April 2019 Maine Seniors Magazine

APRIL 2019 • $5.95 MESENIORS.COM

Tony McDonald of Midcoast Humane Moe Pelletier & Jan Michaud JFK at Le Club Calumet

Inside: • Wesley McNair: People's Poet • The Element of Waiting (for Spring) • Face-to-Face Conversations • Easy Shrimp Creole • How Life Tells A Story

...and so much more!

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Publisher's Note

PUBLISHER

David. S. Nealley EDITOR IN CHIEF

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PHOTOGRAPHERS

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SALES & DISTRIBUTION

Christine Parker Alisha Goslin Dale Overlock Larry Allen Jim Gorham A. Peter Legendre Clyde Tarr Jim Nute David Poirier Cornell McLellan

Margaret Durie Kim Reid Linda Allen Bob Bechard Jody Hinkley Judy Legendre Diane Nute Paul Conley Laurie A. Poirier

WRITERS

Barbara Beardsley Dr. Len Kaye Hunter Howe Paulette Oboyski Gary Crocker

Larry Grard Jane Margesson Brad Eden Ellen L. Spooner Sheila D. Grant

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87 Hillside Avenue, Bangor, Maine 04401 Phone: (207) 299-5358 Maine Seniors Magazine is published in the State of Maine by Maine Seniors Magazine, L.L.C. in association with Maine Media Consulting, L.L.C. All information herein represents the views of individual writers and their understanding of the issues at hand, and may not represent the views of the Maine Seniors Magazine, its management, or editorial staff. For more information about Maine Seniors Magazine, visit www.meseniors.com.

The yellow daffodil is virtually synonymous with spring.

I

t symbolizes rebirth and new beginnings. For seniors, each day that we have more daylight and warmer weather is a treat. Spring is a time of year that comes with a sense of renewal.

So spring ahead and enjoy our April Issue in which we have an article by our newest contributor Barbara Beardsley. She shares her memories about spring in the 1950s. It was common in those days to buy a spring outfit… it does seem to have been a more formal era. Enjoy her article in our column, A Look Back.

Now that the daffodils and crocuses are starting to sprout you might be feeling a bit of spring fever. According to Brad Eden, in this issue's column A Trail Less Traveled,“The arrival of the American Woodcock is as sure a sign of spring as mud and baseball.”

In Maine, we welcome the sounds of birds, the budding trees and all of that which fills spring with the sense of renewal and warmer days ahead.

To all of our Senior Partners, Happy Spring!

SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

10 issues for $29.95 by making a check, payable to Maine Seniors Magazine.

Mail to Maine Seniors Magazine, P.O. Box 168, Bangor, ME 04402

—David S. Nealley, Publisher

APRIL 2019 • 2

Featured Contributor

This issue's Featured Contributor is Barbara Beardsley

APRIL 2019 ISSUE

B

arbara Beardsley is a Portland, Maine native who spent 9 years of her childhood in Pittsfield, Maine. Currently she writes from her home in Waterville. We are very proud to have her as one of our contributors to Maine Seniors Magazine. In this issue enjoy her article about Spring, “The Element of Waiting”, in our column A Look Back.

Page 5

2 Publisher's Note • BY DAVID S. NEALLEY 3 Featured Contributor • BARBARA BEARDSLEY 5 Prime Mover: Tony McDonald

BY PAULETTE OBOYSKI

15 Prime Mover: Maurice "Moe" Pelletier

Barbara has published three works of fiction, which are available on Amazon.com. For more of her work, check out barbarabeardsley.com.

& Jan Michaud • BY LARRY GRARD

21 Prime Mover: Wesley McNair

BY SHEILA D. GRANT

Page 15

27 Sage Lens: A Healthy Exercise Option

BY DR. LEN KAYE

31 Just Pondering: Pipe Funeral

BY WALDO CLARK

33 The MAINE Point: No Wrong Door

1

BY JANE MARGESSON

35 A Look Back: The Element of Waiting

DVOŘÁK’S “NEW WORLD”

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37 Bridging Generations: Face-to-face

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39 Legacy: Spring Financial Check Up

Conversations • BY JOAN CLARK

Page 21

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51 Food for Thought: Easy Shrimp Creole

BY ELLEN L. SPOONER

53 From the Porch: How Life Tells A Story

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3 • MAINE SENIORS

APRIL 2019 • 4

PRIME MOVER

PRIME MOVER • Tony McDonald

of Trustees of the Cumberland County Civic Center as well as a member of the Maine Commercial Association of Realtors. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) as well as the Board of Directors for Midcoast Humane.

Left: Tony watching Buddy & Casco play • Right: Wellington

Tony McDonald

Fate brought Tony McDonald to Midcoast Humane. In 2008, while at The Boulos Company office, Tony got a call from the Coastal Humane Board President requesting an estimate of value for their Brunswick Range Road shelter. Tony toured the facility and presented the value to the board. After attending his second Coastal Humane board meeting, Tony, who is a big animal lover, joined the board.

BY PAULETTE OBOYSKI • PHOTOS BY VICTOR OBOYSKI AND COASTAL HUMANE

Tony McDonald is the out-going President of Midcoast Humane (formerly Coastal Humane) which is headquartered in Brunswick, Maine.

H

e is also a partner in The Boulos Company, which is the largest commercial real estate establishment north of Boston and is located in Portland, Maine.

What does a real estate man know about running an animal shelter? For the past 10 years, he and his prestigious board members and staff have painstakingly collaborated with thoughtfulness and hard work to help grow and create a vision for Midcoast Humane.

Tony grew up in Maine on Pine Point in the 1960’s. He has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maine at Orono, he studied Ocean Engineering at MIT and received an M.B.A. in Finance at the University of Southern Maine.

5 • MAINE SENIORS

He worked for the Navy from 1980 to 1987. He has been married to his wife, Dr. Denise Caron for 36 years. Their adult daughter, Kate, lives in Maine as well. At their South Freeport home, they have 2 spirited dogs: Buddy – a 10-month-old Golden Retriever, Casco – a Golden Doodle, and two cats who can stand up to the dogs: Goose and Joe (a huge Maine coon cat).

In 1982, Tony moved back to Maine from Newport to be near his aging father. Denise who is a dentist, was offered a job in Maine and Tony accepted a position with the Navy at Bath Iron Works (BIW) in a ship building program. He ran the machinery program that designed and purchased machinery for Navy ships built at BIW. He later left BIW in 1987 when he joined The Boulos Company.

Tony has been a Director of the Maine Real Estate & Development Association (MEREDA) and the Children’s Museum of Maine. He has also been Chairman of the Board APRIL 2019 • 6

PRIME MOVER

CARING HANDS ACROSS MAINE

Trendy Stanchfield with Kittens: Bee Bee and Badger

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Thank you to Tony McDonald,

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passion for animal welfare.

Tony recognized that the organization, which had longstanding financial difficulties, needed to change and envisioned the opportunity for improved operations. Tony recalls, “It had been like an animal club; their hearts were in the right place and they were doing a pretty darn good job, but the place needed to be run like a business. We needed to make it financially stable. So, we started to grow the board and commenced the work of the organization such as retooling the staff and setting a strategic plan.”

Tony’s watershed moment occurred when he questioned, “What do we know about running an animal shelter?” He 7 • MAINE SENIORS

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A few years ago, Tony and the Coastal Humane board came to the assistance of the Lincoln County Humane Society, which was also having financial difficulties. The board offered assistance to Lincoln County and, after a 6-month trial period, the two organizations merged in October of 2015. There was, however, a reduced presence in the Edgecomb Campus in Lincoln County. The problem was rectified in September

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recollects, “We needed to set a path and set some metrics to measure this; so, we brought in the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to help give oversight into running the shelter. HSUS are the ‘go-to-guys’ and kind of like the Good Housekeeping seal of approval for animal shelters. We brought them in and paid them to do an analysis of the Range Road facility. They came for two weeks and gave a voluminous report of protocols and instructive procedures.”

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HSUS found that the Range Road facility and its operating room was too small, the layout was not efficient, and they needed a visible location. Tony relates, “After all, this is a pet shop business and our job is to move animals out of the facility into the community!” Concurrently, the 190 Pleasant Street log cabin building was up for sale. The owners were animal lovers, so Tony helped strike a fine agreement and the building was sold to Coastal Humane. This new location became the Administrative Office, public face and the community center for educational and vet care programs, adoptions, and community events such as kitten yoga and birthday parties for kids with the animals.

Kitten yoga!

9 • MAINE SENIORS

PRIME MOVER

PRIME MOVER • Tony McDonald

Inside and outside the Mobile Surgery Unit

2018, when Coastal Humane was renamed Midcoast Humane thereby becoming one of the largest shelters in the state of Maine with two campuses in Brunswick and Edgecomb. They provide care and second chances to 3,500 animals every year and assist thousands more through programming. Midcoast Humane holds contracts with 40 towns, from Falmouth to the Town of Washington, a territory of more than 1,000 square miles.

Midcoast Humane’s Mobile Surgical Care Unit is where two staff veterinarians do most of their medical care. It is external to the building and is the size of an ambulance. About 4,000 animals per year are serviced through that unit. The shelter is a safe harbor for many animals and the personnel never know what is going to come through the door. Recently 40 dogs were rescued at once and the shelter had to do triage just like an emergency room. A few months later, all the adoptable dogs from that rescue found homes.

11 • MAINE SENIORS

Trendy Stanchfield has been the capable Midcoast Humane Executive Director for the past year. She came on board to help run Midcoast as a viable business. She manages a full staff of paid employees, 100 active volunteers and the everyday workings of the shelter and administrative offices. Trendy acknowledges, “Tony has a sheer emotional connection to Midcoast Humane. He is not afraid to ask anyone for help with this place; money, stuff, time. He has the passion, resources and takes the time to really make a difference in this organization.”

New Home for Midcoast Humane

Midcoast Humane has finalized plans for a new home in Brunswick Landing (the former Naval Air Station). The project architect, Mike Steitzer from Topsham, specializes in designing veterinary hospitals, veterinary emergency clinics and animal facilities. The new Midcoast Humane Center will be a single-story building, just over 25,000 square feet at the corner of Purinton Road and Orion Street. It is designed to

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have administrative offices and separated dog and cat wings.

The new space will contain a modern veterinary clinic to provide care to the thousands of animals who come through the door. This will include spaying and neutering animals in the building, but they will not offer services as a veterinary facility to the general public at this location. There will be an education and community center that will be available for public classes through Midcoast Humane.

Mike Helfgott is the incoming Midcoast Humane Board President. He has known Tony McDonald for 3 years.“Tony is one of the pillars of this organization. He is an innovative thinker and offers viable solutions for any complications APRIL 2019 • 1 2

PRIME MOVER

Dr. Denise & Tony

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that may occur. He is instrumental in attracting new board members. He is a member of our capital campaign and our new building committee and helped clarify our mission.

Many outgoing board members will just say goodbye when their terms have ended, but Tony remains passionate about Midcoast Humane.”

The cost of the new building project will be approximately $8.4 million. Tony said that the Board has collected over $2 million already. The public capital campaign for the new building will begin once 50 percent of the final project cost is attained. They are presently building relationships to raise these funds. There is no doubt that Tony and the dedicated Midcoast Humane administration will be successful with their fundraising plans for the new building!

13 • MAINE SENIORS

Thank you to Tony McDonald, Midcoast Humane administrators and staff for your unwavering passion for animal welfare. Your caring and innovative spirit sets an example for what is possible: a unique Midcoast Humane— a safe harbor where people and pets learn, play, teach and share their gifts with each other and each abandoned animal’s tale ends with a loving, lasting home.

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PRIME MOVER

PRIME MOVER • Maurice "Moe" Pelletier

As Michaud and Pelletier were interviewed for this article, workers were taking down a curtain that unveiled a huge mural on the main ballroom stage, showing the history of the club. The words“Uni Pours Toujours,” which translates to “United Forever” adorn the top of the mural.“It’s a great place to come to,” said Pat Boucher, past president.“A very safe place to come. We also have special events throughout the year.”

Club President Lisa Newell said that Pelletier and Michaud have similar work ethics. “They are very similar,” Newell said.

“They are very focused on the project. They’re involved. Both are very passionate.”

For nine years, Michaud has led a committee that includes Pelletier and is working to establish an exhaustive archives for a museum honoring mostly the French Canadian workers of Augusta. The seeds of that project, interestingly enough, germinated following the fire that burned the Bates Manufacturing/Edwards Division Cotton Mill on November 30, 1989.

Moe Pelletier and Jan Michaud have a history of giving to the Augusta community, and to their Calumet Club.

Maurice

“Moe”

Pelletier & Jan Michaud

BY LARRY GRARD

T

he level of steadfast contributions made by Maurice “Moe” Pelletier and Jan Michaud are vital to one of central Maine’s foremost civic organizations. “Le Club Calumet,” as the club is properly known, is flourishing with approximately 950 members. Pelletier and Michaud are among the 50-75 “super active” members who make the club click.

Two individuals, Maurice “Moe” Pelletier and Jan Michaud are vital to the continued flourishing of Le Club Calumet which boasts 950 members. Pelletier, past president and a longtime volunteer at the Harold Alfond Cancer Center, has known Michaud since 2005, that seminal year for the club when it allowed women to become members. Lisa Newell is the current president.“When the ladies came in,” Pelletier said, “it was a great help. Club membership took a jump in 2005 when 53 ladies became members.”

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Le Club Calumet French-Canadians, present in Maine since 1611, migrated to Augusta from Quebec Province in large numbers during the 1880s, to work at the Edwards Mill. When the Canadians arrived,“they had problems with the Irish from Boston," wrote a historian. Discrimination was prevalent. Streetfights and boycotts of the French area became common. Many of the French people could not speak English and were considered the lowest class of people in Augusta. They lived in mill housing and quickly filled up "the hill" as the North End of the City was called.

On Sept. 21, 1922, a group of 24 FrancoAmericans met in the basement of Morin's Shoe Store on Water Street in Augusta. At the first gathering they decided the club would coordinate the interests of its members and give the Franco-Americans a voice not only in the actions of its own group but also in the affairs of the community as a whole.

The club evolved and grew to the present, spacious club, which was built in 1952 at 334 West River Road.

The clubs' formal purpose: "The purpose of Le Club Calumet shall be for the propagation of the French language and intellectual development, by means of music, literature, education, and anything else the club shall judge beneficial to the interest of Franco-Americans.”

“Calumet” in French means peace pipe, and its name appropriately reflects the ideals of the French community and its desire to live peacefully with their non-French neighbors.

Le Club Calumet, located near the Sand Hill neighborhood where so many French Canadians worked in the local mills, is integral to the social betterment of the greater Augusta community.

207-374-2306 | www.ParkerRidge.com | Follow us on 15 • MAINE SENIORS

APRIL 2019 • 1 6

PRIME MOVER • Maurice "Moe" Pelletier

PRIME MOVER

The Club Calumet has stood at 334 West River Road in Augusta since 1952.

John F. Kennedy addresses the Calumet Club in Augusta. Kennedy, at the time was the Massachusetts senator who was running for President, and was making a campaign swing through Maine in the autumn of 1959.

The City Council, meanwhile, has made a separate request for proposals.

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“It made me think that what was remaining was a little building,” Michaud recalled. “I was thinking we would use it to have a small museum to honor the workers of Augusta. I have been working with my little committee to augment the archives, which has at least 100 photos. We’ve interviewed 80 people, who worked at the mills and plants. We also have tools and other artifacts. We’re pretty proud of what we have. It’s all done for historic preservation.”

The committee is hoping to create a museum with all the material they’ve gathered, and perhaps a coffee shop, at the city-owned little brick building that survived the fire.

Cost estimates, however, have proven prohibitive to this point. The committee has not received the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds it sought, and architects have put the price tag for a museum at $6-9 million.

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“If I have to,” Michaud said, “I’ll go to news stations, such as Channel 10, to make an appeal.”

The failure to secure funding hasn’t stopped Michaud, Pelletier and the rest from the history project. They’ve turned the interviews into DVDs and Norm Rodrique has compiled “Les Magasins,” a history of the neighborhood grocery stores, a separate project. “I do want to give credit to my committee members for their work,” Michaud said.“My husband Victor did all the video-taping and put those on DVDs. Also, Maurice Pelletier, wife Patricia, and Sandy Arbour always help when I ask. Mary Michaud takes care of the federal end of it and wrote up the non-profit application. Roger Rossignol does the technology by creating our clips from our interviews after I have selected portions to be used.” Michaud added that the very nature of creating the clips by selecting which ones to use, makes it a one-person job.

With St. Augustine's Catholic Church as a backdrop, the Heritage Building that survived the great mill fire of 1989 remains. The Calumet Club has grand plans for the building as a historic museum.

APRIL 2019 • 1 8

PRIME MOVER

PRIME MOVER • Maurice "Moe" Pelletier

“These fine supportive people, my committee, have been involved from the beginning. It has been a team effort and I could not do this historical preservation work alone. I do want them to be recognized and given credit.”

“There’s a lot of socializing, but there’s a lot of work; some volunteer at the hospital,

A documentary is planned, similar to the one presented at the club last fall. Michaud also has made three presentations at the Lithgow Library. She plans a “Friends for a Heritage Center at Mill Park” in April or May at the library.

u Memory

The Calumet Club endeavors to sustain the language used by the Canadian immigrants. Newell said that a French Immersion Group conducts events and programs, for those who already speak the language and others looking to learn it.

u Flexibility

The club also awards 20 scholarships and grants annually. As of last year, the Calumet Club had awarded $1 million. Club members got the ball rolling by donating $1 on their birthdays, then established the Calumet Educational Fund for donations.

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Jan Michaud and Moe Pelletier stand in front of a mural of downtown Augusta that adorns the stage at the Calumet Club in Augusta. Michaud points to the location of the original club.

Upon reflection, Newell said, “there’s a lot of socializing, but there’s a lot of work; some volunteer at the hospital, some

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volunteer in the schools, and there’s a lot of catering. I would say it would be impossible to estimate the number of hours volunteers donate to the club.” As she spoke, some of those volunteers were readying for a March 2 “Mardi Gras” night.

Every two years (even-numbered years), Le Club Calumet hosts the hugely popular “Le Festival de la Bastille,” a twoday celebration of Franco-American culture. On May 3, the popular Quebec group “Le Vent du Nord” will play to a soldout crowd.

Bill Bridgeo, Augusta city manager, knows Pelletier and Michaud well, and is quite familiar with the Calumet Club’s importance to the community. “They’re wonderful folks,” Bridgeo said. “They have been trying to champion for a number of years the French heritage in Augusta. They’ve accumulated a treasure trove of stuff. They have this vision of a heritage center here – not just Franco-American, but all the working— class folks. I love them to death.”

some volunteer in the schools, and there’s a lot of catering. I would say it would be

impossible to estimate the number of hours volunteers donate to the club.”

“The City Council supports what they want to do,” Bridgeo said. “Improve the old carpenter’ shop at Mill Park into a cultural center. It’s not doable now, but that doesn’t detract from what they’re doing.”

Bridgeo has worked in municipal government in four cities, including Worcester, MA. “I’ve been in city management over 40 years,” he said, “and the Calumet Club in my experience is unique in its stature and the positive role it has played in Augusta. It makes major contributions to the community.”

To show their support for the club, Bridgeo and his wife always attend the club’s installation of new officers and Citizen of the Year ceremony. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said. “I’ve seen all kinds of ethnic clubs, but nothing on the level of the Calumet Club.”

Leif Erik Dahlin, the city’s community services director, agrees.

“It’s an invaluable resource and a huge part of the community,” Dahlin said.“And they throw a pretty good party, too.”

Speaking of the Bastille Day event, Dahlin said, “It’s a celebration of life. It’s a celebration of the culture. It’s a celebration of Augusta, and it brings people together.” MSM

APRIL 2019 • 2 0

PRIME MOVER

PRIME MOVER • Wesley McNair

To date, McNair has released 22 books, including a memoir, volumes of essays, edited anthologies, and 10 poetry collections.

Recognized with the PEN New England Award for Literary Excellence in Poetry, McNair has held many grants and fellowships, and has been the recipient of several other prestigious awards. He has been invited to read his poetry twice by the Library of Congress, and served five times on the jury for the Pulitzer Prize in poetry. McNair’s poetry has been featured on NPR, and more than 20 times on Garrison Keillor’s Writer’s Almanac. His essays and poems have been published in over 60 anthologies and textbooks.

These days, McNair, now 77, can be found doing readings from his newest poetry collection, The Unfastening, at libraries A soft-spoken, thoughtful sort of fellow,

Wesley McNair has had much to say about rural life, and the loves and losses we all experience as time goes by.

McNair spending time with his grandchildren, Maiya and Donnan McNair when they were younger.

Wesley W

McNair

Waxing Poetic from Loss to Triumph

BY SHEILA D. GRANT

21 • MAINE SENIORS

hile McNair is respected for his work as an English professor and an anthologist, he is, first and foremost, a poet. To date, McNair has released 22 books, including a memoir, volumes of essays, edited anthologies, and 10 poetry collections.

McNair founded the creative writing program at the University of Maine at Farmington (UMF) and remained at the helm from 1992 to his retirement in 2004. He also taught as visiting faculty at Colby and Dartmouth colleges and other campuses. And he was Maine’s poet laureate from 2011 to 2016.

APRIL 2019 • 2 2

PRIME MOVER • Wesley McNair

PRIME MOVER

During his years as Maine’s poet laureate, McNair worked tirelessly to repair what he viewed as

a disconnect between poetry and its audience.

Like many artists, McNair discovered his gift while going through a painful experience. “When I was seven years old, my father abandoned the family, which consisted of my mother, my two brothers and me,” McNair recalls. There was no child support, so his mother began to take in sewing and was often absent in her work. So, one day he sat down and drew a “wanted” poster, and in the center of the poster he drew the face of his father, writing the word “WANTED” at the bottom in capital letters.

McNair's latest book is titled The Unfastening.

Wesley McNair with Governor Janet T. Mills and members of his family in the Blaine House after her inauguration.

large and small throughout Maine. The Unfastening ranges from darker issues of illness, loss and grief to affirmative themes of healing, hope and the renewed joy of living. Many of McNair’s works capture the characters and experiences of life in New England’s small towns, including Mercer, Maine, where he and Diane, his wife of 56 years, currently live. The couple moved there from New Hampshire in 1987, when he became a professor of poetry writing at UMF. “There are poems in The Unfastening about small town events, too,” McNair says,“but I most wanted to write about how we come back from setbacks in life, especially loss. I'd just suffered the loss of my mother, and I'd witnessed the disabilities and deaths of other elders in my family, so I start the collection with poems about grief and sorrow. But the book goes on to other poems about the small pleasures and triumphs of everyday existence, the very things that lifted my spirits in the end, so it gives readers reason to hope, and even celebrate.”

23 • MAINE SENIORS

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PRIME MOVER • Wesley McNair

PRIME MOVER the years that followed, he launched four other initiatives, all with the active support of the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance. They included community readings of Maine poetry, a website featuring 20 Maine poets reading and discussing their work, a workshop about poetry in performance created for participants of Poetry Out Loud, and a program to bring spoken word and rap poetry to Maine schools.

Since his term as poet laureate, McNair has revamped many of those initiatives, making them available as links on an umbrella website called The Lyric Moose.

After Governor Janet T. Mills won the election, she asked McNair to write and deliver a poem for her inauguration.

“I didn’t say yes right away,” he says, “because you can’t really write a poem by assignment. But gradually I saw that I had something to say.” The result was “The Song for the Unsung.”

In it, McNair praises the unsung lives of ordinary Mainers who persist with faith, hope and perseverance despite their hardships, including teachers, patients in recovery, immigrants, and even a town moderator who by accident spit out his upper

Wes and Diane

“I think, looking back, that one word was my first poem,” he says, “because it had a double meaning, as poems tend to do.

On the one hand, I could accuse my father with the word and please my mother, but on the other hand, I could say that I wanted him nearby and missed him. If a single word can be a poem, I think that was my first attempt at poetry. Even though it reflected the sorrow of my situation, it helped me to deal with the tragedy that had taken place.”

During his years as Maine’s poet laureate, McNair worked tirelessly to repair what he viewed as a disconnect between poetry and its audience. He published two anthologies during his five years as poet laureate, Take Heart: Poems from Maine, and later Take Heart: More Poems from Maine, both derived from his five-year newspaper column, also titled Take Heart.

“That column was my first attempt to restore the broken connection between poetry and the people,” McNair says. In 25 • MAINE SENIORS

plate,“then caught it in mid-air, popped it back into his mouth and carried on.”

McNair says he wrote his poem to advocate at this moment in our shared history “a change of heart that leads to love and understanding.”

“On inauguration night when I read my poem, there were between five and six thousand people in the Civic Center, and nobody was more surprised than I was when they all rose and gave me a standing ovation,” he said. The poet of the people had received a hero’s welcome.

Readers who want to explore the book online can go to a website prepared by the Special Collections department at Colby College, which purchased McNair’s papers in 2006. The website, The Unfastening, from Manuscript to Book, features an interview with McNair, photos of places that inspired poems, and a“map” of the book’s revisions, from start to finish. By clicking on individual poems, they can listen to audio recordings of McNair reading them and view drafts that led to their completion.

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I strongly recommend that you think seriously about joining a class in Dr. Lam’s Arthritis Foundation Tai Chi.

W E LCOM E TO L IVING

Well.

W E LCOM E TO T H E PARK DANFORTH .

friendships and gaining social support as a means of coping with the emotional challenges of managing a chronic illness.

These are safe and well executed classes that: •

A Healthy Exercise Option Worth Trying

BY DR. LEN KAYE

Are you looking for a safe, enjoyable, and free exercise option that is especially effective for anyone facing the pain and discomfort associated with arthritis?

W

ell, I’ve got a terrific program that you should seriously consider taking advantage of. I’m talking about a program that has proven itself effective in:

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Relieving pain resulting from arthritis

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Reducing the risk for falls

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Improving muscular strength and flexibility

• Allowing the body to relax •

Helping to stabilize blood pressure

And, because it grows out of traditional Chinese medicine, it can even revive your inner Chi which, in turn, can benefit almost all aspects of health thus improving overall quality of life.

No, I am not referring to the latest wonder drug or magic elixir. Nor am I going to suggest that you need to become an exercise fanatic. I am, however, going to strongly recommend that you think seriously about joining a class in Dr. Lam’s Arthritis Foundation Tai Chi. This program, has proven itself to be the real deal based on sound research. The program engages participants in a gentle, safe to learn exercise program especially developed to improve movement, balance, strength, flexibility, and relaxation while decreasing pain and risk of falling. This program is especially meant for older adults with or without arthritis, rheumatic diseases or related musculoskeletal conditions.

The program is appropriate for people with mild, moderate and severe joint involvement and back pain. This program, supported by arthritis foundations worldwide, promotes improved physical function and overall wellness. There is an additional benefit to participating in these free classes – since this is a group exercise format, participants often end up forming

Incorporate a warm up at the beginning of class and a cool down at the end

• Allow participants to stay within their comfort zone while making progress •

Gradually build up in length and number of sessions to properly progress participants

• Are taught slowly to make sure everyone learns effectively based on their capability

When your home is at The Park Danforth, you can feel secure knowing that caring staff are on-site 24/7. You’ll enjoy the conveniences of on-site services including a salon, weekly banking and fitness classes. And with scheduled transportation to shopping and entertainment you’ll have freedom to enjoy life.

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Portland (207) 774-7000 27 • MAINE SENIORS

Gather for a meal with friends in the main dining room or the casual bistro. Take in a movie in the comfortable theater.

View fireworks over the Portland skyline from the fifth-floor roof deck. Enjoy concerts in the garden courtyard, lectures in the auditorium and activities with new and old friends that share your interests.

Lewiston (207) 777-5200 APRIL 2019 • 2 8

Dr. Lam’s Arthritis Foundation Tai Chi

is only one in an arsenal of healthy exercise options for older adults

offered by both RSVP and EAAA.

Participants complete 60-minute Tai Chi classes of eight weeks duration that meet two times per week led by RSVP/ EAAA volunteers. Beginner and intermediate level classes are offered; intermediate level classes are for those who successfully complete the beginner level.

I’m delighted to report that in September 2018, University of Maine Center on Aging’s Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) received a special award from the Corporation for National & Community Service (CNCS) to support a Tai Chi for Arthritis volunteer program that will be carried out over the course of the next three years.

This will be accomplished through an innovative interagency collaboration with Eastern Area Agency on Aging (EAAA) to assist them in the expansion and continuation of volunteerled Tai Chi classes in underserved communities and with particular groups in rural eastern Maine. EAAA has been delivering Tai Chi for Arthritis classes in the Bangor area over the past several years. Their class participants, in their sixties and older, have repeatedly indicated major concerns about their balance, arthritis, declining strength, or chronic pain – all of which diminish their quality of life as they age and threaten their ability to live independently as long as possible.

RSVP will assist EAAA to expand Tai Chi for Arthritis to five additional sites over three years. Sites will be set up such that their operation extends beyond the three-year RSVP grant cycle with no participant fees charged during this period and thereafter.

One site that RSVP/EAAA is thrilled to bring on board for this free exercise program is the Bangor Vet Center where it has been determined that Dr. Lam’s Arthritis Foundation Tai Chi meets VA standards. Other communities under consideration include Milbridge, Lincoln, Lubec, and Dover-Foxcroft.

29 • MAINE SENIORS

In addition to recruiting older adult participants to the classes, RSVP/EAAA is recruiting volunteer instructors with preference being given to those with backgrounds in fitness, exercise, and recreation and with experience in teaching and leadership. Volunteers will be trained/certified as Tai Chi for Arthritis group leaders by a certified Tai Chi for Arthritis trainer and participate in re-trainings (a oneday training). Two days of instruction is required for initial certification. Lay leaders will group teach participants (1220 members per class) who are self-referred or referred by a health care professional as having one or more chronic conditions, including arthritis and other musculoskeletal issues. Volunteers guide class participants through a welldefined, low-impact protocol of functional movements designed to engage the entire body.

Of course, Dr. Lam’s Arthritis Foundation Tai Chi is only one in an arsenal of healthy exercise options for older adults offered by both RSVP and EAAA. It is really in your best interests to check out all the exercise options offered by these MSM two agencies.

Want to participate in classes or be considered as a volunteer instructor? Please call Danny Moreshead, RSVP Health & Fitness Coordinator, at 207-262-7924 or Erin Coltvet, EAAA Wellness Classroom Manager, at 207-941-2865.

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BY WALDO CLARK

Overlooking Frenchman Bay on Mount Desert Island, Birch Bay Retirement Village borders Acadia National Park and offers a rich assortment of recreational activities. We are devoted to making it easy for you to enjoy the best days of your life.

Stop the presses.

He took my pipe away. I didn’t like it.

R

egular readers of my column know that my caricature shows me holding my treasured pipe, fine-grained briar with a full-bent bowl.

I’m sure you’ll agree that that the pipe fits my professorial demeanor: cerebral, philosophic, unhurried, calm, reflective, objective, and leisurely sophisticated. In addition is there anything better than a pipe and a flannel shirt—quite a fashion statement here in Maine, doncha think?

A piece in Pipes and Tobaccos about the past said, “It was a world of wise, contemplative men who sat and smoked and read serious, leather-bound literature as well a world of rugged outdoorsmen, canoeists and fly fishermen and clipper ship captains who puffed their pipes as they poured over nautical charts.”

Gee, sounds like Mainers of yesteryear, a breed apart.

I think of fellow pipe smokers such as Albert Einstein, Douglas MacArthur, Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, fictional Sherlock Holmes, Queen Victoria, Gertrude Stein, and Greta Garbo. Now that puts me in pretty good company.

Times change. A piece in HealthDay said, “The prevalence of pipe smoking has declined drastically across all races, religions, 31 • MAINE SENIORS

said, I offered up this revelation that I’d read about pipes:“You like the friendliness of a man with a pipe and what better compliment to a friendship than for a man to offer you some of his special tobacco. Just this one simple act will tell you he is gracious, reliable, unselfish, and above all, considerate.” Yup that’s me alright. I waited but David responded in silence.

Yeah, I got the old pipe job but I’m not a sore loser. I will share a secret. Unlike David, I’ve never puffed. Read that again.

I’ve never had a tobacco pouch, never tamped down, never smelled a fragrant wisp. You see, I just cup my pipe and chomp down on the bit. It gives me comfort.

I will say this, David better stay away from my flannel shirts …

But don’t worry faithful readers, I’ll continue to sit in my den, pat my dog, drink my coffee, sip my wine, and puff out my thoughts for my insightful columns.

After all, I am a breed apart.

MSM

www.birchbayvillage.us

207-288-8014

and education levels.” One major reason is health concerns for oral and lung cancer, heart disease, and other related afflictions.

By now, you may have guessed who took my pipe away, my publisher and friend, David Nealley. Boy, did we have an oldfashion go around.“Hey David,” I pleaded,“the pipe gives me a Waldo the Wise aura, it’s me. It’s a far cry from a crooked pol or a Mafioso puffing on a short stub, foul-smelling, fat cigar.” This wasn’t a smart tactic on my part as David admits to an occasional stogie (cheap cigar) after another successful monthly launch of a Maine Seniors Magazine. He responded, “I get that, Waldo, but I have to take into consideration my readers’ perceptions, that we’re ignoring the potential health hazards of pipe smoking, that smoking in general is OK. We need to set a good example. After all, this is the modern era.”

Ouch. The last comment hurt. I wondered if he regarded me as out of touch. I wanted to tell him that he was the master of smoke jobs but I caught myself. He is the publisher. That APRIL 2019 • 3 2

THE MAINE POINT 

If you or someone you know is in need of extra support in the community, please reach out to the local Area Agency on Aging, AARP Maine, the local CAP agency or town manager’s office.

No Wrong

Door

At least once a week I get frustrated by

trying to get too many things done in a very short period.

H

ow many times have I thought “Where did the day go?” Between grocery shopping, working, commuting, taking out garbage, preparing meals, making phone calls, taking out the dogs or remembering to pick up the dry cleaning, the day that once seemed so long just vanishes in a flurry of errands. Instead of drifting off to sleep at the end of the day, I find myself lying in my pajamas remembering all the things I didn’t do that are now on the to-do list for the following day. It’s exhausting.

For someone like me who has a car and who lives just 25 minutes from the office, it’s not the end of the world if some tasks are left on the list for an extra round or two (or three).

I’ll get them done eventually, usually with no unfortunate consequences. There are, though, many older Mainers who 33 • MAINE SENIORS

BY JANE MARGESSON

aren’t able to catch up on their task list and who, in some respects, may feel ready to give up instead. Some things are just hard to do and it isn’t always easy to know how to get help.

Case in point: I recently met a couple from Lyman who face multiple challenges. The wife is unable to drive due to an eye condition. Both she and her husband have a long list of health concerns and they both use walkers to get around. Taking care of the house has become a problem. Getting out to buy groceries and pick up their many prescriptions drugs is getting harder and harder, especially since only the husband can drive.

Even getting from the house to the mailbox a quarter of a mile down the road is an issue.

I initially met with them because they wanted to share how the high cost of their prescription drugs impacts their health and financial well-being. In just one example, the husband has a life-threatening allergy requiring him to carry an EpiPen on his person at all times. Each pen refill costs over $400. Unable to afford the medication, he hopes that the last EpiPen he purchased is still viable. It expired three years ago.

Your Benefits.

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Much of our conversation, however, focused on connecting them with local services and supports that could address their most pressing day-to-day needs. Although I am not a social worker, I was determined to serve as a conduit to other resources. It’s what we call the “no wrong door” approach and this idea is embraced by many organizations, state agencies and community service organizations in Maine. Whoever you contact first will be the right contact. Together, we will help you find what you need.

I am happy to report that the couple is starting to feel a little more at ease. Between my office, the nearby age-friendly community leaders and other county agencies, the couple has been connected to the VA (the husband is a veteran of the Korean War). In addition to a local Medicaid expert, several volunteers are looking into improved transportation options to help the couple get their groceries and medications. Not every problem will be immediately solved, but steps are being taken to address their most immediate needs. It is always comforting to know that someone cares and is trying to help.

It just took one call from a concerned friend of theirs to get the ball rolling. If you or someone you know is in need of extra support in the community, please reach out to the local Area Agency on Aging, AARP Maine, the local CAP agency or town manager’s office. We all aspire to be the “right door” and we welcome your efforts to assist your neighbors, friends and family who wish to age in place in the communities they call home.

MSM

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APRIL 2019 • 3 4

A LOOK BACK

A LOOK BACK

There seemed to be an order to daily life. Things had rituals and reasons. "To everything

the element of

I guess I still have to pay attention to seasons. I look forward to receiving the beautiful seed and plant catalogs that arrive this time of year. While it is still cold outside, you can peruse the abundance of flowering plants on the catalog's pages, and dream of warmer and brighter days. Planting flowers is such an optimistic labor. There is an old poem that I love, which says: "Who plants a seed beneath the sod, and waits to see, believes in God."

BY BARBARA BEARDSLY

That element of waiting to see is the part that I love. It shows the ability to delay gratification and anticipate. There is not a MSM lot of anticipation these days. I miss that.

Thinking about spring in the 1950's causes me to realize how very different our society has become in my lifetime.

I

For example, the Spring outfit. When I was a kid, there were 4 distinct seasons, and the clothes you wore belonged to them.

In the photo above, I am dressed up for Sunday Mass in a Spring outfit. Each year I got a Spring coat, hat, gloves, dresses, shoes, and maybe a little patent leather pocketbook. These items were specifically used only during March, April, and May. Once Summer came, they were put away in the closet.

By next Spring, my Mom would probably pass them on to a younger cousin, since they most likely did not fit anymore.

There were clothing RULES. (I am not sure if there were Fashion Police then, but the RULES were adhered to, or else!)

There were Spring games, too. At long last we could play Hopscotch in the driveway with our newly acquired chalk and make mud pies. I had these little aluminum cake pans, teapots, and plastic dishes for my dolls; my friends and I would take 35 • MAINE SENIORS

Dr. Akhil Sastry

there is a season."

Waitng notice it every day but reflecting on spring brought back some specific memories that are undeniably in stark contrast to this new millennium.

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Dr. Akhil Sastry was the first in Maine & NH to perform a robotic-assisted knee replacement surgery and trains people from all over the country in this cutting edge procedure. Over 1,000 patients have benefited from this cutting-edge technology.

Bikes were big in Springtime. I got my first bike for Easter from the Easter Bunny. Unfortunately, the Bunny didn't get the size right. It was too big, and I started to cry because the Bunny had gone, and I was stuck with a bicycle I couldn't ride. Since my parents were not very good at improvisation, they broke down and told me the TRUTH about the Easter Bunny, so they could return the bike and get the correct size.

I miss the Easter Bunny.

There seemed to be an order to daily life. Things had rituals and reasons. "To everything there is a season". I believe there was, and is, a great deal of comfort in ritual. We seem to have very little of it left these days. For expediency we have traded our long-held conventions. The rites of spring barely exist anymore. It doesn't matter to the current crop of young people what they wear or when they wear it. No one waits for anything now. Immediate gratification is the order of the day, so seasons have little say in most matters.

OUR TEAM Dr. Akhil Sastry Dr. William Sutherland Dr. Tyler Welch York Hospital Surgery Team

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them outside and create meals with mud. Ah, the beginnings of my love of baking.

Dr. Tyler Welch

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Bridging Generations

Bridging Generations

LU C E R N E I N N

Face-to-face

Conversations

DELICIOUS VIEW B E AU T I F U L D I N I N G

BY JOAN CLARK

in the service and his first car, an old “jalopy” he purchased for $75 and scrimped to buy gas for at 17 cents a gallon!

They learn so much from Dad. If only other kids could participate in these activities and be enriched by the wealth of information that seniors have to share and pass on to the younger generation . . . things that they will never experience. How can we get more seniors and kids together to accomplish this? Any ideas? The younger generations really need to hear from seniors.

MSM

H

i, again! It’s Joan, Waldo's daughter. I have to tell you about last weekend. The kids spent Saturday and Sunday with Dad. They had a great visit, even though it had a rough beginning.

“THIS IS AN EXTRAORDINARY MUSEUM.”

It seems that Dad was quite agitated by their ever-present smartphones with their loud ringtones, beeping when games were played, and magnification of, in his view, silly conversational chatter. He told them, “those gadgets are an unnecessary distraction,” and banned them in his home for the weekend. The kids dealt with it, however, and went along with Dad’s proclamation.

Dad filled the weekend with actual face-to-face conversations; stories about his childhood, his school years with ink wells, paper and pencils, actual textbooks instead of computers, going home for lunch . . . He also told them about traveling in different countries when he was 37 • MAINE SENIORS

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APRIL 2019 • 3 8

LEGACY

Spring

LEGACY

Guest Article

BY THOMAS DUFF, BRANCH MANAGER & JOEL WEST, FINANCIAL ADVISOR

Financial Check Up

A

mericans' optimism about their personal finances has climbed to levels not seen in more than 16 years, with 69% now saying they expect to be financially better off "at this time next year."1 Given this level of optimism we view this as a good time for a Maine Seniors financial checkup.

Debt, Debt, Everywhere There Is Debt

Debt levels at the Sovereign, Corporate and Individual level are at near or all-time highs, a recent study by the Wall Street Journal noted. Student loan debt is the highest it has ever been, with seniors accounting for an ever-increasing share. The Journal found that the average senior student loan borrowers owed around $33,800 in 2017, up 44 % from 20102. In our view, the more we age the more we should seek to reduce or hopefully eliminate debt from our lives entirely. Increasing debt levels are a concern to us on the global level and we believe a real danger to seniors in particular. Seniors need to minimize debt as much as possible and be realistic about how co-signing for student loan debt may have a real and possibly negative effect on their own lives in the future, during a time they can least afford it.

Stock Volatility, Inflation and Low Returns

In 2018, the stock market in general had its worst year since the great recession and its worst December since ‘653 yet corporate earnings remained very strong with a blended growth rate over 13%.4 So-called ‘core’ inflation remains low.

Meanwhile, real inflation in housing, food, medical care and hospital services in particular has been very high, totaling 60%

39 • MAINE SENIORS

or more increases in the past twenty years5. Our key takeaway is that investors at every level need to be realistic about what their investments may or may not return, and goods and services will almost undoubtedly cost more in the future. We see the primary investment concerns being either economic or governing type issues. While these can be causal and correlated, in our view, most of the recent investment concern has been more of the governing issue; taxation, tariffs and trade negotiations being the principal concerns. We believe overall that these will be resolved in a positive manner and the underlying strength of the United States economy remains strong at the present time. Despite 2018’s stock market performance we believe high quality dividend paying stocks should remain a consideration for most investors’ portfolios, particularly those needing income.

Are Bonds Really Safer Than Stocks?

Most investors believe that bond investments are safer than stock investments. This has generally been true over the past 35 years due primarily to an overall environment of declining interest rates. However, that may be changing. While interest rates remain at historically low levels, interest rates have been increasing since December 2015. Investors should be mindful both of the quality of their bond investments as well as the duration risk in their bond investments, understanding that in a world awash in debt, quality is likely more important than ever.

We believe investors should work with a financial professional in managing their investments. In the past several years, regulations governing the sale and advice of investments

Joel West

Americans' optimism about their personal finances has climbed to levels not seen in more than 16 years, with

69% now saying they expect to be financially better off "at this time next year." has changed and with more changes from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) expected by year end6.

Most investors likely find this level of regulatory change confusing as many of the terms may seem redundant or interchangeable, yet have different implications. While investors wait for some finality in the rule making process, FINRA’s broker check, remains an important tool in helping to evaluate a financial professional and their disciplinary record, if any.

MSM https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/4657759 Any information is not a complete summary or statement of all available data necessary for making an investment decision and does not constitute a recommendation. Any opinions are as of February 14, 2019 and are those of Thomas Duff and Joel West and not necessarily those of RJFS or Raymond James. Links are being provided for information purposes only. Raymond James is not affiliated with and does not endorse, authorize or sponsor any of the listed

Thomas Duff

websites or their respective sponsors. Raymond James is not responsible for the content of any website or the collection or use of information regarding any website's users and/or members. Duff and Associates,470 N Main St, Brewer Maine 04412, 207-989-6082. Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc. Duff and Associates is not a registered broker dealer and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services.

1) https://news.gallup.com/poll/246602/americans-confidence-financeskeeps-growing.aspx 2) https://www.wsj.com/articles/over-60-and-crushed-by-student-loandebt-11549083631 3) https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-news-ontrack-worst-december-since-great-depression-2018-12-1027837251 4) https://www.factset.com/hubfs/Resources%20Section/Research%20 Desk/Earnings%20Insight/EarningsInsight_020819.pdf 5) http://www.aei.org/publication/the-chart-of-the-century-makes-therounds-at-the-federal-reserve/ 6) https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=29fe5627-4b4b-4b87b90c-5a7cb1c4bb3f

Give MSM a call at 207-299-5358 to find out how you can tell your story to our readers in your very own Guest Article.

APRIL 2019 • 4 0

A TRAIL LESS TRAVELED

A TRAIL LESS TRAVELED

…. he spirals down erratically, like a biplane out of gas or a windblown leaf, all the while chirping

a miniature turkey gobbler, his stubby tail with white blacktipped feathers spread and his round ochre chest puffed out.

He will repeat this mating ritual until it’s too dark for me to see, or until a hen, a bit larger than the male, emerges from the thicket to accept him as her date for the evening.

Any small opening in the forest near a soggy swath of stunted alder will do. I’m fortunate to live in the woods with a yard that borders a marsh, and can sit on my deck with a cold beer in hand to await the show at dusk. If patient, soon I will hear that“Peent”, followed by a distinctive twitter sound made from air rushing through the narrow primary feathers on its wings, as it flushes and rises.

The Woodcock holds a special spot in a bird hunter’s heart. It is a very cooperative game bird for pointing dogs to hunt, provides relatively challenging wingshooting, and is considered a culinary delicacy by many. But the innocent will-o’-the-wisp nature of this game bird, and the concern over population declines caused by habitat loss, is what endears it most to those who pursue it. Many seasoned bird hunters have stopped hunting the Woodcock altogether, and are content to just work their bird dogs over this unique creature, with hopes that their conservation dollars are helping to ensure its long term survival.

a fluid, libidinous mating trill.

Strange Harbinger of

Spring

There he is, a silhouette against the darkening sky, short wings, plump body and long beak, making sweeping passes up, up, up, until he is out of sight. When I think he has disappeared for good, he spirals down erratically, like a biplane out of gas or a windblown leaf, all the while chirping a fluid, libidinous mating trill. He flutters softly to the ground and struts like

The arrival of the American Woodcock

As the aerial show comes to an end and I finish my beer, I’m satisfied and gratified that spring has officially arrived, and my strange little feathered friend has found his way back home.

MSM

is as sure a sign of spring as mud and baseball.

STORY AND ILLUSTRATION BY BRAD EDEN

A

s another Maine winter winds down, warmer and rainy weather will have created spring-like conditions on late winter days. Most of the snow will have melted and the ground will be softening up underfoot like it does during“mud season.” But true spring requires more than soft earth. It requires sounds like the hum of insects, the croaking of frogs, the drumming of ruffed grouse, the gobbles of wild turkeys, and one of my favorite sounds of all, the“Peent” of the American Woodcock.

The American Woodcock is a strange and quirky bird. Its brain inexplicably sits upside down in its skull. Its ears are ahead of its eyes. And it sports a long prehensile beak. This marvelous appendage, with an end that moves independently, is used to seize and extract earthworms from the earth, its primary food. The Woodcock is not the bird it used to

41 • MAINE SENIORS

be. Formerly a shorebird, much like a Snipe, it has evolved into an oddball migratory upland bird, sometimes called a Timberdoodle. The Woodcock is about the size of a baseball, for lack of a better comparison. It wears the earthy camouflage of the forest scatter, and being largely nocturnal, has oversized dark eyes that help it navigate the night sky as it flits like a bat from resting cover to feeding grounds. This migrant heads south for the winter months powered by squat yet powerful wings, and is carried by the wind north, back to its birthplace in the spring, to mate and nest, following waterways and mountain ranges on its unmapped airborne trail. And, like many of the forest’s shyest creatures, the American Woodcock is often heard before it is seen, thanks to it its buzzing, nasal “Peent” vocalization.

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One of my rites of spring is to watch the Woodcock mating sky-dance, where he pulls out all the stops in search of a mate.

APRIL 2019 • 4 2

sometimes you’ve wondered Why get up in the morning? Why am I here? Who am I? Is reality what it appears to be?

How do I know which religion is true? How could Jesus be the only way to God?

If God is good, why so much suffering? How can science and the Bible both be believable?

Why believe anything at all? What’s wrong with just ‘whatever’?

Sin is just a lack of love — an unhelpful behavior. True or False?

The AIIA Institute is a forum for information and exchange on world views, beliefs, and ideologies — providing a simple, readable, intellectually credible, historic, orthodox Christian perspective on critical matters of faith and truth.

If you’re a skeptic, youÕll Þnd our free bimonthly publication thought-provoking. If you’re a Christian believer, you’ll be fortiÞed in your convictions and better equipped to respond to others who are asking tough questions.

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A few years ago I had a speaking engagement in Lincolnville.

A

nd since Bangor was right on the way from Augusta I decided to visit a friend at Eastern Maine Medical Center on the way to my gig.

I lost track of time during my visit and had one hour to get from the Bangor hospital to Lincolnville! So, I drove down Route 1-A at an average speed of 85mph (I was young AND foolish) hitting nearly 100mph on the straight stretches! Then I got stuck behind a slowpoke at 80mph and couldn’t pass.

Well, as luck would have it, a State Trooper was running radar in the area and saw my predicament. He pulled in behind me and put his blue lights on so that fella would pull over and get out of my way. And as soon as he was parked, I stood on the accelerator. To my surprise, the Trooper stayed with me and put his siren on so no one else would get in front of me.

45 • MAINE SENIORS

Spring

We drove down Route 1-A to Stockton Springs where it merges with Route 1. It’s a nice slow curve at 45mph, but you’ve gotta hold on at 90! And the Trooper was so close to me I couldn’t see his front plate. Which is too bad, because I wanted to write it down and send it to headquarters for a public service commendation recommendation. But I did give him a thumbs up for a job well done, and he waved back at me too!

As we approached the old MBNA headquarters in Lincolnville, I was watching for the big brass moose guarding the entrance. When I saw it, I slammed on the brakes. I’ll be honest, I’ve never seen a man’s eyes get that big before. But he didn’t hit me. Another thumbs up for a job well done.

That’s when I put my blinker on........cause that’s the law! And I waved goodbye because he got me there safely, and that was the whole point of the escort. But no, he followed me right into the parking lot and parked his cruiser right behind my vehicle. He jumped out of his cruiser, ran up to my car, opened my door, and helped me out of the car. I kinda wish he had let me take the seat belt off first.....it hurt wicked bad!

Spring is HERE!

At any rate, he gave me a free set of bracelets, and they’re hooked together, so you can’t lose one. And he threw in a free overnight at a local hotel. So, if you are ever late for a meeting don’t worry, the Maine State Police will get you there on time!

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FREE SHREDDING and Medicine Disposal Events in April, 2019!

AARP Maine is once again collaborating with the Maine Sheriff’s Association to host free shredding events and medicine disposal events. Please join us and bring your friends and family!

AUGUSTA Saturday, April 27, 2019 | 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

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PORTLAND* Saturday, April 27, 2019 | 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, 36 County Way, Portland *The Portland event will also include computer hard drive shredding For more information email me@aarp.org or call Jane at 776-6301. You can also contact us if you would like to request a scam awareness speaker for your group.

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APRIL 2019 • 4 6

RESIDENTIAL REVIEW

A TRAIL RESIDENTIAL LESS TRAVELED REVIEW

Guest Article

Parker Ridge offers three living options to ensure seniors can continue to live the lifestyle that they choose.

Age in Place at parker ridge

R

woods with views of beautiful Blue Hill Bay, Parker Ridge is minutes away from all the Blue Hill Peninsula has to offer.

Blue Hill is a vibrant little town bursting with cultural, musical and theatrical activities. With the Kollegewidgwok Yacht Club, Blue Hill Country Club, Blue Hill Heritage Trust and their numerous walking trails all throughout the Peninsula, a renowned public library, and a nationally recognized hospital, there is always something to do.

Parker Ridge is a hidden gem in the lovely seaside town of Blue Hill, Maine. Nestled in on 28 acres and surrounded by

Parker Ridge offers three living options to ensure seniors can continue to live the lifestyle that they choose. Set up as a co-op ownership model, there are 24 cottages that offer the most independent living option. Detached from the main inn, cottage residents enjoy the benefit of owning their own home without all the hassles that go along with home ownership.

They have access to all the amenities of Parker Ridge including

Seniors find themselves in the position of determining where they want to age. ealistically, there are two choices—figuring out how to age in place in your home or aging in place at a retirement community such as Parker Ridge. Aging changes us all. There are inevitable physical, mental and emotional changes that affect the daily life of seniors. While not all changes are negative, they do present challenges to aging in one's home. Many do not have family or friends close by to help. A community like Parker Ridge is designed to make aging in place easy.

health services if needed. Parker Inn is home to Residential and Assisted Living. 34 Residential Living apartments are available in a variety of sizes. Residential Living at Parker Ridge offers the flexibility and convenience of renting your own private apartment and the peace of mind that comes with on-site services and staff who are available 24 hours per day. Residents live as independently as they wish with the option of adding on extra help should the time come when it is needed. The Assisted Living neighborhood, called Parker Court, consists of 13 suites with 24-hour nurse care and individualized care plans for each resident. In caring for the whole person—mind and body—residents are able to pursue their individual interests, learn new skills, maintain or improve their health, and enjoy each day.

The upkeep of one's home can be overwhelming as people age.

Even when the time comes that you can no longer do the work yourself, it is a job in itself to schedule snow removal, lawn care, trash removal, home repairs or even keeping your home clean. Parker Ridge makes home maintenance stress free. All the work is done for you in a timely manner and is included in your monthly fee.

Stress free living

Dining with friends and family is a vital part of being happy and healthy. Meals don't just sustain the body, they add joy to our lives. Parker Ridge has established a first-class reputation for offering some of the finest meals available. With a choice of three different entrées nightly, evening meals range from simple to spectacular and feature homemade soups and desserts, quality cuts of meat, the freshest seafood, and local produce that can be customized to meet dietary specifications.

Social activities help to keep seniors mentally engaged, maintain self esteem and boost quality of life. Parker Ridge offers a wide variety of social activities both on campus and off with transportation included. Whether it is a trip to the Socialization

47 • MAINE SENIORS

APRIL 2019 • 4 8

RESIDENTIAL REVIEW

RESIDENTIAL REVIEW

Gigi Cutler

You have a choice in the place you want to age. The sense of security and belonging that come from a small community is something that cannot be found at home.

symphony in Bangor, weekly cocktail hours, lunch and a poem, exercise classes, art activities, guest lectures or a game of bridge, there is something for everyone.

You have a choice in the place you want to age. The flexibility in a retirement community means that help is available when you need it. The sense of security and belonging that come from a small community is something that cannot be found at home. Knowing that there is always someone looking out for you without intruding is a priceless comfort. Parker Ridge strives to ensure all residents are Happy, Healthy, Safe and Secure.

Let's hear what some of the residents have to say about their choice to age in place at Parker Ridge: 49 • MAINE SENIORS

Marianne New

"I moved to the Residential Living Apartments at Parker Ridge in 2004. I always told myself at 85 years old it would be time to move to a retirement community. I chose Parker Ridge because I had close friends that lived in Blue Marianne Hill. I feel as though Parker Ridge has a good spirit. I have made and lost many new friends over the years but I feel like there are always new and good people that move into Parker Ridge. Living at Parker Ridge has been a very positive experience. I like my apartment, the view and that I can have my cat." Still very active socially in the greater Blue Hill community, Marianne also enjoys the activities at Parker Ridge, particularly the daily exercise classes.

Marianne says that Parker Ridge provides a peace of mind knowing that there is always someone around to help if she needs it and that living here is stress free.

"After a short respite stay in Assisted Living at Parker Ridge, I liked it so much I decided to call it home.

I can't imagine living in my own Gigi home alone anymore. Everyone is so kind. I feel protected, even spoiled here. I also feel very safe and that is very important as you get older." Gigi also spoke highly of the activities program at Parker Ridge. "There is always something to learn through the different speakers and lectures that are offered here.

I especially enjoy all the different musical programs that we have." Socialization is important to Gigi who always keeps her door open for visitors. Whether it be at dinner or an activity, "everyone here has something to offer and I find the intellectual conversations that we have here fascinating." Though not as active in the Blue Hill community as she once was, Gigi has found ways to bring some of her social circles to Parker Ridge by creating a bi-weekly knitting group as well as hosting her bridge group here.

Rich and Susie Gurin

Rich and Susie have been married for 57 years and have spent every summer of their lives in Maine. Their parents in Sorrento and Somesville, and in Susie’s case, her grandparents summered here in Blue Hill. “We have many friends and connections in the area so retirement in Blue Hill has been our plan for many years.” The Gurins moved to Blue Hill year-round in 2000 having rebuilt a home on Parker Point at Winter Cove. Susie served on the Blue Hill Historical Society board and the Marine Environmental Institute Board while Rich was equally involved with The Jackson Laboratory, the Blue Hill Memorial Hospital and the Kollegewidgwok Yacht Club in Blue Hill. When they felt it was time to downsize (their 3 adult children are busy with their own families) Parker Ridge was their choice because“we felt like we were aging at home at Parker Ridge because we knew people here and had deep knowledge of the facility and its fine history.

Rich and Susie

And secondly, by coming here we could maintain our relationship with our friends and the village that we enjoy so much. We feel in control of our lives without burdening our kids. We feel safe and MSM secure at Parker Ridge.”

For more details about this community, please call Meredith Townsend at 207.374.2306 or visit them online at www.ParkerRidge.com. You can also find them on Facebook at Facebook.com/RetireAtParkerRidge

Page1 SHELL {PartNumber}_[Y0114_19_35830_U_C_807]

Do you want more from your Medicare plan?

Call me — I can help!

Nicole Mackenzie Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield an authorized licensed insurance agent for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Maine License number: PRR275115 1-207-303-4211 TTY: 711 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday days a week nicole.mackenzie@anthem.com We do not discriminate, exclude people, or treat them differently on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability in our health programs and activities. ATTENTION: Si vous parlez français, des services d’aide linguistique vous sont proposés gratuitement. Appelez le 1-888211-9817 (ATS: 711). ATENCIÓN: Si habla español, tiene a su disposición servicios gratuitos de asistencia lingüística. Llame al 1-888-211-9817 (TTY: 711). Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is a Medicare Advantage Organization with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield depends on contract renewal. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is the trade name of Anthem Health Plans of Maine, Inc. Independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Anthem is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. This policy has exclusions, limitations, and terms under which the policy may be continued in force or discontinued. For costs and complete details of coverage, please contact your agent or the health plan.

Y0114_19_35830_U_C_807 10/01/2018

72612MUSENMUB_807

APRIL 2019 • 5 0

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Easy Shrimp

Featured Recipe

Creole

S

EASY SHRIMP CREOLE (SERVES 4)

BY ELLEN L. SPOONER

pring is here! I know that because I read about it on my calendar—and if you see something in print, it must be accurate.

Right? Okay, maybe not all the time. Anyway, you can be sure that somewhere under the dirty snow, or mud, or last fall’s decayed leaves, new life is beginning to appear—and soon our neighborhoods will be covered by the lush green that signifies new growth.

Nature awakening to a new season!

So, let’s awaken with it . . . awaken our taste buds with a bit of heat, that is. How about some Shrimp Creole with Rice? My version, of course.

First, however, some notes about cooking rice.

For some of you, it may be intimidating. You may have tried the standard absorption method and repeatedly failed . . . ending up with globs of sticky goo; good for rice balls, perhaps, but not for gourmet recipes. Here are two different methods that guarantee perfect rice every time. (Note: 1 cup uncooked rice = 3-4 cups when cooked, so adjust the amounts of rice and water according to your needs.)

Microwave Method: Put rice, water, and 2 tablespoons butter, if desired, in microwave-safe casserole. Cover. Microwave on high for 8 minutes, then on medium power for 20 minutes. Allow to set for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork.

Stovetop (Pasta) Method: Add rice to 2-3 quarts boiling water and continue cooking for 18 minutes. Drain. Rinse rice with very hot or boiling water.

Both methods result in rice that refrigerates and reheats well. Now, on to the main course!

51 • MAINE SENIORS

INGREDIENTS:  1 medium green pepper cut in 1/2 x 1 1/2 inch strips  1 medium yellow onion cut same as pepper  2 tablespoons olive oil  2 teaspoons minced garlic*  1 14 1/2 oz. can of diced tomatoes  1 6 oz. can tomato paste or 1 10 oz. tomato sauce  2 teaspoons granulated sugar  salt*  fresh ground pepper*  Tabasco or other hot sauce sauce*  1 cup water  1lb. cooked jumbo shrimp

*(all to taste) DIRECTIONS: 1. Saute green pepper and onion in olive oil until just beginning to soften.

2. Add garlic and continue cooking for 1 minute.

3. Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce, sugar, salt and pepper, Tabasco, and water.

4. Simmer over low heat for 20-30 minutes stirring occasionally.

5. Check for seasoning and adjust, as desired.

6. Add cooked shrimp and continue to simmer for at least 15-20 minutes.

7. Serve over rice . . . and 8. Enjoy!

MSM

APRIL 2019 • 5 2

FROM THE PORCH

FROM THE PORCH

Hector Louis Berlinz humorously wrote, “Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all of its pupils.” an Army medic and one of 350 soldiers held in a Nazi slave camp. “His journal proved critical in documenting the deaths and atrocities in the camp.” At 93, his final words, “How life tells a story.”

This heartfelt obituary caught my attention. “Dad’s old shirts provide the warm embrace of memory.” Written

by Elizabeth Mitchell, an emergency room physician in Boston, she donated ten bags of his clothes to the Boston University School outreach van. “My dad would be tickled to know that his things went to people I care for, people who need them more than I did. But, he would also be touched to know that I kept a few items for myself, and that they bring me great comfort. When I wear them, I can still feel his arms wrapped around me.”

How Life Tells A Story

BY HUNTER HOWE

We lament, where has the time gone?

A

s we age, there’s a perception that time, like a fleeting brisk wind, accelerates at a faster pace. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote,“Time flies over us, but leaves its shadows behind.”

I wonder what he meant by “shadows.” No doubt, people who have passed on.

Each morning, I check the obituaries—it’s more a senior thing. Often, I recognize a name, a famous personality, a local weatherman or reporter, or “regular Joes” who grab my attention for their achievements and contributions. I read these, pause and think, a silent tribute of respect, for those whose shadows remain.

53 • MAINE SENIORS

Some recent ones: Bruce Lietzke, a popular professional golfer; Clark Booth, a well-respected Boston sportscaster; and Auguste Clapp, a pillar of winegrowers in the northern Rhone Valley. In particular, I find myself drawn to those who fought for our freedom or survived hellacious circumstances.

Mary Ellis, a female pilot in the Air Transportation Auxilary in WW II, “overcame public disapproval flying 400 British Spitfires and 76 other kinds of aircraft to front lines.” Kalman Anon, from Latvia, used his artistic talents to survive seven concentration camps by swapping sketches of his captors and their families for scraps of food. He later said, “I made it through the Holocaust with a pencil.” Herman Shine, from Poland, escaped from Morowitz, also known as Auschwitz 111, one of few who did and lived. Anthony Acevedo was

How poignant. Many of us have experienced the same when faced with the emotional task of getting rid of our own folk’s clothes. I’ve kept one of my Dad’s favorite colorful sweaters—and like Elizabeth, it gives me comfort.

And this, “Years after his death, woman gets final birthday flowers from her father.” At 17, Bailey Sellers got the first of the flowers. A note said,“Happy Birthday. You’ll receive these until you’re 21. Love Dad.” On her 21st, she said, “It means the world to me. I’m going to cherish that (the last note) for the rest of my life.”

Yes, how life tells a story.

Although time continues on relentless and unshakeable, like an unstoppable wave, time bonds forever. Hector Louis Berlinz humorously wrote, “Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all of its pupils.”

For children, time is, well, timeless.

For seniors, time is elusive, indifferent, full of velocity, flashing by.

It’s only natural to wonder about it.

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APRIL 2019 • 5 4

FROM THE PORCH

FROM THE PORCH

More than hearing aids, it’s hearing healthcare

After dinner, I sat on the porch reflecting on the old years and the new years to come.

We understand that while it is vitally important to help correct untreated hearing loss with the use of properly fitted hearing aids, our profession offers more. As

A Scientific American piece,“Why does time fly as we get older,” said.“Young people were more likely to select static metaphors to describe the passage of time (‘time is a quiet, motionless ocean’). Older folks described time with swift metaphors (‘time is a speeding train’).”

Audiologists, we partner with other specialists involved in a

A New York Times article,“Fast time and the aging mind,” said, “Older adults who constantly learn, always alive to new ideas and experiences, slow the fast-moving perception of time.” Many theories attempt to explain this. I found this interesting:“The feeling that there’s not enough time to get things done may be interpreted as the feeling that time is passing too quickly.”

If you are searching for an audiology practice that cares about you and your overall hearing health – look no further.

Contact us today at (207) 401-2313.

patient’s overall healthcare. We test, treat and collaborate on hearing loss, tinnitus, vertigo, and aural rehabilitation.

77 Beechland Road • Ellsworth, ME 04605

I remember, on a vacation to Jonesport, walking by my long-deceased grandparents’ house. Looking back, I wished I hadn’t. It had fallen into disrepair, paint peeling, porch sagging, driveway weed-infested. I felt both sad and angry.

I wished I could have journeyed back to a safe and joyous childhood, when time rippled in gentle currents, in a Down East town. But, time had marched on, dragging me with it, down the well-worn path of life.

Last night, as I slept, time slowed. This morning, I woke and wiped my eyes free from foggy dreams. Pulling up the shade, my gray eyes watched lingering frail leaves pushed along by the dawn wind. At noon, my thoughts hushed. I listened to the strike of the mantle clock, the movement of time, ticking and never-ending into eternity. After dinner, I sat on the porch reflecting on the old years and the new years to come. My gray thoughts contemplated a midnight train, departing the station, rumbling on, to somewhere in time.

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MSM

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Poet Sara Teasdale wrote,

55 • MAINE SENIORS

Dr. Elizabeth Beal Jardine Au.D., CCC-A

CALL US TODAY! (207) 401-2313

Where do the years go?

The restless rumble of the train, The drowsy people in the car, Steel blue twilight in the world, And in my heart a timid star.

Where do the years go?

Dr. David A. Jardine Au.D., CCC-A

Carroll Harper & Associates, Inc.

is authorized to sell Martin’s Point Generations Advantage.

Worldwide Emergencies

Medicare evaluates plans based on a 5-star rating system. Star Ratings are calculated each year and may change from one year to the next.

Generations Advantage 2019 Overall Ratings: 5 Stars for HMO Contract H5591; 4.5 Stars for LPPO Contract H1365. RPPO Contract R0802 was too new to receive a 2019 Star Rating. Visit www.

Medicare.gov for more information. For more information on Generations Advantage, you can also call 1-877-553-7054 (TTY:711). We’re available 8 am–8 pm, seven days a week from October 1 to March 31; and Monday through Friday the rest of the year. This is an advertisement. Martin’s Point Generations Advantage is a health plan with a Medicare contract offering HMO, HMO-POS, HMO SNP, Local and Regional PPO products. Enrollment in a Martin’s Point Generations Advantage plan depends on contract renewal. Martin’s Point Health Care complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex. ATTENTION: Si vous parlez français, des services d’aide linguistique vous sont proposés gratuitement. Appelez le 1-877-553-7054 (ATS : 711). ATENCIÓN: si habla español, tiene a su disposición servicios gratuitos de asistencia lingüística. Llame al 1-877-553-7054 (TTY: 711).

Y0044_2019_167_M Accepted: 10/23/18

APRIL 2019 • 5 6

Spring is in full swing!

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