Life

Dear Eric: Can you please publish some recipes for one? I’m on my own. Trudi Westermann, Duncan Dear Trudi: Below are three recipes that I hope will ring your dinner bell.

Dear Dr. Roach: I am a 92-year-old man with lots of age-related problems. I am dealing with them, but a few months ago I noticed that my right hand, particularly the little finger and the one next to it, became numb.

DES MOINES BEACH PARK, Washington — As the tide slinks down the beach, a slow-motion drama is revealed — moon snail versus butter clam, a primal contest Puget Sound’s largest snail is equipped to win.

On a hot summer day, well-chilled seafood dishes are the coolest thing to serve. Set aside your chowder or shrimp curry recipes for the get-me-a-sweater winter months. Today, I’ve brought you three recipes fit for summer’s theme.

Dear Dr. Roach: I am 83 years old. I was lifting a heavy end table in November and I heard a crack. I knew I was in trouble, as that had also happened on a golf course many years ago. I went to the hospital and was there for six days.

Summertime and the living is easy is a lovely songline and a nice idea. But health hazards don’t care what time of year it is. You can stub your toe at any time.

Nelson Mandela would have been 96 this week. It’s the first birthday since his death, celebrations replaced with mourning and reflection. Not just in South Africa, but throughout a world he changed for the better.

Dear Dr. Roach: I’m a 48-year-old, athletically fit man with excessive body hair on my back, chest and arms. I see that the younger generation of men at the gyms, pools and beaches seem to all groom (shave) their body hair for better appearance.

Looking at some photos recently of a memorable family trip to the south of France, I noted many were of market scenes — not an unusual interest for a food writer.

Dear Dr. Roach: About seven years ago, my blood pressure was high, and I was overweight and in a stressful job. I quit the job, my blood pressure went down and I lost more than 40 pounds. I have kept the weight off all these years.