Central New York 55 Plus

EE Seniors Using Online Dating Steadily Increasing

FR Marilyn Pinsky Meet a True Mover & Shaker: Judith Mower

55 PLUS Issue 33 June / July 2011

For Active Adults in Central New York

New Chapter

Dr. A. J. Merola, 74, built a healthcare empire in Central New York, which he recently sold. Is he ready to retire now? Not quite, he says.

Gardening

• Rose Society turns 100 this year • Gardening with Jim Sollecito

How to create the perfect Bloody Mary June / July 2011 - 55 PLUS

Druger’s Zoo Traveling with Children: Valuable Tips

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We also guarantee pre-arranged pricing on all funeral contracts.

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June / July 2011

Health Watch 6-7 Gardening 8 Financial Health 9 Golden Years 16 My Turn 36 Aging 38 Visits 42 Consumer’s Corner 45 Druger’s Zoo 46 Last Page 50 SUBSCRIBE TO 55PLUS

Only $15. Check to 55PLUS P.O. Box 276 Oswego, NY 13126

CONTENTS

18

22 26 12 DATING.1

• More seniors using online dating services

14 DATING.2

• Diving into the dating pool can be exhilarating, scary

18 VOLUNTEERING

• Group of volunteers, all retired, meets every Wednesday morning to keep the Rose Garden beautiful

22 GREEN THUMB

• Landscaper Jim Sollecito says it’s about the LAWS

26 LIFE LESSONS

• Ken Williams, 79, blind since age 2, still going with his passion: piano tuning

38 40 30 COVER STORY

• A. John Merola, 74, grew a private practice he established in 1964 in North Syracuse into a healthcare empire. He recently sold his business and is now adjusting to his new life

40 PROFILE

• By day John Cadley works creating slogans and catch phases for Eric Mower and Associates; in his spare time he’s all about music

42 HEALTH

• Viagra, Levitra and Cialis help many who suffer from erectile dysfunction while bringing millions to drug makers

June / July 2011 - 55 PLUS

5

HEALTH WATCH

55PLUS

Doctors Prescribing Meditation, Yoga More Often

M

ind-body therapies such as yoga, meditation and deep-breathing exercises appear to be gaining more acceptance in mainstream medicine, according to a new study.

Mind-body therapy is used by more than one-third of Americans, and that number is rising, the researchers noted. They found that one in 30 Americans using some type of mindbody therapy was referred to the treatment by a medical provider.

“There’s good evidence to support using mind-body therapies clinically,” the study’s lead author, Aditi Nerurkar, an integrative medicine fellow at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, said in a news release from Beth Israel. “Still, we didn’t expect to see provider referral rates that were quite so high.”

Nerurkar and her colleagues analyzed data from more than 23,000 households that took part

in the 2007 U.S. National Health Interview Survey. Nearly 3 percent of the people in those households, or about 6.3 million people, used mind-body therapies after referral by a mainstream medical provider, the study found. These people tended to be sicker and used the healthcare system more than people who started using the therapies without a referral.

“What we learned suggests that providers are referring their patients for mind-body therapies as a last resort once conventional therapeutic options have failed,” Nerurkar said.

“It makes us wonder whether referring patients for these therapies earlier in the treatment process could lead to less use of the health-care system and, possibly, better outcomes for these patients.”

The study is published in the May 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

A Little Belly Fat Can Double the Risk of Death

O

ne of the largest studies of its kind has found that people with coronary artery disease who have even a modest beer belly or muffin top are at higher risk for death than people whose fat collects elsewhere. The effect was observed even in patients with a normal body mass index (BMI). The findings are reported in the May 10 issue of the “Journal of the American College of Cardiology.”

Researchers analyzed data from 15,923 people with coronary artery disease involved in five studies from around the world. They found that those with coronary artery disease 6

55 PLUS - June / July 2011

and central obesity, measured by waist circumference and waist-tohip ratio, have up to twice the risk of dying. That is equivalent to the risk of smoking a pack of cigarettes per day or having very high cholesterol, particularly for men.

“Visceral fat has been found to be more metabolically active. It produces more changes in cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar. However, people who have fat mostly in other locations in the body, specifically, the legs and buttocks, don’t show this increased risk,” says Thais Coutinho, the study’s lead author and a cardiology fellow at Mayo Clinic.

Editor and Publisher Wagner Dotto

Associate Editor Lou Sorendo

Contributing Writers

Sandra Scott, Aaron Gifford Margaret McCormick Marvin Druger, Mary Beth Roach Ken Little

Columnists

Eva Briggs, M.D., Bruce Frassinelli Marilyn Pinsky, Harold Miller Jim Sollecito, David J. Zumpano

Advertising

Donna J. Kimbrell Marlene Raite Tracy DeCann

Office Manager

Laura J. Beckwith

Layout and Design Chris Crocker

Cover Photo

Chuck Wainwright 55 PLUS –A Magazine for Active Adults in Upstate New York is published six times a year by Local News, Inc., which also publishes In Good Health–CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper.

Health in good

CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper

Published at 185 E. Seneca St. PO Box 276 Oswego, NY 13126.

Subscription: $15 a year © 2011 by 55 PLUS – A Magazine for Active Adults in Upstate New York.

No material may be reproduced in whole or in part from this publication without the express written permission of the publisher.

Third class postage paid at Syracuse, NY. Permit Number: 3071

How to Reach Us P.O. Box 276 Oswego, NY 13126 Phone: (315) 342-1182 Fax: (315) 342-7776 E-mail: Editor@cnyhealth.com

Popular Diets:

Do They Prevent Cancer?

N

ot all diet plans help reduce a person’s chances of developing cancer, say experts at The University of MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Nutrition experts from MD Anderson separate the good from the bad among popular diets.

“Losing weight can help lower your chances for cancer if you’re overweight or obese,” said Daxaben Amin, a senior clinical dietitian in MD Anderson’s department of clinical nutrition. “But beware: not just any weight-loss plan will give your body the nutrients it needs to fight off diseases like cancer.”

“Diets that make our ‘good list’ encourage long-term change,” Amin said. “They also give you a variety of options from all food groups.”

MEDITERRANEAN DIET

The Mediterranean-style diet makes the ‘good’ list because it encourages people to make a life-long commitment to good nutrition.

This diet also meets many of the dietary guidelines used for preventing cancer and heart disease. These include: • Making fruits, vegetables, nuts and other plant-based foods a big part of every meal • Choosing healthy fats, like olive and canola oils, instead of butter • Flavoring foods with herbs and spices instead of salt • Limiting red meat and alcohol intake • Eating fish and poultry at least twice a week

It makes the ‘good’ list because it offers the cancer prevention benefits below: • Adding fruits, vegetables and whole grains into at least half of your daily meals • Encouraging eating lean protein • Limiting foods high in fat • Including daily physical activity • Crash diets lead to crash endings “Diet plans that encourage shortterm change usually don’t provide the nutrients your body needs on a daily basis,” Amin said. “These diets make our ‘bad’ list.”

GLUTEN-FREE

Gluten is a protein found in most whole grain foods, like wheat, rye, barley and oats. Gluten-free diets

HEALTH WATCH are becoming a popular trend. When people go gluten-free, they stop eating foods containing whole grains. But, unless someone has celiac disease, he or she shouldn’t go gluten-free.

Here’s why: whole grains are rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals. They protect the cells from damage that may lead to cancer.

CARBOHYDRATE-FREE

“Don’t follow diet plans that tell you to completely ‘cut the carbs,’” Amin said.

According to Amin, people should limit their carbohydrates to maintain a healthy weight. But, completely cutting out carbohydrates also cuts out the body’s primary energy source.

Even worse: people deprive their bodies of some important cancerfighting carbohydrates — vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans.

“Instead of going carb-free, choose your carbohydrates wisely,” Amin said. “Pick whole grains rather than cakes, cookies and other foods made with processed or refined grains and sugars.”

WHOLE-BODY

This type of diet focuses on eating six to seven small meals each day, instead of the standard three large meals.

Making vegetables and other plant-based foods a big part of every meal is believed to help keep cancer away.

June / July 2011 - 55 PLUS

7

Gardening

By Jim Sollecito

And Now A Word From Our Sponsor

T

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55 PLUS - June / July 2011

here are some “new” words out there now that don’t relate to what I am doing at this stage of life, so I just ignore them and pretend they don’t exist. I also mute terrible news stories as well as television advertisements for products that don’t interest me. The problem with TV is what’s on TV. But that is a whole different conversation.

In horticulture, we have known for eons that we need to follow the LAWS to have healthy plants. Those laws would be: • Light — remembering that morning light is worth a lot more than that afternoon scorching beam we get from the west.

• Air — good air flow to limit disease and fungus problems, especially in the shade.

Water — need I say more?

Too much or too little, and friend, you now own an ever-brown.

• Soil, the part that keeps us grounded. Literally.

Yes, we can help in all of these areas. But soil is the element where we may have most influence to help any plant reach its genetic potential.

Back in college, I studied soil science as part of my horticultural curriculum, and learned that there are there components to all soils: sand, silt, and clay. Plus maybe 2 percent to 5 percent organic content.

Of these, the only part that needs to be replenished is the organic aspect. That’s where compost comes in. Composted leaves, manure, vegetables, or a plethora of any combination can replenish the organic aspect to soil, some refer to as tilth.

You can feel it, you can smell it, and if you grow a vegetable garden, you can even taste it.

For established plants, adding something like certified organic

Leafgro compost at approximately an inch every year is great. Let the rain and the worms work it in. I also like to apply Sustane Organic Humate, to help the good bugs get up early and stay late, working to help balance your soil.

Healthy soil means healthy plants. Healthy plants bring smiles to happy people. Happy people tend to enjoy life more.

But the kicker here, and the easiest and least expensive thing you can do for any parts of your home landscape, is to fertigate.

Get some Neptune’s Harvest Fish and Seaweed Tonic, add it to water (all fertilizers need to be in a liquid form before they can be used by the plants) and literally go over the top with this tip. Drench your plants, even rough patches in your lawn, every two weeks and you’ll see your investment grow right in front of your eyes.

No kidding.

Instead of irrigate, add some organic fertilizer, and fertigate right over the top. The leaves will take in some, the roots will take in more, and the deer will be deterred for a period of time. Very few deer like to fish, although the fragrance is not offensive to people.

Fertigation. Now that’s a word worth knowing, and using. Brought to you by healthy plants everywhere, including your own yard.

Jim Sollecito is the first lifetime senior certified landscape professional in NYS. He operates Sollecito Landscaping Nursery in Syracuse. Contact him at 468-1142 or at jim@sollecito.com.

55+

financial health

By David J. Zumpano

The New Medicaid Law Is anything safe anymore?

M

edicaid law is federal law. What makes it unique is while it is federal, it specifically requires the states to implement it.

There is no federal Medicaid agency overseeing its operation.

Each state has created a Medicaid department to manage it within the state. In New York, it is called the New York State Department of Social Services.

While the Medicaid program is run by the states, each state must follow certain federal mandates but the states have discretion on how to apply it. For example, the federal law provides if an individual is married and applying for Medicaid for a nursing home, a community spouse is entitled to retain a minimum amount of income per month.

The federal law states the minimum can be no less than $1,821 and no more than $2,739. There are similar rules for the assets a community spouse can retain.

A simple change in the budget bills April 1 has tremendous impact on everyday people.

The crux of the change comes in the state’s right to define what an individual’s estate consists of for Medicaid purposes.

Federal law requires states to implement a recovery against the estate of any individual who received Medicaid benefits during his or her lifetime.

The concern centers around how the state defines the term “estate.” There is no federal guideline and it is totally at the discretion of the state.

To understand the grave impact of what has transpired, we must look at what traditionally has been recoverable from an estate of a Medicaid beneficiary, just assets in the individual’s

Under the new definition of “estate,” if you reserved a life estate in your home, Medicaid would be able to get your house after your death. own name alone. States were prohibited from pursuing any interest owned jointly with others, or beneficiary designated to others, or any interest that terminated at the Medicaid recipient’s death.

The common law, which has existed for centuries, provides a jointly owned account, by operation of law, goes to the surviving joint tenant at the death of the first.

Similarly, under contract law, a life insurance policy or other beneficiary-designated account goes to the individual designated as the beneficiary. This happens automatically without the need of any government action.

The new Medicaid law purports to include assets that for hundreds of years have been treated a certain way under the law, to now be trumped by Medicaid’s right to recovery for benefits paid on the applicant’s behalf.

Under the new definition of “estate,” if you reserved a life estate in your home, Medicaid would be able to get your house after your death. The common law has provided for centuries that your life estate in your home ceases at your death and your home would be instantly owned by the remainder beneficiary.

Under the new law, Medicaid would assert a right of recovery against your home even though you no longer owned it at the

moment of your death. The same is true for joint accounts and beneficiary-designated accounts.

This is problematic as it creates significant conflict of laws issue.

The question of whether states’ interpretation of the federal Medicaid law can trump hundreds of years of common law and contract law is uncertain.

Interestingly, this is not a new idea. It was originally introduced in Massachusetts in the early 2000s.

The public outcry made lawmakers repeal it within six months of its passage. Other states such as Ohio have implemented wholeheartedly and are standing firm in their approach. Many lawsuits are currently pending to resolve the conflict of laws issues.

Many other states have implemented some element of these recovery procedures, some of which have been settled and others which have not.

So are any of your assets safe anymore after this new law? Well, we’re not certain but the government is taking the approach it can reach assets it couldn’t previously.

It is more important now than ever that you get proper legal advice when doing any type of planning to protect your assets to ensure you are able to protect them and that you contact your elected representation to share your disagreement with the new law.

David J. Zumpano is an attorney and a certified public accountant (CPA).

He operates Estate Planning Law Center.

He can be reached at 793-3622.

June / July 2011 - 55 PLUS

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55+

dating

Online Dating The number of seniors who use online dating services is expected to skyrocket in the coming years

By Aaron Gifford

T

he Quality-Singles.com website claims that there are 12,540 single people in Syracuse between the ages of 50 and 59, and 11,713 singles in the 70–84 age group.

The site contains links to, and reviews of, well-known dating sites like eHarmony, Chemistry. com, Match.com, Spark.com and SingleSeniorsMeet.com, where for about $20 a month members get access to live chat rooms, photo galleries, message boards and an instant messaging service to communicate with other singles.

SingleSeniorsMeet.com is for now the only listed service on the site aimed directly at seniors, but that’s likely to change someday soon.

12

55 PLUS - June / July 2011

The number of seniors who use online dating services is expected to skyrocket in the coming years due to a number of factors: Divorce is still fairly common in the United States, more seniors are becoming computer literate, and it’s no longer commonly frowned upon for older adults to seek mates after their spouse dies.

Tom Blake, an Orange County Register columnist and author of several books about finding love after the age of 50, said more than half of the 50 couples he surveyed for a recent book indicated that they found their current significant others on Internet dating sites.

“I was surprised by that,” said Blake, who also publishes a free enewsletter for older singles simply

called the Tom Blake Newsletter.

“And even more interesting was that one site [Match.com] blew away the competition, based on what the people said about their experiences with different sites.”

“Changing attitudes are a big part of why so many more people over 50 are dating again,” Blake said. “Some people may elect never to marry again after a divorce, but they are looking to cohabitate. And you do see a lot of people who get divorced much later on [after their kids are grown]. They decide that they want the last years of their lives to be very precious to them. “ Blake said online dating sites can be a useful tool, but not the only tool, for finding love as you grow older.

Online sites, Blake added, have two major drawbacks. First, users who are looking to meet someone quickly often start with a broad search, meet someone who lives in another state and soon become emotionally attached in a long-distance relationship. And

55+ second, these sites often attract people who are looking to scam vulnerable, lonely singles.

“The next thing you know, you’re wiring money to someone who says they need funds to buy a plane ticket,” Blake said. “Loneliness makes for bad decisions sometimes. And on the Internet, anyone can be anyone.”

Julia Schult, adult program coordinator at the Baldwinsville Library, echoed those sentiments. She has instructed many local seniors on Internet safety. Some of her patrons are still learning basic computer skills and were unaware of the threat of identity theft and scams. The most important thing to remember when communicating with someone online, she stressed, is not to give out any locator information.

Computer users who decide that they want to meet their chat friends in person should make sure that the initial meeting takes place in a public place, Schult said.

“For everything you disclose about yourself online, you have to think — what’s the worst thing that can happen? If you give an email address, that can lead to spams. That may not be too bad. But, it you give your Social Security number, then you have to think about identity theft.

With a credit card number, think about a scam. If you provide your address, then you have to think about your safety,” she said.

Schult said most online dating sites have free introductory offers, but they’ll eventually ask for money.

Seniors who want to sign up need to be sure that they have anti-virus protection, and if they are using a WiFi connection outside of their home, they need to be sure the network is secure.

Aside from safety and security issues, seniors also have to adapt to a different mindset when it comes to online dating, Schult explained.

Withholding personal information and lying are two different things.

“With seniors, they’ve grown up with so much face to face communication. They might not be used to chatting with someone who

doesn’t use their regular name and it doesn’t always seem like there’s a real person on the other end. It’s OK to lie to keep your information safe, but if you lie to a potential date, that’s going to bring up problems later on because they won’t trust you,” Schult said.

Still, online dating sites can be a great service for older folks who want to meet like-minded individuals but don’t have the ability to drive to gatherings or meeting places. They are also good for folks who might want to take the process very slow and chat periodically before they commit to meeting someone in person. Blake thinks there are potentially millions of seniors across the country that desperately want to meet others but hesitate to use a computer.

“I think the older generation is getting more independent and wiser, but there are still many older folks who are afraid to use these sites,” he said. “They’re still of the belief that someone is going to come knocking at their door, and that’s now going to happen.”

Blake personally recommends Meetup.com, which isn’t even a dating site. The free service allows users to search for groups, clubs and activities in their area.

A recent search of the Central New York region in Meetup generated bulletins from about a hundred different groups, ranging from a hiking organization in Hamilton to a business networking club in Syracuse.

There was nothing specifically noted for senior citizens in the region, but the results did include a senior singles mingle event in Victor, near Rochester.

Blake said searches should be conducted based upon interests, not age.

“Getting off of your couch, out of your home and some place where you are meeting people is the best place to start, even if the reason for going there isn’t romance. It’s amazing the activities that get formed. You’re finding people who have a shared interest. That’s a great start,” Blake said.

Blake said most of the online

dating

dating sights he’s familiar with cost between $20 and $30 per month to use, though many have introductory offers and will allow a limited number of matches before fees are rendered.

Being single and trying to meet a mate is an investment, he added, “of not just money, but time and effort.”

The Quality-Singles.com site only lists the most known dating sites.

A quick Internet search revealed that there are dozens of others, including some that are specific to location, religion, ethnicity and sexual orientation. There are sites for overweight singles and single parents.

There’s also the UglyBugBall.com, which proclaims to be “real dating for real people.”

O t h e r 5 0 - p l u s da t i n g si t e s include MatureSinglesClick.com and SeniorPeopleMeet.com.

The highlighted testimonial on SingleSeniorsMeet.com is from “Sfsandra,” who said she later fell in love with the first man who sent her a mingle mail the day she signed up with the site in January 2004.

Sfsandra wrote on the site: “Because of that mingle mail, I took notice of him in the chat room and found him to be a funny, witty person.

I began to look forward to seeing him in the room. Every once in awhile he would send me a little mingle mail — nothing too forward, just a kind hello…As the months went by, I found myself checking to see if he was in chat and, if he was, I was very pleased to go in and chat with him and the other people. In March, I was out of the country for about three weeks, but I would occasionally stop at a cyber café, just to check in, give a little travelogue on the board, etc., still hopping to happen on him in the chat room. When I returned, we started talking a bit more intimately, which led to talking on instant messenger and on the telephone. Once we made that leap, things progressed rather quickly, and on May 22 I flew to New Orleans to meet him. By that time, we were totally involved and in love, and the actual meeting didn’t change any of that.”

June / July 2011 - 55 PLUS

13

55+

dating

Second Time Around

If you were married for 30 years or more, diving into the dating pool can be exhilarating, scary experience

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

D

ating at 55-plus is a whole ‘nother ballgame. You’ve probably been married before and a spouse’s death or divorce has abruptly dumped you back into singlehood.

Now that you’ve recovered, and realize you’d like to date again, it can be a little overwhelming.

If you were married for 30 years or more, diving into the dating pool can feel like plunging into the deep end of the pool as a kid who can’t swim, both exhilarating and scary at the same time.

Here are a few tips that will give you water wings.

First thing you need to understand: things may be different now, but in some ways, that’s good.

“You’re a lot calmer,” said Michael Heath, licensed mental health counselor, minister with the United Church of Christ and owner of Pine Ridge Pastoral Counseling Services in Syracuse.

“Dating as a teenager is based upon self esteem.

There’s less impulse control then and there’s less perspective.

It’s a Heath frightening 14

55 PLUS - June / July 2011

prospect.”

You don’t have to worry as much about appearance now as you did as a young adult.

“Don’t believe that the physical effects of aging make you less attractive,” said Ann Altoonian, a licensed psychologist in Syracuse.

“It is not true that this is a barrier.

The other person will be dealing with the same effects of aging as well, and putting yourself down is not consistent with what is rated as the No. 1 quality that potential partners are attracted to, which is confidence.”

Though you’ve earned some gray by now, with the years have come experience that can help you.

“When someone dates later in life, it can be intimidating, but the baseline is different. As we’re older, we’re mature and more sure of ourselves so we’re less desperate. We won’t put up with mistreatment,” Heath said.

But be careful that your selfassurance doesn’t make you too rigid over unimportant matters.

“You may be set in your ways,” Heath said. “It does protect you from making bad choices, but restrict the number of folks you’re willing to take a chance with.”

For example, if you’ve never tried boating but meet a charming sailor, don’t immediately shrug off the potential date. Perhaps you’ll like boating also.

Keep your expectations real

as to how you will blend your life with someone else’s.

“You’re not going to change someone,” said Dorinda Groggin, who earned a master’s in social work with a concentration in gerontology from Syracuse University. “This is who they are. You need to be comfortable with them. Think about why you want to date and what you want to get out of it.”

Groggin is a social worker at Independent Living for Seniors in Rochester.

Your reasons for finding someone have also changed since you were in your 20s.

“You’re not picking a mate to raise children with,” Groggin said. “You’re picking one Goggin who will have a life compatible with yours, but it’s not the same as a 20-year-old.”

Even dating itself has changed a lot. Many women, for example, do not expect men to pick up the tab but anticipate paying their half. Dating is not as innocent as it used to be.

“STDs run very high among the elderly population,” Heath

55+ said. “I don’t know if people are thinking about this. Safe sex is pretty widely used in younger populations, but there’s less thought given to older people. It’s particularly true in senior living arrangements. The ratio of gender is three women to one male and there’s a lot of promiscuity. The virus doesn’t care how old you are.”

Groggin agreed.

“A smart woman who’s sexually active carries condoms,” she said.

“It’s equally true for someone 55plus, not to prevent pregnancy but to prevent STDs. The dating world is a lot more promiscuous now that it was the last time you were dating.”

As you begin dating again, stay safe. Above all, do not give out personal information to a potential date. It may seem common sense to never give your home address, phone number, full name and birth date to a total stranger, but it’s surprising how many people Altoonian do just that and fall prey to identity theft. With the advent of online dating and speed dating, many people make the mistake of telling too much too soon in an effort to be personable.

Online dating can also make it easy to say too much too soon about your past. Those willing to do so indicate they’re still wrapped up in their previous spouse.

“They’re not emotionally available, especially if it’s ‘My wife and I,’” Groggin said. “If you want someone to carry their own weight in the relationship, that’s a bad sign.”

Use online dating is a prescreening tool, not an automated matchmaker. Only you can tell if someone’s for real and a good match for you, not computer software.

“There’s a lot of fraud and misrepresentation, to be

If you want to attract someone interesting, you need to be interesting yourself. It’s fine to have solo hobbies, but joining a club gets you rubbing shoulders with those who share your interests. sure, but it can provide initial information,” Heath said.

If you try online dating, do not use your real name or physical address online. Be careful about giving your email address because it could be associated with your real name elsewhere online. You may want to use an email only for online dating that is not linked to your name. Remove or initialize your actual name from your email server’s account information so it does not automatically attach it to emails you send.

If you and your online friend agree to meet in person, make it a date at a public place you’ve been before and during daylight hours. For example, you could suggest lunch or coffee at a place you like. It may seem chivalrous for the man to pick up the lady at her home; however, it’s best to avoid this scenario until you are sure about one another. If you’re pressured to do anything that makes you uncomfortable, back out.

If friends and family seem to discourage your budding interest, take their concern to heart.

“It takes several face-toface encounters to get to know the person,” Heath said. “You have to be careful and see consistent behavior over several encounters to build some trust.”

It’s easy to let infatuation blind us to another person’s faults and going too far too fast is a recipe for danger or heartbreak.

“You have rose-colored glasses but you trust what you

dating

see when you take them off,” Groggin said. “Common sense is still very important. Listen to the words others use. Their words frequently are contradictions to what they want.”

For example, if a date says he loves family life, yet he hates attending picnics with children running around, he likely does not love family life. Or if she says she adores animals but is turned off by a few stray cat hairs on your jacket, it’s likely a warning that she really isn’t an animal lover.

As a dating relationship continues, make sure you talk about important issues such as your view of money, how your adult children and grandchildren are involved in your life, and how you picture spending the rest of your life.

With all the available partners available, it can seem overwhelming to meet, become acquainted and decide whether or not someone is for you. Considering that the traditional route can take weeks, modern innovations in dating can streamline the process if you’re open to trying something new.

Speed Dating — Speed dating involves a contrived meeting among as many people as possible to efficiently “weed out” people who have obvious incompatibilities without having to actually go on a date to find out. Usually, the host times a two to five-minute interaction between couples and then everyone changes places, like a dating version of musical chairs. At the end of the event, the host lets participants know who would like to follow up with further contact. It may seem unorthodox, but its wild popularity attests to participants’ enthusiasm for speed dating’s efficiency and minimization of rejection.

As with online dating, do not give away too much about yourself. Follow the event’s rules and allow the host to exchange contact information.

Continued on page 17 June / July 2011 - 55 PLUS

15

golden years

By Harold Miller E-mail: HMillerMOD@aol.com.

M

It’s a Brave New (Electronic) World

y favorite Sunday read used to be “Parade Magazine.” Advice columnist Marilyn Vos Savant, a combination of Mensa intelligence and practical sense, could answer any question on any subject.

The “Personality Parade” page brought the latest gossip about our American idols, and feature articles chronicled the lives of interesting people.

Now I don’t recognize any of the tattooed beauties from Hollywood or any of the hip hop crowd featured in the Personality Parade, and Marilyn’s column has been reduced to an outsized postage stamp.

The magazine has been so reduced in size and content that it is unrecognizable.

The entire Sunday newspaper is a giant ad sheet (so that the publisher can make a little profit — damn little) with a few news items sprinkled within.

The current generation doesn’t read the newspaper — they get their news from the Internet. Look for printed newspapers to go the way of the milkman.

The days of browsing in your favorite bookstore are also on the way out. Borders is already bankrupt and Barnes and Noble/ Waldenbooks are not far behind. Although most of us — myself included — can never see the day we won’t hold a book in our hands, the form of the book and the way we buy them will change dramatically.

The sale of electronic books already outpaces hardcopy books in most of the ‘big box’ bookstore chains.

As it is, bookstores are not stocking books as they used to. You can buy your favorite book cheaper and get it quicker through Amazon.com.

New titles are being restricted by 16

55 PLUS - June / July 2011

the publishing crisis. Large publishing houses such as McGraw-Hill and Harper-Collins are going the way of the dodo bird. I visited both of these major houses in the throes of getting a new book published and was told that they had to be confident that at least 50,000 copies could be sold the first year. They are even rejecting the works of established authors because of the above-mentioned demise of retail outlets for hard copy books. As a result I will be self publishing my book, “Memoirs of an Entrepreneur,” on the website — in both hard copy and electronic versions.

The music industry is also on its way out. This is a disturbing and distressing trend because new artists and new music are being denied to those of us who love music. Recording companies and radio conglomerates are committing hara-kiri.

Virtually half of all the CDs purchased today are “catalog items” (read “the oldies” for old frogs like us). This generation gets its music directly from the Internet via iTunes, and other downloading venues and plays the music through their iPods.

The bottom line: there is little financial gain for recording companies to bring new talent into the business. It’s a lose-lose situation.

Cable television is also a threatened business — there is a substantial drop in revenue for all of the TV networks. Again, people of this generation is watching TV and movies broadcast through their computers.

They are also playing games on their TV sets — all of which displaces the time spent watching prime-time network shows (have you seen some of the idiotic new sitcoms on the boob tube lately?)

The cable companies are aiding and abetting this sweeping change by charging exorbitant rates and

increasing the number of maddening commercials — about one every five minutes. Can you say good riddance?

Your land-line telephone will also be a thing of the past. Is there anyone reading this that doesn’t have a cell phone? If so, your land line is completely redundant, and costly. You can keep in touch with all your kids, family, and friends easier, cheaper and faster (I’m trying to convince my wife about this, but old habits die hard).

Finally, have you heard about the cloud? For all but computer geeks this is a difficult concept to get your arms around but it’s coming our way, and will substantially reduce your costs for computer hardware and software.

Today, your computer has a hard drive and you store your documents, music, movies and pictures. Your software is on a CD or DVD, and you can always re-install these if necessary. All of this will change.

Apple, Microsoft and Google will soon be offering their “cloud services.”

This means that when you turn on your computer, the Internet will be built into the operating system.

Windows, Google and Microsoft will be tied directly into the Internet — click an icon and it will open something in the Internet “cloud.” If you save something, it will be saved to the cloud. There will probably be a monthly subscription fee to the cloud provider. Got that? If not, don’t email me for any further clarification — I’m no computer geek.

We l l — t h e r e y o u h a v e i t .

I recommend that all 55-plusers embrace the computer before it’s too late. If not, you’ll be sitting in your rocking chair wondering what’s going on. If our 90-year-old condominium association president can do it — you can do it.

Second Time Around

continued from page 15 A safer way to find a date is among people with whom you are already acquainted or friends of friends. Does your church have a seniors’ group, for example? Get more involved and get to know other members better. Even if no one in the group seems attractive to you right away, someone might “grow” on you or know someone else who is a perfect fit.

If you feel like your current groups don’t include someone you’d like to date, broaden your social circles. Try a hobby club, civic group or class that interests you. Get back into shape by joining a gym. Volunteer for causes you care about. Attend local events that sound fun and be friendly.

If you want to attract someone interesting, you need to be interesting yourself. It’s fine to have solo hobbies, but joining a club gets you rubbing shoulders with those who share your interests.

Search for your city at www. over40andsingle.com for more ideas.

If all these efforts fail to turn up a date, take heart. Just getting out and socializing is good for you and can help you shrug off the doldrums. Numerous studies attest to the benefits socializing offers to physical and mental health. And who knows, perhaps you’ll meet a charming person the next time you go out.

“I’m 70,” Groggin said. “When I was 20, I thought I knew it all.

Age brings wisdom if you listen to it. If it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. You’ve got more experience to draw from.”

When you find the right one, the rewards can be even sweeter now than when you were in your 20s.

“People do find each other and have wonderful, fulfilling relationships and it feels doubly good to be chosen by someone you want to have choose you,” Groggin said. “Not that you’re the prettiest cheerleader on the squad but that you appeal to someone who values you and you have a chance for a second or third start.”

They say “With age comes wisdom” and many thoughtful people make plans for their own funerals well beforehand. You can find peace of mind by making choices now, by planning ahead. Pre-arrangement is also a good way to avoid pressure and confusion later. Why not call and come in to discuss pre-need planning with us?

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17

55+

volunteering

Labor of Love Group of volunteers, all retired, meets every Wednesday morning to keep the Rose Garden beautiful

By Mary Beth Roach

E

very Wednesday morning, from early April to November, Dan Magaro, 90, and as many as 15 friends from the Syracuse Rose Society have a get-together at the Dr. E.M. Mills Memorial Rose Garden in Thornden Park in Syracuse.

“It’s a party,” said Magaro, of Liverpool, referring to their four-hour weekly work sessions. “Everyone works together.” While some might find tending and pruning 5,000 roses in 400 varieties to be a thorn in their side, Magaro and the other members of the Syracuse Rose Society (SRS) see it as a labor of love.

This April, they planted 200 roses and 50 miniatures; they untied all the shrubs that they bound up in November and undid the burlap covers that hugged the climbers over the trellises on some of the walkways.

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At the end of their season in late October and early November, the SRS members tie up the bushes tightly, Magaro said, in order to protect them against the winter winds. The burlap that wraps the climbers protects the flowers from the winds and the cold temperatures of the winter season.

They also “hill up” each of the bushes with two shovels of compost in order to further protect the plants. That equates to 8,000 shovelfuls for all the plants, Magaro said. By removing the strings from the bushes in the spring, air, sunlight and water can filter through the plant, he explained.

The Syracuse Rose Society is more than willing to offer these and other

tips to floral fans, but Joe Gibson, 67, of Manlius, said the best tip is to visit the garden any Wednesday morning, between 8 a.m. and noon, in season.

“Here, it’s hands-on,” Magaro added, explaining that if the members just tell people these pointers, very often they will forget certain steps by the time they get to their own gardens. By going to the Mills Garden and working with the SRS members, visitors can actually practice what they are taught.

All the SRS volunteers at the garden are retired, Magaro said, and provide more than 3,000 hours of work per season at the garden. He has been tending the garden for about 25

In late June, the Syracuse Rose Society, which maintains the Dr. E.M. Mills Memorial Rose Garden in Thornden Park in Syracuse, will celebrate its 100th anniversary.

55+ years, and has been one of the team’s leaders for about 12 years. Dorothy Storms, 79, of Camillus said she has been working there for 40 years.

Such work can be therapeutic, Magaro said. Once volunteers are taught some of special techniques to tend for the flowers, they can determine what they want to do and how they want to do it, he explained.

The work also provides a sense of camaraderie among the SRS members.

“It’s like a family,” he said.

And they certainly reap what they sow.

The garden attracts more than 1,000 visitors each year from all over the United States and Canada, and more than one visitor has commented that this is the nicest rose garden they have ever seen, said SRS member Joe Gibson, 67, of Manlius.

In addition, it has been the backdrop for hundreds of weddings and it is the site of the annual Rose Day program in mid-June. In late June, the Syracuse Rose Society, celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, will invite those attending the National Miniature Rose Convention here in Central New York, to the garden for an afternoon celebration.

And last summer it received national attention when it was chosen as the second best rose garden in America’s Best Rose Garden Competition 2010, presented by the All-America Rose Selections. Winners were determined by the total votes from visitors and rose enthusiasts, overall garden condition, and community programs, including tours and volunteer days that encourage visitors and promote each garden. The San Jose Municipal Rose Garden placed first, while another Upstate New York garden — the Central Park Rose Garden of Schenectady — rounded out the top three.

The garden’s history is as rich as the colors and fragrances of its roses.

Today, it is situated in Thornden Park, a 76-acre park adjacent to the Syracuse University campus and one of the jewels in the City of Syracuse’s Parks, Recreation and Youth Programs’

volunteering

Dan Magaro, 90, of Liverpool. “It’s a party,” he says referring to his four-hour weekly work sessions at the Rose Garden. “Everyone works together.”

Bill Nauen of Syracuse also volunteers at the Rose Garden.

June / July 2011 - 55 PLUS

19

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 

system. While the park itself boasts a Lily Pond, an amphitheatre, tennis and basketball courts, a picnic area, a swimming pool, a football field and some of the most commanding views of the Syracuse skyline, it’s the Rose Garden that remains one of its most popular and well-known features.

According to a history written by Jim Wagner on syracuserosesociety. org, the present site is actually the third rose garden planted by the SRS. The first one, with 2,500 rose bushes was planted in 1911 in Kirk Park, and it then moved to Syracuse University’s Mt. Olympus. In the early 1920s, as that land was being acquired by SU for its School of Forestry, the third SRS garden took root in Thornden Park and was dedicated in 1924 in honor of Dr. E.M. Mills, a local Methodist minister and founder of the Syracuse Rose Society.

In the 1970s, the Society and the Syracuse Department of Parks, Recreation and Youth Programs made a cooperative agreement, and today, the department helps to pay for some additional roses and supplies; provides general maintenance for the grounds, and assists in handling some of the more labor-intensive work needed. Yet, it’s the SRS members that can be seen on Wednesday mornings hauling debris in wheelbarrows, and down on their hands and knees trimming, pruning and cleaning out the boxes.

And after 3,000 hours of work in seven months, it’s all a bed of roses.

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green thumb

Gardening with Jim Sollecito Landscaper says it’s all about the LAWS

By Aaron Gifford

T

hose who visit Jim Sollecito’s garden center and nursery near Onondaga Hill for the first time might feel like they’re at a carnival. It’s busy, colorful, and decorated.

“You can never shop here too mulch,” says one sign at the main entrance. “Free ride in a police car if you shoplift from this store,” says another by the checkout counter.

And the self-proclaimed “Sodfather” relishes the opportunity Joe Whiting to personally acknowledge a sale.

“Thank you very mulch,” Jim 22

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Sollecito says, though many regular customers have yet to notice the pun.

“Some do,” he shrugs, “some don’t.”

That sense of humor is key to the 57-year-old’s success. Nearly 40 years ago, Sollecito dreamed up a landscaping service from his college dorm room. He grew the business with sweat equity, nearly breaking his back in the process, and has survived as one of the few remaining independent garden centers in Onondaga County.

As a child, Sollecito grew up in a big family that embraced fishing, hunting and cultivating fruits and vegetables.

They ate what they could catch, kill or gather, and accepted animal waste from other farms to compost their own garden. Sollecito made extra money by working on neighbors’ lawns. His love of the outdoors brought him to Cornell University, where he studied ornamental horticulture.

“Originally, I wanted to become a lawyer,” he said. “Then in college I saw some of the kinds of people that went into law, and realized that plants don’t try to play games or fool you. If you follow the LAWS with things that are grown — light, air, water and soil

55+ — then you can expect positive things to result.”

He paid his way through the Ivy League school, taking a campus custodial job, accepting some of the clean-up duties at his Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity house and performing work for several Ithaca area landscapers, which in turn gave him referrals for his own future accounts. He purchased equipment from a landscaping business that folded, hired a couple of its workers and opened Sollecito’s Landscaping Nursery.

“It was sink, swim or plant shrubs,” he recalled.

The original location was in downtown Oswego, where Sollecito had a one-year lease. Oswego was also where the “Sodfather” met his wife, Megan. He recalls the performance where she was playing the flute in a jazz combo. “I tried to buy her a drink.

She said no, so I married her.”

Sollecito injured his back a few months after opening the business.

He required back surgery, and still sees a chiropractor every week. Some days are better than others. Exercise, ice packs and a healthy diet keep the chronic back pain at bay.

Although Sollecito has lived in Baldwinsville for 32 years now, he grew up only a mile away from his current business. He bought the property from former owner Frank Beesley in 1979. Sollecito’s mother helped negotiate the deal, just as she did when her son purchased shrubs from Beesley as a child. Sollecito allowed the former owner to continue living on the property a year after closing the deal.

In the early years, Sollecito had no credit, so he could only do business with those who relied on his word that a debt would be satisfied or a job completed. In the spirit of those simpler times, Sollecito still drives the 1977 pick-up truck that helped him get the business off the ground.

Today, there is better technology, better tools and so many more varieties of plants, but the job isn’t necessarily easier.

“I still work half days — the first half of a 24-hour day,” Sollecito

green thumb

quipped. “The job becomes a lifestyle.

Some days the job owns you, and you’re too tired even to eat dinner.

You have to have great faith that the rain will stop or come, and that people will show up.”

As Sollecito’s business grew, most of the other independent garden centers in the area closed — not because of competition, but because the next generation elected not to take over the family business. “Basically, they died off,” he said.

Jim and wife Megan at their Onondaga Hill business.

The landscaper says it’s difficult to pinpoint when he was rest assured that his business made it over the hump, but he believes the “Fall is for Planting” campaign several years ago played a role. Sollecito’s traffic increased significantly after customers learned that autumn, due to its warm soil, is a great time to work in the garden.

Sollecito differentiates himself from the big box retailers like Lowe’s and Wal-mart by specializing in products that deer won’t eat. And he says he believes his garden center is also the only one in the state that doesn’t sell bagged lawn chemicals.

Sollecito’s recently became the first “Be Green Garden Center” in New York State, a Department of Environmental certification that recognizes the business as 100 percent organic. He is also recognized as the state’s “First Lifetime Senior Certified Landscape Professional.”

“I don’t think people know how to use them [bagged lawn chemicals],” Sollecito said. “I don’t like the way they smell, and I am afraid of customers taking them home and not reading the labels and just dumping them on their lawn or gardens. Most are not needed, but our society has it set up that when you go to a doctor’s office, you are expecting some kind of pill or solution to what ails you. That’s what built the big box stores’ bottom line.

If you have a problem, they’ll sell you products. Some might even work.”

All told, Sollecito has won 24 top honors for residential landscape work by the New York State Nursery Landscape Association in the past 38 years. He’s proud of those awards, “but at the same time, we’ve lost 14 times.”

He currently employs 28 workers, four of which have worked with him for more than 20 years. Many of his previous seasonal employees have gone on to attend prestigious universities, and some became surgeons, scholars and successful businessmen themselves. Every prospect must pass a drug test.

Sollecito looks each of them in the eye, but doesn’t even bother to look at resumes.

June / July 2011 - 55 PLUS

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55 PLUS - June / July 2011

“They [resumes] tell me what you’ve done,” he said, “not what you’re gonna do.”

Sollecito’s other pet peeve after bagged lawn chemicals is the recent abundance of contractors who call themselves “landscapers” in an attempt to supplement their income when business is slow at their regular job.

“It doesn’t take much to say you are in business,” he says, “and some people go from mowing a lawn to trying to install a retaining wall or doing a landscape design, without any training or education. “ Outside of work, Sollecito has been active as a Greater Northwest YMCA board member and served on the Cornell Alumni Association of Central New York. He’s volunteered with or contributed to several other local organizations, and donated three acres of land across the street from his business to an Onondaga veterans’ cemetery. The property was landscaped as a buffer between Howlett Hill Road and the grave yard.

To promote Central New York’s walking paths, fisheries and outdoor recreation, Sollecito founded the Onondaga Press Club, tapping local TV news journalists Dan Cummings and Don Lark as its other officers. “We don’t have dues, we don’t meet…we just do what we can to educate folks about what a wonderful community we live in. And anyone can join.”

In the off-season, Sollecito loves traveling and fishing. He’s been to 36 countries so far and every continent except Antarctica. He angles for yellow fin tuna in Colombia, giant Pacific sailfish in Guatemala (25 in one day is his record) and sockeye salmon in Alaska. He also learns about agriculture practices in other nations and brings some ideas home.

He’s inspired by the practices in New Zealand, where there is no nuclear power and a general understanding of where the residents’ food comes from. He also enjoyed England, because people there love to walk outdoors and attend flower shows. Sollecito was less impressed with China, where he says bagged chemicals are abundant and human waste is used for fertilizer.

Jim and Megan have two daughters, Hannah and Rachel.

Sollecito: “I’m gonna plant,” he says, “until I’m planted.”

Hannah recently graduated as a Presidential Research Scholar from Cornell University. She entered the Peace Corps and will spend the next two years in Sub-Saharan Africa working to improve the lives of women through agriculture. Rachel is a business student at Albany State University and has shown an interested in the family business.

Sollecito says work tires him out at times but he doesn’t see himself slowing down as he enters his senior years. His advice to other folks 55 and up: Don’t put things off for tomorrow because of what you did yesterday.

“It’s every day,” he said. “It’s too easy to take a day off and then let another day go by and then another and then you get too discouraged to try to get back on track. Get up and do something. I don’t care what time of year it is, because you can always get up and go for a walk.”

When he’s not traveling or fishing, Sollecito enjoys skiing and snowshoeing in the winter. He’s also a master scuba diver. But even with so many things to look forward to outside of work, Sollecito says he can’t fathom a time without flowers, a shovel and dirt.

“I’m gonna plant,” he says, “until I’m planted.”

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55+

life lessons

The Piano Man Ken Williams, 79, blind since age 2, still going with his passion: piano tuning

By Suzanne M. Ellis

I

f Ken Williams chose to live out his golden years as a grumpy old man, chances are nobody would blame him. Williams, 79, of Camillus, has endured more than his share of heartache over the past eight decades, including being blinded in both eyes when he was 2 years old because of a mistake at a hospital in Watertown.

“My mother took me there because I had an eye infection, but a nurse put the wrong medication in my eyes and it burned out my optic nerves,” he said. Not wanting to deal with a blind toddler, his mother deserted him shortly thereafter. Foster homes — including one where he was 26

55 PLUS - June / July 2011

verbally and physically abused on a regular basis — became a way of life from the time he was 3 until he was a teen. Williams never knew his father.

But instead of living life as a “victim,” he has chosen to greet each day as a blessing and a brand new challenge. He continues working almost daily at his lifelong career of piano tuning, a craft he learned at the New York State School for the Blind in Batavia.

“I really like what I do, and I have absolutely no plans to retire. I will keep doing it until I’m 100 years old if I can because I want to have a really big party when I turn 100,” said Williams, who brightens a room with

his smile, quick wit and infectious laughter.

“The thing I like best of all is working on pianos in customers’ homes because I meet so many nice people,” he said.

For more than 55 years, Williams has tuned pianos for the common folk across the five counties of Central New York. He’s also tuned pianos for performers like Frank Sinatra Jr., Tony Bennett, Barry Manilow, Tiny Tim, Roger Williams, Ronny Milsap, Tricia Yearwood, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Mark Chestnut. Every summer, he takes care of all the pianos at the New York State Fair in Geddes, including the ones used by top-name performers in Chevy Court.

Along the way, he’s met a whole lot of famous entertainers.

“One time when I tuned for Ronnie Milsap, they liked my work

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Williams has shared stories of a lonely childhood marked by desertion, beatings and betrayals.

“Kenny had a very sad childhood, but he managed to come through it all right,” Schmidt said. “He’s really Virginia Dean Left quite a special guy because he never Her Legacy To The goes on about it. He just laughs and Children of Oswego smiles.”

When Williams, a certified tuning examiner for the national Piano Technicians Guild since 1979, began Virginia Dean loved Oswego and its his career, blind piano tuners were children. Educator, volunteer, voracious discriminated against, he said. reader and philanthropist, she made an “A lot of the sighted technicians indelible mark on her community. didn’t like us,” he said. “I had to fight After her death, Virginia left a planned gift to the Oswego Public Library. So the sighted world … and it was an her generosity continues to support uphill battle for a long time.” the education of children in Oswego Years ago, Williams said, there even today. were probably 200 or so blind tuners You too can make a difference in Ad_2.5x6.75 in the United States. These days, heInd@Home Oswego County.5/6/09 9:43 AM Page 1 estimates, there are probably less Contact your attorney or financial advisor to leave a gift for your special than 50. charity in your will or estate plan.

Kevin Moore, a piano professor www.oswegoleavealegacy.org at Onondaga Community College, is 343-1981 glad that Ken Williams is still among them. Not only has Williams been caring for OCC’s pianos for 47 years, he’s also tuned the piano in Moore’s LEAVE A LEGACY O O C home for many years.

Ind@Home Ad_2.5x6.75 5/6/09 9:43 AM Page 1 Ind@Home Ad_2.5x6.75 5/6/09 9:43 AM Page 1 “Ken Williams is a class act,” said Moore. “He’s a warm and wonderful human being, and it is always a pleasure to chat with him. His life We Can centers around tuning pianos, and Give You each piano he associates with a A Hand friend.

“Ken doesn’t think of pianos as Independent@Home provides support for pianos,” Moore said. “He thinks of those in need throughout ‘Kevin’s piano’ or ‘Alberta’s piano.’

Central New York.

He is also a first-class tuner [and] as We can help in a number We Can a businessman, he is scrupulously of ways, including: We Can Give You honest. I think the world of Ken. • Companionship Give You A &Hand He has been a godsend to OCC’s TLC A Hand music department and to everyone • Household Independent@Home provides support for– management Independent@Home who knows him. He is one of those those inprovides need throughout cleaning, maintenance support for people who makes the world a better Central Newpreparation York. & meal those in need throughout We can help in a number place.”

Central New York. of including: • ways, At-home salon We can help in a number Williams, who said he probably services – hair • Companionship of ways, including: has “about 2,500 clients” in his &dressing, TLC manicures • Companionship & pedicures • Household personally-kept, index-card Braille & TLC • management Shopping &– errands filing system, admits to a bit of cleaning, maintenance • Household & meal preparation eccentricity when it comes to his management – learn cleaning, more how •ToAt-home salonabout maintenance passion for pianos. services hair &–meal preparation we can help you, or to “I will not go to a doctor who dressing, manicures schedule a free in-home • At-home salon & pedicures doesn’t own a piano,” he said, that consultation, contact services – hair • Shopping & errands Anita West, Customer dressing, manicures ever-present mischievous grin on & pedicures at: Service Coordinator his face and the infectious laugh To learn more about how Shopping we can •help you, or to& errands filling the room. “My internist has a 424.3744 schedule a free in-home 1050 West Genesee Street grand, my hip doctor has a piano, of consultation, contact To learn more about how Syracuse, New York 13204 Anita West, Customer course, and another one of them has we can help you, or to www.ihcscny.com Service Coordinator at: schedule a free in-home a Steinway.”

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so much that they gave me a 40-song CD set of his music,” Williams said proudly.

Before he scaled back his tuning work in later years, he had contracts to care for pianos in more than half a dozen school districts in Onondaga and Oswego counties.

For 33 years, Williams depended on his wife, Marge, as his partner and caregiver, and the one who drove him to tuning appointments. But on Dec. 6, 1997, she had a heart attack and died in his arms.

Through mutual friends, Eileen and Ray Rice of Baldwinsville, Williams met his second wife, Nancy, whom he married on Valentine’s Day 2004. She was his partner and driver until July 13, 2009, when she died of surgical complications.

“Now I am living with a really nice family in Camillus and I get a room, board and laundry,” Williams said. “It’s the best place I’ve had since I lost my second wife.”

For transportation these days, Williams relies on members of his church, First United Methodist on West Genesee Street in Syracuse, and someone else he met through the Rices: Don Schmidt, 66, of Camillus.

“Kenny and I have been together two years now, and we’re out on the road two or three days a week and then we go out to eat,” Schmidt said.

“We have an awful lot of fun.” The men especially enjoy going to Denny’s and Nestico’s, and Williams said he loves the liver and onions at the B’ville Diner in Baldwinsville.

Schmidt drove for Armored Motor Service for 15 years, retiring in 1996.

That job, he said, has provided him with a graphic knowledge of many areas of Central New York, so much so that he never uses a GPS. “My GPS is in my head,” he said, laughing.

Schmidt also delivered copies of “In Good Health—The CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper” for about four years and now delivers a “Swap Sheet” publication once a week. He loves traveling with Williams.

“We laugh all the time and I get to go into places I would never, ever get to go into,” Schmidt said. “We go into $600,000 and $700,000 homes, and that’s pretty exciting.”

As Williams and Schmidt have gotten to know and trust each other,

424.3744 consultation, contact Anita West, Customer Genesee Street June / 1050 JulyWest 2011 - 55 PLUS 27 Syracuse, New York 13204 Service Coordinator www.ihcscny.com

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55 PLUS - June / July 2011

A

fter tackling the chemistry of coffee, tea, fruit juices, soda pop, beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages, doctors have decided to take on the ultimate challenge, the Mount Everest of cocktails, what may be the most chemically complex cocktail in the world, the bloody mary.

“It’s a very complicated drink,” said Neil C. Da Costa, Ph.D., a expert on the chemical analysis of flavors who discussed the topic at the National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) at the end of March in California. “The bloody mary has been called the world’s most complex cocktail, and from the standpoint of flavor chemistry, you’ve got a blend of hundreds of flavor compounds that act on the taste senses. It covers almost the entire range of human taste sensations — sweet, salty, sour and umami or savory— but not bitter.”

Da Costa said those flavors originate in the basic ingredients in the traditional bloody mary, which by one account originated in a Paris bar in the 1930’s.

Stories link the name to various historical figures, especially Queen Mary I of England, noted for her bloody repression of religious dissenters. The ingredients include tomato juice, Worcestershire and Tabasco sauce, fresh lemon or lime juice, horseradish, black pepper, and celery salt.

Shaken with ice or served over ice, it is often garnished with celery and a lemon wedge.

“Most of the ingredients have been analyzed for their key flavor volatiles, the chemicals that can evaporate from the glass and produce the aroma,” Da Costa explained. “Similarly for the nonvolatiles, which are the chemicals that stay in the liquid and contribute toward the flavor there. My presentation reviews the composition of these ingredients and

highlights the key components and their s e n s o r y attributes.”

Some of the ingredients have been linked with beneficial health effects, Da Costa, noted, citing the rich source of lycopene, for instance, in the tomato juice; horseradish with its allyl isothiocyanate, which can be effective at lower concentrations; other phytochemicals in lemon; and even the alcohol in vodka, which some studies suggest can be beneficial when taken occasionally in small amounts.

Does Da Costa’s research provide any insights for making a good bloody mary?

He cites several: • Make it fresh. Chemically, the bloody mary is a “highly unstable” concoction, and the quality tends to deteriorate quickly.

• Ice it up. Serving bloody marys on ice helps to slow down the chemical reactions involving acids in tomato juice and other ingredients that degrade the taste.

• Mind your mixes. If you use a cocktail mix, add some fresh ingredients to enhance the flavor and aroma.

• Splurge on the juice. Tomato juice makes up most of the bloody mary’s volume, so use high quality juice that has a deep, rich flavor.

• Economize on the vodka. The intense, spicy flavor of a bloody mary masks the vodka, and using premium vodka makes little sense.

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55 PLUS - June / July 2011

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cover

New Chapter Physician A. John Merola, 74, grew a private practice he established in 1964 in North Syracuse into a healthcare empire in Central New York. He recently sold his business and is now adjusting to his new

By Lou Sorendo

“M

edicine is not a job or profession; it’s a calling.” Those words, spoken by Family Medicine physician A. John Merola, sums up his attitude toward a successful career that has touched the lives of thousands of patients.

“I feel that I’ve had a calling for medicine for many years. I love doing it and don’t work because I need the money. I work because I love taking care of patients. I love the interaction and personal satisfaction that comes from it,” he added.

Merola, 74, grew a private practice he established in 1964 into a prosperous health care business that featured two health centers, one located in Liverpool and the other in Fayetteville. It was his passion for medicine and his firm belief that patients come first that paved the way for his success.

In 1969, he began planning for a sophisticated health care facility in the northern suburbs of Syracuse. This led to the opening of the first North Medical Center at 7209 Buckley Road in Liverpool in 1971.

An expanded North Medical Center opened at its current location

on West Taft Road in 1989 to respond to patient needs and advancing technology in healthcare.

Northeast Medical Center in Fayetteville was opened in 1998 to meet the growing population in the east based upon the successful model in Liverpool.

Late last year, St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center announced it had acquired North Medical.

The recently renamed St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center is a nonprofit, 431-bed hospital and health care network providing services to patients from Onondaga and 15 surrounding counties.

“I think my most significant accomplishment is being able to develop a project that delivers healthcare to thousands of people,” he said.

“When you practice, you deliver healthcare on a one-on-one basis as a practicing physician,” he said. “When you establish a sophisticated medical center from ground zero, you develop a program that delivers healthcare to hundreds of thousands of people over the years vs. delivering healthcare to individuals.”

“It was my foresight to build the

program so that I could deliver quality healthcare to the northern suburbs initially and then expand it to the eastern suburbs,” he noted.

Merola said the transition to new ownership has gone smoothly, although getting accustomed to a new managerial format has been a challenge.

“They have a major commitment to quality patient care and so do we,” he said.

“We feel we are on the same page. When the patient comes first, the practice will be successful,” he added.

Merola is still involved administratively with the operation.

He owns AJM Management, which has a contract with St. Joseph’s to manage the practice. No major changes have occurred and Merola noted the transition has been seamless for patients.

His calling — When Merola rotated through multiple specialties as part of his residency requirements, he learned that he couldn’t stay focused on any one subject matter.

“I was intrigued by the human body in its entirety and did not want to focus on one area. I love the June / July 2011 - 55 PLUS

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The Northeast Medical Center in Fayetteville has been open since 1998. complexity of the human body and how it functions, what diseases it gets and how you can help a person in their entirety,” he said.

Merola said he felt more like a complete physician if he cared for the entire person.

“What first attracted me to family medicine was the breadth and broad scope of it,” he said.

He also enjoys interacting with people, and while that happens in other specialties, Merola finds that more intimate relationships are formed as he gets to know families.

Merola’s father, Alfonso John Merola, was also a physician as well and played an instrumental role in helping to shape his son’s path in life.

“I thought the world of him. He was a role model for me and cared for 32

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his patients the same way he cared for his family,” Merola said.

“I was always intrigued and motivated by that,” he added. “He was probably 100 percent of the reason I went into medicine.”

Gearing down — For Merola, the prospect of retiring is a difficult one to grasp.

“I love what I do and love people.

I enjoy practicing medicine and am finding it very difficult to retire,” he said.

“I presently have dramatically downsized my practice instead of quitting abruptly,” Merola said.

He no longer takes care of critically ill patients and does not journey to the hospital.

“It’s not fair to the patient,” he said. “I can’t be there for them and I work part time.”

“I’m going to continue that way for a while. A lot of it will be determined by how I feel. My idea of retirement and medicine is doing that type of practice for a while.”

“You may retire from your profession, but you don’t retire from life,” he said.

Merola said when he does eventually retire from medical practice, he would like to travel more.

“I want to get involved in endeavors that I haven’t been able to do in the past because of time commitments,” he said.

“I want to get more involved in charity care and helping younger people get established in their careers and life,” he added.

Shortage of talent — The Syracuse native recently touched on a number of vital healthcare issues, including

55+ the current physician shortage.

Merola said there is not a total physician shortage per se, but rather a maldistribution of specialty care.

“There is a shortage is some areas and an overabundance in others,” he said.

Merola said the most significant shortages are in primary care specialties such as family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics and obstetrics/gynecology to some degree, although the latter are both specialists and primary care physicians for women.

Merola said the shortage is concentrated heavily in primary care.

“It takes a lot of time to deliver primary care and the financial rewards are not like they are in some of the specialties,” he said. “Physicians tend not to go to primary care specialties because of the finances.”

Compounding the problem are the huge debt loads that young men and women accrue coming out of medical school.

“If they go into primary care, they are not going to make enough money to pay them back,” he said.

In many instances, it will require 10 to 20 years to pay the loans back.

Debt burdens run in the $300,000 to $400,000 range.

“One of the reasons primary care doesn’t attract physicians is the financial end,” he said.

Much like the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield, whose catch phrase was, “I don’t get no respect,” the primary care sector also does not receive the level of respect it deserves, Merola said.

He said society seems to have more respect for specialists. “There is a little bit of a Rodney Dangerfield attitude at teaching medical centers,” he said.

Those two factors combine to dissuade physicians from entering the primary care sector, he said.

“The solution to that is to reverse those two issues. There must be a lot more respect for primary care doctors as well as rewards,” he said.

Merola senses a change in that

cover

North Medical Center at 7209 Buckley Road in Liverpool first opened in 1971. attitude, and expects a transition to be made.

“It’s not going to change in the short term, but not the long term either,” he said. “I think there is going to be some push by the government to accelerate that pace.”

Recruiting challenge — In terms of recruitment, Merola said some negatives in the region and state can make that a difficult process.

“We certainly don’t have the best weather in the country, which is somewhat of a detriment,” he said.

In addition, the tax situation and economy in general in the state is “not ideal compared to other states,” Merola said.

With decreasing population comes a decrease in the number of representatives in government, he noted.

“We are losing our youth, and the state is ending up with more of an aging population,” he said.

“It’s a little bit harder to see a future for young doctors, and we have to try to reverse some of these images,” he said.

There are positive elements,

however.

Merola did note the Central New York region features a lower cost of living compared to other areas of the country.

In addition, he said the Syracuse area offers solid school systems, along with strong cultural and recreational opportunities. It is also a major university city.

“We are a very stable community.

We don’t see high peaks and usually don’t see low valleys,” he said. “We have to market our positives.”

Merola said the lack of sufficient reimbursement from Medicaid and Medicare is discouraging for healthcare professionals.

He said a private practitioner who is dependent exclusively on Medicaid would be working up to 60 hours a week but would be unable to make enough money to pay rent, malpractice insurance premiums and staff.

“It is because the reimbursement is so low for primary care,” he said.

Consequently, physicians no longer have a desire to start up a private practice.

June / July 2011 - 55 PLUS

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“I think it is sad,” said Merola, who remains involved in a large group practice at St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center.

Merola started out as a solo practitioner sharing space with one other physician. He chose to practice family medicine in North Syracuse with his friend and mentor, Carl E. Marlow, in 1964.

“That is not possible any longer,” said Merola, who built up a large group practice that featured 80 doctors.

Private practices diminish — “I don’t know when the last physician went into private practice in Central New York,” he said. “I’m sure I missed a few, but it is very rare.”

The reason is quite simple: They can’t pay the bills because reimbursements are so low.

Merola said Medicaid reimbursements are “extremely low” and significantly below Medicare, which is a discounted service for the elderly.

“Now most insurance companies want to adopt Medicare rates or a shade above Medicare rates. The end result is very few people going into primary care,” he said.

Large corporate practices feature expanded services such as extensive X-ray, lab, CT scans and ultrasound.

“It’s a much more comprehensive approach and they are able to pay the bills, although it’s a very narrow margin,” he said.

Merola said in order for that reality to change, attitudes must change beginning at the medical center level. Secondly, reimbursements have to be more in line with physicians’ needs, particularly since the majority of initial health-related visits are to primary care practitioners such as the family doctor, internist or pediatrician.

Merola said a recent study stated that 25 percent of all New Yorkers will be on Medicaid. If that is the case, reimbursement rates will be cut.

“Rates are not sustainable now for physicians,” Merola said. “You are going to see physicians exit the state, especially those in primary care.”

“When you look at the big picture and ways to take care of the myriad 34

55 PLUS - June / July 2011

Lifelines: Birth date: April 8, 1937 Birthplace: Syracuse Current residence: Fayetteville Education: Syracuse University; doctor of medicine, University of California at Irvine; postgraduate medical training, University of California at Los Angeles and St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center, Syracuse Personal: Six children; 15 grandchildren Hobbies: Golf, travel, boating, reading

of problems that the human race has, you can’t get over the politics of it,” he said.

Perspective on reform — Merola is an outspoken critic of federal healthcare reform legislation.

“I think as outlined it is going to be a total failure. Maybe I am pretty opinionated about that but it is cost prohibitive and will be a total failure,” he said.

The reason is because of the political nature of the issue.

“It’s a political issue influenced by many lobbyists. It has taken the most important people out of the equation, those being the patient and doctor,” he said.

“Those relationships are going to be marred in bureaucratic nightmares,” he noted.

Merola said healthcare legislation provides no incentives for either the patient or physician.

“The incentives that are outlined are so bureaucratic and onerous they will be difficult to accomplish,” he said.

“Personal interaction is going to be disrupted,” he added.

Merola said he has seen many improvements in healthcare over his many years of practice. However, the

patient-doctor relationship has not improved.

“It is worse. Too much is dictated by the federal government, insurance companies and administrators. All non-physicians,” he said.

Merola said those involved in the reform process are non-physicians, and the physicians who are involved have never practiced.

“They got involved in business, government or teaching. Their sole purpose was not the practice of medicine,” he said.

Meanwhile, the legislation will mean that patients will have limited decision-making capabilities.

“Government preaches quality healthcare but they don’t fund quality healthcare. The government can’t afford it, at least under the present structure,” he said.

Merola said many government policies regarding healthcare are fatally flawed. For instance, flu shots are encouraged by government, but if everyone had one, it would cost about $10 billion to execute, Merola noted.

The same could be said for colonoscopies for men over 50 or mammograms for women over 35.

“If everyone complied, there would not be enough money to do it, even at reasonable rates,” he said.

Merola also noted that tort reform is essential for healthcare reform.

The cost of legal issues relating to healthcare drives costs up by 25 to 30 percent, he said.

“Some of the things that have to be addressed aren’t being addressed because they are politically not possible to achieve,” he said.

Meanwhile, Merola plans on staying focused on treating his patients and dealing with some of the more pervasive health problems confronting Americans.

“The habits of the American public are getting them in trouble,” he said.

The No. 1 threat to society today is the abuse of drugs, Merola said.

He said drug abuse, whether it be prescription or street drugs, leads to excessive crime rates, poor health, excessive jail populations and the destruction and breakup of families.

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my turn

By Bruce Frassinelli

T

Getting Embarrassed by the ‘N’ Word in ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’

he sanitized version of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” came out earlier this year, but it comes nearly 50 years too late for this embarrassed former English teacher.

NewSouth Books published the revisionist copy of Mark Twain’s classic novel that eliminates the “n” word, which appears 219 times in the original, and replaces it with “slave.”

When I read the news, I wondered out loud, “Where the heck were you when I needed you?”

I endured my most-embarrassing moment as an educator in the fall of 1962 when I was teaching an English course at Washington (N.J.) High School, now a part of Warren Hills Regional in Warren County.

With a year’s teaching experience under my belt, I was hired at Washington to teach four sections of French, my major. The weekend before classes started, High School Principal James Evergetis also tossed me one freshman English course since I had an English minor.

With zero preparation time, I would literally have to keep one step ahead of the English students for most of the school term. Aside from the usual requirements of composition, grammar, spelling, syntax and sentence structure, there was a mandated literary component — “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”

I had never read Twain’s novel, either as a boy or in school, so my plan was to take the weekend prior to the Monday class when we would start studying the novel and consume most, if not all of it, during the intervening 54 hours.

Little did I suspect that a series of events on that Friday before the 36

55 PLUS - June / July 2011

start of the weekend would leave me redfaced, soaked in sweat at the end of that day’s English class and properly chastened about the importance of class preparation.

I had finished the assigned grammar lesson about 20 minutes before the end of class.

To fill the remaining time, I distributed copies of “Huckleberry Finn,” announced to the class that we would begin studying this American classic on Monday and decided that I and several students would read the first few pages aloud to set the scene for Monday’s class. To be honest, I also wanted to kill the remaining time in the period.

I read the first chapter aloud cold turkey and was absolutely shocked when I encountered the “n” word, but I said it without any comment or change of voice. I assumed — incorrectly as it turned out — that it was a once-and-done aberration.

The student in the first row of the class of 25 and to the far right was Arnold Thompson, the only AfricanAmerican in the class. I asked him to start reading at the beginning of chapter 2. As he began, I skipped down the page speed-reading to myself and hoping not to encounter any other surprises.

My eyes widened as I saw a paragraph halfway down the page with the “n” word used six times.

Arnie Thompson, who went on to become a two-time New Jersey state wrestling champ in two weight classes, was closing in on this paragraph. I broke into a cold sweat.

Arnie came to the “n” word and stopped cold. I prompted him by saying the word aloud. Each time he came to the word in the paragraph, he did the same thing — stopped dead. Each time I broke the deafening silence by saying the word aloud.

The following week, after I had had time to do my homework, I introduced the novel properly, putting the use of the “n” word into context and explaining that Twain was a committed anti-slavery advocate who actually advanced the cause of equality through his writings.

I learned a valuable classroom lesson: Never try to bluff your way through a lesson without proper preparation.

As for Arnie, I tracked him down about 20 years later, when he was serving in a ministerial capacity for an area church and apologized for what I had subjected him to on that fateful Friday afternoon. He was gracious in his acceptance of my much belated apology, but I was convinced that for the rest of our lives, whenever we would hear of Huckleberry Finn, we could not help but recall the needless awkwardness and embarrassment that occurred that fall day back in 1962.

The decision to come out with a revisionist version of Huck Finn has set off a public firestorm, with purist and classicists decrying the change as censorship, but it has been hailed by others as a positive step that could allow the novel to be reintroduced to schools that had banned it because of the use of the n-word.

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aging

By Marilyn L. Pinsky

I

Judith Mower, a True Mover and Shaker in CNY

’ve always loved that Central New York has Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs right in our own backyard. This world-class school prepares people for national and international government service but also has a direct impact locally when some of their graduates choose to stay in the area.

One of those who has stayed and given back in a major way is Judith Mower. From the large metropolis of Cotey’s Corners (found at the intersection on Route 11 between Potsdam and Malone in St. Lawrence County, pop. 8), Mower came to Syracuse University as an undergraduate and stayed.

After an eight-year stint as a high school science teacher and guidance counselor in the Syracuse City School District, she returned again to SU as a student. The “Dr.” part, that she rarely mentions, is a joint degree in social psychology from both Maxwell and the College of Arts and Sciences that was preceded by two master’s degrees. She has now come full circle. From being a student, as well as teaching graduate-level courses at Maxwell, Mower is currently serving on the board of trustees of Syracuse University.

In presenting her with the annual civic education award, the Onondaga Citizens League’s Director Sandra Barrett said, “Judy has been active in many high profile organizations and instrumental in launching several enduring community programs and initiatives, often as the ‘behind the scenes’ person who makes things happen and giving the credit to the other volunteers and civic leaders she works alongside.”

Giving credit to others is a 38

55 PLUS - June / July 2011

hallmark of this modest mover and shaker who, during her 25year career as an organizational development consultant, helped more than 90 organizations develop leadership, improve quality or plan for the future.

Her list of client organizations includes businesses, nonprofits, school systems, professional associations, military groups, colleges, and civic organizations.

She is perhaps best known in CNY for her many volunteer roles in developing the leaders of tomorrow.

I first met her when we were both involved as board members in the launch of Leadership Greater Syracuse (LGS), an organization cofounded by Charlotte (Chuckie) Holstein, a long time and much honored veteran of civic affairs in Syracuse, and Marty Yenawine. The vision for LGS arose out of its founders’ strong conviction that, in order for Central New York to thrive, a group of already active civic leaders needed to pave the way for up-and-coming and non-traditional leaders to be trained in civic and political life. Mower became a third member of the LGS founding trio. She later partnered again with Chuckie in developing the area’s first Judith Mower

community wide visioning project called F.O.C.U.S., for Forging Our Community’s United Strength.

F.O.C.U.S. continues as an organization with an impressive track record of citizen-led initiatives, which Chuckie Holstein, still its volunteer executive director, has inspired. Mower still serves on the F.O.C.U.S. board.

As Holstein says, “I’m so glad someone is paying attention to all that Judy brings to our community.

She has been a driving force in so many venues that it is hard to remember all of them. Judy and I were introduced to each other by my husband, Alex, around 1990.

They were on a board together and he sang her praises to me often. Marty Yenawine, first chair of Leadership Greater Syracuse, and I had met every Monday morning for over a year, and we had reached a point of

frustration about just how to execute the dream we shared, of establishing a year-long personal development experience that would graduate well prepared new civic leaders.

We decided we needed to bring someone on board who understood adult education, adult psychology, and had a creative mind. I went back to Alex and said I must meet Judy.

She is probably just the person who fits the description of who we need to lead us to the next level. When Judy and I met, it was as if I had known her all my life. There was a sisterhood bond that has continued and hopefully will always be there.

She has the fantastic skill of putting into just a few words what a group of discussants has batted around for hours. Whether facilitating a class or a crowd, she has the ability to have the group seize her every word. She coined the phrase “to live, learn, work, and play” which is used widely in CNY. Judy likes to learn new information and makes herself an expert on many subjects, and from whatever she has learned she provides ideas that are timely and doable. Then, she follows up on whatever she has committed to do, herself, as part of the effort.

“If all the above makes you think I admire, like, and feel great about Judy — you’re only half correct,” continued Holstein. “I love her like a sister and love doing mental gymnastics with her because of her so very creative mind and soul. She has a love of humanity and feels deeply for those who have less than she. What more can I say?”

I could not have said it better.

The roster of organizations to which Mower has lent her energies and talents spans many pages and affects many levels of governmental and civic life.

Most recently, as a board member of Syracuse 20/20, she trained volunteers to lead Community Conversations on Modernizing Local Government in Central New York. The initiative focuses on the need to reduce the fragmentation of local government through service Continued on page 44

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For more information and application, please contact: St. Mary’s Apartments (315) 638-2003, Monday – Friday 8:00 am-4:00 pm.

TDD-TTY 1-800-421-1220. www.christopher-community.org StMarys@christopher-community.org

i n r b i a l a c S a l l Vi Apartments Beautiful 1 bedroom subsidized apartments available for people 62 and over or with long term mobility impairments

825 East Willow St. • Syracuse, NY 13203 (315)472-3142 • TDD/TTY 1-800-662-1220

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

LONG MANOR APARTMENTS/ ROGERS SENIOR APARTMENTS 5490 & 5500 Miller Road Brewerton NY 13029 Subsidized Apartments based on your gross income for Seniors 62 or older and the Mobility Impaired. Very short waiting list INCOME LIMIT • $22,550.00 for one person • $25,750.00 for two persons For more information call: 315-676-4174 M,W 8a-4p / F 8a-12p • 315-668-9871 T,Th 8a-4p / F 1p-4p TDD/TTY 1-800-662-1220 Monday-Friday

Or visit www.christopher-community.org

Pitcher Hill Apartments

Affordable and conveniently located One Bedroom Apartments

114 Elbow Road • North Syracuse, NY 13212 • Subsidized housing based on your income.

• Seniors 62 and older or mobility impaired (utilities not included)

For more information, contact Janice Difant, Manager Phone (315)454-0697 • Fax (315) 454-0053 • TDD/TTY 1-800-662-1220 Monday –Friday 8:00 am-4:00pm www.christopher-community.org • PitcherHill@ChristopherCommunity.org

June / July 2011 - 55 PLUS

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profile An Ad Man Devoted to Bluegrass

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By day John Cadley works creating slogans and catch phases for Eric Mower and Associates; in his spare time he’s all about music

By Margaret Mccormick

J

ohn Cadley’s life revolves around words. By day, Cadley is an associate creative director at Eric Mower and Associates in downtown Syracuse. He developed the “Take Me to Crouse’’ campaign for Crouse Hospital and the “yesU” campaign promoting part-time study at Syracuse University, among others.

Cadley is also a seasoned bluegrass songwriter, singer and guitarist.

He’s the founding member of local bluegrass band The Lost Boys, and also performs in an acoustic duo with Cathy Wenthen, the music director at Immaculate Conception Church in Fayetteville.

He has recorded two albums

locally and one in Nashville, and one of his songs, “Time,’’ was recorded by Lou Reid and Carolina. It reached No. 1 on the bluegrass charts and held its place there for several months.

You might think that writing bluegrass songs that strike a chord with listeners and writing advertising copy that gets clients noticed have nothing in common. But think again.

“Copywriting and songwriting aren’t so different,’’ Cadley says matter-of-factly. “They’re both really about the art of compression, the art of making every word count.

“With advertising, you have a limited amount of space and with a song you have two and a half to three minutes to make your point. So

In 1999, John Cadley (center, holding a guitar) co-founded the local bluegrass band The Lost Boys. The band is still active but he is its lone original member. Photo courtesy of John Cadley 40

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in that sense, they are not so different at all.’’

Cadley, a youthful-looking 65 with a full head of dark hair tinged with gray, has scaled back to part-time at Eric Mower and plans to retire later this year. He’s looking forward to having more time for writing music, arranging gigs and performing.

That’s good news for the region’s bluegrass and acoustic-loving music audience.

“When John Cadley and the Lost Boys perform, something special happens,’’ notes the Folkus Project (www.folkus.org), an organization that presents folk and acoustic concerts, workshops and festivals in Syracuse and Central New York.

“Driven by the heart and energy of bluegrass and the soul and insight of Cadley’s original songwriting, their music becomes a unique blend of modern and traditional.’’

Cadley was born in Brooklyn, spent his grade-school years on Long Island and went to boarding school when he was 12. One of his friends had a banjo and a record collection that included traditional bluegrass and country, and folk artists like the Kingston Trio.

One record in particular captured Cadley’s ear and attention: an allinstrumental recording by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys.

“I just listened to it and gravitated to that kind of music,’’ Cadley recalls.

Cadley later studied American

55+ literature at Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., and came to Syracuse in the 1970s to earn a master ’s degree from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

He set down roots, got married, focused on his copywriting career, raised two children and all the while nurtured his love of writing songs and performing bluegrass on the side.

“Since the time I started playing at 13,’’ Cadley notes, “I don’t think I’ve not been in a band. It’s always been a part-time job.’’

He played as part of Cripple Creek, a popular Central New York Band in the 1970s and ‘80s. In 1999, Cadley, Paul Wakker and Karl Lauber formed The Lost Boys. Today, Cadley, the lone original member, shares the stage with Henry Jankiewicz on fiddle, Mark Allnatt on banjo and guitar, Ted Williams on mandolin and John Dancks on bass.

“John is a much-respected fixture on the local acoustic music scene,” says singer and songwriter Joanne Perry, who has performed with Cadley as part of a trio. “At any jam he attends, he is flanked by excellent musicians, young and old, all eager to jam with him.’’

Cadley’s songs cover some of the usual terrain of bluegrass and country — life, love, loss, trials and tribulations, relationships — but it’s not cry-in-your beer music. It’s fresh, intelligent, thoughtful and thoughtprovoking and easy to listen to.

It resonates for Central New Yorkers on songs like “New York Hills,’’ from Cadley’s 2007 solo CD, “The Closer I Get’’: “Well you can sing about the Smokeys and the hills of Caroline.

Them rolling Blue Ridge Mountains and them whispering Georgia pines.

The hollers of Kentucky where the shiners keep their stills.

But just give this Yankee boy a summer morning in the New York hills.”

Cadley says he has no set schedule and no real process for writing music.

He does touch on certain themes

profile

John Cadley plans to retire later this year from his job as assistant creative director at Eric Mower and Associates. He plans to devote more time to music. “Since the time I started playing at 13,’’ Cadley notes, “I don’t think I’ve not been in a band. It’s always been a part-time job.’’ Photo courtesy of John Cadley. time and again. He ticks them off: “A longing for simpler times, a longing for youth, a longing for things lost that cannot be regained”…

“I’ve often said my writing is Bill Monroe meets Jackson Browne,’’ Cadley says.

As for method, he says, “the lyrics almost always come first. Then I try to find some music that fits the lyrics.

“Every song is different, but you sort of feel when a song is ready to come out.’’

More About John Cadley — For more information on Central New York performance dates for John Cadley and The Lost Boys and the acoustic duo Cadley and Wenthen, go to www.lostboysbluegrass.com/ and www.cadleyandwenthen.com/.

On YouTube: To see a music video of John Cadley and the Lost Boys performing “Black Dog,’’ go to: www.youtube.com/ watch?v=DFuy5ELA5IY June / July 2011 - 55 PLUS

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visits

NYC’s Green Jewel

Central Park is the green jewel of the Big Apple and one of the world’s most visited parks receiving 35 million visitors a year

By Sandra Scott

N

ew York City is many things to many people.

The city is a Mecca for lovers of theater, art, history and museums. Amazingly, all of those aspects can be found in one tranquil green location in the middle of the pavement and skyscrapers. The 843 acres of Central Park in the heart of Manhattan has something for everyone.

Central Park was designed in part by Frederick Law Olmstead and embodies his concept that public parks should be equally accessible to everyone, which was not the case in the 1800s. Prior to the creation of Central Park most parks were established by, and 42

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reserved for, the elite. Designed in the mid-1800s it is the centerpiece of New York City’s parks system and the first man-made public park in the United States. Central Park offered respite from the chaotic noise of the industrial growth that was transforming the city — and still does. Construction took nearly 15 years. Stretching north from 59th Street to 110th Street, the park has 46 bridges and arches, seven bodies of water, 21 playgrounds, 58 miles of paths for pedestrian and horseback riders, and nearly seven miles of roadways for carriages, joggers and bikers.

For Nature Lovers — The diverse landscape of Central Park

includes open fields, walking trails and ponds. Currently the Central Park Conservancy is sprucing up and restoring the park to its original splendor, caring for its 24,000 trees, 250 acres of lawns, 150 acres of water bodies, and 136 acres of woodlands. About 275 species of birds have been spotted in the park. So whether it is walking in the woodland area known as The Ramble, having a picnic lunch on the Great Lawn, boating on the pond, or just people watching from one of the park’s 9,000 benches, visitors will find something to delight them.

Remembering — The park’s oldest structure is Blockhouse No. 1 built during the War of 1812

55+ on the site where the British kept track of Colonial troops during the Revolutionary War. One of the newest and most visited places is Strawberry Fields. Located near Central Park West between 71st and 74th streets, Strawberry Fields is a 2.5-acre area that pays tribute to the late John Lennon, of Beatle fame.

The songwriter, musician and peace activist lived with his wife Yoko Ono in the Dakota Apartments just steps from the park. It is where Lennon was murdered in 1981. Strawberry Fields opened Oct. 9, 1985, the 45th anniversary of John Lennon’s birth.

Annually, on this date, as well as on the anniversary of Lennon’s death, visitors and fans from all over the world flock to Strawberry Fields to pay homage to Lennon’s legacy.

Every day flowers are left on the black and white Imagine mosaic.

No less popular is the bronzed statue of Balto near the Tisch Children’s Zoo. It is a popular photo spot but many are unfamiliar with Balto’s heroic deed. In 1925 the isolated city of Nome, Alaska, was stricken with a horrific diphtheria outbreak. Not enough antitoxin was available to treat all the sick until teams of mushers and sled dogs battled a blinding blizzard and traveled 674 miles to deliver the medicine.

Balto, a husky, was one of the heroic lead dogs. The Anchorage to Nome run is remembered yearly with the Iditarod sled race.

The park honors real and fictional characters. Near East 74th Street, Alice in Wonderland stands 11 feet tall in bronze, surrounded by the Mad Hatter, the White Rabbit and a few of her other friends. The Shakespeare Garden is located near the Delacorte Theatre, the site of the annual “Shakespeare in the Park” series held in the summer. Simon Bolivar, Sir Walter Scott, the 107th Regiment, and Hans Christian Anderson are just a few honored within the park.

Things to do — Visit Belvedere Castle. It was intended to be a Victorian Folly. Today the fantasy structure provides great views and

visits

serves as the Henry Luce Nature Observatory with a vast collection of natural history artifacts and displays. Wollman Rink offers ice skating from October to April but the other months the ice is replaced with Victorian Gardens. Young and old will enjoy the Central Park Zoo and the Friedsam Memorial Carousel. In summer, the Great Lawn plays host to free shows courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic.

Elsewhere in the park, Rumsey Playfield is the home of SummerStage, a free performing arts festival featuring music, dance, film and more. Visitors can toss a frisbee on the Great Lawn, take a boat ride on The Lake, rent a bike, or go fishing. The Conservancy supplies poles for catch-and-release fishing. Bats, balls, and other game equipment including game pieces to use on their chess and checkers tables are available. The iconic and most touristy thing to do is to go for a spin in a horse-drawn carriage.

Regardless of the season the park is beautiful. Often the site for weddings, the flowering trees of spring offer the perfect setting for wedding photos. Summer is the time to attend the concerts while during the fall the Mall lined with elms is splendid and ice skating in the park is a popular winter activity.

Year-round the Central Park Conservancy offers walking tours led by experienced volunteer guides. The walks last from half an hour to two hours and take place rain or shine. No reservations are needed. They also offer self-guided audio tours. But visitors are free to wander, explore and get lost in the park. The park is open 365 days a year from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. Central Park is the green jewel of the Big Apple and one of the world’s most visited parks receiving 35 million visitors a year. For New Yorkers and tourists alike the park is a wonderful oasis in the middle of one of the world’s most dynamic cities.

For more information visit centralpark.com and centralparknyc.org.

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St. David’s Court Apartments Affordable independent living for the mobility impaired in a suburban community.

99 Deerfield Road East Syracuse, NY 13057 Phone (315) 434-9406 Fax: (315) 434-9706 TDD/ TTY 1-800-662-1220 Margaret Gacek, Manager

St. David’s Court is a HUD subsidized apartment complex designed with accessibility in mind. Rents are based on 30% of adjusted gross income. All applicants must be mobility impaired (as defined

by HUD) and must meet annual income guidelines for Section 8 Housing.

St. Davids court features 23 handicapped accessible one-bedroom apartments equipped with emergency pull cords in the bathroom and bedroom, smoke and heat detectors, wheelchair accessible.

For more information or to receive an application please call (315) 434-9406 or you can write to us at the address listed above.

Professionally managed by Christopher Community, INC. 990 James St. Syracuse NY 13230 Phone: 424-1821 Fax:(315) 424-6048 TDD/TTY 1-800-662-1220

June / July 2011 - 55 PLUS

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Retiring? Medicare changes got you confused?

To Get the Expertise You Need, Visit

MyMedicareMadeSimple.com Discussing your options; simplifying the system

Call Today to Enroll... (315) 676-4933

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Malta House

Affordable senior living in a suburban community.

Comfortable one bedroom apartments for seniors age 62 and over with special needs. Safe and secure with 24 hour on-site emergency response.

Income cannot exceed $22,550 for one person and $25,750 for two people. Rent subsidized based on 30% of monthly adjusted income

For more information call:

212 North Main St., North Syracuse, NY 13212

(315) 452-1028

Fax (315) 452-1733 TDD/TTY 1-800-662-1220

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O’Brien Road Apartments 7171 O’Brien Road • Syracuse, New York 13209 Located in the Town of VanBuren

Beautiful, new, one bedroom apartments designed for the needs of the frail, age 62 or older. Rent is based on 30% of monthly adjusted income. Income cannot exceed $22,300 for one person or $25,500 for a couple.

O’Brien Road Apartments

7170 O’Brien Road, Syracuse, NY 13209 • (315) 635-3339 • Fax (315) 635-3391 This development was financed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and sponsored by the LORETTO Organization. Smoke Free Apartment Community An Equal Housing Opportunity

44

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Judith Mower, a True Mover and Shaker in CNY Continued from page 39 sharing and consolidation. And bridging two roles, she is a principal spokesperson to the SU board of trustees and to 20/20’s board in support of Say Yes to Education and Economic Development in Syracuse, a program that will have a positive impact on our community for years to come.

To name a few of Mower’s other commitments, she is a board member for the Albany-based Parks and Trails New York, where she serves as chairwoman of the governance committee and board secretary, and she participates on the Older Industrial Cities Committee of the National Funders Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities, with which she became involved while she was president of the Rosamond Gifford Foundation board a few years ago. Other past roles include helping to design the process used to train facilitators of the Dialogue Circles on Racism and Racial Healing, and being one of the founders of the Women’s Fund of Central New York, an endowment fund to support causes of importance to women and girls.

In all of her leadership roles and projects, Mower can be counted on to firmly express her commitment to diversity and inclusion. What is not highly visible to all but a few in our community is her support, advice and “behind closed doors” activism in service to that particular value. As does her husband, Eric Mower, she perseveres in a quiet way to insure that we have diverse community leadership and involvement in our civic organizations.

I’m sure they see themselves reflected in their daughter Hillary, a doctor of chiropractic, whose love of humanity and animals is a source of pride to both of them.

consumers corner

By Eva Briggs

Five Things the Doctor May Not Tell You

R

ecently Reader’s Digest ran a series of articles with insider tips from various professions with titles like “What Your [insert name of profession] Won’t Tell You.” They wrote about locksmiths, jewelers, pilots, teachers, butchers, and even mothers-in-law. They may have covered doctors, but here are a few things your doctor may not tell you.

1

Your doctor is smarter than the Internet. I hear you asking skeptically, how can this be? After all, if you enter any medical term into a search engine and hit the search button, thousands or millions of results appear in a fraction of a second. For example I searched Google for “sore throat” and got 13.7 million hits in 0.08 seconds. Your doctor can’t even open his mouth to say one word that fast. So how can your doctor know more?

The doctor has context and experience. The Internet is like an idiot savant with a huge number of facts but no way to apply them to your specific situation. Your doctor can ask you the right questions to try to ferret out relevant associated symptoms, past history, family history, and environmental factors.

He can look at your appearance to help assess how sick you are. Even a computer equipped with a webcam can’t do that.

Of course not everything you learn on the Internet is bad, so don’t be afraid to ask about something that you’ve read. Patients have certainly educated me at times.

2

Your doctor knows where your heart is. This might seem obvious, but at least once every few months, as I move my stethoscope over a patient’s chest, the patient will ask in complete seriousness whether I know where his/her heart is located. Your heart is about the size of your fist, and there are important blood vessels coming from and going into the heart. The end of my stethoscope is a lot smaller, only about the size of a quarter, so I’ve got to move it to several locations to gather information about the various heart valves and vessels.

3

Most tired people don’t have mono. Many people who come to the doctor because of an acute illness ask to be tested for mono if they’re tired. But almost every illness, whether it’s a cold, pneumonia, a stomach bug, or something else, makes people worn out. Even if you do have mono, the usual blood test doesn’t turn positive until after several days or weeks of illness.

4

Not every doctor can do every medical thing. Sometimes people will ask me to treat an illness or to perform a procedure that is beyond my scope of practice.

Most people will understand if I explain why I can’t help, but a few people will beg, wheedle, or even threaten hoping that will somehow impart me with new abilities. But if I tell you that I need to refer you elsewhere for your brain surgery, dislocated shoulder, plastic surgery, etc., then please believe me.

Visit us at CNY55.com

“The Internet is like an idiot savant with a huge number of facts but no way to apply them to your specific situation.”

5

Not every doctor can do every non-medical thing. I can sympathize with your various life plights. I can try to minimize costs by prescribing generic drugs and avoiding unnecessary tests. But I can’t write you a medical excuse because you took an unauthorized vacation, I can’t take out the stitches that your veterinarian put in your dog, and I don’t know where the pipe that you found on the bathroom floor came from. Yes, those are a few actual patient requests I’ve received!

Barrett DeWitt Apartments Applications now being accepted 1400 Kinne St., E. Syracuse, NY 13057

SUBSIDIZED HOUSING For Seniors 62 and Over • Heat & Hot Water Included • Secure Building • 24 hour Emergency Maintenance

Contact: Carolyn Nojaim (315)434-1854 TDD-TYY (800)-662-1220

barrettdewitt@christopher-community.org

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druger’s zoo

By Marvin Druger

Traveling in a Car with Children Valuable tips for those who travel with young children

T

raveling in a car with your spouse beside you and three young children in the back seat can be an adventure. My wife and I had this experience with three children (aged 6 -12) many years ago and with three grandchildren (aged 6-12) in recent years. We learned many approaches for entertaining the children and maintaining civilized conditions in the car. Many of these approaches are generalizable, so I’ll describe them here: 1 — Carry bottles of water at all times. Children trapped in cars thrive on drinks. It’s useful to develop a smooth driving pace, so that the children can drink without soaking the seats, each other, or the driver.

Separate water bottles are needed for each child, to avoid the “I-don’twant-his-germs” syndrome. Maintain the water supply, or you will hear anguished cries of thirst that would bring tears to the eyes of a camel in the desert.

2 — Keep a good supply of snacks on hand at all times. Inside this car world, peace and quiet can be synonymous with food and drink. If you have a child with a poor appetite, the best cure is to put the child in the back of a car and go on a long trip.

Pretzels and potato chips are popular with children, but unpopular with parents. These snacks are followed by crumbs and cries for drinks. Bubble gum is a disaster, and seems to turn up in new places hours after being given to the children. After one trip with children, we spent three days worrying about a strange rash on the belly button of our son. This turned out to be a rash of dried bubble gum. Candy bars are popular with children, but, as we discovered, they don’t suit the summer heat. They 46

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have a tendency to melt quickly and spread onto fingers, mouths, clothes and seats.

However, whatever snacks you decide upon, you must have a garbage bag in the car at all times, as well as tissues or paper napkins. The co-pilot should have complete charge of the garbage bag in the front of the car, and all garbage must be passed up for disposal, immediately after use.

At convenient stops, the garbage bag can be emptied. You should recognize that the pivot point on a long family car trip is the adult sitting next to the driver. That person serves as the water supplier, the grocery store, the sign-reader, the entertainer, the peace maker, the road watcher, the speed checker, and the garbage dump.

3 — Entertainment in the car is essential for family sanity. Play the radio constantly. The volume can easily be made louder to subdue the children. Occasionally, group or individual singing contests can be stimulating. Talking games are better than ones that require reading or concentration. A popular game with our family is “Keeeep Quiet” or “Shuuut Up.” In this game, everyone keeps absolutely silent for as long as they can. The one who speaks first loses. The remark that I make that is considered profane and gets some laughs is, “Shut up your big fat mouth.” Monetary prizes are most effective. Children love money and, even in times of inflation, a nickel per game will suffice. The mere thought of winning money is sufficient, and the adult never has to produce any actual cash.

Another successful game that we have used is, “I’m Thinking of Something.” In this game, someone thinks about an object, and the others

have to ask questions requiring a yes or no answer, until someone guesses the object. This game can go on for as long as one wishes. The adult can regulate the time span of the game by regulating the object the adult is thinking of. This game is soothing, interesting and child proof.

“License Plates” is another popular game. Points are awarded for the person who first spots a Texas license plate, or a Maryland plate, etc. Car colors can be substituted for license plates. “Capital Cities” can also be fun. In this game, each person takes a turn at naming a capital city alphabetically. Anyone who cannot name a city loses.

Children can also enjoy “Rhyming Words.” In this game, each person has to think of a word that rhymes with a word said by the previous person.

The educational value of this game is enhanced if each rhymer also has to tell what the word means.

Car travel allows an opportunity for children to learn about their family history. Children love to learn about their parents’ past and these stories always prove fascinating. Also, this is a good time to reminisce about family adventures shared in the past. Some time can be spent learning about the likes and dislikes of different members of the family, such as grandma’s favorite food or favorite color.

Regulating variety and length of car games is important. Do not prolong any one game to the point of boredom. Some games can be extended outside the car. It’s a good idea to carry a football and a plastic bat and ball for outdoor exercise at rest stops. Jogging to rest rooms can also be a satisfying experience.

A great entertainment for car travel is stopping at gas station restrooms.

Car travel serves as a diuretic for children. We have probably spent more time at gas station restrooms than at most tourist attractions. Our thorough investigation of gas station restrooms revealed a surprisingly attractive and clean variety — in many instances cleaner than some of the more historical points of interest.

Most inexperienced travelers tend to bring along almost all the clothing they own, regardless of the distance or duration of the trip. Careful planning can avoid overloading. My wife devised a good system for avoiding chaos whenever a suitcase is opened.

Underwear and immediate clothing necessities for each person are kept in separate plastic bags, marked with that person’s initials. Thus, finding clean socks is made easy.

A practical procedure for travel would be for parents to teach their children to wear the same clothing for more than one day. Our children, like many others, were trained in the opposite fashion. Not having fresh underwear each day is a good reason for hysterical outbursts. Yet, as far as I know, no deaths or fatal illnesses have been attributed to wearing the same underwear two days in a row.

Eating in restaurants is a common practice on long car trips. Travelers often observe whether or not a restaurant is crowded. A popular belief is that the best restaurants always have the largest crowds. Entering a restaurant that isn’t crowded is believed to be a guarantee of not eating fresh food.

The cleanliness of the restaurant is important. We are usually attracted to a modern, clean exterior with large, clean windows. However, our extensive experience leaves restrooms in restaurants a poor second to those in gas stations. For some reason, restrooms in many restaurants are not properly cared for. Although, you can often tell a good restaurant by its restroom, you cannot count on a supposedly good restaurant having a clean restroom.

Cost is another factor in choosing a restaurant. Prices are often difficult to judge from the outside. Once inside, it is often too late. Young children can often be fed by handouts from others.

Teenagers can be expected to devour everything except the tablecloth.

Discriminating, self-sacrificing

adults may wish to order last and eat less to offset teenage appetites.

Of course, choices of foods may vary considerably, but my grandchildren eat only chicken nuggets and pizza.

Having water, instead of soft drinks, can save lots of money, since the cost of soft drinks is almost equivalent to that of an entire meal. Desserts can be purchased cheaply at roadside ice cream stands.

Another difficulty in deciding upon an appropriate restaurant is the speed of the car. Making accurate assessments at 55 miles per hour is not easy. Frequently, we have driven well past a restaurant by the time we had mutually agreed that it would be a splendid place in which to eat.

The most important feature of a family car trip is safety. Road hypnosis and fatigue are common enemies of every driver. It is essential to stop regularly for rest, or to switch drivers frequently. You can carry a blanket in the car. At convenient rest stops, you can spread the blanket under tree and take a 15-minute snooze. If you do not rest regularly, you may find yourself resting permanently.

The development of new technologies has changed the nature of driving with children in the back of a car. Now, all the back-seat passengers have some device plugged into their ears. It is deathly quiet, except for the overflow of loud music from their headsets. Each back seat passenger is busy playing computer games, watching a movie or sending endless text messages to an invisible friend somewhere. Nobody wants to interact with anyone in the car. In fact, the back-seat passengers are immune to any distraction, such as the driver asking them a question or trying to make conversation. It is like driving with zombies in the back of the car.

In the future, I envision driverless cars with children in the back seat with implants in their brains to enable text messaging, without a cell phone, and with music that can be switched on and off by blinking of the eyes.

Until then, I’ll try to actually have conversations with my back seat passengers So, keep these points in mind when taking a car trip with your family. You may find, as we have, that driving there is more than half the fun.

Subsidized Housing for Senior Citizens and Mobility Impaired

Applications are currently being accepted for rent subsidized apartments for people age 62 or over and mobility impaired regardless of age. For more information or an application contact:

Sacred Heart APARTMENTS

8365 Factory St. Cicero, NY 13039 (315) 699-1509 • Fax (315) 699-1660 TDD/TTY 1-800-622-1220 M-F 8-4 www.christopher-community.org

Times change.

Our standards of home care don’t.

315.476.3101 � www.vnacny.org

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health

Aging: ED Drugs a Boon for Pharmaceutical Industry Viagra, Levitra and Cialis help many who suffer from erectile dysfunction while bringing millions to drug makers

By Ken Little

T

here are 10,000 American baby boomers hitting age 65 every day. Rest assured some of them have sex on their

minds.

Makers of products like Viagra, Levitra and Cialis are acutely aware of the possibilities, and have devised marketing campaigns designed to capture the hearts and, um, minds of boomers and others of a certain age.

Just turn on the TV at night or during a sporting event and see how long it takes for an erectile dysfunction drug commercial to pop up.

“It’s the science of marketing. It’s how they make their money,” said Sharon Brangman, chief of geriatrics in the department of medicine at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse.

Doctor Input Important — Brangman, who is also president of the American Geriatric Society, urges anyone using ED medications to get the full picture first from their doctor.

“For the most part the drug has been used for many years now with a fairly good effect and with few side effects,” she said. “But you need to get a good evaluation of your health.”

Male sexual dysfunction is not a natural part of aging. It may be an indication of more serious health problems, said Robert S. Davis, an urologist affiliated with the University of Rochester School of Medicine.

“We have an epidemic of diabetes and obesity, which often causes type 48

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2 diabetes,” he said. “Diabetes is very often associated with ED. This is a problem that society has — we have more overweight people, some of whom have peripheral vascular disease.”

Some boomers — those born between 1946 and 1964 — “are of an age where this can affect someone in their 40s and 50s,” Davis said.

Use of ED drugs is not recommended for people who take nitrates or nitroglycerine for heart conditions.

“They can’t have angina, can’t be on nitro and have to have reasonable exercise ability,” Davis said.

Studies have shown that ED can be a predecessor to more serious health problems like heart disease.

“It could be the canary in the coal mine,” Davis said. “It could be the beginning of cardiovascular disease.”

Davis is quick to point out many baby boomers and older Americans are very health conscious.

“There are also 80-year-olds doing marathons and things like that. There are some people well up in years who are quite healthy,” he said.

‘No Right Equation’ — “Sexuality has no right equation, as we have tools to allow it. Certainly, there are some of the older folk that truly pursue it and for some healthy people, they remain sexually active in their 70s and 80s.

There are certainly some patients in those age groups who may do so now

with the help of drugs,” Davis said.

Men, in particular, have different expectations about their sexuality as they age, Brangman said.

“People don’t become less sexually active just because they’re older,” she said. “Sometimes there’s a medical reason for it.”

Side effects of ED drugs can include headache, flushing, indigestion or stuffy or runny nose.

More serious side effects for some of the drugs include hearing or vision loss or an erection that doesn’t go away on its own.

“Most men who take Viagra, Levitra or Cialis aren’t bothered by side effects,” according to the staff of the Mayo Clinic.

“For true ED vs. what I might call recreational or gymnastic uses, the drugs are quite safe except for people who are on nitrates,” Davis said. “Those people can really suffer significant hypertension.”

Generally, “The safety profile as far as these drugs go is pretty good,” David said. “Apart from that, they have been remarkably safe drugs.”

There may be other dangers to taking ED drugs if users aren’t responsible. According to a recent report in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the rate of sexually transmitted diseases in older men taking ED drugs is twice as high as their non-medicated peers.

The report states that older adults don’t necessarily use safe sex practices

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Internet Risks — Then there are risks posed to those who obtain prescription medications off sources like the Internet.

“Counterfeit drugs for erectile dysfunction can contain toxic materials, too much active ingredient or no active ingredient at all,” according to research presented at last year’s Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association.

“Taking ED medication that is not prescribed is already dangerous because these medications can interact with other drugs or may not be safe for people with other health conditions, like high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease,” according to an AUA statement.

Davis said anyone looking “for a special Saturday night” should steer clear of the online marketplace.

“Certainly, the Internet is a potential source. If you look, you can certainly find people willing to sell it to you,” he said. “The Internet is a method of [finding] about any medicine. Some may be legitimate, some may not be.”

Patients need to be sure their medication source is reputable, no matter how good an online deal looks.

“There is no such thing as a free lunch,” Brangman said. “There’s a lot of good counterfeits out there that look just like the original. You need to make sure you are getting your medications from a reputable place.”

Many millions of dollars are spent every year on television, in print and online to promote ED drugs and other medications. The only two developed countries where directto-consumer advertising (DTCA) is currently allowed is the U.S. and New Zealand.

A November 2006 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office stated that drug companies spent $4.2 billion in 2005 on DTCA. In comparison, the drug industry spent $7.2 billion in 2005 promoting drugs to physicians and $31.4 billion on research and development.

“For a number of years, direct-to-

consumer marketing has been a huge boon to the pharmaceutical industry,” Brangman said. “A patient may come to a doctor and ask for a [particular] medication.”

A Growing Market — Baby boomers are healthier than their parents, “so they are likely to live another 25 to 30 years, so we will have a market much different than a generation ago,” Brangman said. “The potential is huge.”

“I’ve had no problems with my patients on Medicare receiving Viagra or Cialis,” she said.

In 2009, Virginia Congressman Jim Moran sent letters to the heads of three major pharmaceutical companies asking them to moderate advertising for ED drugs. A bill authored by the Democratic congressman would have prohibited advertisements for the drugs between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. on network broadcast television and radio.

“Many parents I talk with are frustrated and annoyed by the overwhelming presence of these ads during programs they watch with their children. Parents should be able to watch a football game with their kids without having to either mute the television or explain the side effects of a life enhancement drug,” Moran wrote.

It appears the campaign to promote ED drugs will continue unabated.

“Drug companies are certainly advertising these agents and many other drugs. That didn’t happen 20 years ago,” Davis said.

There are many alternatives to drug-related treatment for ED, including nutritional supplements, herbal remedies, acupuncture and more invasive methods like surgical implants or injections, which also carry inherent risks.

Brangman said before an individual considers drugs or any other ED treatment method, an important step must be taken.

“Speak with your physician, get your health evaluated and see if you are a good candidate for this treatment,” she said.

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By Mary Beth Roach

Deb Joiner, 57

D

eb Joiner, 57, is a Vietnam era veteran, having served as a medical technician in the United States Air Force from 1972-73 at Travis Air Force Base in California. While stationed at Travis, she worked in women’s health, maternity and pediatrics, helping to treat the wives and children of the servicemen. This experience led her to become a voice for women’s health issues, especially as they pertain to female veterans.

Originally from Long Island, the Baldwinsville resident has been involved in the commission of a poignant mural titled “Women in the Military,” which was unveiled in 1998. She has multiple sclerosis, which has been determined to be service-related, and as a result, she is wheelchair-bound, but yet she was still able to excel at the 2004 National Veterans Wheelchair Games.

Following are some excerpts of my interview with her.

Q. The “Women In The Military” mural was completed in 1998.

Was it commissioned locally?

A. “Yes, myself, Ruth Schairer, John McGuire and Harry Schultz.

We formed a commission. It all came about because there was a men’s mural. And I said, ‘Well, that’s not right. Can’t have a men’s without a women’s. So we approached the VA hospital and we raised the funds for it. It was over $7,000. We put an article in The Post-Standard for women to send us their photo. [Artist] Nancy Rhodes got to interview the women she wanted. We asked Nancy to make sure the mural was life-like.

Q. Do you think the mural helped to send a message?

A. “Oh yeah. That room at the unveiling, which was at the Syracuse VA, was packed. Wallto-wall. It was great, fantastic. It 50

55 PLUS - June / July 2011

was long overdue.

The women need to be recognized. That they do contribute to our military.

Q. Where is it now?

A. “The mural is now hanging at the Veterans Administration in Washington, D.C. Q. Tell us about Deb Joiner holding a copy of the the “Women In how you were The Military” mural, which hangs at the Veterans diagnosed with Administration in Washington, D.C. She was multiple sclerosis? part of the group in Syracuse who pressed A. “Five or six for the creation of the mural showing different years after I got out of generations of servicewomen. The painting the service, I started features: back row from left: Cadet Xaviera noticing numbness, Fontan, Cadet Joanna Labscher and Cadet Pia visual problems. I was Smith; front row from left are Cadet Mary Spio, down in Gainesville, Fla., at the time, Deb Joiner and Ruth Schairer. and they did spinal taps. They attributed it to my A. “This needs to be addressed service. I’m very fortunate.”

— for women and for men. When they come out, there is no other Q. How do you see thing they know. There needs to be yourself as being fortunate? cross training. Somehow we need A. “In the fact that they caught it or I caught it. I could be dead. Sad to integrate them so these men and women when they come out as it may sound, it is a blessing. It makes me stronger to some degree. I of the service are prepared for the have my moments like anyone else.” transition to the outside. The mental health issues are overwhelming.

Post-traumatic stress disorder.

Q. The Wheelchair This should be addressed while Games of ‘04— what sports they’re in. They should not be did you compete in? discharged until it’s addressed.”

A. “I did swimming I won a gold medal. I did hand cycling — Q. Are women getting out of the won a gold medal. I did basketball; our team lost and I did the javelin — service today and taking advantage of that’s a trip in itself trying to throw.” veteran’s benefits?

A. I see the men and women coming back from Iraq and Q. Have you competed since?

Afghanistan. When you’re discharged, A. “It’s in Pittsburgh you’re told ‘Please go use the VA.’ this year. It’s tempting. I’ll And I tell that to women and men have to see how I feel.” when I talk to them . . . please use that . . . you’re owed that much. Use it or Q. How do you see job lose it. You have to use it. You fought training and transitioning when hard for it.” veterans leave military service:

June / July 2011 - 55 PLUS

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