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PAGE 16 — Senior
Lifestyles • Addison Independent, Monday, July 16, 2018
Senior Lifestyles • Addison Independent, Monday, July 16, 2018 — PAGE 17
MEMBERS OF BRISTOL’S Old Farts Club enjoy coffee and conversation at Cubbers restaurant this past Wednesday morning; it’s a chance for these seniors to maintain social ties to the community. Shown, from left, are Mike Harding, Chauncy Eldridge, Joe Devall, Ron Williamson and Norm Cota. Independent photo/Nick Garber
Old Farts Club holds court daily in Bristol Seniors share coffee, conversation, companionship By NICK GARBER BRISTOL — Take a look inside the window of Cubbers restaurant on Main Street in Bristol around 8 o’clock any morning, and you’ll bear witness to a display case of local history. But this is no still-life diorama. It’s the reallife, venerated “Old Farts Club,” holding court at Cubbers as they’ve been doing nearly every day for the past 15-odd years. Had you come upon them this past Wednesday, you would’ve been treated to a
near-full house, featuring such notables as group founder George Smith, age 92, and Bristol’s own centenarian Bill James — the most senior of all the seniors at 107 years old. “Hello, young fella!” Smith called out to James, fresh off a starring role in the town’s July Fourth parade. After a round of greetings, Smith took his seat, slowly but steadily, and the “old farters” could really get into full swing.
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‘THERE’S THE OLD FARTS!’ The origins of the Old Farts Club can be traced to the mid-1990s, when Smith and his daughters would meet at the nearby Bristol Bakery for morning coffees. By 2000, several Bristol Rotarians joined in, growing the group to around eight members. A few years in, the bakery closed for a week of renovations — leaving the Old Farts wandering down Main Street one morning. Luckily, they came upon Ben Chamberlin, the co-owner of Cubbers, who took pity on the stranded seniors. “Ben said to me, ‘You want coffee?’ I
said, ‘Yeah!’” Smith remembers. Chamberlin invited them in, and the old farters accepted, on one condition: that they be charged the same $1 per coffee that they’d paid at the bakery. “I was like, ‘I don’t care if you pay at all!’” Chamberlin said. But over a decade later, the Old Farts are still commiserating over $1 coffees — drunk from customized mugs embossed with each member’s name — and an occasional complementary basket of cookies, like the one brought to their table Wednesday morning by (See Old Farts Club, Page 19)
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PAGE 18 — Senior
Lifestyles • Addison Independent, Monday, July 16, 2018
Seniors find fullfillment volunteering at Hospice Helping to lessen others pain helps with aging By NICK GARBER MIDDLEBURY — You’d be forgiven for assuming that hospice care volunteering — the work of caring for the dying in their final weeks and months of life — is a somewhat dreary activity. But according to those who practice it, this kind of volunteer work can prove to be a surprisingly rewarding, and deeply clarifying experience — especially as volunteers experience changes in their own lives. “Sometimes people will say to me, ‘Oh, that must be so hard, and sad,’” said Priscilla Baker, the program director at Hospice Volunteer Services (HVS) at Middlebury. “Sometimes it is, but there are so many times I feel like I get back more than I give.” Baker has worked at HVS since 2005, where she pulls from a pool of more than 100 local volunteers — nearly half of whom are retirees — to accompany patients nearing the end of life at Porter Hospital and nursing home. Among her many volunteers are Mary Jane Washburn and Mary Lou Bright, both of whom completed the requisite 30-hour training years ago, and have practiced hospice care ever since. “Physically and emotionally, it certainly hasn’t been easy,” said Washburn, who is 87. “But the idea is that whatever this person wants to do, that’s what you’ll do. Just that freedom — at this point, what does it matter? If there’s something you want to do, my goodness, do it!” Washburn and her husband began volunteering (See Volunteers, Page 21)
MARY JANE WASHBURN, left, and Mary Lou Bright have spent years volunteering for Hospice Volunteer Services in Middlebury and bring a life experience that deepens their participation in people’s final weeks of life.
Independent photo/Nick Garber
Senior Lifestyles • Addison Independent, Monday, July 16, 2018 — PAGE 19
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A Vermont licensed Level III Residential Care Home OLD FARTS CLUB founder George Smith, 92, shows off a mug with a picture of the most senior member of the club — 107-year-old Bill James — who also attended last Wednesday’s coffee klatch.
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Old Farts Club (Continued from Page 17) a Cubbers worker. Seated just inside Cubbers’ big front window, the group is plainly visible to any Bristol resident walking past on their way to work. Over the course of Wednesday’s meeting, the old farters waved hello to a score of passersby — several of whom they knew only by sight, not by name. “Every day she walks to work and we wave at her,” said Ron Williamson, 81, after one such anonymous greeting. “One day we were waving at her and the chief of police came by and he thought we were waving at him. He
Daily activities including walks on our beautiful grounds, yoga, exercise programs, live music, bingo, movie nights etc. came in and said, “Gee, I didn’t know you guys thought that much of me!’” Indeed, the group’s moniker was devised not by its members, but by the Bristolians who spotted them inside. “People would say, ‘Oh, there’s the old farts in there!’” Smith explained. ‘NOT A RACE TO THE FINISH LINE’ Conversation on Wednesday lasted around an hour, with topics ranging from hearing aids to the gubernatorial race to the town’s ongoing water main repair work. And much of the banter, of course, consisted of jokes — usually (See Not a race, Page 20)
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RON WILLIAMSON, LEFT, and Norm Cota share a laugh during last Wednesday’s Old Farts Club coffee hour at Cubbers. Cota joked that sometimes club members laugh at the same thing they had laughed at the day before because they’ve forgotten they even said it.
Independent photo/Nick Garber
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PAGE 20 — Senior
Lifestyles • Addison Independent, Monday, July 16, 2018
Not a race (Continued from Page 19) at another old farter’s expense. When Mike Harding, 77, updated the group on his newest woodworking effort, he faced a tough crowd. “The latest project is, I built my own casket,” Harding said. “He’s trying to sell me one now!” Smith chimed in. “When are you gonna use that coffin?” asked Norm Cota, 74. “When the time is right!” Harding replied. “This is “This is not a race to the finish line.” actually Today’s old farters a group certainly aren’t racing therapy to that line, but they remain mindful of former session members who have already every crossed it. A wooden rack morning.” toward the back of the — Mike restaurant, hand-built by Harding, 77 Harding, displays the mugs of 13 former members who passed away within the past few years. When a member dies, Smith said, the remaining old farters bring his mug to the funeral, before tying a black ribbon around the handle and hanging it prominently on the Cubbers’ rack. For today’s attendees, still busy navigating their golden years, the Old Farts Club offers a crucial sense of camaraderie, and the ability to stay plugged into the area most of them have called home for decades. “I come down here to find out what’s going on in Bristol,” said Joe Devall, 85. And beneath the banter, the old farters noted, is some much-needed companionship. “This is actually a group therapy session
BRISTOL’S OLD FARTS Club members Norm Cota, left, Ray Clark and Joe Devall shoot the breeze at a table at Cubbers on Wednesday behind coffee mugs inscribed with their names.
Independent photo/Nick Garber
every morning,” Harding explained. “Yeah,” agreed Cota, “we laugh today, then we’ll say the same thing tomorrow because we forgot what we said today.” Membership in the Old Farts Club can be an ephemeral thing, given the fragile stage of life that most of its members have reached. But if members may come, go, and sometimes slow
down a bit, the club itself shows no signs of going anywhere. “I’ll have them for as long as they come here,” Chamberlin said. “It’s town history. Just to have them as part of Cubbers is an honor.” Each day, Chamberlin opens his doors to the Old Farts hours before the restaurant’s official opening at 11 a.m. But, he explained,
his accommodation is only a small way of repaying the esteemed group, whose members who have contributed to the community in many ways, include retired teachers, postal workers and firefighters. “All of those guys did their service,” he said. “What’s a cup of coffee?”
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Senior Lifestyles • Addison Independent, Monday, July 16, 2018 — PAGE 21
Hospice volunteers (Continued from Page 18) volunteers like the two Marys. with the program in the mid-1990s, soon after “A big thing I like about my job is that people retiring to Vermont. Years later, the training she who feel the calling to do hospice volunteering received would become crucial during a far are people like Mary Jane and Mary Lou,” she more personal experience of illness. said. “Amazing people, and I get to hang out “When my husband had cancer, we were so with them and grow friendships with them.” much better prepared for that experience,” she While HVS’s program includes volunteers as recalled. “I feel that he really lived young as college students, Baker every day to the fullest up till the noted that senior volunteers are day he died. It wasn’t a matter that “Those who are able to apply a particular approach he was dying — he was living, and older bring to to their work. that’s what I think of.” “Those who are older bring this experience Bright, who is 79, joined the very to this experience their own first HVS training class in 1983 after their own life life experiences, and their a personal health scare of her own. experiences, understanding of the changes that Once her training was complete, and their we go through as we age,” she however, her own experience still “It can’t help but impact you understanding said. felt too raw, compelling her to personally, and influence how you decline the initial offer to become a of the changes think about things and how you full-fledged volunteer. that we go live your life. Then, not long after, Bright’s through as we Washburn said that others of her mother-in-law was diagnosed with generation could benefit from the cancer, and Bright handled much of age.” new outlook provided by this kind — Priscilla Baker her loved one’s home care. “That of work. “Being a senior, it gave was a very positive experience, me a whole new perspective on mortality and and my hospice training came in handy,” later years of life, and a very positive feeling she recalled. “From there, I decided to be a towards it,” she said. “I’m aware of that when volunteer.” I talk with other people my age and hear their ‘A WHOLE NEW PERSPECTIVE’ fears and perspectives — I realize it’s because In the years since they began working they didn’t have this training, to be in hospice.” with HVS, Bright and Washburn say they’ve Bright agreed, noting the benefits that lie gained access to a caring community of fellow beyond the stigma. volunteers. “It’s hard to decide to go on hospice, because “The group of people within hospice has been it does mean that the end of life is approaching such a good experience,” Washburn said. “I — if you hear someone is on hospice, you say, realize now that some of my closest friends and ‘Oh dear,’” she said. “But to be part of it, you supporters are other hospice volunteers.” realize that every day is being celebrated. I hope Baker, too, feels lucky to coordinate that I’ll feel that way when the time comes.”
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PAGE 22 — Senior
Lifestyles • Addison Independent, Monday, July 16, 2018
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Senior Lifestyles • Addison Independent, Monday, July 16, 2018 — PAGE 23
Keep it moving
JUST BECAUSE YOU are adding years doesn’t mean you can’t continue adding miles. Fifty-two-year-old Heidi Higgins-Cutler of Waterbury (No. 39) stays ahead of a pack of runners, including 62-year-old Jack Green of Barre (No. 36), in the June 23 Vermont Sun Triathlon in Salisbury.
Photo courtesy of Vermont Sun
Clumsiness comes with age, but can also be a symptom
Who hasn’t tripped over his own feet or knocked over a water glass on a table? No one is immune to the occasional clumsiness, but some people may grow concerned that their bouts of clumsiness are becoming more frequent. For healthy people, bumping into a wall when misjudging a corner or dropping silverware on the floor is often a minor, isolated incident. Lack of concentration or multitasking often may be to blame. In 2007, Professor Charles Swanik and a research team at the University of Delaware studied athletes to discover why some seem to be more injury prone than others. Researchers found that clumsy athletes’ brains seemed to have “slowed processing speed,” which referred to how their brains understand new information and respond to it. But clumsiness also can be a sign of a bigger issue at play, namely motor problems within the brain. According to Taylor Harrison, MD, clinical instructor in the neuromuscular division of Emory University, coordination of the body is complicated and tied to both motor and sensory systems. That means the eyes, brain,
nerves, cerebellum (which specializes in coordination and balance), muscles, and bones must work together. Clumsiness can result from stroke, seizure disorders, brain trauma or the presence of tumors, and other conditions. Healthline also says that clumsiness may be an early symptom of Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer’s. Parkinson’s affects the central nervous system and can impair motor skills. Alzheimer’s slowly damages and kills brain cells and may cause issues with coordination. This may be the case with other dementias as well. Clumsiness may sometimes result from a lack of sleep or overconsumption of alcohol. Arthritis also can lead to clumsiness when joint pain and restrictive movements make it challenging to get around. Psychologists may suggest cognitive behavioral therapy or propose performing tasks with more mindfulness to reduce clumsiness. If that doesn’t work, men and women should visit their physicians, who can conduct tests to rule out certain things and provide peace of mind. — Metro Creative
You can take steps to slow down memory loss Forgetfulness can affect anyone. For example, few if any, adults can say they have not experienced moments when they could not find their keys. And once the keys are found, people move on without giving much thought to why they did not immediately remember where they left their keys. Isolated incidents where people cannot recall where they placed their car keys or other minor bouts with forgetfulness do not occur by accident. In fact, the Harvard Medical School notes that they are likely byproducts of age-related changes in thinking skills. When people reach their 50s, chemical and structural changes in the brain may begin to occur, and these changes can affect a person’s ability to process memories. Father Time may be a formidable foe, but people can take steps to give their memories a boost as they get older. • Embrace recognition instead of trusting recall. Dr. Joel Salinas, a neurologist who specializes in behavioral neurology and neuropsychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, notes that human beings are better at recognition than recall. That means people are more likely to remember something they read, such as a note or a list, than something they’re simply told. • Recognize the value of repetition. The Harvard Medical School notes that people might be more inclined to remember what
they hear if they repeat it out loud. Names and addresses might be more easily remembered after they’re repeated out loud because repetition increases the likelihood that the brain will record the information and be capable of retrieving it later. When studying for exams, many students repeat important points to themselves time and again, and that same approach can be applied by adults who are trying to improve their memories. • Eat a healthy diet. A study published in 2015 in the journal Neurology found that people who eat healthy diets with lots of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and fish and little alcohol and red meat may be less likely to experience declines in their memory and thinking skills. Authored by Andrew Smyth of McMaster University in Ontario and the National University of Ireland in Galway, the study following more than 27,000 people in 40 countries for an average of roughly five years. All participants were 55 and older and had diabetes or a history of heart disease, stroke or peripheral artery disease. Those who ate the healthiest diets were 24 percent less likely to experience cognitive decline than people with the least healthy diets. Periodic memory lapses are often nothing to worry about. But men and women concerned about maintaining their memories can employ various strategies to do just that. — Metro Creative
PAGE 24 — Senior
Lifestyles • Addison Independent, Monday, July 16, 2018
The aging process can cause a loss of senses Aging comes with several sensory changes, many of which people expect. Loss of hearing or diminishing vision are widely associated with aging. But one’s senses of smell and taste may diminish with aging as well. The senses of taste and smell work in concert. The sense of smell is vital to personal health, not only because inhaling pleasant aromas can provide comfort and stress relief through aromatherapy and help trigger important memories, but also because smell enables a person to detect the dangers of smoke, gas, spoiled food and more. The National Institute on Aging says that, as a person gets older, his or her sense of smell may fade, and that will also affect taste. The Mayo Clinic says some loss of taste and smell is natural and can begin as early
as age 60. Adults have about 9,000 taste buds sensing sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami flavors, or those corresponding to the flavor of glutamates. Many tastes are linked to odors that begin at the nerve endings in the lining of the nose. Medline says the number of taste buds decreases as one ages, and that remaining taste buds may begin to shrink. Sensitivity to the five tastes also begins to decline. This can make it more difficult to distinguish between flavors. Similarly, especially after age 70, smell can diminish due to a loss of nerve endings and less mucus in the nose. With the combination of the reduction of these important sensory nerves in the nose and on the tongue, loss of smell and taste can greatly affect daily life.
Changes in these senses can contribute to feelings of depression, diminish one’s enjoyment of food and cause harmful conditions, such as extreme weight loss from disinterest in food to problems associated with overusing salt or sugar. Although aging is often to blame, loss of smell and taste also may be tied to early symptoms of Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer’s disease. Cancer treatments, medications, lack of saliva, colds, flu, and other factors may contribute to sensory loss. Changing medications or treatments may help. It’s important to bring up diminished flavors or smells with a doctor to rule out something
more serious and to determine what might help restore pleasure from smells and flavors. An otolaryngologist, or a doctor who specializes in diseases of the ears, nose and throat, may be able to help fix the problem, though some people may be referred to a neurologist or another specialist. Continuing to use one’s sense of smell and taste by cooking, gardening, trying new flavors, and experimenting with different aromas may help slow down the decline these senses. Although age-related loss of taste and smell cannot be reversed, some such cases may be treatable. — Metro Creative
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Senior Lifestyles • Addison Independent, Monday, July 16, 2018 — PAGE 25
Grandparents are stepping into parenting roles
legal rights and ensure access to grandchildren. In addition, grandparents may need certain legal documents, such as a power of attorney, citizenship papers, adoption records, or consent forms. GET EDUCATED The rules have changed since grandparents raised their own children. It is important they learn as much as possible on child safety guidelines. Consumer advocacy groups or pediatricians can help explain how guidelines have changed. New furniture and toys that meet current safety guidelines may have to replace older, unsafe items.
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Older adults whose children have grown up often look forward to the next stages in life, which may involve retirement, downsizing and enjoying visits with their grandchildren. A growing number of aging adults may find themselves playing a key role in their grandchildren’s lives. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 2.7 million grandparents across the country are stepping into parental roles for their grandkids. Some assist their adult children while others have become the primary caregivers. Factors like military deployment, illness, incarceration, and substance abuse are forcing grandparents to take on responsibilities they may have thought were over. PBS reports that, between 2009 and 2016, the number of grandparents raising grandchildren in the United States rose by 7 percent. Although raising the next generation can bring about many rewards — including security, sense of purpose, a deeper relationship with family, and social interaction — there are many obstacles as well. That includes the financial strain that raising children can place on individuals unprepared for the cost of child-rearing. Census figures also show that about one-fifth of grandparents caring for children have incomes that fall below poverty level. Grandparents may be rusty concerning safety requirements and equipment now needed to care for grandchildren as well. As grandparents navigate the unexplored waters of raising grandchildren, there are certain factors they need to consider. Legal advice or advocacy Certain circumstances may require grandparents to seek legal help so they can raise their grandchildren in lawful ways. If there is neglect, divorce, arrest, or other factors, it may be a smart idea for grandparents to seek the help of an attorney or advocacy group to clarify their
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TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF Raising grandchildren can be emotionally taxing, especially if poor circumstances led to the grandchildren being placed with family. It is crucial to recognize feelings and one’s own health when caring for others. A grandparent who is exhausted or overwhelmed may not offer the appropriate care. Emphasizing one’s own mental and physical health is essential, as is getting help and advice when it’s most needed. The organization AARP recommends compiling a list of support services, such as respite care providers, counselors and support groups.
GRANDCHILDREN WILL HAVE FEELINGS, TOO Children, whether they are old enough to understand or not, may react to change differently. Some children may act out while others may grow detached. Grandparents can focus on providing stable environments and offer support and consistency even if grandchildren are withdrawing or pushing their loved ones away with words or actions. Raising grandchildren can be complicated, but it has become more prevalent. It can take time for these new family units to find their grooves. — Metro Creative