DEAR DR. GOTT: Can a person hurt himself by eating canned fruit or food after the expiration date listed?DEAR READER: The only canned items required to actually carry an expiration date on labeling are infant formula and some baby foods. Listing expiration dates is voluntary, and those voluntary guidelines vary from state to state. Some packaging might provide a “sell by,” “born on,” “guaranteed fresh,” “use by,” “best if used by” or “pack” date — the latter indicating when a product was canned or packaged.Consider milk that is sometimes good for almost a week after the sell-by date, or eggs that are good up to five weeks — as long as the label reads a sell date several days into the future when you purchase them. Poultry and seafood should be cooked or frozen within a day or two of purchase, while beef and pork should be cooked or frozen within a three- to five-day period. I had a discussion with a gentleman behind the meat counter of my local grocery store who indicated some products arrive frozen and are thawed before being displayed. He has personally purchased some of these items for his own use and frozen them a second time without benefit of cooking and has never had a problem. I must say this goes against everything I have always been told, but I guess people do it. And now, on to canned goods. Canned vegetables and low-acid foods have been tested and found risk-free for up to five years, as long as they have been stored in cool temperatures. Humidity can speed deterioration. Spaghetti sauce and other foods with a higher acid content can be kept a year-and-a-half, perhaps longer. If a can is bulging, it should be discarded, because that is an indication that bacteria are likely to be present. Become a savvy shopper. Check dates, rotate your canned goods, and when in doubt, throw it out. Common sense must prevail.Peter Gott practiced medicine in Lakeville for 40 years.DEAR DR. GOTT: I’m a 63-year-old female with gray/white hair. I’ve noticed recently that it is getting a yellow tint to it. I’ve always loved the color of my hair but find I have to dye it because of the yellow tint. I’ve not changed any medications that I’ve taken for years. What do you think is causing this? Can I do anything to reverse it?DEAR READER: While your medications have remained unchanged, you may have hormonal changes occurring that you are unaware of. Or the yellowing may be the result of over-the-counter supplements, mineral deposits in a swimming pool, shampooing with hard water, exposure to sunlight, smoking and hairspray or other styling aids. Buy a shampoo specifically designed for yellowing hair. Those on the market I am aware of are Clairol Shimmer Lights, L’Oreal Expert Silver shampoo and Aveda Blue Malva. Natural remedies include diluting your conditioner half strength with hydrogen peroxide, or using lemon juice or steeped chamomile. Any one of these should be applied directly to the hair and left on for up to a half-hour prior to shampooing. Speak with your hairdresser for his or her opinion before incorporating any ideas that may further impair your hair color. Readers who would like additional home remedies can order my Health Reports, “Compelling Home Remedies” or “More Compelling Home Remedies” by sending a self-addressed stamped No. 10 envelope and a $2 check or money order for each report made payable to Newsletter and mailed to Newsletter, PO Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092-0167. Be sure to mention the title(s) or print an order form off my website’s direct link at www.AskDrGottMD.com/order_form.pdf. Peter Gott practiced medicine in Lakeville for 40 years.
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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