Chester County 50plus LIFE – July 2021

Complimentary | Chester County Edition

July 2021

GRATEFUL FOR THE RIDE page 4

Medicare coverage options for retirees eager to travel page 8

Legal solutions for secondmarriage complexities page 18

25th Annual

Pet of the Month

Dana

LANCASTER COUNTY

Sept. 29, 2021 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Park City Center (Former Bon-Ton store) 600 Park City Center Lancaster

Let’s safely come together again!

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• Generate leads • Meet guests face-to-face • Reinforce your brand • Sell products • Network with other exhibitors Sponsor and exhibitor reservations now being accepted.

Contact us today to reserve your booth at 717.285.1350, or go to:

50plusExpoPA.com Brought to you by: &

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July 2021

Dana is a 1-year-old petite calico beauty who lives life on her terms. She has an independent and lively personality and loves to play with cat toys that channel her youthful energy.

With her confident and adventurous nature, this little explorer also loves checking out her surroundings and will thoroughly enjoy exploring her new home.

Dana looks forward to finding a family to love and promises to return the affection tenfold.

For more information, contact Brandywine Valley SPCA, 1212 Phoenixville Pike, West Chester, at (484) 302-0865 or bvspca.org.

50plus LIFE

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Free Classes to Address Falling Concerns The York County Area Agency on This program emphasizes Aging will host free classes for people practical strategies to manage to learn how to manage the risk of falls. Participants will learn to view falling and increase activity levels on falls as controllable; set goals for Mondays and Wednesdays, Aug. 9 to increasing activity; make changes Sept. 8. to reduce fall The free risks at home; classes, held 10 and exercise to Improve your a.m. to noon, are increase strength part of an awardbalance, flexibility, and balance. winning series Internet access and strength. called “A Matter is necessary; of Balance.” classes will be “A Matter held virtually of Balance” is for adults age 60using a computer, laptop, or iPad. plus who have concerns about No class will be held on Labor falling, have fallen in the past, have Day Monday, Sept. 6. restricted their activities because of Preregistration is required as class falling concerns, or are interested in size is limited. For more information improving balance, flexibility, and or to register, call Faye Kinard at strength.

(717) 771-9610, ext. 1044.

“

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19th Annual

YORK COUNTY

Sept. 23, 2021 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

York Expo Center Memorial Hall East 334 Carlisle Ave. York

Let’s safely come together again!

Resource Directory

A yellow-page pullout section of 50plus LIFE!

• Generate leads • Meet guests face-to-face • Reinforce your brand • Sell products • Network with other exhibitors Sponsor and exhibitor reservations now being accepted.

Now taking space reservations for companies in the Cumberland County region looking for effective advertising that helps people remember your name and services.

Ad space reservation for the Cumberland County edition closes July 23.

Please contact your marketing representative or call (717) 285-1350 or email info@onlinepub.com to be included.

Contact us today to reserve your booth at 717.285.1350, or go to:

50plusExpoPA.com Brought to you by:

www.ResourceDirectoryPA.com www.50plusLifePA.com

50plus LIFE

July 2021

3

Cover Story

Grateful for the Ride Corporate Office

P.O. Box 8049, Lancaster, PA 17604 Phone (717) 285-1350 (610) 675-6240 Fax (717) 285-1360 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

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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.

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July 2021

50plus LIFE

By Gabriele Amersbach

Her enthusiasm for the shop has rubbed off on her family. Swanson notes that her grandson, a granddaughter in college, and her daughter are all avid bike riders.

Nannette Swanson explains that volunteering with Recycle Bicycle Harrisburg has been the perfect solution to the Bringing the Whole quarantine restrictions.

Community Together “I can’t sit in this house. I Swanson explains that riding have to be doing something for a bicycle is a great way to see the community,” she says.

Harrisburg, and the shop So instead of sitting on her brings the whole community couch, munching snacks, and together. bingeing on TV like so many of Shop partners include us, Swanson, 75, learned how the city of Harrisburg and to change tires, fix brakes and Mayor Eric Papenfuse and the chains, scrape rust, and spray Harrisburg Bureau of Police, paint donated bicycles. along with local companies, Her interest in the bike shop educational institutions, started when she was looking and religious, communityfor something to engage her advocacy, and social-assistance 14-year-old grandson. They organizations, as well as other stopped at the neighborhood Swanson with a truckload of bicycle shops. bike shop. After a brief 73 restored bicycles on their Recycle Bicycle Harrisburg conversation, Dan Ellenberger, way to Africa. was started in 2000 by Ross who works at the shop, asked Willard, who noticed that her if she wanted to volunteer. most of the bikes that the kids It didn’t take her long to in the neighborhood were agree. riding did not have working “I have four kids and always brakes. He started to repair put their bikes together. My bicycles on Harrisburg street husband didn’t do it. I was sort corners, at block parties, and at of adventurous,” says Swanson. multicultural festivals.

Now she volunteers at the As word spread and demand nonprofit bike shop three days grew, Willard recruited a week. volunteers to help repair the “There are a lot of people bikes from his garage and who can’t afford new bicycles,” basement. she says. “Kids from the Eventually, the organization neighborhood come in, and we grew too large and moved into give them the parts, then help a large, empty basement; later, them fix their own bicycles. they rented rundown warehouse Others get reconditioned bikes space. Before the pandemic, the to ride.”

Swanson won the 2011 nonprofit was finally able to buy She explains the bikes give Ms. PA Senior America competition and was second a permanent home for Recycle local children a wholesome runner up at the national Bicycle Harrisburg, an older, activity, while adults also enjoy competition in Atlantic City.

9,000-square-foot warehouse at getting bicycles to ride for sport 1722 Chestnut St. in Harrisburg, and pleasure. Many belong to a with enough space to grow. local bike club that rides on the An all-volunteer crew rehabbed the whole space, Capital Greenbelt, a scenic way to get around the including the entire electrical system, plumbing for whole city.

ADA bathrooms, and framing. The work continued Swanson is always on the lookout for family, during the 2020 shutdown, since bicycle shops in friends, and neighbors.

Pennsylvania were declared essential businesses.

“I even found two trike bikes (three-wheeled Volunteers like Swanson are continuing to build bicycles) and gave them to friends. Working here community spirit by recycling both used and has kept me inspired.” www.50plusLifePA.com

new bicycles back into the community. The nonprofit accepts bikes in any condition, donated parts, and volunteer service hours.

“At one point, I wanted to be a blues singer,” she remembers.

Instead, her performance interests took another direction when, at age 15, she joined the Scott White Family evangelistic crusade. She continued Keep ’em Guessing her interest in Christian outreach when she earned her bachelor’s degree in For Swanson, volunteering at the bike shop is just the latest stop on her religious education at the New Jersey Bible Institute. lifelong mission of lending a helping hand. Swanson started reaching out to Since then, Swanson has led a joyous life of service and exemplifies her her neighbors, even as a child. personal philosophy she has developed over the years.

She remembers leaving groceries on the “Be your best person, have empathy, don’t doorstep for needy neighbors: “We were living in be so hard on people, and don’t judge — you the projects. There’s always a need.” don’t know what they are going through,” she Her motivation has always been her strong explains. “Everything goes away except what you Christian faith. She calls herself “God inspired” do for God.” and explains, “I’m just following his footsteps, Most recently, Swanson participated in a guiding me to do this stuff.” community performance with drummers, Swanson worked full time for the state in the dancers, poets, and singers celebrating Black tax credit division, doing clerical work at the History Month. She sang songs from enslaved Labor & Industry Building while she raised her people and discussed their legacy. four children. Even as a busy divorced, single Playing with her 11 grandchildren is an mother of four, she continued her work in the ongoing joy. And while she sold her Kawasaki community, often through her church home, the 250 motorcycle after two falls, she still owns a New Hope Living Baptist Church. scooter that requires some work. Her friends at Most recently, Swanson helped to organize the bike shop are happy to help.

Swanson working on a bike at food bank donations to families and breakfast Swanson is grateful for every opportunity to Recycle Bicycle Harrisburg. and lunch meal bags for children who were serve and doesn’t look for accolades. not able to get meals at their schools during the “I’ve been around a long time,” she says. “God pandemic lockdown. keeps me healthy and in my right mind. My reward is in heaven.”

She also helped with Toys for Tots and continues to volunteer on the Roar On the cover – Nannette Swanson, left, with Pastor Freddie Salas of Team at Penn State Health, providing transportation to doctor appointments.

Capitol City Community Church, whose lot adjoins Recycle Bicycle Since Swanson has always enjoyed working with children, she volunteered Harrisburg’s. The bicycle shop donated repaired bikes for the church’s for 10 years at Melrose Elementary School. For two and a half years, she children as Christmas gifts. worked as a therapeutic staff supporter for a youth advocate program for children with behavioral issues who were in the legal system.

“We learned how to calm them down and keep them on track,” she explains.

With so many volunteer interests, Swanson confesses, “My kids always ask, ‘Mom, what are you going to do now?’ I like to keep ’em guessing!”

Everything but the Swimsuit Competition Music has also played a central role in Swanson’s life. As a performer, she sings both gospel and contemporary music. In 2006, she joined the PA State Senior Idol competition and performed with other contestants at the Dutch Apple Dinner Theater in Lancaster.

In 2011 she decided to compete for Ms. PA Senior America in York.

“We did interviews, talent performances, ball gown competitions, and discussed our philosophy of life — in other words, everything but the swimsuit competition!” she says with a smile.

Her prayer song helped her to win the competition and continue on to the national competition in Atlantic City, where she won second runner up.

“I’m still involved with the group. We perform in the community and at senior centers — wherever they’ll have us,” Swanson explains.

When the Capital Dinner Theater was still open, she also performed in popular shows like The Wiz. One of her favorite memories from those days was meeting Sherman Hemsley, known for his role as George Jefferson on the sitcom The Jeffersons.

Currently, she combines her love of music and volunteering by performing in senior centers and nursing homes with the Sentimentalists, a group of singers from around the state whose director, Merle Millhimes, is a 92-year-old powerhouse.

“I know a lot of amazing women of all ages,” says Swanson.

Her lifelong love of music and performance began early in childhood when Swanson and her family sang at church, at school, and on neighborhood street corners. www.50plusLifePA.com

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50plus LIFE

July 2021

5

CROSSWORD

Puzzle Page

Solutions for all puzzles can be found on page 19.

SUDOKU

WORD SEARCH

Soup Fixings Barley Beans Beef Beets Broth Carrots Celery Chicken Clams Corn Ham Herbs Lentils Noodles Onion Peas Pepper Rice Salt Tomato

Across 1. Yield 5. Dined 8. Banded stone 13. Energy type 14. Zilch 15. Pitch 16. Peanuts character 18. Singer Lenya 19. ___ Baba 20. Food container 21. More, in Madrid 22. Zoologist’s foot 23. Tweety’s long-suffering bud Down 1. Ice chest, for one 2. Carol Lay comic strip 3. Family man 4. Formerly, once 5. Nom de plume 6. Twitch 7. Antlered animal 8. Map collection 9. Casper was a friendly one 10. Gallery display 11. Moppet 12. Ram’s mate 13. Trade 17. Sequel to Angela’s Ashes 21. Copper and gold, e.g.

28. Rip apart 31. Encounter 32. Henpeck 34. Alley ___ 36. Seize 38. Chemical suffix 39. With 43 Across, Cookie’s parents 43. See 39 Across 45. ___-Wan Kenobi 46. Coral ridge 48. ___-Foy, Que. 49. Annex 50. Yarn 24. Race unit 25. Action word 26. Chisholm Trail town 27. Hindu princess 29. Immediately 30. Kind of prize 33. Force unit 35. Verse 37. Two out of two 39. Female hare 40. Qualified 41. Fish part 42. Unhearing 44. New (prefix) 47. Winter woe 51. Swirled

52. Vagabond 55. Bugs Bunny torments him 59. Play part 61. “___ luck?”

62. Immerse 64. Type of shirt 65. Maxim 68. Cartoon superhero 71. Animal toxin 72. Vein contents 73. Jack’s foe 74. Bother 75. Silent assent 76. Without (Fr.) 53. Caped Crusader 54. Arctic and Indian, e.g.

56. Jim Backus was the voice of Mr. ___ 57. Foe 58. Accomplished 60. Camping gear 63. Cribbage game pieces 65. Gardner of Mogambo 66. Cozy room 67. Gothic author Radcliffe 68. Ham, to Noah 69. Paid player 70. River inlet

Your ad could be here on this popular page!

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

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July 2021

50plus LIFE

www.50plusLifePA.com

Art & Antiques by Dr. Lori

Thrifty Products to Preserve Your Antiques Lori Verderame

You don’t need to invest in expensive products to protect, clean, or display your fine art or antiques. Since we all have to watch our pennies in today’s economy, here are some money-saving tips and littleknown tricks to keep your antiques and artwork in tiptop shape.

Many of my audience members at my nationwide appraisal events have complained that white cloths and acidfree tissue paper, both staples for storing antiques and collectibles, are too expensive.

Plain, white paper towels and plain coffee filters can, in some cases, be a cheap substitute.

One of the most time-saving, useful, and inexpensive items on the market is the coffee filter. A generic, white coffee filter can be used in many ways and helps antiques lovers preserve their heirlooms.

good shape, and it was easy to do with just some thrifty reinforcements.

For crafters, coffee filters and sheets of plain paper towel are cheap sources for cleaning and support backing. These materials are easy to tear for embroidery or appliqué of fabrics, too.

Of course, this reinforcement solution should not be used on valuable antique quilts or historic samplers. When in doubt, consult a professional textile conservator.

Photo credit: Staff photographer, www.DrLoriV.com

Reinforce textiles with paper towels, and decorate pillowcases with embroidery scenes.

Sparkling Mirrors When cleaning mirrors or chrome, a coffee filter will accept a mild cleaning solution (like one part white vinegar to two parts distilled water), and its lintfree construction will leave the mirror shining.

Always remember to dust your mirror’s surface first and then clean with a liquid solution. As with any cleaning process, be sure to remove all of the liquid from the surface of the antique mirror.

I have often advised clients and audience members that those circa-1960s foam-china separators are damaging your fine dinnerware. The old-fashioned foam separators can become discolored over time, give off gas and acidity, and stain your good china.

To protect a set of fine china, try placing a piece of plain, white paper towel or a plain, white coffee filter (which is already circular-cut) between each china plate while in storage.

Coffee filters are strong enough to use when applying silver or brass polish.

The other benefit of using them is that they won’t leave lint on your antiquesilver serving tray like a cotton rag will.

And when you are finished polishing, just throw it away.

Vintage Textiles Reinforced I really like the look of vintage textiles, needlepoint, and quilts, and I know many of you want to keep these aging treasures in good shape.

I fondly remember my Aunt Dorothy’s postwar-style kitchen with the redand-white tiles, Blue Ridge china, and Formica table. She decorated cheerfully with brightly colored, printed café curtains and cotton tablecloths.

Instead of buying expensive bedsheets and pillowcases, she embroidered imagery onto plain, cotton pillowcases in the mid-1900s.

To pinch a penny, she used her sewing talent and her World War II-era ingenuity to reinforce the back of the curtains, pillowcases, table covers, and kitchen hand towels with sheets of paper towel or thin, cotton cloth.

By reinforcing the backside of these textiles, she extended their life — allowing me to enjoy them, even today. I’m grateful she kept them in such www.50plusLifePA.com

You don’t have to spend a fortune to clean, store, and protect your antiques — you just have to think outside the storage box.

Dr. Lori Verderame is the award-winning Ph.D. antiques appraiser on History channel’s The Curse of Oak Island, about the world’s oldest treasure hunt. Dr. Lori offers free information about antiques appraisals and selling at drloriv.com and youtube.com/drloriv.

Are you getting your share of the

SILVER ECONOMY? Which buyers make up the Silver Economy?

• 962 million men and women over the age of 60 • A group with 11 times more wealth than millennials • Persons with a life expectancy in the U.S. is about 78.87 years • Persons who prefer in-person contact when possible • A group that wants to age at home as long as reasonable

Why do you want to reach these buyers?

• They are free of many economic burdens • They like to take care of themselves, be active, eat well, be fashionable, and have fun • They have more free time • They are looking for products and services to help them age well

What sectors are on the rise?

The obvious:

The not-so-obvious:

• Home improvements/renovations • Tourism and leisure activities tailored for them • Caregiver solutions • Financial products geared for seniors • Retirement living

• Security technology – mobile apps, sensors, wearable devices, smart clothing, etc.

• Pet care – pet sitting, walking, grooming, food, accessories, etc.

• Gardening/lawn services combined with snow removal • Mobile esthetic and concierge services – hairstylist, manicurist, massage, facials • Personal services – running errands, shopping

What are you waiting for?

51% of people aged 52-70 spend fewer than 11 hours a week online.

While businesses need an online presence, print adds power to a media campaign.

Most boomers and seniors are open to and love classic media.

50plus LIFE—Covering Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, and York counties—is an excellent venue!

Call to learn how we can help you reach our 150,000+ readers of 50plus LIFE! 717.285.1350 or email info@onlinepub.com

50plus LIFE

July 2021

7

Savvy Senior

Jim Miller

Medicare Coverage Options for Retirees Eager to Travel

Dear Savvy Senior, What are the best Medicare coverage options for COVID-vaccinated retirees who are eager to travel?

My wife and I will both turn 65 over the next few months and would like to know which Medicare plans are best for extensive travelers.

– Almost 65 Dear Almost, The best Medicare plans for retirees who plan to travel will vary depending on your destinations.

But, before you book a trip, make sure you know the current CDC COVID-19 travel recommendations (see CDC.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers), and research your destinations too so you can know if restrictions apply wherever you’re going.

Medicare Review Before we dissect how Medicare works for travelers, let’s start with a quick review of your different Medicare options.

One option is original Medicare, which covers (Part A) hospital services and (Part B) doctor’s visits and other medical services.

If you choose original Medicare, you may also want to get a Medicare (Part D) prescription drug plan (if you don’t already have coverage) to cover your medications and a Medicare supplemental (Medigap) policy to help pay for things that aren’t covered by Medicare, like copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles.

Or, you could get a Medicare Advantage (Part C) plan instead, which is sold through private insurance companies. Advantage plans cover everything original Medicare covers, plus many also offer prescription drug coverage and extra services like vision, hearing, and dental care all in one plan.

For help evaluating your options, contact your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (see shiptacenter.org), which provides free Medicare counseling.

You can also shop and compare Medicare health and drug plans and Medigap policies at medicare.gov/find-a-plan.

Also note that whatever Medicare plans you choose to enroll in, if you find they are not meeting your needs or your needs change, you can always switch to a different plan during the open enrollment period, which is between Oct. 15 and Dec. 7.

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July 2021

50plus LIFE

Dr. Danette Nulph, Au.D. Dr. Kristen A. Duncan, Au.D. Dr. Michelle Tewell, Au.D.

Connect with Us on Facebook

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U.S. Travel If you and your husband are planning to travel domestically, original Medicare may be the better option because it provides coverage everywhere in the U.S. and its territories, as long as the doctor or hospital accepts Medicare.

Medicare Advantage plans, on the other hand, which have become very popular among new enrollees, may restrict your coverage when traveling throughout the U.S. This is because most Medicare Advantage plans are HMOs or PPOs and require you to use doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies that are in the plan’s network within a service area or geographic region.

So, if you’re traveling outside that area, you may need to pay a higher fee, or your services may not be covered at all.

If you do decide to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan, be sure you check the benefit details carefully to see what costs and rules apply when traveling outside your service area.

Traveling Abroad If you’re planning to travel abroad much, a Medicare Advantage plan may be a better option because many Advantage plans today offer emergency care coverage outside the U.S. But be sure you check before you choose a plan

because not all plans offer it.

Original Medicare, on the other hand, does not provide coverage outside the U.S. and its territories except in rare circumstances (see medicare.gov/coverage/ travel), and Medicare drug plans will not cover prescription drugs purchased outside the U.S. either.

But if you do choose original Medicare, you can still get some coverage abroad through a Medigap policy. Plans D, G, M, and N will pay for 80% of medically necessary emergency care outside the U.S. to new enrollees, but only for the first 60 days of the trip, and you have to meet an annual $250 deductible first.

There’s also a lifetime limit of $50,000, so you’d need to cover any costs above that amount.

Some beneficiaries, regardless of their Medicare coverage, purchase travel medical insurance for trips abroad, which you can shop for at InsureMyTrip (insuremytrip.com) or Squaremouth (squaremouth.com).

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

The Bookworm Sez

Terri Schlichenmeyer

Nazi Wives: The Women at the Top of Hitler’s Germany

Stand by your man. looking Reinhard Heydrich.

That’s what the old song says you’re supposed to And Magda Quandt, after marrying Joseph do: stand by him, support him, tell him when he’s Goebbels, agreed to an intimate triangular right and when he needs to reconsider his stance. relationship that included Adolf Hitler …

Stand by him, not as his lesser but as an equal in In his introduction, author James Wyllie says he a life plan that benefits you both — but, as in the decided to write on this subject because it’s rarely new book Nazi Wives by James Wyllie, give him a covered and that in his research, he found “gaps good shove first. and chunks of time” unaccounted for in the lives In the years after World War I, Adolf Hitler had of Nazi brides. been quietly building a group of elite and powerful Sadly, these “gaps” are chasms, and they make men for “a national revolution.”

Nazi Wives repetitive, sometimes confusing, and He’d been thinking about it for a while, and he only mildly interesting.

Photo credit: Barbara Wyllie knew that war hero Hermann Goering would be To be sure, there’s a lot about the inner-circle Nazi Wives: The Women at the an “asset” to his group, though Goering apparently (male) Nazis here: their childhoods, mindsets, Top of Hitler’s Germany didn’t feel the same sense of urgency to join the careers, wealth, homes, and mistresses. We learn

By James Wyllie fledgling Nazi party. about Adolf Hitler’s loves and his temper tantrums; c.

2019, St. Martin’s Press Goering’s wife, Carin, however, “worshipped there’s a bit about World War II battles and 288 pages the ground Hitler walked on,” and that ultimately marches and atrocities, but really not much. sealed the deal for Goering.

No, the assumed focus is on Nazi wives, as per Gerda Buch was still a child when she met the man she would call “Uncle the title, but Wyllie’s aforementioned dearth of information leaves readers with Adolf,” who became a guardian-mentor of sorts and was influential in young subjects who aren’t fleshed out nearly enough.

Gerda’s upbringing. Once she was an adult, the influence extended to her What we get are compelling facts mixed lightly with inferences and marriage to Martin Bormann. scandalous gossip, like a one-time banquet before a steady diet of supermarket Ilse Pröhl stood by her boyfriend, Rudolf Hess, even when he was in prison. tabloids.

She reportedly wasn’t happy with the chaste aspect of it, but she was impressed Will the few well-told stories — the lives of the Bormanns, the end of with Hess’s relationship with Hitler and his influence in the writing of Mein Magda Goebbels — save this book?

Kampf.

Hard to say; World War II scholars might be intrigued with Nazi Wives.

After working as a nurse with the German Red Cross, Margaret Boden History buffs may be interested. Many readers, though, won’t stand for it. shared a love of alternative medicine with Heinrich Himmler, who was The Bookworm is Terri Schlichenmeyer. Terri has been reading since she was 3 years somewhat of a mama’s boy. old, and she never goes anywhere without a book. She lives on a hill in Wisconsin Emmy Sonnemann was her husband’s second wife, and she never quite with two dogs and 14,000 books. connected with Hitler as did her wedded peers.

Lina von Osten was said to have been “breathlessly” captivated by the oddwww.50plusLifePA.com

50plus LIFE

July 2021

9

The Beauty in Nature

Dancing on the Ocean Clyde McMillan-Gamber

Two kinds of related oceangoing birds, Wilson’s petrels and Leach’s petrels, have several characteristics in common.

These 8-inch-long birds are fascinating to watch dancing on the water while eating plankton, small crustaceans, and tiny fish from the open Photo courtesy of Nanda Ramesh oceans’ surfaces. I have Wilson’s petrel. viewed their entertaining feeding habits through videos on computer screens.

While feeding, their wings are stretched out to catch the oncoming wind, which holds them just over the ever-pulsing swells.

Meanwhile, their long legs alternately dangle and hop rhythmically in harmony with their wings, which pushes the petrels forward on top of the shifting waves as the birds pick morsels from the water’s surface with their

beaks. Their wind-filled wings keep them from sinking as they bound along.

Both kinds of petrels often patrol alone to get food. But sometimes they flutter gracefully over the oceans in loose little groups, each bird soaring into the wind on outstretched wings and pattering and bouncing Photo courtesy of Richard Crossley lightly on the water on Leach’s petrels. foot.

They appear to dance on the water, but it’s their wings that hold them above the constantly heaving swells.

Near lookalikes, both kinds of petrels are dark brown, with white on the base of their tails. Both have nostrils in a fused tube on top of their beaks.

And genders are similar in both species.

Both petrel species annually raise one chick per mated pair in a crevice between rocks or in soil burrows in nesting colonies on islands in the oceans.

Both parents of each pair feed their one youngster until it can fly and be independent.

Wilson’s petrels nest on islands around Antarctica during its summer, our winter. Post-breeding Wilson’s drift north over the oceans during our summer to feed until our autumn, when it’s time to return to Antarctica to nest again.

Leach’s petrel pairs rear offspring in summer on islands in the North Atlantic. Nesting in different hemispheres at different times reduces direct competition between these related petrels for food on ocean swells, which is one reason why both species are so abundant.

Every niche on Earth is inhabited by at least one form of life. The unique and intriguing petrels are entertaining to watch gracefully dancing and feeding just above ocean swells.

And they can be observed by videos on computers, if not in person.

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

Nature’s Wonders

by Clyde

A nature blog

by Clyde McMillan-Gamber, retired Lancaster County Parks naturalist and longtime 50plus LIFE columnist

Each story is like a walk with your own naturalist.

NaturesWondersByClyde.BlogSpot.com

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Volunteers Needed for Therapeutic Horseback Riding Program RSVP of the Capital Region is seeking volunteers 55 and over for Leg Up Farm’s therapeutic riding department.

Leg Up Farm, located in Mount Wolf, is the only pediatric therapy facility in the country to provide physical, occupational, speech, and aquatic therapy; behavioral health services; and nutrition counseling, therapeutic horseback riding, and educational and recreational programming under one roof.

This volunteer opportunity is ideal

for anyone who enjoys working with horses and children.

Volunteer benefits include transportation reimbursement, free supplemental liability insurance, recognition and appreciation events, and paid assistance with clearances.

Contact Scott Hunsinger at (717) 893-8474 or yorkrsvp@ rsvpcapreg.org with any questions about volunteer opportunities at Leg Up Farm.

RSVP of the Capital Region is supported by SeniorCorps.

‘Healthy Steps for Older Adults’ Virtual Workshop Offered The York County Area Agency on Aging is offering “Healthy Steps for Older Adults,” an evidence-based program that reduces fall risks among adults 60 and older, from 1–3 p.m. Mondays, July 19 and 26.

This free online workshop is a two-day program, held for two hours each day, and is designed to be fun, social, and validating for any adult age 60 and older.

Participants will learn how to exercise safely at home and will be provided information on ways to improve their health and well-being. Discussions will include home and medication safety, as well as appropriate foot care and footwear.

A unique part of this program is the involvement of participants in physical skill screenings to determine an individual’s fall risk.

Participants will be referred to appropriate healthcare professionals and community resources, as deemed necessary, to meet one’s needs in preventing falls.

Preregistration is required by calling Faye Kinard at (717) 771-9610, ext.

1044. www.50plusLifePA.com

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PROFESSIONALLY SPEAKING Paula Musselman

Senior Real Estate Specialist

Getting Ready to List Your Home?

1. Map Out A Plan.

As a Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES) I understand that each client faces different circumstances and challenges. I can advise you on a sequence of steps tailored to your situation and guide you through the process at whatever pace suits your needs. Together we will take a nopressure approach and look for ways to make your move more manageable and less stressful.

2. Set Priorities.

Please don’t assume that every aspect of your home has to appear picture-perfect before listing it for sale. As a qualified SRES Realtor I understand what matters most to buyers in your market and can help you focus on the most critical projects.

The top priorities are often decluttering living spaces and cleaning your home thoroughly, immediately before it is listed.

3. Evaluate renovations.

Is it essential to update your flooring, paint your walls, or replace your appliances? Trust my expertise and experience. I know local buyers’ top priorities and understand which renovations offer the biggest bang for the buck. I will explain your options, but it’s up to you to decide if you want to add these projects to your list.

4. Suggest Trusted Resources.

If you need help with any aspect of

your move, as your SRES® Realtor I can provide suggestions. I’ve already vetted related service professionals who understand seniors’ concerns and can assist in decluttering, packing, renovating, and more. The choice is always yours, but it’s nice knowing you can turn to these trusted resources.

5. Discuss Staging Options.

Many sellers assume they need to stage their home before listing it. Again, this depends on your local real estate market and your personal situation.

Often, staging isn’t mandatory. Today’s property marketing options include virtual staging techniques, which might be a good alternative. We can discuss your options and offer recommendations tailored to your concerns. Regardless of when and where you are moving, you’ll have a better experience if you work with an agent who has earned the SRES® designation—someone who is committed to helping seniors navigate their housing transitions successfully.

Count on an SRES® to guide you through the process of buying or selling your home, making the transaction less stressful and more successful.

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To learn more about SRES® and access various consumer resources, please visit www.seniorsresource. realtor.

My name is Paula Musselman. As the Senior Real Estate Specialist in your area, I am available to guide you through the process of preparing for a move, including a full market analysis of your home to determine value, as well as helping you with resources to declutter and stage your home and locating contractors, should you need repairs. Count on me to help take the stress out of your move!

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50plus LIFE

July 2021

11

The History of Ordinary Things

The Egg Carton & Other Egg Tidbits Doris Montag

Did you know?

• Chickens were originally raised strictly as a source for eggs and were eaten only on special occasions or when a laying hen stopped producing eggs.

• Egg production requires about 25 hours.

Soon after an egg is laid, the process starts again. Depending upon the breed and conditions, a chicken will lay from 250 to 300 eggs per year.

• In development, the shell material is applied around the soft yolk and white and only hardens as it meets air when it is laid.

Egg carton separation designs from the early 1900s.

As Americans moved off farms and into cities some 100 years ago, our source of eggs shifted from the henhouse to the grocery store.

In the early 1900s, farm wives (typically) raised a chicken flock for their families’ egg use, selling the extra to grocers. Referred to as the “egg money,” it

created a regular source of income to buy the items they could not produce on the farm.

Some egg farmers had flocks as large as 400.

The eggs were collected in wicker or wire baskets, but these were neither stackable nor sturdy as the eggs bumpety-bumped aboard trains and carts into the cities. Transporting the fragile eggs to markets posed a special problem. In 1910, a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report estimated that breakage and spoilage cost $45 million annually.

Soon inventors and tinkerers were competing for solutions to hold and carry whole eggs. Farmers took bulk eggs to town in egg crates using flats and individual separators. Women would bring eggs home from the grocer using their own homemade

wooden egg boxes.

In 1911, British Columbian newspaper editor Joseph Coyle invented the egg box with the separation of eggs into individual snug compartments created with folded cardboard. The cardboard holder was hand glued into the

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container until 1919, when Coyle designed a machine to make the egg boxes.

In the ensuing 50 years, inventors filed dozens of patents for egg containers. In 1913, Popular Mechanics reported on the “Egg Crate for the Coat Pocket,” which targeted commuting businessmen bringing home eggs (along with the bacon). Two years later, the big innovation was the asbestos carton!

The egg carton was further developed by H.G. Bennett (U.K.) during the 1950s. His carton had a dimpled, cup-like bottom, each holding an individual egg. This design, still in use today, successfully protects eggs against stresses during transportation by absorbing shock.

Today, egg trays are used by processors. In some commercial operations, the eggs are cracked and transported to manufacturing sites as raw, liquid eggs.

Today’s egg carton can be made of various materials, including foamed plastics, such as polystyrene foam or clear plastic, and may be manufactured from recycled paper and molded pulp by means of a mechanized papiermâché process.

Although most people are familiar with cartons holding a dozen eggs, there are various sizes, with some designed to hold two (yes, two), six, eight, 10, 15, 18, or 20 eggs.

More egg tidbits: • The color of eggshell a chicken will lay can be determined by the color of

the feathers on the chicken’s ear. (Did you know they had ears?)

• Different breeds produce varying shell colors, from the standard white shell to browns and blue-greens. Of note, there is no nutritional difference between brown, blue, or white-shelled eggs.

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• Many Americans have shied away from eggs because of cholesterol fears — despite their taste, convenience, and nutritional value. According to current USDA nutrition data, eggs are lower in cholesterol than previously recorded, perhaps due to new feeding programs.

• More than 40 years of research has shown that healthy adults can enjoy an egg a day without increasing their risk for heart diseases, so enjoy a couple of deviled eggs today!

Doris Montag is a homespun historian and an exhibit curator who researches and displays historical collections of ordinary things, such as can openers, crochet, toy sewing machines, hand corn planters, powder compacts, egg cartons, and more.

Contact or follow her on Facebook, HistoryofOrdinaryThings.

Did you know?

is available online for anytime/anywhere reading!

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July 2021

13

Booming Voice

The Greatest Generation’s Last Witnesses Bill Levine

Recently, my retiree-age literature class was discussing the classic ’50s conformity novel, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, as if it were a gripping novel of World War II. In fact, there were raw scenes of the main character’s PTSD-inducing war experiences that impacted his rung climbing in the 1950s corporate world.

Our teacher didn’t have to prompt us into evoking our own baby boomer memories of our dads as former soldiers.

Once a classmate mentioned her father’s memory lockdown on his four years of World War II experience, other members marched behind her with their own tales of dads who were reluctant to discuss their overwhelming wartime experiences or who seemed to suffer from PTSD symptoms.

I didn’t participate in this cogent reminiscing because my father’s short, stateside Army service is mundane when compared with tales of the Greatest

Generation. My father, Burt Levine, was just one of the 15,650,000 men in uniform and part of the 52% of all men 20–49 who served.

The only action Burt witnessed were bar brawls in the dives off base.

My dad said it wasn’t great being Jewish in the Army. He had been exposed to urban street-turf slurs growing up in Boston, but he shared barracks with soldiers who had never met a Jew or never met one they liked.

But Dad, being a gregarious sort, did have Army buddies, and I got the impression these relationships made his 17 months of service more palatable.

Though the only flamethrower my father witnessed was of a barracks wise guy lighting a match with flatulence, he was, to me, a brave soldier. Pvt. Levine had to crawl through barbed wire with real bullets whizzing over his head in basic training.

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Plus, he was apparently an injured soldier — I saw a tiny veteran’s disability check arrive monthly throughout my childhood. Dad said he fell out of a jeep.

My collection of family photos includes only two taken of my father in uniform. One is a composite of his field hospital platoon taken in September 1943 at Lawson General Hospital in Atlanta.

My father never extolled the virtues of Company A Third Platoon, but he did take the time to number and identify most of his fellow enlistees. That photo, though, captures the beginning of my father’s seminal U.S. Army experience that is concluded in a second picture.

The second picture is a wedding-day snapshot of my parents and their wedding party, taken on Aug. 1, 1944, in Atlanta. My dad, in uniform, is next to my mom; they are flanked by my dad’s brother-in-law in uniform and my dad’s sister. Fanning out from this group are my mom’s three bridesmaids.

Undoubtedly, these wartime wedding-party photos with grooms in uniform are a World War II trope, as they emphasize a grace-and-hope timeout from the coarseness and unfathomable uncertainty of war.

A month after this wedding picture was shot, my dad was honorably discharged and had a new life as a dental student in St. Louis. His most valuable war souvenir was his honorable discharge pin, which he always wore in public to ward off evil eyes from people casting aspersions of draft dodging.

During my father’s first semester of dental school, his old unit got shipped out to provide field medical support during the Battle of the Bulge. I learned this from Dad when I was an adult. When he said there were a lot of casualties in his old unit, it seemed he felt more lucky than guilty over escaping a hellish situation. I didn’t feel comfortable asking any follow-up questions.

Even though my father’s wartime experiences were not on the Band of Brothers level, I have no doubt that his service strongly resonated with him over his lifetime.

We baby boomers are the last witness cohort to the Greatest Generation.

Ten to 15 years after the war, we were the ones who learned about our fathers’ World War II experiences or our fathers’ stonewalling of these experiences.

We were the intimate witnesses to these former soldiers integrating into the civilian life of the 1950s and ’60s. We boomers are the generation that still has regrets today about questions not asked.

The Greatest Generation is losing its last battle to a most formidable opponent: time. Very soon, all that will be left are a few hearty centenarians.

As my dad’s wartime story shows, even stateside deployments are worth recounting for what was said and what wasn’t. Historians should be firing up their smartphone voice apps and recording boomers’ memories of their soldier dads.

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.

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50plus LIFE

July 2021

15

Willing to Wander

Traveling Back to the Past

By Victor Block

A longtime friend is channeling his childhood. While a youngster, he collected baseball cards that he stored in boxes and treasured as souvenirs of America’s favorite pastime.

Decades later, Founded in 1969, the Norman Rockwell Museum he’s reliving that in Stockbridge, Mass., houses 998 of the artist’s time while visiting original paintings and drawings. the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York.

Opportunities to recapture memories from the past aren’t limited to

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baseball, or New York. From Coca-Cola to cars, movies to museums, chapters of times gone by await discovery.

Some may be close to where you live.

One exhibit at the Baseball Hall of Fame traces the history of the cardboard collectibles from Route 66 was once the primary thoroughfare for 1878 to today.

Americans migrating westward.

Another showcases cards imprinted with the photo and statistics of famous players like Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson.

A surprising twist is a section devoted to “error cards,” which had misspelled names and other mistakes.

Paintings, rather than pitches, also prompt memories of the past, and few evoke nostalgia more than those of Norman Rockwell. His images portrayed virtually every aspect of American life and culture. His best-known works were cover illustrations for Saturday Evening Post magazine between the 1910s and 1960s.

The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, is home to a treasure trove of the artist’s paintings, sketches, and studies.

Shaving mugs, colorfully striped poles, and elaborate padded chairs are among exhibits at another museum. The National Barber Museum and Hall of Fame recalls the heyday of old-fashioned barbershops and traces the history of barbering back to the Egyptian pharaohs, when instruments were fashioned from oyster shells.

The Hall of Fame honors giants of the trade, like the man who founded the first barber school in the United States in 1893.

Two iconic brand names that have been known around the world for decades are celebrated in other places.

The World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta traces the history of that beverage with a film, artifacts, and interactive exhibits.

A Coke syrup urn from 1896 sets the stage, and a Virtual Taste Maker invites visitors to create flavors the way early pharmacists did. One high point is the Vault of the Secret Formula, where the legendary recipe for the soft drink is secured.

The story of an older creation is told at the Levi Strauss Visitor Center in San Francisco. It began in 1852 when an immigrant by that name from www.50plusLifePA.com

Bavaria opened a dry-goods store Convenient hitches provide a during the height of the Gold place for patrons to park their Rush. animals as the movies are shown.

When he patented the process Through the early to midof putting rivets in pants for 1900s, U.S. Route 66 was a strength, the world’s first jeans primary thoroughfare followed were born. That’s part of what by adventure seekers, people comes to life at six museummigrating westward during the quality pavilions.

Dust Bowl days, and others.

Any back-to-the-past journey It was one of the original roads requites places to eat; some in the national highway system immerse diners in the feel, and commissioned by the federal food, of yesteryear. The Forks government in 1926. It ran Resort Restaurant, a lakeside nearly 2,550 miles from Chicago diner in the Sierra National to California, passing through Forest, has been family owned eight states. for four generations.

Route 66 was immortalized Arriving by horse at the Coyote The entire menu of The Coffee Shop in Theater in Fort Worth, Texas.

Jackson, N.C., is priced below $10.

The California eatery has a in the novel The Grapes of 1950s diner setting and prices to Wrath by John Steinbeck, in a match. A hamburger costs $5.60, 1960s television series, and by a double burger $6.95. Hungry the popular song “Get Your folks often end their meals with Kicks on Route 66.” While it has old-fashioned ice cream pie, washed been replaced by other stretches down by a root beer float. of road and removed from the At The Coffee Shop in Jackson, U.S. highway system, sections in North Carolina, the entire menu Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico, and is priced below $10. The popular Arizona have been designated as a spot has been serving home-cooked National Scenic Byway. meals since 1926 in an atmosphere In places, old-time diners and enhanced by vintage photos, signs, quirky shops dredge up memories of and an old jukebox.

Route 66’s former glory days. POPS What could be finer after dinner in Arcadia, Oklahoma, is fronted in a diner than taking in a drive-in by a 66-foot-tall soft drink bottle movie? Back in the 1950s, more that advertises the fact that it serves than 4,000 drive-in theaters dotted more than 700 flavors of soda pop. the American landscape and were a The aptly named Midpoint Café popular pastime place for people of in Adrian, Texas, touts itself (almost An abandoned gas station on Route 66. all ages. accurately) as situated at the center While only about 325 outdoor of the original route. It is also motion-picture venues are operating throughout the country today, they famous, or infamous, for its Ugly Crust Pies. continue to offer hints of history.

The title of longest-running restaurant belongs to Ariston Café in Litchfield, The past meets the present in Atlanta at the Starlight drive-in, which has Illinois, which has been feeding hungry diners since 1935. been a local landmark since 1949. The Art Deco décor, choice of four screens, After gallivanting around the world, Victor Block still retains the travel bug. He and appeal of natural social distancing are among attractions that account for believes that travel is the best possible education. A member of the Society of its continued popularity.

American Travel Writers, Victor loves to explore new destinations and cultures, and Texas has been and is still cowboy and cowgirl country, so it’s no surprise his stories about them have won a number of writing awards. that wranglers in Fort Worth may ride their steeds into the Coyote Drive-in.

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50plus LIFE

July 2021

17

Legal Ease

Jonathan J. David

Second-Marriage Complexities — and Several Solutions

Dear Jonathan: I am a 70-year-old widower who is newly remarried. It is also a second marriage for my wife, and we each have two children from our first marriages.

We have been having discussions about putting an estate plan together.

With the exception of our home and two bank accounts that we jointly own, we have maintained separate ownership of the separate assets we brought into our marriage.

We agree that after the first one of us dies, the deceased spouse’s assets should be made available to the surviving spouse, to help with his or her care, if necessary.

When the surviving spouse passes away, we want what is left of our combined assets to be divided equally among our four children. Can we accomplish that with a joint trust, or do we each have to prepare our own trust, which we are trying to avoid due to the added complexity and cost?

Jonathan says: The question you pose is fairly common in second marriages. Let’s review your options and the potential consequences of exercising any of those options: 1. You and your wife could prepare a joint trust and transfer your joint assets, as well as your separately owned assets, to that trust rather than prepare separate trusts.

This would be less complicated and cost less because there would only be one trust, not two. The assets in the joint trust would be available for the surviving spouse’s use and could provide that upon his or her death, the remaining assets would be divided between your four children in equal shares.

The problem, however, is that because a joint trust remains revocable until the death of the surviving spouse, the surviving spouse could revise the terms of that trust and redirect all of the trust assets at his or her death to his or her

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own children.

2. Instead of a joint trust, you could leave your home and bank accounts in joint names and create separate trusts to hold your separately owned assets.

The jointly owned assets would belong to the survivor of the two of you. Each separate trust could name the other spouse and your four children as the beneficiaries.

Although more costly and complicated than creating a joint trust, separate trusts will protect each of your children because the surviving spouse, although a beneficiary, has no control over the assets of the decedent spouse’s trust and would not be able to revise the terms of that trust or redirect the trust assets to the

surviving spouse’s children.

Instead, upon the surviving spouse’s death, the remaining trust assets would be distributed to your four children in equal shares.

Keep in mind, however, that the surviving spouse could change the terms of his or her own trust and make sure that only his or her children receive the assets of that trust upon the surviving spouse’s death.

3. In addition to each of you preparing separate trusts, rather than owning your home and bank accounts in joint names, you could prepare a joint trust to hold those assets.

Although this adds an additional layer of complexity and cost, the benefit of having a joint trust own the jointly owned assets is that those assets would not be subject to probate upon the death of the last to die of the two of you.

4. Finally, you could just create a joint trust and dispense with creating separate trusts. You would mutually decide what assets to place in that joint trust, understanding that the surviving spouse would control those assets and could redirect them to his or her own children upon death.

To make sure that each of your children receives a portion of each of your estates, you could each name your own children as the beneficiaries of certain of your separate assets that remain outside of the trust. Those assets might include a life insurance policy or policies, certain bank and/or investment accounts, certificates of deposit, or perhaps even retirement accounts.

Although your children would not necessarily end up being equal beneficiaries, by taking this approach, you will at least guarantee they will be partial beneficiaries of each of your estates, regardless of what happens to the assets in the joint trust upon the surviving spouse’s death.

I recommend the two of you consult with an estate planning attorney, who can discuss this with you in more detail and help you prepare an estate plan that protects both of you, as well as your respective children. Good luck.

Jonathan J. David is a shareholder in the law firm of Foster, Swift, Collins & Smith, P.C., 1700 E. Beltline N.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49525.

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Melinda’s Garden

Vacation Care for Container Gardens Melinda Myers

Planning container and a few long run wicks into weekends or the drainage a vacation holes of the pot. may have you Test whatever rethinking your system you create garden plans. before leaving Don’t let time on vacation. You away from home want to make stop you from sure everything growing flowers is in place and and vegetables working. in containers.

For short trips, Irrigation consider using Photo courtesy of MelindaMyers.com systems with a wine bottle Water or wine bottles can be used alone or combined with commercial products timers and selfor 2-liter soda to help regulate the flow of water to container gardens while away on vacation. watering pots bottle. They can are options to be used alone or make container gardening and vacation care easier. You may, however, just combined with commercial products to help regulate the flow. Just punch a be looking for ways to adapt your existing container gardening care while on hole in the soil and insert a water-filled wine or soda bottle. vacation.

With cap in place, punch 10 holes in the bottom of the plastic bottle before Find a plant sitter, and take time to provide needed plant-care instructions. filling with water and setting in the soil. Evaluate and test how many bottles It can be difficult, but you may be able to convince the person stopping by to you need per pot and how long they can sustain your plants. feed the cat to also water your plants.

Increase the water-holding ability of your potting mix with a product like Move containers to a shady spot to extend the time between watering. Make Wild Valley Farms’ wool pellets. This organic soil additive made from wool sure the hose is handy. The easier the task, the more likely it will be done and waste holds up to 20% of its weight in water. It releases water as needed, so your plants will survive. Sweeten the deal by offering to share the harvest or you do not have to water as often. return the favor when they leave town.

Further reduce the need to water by growing more drought-tolerant plants.

Create your own self-watering system with a 5-gallon bucket and strips of Zinnias, lantana, sunflowers, and succulents look beautiful and tolerate drier absorbent material, like cotton fabric strips or rope, to serve as wicks. Place the soil conditions. bucket amongst your containers. Run the fabric wick from the 5-gallon bucket A beautiful and productive container garden does not have to stop you into the drainage holes of your containers. from enjoying a long weekend or vacation out of town. Make plans for your As the soil dries, the water will move from the water-filled bucket into container gardens as you plan your next trip. the container, moistening the soil. Use long wicks that reach and rest on the Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books, including Small Space bottom of the bucket. Add a lid with holes for the wicks to slow evaporation.

Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses’ How to Grow Anything DVD series and Use an individual setup to create a water reservoir for each container. Set the Melinda’s Garden Moment TV and radio program. Myers is a columnist and each pot on its own enclosed, water-filled container. Cut holes in the lid of the

Puzzles shown on page 6.

Puzzle Solutions

contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine. MelindaMyers.com

www.50plusLifePA.com

50plus LIFE

July 2021

19

Better Ways to Avoid Estate Taxes than Putting Your Cash under the Mattress

By Marni Jameson

Benjamin Franklin once wrote, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

He was right. Although going to great lengths to avoid either is a proverbial waste of time, tax and estate-planning experts often hear of folks who tried to “dodge the taxman” to maximize what they would leave to their heirs.

Such efforts often backfire.

One of the most common ways people try to avoid having their money go to the government when they die is to hide cash.

However, when your money is in cash outside the protection of a financial institution — as in, stuffed under a mattress, in a plastic bag in the freezer, under a stair tread, or in a safe-deposit box to which multiple people have access — it is unlikely to wind up going where you want it to go, say seasoned trust and estate-planning experts.

Just as you can reduce your income tax through deductions, exemptions, and credits, you can use similar legal vehicles to reduce estate taxes. Here are some options: Know the limits. First, find out whether your estate will owe anything.

Realistically, most estates don’t have to pay the estate tax because the limits are so high.

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Straightaway, under today’s guidelines, every individual has an exemption credit of $11.7 million. That means they can gift that amount directly to their heirs without owing any federal estate taxes.

For married couples, that exemption is over $23 million. So, unless you will be leaving more than that, paying federal estate tax is not a concern.

If an individual leaves more than $11.7 million, only the amount over that is subject to tax. But those taxes are steep: The federal estate tax was up to 40% in 2021. (Because these numbers change, be sure to consult your accountant or estate attorney.)

Check state law. Whether your estate will owe state taxes depends on where you live.

According to the Tax Foundation, the following 12 states plus the District of Columbia have estate taxes: Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

The following six have inheritance taxes: Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. (Maryland is the only state that has both.)

Spouses are protected. If you’re married when you die, a marital deduction lets you leave your estate, regardless of its size, to your spouse tax-free.

Leave some to charity. If avoiding taxes is your top concern, one option is to donate any amount beyond the taxable threshold to charity. Such contributions are 100% tax-free and, thus, can greatly reduce what a person’s estate will owe in taxes.

Set up a charitable remainder trust. Work with an adviser to create a charitable remainder trust, which takes assets from the donor’s estate to set up a separate trust.

That trust creates an income stream back to the donor or to his or her beneficiaries while they are alive, and then the remainder goes to a designated charity.

Get life insurance. If you’re among those who have more than $11.7 million to leave to loved ones, consider buying a life insurance policy.

Life insurance can be set up so it’s estate-tax-free, which makes it a great planning tool. With good planning, you can get both spouses’ tax exemptions, throw in life insurance, and avoid all taxes, say experts.

Consider creating a trust. Having assets in a trust (a legal entity that holds assets on behalf of an individual) adds greater asset protection than a simple will does.

Besides helping insulate an estate from paying taxes, a properly created trust can protect assets from creditors and prevent money from going to those outside the bloodline.

Putting cash in the freezer or under a stair tread doesn’t do any of that. It’s simply bad planning.

Marni Jameson is a nationally syndicated home and lifestyle columnist and author of six books, including the just-released What to Do With Everything You Own to Leave the Legacy You Want — From-the-Heart Estate Planning for Everyone, Whatever Your Situation (theexperimentpublishing.com/catalogs/spring-2021). You may reach her at marnijameson.com.

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Sixties Flashback

A Strange Way to Make Big Money Randal C. Hill

Have you ever heard of musician Billy Strange?

Born William Everett Strange in 1930 in Long Beach, California, he became an in-demand session guitarist/arranger in Hollywood and recorded with such top-drawer artists as Elvis Presley, the Beach Boys, Cher, and Nancy Sinatra.

One afternoon in the early ’60s, Strange received a huge royalty check for a throwaway ditty he had created previously on a whim. He felt certain that a mistake had been made and called the issuing office.

That’s when he was told, “Mr. Strange, the money is all yours.” ...

A few weeks later, Strange found himself at work in a recording studio. A friend there, a music composer named Basil “Buzz” Adlam, had just started a smalltime music company and announced he was on the lookout for some fresh material to record.

“Buzz, you know, I might have one,” Strange responded half-seriously as he recalled his silly “Monotonous Melody” tune.

Strange and some other session pals tried a few Photo credit: Billy Strange Music different tempos and styles before settling on a Billy Strange in the studio with Elvis. calypso approach to the foolish work. By the time the musicians had repeatedly sung “What a monotonous melody,” they were all in hysterics.

After hearing the playback tape, Strange himself admitted, “That’s just about His quirky tale began at an all-night Hollywood diner, where he and a the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.” musician pal gulped black coffee in attempts to become sober enough to drive A few weeks later, Strange got a phone call from Dave Burgess, who led the home. instrumental group the Champs (of “Tequila” fame). Burgess wanted to put Eventually, they climbed into their car and cautiously motored off. Fighting “Monotonous Melody” out as the next Champs 45, but with a title change. to stay awake, Strange twirled the car radio dial for a while before settling on a Strange didn’t care, saying, “It never really had a name anyway.” Only later local country station that was playing a tune that he detested. did the musician find his tune became a Top 40 instrumental under the name “Man, I can write a song better than that in five minutes,” he boasted with “Limbo Rock.” (Dancing under a limbo bar was a popular party activity back a slur. That’s when his equally inebriated companion slapped a hundred-dollar then.) bill on the seat between them and said, “OK, Billy, you’re on!”

Then Chubby Checker’s manager, Jon Sheldon, phoned to ask permission to With a chortle, Strange reached into the car’s backseat for a blank score pad, add lyrics to “Limbo Rock” and release it as hitmaker Checker’s next 45. which he used to sketch out arrangements for his session-musician work. He Strange’s check was for $63,000 — about $450,000 today. Not a bad payday quickly came up with a catchy song that he laughingly dubbed “Monotonous for five minutes’ work from a tipsy tunesmith trying only to win a bet.

Melody.”

Although Randal C. Hill’s heart lives in the past, the rest of him resides in Bandon, He then sang it, tossed the pad back, and — unchallenged — stuck the Ore. He can be reached at wryterhill@msn.com. money into his pocket.

‘We Hold These Truths to Be Self-Evident …’

On July 4, Americans celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The Declaration was officially adopted by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, although Congress formally declared independence from Great Britain on July 2, and the Declaration wasn’t signed by all 56 members until August.

Some other facts about the founding document of the United States that you may not know: • There’s a message on the back. No, it’s not an invisible treasure map (as in the Nicolas Cage movie National Treasure). The words “Original Declaration of Independence, dated 4th July 1776” appear on the reverse side of the document on display in the National Rotunda, at the bottom and upside down.

• About 200 copies of the Declaration were immediately produced by printer John Dunlap for distribution through the 13 colonies. Of these original www.50plusLifePA.com

“Dunlap broadsides,” 26 still exist.

• The original document wasn’t printed on paper but “engrossed” on parchment. Engrossing is a process for preparing an official document in large, clear handwriting.

• At the bottom left corner of the Declaration is an unidentified handprint. Historians speculate that it’s the result of the document’s being rolled up for transport and handled by various people for extensive exhibition in the early years of its existence.

• The two youngest signers of the Declaration were Thomas Lynch Jr. and Edward Rutledge, both of South Carolina, both 26 years old at the time.

The oldest signer was Benjamin Franklin, 70. Nine of the original signers died before the American Revolution ended in 1783.

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July 2021

21

The Reel Deal

Jungle Cruise Randal Hill

Visually, Disney’s Jungle Cruise could be considered a Captain Frank, the wisecracking owner/guide of a ramshackle mashup of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and stuntriverboat headed up the mighty — and often mysterious — fueled Indiana Jones movies, with elements of the 1951 Amazon.

Bogart-Hepburn film classic The African Queen thrown in U.K.-born Blunt is the determined British explorer Dr. Lily for good measure.

Houghton, who is on a unique mission.

The idea behind this summer’s probable first blockbuster “Legend has it that there is a tree that possesses movie had kicked around the Disney organization for quite unparalleled human power,” she explains to Frank. “It’ll a while. It was 15 years ago that Disney’s story creators first change medicine forever.” came up with an idea structured loosely around Disneyland’s But jaded Frank dismisses the tree as being the centerpiece popular Jungle Cruise ride. For various reasons, though, the of a long-running jungle rumor and opines with a sneer, idea was shelved until 2015, when the Jungle Cruise script “You’re searching for something that can’t be found.” was finally greenlit.

He also offers a grim caveat to the brave doctor: The completed offering has actually been on hold since “Everything that you see wants to kill you — and can.”

2019. But with the pandemic easing its grip this summer, In time, “everything” will include a litany of dangers that Uncle Walt’s outfit is set to launch the slam-bang action tale range from dart-shooting marauders to daunting and deadly — all family-friendly, of course — nationwide. creatures to churning hold-on-for-dear-life rapids.

The film cleverly incorporates some of the standard The supporting cast features Jack Whitehall as Image © Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. elements of Disney’s popular Adventureland attraction — Houghton’s brother McGregor and Paul Giamatti as a crusty Used for publicity and promotional purposes. https://www.movieinsider.com/photos/555062 the oohing and ahhing over the scenery, the constant threat of harbormaster. Edgar Ramirez and Jesse Plemons ramp up danger, the appearance of potential interlopers. the tension as torpedo-launching German intruders determined to find the Jungle Cruise stars two of the day’s most bankable actors: Dwayne “The mystical tree first.

Rock” Johnson and Golden Globe recipient Emily Blunt. Johnson portrays The Jungle Cruise script came to life in the deft hands of respected actiondrama director Jaume Collet-Serra (Non-Stop, Run All Night).

Are you 62+ or When it comes to movie settings, 18 to 61 with permanent a dense, foreboding jungle can offer disabilities? a wide variety of possibilities. Of Welcome to your course, what’s also beyond that is the new home! right story, the right cast, and the utilities included! right director.

Look at all we have to offer ...

With Jungle Cruise, Disney has Newly Renovated Units, checked all the boxes and is on track Fitness Center, Service Coordinator, and More ... to release its first post-pandemic Give us a call and check out movie winner on July 30. our fabulous facilities.

For Love of Family Devotion. Compassion. Dignity. When your loved one needs help, join hands with Homeland at Home.

We are privileged to be part of your caregiving team.

717-857-7400 | HomelandatHome.org Hospice volunteers are always welcome.

Community Outreach of Homeland Center 22

July 2021

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| Harrisburg, PA

We offer congregate meals to all residents, Mon.–Fri., at 11:30 a.m.

b’nai B’rith Apartments 130 South Third Street • Harrisburg

(717) 232-7516

Randal C. Hill enjoys getting sneak peeks of forthcoming movies from his home on the Oregon coast. He can be reached at wryterhill@msn.com.

Information and support whenever you need it View online at: www.onlinepub.com (under supplements)

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Horse Farm Visit Was ‘Mane’ Event for Community Residents

5th Annual

omen’s Expo Oct. 23, 2021 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Barbara Comer feeds Yukon Gold after their first meeting.

Yukon Gold poses proudly with Bob Jensen.

Residents of The Watermark at Bellingham, a West Chester retirement community, took their first post-pandemic trip to Hidden Valley Farm in Glen Mills on May 27.

The group enjoyed spending time with two horses, one of which (Yukon Gold) is owned by The Watermark at Bellingham’s nursing home administrator, Susan Eccles.

The excursion was tied to a Watermark University course titled “From the Horse’s Mouth Part Two,” a continuation of a previous course taught by Eccles to engage residents in lifelong learning.

One solution for oxygen at home, away, and for travel Introducing the INOGEN ONE It’s oxygen therapy on your terms No more tanks to refill. No more deliveries.

No more hassles with travel. The INOGEN ONE portable oxygen concentrator is designed to provide unparalleled freedom for oxygen therapy users. It’s small, lightweight, clinically proven for stationary and portable use, during the day and at night, and can go virtually anywhere — even on most airlines.

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Reclaim Your Freedom And Independence NOW!

(Inside former Bon-Ton store) Sponsor and exhibitor reservations now being accepted.

600 Park City Center Lancaster

Looking forward to coming together again in person!

The fifth annual Lancaster County Women’s Expo is your opportunity to meet and build relationships with your next clients.

Share how you could help them, showcase your business, or sell your product right then and there.

And it’s all done in a relaxed, stress-free environment.

You are invited to be one of the sponsors or exhibitors of this immensely popular event, where you can offer information about:

Finance t Home Technology t Beauty Health & Wellness t Nutrition and more!

Contact us today to reserve your booth at 717.285.1350, or go to:

Call Inogen Today To Request Your FREE Info Kit

1-844-846-0234 © 2020 Inogen, Inc. All rights reserved.

Park City Center

aGreatWayToSpendMyDay.com MKT-P0108

Hosted by: and

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July 2021

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Let’s Safely Come Together Again Face-to-Face!

2021 Expo Dates Exhibitor booths will be spatially distanced, and personal social-distancing and other CDC guidelines will be observed.

omen’s Expo

YORK COUNTY

Sept. 29

9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Park City Center

(Former Bon-Ton store)

LANCASTER COUNTY

600 Park City Center, Lancaster

Oct. 13

9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

CUMBERLAND COUNTY

Carlisle Expo Center 100 K St. Carlisle

50plusExpoPA.com

9th Annual

9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

York Expo Center Memorial Hall East 334 Carlisle Ave., York

Sept. 18

9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

E

Lebanon Expo Center 80 Rocherty Road Lebanon

Oct. 23

5th Annual

Sept. 23

10th Annual

22nd Annual

25th Annual

19th Annual

Caregiving • Finances • Health & Wellness • Home Improvements Leisure Activities • Nutrition • Retirement Living • Technology and more!

Health & Wellness • Finance • Home Shopping • Technology • Beauty Nutrition • Fashion and more!

9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Park City Center

(Former Bon-Ton store)

600 Park City Center, Lancaster

omen’s Expo Cumberland County

Nov. 13

9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Carlisle Expo Center 100 K St. Carlisle

aGreatWayToSpendMyDay.com

Sponsor & Exhibitor Opportunities Available!

(717) 285-1350