d been awake for almost 24 hours. Everyone else in the car was asleep, and the view out my windshield was nothing but endless, flat Georgia highway and perfectly spaced palm trees. It was hypnotic! I could feel myself nodding off, so I did something desperate: I rolled my window down, dug a $20 bill out of my purse, pinched it between my fingers, and stuck my hand out into the breeze.
Don’t make the mistake I did all those years ago. Avoid drowsy driving!
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THE CAR CRASH THAT HAUNTS HOLLYWOOD
HAVE A LAUGH!
James Dean’s Tragic and Mysterious Death
In 1955, James Dean was one of the hottest up-and-coming actors in Hollywood. He’d recently played the lead in the $5 million blockbuster “East of Eden” — a movie the American Film Institute later named one of the 400 best American flicks of all time — and had two more movies poised to debut. But that fame and fortune couldn’t save him from a car crash.
INGREDIENTS
On a sunny day in late September, Dean was speeding through an intersection in Cholame, California,
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2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp baking soda
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1 large egg, beaten 1 cup buttermilk 2 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
when a Ford Tudor sedan appeared in front of him. There was no time to react. The two cars smashed together, and Dean died on impact. He was only 24.
1/2 tsp kosher salt 1 tbsp white sugar
Almost 70 years later, James Dean’s death still haunts Hollywood. Historians argue over whether he was speeding or not (he loved to race his Porsche and was making record time on his way to Salinas, so the odds seem good) and whether the driver of the sedan could have seen him coming. But those questions aren’t the biggest mysteries. That honor goes to the fate of Dean’s car, a silver Porsche Spyder affectionately nicknamed “Little Bastard.” According to History.com, rumor has it Dean’s Porsche is cursed! After Dean’s death, it changed hands several times, wreaking havoc wherever it went. First, “the car rolled off the back of a truck and crushed the legs of a mechanic standing nearby.” Then, when a used-car dealer took it apart, even the pieces caused chaos. “The car’s engine, transmission, and tires were all transplanted into cars that were subsequently involved in deadly crashes, and a truck carrying the Spyder’s chassis to a highway-safety exhibition skidded off the road, killing its driver,” History.com reports. “The remains of the car vanished from the scene of that accident and haven’t been seen since.” Crazy, right? Little Bastard’s story is so famous that it was even a key plot point in a 2009 “Supernatural” episode. If you want to learn more about the Hollywood lore of the car and other haunted objects, check out the episode “Fallen Idols” (season five, episode five) on Netflix.
DIRECTIONS
WE WANT YOU TO THINK OF US AS YOUR LAW FIRM. If you have a legal matter that needs attention, let us know. If we can’t handle the matter, we will refer you to a firm that can. Please feel free to refer us to your friends and family for their legal needs. We welcome the opportunity to help. 1. In a bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. Set aside. 2. In a skillet, brown 1 tbsp of butter. 3. In a separate bowl, mix the beaten egg, buttermilk, and browned butter. 4. In a constant stream, add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients while stirring. Do not overbeat! 5. Heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Add 1 tbsp of butter, stir until the skillet is coated, and then add a few large dollops of batter (about 3 inches wide) to the pan. Do not overcrowd. 6. Cook 4–5 minutes a side, until golden brown and cooked through. Serve with butter, jam, and syrup.
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INSIDE
MELISSA’S FAMOUS COLLEGE ALL-NIGHTER 1
HAVE YOU CLEANED YOUR WASHING MACHINE FILTER?
HOW TO STAY AWAKE ON ROAD TRIPS 2 JAMES DEAN’S CURSED CAR
IRISH PANCAKES 3
MOVIES FEATURING PROMINENT WOMEN IN HISTORY 4
EXPLORE THESE POWERFUL FEMALE-DRIVEN MOVIES DURING WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH
‘Suffragette’ In today’s society, many of us take our rights for granted, but there was a time when many didn’t even have the right to vote. “Suffragette” tells the story of the British women who sacrificed everything to help all women gain the ability to vote over 100 years ago. They used art, debate, propaganda, and even vandalism in their protests. Their efforts led to the passing of the Representation of the People Act, which granted some women the right to vote. American women gained their right to vote shortly after. This movie is rated PG-13 due to some intense violence, so viewer discretion is advised. ‘Harriet’ Harriet Tubman is one of the most well-known individuals from the Underground Railroad and the Civil War era. Most of us know she was instrumental in helping hundreds escape slavery, but how much more do you know about the woman behind the actions? “Harriet” takes a deep dive into Tubman’s life by exploring her early life and showing how she became a leader in the Underground Railroad.
Throughout history, there have been countless women who have performed awe-inspiring feats. From Joan of Arc to Amelia Earhart, there are many women you can research that helped change the world for the better. And
there’s no better way to teach your children about these amazing women than watching a movie about their accomplishments. Here’s a list of movies worth watching to recognize Women’s History Month. ‘Hidden Figures’ Movies about astronauts and space travel usually do well at the box office, but they often don’t focus on the efforts made behind the scenes. “Hidden Figures” flips the script and tells the story of Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughan, three Black women who helped turn the tide of the space race in America’s favor. These women crossed numerous barriers to play fundamental roles in the effort to send John Glenn into space. It’s an inspirational watch that will help your children realize they can accomplish anything.
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