Hello again from SeniorS SuperStoreS.

Welcome to our new subscribers; and to our established subscribers of Keeping in Touch, a special Welcome Back. We're glad to see you again.

This issue of Keeping in Touch deals with several matters of interest to Prime Time Surfers:
1. A gift for our new subscribers
2. Copy/Paste instructions
3. Some "brain food"
4. Beware the Holiday Blues
5. What does the BBBOnLine Reliability Seal mean?
6. Subscribe/Unsubscribe information

1. A gift for our new subscribers:

We want to remind our numerous new subscribers of Keeping in Touch that we have a special free gift for you. Please go to IDENTITY THEFT (you may need to copy and paste this address into your browser URL address line - see below). This links you to the most comprehensive booklet we have been able to find on the timely subject of identity theft. We have been granted special permission by our local Better Business Bureau to reproduce the entire booklet for you. So, feel free to print it out, copy it and pass it on to your friends, and tell your friends how to access their own copy.

2. Copy/Paste instructions:

We often take a lot for granted about how comfortable each of us is with our computers and their functions. An example is the phrase "copy and paste." Are we all sure what this means and how to do it? The same process is used whether you are copying and pasting a word, a line, an entire document (as in a word processing function) or a web site's address (when you're surfing the web).

For our purposes here, we'll approach this from the web surfing standpoint. In the above section where we suggested you may need to copy and paste the address to get to the Identity Theft material, just how do you do that? The easiest way to follow a link from an email (or just about any other document) to a web site is to click the hyperlink (the colored text if your email package provides that function). But what if your email package doesn't give you a colored hyperlink? Then you'll need to copy and paste (rather than typing in all of that stuff).

So, here's a brief primer on copying and pasting:
1)Click your mouse and drag the cursor across the entire link or text. (This will highlight the link)
2)Click "Edit" and then click "Copy" (This will copy the link). The keyboarding method (easier for some of us) is to hold down the "Control" key and press the letter "C" (for "copy") at the same time. Do this while the link or text is highlited.
3)Now open a Web browser (Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, AOL, etc.)
4)Click your mouse in the "address" or "location" area of your browser.
5)Click "Edit" and "Paste" or "Control" and "V" (for point) if you're using the keyboarding method. (This will paste the link)
6)Now press "Enter" (This will access the link.). And, Bingo, you've just entered that long address the same as if you had typed it all in from scratch!
Try it our on the links we provide you in various places in this Email for practice.

3. MENTAL ACTIVITY MAY HELP WARD OFF DEMENTIA

(Courtesy of Dr. Peter Balsamo at the Lifelong Learning Society at Coastal Carolina University.) For more information about this outstanding program which our company supports financially, go to the Lifelong Learning Society.

"The secret to successful aging is ongoing mental stimulation," according to Paul David Nussbaum, a neurologist and an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. "The latest in brain research shows that a steady diet of specific kinds of mental stimulation and healthful living practices may slow or even prevent Alzheimer's disease and dementia," Nussbaum said. He said we can help the brain resist memory loss and loss of function and therefore improve quality of life. "The strengthener of the mind is information - it's like the biceps barbell for the brain," said Nussbaum. (For more information, go to http://www.healthy.net/asp/templates/news.asp?Id=3577.)

4. Beware the Holiday Blues
(Courtesy of our friends at PRNewswire)

"Holiday Blues may strike seniors particularly hard this year," says the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry; New Brochure Helps Older Adults Cope With Depression and the Holidays

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- The "blues" many older Americans feel over the holidays may be exacerbated this year by recent acts of terrorism and could signal the onset of serious depression, according to the head of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP).

"While it's normal for seniors to feel sadness during this crisis, feelings of prolonged 'blues' over the holidays may be a serious case of depression," said Stephen Bartels, M.D., M.S., president of AAGP. "Family and friends of the elderly should be on guard this holiday season for signs of depression."

Dr. Bartels said the holidays can be an especially difficult time for older adults who may feel more acutely the passing of time, the absence of parents, siblings and friends who have died, and the distance of loved ones who have moved away. Seniors may feel irritable and uninterested in previously cherished rituals or in family and friends. "The recent events of September 11 may make this holiday season more difficult for seniors due to less contact with distant family members who may be reluctant to travel, or due to the reawakening of intense memories of previous losses from wars, natural disasters, or accidents," Bartels added.

Older persons may need help from a mental health professional if they:
-- Express thoughts of suicide. Suicidal thoughts are not the norm even in very old persons and their presence indicates the need for professional help. In fact, people age 75 and older have the highest suicide rate of any age group;
-- Use more than normal amounts of alcohol, pain medications, or sleeping pills. These may indicate an incipient depression;
-- Act confused, can't concentrate or seem lost in the midst of family affairs;
-- Cry excessively. Shedding a tear of two during the holidays is a sign of sentiment, but when crying becomes disruptive or disabling it may be depression.
-- Suddenly isolate themselves.

Friends, family members and caregivers can help by:
-- Openly communicating their concern;
-- Offering to call the individual's doctor and accompany the senior to the appointment;
-- Offering to arrange an appointment with the senior's clergy to facilitate a referral to a mental health professional;
-- Following through with support.

The AAGP is offering a free brochure, "Coping with Depression and the Holidays," and a free referral service providing the names of board-certified geriatric psychiatrists in people's areas. The brochure and referral service are available by calling 301-654-7850, or by visiting www.aagponline.org.

The American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry is a national association representing and serving its members and the field of geriatric psychiatry. It is dedicated to promoting the mental health and well being of older people and improving the care of those with late-life mental disorders. AAGP's mission is to enhance the knowledge base and standard of practice in geriatric psychiatry through education and research and to advocate for meeting the mental health needs of older Americans.

5. What does the BBBOnLine Reliability Seal mean?

You may have noticed that we proudly display the BBBOnline seal on our home page at www.SeniorSSuperStoreS.com. What does this mean? Does it mean that we simply pay the Better Business Bureau to endorse us? Of course not! (That's something they won't do anyway!)

To help explain what the BBBOnLine program is an why we are proud to have qualified, we thought this BUSINESS WIRE article would be of interest to you:

Third-Party Assurance Boosts Online Purchasing; BBBOnLine Privacy, Reliability Seals Increase Consumer Confidence; Privacy Remains Public's Chief Concern

ARLINGTON, Va--Nearly nine in 10 consumers would be more confident making an online purchase from a company that displays a Better Business Bureau OnLine Privacy or Reliability Seal on its Web site than from a company that does not, according to a new national survey conducted by Greenfield Online.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) name, which is almost universally recognized (93 percent) by online users, also carries great credibility. Eighty-nine percent of Internet users say they would be "more confident" buying from a company with a BBBOnLine Reliability Seal than from a company that does not display the seal.

In addition, more than half of online consumers would be "extremely likely" or "very likely" to buy from a company they did not know if the company were a member of the BBB and carried the BBBOnLine Reliability Seal, or if the company carried the BBB OnLine Privacy Seal.

Privacy remains a major concern for those shopping on the Internet. Consumers' biggest worry when they shop online is retaining control over their personal information. Almost three-quarters of online shoppers (72 percent) say they are "extremely concerned" or "very concerned" about having control over the release of their private information after they buy something online. The BBBOnLine Privacy Program facilitates such consumer control.

Consumers themselves say that the BBBOnLine Privacy Seal would make them "much more confident" or "somewhat more confident" when making a purchase online (46 percent and 43 percent, respectively).

"It's surprising how many online businesses don't provide customers with contact addresses or explanations of their refund and exchange policies," said Charles Underhill, COO for BBBOnLine. "Along with a secure ordering process and a clear privacy policy, the survey findings show that these are among the most important requirements shoppers look for when deciding whether to buy online. Without such information, and without experience with a company, shoppers look for third-party assurances. The BBBOnLine Reliability and Privacy Seals provide those assurances."

Additional Survey Findings:
The study also found that:
-- A secure ordering process would make 56 percent of shoppers more willing to make online purchases.
-- About one in three shoppers say clear disclosure of refund and exchange policies and easy-to-find company contact information would make them more willing to buy something online.
-- One third of shoppers say they make an online purchase at least once a month.

The Better Business Bureau requires a company to adopt these and other consumer-friendly policies as a condition of qualifying to display the BBB OnLine Reliability Seal. Detailed in the BBB Code of Online Business Practices, the policies are intended to guide Internet businesses in how to meet the needs of online shoppers.

"This study illustrates the great value that a BBBOnLine Reliability or Privacy Seal can add to a company's Web site. And, the findings point to the relevance of the BBB Code of Online Business Practices as a roadmap for online businesses to address consumer protection issues raised by e-commerce," Underhill said. "To online shoppers, the BBB name means trust."

Greenfield Online surveyed a representative sample of 1,000 adult Internet users between Aug. 30 and Sept. 7. For a copy summary of the survey findings, please contact www.bbbonline.org.

BBBOnLine Board Members Endorse Efforts To Promote Consumer Trust Online

"Clearly, businesses with an online presence have the ability to greatly increase consumer confidence by qualifying for and displaying BBBOnLine Reliability and Privacy Seals," said Zeke Swift, Global Privacy Director of Proctor & Gamble. "Online shoppers seek a sense of trust and some form of protection, and that's what these seals provide."

"Consumer confidence is the linchpin issue," said Barbara Lawler, Privacy Manager for Hewlett-Packard Company. "Ensuring consumer privacy rights online and developing global processes for online transaction dispute resolution are key drivers in ensuring the success of electronic commerce. HP will continue to work with BBBOnLine to build a marketplace in which consumers and businesses can be confident doing business with one another."

"According to these findings, third-party assurance from a long-standing entity such as the Better Business Bureau is very important to consumers. BBBOnLine by association is a well known and trusted name that can add real value to a company's Web site. BBBOnLine Privacy and Reliability seals are vital tools in conducting business online and in creating a trusted environment for e-commerce," said Marc Berejka, Senior Corporate Attorney, Federal Government Affairs Manager for Microsoft.

"Visa's partnership with BBBOnLine is central to our efforts in educating consumers about safer ways of buying and selling on the Internet. Consumers are still uncomfortable conducting business on the Web, but clearly privacy policies and third-party assurances are crucial in building trusted relationships online. In the current business and economic climate, it isn't smart business practice for a business to be without them," said Jim McCarthy, Senior Vice President e-Visa of Visa U.S.A.

"Consumers have spoken and have again shown they are concerned about how their personal information is gathered and used online. Intel firmly supports the development and adoption of meaningful privacy practices that will ensure consumer privacy. Effective self-regulatory programs (such as the BBBOnLine Privacy Seal program), the development of privacy-enhancing technologies and the adoption of uniform national privacy legislation are all essential elements in continuing to build confidence in the Internet economy," said Jeff Nicol, Privacy Manager for Intel.

Proctor & Gamble, Visa U.S.A., Hewlett-Packard, Intel and Microsoft are founding sponsors of BBBOnLine, and continue to provide leadership and funding for the non-profit organization's programs to promote trust and confidence on the Internet.

About BBBOnLine

BBBOnLine brings the Better Business Bureau system's 89 years of experience in consumer protection and business self-regulation to e-commerce.

Guided by its mission to promote consumer trust on the Internet, and working in concert with the 144 local BBBs in the United States and Canada, BBBOnLine encourages sound and ethical online business practices through its Reliability Program, the BBB Code of Online Business Practices (http://www.bbbonline.org/code/index.asp), and the BBBOnLine Privacy Program.

6. Subscribe/Unsubscribe information

If you like the content of Keeping in Touch, please feel free to forward each copy on to as many folks as you wish. And, encourage your friends and family to visit with us at SeniorS SuperStoreS and sign up for their own subscriptions. Or, they may sign up for their own subscriptions by emailing us at "seniors-request@seniorssuperstores.com" and include the word "join" in the body of the email message.

So, until next time, here's goodbye. Remember, if you want us to add any resources or items of interest, just drop us an email from the Contact Us page on http://www.seniorssuperstores.com/. Watch your email box for future newsletters!

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