Growing Bolder September October 15

A QUANTUM LEAP IN SPINAL SURGERY • HORSES AS HEALERS FOR VETERANS

HOPE • INSPIRATION • POSSIBILITY

GUITAR HEROES JUST KEEP ROCKING ANSON WILLIAMS ON ‘LESSONS FROM WILLIE’

WONDERFUL woman

Reigniting an Old Flame: Lynda Carter’s Journey From Superhero to Songstress.

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BOOK YOUR NEXT APPOINTMENT ONLINE Your time is very valuable.

Take advantage of the online services offered by Jewett Orthopaedic Clinic and visit our website.

JEWETTORTHO.COM

Nancy Dougherty was hampered by hip pain. Now, thanks to PRP treatments, she’s back on the golf course with friends.

DON’T LET ARTHRITIS SIDELINE YOU Jewett Orthopaedic Clinic Specializes in Non-Surgical Solutions.

By Katy Widrick

W

hen Nancy Dougherty’s husband passed away, she was able to find happiness again in the game of golf. She hit the links nearly every day, until she developed debilitating pain in her hip. “I was in constant pain at night, which was the worst because I would sleep probably an hour a night,” she says.

Just before her 65th birthday, Dougherty was diagnosed with arthritis in her right hip and all signs pointed to hip replacement surgery, something she did not want to go through.

“I was scared to death. I really don’t want to have surgery. I just don’t. A lot of people don’t understand that, but I just don’t want to go through it,” she says.

Dougherty needed another option. Her search for a non-surgical solution pointed straight to Jewett Orthopaedic Clinic.

“We used to have tickets to the Orlando Magic since the inception, and of course, there was always a big Jewett Orthopaedic sign there. I figured if they’re good enough for the Magic, they’re good enough for me,” Dougherty says.

Luis Gandara, M.D., instantly set Dougherty’s mind at ease. “He is fabulous,” she says. “I mean fabulous.”

Says Gandara: “Jewett has always been on the cutting edge of procedures and emerging technologies and emerging treatments in the orthopaedic world.”

Gandara is one of the reasons why. He’s a leader in the implementation of a non-surgical treatment called Platelet Rich Plasma.

“Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injections involve the use of your own blood,” he explains. “We take a sample of blood from you. The blood is made of plasma, and it has some cells called platelets.

We take a small sample of the blood and put it in a special machine that separates the platelets from the plasma. Then we inject your platelets into the area of interest. The procedure takes

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about 30 minutes, and it’s all done right here in our office.”

Gandara says PRP can be used to treat patients with a variety of ailments, including chronic arthritis, chronic tendon problems such as tendonitis or tennis elbow, and partial tears of the shoulder. He says he’s seen how it can change the lives of patients, some of whom have spent years desperately searching for solutions.

“Most people, most of the time, try physical therapy, oral medications, rest and alternative treatments like acupuncture or stretching,” Gandara notes. “They’ve even tried cortisone injections and other treatments, and unfortunately most of the time, these treatments fail.”

Gandara says that when he’s able to help, he feels “very grateful for the patient and very grateful that I was able to provide that relief they were looking for.”

It wasn’t long before Dougherty noticed significant improvement. “After the third shot, I knew for sure,” she says. “I didn’t have any pain. When I came back I didn’t have any. I was in real, real pain. Now, I’m 98 percent better, without surgery.”

Gandara says most patients will start feeling relief within a month or two, but results vary from patient to patient.

Dougherty is sleeping again, her energy is back — and if you’re looking for her these days, you’d better check the golf course because Nancy Dougherty is back in action.

“It’s been wonderful, it really has,” she says. “I feel like I have a much better quality of life.”  Stop living with pain and get back to the things you love! Call Jewett’s 24-hour appointment line at 407-629-2444 or visit jewettortho.com to use its online appointment request form.

Jewett has 10 Central Florida locations, including two walk-in clinics.

GROWING BOLDER 3

CONTENTS september/october 2015

FEATURE

WONDER WOMAN DEPARTMENTS 5 | FROM THE EDITOR

14

6 | GROWING BOLDER WITH

12 | ROCK STARS OF AGING ® In their late 80s, this couple competes for national titles. By Marc Middleton

7 | THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH ® Why so many six-string superstars seek their skills. By Bill Shafer

22 | BOLDER LIFE A community hospital becomes a global medical destination. By Marc Middleton

8 | NEVER TOO LATE UCF’s equine therapy program shows promise for Ptsd. By Bill Shafer

24 | ROAD TO RECOVERY Why mobile neck is the new surgical standard. By Robert Masson, M.D.

9 | BOLDER HEALTH This 72-year-old yogi takes a calm approach to fitness. By Jackie Carlin

26 | TEAM GB ELITE Team GB Elite blogger Mary Wagner earns major kudos. By Katy Widrick

10 | 5 QUESTIONS Gretchen Rubin reveals strategies for a happier, healthier life. By Jackie Carlin

28 | SURVIVING & THRIVING ® Against all odds, a stroke survivor fights back. By Jackie Carlin

4 GROWING BOLDER

How Lynda Carter reignited her passion for life — thanks to her first love.

By Bill Shafer

30 | THE TAKEAWAY Lessons from Willie about believing in yourself. By Anson Williams A QUANTUM LEAP IN SPINAL SURGERY • HORSES AS HEALERS FOR VETERANS

HOPE • INSPIRATION • POSSIBILITY

GUITAR HEROES JUST KEEP ROCKING ANSON WILLIAMS ON ‘LESSONS FROM WILLIE’

WONDERFUL WOmaN

Reigniting an Old Flame: Lynda Carter’s Journey From Superhero to Songstress.

ON THE COVER: Lynda Carter is best known for her portrayal as Wonder Woman on the iconic 1970s TV show.​ Today, she’s back to singing and recording — and she’s happier than ever. Photo by Karl Simone.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015

FROM THE EDITOR

Editor-in-Chief Marc Middleton Managing Editor Jackie Carlin Associate Editors Bill Shafer, Katy Widrick Contributing Writers Robert Masson, M.D. Additional Photography Karl Simone, Michael Weschler Digital Development and Production Jason Morrow, Pat Narciso, Josh Doolittle, Mike Nanus

407-406-5910 One Purlieu Place, Suite 139 Winter Park, FL 32792 GrowingBolderMagazine.com All editorial content copyright 2015 by Bolder Broadcasting Inc. Growing Bolder is a registered trademark of Bolder Broadcasting Inc. Nothing may be reprinted in part or in whole without written permission from Bolder Broadcasting Inc.

PUBLISHED IN ASSOCIATION WITH

FLORIDA HOME MEDIA Group Publisher Randy Noles Art Director Jenna Carberg CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Harry Wessel Florida Home Media’s Family of Publications: VoLUsia CoUntY: beaChes anD beYonD

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LET’S SMASH STEREOTYPES

n 1900, the average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47. Today, thanks to advancements in technology, medicine, health care and improved personal lifestyle choices, we all have the very real possibility of two or even three decades of active life beyond what is considered normal retirement age. Our post-retirement years can actually be longer than the years we spent working and building careers.

For the first time in history, there’s an entirely new life stage that offers limitless opportunity to reinvent yourself, pursue your passions, repair your relationships, build new relationships, give back to your community, leave a meaningful legacy and much more.

The key to making the most of this new life stage is to stop simply growing older and start Growing Bolder. Unfortunately, we’ve all been brainwashed when it comes to aging.

Scientists and researchers have proved that, to a large extent, “age stereotypes” — formed in our youth and reinforced daily for decades by the media and by our culture — determine how we age.

The subtle and not-so-subtle messages that we receive every day about how we age include “over-the- hill” birthday cards; demeaning jokes; weak and feeble portrayals in commercials, TV shows and films; discrimination in health care; mandatory retirement ages; doctors who prescribe medicine before lifestyle changes; and much more.

We’ve been bombarded with negative stereotypes for decades and it’s been proved conclusively that those with positive age stereotypes live longer, are happier and healthier, and recover more quickly and fully from injury, disease and disability.

The truth and the magic is this: If you can change your attitude about age, you can change how you age. Now that you know you’ve been brainwashed and programmed to age poorly by the cult of youth, you need to be deprogrammed. You need to start Growing Bolder. 

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Marc Middleton, Editor-in-Chief marcmiddleton@growingbolder.com GROWING BOLDER 5

GROWING BOLDER WITH

anne archer

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actress

“I started dealing with ageism in Hollywood when I turned 40. Those are the doldrums for an actress. You’re not old enough to be playing character parts and you’re not young enough to be the sexual, female love interest. So you sit and don’t work at all. I realized a few years ago I was going to have to start controlling and creating my own destiny, so I got involved with producing films. If you don’t build up some behind-the-scenes production, you put yourself out of the business — and I didn’t want to go anywhere. It’s very tough, but what I realized can help anyone: You just have to start putting your own work out there; don’t wait to be chosen by others.

Anne Archer is an Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning actress who has had a number of unforgettable roles in huge films such as Fatal Attraction, Clear and Present Danger and Patriot Games. Her husband of 35 years, Terry Jastrow, is an award-winning writer, producer and director. The two have teamed up for the first time to create a film called The Squeeze.

rick hall

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music producer

“My childhood was tough and filled with a lot of shame. My father was a sharecropper, and we plowed our fields with mules. My mother left our family to work in a red-light district after my young brother died. After surviving all that, I wanted to make something out of myself. I wanted to make No. 1 records, and I wanted to change the music industry forever. I wanted to cut black music. And I thought Alabama was the perfect place to start because down in Tuscaloosa, George Wallace was saying, ‘segregation now, segregation forever.’ Of course I also wanted to make some money. And somehow I’ve ended up with the reputation of being this guy who did achieve those things.”

Against all odds and with no formal music training, Rick Hall turned a tiny Alabama outpost into the greatest little town in rock and roll history. He’s responsible for building Fame Studios and ushering in the Muscle Shoals sound. Rick tells his story in his autobiography The Man From Muscle Shoals: My Journey From Shame to Fame and is featured in the documentary Muscle Shoals.

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singer, actor

“I’m fairly uncomfortable as a person. I work on that regularly. There’s no magic pill — I’ve tried them. They don’t work. The most comfortable I am in life is when I’m on stage. That’s when I’m completely relaxed and don’t struggle with my depression.

Then I’m completely in the moment. Having a journey has been my savior. I think if I’d have just sat on the sidelines, it wouldn’t have gone well. The challenge and the journey is what has kept my fire going. Never give up on your dreams, but also don’t sit in your room and dream and expect things to come to you. I’ve always put dreams into actions. Be good to the people you love, and that’s really it. Everything else will follow.”

More than 30 years after he shot to superstardom on the heels of a No. 1 record and a daytime drama role, Rick Springfield retains a nearly mesmerizing hold on legions of fans worldwide. His long-time relationship with his fans was highlighted in the documentary An Affair of the Heart, and in the summer of 2015, he starred opposite Meryl Streep in the hit movie Ricki and the Flash.

GB EXTRA Visit GrowingBolderMagazine.com to listen to our entire Growing Bolder Radio conversations with Anne Archer and Rick Hall and to watch our sit-down interview with Rick Springfield.

6 GROWING BOLDER

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015

photo of rick hall by MuscleShoalsTheMovie.com

rick springfield

THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH ® Billy Fels and Doug Montgomery make guitars for rock stars and casual players alike.

GUITAR HEROES Why So Many Six-String Superstars Seek Their Skills.

By Bill Shafer

T

he search for the Fountain of Youth® is a search for passion, because it’s passion that keeps us engaged with life and propels us from bed every morning.

The lucky ones find it early in life and never let it go. Billy Fels and Doug Montgomery found their passion and discovered their Fountain of Youth® in mahogany boxes with six

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strings stretched across them.

Neither expected their lives to be amplified by guitars. Neither can even play them. Billy was a drummer. Doug preferred woodworking. But for some 40 years, in a shop they call The Guitar Factory, they’ve been creating custom guitars of the highest quality and repairing or tweaking those created elsewhere.

Many of the greatest guitar talents in the world have come to the tiny, nondescript old building in the College Park area of Orlando, Florida, to seek them out.

Jimmy Buffett, Sting, Nils Lofgren, Mike Rutherford, Pat Travers and Derek Trucks are just a few of the big names who have turned to Billy and Doug at The Guitar Factory.

Now, in their mid-60s, Fels and Montgomery are the most unlikely of guitar heroes. “We’re gray-haired old men still in the rock and roll business,” says Fels. “But we’re not wearing spandex!”

If the two were simply building or fixing guitars, they’d have gotten bored long ago. Their passion, however, is removing unnecessary obstacles that keep their customers from reaching their potential.

“Guitars you buy off the shelf can be very difficult to play, and if you don’t know any better you think there’s something wrong with you,” says Montgomery. “We make your instrument easier to play so you’re more likely to stick with it.”

They do so by creating individual playing profiles for every customer. How often do they play? Where do they play? Who do they play for? What style and genre of music do they play? The answers determine how Fels and Montgomery custom “tune” each instrument.

In fact, the pair stay so busy that they rarely take time off. “That’s my one regret,” says Fels. “I think we’ve each had a long weekend just three or four times in 40 years. I do wish that Doug and I had taken more vacations.”

They admit that it hasn’t always been easy working so closely together for so many years. But the passion they share and the partnership they’ve built is special.

Just don’t ask them to admit it.

“We’ve found a formula that works,” says Montgomery. “I stay in the back, he stays in the front.”

The Fountain of Youth® is different for everyone. For these two lifelong friends, it’s a shared passion and heartfelt purpose in a place called The Guitar Factory. 

GB EXTRA Visit GrowingBolderMagazine.com to watch our feature story on Billy Fels and Doug Montgomery, and get an inside look at their eclectic guitar shop.

GROWING BOLDER 7

NEVER TOO LATE UCF’s Ma­nette Monroe, M.D., will be the only physician in the country studying the ef­fects of equine therapy on veterans.

HOOVED HEALERS UCF’s Equine Therapy Program Shows Promise for Ptsd.

By Bill Shafer

E

quine therapy programs around the U.S. use interactions between patients and horses to treat posttraumatic stress disorder in war veterans. Yet, despite considerable anecdotal success, there’s never been a definitive scientific study done to document how or why it seems to help.

The University of Central Florida College of Medicine is about to change that through a new program headed by Manette Monroe, M.D. She’ll be the only physician in the country studying the effects of equine therapy on veterans.

“I started looking into some of the treatments done for those with PTSD and traumatic brain injury and was surprised by what I found,” she explains. “There was virtually no empirical research, no evidence at all based on studies.”

Monroe always believed that horses could change lives because they’ve been such a big part of hers. She began riding as a toddler and grew to become nationally competitive in dressage, cross country and show jumping.

She earned a degree in animal science from the University of Tennessee in Knox8 GROWING BOLDER

ville, and enjoyed training horses and giving riding lessons.

Then Monroe’s life took a different direction. She returned to school at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where she earned a master’s degree in education. She then became a teacher and an education coordinator at a blood bank.

She loved teaching, but in midlife yearned for more. In her 40s she decided she wanted to be a medical doctor. “But I heard that they didn’t take old people in medical school,” she recalls. “In fact, I was told that if you were over 26, your odds of getting in were very, very slim.”

Nonetheless, she enrolled in a physician’s assistant program and did so well that, at age 43, she was accepted as a student at East Tennessee State University’s Quillen College of Medicine.

Monroe earned her medical degree and achieved her dream. But still she wasn’t entirely satisfied. She wondered if there was a way to bring her three greatest passions together.

How could she teach, practice medicine and work with horses all at the same time?

That’s when the UCF College of Medicine

came riding to the rescue.

In her 50s Monroe joined the medical school’s staff as assistant dean of students and assistant professor of pathology. But her career was about to come full-circle.

“The dean encourages us to pursue our passions,” Monroe told Growing Bolder. “I said, ‘Hey, I have one I bet we could work together on to better the community.’” Deborah German, M.D., dean of the medical school, approved the idea almost immediately.

The resulting equine therapy program has already been able to document improvements in depression scores. And Monroe says it’s just the beginning.

“This gives me so much hope that people who are struggling with isolation and loneliness and overreaction to stimuli and all the things that go along with PTSD can look forward to the kinds of improvements that will allow them to rebuild their lives, all because the UCF College of Medicine encourages us to follow our passion.”

By believing that it’s never too late to accept new challenges, to reinvent herself and to follow her passions, Monroe is happier now than she’s ever been. She loves her life and loves her work.

“Every day I’m involved in medicine, teaching and horses. How could I not love life?” 

GB EXTRA Visit GrowingBolderMagazine.com for more from our conversation with Dr. Manette Monroe and to hear from some of the first soldiers to go through her program. Hear first-hand how equine therapy is dramatically changing the way they live with PTSD. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015

BOLDER HEALTH Janice Lennard’s yoga DVDs encourage you to stay fit by slowing down and going with the flow.

GOWITH THE FLOW This 72-Year-Old Yogini Takes a Calm Approach to Fitness.

By Jackie Carlin

J

anice Lennard is the poster child for the benefits of staying active as we age. She has been involved with ballet, yoga and Pilates for more than 65 years.

At 72, Lennard teaches yoga classes at Rancho Mirage in California. And now, thanks to a new series of DVDs, she’s inspiring people around the world not only with her style and technique but with her graceful attitude on aging.

Lennard wants everyone to know that it’s never too late to start moving. Even if you’ve never tried something like yoga before, you’re

GROWINGBOLDERMAGAZINE.COM

never too old to try something new, she says.

“Just recently, a gentleman in his late 60s came to one of my yoga classes for the first time,” Lennard recalls. “After class, he was telling me how sore he was. He told me he’d never done anything like that before, but he really enjoyed it.”

A few days later, she says, he came back for another class. “He said to me, ‘Thank you. I really enjoyed your class and I’m going to try and keep doing it.’ I said to him, ‘That’s all you’re supposed to do; you’re not supposed to push yourself to go beyond what you can do. Just do what you can.’”

Lennard adds that it’s important for us all to realize that things may not always be easy — whether it’s exercise or life’s daily challenges. The real secret to success, she contends, is how we respond.

“I think one of the keys to life is just taking what you’re handed and trying to make it good instead of dwelling on the bad stuff that might happen,” Lennard says. “That’s what I’ve done with my life. There’s always been something that would make me angry, and I would just turn around and say, ‘What am I worried about? I’m alive. I’m living a fairly good life and I’m going to enjoy it.’”

Lennard says this wisdom is an unexpected — but wonderful — side effect of getting older.

“Aging has been the realization that you know a lot more than you did when you were younger,” she notes. “And you tend to accept things and let them slide off your back. You take all the good things because you’re still here, still breathing, still able to move and enjoy every day.”

Turn on any late-night infomercial and you’ll see that just about all the hottest workout DVDs feature lots of screaming instructors and fast-paced, frenetic music.

Lennard takes a calmer, more centered approach. She credits ballet classes with helping her to slow down. She adapted that philosophy to create daily workouts that encourage the body to slow down and go with the flow.

“I think it’s all mind-body control,” she says.

“Your mind becomes relaxed, which also relaxes the body. You can meditate during the poses.

And by slowing everything down, I really think that helps the entire body and mind.”

During yoga, Lennard adds, “you’re not running 50 mph trying to do everything.

In so many of today’s workout programs, everyone is running around, trying to push themselves so hard. I think it’s just as effective to sit down by yourself somewhere in the corner, relax and enjoy it.”

That’s what Lennard does — and she’s feeling great. “Sure, I’ve had aches and pains just like everyone else, but it goes back to attitude again,” she says. “I tend to just go with it. I still keep moving and relaxing with the pain, and it just works for me. I know it can work for you, too.” 

GB EXTRA Visit GrowingBolderMagazine.com to listen to our full Growing Bolder Radio conversation with Janice Lennard and to see videos of this yogini in action.

GROWING BOLDER 9

5 QUESTIONS Gretchen Rubin is an in-demand speaker, best-selling author and popular blogger and podcaster.

Author Reveals Strategies For a Happier, Healthier Life.

By JACKIE CARLIN 10 G R O W I N G B O L D E R

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015

Michael Weschler

BE BETTER THAN BEFORE

GRETCHEN RUBIN

is a graduate of Yale Law School and clerked for former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor before becoming a writer. She’s written best-selling biographies of John F. Kennedy and Winston Churchill. Then she reinvented herself as one of the most influential self-help writers in the world. The author of blockbuster New York Times best-sellers The Happiness Project and Happier at Home, Rubin launched one of the top podcasts on iTunes and writes a successful blog. She has also been named one of the “100 Most Influential People in Health and Fitness,” one of Inc.’s “Top 50 Leadership and Management Experts” and one of the “22 Brilliant Thinkers Everyone Should Follow on Twitter” by Business Insider. Her most recent book, Better than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives, was an immediate best-seller.

We love this book because it really is a roadmap to Growing Bolder. We can inspire people to want to change, but it ultimately comes down to the challenge of creating sustainable change.

You call habits the “invisible architecture of our everyday lives.” What do you mean by that?

Research suggests that about 40 percent of what we do every day is shaped by our habits. If we have habits that work for us, we’re far more likely to be happier, healthier and more productive. If we have habits that don’t work for us, it’s just going to be a much bigger challenge to bring that about. Habits underlie everything we do. They can make our lives much easier — or they can them tougher.

Habit formation isn’t a new topic, but unlike many experts on the subject, you acknowledge that a one-sizefits-all approach just won’t work. Why not?

The key part is, we have to know what’s going to work for us individually. You read all this expert advice, and they all seem to be saying, “Here’s the magic answer: Do this first thing in the morning; do it for 30 days; give yourself a cheat day; start small.” All of those are strategies that work well for some people, some of the time, but they don’t work all of the time for everyone. I think we get frustrated when we keep trying to change a habit and not succeeding. But I think it’s because often, when we try GROWINGBOLDERMAGAZINE.COM

to change a habit, we’ve gone about it in a way that isn’t suited to us. Maybe it worked for Ben Franklin, Steve Jobs or our sister-in-law, but if it’s not going to suit us, it’s going to be very hard for that habit to take hold.

In your book, you say some of us are abstainers and some are moderators. What does that mean?

Abstainers and moderators face strong temptations differently. I’m an abstainer, and people like me do better when we have none, never.

We find it pretty easy to give something up altogether, but we find it hard to enjoy something in moderation. So I can have no chocolate chip cookies or I can have five chocolate chip cookies.

I can’t just have one. Moderators, by contrast, get panicky and rebellious when they’re told they can never have something. They do better if they’re told they can have a little bit sometimes.

They’re the kinds of people who can keep a bar of fine chocolate squirreled away in their desk and have one square once a day or every other day. As an abstainer, my whole day would be haunted by that candy bar until I’d eaten the entire thing. You can see how this causes a lot of conflict in marriages or even in offices, because some people want to be abstaining and some people want to be moderating.

What’s the difference between just doing something and it being a habit?

Mere repetition isn’t enough to make something a habit. The key aspect of a habit is the

lack of decision making. Something is a habit if it’s a behavior on autopilot; you’re not deciding whether or not to do something. I do not decide to get up at 6 a.m., I do not decide to skip dessert, I do not decide to wear my seat belt. These are things that are just habits. I do them without thinking, and I don’t reward myself for doing them. For example, I don’t reward myself for brushing my teeth. It’s a habit. Decision making is draining, difficult and takes a lot of self-control. As much as we can eliminate decision making, we’re going to free and energize ourselves.

What have you learned in life about happiness and habit formation? What makes it all work?

At its core, it’s this idea of knowing yourself.

Of course, that’s the most ancient advice of all time. It’s on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. We can only build a happy life on the foundation of our own nature, our own values and our own interests. We can shape our habits if we take into account what’s true for us. We can start Growing Bolder when we know what we truly want. What we want may be very different than what someone else wants. It’s only by knowing and accepting ourselves — and expecting more from ourselves — that we can build the bold, healthy, energetic happy lives that we all want. 

GB EXTRA Visit GrowingBolderMagazine.com to listen to our entire conversation with Gretchen Rubin and to learn more about the habits that can change our lives. Plus, find out more about her 21 strategies to break bad habits and create new ones.

G R O W I N G B O L D E R 11

ROCK STARS OF AGING ® Harry and Artis Price have been competitve water skiers for more than 50 years.

WATER WARRIORS In Their Late 80s, Couple Still Competing for National Titles.

By Marc Middleton

T

he temperature outside is higher than their age, which means 88-year-old Harry Price and his 85-year-old wife, Artis, are up extra early to get in a few water-ski practice runs on the lake behind their home in DeLeon Springs, Florida.

They ski every other day, but their focus is extra sharp today because they’re preparing for the U.S. National Water Ski Championships, an elite competition they know a little something about.

“Let’s see, this will be my 56th nationals,” says Harry. “And Artis is skiing in her 55th.”

“I’m a year behind because I had a baby,” Artis says. “When our daughter, Katherine, was born, I took the year off.”

Both Harry and Artis are the defending national champions in their age group and have skied in and won more U.S. Nationals than any man and woman in history.

They not only compete against others their age, they compete against history.

“We ski against our world records and all of the other age groups ski against their world records,” says Harry. “Whoever comes closest, percentage wise, wins the big trophy.”

12 G R O W I N G B O L D E R

“And Harry’s won it twice,” Artis adds.

Harry and Artis met on a diving board in the early 1950s, when the great Olympic swimming champion Adolph Kiefer asked Harry to give an English teacher diving lessons. Harry declined.

“Don’t saddle me with an old English teacher,” he remembers saying. A short while later he met Artis, the English teacher, on the diving board — and quickly realized his mistake.

Not only did Artis learn to dive, Harry taught her to water ski before they were married. And they haven’t stopped since.

It’s been a 60-year love affair with one another, and with the water.

Over the years, they’ve won just about every title available, including prestigious Awards of Distinction from the Water Ski Hall of Fame.

They’ll be eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame when they retire, but that’s the catch — they never want to retire.

“I hope to ski to 100,” says Harry. “I expect to ski to 100.”

Harry and Artis eat a plant-based diet and start each day with a special routine.

“We have a specific thing we do each

morning,” says Harry. “It’s called H-H. We hug and then we hang. The first thing we do is hug, and then go out on the back porch and hang on our inversion table.

That gets our spines lined up, our blood flowing and gets us ready for the day.”

Of course, getting up and getting going isn’t always easy. Like most people their age, Harry and Artis have had to fight through countless aches, pains, injuries and stiffness.

But they don’t want to live on the couch when they can live on the water — so they always push through their physical setbacks.

“We know that after we’re done skiing we’ll feel much better,” says Artis. “We do have to push each other a little bit, but we know we need to do it so we hold each other accountable.”

These two water-skiing icons say the secret to staying active is, well, staying active. “It’s really nothing more than that,” says Harry. “Just get up and get going, because the guy with the big scythe, the Grim Reaper, is behind you. If you keep going he won’t catch up.”  Editor's note: Just before going to press, we learned that both Harry and Artis won the overall Gold Medals in the 85+ age group at the U.S. National Championship. Harry was 1st overall, 2nd in tricks and 1st in slalom. Artis was 1st overall, 1st in tricks and 1st in slalom.

GB EXTRA Visit GrowingBolderMagazine.com to watch our feature story on Harry and Artis Price and see these two skiing all-stars in action.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015

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WONDER WOMAN FINDS HER VOICE How Lynda Carter Reignited Her Passion for Life — Thanks to Her First Love.

By Bill Shafer

photo by Karl Simone

L

ynda Carter had just been launched on the wildest ride of her life. In an instant, she was catapulted from a relative unknown to the star of a hit network TV show portraying an iconic superhero.

“When I got that part, I was struggling just to pay the rent,” she recalls in a conversation with Growing Bolder.

Carter’s stint as the title character in Wonder Woman, which ran for one season on ABC and two seasons on CBS, made her one of the most familiar faces — and figures — in the U.S. But when the series came to an end in 1979, Carter struggled to find her way. “I had very few friends,” she recalls. “I longed for some substantive relationships. I had celebrity, but celebrity is a vapor. You can’t grab hold of it.”

Carter began a long, slow spiral downward. Her first marriage, to talent agent Ron Samuels, ended in divorce in 1982. Her search for meaning took her into and out of organized religion. She turned to alcohol and needed a stint in rehab to kick it.

14 G R O W I N G B O L D E R

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015

When Lynda Carter began recording again after a 30-year absence from the studio, she was surprised — and encouraged — by the positive critical response.

GROWINGBOLDERMAGAZINE.COM

G R O W I N G B O L D E R 15

“

You’re either going to sink or swim with your attitude, and that’s how I’ve lived my life.

The woman who had become identified with the all-but-invincible warrior princess of the Amazons had no idea where she was going — until she remembered where she’d been.

Carter recalled singing, playing guitar and writing songs at age 10. At 14 she was in her first band, and at 16 she and two cousins formed a group called The Relatives. Gary Burghoff, who later starred as Radar O’Reilly in M*A*S*H, was the drummer.

An Arizona native, Carter remembered that it was music that made her come alive and defined her youth.

In high school she was tall and gangly.

Classmates taunted her with the nickname “Olive Oil” from the Popeye cartoons. She was looked down upon by more affluent students and excluded from some social groups. Music, however, was her escape.

Carter tried college and was voted “Most Talented” at Arizona State. But she dropped out to join a rock band and tour the country.

When that fizzled, she returned home to begin a modeling career and enter pageants.

Her rendition of “God Bless the Child” helped her win the Miss World USA crown.

(In the international Miss World competi16 G R O W I N G B O L D E R

tion, she reached the semifinals.)

Carter studied acting in New York before moving to Los Angeles in the early 1970s.

She managed to land a few small roles in TV shows and B movies, but had nearly exhausted her savings and was about to return to Arizona when she got word that she had been cast as the DC Comics superhero.

Although her role as the title character in Wonder Woman made her famous, Carter became restless and felt unfulfilled as the series neared the end of its run. Her search for happiness took her back to the recording studio, where she made the album Portrait.

It was dismissed by critics who believed her to be just another actress trying her hand at singing, not realizing that music was her lifelong passion. It would be 30 years before she would step into a recording studio again.

Following Wonder Woman’s cancellation, a disillusioned Carter told interviewers that she felt exploited. She received no residuals from reruns and was uncomfortable with the highly sexualized way in which her image was being marketed.

Carter snared other TV work, however, including a role as Rita Hayworth in

”

a 1983 biopic called Rita Hayworth: The Love Goddess. The following year she married Washington lawyer Robert A. Altman and was cast with Loni Anderson in a new TV series, Partners in Crime. The show, about a pair of beautiful detectives, was cancelled after just 13 weeks.

Throughout the 1980s, Carter headlined a number of network musical specials, starred in a string of TV movies and became the celebrity spokesperson for Maybelline cosmetics.

Nonetheless, in 1998 she quietly entered a rehabilitation center for treatment of alcoholism.

In the early 2000s, a sober and rejuvenated Carter started to get busier, appearing on the big screen in The Dukes of Hazzard and Sky High, both released in 2005.

In Sky High, she played the headmistress of a school for superheroes and uttered this memorable line: “I can’t do anything more to help you. I’m not Wonder Woman, you know.”

Also in 2005, Carter was cast in the West End London stage production of Chicago, playing Mama Morton. She then toured the U.S. with a one-woman cabaret show, An Evening With Lynda Carter.

She was singing for appreciative live audiences, but still wanted to be taken SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015

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Carter’s 2011 album, Crazy Little Things, features a combination of jazz, blues, country and pop tunes.

seriously as a recording artist. That finally happened in 2009, when she recorded and released her first album in 30 years, aptly named At Last.

“I didn’t expect it to do as well as it did,” Carter says of the album, which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart.

Two years later she released another album, Crazy Little Things, and is currently performing across the U.S. on her Long Legged Woman tour.

At 64, Carter has not only come to terms with life, but she’s come to terms with age itself. “It is kind of shocking, to 18 G R O W I N G B O L D E R

be honest,” she says. “You think, ‘Oh, my God, I used to think this was really old.’

But it doesn’t feel that old now.’”

Carter says she had to look into her past to discover the path into her future. “My life is truly wonderful,” she says. “I’m finally doing what I love. I have a wonderful husband and two great kids [James, 28, and Jessica, 26].”

She admits that she’s had her struggles and tribulations. “I have my fat clothes and my skinny clothes, just like everybody else,” she says. “But singing has put me back on track to who I really am.”

Plus, Carter says she’s in the best shape of her life. But don’t expect her to pull on that familiar costume in 2017, when a Wonder Woman motion picture is expected to be released. She hopes to be part of the film in some meaningful way, possibly as a creative consultant.

In fact, Carter seems to have shed much of the ambivalence she once expressed about the role that made her famous. In 1985 DC Comics saluted her in the company’s 50th anniversary publication, Fifty Who Made DC Great, for her work on the Wonder Woman series.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015

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Carter’s Wonder Woman images became iconic in the ‘70s. Although she was ambivalent about the character for a while, she has since come to embrace it.

In 2007, toy company DC Direct released a limited-edition, 13-inch statue of Carter as Wonder Woman. It was re-released in 2010 along with a new 5 ½-inch statue to celebrate the comic-book publisher’s 75th anniversary.

“My identity as Wonder Woman and the affection I’ve received has meant so much to me,” she says. “Why wouldn’t I want to pay that back?”

20 G R O W I N G B O L D E R

Carter says her journey following TV stardom has been both magnificent and humbling — and it’s taught her that the greatest superpower of all is attitude.

“Everything is attitude,” she notes.

“Good things happen to people, bad things happen to people. You’re either going to sink or swim with your attitude, and that’s how I’ve lived my life. It’s 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent attitude.” 

GB EXTRA Visit GrowingBolderMagazine.com to listen to our conversation with Lynda Carter and to learn more about her music.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015

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G R O W I N G B O L D E R 21

BOLDER LIFE Health Central Hospital in Ocoee, Florida, has become an international destination for a new kind of spinal surgery.

SHOW BACKBONE

A Community Hospital Becomes a Global Medical Destination.

By Marc Middleton

W

hile many hospitals and healthcare organizations aspire to become global medical destinations, Health Central Hospital in Ocoee, Florida, has achieved that rare designation.

A highly rated community hospital for more than 60 years, Health Central has quietly become a world center for minimally invasive, life-transforming spine procedures. And it’s not just patients turning to Health Central to receive care; it’s also many of the world’s top surgeons coming to be trained.

“We have physicians from all over the globe arriving here almost on a weekly basis,” says Rick Smith, COO of Health Central. “We welcome those physicians into our OR where they’re taught by Dr. [Robert] Masson and his team.”

Robert Masson, M.D., is one of the 22 G R O W I N G B O L D E R

world’s leading neurosurgeons, founder of the NeuroSpine Institute (NSI) and head of Health Central’s NeuroSpine program.

His work is a complete re-imagineering of a decades-old technique that, in combination with highly skilled surgeons, is revolutionizing both cervical and lumbar spine surgery.

Over the past decade, Masson developed, refined and perfected the minimally invasive IMAS procedure that is now transforming lumbar spine surgery worldwide.

And he was the first surgeon in Florida to do the artificial disc surgery known as mobile neck, a total disc replacement alternative to the commonly offered neck fusion.

Mobile neck has many important advantages over a fused neck, and Masson has been a Global Chairman of Artificial Disc Training, as required by the FDA. His Health Central Hospital/NSI team is now a world leader in the procedure, both clinically and educationally.

Not only is Masson one of the busiest artificial disc/mobile disc surgeons in the U.S. — he’s even had the procedure himself.

Health Central Hospital and NSI have partnered to create a unique, forwardthinking, preventive, holistic, wellnessoriented healthcare platform — a center for excellence for spine and orthopaedic patients and a training center for surgeons.

Ian Dorword, M.D. from St. Louis, Missouri, is one of many surgeons who have made their way to Central Florida to train with Masson. “I was told that he’s doing large spinal reconstructions through an incision two centimeters in length,” says Dorword. “I said, ‘No, he’s not. It’s not possible.’ I was convinced to go down and see for myself.”

He discovered that Masson’s team is doing complete reconstructions of the spine in one-quarter of the time most surgical teams take, and patients are leaving the hospital the next day. “I thought either I can adopt his procedures or quit fooling myself and find something else to do, because this is the future in neurospine,” adds Dorword.

Anthony Russo, M.D., traveled from Butte, Montana, to train with Masson.

“His creativity and drive for improving patient care has led to a complete change SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015

Rick Smith, COO, Health Central

in the approach of how spine surgery is done,” he says.

Timothy Keenen, M.D., from Tualatin, Oregon, agrees. “It’s a new world. I’ve reset my expectations about how big an incision has to be, how long a surgery is going to take and what kind of results I’m going to see.”

While the technology and technique are critical components, it’s performance that drives Masson. His highly trained and disciplined Heath Central surgical team has been called surgery’s equivalent of motor sport’s top pit crew “It truly is something to observe when you go up into our OR theater,” says Smith. “The pride within the team is palpable. We have people clamoring to get a spot on that team. That adds to our sense of pride because we know what we’re doing is making a difference — and others want to be a part of that.”

Says Masson: “In the end, it’s no about a widget or a procedure. It’s about performance. It’s about focus and flow. It’s about communication and execution. Ultimately, it’s about propelling our own work in healthcare to a level that we didn’t think was possible.”

The Health Central/NSI team’s 360-degree approach to patient care is also unique, including not only the surgical service but also one of the world’s most specialized prehabilitation, rapid recovery and rehabilitation protocols.

GROWINGBOLDERMAGAZINE.COM

Frank Van Kouwen, physical therapist

“We have what we call our Patient Athlete Program,” says Health Central physical therapist Frank Van Kouwen. “The patients are seen as athletes and encouraged to think of themselves as athletes preparing for an event or recovering from an injury.”

“Prehabilitation” means that physical therapists work with patients to get them in the best possible shape before surgery, Van Kouwen notes.

“Many patients come to us with a deconditioning syndrome, a downward spiral in which pain leads to weakness and less control, which leads to even more pain and more weakness,” he adds. “Some patients can barely get out of bed, so getting them ready for surgery can take four to six weeks.”

Under the guidance of Masson, Van Kouwen and his Health Central team work to strengthen the core, increase core stability, improve joint mobility, resolve alignment issues and correct muscular deficiencies.

This specialized prehabilitation program leads to more rapid recovery, makes rehabilitation more effective, and ultimately has a major impact on returning the patient to pain-free mobility.

“Masson’s mantra is ‘Show Up Strong,’” says Van Kouwen. “He’s unique in encouraging this kind of prehabilitation. It’s the first time in my 24 years in physical therapy that I’ve been able to work with a surgeon who’s that far ahead of everyone else.”

Patients are shown how to isolate their injuries while becoming as active as possible before surgery, Van Kouwen adds.

“That way, they’re motivated to get out of bed and become active post-surgery; sometimes even on the day of the surgery itself. In that way, Masson is unique in the neurosurgical field.”

The Health Central/NSI team also includes top exercise physiologists and nutritionists. “We pride ourselves on hiring the best and the brightest in the industry,” says Smith. “When you’re dedicated to the highest quality of care, one point of failure is one point too many.”

“Our outpatient nutritional counseling program works in the prehab stage to make certain every patient’s nutrition is optimized,” says Health Central nutritionist Megan Walsh. “It’s important that they’re getting the proper amount of protein and calories, and in some cases we’ll recommend specific supplements to offset deficiencies. We’ll also begin a weight management program when necessary, because positive lifestyle change is a critical part of the overall process. There’s no such thing as a quick fix.”

Health Central’s aggressive, multidisciplinary prehabilitation program can even eliminate the need for surgery. “We turn away more surgeries than we actually perform,” says Smith. “We believe in a surgery-as-a-last-resort approach. Our prehab program can, many times, correct problems without surgery. And if surgery is required, the outcome will be much better.”

Why has Health Central become a global medical destination? How many healthcare providers say this: “Patients have a right to not only expect but to demand high performance — not only from their surgical teams but from every touch point in their healthcare,” says Masson.

“Yes, we believe that we offer the most technically advanced, minimally invasive spine surgery available. But that’s only part of the process required to achieve the best outcome possible. We’re totally focused on a 360-degree service that includes motivating, educating and ultimately coaching our patients to return to the highest levels of performance in work, play and sports.”  Editors note: See Masson’s column in this issue for more information on his own procedure and why mobile neck has become the new standard.

G R O W I N G B O L D E R 23

ROAD TO RECOVERY

Dr. Robert Masson has pioneered a new surgical technique that provides an alternative to fusion following neck injuries.

BACK TO LIFE

Why Mobile Neck is the New Surgical Standard.

By Robert Masson, M.D.

A

t the NeuroSpine Institute and through our partnership with Health Central Hospital, we have become a global center for artificial disc replacement, an innovative new technology that we call mobile neck.

Mobile neck is a total disc replacement and an alternative to fusion. While there are some situations in which fusion is the most appropriate solution, mobile neck has some important advantages when it comes to rapid recovery and preserving motion and functionality.

Fusing two vertebrae together inherently places more stress on the discs above and below to accommodate motion. And while modern techniques have minimized the extent of this issue, there’s no question that a fusion will inhibit future performance at some level.

24 G R O W I N G B O L D E R

Conversely, artificial disc technology, or mobile neck, maximizes future performance. When you have a symmetrical and fluid range of motion throughout the spine, you don’t arbitrarily accelerate the rate of decay above and below.

That’s the fundamental, long-term benefit of mobile neck — and it has been confirmed over several years and thousands of successful surgeries.

I injured myself wakeboarding several years ago, and had a spinal cord compressing disc herniation in my neck. Over the course of 18 months, I gradually started losing function in my right hand. I wasn’t about to give up on the active lifestyle I’ve always enjoyed. I was the perfect candidate for mobile neck.

I began an aggressive, six-month “prehabilitation” program to get in the best shape possible before surgery. And then my col-

league, Dr. Mitchell Supler, performed a total disc replacement. Five hours after surgery, I walked three miles. The next day, I ran three miles. A year later, I summited Mount Kilimanjaro for the Livestrong Foundation.

I’m now three years post-surgery and I race cars with my oldest son at the Skip Barber Racing School, play basketball, run five days a week and work out every chance I get. I haven’t suffered at all because I needed spinal surgery.

I recovered quickly and returned to my lifestyle because of artificial disc technology. It’s a solution that, when combined with our culture of recovery and our emphasis on prehabilitation, enables patients to return to life without limits.

That’s why mobile neck is the new standard and an option you and your doctor should consider.  Editor’s note: Be sure to read elsewhere in this issue how Dr. Masson’s partnership with Health Central Hospital has created a true global medical destination

GB EXTRA Visit GrowingBolderMagazine.com to watch more of Dr. Robert Masson’s Road to Recovery Minutes.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015

Return to Work.

Return to Sport.

Return to Life.

NeuroSpine Institute is committed to using the highest traditional values and treatment goals, while maximizing each patient’s chance of the best possible outcome through state-of-the-art diagnostics, planning, prehabilitation, rehabilitation and technology.

ORLANDO Dr. Robert Masson & Dr. Mitchell Supler 2706 Rew Circle Suite 100 Orlando, FL 34761 P. 407-649-8585 | F. 407-649-0151

GROWINGBOLDERMAGAZINE.COM

SANDESTIN / GULF BREEZE Dr. Mark Giovanini 1040 Gulf Breeze Pkwy Suite 209 Gulf Breeze, FL 32563 P. 850-934-7545 | F. 850-934-7972

www.NeuroSpineInstitute.org

PARK CITY 1820 Sidewinder Drive Park City, Utah 84098 P. 407-588-6103

G R O W I N G B O L D E R 25

TEAM GB ELITE

A TRIPLE WINNER Team GB Elite Blogger Mary Wagner Earns Major Kudos.

By Katy Widrick

W

e’re proud to celebrate — and yes, brag about — one of Team GB Elite’s bloggers, who has picked up not one, not two but three honors for her writing! Mary Wagner won three awards from the National Federation of Press Women, a nationwide organization of professional communicators, women and men, in print and broadcast journalism.

Among the three awards is one specifically given to her Growing Bolder blog (marywagner.growingbolder.com), where she shares personal and poignant tales from her family, her work and her experiences in Growing Bolder. Recently, Wagner shared with our readers the touching story of losing her cat, The Meatball, just days after moving: I felt as though at the end of his life, he had led me to this place, in a lovely quiet neighborhood, with large maple trees 26 G R O W I N G B O L D E R

and friendly neighbors and well-tended lawns and flower gardens by the dozens near to the lake and my favorite park.

Had he not been with me, I would likely have pushed the “easy button” and settled for an impersonal cookie-cutter townhouse or condo that set the maximum number of pets at two, and provided no elbow-room or character or lawn space or privacy. I love where I have landed. And I am thankful every day. And so adieu The Meatball, a companion like no other. 

GB EXTRA Read more of Wagner’s award-winning writing at marywagner. growingbolder.com and find links to all of the Team GB Elite sites, at elite.growingbolder.com.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015

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G R O W I N G B O L D E R 27

SURVIVING & THRIVING ®

HIVE OF HOPE

Against All Odds, a Stroke Survivor Fights Back.

By Jackie Carlin

E

very 45 seconds, someone in this country has a stroke. And women, in particular, are at risk. In fact, women are two-and-a-half times more likely to die from a stroke than breast cancer.

Strokes can strike at any time, at any age.

Valerie Greene was just 31 when she had a massive stroke, which left the high-powered businesswoman unable to walk or speak. But her comeback has been nothing short of a miracle.

“I was angry. I was upset,” she recalls. “Why was this happening to me? I was in the prime of my life, and in a second, I was paralyzed, mangled up, drooling and in a hospital bed.”

In the days following her stroke, Greene’s future looked bleak. Her doctors told her she’d probably never walk or talk again.

“I don’t want to sugarcoat this,” she says. “For anybody who has gone through a stroke, it’s hard work to recover. The brain does recover, but it takes a lot of hard work. I had to relearn how to talk, walk, crawl, read, write and even feed myself.”

Greene says the experience was “incred28 G R O W I N G B O L D E R

ibly humbling and challenging. I spent many nights crying, but for whatever reason, the people around me believed in me. They saw something in me, the potential I had. I thank God they did. They kept me going.”

Against all odds — and thanks to years of hard work and rigorous therapy — Greene did recover. Today, she’s an indemand motivational speaker and author.

She still struggles at times to find words, has a slight limp and limited use in one of her hands. But she says these are just scars from a well-fought battle.

“Everybody’s always talking about the good old days,” Greene says. “We remember what we used to do before our stroke or whatever other challenge we’ve faced.

My father used to say to me, ‘Quit looking in the rearview mirror. Otherwise you’ll never see where you’re going.’”

Greene realized that “if I kept trying to get back to where I used to be, I’d never be able to see all the beautiful things in store for me in the future.”

One of those beautiful things is Bcenter.org,

Valerie Greene has recovered from a massive stroke and become an inspiration to stroke survivors worldwide.

a nonprofit organization Greene launched to help the 20 million stroke survivors around the world. Through online resources and regular in-person gatherings, she says, Bcenter.org offers the most important treatment of all: hope.

“Hope changes everything,” Greene insists. “It’s the cornerstone of recovery. If you believe you can, you can.”

Greene says the name Bcenter was inspired by the example of bees. “A bee shouldn’t be able to fly, because its wings are too small for its body,” she notes. “The fact that it can fly is a symbol of our ability to go beyond what we think is possible in our own lives. And, of course, our organization is a hive of hope. We all come together for the good of each other, for the hive.”

Greene adds that she’s been so frank and open about her difficult recovery because she hopes it will inspire others to always keep fighting.

“I think it’s only natural for people to want to give up,” she says. “We all have bad days. Even I wake up some days and want to read my own book to remind myself what’s possible. But someone has to say to you, ‘Don’t give up, never give up.’

And I hope I can do that for others.” 

GB EXTRA Visit GrowingBolderMagazine.com to watch our feature story on Valerie Greene. You can also watch complete episodes of our Emmy-nominated show, Surviving & Thriving ®.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015

BOLDER EXPERTS

“An SRES® specialist will guide you through issues and concerns with un­matched knowledge, experience and un­derstanding.”

DECISION TIME How Can the GreatTRANSITIONS® Team Help You?

By Paul and Lyn Henderson

I

t’s important to decide not just how to age, but where. Is it best to stay put or make a move?

The best decisions come from understanding the options. Here are a few to consider:    Aging in Place: Staying With Help.

Make sure your home fits your abilities. Install safety bars and eliminate trip hazards.

Access to reliable transportation and availability of caregivers should be considered.    55+ Communities: Live and Be Active With Your Friends.

Many such communities provide a wide variety of activities. Residences can in-

GROWINGBOLDERMAGAZINE.COM

clude such features as wider doorways and safety bars. Outdoor maintenance is usually included.    CCRC: A Continuum of Care.

These communities offer all levels, from independent living to skilled nursing, to allow residents to stay in one location as their needs change. The ideal time to enter is while you’re still healthy.    Assisted Living: A Helpful Hand.

Designed for those who need help with housekeeping, medications, meals, etc., these communities offer support and security that empowers residents to maintain active lifestyles in a social environment.

Skilled Care: Care and Safety.

Round-the-clock care and assistance is provided for physical, social and psychological needs. Many such facilities have short-term rehab services and can be a part of assisted living or CCRC communities.    The expression “it’s always too soon until it’s too late” means the time is now — and that certainly applies to your future housing needs. Make a plan that will give you and your family peace of mind that when the time comes, the decisions will have already been made.

We recommend you read Moving On by the Senior Real Estate Council and So Far Away by the National Institute on Aging for more on this subject. Receive your free copy at Great-Transitions.com.  Editors note: Paul and Lyn Henderson both hold the SRES® certification and are the creators of GreatTRANSITIONS®. The Hendersons developed this concept drawing on over 22 years of personal and professional experiences.

The program is designed to help people transition to the next place they call home. For more information visit Great-Transitions.com.

G R O W I N G B O L D E R 29

THE TAKEAWAY

ANSON WILLIAMS I

Lessons from Willie About Believing in Yourself.

grew up in a harsh environment. My dad was a World War II father and he was very tough. I knew everything I did wrong and nothing I did right. I had no confidence and I felt I didn’t have a place anywhere in the world.

We didn’t have a lot of money, so when I was 15 years old I got a part-time job at Leonard’s department store in Burbank. I was an assistant to the janitor, a man named Willie Turner. Willie was an uneducated, alcoholic African-American and the most important figure in my life. He was the first person that talked to me, not at me.

Willie called his janitorial room The Talk Room, and when we weren’t working around the store, he would bring me into this little room and, surrounded by buckets and brooms, we’d sit on two cans and talk. It was during that time, in the janitor’s closet at Leonard’s department store, that I realized that I mattered.

It was Willie who gave me self-confidence and taught me to not be afraid of challenges. “You don’t look at the mountain,

boy. You climb the mountain. That’s who wins. Stop getting in the way of yourself.”

By the time I was done with that low-paying assistant janitor job, I was a totally new person. I believed in myself. I was ready to climb my mountain.

An illiterate janitor taught me that as long as we don’t get in the way of ourselves, anything is possible in life.

We stop ourselves all the time because we look at the mountain and get overwhelmed instead of simply beginning to climb the mountain.

I decided to pay Willie’s lessons forward by writing a book and dedicating it to him. It’s called Singing to a Bulldog: From “Happy Days” to Hollywood Director and the Unlikely Mentor Who Got Me There. It’s filled with stories from my life and lessons from Willie.

So take a lesson from Willie and start climbing your mountain. And take a lesson from me and never judge anyone, because a seemingly ordinary person can have an extraordinary impact on your life. 

“We stop ourselves all the time because we look at the mountain and and get overwhelmed instead of simply beginning to climb the mountain.”

The world first fell in love with Anson Williams when he starred as Potsie Weber on the iconic 1970s TV show Happy Days, a role that earned him a Golden Globe nomination. But he’s also a successful producer and director, with a passion for creating quality programming for children and teens. He’s worked on popular shows like Sabrina the Teenage Witch and The Secret Life of the American Teenager and won the esteemed Humanitas Award for his TV writing. Singing to a Bulldog is his first book.

30 G R O W I N G B O L D E R

GB EXTRA Visit GrowingBolderMagazine.com to listen to our entire conversation wtih Anson Williams and to listen to his story of the one moment at the department store that changed his entire life.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015

DON’T MISS

THE BOAT ON

PADDLING

FUN TRY DRAGON BOAT

RACING

• No experience necessary

ALL HANDS ON DECK

• Ages 12 and up, all fitness levels welcome

OCT. 17. 2015

• Festival village offers entertainment, food and drink for children and spectators

Turkey Lake at Bill Frederick Park

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