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How Divorce Can Affect Your Social Security Benefit
55 PLUS Issue 49 February / March 2014
For Active Adults in Central New York
Mr. Meals on Wheels
Mason Kaufman celebrating 30 years with Meals on Wheels of Syracuse, the last 20 as its leader
What Empty Nest? Adult Children Returning Home in Droves
GerBRANG55fp_Layout 1 11/7/13 3:45 PM Page 1
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55 PLUS
February / March 2014
CONTENTS
36
14 20 Savvy Senior 6 Financial Health 8 Gardening 10 My Turn 18 Aging 22 Golden Years 34 Visits 44 Consumers Corner 46 Druger’s Zoo 48 50 Q&A
38
32
Former CEO Paul Kronenberg: Life after Crouse Hospital
12 TRENDS
30 RELATIONS
14 ADVOCACY
32 LEADERSHIP
• Boomerang kids: Adult children returning home in droves
• Sage Upstate helps members of older LGBT community
16 Trends
• Adventures in unemployment
20 PROFILE
• The melodic life of Liverpool’s Joe Riposo
24 COVER
• Mason Kaufman: Thirty years with Meals on Wheels of Syracuse
• Single’s groups becoming more popular among 55-plus population
• Linda Alexander carries philanthropic torch for Jewish groups
36 NOSTALGIA
• WRVO-FM and the golden age of radio
38 FIRST PERSON
• ‘What Toastmaster has done for me’
40 ARTS
• Cork Goss wants more murals in Upstate New York February / March 2014 - 55 plus
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savvy senior By Jim Miller
Y
How Divorce Can Affect Your Social Security
ou’ll be happy to know that for the most part, Social Security provides divorced spouses benefits just like they do spouses, if you meet the government’s requirements. You, as a divorced spouse, can collect a Social Security retirement benefit on the work record of your ex-husband (or ex-wife) if you are at least age 62, were married for at least 10 years, are unmarried now, and are not eligible for a higher benefit based on your own work record. In order to collect, however, your former spouse must also be at least 62 and eligible for Social Security benefits, and you must have been divorced for at least two years. But he doesn’t have to be receiving them in order for you to collect divorced spouse’s benefits. Even if your ex is remarried, it won’t affect your right to divorcee benefits, nor will it affect your ex’s retirement benefits or his current spouse’s benefits.
Benefit Amount
A divorced spouse can receive up to 50 percent of their ex’s full Social Security benefit or less if they take benefits before their full retirement age — which is 66 if you were born between 1943 and 1954. To find out your full-retirement age and see how much your benefits will be reduced by taking them early see ssa.gov/retire2/ agereduction.htm. Keep in mind though, that if you qualify for benefits based on your own work history, you’ll receive the larger of the two benefits. You cannot receive benefits on both your own record, and your ex’s work record too. To find out your retirement benefits based on your own earnings history, see your Social Security statement at ssa.gov/myaccount. And to get an estimate of your divorced spouse benefit, call Social Security at 800772-1213. You’ll need your ex’s Social Security number to get it. 6
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Getting Remarried
Since three-quarters of U.S. divorcees get married again, it’s also important to understand that remarrying makes you ineligible for divorced spouse’s benefits unless the later marriage ends. And, for those who have been married and divorced twice, with both marriages lasting more than 10 years, you can collect using the ex-spouse with the larger Social Security benefit.
Divorced Survivor
You also need to know that if your ex-spouse dies, and you were married for 10 or more years, you become eligible for divorced “survivor benefits,” which is worth up to 100 percent of what your ex-spouse was due. Survivor’s benefits are available to divorced spouses as early as age 60 (50 if you’re disabled). But, if you remarry before 60 you become ineligible unless the marriage ends. Remarrying after age 60 will not affect your eligibility.
Switching Strategies
Being divorced also offers some switching strategies that can help boost your benefits. For working divorced spouses, there’s an option that lets you file a “restricted” application with Social Security (at full retirement age) to collect a divorced spousal benefit, which is half of what your ex gets. Then, once you reach 70, you stop receiving the ex-spousal benefit and switch to your own benefit, which will be 32 percent higher than it would have been at your full retirement age. Divorced widows (and widowers) have even more options. If you are collecting Social Security retirement benefits on your own record, and your ex-spouse dies, you can switch to survivor’s benefits if the payment is larger. Or, if you’re collecting survivor’s benefits, you can switch to your own retirement benefits — between 62 and 70 — if it offers a larger payment.
55PLUS Editor and Publisher Wagner Dotto
Associate Editor Lou Sorendo
Writers
Deborah Jeanne Sergeant Laura Thompson, Aaron Gifford Avery Galek, Sandra Scott Mary Beth Roach, Matthew Liptak
Columnists
Eva Briggs, M.D., Bruce Frassinelli Marilyn Pinsky, Harold Miller Jim Sollecito, David J. Zumpano Marvin Druger, Sue Edmonds
Advertising
Jasmine Maldonado Marsha Preston Jim Maxwell
Office Manager
Laura J. Beckwith
Layout and Design Chris Crocker
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: $15 a year © 2014 by 55 PLUS – A Magazine for Active Adults in Upstate New York.
No material may be reproduced in whole or in part from this publication without the express written permission of the publisher. Third class postage paid at Syracuse, NY. Permit Number: 3071
How to Reach Us P.O. Box 276 Oswego, NY 13126 Phone: 315-342-1182 Fax: 315-342-7776 Email: editor@CNY55.com Editor@cnyhealth.com
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financial health By David J. Zumpano
Avoiding Nursing Homes Is As Easy As It’s Ever Been
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hirty years ago, when a family member needed care, the family stepped in and took care of them. As life started to speed up, our ability to take care of our loved ones quickly dwindled. The need for nursing homes became essential to care for the needs of those who could not care for themselves. Today, nursing homes are the place of last resort because there are multiple programs and benefits available to help keep people in their home. In fact, Gov. Cuomo in a recent speech indicated it is New York’s goal to keep people home as long as possible. Some of the programs that New York state has are consistent with this proclamation. The cost for the state, through its Medicaid dollars, to keep someone in a nursing home is the highest cost service. If instead care can be provided at home, costs can be dramatically decreased. The state has a program few people utilize: a Medicaid “home care benefit.” With planning, any individual could meet the financial requirements to receive these benefits within 30 days if a medical need supports it. Typically, an individual can meet the medical needs requirement simply by being over the age of 80 and needing assistance with simple things. If you find yourself walking with a cane or having to give up your driver’s license, these are sure signs that you would be eligible for home-based care services. What benefits are provided? Medicaid will pay for a caregiver to come in your home to assist you with non-medical needs, such as assisting with dressing, making you meals, maintaining your house (mop floors, laundry), bringing you to the grocery store or doctors’ appointments and all the other “custodial” tasks to keep you home. These caregivers cannot dispense medicine or make any
medical diagnosis. The most beneficial part of this Medicaid benefit is you can choose the person to provide your care. It can be family members (other than your spouse), friends or others you are comfortable with. Most people don’t get this benefit because they wait too long. While proper planning ensures anyone can be eligible within 30 days, the process to get the caregiver in your home can take anywhere from 30 days to four months. Most people wait until the care needed is so extensive that the period of time to get the benefits did not have any impact on alleviating the need for a higher level of care (i.e. assisted living or nursing home). The trick is to get minimum level of care (two to four hours a day) while you are beginning to get frail. Once in place, to increase this benefit takes far less time to implement. Most important, however, is utilizing this home care benefit, which permits the spouse of the aging individual to remain a spouse and not caregiver. One of the biggest detriments to a marriage is when one spouse has to become a caregiver to the other, which strains the spousal relationship. It is essential you utilize non-spouse individuals, especially because they can be paid for by Medicaid, which will allow the ailing spouse to maintain a proper spousal relationship with the healthy spouse. Nursing homes should always be an option of last resort. Sometimes they’re absolutely required to get you the care you need, but with proper planning, you can delay the need for a nursing home and minimize your stay there. Next editiom, we’ll talk about how to protect your assets if a nursing home is required. David J. Zumpano is an attorney and a certified public accountant (CPA). He operates Estate Planning Law Center. He can be reached at 793-3622.
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Gardening By Jim Sollecito
For an appointment with a certified navigator in Onondaga county call 470-1847
Here are 5 ways it will soon be easier to pay for health insurance in New York State 1 Help with insurance bills
For the first time ever, many New Yorkers will have help paying for a health plan. This help puts health insurance within more people’s reach. A wide range of people can get this kind of help — from an individual earning $45,960 to a family of four making $94,200.
2 Support for the “extras”
It’s not just the monthly insurance bill that’s a burden. It’s extras like “copays”— the part of a medical bill that’s charged to you, not your insurance company — and “deductibles,” the amount you must pay before your insurance kicks in. If your income falls below a certain point, NY State of Health will help you pay for these “extra” costs.
3 Everyone in the pool
Insurance rates are based on the number of people in a group, or “pool.” The larger the pool, the lower the monthly cost of health insurance for everyone. The pool in NY State of Health is going to be very large.
4 Healthy or ill, the cost is the same
No one will be denied coverage or charged more just because they’re already sick.
5 Big bang for the buck
Starting in 2014, every health plan offered at NY State of Health, no matter what it costs, must cover 10 key health services. These include care at a doctor’s office, prescription drugs, emergency services, even prevention and wellness services. So if you buy a health plan at this new Marketplace, you can be sure you’ll get a lot of bang for your buck. Open enrollment ends March 31st.
1-855-355-5777 nystateofhealth.ny.gov 10
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To Every Season
I
Life will turn, turn, turn
used to love hearing Judy Collins singing “Turn, Turn, Turn.” More than once, waiting for her to sing that at a live concert was worth the price of admission. Well, I will turn 60 on Feb. 1. That’s music to my ears. When I was 21, I thought 30 was pretty old. I could not imagine myself older than the speed limit, 55 at the time. Guess what? They raised the speed limit, and at the same time raised our limits. Sixty is the new 50. We still have most of our teeth. We only have to take the driver license vision test every 10 years. We get discounts for food we shouldn’t eat. Chiropractors keep us mobile. Physicians keep the blood flowing at just the right rate, albeit with chemical cocktails replacing the lounge cocktail. Perhaps quantities of cocktails that didn’t help the cause. Ahhh, the good old days…were there good old nights, too? I believe that a body in motion stays in motion. Getting out of bed every day may be more challenging, but opportunities abound to maintain what we have and even improve a bit. A n d re g a rd i n g re t i re m e n t , that’s one word I don’t have in my vocabulary. In my observation, the happiest retirees retire to something they’ve always wanted to do. But if you’re already doing what you enjoy and you continue to excel, why stop at some predetermined age? Often those years of experience contribute to excellence, efficiency and pure joy. Landscape design and implementation happen to wind my watch. Personally, I plan to work at this career until I just can’t do it anymore. I am pretty sure there is something equally as important in your lives. I’m already doing it. A body in motion stays in motion. But I am equally passionate about the hobbies that keep me active and fit. I’ve heard that if you don’t use it, you
lose it. That makes sense. But allow to me unpack that issue a bit further. If you stop trying to get better, then you cease being good. Plenty of folks have slid back a bit in skills they no longer practice. Cooking, gardening, sports, target shooting a bow or gun are things you have to keep well dusted off if you want to stay nimble. But pace yourself. If you can’t walk three miles, then walk two. If it’s cold outside, then walk in a mall. Some hobbies clear the mind for meditation. My meditation brings out the planner in me. Winter is the time for planning, not planting. I have difficulty trying to decide which new plant varieties to add to our 800-variety inventory. There are so many great introductions coming all the time. We practice replacement — if we bring something new, then we need to eliminate something else. This allows us to maintain fresh stock and edit the ones that are no longer the best choices. Why bother with the common burning bush when we can enjoy a great new variety of flowering spirea that offers hot fall color and is not bothered by deer or other pests? As our hair whitens, we hold dearly to some things, but we learn to cast some aside, making room for improved versions. There are better waters to fish. Why beat up the same old same old? Life will turn, turn, turn. In a short 20 years I expect to be writing about 80 being the new 70. I will continue to turn over a new leaf, one from a tree that I planted in the past, preparing for one I’ll plant in the future. Many of my role models worked into their 80s. Those are the folks I hope to emulate. Jim Sollecito is the first lifetime senior certified landscape professional in NYS. He operates Sollecito Landscaping Nursery in Syracuse. Contact him at 468-1142 or at jim@sollecito.com.
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trends
Boomerang Kids What empty nest? Adult children returning home in droves
B
By Lou Sorendo oomerangs return to their source, and so do financially s t r a p p e d a d u l t c h i l d re n seeking refuge with mom and dad once again. In a nation plagued by a stillstruggling job market and economy, aging parents face concerns over not only their personal financial livelihoods but that of their adult children. Many parents are reopening their doors for financially struggling “boomerang kids” moving back to the nest. This poses greater financial burdens for many parents already financially struggling themselves. More young adults are moving back home now than at any time since the 1950s, said Laura Brown, professor of human development and gerontology minor coordinator at SUNY Oswego. According to a 2011 survey of young adults by the Pew Research
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Center, 11 percent of young adults aged 18-34 had moved back home in 1980, 15 percent in 2000, and 21.6 percent in 2010. Psychologist Jeffrey Arnett refers to 18-29-year-olds as “emerging adults” who are neither still adolescents nor fully independent adults. “Many have extended their time in school, which delays full independence even further,” Brown noted. Of those young adults Pew researchers surveyed, one-third had gone back to school, and 34 percent had postponed marriage, parenthood or both. Census Bureau data from 20072009 shows the largest increase in multi-generational households for 25- to-34-year-olds. “This is very much connected to the recession which started in late 2007,” Brown said. “There were few jobs available for new college graduates.”
In addition, desperate middleaged adults who could not find work in their fields scooped up lower-paying jobs that normally would have been available for young adults, she added.
Independence costly
The boomerang kids trend is bigger than most people would even acknowledge, according to Leslie H. Tayne, founder and managing director of Tayne Law Group, P.C. She gives advice on what aging parents can do to help guide their adult children toward paths of financial independence. “It’s not just the younger generation. It’s the older generation too that is starting to live with family members because they can’t afford to be on their own,” she noted.” The reason is the tepid economy and the high cost of living independently. “To find good-paying jobs in order to live independently from
other family members who might be contributing to one household level of expenses is very difficult,” she said. Although the recession has softened, Tayne said she does not see the boomerang trend tapering off. “I see more people talking about saving money and looking for opportunities to save money by staying together with family members,” she said. “I do not see much improvement in the economy. I see things a little worse and also see people maintaining their situations a little bit longer, sort of like an ongoing cold.”
Student loan burden
Meanwhile, college graduates are out of the gate burdened by heavy debt from student loans. B ro w n , t h e S U N Y O s w e g o professor, said student loan debt is also at an all-time high, which makes it difficult, if not impossible, for new college grads to establish total financial independence “Even if they find jobs, they cannot afford to pay rent, car payments and student loan payments all out of one paycheck at the entry level positions they have,” she noted. Brown said if students go on to pursue a master’s degree or higher levels of education, student loan debt balloons quickly. “A bachelor’s degree is no longer the easy ticket to a high-paying job it once was. Many students who aspire to those professional occupations may be spending much more time and money on their educations,” she said. “It’s not like you can ignore it and live independently,” Tayne said. “Many people are leaving college and graduate school with huge amounts of student loans and need to address the issue sooner rather than later. “That is certainly an impetus to be moving back home.”
Communication vital
In order to foster financial independence in their emerging adults, parents should approach the boomerang situation by sitting down with their kids at the start and setting a reasonable deadline for the kids to be ready to leave, Brown said. She said they should also discuss financial goals to meet by that deadline
Year 1980 2000 2010
Percent of young adults (18-34) moving back home 11 15 21.6
and charge rent. “Thirty percent of a young adult’s income is appropriate” for rent, she said. “In lieu of rent, the young adult could do household chores and contribute to household expenses like food, utilities or cable bills,” Brown added. “I feel parents should teach their children about financial literacy starting at around age 10 and continue throughout high school and college,” she said. Discussions should be held on how to use cash and not credit whenever possible; buying used rather than new; creating and keeping to a budget; contributing to a savings fund first, not as an afterthought; and not to touch savings unless it is a true emergency, Brown noted. She said for boomerangs, talks should also include the possibility of getting a second job while living with mom and dad to maximize paying down debt while financially being buffered at home. “The best piece of advice I can give anybody is to talk openly about finances and to make other people aware of what’s going on with your finances,” Tayne said. “Be honest with yourself, most importantly, and with others who share your financial experience. That could be a parent or a significant other.” In addition, Tayne said it is vital to engage in budgeting on a regular basis. According to a recent poll from Gallup, only 32 percent of American households prepare a budget each month. Tayne said budgeting is something that should be done on a regular basis, and when conditions change — such as moving, switching jobs, going back to school, or having a baby — the budget should be revisited. “That is something that is almost never done,” Tayne said. She said the same is true for clients with million-dollar incomes and those
with $20,000 incomes with all different kinds of financial issues. “Ninety-nine percent of the people who come to see me have not even looked at or reviewed a budget,” she said. Subsequently, when things get tight and bills can’t be paid, people are less apt to go back to their budget. “That’s when they should be more apt to go back to their budget,” she said. “It’s the head in the sand syndrome.”
Push for literacy
Brown is unsure as to why financial literacy is not covered more extensively in school at any level. “However, I learned a trick from one of my college friends who was an accounting major. She told me to put every $5 bill I received into an envelope, then to transfer the money into a separate savings account when the envelope is full. Thirty years after graduation, she has over $310,000 in that account saved for retirement, which is impressive,” Brown said. Tayne said financial literacy should begin early with children and be part of the educational curriculum. “In order to live effectively and manage your life, you need to look at it like it’s a business that needs to be balanced effectively from a financial management perspective,” Tayne said. “Most people don’t have those skills.” “If you don’t acquire those skills, it is very difficult to conceptualize financial management at an older age,” she said. “If it’s part of something they are used to on a regular basis, it becomes second nature.” She said financial terminology such as savings, checking and balanced budgeting should be part of curriculum all along the way. Tayne said on the college level, new rules require students to engage in exit programs to discuss repaying student loans. “But it doesn’t necessarily address what it means to budget money and how to effectively manage money when you are really living on a very tight budget,” she said. Tayne said educational systems have not looked at financial literacy because “it is not looked at as something that is on their shoulders.” Teachers are not required to teach Continued on page 19
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advocacy
Combatting isolation among older LGBT people is a major issue for Sage Upstate, says Executive Director Kim Dill.
Sage Upstate Fights Isolation in Aging LGBT Population Nonprofit works to help with older population of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender people
M
By Matthew Liptak
embers of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community often face unique challenges as they age, including increased isolation. Sage Upstate is a nonprofit organization that was formed in Syracuse in 1997 to help meet those challenges of the LGBT community. Sage Upstate is located at 431 East Fayette St. in Syracuse, downstairs in the CNY Philanthropy Center building. The nonprofit serves those in the counties of Cayuga, Cortland, Jefferson, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga and Oswego.
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“It stands for services and advocacy for LGBT elders, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender,” said Kim Dill, executive director of Sage Upstate. “It’s kind of a senior services organization for LGBT people. “The big enemy with an aging population, and especially LGBT people, is isolation,” Dill said. “We want to bring folks together in a friendly and safe space where they are not afraid of being discriminated against. We’re talking about people who are older and have faced years and years of discrimination and unequal treatment so we kind of create
that friendly and safe space where people can come together, meet each other and form support networks.” Sage Upstate offers a diverse number of support programs for the LGBT community. The organization holds a potluck dinner and presentation the second Sunday of each month. About 65 people usually attend, Dill said. The presentation often revolves around health matters. There is also a potluck on the fourth Sunday of every month at Fallbrook Recreation Center, 103 Thompson Road in Oswego. The event is at 2 p.m.
“Then there are other socials and mixers, a writing group and different arts classes with that same goal,” Dill said. “We also do support groups, so we have a men’s support group, a women’s support group. We do a support group for people who are grieving. We have a depression-bipolar support group.” The service organization also has what Dill called affinity groups for subsections of the LGBT community. There is a social group called Uzuri, specifically for LGBT people of color, a group for those 60 and older or transsexual. Health and wellness for the aging LGBT community is a prime concern for the staff at Sage Upstate, too. It is often the subject for the organization’s educational programs. Among the programs covered have been fall prevention and how to cope with grief. Not only does Sage Upstate educate the LGBT community about health issues, but it educates service providers, too. It sponsored a training a few months ago for all the senior center case managers in Onondaga County through the county’s department of aging and youth. “What we’re trying to do is make people, whether it’s doctors, nurses, senior center providers, aware that among the people they serve there are going to be LGBT people so don’t assume everybody’s heterosexual,” Dill said. “We just got to be welcoming and open. If we can get that happening, then people are going to feel more comfortable to reach out and have the
Hannah Radcliff-Hoy is a program assistant for Sage Upstate in Syracuse.
type of relationship with these service providers that will give them the best care.” Dill said Sage Upstate had 550 to 600 participants last year. Although the organization is focused on the wellbeing of aging LGBT people it does not shut out younger participants from some of its programs. “In terms of other age groups, there is no age limit,” Dill said. “We design these programs...to meet the needs of an older population. If somebody younger wants to take advantage of them, do oil painting or knit, that’s fine with us. We do get some participation from younger groups partly because there aren’t a lot of resources for LBGT people in Syracuse. We get a younger turn out sometimes. I know that the vast majority of our folks are 50 and over and most are 60 and over. We may have 10 percent that are under 50.” One of the younger participants is a staff member of Sage Upstate. Hannah Radcliff-Hoy works as program assistant for the organization, but is also a member. “I think the mission’s wonderful,” she said. “I think we are providing something that’s much needed. It’s hard to go out and find services for this age group and especially for the LGBT community. It’s like you either have the bars or Sage provides something that’s outside of a bar that’s safe and social. It’s a great place.” Dill said the immediate future of Sage Upstate includes making the most use of their new facilities at on East Fayette Street, including possibly expanding their hours. She wants to make programming available as often as possible. She also wants to expand outreach into the smaller communities of Central New York where isolation can be a critical issue. Some members of the LGBT organization are so concerned about privacy and discrimination that they have their Sage Upstate mail delivered to them in unmarked envelopes, Dill said. “[In] the rural areas there is a lot of isolation and a lot of fear about reaching out because I think you have a little bit of anonymity when you’re in a bigger city like Syracuse but if you’re in a small town everybody knows each other,” she said. The organization hopes to become more known in the mainstream Central New York community, too, so its
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services become more available to others. With more publicity more LGBT people can take advantage of what Sage Upstate has to offer. For as much as Dill has given to the LGBT community through her position at Sage Upstate the last ten years, she said she has gained much too. “I like working with people and seeing how positive aging can be,” she said. “I’ve met so many people that are in their 60s or 70s that are having new beginnings, are very active, are just aging and growing and learning more. It’s really changed my whole attitude about aging. I look forward to it a lot more. I’m not young myself [56] and I started in this position when I was 46. It’s a whole different attitude about aging because I see so many people doing it so well it’s not really scary to me anymore. I look forward to it!” For more information on Sage Upstate call 866-717-2640 or visit www. sageupstate.org. February / March 2014 - 55 plus
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A job delivering phone books turns out to be a tricky one By Laura Thompson
I
t’s not easy out there. The job market is tough, and like many who were laid off during the recent economic meltdown, I’ve been piecing and patchworking my professional life together over these past few years. Sometimes the jobs are less than suitable. A few years ago, finding myself between writing assignments and other employment, I responded to an ad seeking people to deliver phone directories. I had done this before once some years earlier, and I had found it to be good exercise and even a bit of fun. Why not, I thought. Off I went to apply, and they were delighted with my prior experience in the complicated matter of delivering phone directories. Just what they were looking for, they said, and then they led me through a very specific set of delivery instructions: Phonebooks standing to the right-not-the-left of the doorway, click the portable GPS
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unit once in front of each and every doorway, deliver every housing unit in my map area, whether or not it was listed, keep careful track of my unreimbursed mileage, and please, please, please, drive in the most logical and gas efficient manner while doing my route. Failure to do any one of these could result in non-payment for the route, or possibly execution at dawn. This was, they assured me, a very serious matter. I had no idea. Plus all those instructions made my head reel and sweat. I was then directed to a parked trailer, where a cranky young woman loaded my car as full as possible with yellow directories, my struts squealing in protest. This cannot be good for my car, I thought, as they handed me a very inaccurate paper map of an area I was familiar with. I drove off squeaking and rocking, those slippery vivid books sliding all around.
During the most scalding days of that summer, I faithfully delivered those shiny yellow directories. To every apartment, every house in my route area, clicking on my GPS in front of each and every doorway so the office could catch all the cheaters they thought they might have hired who were not really delivering directories at all, but pitching them in bundles into nearby bushes, which made more and more sense as the days dragged by. Up and down the multiple staircases I trundled, up and down the by’s and ways I drove, my route of 700 deliveries expanded into 7,000, due to their highly inaccurate map. And my questions as to how this would be financially corrected were met with vague reassurances that I would somehow be compensated for the difference in the number of directories the route claimed should be delivered vs. the number of actual addresses I was finding and delivering to. And
when all was said and done, after five arduous days of labor in that sizzling summer sun, I finally finished that route and they looked at me with a sage and seasoned eye and said, “You’re good at this. We just need to find a way for you to complete your routes faster.” So I explained about the 7,000 vs. 700 deliveries again, and they said that was a very, very good thing, quite desirable really, and just exactly what they wanted. I would be paid extra money for those 6,300 additional directories, but the problem seemed to be that no one knew exactly how much per directory, nor when. This was a question batted about that office, because not one of those 14 company employees knew the actual answer. But they would find that out for me, by golly, yes they would. In the meantime, there were still routes to be done, and since I was so good at this, surely I would do another one? The only part of this story that is to my credit is right here, where I suddenly developed serious mechanical issues with my car which required immediate attention, leaving me without the transportation to do another route for them, alas. (Ha!) And I knew I had made the right decision when five weeks later I received a paycheck for the princely sum of $74.50. One year later, this company called me and asked me to work for them once more. When I stopped laughing, I went through the 7,000 vs. 700 explanation—again. This resulted in another check being mailed to me, for $64.50. So my total take for the delivery of 7,000 directories over the course of five days was a stunning $139, paid out over two years. Which meant that before deducting my gas expenses, I made $18 a day, which is more than some workers in Peru make. The problem being, of course, that I don’t live in Peru and life in this America costs a little more. In my defense let me say that I have no defense and was undoubtedly suffering from heatstroke, which badly affected any judgment I possessed. It’s so easy to take advantage of the 55-plus crowd. If you see an ad touting the benefits of delivering telephone directories, do us all a favor and burn it. Meanwhile, I waddle on, hopeful yet of better employment in this brave new world.
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my turn
By Bruce Frassinelli Email: bruce@cny55.com
A Journalist Tries His Hand at Cooking (Oh, Boy!)
C
oming from a strong Italian heritage, I have always had secret desires to cook and sing opera. My career path pretty much ruled out the latter and, to a large extent, the former, too. Working as a newspaper editor, then publisher, left little time for eating, let alone cooking. Still, I managed to balloon to 257 pounds at the time of my retirement from The (Oswego) Palladium-Times. That, however, was a function of lousy eating habits rather than gluttony. I am now a much trimmer 172 and eat much healthier. Since I have retired, I have continued to harbor this desire to cook and bake, but my wife, Marie, who maintains a spotless kitchen, wails incessantly when I even bring up the possibility. She considers me a slob at heart and unfit for such an undertaking. Wanting to maintain peace in the household, I have put my cooking and baking aspirations for the most part on hold. Several years ago, when I shared my frustration with my good friend, Paul Scott of Radisson and formerly of Oswego, he insisted that we would surprise Marie. It was a few days before Thanksgiving, and I was scheduled to drive from Central New York to Pennsylvania to join Marie for Thanksgiving dinner. Paul invited me to learn how to make an apple pie. He and his wife, Gladys, opened their kitchen for our grand experiment. No one was more surprised than I to find that I took to the task like a chef takes to creating food masterpieces. When she saw how scrumptuous the
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pie looked, Gladys Scott presented me with a certificate of achievement, crowned with a blue ribbon. When I unveiled the pie to Marie, she was duly impressed and, upon tasting it, complimented me on the tasty outcome. She mumbled something about its being almost as good as hers. I expected this to be my entrée to kitchen privileges at our home. Wrong! Beef Wellington is something I have always wanted to make. The prospect of this undertaking unfolding in her kitchen sent Marie into a tizzy. Beef Wellington would have to wait until another day. She did consent, however, in a grandiose gesture of compromise, to allow me to make two poached eggs — in one of those twosided egg-poachers. Regrettably, at the same time Marie made this concession, Murphy’s Law — whatever can go wrong will — took up residence in our kitchen and became my co-pilot. I calculated that the poached eggs should be microwaved for no more than 40 seconds. What I neglected to do in my ignorance of such matters was to poke a hole or two into each of the eggs. At about 30 seconds, I heard this loud pop and immediately opened the microwave door. This was a big mistake. The microwave spat out pieces of egg all over me, the stove below and, of course, the kitchen counter and floor. Marie came running and shrieked words I had never heard come from her mouth in 22 years of marriage. The very next day, she asked me to get her a bottle of Boost, which she uses to pep herself up while she is on chemotherapy treatment for ovarian
cancer. I removed the bottle from the refrigerator, shook it, and partially opened the lid. I placed the bottle on the kitchen counter to take an incoming phone call. About three minutes later, I came back to the bottle of Boost, picked it up and shook it vigorously. (I had forgotten that I had already shaken it and partially removed the cap.) The lid flew off, and the Boost splattered everywhere — all over the kitchen, into every nook and cranny, all over my shirt and pants, on my face, in my hair (what little is left) — everywhere. Marie came running and shrieked words I had heard only once before during our 22 years of marriage. The cleanup took more than an hour. Two days later, I was emptying the dishwasher. I lined up all of the glasses on the kitchen counter so I could systematically put them into the kitchen cabinet, just as I always had done. As I picked up a six-ounce tumbler, it exploded in my hand. Glass shards were everywhere. Some flew in the direction of my face, but, miraculously, I was not injured. The mess was indescribable. Marie came running and shrieked words I had heard only twice before during our 22 years of marriage. She had thought that in my clumsiness I had dropped a glass. So, I guess it was three strikes and out. The next day, when I came home from teaching a class at the local community college, there were big signs at both entrances to our kitchen: “KEEP OUT — BRUCE, THIS MEANS YOU.”
Boomerang Kids Continued from page 13
financial literacy “because it is not an overreaching problem where there is a lack of it.” “There is financial illiteracy out there, and it’s unfortunate because I think it is very symptomatic of what goes on in government and individual households,” Tayne said. “There is not a good understanding of how to keep money and not get into debt.” “These days it would be very difficult unless someone is willing to come into schools and do it for free because most districts don’t have the money for it,” Tayne said. “Also, there is not much demand. It’s not like parents are standing there saying, ‘We demand you teach our children financial literacy.’”
Impact on retirement
Brown said according to most experts, retirement plans for parents of boomerang kids are not typically derailed completely, but may be delayed for short periods of time. “A bigger disruption of retirement plans is likely to be the unexpected addition of grandchildren in the household, especially for those grandparents who must take on a surrogate parent role for their grandchildren,” she added. Tayne said boomerang kids skew retirement plans for parents. Many retirees nowadays have returned to the workforce with some working two or three jobs because they can’t make ends meet in their household. Tayne said it is not unusual for a parent of an adult child who has returned home to underestimate expenses associated with “the new arrival.” “They don’t realize what that actually adds up to and how much extra pressure that provides on their own budget,” she said. In addition, people are keeping their houses longer than they normally would. Many retirees downsize to realize fewer expenses, but with boomerang kids back in the house, they need to maintain their same home because they require space for children who have returned. “Financial pressure has a long lifespan now than it did in the past,” she noted.
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February / March 2014 - 55 plus
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Hitting the High Note The melodic life of Liverpool’s Joe Riposo By Matthew Liptak
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Joe Riposo was director of music education for the Liverpool Central School District for 31 years.
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Music was always around me. I just had to play.” So starts the story of 80-year-old artist and educator Joe Riposo. The Syracuse native was born into a musical household on the north side of the city. That is when Riposo began a love affair with music spanning seven decades. It has included performance, arrangements, composition, education and authorship with the likes of Tony Bennett, Natalie Cole and others. “My father and mother both came from Italy and my father while he was there played,” Riposo said. “He wasn’t a schooled musician but he loved music. When he came here he felt that he should give his kids the opportunity to be creative and to get into music if they wanted to and that’s what happened. “I asked him one day, ‘What should I do when I mature? What kind of a job should I get?’ He said to me, ‘What you need to do is to find something that you really enjoy doing and then figure out how to get paid for it.’ And that was good advice because that’s what I did all my life,” he said. Riposo’s older brother Mike was a classical pianist. His other brothers, Sam and Tony, were classically trained but played jazz. If Joe Riposo’s journey into music had an official start, it was when he
was 10 and went to see a George Gershwin movie. The movie opened with the silhouette of a man playing a long segment on clarinet. Riposo was enthralled. He was not even sure that he watched the rest of the movie. He ran home to tell his father he wanted to play the clarinet. At first, Riposo’s pursuit of performing revolved around classical music but then one of his brothers brought home a 45-rpm record of Swedish jazz clarinetist Stan Hasselgard. It was love at first listen. “I still remained active as a classical clarinetist but there was a duality and I played both classical and jazz,” Riposo said. “Then later on I discovered that you can’t be just a clarinetist. You’ve got to be able to play clarinet, saxophone, flute and all the woodwind instruments if you’re going to play.” Riposo went on to graduate from Syracuse University with both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in music education. He got his first job out of college as the assistant chief instructor of the school of music at Fort Dix in New Jersey. He kept his performance skills going by working in New York City. He also served as an arranger of TV shows sponsored by the Army. “I did a lot of playing, a lot of recording and functioned as a studio musician. Then my wife and I wanted to raise a family so we thought we’d come back to Syracuse,” Riposo said. “I came back to Syracuse. I had all my education degrees. Liverpool Central Schools called and I went to interview and they hired me.”
Exploring music education
In 1959-60, Riposo became director of music education for the Liverpool Central School District. He fulfilled that role for 31 years. “My assigned task was to build a music program for the school system,” he said. “I became an administrator although I had to teach to get the program started. I taught myself right out of business by hiring teachers to take my place. Eventually I didn’t teach at all and I just became a district administrator guiding the programs.” When he first started at Liverpool, Riposo met with a
citizens’ committee to decide on the direction of the music program. It was concluded that the little community in Central New York would create a program that would not only introduce students to music but attempt to build a nationally recognized program. Riposo attributes much of the program’s success to the gifted teachers he hired. He said they were “in the trenches” making his job easy. “What I enjoyed the best is that we did get to that point,” Riposo said. “I retired with a feeling that, yes, I did accomplish that goal. Many of my clinics were to describe the design and how the music program functioned, so I used to do a lot of in-service programs for different school districts that wanted to copy what we did and how we structured it. That I really enjoyed.” Riposo didn’t rest on his laurels as he worked at Liverpool. He continued to perform, often with big-name acts. He was in the house band at Three Rivers Inn where artists like Bennett, Nat King Cole and others came to entertain. “But if you had the opportunity, you’d play with these people for 10 days at a time,” Riposo said. “Then the following year they’d come in for another 10 days. Then the following year another 10 days, so you really get to know these people. Nowadays it’s not like that. Today someone like Harry Connick Jr. would come in and play in the civic center for one night. So you have a rehearsal, play the show and then he’s gone. In those days it was a little bit different because you got to know these people for 10 days at a time.” Recalling Bennett, Riposo said the two got along “famously.” Riposo once taped Bennett and the band by placing a recorder under the bandstand. Bennett got wind of it and listened to the recording with Riposo. Bennett reacted by being offended when he realized most of the band drowned out his voice. The next night Bennett took the recorder and placed it on his own stand so it would feature his voice more prominently. “Now that’s the way it should sound!” Riposo recalled Bennett telling him with a laugh. Bobby Darin also appreciated Riposo’s work.
“I did some writing for him,” Riposo said. “Bobby Darin was a great singer and I remember I did some writing for him and he gave me quite a bonus as far as pay was concerned. But on top of that, he gave me one of the first transistor shavers because I have a beard.”
Happy with legacy
Working with Mel Torme sticks in Riposo’s memory because of a moment that demonstrated the man’s brilliance with music. In one rehearsal, Torme picked out an individual trumpet player and commented that the man had hit an off note. The trumpeter acknowledged the mistake. Torme went on to instruct the musician where to pick up the music in the exact place on the score. There weren’t any big performers that Riposo didn’t enjoy working for. They were all friendly and down to earth, he said. After retiring from the Liverpool Central School District, Riposo became the director of jazz studies at Syracuse University in 1985. He retired in the spring of 2013 from SU. “I just retired after 28 years from there but once again I retired with the idea in mind that I did accomplish my goals,” he said. “I exposed students to be able to learn to play what they heard rather than what they saw, to be creative. I exposed students to now what is in place —a jazz program. They can now spend time working on a degreed program in jazz so they can be in music education and minor in jazz studies. They can perform.” Today, Riposo continues to perform with several bands including the Salt City Jazz Collective. That group performs on the first Wednesday of the month at the Suds Factory on Clinton Street in Syracuse. He is also a contract writer for three publishing companies. His wife of 56 years, Joann, can attest to his continuing ability. She often hears him composing or performing in the study of their home. For Riposo, the music plays on. “Some of the things I here coming from upstairs are simply beautiful,” Joann said. “I’ll say ‘What was that?’ and he’ll say, ‘I didn’t name it yet.’” February / March 2014 - 55 plus
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aging By Marilyn L. Pinsky
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Mental Health and Aging: Optimizing Quality of Life
D
id you know that seven years after experiencing hip fractures, a major cause of death for older women is actually depression? That following a heart attack or a bout with cancer, if a person is depressed, death is more likely? Or that the highest rate of suicides is for white males over the age of 85? The theory is that when we are depressed our immune system doesn’t work well. As exercise is one of the many activators of the immune system, if people are too depressed over their illness to exercise, that has a negative impact on their health. Then why do we not pay as much attention to mental health as we do to physical health? And why has the term “mental health problem” gotten such a stigma attached to it, that even when we recognize it as a problem in ourselves or our loved ones, we are reluctant to do anything about it? I recently attended a great conference on geriatric mental health sponsored by SUNY Oswego and the Rodney and Marjorie Fink Institute of Research on Aging (IMPARA) housed at Menorah Park of Central New York. There I learned that the decision was made years ago to separate medicine into “the mental” and “the physical” areas of treatment. However, our body’s physical and mental health is connected and can’t be separated, and because untreated mental health issues impact our physical health, it follows that to reduce health care costs, as well as make people’s lives better, we can no longer ignore the impact that our minds have on our bodies. And people who work with older adults see that issue on a daily basis.
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That is why IMPARA partnered with SUNY Oswego, Kimberly A. Armani, PhD., and SUNY Upstate to develop strategies to better meet those needs. According to IMPARA Institute Director Judith Huober and Menorah Park Director Mary Ellen Bloodgood, “the goal is to create collaborations among providers to meet regional geriatric mental health care needs.” The institute hired geriatric psychiatrist Nanette M. Dowling as its research director; she divides her time between the institute and SUNY Upstate, where she is both a psychiatrist and assistant professor. A geriatric psychiatrist may treat various disorders seen in older adults, including dementia, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorders, substance abuse issues and late-life schizophrenia. “It is so frustrating when people look at a relative or at themselves and think all the problems are caused by aging and that there’s nothing to do about it,” said Dowling. “At various times in our lives we may have difficulty coping with: 1) change, 2) stress, 3) death, 4) memory problems, 5) assuming that a possible family history of dementia has caught up with us, or 6) anxiety or agitation associated with dementia or poor sleep.” “All of these, along with isolation and loss of a partner, are major causes of depression and shouldn’t be minimized. But — and this is a big but — there might be other causes for those feelings that once identified, can be fixed and give us our life back,” she continued. “People get worried about their memory and both depression and medications can make it look
“It is so frustrating when people look at a relative or at themselves and think all the problems are caused by aging and that there’s nothing to do about it.” Nanette M. Dowling geriatric psychiatrist with SUNY Upstate and
like mental illness or dementia. But we try to look at the whole picture. When people say, ‘I don’t have any energy, I’m anxious, down, irritable, sleeping all the time,’ these can all be indicators of depression. There could be numerous reasons for those feelings and they could stem from physical issues, mental health or both.” For one woman, it wasn’t until she was referred to physician Sharon A. Brangman, division chief of geriatrics at SUNY Upstate, who correctly identified her problem as resulting from pharmaceutical interactions, that life became worth living again. “She is one of those patients that I wish we had ‘before and after’ pictures for because she is so normal now and is back on the right course,” said Brangman. As medication interactions may contribute to anxiety and
depression, the first thing to do is check basic laboratory tests. However, it is also important for the health care provider to know which medications may put an older adult at high risk for a bad drug reaction. Some medications are high risk on their own or at certain doses, while others can pose a danger when they interact with each other or the underlying medical problem. If those check out OK, then the question really is, “how long is it OK to feel this way?” If it goes on too long and you’re feeling like life will never be worth living again, that’s probably the time to say, “this isn’t something I can deal with totally alone, so what do I do?” This is where the collaboration and strategies IMPARA is looking to develop come in. If enough people know about and understand the issue, there can be early intervention in people’s lives before they go too far downhill. The CNY Pearls (Program to Encourage Active Rewarding LiveS) program, run by Syracuse Jewish Family Service is just one example of a program that works very well to find and assist older adults who have minor depression. The program utilizes a simple to use form, known as the PHQ 9 questionnaire for screening and monitoring symptoms. Those who meet the selection criteria, and elect to participate in the Pearls multicomponent approach to treatment, are visited weekly in their own homes by trained counselors. To find out if Pearls might be helpful for you, call SJFS’s Kelly Besaw at 315-446-9111, ext. 231. The PHQ9 is a wonderful assessment tool that you can even use yourself. The form will be available at doctor’s offices, adult living sites, information fairs, to Meals on Wheels deliverers — in short, available to anyone who comes in contact with someone they might think is a bit depressed. For immediate help, one resource to call is the 24-hour hotline available through Contact at 315 -251-0600. You can be totally anonymous and speak to a live human being who will listen to your situation and make some suggestions. Why not take the first step for yourself or a loved one by picking up the phone and making that call?
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The Man Behind Meals on Wheels
Mason Kaufman marking 30 years with CNY’s largest Meals on Wheels program By Mary Beth Roach
M
ason Kaufman has worked for Syracuse’s Meals on Wheels program for 30 years doing a “a little of this and a little that,” as he put it. As the executive director of Meals on Wheels of Syracuse since 1994, the 58-year-old oversees the operations for the largest MOW in Central New York and the fourth oldest one in the country. The Syracuse MOW began in May of 1959. From its space in a wing on the first floor of the Almus Olver Towers, a Syracuse Housing Authority facility on Burt Street, he supervises a staff of 15 and a team of 250 volunteers. He creates and fosters networks within the community, does fundraising and works with the board of directors and staff to develop policy to make sure they stay on their mission. He’s been known to help out in the kitchen and make deliveries himself. He estimates that his team delivers an average of 768 meals to 328 homebound clients daily on 30 routes throughout the city of Syracuse, south to the Onondaga National and the Jordan and Elbridge area. “There’s a lot of different pieces and everything has to run at the same speed or we get into glitches,” Kaufman said, but jokingly added that they have had 54 years to work on it. During Kaufman’s tenure, MOW of Syracuse has expanded its service and
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its facilities, has obtained significant grant funding and been honored for its service. In the past two years, the agency’s statistics shows an 8 percent growth; it anticipates providing 197,000 meals this year alone. While the job has its challenges, Kaufman is quick to point out that there are many rewards. “I wouldn’t be here this long if there wasn’t,” he said with a chuckle. “We know that we’re feeding people. It’s very basic. We know that people we’re helping stay in their homes and what we’re seeing is research that says if you feed people and you make sure they’re safe in their homes, they’re going to stay there longer.” There are thousands of MOW programs throughout the country and several in Onondaga County and Central New York, each with its own specific service territory — MOW of Syracuse takes care of the city south to the Onondaga Nation and Jordan and Elbridge; the North Area MOW focuses on North Syracuse, Cicero, Brewerton and parts of Liverpool; and ECHO serves Geddes, Camillus, Marcellus, Fairmount and Westvale. There is also a MOW program serving Fayetteville, Manlius, Jamesville and Dewitt; one for East Syracuse and Minoa; one in Baldwinsville; and a kosher MOW based out of the Jewish Family Services.
Financial assistance
When Syracuse’s MOW of Syracuse began, it was private pay for those who could afford it, Kaufman explained. As time went on, however, the agency was able to get resources to help pay for the meals, including federal grants and state grants for low-income seniors. Managed care has come in, fostering partnerships with the VNA Homecare, Fidelis and Loretto’s PACE program, for example. When Kaufman began with MOW in 1984 as a social worker, the organization had the potential to get a state grant that would identify and feed people in rural areas as well as individuals who were 75 or older in the city areas. His job was to identify individuals in the Lafayette and Tully areas who needed meals and to build a list to underscore the need. They received the grant, known as Wellness in Nutrition, in 1986 and have continued to receive it annually. Kaufman did not start out in social work, but in the computer business “back in the days when there were punch cards,” he said. He graduated from Bronx Community College, but realizing that he wanted to find work in a “helping field,” as he called it, he returned to school and earned a master’s in social work at Hunter College School of Social Work. “I just didn’t feel comfortable sitting in front of a computer and not
Mason Kaufman at Meals on Wheels of Syracuse kitchen.
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helping people,” he said. He had considering working in physical therapy, and while that career path didn’t quite meet his goals, it did help him meet his wife, Linda, a physical therapist and medical coder. Although Kaufman is from the Bronx, he and Linda often vacationed in the Central New York area, and Linda had gone to Ithaca College, so they were familiar with this area. They figured, “Why not go to the place where you vacation and live there?” he said. So, the couple moved to Syracuse about 30 years ago and resides in Cicero with their four dogs. In the mid-1990s, when the job of executive director came open, Kaufman said, “Maybe I can do this, and so I applied.” The board at the time agreed that he was up to the task and put him in charge.
An evolving organization
Serving on the board then was James Schaefer, who cited that among the reasons for selecting Kaufman were his analytical mind, his skills at handling responsibilities and his ability to interact with people and the various agencies that help fund MOW of Syracuse. Schaefer also credited Kaufman for guiding the expansion of the agency’s kitchen and office space at Almus Olver in 1999. The Syracuse Housing Authority had been awarded a federal grant that had allowed them to revamp the towers, Schaefer explained. This enabled the organization to expand its footprint to better enable it to handle the increasing need. However, in order to maintain uninterrupted food delivery to recipients and keep foodstuffs at the proper temperatures, Schaefer explained, the move from the old kitchen to the new space had to be done in one weekend. Kaufman managed the whole transition, Schaefer said. Board member Don Mueller cited Kaufman’s commitment and his managerial skills. “He’s a good leader and very prepared,” he said, adding that because Kaufman is so prepared, the board is able to get through an entire agenda 26
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in one hour. “Not many boards can do that,” Mueller joked. “The trick is to change with the times, not to have blinders on,” Kaufman said. “I try to listen to other people. I like to get the information and try to make decisions with as much information as possible.” While Kaufman’s tenure has been marked by significant changes and growth, there continues to be growing pains along the way as well. “From the point we started to receive funding for low-income seniors, it changed the landscape for us,” he said. With the additional funding, the program began serving more people, but as the number of recipients increases, so does the need for additional volunteers. “For every person we’re putting on, we have to get volunteers as well. There’s always that challenge that as we grow we also have to grow in terms of volunteers,” he said. While similar food service p ro g r a m s h a v e s t r u g g l e d a n d continue to try to meet the demand for volunteers, some have cut back from a full week to just delivering one or two days or they have had to pay volunteers, he noted. But, Syracuse’s MOW has kept the traditional contact between the volunteers and their recipients, providing not only meals but a measure of security as well. “We’re seeing the people each day, so we’re more than just providing that meal. We call it safety reassurance,” he said. MOW has emergency contacts for their recipients should a volunteer server detect any problems.
Budgetary concerns
Along with increases in recipients comes an increase in costs. Kaufman estimates it costs about $9.50 for a double meal. They are subsidized for $7.50, so MOW has to raise $2 for every meal it does. He estimates they have to raise between $90,000 to $100,000 each year to balance the budget. “We’re always in a situation where you’re concerned about something. Balancing a budget, fundraising, getting the meals out day to day and the weather,” he said. “I try to take them as they come up.” Kaufman says an even-keel
personality and his ability to keep current enables him to not only meet the challenges, but succeed. “There’s so much variety in what I do and so much challenge. I guess I have the demeanor to sustain,” he said. “If I’m at a place where I’m happy, I’m not looking elsewhere. I’m not looking to greener pastures. I’m not thinking ‘there’s got to be something better.’” He doesn’t get excited, Schaefer had said, and if he does get frustrated, he controls himself, which makes for an effective manager. On being a leader, Kaufman said, “No. 1 is that you surround yourself with talented and caring people. The other thing is dealing with the challenges. There are constant hurdles, and we’re really creative in finding ways around them. I’m never alone in this.” When asked to identify his successes, he refocuses the attention onto the agency. “My accomplishments are Meals on Wheels’ accomplishments. It’s really hard for me to separate the two,” he said. Aside from the dayto-day feeding of people, he noted, MOW has been able to establish a 401K for employees; they were named the 2002 Small Business of the Year by the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce (now CenterState CEO); a finalist in 2009 for the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce’s Non-Profit of the Year; the chamber’s 2009 Economic Champion of CNY and the 2010 Eldercare Corporate Champion Award from the Eldercare Foundation. That sense of collaboration marks Kaufman’s view of his work and life overall. “We all do a part of something and we all need to work with others,” he said. “It’s hard to live your life without a dependence on others. You’ve got to build partnerships. It’s no different with nonprofits.” As Meals on Wheels of Syracuse marks its 55th year, what’s ahead for Kaufman? “I plan to stay as long as I’m healthy and as long as everyone will have me,” he remarked.
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Volunteers at Core of Meals on Wheels Meals on Wheels sounded like a good endeavor. The couple volunteer twice a week and have worked out a system for themselves. Mary handles the paperwork and organizes the containers according to their route, and James makes the actual deliveries. At his first stop one morning, the amiable James noticed one of the meals included a brightly decorated piece of birthday cake. So as soon as the recipient opened the door, she was greeted by James singing, “Happy Birthday.”
By Mary Beth Roach
V
olunteers — a team totaling about 250 — keep Meals on Wheels of Syracuse rolling. Beginning about 8:30 a.m. on any given weekday, about 15 to 20 volunteers will come to the MOW kitchen facility, located on the first floor of the Almus Olver Apartments on Burt Street. Together with staff, they will work in an assembly line to put together more than 700 meals. They tray them up, label them and put them in delivery containers that are marked for each of the 32 delivery routes. Then, at approximately 11 a.m., another team of nearly 40 volunteers will stream into the facility. They get their vehicles loaded up with the containers, pick up their information packets, including their list of recipients and addresses from volunteer coordinator Sarah Parton, and head out. Within two hours, about 328 people throughout the city, south to the Onondaga Nation and in the towns of Jordan and Elbridge will have received their lunches and another meal for later in the evening. While some volunteers are students or groups from local businesses, the majority are seniors, according to Mason Kaufman, executive director of the organization. To give back to the community and to remain active in retirement are the most common reasons that the senior volunteers gave for becoming involved.
On the front lines
Julia Jones began delivering meals with her daughter, Anna, after she retired several years ago. Her mother had been a recipient before she passed away, so she
‘Safety reassurance’
was familiar with the work of the organization. It also keeps Jones, an energetic former police officer, active. “I owe them more than they’ll ever owe me,” she said. James and Mary Boyce of Liverpool have been volunteers for more than three years, after they both retired from New Process Gear. They were looking for a way to get involved, Mary said, and
The relationship between the volunteers and recipients is a key component to the operation. If, for example, a recipient does not answer the door to receive a meal, the volunteer will alert the MOW office, which will reach out to that individual’s emergency contact for a follow-up. Kaufman calls it their “safety reassurance.” The number of hours one wants to work and the tasks they choose to take on are fairly flexible. They can help in the kitchen, assist with the packaging or they can do deliveries. Some of the volunteer drivers have servers that go with them to actually deliver the meals to the recipients. Volunteers must use their own cars, have valid insurance and a good driving record, explained Parton. The routes, she said, are approximately 15 miles round trip. Those interested in becoming a volunteer or perhaps arranging for meals for a loved one can call 315478-5948 and follow the telephone prompts or visit the program’s website at meals.org. It’s rewarding, James Boyce said, to get to meet people and see the appreciation on the faces. Kaufman concurs. They know they’re making a difference, he said. February / March 2014 - 55 plus
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relations
The Dating Game Singles groups becoming popular as way to find companionship By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
I
f it’s been a while since you’ve dipped your toes into the dating pool, you may be surprised at how different it’s become — in both positive and negative ways. And it’s not all because you’re a mature adult now, who perhaps has raised a family and worked a career for decades in the meantime. Larry Perkins, a Liverpool 55-plusser, became exclusive with Felice Clark, a retiree from North Syracuse, about eight years ago. He had never married, and Clark had been married and has a grown child. Though they enjoy spending time together, getting married or cohabitating isn’t on the radar, unlike many couples of decades ago. The two met through a singles group, where most members aren’t necessarily looking for a spouse or even a romantic partner, though Perkins admitted, “I think we both
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were kind of looking for someone.” Perkins serves as the webmaster for a few social groups, www. m o v i n g o n s y r a c u s e . o r g , w w w. cnysingles.org, www.unylows.org, and ww.upstatecampers.org. “Just this year, I started the two www.meetup.com groups, Moving On and Central New York Singles, to advertise the events that these group have been having for years,” Perkins said. Just because these groups are “singles friendly” in a primarily coupled world doesn’t mean that the groups’ purpose is to help singles pair off. “The goal of all these groups is, as you say, general socializing,” Perkins said. “They are not dating groups. But I don’t think that is any different than what college students do. It is neither new nor different. “High school students,
college students and even groups of young employees have coed activities,” he added. For many older adults, platonic socializing with the opposite gender is an aspect of marriage that they miss. If they don’t wish for commitment but just enjoy the conversation, social groups may be just what they want. Ironically, socializing in a nondating environment is a good way to find someone special for those who are looking. “It seems to me to be a more natural way to meet someone,” Perkins said. “It takes some of the pressure off the first date. It’s a traditional way of meeting somebody. Do something you want and get out because you meet more people.” Baby Boomer Diane Knowlton of Syracuse is the president of Moving On, a Syracuse-area group for people who are single again through divorce
or death of a spouse. Knowlton has been divorced since 1998 and has no plans to find another husband. After her divorce, she realized that her time was all hers to enjoy hobbies, travel and do whatever she wished. She joined the group because she wanted to meet other people and enjoy sharing activities with others. She does not consider her social interactions with men in the group as “dating.” Knowlton said that for mature singles interested in dating, but not necessarily commitment, joining the group is a good idea. “It’s more social, not as romantic,” she said. “You’re not expecting that this person is marriage material.” For those who find someone special and become exclusive, cohabitation or marriage may not even happen — and remaining independent is what many of these couples want. “They both have their own houses or apartments and they’re not planning on getting married because they don’t want to face the chances of divorce or death again and they don’t want to risk their finances,” Knowlton said. “They are happy with the person they’ve met, though.” From romantic to platonic, the dates themselves have also changed from the dates of yesteryear. Knowlton said most women pay their own way and don’t expect to be waited on. “Dutch treat” is typical. But rest assured that not everything has changed. Knowlton said most women won’t make the first move to call a fellow, unless they have known each other a while. But she couldn’t resist the jab, “Some are in the oldfashioned way.” Though online dating has become more mainstream in recent years, retirees aren’t as interested in using technology for becoming paired off, just in finding social outlets. Though Perkins has no data on his sites’ Web traffic, he said that the groups appear to be thriving. The same isn’t true for older retirees and online dating, according to a recent report from the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project. The study indicated that only 3 percent of those over age 65 have tried online dating. Compare that with the 17 percent in the 35 to 44 age bracket and the 25 percent of the 25- to 34-year-olds.
Larry Perkins met Felice Clark about eight years ago through a singles group. For them, getting married or cohabitating isn’t on the radar, unlike many couples of decades ago. February / March 2014 - 55 plus
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leadership The Woman With the Tzedakah Box
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Linda Alexander carries philanthropic torch for Jewish organizations By Matthew Liptak
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s a poor girl starting out in the Willamsburg project of Brooklyn, Linda Alexander was a recipient of Jewish Federation programs like summer camp and dance lessons. Today, the 70-year-old from Dewitt is the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Central New York and founder of the Jewish Community Foundation of Central New York. “My mother had to work and so I was like a latchkey kid who went to the Jewish center after school because nobody was home after school,” she said. “I was the recipient of the services that now I’m helping to fund for other people who need services. I can really see the value in it. I grew up with it.” The federation and foundation are two charitable nonprofit organizations that serve the 7,000 people in the
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Central New York community. They also give to causes outside the immediate Jewish community such as the response to the recent typhoon in the Philippines. Alexander described the Jewish Federation of Central New York as a kind of United Way. Members of the Jewish community are encouraged to contribute what they can each year and then the money is distributed to agencies and organizations within the community that need funding. The money gathered is fully distributed annually. “The foundation is different [from the federation],” Alexander said. “The foundation is people open up funds— endowment funds. We invest the funds and we only give away the interest. We never give away the principal. That’s the difference. The way I describe the foundation is like a fruit tree because
like planting a tree, you plant this fund. Each year you can enjoy the fruit because the next year you’re going to get fruit again. So you use the interest each year, that’s the fruit, but you won’t cut down the tree.” The Jewish Community Foundation was Alexander ’s brainstorm. Today it has $6.46 million in managed assets. It administers more than 300 funds from donors of all ages. The foundation distributed over $900,000 in grants in 2013. Those who work with her on the foundation praise her ability to grow the foundation. “She is very bright, supportive, personable and creative,” Lynn Smith foundation chairwoman said of Alexander. “But best of all she has expanded her reach far above her work profile to be the face of the foundation’s efforts to reach out,
educate and include those members of our community who are similarly inclined.”
Pennies for the poor
Although she deals with large figures now, for Alexander it all started with putting a few coins in a tin box decades ago. “The interesting thing is as poor as we were, we always had a little Tzedakah box that sat on our windowsill that my mother would put in extra coins,” Alexander said. “She had pennies or something. She’d just throw coins in. That was for the poor people. I didn’t realize I was really the poor one because I’d figure that’s for people who are really poor. That’s the idea of having a federation. Everyone gives within his or her means. There are people who give $35,000 a year. There are people who give $5 a year.” Though they may not have had much to give, Alexander has only a positive recollection of being a girl in Williamsburg. “It was great,” she said. “I went outside. There were a million kids outside. I had plenty of people to play
with. I had a great time. Everybody else was in the same condition I was. I went to camp every summer thanks to the federation. I had music lessons. I had a great childhood.” She got married and moved to Central New York 42 years ago, raised a family of three and made a life. A math teacher by trade, she also worked her way up in the federation from volunteer to running the organization. She is a grandmother of three and loves being a grandma. “It’s the greatest thing because you play and then you hand them back,” she said. “I think it’s the greatest thing ever. It is definitely something to look forward to. Children are great.” She encourages those her age to stay active. In her free time she plays tennis. But she also counsels moderation.
Energy begets energy
“You get energy by giving off energy,” she said. “I really do believe that. If you just sit and you’re not doing something, it perpetuates itself. You got to keep moving. Keep moving as much as you can. Moderation —I’m a
Passion for Tennis Linda Alexander has had a passion for tennis for years.In fact, she helped represent New York state in tennis with a partner at the National Senior Games in 2009 for the 60- to 65-year-old age group. It was in Palo Alto on the campus of Stanford University in California. She didn’t win a medal, didn’t even place, but she won a few matches. It was good enough for her. “That was a lot of fun,” she said. “It was great. I was there and my whole family came to cheer us on against other seniors. It was the most amazing thing.” She used to play every day, but now she plays three or four times a week. She had to scale it down because she doesn’t want to get injured. As a member of the local team of the United States Tennis Association, Alexander continues
to stay competitive. They have practice on Sunday and matches on Wednesday night. The teams are classed by ability and not by age. Some are older than Alexander and some are younger. “I always say when we play with other people I’m one of the few people that is playing with original parts,” she said.
very big believer in moderation. That’s why I don’t play every day because if I played every day I’d enjoy it but I’d probably get injured. You have to respect the fact that you are getting older.” Alexander hopes for more of the same in her future. She has had to give up some of her other endeavors because she directs two organizations. That’s her limit, she said. But at an age where many are already enjoying the rewards of retirement, she continues to work hard on the behalf of the Jewish community. “I don’t feel I’m growing older,” she said. “It hasn’t caught up to me. There is a difference but I’m still going strong. Still enjoying it. I’d just like to continue doing what I’m doing. I can’t ask for a better job. I work with wonderful people. I love the people I work with. I love giving them the opportunity to feel good. They walk out of my office and they feel good. What more could you ask? They’ve done something good for somebody else and they feel good about it. It’s a win-win for both. I couldn’t have a better job.”
Lifelines Age: 70 Residence: DeWitt Family: Husband of 44 years Steven Alexander, a retired family physician who practiced for 35 years in DeWitt. Children: Orthodontist Keith Alexander of Orlando Fla.; physician Eric Alexander of San Franciso; and psychotherapist Karen Pomerantz, of Portland, Ore. Three grandchildren. Education: degree in mathematics, Queens College, New York City Career: Taught high school math in New York City, then at Jamesville Dewitt High School in the 1970s, Worked her way up from volunteer at Jewish Federation of Central NewYork to being its president. Founder of The Jewish Community Foundation of Central NewYork. Hobbies: Tennis, knitting, theater, travel. Alexander represented the state of New York as a tennis player in the 2009 National Senior Games on the Stanford University Campus in California. Knits for her grandchildren, attends plays and traveled extensively all over the world with her husband. February / March 2014 - 55 plus
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golden years By Harold Miller Email: hal@cny55.com
It’s Freezing Here in Florida
A
... and I am reminded once again of the greatest scam ever perpetrated on our country
s we prepare for the second blast of cold air this season, the orange growers water down their trees (ice insulates to prevent killing the crop), homeless centers open up, and I am reminded once again of the greatest scam ever perpetrated on our country. It all started over a half century ago when oceanographer Roger Revelle became the director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego. Roger saw the opportunity to obtain major funding from the Navy for doing some measurements and research on the ocean around the Pacific atolls where the U. S. military was conducting atomic-bomb tests. As a result, he hired Hans Suess, a noted Austrian-born geochemist from the University of Chicago, to help with the program. Suess had been interested in traces of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels. Revelle tagged on to Suess’ studies and co-authored a paper with him in 1957. The paper raised the possibility that carbon dioxide may be creating a greenhouse effect that would cause atmospheric warming over time. R o g e r, w h o w a s f o u n d i n g chairman of the first Committee on Climate Change and the Ocean, had greenbacks rather than green on his mind as additional funding became available and their studies became the bedrock of the “science” of global warming. An environmental issue was soon established and its funding and very existence depended upon a continuing crisis. The founder of global warming concept soon became the godfather of global warming but he left Scripps in 1963 and moved to Harvard University to head the new Center for Population Studies. It was there that Revelle inspired one of his students to become
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a global warming activist. That student was Al Gore. The rest is global warming history — a Nobel Peace prize and $100 million from the carbon credits business (our tax money). Revelle then gave his research to the United Nations. The U.N. then formed the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). That made global warming a global issue and brought the other industrialized countries into the fear sphere. Then, Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope jumped into the warm water and was able to generate an environmental crisis. He joined the chorus of climatologists that predicted the tipping point for global warming 50 years hence. At that point, according to his argument, man-made greenhouse gasses would irreversibly damage our planet, oceans would rise-up and flood the land (we have lived on our beach in Florida during the winter for over 40 years, and today it is wider than ever), horrendous storms would devastate what’s left of the human race, and the earth would become a burned out cinder. Then came the ethanol scam when the U.S. government mandated renewable energy bio fuels that would replace fossil fuels and reduce global warming. However, David Pimental, a leading Cornell University agricultural expert, has calculated that 70 percent more energy is required to produce a gallon of ethanol than it yields (our government is just now scaling back the ethanol mandate and reining in the subsidies for farmers to grow feed corn to make fuel). The U.S. Government has also funded several pie-in-the-sky programs for renewable energy programs, such as windmills. There was a serious proposal to install windmills across the peak of the Appalachian Mountain chain from Maine to Tennessee (look dear, isn’t that a lovely sunset over
the windmill blades on the Smokey Mountain tops). Fortunately the greenies had to back off from that plan because the windmills are killing too many birds. The global warming scam was gaining momentum among most of the industrialized nations when, a few years ago, someone hacked into the computers of England’s University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit (CRU) publishing emails and documents on the Internet of some of the world’s most influential climatologists. Damaging information was exposed indicating that global researchers were cooking the science behind global warming. The hacked emails proved that a group of scientists was massaging data, squelching scientists that disagreed, punishing academic journals that did not spew the party line and generally hiding their work from public view. Meanwhile, the greenies maintained a bunker mentality and continued to reinforce the scare tactics that predicted doom. A c t u a l l y, i t i s b e c o m i n g increasingly difficult to hide the fact that this spinning orb that we call home has been on a cool-down cycle for quite some time. Major climate research centers now accept that there has been a pause in global warming since 1997. A leaked report to the IPCC has led some scientists to claim that the world is heading for a period of cooling that will not end until the middle of this century. In a rebound from 2012’s record low temperatures, an unbroken ice sheet more than half the size of Europe already stretches from the Canadian Islands to Russia’s northern shores — before the annual re-freeze began. The biggest impact of all of this is that Janet and I will have to pack more warm clothing when we head to Florida next season.
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nostalgia
The ‘Golden Age’ of Radio WRVO has a considerable radio classics collection: Nearly 10,000 unique programs By Avery Galek
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he golden age of radio is a nostalgic voice still reaching the airwaves, reminding its listeners of a different era. National Public Radio’s regional affiliate WRVO runs a complete and sometimes rare collection heard every night, conjuring old-time tales to inspire theater of the mind. “These sorts of shows have lived on through collectors and networks who recorded them in the first place,” said regional host Mark Lavonier. “To that end, what has survived from radio’s yesteryear we have quite a bit of, and it is a remarkable collection.” R e c o g n i z i n g “ T h e W RV O Playhouse” as its longest running radio show of about 25 years, the time-honored anthology has accumulated around 16,000 old-time programs, including classics such as “Gangbusters,” “The Whistler” and “Gunsmoke.” A few years ago, the
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show switched its format and was renamed “Tuned to Yesterday.” “For many long-time listeners, ‘ Tu n e d t o Ye s t e r d a y ’ a n d i t s predecessor, ‘WRVO Playhouse,’ have been constant companions for decades, and the collection is so extensive that we could air programs for two hours every night of the week for more than five years without repeating an episode,” said general manager Michael Ameigh. Beginning his radio career at WRVO nearly 12 years ago, 35-yearold Lavonier remembers his love for old-time radio as a young boy in the 1980s. He listened to the oncepopular programs such as “The Green Hornet” and “The Shadow” every evening, using his imagination to bring narratives to life.
Still relevant
“I think it’s relevant insofar as
these shows still tell a very human story,” Lavonier said. Although they are not contemporary with technology, the human element is still there, he added. His perspective on storytelling is that it helps people realize the power of their imagination in a way other mediums cannot provide. “With old-time radio you really are the director,” he said. “You dress the cast, paint the sets, it’s your imagination that really dictates what goes on.” Lavonier works as a regional host and producer for NPR’s oldest news magazine, “All Things Considered,” airing from 4–7 p.m. His glory in oldtime radio is with the program “Tuned to Yesterday,” airing from 10 p.m. to midnight on its local frequency and from 8-10 p.m. on its high definition channel. Both programs run seven days a week.
WRVO’s considerable goldenage collection began with a Central New York woman by the name of Ellen Robinson. As an old-time radio collector, she allowed the station to use her personal reel-to-reel tapes several decades ago, on the condition that it records them and returns the original copies. When she passed away in the 1990s, she donated her whole collection, giving WRVO claim to approximately 7,500 programs. Another notable donor is Ted Nettleton with over 1,000 tapes. The station strives to provide a wide variety of shows. Lavonier said as time goes on it is the actor’s names that stand out, such as Jack Benny and Bob Hope, rather than specific series. Each hour of the show provides a different genre, ranging from comedy, mystery, crime and horror. The audience’s interests vary. “There is not one show in all my years of hosting that has risen to the top that everyone totally likes,” Lavonier said. The majority of programs are now in the public domain, which means anyone can gain rights to them. Some shows are avoided because of copyright issues, such as “The Shadow” and “The Lone Ranger,” which the station cannot play anymore.
Audience clamors for shows
“WRVO’s audience ratings in the 10 p.m. to midnight slot have always been near the high end compared to other radio stations in Central New York,” Ameigh said. “That indicates the audience is listening and doing so consistently. Listeners to ‘Tuned to Yesterday’ are among our most ardent fans.”
WRVO regional host Mark Lavonier standing next to the collection of old time radio shows. “To that end, what has survived from radio’s yesteryear we have quite a bit of, and it is a remarkable collection.” “ I t ’ s a l w a y s b e e n a s t ro n g listenership,” Lavonier said. “A lot of people are unwinding at that [hour] and primetime television is over.” The audience demographic for old-time programs and WRVO in general remain at aged 55 and over. Yet, Lavonier hears response from teenage listeners as well as national collectors and aficionados. “You would be surprised at how many younger listeners tell us they enjoy old-time radio broadcasts,” Ameigh added. “Many of these programs have timeless appeal precisely because there is nothing comparable in modern broadcasting.” Restorative efforts are also something Lavonier commits a lot of time to. The majority of reel-to-reel tapes are now converted digitally before going on air as well as noise reduction techniques to diminish undesired hiss. Technical operations director Jeff Windsor began working at WRVO in January 1995. One of his first jobs was playing old-time radio shows at night. The late John Krauss was the regional host at the time and his “voiceover cuts” were prerecorded.
“In those days everything was done in real time and there were occasions when I’d press play on a tape deck and a splice in the tape would break,” Windsor said. “Then it was a mad rush to put the tape back together before the impromptu filler music ended.” In comparing with other NPR affiliates that broadcast golden-age programs regularly, WRVO remains one of very few in the country, according to Lavonier. “The last 15 years they’ve been dropping like flies,” he said. “What I enjoy most is that I’m part of the next generation to have these programs live on.” They are significantly important for our culture, not only for entertainment purposes but also act as a historical snapshot, he added. It is a reflection of the era. “The fact that it has been relevant in previous generations up until today in terms of the value of storytelling and the fact that it has a historical value, it still can touch on your imagination that is powerful enough to engage you,” Lavonier said. “Those things will never stop.” February / March 2014 - 55 plus
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first person
What Toastmasters Has Done for Me The nonprofit helps individuals with their speaking, listening and leadership skills By Sue Edmonds
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he first time it happened, it caught everyone by surprise. We wondered what would happen to those who were affected. By the eighth layoff, we were no longer surprised. We simply waited in trepidation while people around us received their phone calls to report to human resources. We realized that the company was not doing well, but few of us expected bankruptcy. Many of us were long-timers. In fact at lunch one day, seven of us added up our combined years of service and it totaled 150. Some had 30 years or more with the company, but now we were all on the market. Our new job was “sales” and we needed to sell ourselves to a prospective employer. I found a way to do that, and so much more. A friend suggested that I join Toastmasters in order to improve my interviewing skills. I had heard of the group but wrongly assumed that it was only for public speakers. I certainly was not a public speaker. Even though I was comfortable doing corporate training with colleagues, like most people I was a bit nervous with the idea of giving a presentation in front of total strangers. The term for this is glossophobia, and most people have it to some degree. So what exactly was this Toastmasters group all about and how could it help me in the corporate world
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and my personal life? I met a myriad of people in the organization. The reasons for joining were as varied as the people. Some, like me, had joined in order to improve the skill of thinking on your feet so that they could concisely and accurately answer interview questions. One gentleman joined because he had attended a family funeral and was too fearful to give a eulogy— something he has always regretted.
groups are open to the public. How do they train people to improve their communications? Every meeting, members are invited to take on specific roles so that they can expand their skill set. The more experienced members may be the toastmaster, leading the meeting for the evening and making sure that each speaker transitions smoothly from one to the next. This skill can be used daily in running office meetings. You may be the invocator, sharing words of encouragement and guidance or the joke teller. Telling a joke is an art form in itself and can contribute to the cohesiveness of a group by sharing a laugh with everyone. Every meeting features one to two speakers with a prepared, timed speech based on the principles explained in one of our manuals. The first communication manual has 10 different goals, each addressing a different aspect of speaking, such as vocal variety or the use of visual aids. After each prepared speech,
Out with the mundane
A 78-year-old gentleman told me that he had become bored with crossword puzzles and Sudoku and had decided to stretch his “gray matter” by creating speeches and sharing his life experiences with others. Still others joined so that they could master the communication, organization and leadership skills needed for their office environment. The nonprofit organization has been around since 1924. Its purpose is to help individuals with their speaking, listening and leadership skills. There are over 30 groups in the Central New York area that meet throughout the week to fit almost anyone’s schedule. It is quite easy to find a group near your home or your office. Often, companies or universities will host a private group, but the majority of
Sue Edmonds
an evaluator will offer a critique, explaining what the speaker did well and offering some suggestions for improvement. This was one of the highlights for me since it helped me to improve my speaking skills.
Ease your way in
If you do not volunteer for a formal role, you still have the opportunity to speak at every meeting during “Table Topics.” You will be asked a question and given one to two minutes to answer it. That was a great way to practice my interviewing skills. By practicing, you’ll gradually gain the expertise to do this and eliminate the “filler words” many of us use such as “ah” and “um.” You learn to be clear and concise. The warm welcome that I received when I attended my first meeting of the Liverpool SELECT club unannounced was just the start. Members learn the skill of including everyone so that all are made to feel relaxed. I was nervous about giving my first speech—the “Ice Breaker,” but Toastmasters never pressures you, allowing you to create your own time line. They partner you with a mentor and you speak only when you feel ready and confident. You receive plenty of smiles and encouragement along the way. While some people are naturals, and arrive feeling poised and exuding confidence, others take a full year to make their first speech. But that’s OK. So who exactly benefits from Toastmasters? Public speakers? That goes without saying, but anyone from any walk of life can receive the benefits. At work you are with customers, subject matter experts and colleagues. You may hold staff meetings or give presentations. You may belong to a social group where you would do the same or perhaps you’ve been asked to give a reading at church or a toast for a wedding. We communicate every day with a variety of people and Toastmasters can greatly benefit us. So what has Toastmasters done for me? I have spoken at a Rotary Club luncheon, been on channel 9’s “Bridge Street” and had articles published locally promoting Toastmasters. I became comfortable enough to enter three Toastmasters speaking contests, advancing to higher levels several times. And I ended up getting a position teaching at a local college in
front of a room full of strangers every semester, feeling confident and poised.
About Toastmasters
Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. Founded in October 1924, the organization has more than 270,000 members in 13,000 clubs in 116 countries. Each week, Toastmasters helps more than a quarter million people of every ethnicity, education and profession build their competence in communication so they can gain the confidence to lead others. For information about local Toastmasters clubs, visit www.toastmasters.org. For meeting days/time, visit selecttoastmasters.toastmastersclubs. org/
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Sue Edmonds is retired but worked in IT for over 30 years, most recently as an IT manager before switching to the educational field. She is the vice president of public relations for Toastmasters SELECT Club in Liverpool. She can be reached at 315-652-4253.
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Story Idea for 55 PLUS?
editor@cny55.com
February / March 2014 - 55 plus
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culture
Cork Goss’ latest: a clay project that is a blown up replication of a one-of-a-kind stele (plaque) from Egypt called “The Royal Family.”
Art for the People Syracuse artist wants more murals in Upstate New York
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By Aaron Gifford ork Goss is not the stereotypical sensitive artist. He didn’t take up painting for the sole reason of expressing himself. The work is not always about making a statement. And while he’s inspired by the great painters of centuries past, Goss’ goal is not to restrict his best pieces to exclusive museums, galleries or in the homes of the wealthy. On the contrary, he’s mainly focused on producing art for the people. As an emerging artist, he walked among contractors, motor heads and “can do” people in a course of life that has helped in bring an industrial strength to a product that is also aesthetic. Those products, murals,
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have been viewed by thousands of Central New Yorkers and visitors to the region over the years, and he hopes to eventually dot the entire span of the Erie Canal with several more pieces across the state. He has several pieces in the Erie Canal museum in downtown Syracuse, as well as works in Cazenovia, Canastota, Wallworth (near Rochester), Newark, Lyons, Clyde, Weedsport and Richfield Springs. Looking back and forward on his career, Goss, 56, is quick to credit penicillin with saving his life when he was a teen-ager and, more than a decade after that, providing him the opportunity of a lifetime as a muralist. He was hospitalized for five weeks
for an appendix injury that nearly killed him at the age of 13. The antibiotic drug played a key role in his recovery. Years later, as a graduate student at Syracuse University, BristolMyers in Syracuse approached him to produce a mural at their Thompson Road location. “It was far more than I had ever earned for a painting,” he said recalled. “It was a big break from the same company that made the penicillin that saved my life. It was kind of an eerie kind of karma.” Goss grew up in blue-collar community near Detroit. Goss, the middle child of four siblings, was only 9 when his father died. His mother worked as a school teacher.
As a child, Goss loved tracing and drawing. He took up painting as a hobby and stuck with it with very little formal training into his teen years. He took some art courses in high school, but didn’t initially believe that he would ever make a career of it. After reading “The Letters of Vincent van Gogh” at the age of 16, Goss decided to pursue art more seriously. During his undergraduate career at the University of Michigan, Goss created an 8-foot by 16-foot street scene mural for a school for delinquent boys. “It was a volunteer project,” he said. “It gave me a chance to use the compositional forms that I had learned [n class]. It was a surreal piece with a prism, storefronts and cars. They gave me creative freedom. I just did my own thing.” Goss said he applied to Syracuse University’s graduate program “in a panic.” He earned partial scholarships and a teaching assistance job. He got some exposure in the Central New York community as an up-and-coming painter, and that’s when Bristol-Myers approached him about painting a mural. That project, of course, opened the door for many other opportunities. Work trickled in steadily, including the projects at the Erie Canal Museum downtown and pieces commission by First Niagara Bank. He took on clients on nearby towns and established his Art in Public Places company, which was later renamed On-Sight Murals. Some of the projects he took on help, and some he’s done alone. The design work and color selection have always been tasks that Goss keeps for himself. “I like to be creative, but you still need to give them (clients) what they want. Small towns can be tough sometimes, but you can’t please everyone,” Goss said. Goss attempted to paint murals full-time, and often had as much work as he could handle. But when the work flow slowed down, he took on other jobs, including house painting. In 1986 he became a full-time tenured art professor at Cazenovia College, where he still works today. “It’s a nice arrangement because summers are your own,” said Goss, who lives in Syracuse. “And in the winter I can still do design work and indoor projects.” The stamina he developed painting houses when he was growing his
Goss’ murals, have been viewed by thousands of Central New Yorkers and visitors to the region over the years, and he hopes to eventually dot the entire span of the Erie Canal with several more pieces across the state. February / March 2014 - 55 plus
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business has helped him to handle long, hot days in the sun. Climbing up ladders and working from higher elevations or in uncomfortable positions for long periods of times is physically challenging, and suffices as a source of exercise and stress relief. “You do get stronger and tougher doing this,” he said. “It does help me stay healthy. That feeling you get after a 10-hour day — it’s an addiction, kind of like releasing endorphins.” Even though art is Goss’ full-time job, there are still other genres – clay and three dimensional works – that he enjoys as a hobby. He also enjoys hiking, reading nonfiction, and watching movies. Lately he’s been enjoying science fiction and foreign films. He also enjoys spending time with his family – wife Barbara, and children Graham, 30; Gabriel, 23; and Isabel, 16. All three children have taken an interest in various forms of art, including music, film and writing, but not as a vocation. “They all appreciate culture,” Goss said. “They are all pretty deeply read.” Over the past 27 years, Goss has taught dozen of students who went onto make a living in art, whether teaching it or selling their work. One of his most notable students is Shawn Barber, who continued his studies at Ringling School of Art & Design in Sarasota, Fla., before going on to show his work at nationally-renowned galleries. Several of his pieces have been purchased by celebrities. “He got the painting bug,” Goss said. “He really got the bug.” Goss said his dream mural would probably be something he could paint inside a music club and work on without constraints. A personal work, he said, “is a different language where you don’t care if people like it 42
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or understand it.” That’s not to say Goss doesn’t love painting on public places outdoors. He says it has been a privilege to display the history of the Erie Canal in a creative way. And while Goss has a solid reputation for painting to that topic, there is competition across the state from other mural artists that are equally interested in that type of work. That competition, Goss said, results in a better product for the public. “If someone else gets the contract,” he said, “it’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s all about the aesthetics.” Goss said while the quality of the paint, especially high-end acrylics, has improved during his career; in some
cases the paint has held up much better than the structure that hosts the mural. But the craft itself — drawing the design and painting it with brushes and rollers (Goss does not use spray paint) — is an old archaic process. Painting, he says, has a relationship with people that goes all the way back to the time humans lived in caves. “The idea is to have something that’s long lasting, so something can be relevant decades from now. Painting hasn’t changed. It’s still about the hand, the heart, the imagination. I try to make sure there’s plenty to look at.” He’s currently brainstorming a business plan to produce murals along the entire span of the Erie Canal for the canal’s upcoming bicentennial. The hope is that various funding s o u rc e s , i n c l u d i n g government grants, would be available for art contractors like Goss who could produce the work. “I’m thinking of it as an initiative for several murals instead of a once or twice type of thing,” Goss said. New York is a painter’s state. I call it the state of art.” And if the initiative materializes and Goss’ work dots the New York state landscape between Buffalo and Albany in the year 2025, the muralist said he’ll be just fine moving onto the next subject matter. “Do what’s hard. Do what’s a challenge,” he said. “Look at The Last Judgment. Michelangelo painted it when he was 80. You can continue to gain mastery. It’s a life-long process that can unfold. You don’t get worse, you get better and better every day.” To contact Cork Goss, send an email to corky.goss@gmail.com.
Top Travel Trends
Agencies say luxury travel and adventure travel are hot trends nowadays By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
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as the travel bug bitten you lately? You’re in good company. You may spot Marcia and Richard Benson, 71 and 72, respectively, along for the trip. When their children left the nest, the Baldwinsville couple ramped up their travel plans. “When the kids were small, we focused on child-oriented places,” said Marcia, who is retired from teaching. “Now, we enjoy historic places and travel based upon scenery, stuff that would have bored the kids.” Richard retired from a career as a self-employed contractor. Rheta Jenks, owner of B R Travel Service in Baldwinsville, said that baby boomers are her primary clients, but their interests are varied. “ T h e re ’ s n o o n e t h i n g f o r everyone,” she said. “For the most part, the older clientele is seeking more active vacations than they used to. They want to go hiking, kayaking, or doing something other than just sitting on a boat and watching the world go by. They want to be part of the action.” Many cruises have become floating resorts with plenty of engaging activities and recreational opportunities on board. The Bensons enjoy cruises because they don’t have to unpack as they tour an area, they don’t have to select a restaurant and they love all entertainment available on the ships. They have toured from Budapest to Prague, sailed the Caribbean and taken other trips. Intergenerational tours, and trips based upon a hobby or theme have also become hot, Jenks said, as have allinclusive trips. Phyllis Wolinski, owner of Aladdin Travel in Baldwinsville, agreed that the biggest travel trend for retirees is all-inclusive trips. “That way, you don’t have any surprises,” Wolinski said. She said that top locations include the Caribbean, Mexico, Ireland, Italy and river cruises in Eastern Europe.
Favorite domestic trips include Hawaii and the Western U.S. coastal cities. More adventuresome types go to Costa Rica. “[Costa Rica] has been quite popular because many people haven’t visited and they have a lot of excursion offers,” Wolinski said. “They have varied types of places to see: beaches, mountains, and cities. It’s called ‘The Little Switzerland.’” At Liberty Travel in Clay, Ashley Mark, travel consultant, agreed that many of her retiree clients like the same locations and also pointed out that their timeline is different from when they were younger. “They have more time now that they’re retired,” Mark said. “They’re taking trips that last over a week compared with just seven nights. They’re saving up to spend a longer time.” It’s actually a means of saving money. Travelers can see and do more on an extended trip and pay for only one flight or cruise instead of more. Lodging can also be less expensive since some lodging places offer discounts for extended stays. Mark said that her average retiree client spends about $4,000 to $8,000 per person. Amy Benson Jarvis, owner of The Travel Store in Liverpool and daughter of Marcia and Richard Benson, said that luxury travel and adventure travel are hot trends. “People are picking places they haven’t been,” She said. “They are not as afraid to venture out as they have been in the past. They are getting out of their comfort zone.” She has observed more travel to Russia and Asia, locales which 55-plus travelers weren’t visiting just a few years ago. If you can’t decide where to go, Benson Jarvis advises you to make a “wish list” and discuss it with a travel agent. “Say, ‘These are the places I really want to go in so many number of
years,’” she said. “’Tell me where I should go first, in case it becomes harder to get around later.’ That way you can see the things that are most important to you.” Many countries have different infrastructure than the United States, such as cobblestone streets, unpaved roads and limited access buildings, which would make travel more challenging to someone needing mobility assistance. Knock these locations off the list first. Mark also likes the “bucket list” idea and added that ranking them in importance can also make a difference as travel safety conditions can change because of weather and political unrest. Consider your family’s heritage, intriguing places to which you have been exposed through media and entertainment, and activities you would like to try. The Bensons like to select a location based upon what they want to do on the trip, but don’t make the expense the top priority. “Don’t get the most expensive, but not the least,” Marcia said. “You get what you pay for. But at a certain point, you’re paying for more luxury than what you need.” Though anyone can research travel venues online, working with a travel agent can be helpful in keeping abreast with travel safety advisories and discounted travel opportunities.
Marcia and Richard Benson of Baldwinsville: “When the kids were small, we focused on child-oriented places,” said Marcia, who is retired from teaching. “Now, we enjoy historic places and travel based upon scenery, stuff that would have bored the kids.” February / March 2014 - 55 plus
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visits Independence hall
Visit Philadelphia, Where America Started By Sandra Scott
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hiladelphia is the birthplace of American democracy. The city was one of the Nation’s capitals during the Revolutionary war and served as the temporary capital until Washington, DC was established as the capital in December 1800. Historic Independence Mall is called America’s Most Historic Square Mile. Most of the must-see sites are within walking distance from one another. Any city that can honor Benjamin Franklin and the Three Stooges certainly has something for everyone — there are ethnic neighborhoods to explore, sport teams to root for, parks for hiking and nightlife.
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Visitor Center: Make the Visitor Center your first stop. There are several interesting displays but don’t miss the two videos that offer an insight to America’s Revolution and the mood of the times. Staff will help plan everything from tours to accommodations. Tickets for a free timed tour of Independence Hall
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and other tours can be booked at the center. There are also maps, displays and brochures. Getting acquainted: Take one of the several hop-on bus tours for an overview of things to see and do in Philadelphia. They are fully narrated. There is so much to see and do in Philly so if you have less than a lifetime this is the best way to pick out what you would most like to see. Take it once around (90 minutes) then plan your hop off spots of which there are more than 20. Independence Hall: This is where the Second Continental Congress met, where George Washington was appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, and where the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776. Take note of the “rising sun” chair used by George Washington as he presided over the Constitutional Convention. The sun carved at the
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top of the chair caused Benjamin Franklin to hope it was a rising sun and a good omen for the new nation they were forming. Admission is by tour only but tickets are free. Liberty Bell Center: The Liberty Bell Center is located between the Visitor Center and Independence Hall. There is a video presentation and exhibits dealing with the concept of liberty. The bell cracked on its first ringing and was recast several times. The bell gained the title of “Liberty Bell” in the 1800s by abolitionists hoping to bring liberty and freedom to enslaved people. The lines to get in can be long midday so early or late arrival works out best. The center is open 9 to 5. National Constitution Center: Touted as “America’s Most Interactive Museum” it is the only museum dedicated to the U.S Constitution. “Freedom Rising,” the center’s multi-media presentation,
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is a journey from the inception of the constitution to the present time — and uniquely presented. Be one of the thousands who have signed the constitution with the 42 life-size bronze statues of the original signers standing nearby. Betsy Ross House: Did Betsy Ross create the first U.S. flag? You decide after a visit to her home. Her small house is a good example of the era and has a small shop where the docent explains that Betsy Ross was responsible for designing our flag’s five-pointed star, which she claimed was easier to make than a six-pointed star, and how she came to be lauded as the designer of the American flag. She is buried outside. The arts: The Philadelphia Museum of Art’s collection includes more than 227,000 works of art. One of the most popular artworks, albeit a bit controversial, is where visitors line up to have their picture taken with Rocky Balboa next to the steps where both were made famous in the Sylvester Stallone’s “Rocky” movies. Nearby is the Rodin Museum with the largest collection of French sculptor Auguste Rodin’s work outside of France. Explore the Barnes Foundation collection now in a new location. What started as an effort to channel the energy of graffiti artist into something worthwhile has
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The Liberty Bell Center is located between the Visitor Center and Independence Hall. resulted in over 3000 murals earning Philadelphia the title of “City of Murals.” Culinary delights: No visit to Philly is complete without trying their iconic culinary treats, including Philly cheese steak, a sandwich of thinly sliced beef, onions and cheese on a small loaf of Italian-style bread. Don’t miss their hoagie sandwich and try a whoopie, a soft chocolate cake-like cookie filled with sweet cream frosting. The best place to try Philly’s culinary delights is the Reading Terminal Market. To satisfy
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the sweet tooth take the Chocolate Walking Tour that stops at several locations for a sample or two. Festivals and more: Philadelphia has an event or festival for every season and every reason. Start the year off with their fireworks along the river followed by the Mummer’s parade, America’s oldest folk festival, on New Year’s day. The daylong parade includes comics, fancy brigades and the string bands. Outdoor food, art and music festivals take place (nearly) every weekend. And, as one might expect, the city pulls out all the stops to celebrate the Fourth of July. And then there is: There are so many things to do: Wander Effert’s Alley, America’s oldest continuously occupied residential street. Leave a penny on Franklin’s grave at Christ Church were other people instrumental in America’s development are also buried. At Liberty 360 there is a 15-minute film that deals with America’s most treasured value — liberty. The National Liberty Museum is a tribute to freedom with a dynamic section devoted to religious freedom for all religions. Philly is home to the only museum devoted to the three stooges, The Stoogeum. And, Valley Forge is just a short distance away. For more information log on to visitphilly.com or call 800-537-7676.
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Rocky Balboa next to the steps where both were made famous in the Sylvester Stallone’s “Rocky” movies.
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consumers corner By Eva Briggs, M.D.
How COPD Patients Can Avoid Hospitalization Influenza and other respiratory viruses make hospitalization in winter more common
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OPD — or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease — affects about 10 percent of people over age 40 worldwide. The most common risk factor is exposure to cigarette smoke, but it can be caused by other environmental exposures and genetic factors. Normal lungs contain main airways, bronchi, which branch into smaller airways, bronchioles, and end in tiny air-filled sacs called alveoli. The thin walls of alveoli contain blood vessels, allowing oxygen from inhaled air to diffuse into the circulation and for carbon dioxide to diffuse into the alveoli to be exhaled and eliminated. Lung damage can cause COPD in several ways. The thin alveolar walls can be damaged and break down. This makes larger, inefficient sacs with less surface area for the absorption
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of oxygen and elimination of carbon dioxide. Fragile damaged alveolar walls can rupture, allowing air to leak out collapsing the lung. This process is called emphysema. Inflammation of the airways can increase sputum production, causing coughing and airway obstruction. This is called chronic bronchitis. Most COPD is caused by a combination of both emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Exacerbation — acute episodes of worsening — can make COPD patients wind up in the hospital. This is most common in the winter when influenza and other respiratory viruses make their rounds. So here are some ways to reduce the risk of hospitalization due to COPD. F i r s t , p re v e n t i o n . Q u i t t i n g smoking is No. 1 on the list. A place to start is the NY State Smoker’s Quit Line website www.nysmokefree.com” www.nysmokefree.com. There you’ll find a host of information, as well as the ability to order free nicotine replacement patches. Keep up-to-date with annual influenza shots and also have a pneumonia vaccine. Proper inhaler technique is essential. Even people who have used inhalers for a long time don’t always get it right. You can read about inhaler technique on Medline Plus, www. nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/ patientinstructions/000041.htm” www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ ency/patientinstructions/000041.htm or watch a video from the CDC www. cdc.gov/asthma/inhaler_video/.” www.cdc.gov/asthma/inhaler_ video/. Patients who have persistent
symptoms should use a long-acting bronchodilator. These medicines don’t kick in quickly enough to be used as to treat acute episodes of shortness of breath, but do provide longer-term control. Examples are tiotropium (Spiriva) or salmeterol (Serevent). If a long-acting bronchodilator doesn’t control baseline symptoms, your doctor might add an inhaled corticosteroid. Also plan ahead for what to do if you develop symptoms of worsening COPD, such as increased shortness of breath, increased sputum amount or a change in sputum color. Call your doctor as soon as you realize that you are becoming sick. You can ask your doctor to help you prepare a written action plan for exacerbations. And if you do end up in the hospital, be sure to carefully review your discharge medicines. Are there any new or changed medicines? Is a previous medication omitted? Go over your discharge instructions with your doctor or nurse before leaving to make sure you have everything correct. Follow up with your doctor by phone within two-three days, and with an office visit within a week. For patients with severe end-stage COPD, discuss your treatment wishes and plans with your family and your doctor before there is a crisis. This way you won’t end up receiving aggressive treatment, such as a breathing machine, if it is not what you want.
Eva Briggs is a medical doctor who works at two urgent care centers (Central Square and Fulton) operated by Oswego Health.
druger’s zoo Travel Memories By Marvin Druger
T
raveling places is interesting and fun. Every trip leaves lasting impressions and there is something special about everywhere you go. In that way, each travel adventure is my favorite one. My travels in my youth were confined to the New York subway, either going from my home in Brooklyn to Coney Island to buy a 5-cent Nathan’s hot dog or to regularly commute from my home to Columbia
University as a graduate student in zoology. At that time, I could never imagine that I would travel to many places all over the world. My first major travel experience was going from Brooklyn to Sydney, Australia, as a National Institutes of Health (NIH) postdoctoral fellow, to do research in genetics with the Commonwealth Scientific Research Organization (CSIRO). My wife, Pat, was always my travel companion. We met when she was 15 years old
and I was 20, and we have traveled together as a married couple for 55 years. When we had children, they traveled with us as well. At first, I tend to have a negative attitude about almost everything, including travel. Pat made all the plans for travel and just told me to pack my suitcase when it was time to go somewhere. Our motivation to travel extensively was the result of an incident when we were at a genetics meeting in Japan in 1969. An elderly couple was checking out of the hotel because they couldn’t sleep on the futons on the floor. (Now, as older people, we realize that the problem probably wasn’t that they couldn’t sleep on the futons on the floor; it was that they had difficulty getting up from the futons). At that moment, we vowed to take advantage of every opportunity to travel — and we did from then on. Our travels greatly enriched our lives and our understanding and appreciation of other cultures. In this article, I want to mention a few of the special experiences that remain in my memory. Some of the memories may seem trivial, but memory does not separate significant events from insignificant ones. We never know which memories will be prominent in our minds. For example, the trivial memory of Mrs. Davidson, my second grade teacher, grabbing my chin and shaking it, comes to my mind often. I told Pat, “That’s why my chin looks this way.” Her response was, “How do you explain your nose?” Similarly, trivial events of travel often come to mind. Upon our arrival in China many years ago, our taxi from the airport to the city hit a mule that was pulling a wagon of human manure. Even though it was in the middle of the night, a large crowd of people appeared from nowhere to watch the negotiations about the mule. In China, I also recall standing on the Great Wall and thinking, “I know how the Great Wall got its name. Someone must have seen it and said, “Wow! That’s a Great Wall!” I remember having a meal in a Chinese restaurant near the Great Wall. I ordered chow mein, because I knew that there were different varieties, and I wanted to see how the Chinese made this food. February / March 2014 - 55 plus
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I liked the chopsticks, and I asked if I could take them home. It was like asking to take home the fork in an American restaurant. Also, in China, we visited a science classroom. I recall that when I entered the room, the students all stood up, bowed and said, “Good morning, professor.” I never had this happen when teaching students in the U.S. In 1969, when we were in Japan for a genetics meeting, we climbed Mount Fuji. It took two days to get to the top. En route, Pat slept with seven men on a platform in a shelter. I put Pat next to the wall and I slept next to her, while the six other men slept lined up alongside me. We didn’t know that we were supposed to bring food, and the men shared their food with us. We had hiking sticks and, at shelter stations at different elevations, someone would mark the hiking stick to show that you had reached the altitude of that shelter. When we climbed Mt. Fuji, there were winds of typhoon force. When we reached a high station, Pat suddenly exclaimed, “I can’t go on. I have children at home and I don’t want to get blown off this mountain.” It was like a dramatic scene from an action movie. “You must go on,” I screamed in the wind. “I can’t do it. I’m going back,” she yelled. I responded, “OK, you go back. I’m going on. I must get to the top.” Pat went back down the mountain. Then, I crawled in the wind toward the top of Mt. Fuji. At one point, I grabbed a wooden post fixed in the ground and held on. My feet blew out from under me and I was like a flag unfurled in the breeze. I finally reached the top. The top of Mt. Fuji had a large pit, surrounded by a bunch of huts with metal roofs that had large stones on top of them. The pit was littered with beer cans and garbage. I had my hiking stick stamped. At home, we display Pat’s hiking stick and mine. My stick is stamped, “Top Mt. Fuji.” The top third of Pat’s stick is bare. While it took two days to climb to the top, it only took a few hours to skate and slide down the mountain in a sea of ash. The popular saying was, “He who climbs Mt. Fuji once is a wise person; he who climbs it twice is a fool.” Now, I believe that saying…and remember it! 48
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We spent several years in Australia for a variety of academic and research purposes. Our visits to Heron Island on the Great Barrier Reef were spectacular and unforgettable. We also spent some time at Sydney University on the east coast, and at Curtin University on the west coast. A few selected memories… I had a radio interview program on 6NR in Perth, Western Australia, i.e., “Druger’s Australian Zoo.” It was a carry-over of my “Druger’s Zoo” radio interview show on WAER-FM 88.3 in Syracuse. On this show, I interviewed everyday people about their lives. The program in Australia was 30 minutes, and it started with a musical excerpt from “Yankee Doodle Dandy.” One of my most interesting interviews was done while we were travelling across Australia from east to west on the Indian Pacific Railroad. This was the first trip when there was a single gauge track. Until then, the gauge of the tracks changed at the border of each state in Australia. The train stopped at the town of Bullfinch, W. Australia, in the middle of nowhere. Small Australian towns generally consist of a pub, a church and a few houses. I interviewed the bartender in the pub for my radio show. “Bullfinch is a small town,” I said, “What do you do for excitement?” “Darts,” was his one-word reply, “and wifeswapping.” I believed him, and I remember the interview clearly. In those days, gold prospecting was a popular activity. My friends equipped me with a metal detector near Kalgoorlie in W. Australia. Fully equipped, I went off into in the wilderness, seeking my fortune. Just that week, someone had discovered a million-dollar nugget in that area. At the source of a dried stream bed, my detector started giving distinct pinging sounds. I excitedly thought, “I’ve struck it rich.” I dug furiously into the dirt, and uncovered an old beer can. Too bad. When I was outside a goldsmelting plant, I noticed a glistening rock on the ground. I picked up the rock that had grains of yellow in it. Then, I saw many more of these glistening rocks scattered all around. I stuffed my pockets and backpack
full of these treasures and found a taxi to take me to the railroad station. I began to think that this might be the richest gold-find in history. I showed one of the rocks to the taxi driver. He exclaimed, “Gee, you’re lucky.” I had my nuggets checked for authenticity at the university. Of course, the rocks were pieces of iron pyrite, or fool’s gold. I packed the fool’s gold in my suit case and was about to board a plane headed to the U.S. The airline attendant struggled to lift my suitcase. “What do you have in here, rocks?” he exclaimed. “Yes,” I replied. Subsequently, I gave pieces of the fool’s gold to students who excelled in my biology class. Indeed, I had struck it rich, and I still have a few remnants of that treasure. Our trip to Egypt and Israel was memorable. I recall riding a horse on the sand around the Giza Pyramid. Another time, I was on a bus going from Egypt to Israel and the travel agent in Egypt handed me a package of brochures to deliver to the travel agent in Israel. This activity violated a sacred principle of security. “Did anyone give you anything to take back to Israel?” asked an Israel border guard. “Why yes,” I said, “This package.” The security guard jumped back. “Do you know why we ask this question?” he said. “No,” I replied, “Why?” “Bomb!” he announced in a loud voice. “Bomb?” I echoed, and I dropped the package. My gullible delivery activities ended then and there. Another trip took us to Bali, Indonesia. Bali was delightful. Beautiful, smiling, happy, peaceful people — until terrorists bombed Bali a few years ago. I remember getting a body massage on the beach for $5 from a beautiful Balinese woman. Pat was with me getting her massage on an adjacent massage table. I also remember that the hotel room had geckos climbing all over the walls. Since geckos eat insects, having them there probably prevented many bug bites. Costa Rica provided many memories, including a bus ride through a dense cloud forest. There were heavy rains, and we saw cows standing up to their thighs in water. I spent several weeks on my own in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, teaching a course on the history of
biology. I lived by myself for six weeks, until my family joined me. I became a fastidious bachelor. I didn’t know how to take care of myself, and I ate very little. When my family joined me, I had lost 15 pounds and I screamed at them about keeping the apartment spotless and neat. The Rijksmuseum was magnificent. I recall looking at a self-portrait of Rembrandt and wondered why anyone who looked like him would want to paint pictures of himself? I took my class on a field trip to a museum in Utrecht to see a singlelens microscope made by Anton van Leeuwenhoek, the first person to accurately describe and draw bacteria and protozoa. The museum director placed the microscope on the top of a glass showcase. “Can I touch it?” I asked. “Oh, No, “ replied the director, “It’s too valuable.” “Please,” I pleaded. “OK,” he said, and I rubbed my hand along the side of the microscope — and then shook hands with all of my students. Ever since, I have been thrilled by the thought that I actually touched a microscope that Anton van Leeuwenhoek used to describe bacteria and protozoa for the first time in human history. I also lay down on the site in a church where van Leewenhoek was buried. I boasted to friends that my body was actually six feet away from the body of Anton van Leeuwenhoek. Traveling is not always safe. I was almost mugged in Puerto Rico. I was walking to my hotel at midnight, returning from a party at another hotel. Suddenly a man
jumped out of a car and crouched menacingly in front of me with his arms outstretched. I didn’t know what to do, so I laughed and quickly walked past him. I hailed a taxi and got to my hotel safely. A few weeks later, I met a colleague who asked, “Was that you walking on the street in Puerto Rico at midnight?” “Yes,” I replied. Well, it turned out that she was walking with her boyfriend on that street at midnight and the same man accosted her. He pointed a gun at her, stole her pocketbook and hit her boyfriend on the head with the gun. A gun! I never saw that the man had a gun. When I breezed by him, laughing, he probably thought, “Is this guy crazy?” There have been other scary travel times, but this example will suffice. I learned to be cautious when traveling and to try not to do anything dangerous or stupid. There are countless other memories of travel adventures, in addition to the travel memories described in this article, I have specific memories from our trips to Greece, Spain, Portugal, Venice, Rome, Sicily, Hawaii, Tahiti, Tasmania, Fiji, England, France, Switzerland, Mexico, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Nova Scotia, the Panama Canal, the Galapagos Islands, South Africa, Morocco, the U.S., and other places. It is refreshing to retrieve the memories of these trips and relive the adventures in my mind. Every trip provided unique experiences that helped shape
my behavior and my life. These experiences are now part of me. My career as a teacher enabled me to pass what I learned from my travels to many students. Now, as a retiree, I’m eager to see what travel adventures await in the future.
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By Molly Martindale
Dr. Paul Kronenberg, 69 Newly-retired CEO of Crouse talks about new life
Q. What made you decide to retire from the CEO position? A. The main factor was just looking at what was going to be needed as a direction for the hospital and the healthcare delivery system. It was clear that it was going to be something that required a lot of transformation over probably a two to five year period. As I looked at it, I said ‘If I’m not thinking that I could really continue to go full speed and give all energy out during what was going to be a significant transformation, then maybe that’s the time to let someone else really start the process so that they could continue the process.’ Q. You underwent a cardiac catheterization procedure in August. Can you talk a little about how your health is doing now? A. I’m absolutely better than ever. Over the last few months, I’m back to a full schedule, full activity and a full exercise program. I believe I now have what I would consider to be no health impediments. Q. Do you plan to continue practicing as a physician? A. We’ll see. I have an arrangement with the hospital to spend the next six months working on our transition with our new CEO. I also plan to continue to work on certain physician-based projects that I’ve been involved with. I’m not really retiring per se, just stepping down as CEO. I will stay in a consulting capacity for a year after that as well. Being a CEO takes a lot of your own mind space when you have to think of all the things involved with running an organization. Once that mind space becomes available, I’ll probably be thinking about what I really want to do. Q. How do you plan on spending your time after retirement? A. I’ve got a lot of things to keep 50
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me busy. Most of my family lives in Syracuse and I have five children all in the area. I also have soon-to-be 13 grandchildren and all of them want some time. I hope to stay physically active and do things outdoors. I think that time will tell when it comes to how I will challenge myself from a standpoint of intellectual capacity. I don’t have a specific thing yet. Q. What kept you inspired during your years of working as a CEO? A. I’ve always, even in my practice of medicine, felt very much committed to doing the right thing for patients. When you do the right thing, the patient appreciates it and you get a better outcome and it’s an immediate reward for both parties. It was really taking that basic principle to a much larger delivery system of the hospital. Q. Tell us about your early days as CEO? A. I took the position in 2004, so it’s been roughly 10 years. I was asked to be an interim CEO of the hospital back in 2004 while they were planning to conduct a search for a permanent CEO. The hospital had been in reorganization with Chapter 11 bankruptcy three years earlier and had emerged from bankruptcy in the fall of 2003. The turn-around people who were operating the hospital had planned to continue for another year but decided to leave quickly for another consulting job. They told the board that they would recommend appointing a physician as CEO and they asked me. It wasn’t something I was planning to do, but because of the abruptness of it I said that I would do it on an interim basis. After a few months, they asked me to stay and take the position. When I meet with all the new employees, I like to tell them a little bit about that story.
Q. We know you’re proud of Crouse’s workforce. Tell us about that. A. One of the questions that I ask to be included in our employee surveys that we do annually is the question: are you proud to say that you work at Crouse? We went from a relatively mediocre to low score at the beginning and we now have a score of up to 90 percent. Another question we ask is whether employees would recommend Crouse as a place to work and that rose from about 40 percent to 90 percent, which is very unusual. My proudest accomplishment is how much attention we pay to establishing a culture for our employees. I consider it a success if employees want to work, because they’re the ones who deliver the care to our patients.
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OASIS, nationally recognized for impact and excellence, is a nonprofit organization that promotes successful aging, lifelong learning, health programs and meaningful volunteer engagement. Energize yourself & your community by volunteering at OASIS in vital positions such as: Volunteer Instructors – Experienced, dynamic lecturers, teachers, professionals and artists who are willing to donate their time and share their knowledge to enrich the lives of mature adults. Teach a course in a subject for which you have a passion! Our program manager will work with you to develop your curriculum and schedule. The commitment will be based on your availability. Volunteer Photographer – Experienced photographer to capture activity, people in action and the many smiling faces here at OASIS. Using our class calendar you can work at your own convenience. Your photos will promote OASIS both locally and nationally. Volunteer Class Coordinators – Assist instructors with all aspects of a program or event. Duties include greeting members, introducing the instructor, managing the AV equipment and distributing class evaluation forms. Intergenerational Tutoring – Work one on one with children in grades K-3. Inspire, motivate and promote the enjoyment of reading, writing and oral communication while strengthening ties between generations and increasing the self-esteem of a student. To find out more about becoming an OASIS volunteer contact Tracie Alexander, OASIS Program and Volunteer Manager at (315) 464-1745 or email at: alexandt@upstate.edu