Dear Sun Spots: Is there someone in the Rangeley area who can restitch elasticized waists on a couple pairs of shorts or slacks?

Also, a few weeks ago, I inquired about the symbolism of the entwined snakes on the caduceus – the emblem of physicians. For EMTs there’s a single snake around the pole. I can’t find the meaning in the choice. Can you?

Thanks for your help always. I’d not think of reading the Lewiston Sun without turning to Sun Spots. – Pat, Oquossoc.

Answer: In response to your first inquiry, please contact Sun Spots for more information at 1-800-482-0759, ext. 2157.

There are a few different theories as to the actual meaning of the snake on the Emergency Medical Technician emblem. Called the Star of Life, it is a six barred blue star with a serpent entwined around a staff in the middle. According the the National EMS Association’s Web site, www.nemsa.org, the six bars represent the six-system function of the EMS: detection, reporting, response, on scene care, care in transit and transfer to definitive care.

One theory on the meaning of the single snake, according to the Web site, is as follows: the snake and staff portray the staff of Aesculapius who, according to Greek mythology, was the son of Apollo and the mortal maiden Coronis. Apollo was told to instruct his son in the ways of medicine and healing. Aesculapius became an excellent healer of the sick and Zeus, the God of Gods, felt that Aesculapius’ powers were beyond the powers of mortal men and killed him where he stood with a bolt of lightning.

After Aesculapius’ death, he was worshipped and thought to be a God of healing. People would sleep in his temples and he would appear to them in their dreams offering cures and remedies. Drawings of Aesculapius usually show him in a standing position, dressed in a long cloak, holding a staff with a serpent coiled around it.

Dear Sun Spots: By chance do you have any unused hearing aids around the house; devices that you or a family member will not be using again? If so, the student members of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA) are holding a hearing aid drive. Working with the Starkey Foundation, donated hearing aids will be cleaned, refurbished and distributed to families in need. Since 2000, the Starkey Foundation has provided more that 240,000 hearing aids worldwide to those in need.

Amanda Collette, daughter of Donald Collette of Collette Monuments, Lewiston, a fourth year speech-pathology student at the University of Maine, Orono, is a member of the NSSLHA and is excited about the hearing aid drive. She is doing everything she can to ensure the success of the drive and is hoping you will do likewise. If you have a hearing aid that you would like to donate, please contact Amy Booth or her secretary at 207-581-2009 for instructions on where to send the device. Also, further information regarding the project is available at www.sotheworldmayhear.org. – Ann Collette, Lewiston.

• For readers interested interested in the free, drop-in, basic computer class for seniors at the Lewiston Public Library (Sun Spots, April 17), please note the correct main telephone number at the library is 513-3004. Thank you to Kathleen Demers for providing us with the correct information.

This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name (we won’t use it if you ask us not to). Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be posted at www.sunjournal.com in the Advice section under Opinion on the left-hand corner of your computer screen. In addition, you can e-mail your inquiries to [email protected].