Kids get their first cell phone by age 12, and more than a third of them have smart phones. Nine out of 10 teens have a computer and 97 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds play video games. More than half the homes in the United States have a fairly new video game console.

"It's great that our kids have access to technology, but I talk to a lot of grandparents who say they simply don't enjoy giving their grandkids tech gifts during the holiday season," says Ted Bernstein, founder of Life Insurance Concepts, Inc. (www.lifeinsuranceconcepts.com). "They want to give something their grandkids will treasure; something they'll remember for a long time."

That has become more challenging as kids, along with the rest of us, come to rely more and more on technology for everything -- from communication to entertainment to telling the time.

Coming from a four-generation family of life insurance specialists, Bernstein has a special interest in family legacies and a long history of innovation. He offers these suggestions for holiday gifts for grandkids that create lasting memories.

• Their own clunker - which you'll restore together. If you have a grandchild who's still a few years from driving age, buy an old pickup truck that the two of you can restore together. You'll have years to complete the project, which guarantees not only lots of one-on-one time together, but also the opportunity to teach valuable skills that will benefit him or her for a lifetime. "Plan it right, and when your grandchild gets a driver's license, he or she will also have wheels," Bernstein says. "And after spending so much time working on that vehicle, they're more likely to drive it carefully!"

• An annual helping hand for years after you've gone. Imagine being able to send your grandchild a holiday gift of $20,000 every year for 20, 30 or 40 years - with a note from you attached. You can do it with the Installment Life Option, a life insurance policy option that pays beneficiaries of a life insurance policy in predetermined amounts of your choice for up to 40 years. Because of the deferred payout, the insurance company can reduce the premiums up to 50 percent. And your grandchild is reminded of your love for him or her throughout his life, particularly during the financially stressful milestones: college tuition, wedding, paying off student loans, down payment for first home, and first child.

"A lot of the grandparents who do this love the fact that they can continue to help their grandchild long after they're gone," Bernstein says. "They also like the fact that they can choose what date the money is disbursed, whether it's a holiday, a birthday, or a special date significant to the grandparents and grandchild. And they can add a personal note, which can be sent according to the policy holder's instructions."

• The gift of compassion. Sponsor an impoverished child in another country in your grandchild's name. "I like the organizations that allow you to personally connect with the child you sponsor, so your grandchild can write to and receive letters from them, and trade photographs. You can learn about the country together, and pick out gifts for birthday or holiday season," Bernstein says. A grandparent might pay the whole cost of sponsorship or allow the grandchild to pick up a small portion, he adds.

One organization highly rated by independent charity evaluator Charity Navigator is Compassion International. The 61-year-old Christian-based non-profit facilitates 1.2 million sponsorships, providing the children with food, medical care, educational opportunities and more for $38 per month. Sponsors are invited to exchange letters and develop a relationship with the child.

About Ted Bernstein

Ted Bernstein is a third-generation life insurance specialist with decades of speaking out and advocating for changes on behalf of consumers. He was the first to introduce "no-load" life insurance in the mid-1980s and recently developed the Installment Life Option. Bernstein is a nationally recognized expert in alternative distribution strategies and life insurance product development.

The central branding message of the United States encapsulating freedom, democracy and capitalism is the American Dream, says historian and researcher Merrilyn Richardson.

"Clearly, our country and the world in which it resides have seen better days, but we have a roadmap for getting back on track, and it starts with the individual," says Richardson, author of "You ARE God: The Challenge to Achieve Christ Consciousness in the Modern Era."

"Violence is more than perpetrating physical harm - it can also be mental, emotional and spiritual coercion. The root of the word 'terrorism,' for example, is terror, a mental state. I believe we have been violently coerced, as individuals and as a society, into straying from what is essential to our well-being."

On the individual level, if we are more truthful to ourselves as spiritual beings, we will bring more generosity and kindness into the world every day, she says. On a larger scale, societal obstructions include misguided government policies and agencies at home, dictators abroad, terrorism and deceitful preachers, she says.

Winning back the American Dream starts on the individual level, says Richardson, who provides four ways in which we may be truer to our spiritual nature, and better off as a society:

• Choose to act out of love, not fear. When our true spiritual nature is not dictating our actions, it's readily apparent to any reasonably attuned individual. Various fear-based bad ideas, however, blind individuals and prevent them from connecting cause (fear) and effect (violence, selfishness, etc.) When we make choices that are truly based in love, we are connecting to the good of our souls, which, in turn, connects to the benefit of greater society.

• Use your inner "GPS guidance system" - intuition. Flesh, blood, material possessions and money - these are things you cannot take with you when you die. This should remind us that though money may be necessary in life on Earth, it does not buy happiness, as several studies indicate. Peace and goodwill are the coordinates of our beings that are, sadly, often blocked in today's world. Individuals tend to resist the things they most desire in life - peace and goodwill.

• Embrace suffering as a guide to higher purpose. Often, we are told that suffering is something to be avoided. Pain and suffering on a personal level, however, is an indication that something is wrong. At the same time, there is provided a spiritual healing grace to one's vulnerability. Let this sensation reassure you that there is a pull of purpose within you, and the pain felt can be overcome en route to a life filled with meaning.

• Blend spiritual being-ness with human doing-ness. Euripides, one of Athens' great tragedians from antiquity, wrote, "The best and safest thing is to keep a balance in your life, acknowledge the great powers around us and in us. If you can do that, and live that way, you are really a wise man." Just as our U.S. Constitution includes a system of checks and balances so, too, must each of us establish checks and balances between the spirituality within us and the actions of human beings around us. Living without balance, we risk extremism on the spiritual or worldly level.

About Merrilyn Richardson

Merrilyn Richardson received a degree in journalism from Texas Tech University and was editor of Air Force Bases newspapers. At 89, she has spent decades searching for truth and found that studying spiritual subjects provides a basis for understanding our human condition. Her latest book, "You ARE God: The Challenge to Achieve Christ Consciousness in the Modern Era," is a concise glimpse of American history and other events that have affected individuals worldwide. She is a founding member of the Center for Spiritual Living in Midland, Texas. Her two previous books were "Initiation of the Master"  and "The Master's Quest, an End to Terrorism."

And You Thought Your Work-Life Balance
Was Difficult ...
Dad of Quadruplets Shares What He Learned Juggling Family
Life and Successful Business Career

Larry Katzen forged an ambitious career as a leader at one of the world's most prestigious accounting firms.

But he has been equally ambitious with his family life; he's the father of quadruplets?three sons and a daughter. And he felt it was important to serve his community, sitting on more than 10 boards of directors.

"It was an incredible challenge and I don't regret one minute of it!" says Katzen, author of "And You Thought Accountants Were Boring - My Life Inside Arthur Andersen," (Larryrkatzen.com), a look at working in one of the world's most historically important accounting firms while nurturing bonds with his wife and children.

"The quadruplets were born April 22, 1974, before multiple births became fairly common, so we were front-page news and featured on all the national TV news shows," Katzen says. "But that also tells you there weren't many other parents who could give us advice, and certainly no internet forums to turn to!"

At the time, Katzen was also working his way up the ladder and taking on new challenges at Arthur Andersen, one of the "Big 8" accounting firms. How did he and his wife, Susan, manage?

"It comes down to sticking to some basic principles: doing the right thing, for one, and listening to your heart," Katzen says.

He draws on his 35-year career and family life to offer these tips for working parents with multiple children:

· Cultivate support systems! One of the wonderful things about Arthur Andersen was the people who worked there, including his bosses, Katzen says. "They knew the physical and financial struggles Susan and I faced caring for four babies and, because I never gave less than my all at work, they did what they could to work around my situation," he says. That included a heftier-than-usual annual pay raise that Katzen learned only years later was approved because the firm's partners knew he would need the extra money.

Susan reached out to moms of multiples to develop her own support system, and the couple hired a recent high school graduate to help care for their rambunctious brood a couple days a week.

"There's no glory in not asking for support and help," Katzen says.

· Combine business and family. Katzen traveled frequently for his job and, when his children were 9 years old, a business friend suggested he bring them along, one at a time, on his trips.

"The first was my daughter, Laurie. We flew to New York on a Friday and spent the weekend shopping, dining, taking in a show. For the first time ever, we were alone together without any disruptions," Katzen says. "Neither of us ever forgot that weekend."

· Consider buying a small vacation home. Traveling with four young children was extremely difficult, especially nights in motels, where the family would split up into two rooms - one parent and two children in each.

"When we discovered Sun Valley, Idaho, the children were 6. On our first trip there, they quickly learned to ski, and they clearly loved the snow - we could hardly get them to come inside," Katzen says.

The family so enjoyed the vacation, they looked into the prices of condos.

"We found a furnished condo at a very affordable price and for the next 13 years, we enjoyed summers and winters in Sun Valley," Katzen says. "It may sound like a big investment, but when you consider the costs of motels and dining out for a family of six, it works out well - and it's a lot more comfortable."

About Larry Katzen

After graduating from Drake University in 1967, Larry Katzen started working at Arthur Andersen and quickly rose through the ranks to become the Great Plains Regional Managing Partner. An honorable, hard-working man who devoted his life to Arthur Andersen, Larry was there from the company's meteoric rise to its unjust demise. He stayed with the firm for 35 years, serving clients globally until 2002. In his new memoir, And You Thought Accountants Were Boring - My Life Inside Arthur Andersen, Katzen details the political fodder in the government's prosecution of Enron; how the company was unjustly dismantled for its supposed connections to the corruption; its vindication and why it came too late, and the devastating impact it had on 85,000 employees.

Des Moines, October 29, 2013 ?On Wednesday, November 6, members of the Iowa Supreme Court will visit five Burlington area high schools and the community college to meet with students and discuss the role of the courts. In Burlington, the justices will visit Burlington, West Burlington and Notre Dame high schools and Southeastern Iowa Community College. Justices will also visit Danville and Mediapolis high schools.

High School/Community College visit schedule for Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Justice Daryl Hecht will visit West Burlington High School at 8:30 a.m.

Justice David Wiggins will visit Burlington Notre Dame High School at 8:50 a.m.

Chief Justice Mark Cady will visit Burlington High School at 9:05 a.m.

Justice Thomas Waterman will visit Mediapolis High School at 9:15 a.m.

Justice Brent Appel will visit Danville High School at 9:30 a.m.

Justice Bruce Zager will visit Southeastern Iowa Community College at 10:00 a.m.

In addition to the school visits, the supreme court will hold a special session in Burlington on Tuesday evening November 5. During the special session, the court will hear oral arguments in two cases in the auditorium at Edward Stone Middle School, 3000 Mason Road. The session begins at 7 p.m. As always, oral arguments are open to the public. A public reception with the justices, sponsored by the Des Moines County Bar Association, will follow the oral arguments in the auditorium lobby.

Special Session

Tuesday, November 5, at 7:00 p.m.

Edward Stone Middle School auditorium

3000 Mason Road

Burlington, Iowa

The Iowa Supreme Court will hear lawyers argue in two cases:

Palmer College of Chiropractic v. Davenport Civil Rights Commission and Aaron Cannon

Aaron Cannon, blind since birth, began the Bachelor of Science program at Palmer College in 2004. The college had in place technical standards for admission and graduation providing that students have sufficient use of vision to perform chiropractic and general physical examinations. Palmer College denied Cannon's request for a sighted assistant, and Cannon filed a complaint of discrimination based on disability. On appeal Cannon argues the district court incorrectly concluded that the vision requirement was reasonably necessary for the chiropractic curriculum and that a sighted assistant would fundamentally alter the nature of the chiropractic program.

Joseph DeMocko, et al. vs. Iowa Department of Natural Resources

Iowa Code chapter 483A governs the terms and conditions under which individuals may hunt and fish in Iowa. Non-residents pay a higher license fee than residents and are subject to various restrictions. Appellants argue that the district court incorrectly concluded that they are not Iowa residents for the purposes of chapter 483A and that limiting landowner hunting licenses only to Iowa residents, as defined in chapter 483A, is unconstitutional.

For more information about the oral arguments

Attorneys' briefs for the two cases and a "Guide to Oral Arguments" are posted on the Iowa Judicial Branch website at:

http://www.iowacourts.gov/About_the_Courts/Supreme_Court/Offsite_Oral_Arguments .

Note to news media

News media are invited to attend the oral arguments. Court rules apply regarding still camera, video camera, and audio recording devices used during the oral arguments. Information on expanded media coverage is available on the Iowa Judicial Branch Website at: http://www.iowacourts.gov/For_the_Media/Expanded_Media_Coverage .

The Iowa Court Rules regarding cameras and other electronic devices in the courtroom are on the Iowa Legislature website at:

https://www.legis.iowa.gov/DOCS/ACO/CR/LINC/09-27-2013.chapter.25.pdf (the first page is blank)