55 Plus CNY 92, April/May '21

Mr. Potato Head and the Impact of ‘Cancel Culture’

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55 PLUS Issue 92 – April/May 2021

For Active Adults in the Central New York Area

cny55.com TAXES

New York: Most Expensive State for Boomers JOY GERMS

After all these years, Joan E. White, 86, is still spreading ‘joy germs’

Overcoming Adversity CNY radio personality Mimi Griswold discusses her battle to fully recover from a stroke she had during the 2019 Christmas season. “I am learning to be patient, I am trying to remain positive. I am making progress.’’ In October she will be inducted into the NYS Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Story on page 28

ROBOTS

Marilyn Pinsky: Are our machines really out to get us?

9

Retirement Savings Mistakes to Avoid

Your Guide to a Successful Garage Sale

Had a Stroke.

Back on Stage.

Musician Todd Hobin KNOW THE SIGNS • CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY

Central New York music legend Todd Hobin knew nothing about stroke — but he does now. That’s why he’s raising awareness about stroke risk factors and its signs and symptoms.

F.

FACE DROOPING

A. S.

ARM WEAKNESS

SPEECH DIFFICULTY

Fact: Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the U.S. Important to know: Stroke can happen to both men and women — at any age.

Good news: Stroke is preventable by managing medical risk factors and healthy lifestyle choices.

What to do: Time lost is brain lost. So it’s vital to know the signs of a stroke — F.A.S.T. Four words to live by: Call 911 and say, “Take me to Crouse.“ When it comes to stroke, every moment matters. As one of just 10 hospitals in New York State tohave earned Comprehensive Stroke Center status, and with the region’s newest ER and hybrid ORs, Crouse offers the most advanced technology for rapid stroke diagnosis and treatment

Read Todd’s story and learn more: crouse.org/toddhobin.

T.

TIME TO CALL 911

Go with your heart.

You trust your heart to make all of life’s biggest decisions. And when something’s not right with your heart, you can trust the hospital with the most advanced cardiac care experience in Central New York. Our team has been ranked among the top 15 hospitals in the country for heart surgery by Consumer Reports and has been recognized as one of the nation’s 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals

by Fortune/IBM Watson Health. As the only hospital in CNY with a Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade A, St. Joseph’s Health is safe and ready to care for you and your number-1 decision maker. Cross our hearts.

A HIGHER LEVEL OF CARE

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CONTENTS

Mr. Potato Head and the Impact of ‘Cancel Culture’

55

free please share

PLUS Issue 92 – April/May 2021

For Active Adults in the Central New York Area

cny55.com

Story ideas? Information about advertising?

Email editor@cny55.com or call 315-342-1182

TAXES

New York: Most Expensive State for Boomers JOY GERMS

After all these years, Joan E. White, 86, is still spreading ‘joy germs’

55 PLUS

April-May 2021

Overcoming Adversity CNY radio personality Mimi Griswold discusses her battle to fully recover from a stroke she had during the 2019 Christmas season. “I am learning to be patient, I am trying to remain positive. I am making progress.’’ In October she will be inducted into the NYS Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Story on page 28

To subscribe, check coupon on page 47.

ROBOTS

Marilyn Pinsky: Are our machines really out to get us?

9

Retirement Savings Mistakes to Avoid

Your Guide to a Successful Garage Sale

22

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Savvy Senior 6 12 JOURNEY Gardening 8 • Susan Gateley: A charter captain sails into retirement Dining Out 10 Aging 32 14 TAX • Top tips for tax season My Turn 34 Golden Years 39 16 LIVING Druger’s Zoo 44 • New York: Most expensive state for seniors Life After 55 46

18 MONEY

• Hear what the pros say about nine retirement savings mistakes to avoid.

LAST PAGE

Mary Beth Frey, 55 executive director of The Samaritan Center, says it takes very little to positively impact the life of another.

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55 PLUS - April - May 2021

19 CULTURE • Mr. Potato Head and the impact of ‘cancel culture’

22 ACTIVITIES • CNY Folksmarch marks 40 years

26 GARAGE SALE • A quick guide to a successful event

55 PLUS 33

46

28 COVER • Mimi Griswold: Radio pioneer works to overcome adversity

33 VIBES • Joy Germ still spreading germs of joy

36 REAL ESTATE • Home buying tips: how to avoid costly mistakes and find your perfect home

38 GARDENING • The perfect time for starting seedlings

40 LEARNING • Enrichment classes continue virtually

48 VISITS • Life is a beach in Cancun

• BOOKS Journalist William LaRue has his fourth book published (p. 24) while Camillus resident publishes his first (P. 43)

WE CARE LIKE FAMILY

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To join our talented, professional team, please visit one of our care facilities career pages for available positions.

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savvy senior

By Jim Miller

Keeping Your Balance as You Age

M

ost people don’t think much about practicing their balance, but they need to. As we age, our balance declines if it isn’t practiced, which can lead to falls that often result in a broken bone.

Every year more than one in four people age 65 and older fall, and the risk increases with age.

Here’s what you should know about balance problems, along with some different exercises that can help you improve it.

Aging Affects Balance Balance is something most people take for granted until it’s challenged by a medical condition, medication or advanced age, which dulls our balance senses and causes most people to gradually become less stable on their feet over time.

Poor balance can also lead to a vicious cycle of inactivity. You feel a little unsteady, so you curtail certain activities. If you’re inactive, you’re not challenging your balance systems or using your muscles. As a result, both balance and strength suffer.

Simple acts like strolling through a grocery store or getting up from a chair become trickier. That shakes your confidence, so you become even less active.

Balance Exercises If you have a balance problem that is not tied to illness, medication or some other specific cause, simple exercises can help preserve and improve your balance. Here are four exercises you can do that will help: • One-legged stands: Stand on one foot for 30 seconds, or longer, then switch to the other foot. In the beginning, you might want to have a wall or chair to hold on to. Or, for 6

55 PLUS - April - May 2021

55PLUS cny55.com Editor and Publisher Wagner Dotto

Writers

an extra challenge try closing your eyes, or standing on a throw pillow or Bosu ball (an inflated rubber disc on a stable platform).

• Heel-to-toe walking: Take 20 steps while looking straight ahead.

Think of a sobriety test.

• Standing up: Without using your hands, get up from a straightbacked chair and sit back down 10 to 20 times. This improves balance and leg strength.

• Tai chi: Research has shown that the Asian practice of tai chi — which uses a combination of slow, graceful movements, meditation and deep breathing — can help reduce the risk of falls.

For more information on different balance exercises you can do at home, there are a variety of balance and strength exercises and beginner tai chi DVDs you can purchase at Amazon.com or through Amazon Prime video.

There are also senior fitness programs, like SilverSneakers (silversneakers.com) and Silver&Fit (silverandfit.com), that offer online classes that can guide you through a series of exercises you can do at home during the pandemic.

See a Doctor I do, however, want to emphasize that if you’ve already fallen, are noticeably dizzy or unsteady, or have a medical condition affecting your balance, you need to see a doctor.

They might refer you to a physical therapist or to an appropriate balance-training class in your community. It’s also important to know that many medicines and medical conditions — from Parkinson’s disease to diabetes to inner-ear disorders — can affect balance.

Deborah J. Sergeant Mary Beth Roach Margaret McCormick Christopher Malone, Aaron Gifford, Carol Radin, Steve Yablonski

Columnists

Bruce Frassinelli Marilyn Pinsky, Harold Miller Jim Sollecito, Marvin Druger Michele Reed, Sandra Scott Eva Briggs (M.D.)

Advertising

Amy Gagliano Cassandra Lawson Amber Dwyer

Office Manager Nancy Nitz

Design

Dylon Clew-Thomas

Cover Photo

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

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

Subscription: $21 a year; $35 for two years © 2021 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.

How to Reach Us P.O. Box 276 Oswego, NY 13126 Phone: 315-342-1182 Fax: 315-342-7776 Email: editor@CNYhealth.com Editor@cnyhealth.com

Jef Sneider and Gwen Kay

Vicki Brackens, ChFC is a senior

stand with their dog, Katie, at their home.

financial planner at Brackens Financial Solutions Network.

Working in our fields of medicine and education, we have spent our lives teaching and caring for adults. When we began giving charitably together, we both agreed on one thing: we also wanted to advocate for children.

We established a field-of-interest fund at the Community Foundation to help facilitate our giving in a simple and secure way. The Kay/Sneider Literacy Fund supports organizations that provide early childhood education, child care and literacy.

We hope our giving will champion the safety and success of children and their parents, helping them build more equitable futures. We care deeply about the well-being of the community and hope our giving will contribute to a thriving Central New York.

GIVING BACK FOR YOUTH: JEF SNEIDER & GWEN KAY

Read more of Gwen and Jef’s story at cnycf.org/SneiderKay

315 . 4 2 2 .9 5 3 8 | C N YC F. O R G

April - May 2021 - 55 PLUS

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gardening

By Jim Sollecito

Make Some Ripples

I

am uncomfortable in big cities, always have been. The incessant noise does not allow me peace. It seems everyone is always so busy talking on devices about anything but the here and now. I feel they’re missing out on the small gems that enrich daily life.

Biscayne Bay is as close to Miami as I like to be: flyfishing for bonefish

12 ocean miles off the Florida Keys by skiff boat. You can see but not hear the city in the distant background. Forty-two years ago my wife Megan and I boat-camped here off Elliot Key while we were still dating.

I thought the mosquitoes would carry us away. Instead of bitten, I ended up smitten.

As you can see from the photo on

Jim Sollecito makes some ripples on Biscayne Bay. Florida.

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55 PLUS - April - May 2021

this page, I’m now very diligent to protect my skin from the sun. I aim to be far away from phone service and so subsequently, the shade. The disconnect is one of the attractions.

You know, keeping it fun and in the moment. Phones can be a real drag.

Shielded from the sun, phone off, focus unimpeded, I can truly enjoy the day without distractions.

When I was on the college wrestling team we would get gigs as concert security. I remember the 1973 Watkins Glen Summer Jam, along with 600,000 of my new best friends.

Not one talking on a cell phone.

Because they had not been invented yet. The air was filled with The Band, The Allman Brothers Band, the Grateful Dead and a lot of smoke from weed. “Ripple” by the Dead resonated. Listening, as if I were alone, a ripple on still water. Despite the fact that I was surrounded by a literal sea of humanity.

Every now and again that catchy tune pops into my head. Just a feelgood song that persists in my brain, making me smile and nod my head to the rhythm.

Sometimes this happens in my own backyard, when the sun warms the soil and my heart. My ritual, this reawakening happens every spring.

Smelling the soil, tasting the fresh air, listening to droplets as they water freshly planted roots. Feeling alive and feeling life again. One ripple at a time.

It’s not always important to make waves. Sometimes a ripple is enough. It intersects and occasionally overlaps with others. As we take advantage of outdoor opportunities let’s silence our electronic devices and experience the miracle that it is to participate in this planet. You know I “seas the day” when I can.

It helps to place myself in proper perspective to the larger scope of the world.

Take the moment, go outside, and experience the positive impact within you and around you. Your contentment and happiness will ripple to the point of overflow.

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 jim@sollecito.com.

Social Security

Q: I’m gathering everything I’ll need to file my taxes this month. Do I have to pay taxes on Social Security benefits?

A: Some people who get Social Security must pay federal income taxes on their benefits. Still, no one pays taxes on more than 85% of their Social Security benefits. You must pay taxes on some portion of your benefits if you file an individual federal tax return and your income exceeds $25,000. If you file a joint return, you must pay taxes if you and your spouse have combined income of more than $32,000. If you are married and file a separate return, you probably will have to pay taxes on your benefits. You can read more about tax preparation in relation to Social Security at www.socialsecurity.gov/ planners/taxes.htm. Social Security benefits include monthly retirement, survivors, and disability benefits. They don’t include Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments, which are not taxable. You can also get a replacement 1099 or 1042S when you open your own personal my Social Security account at www.socialsecurity.gov/ myaccount.

Proudly serving Onondaga, Cayuga, Oswego and Madison Counties

Contact us today to find out how we may be able to assist your family:

(315) 634-1100

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Q: I know that Social Security’s full retirement age is gradually rising to 67. But does this mean the “early” retirement age will also go up by two years, from age 62 to 64?

Bringing comfort, peace and hope to thousands of families for over 30 years

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Q&A

A: No. While it is true that under current law the full retirement age is gradually rising from 65 to 67, the “early” retirement age remains at 62.

Keep in mind, however, that taking early retirement reduces your benefit amount. For more information about Social Security benefits, visit www. socialsecurity.gov/planners/retire.

April - May 2021 - 55 PLUS

9

DiningOut

By Christopher Malone

Guide

Restaurant

Kitty Hoynes

Smoked corned beef sandwich at Kitty Hoynes.

With great Irish food, the Armory Square restaurant continues to be an affordable place to dine out or take out food for home

T

he only problem with deciding to visit an Irish pub for dinner and eating alone is, well, eating alone.

The options can be described as purposefully heavy. However, despite common pessimism regarding the options, Irish fare is flavorful.

Take Kitty Hoynes, 301 W. Fayette St., Syracuse. For several instances there were personal struggles with laying down the silverware and placing food in the takeaway container.

Plus, as this review is taking place, this is the Lenten season. A little bit of fish for the green, a little meat for the orange, some dessert for the white, and no regrets all around. For COVID-19 penance — a pint of Guinness ($6). It

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55 PLUS - April - May 2021

was my first draught of Guinness since March 2020, and I (almost) forgot how good it tasted.

Kitty Hoynes, of course, similarly to all restaurants, is abiding by the strict COVID-19 guidelines. The restaurant felt different than its usual boisterous self. There were no vacancies at the bar, the most popular area in the restaurant that night. Table seating was available around the barroom and dining areas.

However, the narrow ledge on the side wall seemed appropriate to still part of “the crowd.”

Here’s a great spot to say that Kitty Hoynes did a great job with accommodations — even around the bar. The restaurant was tidy, utensils smudge-less, and the bathroom was

spotless.

Unfortunately, since my quasiGoldilocks seating decision was designated bar space, being just slightly away yielded slower service.

For instance, when the brussels sprouts arrived, I was ready to put in entrée orders. However, the server placed the dish down and pivoted quickly.

Knowing the Reuben fritters are unique, flavorful staples, I went with the — ahem! — healthier option of brussels sprouts ($11). They come with cured pork belly and wade in a puddle of honey white balsamic glaze. These quickly warmed my heart and spirit. The sprouts were cooked very well, balancing slightly charred sections with vibrant green. The pork

belly were flavor bombs, anticipated surprises with each bite. The honey and balsamic glaze is something I’d try to replicate in my own kitchen; it’s not overly sweet and complimented the meat and veggies well.

The smoked corned beef sandwich ($14), plus a side of choice, in this case a cup of the French onion soup, was next on my hunger radar. Instead of opting for a burger, this stacked handheld option lived up to its description.

The corned beef was slightly, not subtly, smoky. It didn’t overpower the noticeable mustard, cheddar and arugula. The “spicy serious slaw,” although a good version, wasn’t spicy.

It was an empty threat.

The onion soup was a top-notch note. This medium-hearty Irish take on the French version was Guinnessdark, rich with flavor, onion, bread and cheese. It’s the type of soup a writer can find a connection with, staring into it and getting lost in its abyss.

Bring on the meatloaf, they did.

The loaves of lamb and beef, plus cheddar and white pudding ($15), were soft and didn’t disappoint.

Meatloaf may be meatloaf to anybody; however, when its covered with cabbage cream sauce, it’s more special.

The light, white sauce also covered the scoop of champ (essentially zhooshedup mashed potatoes with scallions with the typical milk and butter). The fresh zucchini squash, peppers, and other veggies, with a coat of oil, sat proudly to the side and as a necessary, appropriate balance for all the meat consumed.

When it comes down to it, the honey and white balsamic trumps olive-oil coated veggies any day.

Who can say no to fish? The fish and chips ($12 for one piece, $16 for two pieces) staple is hard to pass up. Of all the times choosing this entrée, it’s always been consistent.

The beer-battered haddock with chips (fries), tartar and coleslaw has never disappointed. The golden coat around the chunk of fish always exclaims a loud crack when cutting into it. Despite going for the one-piece option, it’s worth it to order the two-piece for sharing or leftover purposes.

Was there room for dessert?

Nope. Yet, I couldn’t say no to the Bailey’s Irish Cream chocolate chip cheesecake ($7). It’s a mouthful to say.

It’s a personal challenge to take less than a mouthful of a bite. It’s almost

Brussels sprouts served with cured pork belly and wade in a puddle of honey white balsamic glaze.

Meatloaf covered with cabbage cream sauce. impossible to coherently say, “I love you, Bailey’s Irish Cream chocolate chip cheesecake” with your mouth literally filled.

It’s certainly a heavy cheesecake, and it’s worth sharing — maybe. The crispy, cookie-like crust is necessary to hold that heavy cake weight. The Bailey’s flavor is subtle Before tip, all this food totaled $58 and change.

Kitty Hoynes continues to be an affordable place to dine out or take out food for home. Kudos to David Hoyne and staff, as well as other restaurants in the region, for making solid efforts to

persevere and accommodate patrons during this pandemic.

Kitty Hoynes Irish Pub 301 W Fayette St., Syracuse 315-424-1974 kittyhoynes.com facebook.com/HoynesIrishPub instagram.com/kittyhoynes/ Tues. – Sat.: 11:30 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.

April - May 2021 - 55 PLUS

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55+ journey

A Charter Captain Sails Into Retirement Lake Ontario charter captain continues her writing career but sails as a “civilian” these days

By Steve Yablonski

S

usan Gateley, 69, is a native Upstate New Yorker. She currently resides in northern Cayuga County.

“I grew up on the west side of Wayne County on a 50-acre hobby farm. In this weedy environment with a small creek, a pond and an overgrown abandoned orchard, I acquired my life-long interest in nature study that continues to this day,” she said.

In 1996, she married Chris Gateley, who works as a software engineer with his small family-owned company based in San Diego. They lived in North Wolcott until 2017 when they moved to Fair Haven.

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Her formal education included four years at a small Midwestern liberal arts school, Grinnell College, and two more years getting a master’s in fisheries in Massachusetts.

After a few years of environmental work in Baltimore and Rochester, she ended up in the classroom, teaching high school science back in Upstate New York.

“My foray into teaching coincided with the beginnings of freelance writing for magazine and newspaper publication. And as the digital age transformed print media, I shifted much of my energy into publishing short-run books,” she said. “My chosen niche for writing nonfiction

Writer and charter captain Susan Gateley. was Lake Ontario, as well as nature in general. For reasons unknown, I found a scarcity of recent literature on Lake Ontario and saw this as an opportunity. A passion for sailing had led me to these wide waters and as I explored both American and Canadian shorelines with my 23-foot sloop Ariel, I found much history ecology and human interest to write about.”

Gateley launched into a mildly profitable short-run publishing in 1995 with “Ariel’s World, An Exploration of Lake Ontario,” a 172-page account of history and changing ecology of our Great Lake as seen while sailing solo aboard an elderly wooden boat.

It sold well and was followed by a half dozen more works on maritime history, lake-related folklore and, most recently, an update on the lake’s most acute environmental challenges and how we can remediate many of them.

That work, “Saving The Beautiful Lake,” also sparked a one-hour video, “Quest For Hope,” now available for download at susanpgateley.com.

“My magazine stories and various book projects were indeed largely done during the off season,” she explained.

“I have also authored three books for Arcadia Publishing. The most recent — “A Natural History of Lake Ontario” — will be released this summer. The motive for most of these words on water was that of increasing awareness of and appreciation for the lake,” she said. “To that end, I also established a seasonal sailing instruction – day trips business in 1997. What better way for people to appreciate the lake than to interact with it aboard a sailing yacht, I figured.”

Most of the time, this theory worked pretty well. Once or twice an open lake charter or sailing lesson had to be terminated for seasickness or rough water. And once, a fastmoving squall soaked the captain and passengers alike as they motored into the harbor.

“But I never lost anyone overboard,” she quipped. “And, a significant number of people came back as repeat customers. Many who sailed with me had never been on a sailboat

or on the waters of Lake Ontario.

People from out of town almost always expressed amazement at the oceanic expanses of the lake. More than one asked, ‘Does it have a tide?’ And many took memories home of the lake’s wide skies with iridescent clouds, brilliant sunsets and spectacular inland displays of thunderheads and towering cumulus along the lake-land breeze convergence.”

Except for one year, she always operated the sailing business out of Fair Haven Bay. She used the same 32foot Chris Craft Cherokee sloop during the approximately 17 years that she did charters and lessons.

Some of her charter clients came back for sailing lessons and subsequently bought boats of their own, “which was a great satisfaction to me,” she added.

“I think one’s impressions of the lake are focused and sharpened when experienced from the deck of a sailboat. On a good day, everything seems more intense. Whether it’s a brisk strong wind or one of those last late-fall days of golden light and warm gentle sun and breezes, sailing is sensual. It’s done in an environment of light and water that is often a place of profound beauty and unexpected optics,” she said.

Father Time caught up with the charter captain and her spouse, she admitted. Now, both the ‘big’ boats she used for charters have been sold.

She still sails as a “civilian” aboard a 23-footer with her husband.

Reach With Clouds schooner owned by Susan Gateley.

Passionate about Lake Ontario, Susan Gateley has spent decades writing about it, taking visitors to experience it.

And she is still writing about the lake.

Some of those efforts are posted at her Lake Ontario Log, linked to: susanpgateley.com.

“I’m working with an extremely talented photographer on a book of collected Lake Ontario images and I have another Arcadia Press book due out later this summer. I also have several earlier books for sale on my website and on Amazon.com, including

a historic novel “Widowmaker,” and Saving The Beautiful Lake — a recent environmental history of Lake Ontario,” she said.

“Twinkletoes and the Riddle of the Lake,” “Ariadne’s Death” and “Passages On Inland Waters” are still in print. Rivers End Bookstore in Oswego sells copies or visit her website, where you’ll find links to purchase them on Etsy and Amazon.

April - May 2021 - 55 PLUS

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55+ tax didn’t receive, you can use the $1,800 against taxes you owe. You will receive a tax credit for your stimulus checks.

Make sure you see your accountant about it.

• “If you are getting a refund, the tax credit you didn’t get will increase your refund. Understand that the recovery rebate credit. If you have a larger minimum distribution, make sure your accountant knows about it so they can adjust for it.

• “Talk with your accountant to determine your own situation.”

Top Tips for Tax Season Checking with a tax preparer or financial adviser may save you money

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

W

hile in the throes of the tax season, it’s a good time to consider how you can improve your tax situation for next year. Ask your tax preparer and financial adviser about what applies to your finances.

Suggestions by Randy Zeigler ,private wealth adviser and certified financial planner with Ameriprise in Oswego.

• “Bunch itemized deductions into one year, in order to exceed the standard deduction and qualify to itemize deductions – if possible.

• “Consider investing in taxexempt municipal bonds as one possible investment option within the fixed income sector, when client tax rate equals or exceeds 22% federal tax bracket.”

Suggestions by Cynthia Scott, chartered financial consultant and founder and president of OMC

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55 PLUS - April - May 2021

Financial Services, Ltd. in DeWitt.

• “It’s a moving target. There’s so much in Congress that’s trying to be legislated. If you have a retirement plan and you have to take out your required minimum distribution which you didn’t have to take out in 2020, you can gift up to $100,000 of it if you pay it directly to a charity. That is if you don’t need the income. In 2020, people didn’t have to take out their minimum distribution. Their 2021 minimum distribution will probably be larger than in the past. They should let their accountant know so they may need to increase their estimated taxes.

• “2020 stimulus checks will not be included in your income and it also won’t impact your eligibility for government benefits.

• “The extra $600 of unemployment insurance is taxable.

• “You should use the recovery rebate credit in planning your taxes.

If you owe taxes more than $2,000 but have $1,800 in stimulus checks you

Suggestions by Tiffany Waller, tax preparer at Jackson Hewitt Tax Service in Auburn.

• “Don’t fall behind. As soon as the tax year starts, get all your documents in order. Have it together by early February. Don’t wait until April 15.

• “Throughout the year, keep any documents and receipts for doctor bills if you have any.

• “If you donate to any churches or charities or other places you donate, keep those together in an envelope so they’re not going all over or so you don’t lose any. Stay organized.

• “When you come in to get your taxes done, ask questions. A lot of people assume without asking. We can’t read minds. As questions if you don’t know about something. Ask us why. ‘Why is this amount so much?’

You can make better choices next year.

• “When people bring in their information, usually, I prefer them to sit with me, but with COVID, a lot of people aren’t comfortable. I ask a lot of questions if they do a dropoff. And then we go over things at the end, but I prefer to sit with the person so I get to know them and their situation. We have Plexiglas between us and customers, wear a mask and everything is disinfected between clients.

• “People should check into the VITA program through AARP so they don’t pay the big fees to have their taxes done.”

Note: Check out the VITA program at www.aarp.org/money/taxes/info2018/aarp-tax-help-fd.html.

Bruce Frassinelli Parenting: Kids Are Now in Charge

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oir Great Mem to Writing a cy: 8 Steps Leave a Lega ANCESTRY

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Frassinelli Columnist Bruce habits his walking talks about g— and countin — 21 years it gets out of and what he

ovember 2020

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money Still Have any to do with it suggest what

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eptember 2020

For Active Adults New York Area in the Central

ck Stimulus Che left? Experts

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Ruth J. Colvin: 103 and Still Going Strong

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Commissioner Onondaga County science, Gupta uses of Health Indu nity through lead commu calmness to pandemic storm

Financial Help for Retirees Affected by COVID-19

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Researching Ancestry List Beyond the of Names

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55+ living New York: Most Expensive State for Boomers New York is referred to as a tax-unfriendly state for boomers, according to new report

By Aaron Gifford

W

ith a relative tax burden of 12.28%, New York comfortably leads the rest of the nation as the most expensive state tax-wise for senior citizens, according to a recent report.

The report, “Tax Burden by State for Retirees and Seniors,” was published by the SeniorLiving.org data site. The data is based on current tax rates that are listed with each state’s departments of finance and taxation departments. A state’s tax burden is the percentage of total income that residents pay on state and local (town, village, county, school) taxes.

With the No. 1 ranking on the bad list, New York is referred to as a taxunfriendly state for seniors. This is due to the Empire State’s average sales tax rate of 8.49%; a starting income tax rate of 4% that increases to 8.82% for incomes between $1.07 million and $2.15 million; an average property tax rate of $1,812 per $100,000 of assessed value; tax on private retirement income and non-New York pensions exceeding $20,000; and an estate tax where the basic exclusion amount is set at $5,850,000.

The report, however, did note that New York still has some tax-friendly measures in place that benefit seniors, including property tax exemptions

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(STAR program); no income tax on Social Security payments; no income tax on state, federal or military pensions; no tax on private retirement/ pension plans if the annual income is less than $20,000; and no inheritance tax.

Vermont had the No. 2 ranking for the most expensive state, with a relative tax burden of 10.73%, followed

by Minnesota (10.19%), Connecticut (9.99%), Rhode Island (9.84%), Wisconsin (9.12%); Nebraska (9.1%), and Kansas (8.83%).

California, the largest state in the country, has a tax burden of 9.27%, but it was placed on the “12 States with a Mixed Picture” list because of low property taxes, a statewide senior exemption credit that is similar to the federal tax credit, and graduated income tax rates that range from 1% for the lowest-income residents, to 13.3% for those who earn more than $1 million annually.

Alaska was rated as the least expensive state tax-wise for seniors, with a relative tax burden of 5.16%.

Alaska does not have any state income taxes and no statewide sales tax.

Municipalities there have the option of rendering sales tax and property tax, and some have neither.

In addition, Alaska does not have

an estate or in heritance tax, and residents who have lived there at least one year get an annual “dividend” of $1,606 that counts toward their federal taxable income. Despite those tax advantages the report notes: “Extremely low taxes might not be enough to offset potential disadvantages such as a high cost of living, isolation and cold.”

Delaware was No. 2 on the good list. There are no sales, estate or inheritance taxes there, and Social Security benefits are also exempt. In addition, the average property tax is fairly low, at $604 per $100,000, and residents older than 60 can exempt $12,500 of qualified pension and investment income. The maximum state income tax rate in Delaware, 6.6%, applies to those making $60,000 a year or more.

The report cautions that a state’s tax burden tends to be more relevant to younger senior citizens who are still working. Some states give older, lowerincome or retired seniors property tax discounts, or don’t impose a tax on Social Security income.

The report, citing information from the Tax Foundation, notes that the largest contributor to local coffers is property taxes, which can amount to more than 30% of a municipality’s budget. Sales taxes, which apply to goods and services, are the second source of state and local revenues in most states, at around 23.6% of the money collected.

Income taxes, on average, make up a slightly less chunk of state and local revenues, at about 23.3%. Seven states don’t have an income tax. Excise, estate and inheritance taxes make up

significantly smaller portions of state and local tax coffers, and the rates and regulations for levying these taxes vary significantly across the country.

While New York has carried a reputation as an expensive and unfriendly tax state for decades now, one local economist cautions that comparisons to other states by numbers alone do not tell the whole story. Upstate New York has struggled with shifting property tax burdens when so many people and large employers have moved elsewhere, but communities have continually elected to preserve their status quo, even if it costs more, explained Richard Fenner, a professor of economics at Utica College.

“With other states, pay attention to the percentage of people below the poverty level and the number of people who don’t have access to health services,” Fenner said.

Fenner said incentives have always been available in New York State for school districts to combine or merge, or for villages to be dissolved into the encompassing towns. While other states eliminated local jurisdictions for school districts and law enforcement,

administering both services at the county level, New Yorkers prefer neighborhood schools, small police forces and elected leaders at the most local level possible.

“In Upstate New York, you do have police departments with only a handful of officers and neighboring small towns that have their own high schools where both have less than 80 kids in their graduating class,” Fenner said, noting that countywide schools in other states are massive with much higher student to teacher ratios than what New Yorkers enjoy.

“We have layers of government, but consolidation is not popular. No one wants to give up control, and that is expensive.”

Fenner added that all of the people who work for towns, villages and school districts are public New York employees who are eligible for generous state pension benefits when they retire after serving their communities for so many years.

“How unfriendly New York is for a retiree really depends on where their income is coming from,” he said.

U.S. Life Expectancy Rose in 2019, But 2020 Reverses That Trend

B

efore the COVID-19 pandemic hit, life expectancy in the United States rose in 2019 for the second year in a row, according to two new federal government reports.

But don’t expect that good news to be repeated in 2020.

The impact of COVID-19 and other ills are projected to boost the death rate by 15% to exceed 3 million deaths for the first time in U.S. history, according to the Associated Press.

COVID-19 has already killed more than 500,000 Americans.

According to the AP, preliminary data suggest a year-end total for 2020 of more than 3.2 million U.S. deaths.

That would be a new record and represent 400,000 more deaths than were recorded for 2019.

The news agency noted that the rise from 2019 to 2020 marks the biggest such jump since 1918-

1919, when deaths soared due a combination of fatalities from World War I and the Spanish Flu pandemic.

That remains the record period for any one-year uptick in American deaths, with fatalities rising by 46%, the AP reported.

The agency reported a record number of deaths nationwide in 2019 — 2,854,838, up 15,633 from 2018, which is expected as population rises.

For 2019, the reports from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics showed that • Heart disease remained the No. 1 killer, claiming 659,041 lives • Cancer came in second with 599,601 deaths, and • Accidents/ unintentional injuries totaled 173,040 deaths.

For more information on life expectancy, visit www.cdc.gov/ nchs/fastats/life-expectancy.htm

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55+ money

plans allow it, some don’t. I do not understand why an employee would leave their 401k with a company and at their new employer, they have a new 401k and they say, ‘It’s okay; the plan is working out.’ But they’re not working there. If you’re not working there, why would you want your money there?”

9

Retirement Savings Mistakes to Avoid

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

R

1.

Being careless with Social 2.“IRA Security taxation. withdrawals can trigger

taxation on Social Security income that might not be taxable otherwise,” Ziegler said. “Larger distributions can also trigger increased premiums for Medicare. Good distribution planning can improve tax situation and manage these tax and Medicare premium costs.”

Investing willy-nilly.

3.

“Don’t chase investments that are being promoted in internet messages and investing websites

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55 PLUS - April - May 2021

maximum earning power, they don’t take advantage of that catch-up provision,” Scott said. “Make sure you’re contributing the full amount if you have an employer matching plan.”

Borrowing from your 401k.

7.

“Try never to take out a loan from your plan,” Scott said. “That has

to be paid back within five years with interest. If it’s not paid back, you won’t be able to contribute to it until the loan is paid back with most plans.”

Seeking the help of a financial adviser can help etiring in a few years? You can improve your financial situation by avoiding these common financial mistakes many people make.

Being too conservative with retirement investments.

“You still need to offset inflation with lifestyle costs during retirement years,” said Randy Zeigler private wealth adviser and certified financial planner with Ameriprise in Oswego.

Not catching up on your 401k 6.

“A lot of people under-save when younger and reaching their

without first doing your own detailed research on the stability of the company, their financial performance and their near-term business direction,” Ziegler said.

Ignoring projected longevity.

4.

“Make investment capital withdrawal plans that are consistent with your life expectancy, based upon your own health history and your family’s genetic and longevity track record,” Ziegler said. “Some people spend their money too quickly during their retirement years, when their family has a history of longevity.”

5.

Leaving your retirement plan with an old employer.

“Your employer now controls the asset even though it’s in your name,” said Cynthia Scott, chartered financial consultant and founder and president of OMC Financial Services, Ltd., in DeWitt. “Employers can change custodians of the 401k and you have no input on that decision. Roll it into an IRA or if your new employer allows, you can roll it into their plan. Some

Not planning enough.

8.

“One of the biggest mistakes when people are about to retire is that

they don’t seek the help of a financial adviser,” Scott said. “Pension choices are not reversible. I see it over and over. A client came five years after they retired. The plan had no spousal benefit and when one spouse passed away, the remaining spouse lost all of that income. People don’t realize how serious it is. Meet with someone before you retire. Even if you don’t decide to work with them, talk with them and get some insights. Most people are afraid to take the lump sum of their pension. If you leave all that money there, it can be a mistake.

A financial adviser can show you the reasons why.”

Not understanding your plan.

9.

“Most people pick out three or four mutual funds and they put their money in there and have no idea what they’re invested in,” Scott said. “They give you the rates of return for as long as the funds are in the plan. That tells you nothing. Go on Morningstar and see how it’s invested. People have three funds for example and if they do their research, they find they’re invested in the same thing because the funds have different names, but they are all Apple, Amazon and Google.

They have no diversification.”

Mr. Potato Head and the Impact of ‘Cancel Culture’ Making Mr. Potato Head a gender-neutral toy is the latest in a series of changes caused by the way society perceives culture, politics

By Bruce Frassinelli

A

new term has crept into our vocabulary in recent years — “cancel culture.”

This refers to the practice of reassessing support for public figures and companies after they have said or done something considered offensive. It also involves reviewing practices and policies and even rebranding products which by today’s standards have become offensive or unacceptable.

Those of us of, shall we say, the mature generation know only too well that there were things we did, said or believed years ago that would not fly today.

Essentially a form of boycott, cancel culture can take on many different facts, including group-

shaming on social media. The impact could be devastating. The scary part is that because of the speed and pervasiveness of social media, it can happen seemingly overnight.

The target can be a person, business, media star or politician, and it can result in the withdrawal of financial, social, economic or political support. For example, famed actor Kevin Hart dropped out of hosting the 2019 Oscars show after public rebuke over old homophobic tweets on Twitter.

A political example involved Goya Foods CEO Robert Unanue, who praised former President Donald Trump during a White House event.

Sales of Goya products dropped significantly for a time after thousands of critical social media posts.

On another front, we’re engaged in a raging battle in our country, debating whether it is fair to judge historical figures and events from decades, even centuries ago, by modern standards of morality, ethics and social norms rather than by the standards of their own culture and time period.

We analyzed this question at April - May 2021 - 55 PLUS

19

length when I taught communication ethics at SUNY Oswego. Most students thought it was unfair to make these modern-day judgments that in some cases diminished or destroyed careers and businesses.

A simple comparison involves a 1953 movie “The Moon Is Blue,” which was condemned by the Catholic Church because of the gratuitous use of the word “virgin.” Such a reference today would barely register notice to a moviegoer, might even provoke a laugh as to “what’s the big deal?’’

But cancel culture is a much more serious phenomenon. It has sullied the reputations of any number of wellknown personalities. Take the once beloved singer from the 1920s through the 1950s, Kate Smith. Known as the “first lady of radio” and the “songbird of the South,” she was the star of the popular “Kate Smith Hour” and spokeswoman for Jell-O, Studebaker and Pullman trains.

She became forever immortalized when she sang Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America” in the 1943 wartime film “This Is the Army,” and a new generation came to know her when this patriotic song became the unofficial anthem for the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Yankees.

But two years ago, both teams announced that they would no longer play her recording of “God Bless America,” because Smith had joined the seemingly endless list of once revered performers who had done things that are no longer acceptable by today’s standard.

Along with that, the Flyers, who honored Smith in 1987, a year after she died at the age of 79, by erecting a statue that had been standing outside of their Wells Fargo Center arena, also announced that they had removed the statue.

What had Smith done that turned adoration into revulsion? She had recorded two songs that contained what are now universally accepted as racist lyrics.

Both songs were recorded 90 years ago at the start of Smith’s career. One was “That’s Why Darkies Were Born,” which peaked at number 12 on the Top 20 list of popular songs in 1931.

The lyrics were: “Someone had to pick the cotton/Someone had to plant the corn/Someone had to slave and be able to sing/That’s why darkies were born.”

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55 PLUS - April - May 2021

Traditional brands that have their logos or names changed recently.

The other was “Pickaninny Heaven,” which instructed “colored children” confined to an orphanage to dream about a magical place filled with “great, big watermelons.”

“Darky” is defined as an “offensive term for black people,” while “pickaninny” is defined as a small, black child too young to be a productive picker in the cotton fields and unflatteringly characterized in stereotypical drawings and photos.

Smith, who was revered by virtually all of her fellow performers, obviously would have never recorded songs with these lyrics today.

The flap over Kate Smith’s racial indiscretions made me reflect on my junior high school years (1951-53) when we would gather once a week in our school gym and sing classic Americana songs for about 30 minutes.

“My Old Kentucky Home” and other famous Stephen Collins Foster songs with the “darkie” lyrics were sung without a second thought.

I a l s o re m e m b e r a t t e n d i n g fund-raising minstrel shows put on by residents in my hometown, a small, coal-mining community in northeastern Pennsylvania, and attended by hundreds of area residents.

Prominent white shopkeepers, teachers, administrators and CEOs would blacken their faces with burned cork or greasepaint, dress in outlandish costumes and perform songs and skits that portrayed stereotypes of performing Black people.

Slavery and the treatment of

Indigenous people are perhaps the most contentious topics in today’s discussion. Few rational-thinking people would defend slavery today, but in the 16th through the mid-19th centuries, slavery was tolerated if not accepted as a way of life.

The original U.S. Constitution referred to slaves as “three-fifths of a person.” Of course, this was later superseded by the 14th Amendment and its equality provisions.

Thomas Jefferson, one of the most prominent of the Founding Fathers, is credited with the high-minded notion that “all men are created equal,” yet he was a slaveholder, and he and others of his era, including our first president, George Washington, have come in for harsh criticism now because of their embrace of slavery.

Should we indict historical figures as monstrous for not supporting social causes that either did not exist or were not prominent at the times when they lived?

Aside from the obvious difference that slavery was legal in that era and is not now, the way people regarded slavery spanned the spectrum. Even then, there were vocal opponents to the concept of one human being committed to forced servitude for the benefit and pleasure of another, but these voices were definitely in the minority.

Even if Jefferson was incapable of seeing his own hypocrisy, there were others who were not shy about pointing it out to him while he was still alive.

Explorer Christopher Columbus’ treatment of the Indigenous people he encountered when he and his men

landed in the West Indies has come under such constant recent attack that some communities have removed statues honoring him or, in some cases, changed the second Monday in October from Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day. Honoring Columbus, an Italian sailor who sailed under the Spanish flag, had morphed into an important way to honor the accomplishments of Italian-Americans, and they complained bitterly at these efforts to “revise history” in an attempt to sanitize it.

Admittedly, this is a complicated issue, and it requires rational thinking.

For example, it would be ludicrous to blame historical individuals for not supporting progressive causes that no one at the time even knew of.

Well, along with other icons of my youth, Aunt Jemima is being condemned to the scrapheap of history, because this smiling, once rotund face on the distinctive Quaker Oats Co. syrup bottle has become one of the politically incorrect victims of recent protests.

Quaker Oats, the company that makes the syrup, announced earlier this year that the Aunt Jemima brand will be now known as “Pearl Milling Company,” and smiling Aunt Jemima is gone. As a perpetually hungry teenager, when I wolfed down my

mother ’s pancakes, slathered with Aunt Jemima pancake syrup, neither she nor I had a debate over stereotypes or offending Black people.

One of the most recent announcements concerns the ubiquitous Mr. Potato Head of my children’s youth. Hasbro said its makeover means Mr. Potato Head will be “reimagined for the modern consumer. Henceforth, the genderneutral toy will be known as “Potato Head.”

Another iconic product that has come under scrutiny is Uncle Ben’s Rice. Uncle Ben’s maker changed the name to “Ben’s Original” and removed the photo of the grandfatherly-looking African-American who graced the package for decades. The company said that it was not only changing the name and packaging but “also taking action to enhance inclusion and equity.”

The name of one of my favorite treats as a kid, Eskimo Pie, was rebranded as Edy’s Pie last October, because the original name is now viewed as being derogatory toward the natives of the Arctic.

The “butter maiden,” Mia, on the front of the Land O’ Lakes butter package was removed because of complaints of stereotyping by Native Americans.

After years of complaints, the

ownership of the Washington pro football team dropped the name “Redskins” as it searches for a new name. Baseball’s Cleveland Indians is in the process of doing the same.

Mark Twain’s mid-19th century classic “Huckleberry Finn” was republished in 2016 to eliminate the “n” word, which appears 219 times in the original, and replaced it with “slave.”

I want to make it clear that I am not defending my actions nor those of my family, classmates, teachers and townspeople, but I wanted to point out that we, along with millions of others – perhaps even many of you reading this column – were unwitting and unthinking parties to these events which were considered “normal” in that era. We are left to examine what we did, why we did it and, hopefully, understand why what we did then is no longer acceptable now.

Dr. Seuss Targeted by the Cancel Culture Movement

O

ne of the latest immortal icons to come under scrutiny as part of the cancel culture movement is Theodor Geisel, much better known as Dr. Seuss.

The beloved author whose children’s books have sold hundreds of millions of copies has come under fire for his racist and ethnic depictions.

D r. S e u s s E n t e r p r i s e s , t h e company which publishes his books, announced on March 2 — also known as Dr. Seuss Day and National Read Across America Day — that it was ending publication of six of his books that are no longer socially acceptable.

Three of them are among some of the most popular of Seuss’s bountiful portfolio, — “If I Ran the Zoo,” “And

to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” and “McElligot’s Pool.”

In its announcement, the company, a division of Random House, said, “These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong.”

The decision is among dozens as the sports and business worlds reexamine how they use various images and their implications. Much of it was inspired by the killing last May of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the protests that it provoked.

As critics scoured his past works, they found that prior to writing children’s books, Geisel had drawn racist ads and political cartoons that depicted Blacks as savages in grass skirts, Asians with slits for eyes and turban-wearing Middle-Easterners.

Even with a slimmed down catalogue of offerings, Geisel’s estate nearly doubled in 2020 as he earned about $33 million, which made him the highest paid deceased celebrity next to pop singer Michael Jackson, according to Forbes magazine.

Almost immediately after the announcement, eBay noted an incredible run-up in prices for the discontinued titles, with some of the books that were previously being sold for less than $10 now fetching close to $900

By Bruce Frassinelli April - May 2021 - 55 PLUS

21

55+ activites CNY Folksmarch Marks 40 Years Group organizes monthly walks through parks, towns, historic sites, other places

By Mary Beth Roach

C

NY Folksmarch mixes friendship, fitness and an opportunity to discover parks and attractions throughout

the area.

The group organizes walks one weekend each month, choosing locations like malls in the winter and area parks and some of the region’s towns when the warmer weather allows. Each walk is approximately three miles and members do them at their own pace and can travel whatever distance they’re comfortable with. To better accommodate diverse schedules, the walks are to 8 to 11 a.m. on Saturdays and 1 to 3 p.m. on Sundays. Folksmarch membership numbers approximately 50 active members, along with a mailing list of 200.

Mary Ledford, 60, the group’s president, said her favorite part of the walks is the chance to visit different areas.

“For me personally, I like to go different places,” she said. “I like the aspect of going places I’ve never seen before.”

The committee that chooses the locations — and suggestions from members are welcome — looks to include sites in Syracuse and points north, south, east and west of the city, Ledford said. Each one is within an hour’s drive from Syracuse.

Brian and Stacy Noll, 57 and 60 respectively, of Liverpool, share Ledford’s interest in exploring various attractions throughout the area. The couple has been members on and off since the 1980s, with Brian serving as the group’s current treasurer. During a recent walk at Auburn’s Fingerlakes Mall, Brian noted that it’s a great opportunity to come out and walk, see the community and enjoy camaraderie

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55 PLUS - April - May 2021

CNY Folksmarch’s vice president Sue Straub shows off the group’s new T-shirt. with others. After a walk last year in Auburn, Stacy said that they took advantage of being in the area to visit the nearby Harriett Tubman Museum.

While Theresa Grudzinski, 67, and Jaclyn Fedrizzi, 40, both of Syracuse, enjoy seeing different places around Central New York, the pair said it’s their mother-daughter bonding time.

“It’s something to do on these COVID-dreary days. We get time to bond,” Grudzinski said.

For the group’s $40 annual fee,

members get a passport, which get stamped at each walk and collector pins, specially designed for each trek.

This year ’s schedule includes walks at Reed Webster Park in Camillus in April; Breitbeck Park in Oswego; in May; Stone Quarry Hill Art Park in Cazenovia; Labrador Hollow in Fabius in July; Community Park in Baldwinsville in August; Robert G. Wehle State Park in Henderson in September; Green Lakes in Fayetteville in October and Pratts Falls, Pompey in

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*No obligation to enroll. *No obligation to enroll. *No obligation to enroll.

November.

Y0040_GHHHXDFEN21_C Folksmarch was created four decades ago and had been under the auspices of the Syracuse YMCA. Its physical education director at the time, Walt Price, and his wife, Peg, had been visiting family in Germany and participated in Volksmarche, a non-competitive walking program,

there. The Prices loved the event and *No obligation to enroll. decided it would fit well in the Y’s program at the time. Even after Walt retired in 1991, he continued to oversee Folksmarch for the Y until 2016. At that time, the program moved out from under the Y umbrella and was incorporated as CNY Folksmarch Inc. in January of 2017.

Folksmarch’s passport with stamps of where the member has walked.

Those interested in joining the program can bring a buddy or come solo to an upcoming Folksmarch and walk right in. The specific schedule with dates is on the group’s website – folksmarch.wordpress.com or check out their Facebook page – Facebook. com/Folksmarch.

Theresa Grudzinski, 67, and Jaclyn Fedrizzi, 40, say they enjoy seeing different places around CNY. April - May 2021 - 55 PLUS

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55+ book Local Writer Recounts Tragic Death in Potsdam William LaRue’s fourth book discusses death of Katy Hawelka, a Clarkson University sophomore from Syracuse

By Margaret McCormick

W

illiam LaRue was working as a reporter in the Auburn bureau of The Post-Standard and Syracuse Herald-Journal in August of 1986 when he heard the grisly news that devastated a Central New York family and shook the Potsdam community in rural Northern New York, where he grew up.

Katherine “Katy” Hawelka, 19, a Clarkson University sophomore from Syracuse, had been beaten beyond recognition, raped and strangled outside the college’s ice hockey arena. She was declared brain dead several days later. Charged with her murder was Brian McCarthy, 23, who, like LaRue, had grown up in Parishville, about 10 miles from Potsdam.

“My father called and said, ‘did you hear Brian McCarthy was arrested?’ He was a neighbor of ours when I was growing up,’’ LaRue recalls. “We went to the same school, his family went to our church and at one time I was their substitute babysitter. We weren’t close friends. I didn’t know him well. But there were some connections.’’

The story of Hawelka’s murder at the hands McCarthy stayed in LaRue’s mind for more than 30 years, and in 2018 he began to research a book on the subject. At first, he says, he thought he wanted to focus on McCarthy and what would drive a young man from a good family to commit such a horrible act. But the more he dug in, the more he felt pulled to tell the story of Hawelka and her family — and their

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fierce determination to keep Katy’s killer behind bars for the rest of his life. (McCarthy is up for parole again in April.)

With the blessing of the Hawelka family, LaRue wrote and has published a new book, “A Stranger Killed Katy: The True Story of Katherine Hawelka, Her Murder on a New York Campus, and How Her Family Fought Back’’ (Chestnut Heights Publishing, $21.95 hardcover, $14.95 paperback, $9.95 ebook).

“I wouldn’t have written the book if they had objected,’’ LaRue says. “I didn’t want to do anything that would worsen their pain.’’

Utilizing his reporter ’s eye for detail and his engaging, accessible writing style, LaRue takes an in-depth look at Katy Hawelka’s life growing up in Syracuse’s Sedgwick neighborhood, her friendships, her experiences as a student at Henninger High School and her decision to attend Clarkson.

He uses police, court and prison records and other documents to take readers to the early dawn hours outside Walker Arena, when Katy walked back to her residence after a night out in Potsdam. He examines why two Clarkson security guards who witnessed the attack failed to take action sooner, probes the bureaucratic glitch that allowed McCarthy — who was on parole at the time — to avoid court-ordered supervision and explores why the judge gave McCarthy less than the maximum sentence in Katy’s murder. Her case raised many questions about campus safety and security and comments

William LaRue, a former PostStandard reporter, relied heavily on news coverage of the time to write his new book. Photo provided made by Clarkson officials prompted the Hawelkas to file a $550 million civil lawsuit against McCarthy, the university and the two guards.

LaRue says he relied heavily on news coverage of the time, including hundreds of stories published in The Post-Standard and Syracuse HeraldJournal, The Watertown Times and smaller community newspapers in the North Country. Even The New York Times covered the story and its impact on the community. Before the murder, Potsdam was the kind of innocent place where no one locked their doors.

He also interviewed more than two dozen people, including Katy’s mother, Terry Taber; her three siblings, Betsy McInerney, Carey Patton and Joseph Hawelka Jr.; and many of her close friends from high school and college. He also spoke with several former Potsdam police officers who investigated the murder; the district attorney who prosecuted the case; the chief of the ambulance crew that treated Katy on the scene; former Clarkson University President Allan H. Clark; and attorney Joe Fahey, who for many years has assisted Katy’s family in their quest to achieve justice for her.

“It’s amazing today the amount of

information that’s available online,’’ LaRue says. “When something wasn’t online, I could often request it through email… There was a tremendous amount of documentation.’’

LaRue, 63, earned a bachelor ’s degree in English from State University College at Potsdam and a master’s degree in communications from Syracuse University. He worked more than two decades as a reporter, TV critic and copy editor for The Post-Standard and retired in 2019 from his position as an online producer for newspaper websites owned by Advance Local. He lives in Salina with his wife, Kathleen.

They have two adult children.

“A Stranger Killed Katy’’ is LaRue’s fourth book. He spent two and a half years working on it and says he retired, in part, so he could work on the book full time. It arrived at online retailers and in bookstores in mid-January and LaRue has been busy promoting it in local and North Country media.

For the Hawelka family, the pursuit of justice for Katy continues.

The two-year cycle of parole hearings in New York state forces her mother and siblings to relive their nightmare pretty much constantly, LaRue says.

Brian McCarthy will have another hearing in April, and Katy’s family will once again appear before the parole board to present victim impact statements and remind the board of the life McCarthy took in such a violent way. Thousands of people have signed online petitions opposing his release.

“You hear a lot about how the parole process is unfair to inmates,’’ LaRue says. “For the Hawelka family, every two years it’s like pulling a bandage off an old wound.’’

For more information on William LaRue and his book, go to www. williamlarue.com Cover of “A Stranger Killed Katy: The True Story of Katherine Hawelka, Her Murder on a New York Campus, and How Her Family Fought Back.’’

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Email me @ bizopp71@gmail.com April - May 2021 - 55 PLUS

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55+ garage sale

Your Guide to a Successful Garage Sale Everything you need to know to get rid of unwanted stuff

By Kimberly Blaker

A

re your garage, basement and closets overflowing from the heaps of stuff you’ve been saving ‘just in case?’

If so, it may be time to put those languishing piles to good use — in someone else’s home.

Rummage sales are a great way to clear out, recycle and make some extra cash.

Follow these suggestions for a successful sale and a clutter-free home.

The storefront A garage is usually the best place to hold a sale offering shelter and requiring little daily set up and tear down. If your garage is hard to access, hidden from view or contains valuables that can’t be easily hidden, use a covered porch, patio or your yard. Be sure to have plenty of tarps available to protect your goods from 26

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rain and for covering at the end of the day

All in the timing Plan your sale for when temperatures are between 60 to 90 F outdoors (yes, the weather in Upstate New York will get warmer).

Typically, the best days to hold sales are Thursdays through Sundays, with Fridays and Saturdays bringing the most traffic. Mornings bring the most significant flow of shoppers, and the earlier you’re ready, the better. If you open by 7:30 a.m. or 8a.m., rummagers will flock.

Displaying your wares Don’t heap your merchandise on tables or leave it in boxes to be ransacked. While some don’t mind digging through messy stacks, most

people won’t bother.

Hang as much clothing as possible.

Use a laundry pole or portable closet or install two support brackets and a closet rod. You can also support a ladder between two stepladders. If you only have a few clothing items, a clothesline will do.

Plenty of table space is also a must.

Borrow folding tables, and if you run out, make a table by resting a sheet of plywood over sawhorses or prop spare planks of wood between chairs. Keep all but big items off the floor for better visibility.

Neatly fold and stack clothing that can’t be hung on tables, and label stacks according to size. Organize good toys and complete sets where parents and grandparents will easily spot them. Set up a ‘guys’ table with hand tools, gadgets, electronics and home repair items. Then place small articles such as jewelry in divider containers

or egg cartons, so they’re easy to view.

One exception to the disorderly rule is for small toys. Stick all these little goodies in boxes on the ground where young children can dig for treasures to take home. Label boxes according to the price per item or allow kids to choose one as a prize.

Finally, make sure batteries and electricity are available so you can show shoppers that items are in working condition.

Next to new sells Appearance plays a big role in the sale of used goods and how much they can bring. Wash and dry all clothing and linens, then fold or hang immediately to prevent wrinkles.

Wash dust, dirt, and grime from toys, tools, and household items. Also, repair broken merchandise when feasible.

Priced to sell Don’t overprice or you’ll end up packing up nearly as much as you started with. For big items, look

through classified ads or on eBay for average resale prices. But if you check eBay, keep in mind that eBay pricing often isn’t comparable to what people will pay at a garage sale. Some topquality items in like-new condition can bring 25% to 35 % of the replacement cost at rummage sales. Occasionally, tools, equipment, and other things in small supply can be priced higher and sell for 50% to 60% of replacement cost, depending on age and condition. Most used merchandise will bring 5% to 10% of replacement cost at best.

Advertising Newspaper classified ads or Craigslist, as well as the more popular online garage sale locator websites, usually bring the best results. The exception is if you live on a main street or a heavily traveled highway. In your ad, be sure to include your address and main cross streets, dates and time of your sale, and what you’ll be selling.

List big items individually as well as the categories of things you’ll sell, like “tools” or “toddler clothing.”

Also, post flyers on the grocery

store or laundromat bulletin boards. If there are no regulations against doing so, posting signs on nearby corners is a must. Don’t forget to put a bright sign in front of your house, too. Balloons tied to your mailbox or a tree can also make your sale more visible.

Tips for success The bigger the sale, the more traffic you’ll get. Go in with family, friends and neighbors and hold one big sale rather than several small ones.

Hold a street or subdivision-wide sale. This will draw people from surrounding areas.

Move big items such as furniture or appliances into the driveway to attract passersby.

Finally, have your items priced.

Many people will walk away from a sale with nothing when things aren’t priced. They don’t want to make an offer that’s too low and might offend you. They also don’t want the hassle of having to ask the price for every little thing they might consider buying.

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55+ cover

Radio Pioneer Works to Overcome Adversity Recovering from a stroke, Mimi Griswold continues ‘Blue Moon Café’ and aims to get back to normal

By Margaret McCormick

M

imi Griswold is perhaps best known for her Sunday morning radio show, “Blue Moon Cafe,’’ on WTKW (TK99-Syracuse) and WTKV (TK105-Oswego).

Each week, from 7 a.m. to noon, she weaves together an easy-going, laid-back playlist, with selections from artists like Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, John Prine, James Taylor, Bob Dylan and Paul Simon. It’s the epitome of relaxing “Sunday vibes.’’

Off the air, however, Griswold’s life isn’t easy like Sunday morning.

Far from it.

Fans of “Blue Moon Cafe’’ know that Griswold suffered a stroke more than a year ago. What they might not know is just how debilitating that stroke was and the challenge it has been to move forward and regain her life.

“It’s a struggle,’’ the 63-year-old said. “You have good days and bad days. Stress will make me stumble and not be able to walk. Little things are frustrating, like trying to unwrap a

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stick of butter or a protein drink with one hand. Couple that with a person like me, who has very little patience, and it’s hard.’’

She is grateful for the unwavering support of her husband, Bob, their sons and her radio family and listeners. “I am learning to be patient,’’ Griswold said. “I am trying to remain positive. I am making progress.’’

Last year was a dumpster fire, to be sure, but for the Griswold family, 2019 was its own horror show.

In February, the Griswold’s d a u g h t e r- i n - l a w, H e a t h e r, a n d grandson, Davis, were critically injured in a freak accident while traveling on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. A tire and axle fell off a tractor-trailer, striking their car — and them. Son Michael Griswold, the driver, was uninjured, as were the couple’s two other young children.

Then, in November, after a painful bout of bladder stones, Griswold underwent a slew of tests to have gall bladder surgery — and learned she has lupus, an autoimmune disease that occurs when the body’s immune

system attacks its own tissues and organs, including the heart, lungs, kidneys and brain. Griswold said her stroke was linked to lupus.

One night shortly before Christmas 2019, she woke up to use the bathroom and her legs gave out from under her. Bob Griswold helped her up and she went back to bed. When she awoke the next morning, she couldn’t walk.

She called her cardiologist, thinking she was having an adverse reaction to medications. “I didn’t think anything of it,’’ Griswold recalled. “I wasn’t educated about strokes. I didn’t know what the signs are.’’

She was taken to Upstate Medical University and a few weeks later to an in-patient rehabilitation facility, where she began the long process of stroke recovery: regaining the use of her left hand and arm, learning how to walk again and doing hours upon hours of facial and mouth exercises to regain her speech — critical for anyone, but especially so for a radio executive and personality.

Griswold said Heather and Davis Griswold are doing well, and she is

Mimi Griswold photographed at her Skaneateles home on Feb. 11.

Photo by Chuck Wainwright.

April - May 2021 - 55 PLUS

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determined to resume being “the fun grandparent’’ to her grandkids that she was prior to her stroke. She and Bob moved to a farmhouse on the west side of Skaneateles Lake and she attends physical therapy three times a week in Skaneateles, focusing on her balance, legs, walking and strengthening her left hand and arm. Vision in her left eye is impaired and she is unable to drive. She’s confident walking on pavement and around the house, she said, but unsteady walking outside on uneven ground. Conquering using the stairs at home, one foot in front of the other while holding the handrail, was a major milestone.

On her own, outside of therapy, Griswold walks daily using a treadmill and said she’s working especially hard on regaining the use of her left arm and hand. “I just need basic functions.

I don’t need to be able to paint,’’ she said with a laugh. She’s right-handed but typing with one hand and trying to do things she loves — like making a pie or baking a cake — can be daunting.

“I look forward to going to

E

Griswold to be Inducted into NYS Broadcasters Hall of Fame

d Levine is rooting for Mimi Griswold’s continued recovery from stroke and for life to resume some normalcy so she can hug and spend time in person with her family and grandchildren, perhaps return to the studio for “Blue Moon Cafe’’ (though remote is working well) and hopefully travel to New York City this fall for her induction into the New York State Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame.

Griswold, now retired after a long career as a radio programming executive, is a member of the 2020 class of honorees and is scheduled to be inducted in late October. If the ceremony can be held, Levine will present Griswold her award.

He emcees the event each year. Last year’s event was postponed until this year, and time will tell if people can gather for it.

Levine is the president and chief executive officer of Galaxy Media Partners, a media, marketing and events company that owns and operates more than a dozen radio stations in Central New York,

30

therapy,’’ Griswold said. “You have to relearn everything and keep doing it and doing it and doing it. I see progress every time I go.’’

Griswold, whose given name is Mary, grew up in Brocton, a city about 25 miles south of Boston. She came to Syracuse University thinking she might like to be an investigative reporter, but ended up earning a degree in biopsychology. “I liked everything … English, economics …

I changed my mind so many times,’’ Griswold recalled. “I wasn’t a very focused 18-year-old.’’

She felt at home in Central New York. She liked the fresh air, wide open spaces and easy access to the Adirondacks, one of her favorite places. She likes to hike and kayak and hit the road with no set destination or agenda.

Following graduation from SU in 1979, she went to work for The Cortland Standard, in production.

She had her eyes on radio, and a couple years later she joined WQNYFM in Ithaca, working in sales and

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including TK99, home of Griswold’s “Blue Moon Cafe.’’ He founded the company more than 30 years ago and was Griswold’s boss for much of that time.

Griswold was selected for the honor for her radio programming prowess. There were times, Levine said, that she juggled multiple markets and stations — and made it look easy. One of the reasons she was selected, he said, is because it’s not all that common for women to hold upper-management roles in radio.

“She was one of the pioneers,’’ Levine said. “There are a lot of women in sales and a lot of women on the air, but there haven’t been that many women in charge of what comes out over the radio and with that responsibility of running a group of radio stations.”

“She kind of poo-poos that, but she did everything except sell commercials to advertisers,’’ Levine added. “She’s not just the woman on Sunday mornings who does ‘Blue Moon Cafe.’”

By Margaret McCormick

promotion and serving as program director. She then moved to WKLLFM as a program director and on-air talent. In 1992, she was hired by Galaxy Communications (now Galaxy Media Partners) in Syracuse and has been with the company ever since. As a programming executive, she oversaw almost everything on the air: content, music, commercials, promotions, staffing and mentoring of staff. At times, Griswold juggled programming for five stations at a time.

“There is a system, a science behind what songs you play,’’ she said. “You want to keep listeners there.

There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff and in this day and age a lot of interaction with the sales department and coming up with promotions for them. You’ve got to come up with a balance.’’

Griswold retired from Galaxy in 2012 but returned to the job a year later.

“I begged her to come back,’’ said Ed Levine, president and chief executive officer of Galaxy Media Partners. “The challenge was Mimi made the job look so easy.’’

She is now fully retired, with the exception of “Blue Moon Café.’’

“I can’t work because of the stroke,’’ Griswold said, fighting back tears. “I loved what I did. It never felt like a job to me.’’

She was ecstatic to return to hosting “Blue Moon’’ in June 2020. The show is her baby. She created it in 1993 as a way to draw listeners on Sundays and its “comfortably eclectic,’’ freeform mix of music remains a winning formula. In the wake of her stroke and in light of COVID-19, Griswold has adjusted to a new way of doing the show. Each week, she creates a playlist and sends it to TK99 disc jockey Rick Deyulio, who pulls the various components together. Using an iPhone, Griswold records segments from home and sends audio via email. The show sounds a bit different, because parts of it aren’t recorded in a studio. But Griswold’s voice sounds strong.

“I think ‘Blue Moon’ has worked because it’s in the right time slot,’’ Griswold said. “It’s not going to work at 1 o’clock in the afternoon. But on a Sunday morning, it works. It’s a labor of love. It still is a labor of love for me.’’

Her penciled-in playlists are posted on the “Blue Moon Café” Facebook page each week and fans weigh in. “‘Blue Moon Café’” is the

only radio I listen to these days,’’ wrote one. “It wasn’t the same without you.

So glad you’re back.’’

“Great show, Mimi,’’ added another. “It’s not just that you play John Prine, but the sound of your voice makes life better somehow. Thanks for the tunes.’’

The show and the enthusiastic response it generates keeps Griswold going. So does the thought of her grandchildren, who are so close yet so far away. She is eager to reconnect with them, go on outings and help them with their schoolwork.

This year, Griswold is determined to be more involved with activities around the house. She loves to garden and said her husband plans to add some raised beds to make it easier for her. She also would like to be more hands-on with her passion project, Queen V’s Bees. The Griswold family raises honeybees and harvests honey a couple times a year. The frames that hold the honey are heavy and take two hands to lift, Griswold said — one more reason to keep working to strengthen her left arm.

“I want to do everything, everything I possibly can,’’ Griswold said.

Mimi Griswold at a Glance Astrological sign: Cancer Favorite sports teams: Syracuse University Orange basketball and the New York Yankees.

Favorite musical artist: “There’s so much I like, but Bruce Springsteen is probably my favorite artist of all time.”

Currently reading: “Robbing the Bees: A Biography of Honey, the Sweet Liquid Gold That Seduced the World,’’ by Holley Bishop. (The book is a celebration of bees and their produce. Griswold is a beekeeper.)

Current TV: Griswold recently binged “The Great British Baking Show.’’ “I no longer make cakes,’’ she said. “I make sponge.” She also loves to watch nature and wilderness shows.

Favorite destinations: Cape Cod and anywhere in the Adirondacks.

“I’ll travel anywhere,’’ Griswold said. “My dream trip is to travel across Canada by train.’’

On a visit to Nashville, Mimi Griswold and her husband, Bob, toured he famous Ryman Auditorium, best known as the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974. Photo provided

Mimi Griswold and the TK99 crew at a Taste of Syracuse concert event in downtown Syracuse. Photo provided April - May 2021 - 55 PLUS

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aging

By Marilyn L. Pinsky

Attack of the Robots

N

Are our machines really out to get us?

ot wanting to be overly neurotic about this whole artificial intelligence (AI) thing, it wasn’t until the fourth incident happened that I got worried that my machines were in cahoots against me.

First, one smoke detector started chirping around 7 at night. After checking that nothing was wrong, I felt I could sort of ignore it until the morning, as it was in the lower level of the house and my hearing’s not that great anyway.

I admit that after waking up and trying to detach the wires to stop the beeping probably wasn’t a good idea, because then all four smoke detectors joined the chorus. Two hours of horrible screeching and three lovely firemen in full firefighting attire later, the cause was determined to be a bad smoke detector that had outlived its useful life.

Then my faithful Kitchen Aid mixer turned against me.

I was making these great glutenfree shortbread cookies that have a really thick batter, and somehow, when I went to remove the bowl, it was stuck in the base. After applying four ice packs, two hot towels, two doses of mineral oil (to the mixer, not me) and five hours later, it finally came unstuck.

The vacuum robot was the next to last straw.

Normally, it does a pretty good job running around and vacuuming the house. However, it had gone missing for two days and when I finally found it, by tripping over it where it had gotten stuck halfway under the sofa, it was dead. I couldn’t make it charge for two days until I was told that I had put it in its charger backwards. I know I didn’t do that. It was just trying to make me look bad. I would have kicked it, but it was looking at me funny and I was afraid.

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Vacuum robot acting up: “I would have kicked it, but it was looking at me funny and I was afraid.”

The final straw was literally a straw.

I clean my kitchen counters with vinegar and water in a pump spray bottle and the pump just stopped spraying. I put the straw thing in, took it out, turned it around, cut off the bottom, stuck a skewer in it in case something was stuck — nothing. I hated it. I threw it out. It is atoning for the sins of the mixer, the vacuum and the smoke detectors. A sacrificial lamb comes in many forms.

And on another subject — memory and winkles.

• Memory — being home this winter for the first time in a long time, I dug out my old cross-country ski clothes. When I put on the black turtleneck, even though I hadn’t worn it for more than 10 years, I automatically put a tissue in the back because I remembered it itched. I cut the labels out of all my clothes because they’re scratchy, but in this case, it had still itched and I needed to use a tissue to keep it off my neck. So why am I obsessing about this shirt? Because,

how, out of all my 20 look-alike black turtlenecks, could I remember the feeling of that one shirt itching after not wearing it for 10 years … particularly when I can’t remember where I put the car keys a day ago? And, after about 30 years of owning this shirt (for those of you who don’t have clothes older than your children, you won’t understand) why did it occur to me only now, and many tissues later, to just wear it inside out so it wouldn’t itch?

• Wrinkles — not wearing makeup for months at a time was a great luxury during the pandemic. Eyebrow pencil, blusher and lipstick were only for major Zoom events, maybe 10 times total. And the best is the Zoom feature that smooths out wrinkles. I love myself on Zoom. It’s like having a younger me. Only I’m a little concerned that when I finally see people in person that I’ve been Zooming with for months, they won’t know who I am. I wonder if Dorian Gray was not looking into a mirror, but was actually using an early prototype Zoom filter?

55+ vibes

Spreading Germs of Joy Joygerms is a one-woman operation that has taken on a life of its own, its founder says. Its goal is to accentuate the positive

By Margaret McCormick

A

global pandemic is no laughing matter. Coronavirus cases continue to rise and people continue to stay home to help stop the spread. That means no travel (for the most part). No movies.

No concerts. No spectator sports. Some would say no nothing.

Leave it to Joan E. White, also known as “Joygerm Joan,’’ to accentuate the positive and find the silver lining.

Last March, in the early days of the pandemic, White wrote a letter to the editor that appeared in The PostStandard and online at Syracuse.com.

It read:

“To the Editor: Perhaps we can comfort and console one another by creating our own acronym for LOCKDOWN. Here’s mine!

L-augh heartily; It’s healthy.

O-rder worry to depart.

C-ourtesy and civility is a must.

K-indle the flame of faith.

D-ip deeply into your Resilience Bag. O-ffset negative thinking with positive thoughts.

W-ait patiently in hope.

N-ourish and nurture one another (stay in touch).

And above all remember: It is

noble to be global. We’re all in this together (WAITT). Amen!”

We live in strange, tumultuous and unprecedented times. And, with that can come doom, gloom and pessimism. For White, serving as an antidote to the daily barrage of negative news and messaging is doing what comes naturally.

“While being marooned and cocooned we’re being pruned and fine-tuned,’’ White said recently by phone. “Seeds germinating as we wait in HOPE: (H-ang O-n P-eople E-verywhere) for the end of the pandemic and a new chapter of our life to begin.’’

White, 86, is the founder and cheerleader of Joygerms Unlimited.

The organization, which has 185,000 members worldwide, celebrated the 40th anniversary of National Joygerm Day on Jan. 8 — socially distanced, of course. White said she was “overwhelmed and exhilarated by the nonstop congratulatory greetings’’ of the day and that snail mail, email and phone calls “evoked tiers of joy.’’

She was especially cheered by the Joygerm video a teacher at Woodland Elementary School (East Syracuse) put together and presented to students and staff, which resulted in 275 new members of the “Joygerm Generation.’’

Joygerms is a one-woman operation, essentially, and always has been. It got its start in 1981, when White read a front-page story in “The Post-Standard” about a West Coast couple who got paid to worry about other people’s problems at tax time.

She responded to what she saw as a negative with an upbeat letter to the editor, which laid the groundwork for an infectious movement.

Her mission: Spread joy, and for free — it’s contagious. Form a club with no dues — just “do.’’ Smile. Be kind and courteous. Have an attitude of gratitude. Believe in the worth of mirth and merriment. Convert a curmudgeon.

Joygerms was born and before long White was mailing membership cards all over the country, working with a graphic artist to develop a logo, sending out newsletters, recruiting a mascot and hosting events, including the annual July Joygerm Jubilee, a parade in downtown Syracuse (and April - May 2021 - 55 PLUS

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later on James Street in Eastwood).

“It started out slowly,’’ White recalled. “I had no game plan. It just mushroomed and took on a life of its own. Looking back, I’m amazed and on the other hand I’m not surprised.’’

White grew up in Syracuse and graduated from the former North High School. She spent four years as a secretary at a local real estate firm, absorbing as much as she could from its sales team. She then landed a pivotal position, working for the legendary advertising executive James “Bud” Coolican at Coolican Advertising.

Coolican, among other things, is credited with creating the ear-catching radio jingle for Byrne Dairy (“Byrne Dairy milk is mighty fine’’). “I was just elated,’’ White said of her time there.

“I just could not have been happier.’’

Coolican died in 1970 and White decided to forge ahead on her own in advertising and public relations.

Long before people used words like “solopreneur,’’ she founded Joan of Art, a one-woman agency, which she operated for many years. At one time, her clients included the Shrine Circus and the Ice Capades.

White is turning 87 in April and likes to say she is “refired’’ rather than retired and encourages others to do the same. “When you stop working, you are not retired,’’ she said. “You are refired and you are inspired and able to do what you have long desired.’’

(She’s a fan of rhymes, in case you hadn’t noticed.)

White lives in the Sedgwick neighborhood of Syracuse in the home she shared with her sister, Beverly, (“Bacteria Bev’’) for many years before her death in 2016. She said she is not immune to feeling isolated and discouraged, at times. To stay positive in the time of COVID-19, she connects regularly with friends, neighbors and fellow Joygerms.

She reads the newspaper but tends to avoid TV and the 24-hour news cycle. She starts each day with a cup of coffee, a grateful heart and an hour or more of quiet time, during which she reads, meditates and prays, letting things go and opening what she calls a conversation between God and herself.

“I am the most blessed 87-year-old I know,’’ she said.

For more information on Joygerms Unlimited, email joygerms@gmail.com

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my turn

By Bruce Frassinelli Email: bfrassinelli@ptd.net

S

Should We Keep Daylight Saving Time All Year-Round?

pring forward; fall back.

This is the memory jogger that reminds us what to do with our clocks when we enter and exit Daylight Saving Time. (Just for the record: It is “Saving,” not “Savings.”)

For some reason, there always seems to be an unusual amount of attention to the time switch, which this year took place at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 14. As they have annually, pundits and opinion writers weighed in on its pros and cons.

As I have gotten older, I am all in when it comes to the question of yearround DST. I wasn’t such a fan when I was younger and had to get up and dress for work in the dark.

If you thought there was controversy this year, you should have seen and heard the screams of protests in 1973, when DST became year-round.

Parents and the education community, especially, were highly critical of the move, because students had to trek to

their bus stops in the dark for months at a clip.

When I retired and now roll out of bed sometimes as late at 8:30 a.m., I say give me more daylight.

Year-round DST was prompted by the oil embargo initiated by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to try to conserve fuel. Congress passed and President Richard Nixon signed this “experiment” into law, and it took effect on Jan. 6, 1974, but lasted just 15 ½ months.

P ro p o n e n t s a n d o p p o n e n t s engaged in a contentious debate. The proponents argued that there would be increased daylight hours in the spring and fall for recreation and reduced energy demands for lighting and heat. They also suggested that it would reduce crime and motor vehicle accidents.

Opponents were mainly concerned about children leaving for school in the

dark and the dangers that this implied.

When we had year-round DST, sunrise in the dead of winter in our area was not until around 8:30 a.m.

The law was amended in October 1974 to return to standard time for the period beginning Oct. 27, 1974 and ending Feb. 23, 1975, when DST resumed. When the trial ended in 1975, the country returned to observing what is known as “summer DST,” the system we are living under now.

The issue isn’t really about DST; it’s about standard time. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, has reintroduced a bill to make daylight saving time yearround. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Florida, introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives. Their legislation is consistent with a vote in the Florida state legislature to adopt DST all year long.

I am not one of the snowbirds who wing their way to warmer climates in the “Sunshine State,” but more than a dozen of my friends and family do, and, not surprisingly, they are split about whether they would like yearround DST. Proponents of DST have cited major medical research that questions the advisability of changing of clocks twice a year. A study four years ago tracked a spike in the number of cases of depression, while a European study two years ago found an increase in heart attacks associated with time change.

Researchers also have found the start of DST has led to car accidents, workplace injuries, suicides and miscarriages.

Of course, we need no study to confirm the sleep disruption that we experience in March and November.

Researchers say it is more noticeable in the spring when we lose an hour.

Some legislators want to go in the other direction and eliminate DST. This, however, is a hard sell, and some efforts in New York state over the past 40 years have failed.

During World War I, Germany began using DST to conserve fuel.

The rest of Europe followed. Congress enacted the Standard Time Act of 1918 which set DST from March 31 until Oct. 27. The concept never took hold because of its unpopularity.

From 1945 until 1966, there was no federal law, so individual communities

If you thought there was controversy this year, you should have seen and heard the screams of protests in 1973, when Daylight Saving Time became year-round.

By the Numbers 11 %

chose when to begin and end DST. As you might imagine, this, along with the already baffling time zones, led to utter confusion in some parts of the country.

After the short-lived year-round DST experiment showed few benefits, Congress enacted the Uniform Time Act in 1986, which set up DST from the first Sunday in April until the last Sunday in October.

This set-up lasted until 2009 when the Energy Policy Act took full effect, and this is the program under which we find ourselves today.

There are still plenty of pros and cons batted around today. On one hand the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hails the current change since it gives shoppers more daylight hours after work.

Most of us get really energized with extra daylight in the evening.

This can motivate us to get out of the house, to take a walk, get in some outdoor recreation or even dabble in our gardens.

Many like DST because of the safety factor. After all, most of us feel safer during daylight hours.

Researchers have found a 7% decrease in robberies after DST kicks in. They also point to additional safety for pedestrians since employees have additional time after work and supper to enjoy outdoor activities.

Halloween has become the second most popular holiday in the country now that trick-or-treaters can roam the streets during a longer stretch of twilight.

On the downside, sunrise in some parts of the country does not occur until 8:30 a.m. in the winter.

of US adults over 50 have less than $100,000 saved for retirement

Working one year past 65 reduces risk of mortality by 11%.

50%

7.5 years

Older adults who have positive perceptions of aging live on average 7.5 years longer.

52 %

of Americans who reach age 65 will someday need a high level of help with everyday activities such as bathing, dressing, and eating.

8 risk factors

that can reduce the risk of dementia if addressed: hearing loss, hypertension, obesity, smoking, depression, physical inactivity, social isolation, and diabetes.

Source: Center for the Future of Aging / Milken Institute.

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55+ real estate

always add to your list or amend it. But it serves as a blueprint to narrow your search and help keep you on track.

When you find a home that wows you, look at your criteria to make sure the house has all or most of your must-haves. If it doesn’t, maybe you’ll decide your criteria have changed, and this home is just what you want. On the other hand, it might also bring you back down to earth and encourage you to continue searching for a home that better suits your needs.

How much can you afford?

Home Buying Tips How to avoid a costly mistake and find your perfect home

By Kimberly Blaker

B

uying a home is often a highly emotional experience. It begins with the exciting prospect of finding your perfect home and the exhilarating idea of new beginnings.

But as the hunt progresses, it can become an emotional roller coaster.

After viewing many homes, you might fear you’ll never find the right home. You may experience anxiety over whether you’ll find a home within your budget — or because you’ve fallen in love with a home that’s outside your budget. When you find the perfect house, you’ll be dealing with frustration if another buyer beats you to the punch. When you do make an offer, you may be worried you offered too little or too much. You’ll also experience disappointment if your offer is rejected.

But once you’ve closed on your home and you’re confident you made the right decision, you’ll rejoice — and bask knowing it was worth every bit of the turbulent ride.

Still, there’s no greater stress than making the mistake of buying a home that, for any number of reasons, you come to regret. So follow these recommendations to get you started on the right foot and help you stay

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on course in finding your perfect (or near-perfect) home.

Before you begin shopping

The first thing to do is to make a list of your objectives. Are you trying to reduce your work commute? Is there a particular school district you’d like your kids to attend? What about proximity to shopping or recreation?

Also, think about the specific features you want in a home. Would you like a larger garage, finished basement, fenced yard, low maintenance lawn, a certain number of bedrooms and bathrooms, a walk-in shower, an updated kitchen, ample closet space, or a home that’s turn-key ready? Make your list as detailed as possible.

Now, go through the list again.

Next to each item, mark if it’s a musthave, prefer-to-have, or nice but not necessary.

The reason for creating this list and then breaking it down is two-fold.

First, buying a home is a significant investment. The home you ultimately choose is going to affect your lifestyle.

Since there’s seldom a home with every feature a buyer wants, you should prioritize what’s most important to you.

As you begin your search, you can

Determining this is a two-step process.

First, prepare a budget and figure out how much you can comfortably spend each month on mortgage and interest payments, property taxes, and homeowner’s insurance.

Also, consider whether there’ll be a substantial difference in your monthly utilities. Include an allowance for home repairs and maintenance as well.

Second, you need to get prequalified through your bank or a mortgage company. Despite what you think you can afford, a lender will ultimately determine the maximum you can afford. So don’t risk getting your hopes up on a particular home until you know how much a lender will loan you.

Another reason to get pre-qualified is that most real estate agents won’t show homes to prospective buyers until they’ve been pre-qualified.

Getting started in your search

Now you’re ready to find a real estate agent. Working with an agent has multiple advantages. First, real estate companies have access to the MLS system, the database in which all homes listed by real estate agencies appear. They’re only able to access the MLS for listings within their own MLS region, however. If you’re moving to a new area, choose an agent in the area where you’ll be relocating.

Another important reason to work with an agent is so you’ll have someone to represent you and advance your interests. It’s true if you find a home and want to put in an offer, you can ask the listing agent to write up and submit your offer.

When choosing an agent, a couple of factors to consider are customer reviews and whether the real estate agent is willing to sign an exclusive

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SELECT buyer ’s agency contract. Under an exclusive buyer’s agency contract, the agent represents you, the buyer, rather than both buyer and seller.

When you meet with an agent, make sure the agent feels like a good fit for you. The agent should ask plenty of questions to gain a solid understanding of what you’re looking for in a home. Also, find out if the agent is available to show homes during your usual hours of availability.

Finally, be cautious of high-pressure tactics to get you to sign an exclusive contract. Ultimately, you’ll want to do this when you find the right agent.

But if you’re not comfortable with the agent, be prepared to say you need time to think about it and stand your ground.

The home inspection

Once you’ve made an offer, getting a home inspection is a crucial step.

This will help ensure you’re making a sound buying decision. Unfortunately, too many homebuyers learn the hard way that inspectors are not required to be licensed or have any special skills or training in many states.

You can ask your agent for a recommendation. But unless you’re confident your agent is someone you can trust, this may not be the best option. Unfortunately, a few agents favor less thorough inspectors to avoid the risk of too many uncovered issues during an inspection, which could cause a sale to fall through.

So do your homework before hiring an inspector. Ask about their qualifications and how long they’ve been in business. Also, check with the Better Business Bureau and online reviews.

A knowledgeable, skilled inspector will look at every aspect of the home, including windows, foundation, attic, roof, plumbing, electrical components, and much more. Your inspector should alert you to all defects, big and small.

He should also note any aging features that could require repair or replacement in the not so distant future.

Tips to ensure you don’t make a decision you regret

Regardless of what the bank says you can afford or if an agent pushes you to go higher, you’re the best judge

of what’s really within your budget.

Don’t make a decision you’re not confident you can afford. Remember, your financial well-being and lifestyle are on the line.

Don’t get impatient. Sometimes it takes a while to find just the right home. Although you may never find a home with everything you’ve ever dreamed of, make sure it meets enough of the right criteria so you can live happily in your home for some time to come.

When you do find the perfect home, don’t drag your feet. If it’s a buyer’s market in particular, or merely a desirable home, it might get snatched up before you act.

If you see flaws that’ll require costly repair, weigh it out carefully before making your offer.

Finally, once you make an offer, try not to get your heart too set on the home until it’s been inspected. That way, if the report comes back reflecting costly repairs, you’ll be able to make a wise decision on whether to proceed or back out.

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55+ gardening

The Perfect Time for Starting Seedlings

Herbs sprouted in reused containers flourish in a home.

It isn’t too early to grow seedlings to plant this spring

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

T

hough the snow may still fly for a while, it is not too early to grow seedlings to plant this spring. Tim Ballantyne, co-owner of Ballantyne Gardens in Liverpool, thinks it is the perfect time to begin indoor growing your garden.

“Don’t overwhelm yourself with a million different choices,” Ballantyne said.

For vegetable growers, he advised, “find something you enjoy eating and pick a variety that’s harder to find at the supermarket. Maybe you can’t find an heirloom tomato as easily. Focus on the things you enjoy working with.”

He encourages home gardeners to not wait too long as he anticipates a big demand coming.

“With the way life is now, there’s a huge interest in gardening indoors and outdoors and there will probably be seed shortages,” Ballantyne said.

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“If you want something unique get it sooner than later.”

He listed a few items that are more suitable to directly sow, peas, lettuces, spinach and radishes, since they tolerate cool weather. Root crops are also better as direct sow items since they need deeper soil depth.

How long it takes plants to mature before they may be planted outdoors makes a difference. Ballantyne suggests working backwards on the calendar from the date of last chance of frost.

The Farmers’ Almanac or the local Cornell Cooperative Extension can help. Refer to the seed packet for how long it takes for seeds to germinate.

For example, peppers are slow to start, but tomatoes and cucumbers grow quickly and if they spend too long in starter trays, they tend to get spindly.

“Use a lightweight seed starting

mix,” he said. “Don’t just grab the first bag of potting soil. The lighter weight mix dries out faster so the seed won’t rot. It gives them a better experience to work with.”

Stephanie Whitehouse retail general manager at Dickman Farms in Auburn, likes using plug trays. Each small opening accommodates one or two seeds and the cubes of soil pop out like ice cubes.

“When you go to transplant to pots or the ground, it’s much easier to work with little guys than an entire open box or flat,” Whitehouse said. “Otherwise, you would have to cut it up. You’d have a mat.”

The plug trays should be placed in near a heat vent and in direct sunlight, or for a better chance at growing, under a fluorescent grow light.

Whitehouse added that placing them directly against a window may

expose the trays to drafts. For more a more advanced system, Whitehouse suggests a tabletop mini greenhouse.

Some models come with lights and a dome for an optimal growing environment.

“Obviously, follow the directions on the seed packet because each variety would have different planting depths,” Whitehouse said. “The bigger sized seed, only one goes into each plug tray. The smaller ones can take two.”

Keep the soil wet by misting it with water. Do not over-water or the seeds will rot. Covering it with a sheet of clear plastic can create a greenhouse effect that helps keep the seeds moist and warm. Once the seedlings pop up, remove the plastic. If they start to outgrow the cell, the seedlings may be transplanted into a larger container.

Whitehouse likes fiber pots, which may be directly planted into the ground once danger of frost is past.

“You don’t want the pot to be dry as cardboard when you transplant,” Whitehouse said. “Dry is the enemy, but so is too much water. You’re drowning your plant.

Before planting, it is important to harden off plants. Two weeks before you plan to plant, Mary Lou Balcom, master gardener with Onondaga County Cornel Cooperative Extension, recommends gradually exposing the plants to colder temperatures.

“You can’t just put them outside; it’s too much of a shock,” Balcom said.

“Two weeks before then, bring them outside for an hour or two each day in a partly sunny-shady area, protected from the wind.”

Each day increase the time. Two days before planting, Balcom keeps them overnight in her garage.

“You’ll have a lot more success if you do that,” she said.

She likes to use native flowers when starting from seeds. These include black-eyed susans, New England aster, coreopsis, purple coneflower, shasta daisies and bee balm.

“Start perennial flowers earlier and annuals later,” she said.

She enjoys the control when starting plants from seed.

“If you wait and buy plants at the garden centers, you get what you get,” Balcom said. “If you start from seeds, you can select from many more varieties.”

golden years

By Harold Miller

Email: hmiller@mcsmms.com

Dr. Margaret Snyder: Founder/ Director of United Nations Women E. Syracuse native dedicated her life to the progress of women in poor and emerging countries around the globe

M

ost who knew her, as our as the adviser to the economic family did, called her commission, regional program on Peg. A down-to-earth advancements for women.

In 1978 this dedicated woman personality blessed with a brilliant mind and limitless energy, reached the crest of her career by Margaret Snyder traveled the world becoming the founding director of the for the United Nations dedicating United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) her life and work to the that promotes women’s progress and economic economic, social and development of women political standing in Africa, in poor and emerging Asia Latin America and the countries. Snyder died Caribbean. It’s now known Jan. 26 with her loving as U.N. Women. family standing by. She Upon her retirement was 91. in 1989 from the United Born and raised in Nations she continued to East Syracuse, she lived travel the world speaking for over four decades in about educating for and Manhattan attending the College of New Rochelle Margaret (Peg) Snyder promoting the economic progress of women. She and attaining a master’s degree in sociology from the Catholic was a Fulbright Scholar in Uganda, a visiting fellow at the Woodrow Wilson University of America.

She became the youngest dean School and the author and editor of women at Le Moyne College in of many books regarding women’s Syracuse. After eight years at Le economic development in poor and Moyne, Snyder took a one-year developing countries.

In her later years she loved to visit sabbatical to travel to Africa. Thus, began her life-long engagement with my wife Janet and me at our retirement women’s economic development in hideaway in Florida — a little village on the Atlantic beach north of Palm Africa and around the world.

While in Africa she worked Beach.

She kept herself in good shape to develop the Kenya African Woman’s Association which led to with a healthy diet and exercise until her becoming assistant director of the ravages of age finally caught up the program of East African Studies with her.

She was much more than just at the Maxwell College, Syracuse a diplomat to the little villages of University.

Snyder returned to Africa and Europe, Africa, and Asia — she was the earned a Ph.D. in sociology at the beautiful face and intellect of America University at Tanzania. That same reaching out to help the ageless year of 1971 she earned her first continent wherever, and whenever position with the United Nations she could.

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55+ learning

Adult Enrichment Classes Continue… Virtually Organizations turning to technology to help members stay connected during pandemic

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

A

dult enrichment classes provide socialization opportunities for many older adults. Though schooldays are long since passed for most, joining a class to learn more about an engaging subject is plain fun.

When the pandemic hit in March, leaders at organizations such as PEACE, Inc., in Syracuse knew that enrichment classes could not continue. However, online streaming proved challenging to some of their participants.

“Our target audience for seniors is those who are moderate to lower income,” said Elizabeth A. O’Hara,

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program director at PEACE, Inc. “We’re at a disadvantage because they don’t have the tech equipment or skills to stay connected. We have not done online activities or enrichment.”

Just a handful of participants have access to computers at home and can navigate Zoom. However, the majority do not. At the beginning of the pandemic, PEACE purchased 25 tablets for a program to help more people participate remotely. However, the recipients did not know how to use them.

“I intended last fall to bring in small groups to train but we had to cancel that,” O’Hara said. “We will

have to wait. We have plans once the pandemic winds down to address the tech connectivity.”

For some participants who live alone, their contact with PEACE is their main way of having someone check in on them. O’Hara said that to continue that benefit during the pandemic, PEACE made weekly calls to ensure seniors had food and their prescriptions.

“We were trying to decrease their social isolation,” O’Hara said.

The group also helped their participants understand why social distancing and wearing masks is important. Eventually, some of them said that they did not need a call each week; others welcomed the socializing.

Still others began calling each other, an unexpected result that pleases O’Hara.

PEACE began sending postal mail as well, including a newsletter.

For those who could manage Zoom, the sessions were mainly to talk about the topics in the newsletter and to discuss current events.

PEACE also hosted a drivethrough party in December where conversation through the car window and a take-away goody bag sufficed.

“We were pleased to see them and they were pleased to see us,” O’Hara said. “They’re all eager to get back to normal, but it will be while.”

Once the weather warms up, the group should be able to resume its walking program with social distancing and masks. O’Hara hopes that with the same precautions, the group can meet for outdoor lunches.

O’Hara feels pleased that the agency did not close during the pandemic.

“It was our priority to make sure our clients were served,” she said.

Oasis in Syracuse shifted its programming to Zoom. Cynthia Cary Woods, executive director, said that its current 263 classes represent about one-third of Oasis’ usual number.

“It’s not as perfect as in-person, but they have one or two hours similar to ‘normal,’” Woods said.

Many of Oasis’ members have access to high-speed internet and a level of aptitude for connecting through Zoom.

“It’s exciting to see how they’ve embraced it and learned the Zoom platform,” Woods said. “Some of the staff was oriented in a trial-by-fire way.”

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A few Oasis instructors familiar with Zoom produced a video on how to use Zoom. At the beginning of each Oasis semester, a link to that video is sent out to the members with the notification that classes are starting soon. Oasis Syracuse normally has about 2,300 active members and is maintaining about 1,500 through the pandemic.

The largest room available holds 120 attendees, but with current restrictions would host only 40 to allow social distancing if Oasis opened up for in-person classes.

“My goal is to make sure all of my staff is vaccinated before reopening,” Woods said. “We’re creating a participant study to gauge the interest in returning to in-person. We have people with health issues who want to keep doing it virtually because it feels safer.”

She sees other advantages to using Zoom, such as the end of snow days, filled classes and the issue of living too far away. In 2020, 95 have joined Oasis and half of those do not live locally.

“We have snowbirds who go to Florida and tell their friends,” Woods said. “Now their friends are taking our classes online because they’re interested in something to do.”

Virtual expansion also includes offering content from the eight other Oasis sites nationwide, a project that the pandemic pushed forward by necessity.

For those who do not participate through Zoom, Oasis checks in with a weekly phone call to decrease isolation. Oasis has also helped train other organizations on how to perform check-ins by phone.

An Oasis member established a scholarship to provide tech education in underserved areas like Syracuse Housing so more can learn how to Zoom.

“A lot have smartphones, but don’t know how to safely use the Internet,” Woods said. “This has highlighted the digital divide. Many come to Oasis because they want to keep their minds engaged. If they stay involved in the community and active, they age better.

That’s what we all want.”

At the Jewish Community Center of Syracuse, many of the programs have carried on through Zoom. Since JCC provides numerous programs for older adults, Patrick Scott, sports and fitness director at JCC, thinks this is 42

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Cynthia Cary Woods of Oasis in Syracuse. “It’s exciting to see how [participants] embraced it and learned the Zoom platform.” helping more older people stay active and connected during the pandemic.

“We’ve been Zooming a lot of classes, like chair-based Tai Chi and line dancing,” he said. “A lot of older adults - both participants and instructors - have been nervous about coming back. We have a select number on in-person.”

But instead of the usual 55 classes a week, JCC is down to six in-person classes a week.

Scott thinks that a lot of members have called upon their children to help them become accustomed to Zoom.

JCC personnel have also helped walk people through it.

Those who want to participate in person must make an online reservation. This helps limit the number of people in the building to enable thinner crowds. Those who cannot make online reservations call.

Although it has been a tough transition at times, Scott is pleased about getting class sign-ups mostly online and that participants are learning Zoom and other technology skills. Even as in-person classes resume, he plans to keep offering Zoom as an option. That can help members nervous about driving in bad weather and those who want to take two concurrent classes.

JCC hopes to resume in-person

outdoor classes once the weather improves.

“For a lot of our members, this is the only interaction they’ve had for the past year, learning how to Zoom to talk with their grandkids who live far away or even locally if the kids aren’t coming over to see grandma,” Scott said. “A lot of people are still nervous about venturing out of their houses. I think any interaction we can give them is helpful.”

Members can “hang out” after a class on Zoom if they wish.

At the YMCA of Central New York in Syracuse, Stephanie Noble, director of marketing and communications, said that although the fitness facilities closed last spring, the organization’s emergency community outreach has continued.

The life enrichment programming, which attracts numerous retirees, continued virtually.

“In the fall, we were able to provide full programming at limited capacity,” Noble said. “We continue to offer a full range of Y programming in our facilities and online, with capacity and safety guidelines in place to keep our community healthy.”

Leadership at the organization realized that many older adults missed the programming at the YMCA, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified older adults as a population particularly susceptible to severe illness with COVID-19. That is why YMCA adapted to a virtual format for some of its programming popular with older adults, such as low-impact fitness classes, but walking groups have continued meeting with masking and social distancing in place.

“The Y is here for all ages, abilities and backgrounds, but our 55-plus community has always been very special,” Noble said. “We see the strong bonds and friendships that have grown out of classes and programs at the Y and want to make sure that connection continues for our members.

“Feelings of isolation can be very present during this pandemic, but older adults are also occasionally dealing with the loss of a spouse, distant family and a loss of mobility.

The Y is here to help connect people and be a resource to ensure a strong mind, body, and spirit for our community.”

55+ book

Cover of “Aztec Odyssey,” written by Camillus resident Jay LaBarge.

For an author who likes quests, Jay LaBarge went on a quest of his own to view the Rosetta Stone, which unlocked an ancient civilization’s secrets in three ancient scripts.

Camillus Resident Authors His First Book The work of historical fiction is part past, part present, part mystery and all adventure

By Carol Radin

J

ay LaBarge is a world traveler who knows how to keep the adventure going long after a trip. Mayan ruins in Mexico, a pre-Columbian walled city, Pueblo cliff dwellings in the U.S. Southwest — all were visits that were just the beginning for “Aztec Odyssey,” LaBarge’s ambitious work of historical fiction, part past, part present, part mystery and all adventure.

The recently-published book shifts

from the richly-imagined struggles of the 16th century Aztecs to those of a 20th century guy from Michigan.

The Camillus resident aspired to become a writer only recently.

Newly retired in 2019, he found he had the time to re-evaluate, to follow his passions and to reflect on what he wanted his legacy to be. He and his wife, Sandy, have two grown daughters and a grandchild. And then there was all that travel, a lifelong

passion which he and Sandy share.

“I like to be somewhere I’ve never been, dig into the local culture, eat the local foods … stay in out-of-the-way places,” the 60-year-old said.

It was just such trips, particularly to Chichen Itza, ancient Mayan ruins on the Yucatan Peninsula dominated by a magnificent stepped pyramid, and Tulum, the well-preserved preColumbian walled city on the Mexican Gulf coast, that converged in his imagination and led to the “Aztec Odyssey.”

The book is set in two worlds and three parts. Part I follows the 16th-century journey of Aztec ruler Montezuma’s third son, Asupacaci, and his Aztec warriors after the Spaniards’ conquest. Parts II and III take place in the present, with a wouldbe archeologist named Nick LaBounty, who puts his skills to good use when he begins his own journey to recover a lost family relic and shed light on the mysterious circumstances of his father’s death.

LaBarge creates rich characterizations and vivid details, an especially remarkable accomplishment in Part I, with a character as distant in time and place as Montezuma’s son Asupacaci. No historical evidence of Asupacaci’s fate exists, so LaBarge was able to create a fictional journey for the Aztec warrior, getting inside the warrior’s mind and inside his culture with meticulous details down to Aztec tools, weapons, customs and daily life.

The book is peppered with words from four languages — English, Spanish (for the Conquistadors), Nahuatl (for the Aztecs) and Navajo (for modern-day Nick LaBounty’s love interest).

How did LaBarge research a project of this magnitude, which links enigmas from an ancient culture to present-day life?

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“The traveling gives me the sense of authenticity,” he said. “But, I didn’t have to go anywhere. Once you have the plot, it’s easy to find information these days. All you need is a keyboard and an internet connection.”

It helps that LaBarge has a wide range of academic interests, above and beyond his past professional career in technology-oriented companies.

“If I had not been in technology, I probably would have been a professor,” he said. “I loved all the ‘ologies!’”

Then there is his passion for history, which dates back to boyhood.

LaBarge started the book in 2019 and worked on it “in fits and starts” until it was released in December 2020.

Along the way, he learned a great deal about gathering the creative support he needed. He found that having an editor, for instance, was invaluable, not only for input on the writing but for marketing fundamentals as well. He also relied on a small group of three or four good friends for critiquing his work in progress.

“As a writer, I find you can become blind to some things. They didn’t pull any punches,” he said.

LaBarge also touts the advantages

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Jay LaBarge and his wife, Sandy, at Chichen Itza, Mexico, one of the inspirations for his novel, Aztec Odyssey. Photo provided of self-publishing. “Aztec Odyssey” is self-published and available on Amazon, an arrangement LaBarge is happy with because it gives him autonomy over his writing and his marketing.

Even as the book is marketed on Amazon’s website, for instance,

LaBarge can make revisions if he chooses, because Amazon prints copies as they are ordered. “It’s a living edition!” he said. He adds that, for all writers, self-publishing can be done inexpensively and “gets a lot more voices on the market.”

LaBarge has great plans for future projects. The most immediate is seeing “Aztec Odyssey” produced in an audio version through Audible.com.

That’s been an interesting process for him, from auditioning voice actors to checking on-line pronunciation programs for his Navajo, Aztec, and Spanish words. As for his next writing project, LaBarge is working on a new Nick LaBounty book, which will feature yet another ancient mystery – the disappearance of the ancient Minoans who once dwelled on and near the island of Santorini off the Aegean coast of Greece. And yes, LaBarge and his wife have traveled the region and soaked in the mystique of the ancient Minoan culture.

And it won’t stop there. With other memorable trips behind him and no doubt other travels on the horizon, LaBarge is keeping his “ologies” handy for an entire Nick LaBounty series!

life after 55

Photos by Bill Reed

By Michele Reed bazanreed@hotmail.com

I

A Whole Different World Outside Our Door

was talking with a loyal reader, who had studied at The Sorbonne in Paris, when something she said made me smile. “Why is it you and Bill love going to France? Is it because, when you step out your door, you’re in a whole different world?”

How right she was!

It’s a world of extreme politeness.

You greet everyone with “Bonjour!” and not just “Bonjour,” but, “Bonjour, Madame”, or “Monsieur”, or “Messeur-Dames”, an interesting French construction that means Mr. and Mrs., or sir and ma’am.

I’ll never forget the day I stepped out of my door to buy the morning baguette, only to be greeted by 30 schoolchildren, led by their teacher on their way up the hill to tour the Mairie, or city hall. Each child raised his or her hand in greeting, “Bonjour, Madame!”

30 times!

It’s a world of great age. The school those children were from?

Our village school was built in 1905 by the winegrowers of the region.

Wanting to show their civic pride, they constructed a huge stone edifice in grand style, with separate entrances for boys and girls: garcons et filles.

Up near the church, the foundations of which date to the middle ages, you can see the village gate with a statue of St. Cerone, our patron saint, still guarding the commune. It dates from the sixth century.

And our neighbor ’s house has a scallop shell molded high into the wall. The symbol of Saint Jacques, it marks his house as a medieval pilgrim hospital on the pilgrimage route to Compostela.

Even private homes bear the mark of history — here, a head of Ceres, the Roman goddess of the harvest, commemorating our area’s agricultural heritage; there, a Cross of Languedoc, symbol of our region, on the wrought iron gates of a home.

Our village school, built in 1905, retains the evidence of a bygone time, when the boys and girls had separate classes.

A neighbor’s home bears a head of Ceres, the Roman goddess of the harvest.

It’s another world, where people do their shopping almost daily, buying fresh food and veg, crusty bread and wine produced in our region. It’s a ritual, rather than an inconvenience, and a chance to visit with neighbors and shopkeepers at the end of a busy workday.

Food is important, and the lunch hour is sacred, with many businesses closing and everyone taking an hour or hour and a half to go home or to a café to enjoy a full meal — often three courses, complete with bread and wine. When we visit our favorite café during the week, we have to reserve a table among the work groups happily chatting — about anything but work!

The pace of life is slower, and people seem to take a delight in

savoring the little pleasures of life.

There’s the Sunday promenade, a walk taken with family or friends, usually in the country, but sometimes around town. We head out to the vineyards, just outside the village, and take in the view of grapevines stretching as far as the eye can see, with the buzz of bees in our ears and the heat of the sun baking our skin.

Public transportation is excellent and people make use of it daily. We miss waiting for the bus every day, sharing the bus stop — and lots of gossip— with our next-door neighbor, Rosa, and her best friend, Helena.

They’d be off to lotto (bingo), while we carry our panier, or market basket, as we prepare to faire les cours (literally to make the rounds, but an idiom for doing your shopping).

So that reader was right, it is a very different world, and as the French say, “Vive la difference!”

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druger’s zoo

By Marvin Druger Email: mdruger@syr.edu

Dealing with Prejudice and Hatred

W

e are in a time of turmoil.

The COVID-19 virus has devastated many lives and all sorts of political, social and economic problems exist in our country. Many different perspectives have divided the people in the U.S., leading to an invasion of the capitol building in Washington D.C. on Jan. 6. Prejudice and hatred are prevalent in our society.

I grew up in Boro Park, Brooklyn, a poor, predominantly white, Jewish neighborhood. My best friends were BZ, who was protestant, and Gerald, who was catholic. Each family practiced their religion and there was no prejudice among us. We played sports together and respected each other, regardless of different religious beliefs and practices. No people of color lived in the neighborhood, so there was no prejudice against them.

Many years later, I stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, where Martin Luther King was shot and killed.

A l t h o u g h h e h a d b o d y g u a rd s , someone with a rifle shot him from a bathroom window in a boarding house across the street. There were tears in my eyes. How could someone willfully kill this great man who was trying to do so much good for humanity?

I visited Mauthausen Concentration Camp in Upper Austria, near the village of Mauthausen. There is a stone quarry and prisoners were forced to carry huge blocks of stone up 186 steps, known as the “Stairs of Death.” Many prisoners were worked to death or executed by the Nazis.

I also visited Auschwitz-Berkanau concentration camp in Poland. The infamous sign hung over the entrance gate, i.e., Arbeit Mach Frei (Work sets you free). There was a long dirt path leading to a small building. This was a gas chamber where many Jews and others were exterminated by the Nazis.

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“We are not born with prejudice and hatred. These are learned attitudes and behaviors. So, parents and teachers can play a major role in minimizing these traits.”

As I stood inside the gas chamber, I could imagine that one of these prisoners could have been me. There was an oven outside the gas chamber where dead bodies were cremated.

This was the extreme of prejudice and hatred.

I was at the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC with my family. We were looking at an exhibit of thousands of shoes that were taken from Jewish victims of the Nazis. Two teenage boys were standing behind us. One of them announced, “They should have finished the job.”

These are just a few instances when I witnessed examples of prejudice and hatred. These teenagers could not imagine the slaughter of human beings that took place during the Holocaust.

Many teenagers cannot comprehend the Nazi horrors of World War II, nor do they seem to know much about them. As a young boy, I remember being afraid that the Nazis would come to the U.S. and kill us all.

Nicola Sacco was a shoemaker and Bartolemeo Vanzetti was a fish peddler.

Both were Italian immigrants and anarchists. In the early 1920s, they were accused of the murder of two people during the robbery of a shoe factory in Braintree, Massachusetts. They were tried and executed in 1927, in spite of public outcries about the unfairness of the trial and the ambiguous nature

of the evidence. Prejudice against and hatred of anarchists and Italian immigrants apparently played a role in the treatment of Sacco and Vanzetti.

In 1977, Michael Dukakis, then governor of Massachusetts, issued a proclamation stating that Sacco and Vanzetti did not receive a fair trial and that any disgrace should be forever removed from their names.

A glass and mosaic mural about the Sacco-Vanzetti case by the late artist Ben Shawn fills the wall on the east side of the HB Crouse Building at Syracuse University. It is one of the many treasures of Syracuse University.

A famous reminder about prejudice and hatred.

My family was fairly orthodox. I went to synagogue regularly and even led a group of students to Hebrew study after-school. We learned how to read Hebrew and pray, but nobody ever explained what we were reading.

The aim was to finish reading the prayers in Hebrew sooner that he person next to you.

I am a member of Temple Concord in Syracuse, but I do not participate.

My membership is in honor of my dear, deceased wife, Pat. I am not religious, but I am spiritual. I hope there is something spiritual that guides us through life, but I have trouble believing it. I do admire people who find solace and comfort in religion.

My mother was religious. I thought that she would become upset and angry when she found out that her granddaughter was going to marry someone who was Protestant.

Instead, her comment was, “As long as they love each other.” Indeed, against Jewish tradition, my daughter married a Protestant, and my two sons have Catholic wives. My grandson married an Indian-American woman and my granddaughter is dating a Christian man. Who cares? “As long as they love each other.”

Inside a gas chamber at Auschwitz Nazi concentration camp operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II. Photo by Marvin Druger.

Dealing with prejudice and hatred How can people deal with the prejudice and hatred that are so persistent in our society today? Is it even possible to find ways to do this?

Here are some of my perspectives about this issue.

We are not born with prejudice and

hatred. These are learned attitudes and behaviors. So, parents and teachers can play a major role in minimizing these traits. Also, prejudices arise in groups, so it’s important who you hang around with.

We tend to want everyone to think and behave as we do, and we have to recognize this is an unrealistic expectation. We have to learn to respect diversity of opinions, physical traits and cultural habits. We have to internally fight the impulse against prejudice and hatred. This requires a rational view of life and an educated mind. Parents should be raising children to be interactive with everyone, regardless of skin color or creed.

Being human, all of us can easily develop prejudices and dislikes.

Sometimes, a disparaging remark by someone can result in instant and lasting prejudice and hatred. If someone remarks, “Your art work is really not very good,” you may develop an animosity toward that person for life.

The good news is that attitudes can change. To minimize prejudice, it’s important that we experience people of all kinds. Moreover, doing a kind deed for someone may have surprisingly positive results. Today, do a kind deed for someone and see how it feels. If a person does something nice for me, I can’t help but have positive feelings toward that person, despite

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any differences we may have. Love and kindness go far in eliminating prejudice and hatred.

Being understanding about the lives of others is important. Put yourself in someone else’s shoes and imagine their lives and problems.

This can help minimize prejudice and hatred.

I had that experience when I visited the Rescue Mission in Syracuse. I could imagine the feelings of the residents and the dedicated staff members.

I came to understand the plight of homeless people and developed an empathy toward them.

Most important, we must learn to know that we are the products of our genes and environment. Identical twins have the same genotype. Yet, even identical twins are different, since it is impossible to experience exactly the same environment. This leads to the inevitable truth that every individual is unique and has special talents and shortcomings. Someone can be taller, smarter, more fortunate, have different skin color, etc., but nobody is better than someone else.

Realization of the uniqueness of each individual is a vital part of resolving prejudice and hatred.

You may or may not agree with my perspective, but I hope my comments will stimulate you to think rationally about prejudice and hatred and say, “I never thought about it that way before.”

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55+ visits Life is a Beach in Cancun 10 reason to visit this Mexican resort

By Sandra Scott

Cancun’s main attraction: miles of sandy beaches.

L

ocated on the Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula bordering the Caribbean Sea, Cancun is known for its wonderful beaches and fun in the sun.

Cancun was built specifically to lure tourists to what, in 1970, was a remote area of Mexico. The area was perfect due to year-round good weather, blue skies, white sand beaches lined with palm trees, few mosquitos and snakes. Build it and they will come … and they have — in the millions.

Beaches: Most of the resorts have direct access to the beach.

There’s a sandy beach (playa) perfect for everyone. Some beaches have more waves than others while some of the calmer ones may be best for those with small children. Not all beaches have flags indicating the safety level: green means it is safe for swimming while black means extreme danger. The beaches are found in several locations with the Cancun Hotel Zone claiming the best beaches. Don’t forget the sun screen.

Maya Museums: Learn about the area’s rich culture from skeletal remains that date back 14,000 years to modern day including displays of Mayan architecture and art. The

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museum was built in and around the San Miguelito archeological site, providing a look into Mayan civilization and pre-Columbian culture. Don’t miss the underwater museum with dozens of statues that can be enjoyed by diving or on a glassbottom boat. There is an eco-aspect to the exhibit. The marine cement promotes reef growth and water fauna.

Xcaret: Xcaret is a unique theme park where it is easy to spend the entire day. Visitors can snorkel through an underground river, visit a coral reef aquarium with a sea turtle center, learn about Maya culture at the folk museum, and enjoy water activities on the beach and lagoon. Not to miss is the Mexico Espectacular, a colorful evening extravaganza covering many aspects of Mexican history.

Isla Mujeres: Isla Mujeres, The Island of Women, is a 20-minute ferry ride from Cancun. While it is touted as a quiet getaway, there are several things to do. Rent a golf cart and drive to Punta Sur at the island’s southernmost tip where an ancient temple honors the Mayan moon goddess. Garrafon Reef Park offers a variety of things to do including snuba, a cross between snorkeling and scuba diving.

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Chichen Itza: Even though it is a two-hour ride from Cancun it is the island’s most notable archeological site and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

It was the center of Mayan Civilization.

El Castillo, the pyramid-like temple, honored the god Kukulkan. It is no longer permitted to climb the pyramid but there are many other things to see.

In the evening there is a sound-andlight show. There are several hotels near the ruins, including The Lodge at Chichen Itza which offer a private entrance to the park.

Thrilling: There are many ways to get an adrenaline rush. Xplor, an all-inclusive adventure park, is the most visited zip-line park in the world.

It has several other activities including exploring caves and underground rivers Explore the Rio Secreto Nature Reserve outside of Cancun where participants swim and wade in one of the most spectacular underground caves in Mexico. Try parasailing, jet skiing, diving in a cenote, ATV-ing through the jungle, and, the newest activity, fly-boarding.

Satisfy your appetite: Mexican cuisine is a mouthwatering mix of indigenous and Hispanic cultures.

Enjoy spectacular sunsets and music

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along with a surf and turf meal on a romantic Spanish galleon dinner cruise. There are several cooking schools, including Yum Cooking Workshop where attendees can learn how to make traditional Mayan meals.

It is the perfect family activity that includes tequila and mescal tasting.

Unique: Cancun is a popular destination for weddings but even people who are already wed can renew their vows with a traditional Mayan wedding performed by a shaman in the Mayan language. Try a temazcal, a sweat lodge of pre-Hispanic origins. It is overseen by a shaman who controls the heat by tossing water and herbs on the coals. It is supposed to improve health and healing by eliminating toxins, aiding in blood circulation, and toning the skin. It is usually included in a Mayan wedding ceremony but can be enjoyed any time.

Tips: Cancun is tourist-friendly and English is widely spoken in the tourist areas. Avoid the hassle of getting a taxi at the airport by preordering an airport-hotel transfer.

Avoid booking tours and changing money at the airport. US dollars and credit cards are widely accepted. The best place to exchange money is at a bank and book tours recommended by your hotel. Remember it is customary to bargain when shopping.

Ruins: Chichen Itza is the most notable archeological site but Tulum is also popular. For an out-ofthe-way archeological site inhabited by more iguanas than people check out the El Rey ruins. Playa del Carmen and the isle of Cozumel are also fun places to visit. The Sian Ka’an Biosphere is a UNESCO World Heritage Site near Tulum with an extensive canal system that weaves its way through the mangrove and it is home to a large number of migratory birds, reptiles, and marine life, many of which are on the endangered species list. Party lovers will have no trouble finding places to let loose. Many of the bars feature music in the evenings.

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At Xcaret theme park visitors can spend the entire day, snorkeling through an underground river, visiting a coral reef aquarium with a sea turtle center, learning about Maya culture.

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Chichen Itza: Even though it is a two-hour ride from Cancun, it is the island’s most notable archeological site and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

There are several cooking schools, including Yum Cooking Workshop where attendees can learn how to make traditional Mayan meals.

It is the perfect family activity that includes tequila and mescal tasting.

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By Mary Beth Roach

Mary Beth Frey, 55 Executive director of The Samaritan Center: It takes very little to positively impact the life of another

M

ary Beth Frey, of Syracuse, has been the executive director of the Samaritan Center in Syracuse since June of 2005. She shares her thoughts on her work there over the past 15plus years.

Q: Can you briefly describe the mission of the center?

A: The Samaritan Center is an interfaith effort of community members who are committed to serving the hungry and those in need in order to promote their welfare, dignity and self-sufficiency. I think of the Samaritan Center as a community kitchen table, where those in need, and those looking to help, gather to share food, friendship, support and resources in order to help each other to a brighter tomorrow.

Q: How many people do you serve in a year?

A: Before COVID, we served approximately 135,000 meals a year for individuals and families struggling with hunger and poverty. COVID has had a profound impact on our operations. We switched to take-out meals in midMarch for health and safety reasons, modified our case management assistance and saw a shift in the population we typically serve. The needs of our elderly guests and individuals with disabilities have been provided for by the wonderful response of Onondaga County and Meals On Wheels. Our young children have been well taken care of through the city school district. Many of our guests received additional SNAP-food stamp benefits to help with obtaining food and the Food Bank of Central New York has done a phenomenal job getting pantry food items into our neighborhoods. All of

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“I think one of the most profound things I have learned is how very little it takes to positively impact the life of another.” these efforts have actually acted to decrease the number of individuals we serve by approximately 1015%. The difference has been that those who are accessing our services now are more so individuals needing help for the first time after being negatively impacted by job losses and community shut down during COVID. The case management support we provide also shifted from assisting individuals with issues related to housing or employment to helping folks access stimulus payments, healthcare, mental health care, or apply for unemployment and SNAP benefits.

Q: What have been some of your biggest challenges and accomplishments at the Samaritan Center?

A: One of the greatest accomplishments has been its move (in 2015) to our current location on the Northside at the former St. John the Evangelist Church. Not only were we able to repurpose a beautiful historic structure, but we were able to expand the support services we provide, engage a greater number of volunteers, but most importantly, provide an environment of dignity, love and peace for our guests. I think one of the biggest challenges for the Samaritan Center is helping the larger community understand the struggles of individuals living in poverty.

Mary Beth Frey has been the director at Samaritan Center in Syracuse for more than 15 years.

Q: What has your work at the Samaritan Center taught you over the years?

A: I think one of the most profound things I have learned is how very little it takes to positively impact the life of another. I have found, more often than not, that it isn’t a grand gesture that turns the tide (although those are also nice) but it is the small act of kindness. That is the fundamental lesson of Samaritan for me — small things done with great love give us each the strength to push through to another, hopefully brighter, day.

Q: When you’re not working at the center, what are some of the pastimes you enjoy?

A: Most of my time away from Samaritan is spent being entertained by my wonderful pup, Maggie. She is a bit of a fluffy tyrant that insists we go for hikes, spend summer days at the beach, go for long drives to the Adirondacks, and nap in the sun. Outside of that, I enjoy kayaking, hiking, camping and anything that otherwise gets me into nature to find my footing again.

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