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Workers’ COMPanion
LAW OFFICE MONAST
OCTOBER 2023
www.monastlaw.com | 614-334-4649 | 5000 Arlington Centre Blvd. Bldg 2, Suite 2117, Upper Arlington, OH 43220-2913
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Pizza is arguably the most popular food in America. It seems you can find at least one pizza place on nearly every
The Columbus pizza scene has only grown since then. Thanks to their pepperoni, Ezzo Sausage Company helped put us on the map. Most pizza restaurants in our area use Ezzo pepperoni, so you’ve likely had it even if you don’t realize it. Massey’s Pizza, Tommy’s Pizza, Adriatico’s, and many more all use Ezzo pepperoni on their pizzas. Ezzo ships across the world, too, so if you’re having pizza in Singapore, it may be topped with Ezzo pepperoni!
corner of every city in the country. According to The Washington Post, over 40% of Americans eat pizza at least once a week! It’s fairly common for someone to ask if you’ll get pizza if you’re visiting Chicago, New York, or one of the other pizza hotspots, but many people don’t realize Columbus is a highly acclaimed pizza city, too.
In the 1990s, many considered Columbus the pizza capital of America. Loan company Anytime Estimate ranked Columbus as the third-best pizza city in the country last year. Since October is National Pizza Month, there’s no better time to investigate the fantastic pizza places around our community.
One thing I love about pizza is how it has become a tradition for many families. Not only will they eat it once a week, but they’ll plan something special around the meal. For example, my daughter-in-law’s father started the “Pizza Patrol” when his kiddos were young. They would go out and try all the pizza places around town, discussing which was their favorite and why one tasted different from another. That was how he bonded with his daughters and son. Sadly, he passed away last year before being able to introduce our grandson to the Pizza Patrol. There are many great places to grab a slice if you’re in the mood for pizza. Todd in our office loves Adriatico’s, but my favorite will always be Tommy’s Pizza. I fell in love with it almost 50 years ago, and it’s still one of the best in town. There’s just nothing like a pepperoni, sausage, mushroom, and black olive pizza on their thin cracker crust. Writing about it makes me want to run over and grab one!
I’ve always loved Columbus pizza, but it wasn’t until recently that I realized how highly regarded it is on a national level. A few months back, I was having dinner at Der Dutchman in Plain City, which specializes in Amish and Mennonite cuisine. While walking through the gift shop, a book by Jim Ellison called “Columbus Pizza: A Slice of History” caught my eye. I picked it up and flipped through it but couldn’t justify the $20 price tag. Thankfully, I stumbled upon the book later that week on my Kindle for only 99 cents. The pizza history in Columbus has incredible depth. One of our city’s first pizza places launched when Columbus started offering transcontinental flights. The airline was called Transcontinental Air Transport, which many shortened to TAT. In 1929, TAT Ristorante Di Famiglia opened its doors, lighting the way for the future pizza scene. Jimmy Corrova owned the restaurant and cut his pizza into square slices. People loved this restaurant and still do to this day. While their pizzas are great, you can’t go wrong with any of their Italian dishes.
I hope you can enjoy a pizza from your favorite restaurant this October. If you stop by Tommy’s, you might see me there!
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There’s a reason they call the first few years of retirement the “go-go years.” The initial days of your retirement will likely be the most active and eventful. Once freed from the constraints of your career, you begin checking items and experiences off your bucket list and spending is at an all-time high. However, watch out for a few big purchases that most retirees almost always regret. Let’s take a look! A LARGE HOUSE Throughout your life, you likely grew accustomed to upsizing your home along the way. Now, at the peak of your net worth, you may have your eyes and goals set on your dream home. Retirees may be attracted to spacious properties or even vacation homes, only to find the upkeep and expenses are more than they can handle down the road. When the benefits don’t outweigh the cost, a large house often becomes a regret. RETIREMENT REGRETS: BIG PURCHASES THAT CAN HAUNT YOUR GOLDEN YEARS
LAVISH TRAVEL Retirement should be all about travel and bucket list items, right? Right! But, if you spend a large chunk of your savings on an amazing around-the-world vacation right out of the gate, you may cripple your financial health later into your golden years. Many retirees often regret paying for expensive airfare, accommodations, meals, and other expenses. Opt for local wonders of the
world to explore instead. EXPENSIVE GIFTS
It’s only natural to want to spoil your loved ones — especially as grandchildren come into the picture. However, many retirees often regret the extravagant gifts they generously gave early in their retirement because of the financial strain it created later. Your golden years should be a time of fulfillment and happiness, unburdened by financial stress and regrettable decisions. So, before you make any large purchases, whether it’s a luxury car, home, or vacation, be prudent with your spending and remember that your nest egg must last you for decades. Before you swipe the card or hand over the cash, make sure you have a long-term view in mind: no regrets.
A REMARKABLE RECOVERY Client Story: Tim Dunlap
Our friend, Tim Dunlap, was born and raised in Washington Courthouse.
For nearly all of his adult work life, Tim worked as a machinist. On Aug. 29, 2019, he was working on a manual lathe on which a safety guard had been removed. His glove got caught, pulling his hand, wrist, arm, and chest into the machine, nearly severing his arm. Photos taken by the trauma center doctors at Riverside Hospital in Columbus, where Tim was life-flighted, are horrendous. When Tim and I first met, I thought he’d likely lose the arm; it’s a miracle he didn’t. It is a testament to his skilled doctors and nurses that Tim’s arm, hanging by the smallest threads of tissue, was reconnected and is still usable. Hospitalized and then in a skilled nursing facility for nearly six months, Tim received the obvious injuries to his left arm; was contaminated by machine residue; had fractured ribs repaired with plates; fractured his wrist, elbow, fingers, shoulder blade, and lumbar vertebra; suffered a collapsed lung; an ischemic stroke; and atrial fibrillation. His surgeries were numerous.
Tim and his granddaughter Izzy
All things considered, Tim’s recovery has been remarkable. Though he remains unable to work, he’s generally in good spirits and enjoys getting out of the house more often to visit friends and family. Through it all, Tim’s daughter, Tesa, and her husband, Bryan, have been there to encourage and help with the endless paperwork and doctor visits. In 35-plus years of practice, Tim’s injury is among the worst I’ve seen. I’m grateful we’ve been able to walk alongside him through this often- frustrating workers’ compensation process and introduce you to him.
A year later, he suffered a second stroke as a residual from the first, requiring further hospitalization.
Understandably, he required treatment for major depression and anxiety resulting from his violent injury and cognitive impairment from the head injury and strokes. He has total loss of use of his left thumb and part of his left fourth finger.
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LOST IN THE PIPES
Thirteen years ago, Mary Strand received a diamond ring from her husband for their 33rd wedding anniversary. While in the bathroom, the ring slipped off her finger into the toilet and quickly went down the drain. Mary was horrified. “It was swirling around. I truly dove for it, and it went down the drain,” said Mary. “I was thinking, ‘He’ll never buy me another ring’ … I felt really bad because it was a gift.” At first, Mary didn’t lose hope. Her husband owned a drain and sewer company, so they thought they could find the ring, but that hope eventually faded. Soon, a decade had passed, and the ring never turned up. Until this past May. The mechanical manager of a wastewater treatment plant in Rogers, Minnesota, noticed something sparkling in the debris. When they retrieved it, they learned it was a diamond ring. This ring had an intricate design, and because of this, the team at the plant thought they could track down the original owner. They took to social media and alerted the public that they had found a ring, providing contact information for community members to ask if the missing ring was theirs. The plant received hundreds of calls and even brought in local jewelers to examine the ring and find a match from the photos sent in by the public. When the search ended, only one picture actually matched the ring. It belonged to Mary Strand. After 13 years, Mary reclaimed her long-lost ring. She now plans to reset it so she can wear it for her 46th anniversary with her husband.
THE 13-YEAR JOURNEY OF A PRECIOUS RING
Every year, couples across the country give gifts to each other in recognition of their wedding anniversary. The size of these gifts can vary greatly depending on the couple. Some people like to go on extravagant vacations for their anniversary, while others prefer dinner, flowers, and a smaller gift. For some men, there’s no gift they’d rather give than a piece of jewelry. A common trope in movies is a husband or wife dropping an important ring down the drain, never to be found again. We all hope never to experience this situation firsthand, but it does happen from time to time.
SUDOKU
THE BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES MUNCHIES WITH MOLLY
INGREDIENTS •
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
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3/4 cup packed brown sugar
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1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups (12-oz package) semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup granulated sugar
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375 F. 2.
5. 6. 7.
Gradually beat in flour mixture.
In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract until creamy. To the creamed mixture, add eggs one at a time, beating until blended.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Arrange dough in rounded teaspoonfuls on ungreased baking sheets.
3.
8. Bake 8–10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; move to wire racks to cool completely.
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Phone: 614-334-4649 www.monastlaw.com 5000 Arlington Centre Blvd. Bldg 2, Suite 2117 Upper Arlington, OH 43220-2913
LAW OFFICE MONAST
Monday–Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
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Discover the Delicious Secrets Behind Columbus Pizza
Golden Years Gone Wrong: Retirees’ Biggest Regrets
Meet Tim Dunlap
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A Ring’s Long Journey Home
The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Step Into 536: ‘The Worst Year to Be Alive’
3 REASONS 536 WAS THE WORST YEAR IN HUMAN HISTORY When Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, it poured so much dust into the sky that the sun over Eastern Washington went dark. Ash drifted overhead, traveling into neighboring Idaho and forcing temperatures down by as much as 15 degrees F. got worse in some areas! In 541, the Plague of Justinian — the first bubonic plague pandemic — appeared in Egypt and spread through Europe, killing roughly one-third of the continent’s population.
For decades, archaeologists and historians have puzzled over the tipping point in 536. “What went wrong,” they wondered, “to make the sun go dark and trigger snow in summer?” It was a head-scratcher until 2018. That year, researchers finally solved the mystery with help from, of all things, a Swiss glacier! The glacial ice was riddled with volcanic glass. Further study revealed enormous volcanic eruptions in 536, 540, and 547 likely caused “The Dark Ages.” It wasn’t just metaphorically dark — it was literally dark thanks to ash blotting out the sun and coating people’s homes, skin, and clothing. Scientists have traced the 540 eruption to Ilopango, a volcano in El Salvador that’s currently inactive, but they’re still hunting for the source of the 536 eruption. As we write this, volcanoes in Iceland and Alaska are the most likely candidates. We’ve already survived a pandemic this century, so for everyone’s sake, let’s hope both regions stay quiet until at least 2100. We all deserve a break!
Locals spent a few weeks scared and shivering under dull skies. They had no way of knowing it, but they were experiencing a tiny fraction of the horror humans felt back in 536 — a time that Harvard University historian Michael McCormick once called “the worst year to be alive.” For decades, the year 536 was a historical mystery. Records showed that it was a terrible time, stricken by the triple threat of:
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Unexplained, unending darkness Unseasonably frigid weather
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Crop failures and famines
Those horrors and the economic and political instability they brought ravaged the globe from Ireland to China. Although 536 was arguably the worst year, things didn’t get better for more than a decade. In fact, they
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