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The Disability DIGEST
JoelThrift.com 404-618-4816
August 2025
How We Sweat It Out in the South
Aside from a few years in Indiana, I’ve spent my entire life in Georgia. And let me tell you, the summer heat here is no joke. This time of year has you sweating through your shirts and looking for any way to cool off. The entire summer’s a heat fest, but August feels like the final boss. By the end of summer, the air’s thick humidity sticks around, and you consider it a gift if the temperature dips below 80 degrees overnight. Of course, it’s different in other parts of the country. Whenever I visit the in-laws in Connecticut, it reminds me just how different it can be. Up north, they barely run the AC. You can actually open a window and cool off the house. Down here, the heat lingers. It builds up throughout the day and doesn’t disappear when the sun goes down. Air conditioning isn’t a choice. Without it, you’d be miserable. And it gets you thinking about how people made it work before the AC was invented. The fact is that they didn’t. A couple of years ago, I toured an old mansion in Macon that one of the wealthiest guys in the country at the time built. It was designed with all kinds of features to keep it cool. It had high ceilings, long hallways, and even a fairly innovative system that would funnel cooler air from the basement up through the rooms in the rest of the house. Having experienced it myself, I can tell you the system didn’t do much to cool things off during a Georgia summer. Even one of the wealthiest guys around couldn’t escape the heat. It makes you appreciate what we have today, even if the cooling bill sometimes makes you sweat just as much as the heat. Along with living by an AC unit, staying cool takes some additional planning. Pools are great if you’re lucky enough to have access to one. But even swimming is hot when the sun’s blazing. It isn’t always possible, but I always tell people to take a cue from the Spanish and rest when the day’s at its hottest. I also learned something else while on a trip to the Caribbean — cover up. It might seem counterintuitive, Surviving the Georgia Heat
but the people who work outside every day down there aren’t doing it in shorts and a tank top. They’re wearing long sleeves, hats, and sunglasses for protection. Now, I do the same when I head outdoors for any length of time. I may not look stylish, but I’m not getting fried in the sun, either. Of course, all the heat isn’t just inconvenient. It can be dangerous. I’ve seen cases where people working out in it suffer from heat strokes or even have heart attacks. That’s why you need to pay close attention to how you feel when you’re working outdoors in the summer. Don’t just push through things if your body tells you to slow down. You can end up sick or even worse off. For me, I’m going to keep doing what I can to stay cool the rest of the summer while I count down the days until fall. That’s my favorite season. Mornings are cooler, football season starts, and you can finally catch a breeze with the windows open. Until then, we’ll keep the AC running, take things a day at a time, and do our best to survive the summer heat in Georgia.
–Joel Thrift
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Rethinking Retirement
The Rise of Part-Time Retirees
These days, more people are scaling back on long working hours, especially Gen Z and millennials. Many pick up part-time work or projects that give them space without completely severing ties to working life. It’s a slow shift — not a sudden stop — and it’s gaining traction. And for those approaching retirement, it’s something to consider. Retirement doesn’t have to mean walking away for good. This shift is partly fueled by remote and flexible work options, making it easier to downshift without leaving the workforce. A recent study from Fidelity Investments found that 66% of younger workers would prefer a
phased retirement, and more than half of all respondents said they plan to work part-time during retirement. The reasons vary. Some want more time for travel, hobbies, or personal projects, but still value structure and purpose. Others want to stay active or involved in their field. Working in some capacity can also help with cash flow, delay Social Security, or cover insurance, which is especially important for those retiring before age 65. That said, partial retirement brings its own planning challenges. Health coverage is often limited for part-time workers. Income from consulting or
part-time jobs could also reduce early Social Security benefits. And scaling back hours usually means scaling back contributions to retirement savings. Still, for those who plan ahead, semi- retirement offers a flexible way to ease into the next stage of life. It provides space to try new things without giving up the financial or emotional benefits work can offer.
FOOD ON WHEELS THE NUTTY CRUISER ROLLS OUT
Food companies have tried every trick in the book to get your attention, but few can
on tiny parachutes, just in case the giant almond wasn’t enough to grab your attention. Inside, it has room for 10,000 snack packs, making it one of the tastiest vehicles on the highway. The Nutty Cruiser tours state fairs, sporting events, and festivals and draws a crowd wherever it goes. Drivers say it handles surprisingly well, thanks to its smooth, aerodynamic design — though they still get pulled over by curious police officers who just want a closer look. From hot dogs to nuts, food-shaped vehicles have a strange way of sticking around. Maybe it’s because they’re fun, a little bit ridiculous, and impossible to ignore. In a world full of billboards and pop-up ads, there’s still something special about spotting a giant almond cruising down the highway.
beat the simple charm of a giant snack rolling down the street. It all started early in the 20th century when
people dressed up cars with quirky decorations to drum up business. The most famous example came in 1936, when the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile hit the road and turned heads everywhere it went. The tradition is still alive today, and the newest edition is as nutty as they come. Blue Diamond’s Nutty Cruiser is a 20-foot-long almond on wheels, designed to spread the love for almonds across America. It even has an almond cannon that will shoot small bags of almonds
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TAKE A BREAK
The $100K Reason to Get a Pet
Beer Family Leo Lunchbox Mustard Peridot
New Study Says Pets Are Worth Plenty
Poppy Sisters Twins Vacation Watermelon Zucchini
Most pet owners already know their furry friends make life better, but according to a new study, the value might be higher than anyone realized. Some researchers say it’s close to $100,000. Researchers in the UK aimed to measure how much happiness dogs and cats bring to people’s lives. Using data from more than 700 people, they found that owning a pet can boost life satisfaction as much as getting married or landing a massive raise. In economic terms, it’s the emotional equivalent of earning nearly $93,000 more per year. To determine whether pets actually improve happiness, rather than the opposite — happy people are more likely to have pets — the team factored in things like age, income, personality traits, and family size. They also used a clever workaround: They asked people whether they look after their neighbor’s house while they’re away. That behavior is linked to pet ownership but not directly to happiness, which helped researchers isolate the impact of pet ownership. It’s not just a fun fact, either. Experts say findings like this could affect everything from housing laws to public health programs. If pets fight loneliness and lift people’s moods, it might make sense to rethink rules that prevent pet ownership in some apartments and assisted living facilities. While the researchers focused only on cats and dogs, the message came through clearly. Pets matter, maybe even more than we thought. And if you already live with one and know how they benefit your well-being, the science now backs you up. That wagging tail or soft purr might be worth more than you ever guessed.
STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE ICE CREAM BARS
Ingredients
Inspired by ThePioneerWoman.com
• 1 pt strawberry ice cream • 1/4 cup strawberry preserves • 1 pt vanilla ice cream
• 1 5.25-oz package crispy sugar cookies • 1 0.8-oz package freeze- dried strawberries
Directions 1. Stir strawberry ice cream in a large bowl until spreadable. Fold in preserves until evenly streaked throughout. 2. Stir vanilla ice cream in a separate large bowl until spreadable. 3. Spoon 1 1/2 tbsp of the strawberry mixture into the bottom of 8 (1/3-cup) popsicle molds. Spoon 1 1/2 tbsp of the vanilla mixture on top of the strawberry mixture into the molds. Repeat, alternating the 2 mixtures, until each mold is full. 4. Place sticks into the popsicles and freeze until solid, 4–6 hours. 5. In a large zip-lock bag, crush sugar cookies with a rolling pin until pieces are rice-size; pour into a shallow dish. 6. Repeat with freeze-dried strawberries and stir the pieces together. 7. Run the ice cream molds under warm water to wiggle popsicles out. 8. Coat bars evenly with cookie mixture. 9. Eat immediately or place on a cookie sheet and freeze.
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Trying to Stay Cool Until Fall
1
A Softer Step Into Retirement
2
The Nuttiest Car in America
Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars
3
Why Pets Beat Pay Raises
The Ghost Flight of L-8
4
The Day a Blimp Lost Its Crew WWII’S REAL-LIFE AVIATION GHOST STORY
briefcase full of classified documents were still there. The engines and radio worked, yet Lt. Ernest DeWitt Cody and Ensign Charles Ellis Adams were gone without a trace. Theories popped up fast. Maybe one man fell out, and
In August 1942, a Navy blimp called L-8 floated over a neighborhood near San Francisco. But when it came down, something vitally important was missing. The L-8 had taken off on a routine patrol that morning, scouting for enemy submarines off the California coast. Around 7:50 a.m., the crew radioed that they were checking out a suspicious oil slick. After that, the blimp went silent. Witnesses later reported seeing it drift far off course, rise too high, and then lose altitude and bump into rooftops and power lines. By the time it landed, thousands of locals had gathered. Everyone had the same question: Where did the crew go? Inside the gondola, nothing seemed out of place. The life raft, parachutes, and even a
the other tried to save him. Maybe both jumped into the ocean and
vanished. Some even whispered about secret missions gone wrong or unknown equipment failures, but no hard evidence ever surfaced.
Following the incident and a thorough review, the Navy repaired the blimp and returned it to service. But the crew’s disappearance never made sense — no wreckage, no radio calls, and not a single clue.
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