South Coast Prime Times - September/October 2016 by Coastal Communications Corp.

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Prime timeS Sep t e m ber /O c t ober 2 016 • Volum e 12 • Num ber 5

Zombie bacteria South Coast Kush Top car tech Like nun other

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FROM THE PUBLISHER September/October 2016 ■ Vol. 12 ■ No. 5 PUBLISHED BY

Coastal Communications Corp. PUBLISHER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

SUMMER ALWAYS SEEMS to come too late and leave too early. Labor Day hits us like a truck, and August is gone before we have the chance to say goodbye. Well here’s the dirty secret about the summer: the reason you didn’t get outside as much as you wanted to was that it was too hot! Luckily, early autumn is the perfect time to finally follow through on summer plans. Don’t let these last warm days go to waste!

Ljiljana Vasiljevic EDITOR

Sebastian Clarkin ONLINE EDITOR

Paul Letendre CONTRIBUTORS

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, by any means, without written permission from the Publisher. All information contained herein is believed to be reliable. Coastal Communications Corp. does not assume any financial responsibility for typographical errors in advertisements, but will reprint that portion of an advertisement in which the typographical error occurs.

NEXT ISSUE October 12, 2016

CIRCULATION 25,000

Just be careful out there – as sure as the leaves will fall, you’re also going to start hearing more sneezing. Two words: zombie bacteria. No, it’s not the title of a straight-to-TV movie airing after midnight. The truth may be more terrifying than any fiction. You know how your soap says it kills 99.99% of bacteria? Meet the 0.01%. Find out more about these pesky pathogens by reading Elizabeth Morse Read’s article on page 6. If you do happen to get sick, it’s possible that you can have a new prescription to help: marijuana. You won’t have to go to California or Colorado to get a doctor’s note, either. Medical marijuana is legal in Massachusetts and dispensaries are budding up in the South Coast. For the definitive story, read Jay Pateakos’s article on page 12. You’ve heard the joke that you need a graduate degree in computer science to change your car’s oil these days. It seems that everything is computerized – even the things you never wanted computerized in the first place. Whatever your opinion, the wheel of technology won’t stop turning. That’s why Dan Logan has a list of the most helpful car tech for seniors on page 14. Finally, most of us feel lucky to find a single vocation in our lives. Linda Pestana found two. A former nun, she left her order to follow a different path: guiding the families of the recently departed through their grief. Her years of experience have left her with valuable insight for making the most of death – and life. Don’t miss Greg Jones’s article on page 24.

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PRIME LIVING GOOD TIMES

SUPERBUGS:

THE RISE OF ZOMBIE BACTERIA Imagine living back in the old country of your great-grandparents, when people died every day of infected wounds, “childbed fever,” consumption (tuberculosis), or in epidemics of ELIZ ABETH scarlet fever and typhoid. Nobody understood MORSE READ the dangers of microscopic life-forms like bacteria, viruses, and amoebas. Public healthcare, food safety, sanitation systems, and personal hygiene were not major priorities back then. Antibiotic drugs did not yet exist. Our knowledge today about infectious diseases stands on the shoulders of scientists like Jenner, Lister, Snow, Pasteur, Fleming, and Salk. Along with the development of 20th-century vaccines, antibiotics have the potential to eradicate diseases that have plagued the world since the dawn of time. The era of antibiotic drugs began in 1928, when mold-derived penicillin was found to kill bacteria. But ninety years later, we’re faced with a terrifying dilemma. Because we have misused and overused antibiotics, bacteria have gradually developed genetic resistance (just like insects do to pesticides), and some have

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now turned into “superbugs” that cannot be treated with antibiotics. Because of our unwitting overexposure to antibiotics and anti-microbial products, we’ve inadvertently allowed bacteria to build up their own defenses against our current arsenal of antibiotics. For instance, when penicillin started losing its punch against infections in the 1960’s, scientists then developed methicillin. But now there are bacteria resistant to methicillin, called MRSA (MethicillinResistant Staphylococcus Aureus) lurking in hospitals and crowded-living settings like cruise ships, refugee camps, barracks, nursing homes, and dormitories.

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It’s a classic example of killing the golden goose – antibiotics can only kill bacteria. And by overexposing ourselves to them, we’ve made it easier for the strongest bacteria to survive and mutate into antibiotic-resistant superbugs.

TIPPING POINT A few months ago, there were news reports of a non-hospital-related “superbug” infection in Pennsylvania. A woman went to a clinic seeking treatment for a urinary tract infection. Lab tests confirmed the guilty presence of the common E. coli bacteria – but her particular sample of bacteria proved to be genetically-resistant to the powerful antibiotic colistin. Colistin is an aggressive, last-resort antibiotic used only when all other antibiotics prove ineffective. But if that colistinresistant gene jumps to other species of bacteria or mutates into a resistance to other antibiotics, then doctors will be left with no other treatment options for bacterial infections. Multidrug-resistant superbugs have been reported before, but this was the first case ever reported in the US. The woman had not travelled outside of the US, been

GERMOPHOBIA

ntibiotic drugs are not a cure-all, a panacea, a Holy Grail, or silver bullet that will cure all afflictions. As a firstresponse medication, they’d be totally useless for treating diabetes, polio, mental illness, or unintended pregnancies. Since the 1950s, we’ve somehow become convinced that we have to pre-emptively rid our bodies and surroundings of bacteria and to avoid contact with anything that might be contaminated with germs. But we’ve lived symbiotically with bacteria since we were little more than protozoa ourselves – like many insects, certain strains of bacteria are highly beneficial to our health and environment. Our bodies are filled with beneficial bacteria – and cumulative over-exposure to antibiotics and antimicrobials kills them, too. (That’s why the most common side effect of taking oral antibiotics is diarrhea, and why women are told to go home and eat yogurt.) “Bacillophobia” (aka mysophobia) is a morbid fear of germs, a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder, perversely encouraged by pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers of personal hygiene and cleaning products. Extreme examples of germaphobes would be people like Howard Hughes or Michael Jackson – a mild example would be Donald Trump, who avoids shaking hands with anyone.

hospitalized, nor been exposed to farm animals, so scientists are feverishly trying to figure out where her particular strain of E. coli originated – before it spreads. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people around the world die of multidrug-resistant infections, mostly in underdeveloped countries. For instance, in 2013, 84 countries reported cases of antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis (TB). But now the antibiotic-resistant bacterial superbugs have migrated to the western world, just like the HIV, Zika, and Ebola viruses (see sidebar.) In 2014, the World Health Organization

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CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE (WHO) warned that the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria “is no longer a prediction for the future – it is happening right now in every region of the world… [It] is now a major threat to public health.” According to the director of the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), “It is the end of the road for antibiotics unless we act urgently.”

otics were being consumed every day in America, and 80% of that was being fed prophylactically to livestock – animals, poultry and cultured fish. The major source of our over-exposure to antibiotics and therefore to the rise of superbugs is in the food we eat – particularly meats, eggs, and dairy products. Unless you’re a vegan or else eating only free-range, wildcaught, antibiotic-free animal products, you’re absorbing the antibiotics all those animals were fed, too. There are legitimate reasons for administering antibiotics to farm animals. But industrial animal farms feed antibiotics to their chickens or cattle or hogs solely to fatten them up before slaughter, not to treat actual infections. This cynical overuse of animal antibiotics works its way up the food chain, passing along superbugs very dangerous to humans.

to sick livestock and poultry. Meanwhile, a CDC study in 2012 found that some female urinary tract infections had actually been caused by antibioticresistant E. coli bacteria that were traced back to antibiotic-fed chickens.

WE’RE OVER-EXPOSED TO 'GERM-KILLERS'

Americans spend billions of dollars every year on “kills germs on contact!” cleaning products. We’re saturated with Antibiotics (aka anti-bacterials, antiproducts containing antimicrobial ingremicrobials) are a specific and powerful dients promising that they’ll keep our class of drugs used to treat (therapeutic families healthy. But this daily overexpouse) or prevent (prophylactic use) infecsure to “germ-killers” further accelerates tions caused by bacteria. They are totally the spread of antibiotic-resistant strains ineffective when dealing with viral of bacteria. infections, hangovers, hay fever, or hot Almost half the liquid soaps sold in flashes. the US are fortified with bacteria-killing Antibiotics are only prescribed prophychemicals. And there’s increasing evilactically to high-risk patients – those dence that overexposure to those prodwho are immunosuppressed, undergoing ucts may actually be making chemotherapy, are hosTHE RIO OLYMPICS: ZIKA VIRUS AND ZOMBIE BACTERIA dangerous bacteria more pitalized, or facing major robust. Food-borne bacteria surgery. Antibiotics are hen the 2016 Summer Olympics open in Rio de such as salmonella and E. never prescribed as an allJaneiro this month, athletes and spectators will coli are evolving to survive purpose preventative medihave more to worry about than just the Zika virus the germ-killing “antication, the way vaccines are outbreak and rampant street crime. Seventy percent of Rio’s bacterial” products we use prescribed to prevent viral raw sewage and medical waste is dumped, untreated, into to sanitize our kitchens and infections, or aspirin to preGuanabara Bay. As a result, the beaches and waterways outside bathrooms. vent strokes. Rio are now infested with virulent antibiotic-resistant superTriclosan, a common antiAntibiotic drugs should bugs, the kind usually found only in hospitals – and these are microbial ingredient, was only be prescribed and the venues for Olympic boating, swimming, triathlon, and created 40 years ago as a surmanaged by medical prosailing events. Up to 90% of water samples taken at some of gical scrub, but it has since fessionals – they are not Rio’s beaches tested positive for the presence of these deadly been infused into everyday meant to be used as selfmicrobes, which can kill half of people infected. consumer products, whether medication, like taking we want it or not. It’s in hand vitamins. Meanwhile, in A 2011 government investigation found soaps, body washes, toothpaste, acne some developing countries, antibiotics that an intolerable percentage of meat products, cosmetics, deodorant, shaving are packaged and sold OTC (over-thesold in the US harbored antibioticcreams, kitchen cutting boards, mops, counter), like Advil, Benadryl or Mylanta. resistant bacteria. One test showed that sponges, toys, interior paint, air filters, When someone goes to the doctor/ 80% of raw ground turkey, 40% of raw blankets, furniture, wallpaper, pencils, dentist with symptoms of a serious bactechicken parts, and 70% of raw pork laminate flooring, mouse pads, and railrial infection (like an abscessed tooth, contained “superbug” strains of bacteria. ings – to name just a few (see sidebar.) swollen wound, or strep throat), they are Not only does this expose consumers to initially treated with a “broad-spectrum” potentially-lethal food-borne illnesses, WE’RE DROWNING IN ANTIBIOTICS antibiotic (basically a shotgun measure.) but just by eating antibiotic-resistant bac“Bioaccumulation” is the total intake of But once the specific strain of bacteria is teria, we are hastening the arrival of the any chemical substance (e.g. pesticides, identified through lab testing, the patient “post-antibiotic era.” antibiotics, lead) from multiple sources – is then switched to a more specific antiIn 2003, the European Union banned water, air, food, prescription medicines, biotic which targets that particular strain. the use of antibiotics as growth-promoand consumer products. The long-term That’s why it was so alarming when the tional agents in livestock. The American effects of being saturated with antibiotwoman in Pennsylvania suddenly tested Medical Association has long called for ics and antimicrobials are unknown, positive for an antibiotic-resistant supera restriction on non-therapeutic use of whether in humans or the environment, bug. antibiotics in food-animal production. but it certainly doesn’t sound promising. The FDA has asked that by 2017, all It’s already known that triclosan disrupts WE’RE NEEDLESSLY ranchers and farmers voluntarily stop hormones and may affect fetal developINGESTING ANTIBIOTICS using antibiotics in animal feed, and that ment. It’s been found in human breast In 2013, more than 50 tons(!) of antibionly veterinarians administer antibiotics

A NTIBIOTICS 101

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THE POST-ANTIBIOTIC WORLD

owerful chemotherapy drugs can successfully treat cancers, but they aren’t used to prevent cancers any more than motion-sickness pills can prevent fear of flying, or any more than contraceptives can prevent syphilis. Antibiotics are powerful weapons for treating deadly bacterial diseases and acute infections – but if they’re overused or abused, they eventually lose their power to kill bacteria. Scientists are scrambling to create newer, more powerful antibiotics to combat the rise of multidrug-resistant bacteria, and are investigating the use of probiotic therapies, but we could all help slow down the superbug evolution by being more sensible about non-therapeutic use of antibiotics. Don’t beg your doctor to prescribe antibiotics if you’ve got a bad cold or the flu (which are both caused by a virus, not a bacteria). If you are prescribed an antibiotic, take it exactly as you’re instructed – don’t hoard “leftover” pills or give them to anyone else. When you’re prescribed a ten-day course of antibiotics, the medical professionals always warn you not to stop taking them before the ten days are up, even if you’re feeling better after five days. Why? Because most of the bacteria will die in a few days, but the strongest bacteria take longer to kill. Refuse to buy or eat animal products that contain antibiotics. Read the product labels – many meat and dairy products are labelled as “antibiotic-free” these days, including eggs from “free-range” chickens. Ask the fish manager if that salmon was wild-caught (no antibiotics) or farmed, and don’t eat frozen shrimp or fish fillets from countries that use their waterways as toilets. Stop sanitizing your home and body with commercial products containing “germ-killing” antimicrobials. Use old-fashioned sanitizers like white vinegar, lemon juice, rubbing alcohol, bleach – or just hot soapy water. milk, and a CDC study detected it in the urine of three out of four people tested. One government study found that a third of US water supplies tested positive for triclosan, and it has been detected in plants and lake sediments, and may even be disrupting the balance of beneficial bacteria in our waterways. Unfortunately, wastewater treatment plants can’t filter out chemicals like triclosan. Meanwhile, Canada has already declared it to be toxic to the environment. Recent studies have shown that the overuse of antibiotics in a baby’s first three years disrupts its ability to develop beneficial intestinal bacteria (the “gut microbiome”), especially if they were born by Caesarean section. On average, American babies receive three courses of antibiotics by age two, but are oftentimes prescribed antibiotics to treat ear and respiratory infections which were actually caused by viruses. Other studies suggest that babies overexposed to antibiotics may be at risk of obesity later on!

CAVEAT EMPTOR The FDA met huge industry resistance when it first proposed regulation of triclosan in 1972. In 2010, after years of FDA inaction, Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA), pressured the FDA to ban triclo-

san in hand soaps, in products that come into contact with food, and in products marketed to children. Finally, in 2013, the FDA ruled that manufacturers of antibacterial soaps, body washes, and other consumer cleaning products must prove scientifically that their products are safe for long-term use, and are actually more effective in killing “household germs” than plain ol’ hot, sudsy water. Every time we are exposed to an antibiotic/anti-microbial substance, we may kill off the weaker bacteria, but we’re setting the stage for more virulent strains of bacteria to defensively develop genetic immunity to those substances. And if that genetic immunity jumps from one bacteria species to another, we are facing an invasion of zombie bacteria infections that no known antibiotic will be able to treat. In less than 100 years, we’ve almost managed to kill the golden goose of antibiotics.

E LIZABETH M ORSE R EAD is an award-winning writer, editor and artist who grew up on the South Coast. After 20 years of working in New York City and traveling the world, she came back home with her children and lives in Fairhaven

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GOOD TIMES

SOUTH COAST KUSH Medical marijuana moves forward

JAY PATEAKOS

Since it was up for referendum in November 2012, medical marijuana has been legal in Massachusetts. Proposals to build medical marijuana facilities have come and gone, with the state’s Department of Health & Human Services weeding through dozens of applications with only a few making the cut.

As of June 30, there are six Registered Marijuana Dispensaries open in the state. There are also 27,212 Active Patients, 1,955 Active Caregivers, 155 Registered Physicians, and 33,170 Active Physician Certifications. The six dispensaries include Alternative Therapies Group in Salem, Compassionate Care in Ayer, In Good Health, Inc. in Brockton, Patriot Care Corp. in Lowell, and New England Treatment Access in Brookline and Northampton. It’s a budding business.

BOTH STICKY AND ICKY Despite the banned use of the flowering tops of the female cannabis plant, society

has continued to indulge in its consumption. In the United States treats the plant more harshly than many other foreign nations, and has outlawed cannabis' recreational, industrial, and therapeutic use since Congress passed the “Marihuana Tax Act of 1937,” a decision later reaffirmed by federal lawmakers' decision to classify marijuana – as well as all of the plant's organic compounds (known as cannabinoids) – as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. This damning classification, which categorizes the plant by statute alongside narcotics like heroin, defines cannabis

and its dozens of distinct cannabinoids as possessing “a high potential for abuse; no currently accepted medical use; a lack of accepted safety for the use of the drug under medical supervision.” But the 2012 Massachusetts vote put the state in league with 24 other states that have seen fit to legalize medical marijuana, with some states enacting their legislation as early as 1996 for California, 1998 for Alaska and Oregon, and 1999 for Maine. Since the passing of the legislation, the South Coast has received interest in building medical marijuana facilities with approvals coming in Fall River, Freetown, and Fairhaven.

A FRESH JOINT In June, Fall River-based Cannatech Medicinals Inc. received the go-ahead to build a 30,000-square-foot facility in the city’s Southcoast Life Science and Technology Park. Its goal is to grow marijuana plants, test their properties, and produce a number of other products including oils and edibles for consumption. There are

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 hundreds of rides with them. With drug overdoses so commonplace, he sees up close the toll these drugs take on individuals, families, and society. Crowley says while overdoses get a great deal of media in cities like New Bedford or Fall River, there’s plenty of affluent communities being impacted by overdoses as well. Crowley’s hope is that with more widespread use of medical marijuana, patients will be less likely to abuse harmful pain meds.

GRASS IS GREENER

DR. HENRY CROWLEY

plans to build a dispensary on the other side of the city. Cannatech President & CEO Dr. Henry Crowley, said construction should start any day now. Hearing all the talk about the dangers of drugs and the concerns over the possible legalization of recreational marijuana, Crowley was quick to point out while a number of companies are focusing on how to make the most money from these ventures; Cannatech is looking after something else entirely. “People are trusting us with a very special commodity: their health. It’s not something we will compromise,” said Crowley, a state-certified anesthesiologist and board-certified pain management doctor, who looks at Cannabis strictly from a medical perspective. He’s not in favor of recreational marijuana at all and hopes Cannabis will one day take the place of such gateway drugs as Percocet, Vicodin, or Oxycodone. Crowley supervises 45 fire department services throughout the state and takes

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Marijuana’s illegality has stymied research into what advantages medical marijuana may have in treating such ailments as cancer, ALS, multiple sclerosis, and a score of other diseases. But Israel, which has been researching cannabis for more than a decade, has dozens of studies you can find all over the internet on the benefits. In a popular research site, “tikun-olam,” they state that “Medical cannabis is well-known to cancer patients. A large number of Israelis receive it as part of their palliative care for dealing with the symptoms of the disease, as cannabis has been found to be effective in relieving chronic pain, nausea, and loss of appetite.” In another study, scientists from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa have been researching completely different possibilities for the use of cannabis by cancer patients – as an active treatment against the development of the disease itself. A precedent-setting study examined how dozens of strains of cannabis affect the development and growth of hundreds of types of cancer cells. According to the site, this study is one of the first signs of a new approach to the use of cannabis in cancer treatment, which examines whether the

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plant can help in delaying the development of cancerous growths – or even eliminate them completely. Other preliminary test results found in the first few weeks of the research, show that cannabis is quite possibly effective in treating brain and breast cancers. Scientists are examining some 50 different varieties of the plant produced in Israel and studying its effects on some 200 different types of cancer cells. Researchers are also exploring the use of cannabis as a harm reduction alternative for chronic pain patients. According to the findings of a 2015 study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, "States permitting medical marijuana dispensaries experience a relative decrease in both opioid addictions and opioid overdose deaths compared to states that do not." The NBER findings are similar to those published in 2014 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Internal Medicine which also reported that the enactment of statewide medicinal marijuana laws is associated with significantly lower state-level opioid overdose mortality rates.

THE ENACTMENT OF STATEWIDE MEDICINAL MARIJUANA JUANA LAWS IS ASSOCIATED ASSOC A ED W AT WITH SIGNIFICANTLY GNIFICANTLY TL LOWER TLY L STATE-LEVEL O OPIOID OVERDOSE MORTALITY RATES "States with medical cannabis laws had a 24.8 percent lower mean annual opioid overdose mortality rate compared with states without medical cannabis laws," researchers concluded. Specifically, they determined that overdose deaths from opioids decreased by an average of 20 percent one year after the law's implementation, 25 percent by two years, and up to 33 percent by years five and six. But these numbers, at least so far, don’t show Massachusetts following this trend. According to the DPH, Massachusetts

researching the impact of medical marijuana, is in it for noble purposes. “We don’t even have speeding tickets,” Crowley said. They are all staying focused, doing their homework, and assuring that everything they do has the patient’s care in mind. MARY JANE’S NEW DANCE “This is a medicine, and there’s no one Although the U.S. may be light years better to do this than us. Our desire is a behind medical marijuana research that commitment to help people with their other countries have already ran, Crowley health by the use of cannabis as a medihopes to be a part of the change. cine.” “We have huge reObviously, the search and developUR DESIRE IS A more medical ment goals and we facilities will actively pursue COMMITMENT MEN TO HELP marijuana that come up, the large research more likely it is that PEOPLE PLE WITH T THEIR and development research will come and educational to show the values HEALTH BY THE USE programs,” said of the treatment. A Crowley. number of doctors I OF CANNABI CANNABIS AS A “We want healthy talked with remain alternatives. There’s MEDICINE skeptical of the list a lot of different of diseases that can qualities of the be helped by the drug. Until the research medicine that can be extracted, altered, comes to show the benefits one way or and improved genetically to extract difanother, there will always be skeptics. ferent compositions that have their own “We are looking to create a pharmacystrengths and weaknesses.” type atmosphere; a safe place for people Crowley said they will offer a range of to go and discreetly come get their mediproducts, from oils and tinctures (medicine, educate them about the medicine, cine dissolved in alcohol), to edibles and and have professionals to assist them topcoats. throughout the entire process,” said Crowley said the city of Fall River and Crowley. Mayor Jasiel Correia II have been very “In time, people will know who we supportive with their plans, and Canare and the homework we put into this. natech plans to dip into the local pool of They’ll know that what we are doing, we employees once the hiring for both faciliare doing responsibly and safely. We have ties starts, though he had no idea on the the patient in mind, with their health amount of workers to be hired just yet. coming first.” “Our overall goal is to conduct a profesThis November, voters will have another sional business in a responsible manner, cannabis decision to make – this time to given the nature of the product,” said allow recreational marijuana use. A yes Crowley, who will not be writing prevote on Question 4 dubbed The “Mariscriptions for the medicine at the sites. juana Legalization Initiative” would al“We want to create alternative medicine low the use, cultivation, possession, and that cares for our greatest commodity: the distribution of recreational marijuana health and welfare of all of us.” for individuals who are at least 21 years Crowley said he hopes to have the operaold. If it passes, Massachusetts will join tion up and running in the next eight to Colorado, Alaska, Oregon, Washington, twelve months. and the District of Columbia in legalizing “We’re ready to put the shovel in. The marijuana for recreational use. land has been cleared,” said Crowley. reported a 41 percent increase in opiate deaths in 2014 over numbers from 2013 and in 2015, an increase of 8 percent. It’s certainly something to follow as more and more medical marijuana facilities come online.

BEING BLUNT Crowley said he knows there are medical marijuana companies out there just to make the big bucks, but Cannatech, with four partners spending many years

J AY PATEAKOS has been a freelance writer for more than 10 years including daily and weekly newspapers and monthly magazines. A native of New Bedford, he currently lives in Marion and has three children.

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PRIME SEASON GOOD TIMES

CAR TECH THAT HELPS SENIORS DAN LOGAN

New safety technologies, called advanced driver assist systems, keep improving our cars. The improvements are coming at just the right time, as many of us start to realize traffic is now sneaking into blind spots our peripheral vision used to cover, or that we're braking harder more often to avoid rear-end collisions.

A driver must always be able to monitor and respond to what's going on ahead, behind, and to either side â&#x20AC;&#x201C; known as the circle of safety. Advancing technology will provide warnings (or even assistance) if we're momentarily distracted while behind the wheel, or if another driver is doing something unexpected. We're not talking self-driving cars here. We drivers remain in full control, but the safety technology gives us helpful little nudges about our position in relation to the cars around us, or actively helps us react to a situation. Some of these safety features are being mandated by government and add to the base cost of a new vehicle, while others are offered as options. According to ExtremeTech, a website that tracks developing technology, car manufacturers are seeing more safety technology options as a way to keep buyers interested in the small sedan segment that is being decimated by SUVs. High-tech safety features do add another layer of complexity to driving, but usually

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their controls are located in positions that can be accessed easily and quickly or don't require driver input. Keep in mind, each manufacturer has a different name for a particular technology. Plus each manufacturer's technology usually works a little differently. Plus, an advanced optional safety feature may only be available in certain, more expensive, models. Which of these high-tech safety features might prove useful to older drivers?

BLIND SPOT MONITORING By 65 our peripheral vision may not be what it once was. Back in the day, we could always catch a car out of the corner of our eye. Now, not so much. We seem to be making the same moves, taking the same precautions, but we're occasionally surprised by a vehicle we could've sworn wasn't there. Cameras and/or sensors are now being used to monitor the blind spots off our car's left and right rear, areas often hidden by the roof pillars. It seems impossible to hide an entire vehicle behind one of these pillars, but somehow it happens, repeat-

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edly, so many of us are grateful for the information. The warning of something occupying the blind spot appears as a blinking light on the outside mirror, or as a beep heard inside the cabin. "I really like this," said Minnesota optometrist Robert Sartoris, who got a warning beep as he neared Providence and flicked on his blinker to change lanes in his rental Subaru Legacy. "I might have to trade in my car."

L ANE DEPARTURE WARNING AND L ANE KEEPING ASSIST For drivers who occasionally drift into an adjacent lane while they're messing around with something else in the car, lane departure warning technology provides audible and/or visual alerts to warn them they're not paying attention to the road. A lane departure warning system uses a windshield-mounted camera to track the lane lines. Lane departure warning works when the turn signal isn't working, on the assumption the driver perks up a little when intending to change lanes. A feature one more rung up the safety technology ladder is known as Lane Keeping Assist. Not only does the system know where the lane lines are, the vehicle actually makes tiny steering adjustments to stay in its lane.

REAR VIEW CAMERA Now that the driver's front and sides are covered, all that remains is to watch one's back. The dash-mounted view screen

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Other useful advanced driver assist technologies are available, undergoing improvements and gradually trickling down into less expensive vehicles. Surround view camera systems, for example, Nissan's Around View Monitor, have cameras on the car's four sides, and software blends the images into a bird's-eye view of the vehicle's immediate environment. These surround view systems are likely to be the next big thing in automobile safety technology, entering into much more widespread use than they are now. Night vision technology that warns of and even illuminates people or animals in or near the edge of the road are available on high-end BMW and MercedesBenz models. Other technologies under development that will contribute to safer driving include driver drowsiness detection, parking assist, traffic sign recognition, turn assist and vehicle exit assist, with its audio and visual warnings when someone open a car door with traffic close by. If you're in the market for a new car, look into the standard and optional safety features available on the models that interest you. They might make your driving trips safer and less anxiety-ridden.

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Drivers really like to avoid collisions. How many times have we had to brake real hard to keep from plowing into the guy ahead? Basic collision avoidance technology beeps or buzzes to warn the driver about an impending collision with a vehicle or object ahead – or at the very least to give enough warning to help minimize the effects of the collision. More elaborate collision warning systems can automatically prep the brakes for a quicker response to the driver's input, or even slam on the brakes without help from the driver. Similar backup collision warning systems are also being offered by some manufacturers.

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There are cruise control fans, and cruise control critics. On the plus side, cruise control enables a smoother ride, a bit better gas mileage, and most important for us more impatient drivers, a way to stay away from a speeding ticket without obsessively watching the speedometer. If you're not a cruise control user, it may be because you're annoyed by how often you have to override it even in moderate traffic. Using adaptive cruise control, one's vehicle slows down or speeds up based on the behavior of the vehicle ahead. The driver sets the distance to maintain. There are laser-based systems and radarbased adaptive cruise control systems. Radar-based cruise controls are usually more efficient than the laser systems. The laser-based systems are less effective if the vehicle ahead is dirty or somehow not reflecting the laser beam efficiently. Bad weather can also affect laser system efficiency. Unless you go for the top-end models what you are getting is actually partially adaptive cruise control systems, meaning they typically work at higher speeds on straighter roads and have a higher minimum speed threshold. More advanced cruise controls work even in stop and go traffic. Adaptive cruise control systems require a basic understanding of how the system works, because, used incorrectly, they can increase one's risk. For example, About.com notes, "an alarming number of drivers are unaware that their partially adaptive cruise control systems are incapable of completely stopping their

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that serves as the infotainment center/ GPS typically turns into a wide angle rear view camera when the car's transmission is shifted into reverse, so the driver can see what's directly behind or what's approaching from either side. This is pretty damn useful if one no longer has the flexibility to quickly scan behind and to the sides as he backs up – the rear-view camera relieves a lot of anxiety. The initial cost and long-term reliability of these dash-mounted units sticks in the craw of people considering buying a new car, but the cost/benefit trade-off looks a lot better when one considers the rear view camera might be what saves her from an expensive accident.

DAN L OGAN is a freelance writer and photographer from Fairhaven, MA. E-mail him at dlogan@thegrid.net.

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PRIME SEASON

THE SHOWS GO ON DAN LOGAN

While we're close enough to New York City to warrant regular trips for theatrical or musical events, even a quick look at what the South Coast offers may encourage lovers of the performing arts to find out what's being offered closer to home.

The sheer number of venues, performers (both local and visiting,) and variety of performances reveals a vibrant performing arts community across our area. For high-quality performances, easy access, and lower prices, lovers of the performing arts don't have to leave the area. Here are some venues offering a broad range of performances throughout the fall and winter seasons. If you're a fan and supporter of the performing arts, the opportunities are actually too numerous to

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cover thoroughly here. For more upcoming musical and theatrical events on the South Coast, check the calendar at www. coastalmags.com/things-to-do. Enjoy some old favorites, but leave room for serendipity and work in some new venues, new performers. The arts require significant financial support, and you can help with that.

TRINITY REP Each year, Providence's Trinity Repertory Company (trinityrep.com) puts on a popular and free end-of-summer event

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to encourage people to get involved in Rhode Island's upcoming season of the performing arts. The Rep's Season KickOff Party provides a rapid-fire succession of performances by more than 20 dance, music, theater, and improv groups, and six bands from across the state, from noon to 6 PM, an opportunity to wallow in an eclectic torrent of entertainment. Held at the Repâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dowling Theater at 201 Washington Street in Providence and on its outdoor stage on Adrian Hall Way, the afternoon includes ticket raffles, a sale of costume shoes and props, visits by Providence's popular food truck brigade, and tours of the theater in addition to the performances. Trinity Rep's web site lists the participating groups. Tape Art will do a tape mural on a building on Adrian Hall Way. All in all, it's a fast and furious introduction to the Rhode Island performing arts community.

This year, Trinity Rep's regular season of theater will feature Beowulf: A Thousand Years of Baggage (Sep. 8 to Oct. 9), Appropriate (Oct. 6 to Nov. 6), A Christmas Carol (Nov. 5 to Dec. 31), The Mountaintop (Jan. 12 to Feb. 12), A Midsummer's Night's Dream (Feb. 9 to Mar. 24), Faithful Cheaters (Apr. 20 to May 21) and Fuente Ovejuna (May 11 to June 11).

PROVIDENCE PERFORMING A RTS CENTER The Big Dog of performing arts venues around the South Coast, PPAC (www. ppacri.org) offers a flood of musical and theater events from fall through spring. Over the next couple of months you can see Steven Tyler: Out on a Limb (9/10), Weird Al Yankovic (9/14), the everpopular musical Wicked (Sep. 21 through Oct. 8), singers Gavin DeGraw and Andy Grammer (Oct. 10), and Rodgers & Hammerstein's The King and I (national tour launching at PPAC Nov. 1-6) will be among the performances.

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NARROWS CENTER FOR THE A RTS Music and comedy reign on the performing arts calendar of the Narrows Center for the Arts (www.narrowscenter.org) at 16 Anawan St. in Fall River, but the converted factory also features two visual art galleries and studios for visual artists. Just a few of the acts on the Narrows' busy fall schedule of nationally-known performers: comics Lenny Clarke and Dan Smith (8/20), Ricki Lee Jones (8/26), the John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band (9/16), Grammy-nominated Darrell Scott (9/22), Leon Russell (10/4), and Liz Longley's Weightless Tour (10/6). On September 8th, the Narrows' Opening Act Contest ($10) features local musicians on the rise who will vie to open at a future Narrows show. A three-person panel of professionals and the audience will combine scores to come up with a winner from the nine bands competing. On Sunday, September 11 the free and very popular 15th Annual Narrows Festival of the Arts from 11 AM to 7 PM will be held on the Fall River waterfront. The event is family oriented and includes food and art vendors. Musical artists will include Amy Helm, Paul Cebar and Tomorrow Sound, the Alexis Suter Band, Tim Ray Trio, Roy

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17 Sludge, Ghosts of Paul Revere, Butch McCarthy, and TJ's Music Allstars.

LITTLE THEATRE OF FALL RIVER The Little Theatre of Fall River (www. littletheatre.net) splits its theatrical season between two venues: the Firebarn, a converted fire station housing a 90-seat theater at 340 Prospect St., and the Margaret L. Jackson Performing Arts Center at Bristol Community College. Hairspray will run Oct. 13-17 at BCC. The Firebarn will feature The Gifts of the Magi (Dec. 1-11), and Love, Loss and What I Wore (Jan. 19-29).

ZEITERION PERFORMING A RTS CENTER Since 2013 the Zeiterion Performing Arts Center in New Bedford (zeiterion.org) has been on a roll, as a gradually improving economy and a broadening professional staff have turned the venue into a highly desirable stop for nationally-known musicians. This fall's performers include Kellie Pickler (8/25), Old Crow Medicine Show (9/15), fado singer Mariza (10/22), Kansas (11/18), and New Bedford's own Samantha Johnson (11/25), who was a Season 10 semi-finalist on America's Got Talent. The Zeiterion is located at 684 Purchase Street, close to the waterfront and many downtown restaurants.

GREATER PLYMOUTH PERFORMING A RTS CENTER GPPAC was created in 2010 as a centerpiece for performing arts on the South Shore. The Town of Plymouth offered a 100-year lease on The Spire, a former Methodist church in the city, and now the venue is another popular stop on the music, theater, and dance circuits. This fall will be heavy with musical entertainment at The Spire; among the performers will be singer-songwriter Emily Elbert (9/2), country singer Sarah Potenza (9/4), R&B singer Marcia Ball (9/15), jazz group the Yoko Miwa Trio (9/23), Tom Paxton (10/1), Sarah Borges and The Broken Shingles and the Julie Rhodes Band (10/7), and the rock band New England (11/4).

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PRIME LIVING

BRE WSTER LEADS

AMBUL ANCE INDUSTRY JAY PATEAKOS

Brewster Ambulance co-owner Mark Brewster likes to call the current incarnation of Brewster Ambulance the “2.0 version,” a family-run business passed down through multiple generations and continuing to strive to be the model of consistency in personalized customer care.

on the customers, they’ve been expanding ever since. Started in 1906 by his great-grandfather George, the business passed through many GOLDEN AGE generations before Mark’s father sold the busi“We did it for two reasons. We all grew up around the ambuness to AMR Medical Transportation in 1997. lance business and this was all I ever But George and Mark, who would knew,” said Mark, now with 900 THEY HAVE DIFFERENT go on to do other things for those employees. 13 years, always had the ambulance LOCATIONS FOR AMBULANCE “We did other things from 1997 to business on their minds. Having 2010, but around 2008; I started noan opportunity to get the business ticing how the professionalism of the SERVICES WORKING TO back, and with the name “Brewsindustry had fallen – how it was more ter Ambulance” still available, the TAKE CARE OF PATIENTS ALL about the money and not enough brothers jumped at the opportunity about patient care.” OVER THE OUTH OAST in 2010. With a personalized focus But the Brewster’s didn’t just get back

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into it. They went full steam ahead. Six years later, they now have 22 different locations for ambulance services from Boston to Plymouth, Fall River to New Bedford, working to take care of patients all over the South Coast and well beyond. Brewster Ambulance provides 911 Emergency Services, Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support, and a multitude of Medical Transport Services to places like hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and nursing homes. Thanks to the fact that it is privately owned and operated with no outside investors, it can focus on being a “reliable service provider that builds long-term relationships with our clients”. Brewster Ambulance currently provides 911 Emergency Ambulance Service to the towns of Middleborough, Plymouth, Braintree, Brockton, Quincy, and Taunton. That’s a list that keeps expanding.

'IN TAKING CARE OF THE ELDERLY, YOUR WORK IS SETTING THE TONE FOR WHAT HAPPENS NEXT' “To me, it’s about professionalism. You see some of these ambulance services, and they’re not even in uniform. Our guys are all clean-shaven, all in clean uniforms, with collar pins and nametags, washing the vehicles after every shift. We’re bringing a military professionalism back into this,” said Mark, whose vehicles are also equipped with state-of-the-art technology. “In taking care of the elderly, your work is setting the tone for what happens next. You must look and act professional.”

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DELIVERING INTEGRITY Mark said since 1906, when George W. Brewster founded Brewster Ambulance Service, the family's values have driven the company's philosophy and approach, holding to business goals of providing excellent customer service, reliability, on-time performance, and deploying the best-quality equipment and vehicles. Basically, “integrity in all that we do,” said Mark. None of these goals would have been achievable, let alone sustainable, were it not for the family's values embedded in respect, quality patient care, and service excellence, Mark noted. Through the generations, the family leadership has lived by example in passing along their values and what is most important to them in business and in life, but mostly in caring for other people. “The biggest thing is when you look at our uniform or our vehicles, you are not seeing the company logo – you are seeing a family crest. When we take care of people, we treat these folks as if they were our mother or father, as if they were a member of our own family,” said Mark. “That’s the way it always should be. Our culture is driven by Brewster family values based on respect, integrity, teamwork, and professionalism.” For more information about Brewster Ambulance, visit www.brewsterambulance.com or call 617-983-4063.

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GOOD TIMES

Love, life, laughter, and lavender Twelve years ago we loaded up the car and left our Cape Cod home for a few days in Newport. On our way my husband suggested we drive through Westport. He was intrigued by the idea of a town with SHERRI M AHONEYboth a winery and a brewery. We had long BATTLES planned that when our daughters were grown and out of the house we might look for a home with a bit more land, but didn’t want to relocate while they were still in school. A brief tour through Westport had both of my daughters clamoring for an immediate move. A call to a local realtor led us down a laneway to a parcel of land located on one of the Westport rivers, and without too much thought we put in an offer. I was confident that our low offer would never be enough. Imagine my surprise when the realtor called to say that it had been accepted. The land we acquired was barren and ugly. A former gravel pit, the land had been left devoid of any type of vegetation or grass. Large piles of stumps, wood chips, and old tires covered the land. Additionally, the former owner had clear cut all the way to the river leaving a desolate strip of land covered in hard, dry, sandy soil covered in rocks. We spent the first five years spreading horse manure and building structures. We put up a house and a barn, followed by a small office building. The work was overwhelming, but rewarding. The grass started to grow and gardens began to take shape. Somehow more and more animals kept arriving at our farm, and we loved watching their antics. A pair of Khaki Campbell ducks from Dot the Duck Lady were two of the first arrivals. They bonded instantly with my daughters, and I would often catch them sneaking them in for sleepovers. We named the ducks Donald and Sunny, and they followed us all over the yard. We would often pick them up just to let the bottoms of their little feet cool off when they got too hot from trying to keep up with us.

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My daughters would place them in a small pool off the back of the house. They loved to swim and had a small block of wood floating in the pool that they would jump on when they got tired. One morning we had a torrential rain, and my daughters were devastated to find that one of the ducks appeared to have drowned. We hadn’t installed gutters on the house yet, and the massive rainfall off the roof was too much for them. I immediately started rubbing the little duck's body and requested my hairdryer from upstairs. I gently warmed the little duck with the hairdryer, and we were all amazed to see him start to move again after a few minutes. We placed him in a box on the kitchen counter under one of our cabinet lights and within a few hours he was running around with his brother again. Donald and Sunny went on to live long and happy lives, and it used to amaze visitors when I would squat down and Donald and Sunny would jump up into my arms. Ducks continue to be favorite animals on our farm. A few years ago I opened a magazine and read a story with pictures of a landscape that was remarkably similar to ours. Over the years, my attempts at gardening have been hampered by the hard sandy soil and the abundance of rocks. The woman in the article was dealing with the same elements and had huge success with lavender. A seed was planted. I began reading everything I could get my hands on about the flower. I learned that our sandy soil and proximity to the river would be beneficial.

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I shared my idea with my daughter’s boyfriend, Andrew, who runs a successful farm in Westport, and he was excited to try his hand at growing lavender. We ordered lavender plugs from a grower out West and seed for Andrew to start in his greenhouse. Last year we planted our first two fields, and just last week we planted our third. Our four-year-old grandson has his own plastic Kubota truck, a mini version of his Papa’s, which he loads with shells and pushes across the yard to be placed at the base of the newly-planted lavender plants. You know that saying about being careful what you wish for? Years ago, I dreamed of a place with green grass, beautiful gardens, and fields of lavender reminiscent of the French countryside. Our lavender has thrived, and almost every afternoon I leave the office, collect my scissors, and head out to the fields. Tax season has ended, and my workload is light enough to afford me this pleasure. Tending to the flowers is a labor of love, hard but satisfying, and that wonderful lavender smell follows me wherever I go.

S HERRI M AHONEY-BAT TLES, Enrolled Agent, specializes in income tax preparation for small businesses and individuals and has been representing clients for over twenty-five years in cases of audit, collections, and appeals and does extensive work with non-filers. Visit www.taxingmatters.com, email Sherilyn@taxingmatters.com or call her at 508-636-9829.

Preparing for the future BY M ICHELLE D. B ENESKI

ccording to the Alzheimer’s Association 142,000 families are living with Alzheimer’s in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Our office meets with families every week who are caring for a loved one with memory loss. Families come to us at all stages of their journey. Most families come to us with the intention of caring for their loved one at home. It is a wonderful intention but sometimes it’s just not realistic. The families usually have no idea what should be done so that they can keep their loved one safely at home for as long as possible and how to do it without going broke. Often we start out helping the family make sure they have the legal ability to make decisions for their loved one when the loved one can no longer make decisions for themselves. Structuring the ownership of assets so that the loved one can hopefully qualify for government assistance either at home or in the nursing home in the future is very important. Because we work with elders every day we know about many resources that the family is unaware of. We refer the family to community resources such as home health care agencies, the Alzheimer’s Association. Coastline Elderly Services or Bristol Elderly Services, who can provide services and support to the family. We try to assist them in putting together a plan to move forward. It is a difficult and emotionally draining path that these families are on. What families need to know is they are not alone Call our office, Surprenant & Beneski, P.C. at 508994-5200 for a consultation to make sure your “ducks are in a row” . M ICHELLE D. B ENESKI is an Attorney at Surprenant & Beneski, P.C. For specific questions email mdb@nbelderlaw.com or call 508-994-5200.

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PRIME LIVING

Voices of the heart

GREG JONES

Author Linda Pestana has led a full life, but she’s not about to slow down. As a young woman she was one of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, at their convent located in Maine. For a while, she thought she had found her place in life.

“I loved being a being a Sister of St. Joseph,” she said, “and in my spirit I still am. That is where my faith was nurtured.” She was one of the youngest there, and she noticed that the order was not attracting young women to the cloistered life. They were “aging out,” and there was no simple solution. “I was the vocational director,” she said, “and I felt that if we didn’t move forward we would, as a community, die.” When Pestana was asked to be the novice director, she came to a life-changing conclusion. “I realized that I couldn’t move people into a community that was dying,” so she left the convent. “With every door that closes, another opens,” she said, but the decision “didn’t come without a lot of pain.” Trying to find her way, she taught kindergarten for a while. Then her brother died. Three months later, she lost her mother. “She was my mother – my best friend – and the pain still lingers in my heart,” she said. “I was a kindergarten teacher,” she said. “I didn’t want to deal with death.” It was after these two losses that she began to more closely examine her own life. “I knew God was calling me for something else.” Pestana went back to school, got her Master’s degree and was certified as a chaplain. “I wanted to work with the bereaved,” she said. “I couldn’t stop their pain, but I could help them tell their story.” Pestana now works as a private counsel-

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or in the role of a grief facilitator. “I deal with people who have lost a loved one,” she said. Her philosophy flips the idea of “survivor’s guilt” on its head. That realizing that you are still on this planet means there is still a purpose to your life. “We feel the pain. You have to feel it to heal it.” The loss of a close family member is a grief that is not lessened by it being part of nearly everyone’s life. The loss of young people hurts even more.

'. . . our society just moves on – but that is not how grief works' “We are seeing a lot of parents whose kids have overdosed,” said Pestana. “I feel so blessed to be able to walk this journey with them. They need to share their grief because our society just moves on – but that is not how grief works. “A year after the death they’re still hurting so they come to me. They say that time heals all wounds,” said Pestana, “but I think it’s love that heals all wounds.”

ONE LOVE There’s more to Pestana than her vocation as a grief facilitator. “I’m also a spiritual director, “she said. “I meet with people one-on-one who are trying to get a different relationship with God. They want to know ‘why did this happen? Why did God let this happen to me?’” She noted that she does not tell people anything – she’s simply a facilitator to help them find, and tell, their stories.

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“They hear the voices within themselves, the voices of their heart.” “Every morning I get up and ask God to help me with this day,” said Pestana. “I love life. I am on this massive quest to make a difference in this world. “ Her work and her own voyage of selfdiscovery led her to write a book, Voices From the Heart: A Journey of Faith, Hope and Love. The first edition came out in 1999, and she has recently completed the second edition, published in 2015. “The first edition didn’t do well,” she admitted, “so I decided to let God sell my book.” Since then, her book has been picked up by a publisher who thinks it’s truly marketable, and in 2015, she was approached by a producer who asked about making it into a movie. “I have a producer in LA who is writing the screenplay and will produce the movie,” said Pestana. “I also wrote a song,” she said, “called Take My Hand, sung by Katie Perkins. It’s available on Amazon and iTunes.” The book is also available on Amazon, and at www.lindapestana.com. Pestana lives in Tiverton with her husband, Louis.

G REG J ONES is a local writer who lives in Dartmouth.

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It’s still hot out there, but the days are getting shorter. The season is changing – it’s time for old-fashioned harvest fairs, chowder competitions, Oktoberfests, block parties, and wine festivals! Concerts, art exhibits, and plays are starting to move indoors. And the cooler winds are perfect for kites, nature walks, cycling, road races, and boating events!

FOOD, FEASTS AND FESTIVALS Don’t miss the Apple-Peach Festival in Acushnet in September! For dates and details, call 508-998-0200 or visit www.acushnet.ma.us.

Mark your calendar for Harvest Fun Day in Fairhaven on October 8! For info, go to www.fairhaventours.com or call 508-979-4085.

Check out the elegant Newport Mansions Wine and Food Festival September 22-25! For info and tickets, go to www.newportmansions/events.

Don’t miss the International Oktoberfest in downtown Providence September 24-25! For details and tickets, go to www.newportwaterfrontevents.com or call 1-800-745-3000.

Prosit! Don’t miss the Oktoberfest in Marion in September. For info, go to www.oktoberfestmarion.com or call 508-758-2345.

Head for the 25th Annual Harvest Fair September 17-18 at the Soule Homestead in Middleboro. For more info, go to www. soulehomestead.org or call 508-947-6744.

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Head for one of the largest wine festivals in Massachusetts – WHALE’s 26th Annual Wine International Festival and Auction on September 16 at the Allen G. Haskell Public Gardens in New Bedford! For more info, go to www.waterfrontleague.org. Head for downtown Providence for the Third Eye Blind concert September 1, the Celtic Rock Festival on September 10 or to hear Ziggy Marley on September 23! For tickets, call 1-800-745-3000 or go to www.newportwaterfrontevents.com.

Head for the old-fashioned Harvest Festival September 17-18 at the Coggeshall Farm Museum in Bristol! For details, visit www.coggeshallfarm.org or call 401-253-9062. Get ready for the New Bedford Seaport Chowder Festival on September 25 on Pier 3! For more details, go to www.downtownnb.org. If you missed the big Portuguese festas over the summer months, then head for the Feast of Our Lady of the Angels in North Fairhaven September 3-5! For details, go to www.fairhaventours.com. Get ready for the Ocean State Oyster Festival on September 17 on South Water Street in Providence! For more info, visit www.oysterfestri.com.

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Plan ahead for the Rhode Island Seafood Festival on September 10-11 at India Point Park in Providence! For details and tickets, go to www.riseafoodfest.com. Catch the breeze at the Onset Beach Kite Festival on September 3! For details, visit www.onsetbay.org. Celebrate Little Rhody’s cultural diversity on September 10 at the free, daylong RI Heritage Day Festival at the Roger Williams National Memorial in Providence! For details, call 401-222-4133. Spend September 24 enjoying the free and family-friendly Upper William Street Festival in New Bedford! Art, music, history, farmer’s market – even a bookmobile! For more info, visit www.destinationnewbedford.org or call 508-996-9768. Fill your baskets with fresh local produce! To find a farm, vineyard or farmers market near you, visit one of these sites: www.semaponline.org, www.pickyourown.org, www.farmfresh. org, or www.localharvest.org.

BIZZ BUZZ

The proposed LNG storage tanks causing such a stir in Acushnet may end up in Somerset instead. Stay tuned… The new Sbrega Health and Sciences Building at Bristol Community College’s Fall River campus is the largest “Zero Net Energy” classroom building in the northeastern US. The building generates all of its energy needs through solar power and architectural strategies. The campus’

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F A R M E R S M A R K E T S N E A R Y O U

ACUSHNET

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Acushnet Farmers Market Stone Bridge Farm, 186 Leonard St Saturdays, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm June 4 – September 24

nearby parking lot is covered with a solararray canopy.

DARTMOUTH Dartmouth Farmers Market Rex Field, 351 Elm St Fridays, 1:00 pm – 6:00 pm June 3 – September 30

Doh! Ma’s Donuts in New Bedford has closed its doors for good.

KIDDIE KORNER

DIGHTON

Check out the Children’s Aquarium and Exploration Center of Greater Fall River! For more info, call 508-801-4743 or visit www.aquariumgfr.com.

Bristol Aggie Farmers Market Bristol Aggie, 135 Center St Saturdays, 8:00 am – 1:00 pm 9/10, 9/24, 10/29

FAIRHAVEN Fairhaven Farmers Market Fairhaven High School, Main and Rte 6 Sundays, 1:00 pm – 4:00pm June 19 – October 16

FALL RIVER Kennedy Park Farmers Market Kennedy Park, Broadway & Bradford Ave Saturdays, 7:00 am – 1:00 pm May 7 – November 26

NEW BEDFORD Downtown Farmers Market Custom House Square, Barker’s Lane Thursdays, 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm June 16 – October 27

S WANSEA Almeida's Vegetable Patch 110 Grand Army Highway Daily 9:00 am – 6:00 pm Through October Harvest Market 2685 Grand Army Highway Daily 6:00 am – 8:00 pm Open year round

TAUNTON Church Green Farmers Market First Parish Church, 76 Church Green Sundays, 10:30 am –1:30 pm July 10 – October 16

WESTPORT

Westport Farmers Market Westport Town Farm , 830 Drift Rd Saturdays, 8:30 am – 1:00 pm June 11 – October 1 Old Rochester Farmers Market Old Rochester Jr HS, 135 Marion Rd Tuesdays, 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm June 7 – October 18 S OU TH C OAST P R IME T IMES

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Find out what’s going on at the Children’s Museum of Greater Fall River. Reduced admission on the first Friday each month. For more info, go to www.cmgfr.org or call 508-672-0033. Go on a Dino Land or Thomas the Tank Engine train ride at Edaville Railroad in Carver! For more info, visit www.edaville.com or call 508-866-8190. Check out the Children’s Museum in Easton! For info, call 508-230-3789 or visit www.childrensmuseumineaston.org. Find out what’s happening at the Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford! Check out the children’s programs: Bear Cub Club (2-3), Puddle Jumpers (2-5), Little Learners (3-5), Roots & Shoots (1115). For info, call 508-991-6178 or visit www.bpzoo.org. Take the kids to the Coggeshall Farm Museum in Bristol for 18th-century “Home and Hearth” workshops! For the little ones, there’s Farmhouse Storytime every Wednesday. For more details, visit www.coggeshallfarm.org or call 401-2539062. Take the little ones to visit the baby animals at Stoney Creek Farm in Swansea – free! For more info, call 401465-4832 or visit the farm on Facebook.

SIGHTS TO BEHOLD

Orr’s Family Farm Stand Open every day from 10am-6pm Through October

MATTAPOISETT

The Westport Land Conservation Trust is looking to purchase the former St. Vincent de Paul campground.

Don’t miss the stunning exhibit “Bierstadt: Nature & National Identity” presented by the New Bedford Art Museum/ Artworks! through September 18. For more info, go to www.newbedfordart.org. There’s always something to see or do at Tiverton Four Corners! The “Photos On…” juried exhibit will be held through September 4. For more info, visit www.fourcornersart.org and www.tivertonfourcorners.com.

S EP TEMBER /O C TOBER 2016

Another “must-see” exhibit – “Inner Light: The World of William Bradford” is at the Whaling Museum in New Bedford through May 2017. For more info, visit www.whalingmusuem.org or call 508-997-0046. Head for downtown Providence to see WaterFire at sunset on August 20, September 24, and October 1. For details, go to www.waterfire.org. Don’t miss the special exhibits now showing at the Rotch-Jones-Duff House in New Bedford through October: “The Lost Gardens of New England,” “The Art of Travel” and “Julia Smith Wood: Creative Journey.” For more info, go to www.rjdmuseum.org or call 508997-1401.

ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE

Curtain time! “California Suite” will be performed by Your Theatre in New Bedford on September 8-11, and 15-18. For details, call 508-993-0772 or go to www.yourtheatre.org. Don’t miss “Wicked” September 21 to October 8 at the Providence Performing Arts Center! For details, call 401-4212787 or go to www.ppacri.org. Enjoy a dinner-theatre night out at the Newport Playhouse! “A Whole Lot of Cheatin’ Goin’ On” will be performed through August 28. “Plaza Suite” will be performed September 1 to October 9. For more information, call 401-848-7529 or go to www.newportplayhouse.com. Don’t miss “Beowulf: A Thousand Years of Baggage” performed by Trinity Rep in Providence September 8-October 9! For info, call 401-351-4242 or go to www.trinityrep.com. Check out what’s playing at 2nd Story Theatre in Warren! “The Sunshine Boys” will be performed through August 28. Call 401-247-4200 or go to www.2ndstorytheatre.com. Don’t miss the Summer Comedy Series hosted by Buzzards Play Productions in Wareham! For more info, visit www.buzzardsplayproductions.com or call 508-591-3065.

LISTEN TO THE MUSIC

Mark your calendar for the monthly Paskamansett Concert Series at the Dartmouth Grange Hall. There’s the Spindle Rock River Rats on September

17, and Allison on October 8. For more info, call 401-241-3793, or visit www. paskamansettconcertseries.weebly.com. The Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River has a fabulous lineup – there’s Jethro Tull’s Martin Barre September 9, Session Americana September 15, Darrell Scott September 22! Plan ahead for Leon Russell October 4, Jonathan Edwards October 7, and The Yardbirds October 15! For a full schedule, call 508-324-1926 or visit www.narrowscenter.com. It’s all happening at the Z! Head for the Zeiterion in New Bedford for Old Crow Medicine Show on September 15 or Mariza on October 22. For details, go to www.zeiterion.org or call 508-994-2900. Plan ahead for the 2016-2017 season of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra! Classical concerts like “Powerful Beauty” on October 15 will be performed at the Zeiterion. For details, go to www.nbsymphony.org or call 508999-6276. Enjoy live jazz on Saturdays at Greenvale Vineyards in Portsmouth through December 10! For more info, visit www.greenvale.com or call 401-847-3777. If you’re a fan of Americana and roots music, check out the Salon Concerts at the Wamsutta Club in New Bedford. There’s Jack Williams on September 7 and a Teddy Roosevelt Portrayal on September 28. For more info, go to www.wamsuttaconcerts.com. Enjoy the new season of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra at the VETS, starting with a performance of Beethoven’s “Emperor” on September 16, then Mozart’s “Requiem” with the Providence Singers on October 14. For details, go to www.riphil.org or call 401248-7000. Find out what’s on stage at the Providence Performing Arts Center! Don’t miss Steven Tyler September 10, Weird Al Yankovic September 14, and “Wicked” September 21-October 8! For details, call 401-421-2787 or go to www.ppacri.org. Head for the Sandywoods Center for the Arts in Tiverton! There’s Claude Bourbon September 10, Biscuit City September 17, Grace Morrison & Butch McCarthy September 24, Bohemian Quartet October 7 – and lots more! For a

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S EP TEMBER /O C TOBER 2016

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE complete schedule, call 401-241-7349 or go to www.sandywoodsmusic.com. Enjoy the Sunset Music Series at Westport Rivers Winery through September 10. Pack a picnic and a corkscrew! Purchase tickets in advance by calling 508636-3423 or at www.westportrivers.com.

set cruise aboard Whaling City Expeditions! For a schedule and more info, go to www.whalingcityexpeditions.com or call 508-984-4979. Stroll through the family-friendly 3rd Annual Newport Art Festival August 2728. Learn more at www.festivalfete.com.

Check out the free WBRU Summer Concerts at Waterplace Park in Providence! For a complete schedule, go to www.wbru.com.

Watch free movies every Thursday night through September at Grant’s Block in DownCity Providence! For more info, visit www.moviesontheblock.com.

New Bedford’s free “Summer Sounds Series” is back! Relax with “Lunchtime Jazz” at Custom House Square in the historic district every Friday at noon during August. Then there’s “Concerts on the Pier” on Friday evenings in August on Pier 3. For a complete schedule, visit www.destinationnewbedford.org.

Take a stroll through the Craft-oRama Art Markets every Saturday at Custom House Square in New Bedford through August 27. For details, go to www.destinationnb.org.

FAMILY-FRIENDLY

Enjoy FREE family fun and entertainment on AHA! Nights in downtown New Bedford. The September 8 theme is “Festa, Fiesta, Fete: Celebrate NB Culture.” The October 13 theme is “Walkabouts.” For details, call 508-996-8253 or go to www.ahanewbedford.org. Plan a day-trip to Battleship Cove in Fall River! Take a ride on the Carousel – call 508-678-1100 for info or visit www.battleshipcove.org.

YACHT-A, YACHT-A, YACHT-A

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Sign up now for Fairhaven’s Annual 5K Road Race on September 11. For details, go to www.fairhaventours.com or call 508-979-4085.

Take a ride on the Slocum River Sunset Kayak Tour on September 15 at the Lloyd Center for the Environment in Dartmouth! For details, call 508-9900505 or visit www.lloydcenter.org.

If you’re a boat lover, don’t miss a visit to the Herreshoff Marine Museum in Bristol, home of the America’s Cup Hall of Fame. For info, call 401-253-5000 or visit www.herreshoff.org.

Explore the trails, wildlife and scenery of the Mattapoisett River Reserve – leashed dogs welcome. Hike, fish, picnic, bird-watch. For more info, go to www.savebuzzardsbay.org.

Experience American military history at Fort Taber-Fort Rodman in New Bedford! For info, call 508-994-3938 or visit www.forttaber.org.

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Calling all cyclists! Register now for the 10th Annual Buzzards Bay Watershed Ride from Westport to Woods Hole on October 2! Learn more by visiting www.savebuzzardsbay.org/ride.

Head for Fort Adams in Newport to watch the Museum of Yachting’s 37th Annual Classic Yacht Regatta September 3-4! For more info, go to www.iyrs.edu or call 401-848-5777.

Head for Onset Village in Wareham for the Annual Street-Painting Festival and Illumination Night on August 27! Then catch the breeze at the Onset Beach Kite Festival on September 3! For details, go to www.onsetbay.org or call 508-295-7072. (Make sure to buy some saltwater taffy!)

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

Take a Saturday Stroll through October 8 at the Blithewold Mansion and Gardens in Bristol! For info, call 401-2532707 or go to www.blithewold.org.

TIME TRAVEL

While you’re there, take a boat tour of historic New Bedford Harbor or a sun-

Japanophiles! If you’re interested in the history of Japan-America ties, plan a visit the Whitfield-Manjiro Friendship House in Fairhaven, where it all began. Go to www.wmfriendshiphouse.org or call 508-995-1219 for details.

Need a bigger boat? Head for the Newport International Boat Show September 15-18! For details and tickets, go to www.newportboatshow.com.

Check out the largest collection of Titanic memorabilia in the US, including the one-ton model used in the 1953 movie, at the Fall River Marine Museum. For more info, call 508-674-3533 or visit www.marinemuseumfr.org.

Spend a day in the cobblestoned historic district of New Bedford! Visit the world-class Whaling Museum (508997-0046 or go to www.whalingmuseum. org). Explore the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park (free admission on September 24 and November 11). For more info, go to www.nps.gov/nebe.

www.whalingmuseum.org.

Relive the Revolution! Visit Fort Phoenix on September 24-25 to witness the Fairhaven Village Militia’s Revolutionary War Encampment! For info, call 508-9794085 or go to www.fairhaventours.com.

Explore 18th- and 19th-century life at the Handy House in Westport. Don’t miss the Artisan Fair on September 24! For more info, visit www.wpthistory.org or call 508-636-6011. To celebrate the centennial of the National Park Service, the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park will offer free admission on September 24 and November 11 this year. For more info, go to www.nps.gov/nebe. And while you’re there, visit the Whaling Museum! For more info, call 508-997-0046 or visit

S EP TEMBER /O C TOBER 2016

Take a walk through the Norman Bird Sanctuary in Middletown! EcoTours for all ages. For info, call 401-846-2577 or visit www.normanbirdsanctuary.org. Jog along the Harbor Walk, a ¾-mile pedestrian/bike path atop the hurricane dike in New Bedford’s south end. Explore the Acushnet Sawmills public park and herring weir in the north end of New Bedford! Canoe/ kayak launch, fishing, trails. For more info, visit www.savebuzzardsbay.org. If you’re near Newport, stroll through Ballard Park! For more info, go to www.ballardpark.org. Wander through the urban greenspace of the Allen C. Haskell Public Gardens. Learn more at www.thetrustees.org or call 508-636-4693. Or take a walk through the city’s Buttonwood Park and Zoo! For info, call 508-991-6178 or visit www.bpzoo.org.

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GOOD TIMES

Manly men and mustaches Moustaches are an ultimate guy thing. I was at a wedding reception recently where many people my age or older were on the dance floor, not caring if we PAUL K ANDARIAN looked dumb because people my age just don’t care and are happy to be mobile enough to move around. Mostly, we tried not to snap our hips. I know we succeeded because I never heard anyone screaming in pain, save for perhaps the parents paying for the wedding. But one thing I noticed: a managerial guy in his 40’s working at the reception had a moustache. I think that stuck out in my mind because I don’t see that many guys with moustaches anymore. Or maybe there are, and I just don’t notice because I don’t have one. You know how you notice another car on the road that’s the same as yours, or someone wearing the same shirt? I guess it’s the same thing with moustaches. I must confess a serious moustache history. I remember being sorely disappointed when I first started to shave but was unable to grow one just like my Dad boasted, a man who I swear could shave in the morning and by afternoon look like a terrorist, with this fierce stubble of facial hair. I couldn’t do that then. But then came along the 60’s, specifically my late-teen years, when permission was given to cultivate not only moustaches but massive beards, owing to the hippie ethos of the era. I grew my hair long and sprouted my first moustache. Throughout the 70’s would always have one, often with a full-blown beard to go with it. Moustache trends come and go, and this one was in bloom. We had moustache

heroes to model ourselves after: Burt Reynolds in just about every movie he made then and since. The wickedly cool Tom Selleck in Magnum PI. Everyone’s favorite cinematic stoner, Cheech Marin. The human dolphin Mark Spitz. The black super-stud Billy Dee Williams, who still sports a ‘stache. And for many years, the uber-cerebral Alex Trebek. Who wouldn’t want to be like those guys? We grew moustaches to emulate them. For a while, I sorta kinda looked like James Taylor when he had the longhair-and-stache thing going, and even beyond when he and I went bald around the same time. I like to think James Taylor and I have a lot in common. Leaving out the musical talent, fame, and fortune.

Mostly these days I notice that the scrubby-stubble look is in, where you don’t shave for a few days or a week Now there are many modern musicians, TV and movie stars with moustaches, hardly any of whom I can name. But I’m not sure it’s an all-out trend, the way it was back in the day. Mostly these days I notice that the scrubby-stubble look is in, where you don’t shave for a few days or a week. My significant other sees that on Ryan Gosling and says how cute he is. She sees it on me and says I look like a homeless man. And for the life of me, I don’t know how you maintain that look without shaving clean and starting over, again and again. It seems like a lot of trouble to

look cute. Or homeless. Most recently I had that look. I was playing an old man with dementia in an independent film, and they wanted me to scruff it up. So I wouldn’t shave for up to five days at a time, then shaving and letting it scruff up again for the next round of filming. I hated it, itched like hell and for reasons I prefer not to think about, it came in mostly white. Funny, it never did that decades ago. Then of course there’s “Movember,” a fund-raising effort that started in 2003 where guys grow moustaches to raise money for charity, with the Movember Foundation now global, raising more than $700 million in that time for a ton of good causes. I did it one year. It seemed way easier and less painful than the Ice Bucket Challenge. But it’s safe to say my moustache days are long gone. No more will I grow what is impolitely known as a dirt squirrel, crumb catcher, lip toupee, soup strainer, and many others including some I can’t list here because they’re as outrageously prurient as they are outrageously funny. My favorite is “snot mop.” I fondly recall having a moustache and skiing in sub-zero temperatures when my nose would run and instantly freeze on my lip, creating a veritable organic artwork of frozen mucus and hair. Then I’d walk through the lodge where hundreds of other guys had bobbing bulbs of glistening goo melting off their moustaches, the ultimate sign of gross guy solidarity. Wish I’d had that frozen snot mop while dancing at the wedding. All those other old guys trying not to snap a hip would’ve been proud of me.

PAUL K ANDARIAN is a lifelong area resident and has been a professional writer since 1982, as columnist, contributor in national magazines, websites and other publications.

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