March/April 2014 60 PLUS In Omaha by Omaha Magazine

March/April • 2014

“Doc” Simmons is not the retiring type.

The Minne Lusa Ladies Coffee, Cookies, Community

Keeping Mind and Body Active

Controlling Parkinson’s Disease

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Active Living: Dan Goodwin________S14 Column: The Grandpa Chronicles____S16 Style______________________ S18

HE TEMPERATURE ROSE TO zero at noon today, deadline day for when we send the magazine off to print. Warmer weather has surely arrived by the time you’re reading this, right? If it’s still a bit nippy out there as winter flirts with spring, enjoy some of the heartwarming stories found on the pages that follow—like the one about an octogenarian champion weight lifter. Or the one about the man whose “retirement” is still a globetrotting adventure. And the retired ladies who are building strong neighborhoods in North Omaha. Now back to my hot cocoa. Ta ta!

Gwen Gwen Lemke Contributing Editor, 60PLUS In Omaha Comments? Send your letter to the editor to: david@omahamagazine.com All versions of Omaha Magazine are published bimonthly by Omaha Magazine, LTD, P.O. Box 461208, Omaha NE 68046-1208. Telephone: (402) 884-2000; fax (402) 884-2001. Subscription rates: $19.95 for 6 issues (one year), $24.95 for 12 issues (two years). No whole or part of the contents herein may be reproduced without prior written permission of Omaha Magazine, excepting individually copyrighted articles and photographs. Unsolicited manuscripts are accepted, however no responsibility will be assumed for such solicitations. Best of Omaha®™ is a registered tradename of Omaha Magazine.

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60PLUS feature Story by David Williams • Photo by Bill Sitzmann

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The Minne Lusa Ladies

Sharon Olson (left) and Beth Richards are “The Minne Lusa Ladies.”

Coffee, Cookies, and Canning at the Epicenter of a Resurgent Neighborhood E STARTED THIS WITH no

idea of what it would become,” says Sharon Olson of the home at 2737 Mary St. that later became The Minne Lusa House. “We mostly wanted a way for neighbors to get to know one another again,” adds Beth Richards, the other half of the duo now known colloquially as The Minne Lusa Ladies. They bought the repossessed property in 2010 for a mere $20,000, and the tan stucco home built in 1918 is now the epicenter of a resurgent Minne Lusa neighborhood, which is located just north of Miller Park. Canning marathons, fried green tomatoes, and cookies may have been the inspiration behind the earliest Minne Lusa House events, but the cozy place has since grown to host nonprofit and other events. It hums with activity whenever Santa makes a visit and is one of the main bases for Halloween activity when the annual Trick-or-Treat on the Boolevard fright-fest sends goblins scurrying up and down Minne Lusa Boulevard one block to the east. Police chiefs and precinct captains have listened to neighborhood voices here, as has Ben Gray, the area’s representative on the City Council. Their weekly Saturday Morning Coffee started local and small, but word of the meet-ups quickly spread. Now Saturday’s draw people from all over the metro area. One Minne Lusa native who now lives in Florida stumbled upon the home’s Facebook page during a nostalgic bout of Minne Lusathemed web surfing. Struck by the happenings there, she had custom Minne Lusa House coffee mugs made and presented them to the home.

“Sometimes it’s so crowded here on a Saturday morning that there’s no wiggle room,” says Richards. “When things first started to take off,” adds Olson, “I remember thinking, ‘Who are all these people?’” Richards, a retired telephone company employee, has lived five houses down from The Minne Lusa House for the last eight years and has been in the neighborhood for 15. Olson, a retired mail carrier, lives around the corner in the house in which she grew up. It was at that moment that Rosalind Moore, president of the Miller Park Minne Lusa Neighborhood Association just happened to pop in—as is the wont of many neighbors—to discuss an effort to start a neighborhood newsletter. The women are also part of an effort to have the neighborhood, whose name is Siouxian for “clear water,” listed on the National Register of Historic Places. “We want people to know that this is a great neighborhood,” Moore says. Too many people, she says, know the area and other parts of North Omaha only from crime reports. “The neighborhood association, The Minne Lusa Ladies, and so many others here work to make sure that people know that our neighborhood makes a positive impact on the community.” Community, The Minne Lusa Ladies believe, is built on conversations. “Neighborhoods are destroyed from within,” says Olson. “It begins when people stop talking. We aim to do something about that.” Visit The Minne Lisa House on Facebook and the neighborhood association at millerparkminnelusa.org. march/april • 2014

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60PLUS health Story by Susan Meyers • Photogrpah by Bill Sitzmann

Keeping Mind and Body Active Essential in Controlling Parkinson’s Disease S6 60PLUS

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IKE EGGER, 66, HAS always

enjoyed tinkering around the garage, maintaining his cars and lawn equipment and doing just about anything mechanical. Since he developed Parkinson’s disease some 20 years ago, these are some of the things he still enjoys most in life, but they also serve another purpose. They help keep his body and mind active— essentials in helping control the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s is a progressive disorder of the nervous system that advances slowly and affects movement, muscle control, and balance. It is the second most common nervous system disorder after Alzheimer’s disease. It is estimated that as many as 3 to 4 percent of the population will develop Parkinson’s symptoms during their lifetime and the risk is even higher in Nebraska. “While we don’t have a cure for Parkinson’s, we continue to make progress in diagnosis and treatment,” says John Bertoni, M.D., Ph.D., neurologist and director of the Parkinson’s Clinic at The Nebraska Medical Center. “We are continually learning more about the disease and there are many new treatments coming down the pipeline.” People may have Parkinson’s for many years before it becomes apparent, notes Dr. Bertoni. Some of the more subtle early-stage symptoms include: loss of sense of smell, thrashing in sleep, depression, loss of facial expression, excessive sleepiness during the day, constipation, shortening of one’s steps, and a diminishing arm swing when walking. Other symptoms include slowness, rigidity, and tremors at rest. Mike and his wife, Mary, believe that Mike probably had Parkinson’s disease for about 10 years before he was actually diagnosed. “I had noticed a change in his gait, one of his arms wasn’t swinging much anymore, and he had developed a slight tremor in one of his hands,” she says. The signs were so slight, however, that she attributed them to an old injury caused by falling off a horse. As the symptoms became more pronounced, Mike saw a doctor and was diagnosed at age 50 with Parkinson’s. “The disease progressed so slowly at first that I barely noticed it, or maybe I was in denial,” he says. Initially, Mike took medications to help control his symptoms. Most people with Parkinson’s can get significant control of

“We have also found that those who take an active role in their own care, who exercise regularly, stay engaged, and participate in support groups, do the best in managing the disease and living a relatively healthy, active, and quality life.” -John Bertoni, M.D., Ph.D., neurologist and director of the Parkinson’s Clinic at The Nebraska Medical Center

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medications for many years. When Parkinson’s disease patients stop responding to medications, a surgical procedure called deep brain stimulation may be considered. Deep brain stimulation involves implanting an insulated wire into a target area of the brain. The lead is connected to a small pulse generator implanted beneath the skin, which generates mild electric pulses to the brain to reduce Parkinson’s symptoms, including tremors. Mike had the procedure performed nearly two years ago and says it has essentially eliminated his tremors. His biggest challenges include trying to walk steadily and maintaining his balance. Aside from that, Mark says, “I still do everything now that I’ve always done, but I don’t do them quite as well and not as fast.” While a definitive cause for Parkinson’s has not been found, a combination of factors may play a role, notes Dr. Bertoni. These include aging, having an inherited gene, and exposure to environmental triggers. Some speculate that the relatively higher incidence of the disease in Nebraska may be due to exposure to farm chemicals. Despite some of the daily challenges of dealing with Parkinson’s disease, Mike continues to maintain a positive attitude. “I figure there are many people who have worse things than me,” he says. “I just try to roll with it and stay positive.” The APDA assists people throughout the state. Visit parkinsonsne.org or call 402-393-2732 for additional information.

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their symptoms with medications and a combination of other therapies including occupational therapy, speech therapy, nutrition counseling, support groups, and regular exercise. Medications can help alleviate problems with walking, movement, and tremors by increasing the brain’s supply of dopamine. In Parkinson’s disease, certain nerve cells (neurons) in the brain gradually become sick. These neurons are responsible for producing the chemical messenger dopamine. A reduction of dopamine levels causes abnormal brain activity, which can lead to the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. “Recent studies have revealed that people who are not over-treated with medications do the best in the long run,” says Dr. Bertoni. “We have also found that those who take an active role in their own care, who exercise regularly, stay engaged, and participate in support groups, do the best in managing the disease and living a relatively healthy, active, and quality life.” Mary, who is the president of the Nebraska chapter of the American Parkinson’s Disease Association (APDA), says that the organization offers more than 20 support groups throughout the state for both Parkinson’s patients and their caregivers. As Mike’s disease continued to progress, he eventually had to quit work. The medications also became less effective, and the side effects of the drugs grew to become worse than the symptoms themselves, a common problem among people who have been taking

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60PLUS feature Story by Margaret A. Badura

She Didn’t Know M What She Didn’t Know“ Elder Law Pitfalls to Avoid

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OM WOULD HAVE NEVER

wanted that!” the woman shouted as she slammed her hand down on the conference table. Across from her sat her brother with a scowl on his face. So began one of the saddest representations I’ve encountered over more than 20 years as an elder law and estate planning attorney. It turned out that their mother had recently suffered a massive stroke, one that had left her comatose and, according to her neurologist, brain dead. She and her husband had Health Care Powers of Attorney (HCPOA) prepared by the family’s general attorney many years ago. Her husband later died, and she had not updated the HCPOA, which designated her two children as successor Co-Attorneys-in-Fact for health care decisions in the event that her husband was unable to perform those duties. Unfortunately, she had never prepared an Advance Directive (Living Will) to make her wishes known if something like this were to happen to her. Also, she had not signed a

HIPAA release authorizing her children to obtain medical information from her physicians. She had not discussed her wishes with her primary physician, her children, or anyone else. And now it was, sadly, too late to ask her. The daughter was sure that her mother would not have wanted to be maintained alive artificially with a ventilator, feeding tube, and “all kind of hoses and wires stuck into her.” The son was just as adamant that everything medically possible needed to be done to keep her alive, “because miracles do happen.” I later learned that the mother and he had been estranged for a number of years, and he desperately “hoped to make peace with her.” He also suspected, I was told, that medical personnel were sharing information with his sister and not with him. The children were hopelessly deadlocked. The mother’s physicians couldn’t change anything without both of them agreeing. We ended up having to go to court. After several laborious, expensive, and time-consuming hearings at a time when the family was already dealing with the heartbreak of their mother’s medical condition, the judge appointed an independent party—in this case a lawyer—as Mom’s guardian. This ended up tearing the family apart. The children and their children may never have a good relationship again. I recount this story because this was all unnecessary in terms of her care, having her wishes followed, the expenses of it all, and family disruption. Shared decision-making for health care has great potential for disaster. She should have updated her HCPOA, probably in this case naming her daughter as Attorney-in-Fact. Conversely, she should have named both of her children in a HIPAA release so both had equal access to medical information, and so there would be no thought that doctors were being selective in the sharing of important information. She should have also prepared a Living Will giving end-of-life directions to her physicians and, to the extent possible, discussed those directions with either or both of her children. Unfortunately, Mom didn’t know what she didn’t know. But now you do. Don’t let this happen to you or your family. Guest contributor Margaret A. Badura is an elder law and estate planning attorney.

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60PLUS feature Story by Judy Horan • Photo by Bill Sitzmann

“Doc” Simmons

Omaha’s former zoo director is not the retiring type.

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R. LEE SIMMONS RETIRED

as director of the Henry Doorly Zoo at age 71 in 2009. But apparently he didn’t get the memo about taking it easy. Simmons—called “Doc” by those who know him—still shows up for work daily at Omaha’s zoo. But not as director. Dennis Pate now holds that position. After 43 years at the zoo, Simmons was named chairman of the Omaha Zoo Foundation. Instead of lions and tigers, he nurtures dollars and cents, raising funds for projects, capital investment, and the zoo’s endowment. Simmons—who led Henry Doorly Zoo to become one of the top zoos in the country— did back off from his 60- to 70-hour work weeks to what he calls “banker’s hours.” The more relaxed schedule is a reluctant concession to his open-heart surgery in 2008. Simmons, who has created and developed projects ranging from the Lied Jungle to the Desert Dome, is now wrestling with funding projects that are part of the zoo’s master plan. Right now, he wants to buy elephants that would be part of a new African grasslands exhibit. Price tag for the exhibit: around $40 million. Also high on the zoo’s wish list is a magnet high school. Imagine 350-400 high school students with a yen to study biology, zoology, veterinary medicine, science, and nutrition, among other disciplines, going to school every day in a new building on the zoo grounds. The zoo has hosted a high school for 18 years. Two years ago, students began attending full time. Although carried out through the Papillion/La Vista School District,

the zoo hopes to attract students from the entire metro area. “We would like to cross the river to Council Bluffs,” Simmons says. Price tag for the school: An estimated $20 million. No tax money is involved. He also continues conducting tours for the zoo’s “Zoofari.” Trips are auctioned at the zoo’s biannual fundraiser. In 2012, he took a group to Tanzania. In May 2014, he and his wife of 55 years, Marie, will escort a group to Botswana. Africa is a favorite destination for the adventurous Simmons. His active involvement with five professional organizations, including as past president of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians, also keeps him on the road. Recent trips have been to Prague and Cologne, Germany. Simmons figures he has visited 49 countries plus the Antarctic during his long career. In 2013, he was selected as the international recipient of the Conservation Breeding Specialist Group’s Ulysses S. Seal Award. The honor is given to “people who exemplify innovation in applying science to conservation.” The group noted areas of invention and research where he excelled and his role in conservation projects worldwide. His work doesn’t end when he leaves his office in Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Pavilion. He and Marie run a home-based medical equipment business, manufacturing devices for treating and immobilizing animals. They sell to zoos and wildlife biologists around the world. His time also is spent organizing the transferral of 50,000 slides to digital files, mostly of animals, that he has taken over the years.

For those asking if Simmons is enjoying his “retirement,” the answer is “yes, he is.” After office hours, Simmons is writing his memoirs. And he’s had a life well worth writing about. The boy who spent his early youth in Arizona catching snakes went on to pay for his first year of veterinary school by deodorizing skunks. “They make sweet pets,” claims Marie. Most likely he’ll write about the time he got lost in Vietnam from midnight to dawn. Or working in Russia when the temperature was 28 degrees below zero. Maybe he’ll reveal how he lost the tip of one finger thanks to an orangutan named Ichabod. “Ichabod went after a new zoo keeper,” says Simmons. “I went over to help and he chewed me from the knee up.” Blood was flying, and zookeepers were yelling, but some bystanders were still less than sympathetic. “Two women complained I used profanity and wrote to the mayor demanding I be fired.” He doesn’t remember using the profanity. He was focused on pain and his missing fingertip but admits that maybe it wasn’t exactly a G-rated moment. Dr. Jane Potter, the University of Nebraska Medical Center chief of geriatrics and gerontology, says Simmons has made a wise choice in continuing to work. “The key to aging happily and successfully is staying engaged.” People actively engaged are healthier, feel better, and function better, she says. They have better brain function and mental acuity, better physical function, and fewer sick days. “We need to do this not only for zoo directors, but provide reduced work schedules for people who do enjoy their jobs and make important contributions.” march/april • 2014

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60PLUS active living Story by David Williams •

Photo by Bill Sitzmann

World champion weightlifter Dan Goodwin

SnipBuzz-Clank Pumping Iron at the Barber Shop

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HE RAPID-FIRE CLICK OF scis-

sor snips and the droning hum of electric razors form the soundtrack at most any barber shop. The percussion section of the orchestra over at Goodwin’s Spencer Street Barber Shop adds yet a third instrument to the mix, thus rendering a symphony of “snip-buzz-clank-snip-buzz-clank.” Owner Dan Goodwin’s bench press and its metal-on-metal clinks and clanks may seem out of place amid the barbering tools marinating in jars of blue disinfectant, but it is just one way that the champion weightlifter keeps up his iron-pumping regimen. Oh, did we mention that Goodwin is 82 years old? Taking up the sport at the tender age of 68, Goodwin has since gone on to capture 13 national titles to go along with three world records. He has competed on four continents

and is the bench press, squat, and total points world record holder in the 80-and-older age group called Master’s 4. Goodwin works to encourage good fitness habits among people of all ages. He’s been cutting hair in the same space for more than half a century, meaning that he now has four generations of clients as a captive audience to hear his message of wellness. “I gave this young man his first haircut,” Goodwin says with a nod to the occupant of chair No. 3. The boy is Damon, a 5th grader at nearby Sacred Heart School. “And I’ll keep on him as he grows to make sure he knows to get plenty of exercise to live a long and healthy life.” The three-chair barber shop is also steeped in the city’s history of civil rights. It was prominently featured in the 1966 film, A Time for Burning. Nominated for an

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Academy Award as best documentary, the film chronicled attempts by the pastor of Augustana Lutheran Church to integrate his then all-white congregation. Both Goodwin and one of his employees, a young barber named Ernie, were prominently featured in the documentary. Ernie, of course, is now State Sen. Ernie Chambers, the implacable civil rights advocate and longest-serving member in Nebraska Unicameral history. “I like being healthy,” Goodwin says. “I like to exercise. It makes me feel young. I don’t think about my age very much and am usually reminded about it most when people say they can’t believe it when they learn how ancient I am.” Judging by the chiseled figure in the photograph above, it’s an experience Goodwin must encounter about a bazillion times each and every day. march/april • 2014

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60PLUS the grandpa chronicles Story by David WIlliams •

Photo provided by the Ralston Arena

Fantasy vs. Reality Plumbing the Depths of a 4-Year-Old Mind

OOK AT THOSE SQUEAKYCLEAN faces in the photo. If

you are the grandparent or parent of pre-teen children, you will no doubt recognize Shout (keyboards), Marina, (drums), Kiki (guitar), and Twist (turntable). They are The Fresh Beat Band, whose Nick Jr. TV show of the same name is a bedbouncing favorite whenever I babysit my grandsons, 4-year-old Easton and 3-year-old Barrett. The quartet’s January performance at the sparkling Ralston Arena was to be Easton’s first concert experience. It was probably a dirty trick, but I had decided that he would learn for the first time the purpose of our outing only when the band bounded onto the stage. Easton cannot yet read, but I was sure he would instantly recognize the band’s logo plastered across the towering video display. He didn’t. And I was equally sure that my deception would be exposed when he noticed all the Fresh Beat Band T-shirts and other regalia throughout the auditorium slowly filling with a horde of soon-to-be screaming tots and tykes. Again, he didn’t. My ruse had worked. When the wildly popular combo finally bopped onto the stage and tore through a truncated version of their theme song, his face froze and a glassy look came to his eyes. Every parent and grandparent yearns to be able to read the minds of children too young to effectively communicate abstract ideas, and I would have given anything to be able to read his mind at that very moment.

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Easton’s hypnotic stare gave me the sense that an inner battle was being waged. He knew what he was seeing and hearing, but the visage was one that had to date existed only in the flat-screen, fantasy world of television. Now the characters of his fave TV show had a very in-your-face, corporeal existence, one entirely independent of their digital imprint. I could almost hear the cogs turning as he puzzled through the apparition before him. Did he understand the difference between TV and reality? Easton continued to think about it for what seemed an eternity while I did the same in terms of trying to divine any hint of what must be racing through his noggin. He snapped out of his trance moments later when the band ripped into a raucous cover of The Go-Go’s “We Got the Beat.” It

wasn’t half way through that number that he dropped from his aisle seat and was dancing frenetically in that spasmodic, herky-jerky style peculiar to small children. If there had been any existential warfare raging in his little head it had now been erased by sheer reckless abandon as he whirled through such showstoppers as “A Friend Like You,” “Freeze Dance,” and “Just Like a Rock Star.” Easton will soon be old enough to relate on a more complex level. In the meantime, I wonder if all will be lost to the dusty recesses of memory. Will he remember the high five he got from Twist, the band’s main purveyor of comic relief? Will he a year from now even be able to recall anything at all from this day? Anything? His grandpa sure will.