Federal Benefits Made Simple - January 2026

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Federal Benefits Made Simple, an E.A. Buck Company (FBMS), is an independent financial services firm helping individuals create retirement strategies using a variety of insurance and investment products to custom suit their needs and objectives. Insurance products are offered through the insurance businesses FBMS and E.A. Buck Financial Services. FBMS is an Investment Advisory practice that offers products and services through Buck Wealth Strategies (BWS), a Registered Investment Advisor. Registration as an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Securities offered only by duly registered individuals through Madison Avenue Securities, LLC (MAS), member FINRA/SIPC. FBMS is not affiliated with or endorsed by the US government or any governmental agency. MAS is not affiliated with FBMS, E.A. Buck Financial Services, or BWS. FBMS, E.A. Buck Financial Services, and BWS are affiliated by common ownership. In California, we are known only as E.A. Buck Insurance in all solicitations of insurance. CMP-62341 - 12/25

INSIDE THIS ISSUE page 1 The Power of Fully Showing Up page 2 The Healthy Cure for Your Afternoon Crash Your TSP Strategy Upgrade

page 3 Tiny Paws, Big Rescue: Kitten Helps Man

Survive Mountain Ordeal Slow Cooker Birria Tacos

page 4 The Strange Rules of Old Hollywood

THE RISE AND FALL OF THE HAYS CODE WHEN TOILETS WERE TABOO

In old Hollywood, even the simplest things could cause trouble. A silly sound effect, a bathroom door, or a joke at the wrong person’s expense might get a film pulled before audiences ever saw it. From the 1930s through the 1960s, studios followed the Hays Code, a list of rules meant to keep movies “clean” after scandals in the 1920s made Hollywood look like a bad influence. What began as an attempt to save the industry from outside censorship quickly turned into decades of odd restrictions. One of the strangest bans was the raspberry, or “Bronx cheer.” The harmless noise, created by placing one’s tongue between the lips and blowing, was labeled vulgar and lumped in with forbidden words like “lousy” and “cripes.” Even the famous Clark Gable line, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn,” from “Gone With the Wind” nearly didn’t make it past censors. Religion was another topic of strict censorship. Priests, ministers, and nuns could be stern or gentle but never the butt of a joke or the villain of a story. That’s why Bing Crosby’s Father O’Malley in “Going My Way” was always portrayed with a mix of effortless charm and reverence that kept him safe from censors.

“Gone With the Wind” managed to slip in a softened moment with Olivia de Havilland’s character, but only after lengthy arguments with the Code’s enforcers. But bathrooms held the most absurd taboo of all. Toilets and the humor around them simply didn’t exist on screen. Then, Alfred Hitchcock released “Psycho” in 1960 and showed a toilet and a flush. Audiences had never seen anything like it, and the Code’s hold began to crumble. By the end of the 1960s, the system had collapsed, and the rating system we still use today replaced it. Looking back, it’s hard not to believe censors

wasted their energy. What once seemed scandalous now feels tame, and the real surprise is just how many everyday things were once off-limits on screen.

Childbirth was also considered improper. Labor scenes were banned outright, and even a shadow on the wall was too much.

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