you see things coming up. >> reporter: by planning ahead, irma micera remains at home, tending her garden. >> you water them, you make sure you fertilize them, and watch the little seeds grow. >> reporter: a well-orchestrated end-of-life plan lets irma age with grace, surrounded by her things, her interests, and her loved ones on her terms. in miami, benno schmidt, "nightly business report." >> susan: such an important issue given that we're all going to be living so much longer, but we avoid it because it so complicated and kind of a touchy subject, right? >> tom: a very touchy subject, but if programs like this and reports like that one get the conversation going at the kitchen table, all the better. >> susan: a lot of resources out there to help us out. that's it for us tonight on "nightly business report". this is for wednesday, january 19. i'm susue gharib. thanks for watching. >> tom: i'm tom hudson, we hope to see you back here tomorrow night. this program was made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. captioning sponsored by wpbt captioned by media a

daughter of robert and irma. at age of 3 moved to missouri and returned when she was 12 years old. patricia grew up with segregation and injustices which she writes about. she spent many countless hours in the nashville public library. it was her family life that was bountiful and flowing with tales told by her story telling grandfather. raised with love of reading and oral tradition. graduated from tennessee state and degree in english in 1964. she married her childhood friend on december 12. they are the parents of fredrick and twins robert and john. her education continued with a master's degree in early childhood literature, and programming in 1975 from webster university. patricia has a successful career as a teacher and children's book editor. she changed careers to become a full time writer of children and young adult books. her goal is to create books for and about african-americans. i write because there is a need to have books for, by and about the african-american experience and how we helped to develop this country. i present to you patricia makinsik heart of literacy.

. >> reporter: irma torres is picking up books on her astra logical sign. >> i'm a libra, we are always seeking balance. >> reporter: unaware she is a virgo. >> you have two signs. so you take good from both of them. >> reporter: that's one way of looking at it. actually this new zodiac adds a new sign ophiuchus from late november to mid-december completely rewriting the astrological chart. according to some astrologers your sign has probably changed. astrological positions were calculated on the stars some 2,000 years ago. but thanks to a would-bel in the earth's action six, those positions have been moved. >> they have been off by i'd say almost a sign for many, many, many years. >> reporter: josh siegel is a numerologist with expertise in astrology. he says this is an old argument getting new attention and says the western brand of astrology you read in the newspaper is dictated by the seasons not the stars. >> if the constellations are off or different or there is a new one doesn't affect western astrology because they are not measured by the constellations. they are measured by the

it included today's pakistan, irma and bangladesh as well. and required shadow zones of influence in the middle east, particularly in iran, in arabia, and central asia and in southeast asia up to the goal for the cyan, all among the indian ocean. and what happened is the indian fear of influence in the chinese fear of influence are overlapping. india and china do not have a difficult history. there is no long-standing hatred or warfare. it was over they fight in in 1962 in the foothills of the himalayas. but beyond that, the two countries have had a relatively peaceful path, separated as they were by the high wall of the himalayas. buddhism spread from andrea into china in the early modern centuries. but what has created this indian chinese rivalry? and i use the word rivalry, not conflict is the shrinkage of distance caused by the advance of military technology. you have now chinese airfield and tibet with chinese fighter jet whose arc of operations include india. you have indian warships in the south china sea. you have chinese warships in

there he met irma, his sweetheart for over 70 years by whose side he will now rest for eternity.fford college, he did play could to get in finding work as a gas station attendant, a produce salesman, a meat culvert -- a meat cutter, a welder in the shipyards during world war ii. returning home to west virginia after the war, he ran for the state house using his fiddle case as a briefcase. before long that he ran for congress. he served in the house before jumping over to the senate where he was elected nine times and held almost every leadership role imaginable and proved is capable of swaying others as standing alone. he marked a load of milestones along the way. he was the longest serving member of congress. nearly 19,000 votes cast, not a single one at the polls. he has a record that speaks of the bond he had with you, the people of this state. chance fled to washington, his heart remain here in west virginia in the place that shaped him and the people he loved. his heart belonged to you. his heart belonged to you. making life better here was his only agenda. giving new hope,

mentioned before he has outlasted so many presidents, and bobby bid and his wife, i believe her name is irma was invited by president bush and first lady laura bush to sit down for their first dinner in the white house. as i said, not only was it a very kind gesture and reach across the aisle, but it was very telling, something robert byrd said after the dinner, when asked what impressed you most about this new president of the united states, and robert byrd said, the fact that he said grace after a meal, after his meal, is what impressed him the most. and i'm not sure if he was referring to the previous eight years and the lack of grace in the white house or not, but that definitely had an impact on robert byrd. >> but when i read it, i thought, it's interesting, the quote here is i like the fact that he had grace. he asked god's blessing upon the food, and in many circles, the word god, except in a profane use, is taboo. then he went on to write a very critical book of george bush. >> no doubt. >> so i wondered what difference did it make. if he clearly doesn't like anything he's doing. >>