Veterans can find relief from stress on Tuesday

It might seem an unusual way to honor her nephew, who was killed in 2006 in a battle in Afghanistan, but to Maggie Tracey it makes perfect sense.

Tracey is a licensed acupuncturist and she knows how effective her skills can be at relieving stress. That is what she wants to do for veterans on Tuesday.

Tracey will hold a free acupuncture clinic on Veterans Day during which she will " and I am probably making this sound unnecessarily harsh " stick five needles into each of the ears of those who attend.

How can that be a relaxing experience, you might ask?

To answer that, she debunks once again the acupuncture myths she's debunked so many times before. It is not painful, she said, because the needles are hair thin; there is no bleeding; and there is no chance of infection because the needles are discarded after one use.

And it works, said Tracey, who is licensed in Nevada (one of only 46 people who can say that). She works at Sierra Acupuncture in Carson City, but is donating her services for Tuesday's clinic.

"They just feel much more relaxed," she said. It can help those who are having trouble sleeping, too.

Why the ear? It is, she said, a microcosm of the entire body.

Even the Pentagon has advocated acupuncture for relief of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Acupuncture, she said, can be used to treat 65 different ailments, but the treatments on Tuesday are purely for stress relief. Those veterans who attend can expect it to last about 45 minutes. The needles only take a moment ... the rest of the time is for relaxing.

The event is free for veterans, but if any wish to leave a donation, the money will go to local veterans organizations, she said. It will last from noon to 7 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Hall at Second and Curry streets. Veterans of all ages are welcome. "They don't even have to be stressed," she said. If you have questions, call her at 450-9521.

Tracey said her nephew, Special Forces Senior Airman Adam Servais, who was from Onalaska, Wis., was killed in southern Afghanistan in an ambush. You can read about his service by typing his name into the Google search engine. Tuesday's clinic, she said, is a way to honor his service.

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I've heard a lot of reactions following the election, but a particularly interesting one came from a Sparks resident on Thursday morning. He was upset that Nevada had turned blue and was dropping his subscription to a newspaper that had endorsed Barack Obama. He was considering subscribing to the Nevada Appeal, which did not endorse a presidential candidate this year.

But it sounded like it would be a short-term subscription only, as he was actively searching for a red state to move to. "I'm retired ... I can go wherever I want," he said. He had, in fact, moved here from California several years ago for the same reason.

I was going to suggest that he become active in party politics rather than sell his house, but it sounded like he'd already made up his mind.

As for our new president, there are many people nervous about Barack Obama for the mere reason they don't know what to expect. We knew what we were getting with Bush's second term, and we would have known what we were getting with McCain, who's been in Washington, D.C., for decades.

Nobody knows for sure how Obama will react when he's challenged, or what he will do when the decisions he believes are right are not those that are popular.

What we do know is he can give a speech like no president since Ronald Reagan, and I was happy to hear him deflect some of the attention to those who should never be far from our thoughts ... "Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us ... "

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In September, I wrote about how several local admirers of Lynne Marie Hanson were working on a permanent memorial for the artist, who died last spring.

Hanson's work has been seen by many thousands of people. It's painted onto the walls of restaurants, motels and numerous other businesses. It's also in many homes in Eagle and Carson valleys.

Her friends are planning a dedication ceremony for a memorial at Sarasota Springs Park off Stephanie Lane on Sunday at 2 p.m. The memorial will feature a newly planted tree and a plaque. They will share their memories at the event.

For more information, or to donate to the Lynne Hanson Memorial Fund, call Pat Bemis at 267-5086.

Barry Ginter is editor of the Appeal. You can reach him at 881-1221 or bginter@nevadaappeal.com