Manitowoc 50 Plus magazine, Sept. 2017 edition

SEPTEMBER 2017

plus!

The magazine for active, mature lifestyles

9 PAGE

Planning for retirement should consider interests, social life as well as money

50 plus!

JIM MILLER

Syndicated columnist, NBC Today contributor & creator of SavvySenior.org

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.

OTHER TIPS After deciding on a type of walker, there a few additional things you need to doublecheck to ensure it meets your needs.

INSIDE 2

The Savvy Senior: How to choose the right type of walker

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Lifestyle changes might stave off dementia, studies suggest

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ADRC: Walk to End Alzheimer’s Sept. 16 in Manitowoc

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World War II veteran from Madison recognized for weather satellite research Puzzles ON THE COVER: Planning for retirement should consider interests, social life as well as money

10 Puzzle Answers 11 Randy Newman at top of his game on new album, ‘Dark Matter’

STAFF

Brandon Reid, editor Herald Times Reporter 920-686-2984 breid@manitowoc.gannett.com 50 Plus! is published monthly by the Herald Times Reporter Media. It also is distributed to select businesses in Manitowoc County.

brakes that engage with downward pressure, and will lock if you sit on the seat. Rollators typically run between $75 and $225.

First, if you’re a large person, make sure the walker’s weight capacity will support you.

And if you choose a rollator, check to see if your body can fit between the handgrips when sitting.

Also, make sure the height of the walker is set appropriately for you. To do this, stand with your arms relaxed at your sides. The handgrips of the walker should line up with the crease on the inside of your wrist.

How to choose the right type of walker How does one go about choosing a walker? I have some balance issues along with arthritis in my knee and could use a little more help than a cane provides. — Unsteady at 70 Dear Unsteady, When it comes to choosing a walker, there are various styles and options to consider, but selecting the best one for you will depend on your needs, as well as where you’ll be using it. Here are some tips that can help you choose.

TYPES OF WALKERS There are three basic types of walkers on the market today. To help you choose, consider the type of support you’ll need. Then, pay a visit to a medical equipment store or pharmacy that sells walkers so you can test-walk a few. Here are the different types you’ll have to choose from.

• STANDARD WALKER: This is the most basic style of walker that has four legs with rubberbased feet (no wheels), is very lightweight (around 6 pounds) and costs between $50 and $100. This type of walker must be picked up and moved forward as you walk, so it’s best suited for people who need significant weightbearing support, or who are walking very short distances.

2 . SEPTEMBER 2017 . 50 plus!

• TWO-WHEELED WALKER: This has the same four-leg style as the standard walker, except it has wheels on the two front legs that allow you to easily push the walker forward without lifting, while the back legs glide across the floor providing support while you step forward. These are best for people with balance issues, and are priced at around $60 to $120.

• ROLLATOR: This is a rolling walker that has wheels on all four (or three) legs. These work best for people who need assistance with balance or endurance inside or outside the home, but require some upper body strength to prevent them from rolling out from under you. Rollators typically come with a built-in seat, basket and hand-breaks. Or, for those with hand arthritis or gripping problems, there are rollators with pushdown

You also need to check that the walker folds easily for transport and storage, and that it’s light enough to lift into your car. Test the handgrips to make sure they’re comfortable.

And, be sure you measure the doorways in your home to ensure your walker will fit through them. If you have narrow doorways, consider installing “swing clear” off set door hinges as a simple and affordable way to widen them an extra 2 inches.

Walkers also have lots of accessories that can be added for your convenience such as food tray attachments, tote bags for carrying personal items, oxygen tank holders, and tennis ball walker glides that go over the feet of a standard walker to help it slide more easily across the floor.

For more tips about how to choose and use a walker, visit Mayoclinic.com. It’s also a smart idea to work with your doctor or a physical therapist, and be sure to get a written prescription, as Medicare will cover 80 percent of the cost.

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.

Lifestyle changes might stave off dementia, studies suggest One says up to a third of cases could be delayed or prevented ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON - Seek a good education. Control blood pressure and diabetes. Get off the couch. There are some hints, but no proof yet, that these and other lifestyle changes just might help stave off dementia.

A provocative report July 20 in the British journal Lancet raised the prospect that a third of dementia cases around the world could be delayed or even prevented by avoiding key risks starting in childhood that can make the brain more vulnerable to memory loss in old age.

A recent U.S. report was much more cautious, saying there are encouraging clues that a few lifestyle changes can bolster brain health and that more research is critical.

Still, it’s never too early to try, said Lancet lead author Gill Livingston, a psychiatry professor at University College London.

“Although dementia is diagnosed in later life, the brain changes usually begin to develop years before,” she said.

Early next year, a $20million U.S. study will begin rigorously testing whether some simple day-to-day activities truly help older adults stay sharp.

“We are in a frustrating position science-wise in terms of what are our options?” said cognitive neuroscientist Laura Baker of the Wake Forest School of Medicine in North Carolina, who will lead the new study to find out.

In the meantime, Alzheimer’s specialists say there’s little downside to following some common-sense recommendations.

Consider physical activity, crucial for heart health.

“If in fact it should also improve

language as an adult. The more you learn, the more connections your brain forms, what scientists call cognitive reserve.

Some U.S. studies have suggested that generations better educated than their grandparents have somewhat less risk of Here’s the latest from this week’s dementia.

Alzheimer’s Association International The strongest evidence that lifestyle Conference on possible ways to guard changes help comes from Finland, where your brain: a large, randomized study found older adults at high risk of dementia scored KEY RISKS A Lancet-appointed panel created better on brain tests after two years of a model of dementia risks throughout exercise, diet, cognitive stimulation and life that estimates about 35percent of social activities. all dementia cases are attributable to SEEKING PROOF nine risk factors — risks that people Would those strategies help Americans, potentially could change. who tend to be sicker, fatter and more the prospects for cognitive function and dementia, all the better,” said Dr. Richard Hodes, director of the U.S. National Institute on Aging and an avid exerciser. “Increased health of the body supports increased health of the brain.”

Their resulting recommendations: Ensure good childhood education; avoid high blood pressure, obesity and smoking; manage diabetes, depression and age-related hearing loss; be physically active; stay socially engaged in old age.

The theory: These factors play a role in whether your resilient enough to withstand silent damage that eventually Alzheimer’s.

A diet that includes more leafy greens, vegetables, whole grains, fish and poultry than the typical American menu.

Certain brain games and what Baker called an “intellectual stimulation barrage,” outings and other steps that keep people social, not sitting home on a computer, while they exercise their brains.

Improving control of medical conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes that are toxic to the brain.

Also Birthday Monday: Aug. 28, Sept. 25 Menominee, Keshena — Some Wednesdays Also Tuesday: Sept. 12 North Star, Bowler — Some Thursdays Also Tuesday: Sept. 26

DO CHANGES REALLY HELP? Last month, the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine reported there’s little rigorous proof. That report found some evidence that controlling blood pressure, exercise and some forms of brain training — keeping intellectually stimulated — might work and couldn’t hurt.

And exercising your gray matter might bulk up the brain, whether it’s from childhood education or learning a new

Walking — supervised, so no cheating.

Wake Forest’s Baker puts seniors on treadmills at the YMCA to avoid bumpy sidewalks. She advises exercise newbies to start slow — about 10 minutes a day for a few days — and go with a buddy so it’s harder to back out.

Potawatomi, Carter — Some Tuesdays

together brain is years of leads to

Why? What’s good for the heart is generally good for the brain. In fact, high blood pressure that can trigger heart attacks and strokes also increases risk for what’s called “vascular dementia.”

Want to try on your own? They’ll test:

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sedentary than people in Finland? The Alzheimer’s Association is funding a study to find out, with enrollment of 2,500 cognitively healthy but high-risk older adults to begin next year.

Call for times and information

920-775-9503 • 1-800-261-4687 50 plus! . SEPTEMBER 2017 .

3

ADRC

Vouchers will be distributed on a first come, first served basis.

Walk to End Alzheimer’s Sept. 16 in Manitowoc

Lakeshore Memory Café

For more details, call 877-416-7083 or 920683-4180.

Aging and Disability Resource Center

BY CATHY LEY

Aging and Disability Resource Center of the Lakeshore director

Mark your calendars for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s Disease – Lakeshore.

The walk will be held Saturday, Sept. 16, and will start at the Manitowoc-Two Rivers YMCA. Registration is at 9 a.m. and the walk begins at 10 a.m.

You can start a team and recruit members while raising awareness and funds. We are also looking for volunteers to help at the walk.

Register today at http://act.alz.org/site/TR/ Walk2017/WI-GreaterWisconsin?pg=entry&fr_ id=10219. For more information, call Melissa Konop at the ADRC of the Lakeshore at 920-

683-4180 or toll-free at 1-877-416-7083.

Senior Farmers’ Market Vouchers still available

We have a few Senior Farmers’ Market Vouchers available. The Farmer’s Market vouchers are valued at $25 and are redeemable for Wisconsin-grown fresh produce, fruit and herbs from participating vendors for Manitowoc County and Kewaunee County seniors.

Have you heard about the Lakeshore Memory Café? Memory Cafés welcome those experiencing early stage dementia, mild memory loss or cognitive impairment, and family and friends of those affected. It’s a great opportunity for lively discussions, information gathering, refreshments, camaraderie and lots of creative fun!

We have a dementia specialist professional on hand to answer questions and an enormous wealth of experience among participants to be shared. We’d be delighted if you would join us. An upcoming session will be from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Sept. 6 at Manitowoc Public Library.

7083.

Alzheimer’s Family Caregiver Support Program

The Alzheimer’s Family Caregiver Support Program is a program created by the Wisconsin Legislature in 1985 in response to the stress and service needs of families caring at home for someone with irreversible dementia.

To be eligible, a person must have a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or a related disorder, and be financially eligible.

Funds for the AFCSP program are made available in each county to assist individuals to purchase services and goods related to the care of someone with Alzheimer’s disease.

Up to $4,000 per person may be available.

Lakeshore Memory Cafés are a program of the Dementia Friendly Community Committee – a partnership of many local organizations who have joined together to make Manitowoc County more dementia friendly.

Allowable services are those that are necessary to maintain a person with Alzheimer’s disease in the community. Typical services have included in-home help, respite care, adult day care and transportation. Goods provided have included nutritional supplements, security systems, specialized clothing, incontinent products, home-delivered meals, home adaptation and specialized equipment.

Vouchers are available at the ADRC of the For more information about the program, Lakeshore office, 1701 Michigan Ave., Mani- or if you would like to volunteer for the comtowoc. Bring proof of income and a photo ID. mittee, call Kim Jacquart Franzen at 877-416-

The asset limits are as follow: a couple may have a joint income of $40,000 or less, but if a couple’s income is more than $48,000, the

To be eligible, a person must be 60 years of age or older, annual income for a single person cannot exceed $22,311 and a couple’s annual income cannot exceed $30,044.

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costs related to Alzheimer’s can be subtracted from the gross income. If the net income is less than $40,000, the couple would be eligible. Assets are not counted for this program. Only the income produced by the assets would count toward the $48,000 limit.

To find out more about this program, contact the ADRC of the Lakeshore at 920-6834180 or toll-free, 1-877-416-7083.

Grief Support Group – Grieve Not Alone

Losing a loved one is extremely difficult. In difficult times, it is very easy to feel isolated and alone. There is help and support available so no one needs to grieve the loss of a loved one alone. The Lakeshore Area Grief Support groups will be offering an afternoon drop-in session.

The support group will offer resources designed to help you understand grief and build special friendships during this very difficult and emotional time. We will explore the stages of grief, participate in exercises that help us to understand grief, and discuss the impact of grief in our lives.

The group is open to anyone who has lost a loved one and is looking for guidance and

support. Please help to spread the word.

Some areas of Wisconsin flood every year.

These floods are usually caused by rivers and lakes overflowing or too much surface water run-off in low-lying flat areas. Here are some steps you can take to protect yourself and your home if you live in an area likely to flood.

If you or anyone you know may be interested in attending this support group, please consider joining. There is no cost, there is no registration required, and there is no forced participation – you choose and have full control over how little or how much you wish to First, talk to your insurance agent about participate in the group. Snacks and beverages whether you need flood insurance. will be available at each meeting.

Second, you may want to think about movGrieve not alone! Reach out to others ing your furnace or water heater so they are who are experiencing the same feelings and above flood level. You also might want to thoughts. The next meeting will be from 1 think about installing a sump pump with a to 2:30 p.m. Sept. 12 at the Aging & Disabil- backup generator so it can remove water even ity Resource Center of the Lakeshore, 1701 if the power goes out.

Michigan Ave., Manitowoc.

Finally, you might want to put together The group will continue on the second an emergency kit with a supply of water Tuesday of each month at the same time and and nonperishable food and a flashlight, and place. make sure you can easily find your medicaFor information about this grief support tions as well as your cell phone and charger.

group, contact the Aging & Disability ReWhen a flood happens, the most important source Center of the Lakeshore at 877-416- thing to do is avoid flooded areas. Flood wa7083 or Rani Beckner at 920-684-7155. ters may have sewage or large pieces of debris you can’t see under the water. Only 2 feet of Tips for dealing with flooding This information comes from the Greater rushing water is enough to carry away most Wisconsin Agency on Aging Resources, Inc. vehicles.

If your home floods, make sure you have

Legal Team.

safe drinking water. If your town issues a “boil water” notice, make sure you follow all directions. If you have a private well, it may need to be disinfected before you drink or bathe in water from the well. Disinfecting a well is something that should be done by a licensed well driller or pump installer.

In addition, don’t turn your power on or off while standing in water. You may need to have your electrical system inspected, and your electrical appliances must be completely dry before you use them. If they have been sitting in water, your appliances may not work.

Flooded buildings should also be inspected for structural damage. In addition, any hard surfaces that touched flood waters should be disinfected with a bleach solution. Any damaged flooring or furniture may need to be removed to prevent mold.

You can find more about dealing with flooding at the Department of Health Services website here: https://www.dhs.wisconsin. gov/flood/index.htm.

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By working together, we can help you recover.

It just makes sense to prepare for the inevitable while emotions are at rest and heads are clear. Pre-planning Specialist Mike Jarzin is available to answer your questions and provide the guidance you need to make educated decisions. Call Mike today to set up an appointment.

Leroy (middle) suffered a stroke and was told by his physician he would never be able to return home.

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50 plus! . SEPTEMBER 2017 .

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Enter Tom Haig.

Haig, 96, headed a small team of engineers that created and launched the first Air Force weather satellites, using the cameras to predict weather conditions several days in advance. On Aug. 9, the Madison man was recognized for his unique and important work with a plaque featuring a piece of a weather satellite.

“He’s a pioneer, really a guy who did something for the first time,” said Steve Pluntze, deputy of the Remote Sensing Directorate, Space & Missile Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base.

The work Haig and his team did was classified, so he couldn’t talk about it for many years.

The weather information they generated also was used to determine when to launch U.S. spacecraft including the Apollo program, as well as aircraft during Vietnam and the first Gulf War. A few years after retiring as an Air Force colonel in 1968, Haig came to the University of WisconsinMadison to become executive director of the Space Science and Engineering Center, where he was instrumental in the development of the first global meteorological system.

Paul Menzel, senior scientist at UW-Madison’s Center for Satellite Applications & Research, said he didn’t know much about Haig’s work with the military when they worked together at the university because “it was part of the dark world.”

Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Thomas Haig accepts a plaque honoring his pioneering work in the development of weather satellites during an event in Madison. (Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

World War II veteran from Madison recognized for weather satellite research MEG JONES Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

spot at a particular time was extremely valuable to America during the Cold War.

MADISON – It’s hard to consider a time when weather was top secret.

During the 1950s, when the launch of Soviet satellite Soyuz fired the starter pistol on the space race, the U.S. and U.S.S.R began rocketing satellites into orbit to spy on each other. But cloudy skies effectively drew a curtain across satellite cameras, and the American military quickly realized weather reports needed to improve. And fast.

Long before The Weather Channel, before weather apps on smart phones and up-to-the-minute Doppler radar just a computer click away, the knowledge that it was going to be cloudy or rainy over a particular

6 . SEPTEMBER 2017 . 50 plus!

But he said Haig pioneered not only the instruments required to capture weather data but also how to display the information to the public in an easily understandable way.

“He figured out how to stabilize the system so it was always looking where you wanted,” said Menzel.

Haig volunteered for the Army Air Corps during World War II after President Franklin Roosevelt announced the urgent need for 30,000 pilots. The Ypsilanti, Mich., native wanted to become a pilot but flunked the eye exam. He figured he’d go to college instead. But the Army had other plans for him.

“They said ‘we own you — you’re going to be a meteorological cadet ... a weather man,’” Haig recalled Wednesday morning after the ceremony at the Madison Club attended by friends and family.

The Army Air Corps “discovered they only had 12 meteorologists, and you can’t fly 30,000 planes with only 12 meteorologists,” said Haig.

Following his training at the Meteorology InstruHAIG CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

HAIG

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

mentation School at Fort Monmouth, N.J., Haig operated stations in Bermuda and Saipan during World War II that located storms using radio direction finders to track lightning. He left the Army after the war, but a few years later, the military asked him to rejoin. And he was sent eventually to the Pacific atoll of Eniwetok to research whether nuclear bomb explosions created “after wind” at the test site. Haig found there was no such thing.

Then he was assigned to the Air Force weather satellite research program, which was declassified decades ago, the information now freely available to the public.

Today, weather information is freely exchanged by many countries and scientists. And the technology that allows a five-day forecast to be seen by tapping a phone is “because we said — hey, can we do weather from space?” said Plun-

tze.

In the decades since Haig first set out to forecast the weather so spy satellites could see, five weather satellites were built by the Air Force, four of which were launched from terra firma. Officials later decided the fifth was no longer needed.

When authorities decided to honor Haig for his achievements, they chose a small piece of that satellite to attach to a wooden plaque. They pulled out an iPhone 6-sized piece of metal that was to be the sun sensor, the gizmo that figures out the location of the sun because the cameras need to be shaded from the harsh solar rays.

They decided the weather satellite’s guide should be given to the guide of the Air Force’s weather satellite program.

Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Thomas Haig (far right) is shown with comrades while serving on Saipan in World War II. (Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

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SUDOKU 27 28 30 32 34 36 37 39 41 42 43 45 48 49 52 53 54 55 56 57

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18 19 20 21 24

Arduous journey Refrain syllables Hematite Peony part Watch places

Mew Injury result Only Dainty swallows -- Major Jimmy’s successor Be submissive Dazed, with “out” Call in sick Schmooze Meadow rodent Noted wise guy Pickle flavor Ambling along Efficient Length x width Overtime reason Within sight HOW TO PLAY: Each row, column and set of 3-by-3 boxes contain the numbers 1 through 9 without repetition.

-- and don’ts Summer in France 12 Wall paintings 35 Flowering shrub

DOWN 1 Tattoo site 2 Argosy, in poems 3 Water supplier 4 Gives off steam 5 Vintage 6 Keats opus 7 Fierce predator 8 Run in neutral 9 Pipe problem 10 A little bit

15 18 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 29 31 33

Benefit, often -- -Star Pictures Scepter go-withs Email senders Guitarist -- Clapton Book boo-boo On the lookout Unable to decide -- gin fizz Select the best Draw to a close Shrunken

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must

Michael McCabe of Glendale puts finishing touches on an oil on canvas painting in the Bay View studio space he shares with other painters. McCabe began painting in earnest when he retired seven years ago. (Michael Sears, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Planning for retirement should consider interests, social life as well as money JIM HIGGINS Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Preparing for retirement doesn’t end when you walk out of a financial adviser’s office.

About one-third of retirees adjust poorly to retirement, according to research summarized by John W. Osborne in “Psychological Effects of the Transition to Retirement” (2012).

Men, in particular, can be prone to imagining their retirement from full-

time work as an endless vacation, only to discover a more complex and sometimes frustrating reality.

Adjustment problems in retirement can include being bored, a lack of interests, social withdrawal, loss of a sense of meaning or purpose, and depression, said psychotherapist and author Philip Chard, who writes a weekly column on mental and emotional health for the Journal Sentinel. These problems can also lead to conflicts with spouse and children, he noted.

Rich Bickle, who recently returned to race-car driving after his second brief retirement, summed up the worstcase scenario during an interview with Journal Sentinel sportswriter Dave Kallmann: “I bet you I know 10 guys … three or four years after they retire, they’re dead.”

Men need to prepare themselves psychologically for shifting from “I am my work” to “now I am not my work, I’m something else,” Chard said.

He advises people approaching retire-

ment to start making that identity shift in advance, creating a new sense of self built around their interests and their sense of purpose after they leave work.

When Michael McCabe retired in 2010 after decades of serving as director of legal services for the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, his son gave him a small box of paints and his wife presented him with an easel.

These were neither gag gifts nor completely unexpected ones. “For probably RETIREMENT CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

50 plus! . SEPTEMBER 2017 .

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RETIREMENT

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

my entire professional career I had intended for when I retired ... to take up painting and drawing,” McCabe said. A few lessons in seventh and eighth grade stoked his interest, but he put art aside for academics and other interests in the years that followed. Still, when he traveled for work, McCabe made a point to visit museums in each city he visited.

After visiting the studio of James Hempel during a local art crawl, McCabe began taking lessons with him.

Hempel encouraged him to learn perspective through figure drawing, so McCabe took a semester course at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design.

“That’s my major hobby during my retirement the last seven years,” McCabe said. He draws and paints people, including a nomadic girl on horseback he saw during a trip to Mongolia five years ago.

“Do something you’ve always wanted to do,” McCabe would tell men approaching retirement. “I know people who don’t seem to have any hobbies. I feel sorry for them.”

He recommends having multiple interests. In addition to making art, he also gardens and calls himself a passionate “opera nut.”

McCabe encourages retirees to pursue intellectual interests and to read, “to

ANSWERS

FROM PAGE 8

keep you sharp upstairs.”

benefits. Older adults who volunteered 200 hours over the preceding year were less likely to develop hypertension than non-volunteers, according to a study by Carnegie Mellon researchers Rodlescia S. Sneed and Sheldon Cohen.

In the Milwaukee area, people 50 and older can join the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, which offers dozens of courses on varying subjects plus speMany retirees are surprised by how cial interest groups in history, writing, much they miss the social element of theater, current events and foreign lantheir former job. “Although we are enguages: goo.gl/9fruRZ. couraged to spend time figuring out the McCabe’s experience reinforces financial resources we’ll have after retireChard’s advice to people anticipating rement, much less attention is paid to figtirement, particularly men who’ve been uring out the equally significant aspect so embedded in their careers they’ve of post-retirement life – social capital. made little time for other interests.

Retirees need both,” writes Nancy K. “Revisit the kinds of activities or even Schlossberg in her book “Retire Smart, imaginings that fired them up in their Retire Happy: Finding Your True Path youth,” Chard said. Whether it’s a form in Life.” of creativity, as in McCabe’s story, or a Some men get so wrapped up in their different kind of intellectual, cultural or careers they let friendships and other physical interest, Chard recommends social relationships fall by the wayside, exploring whether a spark is still there. Chard pointed out. He asks retirees Pending retirees also need to consider if they have friends from the past they “how important it is for them to feel want to attempt to reconnect with. that what they’re doing contributes to He also encourages them to get insome larger purpose, some larger good, volved with groups where they could something that’s bigger than themselves meet new people: faith communities, so... and is part of their value system,” cial networks, discussion groups, book Chard said. Possibilities are many: help- clubs. While acknowledging that forming disadvantaged people, tutoring chil- ing new friendships is “a little bit steeper dren, volunteering with a humane soci- hill to climb” for older people, Chard ety. The key thing is for people to make sees the effort as worthwhile. “One of a connection between their values and the bigger challenges in retirement can be loneliness,” he said, which he defines where they put their time and energy. as “not having meaningful connections Volunteering may also have health with people.”

In learning how to make meaningful connections with other people in retirement, many men have potential mentors close at hand: the women in their lives.

“The thing that women do really well in retirement that men struggle with more is the social aspect,” Chard said, noting that he’s speaking in general terms. “They tend to be better at maintaining those connections over time and they get more satisfaction out of them in general.” He encourages men to learn from their partners. “Watching how women communicate with each other can help guys to be better at it,” he said.

Also, women in retirement often pur-

10 . SEPTEMBER 2017 . 50 plus!

Money is only part of the puzzle when it comes to planning retirement. (Getty Images)

sue interests and activities that involve other people, which men who struggle to make social connections may want to emulate, Chard said.

Finally, even men who have been indoor creatures their entire working lives can connect with the outdoor world in their retirement years.

To paraphrase Walt Whitman, when everything else abandons us in life, fame, money, career, relationships, even health, nature remains, Chard said.

“Connecting with the natural world is an immediate antidepressant.”

Spending time outdoors “helps us to also have a sense of greater peace about being in this world,” he said.

Also, harkening back to advice he gave earlier, Chard pointed out that as children many men were active outdoors. Getting outside can help them rekindle the “childlike and playful nature they once had.”

READ MORE “Life Plan for the Life Span,” APA Committee on Aging, www.apa.org/pi/aging/lifespan.pdf.

“Psychological Effects of the Transition to Retirement,”

by John W. Osborne, files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ969555.pdf “Retire Smart, Retire Happy: Finding Your True Path in Life” (American Psychological Association),

by Nancy K. Schlossberg.

Randy Newman at top of his game on new album, ‘Dark Matter’ Randy Newman’s new album includes a song cataloging American carnage titled, “It’s a Jungle Out There,” which he says he doesn’t really believe.

Quite the opposite, in fact. His life is good.

Nearly 50 years into Newman’s recording career, he’s still widely beloved by the rock ‘n’ roll generation, even though he never sang rock ‘n’ roll. To judge from concert crowds, his appeal stretches far beyond his own demographic.

“There are more young people coming out the last couple of years,” he says. “I think they range from maybe the late 20s to 105, people my age.”

Newman is actually 73, and still at the top of his game on his first studio album of allnew material in nine years. “Dark Matter” is a typically engaging mix of topical tunes, quirky characters, history lessons and wry asides. The funny stuff is counterbalanced by a couple of love ballads, including the sad but beautiful “Lost Without You.” “From the first day of this project, it was obvious he really wanted to push himself,” co-producer Mitchell Froom says.

“He wanted it to be an audacious body of work.”

Topics include President John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert Kennedy, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the bluesmen — plural — Sonny Boy Williamson.

The album opens with “The Great Debate,” a wild eight-minute examination of the science-religion divide with three voices, and Newman performs them all.

It’s part Scopes trial and part “Bohemian Rhapsody,” unlike anything in the Newman canon, and ends with well-deserved applause.

“Three different voices is maybe not the best use of the form,” he says in a phone interview from his home in Los Angeles.

“But I couldn’t see a way out of it, and I’m satisfied I did the best I could.”

The cinematic approach makes sense,

given Newman’s success as a film composer, and he believes the structure represents a step forward for him as a songwriter.

He tries something similar on “Brothers,” where President Kennedy and his brother discuss the Bay of Pigs and Celia Cruz, with Newman delivering both sides of the conversation.

Froom says such ambitious songs were possible because of today’s tepid music marketplace.

“The way the industry is now — which basically is 99 percent negative — the one thing that’s really great is that in this environment, for Randy, doing something really different and pushing the threshold becomes a very good idea,” Froom says.

“You’re not going to be facing a record company that is going to be disappointed or worried they don’t have a hit. There was no pressure to conform.”

Newman doesn’t keep up with music trends anyway. He says can’t remember the last pop concert he attended.

He follows current events, however, and one result is the single “Putin,” which delights in the Russian leader’s screen-idol ambitions. It includes plenty of laugh lines, including a Greek chorus known as the Putin Girls, and a sly dig at Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul.

Putin might like it.

“When I finished the song, I realized it isn’t that critical of him,” Newman says.

“He doesn’t come off that bad. It’s like I’m part of the Trump administration.”

Newman picked a trendier topic than he could have imagined when he began writing the song at least two years ago, well before Putin and the 2016 U.S. election began appearing in the same sentence.

“And now here we are,” Newman says, “with him playing a big part in running our country maybe.”

Putin and Kennedy are the only presidents on the album, although Newman says he wrote a song more than a year ago inspired by Donald Trump’s comments about the size of his hands. The tune has the singer bragging he’s more generously

endowed than Trump.

“It ain’t lying if it’s true,” goes one line.

The song didn’t make the cut for the album, and Newman wishes he had never disclosed its existence.

“It isn’t beautiful. I meant it to be obviously amusing,” Newman says with a chuckle. “But I regret ever mentioning it.

The vulgarity of it — there’s no sense adding to the general vulgarity of the world.”

Newman says he hasn’t made any other attempts to write about Trump, perhaps because he anticipates the shelf life would be short. Newman strives to avoid writing songs that will lose their currency, mindful the political climate can affect the back catalog.

That happened with his satiric 1972 gem, “Political Science,” which proposes nuclear attack as good foreign policy.

“The last time I played ‘Political Science’ in Europe, they didn’t laugh,” Newman says.

What would President Trump think of that song?

“He would get it — it just dawned on me,” Newman says. “I think the one thing he’s good at is mass entertainment. He should have been a TV critic or something.

He wouldn’t have been a good one, but he’s so into that kind of stuff. He might understand that song is not meant to be literal.”

Newman plans another album, and says it won’t take nine years, but first he’ll hit the road for a series of solo dates at the piano.

Randy Newman’s latest album is titled, “Dark Matter.

(Invision/AP)

He says he’ll likely include several songs from “Dark Matter,” although “The Great Debate” is probably too complicated to perform alone.

The song order each night will be fluid.

“I’ve got a set list and can change it, judging how the audience is,” he says. “During ballads, if they’re shuffling around or eating potato chips, I won’t play many of them.”

Overall, he’s delighted by the reception he continues to receive.

“The whole thing is enormously gratifying and a privilege,” Newman says. “To earn your living this way is amazing to me.

If I play a festival and I see people camped out — not necessarily expressly to see me — it’s amazing they go through that kind of discomfort.”

Like the song says: It’s a jungle out there.

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