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As debate boils in Washington over the Bush Administration's policy in Iraq, the men and women of the 36-43 Company of the New Hampshire National Guard are coming up on nearly six months of their deployment.

They've been guarding a detention center in Baghdad.

And while some soldiers may find it comforting not to have to face bombs and sniper fire, not all of them are happy with this mission inside the safety of a large US Base.

In our weekly series of Letters from Iraq, NHPR's Mark Bevis spoke with Staff Sergeant Scot Austin.

Tonight on the Front Porch we're going to ask the question: Just how much can we control how we'll be remembered after we die? We'll look at the life of art collector Isabella Stuart Gardner, who tried very hard to control her legacy. She burned many of her letters before she died, and she made sure that the museum she left behind could never be changed or rearranged. We'll also hear the story of a writer who thought his father left him no legacy – until he realized it was right in front of his eyes the whole time.

Isabella Stewart Gardner was well known at the turn of the 20th century as a wealthy, cultured, and flamboyant Boston art collector. She constructed an Italian villa known as The Gardner Museum that contains works by some of the greatest painters in the world. The theft of 300 million dollars worth of art work, including Rembrandts and a Vermeer in 1990 remains the biggest and unsolved art theft in history.

Author Patricia Vigderman made dozens of trips to the Gardner Museum; her goal was to understand exactly what kind of person Isabella Stewart Gardner was. The museum gives few clues. We're going to talk with Patricia Vigderman about her new book, The Memory Palace of Isabella Stewart Gardner.

We'll also hear from writer Joseph Dougherty about his father's legacy. The story comes from The Public Radio Exchange.

Federal initiatives meant to save Medicaid dollars are adding fuel to a nationwide trend.

Since nursing home care represents the largest share of Medicaid spending, states are trying cut costs by moving patients back into the community..

In New Hampshire, the health department hopes to move about 600 Medicaid-eligible seniors out of nursing homes within two years.

Toward that end - two pilot projects are underway in Manchester and Nashua.

The Adult Family Care pilots pay individuals -- using Medicaid dollars -- to take seniors into their homes and provide non-medical personal care.

Advocates say the program provides a “family-like” setting for seniors.

But some critics assert that New Hampshire doesn’t have the resources to handle the transition adequately.