Atlanta Senior Life - January 2021 by Atlanta Senior Life from Reporter Newspapers

Senior Life Atlanta

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Explore TV’s brave new world PAGE 12

JANUARY 2021 • Vol. 6 No. 1 | AtlantaSeniorLIFE.com

ACTING THEIR AGE

atlanta actors are finding success on big and little screens MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Atlanta doctor honored for COVID-19 work PAGE 8

PERSONAL HEALTH

Get your eyes checked for glaucoma PAGE 14

people

Promoter Eddie Owen watches performances vanish during the pandemic PAGE 10 Photo Photoillustration illustrationby byRico RicoFigliolini Figliolini

Contents JANUARY 2021 COVER STORY

Senior actors finding more work as the movie business grows in metro Atlanta

MAKING A DIFFERENCE Atlanta doctor is honored for is COVID-19 work

GEORGIA POLITICS How Georgia suddenly became the center of national political debate

PEOPLE Promoter Eddie Owen watches performances of live music disappear during the pandemic

PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY Understanding the brave new world of TV

PERSONAL HEALTH It may be time to get your eyes checked again

PERSONAL SAFETY 2020 is done. Let’s hope for better days in ‘21

PERSONAL FINANCE Ask Rusty: Should I claim Social Security at 62?

PETS Pets ready for adoption

OUT & ABOUT A few ideas for things to do whether you’re staying inside or going out

OUTDOORS A new park offers a place to visit a forest inside I-285

On the cover

Metro Atlanta actors Leon Lamar, Debi Kimsey and Jill Jane Clements, left to right, are working to find their places in the movies.

8 Atlanta Senior Life focuses on the interests, accomplishments and lifestyles of the active senior population in metro Atlanta. It aims to inspire readers to embrace a more rewarding life by informing them of opportunities to expand their horizons, express their talents and engage in their community.

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© 2021 All rights reserved. Publisher reserves the right to refuse editorial or advertising for any reason. Publisher assumes no responsibility for information contained in advertising. Any opinions expressed in print or online do not necessarily represent the views of Atlanta Senior Life or Springs Publishing, LLC.

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If you would like more information about this study,

Effects of Aging on Cortical Excitability During Motor Learning Research Investigator: Keith McGregor, PhD, please contact Medina Bello, Research Coordinator

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COVER STORY

ACTING THEIR AGE Older actors are finding their paths to big and little screens

By Mark Woolsey It’s a late November Tuesday night, and Nick Conti’s students are making their way through a windy chill and some seriously clogged traffic to his Buckhead acting studio. A two-and-a-half hour class is on tap, tonight focusing on commercial acting. Most of them are young people, but there are a couple of notable exceptions, one of them being Roy Roberts. He hails from Alpharetta and is retired from the legal profession. A visitor chatting with him remarks on the fluidity of the expressions that flit across his face; by turns amused, thoughtful, even pensive. “That’s interesting,” he said with a genial grin. “Because starting out I was one of the flattest actors here who ever

worked in here. He deadpans: “You’re going to die. That’s too bad. I’ll miss you dear.” That draws an appreciative laugh. As Georgia has attracted more and more film and television productions, opportunities for local actors, including older actors, have steadily grown. But Atlanta’s acting community -- and in particular its senior contingent -- has needed a truckload of that thing called fluidity in 2020 along with adaptability, pluck and optimism.

JANUARY 2021 | AtlantaSeniorLife.com

Above, Leon Lamar in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (horizontal photo); Left, Jill Jane Clements

With the pandemic and the shutdown of many productions, a lot less completed work is showing up on screens. That, in turn, has chewed away at box office and advertising revenues. Local communities have suffered because actors and production crews aren’t filling up hotels and spending money in restaurants and stores. Still, there’s plenty of work around for local actors. And with the growth of the movie

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industry and internet video and a wealth of cable channels, more actors of every age are needed. “Seniors want to see people who look like them,” said Jill Jane Clements, a versatile Atlantabased performer who’s appeared in “The Walking Dead,” “Free State of Jones,” “Bloodline,” and others. Also for the audience, “the actors have aged and people want to follow them,” she contends, mentioning industry stalwarts like Sam Waterston and Martin Sheen. “I’m sure they’re having so much fun in this part of their lives. They have this wonderful career behind them and they’re still working.” “Besides,” she snickers. “you can only do so much gardening.” For some senior actors, who might be considered at higher risk of contracting serious COVID-19 illness, the idea of joining a film production has become the stuff of second and third thoughts. But others here seem to not be obsessing over that. Instead, they trust the systems in place on set will keep them safe. Be they multi-decade veterans, interested newbies who took up the craft after retiring, series regulars or those who treat acting as a hobby, many seem grateful for what

hasn’t had much luck. Fortune has smiled more generously on Leon Lamar, who has built a solid track record with roles in “The Hunger Games” (in which he played a rebellious elder dispatched to the next life by gun-toting storm troopers), “American Made,” “Tammy” and other roles. Unlike Roberts, Lamar has been performing for decades. He didn’t go to acting school, instead getting his start after answering a newspaper ad seeking performers. He says he’s worked with Sandra Bullock, Oprah Winfrey, Leslie Uggams,

Jennifer Lawrence – a list of big names that falls naturally from his lips with no sense that he’s name dropping. It’s as if, at the age of 85. he still can’t believe his good fortune. "It’s been a wonderful adventure and I’ve loved every moment,” Lamar says, a bubble in his voice that not infrequently turns into a chuckle or an outright bellylaugh. “It’s helped me become a success. Right now, I’m working more than just about anybody in the city.” The self-taught trouper Continued on page 6

Leon Lamar

they perceive as the bounty of benefits offered by acting -from keeping faculties sharp to new horizons and friendships to—potentially--some nice extra income. And they note that at whatever age, keeping focus in an extremely competitive profession can foster goals and a sense of purpose. “I just want to play the parts, to do the characters,” Roberts said with an air of conviction. At the same time, he seems realistic about his prospects. No leading man, star turns for him. “I am follicly challenged, only 5’ 7” and considerably overweight,” he says, wryly saying that “bowling ball” would be a perfect role in which to showcase his talents. It’s been a great three years in training, nothing like he expected, he said, and required hard work. Although Roberts has appeared in a number of freebies to hone his skills, he’s landed just one paying gig so far. He’s auditioned repeatedly in this seemingly suspended-inamber year of performing but

Want to be a star? Brush up that acting resume Are you interested in joining the fun and landing a part in a local film or television production? Local actors say that in addition to putting together headshots, a resume and a reel showing samples of your work, there’s great value getting work in non-paid films and videos produced by college students and amateurs. The results of which can wind up at a visibility-boosting film festival and perhaps (fingers crossed) catching the eye of an agent. Atlanta-based actor Jill Jane Clements said getting involved in local community theater also can lay solid groundwork toward a career. “If you get the itch, take a film or acting class,” she said. “See if it calls to you. You might find you have a knack for it, and that will lead you to the next step and the next step.” Alpharetta actor Roy Roberts has tried on many roles to hone his acting chops. He’s played everything from a “comedic serial killer” to a father grieving a daughter who died in childbirth. e wryly says he’ He jokes he’s been “paid” in Cheetos, bottled water and pizza for the work. And Atlanta Leon Lamar points out another way to tone up those acting legs. During his three or four years as a bottomrung extra and then a stand-in, “I was always in the way,” paying close attention to everything on a film or TV set, the actors, how directors handled the cast, camera positioning, the various support crew roles. Finally, get used to auditioning. And enjoy it. “When I get an audition it’s like, ‘Goody, I get to play somebody else,’ Clements said. “f you treat auditions like a mini-play, then you can have a lot more fun with it." — Mark Woolsey

JANUARY 2021 | AtlantaSeniorLife.com

Debi Kimsey

Continued from page 5 credits his success with being a keen observer of the business and “being myself. Being able to react to certain situations and remembering lines and knowing how to project your lines. Following directions and giving the director what he's looking for.” Being at the right place at the rice time has been an additional plus. After years of background work, he found himself on the

set of Robocop Three. “The director came up to me and said, ‘I have something for you.’ He was looking for someone to open up a scene and he gave me a line to say. I took that and ran with it.” That dogged work ethic is something that for Conti, the acting school owner, shows up like a brilliant studio spotlight in the mature adults he’s worked with. A senior himself, he appreciates it.

JANUARY 2021 | AtlantaSeniorLife.com

Seasoned actors “keep up with everybody,” he said. “They’re hard workers. I also think the more mature actors tend to be more disciplined.” Older actors also have a wealth of life experience to bring to their portrayals, he said. And, on a more prosaic level, they usually have more time to spend on set during a typical day than younger actors. Clements moved to Atlanta in 1980 with a graduate theater degree and the goal of doing stage work. Film and TV opportunities came later as she relates how someone had dropped out of a production so “my first role was a screaming woman in a truck.” While she notes that a significant group of performers she first apprenticed alongside have kept their careers going into senior-hood, other observers aren’t so sanguine, pointing out the continued predominance of younger players. At least one observer wonders whether directors looking for senior characters might not be opting for those who are chronologically younger instead, perhaps afraid that the more mature might not be able to carry a role’s physical demands. Atlantan, retired flight attendant and veteran of many background/extra appearances Debi Kimsey frankly speaks to that, saying, “you can age out of background work because you can’t do 16 hours a day on your feet. And you aspire to something a little higher.” She says her agent is on board with that, sending her to audition for meatier roles. Unfortunately, both those and jobs have been hard to come by this year-which brings the discussion right back to COVID-19. “You’re working four or five days and you’re being tested

three and four times,” said Lamar, who just wrapped up work on an Aretha Franklin bio pic, playing a cranky old-timer “fussing” about a choir. He says they started work early this year, the production was put on hold for a month or two and then resumed with all the usual precautions in place. As with any acting cohort, seniors can aim for a considerable variety of possibilities; extras, featured extras, photo doubles, standins and principals. But still other acting roles involve a hot (live) mic rather than a rolling camera. Though she came to the profession in front of the footlights, Atlanta actress, director and producer Carolyn Cook is appreciative of the many voice acting opportunities she’s been afforded. She’s a veteran of narrating and bringing characters to life in audio books “I think it’s been a great opportunity,” she said, adding that as a senior “whereas I might age out of stage roles more quickly, in audio I still have a pretty broad range.” She says her vocal versatility has allowed her to interpret much younger audio characters. Ideally, she says, any voice actor would want to be able to play anything from kids to greatgrandparents. Approaching acting jobs with the right attitude counts for a lot, Atlanta performers say. “I always see the glass halffull, and that helps keep me positive,” Clements said. “And that helps because you can get your head handed to you plenty of times.”

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MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Atlanta doctor honored for COVID-19 work By Donna Williams Lewis Atlanta physician Dr. Dominic Mack has focused for years on the eradication of health disparities. Now, he’s using that expertise in the battle against the pandemic. The Stone Mountain resident, who leads the National Center for Primary Care at the Morehouse School of Medicine, now also directs the National COVID-19 Resiliency Network, a cooperative agreement between the medical school and the Office of Minority Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In this role, Mack is assembling local, state and national partners to reduce the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations, including minority groups, seniors, the incarcerated, and people with disabilities. For this effort, the Stone Mountain resident has been named to Next Avenue’s list of “2020 Influencers in Aging.” Part of PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service, Next Avenue is public media’s first and only national journalism service dedicated to America’s

50+ population. Its sixth annual awards program honors “advocates, researchers, thought leaders and innovators who are changing how we collectively age and think about aging.” Mack, a senior himself at age 60, is joined on the Influencers list by 19 other honorees, including actor Michael J. Fox, Social Security Administration Commissioner Andrew Saul and Jean Accius, who is senior vice president of AARP Global Thought Leadership. “I just said, ‘Thank you, Jesus.’ That’s really what I said,” Mack said, of the unexpected award. “I’m honored. I think I was in the right place at the right time … doing the right thing.”

His path to medicine

Mack is an Augusta, Ga., native who grew up with a mother who inspired him from childhood to become a doctor. He particularly remembers her encouraging him to understand the life of a child with cerebral palsy who lived a few houses away. He was also inspired by knowing several African American family physicians in the Augusta area, one of whom lived in his neighborhood. Mack is a graduate of Paine College in Augusta,

Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn., and did his residency in Family Medicine at Morehouse Medical School. He also earned an MBA from Kennesaw State University. Mack has held a lengthy list of leadership roles within nonprofit and for-profit organizations including many years of service in federal healthcare centers. He is currently a professor of Family Medicine at the Morehouse medical school. He became director of the college’s National Center for Primary Care in 2015, and started the National COVID-19 Resiliency Network at Morehouse with a $40 million, three-year competitive grant that came in July. NCRN evaluates messaging and supplies education, training and other resources to a growing network of community partners experienced in working with underserved communities. Its goal is to lead vulnerable people to COVID-19 resiliency services, “to vaccinations, to testing, to critical social services, to the health services needed to help prevent and treat COVID,” Mack said. Barriers to healthcare can be daunting. Mack cited issues ranging from mistrust of the healthcare system, social barriers, and education and awareness levels to food insecurity, geographic location, mobility and lack of insurance.

“You know if you’re working three jobs to keep food on the table, there’s no time for healthcare. That’s not a priority,” he said.

A way forward

Health disparities have gained attention as COVID-19 rages. In late July, Mack helped raise that awareness when he testified before the Senate Special Committee on Aging about the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable communities. But Mack is concerned that primary care is “kind of being put on the back burner.” “Everything is so focused on COVID, but these are still the same communities that had more diabetes and hypertension, and during this time, to say it simply, the primary care is not continuing … whether it’s because the communities are staying home or because the health system is prioritizing visits, rightfully so,” Mack said. “My hope is that, beyond COVID, we optimize this opportunity and develop a model which is really impactful on the community in a positive way and that we can make it a sustainable model that can pivot to address the chronic diseases and other preventable diseases in the community.” For more information about NCRN, visit ncrn.msm.edu. See the full slate of the 2020 Influencers in Aging at nextavenue.org/ series/2020-influencers-in-aging.

DR. MACK’S COVID-19 ADVICE FOR SENIORS “It really comes back to prevention. Of course, if you’re feeling sick, please seek treatment,” Mack said, offering the following advice: ■ Be smart and protect yourself. ■ Wear a mask. Social distance. ■ Be patient. “We just need to forgo these non-essential visits because this is a communicable disease. It lives by traveling from person to person,” Mack said. “Understand that what we see happening to others can also happen to us.”

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GEORGIA POLITICS

How did Georgia suddenly become the center of national party politics? By Joseph M. Knippenberg Right now, I feel like we’re living in the most interesting state in the world, to adapt a line from a popular beer commercial. Not only did Georgia, with its two Senate runoff elections, hold the fate of the Senate, and hence of the balance of power in Washington, in its hands, but it’s also the only state in the Deep South to have voted for Joe Biden. What’s more, two of the very few bright spots for Democrats at the Congressional level were Lucy McBath’s retention of the local seat she flipped in 2018 and Carolyn Bordeaux’s flipping of another suburban seat. How we got here is, I think, an interesting and illuminating tale. Everyone’s easy answer is to credit Stacey Abrams with the feat of “turning Georgia blue,” as one headline inaccurately put it. She certainly had a hand in it, working to register and mobilize hundreds of thousands of voters. But as one observer recently noted, none of what Abrams accomplished would have been possible without Atlanta, whose economic dynamism attracts people from all over the country. Consider these numbers. More than half the almost 5 million votes cast in the presidential election came from counties in the Atlanta metro area. Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties alone accounted for about 1.7 million votes, giving Joe Biden a 625,000 edge over Donald Trump. Of course, the picture gets a bit more clouded when you factor in all the other metro counties, but it’s clear enough that the Atlanta metro area makes Georgia competitive. No other major Southern city has the same effect on its state’s political complexion. Not Charlotte, not Nashville, and certainly not Birmingham or Columbia. The closest southern analogue to Atlanta’s outsized influence is the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., where Joe Biden’s 500,000-vote margin (out of roughly 1.5 million votes cast) overcame Donald Trump’s slight 50,000-vote edge in the rest of the state. Since 2008, Virginia and Georgia have followed similar trajectories. Barack Obama added nearly a half-million voters to the Democratic columns in both states back then. Joe Biden duplicated that feat this year, adding 431,000 votes in Virginia and 594,000 votes in Georgia. This comparison takes a bit of luster away from Stacey Abrams’s accomplishment. Virginia Democrats were not exactly lost without her in 2020. Also, Georgia Republicans have a much larger margin outside Atlanta than their Virginia counterparts do outside the D.C. suburbs. But they shouldn’t rest too comfortably on that cushion, not only because it didn’t produce victory at the presidential level in 2020, but because that’s not where the state’s voting population will grow in the future. Retaining the non-Atlanta base is necessary, but not sufficient, for long-term Republican success in Georgia politics. In a word, the Atlanta metropolitan area holds the future of Georgia politics in its hands. Both parties have strong incentives to improve upon their performances ITP and OTP. For Democrats, the two keys are holding onto the affluent, White voters who moved from splitting their tickets in 2016 to voting “D” in more races in 2020, and to increasing turnout among Black and Latino voters. Since Donald Trump will not always be around to help them with the former effort, they will have to find ways to differentiate their candidates from the louder progressive voices that tend to dominate the national party. We can expect to hear more of the intraparty debate that has been evident in the aftermath of the disappointing results below the presidential level. As for the other challenge, I will restrict myself here

to saying that claims of voter suppression are a better mobilizing tool than they are a description of facts on the ground. There are lots of votes to be gotten from people of color, but those who aren’t already voting are going to be very difficult to get to the polls. Republicans have to hope that they can retain their appeal to non-metro voters while distancing themselves from the Trump persona in the metro area. In the January special elections, the task is straightforward, for they can argue that the only way that President Biden can be the moderate he claims to be is if there’s a Republican Senate to balance a Democratic House. After that, the test will be whether Georgia Republicans and their national counterparts can articulate a nationalist and populist message that isn’t as abrasive and offensive as that offered by the latest Republican occupant of the White House. I take it for granted that there’s no going back to the party of Mitt Romney, however much some of those who would be in the executive suites -- if they weren’t working from home -- would want it. That party doesn’t win enough votes outside the metro area to counterbalance its inevitable deficit around the Perimeter. Democrats and Republicans have a lot at stake, in the short term and in the long term. For Georgians, the question is whether purple is a stop on the way to blue or a condition that we’ll, so to speak, enjoy for the foreseeable future. Joseph M. Knippenberg is a professor of politics at Oglethorpe University.

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PEOPLE

Promoter Eddie Owen sees the market for live music suffer during the pandemic For more than a few singer/ songwriters/musicians, the road to success has run straight through Atlanta native Eddie Owen. He helped launch the careers of the Indigo Girls, Shawn Mullins, Sugarland, John Mayer, the Zac Brown Band and a clutch of others. Owen got his start booking acts at Trackside Tavern in Decatur and then moved over a few blocks to found the listening room known as Eddie’s Attic in 1992. He sold that venue in the early 2000s but stayed on as a talent booker until 2012. He now owns Eddie Owen Presents Red Clay Music Foundry, a performance venue and music school in Duluth. Atlanta Senior Life contributor Mark Woolsey caught up with Owen to talk about the music business in metro Atlanta.

Q: How is Eddie Owen Presents doing?

A. It’s doing pretty poorly. Since

March we have had 121 shows canceled (due to COVID). All were canceled by artists and artist agencies and management. When they have a 260-seat venue they were hoping to sell out and suddenly the venue is seating anywhere from just 30 to 100 (because of social distancing), it’s impossible to make a budget for a show that incudes artist and talent and crew. It’s just the math you have and it’s not good math. We also have the same expenses as everybody else: your electric meter, your phone, your internet. If this were an easy business, there’d be a billion promoters doing shows in America right now.

Q. So no profits at this point?

A. The fortunate thing for me is

we not only have the shows we produce, we have a music school as well. We did go from 250 students to about 40. The other good thing is the municipality of Duluth, which has gone out of its way to make sure we survive. It’s

not about profit or loss anymore or are we in the black or not. It’s about survival.

Q. What has the city done to help?

A. Anything I have wanted them

to do. I have a contract with them to produce shows in this building and they have helped me by being lenient with my contract in terms of what I have been able to do. We didn’t have any shows in March, April or May because the governor mandated the theaters be closed. We re-opened in June with all of the stipulations and all of the protocols in place. Since we reopened, we have done probably six to eight shows a month. What has really helped us is the live stream. We had 60 people in there (on the stream ) tonight and almost all of them put money in the tip jar. (while in-person shows are ticketed, the livestream can only collect tips).

Q. What are you most proud of in your career?

A. The thing I love is the songs

and the song writers. I love watching a songwriter draw an audience in, stick them on their sleeve and carry them through a story. There’s a medicinal quality to it. What I have prided myself on is being able to create as much of a sweet spot is possible. I didn’t make anybody famous. I gave a lot of different songwriters the opportunity to connect with an audience.

Q. How has the music business changed over the decades that you have been in it?

A. (laughs). How has the world

changed? Multiply it by 10 and that’s how much [music] has changed. The [industry] I work in now doesn’t resemble what was in place then. There was no social networking in 1990, and now it’s key for every artist’s survival and growth. Also, in 1990 there used to be something called “the record industry.”

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Q. Where do you see the music industry business going?

A. I think it is going to be

vastly different. What I’m doing here tonight is talking to you while watching my own show. Livestreaming will be a large part of it.

Q. Who is a performer who has impressed you most with their ability to connect with an audience?

A. I don’t answer that question

because if I booked someone and they played one of my shows, then they were awesome. If they weren’t awesome, I wouldn’t

have booked them. (pauses) Three guys I shared a lot of time with (who all passed away in 2020) were Hal Ketchum, Billy Joe Shaver and Jerry Jeff Walker. I booked all three and befriended them. There are stories about all three that I could go on and on about.

Q. What’s next for you?

A. Hope to be able to enjoy the rest of my life with my wife, two sons and daughter. And the way I’ll be able to enjoy them is to keep working my ass off until I die. [My children] are all musical, and -- thanks to their mother -they’re all mature adults.

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PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY

Wrapping your brain around TV’s Brave New World The pandemic has catapulted us into a brave new world of TV watching. Trying to wrap your brain around all the things we can watch on TV and all the different ways we can watch them can give you one huge headache. We’ll try to make it simple because watching TV can – and we emphasize can – be much more than turning on your set with more than the remote from your cable or satellite company. It all depends on what you want to watch, how you want to watch, and, increasingly, how much you want to pay for it. Before we dive into the weeds, we should let you know that we are not touting one way of watching TV or any specific system for adding TV choices. If you have a cable or satellite package that you like, stay with it, by all means. But if you want to augment or enhance what you have, we can point out some of your options.

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past few years, you’ve seen a slew of non-broadcast, noncable programmers challenge the cable industry – with its hundreds of channels – and broadcasters for eyeballs. They include Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Apple+, Disney+ and countless other specialty programmers, including a universe of YouTube videos. If you have cable TV with a voice remote, you can call up Netflix and Amazon programming and watch whatever they offer. That is, of course, if you’ve paid the subscription fees. But for all the others, you need to “stream”

their content over the internet. And again, you’ll need to pay any required subscription fees. A major benefit of streaming is that you can watch “TV” on any kind of device that can connect to the internet. That includes a smart TV or TV that can use a streaming device (Roku, Amazon Fire TV Gene Rubel or Google Chromecast). The Digital Device Streaming also Doctor cures digital includes watching on anxiety for seniors and a computer, tablet or home/home-office users. mobile phone. A graduate of HarThis is the technical vard Business School, part – your gateway to the brave new “Doctor Gene” spent more than 30 years in world of TV watching. international business. Conceivably, you can carry your TV He can be reached at generubel@gmail.com. watching with you anywhere in the world. For this, we’ll stick close to home.

Your Network

To take advantage of streaming, your home must have a Wi-Fi network that delivers a strong signal to the farthest corners of your home. If you have bundled cable TV, internet and landline telephone service from Comcast (Xfinity), AT&T (U-verse) or Charter (Spectrum), you likely have a combination modem/ router. The modem part brings the internet into your home, and the router distributes Wi-Fi signals. If you have an older system, you should request their latest equipment or purchase your own – as long as it’s compatible with your cable company. The technology has advanced considerably in the past five years, and you need to be able to handle the internet speed required to deliver the video signals to the device you want to use, wherever you want to use it. Larger homes and homes with older, thicker walls may require a mesh network. More than just an extender, mesh network components (called nodes) have the ability to “talk” to all devices connected to your network and manage the efficient delivery of Wi-Fi signals to each device on the network.

Your Internet Service

With a sufficient network, you should be able to handle the internet service required for watching TV on multiple devices simultaneously. The devices include smart TVs, computers, tablets and smartphones. Streaming companies such as Netflix, recommend a minimum of 25 mbps (megabits per second) to smoothly download and watch movies with 4K resolution and HDR color. Those are the highest specifications for picture clarity and color vividness. We recommend a minimum service of 100 mbps – along with an up-to-date router/mesh network. Without a strong signal to the device you are watching on, you’ll get interruptions while the video and sound signals download to your device. One other related point in this brave new world of TV is that internet providers are starting to monitor and cap how many megabits of data you use during a month. When you watch TV on

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the cable system, you don’t use data. But when you stream TV, you use data. However, most caps right now are running at 1 to 1.2 terabytes (TB) per month. To hit that limit, you’ll need to watch an awful lot of shows and movies and ballgames. Your internet provider will likely have packages of internet speed and data use that will meet your needs and budget.

Your TV and Streaming Device

Not all smart TVs and streaming devices are created equal. TV manufacturers and streaming providers have their own arrangements that determine what you can see on the TV. Most product descriptions – online and on the box in the retail store – will provide that information. But you don’t need a smart TV to stream. If you have a TV that has an HDMI cable connection port, you can use a Roku, Amazon or Chromecast streaming device. Essentially, it turns a dumb TV into a smart TV. However, you need to look at the product description to make sure the device carries the

programming you want to watch. The device manufacturers and the programming providers have their deals, too, but don’t despair. In the brave new world of TV, you can mix and match just about everything. You can keep your cable TV service and add any streaming channels you like. With that same HDMI cable, you can connect your computer to your TV and watch anything you can find on the internet. And you can also use Bluetooth technology to “cast” programming from your smart phone or tablet onto a Bluetooth-capable TV. On the other hand, you can chuck it all and hook up an antenna to your TV. In today’s world of digital TV signals, you can get more than just handful of channels. Broadcasters now have side channels, which give them to opportunity to expand their over-the-air offerings. You can find some of the same specialty channels carried by internetbased programming providers. The good news is that once you get through all the brainwrenching choices, you should be able to the brave new world of TV on your own terms.

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PERSONAL HEALTH

It may be time to check your eyes again Did you skip your annual eye volumes in March and April exam in 2020 because of the 2020 (versus the same period in pandemic? 2019). If you’re among the ones January, designated National who cancelled an appointment Glaucoma Awareness Month, with the eye doctor provides a this year, you perfect time to should plan on think about the scheduling a new importance of examination. And your next eye you won’t be the exam. Remember, only one needing a simple eyeto catch up on their chart test won’t checkups. do. To evaluate A recent national vision loss from study revealed this disease, both that during the eyes need to be Judith L. Kanne, initial months of dilated so your RN, BSN, BA the coronavirus ophthalmologist pandemic, of or optometrist is a registered nurse and all medical may evaluate freelance writer who lives service lines, your eyes for in Atlanta. ophthalmology had lost vision and a the greatest loss of myriad of other patient volume. abnormalities. In an analysis of more than Regular eye exams are 2 million patient visits and recommended because certain encounters from 228 hospitals eye diseases, such as glaucoma, in 40 states, the study showed can “sneak up” on unsuspecting eye doctors lost 81 percent of adults. In fact, glaucoma’s patient volume (year-over-year) ‘other’ name is the "the sneak when compared to two-week thief of sight."

Last year, glaucoma procedures actually dropped by 88 percent for inpatient and outpatient practices. But glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness.

More than 3 million people have glaucoma

More than 3 million people in the United States suffer from glaucoma and the number is expected to reach 4.2 million by 2030, the National Eye Institute said in a recent report. Experts say that half of these people do not yet realize they have the disease and that as much as 40 percent of a person’s vision may be lost without the person noticing their sight is failing. “Glaucoma is a disease where the nerve cells that connect your eyeball to the brain degenerate over time. Glaucoma leads to optic nerve injury, neurodegeneration and, ultimately, vision loss,” Dr. Derek Welsbie, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University Wilmer Eye Institute, said in February in

connection with a research project called “Catalyst for a Cure,” which sought a novel strategy to replace injured nerve cells and reconnect them to the brain. “You have about a million of these nerve cells in each eye and as they're lost, you lose vision as a patient. Now, everything we do is aimed at slowing that degeneration, but for those patients who have already lost nerve cells and who've already lost vision, there's nothing that we have to offer.”

High risk groups

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Some people are at higher risk for glaucoma and should have a comprehensive dilated eye exam every two years [and every year, if they are diabetic].” Glaucoma is more prevalent among African American and Latino populations. In fact, glaucoma is six to eight times more common in African Americans than Whites. Although the most common forms primarily affect middleaged and elderly people, glaucoma can affect people of all ages. Are you in one of these groups? ■ African Americans 40 years and older ■ All adults older than 60, especially Mexican Americans ■ People with a family history of glaucoma ■ People who have been diagnosed with diabetes New findings suggest vision loss in people with glaucoma can be caused by an immune response to early exposure to bacteria, which can elevate eye pressure and trigger heat shock proteins, according to www. glaucoma.org.

How a patient sees glaucoma “Be aware that a diagnosis of glaucoma can be a

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very frightening experience,” Dr. Ralph M. Sanchez said in an article for the Review of Ophthalmology in 2016 in which he shared his experiences as both a physician and a glaucoma patient. “Essentially, you’re being told that you could lose your sight, which is many people’s greatest fear. The initial diagnosis is very unsettling and can be profoundly life-changing. I’ve had

patients cry upon hearing the news, and I totally understand that reaction.” Sanchez also tells his patients that glaucoma is unlikely to lead to blindness when treated appropriately, but it takes a lot of patient responsibility, too. “Sometimes it’s the challenges we face in life that really make us who we are,” Sanchez wrote. Sanchez, who is now in his 60s, was in his 20s when he received his diagnosis. “It may sound kind of crazy, but getting that diagnosis led me to change my career and make

a serious life commitment, which I hadn’t been motivated to make until then,” he wrote. “So although I wouldn’t wish glaucoma on anybody, in some ways that diagnosis was a blessing in disguise.” There still is no cure for glaucoma. However, there is hope that certain medications or surgery may slow or prevent further vision loss. Early detection is vital to stopping the progress of this disease. So remember to have that eye exam as soon as you feel comfortable going back to the eye doctor.

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It seems like it has been anything to dramatize any well over a year, yet we have news they can get their hands not yet reached on. the unofficial So, it’s conceivable anniversary of the that when you take Covid-19 virus or the your sweetheart widespread use of the flowers on current media shock Valentine’s Day, and word “pandemic.” I her cute little Bichon realize this column nips you on the is part of the media ankles, given that’s but I chose to go all the little fella can with “virus” instead, reach, don’t put it on mostly since it has social media. If you STAY SAFE less syllables. do, the following day Steve Rose is a retired To make matters the lead story will Sandy Springs Police Captain, veteran Fulton worse, we are read: “Lovelorn Man County police officer and approaching Mauled by Unknown freelance writer. He is the February, which is Fuzzy Beast!” author the book “Why one of four Nielson Whether a Do My Mystic Journeys Always Lead to the Waffle pandemic or virus, “sweeps” months House?” and the column meaning the major it seems like the “View from a Cop.” networks will do scientific community

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is closing in on a vaccine that I certainly hope will show a steady rate of progress with those who desperately need it, such as front-line medical staff and free-lance writers. The joke around the newsroom -- in other words, my home office where I talk to myself -- is that we, or I, want to be in the second grouping of vaccine recipients, after studying the first group intently. I just want to be sure that the third eye or hand growing from one’s head was preexisting. Things being what they are, the hope of a vaccine is, well, hope. Hope makes us feel better about lousy things. Unfortunately, hope also brings the potential for frauds. We do not need to go all in yet, at least until we do a little homework on the facts. Double-check your information until legitimate facts present themselves is a solid fundamental rule. In other words, check it out, check it again, and then check it again! The FDA said proper safeguards and brand protection might not be available until the second generation of the vaccine because everything is currently operating on an emergency basis. This invites the opportunity for those slimy little fraudsters to cook up fake information, offered for a price, to the unwitting public. If you remember, when Covid-19 cases spiked dramatically, masks, gloves, and other gear were in short supply. Scams soon surfaced, raking in thousands of dollars for protective goods never received. Crooks looking for an emotional response from potential victims offered home

NOVEMBER 2020

DECEMBER 2020

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test kits months before they were legitimately available. Since the virus reared its ugly head, Homeland Security analyzed more than 70,000 suspicious Covid-19 related websites. They seized more than 1,600 products valued at over $27 million dollars and arrested more than. Enforcement, however, is a reaction to crime and usually a step behind at the start of the race, meaning some crooks were successful early on. And incarceration of some does not mean crooks are done being crooks, even in prison According to an NBC online article, thousands of inmates, reportedly including convicted killer Scott Peterson, bilked the state of California out of $140 million in fraudulent pandemic unemployment benefits between March and August 2020. The total number of fake claims topped 35,000. Well, that makes sense given they have nothing to do. To rub even more salt in the wound, some of the names used to file benefits were John Doe, John Adams, and in one case, “Poopy Britches.” Seriously, Poopy Britches. Not one midlevel supervisor read the claim and said, “Uh, wait a minute.” Sad news, the art of bureaucracy is alive and well folks. Grab it from the inbox, stamp it, and move it along without reading it. The article said California lacks the system to cross-reference inmate information with unemployment claims. That makes no sense. Let’s hope 2021 brings us a surge in good stuff. What is good stuff? Take 2020 and hope for the opposite. We will happily start with that.

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PERSONAL FINANCE

Should I Claim Social Security at 62? Dear Rusty: I'm looking for information about retiring and starting my Social Security very soon at age 62. I'm not sure if I want to do it because I'm not sure if I can. Can you help me figure this out?

Signed: Hesitant Dear Hesitant: I know it can be daunting trying to figure out whether and when to claim your Social Security benefits. I’ll give you some of the basics: First, you should know that if you claim your benefits at age 62, your benefit amount will be considerably reduced from what it would be if you waited longer to claim. At 62, your benefit will be about 28% less than it would be at your full retirement age (FRA) which, for you, is 66 years and 8 months. Your benefit will continue to grow by a fraction of a percentage point each month you wait, until it reaches 100% at your FRA. You can choose to delay even longer than your FRA, and your benefit will continue to grow up to age 70, when you

reach your maximum if you fully retire benefit amount. For from work now, that you, that maximum at is not a concern, age 70 would be about but it may influence 28% more than you a future decision would get at your FRA to return to work. and about 75% more Social Security’s than you would get earnings limit no at age 62. There is a longer applies after considerable financial you reach your full advantage to waiting retirement age. Russell Gloor to claim. Your marital status is a certified Social Se- also comes into play. If you continue curity advisor with the If you are married, working, and you Association of Mature and your benefit as a claim at age 62 (or at any age before your spouse will be more American Citizens FRA), you’ll be subject than your personal to Social Security’s benefit will be, then “earnings test,” which there are some special limits how much you can earn considerations which might before they take back some of affect your claiming decision. your benefits. Generally, if your spousal Starting at age 62 and benefit will be more than your continuing until the year you own benefit (from your lifetime attain FRA, there will be an work record), and your spouse annual limit to your earnings isn’t yet collecting benefits, (the 2021 limit is $18,960) and, if it’s often wise to claim your you exceed that, Social Security own earlier and take the larger will take back benefits equal to spouse benefit later. $1 for every $2 you are over the Of course, if you’re not limit. married, you need only be That could mean you will concerned about your personal go some number of months benefit from your own lifetime without receiving benefits until earnings record and waiting Social Security recovers what for a larger life-long benefit, you owe because you exceeded if possible, is often the most the earnings limit. Of course,

prudent choice. Those are the basic things you should consider when trying to decide when to claim your benefits. But your need for the money now, plus your health and life expectancy are also key to your decision. If you need the money earlier to make ends meet, and you won’t be severely affected by the earnings limit, then claiming early can be your most prudent choice. Or, if you are not enjoying good health and have reason to believe that you won’t live at least until today’s average age (about 87 for a woman), then that also suggests claiming early. But, if you are working and don’t really need the money, and you are in good health and expect to live to a ripe old age, then waiting longer to claim a higher benefit is usually a better strategy. The reality is that everyone’s personal situation is different, and there is no single answer to the question of when to claim Social Security. I hope this brief review gives you at least a starting point for making your decision.

This article is intended for information purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. It presents the opinions and interpretations of the AMAC Foundation’s staff, trained and accredited by the National Social Security Association (NSSA). NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other governmental entity. To submit a question, visit our website (amacfoundation.org/programs/socialsecurity-advisory) or email us at ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org.

JANUARY 2021 | AtlantaSeniorLife.com

12 — NO. 12

Brookhaven Reporter

Dunwoody Reporter

BY THE NUMBERS

Mapping Biden’s win in local communities P11

City withdraws tax break for Dresden Village

BY HOLLY R. PRICE

AND JOHN RUCH

reporternewspap

ers.net

BY THE NUMBERS Mapping Biden’s win in local communities

P11

New elementary but overcrowdingschool is welcomed, remains a concern

developA controversial Brookhaven are a no-go at this ment and its tax break point, the city has announced. 18 that it is Nov. The city announced petition for a tax break withdrawing a court Village, a mixed-use involving Dresden Dresden Drive near plan on a 4-acre lot on is no longer “viCaldwell Road. The project & Developable” for Connolly Investment from city to a statement ment, according DECEMBER 2020 • VOL.P5 spokesperson Burke Brennan. of Connolly In-14 — NO. 12 J.R. Connolly II, the CEO to make the company intends ROBIN’S vestment, said NEST the plan and reintroreporternewspapers unspecified changes to could not amend .net P5 duce it later. The company application and the current tax abatement he said. so had to withdraw entirely, and the Devel“The city of Brookhaven disappointed about ROBIN’S NEST opment Authority are redevelopment that the loss of a quality the Dresden coraugments and completes in the statement. “The ridor,” Brennan said from this project would revenues .net future ewspapers P13 benefited the city, county, reportern have positively enhancing the corP11 and school board, while to transit at ridor’s walkability, connectionMARTA Stathorpe VOL. 14 — NO. 12 the Brookhaven-Ogle DECEMBER 2020• the City Centre master WORTH ultimately A site plan of tion, and KNOWING the new elementary school planned plan area.” P13 we wantto be built on Chamblee-Dunwoody SPECIAL “To clarify the city’s comments, Road. to really reflect what BY HOLLY R. SPECIAL ed to retool the project PRICE today,” Connolly is going on in the world Village proposal. “In order to make While the announcem A site plan of the Dresden said in a phone interview. ent of a new WORTH KNOWING we wanted to make, ementary school elthe project changes that in Dunwoody that we will, you if is being welcomed by there was a technicality, some residents for validation. We and officials, they are can’t amend our request also questionin the validation g the move P11 when basically have to withdraw are ready, we BY BOBlocal PEPALIS middle and high Once we schools rewithout precedent. … main overpopula ted. Consultants will come back.” the The DeKalband city staff will political opposition to County Board present whether Asked City Council on Dec. P20 of Education County govBY MATT BRUCE DeKalb approved 15 with final concepts P5 project’s tax break from for redevelopmen plans Nov. 9 to build a played a role 950-student t of four shopping school ernment and local residents The initiative purchased four on the former centers in the city’s Winter is coming, Connolly said, aims North The department has pus withdraw, camto to End. help restaurants of in the decision and other businesses using them to red Elementar woody has authorizedand the city of DunOn Nov.Shallowfor ROBIN’S 5, consultants BY MATT BRUCE drones and plans to begin it really doesn’t.” move their warmChambleeNEST no, The Dunwoody on “You know, $150,000 in federal weather operations Dunwoody released theyfinal 2021. According to Reporter concepts and relief to help local was welcomed Road. The break is spond to calls in early outdoors, a safety posted them Department is struction timetable businesses work conThe halt to the taxmail online spr.gs/ sure as COVID-19 Ayana, it’s the first meait. The Brookhaven Police in cold weather outdoors opposed northern. The delivered who is not set, atbut spills into the Brookhaven Lt. Abrem to concepts under P20 a new world of drone by officials and residents project is expected added green the winter seaprogram of its son. As part of launching itself into homes abatement distancing restrictions the pandemic’s social and reduced glad onthe the grant program, to be fast-trackespace full-throttle drone response selected building robots set to respond “Right now, I’m just heights . d. will cover 50% the city of California. Along with policing, with the aerial County Comcarrier DeKalb The City Council cepts of the costs for kind outside the state the opening in some conroutes to reflect public officials say will save in is off the table,” said of a larger on businesses to comment buy and install Austin Elementar to 911 calls in a program allotment as matching Nov. 9 approved the who represents part of tents, space heaters initial ideas. y School on on their that also means flying missioner Jeff Rader, ZIP 30338 ” said Ayana, door furniture, The Brookhaven Reporter to and outtime and money. But Roberts of the deal. Drive earlier “Al Fresco” program. grant funding for the “It is truly transformational, the drone lighting and flooring. thismore of legal and ethical “We’ve added year,green Brookhaven, of the withdrawal of is mail delivered the new Forwho information into uncharted territory represented “We have been siteinisparpected space exwho oversaw implementation delivery@r Kamenetzky, to alleviate say there are no nafocused all summer ticular on Ricardo eporternewspapers.net: PAID ADVERTISEMEN North River homes on selected some be very busy.” implications, as experts overcrowd Village on T team. “We expect it to that and North ing drones. has led the DeKalb Springs,” See CITY on page 22 BY JOHN RUCH carrier routes in said Sarah McColley tional standards for police County of School TSW, See CITY on page consultants in land See POLICE on page 9 Atlanta City ZIP 30319 former the 16 use, zoning, urban Mary Norwood, P13 narrowly lost the 2017 design and outreach. See NEW on page who For information: PAID ADVERTISEMENT is Council member 22 The North End One of the concepts to Keisha Lance Bottoms, revitalization projrnewspapers.net for redeveloping mayoral election delivery@reporte mixed-use buildings North ect kicked off in run for a city office P5 whose density helps River Village shopping center proposes SPECIAL March with 200 not ruling out another make creating green comtaller munity members space plaza areas participating in in 2021. possible. a pubWORTH right now to run for lic meeting. A virtual “I am not planning KNOWING the pop-up meeting who now chairs had 162 participants. any office,” Norwood, In August and September s, said of Neighborhood ROBIN’S NEST city staff and consultants Buckhead Council if she presented mulinterview. Asked tiple concepts for in a Nov. 5 phone “I think each of the four mind, she added, shopping centers that might change her varied from following of a presidential election that in the middle all zoning requirements everybody’s where to more extenthat hasn’t been decided, premature to even sive rezoning and it is building focused on that, that to achieve. The community code changes happen next year.” participated in discuss what may to the virtual meetings Norwood spoke for each shopping Earlier that day, she center and added comments Association, where through interactive Buckhead Business of those 2021 elecwebsites. BY BOB PEPALIS noted the importance and City After the council P20 the Mayor’s Office She also P13 tions, when ASD SKY with many of the meeting, the final be on the ballot. suggestions participants plan document will After a first round Council seats will in the first round get a more be completed by of community racial recent work on of Civic Dinners Dec. the Salesforce Tower dialogue meetings, 31. made to touted her organization’s increase inclusion MARTA Station and the concrete bridge over East Paces issues. two City Council and diversity in the between the Lenox memother public safety bers say they are for artwork on McColley said the story, p. 9. ► Could the bridge street racing and city. ready The city sponsored is considering. See consultants learned Norwood touted conceptual illustration The Sandy Springs 44 Civic Dinners with diverse programming to back culturally that colorful look? This the improvements the tower’s owner At the BBA meeting, the Reporter community City 341 the KNOWING attendees and to help recruit in is wants a mix of housWORTH in July and August, involvement elected officials who Ferry Road is among ing options. Overall mail using a virher organization’s tual platform and better to homes on an ordinance of delivered feedback themes questions provided passageselected ethnic and socioeconomic match the city’s included: Council’s recent by a private company of decarrier diversity. routes in called Civic Dinners. temporary jailing the In separate requires interviews, Councilmemb that ●Need for a mix of Participants discussed ZIPs 30327, and gave 30328, housing options of street racing what they saw as ers Andy Bauman and that are attainable at fendants accused the city’s strengths and Chris Burnett agreed considerthat is and many price points, 30350 a group30342 weaknesses in belonginmore details about cluding single-family the neighpolicing in homes and different For information: ing enhanced private PAID ADVERTISEMENT See TWO on page 16 delivery@reporternewspaper borhood. like down in Buckhead s.net See NORTH on page Overall crime is and 22 crimes a string of gun it is citywide. But on racing have been orother issues like street resiForum, an advisory many Buckhead year, This Executive Research that rise. D.C., the in Washington, have complained ganization based local BY JOHN RUCH dents and organizations such studies for on the street, unfrequently conducts P20 planabout young water-sellers over alleged asDepartment will A separate urban The Atlanta Police police departments. citizen which led to a crackdown “top-to-bottom” review involved to ensure crimes. And the neighbordergo an 18-month, ning firm will be said. saults and other on Mayor Keisha Lance process, Bottoms by widespread looting for possible reforms, conengagement in the The Buckhead Reporter hood was shaken early in a Nov. 18 press will be paid by the that spun out of the Bottoms announced The cost of the study of is mail delivered to homes one night in May for Progress, a group ference. Atlanta Committee mayor, on selected carrier routes page 14 policies, procedures who advise the See NORWOOD on The review of APD’s Police corporate leaders in ZIPs 30305, 30327 22 be conducted by the See MAYOR on page and training will 30342

Holiday Events

Sandy Springs Reporter

Holiday Events

A thankful farewell to readers

BY THE NUMBERS

Buckhead am flies ReporterPolice dronertedprogr territory Mapping Biden’s win in local communities

CAC leader’s legacy of helping others

into uncha

A bridge to MARTA art?

CAC leader’s legacy of helping others Holiday Events Norwood

won’t rule A thankfu run l out 2021 farewell for office to

BY THE NUMBERS

Mapping Biden’s win in local communities

More green space, added to North Endshorter buildings City to help bus concepts inesses operate outdoors in pandemic wint er

Read our other community publications Pick up a copy or read online at ReporterNewspapers.net

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Holiday Events A thankful farewell to readers

it’s essential for us to... This year, above all years,

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Ready for adoption Hudson, a 4-year-old Labrador retriever mix, came to the Atlanta Humane Society when his owner developed allergies to him, but he’s a very good boy and retains a lot of puppy-like energy. He’s currently living with both dogs and cats in his foster home, and while he’s not so sure about the cats yet, we believe Hudson could be successful in a home with other pets. This sweet guy loves running around in the back yard, chewing on peanut-butter filled treat toys, keeping an eye on things by staring out the window, and cuddling up next to his favorite people on the couch. Hudson is not a fan of loud noises or too much commotion, so he might be most successful in a stand-alone home without neighbors that are too close. Hudson is neutered, microchipped and up to date on vaccinations. To apply to adopt Hudson, visit atlantahumane.org/adoptionapplication! Meet Aida and Abba! These two adorable 4-month-old kittens are looking for the perfect home together. When they arrived at the Atlanta Humane Society, they were blond and their eyeballs were extremely swollen and infected, causing them a lot of pain. The humane societys medical team removed the kittens’ eyes, and the team reports that after a few weeks of recovery, Aida and Abba

were feeling much better. Now these two cuties are living in a loving AHS foster home until they find a home of their own. They depend on each other, so

they are looking for a forever home together. Aida and Abba are adventurous, fearless, and affectionate. They get along well with their foster’s other cats and dog, so we believe the would be successful in a home with other pets that are respectful. Because they navigate the world by sound and smell, Aida and Abba have very sensitive hearing, so we think they’d do best in a home without young children and where they wouldn’t be routinely surprised by loud noises. Once they adjust to their environment, they are confident, playful, and so much fun! These two cuties are spayed/neutered, microchipped and up to date on vaccinations. To learn more, visit atlantahumane.org/cats or apply to adopt them by visiting atlantahumane.org/adoption-application!

JANUARY 2021 | AtlantaSeniorLife.com

OUT & ABOUT

A few things to do whether you’re staying inside or going out Magic Happens

Paintings and prints

Jan. 18, 6 p.m.: Adult fans of the Harry Potter stories will be able to gather online every other week to discuss magical goings on at Hogwarts and elsewhere in the Potter universe thanks to the Cobb County Library System. “Harry Potter and the Library Club” is an online reading club that, inspired by the podcast Harry Potter and the Sacred Text, will seek answers to the question: “What if we read the books we love as if they were sacred texts?” Limited to the first 15 signups. For more: 770-528-2520 or www.harrypottersacredtext.com,

Though Jan. 21: The High Museum of Art presents an exhibition of artworks by American artist Julie Mehretu. The exhibition is the first comprehensive survey of works by the artist, the High says, and features meticulously crafted paintings, drawings and prints. At the High, 1280 Peachtree St., Atlanta.

Books for the birds Jan. 22, 9:30 a.m.: Georgia Audubon starts its 2021 series of Georgia Audubon Bird Stories with a presentation on “Beauty and the Beak,” a non-fiction book by Deborah Lee Rose. Free. Register at www. georgiaaudubon.org. Jan. 24, 3:30 p.m.: Georgia Tech professor emeritus Gregory Nobles discusses his new book “John James Audubon: The Nature of the American Woodsman” during Georgia Audubon’s January meeting. The club is taking a look at Audubon the teller of tales, rather than just the painter of birds. In his works, the society says, “Audubon interspersed dozens of stories about the American people, ranging from their environmental habits to their social behaviors to their race relations. While some of these stories are more true than others, together they give us a fascinating view of the ways Audubon understood his adopted country. Free. Register at www. georgiaaudubon.org.

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Conservation through gardening Feb. 2, 7 p.m.: Atlanta History Center virtually hosts author Doug Tallamy for a discussion of his book “Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard” as a Cherokee Garden Library Lecture. Tallamy presents a grassroots approach to conservation by showing homeowners how to use their yards to create habitat for wildlife. He will provide specific ideas that listeners can incorporate in their own yards. This talk will take place as a Zoom webinar. Tickets: Free. For more: www.atlantahistorycenter.com When things are slow, here a couple of local animal webcams you can check out:

Online action animals ZooAtlanta’s panda-cam https://zooatlanta.org/panda-cam The Georgia Aquarium offers webcams that view several kinds of interesting creatures, including jellyfish www.georgiaaquarium.org/ webcam/jelly-webcam and sea otters www.georgiaaquarium.org/ webcam/southern-sea-otter-webcam

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JANUARY 2021 | AtlantaSeniorLife.com

PEOPLE

Signs of hope as a new forest preserve grows as vines, trees and other vegetation took over old street signs, light poles, porches and collapsing roofs. After a study identified the Lake Charlotte forest as the most critical property in Atlanta to protect, TCF negotiated the deal with Waste Management for $4.7 million. This past August, the nonprofit sold the land to the city for the same price. After tires and other debris are removed from the site and parking

By Sally Bethea “This is a real forest!” exclaimed Atlanta naturalist Kathryn Kolb as we walked through the woods in the city’s recently acquired Lake Charlotte Nature Preserve on a glorious day in November. We had just admired tall shagbark hickories, massive white oaks, sassafras, persimmons, and a huge beech tree that was at least 175 years old, based on its circumference. Our tour leader for this special visit to the newest and largest public park in the city of Atlanta (at 216 acres) was Stacy Funderburke, regional counsel with The Conservation Fund (TCF), a national nonprofit organization. He was instrumental in striking the deal to permanently protect this natural treasure located in southeast Atlanta – working

with landowner Waste Management, the city, residents, tree advocates and others. If the parties had not moved quickly, a proposal to clear-cut the forest and grade the land to develop another industrial park would already be underway. A small lakefront retreat in the middle of the last century, the property and deteriorating homes were sold to a developer in the 1980s and Lake Charlotte – created by damming a tributary to the South River— was drained. Several years later, Waste Management purchased the property that is next to its Live Oak Landfill. It was the largest landfill in metro Atlanta before it closed in 2004. Local residents have long worried that the Lake Charlotte property would become another landfill or industrial site. Instead, the forest has continued to grow untouched

JANUARY 2021 | AtlantaSeniorLife.com

once lived here is enormous. Several acres of the tract are part of Soapstone Ridge, which contains archaeological sites dating back several thousand years. To purchase the property, the city of Atlanta used money from its tree recompense fund: fees collected from developers when they cut down trees for new construction, as required by an amendment to the city’s tree ordinance adopted five years ago. This is first time that the fund has been used to protect existing trees, instead of planting new ones— demonstrating the importance of the fund for preserving intact forests before they are destroyed. Thanks to a recent audit of fund expenditures, necessary controls will soon be in place to ensure that recompense funds are used solely as intended,

Lake Charlotte Nature Preserve Photo by Stacy Funderburke

accommodations are made, the city plans to open the preserve to the public in about a year. Stacy told WABE reporter Molly Samuel: “I believe it’ll be a crown jewel in the city and even in the region. A forest that people will come from all over the city to visit and spend time in, because it is such a unique place.” The potential for the preserve to become an outdoor learning laboratory about nature and the people who

instead of being siphoned off to support department expenses, as has happened to some of the money in recent years. Since its passage 20 years ago, Atlanta’s tree ordinance has been beat on, beat up, revised and shrugged off by most affected parties: developers, city planners, elected officials, residents, and tree protection and clean water advocates. Virtually everyone agrees that the ordinance has never worked to protect

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To purchase the property for the Lake Charlotte Nature Preserve, at center above, the city of Atlanta used money collected from developers when they cut down trees.

existing trees – high quality trees – during development and redevelopment. The city hired consultants to advise them on an ordinance revision and, in 2019, began to engage stakeholders. This time

last year, these discussions had devolved into finger-pointing, as the city appeared to be ignoring the significant input of residents and tree advocates. The COVID-19 pandemic slowed the negotiations this year, but

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also provided time for a small group of stakeholders to work through the ordinance, line by line; they are making progress. City Councilman Matt Westmoreland – chair of the Community Development and Human Services Committee, which oversees the work of the planning department – has led the effort to bring the parties together to revise the tree ordinance. He told me recently that he is “very grateful that the city, tree advocates, and members of the development community continue to share their various perspectives in ongoing discussions to get us to a solid end point.” He expects that the council will receive a draft ordinance from the planning department soon and will work toward adoption in the first quarter of 2021. As this difficult and tragic year ends, I find signs of hope

in many places: one of them is in the steadfast commitment of the people who are working hard to find agreement on ways to protect our city in the forest. They realize the immense value of Atlanta’s tree canopy to the health and sense of well-being of all who live, work and play in the city. If I never have the opportunity to walk the peaceful, deep woods of the Lake Charlotte Nature Preserve again, I am content in the knowledge that this special place cannot be harmed – that it will be loved by tens of thousands of people over the years – and that the large beech, whose trunk I hugged when I couldn’t hug my friends for fear of the pandemic, may now be able to reach its full maturity and live several hundred more years.

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