I don't have a will prepared yet because I associate that document with eminent death. Maybe it's not that simple. Maybe the reason I don't have a will is because I’m waiting for that time in my life when I can be certain I will not have to change or modify the contents once it is written. Whatever the reason, to date, I do not have a will.The subject is fresh on my mind because our soldier son has a pre-deployment readiness checklist, and it suggests that all soldiers at least consider preparing a will prior to facing active duty. This forces all of us to think about the unthinkable, and to …

Editor's Note: Betty Jo Hockinson is an Inver Grove Heights resident and a regular columnist on Patch. Her column publishes on the first and third Wednesdays of each month. E-mail her at bjhockinson@comcast.net. Our son is single, and has no dependents. He plans to give us, his parents, power of attorney for his financial matters while he is overseas serving with the National Guard in Kuwait. He has asked us to sell his car and invest the proceeds in the highest-yielding liquid asset we can find (Anybody know of one?). He will leave signed checks for us to use to pay bills while he is away, …

Because the war on terrorism will not be over anytime soon, today’s soldiers should expect to deploy at least once during their service period. Soldiers are members of the armed forces, regardless of branch. Deploy refers to relocation of forces and supplies to a desired operational site. The National Guard is the oldest component of the armed forces in the United States, having fought in every major war since the original 13 colonies were formed. In addition, they serve as first military responders to domestic emergencies.In May of this year, Minnesota’s Army National Guard will deploy its …

Editor's Note: Betty Jo Hockinson is an Inver Grove Heights resident and a regular columnist on Patch. Her column publishes on the first and third Wednesdays of each month. E-mail her at bjhockinson@comcast.net. I thought that health care used more acronyms than any other profession. I now believe that the military trumps most professions in terms of quantity of acronyms used. I recently overheard a couple of soldiers speaking together, and the entire conversation occurred with very few discernable words. They understood one another based on a plethora of military acronyms. If you are a …

Editor's Note: Betty Jo Hockinson is an Inver Grove Heights resident and a regular columnist on Patch. Her column publishes on the first and third Wednesdays of each month. E-mail her at bjhockinson@comcast.net. Generation Y readers beware: Senior writer onboard! In this case, 'senior' refers more to the age of the author and less to the designation given a seasoned writer. I am taking graduate courses in strategic communications management at a local university, primarily so that I can engage with the Internet on a regular basis. I must say, I am having fun with it. Writing for Patch is an …