I agree with earlier poster :Stay away from any product that is under the umbrella of Connect America. I used Medical Alert - one of their products - they own many, approximately 10 products- including Guardian on call for ex- tried both the mobile & in- home unit - not only do they not perform as advertised ( not able to communicate into mobile - so they can not talk to you nor you to them -so not able to determine if there is really a problem or if you're just testing, so for ex, they call emergency #s just for the test-those of you who pay for EMS coming should beware-when I complained about this they say it's because dispatchers are doing job extra well-hard to imagine a more pathetic answer). the in home stationary unit can't pick up a voice in the next room, despite claims that they can do that within 100 feet - there's incompetence on every level- and I figured out how to reach executive office -basic and essential info which i repeatedly provided even to higher ups was repeatedly recorded Incorrectly (existence & location of lock box, phone numbers, protocol of who should be called in what order, preferred hospital, the list goes on) and whenever a mistake was pointed out they attribute to customer instructions as excuse. They went so far as to send a tech to the home but failed to tell tech which system we were using - turns out tech had never seen it before. Amazing they're still in business. Plus if one pays over phone with cc when you get device the " contract" tries to make you sign off on allowing them to directly extract $ from your cc or checking acct- no alternative is offerred- they never disclose that they are keeping your credit card on file when you call - VERY sneaky. I should have listened to my intuition - when shopping around I was asked what other companies I was looking at & they trashed them with inaccurate info - which wa offensive. Someone I know used them so I let that trump my better judgement but I'm warning all of you -stay away. Would also like to know if DS Smallwood got the touch & talk unit...does no further info indicate a problem with that product?

I'm on a Tracphone and mostly satisfied. Best feature is the cost. I pay about $100 per year and the minutes roll over. I did the extra cash up front for "lifetime" double minutes... that is life of the phone. First phone I had was not very good... second was more expensive and more powerful. At the moment I have over 2000 minutes because I don't use them all... may have wasted my money on the double thingy. Downsides! They will kick you off the air if it is busy. Not dropped... they just won't let you call or it will say "emergency only". Most of the time it works just fine but not at all during lunchtime when everyone is calling someone. Texting is poor because of the cheap phone but it does allow it. Texting is popular around here because we have weak signal and text will go when voice won't. I think they ding me 1/2 minute per text. I don't use it much but it is a nice option... helps to have a friend that will let you send a couple practice texts while learning how. I really like the voice mail! My home voice mail was often a pita... machine broke or ran out of room. Almost worth the phone just to have the mail. Tracphone has some really cheap phones. About $15 should get you the lowest which comes with a few starter minutes. If it works for you they have better phones available on the website. If you buy minutes for the cheap phone then get a better one they will transfer but that deactivates the old phone. I will probably watch this thread as I'd like something a bit better. Just waited 90 minutes to make an important call because the airwaves were "congested". Suppose the call got made... and emergency service was available if that had been the situation. : ) lyra

"All those posters, who are complaining about older drivers, are you willing to volunteer to drive a senior, to the grocery store, or their doctors' visits?" Cold as it sounds, it is not the responsibility of people who are complaining about unsafe drivers to drive the people they're complaining about, around. It would be nice, and it would be charitable, but it is not their responsibility, nor are they obligated to accept having unsafe drivers on the roads if they don't want to drive others around. However, there does need to be some problem solving going on so that these older people can get to appointments and get errands done. But it is NOT acceptable for an unsafe driver to be on the road because they need to go somewhere. My daughter had to face that reality when her license was taken away due to a diagnosis of epilepsy, and the same goes for any other unsafe driver, including older ones. From my observations, police are quicker to ticket young drivers who are speeding slightly, than they are to ticket older drivers who's driving habits are unsafe. Many older drivers here drive slowly enough to obstruct traffic and pull out right in front of oncoming cars only to drive below the speed limit. They are never ticketed until they cause an accident. The younger drivers are quicker to be ticketed. Actually, a few years ago a senior citizen put her car in reverse and bashed into my car at an intersection, and then she yelled at me for not getting out of her way! She also refused to give me her license info, and a police officer had to get "verbal" with her to get her to provide it.

Hello Linda, " I should ask which of these if any are OP or heirloom as he likes keeping the seeds? " Persian Carpet is an heirloom. I believe that Magellan and Dreamland are F1 hybrids, which makes their seed more expensive. Whirligig and Burpeeana Giants are Open Pollinated. Your son should not hesitate to save seeds from any of those zinnias, including the F1 hybrids. I routinely save seeds from F1 hybrids, and I even make hybrids between my own hybrids. You can get improvements and new zinnias that way. These were some of my "new zinnias".It is very easy to make your own home hybridized new zinnias, and it can be a lot of fun seeing what new things you can get. There are so many different commercial zinnia varieties already available that the number of possible combinations of crosses you can make is "astronomical". And you can make hybrids between your own hybrids for new unexpected results. Zinnias can be a fun hobby for young and old. They are easy to grow and they grow fast. ZM