Lancaster County 50plus LIFE October 2019

e coverag e r a c i d Me Is your o expensive? ? to eferrals r h t i w ds aling aring ai e Still de h r o f overage Need c or dentures? at e wh 3 to se u. e g a p Go to an do for yo we c

Complimentary | Lancaster County Edition | October 2019 • Vol. 25 No. 10

nsee dent Lice n e p e d is an In ciation lueCross BlueShield Asso B l a it p a C eCross of the Blu

Hooked on Fishing Lures page 4

special section: funeral preplanning page 24

lancaster 50plus expo highlights

Oct. 12, 2019 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Spooky Nook Sports • 2913 Spooky Nook Road, Manheim

FREE ADMISSION WITH THIS COUPON

aGreatWayToSpendMyDay.com

Fashion Show • Selfie Station

Spa Treatments • Health Screenings

page 30

Tips to Keep You Safe from Medicare Fraud

By Brian O’Connell

Nov. 7, 2019 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Farm and Home Center

1383 Arcadia Road, Lancaster

This event is FREE to attend.

Veterans (of all ages) and the military community and their families are invited to join us!

The Expo brings federal, state, and local agencies together with area businesses to provide information and resources to veterans and their families.

The Job Fair brings veterans and spouses who need jobs together with employers who can benefit from this rich source of talent to aid their organizations.

At the Expo

Veterans Benefits & Services Medical/Nonmedical Resources Products and Services Available Support/Assistance Programs Education/Training Services

At the Job Fair

Employers Job Counseling Workshops Employment Seminars Resume Writing Assistance Hosted by:

Sponsor & Exhibitor Opportunities Available

www.veteransexpo.com (717) 285-1350 www.olpevents.com

2

October 2019

50plus LIFE •

With Medicare open enrollment season about to begin, it’s a good idea for enrollees to recognize and take action to stop Medicare fraud against them in its tracks.

Just how bad is the Medicare consumer fraud problem?

According to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, Medicare fraud — Medicare Open Enrollment Period against consumers, Oct. 15 – Dec. 7 government, and private health insurers — is the Via email — Medicare fraud “largest type of insurance fraud by artists also frequently use email far,” with tens of billions “phishing” techniques to reach out to of dollars lost each year by Medicare enrollees, again claiming consumers. to be from the government or from a local hospital or doctor’s office.

Forms of Medicare Fraud The scammers often try to elicit There are several ways that a Medicare enrollee’s personal data Medicare enrollees can be victimized through email directly, claiming by fraud. These scams are at the top they need the user’s personal of that list: data to complete some important paperwork, and ask the Medicare Via phone — Identity fraudsters beneficiary’s Social Security number often target older Medicare enrollees and/or bank account and credit card via a phone call, telling seniors account information. they’re with the government or Or, they’ll attempt to get a a doctor’s office, and try to steal senior to click on a malware-loaded Medicare account data that they email link, which then steals the later use to commit fraud. consumer’s data.

For active adults when apartment living is all you need!

Affordable housing for those 62 and older, located in beautiful, historic Marietta Rents start at $715 and include all utilities (heat, electric, water, sewer, trash), off-street parking, on-site laundry, community room, and community garden.

Two-bedrooms start at $857.

For applications and information, please contact:

Community Basics, Inc. 717-735-9590 or info@communitybasics.com

601 East Market Street Marietta

www.50plusLifePA.com

Actions to Protect against Medicare Fraud The good news? Medicare enrollees can take direct action to mitigate or even eliminate Medicare fraud, experts say.

Get started with these tips: Lock down your medical information. “Be suspicious if anyone other than your doctor or medical provider asks for your information, especially because this includes your Social Security number,” says Diana Golub, a licensed medical professional and director of options at AIA Direct in Bradenton, Florida.

“Make sure you protect your Medicare card, and don’t share your Medicare number. Think of it like a credit or debit card number. Be aware of online or phone scammers. You don’t have to pay a processing fee or purchase a temporary card should you misplace your Medicare card.”

Review your Medicare claims. Review your Medicare claims to make sure there aren’t any errors or suspicious activity, advises Justin Lavelle, chief communications officer at BeenVerified, an online background-check platform.

“Each time you receive healthcare services, write the service date on your calendar and save all the statements or receipts you may get back from your providers,” Lavelle says.

“Check them for errors by comparing your healthcare service dates — as listed on your calendar — with what is listed on your statements.”

In addition, check to ensure the prescriptions you’ve filled match the ones listed on your statements. If you find any errors, call (800) MEDICARE, Lavelle says.

Don’t accept any services you don’t need. If your provider is putting pressure on you to get healthcare services you feel you don’t need, you can refuse the care and request another physician give you a second opinion.

“Don’t feel that because it is your physician, someone you’ve trusted

in the past, that you must move forward with all of their healthcare recommendations,” says Lavelle.

“Medical professionals falsely billing Medicare, advising procedures with higher rates of payment, and filing false claims have been on the rise in the last decade.”

Be careful with all physician interactions. On its fraud-prevention webpage, Medicare.gov advises Medicare enrollees to not allow anyone, except your doctor or other Medicare providers, to review your medical records or recommend services.

“Also, don’t contact your doctor to request a service that you don’t need, and don’t let anyone persuade you to see a doctor for care or services you don’t need,” the agency states.

If you believe that you’ve been victimized by Medicare fraud, take these action steps: • Call CMS at (800) MEDICARE or (800) 633-4227 • Report it online to the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General • Call the Office of the Inspector General at (800) HHS‑TIPS or TTY: (800) 377‑4950 • Call your state insurance department or local law enforcement Brian O’Connell is an analyst at InsuranceQuotes (www.insurancequotes.com).

BlueJourney Seminar Dates and Locations: Oct. 15th, 2 p.m. • Farm & Home Center, 1383 Arcadia Rd., Lancaster 17601 Oct. 30th, 2 p.m. • Homewood Suites, 200 Granite Run Dr., Lancaster 17601 Oct. 15th, 2 p.m. • Four Points by Sheraton, 1650 Toronita St., York 17403 Oct. 30th, 2 p.m. • Four Points by Sheraton, 1650 Toronita St., York 17403 Nov. 13th, 2 p.m. • Farm & Home Center, 1383 Arcadia Rd., Lancaster 17601 Nov. 2nd, 2 p.m. • Courtyard by Marriott York, 2799 Concord Rd., York 17402 Nov. 16th, 2 p.m. • Four Points by Sheraton, 1650 Toronita St., York 17403

BlueJourney Products Offer You: • • • •

Plans starting at $0 No referrals required $800 hearing benefit Dental coverage that includes dentures

Call now to reserve a seat at a seminar, or to learn more about how Capital BlueCross can get you the coverage you deserve!

1-888-989-9015 (TTY: 711) Semi-Private and Private Yoga In our classes, we combine thoughtful sequencing, a dose of inspiration, and a spirit of playfulness to help you deepen your practice and awareness of your body. We seek to help others in nurturing their body, mind, and soul with yoga.

Our hope is that the practice you develop on mat will transfer off mat, leaving you feeling nourished, balanced, and refreshed.

Breathe@LittleYogaPlace.com

www.LittleYogaPlace.com facebook.com/ LittleYogaPlace

717-471-8328

Landisville, PA

www.50plusLifePA.com

8 a.m.– 6 p.m., Monday–Friday

BlueJourney PPO is offered by Capital Advantage Insurance Company®, a Medicare Advantage organization with a Medicare contract. BlueJourney HMO is offered by Keystone Health Plan® Central, a Medicare Advantage organization with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in BlueJourney PPO and BlueJourney HMO depends on contract renewal. Capital BlueCross and its subsidiaries Capital Advantage Insurance Company, Capital Advantage Assurance Company and Keystone Health Plan Central are independent licensees of the BlueCross BlueShield Association. Communications issued by Capital BlueCross in its capacity as administrator of programs and provider relations for all companies. You must continue to pay your Medicare Part B premium.

This information is not a complete description of benefits. Contact the plan for more information. Limitations, copayments, and restrictions may apply. Benefits, premiums and/or copayments may change on January 1 of each year. The formulary, pharmacy and/or provider network may change at any time. You will receive notice when necessary.

Y0016_MK18_50plusAd Accepted

50plus LIFE •

October 2019

3

Cover Story

Hooked on Fishing Lures Corporate Office

3912 Abel Drive, Columbia, PA 17512 Phone 717.285.1350 • Fax 717.285.1360 Chester County: 610.675.6240 Cumberland County/Dauphin County: 717.770.0140 Berks County/Lancaster County/ Lebanon County/York County: 717.285.1350 Email address: info@onlinepub.com Website address: www.onlinepub.com

PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER Donna K. Anderson

EDITORIAL

Vice President and Managing Editor Christianne Rupp Editor, 50plus Publications Megan Joyce

ART DEPARTMENT Project Coordinator Renee McWilliams Production Artists Connie Molitor Lauren Phillips

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Senior Marketing Consultants Joshua Binkley Jennifer Schmalhofer Angie Willis Marketing Consultant Cassidy Galeone Events Manager Kimberly Shaffer

ADMINISTRATION Business Manager Elizabeth Duvall

Member of

Awards

50plus LIFE is published by On-Line Publishers, Inc. and is distributed monthly among senior centers, retirement communities, banks, grocers, libraries and other outlets serving the senior community.

On-Line Publishers, Inc. will not knowingly accept or publish advertising which may be fraudulent or misleading in nature.

Views expressed in opinion stories, contributions, articles and letters are not necessarily the views of the publisher. The appearance of advertisements for products or services does not constitute an endorsement of the particular product or service. The publisher will not be responsible for mistakes in advertisements unless notified within five days of publication. On-Line Publishers, Inc. reserves the right to revise or reject any and all advertising. No part of this publication may be reproduced or reprinted without permission of On-Line Publishers, Inc. We will not knowingly publish any advertisement or information not in compliance with the Federal Fair Housing Act, Pennsylvania State laws or other local laws.

4

October 2019

50plus LIFE •

By Bart Stump The expression family members into “gone fishing” has approaching areas of taken on a whole tall grass along the new meaning for shore with promises Dale and Gail of “that looks like a Stump. good spot,” only to Since 1999 the sit back and heartily retired couple has laugh as nesting, taken their love territorial Canada of kayaking and geese loudly hiss and fishing in a whole boisterously attack new direction: their kayaks. finding and Perils during the The main display contains some of Dale and Gail’s recovering lost winter have included favorite finds and larger-than-life gag gifts. fishing lures from becoming stuck lakes throughout atop sheets of ice, south-central requiring sharp blows Pennsylvania. from their kayak All told, they paddles to break have amassed through. a collection Dale has containing over developed an 4,200 lures and ingenious method 6,500 bobbers. of retrieving items Visitors’ reactions caught high up in to seeing the tree branches. Using collection for the a three-pronged first time vary from gardening scratcher an audible gasp to a attached to three Gail adds a new addition to a display containing over stunned, slack-jawed threaded sections of 200 sinkers of every size and style. silence. tube and a piece of Hitting the PVC pipe, he can water with their reach up to 20 feet green two-person in the air, pulling kayak, the pair snagged items from slowly paddles the branches. along the shore, “Many a lure sharp eyes scanning would fall down the water’s edge, right on top of Gail underlying roots, or in the water if I and overhanging didn’t hook it just branches for lost right,” states Dale lures and bobbers. with a chuckle.

“It’s good exercise During the Dale Stump attempts to free a tangled lure from a tree. drought of 1999, and very relaxing,” says Dale.

Dale and Gail would Sometimes recovery is as simple as plucking the walk along the newly exposed shoreline looking for object from the water or using a paddle to coax it out lost fishing items. That year they found 507 items, from under some vegetation or among tree roots. including the contents of an unfortunate fisherman’s More adventurous approaches include leaning boat that had tipped over. precariously over the edge of the boat or plowing Other unusual finds include an ornate .22 rifle headlong into brambles as large spiders and snakes that was turned over to the proper authorities, golf fall from overlying branches. clubs, complete tackle boxes, and a radio-controlled During the spring, Dale, being quite the toy racing boat. prankster, has been known to trick unsuspecting Finding the lures and bobbers is only the first www.50plusLifePA.com

step. When the pair gets the items “It was neat to go down early in home, Gail dutifully records the the morning when no one else was on number and type of each item the lake. The sound of the breaking found in her journal and then ice echoed across the lake,” she says. carefully cleans them.

Dale fondly recalls seeing large Dale is in charge of making numbers of carp noisily splashing any needed repairs and replacing in the shallows during the spring missing hooks. spawning season and making a game The next step is putting the lures out of trying to catch leaves in the and bobbers on display in a section boats as they fell from the trees in the of their basement affectionately fall. called the “shrine.”

“It was something — you never “I decided we had too many lures knew which way the leaves were Lures of every type and color hang from the Gail Stump with the lure that landed her in the sitting around, and I wanted to going to go. It was a real workout, rafters. emergency room. display them,” explains Gail. but a lot of fun.”

Various hanging wire baskets and Overall, being hooked on fishing clear jars house hundreds of brightly lures has provided a plethora of colored round bobbers. Stick delightfully memorable experiences bobbers are artistically hung on a for Dale and Gail and has started wall display while still other bobbers a wonderful tradition that is being are carefully sorted into smiley face carried on by the entire family. and light-up styles.

Bart Stump, a history teacher, writes A dazzling array of lures in every from York, Pa., and has been published color of the rainbow hangs on in numerous magazines. chains strung from the rafters or On the cover – Gail and Dale Stump arranged by style in displays backed have amassed a collection of 4,200 by underwater scenes. Rapala fishing lures and 6,500 bobbers, minnows swim next to imitation all housed in a section of their crayfish. Lead-headed jigs hang basement affectionately called beside rubber worms. “the shrine.”

Baskets of bobbers hang near vintage and modern fishing tackle.

Various spinners and spoons All photos courtesy Bart Stump. dangle from the ceiling, light and grandchildren have gotten into gleaming off their shiny gold and the act. Not only do they retrieve lost silver blades. Multicolored poppers, lures and bobbers, they also provide surface plugs, and artificial frogs are fishing-related gag gifts, such as a suspended nearby. larger-than-life bobber cooler and a Dale points out his favorite lure, a gigantic Rapala fishing lure. white mouse.

More importantly, the collection Hi there! My name “I had to get out of the kayak to provides Dale, Gail, and their family is Honey. I’m a 6-yearget it. It was up in a tree near the with a compelling reason to get old spayed female dam breast. It was really neat.” outside on the water and enjoy the Irish wolfhound mix An assortment of fishing fresh air and sunshine. who came here when lure catalogs add to the overall Gail keeps a detailed journal my previous owner atmosphere, and a brightly colored describing each outing. She includes developed allergies. yellow-and-green tin sign has been the location, weather, wildlife seen, I can be a little shy at slightly altered to advertise Stumpy’s and other noteworthy observations. first, so I would do best Bait and Tackle.

Highlights include deer grazing in a home that is able to An adjacent wall display contains and bedding down along the shore, give me time to adjust to dozens of lead sinkers meticulously a snapping turtle laying eggs on the my new surroundings. arranged by size and style. bank, bald eagles and ospreys soaring Due to my timid nature, Certain items have a place of overhead, beaver-cut trees, snakes I would do best in a honor in the display, including the and turtles sunning on rocks, flocks home without small small grasshopper lure that landed of geese and cormorants swimming children.

Gail in the emergency room after it nearby, and even a chipmunk eating I just know my perfect match is out there and I can’t wait became embedded in her thumb. raspberries under a tree. to meet you!

“He [Dale] wanted to cut it out, When asked about their favorite Honey is free to a great home. For more information, but I wouldn’t let him,” states Gail. memories, Gail fondly reminisces please contact the Humane League of Lancaster County at “The doctor at the ER told me I was about a winter jaunt in which a thin (717) 393-6551. the first patient that year to have a layer of ice covered the lake and hook taken out.” how melodious it sounded as the The collection has become a family ice cracked and broke apart as they affair, as Dale and Gail’s children paddled through it.

Pet of the Month

Honey

www.50plusLifePA.com

50plus LIFE •

October 2019

5

* lde La Natio rL wA n aw tto al A rn cad ey em sM y *P em of e Me nn be Eld mb syl r? er er? van ia Ba *P rA e sso of n n Eld sy cia er lva tio La nia n wA A s t s tor oc *L ne iat oc ys ion al Ba Me rA mb sso er? cia tio nM em be r?

ted in E

Ye ar Sta r

ed nd

Ye ar Fo u

rn ey sT ota l

#A tto

#E

lde rL

aw At to

rn ey s

Elder Law Attorneys

Specific areas of elder law in which the firm concentrates:

Bellomo & Associates, LLC 3198 East Market Street, York, PA 17402 717-845-5390 fax 717-845-5408 info@bellomoassociates.com www.bellomoassociates.com

4

4

2009

2009

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Estate planning; wills and powers of attorney; Medicaid and long-term care planning; probate and estate administration; guardianship.

Yes

Estate planning, wills, trusts, powers of attorney, estate administration, guardianships. York County Bar Association Estate Planning and Probate Law Section, chairman since 2001, friendly and efficient service and staff.

Yes

Asset protection; long-term care; medical assistance; veterans’ benefits (veteran certified); estate planning, wills, trusts, powers of attorney; estate administration; guardianships.

Attorney/CPA on staff.

Yes

Compassionate guidance with Alzheimer’s planning, Medicaid benefits, wills, powers of attorney, estate administration, and care coordination. Nurse on staff. Care crisis?

Call for a free consultation with our care coordinator.

Yes

Advanced estate planning and all aspects of administration and probate, including all tax returns (CPA on staff); asset protection: Medicaid planning; all trusts, including special needs and charitable giving; guardianships; veterans’ benefits.

16 convenient locations in PA and MD with evening and weekend appointments available, and we make house calls too!

Blakey, Yost, Bupp & Rausch, LLP David A. Mills, Esquire

17 East Market Street, York, PA 17401 717-845-3674 fax 717-854-7839 dmills@blakeyyost.com www.blakeyyost.com

1

7

1980

1990

No

Yes

No

Daley Zucker Meilton & Miner, LLC 635 North 12th Street, #101, Lemoyne, PA 17043 330 East Park Drive, Harrisburg, PA 17111 717-724-9821 fax 717-724-9826 ppatton@daleyzucker.com www.daleyzucker.com

3

7

2004

2004

No

Yes

No

Keystone Elder Law P.C. 555 Gettysburg Pike, Suite B-200, Mechanicsburg Satellite office in Carlisle 717-697-3223 toll-free 844-697-3223 karen@keystoneelderlaw.com www.keystoneelderlaw.com

2

2

2010

2010

Yes

Yes

Yes

Mooney Law

HARRISBURG: 105 North Front St.; YORK: 40 East Philadelphia St. CARLISLE: 2 South Hanover St.; SHIPPENSBURG: 34 West King St. GETTYSBURG: 18 E. Middle St.; HANOVER: 230 York St. Additional offices in Duncannon, Frederick (MD), Greencastle, Halifax, Lancaster, Lebanon, Mercersburg, New Oxford, Stewartstown, and Westminster (MD) 717-200-HELP; toll-free 877-632-4656 — CALL 24/7 info@mooney4law.com www.PAElderIssues.com; www.Mooney4Law.com

4

12

1997

1997

Yes

Yes

Yes

If you would like to be featured on this important page, please contact your marketing consultant or call (717) 285-1350.

This is not an all-inclusive list. These advertisers are eager to provide additional information about their services. * Indicates that at least one attorney in the firm is a member. Information contained herein was provided by the firm.

Two Hours a Week in Nature Boosts Well-being Staying healthy isn’t all about exercise and diet — as important as they are.

An article on the Science News website suggests that spending just two hours a week in nature is crucial to your health and well-being.

A study of data from 20,000 people in England, conducted by the University of Exeter, found that folks who spend 120 minutes a week out in nature tend to report significantly better health and psychological well-being than those who don’t commune with nature at all in a typical week or who

6

October 2019

50plus LIFE •

spend less than two hours outside in parks, woodlands, and beaches.

Your two hours don’t have to happen all at once, either. The findings showed that the benefits accrued in either a single visit or several short periods.

The benefits also were evident across the board regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, financial status, and disability.

The bottom line: Get outside now, and you’ll feel better soon. www.50plusLifePA.com

Alzheimer’s Risk, Progression, Resilience Differ by Sex Research reported in July at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2019 in Los Angeles identified a number of differences in the progression and risk of Alzheimer’s disease between women and men, including newly identified sex-specific risk genes and contrasting presentation of Alzheimer’s biology in the brain.

Two-thirds of people living with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States are women, according to the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2019 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts & Figures report.

There are a number of potential reasons why more women than men have Alzheimer’s or other dementias; a long-held view has been that it is due to women living longer than men, on average, but new evidence suggests that may not be the whole story.

“The majority of people living with Alzheimer’s are women, and it’s imperative we understand why,” said Maria C. Carrillo, Ph.D., Alzheimer’s Association chief science officer.

“The research reported today at AAIC gets us one step closer to answering that question by identifying specific biological and social reasons why

Alzheimer’s is different in men and women.”

Findings from researchers at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center found sex-specific differences in the spread of abnormal tau protein, a toxic substance associated with cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s.

Complementary to these findings, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine found sex differences in levels of energy usage in the form of brain glucose metabolism.

Research from the University of Miami found novel sexspecific genes that are associated with risk and resilience for Alzheimer’s disease, which could provide unique risk profiles for men and women.

Finally, in a large study of women, researchers from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health found a faster rate of memory decline among women who never engaged in waged employment compared to women who participated in the paid labor force.

“Understanding these sex-specific differences may help us identify and apply customized prevention strategies for different populations against cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease, and other dementias,” Carrillo added.

At Your Fingertips Helpful numbers, hotlines, and local businesses and organizations eager to serve you—all just a phone call away.

Cancer care Lancaster Cancer Center Greenfield Corporate Center 1858 Charter Lane, Suite 202 (717) 291-1313 Emergency Numbers Central Pennsylvania Poison Center (800) 521-6110 Office of Aging (717) 299-7979 or (800) 801-3070 Entertainment Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre 510 Centerville Road, Lancaster (717) 898-1900 Financial Services Internal Revenue Service (717) 291-1994 Morgan Stanley Wealth Management (302) 573-4027 U.S. Financial (800) 595-1925, ext. 2122 Health & Medical Services Alzheimer’s Association (717) 651-5020 American Cancer Society (717) 397-3744 American Diabetes Association (888) DIABETES www.50plusLifePA.com

American Heart Association (717) 393-0725 American Lung Association (717) 397-5203 or (800) LungUSA American Red Cross (717) 299-5561 Arthritis Foundation (717) 397-6271 Consumer Information (888) 878-3256 CONTACT Helpline (717) 652-4400 Disease and Health Risk (888) 232-3228 Domestic Violence (800) 799-7233 Flu or Influenza (888) 232-3228 Hearing Services Pennsylvania Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (800) 233-3008 V/TTY Home Care Services Visiting Angels Living Assistance Services Hanover: (717) 630-0067 Lancaster: (717) 393-3450 York: (717) 751-2488

Home Improvement Haldeman Mechanical Inc. 1148 Old Line Road, Manheim (717) 665-6910

Supermarkets John Herr’s Village Market 25 Manor Ave., Millersville (717) 872-5457

Housing Marietta Senior Apartments 601 E. Market St., Marietta (717) 735-9590

Travel Conestoga Tours (717) 569-1111 Passport Information (877) 487-2778

Insurance

Veterans Services Korean War Veterans Association (717) 506-9424 Lebanon VA Medical Center 1700 S. Lincoln Ave., Lebanon (717) 228-6000 or (800) 409-8771

Medicare (800) 633-4227 Vibra Health Plan (844) 660-2961 (TTY: 711) Nutrition Meals on Wheels (717) 392-4842

Volunteer opportunities RSVP of the Capital Region (717) 454-8647

Pharmacies CVS/pharmacy www.cvs.com Retirement Communities Harrison Senior Living Locations in Christiana and East Fallowfield (610) 384-6310

yoga Little Yoga Place Semi-Private and Private Yoga Landisville, Pa. (717) 471-8328

senior services Lancaster County Office of Aging (717) 299-7979

Not an all-inclusive list of advertisers in your area.

50plus LIFE •

October 2019

7

Soldier Stories

He Survived Firefights, Hepatitis, and a Landmine that Failed to Detonate

Robert Naeye

Central Pennsylvania resident Dan Dorsheimer had been in Vietnam for only three weeks when he went out on his first patrol as an Army infantryman.

The events that followed would be seared into his memory.

His platoon destroyed a South Vietnamese village and killed a young Vietnamese girl.

He stepped on a landmine, which miraculously failed to explode.

But despite experiencing Dorsheimer at a fire support base, 1968. intense combat and becoming severely ill twice, he would survive his tour and return to his hometown.

Dorsheimer was born in February 1948 and raised in a family with a distinguished history of military service. His maternal grandfather served during World War I. His father fought in the brutal Battle of Okinawa in World War II, where he earned a Purple Heart. His brother also served in Vietnam.

The December issue of 50plus LIFE will include a special focus —

Orthopedics & Pain Whether you provide relief through standard care, complementary and alternative medicine, therapies, fitness options, or specialty products ...

50plus LIFE is the perfect venue to reach an ideal demographic who can benefit from your information.

Closing date for advertorial: Oct. 25, 2019 Closing date for ad copy: Nov. 1, 2019

Let our readers know what their options are and to whom they can turn when they hurt.

Please contact your sales representative at 717.285.1350 or info@onlinepub.com today to reserve your space!

Online & In Print. onlinepub.com 8

October 2019

50plus LIFE •

“When our country called, we answered the call, and I’m very proud of that,” says Dorsheimer.

Dorsheimer graduated from high school in June 1966.

Almost one year later to the day, he was drafted. He went into the Army so he would only have to serve two years.

He spent eight weeks in basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, followed by nine weeks of advanced infantry Dorsheimer with two ARVN (Army of the training at Fort McClellan, Republic of Vietnam) soldiers.

Alabama.

“We didn’t hear a lot of positive things in those 17 weeks of training. They really beat us up physically and emotionally. That’s just how it was,” says Dorsheimer.

At the end of his training, Dorsheimer’s worst fears became reality: He received a letter ordering him to report to Fort Lewis, Washington, in the first week of November 1967. He realized he was going to ’Nam at a time when the war was intensifying and American casualties were starting to mount.

After a brief period of rest back home, Dorsheimer’s parents drove him to Baltimore for the flight to Washington.

“My mother watched the news; she knew what was going on in Vietnam.

She was a mess. She didn’t know if she was ever going to see me again alive,” recalls Dorsheimer.

After stops in Hawaii, Wake Island, and Guam, Dorsheimer landed at Cam Ranh Bay in November 1967. He wondered why men were cheering as he got off the plane but then realized they were going home. They told him “to have fun.” Dorsheimer recalls being scared to death.

The next day, Dorsheimer flew on a cargo plane to the village of Pleiku in South Vietnam’s Central Highlands. There, he was assigned as a replacement to a company in the Army’s 4th Infantry Division.

To some extent, Dorsheimer lucked out. During his 366-day tour of duty, the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong concentrated their forces to the north and south of the Central Highlands, so, as Dorsheimer says, “We didn’t see a whole lot of combat for an infantry unit.”

Still, he saw horrible things and watched some of his buddies die. He calls his first three weeks in Vietnam “a nightmare,” and that experience included watching a fellow 19-year-old kid blow himself up while mishandling a grenade.

On his first patrol, his platoon went out in the morning on a search-anddestroy mission to a nearby village that was thought to be sympathetic to the Viet Cong.

The 40 or so men crossed a river and entered the village. The inhabitants lived in primitive conditions, with thatched dwellings and dirt floors. The Americans only saw old men, women, and young children.

As a newcomer, Dorsheimer depended on the officers and hardened veterans for his survival. But right away, he worried that his comrades were having too much fun searching and destroying.

Before departing the village, the commanding officer ordered the men to burn it down. The men set fire to the grass with their lighters, which www.50plusLifePA.com

then lit the hatched dwellings.

Dorsheimer admits that he helped.

“These people had nothing — they were primitive peasants,” he recalls. “And that wasn’t the worst of it. We killed their chickens, their pigs, and we shot their water buffalo. These people had nothing. We destroyed absolutely everything in that village.

Everything.”

Dorsheimer was only 19, but he understood that ruining the Taking a meal, August 1968. livelihood of the locals was not exactly the best way to establish their faith in democracy.

Walking back to the base camp, the line of men suddenly stopped. The point man looked at Dorsheimer, who heard a “poof.” He realized he was in trouble.

He looked down to see smoke coming out from his right boot.

He was told not to move. He had stepped on a small landmine consisting of plastic explosives.

Fortunately for the rookie soldier, the mine failed to detonate. Even if it did, Dorsheimer probably would have survived.

“It wasn’t meant to kill you. It was meant to put a hole in your foot and put you in the hospital.”

As the men neared base camp, they saw a Vietnamese person cross their path in a rice paddy. Someone behind Dorsheimer yelled, “Go ahead and fire.”

After turning over the body, they realized they had killed a young girl. Making matters worse, some of the men laughed.

“I’m thinking, ‘What the hell is going on here?’” recalls Dorsheimer. “I wasn’t brought up that way.”

Dorsheimer’s company went on numerous jungle patrols but rarely made contact with the enemy. Still, these were arduous missions, with the soldiers carrying heavy loads, going many days without showers, and eating the same dreary rations day after day.

About five months into his tour, Dorsheimer contracted hepatitis and had to be medevacked to an aid station. By the time he got there, he was lapsing in and out of consciousness. He was freezing, but his head felt like it was on fire.

He was running a high fever, so the medical personnel packed him in ice “like Charlie the Tuna.”

While recuperating at Cam Ranh Bay, he had an incredibly unlikely chance encounter with a fellow high school graduate, Rick Criswell, who was serving in the Army’s 101st Airborne Division.

The two spent several days together at the hospital and had a photo taken.

They sent a copy to the local weekly newspaper, which published it on the front page of the April 19, 1968, issue.

Tragically, Criswell died in action four months later. Shortly after returning home from the war, Dorsheimer landed a job with a small bottling company.

By an extraordinary coincidence, he discovered that Criswell’s mother worked there too. He went to see her and saw that she was reading the paper.

“I turned around and said, ‘Mrs. Criswell, hi, I’m Dan Dorsheimer.’ The tears rolled down her cheeks. It was Rick’s mother, probably two years after she buried her son. That picture in the [newspaper] was quite possibly the last picture she saw of her son before she saw him dead in that casket.

“She never came back to work, and I have never seen her to this day. Why did that happen?”

Dorsheimer vividly recalls a pitched firefight after recovering from his illness. He watched one of his fellow soldiers die from a bullet fired from a nearby village. Suddenly, two American jets zoomed by at low altitude and dropped canisters of napalm on the village, incinerating everything.

“No fireworks display can do what these two canisters did,” says Dorsheimer. But the attacks ceased. www.50plusLifePA.com

This young soldier would survive several more firefights and a bout of malaria.

Dorsheimer received several ribbons and a letter of commendation for his service, but he is quick to dismiss any notion that he was a hero.

“I didn’t do more than any of the guys beside me. People back at base camp wrote this stuff up to try to build morale,” he insists.

Despite everything he Rich Burton, left, and Dan Dorsheimer. endured and all his unpleasant memories, Dorsheimer has built a successful postwar life. He retired in 2011 after working 22 years for Coca-Cola, and he has been married to his wife, Fran, for 28 years. Their son, Sage, currently lives in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Like many Vietnam veterans, Dorsheimer has found it difficult for other people to relate to his wartime experiences.

“For 46, 47 years, I didn’t talk about it because no one cared. Even the veterans [here in town] really didn’t acknowledge us at the Legion and the VFW. Yeah, they signed us up, but they told us, ‘That’s not a real war.’ Yeah, tell that to the 58,000 people who died.”

But like most Vietnam veterans, his war experiences remain a defining part of his life.

“I was 19 when I landed, 20 when I left. I’m proud of my service, as is my father, my grandfather, and my brother. I’m not proud of some of the things that we did. We did some really nasty things.”

Derry Township resident Robert Naeye writes regularly for The Hummelstown Sun.

We Want YOU! •K orean war veterans (of all service branches) who served anywhere in the world 1950–1955 • Veterans (of all service branches) who served in Korea 1945–present

The mission of the KWVA/USA is to defend our nation. Care for our veterans. Perpetuate our legacy. remember our missing and fallen. Maintain our memorial.

Support a free Korea.

Come and enjoy the camaraderie of your fellow veterans at a monthly meeting of the local chapter of the Korean War Veterans Association (KWVA).

We meet on the second Wednesday of each month at Wood Crest Villa — Eagle Commons, 2001 Harrisburg Pike, Lancaster, PA 17601, starting with lunch at noon. This invitation includes spouses/companions and drivers. There is no charge for attendance. Dress code is casual.

We currently have 90+ registered members. Come join us. Hopefully, you will find it habit forming.

For more information call: Bill Kelley, VP (717) 560-9424.

50plus LIFE •

October 2019

9

Dear Pharmacist

Suzy Cohen

4 Powerful Medicinal Herbs for Breast Cancer

There’s no time like the present to begin the changes necessary for better breast health.

The take-home message today is that you can change the way you break down estrogen in your own body. You have direct control over it, and that’s important because estrogen breakdown is different for everyone.

Let’s start with the basics. When you say the word estrogen, that’s actually three compounds: estradiol, estrone, and estriol. Of the three, estradiol is more strongly associated with causing cancer than the other two.

Men and women both make estrogen.

It’s the breakdown product from testosterone, actually. If you have low testosterone, you’ll have low estrogen too.

Your body breaks down estrogen into metabolites, and some of those are more

likely to cause cancer than others. Like I said, you can change the way your body breaks down the circulating estrogen.

Here is some valuable information about how to manufacture your own healthy estrogen metabolites and make it such that you break it down into forms that are less likely to cause cancer.

If you are currently undergoing chemotherapy, please ask your doctor if these are right for you.

Rosemary – I recommend this as a fresh herb from your grocery store. Cook with it, and make tea with it. Rosemary is a powerful antioxidant that has antiinflammatory effects similar to a COX-2 inhibitor drug.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month Rosemary has antimicrobial and direct benefits for breast and prostate health. It also has anti-tumor benefits. Rosemary works by helping you break down estrogen into the safer anti-cancer metabolites.

Need more LIFE in your life?

Get 50plus LIFE sent straight to your mailbox!

Simply mail this form and $15 for an annual subscription to: 50plus LIFE • 3912 Abel Drive, Columbia, PA 17512 Call (717) 285-8131, or subscribe online at www.50plusLIFEPA.com!

Name_ ________________________________________________________ Address_ _______________________________________________________ City_______________________________ State_ ____ Zip_ _______________

Please specify edition: oChester oCumberland oDauphin oLancaster oLebanon oYork

10

October 2019

50plus LIFE •

Broccoli – It’s impossible to eat 4 pounds of broccoli every day, so take the supplement called indole-3-carbinol (I3C) or DIM, I3C’s metabolite. It helps to balance estrogen levels in the body and appears to have anti-cancer effects, particularly for the breast and prostate.

Too much of it, however, can crash your thyroid levels, due to its goitrogenic effect.

Flax seed – This is kind of like plant-based estrogen (termed phytoestrogen), which kicks off dangerous estrogens from your cells.

Men with prostate problems could benefit. Women with estrogen dominance — hallmarked by heavy periods, breast pain, cramping, and anxiety — might benefit from flax seed.

I recommend buying fresh flax seed, grinding it in a coffee grinder, and sprinkling it on yogurt or oatmeal.

Sage – Salvia officinalis is the botanical name. Just like rosemary, sage contains a lot of “carnosic acid.” This compound was shown in numerous clinical trials to exert apoptosis, which means cancer cells die off.

When combined, the breast cancer drug Tamoxifen and carnosic acid work more effectively together at slowing down cancer growth. You can buy fresh sage herb to cook with or herbal extract at any health food store.

There are many other alternatives that I haven’t elaborated on, such as vitamin D, curcumin, and iodine, so if you’re interested in those, come to my website and sign up for my newsletter.

Please ask your physician or oncologist if these are right for you. Cooking with the fresh herbs should be just fine.

This information is not intended to diagnose, prevent, or treat your disease. For more information about the author, visit suzycohen.com. www.50plusLifePA.com

It Was 50 Years Ago Today

‘Suspicious Minds’ Randal Hill

The King of Rock ’n’ Roll was pretty much washed up as a recording star by the late 1960s, especially in comparison to the days when he seemed to own the radio airwaves.

Many offered their own opinions for the decline of Elvis Aron Presley: The explosive arrival of the Beatles.

His choice of weak recording material. Each film a bigger disappointment than the last.

But in late 1968, things changed.

Suddenly Presley found himself on a roll. His December television special, Singer Presents … Elvis (better known as “the ’68 Comeback Special”) was viewed — and enjoyed — by 42% of America’s total television audience.

People seemed ready to re-embrace the Grand Old Man of Rock who, in pop-music years, was in his dotage at age 33.

In January 1969, Presley left Hollywood and RCA Victor’s recording studio and came to his hometown of Memphis to cut a series of tracks at the American Sound Studio. Maybe — just maybe — he could get his groove back there.

A dozen of the tunes that Presley recorded over a 10-day period that January ended up on his June 1969 LP, From Elvis in Memphis. The album’s highlight had been the single “In the Ghetto,” his only recorded nod to social consciousness.

One of the songs left off the album had been “Suspicious Minds,” which had been written a year earlier by Texas-born songwriter Mark James. In a 2017 interview, James recalled how the tune came about.

“Late one night, fooling around on my Fender guitar and using my Hammond organ pedals for a bass line, I came up with a catchy melody.

I was married to my first wife then but still had feelings for my childhood sweetheart, who was married back in Houston. www.50plusLifePA.com

Oct. 12, 2019 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Spooky Nook Sports

“Suspicious Minds” Elvis Presley, October 1969

“My wife suspected I had those feelings, so it was a confusing time for me,” James said. “I felt as though all three of us were caught in this trap that we couldn’t walk out of.”

James was so pleased with his creation that he decided to record “Suspicious Minds” himself. But the song quickly died a quiet death after it was issued on New York’s little Scepter Records label.

When someone at American Sound Studio showed Presley the failed James 45 during a recording break, Presley immediately felt that this was the song — if done right — that could return him to the “big time.”

He made eight attempts to get things right with “Suspicious Minds,” with everything coming together perfectly sometime between 4 and 7 a.m. on the day that he recorded the future classic that would quickly change the arc of his latter-day career.

After a 13-year absence, Presley returned to the concert stage that July and premiered “Suspicious Minds” at the Las Vegas International Hotel. The audience loved it.

In August, RCA Victor released what would become the King’s 18th and final No. 1 Billboard single.

“Suspicious Minds” became a centerpiece of Presley’s live performances, and he offered it with high-octane enthusiasm right up to his final concert in 1977.

Randal C. Hill is a rock ’n’ roll historian who lives at the Oregon coast. He may be reached at wryterhill@msn.com.

2913 Spooky Nook Road, Manheim

Relax and unwind!

Women of all ages have enjoyed this fun-filled event!

Health & Wellness • Finance • Home Technology • Beauty • Nutrition Home-Based Businesses and more!

Puppy Hugging!

Wine Tasting

Holiday Spa Health Shopping Treatments Screenings

Call about sponsor and exhibitor opportunitie s today!

aGreatWayToSpendMyDay.com 717.285.1350 Sponsored by: principal SPONSORS:

HEALTH & WELLNESS SPONSOR:

BUSINESSWoman

Lancaster General Health

Associate SPONSOR:

Wegmans

VISITOR Bag SPONSOR:

May-Grant Obstetrics & Gynecology Lunch Bag SPONSOR:

UPMC Pinnacle

SUPPORTING SPONSORS:

Agora Cyber Charter School Highmark Ricker Sweigart & Associates Visiting Angels

MEDIA SPONSORS:

FREE advance guest registration online! ($5 at the door.)

50plus LIFE •

October 2019

11

Booming Voice

Cursed by Cursive Bill Levine

In sixth grade I was forced to miss at least a week’s worth of recess periods. I stayed in the classroom, while outside, my classmates were frolicking.

What’s worse, I hadn’t even committed a detention-deserving act.

Not even a worthwhile classroom misdemeanor, like passing a note to a cute girl.

But actually, I would be embarrassed to pass a note to anyone because it would probably be unreadable.

Alas, that’s why I was missing the great outdoors. I was in remedial cursive-writing class.

There were a half dozen of us “illegibles” assembled by Mrs. F, based on classroom writing samples that had the clarity of filled prescription pads. The class was terribly unstimulating as we had to attempt to copy Mrs. F’s perfect, chalk-gliding script on the blackboard onto our own cursive workbooks.

My pencil, instead of gliding, hesitated between loops and curves, producing poorly shaped cousins of Mrs. F’s letters. My preference would have been to doodle in my workbook, but Mrs. F came around to inspect our efforts.

Heading into college, I felt I had been able to limit the academic damage of my bad cursive handwriting, ignoring the oncoming 20-page collegiate term paper. Thus, I left my Olivetti portable typewriter behind when leaving for school. Plus, my typing speed, if you include words off for mistakes, was about 0 per minute.

Of course, I found early on that there were students who would type papers for you, but I foreswore this chance to give my gnarled submissions a facelift until one day in my junior year.

The incentive for this positive step was my well-thought-out term paper for a bio class on evolution. I didn’t want to jeopardize 50% of my grade because my prof confused my written “survival of the fittest” for “survival of the fattest,” etc. — so I needed a typist. Luckily, I hired a friend to type it who had the

patience to work with my cursive draft.

A couple of weeks later, I picked up a B+ on my evolution paper, my highest term-paper grade. I certainly thanked my typist with the enthusiasm of an Oscar acceptance speech. It was an academic crutch to be sure, but as a grade booster, my legibility gain rivaled my frat’s copies of old exams.

But I couldn’t escape my problematical penmanship during final exam week.

The two challenges in filling up perhaps two blue books were formatting my answers in my head and then formatting the writing of the answers legibly under an intimidating time constraint. I had to write as fast as I could, exacerbating the unreadability of my test answers.

But I would hand in my final exam, invoking my ongoing rationalization that professors would not mark me down for filling two books with scrawl.

They would decipher the keys words of my solid arguments, and I would be OK. Once I graduated college, my cursive ceased to be my most worrisome elementary school subject, as it was no longer involved in high-leverage situations. It has, though, slowed down my creative writing process, as I like to write first-draft-like notes for an essay in a mixture of cursive and print lettering, which later makes rereading these notes difficult.

This was also a minor problem in college, as I would write notes in class, only to struggle to read them at exam time.

One day on the internet, I found out that in 2018 academia, I would qualify for a personal scribe to take notes for me in class.

This pinch-writer accommodation was based on my having a learning disability. I wasn’t diagnosed with this LD until 2000, 37 years after Mrs. F’s class.

On learning this, I cut myself some slack, as my poor penmanship was much more congenital than careless, but the modern accommodations for poor handwriting bothered me. That I would be scribe-eligible today meant that experts believed compromised handwriting could compromise grades.

I have wondered since if maybe I was too optimistic back in college about my handwriting obscuring my obviously brilliant exam answers.

I surmised that in my small college, without teaching assistants, my history and government profs had, say, 200 or so blue books to read at finals times.

Thus, perhaps out of waning stamina, they gave up trying to figure out my answers, leading to a lower grade.

I was very concerned when I entered college that my lack of high school math mastery would be my Achilles heel, but now I’m wondering if my biggest weakness was in fact my poor cursive, an elementary school skill.

Mrs. F would have probably agreed.

Bill Levine is a retired IT professional and active freelance writer. Bill aspires to be a humorist because it is easier to be pithy than funny. He may be reached at wlevine0607@comcast.net.

12

October 2019

50plus LIFE •

www.50plusLifePA.com

Pennsylvania Ranks 34th in Recent Senior-Friendly Analysis

By Dave Fidlin | The Center Square When it comes to retirement-friendly accommodations, Pennsylvania ranked toward the bottom of a recent study. The state overall scored above the median for safety and culture but was below the pack in affordability, wellness, and weather.

According to the analysis from financial website Bankrate, Pennsylvania wound up at No. 34, behind neighboring state Ohio, which was No. 26 overall, but ahead of New York, which was second-to-last in the comparison.

Pennsylvania’s overall below-the-median ranking is attributed to several factors, including affordability, where it ranked No. 28 across the country from a retirement-friendly lens.

In its analysis, Bankrate gave weighted averages to each of the categories.

Affordability constituted 40% of the total score. Data from the Council for Community and Economic Research was used for the affordability ranking, according to Bankrate analysts.

When asked to comment on Pennsylvania’s rank for this story, Ray Landis, advocacy manager with the state AARP office, said he believes it is at least based on some misconceptions.

“I’m actually surprised it ranks as low as it does,” Landis said.

While the state’s tax rate is a common issue of concern from residents of all ages, Landis said there are multiple mechanisms in place through state law that

help Pennsylvania’s older adult population.

Landis pointed out Pennsylvania does not tax retirees’ income from pensions and other sources. The Pennsylvania Lottery also has been used as a lever to fund programs benefiting older adults in the state.

“The reality is a lot of seniors do OK with taxes here in Pennsylvania,” Landis said.

However, real-estate taxes have been seen in recent years as disproportionately affecting Pennsylvania’s senior citizens.

Because many seniors live on a fixed income, lawmakers have worried that increases in property taxes could lead them to lose their homes.

Pennsylvania’s lowest categorical rank in Bankrate’s study was weather, where it notched a No. 31. Also ranking lower was wellness, at No. 28. Weather and wellness accounted for 15% and 2%, respectively, of Bankrate’s weighted average.

The state performed better in other metrics, including crime, where it ranked the 13th safest state, and culture, which came in No. 15 in the analysis. Crime contributed 5% to the total rank, while culture was 15%.

Florida, loosely considered the haven for many retirees, was among the top retiree-friendly states in Bankrate’s analysis, though the Sunshine State did not earn the top spot. That honor went to Nebraska, followed by Iowa, Missouri, South Dakota, and, at No. 5, Florida.

The five least senior-friendly states in Bankrate’s analysis were Washington, Illinois, Alaska, New York, and, at No. 50, Maryland.

The ultimate resource for boomer and senior living and care options.

BENEFITS

24th annual edition

Online Drives traffic to your site Digital e-dition Easily accessible on mobile devices Print For those who rely on traditional media Distribution Available at more than 15 events annually Direct mailed To professional offices throughout the Susquehanna and Delaware valleys On-Demand Where readers pick up 50plus LIFE Community Reaches your targeted audience: healthcare professionals, adult decision-making children, and 50+ consumers

Online & In Print. onlinepub.com

Last chance to be included!

Closing date: Nov. 1, 2019.

Street date: Jan. 2020

To be included in the 2020 edition of 50plus LIVING, call your marketing consultant, call (717) 285-1350, or email info@onlinepub.com www.50plusLifePA.com

50plus LIFE •

October 2019

13

Art & Antiques by Dr. Lori

Lori Verderame

Leonardo’s Murals and Nature-Based Art Marvels

2019 marks 500 years after the art and fashion scenes that intrigue death of Italian Renaissance thinker, travelers. Events surrounding inventor, and artist Leonardo da Vinci.

Leonardo’s 500th will make the fine city best known for art and fashion Even today, we are still all interested in busier than ever. his work and innovative ideas.

While a new movie starring The circa 1498 ceiling murals by that other Leonardo — yes, that’s Leonardo at the Sala delle Asse — DiCaprio — will highlight the artist’s of tempera on plaster and featuring intertwined plants, fruits, roots, rocks, biography and triumphs in the arts and white mulberry trees raised by and sciences, travel destinations around the world will remember the Lodovica Sforza, the Duke of Milan Renaissance man and the wonders of — have been newly restored and his great mind. are now on view in their amazing The art marvels of Leonardo will splendor.

The Last Supper mural painting by Leonardo da Vinci. be featured in events in and around This amazing work of art found at the Castello Sforzesco (www. the Italian city of Milan as other cities milanocastello.it/en) is only one of Milan’s many attractions. focus on highlighting the installation art for which Leonardo is widely known.

Leonardo’s influence does not stop at the famous Last Supper mural located Like the fascinating artwork in Milan, artistic and architectural installations in the refectory of the convent at Santa Maria delle Grazie, a church and are attracting art lovers and travelers alike to other parts of the world. In New Dominican convent in Milan and a UNESCO World Heritage site that York City, there is a honeycomb spiral staircase and installation structure at opened in 1497.

Hudson Yards with a hefty price tag and a great public relations presence.

While more visitors flock to Milan than any other Italian city, it is the please see LEONARDO page 17

YOU Can Learn How to Help Others Navigate Their Medicare Options!

You are invited to join the Lancaster County Office of Aging team of volunteer APPRISE counselors who assist Medicare-eligible beneficiaries navigate the often-confusing Medicare system.

APPRISE counselors receive intensive training in Medicare Parts A, B and D, Supplemental Insurances, Medicare Advantage Plans, Medicaid, PACE Plus, and other health insurance-related topics. This training allows volunteers to provide unbiased assistance to consumers so they can make an informed decision and choose the plan that best meets their specific needs.

APPRISE counselors assist older and disabled individuals with: • Understanding Medicare A, B, and D • Making informed choices about Medicare Advantage Plans • Deciding what Medicare D Plan (prescription coverage) is best • Selecting a Medigap Policy • Applying for PACE Plus • Determining what financial assistance an individual may be eligible to receive

Become an APPRISE Volunteer Today!

APPRISE counselors must be available during weekdays for the shadowing, training, and counseling parts of this volunteer opportunity.

For more information, please contact Bev Via at 717-299-7979 or 1-800-801-3070, or by e-mail at viab@co.lancaster.pa.us.

14

October 2019

50plus LIFE •

www.50plusLifePA.com

The Right Medicare plan?

Check.

Get your free Right Fit Medicare Checklist* � our ultimate guide to finding

Right

Fit Me dicare

Check

list

a Medicare plan that’s right for you.

• Call 844-665-1584 • Visit HighmarkChecklist.com

Plus, you can set up time with a Licensed Medicare Advisor who will walk you through the checklist, review your providers and prescription drugs, and tell you more about the Highmark Right Fit Guarantee.

*There is no obligation to enroll.

Highmark Choice Company, Highmark Senior Health Company, and Highmark Senior Solutions Company are Medicare Advantage plans with a Medicare contract. HM Health Insurance Company is a PDP plan with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in Highmark Choice Company, Highmark Senior Health Company, Highmark Senior Solutions Company, and HM Health Insurance Company depends on contract renewal.

Highmark Blue Shield, Highmark Choice Company, Highmark Senior Health Company, Highmark Senior Solutions Company, and HM Health Insurance Company are independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Y0037_19_3343_M – 9/19 – HC407738

www.50plusLifePA.com

50plus LIFE •

October 2019

15

Stingy Jack Carves Out His Legacy

By Randal C. Hill Every Oct. 31, we see suburban homes displaying fat orange pumpkins aglow with light pouring through triangular eyes and jagged teeth. They stand guard over the house, ready to ward off whatever evil spirits might be lurking about.

It’s a good thing that those silent sentinels are on duty. After all, one of those spirits just might be Stingy Jack.

— His story starts out in ancient Irish mythology. In the tale, the local blacksmith in one particular village was a notorious drunk who lied, cheated, played pranks, manipulated people, and did what he could to avoid spending his money.

Locals called him Jack the Smith to his face but Stingy Jack behind his back.

Lucifer had heard of Jack’s vile reputation and decided to seek out the rascal for himself.

When the devil met Jack, the town con artist invited him to the town tavern for a drink.

True to his name, Jack claimed to be broke when the drinking was done.

The wily scoundrel then convinced Satan to turn himself into a coin so Jack could settle the evening’s tab.

The bemused devil took on the requested shape, and Jack slipped the coin into his coat pocket — and right next to a silver crucifix. The cross kept Satan from shifting back to his original form. Jack then slipped out of the tavern without paying the bill.

Jack eventually let Lucifer loose, but only after making him promise to not bother him for one year. And,

oh yes, not to claim the blacksmith’s soul when he died.

Jack was still up to his usual machinations one year later.

When the devil came to collect the reprobate’s soul, Jack begged for a single last request: a juicy red apple.

While Lucifer was climbing a nearby tree, Jack hurriedly carved the sign of the cross into the tree’s trunk.

As a result, the devil couldn’t return to solid ground until he promised once more to leave Jack alone, this time for a full decade.

Predictably, Jack wasted the next 10 years drinking, causing problems, and annoying people.

Locally RN Owned & Nationally Known Bathing and Dressing Assistance Medication Reminders ESSBOET t Shopping t Light Housekeeping Meal Preparation t Friendly Companionship Flexible Hourly CarF t Respite Care for Families

Specializing in dementia care for adults and their families VisitingAngels.com

When he finally died and met St. Peter at the Pearly Gates, the good saint turned him away, convinced that God wouldn’t want such a miserable hunk of humanity in heaven.

And when Jack turned up at the gates of hell, Satan, who was still smarting from the tricks Jack had pulled on him earlier, refused to admit him. After all, the devil smugly maintained, that had been part of their original bargain.

The devil sent Jack off into the night to “find his own hell” in the dark and mysterious netherworld.

The hapless penny-pincher stumbled into the darkness, his path dimly lit by a single chunk of burning coal that the devil had snatched from the fires of hell and given to him to create a makeshift lantern. Jack plucked a turnip from the ground, carved an opening in it, and placed the ember inside.

Ever since that night, Stingy Jack has been roaming the earth, finding neither peace nor a resting place.

The Irish began referring to his ghostly figure as “Jack of the lantern,” which was eventually shortened to “Jack o’ lantern.”

In Ireland, then later in Scotland and England, people began replicating Jack’s lantern by carving scary faces into turnips, potatoes, gourds, and beets.

Eventually, migrants brought the Irish tradition of Stingy Jack to America. It was here that newly arrived folks found that pumpkins, which were native to America, made perfect jack-o’-lanterns.

— Today, the Stingy Jack legend has taken a back seat to costumes, candy, and Charlie Brown cartoons at Halloween.

However, that doesn’t mean that the creepy codger isn’t still wandering about in the darkness somewhere. Maybe even in your own neighborhood.

York

717-751-2488 Hanover

717-630-0067 Lancaster

717-393-3450

Although Randal C. Hill’s heart lives in the past, the rest of him resides in Bandon, Ore. He can be reached at wryterhill@msn.com.

Each Visiting Angels agency is independently owned and operated.

16

October 2019

50plus LIFE •

www.50plusLifePA.com

LEONARDO from page 14

No Need for Disguises.

We’re Pet Friendly!

Amazon’s Spheres, Seattle, Washington.

The Vessel (www.hudsonyardsnewyork.com/discover/vessel) is giving American audiences and visitors a new way to experience art.

Designed by Thomas Heatherwick, up to 1,000 visitors at a time can climb the nearly 2,500 steps of Vessel while experiencing the 150-foot-tall bronzed steel and concrete structure that cost $150 million.

A far cry from New York’s staircase installation is a round mass that focuses on the world outdoors. In Seattle … yes, you had to know that Seattle would be a featured urban art site amidst an article dedicated to unique art installations.

In Seattle, Amazon’s Seattle Spheres are turning heads and making people rethink workplaces and their direct link to nature.

The Spheres (www.seattlespheres.com) host 40,000 or more plants from the cloud forest regions of more than 30 countries. The first plant introduced into this art environment, located at Sixth Avenue and Lenora Street, was the Australian tree fern.

While Amazon employees can choose to work tirelessly on their laptops, city visitors can explore the Spheres too.

Just like in Leonardo’s time, man meeting nature remains the focus for some of the world’s most interesting artwork.

Dr. Lori Verderame is an author and award-winning TV personality on History channel’s The Curse of Oak Island. With a Ph.D. from Penn State University and experience appraising 20,000 antiques every year nationwide, Dr. Lori presents antique appraisal events and travels the world lecturing about art, museums, and history. Visit www.DrLoriV.com or call (888) 431-1010.

At Harrison Senior Living, we believe that your four-legged friend can improve your overall health and happiness; that’s why we pride ourselves on being a pet-friendly community.

After all, your pets are family too.

www.Harrisonseniorliving.com

H

N

Independent Living Personal Care Respite Care 300 Strode Avenue East Fallowfield, PA 19320 610.384.6310

Short-Term Rehabilitation Long-Term Care Memory Care Respite Care 41 Newport Avenue Christiana, PA 17509 610.593.6901

See our website for more locations and information.

www.50plusLifePA.com

50plus LIFE •

October 2019

17

Melinda’s Garden

Melinda Myers

Plan Ahead for Amaryllis Blooms All Winter Long

Let amaryllis fill your home with flowers for the holidays and keep the blossoms coming all winter long.

When you plant several different types of amaryllis bulbs, from both the southern and northern hemispheres, you can be sure to get a long-lasting, colorful show that will brighten your mood and surroundings throughout the winter months.

Kick off the holiday season with amaryllis bulbs that are imported from growers in Peru. As we enter autumn, it’s springtime in South America, and these bulbs are eager to start blooming. Pot them up before early November for flowers in December.

Amaryllis varieties grown in the southern hemisphere include deep-red Mandela, frosty-white Denver, coral-pink Bolero, and two-tone Charisma. Combine these impressive blossoms with greens, poinsettias, candles, and other holiday

Photo credit: Longfield Gardens

Amaryllis Double King

décor, or give them as living gifts to friends, family, and neighbors.

Most amaryllis bulbs that are grown in the U.S. are imported from Holland, and their natural bloom time is January through March.

Exactly when the flowers will open is impossible to predict. The best strategy is to choose a number of different varieties and plant them three to four weeks apart during November, December, and January. This way you will always have flowers coming into bloom.

Start your indoor flower display with an early bloomer such as Evergreen, which is always quick to break out of dormancy. Its flowers have narrow, lime/chartreuse petals on 20-inch plants. Enjoy the impressive display as each bulb produces two stems with four to six blooms.

Minerva’s extra-large, cherry-red flowers have a white star in the middle and an apple-green throat. They are eye-catching from afar and spectacular up close.

Be an Advocate in the Life of a Long-Term Care Resident Become a Volunteer Ombudsmen

The Lancaster County Office of Aging trains community members to serve as Volunteer Ombudsmen, advocating for residents of long-term care facilities.

Duties include: • Educating residents about their rights

• Encouraging and assisting residents to ask questions and express concerns • Helping them reach solutions, in collaboration with facility staff and family

Background checks and a full-day training by PA Department of Aging are required.

Schedule and assignments are flexible, based on volunteer’s availability. Visits can be made days, evenings, and/or weekends.

To learn more about this unique volunteer opportunity, contact Sheri Snyder at 717-299-7979 or 1-800-801-3070 or by e-mail at aging@co.lancaster.pa.us.

18

October 2019

50plus LIFE •

www.50plusLifePA.com

Apple Blossom is a longtime favorite with snow-white petals brushed with pink and a lime-green throat. Or grow a double amaryllis, such as Double King, with layers of burgundy-red petals and up to a dozen flowers.

Enjoy some of the more unusual amaryllis colors and flower styles by planting varieties such as Naranja, with its tropical red-orange blossoms, or Sweet Nymph, a romantic double amaryllis with stunning, coral-pink petals.

Add elegance to your indoor garden with Picotee. Its 8-inch flowers are white with a thin, red line around each petal.

As winter turns to early spring, celebrate with an explosion of indoor blooms from Red Pearl, Spartacus, and other proven performers. The velvety, burgundyred flowers of Red Pearl have a deep maroon throat that sets off the glittering gold stamens. Spartacus turns heads with its crimson petals and bold, white stripes.

Display your amaryllis on a mantle, kitchen counter, or entryway table where you can watch the amazing show as the first sprout appears, followed by buds and the spectacular trumpet-shaped blooms. Amaryllis are also beautiful, longlasting cut flowers.

For best selection, order your bulbs early and store them in a cool, dry, dark place until you are ready to plant. Once you pot up the bulbs and place them in a warm, bright location, flower buds should appear in about six to 10 weeks.

Protect yourself from the winter blahs by investing in amaryllis. You can count on their big flowers and bright colors to lift your spirits and ease your way to spring.

Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books, including Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses’ How to Grow Anything DVD series and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment TV and radio program. www. melindamyers.com, www.longfield-gardens.com

Love the skin you’re in!

Open House Oct. 13 Drop in 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

7th Anniversary • Our day to give back!

• Door prizes every 15 min.

Launchin g a n ew service c all R e ze n e r e d at e

• Free food and drink.

Whether you are a long time client or are curious about what we do, please stop by!

– Specials – Classic Facial – Buy 1, Get 1 1/2 OFF

Infrared Sauna Session – Buy 1, Get 1 FREE

60-min Integrated Massage – Buy 1, Get 1 1/2 OFF

Chemical Peal – Buy 1, Get 1 1/2 OFF

Convenient Online Scheduling

www.emergenceskincarestudio.com

Donations Sought for ‘Stockings for Soldiers’ Program Blue Ridge Communications is again partnering with Keystone Military Families to act as a collection site for the Stockings for Soldiers program from Oct. 1 to Nov. 16.

The program generally ships 8,000–10,000 holiday stockings to American servicemen and women stationed around the world. The stockings are filled with donations of food, hygienic supplies, and other requested items, as well as holiday decorations and cards.

Blue Ridge will use its retail centers throughout its service areas as donation-collection sites. In October, a display will be set up in the lobby of the Blue Ridge office in Ephrata (804 Academy Heights Ave.), along with brochures and a list of items most requested.

The public is invited to drop off donated items and Christmas cards during that time. A list of requested care-package items can also be found on the Keystone Military Families Facebook page.

Monetary donations help defray the cost of shipping the stockings.

In 2018, Blue Ridge collected over four tons of donations, over 20,000 cards, and $30,000 for shipping.

For more information, visit http://keystonemilitaryfamilies.com or call Keystone Military Families at (610) 698-2122 or Blue Ridge Communications at (717) 733-4111. www.50plusLifePA.com

119 Oakridge Dr • Mountville, PA 17554 • 717-419-4766

HALDEMAN MECHANICAL INC. 717-665-6910 80

th

Anniversary 1939-2019

Protecting Your Home For Three Generations

Sales and 24-Hour Service 1148 Old Line Road, Manheim info@haldemanmechanical.com www.haldemanmechanical.com

PA7777

PLUMBING - HEATING - COOLING WATER CONDITIONING 50plus LIFE •

October 2019

19

Home Care Services & Hospice Providers Listings with a screened background have additional information about their services in a display advertisement in this edition.

Homeland at Home

Pleasant View Care at Home

www.homelandathome.org Homeland Hospice: (717) 221-7890 Year Est.: 2008 Homeland HomeCare: (717) 221-7892 Year Est.: 2016 Homeland HomeHealth: (717) 412-0166 Year Est.: 2017 Counties Served: Adams, Cumberland*, Dauphin*, Franklin, Fulton, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon*, Northumberland, Perry*, Schuylkill, Snyder, York* *Homeland HomeHealth currently serves five of 13 counties.

RNs: Yes LPNs: Yes CNAs/Home Aides: Yes

(717) 664-6646 www.pleasantviewrc.org/care-at-home Homeland at Home is a community outreach of Homeland Center, a nonprofit CCRC that has served our region with excellent and benevolent care since 1867.

Our expert team is dedicated to providing a continuum of At Home services—from nonmedical personal assistance to skilled nursing and compassionate hospice and palliative care. We are privileged to care for you and your loved ones … any place you call “home.”

We offer community and staff educational programs, including a “My Reflections” end-of-life planning workshop, as well as 15 unique bereavement support groups.

Year Est.: 2007 Counties Served: Lancaster, Lebanon RNs: Yes LPNs: Yes CNAs: Yes Home Aides: Yes Medicare Certified?: No

Surrey Home Care Services (610) 647-9840 www.surreyhomecare.org

Medicare Certified: Yes

Year Est.: 1981 Counties Served: Chester, Delaware, Montgomery RNs: Yes LPNs: No CNAs: Yes Home Aides: Yes Medicare Certified?: No

Hospice & Community Care

Visiting Angels

Direct Care Workers: Yes PT/OT/Speech Therapists: Yes Social Workers: Yes Spiritual Counselors: Yes Complementary Therapies: Yes

(844) 422-4031 www.hospicecommunity.org

Year Est.: 1980 Counties Served: Adams, Berks, Chester, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, and York RNs: Yes LPNs: Yes CNAs: Yes Home Aides: Yes Medicare Certified?: Yes

Hospice & Community Care provides personalized hospice and palliative care in homes, senior living facilities, and hospitals and at the Bob Fryer & Family Inpatient Center for 24-hour hospice care. Clinical staff on-call 24/7 with 24-hour admissions. Physicians and nurse practitioners boardcertified in hospice and palliative medicine. Grief support available free at Pathways Center for Grief & Loss.

Caring and professional staff provide supportive services to help maintain independence within the comfortable setting of home. Personal services, companion care, dementia care services, and transitional care offered — call for a free consultation.

Surrey, a nonprofit, provides in-home services including personal care, social companions, medical procedure transportation, geriatric care management, RN care management, and live-in caregivers. We also offer housecleaning and weekend respite care.

(800) 365-4189 www.visitingangels.com Year Est.: 2001 Counties Served: Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Perry, and York RNs: No LPNs: No CNAs: Yes Home Aides: Yes Medicare Certified?: No

Visiting Angels provides seniors and adults with the needed assistance to continue living at home. Flexible hours up to 24 hours per day. Companionship, personal hygiene, meal prep, and more. Our caregivers are thoroughly screened, bonded, and insured. Call today for a complimentary and informational meeting.

Landis at Home

(717) 509-5800 www.LandisAtHome.org Year Est.: 2007 Counties Served: Lancaster RNs: Yes LPNs: Yes CNAs: Yes Home Aides: Yes Medicare Certified?: No

A licensed home-care agency, offering a variety of services to persons in their homes within 15 miles of the Landis Homes campus. Services, provided by carefully screened and qualified caregivers with oversight from RNs, may be used for a short visit or up to 24 hours a day. Call for a free, in-home consultation. Landis at Home is an affiliate of Landis Communities.

If you would like to be featured on this important page, please contact your account representative or call (717) 285-1350.

This is not an all-inclusive list of agencies and providers. These advertisers are eager to provide additional information about their services.

Physical, Motor Ability Improve Cognition in Older Adults, Even with Dementia Encouraging evidence indicates that being more physically active is associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease and a slower rate of cognitive decline in older adults.

But it remains unclear exactly how physical activity lowers this risk for Alzheimer’s disease. One theory is that physical activity is somehow preventing the formation of the damaging plaques and tangles that are the hallmark of Alzheimer’s.

Alternatively, being more physically active may simply improve or maintain the ability to function in the face of accumulating brain damage from Alzheimer’s disease, a concept sometimes referred to as cognitive resilience.

A recent study by NIA-funded researchers at Rush University aimed to test these two theories, finding an association between motor abilities and cognitive test performance, as well as a separate independent association between physical activity and cognitive performance.

In both cases, better motor abilities or higher levels of physical activity were associated with better cognitive performance. The study was published Feb. 19 in Neurology.

More than 450 older adults from the Rush Memory and Aging Project were recruited from retirement communities throughout the Chicago metropolitan area. Participants underwent a series of cognitive, behavioral, and biomedical tests during their lives and agreed to donate their brain and other tissues following their deaths.

Researchers were particularly interested in measures of daily activity, motor function, and cognition taken about two years before death. Signs of dementia were observed in 191 participants, while the remaining 263 participants did not show signs of dementia.

Daily activity was measured over 10 days using an accelerometer device worn on the wrist, averaged into a daily activity score. Cognitive function was measured as a composite of 21 cognitive tests assessing memory, spatial reasoning, and the ability to rapidly perceive or compare objects.

Motor abilities were separately measured from daily activity as a function of several measures of fine motor skills, walking ability, and grip and pinch strength.

The team then looked at brain tissue from these participants after their death and examined it for signs of Alzheimer’s disease, including amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary, or tau, tangles. They also looked at nine other measures of brain damage and disease, including those caused by cardiovascular disease.

Almost all cases, including those with no signs of dementia, showed evidence of at least one form of brain disease or damage, with most cases showing an Steinmetz is Buying & Selling average of three different forms of brain All Gold & Silver — Call for Quotes! pathology.

• U.S. COLLECTIONS Critically, the authors found that even • 1/2 Cents through U.S. Gold • All Silver Dollars • Jewelry after accounting for the presence of signs • All U.S. Coins and Currency of Alzheimer’s disease and other brain • Foreign Coins and Currency damage, more physical activity and better WE WILL TRAVEL FREE LS ISA Dennis E. Steinmetz motor abilities were still associated with APPRA dsteinco@aol.com better cognitive function.

LANCASTER This finding supports the explanation 350 Centerville Rd. 299-1211 or that physical activity may promote 800-334-3903 cognitive resilience, helping offset or www.steinmetzcoins.com

www.50plusLifePA.com

mask the negative consequences of neurodegeneration.

There are some limitations to this study. Because the study was cross-sectional, researchers could not identify a clear cause-and-effect relationship between physical activity and cognitive function (e.g., it could be equally likely individuals with better cognitive function happen to also be more physically active).

Participants with signs of dementia did have lower levels of physical activity and poorer motor abilities than those without signs of dementia.

The current study also did not examine lifetime physical activity. It is unclear whether the association seen between physical activity and cognitive function reflects the benefits of a lifetime of being physically active, or if initiating physical activity later in life may also be protective.

Additional studies that examine individuals longitudinally across the lifespan and randomized controlled trials of physical activity interventions should help to answer these questions.

Finally, the current study does not speak to the cellular and neural processes that might underlie these cognitive resilience processes.

However, this study does provide additional promising evidence that physical activity and motor skills are beneficial to cognitive functioning in older age, and greater physical activity may even help to protect against the harmful effects of brain degeneration in diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Credit: NIH/National Institute on Aging

Tom & Randi LaNasa “MEMORY MUSIC”

Attention: RETIREMENT HOMES, CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS. Looking for entertainment?

Now booking our Christmas, variety, and specialty shows for 2019.

We have many variety shows featuring the music from the 1930s to the 60s.

Songs by legendary artists like Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Kay Starr, Dean Martin, Patsy Cline, and the Mills Brothers.

Specialty shows include …

Songs from the WWII Years • The Post WWII Years: 1945 – 1955 AMERICA: From Sea to Shining Sea Salute to the Rat Pack (or if you prefer, just Sinatra) Elvis & Patsy • Classic Country Please contact Memory Music to book your next event!

Phone: (717) 846-6126

E-mail: memrymusic@aol.com

50plus LIFE •

October 2019

21

Puzzle Page

1

2

3

4

5

13

Solutions for all puzzles can be found on page 28 SUDOKU

17

18

20

21

32

26 29 34 40

43

44

Flowers Flowers U W W H B R S O P A H O X Y K

Y Z Y D B G O M D I H C R O S

D A H L I A A S B N V H V Y N

A Q R P N C K R E U G Q H F C

I I W R H R B P D T P P P O N

S Z L C E O D F E E O A L K O

Y G G T P C G J Y P N U W T I

Z J S T G U F L P S M I B W T

F A X W E S I Y Y B E C A X A

I Y A Z A L E A I N Y E G H N

I R I S P I O N C J R F P V R

G U G X I L E I R T M G R N A

G B A B L A L A V E N D E R C

K E E M U C O Z J P E O N Y G

©2019 PuzzleJunction.com

Aster Azalea Carnation Columbine Crocus

Dahlia Daisy Gardenia Iris Lavender

Lilac Lily Orchid Pansy Peony

Z L P Q T L J T H Q S X S C V

12 16

23 27

35

36

37

38

55

56

42 45 48

52

49

50

53 58 63

66

WORD SEARCH

11

30

47

62

10

41

57

PuzzleJunction.com

9

22

33

46

50 Plus Senior News 10/19 Word Search

8

15

25

39

51

7

19

28 31

6

14

24

Aster Azalea Carnation Columbine Crocus Dahlia Daisy Gardenia Iris Lavender Lilac Lily Orchid Pansy Peony Petunia Poppy Rose Tulip Violet

PuzzleJunction.com

CROSSWORD

69

59

54

60

61

64

65

67

68

70

71

Copyright ©2019 PuzzleJunction.com

Across 1. Horse course 5. Egg on 9. Crowning point 13. Judicious 14. Fishing need 15. Annuls 17. Sites 19. Sesame Street Muppet 20. Yale student 21. Typos 23. Jim-dandy 24. Chiang Kai-shek’s

capital 26. Collars

28. Hill dwellers 30. Eskimo boat 31. Approve 34. Lots of land 36. Actress Lupino 39. Carry the day 40. Expire 42. Piña colada ingredient 43. Hot time in Haiti 44. Composer Copland 45. Organ knob 46. Close-knit group 48. Mexican dish 51. Blessing

53. Homewrecker 57. Love god 58. Griddlecakes 61. Conceit 62. Pals, in Canberra 64. Some musicals 66. Antique guns 67. Conflicts 68. Seep 69. Borgia in-law 70. Sole supporter?

71. Former spouses

Down 1. Young hooter 2. String quartet

member 3. Computer acronym 4. Place for a shepherd 5. Apparition 6. Impoverished 7. Arm bone 8. Brasserie 9. Map abbr.

10. Pupil’s cover 11. Female garment 12. Decree 16. Gets the picture 18. High-schooler

22. Sleeve stuffers, in France 25. Settle a debt 27. Ascent 29. Immunity holders,

usually 31. Be in arrears 32. Outfit 33. Short stories?

35. Corporate V.I.P. 37. Twosome 38. Concert prop 40. Florida’s Miami ____

County 41. Takes in

45. Ham, to Noah 47. Go-ahead 49. Disinclined 50. Beer buy 51. Sapphires, e.g.

52. Speechify 54. Dry out, informally 55. Staring intently 56. Mislays 59. Moonfish 60. Handel opera 63. Compass point 65. Boot part

Petunia Poppy Rose Tulip Violet

Your ad could be here on this popular page!

Please call (717) 285-1350 for more information.

22

October 2019

Solution 50plus LIFEon•next page

www.50plusLifePA.com

BOOK YOUR VACATION NOW � CALL FOR LIMITED�TIME SAVINGS FROM

1,549

$

FROM

*

$

1,299 *

2,349 *

2,099 *

$

$

FREE INTERNET

FREE BEVERAGE PACKAGE

GREECE & HER ISLANDS

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS CRUISE & TOUR

Athens • Mykonos • Santorini

Oahu • Maui • Hawaii • Kaui

10 days, departs March - September 2020

12 days, departs year-round

Go back in time for a 10-day trip through the heart of ancient Greece. Start with 3 fascinating days in Athens, where you will enjoy visits to the Parthenon, the Acropolis and Acropolis Museum, and more, after meeting your fellow travelers at a delicious welcome dinner. Then it’s on to 2 of the most popular Greek islands—striking Mykonos, famous for its windmills, whitewashed buildings and domed churches; and Santorini, named by numerous publications as the world’s top island. Return to Athens by ferry for your final night in Greece.

Discover Hawaii on this island-hopping cruise tour. Spend 7 nights aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s renovated Pride of America and enjoy freestyle cruising at its finest. Experience the lush Iao Valley on Maui, the beauty and charm of Hilo, Kona’s coffee-rich “Gold Coast,” and Kauai’s spectacular Na Pali coast and Waimea Canyon. Your land tour includes Pearl Harbor and Honolulu city tours, and time to relax on world-famous Waikiki Beach. Guided on Oahu by our friendly Tour Directors—your local experts.

FROM

1,749

$

FROM

*

1,549 *

$

1,499 *

1,299 *

$

$

FREE ONBOARD CREDIT

CRIMSON CANYONS & MESAS NATIONAL PARKS TOUR Las Vegas • Grand Canyon • Bryce Canyon • Zion • Arches • Capitol Reef National Park • and more!

10 days, departs May - September 2020 Prepare to be awed as you experience the stunningly red rocks of these 6 iconic southwestern national parks. Formed by the elements over countless centuries, these natural treasures are still grand enough to make our jaws drop.

Experience several of the most popular National Parks in America, traveling through deserts, forests, mountains, and to the very edge of one of the natural wonders of the world.

GRAND ALASKAN CRUISE & TOUR Seattle • Vancouver • Ketchikan • Juneau • Skagway • Glacier Bay National Park • Anchorage • and more 12 days, departs May - September 2020 Enjoy a cruise & tour between Seattle and Alaska including 7 nights aboard Holland America Line’s ms Westerdam and 4 nights on land. You’ll cruise the Gulf of Alaska and the Inside Passage—a sea lane teeming with marine wildlife, where you’ll pass glaciers, mountains, and lush forests, with stops in Ketchikan, Skagway and magnificent Glacier Bay. On land, you’ll go deep into Denali National Park, tour Anchorage, and see the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.

GUIDED TOUR EXPERTS � CALL FOR YOUR FREE BROCHURE TM

Promo code N7017

CALL 1�855�400�0373

*Prices are per person based on double occupancy plus up to $299 in taxes & fees. Cruise pricing based on lowest cabin category after Instant Rebate is applied. Single supplement and season surcharges may apply. Add-on airfare available. Onboard Credit requires purchase of Ocean View or Balcony Cabin.

For Hawaiian Islands Cruise & Tour, Free Internet and Free Beverage Package offers vary based on cabin category purchased. Additional service charges are required and payable to YMT with final balance for select Set Sail offers. For full Set Sail terms and conditions ask your Travel Consultant. Offers apply to new bookings only made by 11/30/19. Other terms & conditions may apply.

www.50plusLifePA.com

50plus LIFE •

October 2019

23

October 30th is Create a Great Funeral Day Baby Boomers are Catalyst in Shift Beyond Traditional Burial By the year 2035, adults age 65 and older are projected to outnumber children for the first time in American history, according to the 2019 Cremation and Burial Report, released by the National Funeral Directors Association.

With this large of an aging population comes a natural increase in the death rate.

This rise is concurrent with the ever-growing popularity of cremation, which, for the fourth consecutive year, has outpaced the rate of burial.

By 2040, according to the report, the cremation rate in the U.S. is projected to be 78.7% while the burial rate is predicted to be just 15.7%,

No Clipping Required.

ON AVERAGE, AARP MEMBERS ENJOY

$357*

SAVINGS

ON AUTO INSURANCE

when they switch from companies like

GEICO, State Farm and Allstate Call The Hartford

Your savings could be even more!

1-855-888-5720

The AARP® Auto Insurance Program from The Hartford.1 Saving is easy! With this policy, experienced drivers who switch save an average of $357* in the first year alone — and they get all the benefits and privileges you’d expect with the AARP Auto Insurance Program from The Hartford. Your own savings could actually be greater.

96%

of customers recommend The Hartford**

Q Q Q Q

signifying that cremation is no fading trend — it is the new norm, set in motion by baby boomers’ evolving end-of-life preferences.

“The main reasons for the continued rise in cremation rates are cost, the perceived environmental impact, an increasingly transient population, weakening of traditional religious prohibitions, and changing consumer preferences,” said Mike Nicodemus, licensed funeral director and NFDA vice president of cremation services.

“Baby boomers have been a significant factor in this shift, and their preferences will inform decisions made by the funeral profession for years to come.”

This shift has given funeral-home owners a unique opportunity to adjust business practices to address the impact of cremation and meet changing consumer preferences.

The number of licensed crematories in the United States increased 8.9% over the last two years, and approximately one-third of funeral homes operate their own crematories, with another 11% planning to open their own in the next five years.

The increase in the cremation rate also raises the question of what happens to cremated remains after the fact.

Families have many options and, according to the report, as of 2019, approximately 42% of cremated remains are returned to families, 35.2% are buried at a cemetery, 16% are scattered at non-cemetery locations, and 8.1% are placed in a columbarium.

As the cremation rate rises in the coming years, non-burial options for cremated remains are expected to gain popularity as well.

24/7 claims service Lifetime renewability† Lock in your rate for a full 12 months New car replacement§§

The only national auto insurance program endorsed by AARP.

Call The Hartford now to request a FREE money-saving quote.

1-855-888-5720 No coupon necessary.

Not an AARP member? If you’re 50 or over, request a FREE quote and more information today!

FREE calculator when you request your free quote!*** * Savings amounts are averages based on information from The Hartford’s AARP Auto Insurance Program customers who became new auto insurance policyholders between 1/1/17 and 12/31/17 and provided data regarding their savings and prior carrier. Your savings may vary. ** Based on customer experience reviews shared online at www.thehartford.com/aarp as of November 2018. *** The gift offer is good for first time responders who provide a valid email address. Responders will be sent an email to confirm the gift. All responders in IA, IL, MA and RI who do not provide an email address are still eligible to receive the gift The gift offer is not available in GA, ND, NM or PA, but residents may still request a quote. The gift is available only as a limited time offer. Please allow 4-7 weeks for delivery. † If you are age 50 or older, once you’re insured through this Program for ait least 60 days, you cannot be refused renewal as long as applicable premiums are paid when due. Also, you and other customary drivers of your vehicles must retain valid licenses, remain physically and mentally capable of operating an automobile, have no convictions for driving while intoxicated and must not have obtained your policy through material misrepresentation. Benefit currently not available in HI, MI, NH, NC and TX. §§ Limitations apply.

AARP and its affliates are not insurers. Paid endorsement. The Hartford pays royalty fees to AARP for the use of its intellectual property. These fees are used for the general purposes of AARP. AARP membership is required for Program eligibility in most states.

The AARP Automobile Insurance Program from The Hartford is underwritten by Hartford Fire Insurance Company and its affliates, One Hartford Plaza, Hartford, CT 06155. It is underwritten in CA by Hartford Underwriters Insurance Company; in WA, by Hartford Casualty Insurance Company; in MN, by Sentinel Insurance Company; and in MA, MI and PA, by Trumbull Insurance Company. Specific features, credits, and discounts may vary and may not be available in all states in accordance with state filings and applicable law. Applicants are individually underwritten and some may not qualify. The program is currently unavailable in Canada and U.S. Territories or possessions.

1 In Texas, the Auto Program is underwritten by Southern County Mutual Insurance Company, through Hartford Fire General Agency. Hartford Fire Insurance Company and its affiliates are not financially responsible for insurance products underwritten and issued by Southern County Mutual Insurance Company.

006131

24

October 2019

50plus LIFE •

www.50plusLifePA.com

October 30th is Create a Great Funeral Day The FAQs of Funeral Preplanning 50plus LIFE spoke with Michael C. Baublitz, funeral director/preplanning counselor at Etzweiler Family Funeral Service in York, to get some quick answers to common questions asked by those considering a preplanned funeral.

Does an individual have the option of planning ahead without paying ahead?

Anyone has the ability to plan their own or loved one’s funeral; however, without prepaying, the cost is not guaranteed — but it does provide guidance to a family.

What are the general advantages of preplanning your funeral?

The services are specific to the individual’s thoughts, needs, and wants, while eliminating the burden to loved ones during a very stressful time.

I always enjoy creating a unique and one-of-a-kind service for individuals and their families.

How does preplanning help the person’s survivors?

Preplanning avoids confusion, anxiety, and conflicts during a very emotional time for families. Having a plan to follow allows the family certainty of a loved one’s wishes.

How lengthy is the usual preplanning process?

The preplanning consultation typically takes about an hour per person. The meeting can take place at either the funeral home or the individual’s residence, wherever they are comfortable.

What are some of the chief considerations for someone wishing to preplan?

There are many options available to choose from, such as traditional services, which typically include casket, viewing, religious service, and burial, or memorial service and cremation.

Another consideration is the amount of funds available to prepay for their final wishes. Prepaying options include lump-sum or a monthly payment plan.

Can changes be made to the plan after it’s been “finalized”?

Yes, the plan is a blueprint, as such, until the time comes to implement the services.

What advice do you have for someone wishing to broach the subject of preplanning with a loved one, such as a parent or spouse?

Broaching the subject of preplanning a funeral is half of the battle. It begins with educating oneself of the options available via a funeral preneed counselor. This can make the conversation less stressful and more productive for the individuals.

ADVANCED HEARING AID TECHNOLOGY

“I was amazed!

Sounds I hadn’t heard in years came back to me!”

— Don W., Sherman, TX

For Less Than $200

How can a hearing aid that costs less than $200 be every bit as good as one that sells for $2,250 or more?

The answer: Although tremendous strides have been made in Advanced Hearing Aid Technology, those cost reductions have not been passed on to you. Until now...

MDHearingAid® uses the same kind of Advanced Hearing Aid Technology incorporated into hearing aids that cost thousands more at a small fraction of the price.

Over 300,000 satisfied MDHearingAid customers agree: High-quality, FDA-registered hearing aids don’t have to cost a fortune. The fact is, you don’t need to spend thousands for a hearing aid. MDHearingAid is a medical-grade hearing aid offering sophistication and high performance, and works right out of the box with no time-consuming “adjustment” appointments. You can contact a licensed hearing specialist conveniently online or by phone — even after your purchase at no cost. No other company provides such extensive support.

Now that you know...why pay more?

Can a Hearing Aid Delay or Prevent Alzheimer’s and Dementia?

Does preplanning protect against cost inflation?

The simple answer is yes, if prepaid through a funeral home. Services and merchandise are guaranteed against any cost increases/inflation.

How are funeral prepayments protected? For example, what if the funeral home goes out of business?

The prepayment or money is protected by being placed into a funeral escrow account. It can be transferred at any time or for any reason.

A study by the National Institute on Aging suggests older individuals with hearing loss are significantly more likely to develop Alzheimer’s and dementia over time than those who retain their hearing. They suggest that an intervention — such as a hearing aid — could delay or prevent this by improving hearing!

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR 45-DAY RISK-FREE TRIAL!

Hearing is believing and we invite you to try this nearly invisible hearing aid with no annoying whistling or background noise for yourself. If you are not completely satisfied with your MDHearingAid, return it within 45 days for a FULL REFUND. Use Code HQ99 and get

For the Lowest Price Call www.50plusLifePA.com

1-888-508-4879

50plus LIFE •

FREE Batteries for 1 Year Plus FREE Shipping

October 2019

25

Social Security News

Communities Fighting Fraud

By John Johnston

Older people are at a greater risk of fraud and other forms of financial exploitation. The United States Postal Service has seen an increase in mail fraud and is promoting community strength and fraud awareness as a way to prevent abuse.

Social Security agrees. You can help your more vulnerable loved ones fight fraud.

You or a loved one might receive an advertisement in the mail, but it could be from a private company or even a scammer.

United States law prohibits people or non-government businesses from using words or emblems that mislead others. Their advertising can’t lead people to believe that they represent, are somehow affiliated with, or are endorsed or approved by Social Security.

Scammers commonly target people who are looking for Social Security program and benefit information. If you receive misleading information about Social Security, send the complete advertisement, including the envelope it came in, to:

VE TI

VO C AD

PO

EC

TI

ON

AC Y •

E

M

WE

R RMENT • P

John Johnston is a Social Security public affairs specialist.

About Us – The Lancaster County Office of Aging (LCOA) was established 45 years ago as a

NG • DIGN AGI ITY

•

ASS OMP ION • A •C C

Office of the Inspector General Fraud Hotline Social Security Administration P.O. Box 17768 Baltimore, MD 21235

Community can simply mean your family unit. The more you know about what your loved ones are exposed to, the better you can protect them.

We also receive reports where someone pretending to be a Social Security employee has contacted members of the public.

The intent of this type of call may be to steal your identity and/or money from your bank accounts. They may state that your Social Security number will be suspended or they may demand immediate payment.

The caller generally asks you for personal information, such as your Social Security number, date of birth, your mother’s maiden name, or your bank or financial account information.

You should not provide any of this information to these individuals.

It’s possible that a Social Security employee may contact you to follow up on a previous application for Social Security benefits or to follow up on other business you initiated with Social Security.

Remember, Social Security employees will never threaten you or demand any kind of payment in exchange for services.

It’s important that you report any and all fraud. This can only strengthen our communities and your family. You can report Social Security fraud at https://oig.ssa.gov/report or (800) 269-0271.

OT

Lancaster County Office of Aging Maintaining the independence and quality of life for seniors through information, services, and protection since 1974.

result of the passage of the Older Americans Act. This act directed states to develop a network of services and supports to help keep older adults healthy and independent.

The Pennsylvania Department of Aging was created to fulfill this mandate. In turn, a network of 52 Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) was established throughout the commonwealth to carry out this mission at the local level.

Funding for aging-related services is a combination of state and federal monies, with the Pennsylvania Lottery providing the major source of funding.

In Lancaster County, the AAA is part of county government. We are dedicated to providing Lancaster County residents, 60 years of age and older, with a wide range of informational resources and services as well as advocacy efforts and elder abuse protection.

The LCOA offers the following services:

Our Philosophy: u

Support

the older person’s right to decide his/her own destiny. Encourage consumer self-determination and choice.

• Information and referral services

• Adult daily living services

• Long-term living assessments

• Caregiver support

• H ome and community-based support services

• Employment • Ombudsman services

u

Support

the older person’s right to risk.

• Protection from abuse and neglect

• Transportation

u

Promote

independence and dignity.

• A PPRISE, Medicare, and related health insurance counseling

• Legal services

• Senior center services

• Volunteer opportunities

u

Avoid

unnecessary/inappropriate institutionalization.

• Health and wellness programming

For more information, please call us Monday – Friday from 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. at 717-299-7979/1-800-801-3070, visit our website at www.lancoaging.org, or email aging@co.lancaster.pa.us.

26

October 2019

50plus LIFE •

www.50plusLifePA.com

www.50plusLifePA.com

50plus LIFE •

October 2019

27

50 Plus Senior News 10/19 Sudoku

PuzzleJunction.com

On Life and Love after 50

MarriageTovs. aSudoku Committed Relationship solve the puzzle, each row, column and box must contain the numbers 1 to 9.

Tom Blake

9

As a senior-relationship columnist, relationship and living together. We are surprised I receive many interesting questions from older at the number of friends who ask, ‘When is he singles. going to make me legal?’

Recently, Nancy emailed, “Are you married “We don’t feel the need to be married. Our legally to Greta?” kids don’t care one way or the other. I wear a ring (The “Greta” to whom Nancy was referring has on my wedding-ring finger. We are turning 65 been my life partner for 21 years.) this year and have earned the right to do as we Nancy added, “I’m 65 and have a man I’d wish.” like to spend the rest of my life with. We’ve been Nina stated, “I’m in my mid-50s, six years together — on and off — for eight years. We divorced, alone, have great friends, a pretty don’t want to marry legally, but we would like a good life, and am fine with this for now. I don’t commitment ceremony. want to remarry, even if I find someone with “I stayed home raising my ex-husband’s and whom love is real and mutual. I would like to be my children for 25 years. We were divorced in in a committed, loving relationship.”

1996; he remarried. After he passed away, I started Jennifer shared, “Older people have already receiving his Social Security benefits because of completed the child-raising task. They don’t need the length of time married to him. If I were to to nail down a reproductive agreement. marry legally, I’d lose the benefits.

“They have often spent a lifetime working and “Is there a way to be together with my guy accumulating assets, and they frequently like without legally marrying so I don’t lose my exto keep their finances separate. Sometimes, it’s husband’s Social Security benefits?” simpler just to remain single, even while living together.

Before addressing Nancy’s questions, I strongly suggest she contact an “Those who, for religious or other reasons, are uncomfortable with this Copyright PuzzleJunction.com attorney to ensure she doesn’t do anything to jeopardize receiving her deceased©2019 arrangement can still get married.” husband’s benefits.

Marcia wrote, “Russ and I did not marry for myriad reasons. We know of My answer to Nancy’s initial question: No, Greta and I are not “married couples who’ve had religious ceremonies under God, and they are happy.” legally.” We aren’t even married illegally. We’ve been together 21 years and Final thoughts to Nancy: have lived together 18 of those years, 13 of them in her home and the last five Getting married would likely cause you to lose the Social Security benefits in my home. you are receiving. Don’t marry.

We have been blessed with the relationship the way it is. We travel often Another reason not to marry: You said your eight-year relationship has been and share many expenses. Our life is as good as it gets. We see no reason to “on and off.” That’s not a good omen for marriage. marry.

50 PlusASenior Newsceremony?

10/19 Crossword commitment If you wish. Just be sure it’s not legally binding.

Nancy also wanted to know if Greta and I have had a commitment Exchange rings, invite family and friends, have a ball — whatever you choose. ceremony. No, again. Every day is a commitment to each other; we don’t feel The most important thing for seniors is to appreciate life, whether single, the need to have a ceremony.

Word Search Solution PuzzleJunction.com married, or in a committed relationship.

Other readers have shared thoughts on the marriage-vs.-committedSolution For dating information, previous articles, or to sign up for Tom’s relationship topic. complimentary, weekly e-newsletter, go to www.findingloveafter50.com.

Annie said, “I met my partner five years ago. We are in a committed

7 5

6

9 4 5 1 9 8 2

3

5

6

1 7

2

4 2 7 1 6

3

Puzzles shown on page 22

Puzzle Solutions

Solution

28

U W W H B R S O P A H O X Y K

Y Z Y D B G O M D I H C R O S

October 2019

D A H L I A A S B N V H V Y N

A Q R P N C K R E U G Q H F C

I I W R H R B P D T P P P O N

S Z L C E O D F E E O A L K O

Y G G T P C G J Y P N U W T I

Z J S T G U F L P S M I B W T

F A X W E S I Y Y B E C A X A

I Y A Z A L E A I N Y E G H N

I R I S P I O N C J R F P V R

50plus LIFE •

G U G X I L E I R T M G R N A

G B A B L A L A V E N D E R C

K E E M U C O Z J P E O N Y G

Z L P Q T L J T H Q S X S C V

6 7 4 3 1 8 9 5 2

3 5 1 4 9 2 6 7 8

2 8 9 5 6 7 4 1 3

7 4 8 1 3 9 2 6 5

5 2 3 7 4 6 1 8 9

9 1 6 8 2 5 3 4 7

4 9 7 6 8 3 5 2 1

1 3 5 2 7 4 8 9 6

8 6 2 9 5 1 7 3 4

O W L E T

V I O L A

A S C I I

O K A W I N E T E C G O D E R O M A T S T E E S

L E A T E P E A N Y D A A D S E S E S N S T E

S P I R I T

P O O R

U L N A

R E S T A S U A C R E C E A A R O N R E T N D S C O N O P E W A R S H O

A R M E S A V E R S E

A C M V O I E R N N I R E S I A K S I E R S T C O A N D S E E T T O O E X

E D I C T

S E E S

D A U M O P A G A Z E

L O S E S

www.50plusLifePA.com

Lancaster County

Calendar of Events

Support Groups Free and open to the public Oct. 2, 7-8:15 p.m.

Alzheimer’s Caregivers Support Group Willow Lakes Outpatient Center 212 Willow Valley Lakes Drive, Willow Street (717) 464-9365 Oct. 14, 10-11 a.m.

Alzheimer’s Caregivers Support Group Garden Spot Village Concord Room 433 S. Kinzer Ave., New Holland (717) 355-6076 jmorton@gardenspotvillage.org Oct. 15, 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Dementia Caregiver Support and Education Group Masonic Village Health Care Center Courtyard Conference Room 1 Masonic Drive, Elizabethtown (717) 367-1121, ext. 33764 Oct. 17, 10-11:30 a.m.

Bereavement Support Group Masonic Village Sycamore North Recreation Room 1 Masonic Drive, Elizabethtown (717) 367-1121, ext. 33576 Oct. 17, noon Brain Tumor Support Group Lancaster General Health Campus Wellness Center

Senior Center Activities

2100 Harrisburg Pike, Lancaster (717) 626-2894 Oct. 22, 6-8 p.m.

Epilepsy Foundation of Eastern Pennsylvania Support Group Community Meeting Room – Kohl’s Wing 142 Park City Center, Lancaster (800) 887-7165, ext. 104 Oct. 24, 6:30 p.m.

Alzheimer’s Support Group Keystone Villa at Ephrata 100 N. State St., Ephrata (717) 366-6330 Oct. 28, 2-3 p.m.

Parkinson’s Support Group Garden Spot Village Theater 433 S. Kinzer Ave., New Holland (717) 355-6259 slapp@gardenspotvillage.org Oct. 29, 7 p.m.

Memory Loss Support Group Landis Homes The Heritage – Warwick Room 1001 E. Oregon Road, Lititz (717) 581-3939 supportgroups@landishomes.org

Community Programs Free and open to the public Oct. 3, 7-9 p.m.

Six-Week Course: Jesus and the Biblical Feasts Petra Church 565 Airport Road, New Holland (717) 354-5394 Oct. 7, 6 p.m.

Red Rose Singles Meeting Centerville Diner 100 S. Centerville Road, Lancaster (717) 406-6098 Oct. 9, noon Korean War Veterans Association Meeting Woodcrest Villa – Eagle Commons Room 2001 Harrisburg Pike, Lancaster (717) 299-1990 pcunningham1841@verizon.net

Oct. 9, 1:30 p.m.

Educational Speaker Series: Aging in Place with Home Health United Zion Retirement Community 722 Furnace Hills Pike, Lititz (717) 626-2017

Oct. 18, 6-9 p.m.

Music Friday Downtown Lancaster https://visitlancastercity.com/ music-Friday Oct. 22, 9:30 a.m.

Speaker Dr. Theresa Newell Rohrerstown Mennonite Church 601 Rohrerstown Road, Lancaster (717) 203-2153

Oct. 15, 2-3:30 p.m.

Willow Valley Genealogy Club Willow Valley Communities – Orr Auditorium 211 Willow Valley Square, Lancaster www.genealogyclubwv.com (717) 397-0439 Oct. 17, 2 p.m.

Centerville AARP Chapter 4221 Meeting Church of God of Landisville 171 Church St., Landisville (717) 786-4714

Oct. 29, 7 p.m.

World War II Oral History Meeting St. Anne’s Retirement Community 3952 Columbia Ave., Columbia (717) 319-3430 If you have an event you would like to include, please email information to mjoyce@onlinepub.com for consideration.

Library Programs Lititz Public Library, 651 Kissel Hill Road, Lititz, (717) 626-2255 Oct. 7, 6:30 p.m. – Financial Wellness Class Oct. 17, 6:30 p.m. – Concert: The Knotwork Band Oct. 25, 10 a.m. – Medicare Annual Open Enrollment Counseling Sessions

www.50plusLifePA.com

Columbia Senior Center – (717) 684-4850 Oct. 4, 10:30 a.m. – Medicare Information Session Oct. 9, 10 a.m. – Sen. Ryan Aument Meet and Greet Oct. 31, 10 a.m. – Music from the ’50s and ’60s with Dan Elizabethtown Area Senior Center – (717) 367-7984 Oct. 2, 1:30 p.m. – Bingo for Bucks Oct. 18 – Sub Sale (Order by Oct. 4) Oct. 26, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Fall Festival Lancaster House North Happy Hearts Club Senior Center – (717) 299-1278 Mondays, 9:30 a.m. – Senior Exercise Class Thursdays, 12:30 p.m. – Bingo and Pinochle Fridays, 12:30 p.m. – Party Bridge Lancaster Neighborhood Senior Center – (717) 2993943 Oct. 16, 10 a.m. – Lebanon VA Benefits and Programs Oct. 25, 9:30 a.m. – Music with Sandy Heisey Oct. 29, 10 a.m. – Music with Valerie and Tony Lancaster Rec. Senior Center – (717) 392-2115, ext.

147 Oct. 9, 10:45 a.m. – Canvas Painting with Pottery Works Oct. 30, 10:45 a.m. – Ceramics with Pottery Works Oct. 31, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – Halloween Party Lititz Senior Center – (717) 626-2800 Oct. 7, 9:15 a.m. – Penn State Nutrition Program Oct. 14, 10 a.m. – Ice Cream Social with Aetna Oct. 21, 9:30 a.m. – Mobility at Home Luis Munoz Marin Senior Center – (717) 295-7989 Oct. 11, 10:45 a.m. – Fresh Fruit Express Oct. 16, 9:15 a.m. – Beneficial Exercises Oct. 31, all day – Fall Feast Millersville Senior Center – (717) 871-9600 Oct. 15, 10:30 a.m. – Trivia with Bob Reigh Oct. 16, 9:45 a.m. – Pinnacle Home Therapy: Alzheimer’s vs. Dementia Oct. 21, 10:30 a.m. – Pumpkin Dip Demo with Agape Care Next Gen Senior Center – (717) 786-4770 Oct. 8, time TBA – NovaCare Presentation on Balance Oct. 15, time TBA – Medicare Annual Enrollment Program Oct. 25, time TBA – Music by Glenn Hough Rodney Park Happy Hearts Club Senior Center (717) 393-7786 Tuesdays, noon – Pinochle Wednesdays, 1 p.m. – Varied Activities Thursdays, noon – Bingo Submit senior center events to mjoyce@onlinepub.com.

50plus LIFE •

October 2019

29

Healthy Aging the Focus of Lancaster’s 50plus EXPO

By Megan Joyce Spooky Nook Sports is no stranger to crowds. But the 9 a.m. crowd that gathered on a recent Wednesday morning wasn’t there to hit the gym — it was there to hit the floor.

Hundreds of baby boomers, seniors, and caregivers poured onto the event floor at the start of the 23rd annual Lancaster County 50plus EXPO, a free, one-day event co-hosted by OLP Events and the Lancaster County Office of Aging.

More than 90 exhibitors displayed products and services in travel, housing, medical services, nutrition, home improvements, finances, and healthcare, as well as other information and resources for the area’s 50-plus community.

Barbara Ogorzalek, Medicare adviser with supporting sponsor Allwell from PA Health & Wellness, said the statewide company is brand new to Lancaster County.

“We’re just trying to let people know what we’re all about. It’s great — to meet with people and get our name out within the community,” Ogorzalek said.

Visitors were eligible for door prizes and took advantage of free health screenings for blood pressure, fall risk and balance, genetic cancer risk, and others. Pharmacists from Kmart administered flu shots.

Kean Dubble, of Manheim, was back at the 50plus EXPO again this year to get his flu vaccine and to see what else the event had to offer. “[I came] just to see what’s available and what’s out there …

I got some information for what I might need,” Dubble said.

Waiting lists became necessary as guests signed up for free mini manicures from students of Lancaster School of Cosmetology & Therapeutic Bodywork and free chair massages at LCTV’s booth.

In the Puppy Hugging Area, staffed by dogs and humans from the Lancaster Kennel Club,

30

October 2019

canine hugs and petting were available by donation. All proceeds benefited Red Rose K-9 Search & Rescue, a volunteer, nonprofit organization that uses specially trained bloodhounds to locate lost or missing persons and criminals.

The EXPO’s main-stage entertainment offerings began with Larry Guengerich from Landis Homes, who discussed aging trends and the wide range of retirementliving options available in central Pennsylvania.

“What’s is going to happen in the next 10 years is unprecedented in the United States, in that there are going to be more people over the age of 65 than there are under the age of 18,” Guengerich said. “That’s never happened before.”

Beth Kauffman with HARTZ Physical Therapy outlined the normal sensory and cognitive changes that occur with aging and explained why being active helps maintain wellness throughout life.

“We have some things that we can’t control as we age … however, what we can control is our environment, our lifestyle choices, and our behavior,” Kauffman said.

“So a healthy diet, a regular exercise program, and a positive attitude can all help delay the onset or slow the progression of many of these age-related impairments.”

Daniel D. Hill, Bellomo & Associates, illustrated the wisdom of estate planning; and Josie Corbacio from Highmark broke down Medicare’s different parts.

Last, naturalist, falconer, and TV personality Jack Hubley presented to the EXPO crowd several animals native to the area, including rat and garter snakes, a white-footed mouse, and a meadow vole, common creatures often undervalued and considered a nuisance.

“Nature doesn’t have a value system anything like that,” Hubley said. “If it’s out there, you can

50plus LIFE •

probably figure it’s fought for countless millennia to be there, and it probably has a niche to fill, even though it may not be apparent to us, and so maybe it deserves a shot at survival.”

OLP Events’ next 50plus EXPO

will be Wednesday, Oct. 16, at the Carlisle Expo Center, 100 K St., Carlisle.

For more information, call (717) 285-1350 or visit www.50plusexpopa.com.

Hosted by:

LIFE

BUSINESSWoman

Sponsored by: Seminar Sponsors

Supporting Sponsors

Bellomo & Associates, LLC HARTZ Physical Therapy Highmark • Landis Communities

Allwell from PA Health & Wellness Capital BlueCross Visitor Bag Sponsor UPMC Pinnacle

Media Sponsors

www.50plusLifePA.com

The Beauty in Nature

October Farmland Clyde McMillan-Gamber

Autumn reminds us that winter is coming, with its short daylight each day and cooling temperatures.

And in spite of fall’s many beauties — including lovely flowers, colored leaves and berries, exciting bird migrations, and crop harvests — autumn sometimes conjures sad feelings in me because it represents summer’s end and winter’s coming.

The first subtle signs of fall occur in southeastern Pennsylvania during the middle of August, with shorter amounts of sunlight per day, migrating swallows, and some leaves on black gum and red maple trees turning red.

But autumn climaxes in the unique and attractive month called October. There is no other month like it. October is the month between summer’s warmth, green plants, and beautiful flowers and winter’s cold, which brings those grays and browns

when deciduous trees are bare.

October is the time of dying vegetation and wildlife preparations for winter. But there is beauty in the dying and excitement in the preparations.

Several kinds of pretty flowers still bloom along sunny country roadsides, stream sides, and cornfields and in abandoned fields in October.

Some of those attractive blooms are yellow ones on goldenrods, evening primroses, and butter and eggs; pink blossoms on smartweeds, bouncing bets, red clovers, and knapweeds; and white flowers on white asters.

The small, white blossoms of white asters dominate some meadows and fields in October to the point that those open habitats look like snow fell only on them. These aster blooms are the last great source of nectar for bees and a variety of other insects, particularly pearl crescent butterflies

that ate the tissues of asters when they were larvae.

Because pumpkin and soybean fields are not plowed until later, there is an abundance of decorative colored leaves in those sunny, human-made habitats in October. Tall red root, lamb’s quarters, and pokeweeds sport red leaves in those fields. And foxtail grasses turn yellow on those same lands.

Seeds form on weeds and grasses that are edible to mice and a variety of seed-eating birds, including sparrows and horned larks. Red foxes, American kestrels, red-tailed hawks, and screech owls catch and eat some of those mice and small birds through fall and winter.

And along rural roadsides in October, staghorn sumac tree leaves are red while the foliage on sassafras trees are red, orange, and yellow.

Meanwhile, Virginia creeper leaves

are red, and poison ivy foliage is red, orange, and yellow on roadside fences and poles, adding more beauty to farmland.

Staghorn sumac also produces red berries, and poke and sassafras grow purple ones that are pretty to us and edible to mice, American robins, cedar waxwings, and starlings.

Grasshoppers, field crickets, woolly bear caterpillars, yellow sulphur butterflies, and other kinds of invertebrates are noticed among the roadside grasses in October. They help make farmland more interesting and are food for kestrels and skunks.

When riding or walking along local farmland roads in October, watch for these lovely plants and animals. They will lift spirits and brighten days.

Clyde McMillan-Gamber is a retired Lancaster County parks naturalist.

MECHANICSBURG’S MOST TRUSTED BATH REMODELING COMPANY

$500 OFF ALL

SHOWERS & BATHS

12 months no money down, no payments, no interest.

Financing with approved credit. Cannot be combined with other offers. Offer expires 12.30.19

· ONE-DAY INSTALLATION · 100% AMERICAN MADE · LIFETIME WARRANTY MECHANICSBURG SHOWROOM 5024 Simpson Ferry Road Mechanicsburg, PA 17050 www.50plusLifePA.com

717.937.1148

WestShoreHome.com/onlinepub 50plus LIFE •

October 2019

31

24/7 On-Demand Online Urgent Care

Now you can see a doctor without stepping foot in a doctor’s office. WellSpan Online Urgent Care provides on-demand access to board-certified physicians 24/7 using your smartphone, tablet or personal computer. Request a real-time, “face-to-face” appointment at a time and place that works for you. WellSpan Onine Urgent Care is quality, convenient care that is also affordable. The standard fee is $49, which is comparable to similar urgent care visit co-pays.

Common Conditions Treated • Cold & Flu • Sore Throat • Bronchitis • Pink Eye • Sinus Infections • UTIs • Skin Conditions • And more!

Enroll Now Download the app, and set up your account today!

WellSpan.org/OUC

EAS Y! EAS Y!

EASY EASY