Lifestyles After 50 Suncoast Edition, December 2015

It’s Christmas! at Bok Tower Gardens Open daily through January 3 more on pg. 5

Live concerts on the Singing Tower

Free Admission

20th

ALL NEW! Find Yourself at mOSI Play All Day!

4801 E. Fowler Avenue • Tampa, FL

January 21, 2016 • 8:30 am – 2 pm

LIVE EnTERTAInmEnT

Denise Looney, DJ With A Twist James marvell, Formerly of the group mercy

Prize-A-Palooza Chances to Win $100 throughout the day!

Join the Fun! Win Tickets to ImAX Theater!

Dress Like a HIPPIE

• Space Program • 3D Printing • New Drone Zone

TOUCH THE FUTURE! Visit 450 Interactive Exhibits!

Education! information!

EntErtainmEnt!

Pay $2 for Parking at the Lifestyles After 50 Booth to Receive Your Parking token (value $5)

• Free Admission to mOSI • Free Health Screenings • Friendly Exhibitors • Free BInGO in the Science Room • 1,000s in Prizes & Giveaways • Free Coffee & Goodies throughout the day.

• Lunch available ($5 – $8) • Bring a friend and enjoy the day.

For information call: 813-653-1988 or toll free 1-888-670-0040 • wwww.lifestylesafter50.com Lifestyles After 50 • December 2015 • page 2

Hello and Happy Holidays!

Dear Readers, My name is Amanda Smith and it is with great pleasure that I announce my arrival as the Amanda Smith, Editor brand new Editor of Lifestyles After 50!

A little about me: It feels like I’ve been a writer since birth, always presenting my parents with the latest in an endless string of stories about everything from super girl detectives to talking trees that could tell the future.

After university, I followed my heart and became a writer, and low and behold, I have spent the entirety of my career writing for and about none other than YOU!

is more opportunities to engage with us! Look for more interactive features, including favorite story surveys, advice columns, and many other ways to make your voice heard in Lifestyles After 50. In fact, I encourage any reader to reach out to me personally at editor@ lifestylesafter50.com, or at our mailing address and let me know why

our exploration of the value of giving and volunteering during the season of celebration. We’ve got an amazing feature about how Peace Corps volunteers say the experience of giving their time, skills and compassion shaped their lives, and my own experiences volunteering as a journalist in Nairobi, Kenya definitely attest to that. There is something about giving that soothes the soul and offers intangible gifts to the giver.

Do you have a story about how volunteering, helping or giving has shaped your own life? Post it to our Facebook page, send an email to editor@lifestylesafter50. com, or mail it in and we just may feature you in our first issue of 2016!

Editor Amanda Smith volunteering in Nairobi, Kenya, 2010

With an extensive editorial background serving the 50+ population in the health care industry, I offer deep personal experience and a honed sense of connection with the after 50 crowd. I look forward to continuing to produce the high-quality, pertinent content that made this magazine successful, while adding a creative and personal touch of my own.

it is you read our publication! What do you like? What do you dislike?

What would you like to see more of?

What differentiates our magazine from all the others out there? I am very passionate about developing a meaningful relationship with our readers and the first step is getting to know you, so feel free to drop me a line and welcome me to the job!

A little about you: What I truly hope to offer Lifestyles After 50 readers

Enjoy this December issue filled with lots of holiday inspiration, including

Again, I am proud to be the new editor and I know I’ve got some big shoes to fill with reader-favorite Tracie Lukens leaving. I promise to always do my best to deliver fun, original and informative content, one story at a time.

I look forward to connecting with you all, and wish you a holiday season full of friends, family, giving and gratitude!

Sincerely, Amanda Smith

Suncoast Edition Published monthly by News Connection U.S.A., Inc President Richard Reeves richard@lifestylesafter50.com Publisher/Director of Events & Marketing Kathy J. Beck kathy@lifestylesafter50.com Editor Amanda Smith editor@lifestylesafter50.com Office Manager Vicki Willis vicki@lifestylesafter50.com Administrative Assistant Allie Shaw allie@lifestylesafter50.com Production Supervisor/Graphic Design 813-689-6104 Distribution Nancy Spencer: (941) 244-0500 nancy@lifestylesafter50.com

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813-653-1988 • 1-888-670-0040 Dena Bingham: 813-293-1262 dena@lifestylesafter50.com Our other editions: Tampa Bay Edition: Hillsborough County Lake Edition: Lake/Marion Counties Sarasota Edition: Sarasota/Manatee Southwest Edition: Lee/Collier & Charlotte Polk Edition: Polk County To learn more, call 1-888-670-0040

News Connection USA, Inc. P.O. Box 638 Seffner, Florida 33583-0638 Fax: (813) 651-1989 www.lifestylesafter50.com

FCOA Attention Readers: The articles printed in Lifestyles After 50 do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Editor or the staff. Lifestyles After 50 endeavors to accept reliable advertising; however, we cannot be held responsible by the public for advertising claims. Lifestyles After 50 reserves the right to refuse or discontinue any advertisement. Our advertising deadline for each issue is the 15th of the previous month. Magazines are out by the 7th of each month. All rights reserved.

As a reader of Lifestyles After 50, you are creating an established relationship with our advertisers. You may be contacted by email, telephone or mail as allowed by law.

Lifestyles After 50 • December 2015 • page 3

Around Town W H AT ’ S H A P P E N I N G D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 5

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hrough December. Holiday Lights in the Gardens. Stroll through 750,000 twinkly lights, lasers, animated figures and entertainers lining the pathways. Suggested $4 donation.

5:30 p.m. Florida Botanical Gardens, Largo. (727)582-5800.

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8

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Very Merry Christmas Party. Get into the holiday spirit with dinner, entertainment, door prizes and golf cart tours of the holiday lights in Largo Central Park. $15. 5 - 8:30 p.m. Largo Community Center. (727)518-3131.

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Christmas in Ireland feat.Michael Londra of Riverdance. Create lasting memories with this amazing show. 2 - 7:30 p.m. $19.50 - $34.50 in advance, add $5 at the door. Largo Cultural Center, (727)587-6751.

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F o c u s o n F l o r i d a Open house reception of Florida themed exhibit at Stirling Art Studios & Gallery. A selection of 3D art from The Suncoast Stone Sculptors Guild will also be showcased. Free and open to the public. 5:30 – 8 p.m. Part of Dunedin’s Art & Wine Walk. (727)482-4667.

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12/6 12/13 12/17 12/27 1/3

Atlanta New Orleans St. Louis Chicago Carolina

Lifestyles After 50 • December 2015 • page 4 R

B o w z e r ’s H o l i d a y P a r t y & D i n n e r. Enjoy a sumptuous buffet before the show. Dinner package includes a pre-show dinner, a premium seat for the show, and a voucher for free valet parking. Dinner, 5:30 p.m. Show, 7:30 p.m. $125. Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater. (727)712-2717.

BOLTS 12 12/12 12/20 12/22 12/26 12/28

Washington Ottowa Vancouver Columbus Montreal

Holiday Stroll: Sounds of the Season. Enjoy a beer and wine garden, food, Santa, late night Brass live performance, holiday craft fair and more. Free. 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. Largo Central Park. (727)586-7415.

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hursday Tea Dance. Enjoy an afternoon of ballroom dancing as the DJ plays foxtrot, waltz, swing & latin music. Singles and couples welcome. Complimentary ice cold fruit infused water, coffee and cookies all included with paid admission. $3. 2 3:45 p.m. CARES Elfers Center, New Port Richey. (727)847-1290.

BUCS

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St. Pete Second Saturday Art Walk. Meet the artists and take in the St. Pete arts scene after hours with more than 40 participating studios and galleries, including Duncan McClellan Glass and Morean Arts Center. Free trolleys run through the city all event long. Free. 5 - 9 p.m. For more information, call (727)822-7872 or visit www.stpeteartsalliance.org

Guy Harvey Outpost Tampa Bay Lightning Watch Party.

Support the Lightning with your toes in the sand at this official watch party at Guy Harvey Outpost as the Lightning face the Washington Capitals. Bring your beach towels and chairs! Parking available for $10. 7 p.m. St. Pete Beach 6000 Gulf Blvd. (888)377-0026.

An Old Fashioned Christmas Parade. Featuring dancers, floats, classic and modern cars, local businesses, residents and the main attraction, Santa and Mrs. Claus! Before and after the parade, stop and enjoy market vendors and food trucks. Visit www.largo.com/dtevents to learn more about parade route details. 12 -3p.m.

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A Christmas Carol. The longest-running tour production of A Christmas Carol in the U.S. makes a stop in Clearwater for two shows! $38.75 - $135. 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Ruth Eckerd Hall. Call (727)791-7400.

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Suncoast Brotherhood 35th Annual Toy Run. Police escort at noon, leaving from K-Mart parking lot, US 19 and SR580, Dunedin and ending American Legion Post 275, Dunedin. Procession through Dunedin benefits Pinellas County Foster & Adoptive Parents Association. Please bring a $5 donation & one unwrapped toy per person for the foster kids.

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The Producers. Bialystock and Bloom! Those names should strike terror in anyone familiar with Mel Brooks’ classic cult comedy film. This big Broadway musical won a record 12 Tony Awards®, wowing capacity crowds night after night. $35 and up. 8 p.m. Ruth Eckerd Hall. (727)791-7400.

Please send Around Town news to News Connection USA, Inc., P.O. Box 638, Seffner, FL 33583; fax 813-651-1989 or email info@lifestylesafter50.com by the 10th of the month prior to the event (i.e. submit January events by 12/10/15).

Celebrate Christmas at Bok Tower Gardens!

Holiday Home Tour, Singing Tower & More C

hristmas at Bok Tower Gardens, an annual celebration for all ages, is definitely one of the best times of year to visit this National Historic Landmark, located just outside the quaint Central Florida city of Lake Wales. Holiday events and festivities are offered daily through January 3.

The ever-popular Holiday Home Tour at Pinewood Estate is the highlight of Bok Tower Gardens’ seasonal events, but the Christmas fun doesn’t end there.

Visitors enjoy winter walking tours, and poinsettia, bromeliad and amaryllis displays, as well as live music on the 205-foot Singing Tower carillon, and the Sunset & Symphony Holiday Concert with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra on December 5.

Tour the 20-room, 1932 Mediterranean-style Pinewood Estate to take a step back in time and enjoy a glimpse of how families might have celebrated the holidays in a bygone era. And no two years are ever the same! Committed to giving visitors a new holiday experience each year, designers choose a novel theme for the mansion every Christmas.

This year, guests go back in time to visit 1937, where Pinewood Estate owner C. Austin Buck is hosting a Florida holiday vacation for his daughters and granddaughters. The design theme?

“To Grandfather’s House We Go!” Lovingly decorated by different sponsored designers and volunteers, each room design has a different focus, bringing out that special feeling of being together with family at Christmastime.

Children are also encouraged to tour the 1930s-style home and participate in a fun hunt for a family of Pinewood Christmas Squirrels who are hiding throughout the Estate - an activity actually enjoyed just as much by adult visitors! This truly

The 60-bell, 205-ft. Singing Tower carillon at Bok Tower Gardens features Christmas music through Jan. 3.

is one of Bok Tower’s biggest and most well-attended events all year.

“The Holiday Home Tour at Pinewood Estate is consistently our largest annual fundraiser, thanks to thousands of visitors who have made it a family tradition,” says Jennifer Beam, Director of Visitor Services & Programs. “Every dollar we raise through admission tickets and activities during the Christmas season goes right back into the Gardens.”

With as much work as every detail of the décor requires, the Holiday Home Tour wouldn’t be possible without the dedicated help from dozens of people who began preparing months in advance.

“The staff, volunteers and designers who make this event happen work tirelessly all year to plan for a spectacular display,” Beam says. “A project of this size and scope is truly a team effort.”

Inspired by the history and beauty of the Pinewood Estate, volunteer patron group The Amaryllis Club adorns the home’s hallways, entrances and other spaces with handcrafted décor. This year, they will also decorate the Living Room for the Holiday Home Tour, and club members say their mission is to promote and preserve the heritage and vintage style of this historic home.

The Loggia at Pinewood Estate, seen here at the 2014 Holiday Home Tour.

“The Amaryllis

Club is so pleased to join other designers in celebrating the 21st annual Holiday Home Tour,” says Amaryllis Club organizer Cindy Alexander. “Our members are excited to support the Gardens by focusing on preparing a very special home for the holidays.”

Patti Bostick, lead designer for The Amaryllis Club’s decorating team, explains that the main intent of their Living Room design was to ensure they emphasized the home’s architecture, beauty and style, without compromising the integrity of the house.

“It’s an honor and a privilege to decorate a room in this one-of-a-kind home,” Bostick says. “Our entire team has worked on this project since spring, and we’re excited for visitors to experience how Mr. Buck and his family would have enjoyed a 1930’s Christmas together. The house just speaks to you; you can feel its history. It’s an amazing place, and we all just love it.”

Christmas at Bok Tower Gardens is sponsored in part by Visit Central Florida, Winter Haven Honda, WEDU, WUSF, Hall Communications, the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.

To purchase tickets for Christmas at Bok Tower Gardens and the Holiday Home Tour at Pinewood Estate, visit Bok Tower online at boktowergardens. org/christmas or call (863)734-1222.

Photos by Chad Baumer, courtesy of Bok Tower Gardens.

Christmas at Bok Tower Gardens Schedule of Events 21st Holiday Home Tour, Pinewood Estate Nov. 27 to Jan. 3; 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Daily “To Grandfather’s House We Go!” $20/adults; $9/kids ages 5-12. Members: $7/adults; $6/ kids ages 5-12. Kids under 5 free. Included with Gardens admission.

Christmas Carillon Concerts LIVE! Nov. 27 to Jan. 3; 30 minute concerts Geert D’hollander performs international Christmas music, 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. every Thurs.-Sun. on the 60-bell Singing Tower carillon. Carillon fellow Margaret Pan performs live every Mon.-Wed., all holiday season. All 30-min. shows incl. w/ Gardens admission.

Winter Walking Tours Nov. 27-Jan. 3; Mon-Sat. 12-2 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.

From the Visitor Center to the Singing Tower, hour-long tour-goers explore the grounds’ flora and fauna. Free w/ Gardens admission.

1930s Holi-DAYS at Pinewood Estate Dec. 1, 8, 15 & 22 ; 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

The Pinewood Estate grounds host vintage Model A’s, historical characters from the ‘30s, & a few surprise personalities from the past.

Free w/ Gardens admission.

Sunset & Symphony Holiday Concert with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra Dec. 5; 6 p.m.

A favorite holiday concert of Cental Florida, The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and Singing Tower carillon join forces for a show.

Prepare themed picnics, & arrive early for the instrument petting zoo at 4:30 p.m. $20/ adults; $8/kids ages 5-12. Kids under 5, free.

Holiday Home Workshop “Boondoggles” Dec. 12; 1-4 p.m.

Using palm fronds, create “boondoggles” with local artist Catherine Price in this holiday decor class. $15 includes supplies.

Reservations required: 863-734-1222.

Carillon & Chorale Concert w/ Holiday Home Tour Open Late Dec. 20; 7:30 p.m.

Enjoy a live choir & hour-long carillon concert under the stars, with an option for a special nighttime tour of Pinewood Estate, complete w/ cookies & hot cocoa. Enjoy light dinner beforehand at the Blue Palmetto Café for add’l fee. Last Estate entry: 9 p.m. Concert only: $5/ person; members, free. Concert & Home Tour: $13/person; members, $7.

Christmas Day, Bok Tower Gardens - Dec. 25 Celebrate Christmas Day with free Holiday Home Tours of Pinewood Estate! Enjoy the sounds of the season with live carillon concerts at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Café, gift shop and Holiday Home Tour open 12-5 p.m. Free tours are subject to availability on timed entry and first-come, first-served basis. Regular Gardens admission rates apply.

Lifestyles After 50 • December 2015 • page 5

Top Ten Christmas Movies of All Time Get in the spirit with a Christmas classic! For a festive evening lounging on the couch, here’s our Top Ten, designed to remind you the reason for the season.

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A Christmas Carol. As popular a holiday classic today as it was when Charles Dicken’s wrote it over 150 years ago, A Christmas Carol outlines the legendary transformation of Scrooge. We like the 1951 version best.

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Gremlins. Smashing all conceptions of a traditional Christmas movie, this festive monster film offers an antidote to the overly sappy and cliche Christmas fare.

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The Shop Around the Corner.

Craving a Christmas comedy with a romantic twist? This 1940 classic boasts a great cast and a smart and funny script.

MUSIC/OPERA

PLAY/FAMILY SHOW

HOLIDAY CONCERT/FAMILY SHOW SAT • DEC 12 • 7:30 PM Heritage Museum

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Elf. What beats a grown man dressed as an Elf? This pure comedy is one of those rare films with heart, brains and a shockingly sharp sense of humor.

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The Bishop’s Wife. This oft-forgotten film starring Cary Grant as an angel from heaven, this festive feel-good film will leave you smiling all night.

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A Christmas Story. Loved by kids of all ages, this beloved, timeless film will also reach adults with its level of depth in dialogue and themes of this 1983 Christmas classic.

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Holiday Inn. A seasonal classic introducing “White Christmas” to the world, you’ll enjoy music by Irving Berlin, songs by Bing Crosby and dancing by Fred Astaire. Delightful.

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HOLIDAY CONCERT/FAMILY SHOW Holiday Cheer Delivered with Virtuoso Flair

SUN • DEC 13 • 2:00 PM Heritage Museum

HOLIDAY & FAMILY EVENT

HOLIDAY OPERA/CONCERT

FRI • DEC 18 • 11:00 AM - 3:00PM SAT • DEC 19 • 5:00PM - 8:00PM Safford House Museum

Plus a Concert of Classic Carols & Holiday Favorites

SUN • DEC 20 • 2:00 PM

Share Live Entertainment with Your Family & Friends!

Lifestyles After 50 • December 2015 • page 6

Nightmare Before Christmas.

This animated film, stars a beloved Halloween pumpkin king who finds himself in a winter wonderland. Amazing music, animation and message.

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Miracle On 34th Street. Remakes and colorized versions come and go, but 1947’s original black-and-white edition is our choice for a fun family viewing.

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It’s a Wonderful Life. The holiday classic that defines all other holiday classics, It’s a Wonderful Life is one of a handful of films worth an annual viewing. For Christmas, this one’s our all-time favorite.

Lifestyles After 50 • December 2015 • page 7

Christmas Cheer, Florida Style

By Amanda Smith

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hink Christmas just isn’t the same without all that freezing cold weather and snow to shovel?

Think again! Even with all their palm trees, beaches and sunshine, Floridians still know how to celebrate the holiday season with serious style. From St. Augustine’s lights to Tampa’s makeshift ice skating rink, there are plenty of places in Florida that are decorated so well, you’ll think you are at the North Pole. The best part? Fake snow never melts! If you’re having trouble getting in the Christmas spirit in 80 degree weather, we’ve rounded up some of the best places and events in the Sunshine State to enjoy the holidays this year...

We recommend planning an overnight stay to take it all in, while enjoying some of the great dining and entertainment St. Augustine has to offer. For an even more memorable experience, park in the Historic Parking Facility located off Castillo Drive and enjoy the holiday sights on the Old Town Trolley (and accompanying tour), or by horse and carriage. For a romantic way to take in the lights, try a boat tour aboard the Dolphin Water Tours’ Osprey. Two boat tours are offered nightly: 6 p.m. -7:15 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. - 8:45 p.m.

Purchase your tickets online at www. dolphinwatertours.com and for buy one get one free admission, enter in the code DOLPHIN at checkout. This year’s Night of Lights began on November 21,

Downtown on Ice, Tampa Ever think you’d be taking the grandkids to ice skate outdoors in Tampa Bay? Presented by the Tampa Bay Lightning, the only outdoor ice skating rink in the Bay area will once again open at Curtis Hixon Park in downtown Tampa. Open now until January 3, 2016, skating is only $10 and includes skates.

Concessions are available for purchase.

Hours are: Monday-Thursday 4-9 p.m.; Friday 4-10 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m.-10 p.m. and Sunday noon-9 p.m. Curtis Hixon Park, 600 N. Ashley Dr, Tampa, www.TampasDowntownonIce.com.

While You’re There: Stroll along Tampa’s Riverwalk just a short distance to reach a fabulous “Native-American-inspired” restaurant called Ulele. Known for its eclectic menu and its vibrant ambiance, be sure to call ahead and make a reservation at this popular spot on 1810 N. Highland Ave by calling 813-999-4952 or visiting them online at www.ulele.com.

Holiday Boat-A-Long, Cape Coral Get into the Christmas spirit, Florida style, with this fabulous boat parade in Cape Coral! Located at Four Freedoms Park on Cape Coral Pkwy, the Holiday Boat-A-Long features boats decorated with everything from lights to Santa’s reindeer. Featuring food, fireworks, Christmas music and a visit from Santa, the annual boat parade happens on December 19. If you live close to Bimini Basin, watch as the boats line up for the parade here before heading down various canals in South Cape Coral, or make your way down to the Cape

In Tampa, watch the grandkids ice skate outdoors, followed by a meal that offers an historical flair..

Coral Parkway where a few bleachers will be set up in front of the beach to take in the sight of all the boats. We suggest bringing your own chairs and/or blankets to make sure you’ve got plenty of room and a guaranteed place to sit, because this is definitely a Cape Coral favorite and quite the sight to behold!

The festivities begin at 4 p.m., with the actual parade beginning at 7 p.m. A family friendly movie will be shown at the park after the parade, with the event ending around 10 p.m.

While You’re There: Enjoy the parade and do a good deed!

Bring a few canned goods to donate at bins placed throughout Four Freedoms park. For more information about participating in or attending the Cape Coral Boat Parade, visit www.come-tocape-coral.com/christmas-boat-parade

Endless Illumination at St. Augustine’s Nights of Lights Nights of Lights, St. Augustine During the holidays, a long-time Spanish tradition for families has been to display a white candle in the window of their home. Honoring the Spanish roots of America’s oldest city, St. Augustine’s community members pay homage with the Nights of Lights. Featuring two million white lights over two months, St. Augustine’s annual holiday event makes magic shine at every street corner to create what National Geographic has called one of the top ten best holiday lighting displays in the world. Not sure how to best enjoy the Night of Lights?

and continues nightly through January 31, 2016. For more information on St. Augustine’s Night of Lights, visit www. floridashistoriccoast.com/nights/ Photo credit: www.FloridasHistoricCoast.com While You’re There: For an extra dose of culture, visit Flagler College to view a small recreated collection of men’s and women’s clothing from the beginning of the Gilded Age period. Open now, the exhibit runs until December 31 and is included in the $10 price of the daily Flagler College Legacy Tours at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. 74 King St, 904-823-3378, www.flagler.edu

Cape Coral’s Holiday Boat A Long offers a Floridian type of Christmas spirit!

Lifestyles After 50 • December 2015 • page 7

Lifestyles After 50 • December 2015 • page 9

Can the holidays be healthy?

By Amanda Smith verybody loves the holidays, but how do you stay healthy with endless parties to attend, interruptions to your usual gym schedule and indulgent treats at every corner? With so much to contend with, it’s no wonder that even the strictest diet and exercise routines are often thrown by the wayside as the holiday season gets in full swing.

Rather than undermine a year’s worth of healthy efforts, here’s a guide to staying healthy all through this holiday season.

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Nature Knows Best With the prevalence of diabetes and weight issues linked to sugar, Alisha Chasey, a registered dietitian in Naples, encourages holiday chefs to experiment with the sweet bounty of the natural world. “When preparing sugary sweets for guests, try substituting natural sweeteners, or look for recipes that specifically call for them,” she says.

“Raw honey, stevia, fruit purees, and xylitol are all great sugar alternatives to try, and most natural sugar alternatives boost your immune system and cut out empty calories.”

Lifestyles After 50 • December 2015 • page 10

Shake up Tradition You know the scene - the whole family gathers around grandma’s timeless table every Christmas, waiting for countless favorite dishes to arrive hot all at the same time. But between cleaning the house and cooking for a crowd, holiday entertaining may inadvertently become a source of stress as you age. If you traditionally host Christmas dinner, consider passing the tradition on to your family’s younger generation. Or, if you feel hosting helps you continue to feel active and involved, then at least let younger family members prepare part of the meal and help clean it all up afterwards.

Keep Exercising Without snow and cold weather to use as an excuse for the lack of gym visits, Floridians don’t have much of a defense.

Yes, schedules are busier, and yes, hangovers need to be nursed, but we urge you to try to stick to your gym schedule as much as possible. You’ll definitely feel better about all those extra calories you’re consuming, and hey, some cardio might even help ease off some of that notorious holiday stress.

Drink black tea with honey & cinnamon; look for dark chocolate as a treat.

Sip wisely It’s not just sweet food we have more of during the holidays - many of the drinks we imbibe in also pack quite the caloric punch. “Sweet coffee treats, soft drinks or alcoholic beverages are usually full of empty calories that add up quickly,” Alisha says. Her advice? “If you want to splurge on sweetened coffee drinks, smaller sizes help avoid the excess of ‘liquid calories,’ many of which also dehydrate the body. Request ½ or even a ¼ of your usual syrup pumps... you’ll be surprised how yummy it still

is!” Speaking of fractions, try halving your alcoholic intake by alternating every beer, wine or mixed drink with 12 ounces of water in between. You’ll end up drinking less and staying more hydrated, all while still having some festive fun.

Alisha Chasey holds her master’s degree in nutrition, is a registered dietitian, certified nutrition specialist and owner of Innocent Indulgence. To achieve true health and wellness, visit her online at www.Innocentindulgence.net.

Your Carefree Life Starts Now at Grand Villa G

rand Villa offers wonderful features and amenities in a familystyle atmosphere for Assisted Living and state-of-the-art Memory Care. Our devoted staff provides residents with the highest level of personal service and care in a stress-free environment, encouraging relaxation and socialization. This allows our residents to spend less time worrying about daily tasks and more time enjoying life.

Grand Villa residents experience wonderful food and an exceptional dining experience. Our chefs prepare three well-balanced and delicious meals per day served in our restaurant-style dining room. Residents select their own meal choices from an extensive menu, and snacks are available throughout the day. We love to celebrate birthdays, holidays, and milestones with party food and a variety of themed meals. We also encourage our residents to share family favorites by giving their recipes to our chefs. These meals are prepared and enjoyed by the entire community.

Health and wellness services are available on-site at Grand Villa. General practitioners, podiatrists, dentists and

optometrists visit regularly. We also offer on-site physical, speech, and occupational therapy for residents who want to avoid the stress of traveling.

Residents can make an appointment with a visiting physician, or schedule a complimentary ride to a local doctor’s office.

Our home-like environment is welcoming and inviting, with many activity choices available each day.

Whether parties, classes, lectures or excursions, there is always an entertaining and engaging option. Our full time Activities Coordinator plans activities such as exercise classes, live musical performances and excursions to local malls and restaurants. The assisted living programs at Grand Villa are specifically designed to enhance every aspect of a resident’s life. Our community offers so many opportunities for fun, you’re sure to find something that appeals to you each day.

We hope you will consider Grand Villa Senior Living and join our family.

Call us to learn more and to schedule your personal tour today!

Lifestyles After 50 • December 2015 • page 11

Man’s Guide to Dating After 50: Eight things to know if you want to get back in the game

By Michael Castleman

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years later, you’re single again and, suddenly, on the brink of dating. How should you begin? Maybe call that old high school flame? Sign up for an online dating site? Once you do score a date, what should you expect in terms of s-e-x? For dating after 50, these eight insights might make it a whole lot easier.

1. Some things don’t change.

It’s always been challenging to meet women, and even with dozens of dating sites, it still is. So, use the classic methods: blind dates, meeting through friends or activities (work, play, religion), and plain old serendipity. Tell everyone you know that you’re looking. Ask to be fixed up. Do things you enjoy and you might meet like-minded women!

2. The numbers are on your side.

It’s not “two girls for every boy,” like the Beach Boys sang, but demographics do trend that way. Men die younger than women, so as the decades pass,

women begin to increasingly outnumber men, which subtly works in your favor. These days, Betty and Veronica no longer sit by the phone waiting for Archie to call. If a woman is interested in you, she’ll probably initiate contact.

3. Google yourself.

Women will, so you better know what they’ll find. Try to correct misinformation, or at least be prepared to prove that you’re not the escaped serial killer who shares your name. While you’re at it, make sure your Twitter and Facebook page won’t raise any eyebrows either.

4. Dating sites have advantages.

Tip: Upload smiling photos, as they increase the response rate from women.

In addition to letting you cast a wider net, profiles provide good icebreakers Beyond saying, “You’re really cute and you live near me,” you can add that like her, you also play tennis and enjoy jazz.

5. Dating sites have disadvantages.

Some site members are flakier than

piecrust. They seem interested, but after e-mailing, they disappear, or stand you up. Then some of the ones that do show up look nothing like their picture. One study found that people exaggerate their height, women claim to weigh 20 pounds less than average, and 72% claimed to be “more attractive than average.” Expect some surprises from others, but still tell the truth yourself. Let’s face it, as soon as you meet, she’ll see your real height, weight and how attractive you truly are.

8. Dating isn’t mating.

Get comfortable with the idea that you’ll probably have to date dozens of women before you find Ms. Right. If you know that a budding relationship has no future, don’t waste your time or hers. Say, “I’m sorry, but there’s no chemistry for me.” And be prepared to hear those words yourself, frequently.

Either way, maybe suggest she contact one of your single friends, and don’t be afraid to ask if she’d recommend anyone for you. Just remember, finding a real diamond takes a whole lotta patience.

Show her you’ve still got plenty of style by dressing to impress.

6. Dress for success.

You may be wonderful, but if you look like a slob, women will flee. Trouble is, most men hate clothes shopping, so if that’s you, get help. Ask a female friend to accompany you.

7. Keep condoms handy.

One pleasant surprise about dating after 50 is less groveling for sex. After a few dates, most older women feel fine about going horizontal. Still, they don’t want sexually transmitted infections (STIs), so use condoms until you’re monogamous.

Courtesy of AARP; article by sex educator and counselor Michael Castleman, M.A., publisher of www.GreatSexAfter40.com.

Better tomorrows are here for those suffering from COPD

By David Ebner

R

ecently diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and shortly before his death on February 27th, 2015, Leonard Nimoy tweeted, “Not soon enough.”

He was referring to his decision to quit smoking. Best known for his role as “Spock” of Star Trek, Nimoy had quit 30 years before, but the damage was done.

In an interview with Pharrell Williams last year Nimoy admitted, “I flunked chemistry in high school.” Apparently, young Nimoy hadn’t fully grasped the long-term effects of smoking, so he spent his final year of life urging people to stop smoking now, before it’s too late.

The internationally beloved actor was 82 years old when he passed.

Behind only heart disease and cancer, COPD is the third-leading cause of death in the United States, with 12 million people diagnosed and another Lifestyles After 50 • December 2015 • page 12

12 million undiagnosed. Nimoy is not the only celebrity to have developed COPD, either: The disease played a role in the deaths of Johnny Carson, Dean Martin and Leonard Bernstein.

To expand airways and allow more air into and out of the lungs, physicians often prescribe bronchodilators. It’s common for COPD treatment plans to include supplemental oxygen to regulate diminishing blood-oxygen levels brought on by poor lung function.

While these treatments help, they really only manage symptoms, they don’t cure COPD. A stigma carried by smokingrelated illnesses is that patients only have themselves to blame, and many believe this circumstance has hampered research funding. What isn’t taken into account is that many COPD sufferers started smoking as minors, lured by marketing schemes targeted to children.

A clinic in the Unites States is

Nimoy is only one of millions who passed away from COPD, but new stem cell treatments may offer hope.

creating hope for people with COPD, by developing a treatment using stem cells from the patient’s body. The Lung Institute (lunginstitute.com) has performed over 1500 treatments since 2013, harvesting stem cells through a minimally-invasive procedure that isolates them before returning them to the patient. The result can slow further cell degeneration, bringing normal life within reach. With a 70 percent success rate and proven increased quality of life in patients, the findings seem promising.

Before his death, Nimoy made sure

he took precious time to issue a warning - that with degenerative lung disease, it really is impossible to know when enough degeneration has occurred that the life-threatening damage has already been done.

However, new advancements are in practice, and COPD may soon be on the decline. Regardless of the individual causes of lung disease, all deserve a chance to fight for better tomorrows.

With innovative treatments like stem cell therapy, that hope has now become a reality for thousands.

Lifestyles After 50 • December 2015 • page 13

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Lifestyles After 50 • December 2015 • page 14 R

ot everyone celebrates Christmas, but we all love something “cute,” and without much snow in Florida, we could also all use a little “winter wonderland.” Here’s a craft that’s both snowy and religious-diversity friendly, so no matter what you’re celebrating this year, these sock snowmen (and women!) are sure to make you smile.

Step 4 & 5: Push the rice down the sock until it’s full, stretching the sock a bit to make a nice plump snowman. Close the top by wrapping another rubber band around the top (shown in photo above).

Step 6: Cut off toe and heel of the first ankle sock; Just cut off the heel of the second one.

Sock Snowmen What You’ll Need: • 1 white sock. (it needs a midcalf or knee high tube on the top) • decorative socks (the argyle socks shown here are at Target for $1) • rice for filler • twine or ribbon • rubberbands • buttons • something to use for the nose (we painted a little BBQ skewer orange) Step 1: First, cut the foot part off of your sock and discard, leaving only the tube portion of the sock.

Step 2 & 3: Turn the tube part inside out and wrap a rubber band around the bottom. Make sure it’s wrapped tightly, turning it inside out again so the rubber band is on the inside.

Step 7, 8 & 9: Put sock without a toe and heel over your rice filled sock, creating the sweater. Then, pushing the rice down to make a solid base, tie ribbon or twine around the bottom of the sweater, then the top of the sweater.

Lastly, add the hat (the other sock; it still has the toe). Tie twine on the top.

Step 10: Now, the fun! Add eyes, nose, and buttons; sew them on or use hot glue.

There you have it - the sweetest, easiest, little sock snowperson you’ll ever make. Whip this little cutie up in less than ten minutes...and stay warm doing it! Craft instructions and photos provided by www.thenshemade.com.

100 Club: Celebrating Centenarians!

T

wo years before World War One, Salvador was born in Ybor City in October of 1912. Born to cigar-making parents of Spanish descent, Sal was the youngest of seven, and moved to Cuba as a child, where he lived most of his life. He began work as a barber in Cuba, which he continued when he moved back to Tampa at 33. He married Emily and had two sons, one of which followed in his footsteps to become a barber, while the other is a successful singer. Sal turned 103 this year, and says that his faith in God is what

Happy 103rd Birthday, Sal!

keeps him going. With a mind as clear as a bell, Sal says his aging secrets are simple: never stress, eat well and sleep nine hours a night. Know someone over 100? Give us a call at 813-653-1988 or email editor@lifestylesafter50.com to be our featured birthday next month!

MAKE: Sweet Potato Parsnip Latkes with Feta and Leeks W

ho doesn’t enjoy the perfect simplicity of the classic potato latke at Hannukah? While we all love strippeddown basic recipes, those with care paid to tradition and technique, sometimes it’s fun to go “avant-garde.” This year, bust out the frou-frou trimmings of a latke with say...caramelized leeks, hashed parsnips, feta and even sweet potatoes!

Trust us, you (and your guests!) won’t regret it. With flavors that are complex yet earthy, and studded with delicious and savory accents, this modern twist on a traditional latke will have all the foodies saying, “Happy Hannukah!”

Sweet Potato Parsnip Latkes with Feta and Leeks • 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil • 2 medium-sized leeks, washed and thinly sliced • 1 pound sweet potatoes • 1 pound parsnips (number will vary depending upon size) • 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt • 1/4 teaspoon white pepper • 1 pinch ground nutmeg • 4 ounces feta, crumbled (a creamy French or Israeli style) • 2 eggs, lightly beaten • 1/4 cup matzo meal • 1/2-1 cups canola oil for frying (amount will vary depending upon how many skillets you want to have going) Kitchen tools to have on hand: box grater, parchment paper and an open flame.

1. Melt the butter (or heat the olive oil) in a saucepan over medium heat.

Add the leeks (and a pinch of salt), and saute, stirring occasionally, until the leeks have softened and are beginning to color (about 10 minutes).

2. While the leeks are cooking, wash and peel the sweet potato and parsnips. Grate them on the coarse holes of a box grater, and place in a large bowl. Add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, feta, egg and matzo meal. Stir to combine. Mix in the cooked leeks.

3. Pour the canola oil to a depth of ½” in a frying pan – you can use the pan used for the leeks, and additional pans if you’d like to make quick work of it.

Heat the oil over a medium flame until hot – if you drop in a shred of the latke mixture, it should bubble vigorously.

Shape approx. 3 tablespoons of the latke mixture into a round shape (I like to pack a ¼ cup measure ¾ full), and place in the oil. Flatten slightly to form a

small pancake. Repeat as many times as your pan space allows. Cook the latkes until well-browned, about 5-7 minutes, then flip and brown the other side.

These latkes are more delicate than standard potato pancakes (especially when warm), so be delicate.When the second side has cooked, place on a plate lined with brown paper, stacking as needed.

If you want your funky potato latkes to be extra-good, now and then strain out any rogue bits that have floated into the oil before they burn. Serve. Or...

4. If you’re not serving them right away, layer the cooled latkes in a sealed container with parchment paper between the layers, and freeze. To serve, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the latkes on a cookie sheet (you can place them on a rack on top of a cookie sheet for a crisper result, but usually the sheet is fine for me), and cook until they have colored a bit more and are heated through and sizzling (about 10-15 minutes).

Recipe by Deena of “MostlyFoodStuffs”

Lifestyles After 50 • December 2015 • page 15

SWEET SWEET SLE EP

3

Find time to prioritize sleep.

Adults need seven to nine hours of sleep a night. Paruthi recommends thinking about your schedule and making time for sleep. “If you know you have to get up at 6 a.m. the next day, set your alarm clock in the evening for 9:30 p.m.,” she suggests. “That alerts you that you have a half hour before you need to go to bed and you can begin to wind down.” This trains your body to relax on time and transition to that sweet, sweet sleep much easier. Courtesy of Newswise and the Saint Louis University Medical Center.

Three nighttime habits to improve rest

D

oes your holiday wish list include getting more sleep? Assistant professor of pediatrics and internal medicine at Saint Louis University, Shalini Paruthi, M.D. says almost all adults operate with some level of sleep deprivation from time to time. Paruthi, also a physician at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital, treats sleep disorders in both children and adults, but has plenty of secrets for the average insomniac. If you suffer with falling asleep, or staying there, here’s her top three tips, based on recommendations from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, for trying to keep your sleep steady and sweet.

BONUS TIP:

1

Maintain a regular sleep schedule.

Trying the ‘weekend catch-up’ on sleep isn’t productive, says Paruthi, who warns it can throw off a whole week’s schedule. “People who sleep in on Sundays may not be sleepy by their usual bedtime that evening, so Monday mornings are more difficult. She recommends going to bed and waking up at the same time each day (within an hour).

2

Establish a bedtime routine.

“Even a ten minute routine where you do the same things each night to prepare yourself for going to bed is a good idea,” Paruthi said. “Our brains need a wind-down period to go from ‘on’ to ‘sleep time.’” Every night, try reading, writing in a gratitude journal, listening to relaxing music, or practicing meditation - for just ten minutes.

SHUT DOWN THE ELECTRONICS Want deeper sleep? Keep electronic devices away from the bedroom.

“This ‘go, go, go’ culture has made people feel “on” at all times now,” Paruthi says. “Studies show that the light emitted by electronic devices decreases the release of melatonin, a hormone that helps us feel sleepy.” So, think twice before playing on your iPad in bed, and maybe try counting a few sheep instead.

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Christmas Carols: What do they mean?

Want to sound smart at this year’s Christmas party? Here are the “true meanings” of a few classic Christmas carols, explained.

C

hristmas is here and you know what that means! It’s time to carol! You know the words and you know the melodies, but do you know what it all means?

Southeastern Louisiana University Communication Professor Joseph Burns researched the topic thoroughly for a presentation he made recently at the university’s annual Fanfare Festival, a fall celebration of the arts, humanities and social sciences.

Burns explained that many people can get the wrong idea by going solely according to the title or lyrics.

“Up on the House Top” Before 1857 Santa did not land on your roof, but on your lawn, as in the phrase “When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter.” Burns said the switch came when the song “Up on the House Top” was written by Benjamin Hanbly and recorded by a multitude of singers, most notably Gene Autry in 1953. He’s been landing there since.

“God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” In this song, Burns singles out the comma placement. “It has nothing to do with happy, merry men. It was first published in the mid-1700s and is referenced in Dickens’s ‘A Christmas Carol,’” explained Burns, who produces the weekly radio show Rock School on the university’s station KSLU-FM. “The word ‘merry’ means strong or mighty as in ‘Merry Old England,’ and the word ‘rest’ means to keep or make.

So the title translates to ‘God keep you mighty, gentlemen,’ and refers to the lamplighters and additional men hired to patrol during the holidays.”

“We Three Kings” “Recognize that in Matthew 2:1-12 there are no references to the number three, kings, the Orient, or their names,” Burns states. “The passage suggests the men were Magi, those who studied the stars. Also, they came from the East, which most likely was Persia or present day Iraq. And the names Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar came from an early 6th century Greek manuscript.”

“I’ll Be Home for Christmas” According to Burns, this song was almost never recorded, he said. Written in 1943 by Kimball Gannon about a soldier writing to his family, no music publishers wanted to touch it, thinking it would have brought people down during the holiday.

“Luckily Gannon was a golfing buddy with Bing Crosby, who recorded it on the B-side of the highest selling single of all time: ‘White Christmas.’ A song no one wanted sold 50 million copies,” he said.

Happy Lifestyles Holidays!

After 50 from all of us at

“Do You Hear What I Hear?”

This carol is a relatively new classic, released in 1962 by Noel Regney and Gloria Shayne Baker. Burns said they were asking if you heard a bomb, and the song was written as a cry for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

“Jingle Bells” “Essentially, you can use all of this to sound informed this year about Christmas carols,” Burns adds. “So Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way which, by the way, is not a Christmas song. It was written in 1857 by James Pierpoint for his Boston Sunday School Thanksgiving celebration.” –Newswise Lifestyles After 50 • December 2015 • page 17

Listen local for the holidays with The Florida Orchestra

By Kelly Smith allelujah! It’s all that inspired, happy holiday music you’ve been longing for. Local from your Florida Orchestra in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater, here are three great ways to celebrate with the orchestra.

H

Handel’s Messiah (Dec. 4-6): The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay joins The Florida Orchestra for what is sure to be the most powerful holiday concert of the season, Handel’s entire Messiah, with its triumphant “Hallelujah” chorus. An unexpected masterpiece, make it a holiday memory for the whole family, with free Classical Kids tickets for ages 5-18 for this and all Tampa Bay Times Masterworks concerts. David Lockington conducts.

Holiday Pops (Dec. 11-13): The ultimate family tradition with Sleigh Ride, sing-along carols and a jolly rendition of Twas the Night Before Christmas, with a matinee that won’t spoil anyone’s bedtime. Conductor Bob Bernhardt will be your merry host for this Raymond James Pops concert.

CDs and gift certificates: TFO’s Holiday Pops Live CD is the perfect soundtrack for your party as well as a great stocking stuffer - and for only $10! Or buy gift certificates for blockbuster shows like the Gala concert with Michael Feinstein on Jan. 30 and Distant Worlds: Music from FINAL FANTASY Video Game concert on Feb. 6. Get it all at floridaorchestra.org.

The Florida Orchestra: Masterworks and Pops tickets are $15, $30 or $45 at floridaorchestra.org or call 727.892.3337 or 1.800.662.7286. The orchestra regularly performs at the Straz Center in Tampa, Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg, and Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater.

Material or Experiential?

Getting the most enjoyment out of your dollar.

“Experience is a jewel.”

- William Shakespeare “

Lifestyles After 50 • December 2015 • page 18

W

hile we usually associate the holidays with giving gifts, who says we’re not entitled to give ourselves a little something after a year of hard work?

While the ways to spend money seem endless, is it possible that some investments yield more happiness than others? When buying gifts for ourselves, do we want things or experiences?

If we ask science, we want experiences. In fact, a new study out of Cornell University finds that the enjoyment derived from experiential purchases begins even before we buy. Lead researcher Thomas Gilovich discovered that people thinking about impending experiential purchases, such as ski passes or concert tickets, had higher levels of happiness than those who anticipated spending money on “things.”

And experience doesn’t only have a higher happiness ROI before purchase, but also after. Gilovich’s previous findings show that we even get more retrospective satisfaction from experiential purchases. Why? Maybe it’s because experiences connect us to one another, leaving us ultimately more fulfilled.

With clear implications for individual consumers, Gilovich believes the findings could also inform the way money is spent on a much broader scale: “The research has real societal value because it suggests that overall well-being can be advanced by an “experiencefocused” infrastructure (one with parks, trails and beaches) as much as a material based one,” he says. Perhaps more evidence that possessions aren’t always the road to happiness could change our consumption - and our culture.

Written by Amanda Smith; research and quotes courtesy of Newswise.

Men, forget the treadmill.

Find more meaningful work.

W

ant to age in good health? Do meaningful work, according to new research out of Boston College, which finds that occupational decisions may affect health as much as exercise. The findings suggest that jobs offering older workers a high degree of control and influence or a sense of achievement and independence have significant positive health implications.

The specific benefits of these “psychosocial” aspects of work include lower blood pressure, more musculoskeletal agility, better cognitive functioning and improved mental health. Fulfilling work is so beneficial, the researchers equate its effect on your vitality to be equivalent to the health benefits associated with vigorous exercise three times a week.

This research isn’t the first of its kind either - it only supports findings already established by research out of The University of Michigan (UM), suggesting a strong association between men’s health and the psychosocial characteristics of their employment. So what makes work fulfilling?

Want fulfilling work? Find something offering autonomy, creativity and a challenge.

Well, making decisions, for one thing.

Tracking 50 to 64 year-old men working full time over an 18-year period, this extensive and comprehensive UM study revealed that workers who were required to make “high-stakes decisions” had better cognitive functioning.

“Occupations that allow men to use their strongest abilities, while giving them a sense of achievement, independence, variety, authority, creativity, and status are associated with improved health at older ages,” Schmitz concluded.

Research provided by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

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Great Qualities of Adlens Interface: •Unisex frame •Adjustable nose piece •Custom yellow-tinted lenses designed to filter HEV light in backlit screens, combating digital eye strain and boosting productivity and focus •Can be adjusted to improve 90% of eyeglass and contact lens wearers who do not have astigmatism.

We are offering the product FREE to one lucky winner in this month’s giveaway!

Just email editor@ lifestylesafter50.com or snail mail us at: Attn: Adlens Interface News Connection USA, Inc. P.O. Box 638, Seffner, FL 33583 Send us your name, address and phone number by Dec. 19. The drawing will be held on Dec. 20, and the winner will be contacted and announced in the January issue of Lifestyles After 50. Look for more giveaways in upcoming editions. Good luck!

Congratulations!

Last month’s winners:

Margaret Wilkinson of Clearwater (won the MDHearing Aid AIR) &

Marilyn Ray of Holiday

(won the MDHearing Aid FIT) Lifestyles After 50 • December 2015 • page 19 R

Fisher Houses – Because Family Is the Best Medicine!

By Janice Doyle

Family members who stay at The Fisher House have one of 20 suites, take t’s Christmas. A young soldier has care of themselves and their rooms, do been badly wounded in Iraq and his their own cooking and have access to parents, wife and children who live in the beautiful communal kitchen, dinOregon want to be near this son, hus- ing room, living room and laundry.

Welenc shares, “One day I realized band and father. Thanks to The Fisher House, they can live temporarily just that at any one time we may have five gensteps away from James A Haley VA erations in the house. Right now we have hospital where he is receiving care a mother and her newborn, but we also and rehabilitation. Also at The Fisher have older people, grandparents, and all House are an aging veteran’s family ages in between. It’s a fabulous dynamic from Wisconsin and the brother of a fe- and very rejuvenating for everyone.”

Fisher Houses - 43 of them in the male veteran recovering from surgery.

The Fisher House in Tampa was built US, including one at Bay Pines VA Hosfive years ago, providing a “home away pital in Pinellas County - are built with from home” for military families simply money from The Fisher Foundation and because “families are the best medicine.” then gifted to the VA which covers basic Haley VA Hospital is one of five expenses like utilities and maintenance. designated polytrauma hospitals, which However, the VA does not include “creamanager Paula Welenc believes influ- ture comforts” such as linens, coffee and ences the type of patients the facility other staples for the kitchen. These must serves. “We get a lot of young soldiers come from donations, either personal or out of Iraq and Afghanistan with head businesses or groups. Donors can rest and spinal cord injuries who come here assured that 100 percent of all monfor rehabilitation,” Paula says. “They etary gifting is put to use for the guests.

“We love to use volunteers’ time, talhave families as far away as Germany, Oregon, Georgia, all over. Their loved ent and treasures,” Welenc says. At the ones learn to be their caregivers here.” local Bay Pines Fisher House, Manager

I

BUCS BOLTS 12/6 12/12 Atlanta Washington 12/13 12/20 New Orleans Ottowa 12/17 12/22 St. Louis Vancouver 12/27 12/26 Chicago Columbus 1/3 12/28 Carolina Montreal

Lana Toenjes says she is rebuilding her volunteer group and welcomes all kinds of help from wherever she can get it.

Volunteer and group opportunities which do NOT require prior VA processing include dropping off a prepared meal – can be breakfast (such as ready-to-bake breakfast casseroles delivered the night before), lunch (sandwich fixings, soups, salads) or dinners (think comfort food such as meatloaf and mashed potatoes, says Welenc).

And no staying to serve or clean up.

Or, you might come bake cookies or cakes or bread in their kitchen, filling the place with the smell of home.

Organizations might have a food drive for guests, collect laundry supplies for families to use or buy theater tickets or $25 restaurant gift cards.

Volunteers who must go through all processing at the VA include helping with administrative needs, mail or doing special things that need done around a house such as cleaning out refrigerators, straightening linen closets, etc. Volunteers come in three or four hour sessions between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

To help, email paula.welenc@ va.gov or call (813) 910-3000. For Bay Pines, call Lana Toenjes at 727-3191350 or email lana.toenjes2@va.gov.

Puzzles • Horoscopes • Great Recipes • Comic Strips Upcoming Events • Feature Stories on Health, Wellness, Finance, Travel & More!

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LifestylesAfter50.com Lifestyles After 50 • December 2015 • page 20

MEDICARE ANSWERS

Does Medicare Cover Hospice Care? ear Marci, My father is terminally ill, and I have been researching possible options for his care. I came across information about hospice care, but I am not sure what it is. Does Medicare cover hospice, and if so, what are the requirements? -Erik (Allentown, PA)

• He signs a statement electing to have Medicare pay for palliative care rather than curative treatments • Your father’s terminal condition is documented in his medical record • Your father receives care from a Medicare-certified hospice agency

Dear Erik, Hospice is a type of health care intended to provide compassionate, comprehensive care for individuals with a terminal illness, facing the end of life.

Hospice care focuses on providing comfort and pain management (palliative care), rather than curative treatments.

It usually involves a team approach, (doctors, nurses, other medical professionals) providing care that focuses on physical, emotional and spiritual needs.

If your father has a Medicare Advantage Plan and elects hospice, Original Medicare will automatically pay for it. The Medicare hospice benefit covers various services, including skilled nursing care, prescription drugs related to pain relief and symptom control, spiritual counseling, and much more.

The hospice benefit includes two 90-day hospice periods followed by an unlimited number of 60-day benefit periods.

If you think your father is eligible for hospice services, you two should speak with his doctor about his care, requesting the doctor contact a Medicare-certified hospice on his behalf.

There may be several Medicare-certified hospice facilities in your area. If the first one that you contact is unable to help, try contacting others. –Marci

D

Original Medicare covers hospice care if your father meets the following criteria: • Your father has Medicare Part A • The hospice medical director (and his doctor, if he has one) certifies that he has a terminal illness (life expectancy is six months or less)

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SOCIAL SECURITY Q&A

Help Social Security help the homeless

By Daryl Rosenthal Social Security Public Affairs Specialist

D

ecember 21 is National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day. Since 1990, on or near the first day of winter and the longest night of the year, the National Coalition for the Homeless brings attention to and seeks compassion for the homeless who have died because they did not have a warm, safe place to sleep. Even as the recovery works its way through the entire economy, no one is immune to potentially being homeless.

Those in our community - colleagues, family members, military veterans, and friends - may be too proud to seek help.

Too often, homelessness ends in tragedy.

Find the services Social Security provides to the homeless at www. socialsecurity.gov/homelessness. Those who are homeless can apply for benefits and, if they are eligible, their benefits can be deposited directly into a personal banking account, a Direct Express debit bank card, or another electronic account.

Benefits can be mailed to a third party, or if necessary, a representative payee can receive the funds.

Social Security also collaborates with other agencies to help the homeless. At www.socialsecurity.gov/ homelessness/collaborations.html, read more about the Health Care for the Homeless program that provides grants to a network of local public and non-profit private organizations. Social Security also participates in the Federal Interagency Reentry Council, as well as the Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) program.

PATH helps people with serious mental health issues, people who are homeless or those at the risk of homelessness.

This December 21, remember those living without a place to call home.

Homelessness is a complicated and emotional issue, but there are ways to help our fellow citizens access the safety net that Social Security provides. Visit www.socialsecurity.gov/homelessness to learn more about how you can help.

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VETERANS CORNER

The Christmas Truce

Tinseltown Talks: Richard Anderson: From MGM to the Six Million Dollar Man

By Nick Thomas

“Altogether we had a great day with our enemies, and parted with much hand-shaking and goodwill.” Percy Jones of Queen’s Westminster.

“It was absolutely astounding, If I had seen it on a cinematograph film I should have sworn that it was faked.” Lt. Sir Edward Hulse, 2nd Scots Guards.

M

any myths and legends surround World War One and Christmas - especially the first Christmas of the war in December 1914.

On Christmas Eve, many sectors along the Western Front experienced very little fire (if any) when compared to the previous days in December. In fact, something quite remarkable happened.

Christmas carols were sung between trenches. In the dark of the night, groups of German and Allied soldiers met in No-Man’s Land. No one’s quite sure who started this truce and impromptu meetings, but they certainly took place in many areas on the Western Front.

In cooperation with a German officer, Captain R. J. Armes of the 1st North Staffordshire Regiment arranged for a cease fire in his sector that was to last until midnight on Christmas Day. Christmas Day itself started with a pre-condition of the cease fire - unarmed German and British soldiers collecting their dead from No-Man’s Land. On the night of Christmas Eve, soldiers from both sides met among the bodies of their fallen comrades. In one burial service, German and British dead were buried alongside each other near Lille.

With this task over, both groups of men then exchanged gifts - primarily food. Sauerkraut and sausages came from the Germans, while chocolate was given from the British in exchange.

In some sectors, it was reported that both Germans and Brits got together Lifestyles After 50 • December 2015 • page 22

for a communal hunt for hares so that Christmas Day could be celebrated with fresh meat. The regimental records of the 133rd Saxon Regiment also indicated a football match, supported by a letter published in “The Times” from a British major in the Medical Corps.

As midnight on Christmas Day approached, men from both sides drifted back to their trenches. Pre-arranged signals had been decided on to allow the men to get back. The use of a flare was enough to warn men to get back - and that the cease fire was over.

“What a sight; little groups of Germans and Brits extending along the length of our front. Out of the darkness we could hear the laughter and see lighted matches. Although speaking different languages, they made themselves understood by signs, and everyone seemed to be getting on nicely. Here we were laughing and chatting to men whom only a few hours before we were trying to kill,” wrote Corporal John Ferguson of the Seaforth Highlanders.

“It was a curious scene – a lovely moonlit (Christmas) night, the German trenches with small lights on them, and the men on both sides gathered in groups on the parapets. It is weird to think that tomorrow night we shall be at it again.

If one gets through this show, it will be a Christmas time to live in one’s memory,” wrote Captain R Armes of the 1st North Staffordshire regiment.

Excerpt from C. N. Trueman’s “Christmas 1914 and World War One,” The History Learning Site: historylearningsite.co.uk/

R

ichard Anderson appeared in over 200 films and TV shows throughout his career. But it’s not just his well-known role as security chief Oscar Goldman in “The Six Million Dollar Man” that elicits fan questions on the classic film/ television convention circuit.

“They always ask about ‘Curse of the Faceless Man’ which we made in 1958 and was my first lead film role,” said Anderson from Los Angeles. “It was a low-budget remake of ‘The Mummy’ two decades earlier, featuring a stone monster rather than one wrapped in bandages. I really just learned my lines and tried not to bump into the furniture.”

Two years earlier, Anderson appeared briefly in the venerable sci-fi classic “Forbidden Planet.”

“That was the last of two dozen movies I did for MGM,” he said. “Sci-fi feature films were rather new in 1956 and it changed the genre forever. The whole movie was shot on one stage and as filming progressed, the studio gave us more money and the best production staff. We turned out a first-class movie that’s still impressive today.”

Born in New Jersey and raised in New York, young Dick and his brother Bob were weekend matinee regulars at the 96th Street Motion Picture Theater, absorbed in their favorite films: westerns.

Richard Anderson’s first lead film role, “Curse of the Faceless Man,” 1958

“The stories had heroes and happy endings – I really wanted to live in that world,” recalled Anderson, who outlined his career in the 2015 autobiography “Richard Anderson: At Last...A Memoir, From the Golden Years of MGM to The Six Million Dollar Man to Now” co-written with Alan Doshna (see www.bionik.com).

But Richard wasn’t the only celebrity in his family. “Katharine, my second

wife, was the daughter of Norma Shearer and MGM producer Irving Thalberg.”

Richard and Katharine were married in 1961, so he never knew Thalberg who died in 1936, but says he was close to his mother-in-law.

“Norma Shearer was very nice to me, she liked and respected me,” he said. “She gave us a party when we were married – Judy Garland was one of the guests. Norma had a house on the beach and when we visited her she would talk about her career and how she ‘had it all’ at one time.”

While Shearer found fame in film and retired just as television was coming of age in the early 40s, it was TV that made Anderson a household name when “The Six Million Dollar Man” exploded on the small screen in 1974 for five seasons.

“It was a show that brought back the hero and happy endings, so I told my agent I wanted the part even if I had to pay the producers to let me do it!” laughed Anderson, who also narrated the show’s famous introduction. “‘Gentlemen, we can rebuild him, we have the technology,’” he quoted.

“You can’t imagine how many fans come up to me and say that. It’s the best TV show introduction ever written.”

Anderson continued his Oscar Goldman role in three seasons of “The Bionic Woman,” becoming one of the few actors to portray the same character in different television series.

As to why he took so long to write a book about his life? “My answer is simple,” says Anderson who turned 89 in August of this year. “I’m still living it.”

Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, Ala., and has written features, columns, and interviews for over 600 magazines and newspapers. Follow @TinseltownTalks Photos provided by Richard Anderson.

Inspired: three gifts for grandkids

By Amanda Smith

T

he old adage for grandparents has long been the same: your primary job is to spoil. Now, we’re all for a little spoiling, but what if grandparents gave Christmas gifts to their grandchildren that spoiled and inspired the future generation? If you’re anything like me, you want a gift that lasts, and maybe even makes an impact...

So, what might “inspire,” you ask?

How about addressing the concern that kids spend an average of nine hours a day consuming entertainment on media devices by finding a gift that lets them stay on the screen while simultaneously diverting their attention to the here and now? How about thinking about the overwhelming gender differential in math and sciences? Why not inspire your granddaughter to get excited about science by gifting her a chemist’s kit full of color and sparkle? Welcome to our “inspired” mini gift guide for grandparents!

Best gift that grows with your grandkid Smart Car, Smart Games USA $26.99, Ages 3 - 8 SmartCar is a 3D wooden car game that relies on your grandchild’s building skills, requiring him or her to assemble a car with the included wooden pieces. We love this game so much because it evolves with your grandkid the model remains the same but the car construction plans get more and more difficult! Learn concepts like “side view” and “top view” all while having fun. Are you ready for a test drive?

Best gift for the future female chemist Crystal Growing, Thames & Kosmos

Best gift that blends computer skills with real world fun LEGO AppBrick, LEGO $9.99 and up, Ages 9 - 14 Having grown up with actual building blocks instead of electronic tablets, some grandparents might wonder, where have all the hands-on games gone now that computers have taken over the world?

With LEGO AppBrick, you get to give the best of both worlds. The AppBrick Gadgets are designed to be used with a free Ultra Agents app available for most tablet devices. The app is basically an interactive comic book featuring LEGO characters and sets. Touching AppBrick Gadgets against the screen of the device at various points during the story makes it possible to look for clues (‘intel’) or play minigames. We love the innovation and melding this new toy offers.

$36.99, Ages 10 - 15 We love this crystal growing kit from Thames & Kosmos. The 15 experiments progress from simple to complex, providing perfect learning experiences for blossoming chemists. Grow dozens of dazzling crystals with the provided materials and a full-color, 32-page experiment manual that guides your granddaughter’s experiments in crystal chemistry. Not only will you two mold fun plaster shapes and use dyes to grow a rainbow of custom colors, she will also have the opportunity to learn about the structure and geometry of these unique formations. We encourage you to gift this to a granddaughter...we need more female scientists!

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Lifestyles After 50 • December 2015 • page 23

Pay it forward without your wallet: Innovative ways to give back this season “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

-Winston Churchill

W

ith the holidays upon us, there’s more pressure than ever to spend money. Gifts, trips and events really start to add up fast, and our best laid plans to support our favorite charities are often thwarted.

What if there were ways to give back that didn’t involve money?

What if you could make someone’s day without spending a dime? If you have a desire to help, but just don’t have the cash, we’re here to tell you - it’s well within your reach. Besides, “giving” doesn’t always mean giving back monetarily.

Here are a few ways to give back, without giving money: WRITE: Write a note or letter to someone who has positively affected your life in a meaningful way. Express your gratitude, letting them know just how much they mean to you.

MENTOR: Join the AARP Foundation Finances 50+ program, and help older adults learn smart money habits for the new year by mentoring those who are unsure how best to use and save their money. Contact finances50plus@aarp.org to get connected with a program in your area.

USE YOUR VOCAB: Using the site freerice.com, play a vocabulary game where every correct answer you choose donates 20 grains of rice to an impoverished country. Play as long and as often as you like - you’re bound to pick up a few words while you’re saving the world.

BUILD: Join Habitat for Humanity to create affordable housing. Renovate existing structures in your community, or join a team to build new houses from the ground up. If you’re handy, it’s a great way to meet people with similar interests!

BAKE: Bake a holiday family favorite, share it with the grandkids, and pass on the recipe to the next generation.

GATHER: Gather up your old sweaters and donate them to your local thrift store, helping those who may not be warm enough this holiday season.

SERVE: Many churches and charitable organizations offer free meals for those in need, all throughout the holidays. Find a local free dinner event and help serve food or set tables.

SHARE: Round up the grandkids for some cookies and hot chocolate, and pass on your favorite Christmas stories.

CREATE: Do you knit or sew?

Many charities collect and distribute blankets or clothing for shelters. Help someone stay warm this year with gloves, blankets or a scarf.

Written and compiled by Amanda Smith

Update Your Home Décor: Retired Professional?

How to Save & Still Look Super! Help stop medicare fraud today!

The holidays usually include having company over - and hosting’s often the time we notice whether our home needs a little sprucing up. If you’re looking to spice up your living space without draining your bank account, here are a few tips to make it happen: Mosaic makeover. Instead of spending hundreds, even thousands, of dollars on a new bathroom or kitchen countertop or backsplash, use broken pottery, glass, mirror, shells and other interesting materials to create and install a fabulous mosaic — designed by you — for well under $100. Get some

cement backer board from your local building-materials store plus the materials for the mosaic, mortar and grout.

With over $60 billion lost each year to Medicare fraud, error, and abuse, Senior Medicare Patrol volunteers will play a vital role in the fight against Medicare fraud.

Give chairs a redo. Reupholstering worn and drab chairs can cost well over $100 each. Give them a modern makeover for less than $50 total with cloth shower curtains. Just remove seats from chair frames, measure, cut and use a staple gun to attach the cloth.

re you a retired professional who is looking for a way to keep your professional skills sharp while giving back to your community? Retirees with such varied professional backgrounds as law, teaching, marketing, accounting and many more are banding together in Pinellas county to create SMPs, or “Senior Medicare Patrols.” Part of a federally-funded initiative in Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi SMP’s mission is to organize talented, retired professionals so they may educate their local community on how to prevent, detect and report Medicare fraud, waste and abuse.

Senior Medicare Patrol staff and their highly trained volunteers conduct outreach to Medicare beneficiaries in their communities through group presentations, exhibiting at community events, answering calls to the SMP help lines and one-on-one counseling. SMP

Barter your way to remodeling. Swap meets, where people trade decorative objects, building supplies and labor, are growing in popularity and can be an inexpensive way to redecorate and remodel your home. Try swapmadness.com.

TIP: For an instant makeover, on a tiny budget, transform your kitchen for a few hundred bucks by replacing the faucet, changing door handles and pulls, and painting or even removing cabinet doors.

Barbara Hannah Grufferman, AARP Positive Living Expert

Lifestyles After 50 • December 2015 • page 24

A

members are required to complete an extensive training program, as they have important goals: teaching Medicare beneficiaries how to protect their personal identity, identify and report errors on health care bills, and recognize deceptive health care practices, such as illegal marketing, providing unnecessary or inappropriate services and charging for services that were never provided.

In some cases, SMPs do more than educate: When Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries are unable to act on their own behalf to address these problems, the SMPs work with family caregivers and others to address the problems, and if necessary, make referrals to outside organizations who are able to intervene.

If you’re a retired professional with a passion for preventing fraud and saving both our country and its citizens money, do your part and call today to join the local Senior Medicare Patrol!

For information on volunteering for SMP in Pinellas county, please contact Volunteer Coordinator Sunny Lawless at 877-272-8720 or slawless@eqhs.org.

Want an easy way to give back?

It just takes some funky socks.

CRAFT CORNER

Make Your Own: Adorable Pine Cone Christmas Trees W T

his time of the year, you start to feel the pressure...you see and hear Christmas everywhere...with all the gifts to buy, cookies to bake, houses to decorate - it’s enough to make anybody crazy!

If you’re a crafter, but Christmas leaves you a little short on time, here’s a quick and easy project to satisfy your DIY. Pinecone Christmas Tree You will need: • pine cone • yellow and green paint • glitter • hot glue • regular glue or Modge Podge • mini terra cotta pot • mini wooden star

Paint the pine cone green; let dry. On the edge of each pine cone’s spine, apply regular glue, then sprinkle some glitter.

While your pine cone dries, paint the star yellow, adding glue and glitter just like you did with your “tree.” Put the tree in the terra cotta pot, glue in place, then glue your star on top, and For a “snowy” effect, try voila! It’s a pine painting the tips of the cone Christmas! pine cone “petals” white.

Happy Holidays and Happy Crafting!

hat if all you had to do to make a difference in the life of a senior this season was to donate a pair of funky socks?

It’s now that easy, all thanks to a non-profit community service project called Socks for Seniors. With a presence in over 500 cities throughout the country, even national news leader Huffington Post is taking note, recently blogging about the tireless efforts of this grassroots charity. Committed to “warming the hearts and covering the feet” of seniors in need, Socks for Seniors serves local communities by organizing, collecting and distributing new socks for seniors everywhere.

Specifically targeting the homeless, and those who live alone or in nursing homes, this is a program that seeks to serve those most often left behind. We

especially like that they offer a feel-good, lowcost holiday project that the entire family, the community and, yes, seniors themselves can take part in.

So, how can you help? Just get funky! The Socks for Seniors website says sock donees are most fond of the “funnier, funkier holiday styles,” always the crowd favorite. In fact, when given her choice of socks, 91-year-old nursing home resident Emma Mae quickly chose the bright-colored, striped toe socks, stating, “We’re just old, not dead - and we still have a sense of humor!”

Don’t wait - get involved today! To find a local place to donate new socks, become a volunteer sock collector, or even organize your very own local sock drive, call (615)787-SOCK or go online to www.SocksforSeniors.com

Question: Alvin the Chipmunk wants what for Christmas?

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Click on the Trivia Palooza button and answer a Trivia question each week for a chance to win a prize at the end of each month.

Lifestyles After 50 • December 2015 • page 25

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EQUAL HOUSING

OPPORTUNITY

Volunteer service became their lifedefining experience “My fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”

John F Kennedy, inaugural address Jan. 20, 1961 Irene Brammertz with a baby in Malawe (1970)

ca Wellborn. “I saw the opportunity to have a life-defining experience. It was was caught up in the Kennedy more for me than to save someone else.” era, was an avowed and pro- Although most volunteers are young, testing hippie and felt then and Wellborn joined in her 40s. She used her still do that every able-bodied Ameri- job skills as a director of non-profits to establish an envican should either ronmental agenjoin the military, cy in Jamaica.

VISTA, Teacher Irene BramCorps or Peace mertz of Fort MyCorps in gratitude ers had already for all we have,” raised a family says Karen Reiter. and was running “I joined Peace a business when Corps because I alshe joined (Toways felt so lucky day eight percent in life and wanted of volunteers are to return something over 50). She says, to the World.”

“In a brochure for Barbara Srur, World Hunger, a retired doctor in I saw a line that Sarasota, joined the said ‘What can Peace Corps while you do about it?’ on a waiting list and one of the opfor medical school. tions was ‘Join She says, “I wanted the Peace Corps.’ to travel and have So I did! Not a chance to reonce, but twice.” evaluate my desire Seven months to become a doctor. PeaceCorps volunteer Barbara Srur with one of her students in Malaysia (1969) after its incep“I saw the Peace Corps as an opportunity to travel over- tion in March 1961, 500 volunteers seas. I had a window of opportunity were in nine countries. Since then and took advantage of it,” says Rebec- nearly 220,000 Americans have served

By Janice Doyle

“I

in 140 countries around the world.

Returned volunteers remember Several hundred Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of all ages live in the west central Florida area, meeting regularly to share memories and experiences unique to their service time – and to continue giving back to their local communities.

Each Peace Corps worker takes multiple skills with them into their service, often not realizing how they will use them. With her contributions to public health in Malawe, Brammertz says her most successful project was teaching women to knit socks using double pointed needles. This allows them to knit socks which they could sell.

In 1969 and ’70, Kayren Reiter served as a teacher in Turkey. Sharing about life in her village, she says, “I was a competitive swimmer and living on the Mediterranean Sea. I took it upon myself to teach the Turkish village boys who couldn’t swim how to swim.” She looks back at the Peace Corps experience as “...the opportunity to live every aspect of your life in a completely different manner than ever before.”

Barbara Srur taught chemistry at a girls’ school in Malaysia from 1968 -‘70, and when her volunteer service was over, she joined other volunteers for a trip of a lifetime - a Land Rover trip across India, Afghanistan, Turkey, and Yugoslavia, eventually closing out her journey with a backpacking stint across France.

Srur says, “The Peace Corps offers a broader perspective which you can’t have any other way and allows experiences you can’t have any other way. I saw that people have the same wants and desires everywhere ” “The Peace Corps opened my eyes to the role the U.S. plays internationally. And looking back to see the U.S. from foreign eyes gave me the realization of where the U.S. is as a nation and people and how I fit into it. It was my ‘aha’ moment,” says Wellborn.

Keep your memories of volunteering close by staying connected to the Peace Corps. For local Returned Peace Corps Volunteer information, email: Sarasota: gulfcoastrpcv@gmail.com Fort Myers: ibrammertz@gmail.com Tampa Bay: tamparpcvs@gmail.com Central FL: peacecorps@ufic.ufl.edu

What is the Peace Corps?

In the 1950s, presidential candidate John F. Kennedy challenged students on the campus of the University of Michigan to help the world. They took it seriously. They organized and made a proposal. Kennedy embraced it.

He called it the Peace Corps which began in 1961 to promote world peace and friendship. Peace Corps volunteers have served in challenges including classrooms, diseases, agriculture, sustainable community-based projects, gender equality and more. Learn more at www.peacecorps.gov.

Rebecca Wellborn at work in Jamaica (1980s) Lifestyles After 50 • December 2015 • page 27

Lifestyles After 50 • December 2015 • page 28

Word Search December

Word Search

In the grid below, twenty answers can be found that fit the category for today. Circle each answer that you find and list it in the space provided at the right of the grid. Answers can be found in all directions – forwards, backwards, horizontally, vertically and diagonally. An example is given to get you started. Can you find the twenty answers in this puzzle?

Answers From Nov.

George Tetreault Sr. is last month’s winner!

Congratulations!

The first correct answers selected from the drawing on December 20 will win.

Send your answers along with your name, address and telephone number to: LIFESTYLES AFTER 50 P.O. BOX 638, SEFFNER, FL 33583

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Dec. Sudoku Sudoku requires no arithmetic skills.The object of the game is to fill all the blank squares with the correct numbers. Each row and each column of 9 numbers must include all digits 1 through 9 in any order. Each 3 by 3 subsection of the 9 by 9 square must include all digits 1 through 9 as well. Good luck! The first correct answers selected from the drawing on Dec. 20 will win.

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Lifestyles After 50 • December 2015 • page 30

Seniors Getting Together

WOMEN SEEKING MEN

4119 SEEKING CHRISTIAN GENTLEMAN Former airline stewardess and model, 5’4”, 104 lbs., widow, slender, white with Ph.D. in healthcare. Fulbright scholar, eats healthy & exercises. Likes sports and animals. Loves the Lord.

4486 FORMER NATIONAL MODEL, healthy W, F, 62, 5’6”, 140 lbs, long blonde hair, blue eyes, great figure, many interests, can relocate. ISO W, S, M, NS, SD, NDrg, compassionate, romantic, intelligent “one woman man.” LTR, marriage, serious only, letter/photo. Madeira Beach area.

4501 MARTIAL ARTS MINDED WOMAN. I am light weight, 120 lbs., cute, amateur looking for man, age 48 to 68, novice, who can do light sparring. Will send bikini photo of me. Largo/Clearwater area.

4502 DWF, 5’1”, looking for a meaningful long-term relationship. Age 58 – 65 male, likes going to the beach.“One-Man Woman.”

SOH, ND, NS, loving, compassionate.

Serious only. Ruskin area.

4503 DOWN-TO-EARTH COUNTRY LADY. Enjoys festivals, flea markets, westerns, country parks, shows, music, etc. Attends church. Seeks companionship, share life together. 60s, medium built, 5’1”. St. Pete area.

4470 SLENDER, ATTRACTIVE, FUNLOVING SWF, ISO 65 plus gentleman for loving LTR. Enjoy festivals, day trips, flea markets, dancing, dining, togetherness.

Share good times. St Pete Area.

4518 RETIRED EDUCATOR. WWF seeks NS, ND, aged 60 – 70 with SOH. I am a hopeless romantic, love to cuddle, enjoy most any activities, seeking LTR. I am loyal, trustworthy, honest and seek same.

4517 DBF, 72, 5’4”, 135 LBS., enjoys movies, travel, dining out and more.

ISO a gentleman, 70+, 5’8”+, financially secure, N/S, sincere, easygoing, SOH. Must mention phone number in response. St. Pete, Tampa Bay area.

4511 SWF, 53YY, 5’8”, NS, SD, ISO 50+, stable man for friendship, cards, beach walks, picnics, long talks, happy hours, games, puzzles, sports, movies, museums, concerts, bear hugs and maybe more. Gulfport area.

MEN SEEKING WOMEN 4504 WHITE MALE, 6’1”, 185 LBS., age 81, looking for a lover and eventual live in my home. Lots of love and passion. Happy Christian, sometimes nudist. Brandon area.

4505 RETIRED DWM. HEALTHY AND FIT, loves life. ISO healthy WF that enjoys beach

walks, sunrises, sunsets, hiking, fishing, travel, movies and romance for LTR. Serious replys please over 50. St. Pete. Area.

4506 EASY TO GET ALONG WITH, attractive, SWM, 70s, NS, 5’10”, 170 lbs, romantic. Likes travel, theatre, dining out, concerts, exercise. Looking for attractive female, 65 plus for LTR. Dunedin area.

4512 VERY HANDSOME, YOUNG LOOKING, 60 something, fit, retiree, blue eyes, gray hair, 5’11”, 175 lbs., looking for female with like qualities for fun travel, romance.

4514 FORMER PARK RANGER, HWP, NS, ND, ISO WF that enjoys being outdoors, sunrises, sunsets, hiking, canoeing, camping, exploring rivers and springs in North Florida. 55 or older.

Serious replies, LTR? St. Pete area.

Commonly Used Abbreviations: F-Female, M-Male, S-Single, D-Divorced, WWWidow, A-Asian, B-Black, H-Hispanic, I-Indian, W-White, C-Christian, J-Jewish, YO-Years Old, YY-Years Young, ISO-In Search Of, SOH-Sense Of Humor, SM-Smokes, S-Light Smoker, NSNon Smoker, ND-Non Drinker, SD-Social (Light) Drinker, DR-Drinks, NDrg- No Drugs, LTR-Long Term Relationship, HWP-Height & Weight Proportional, R-Retired, P-Professional, FF-Friendship First, TLC-Tender Loving Care.

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Send your ad, stating what category you would like it placed in, your edition(s), along with a $6 fee for 30 words (25¢ for each additional word, abbreviations not charged) to the News Connection USA, Inc. address listed below. Ads received by the 15th of the month will appear in the following issue. No more than three ads will be accepted each month per person. The editor reserves the right to edit any ads for space or content. In order to protect our readers’ privacy, we will not include phone numbers, e-mail or home addresses in the ad copy. City or area included at no charge.

TO RESPOND TO AN AD

Write a letter to the person you want to contact. Place that letter in a stamped envelope and write the ad number on the bottom left hand side of the envelope. Place your stamped, numbered envelope(s), along with $2 for each letter enclosed, into another envelope and address it to: News Connection USA, Inc. Seniors Getting Together P.O. Box 638,Seffner, FL 33584

RUN YOUR AD FOR ONLY $6 A MONTH

SENIORS GETTING TOGETHER Personal Ad Placement

Deadline for ads is the 15th of the month prior to placement.

Only $6 to place an ad!

Mark The Edition(s) You Would Like To Run Your Ad In: Polk Tampa Bay & Suncoast (Hillsborough/Pinellas/Pasco) Lake/Marion/Sumter Southwest (Lee, Collier, Charlotte)

Ad Copy • Please Print Neatly • 30 Word Limit Title (First 4 Words):

1495

$

• General Maintenance • Shocks & Struts • Engine Work • Radiator • Muffler • Exhaust • Tune-ups • Brakes • Alternators • Batteries • Alignments • Water Pumps • Electrical Systems

M-F 7:30-5:30 Sat. 8-2 Closed Sunday

City (No Charge):

If more room is needed, please use separate sheet. Mail this form along with $6 for each ad per month (add $4 for each additional edition/market in the same month).

We cannot accept your ad without it. This information is confidential.

Name: Address: City: Phone:

State:

Zip:

E-mail:

MAIL TO: ATTN. / SENIORS GETTING TOGETHER, NEWS CONNECTION, USA, INC. • P.O. BOX 638., SEFFNER, FL 33583 Lifestyles After 50 • December 2015 • page 31