OutreachNC March 2019

COMPLIMENTARY

MARCH 2019 | VOL. 10, ISSUE 3

NAVIGATING

New Frontiers FEATURING:

BOXING WITH “SUNSHINE” DALE FRYE ON THE GOOD FIGHT

TAKING FLIGHT FLYING LESSONS IN DERBY

HIDDEN HOMETOWN HERO SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER DEPUTY DAVID SCHAU MARCH 2019 |

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Serving Servingthe theSandhills Sandhills& &Southern SouthernPiedmont Piedmont || OOUUTTRREEAACCHHNNCC. .CCOOMM

Gala 2019

Please join us in honoring Penny Enroth and celebrating 30 years of Habitat Partners.

Saturday • March 30th, 2019 6:00 pm Carolina Hotel Cocktails · Silent Auction · Dinner Live Auction · Dancing · Black Tie Optional

For more information & tickets:

www.habitatgala.org (910) 295-1934 ext 2340

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Senior Games in the Pines offers competition in a variety of activities such as: golf, bowling, team sports, swimming, pickleball, cornhole, bocce ball, painting, pottery, singing, dancing, and much more for participants aged 50 or better.

Early Bird Registration February 8 - March 8 Register for only $10!

Registration

March 9 - March 15 Register for $15

Opening Games Celebration at Penick Village

April 4 from 11:00am-1:00pm Join us for a FREE lunch, special ceremony, and packet pick-up!

Closing Ceremony & Celebration Dinner at the Fair Barn

May 14 from 6:00pm-7:30pm Tickets are $5 each and pre-registration is required Register online at torch.ncseniorgames.org or pick up an application at your local Parks & Recreation Department or the Moore County Senior Enrichment Center.

MARCH 2019 |

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features CONTENTS

30

54

28

ONC BOOK CLUB: Natural Causes Review

44

30

TAKING FLIGHT: Local Pilots Pass on Their Passion

54

38

58

HIDDEN HOMETOWN HEROES: Deputy David Schau - School Resource Officer

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BOXING WITH “SUNSHINE”: Local legend Dale “Sunshine” Frye

PHOTO ESSAY: Burney’s Sweets & More HOKE COUNTY SENIOR SERVICES: Sharing More Than a Meal

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CONTENTS

departments 16

9

IN VERSE: Barbara Stoughton

65

21

EAT RIGHT: The Beauty of Undieting Laura Buxenbaum, MPH, RD, LDN

10

22

MENTAL WELLNESS: Navigating Retirement Denise O’Donoghue

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24

BRAIN HEALTH: Life-Phase Changes Taeh A. Ward, PhD

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26

FIVE HEALTHY REASONS to get Crafty Rachel Stewart

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SIMPLE COOKING: Fish Tacos Laura Buxenbaum, MPH, RD, LDN

62

GREY MATTER PUZZLES Crossword, Word Search, Sudoku

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NAVIGATING HEALTHCARE: ER, UC, PCP Melissa Kuhn, MA, HEd, CCP, CTTS

65

OVER MY SHOULDER: ‘Tis a Blessing Ann Robson

66

GENERATIONS: If you could be any character in a book, who would you be and why?

ASK THE EXPERT: Driving and Dementia Amy Natt, MS, CMC, CSA EYE HEALTH: What is Eyelid Cancer?

Jeffrey White, MD CAROLINA CURIOSITIES: Historic Culture Ray Linville

20

SCAM ALERT: Local Scams Patty H. LePage

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There will come a time when you believe everything is finished.

That will be the beginning.

Louis L’Amour

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from the editor

This month, with the first hints of spring, there is hopefulness in the air. As I anticipate rising temperatures, blooming wisteria and the return of chilled white after a few months of solid red wine, I can’t help but feel spring brings with it a sense of adventure, the notion that the seasons breathe new life not only into the outdoors but perhaps even into each of us. I think of new possibilities, make plans and start dreaming a bit about summer cocktails, iced coffee and front-porch sitting.

To that end, we’re looking ahead and dedicating this issue of OutreachNC to Navigating New Frontiers. Whether it’s a small shift, like picking up a new craft or changing up a workout routine, or a dramatic change, like taking up an entirely new sport or literally flying off into the horizon, life is full of new adventures, challenges and frontiers. The second 50 is the perfect time to shed what hasn’t worked in the past or lean into the dreams or desires that have existed in the periphery while we focused on the tasks of daily life. Whether navigating a new frontier by choice or because of circumstances beyond our control, attitude is everything, so we’re hoping we can embrace change, go forward into our dreams with bright eyes and open hearts and explore the unknown in ways that challenge and change us.

We’re looking this month at a group of pilots who love not only the thrill of flight but the excitement of passing their passion along to the younger generation of potential pilots who might otherwise never consider taking off (page 30).

We’re putting our gloves on (literally) as two middle-aged women learn the art of kickboxing and self-defense from a good old-fashioned local boy and Hollywood stuntman who isn’t afraid to tell one of us (me), “Baby love, you’re starting in the first grade here” (page 44).

In our Hidden Hometown Heroes feature, we’re highlighting a former technology professional who joined the sheriff’s department at the age of 60, to pursue his passion of giving back (page 38).

Don’t think we forgot about the sweet side on the horizon, either. We’ve got glazed croissants and chocolate layer cake from Burney’s Sweets & More of Fayetteville to keep our energy reserves full as we go forth into the brave unknown (page 54).

It’s exciting to see what’s on the horizon as we all navigate new frontiers, far and wide, big and small.

Upward and onward,

Corrections

In our February 2019 issue, we made a few mistakes. These include omitting the measurement for buttermilk in the banana bread recipe, which has caused a flurry of doubt in many readers. The exact measurement is 1/2 CUP of buttermilk.

In addition, as if the buttermilk didn’t throw you off enough, the butter should be 3/4 CUP. We know - the more the better!

Also, the correct address for Aroma Cafe and Bakery is 105 Monroe Street | Carthage, NC 28327; though you can’t miss the awning and scent of cinnamon bread.

Our apologies.

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Editor-in-Chief Amy Phariss | Editor@OutreachNC.com Creative Director Kim Gilley | The Village Printers Creative & Graphic Designer Sarah McElroy | The Village Printers Ad Designers Stephanie Budd, Cyndi Fifield, Sarah McElroy

By Barbara Stoughton

Proofreaders Madison H. Hall, Denise O’Donoghue, Kate Pomplun

The tidelings fly Sand and waves and wind Birds and cats and window sites

Photography Diana Matthews, Mollie Tobias, Morgan Masson Contributors Laura Buxenbaum, Melissa Kuhn, Patty LePage, Ray Linville, Denise O’Donoghue, Amy Natt, Crissy Neville, Amy Phariss, Ann Robson, Jonathan Scott, Rachel Stewart, Barbara Stoughton, Taeh Ward, Jeffrey White Publisher Amy Natt | AmyN@AgingOutreachServices.com Marketing & Public Relations Director Susan McKenzie | SusanM@AgingOutreachServices.com Circulation 910-692-0683 | info@OutreachNC.com OutreachNC PO Box 2478 | 676 NW Broad Street Southern Pines, NC 28388 910-692-9609 Office | 910-695-0766 Fax info@OutreachNC.com | www.OutreachNC.com

On the yellow sandbar The receding tide place sets The gulls’ dining table In a small brown leaf I see flick across the yard Winter flutterby Beside the dogwood tree I hear trills and thrills Resounding, From one small bird throat Dogwood white in sun Pine trees standing in the shade With all of the bird sounds

OutreachNC is a publication of The entire contents of OutreachNC are copyrighted by Aging Outreach Services. Reproduction or use without permission of editorial, photographic or graphic content in any manner is prohibited.

OutreachNC is published monthly on the first of each month.

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PO BOX 2478 Southern Pines, NC 28388

advice

Our Aging Life Care ProfessionalsTM will answer any aging questions you may have.

ASK THE EXPERT

Email us your questions! info@OutreachNC.com

Driving and Dementia

by Amy Natt, MS, CMC, CSA

My mother has been having problems with her memory for a couple of years. She was recently diagnosed with dementia and the doctor mentioned that if she is in an accident, her diagnosis could be a reason someone could file a law suit against her.

Should we stop her from driving?

Driving and dementia do not typically mix well, especially as a person’s disease progresses. Often in the early stages, people continue to drive, especially short distances and to familiar places. Family members often support this because it is much easier than taking the keys away or accepting the reality that change is coming. Driving is strongly linked to feelings of independence, so taking it away means other transportation options must be made available.

So why is there an increased risk of accidents in people living with dementia? While there are many causes of dementia, the majority result in changes to the brain, specifically short term memory, visual perception, judgement, processing information and reaction times. Aging alone can have an impact on our ability to react quickly; when we couple this with short term memory loss or changes in visual perception, it can lead to disasters behind the wheel.

Many older adults will approach the issue as a personal challenge, “I can still do this,” when in reality it is equally about keeping the other people on the road safe as it is about keeping oneself safe behind the wheel. The National Alzheimer’s Association gives these signs of unsafe driving: · Forgetting how to locate familiar places · Failing to observe traffic signs · Making slow or poor decisions in traffic · Driving at an inappropriate speed · Becoming angry or confused while driving · Hitting curbs · Using poor lane control · Making errors at intersections · Confusing the brake and gas pedals · Returning from a routine drive later than usual · Forgetting the destination you are driving to during the trip

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If you are starting to notice these signs in your mother’s driving, it is time to take action.

Driver safety and assessment programs for older adults may be a good starting point.

Occupational therapists may offer these programs, as well as organizations like AARP. It can be considered negligent if you know someone has a diagnosis that impairs driving and allow the person to get behind the wheel.

There have been several cases that have gone to court involving driving and dementia. In some cases, individuals, family members and medical providers have been held accountable.

You should speak with your physician, attorney and possibly insurance agent about this risk.

If it is time to consider taking the keys, the best approach is to have a direct conversation and to have a plan in place. Some families use written contracts so that the person with dementia can go back and read the agreement to stop driving. Another option is to contact the state medical review board at the DMV; they have a process to revoke a license based on medical issues. Whatever course of action you take, action is important; encourage the driver to go out on top and not wait until an accident occurs.

Be prepared by writing down all the other transportation options available. These may include family and friends who can provide transportation. They may also include public or county transportation, taxi or ride share services or hiring a caregiver to provide rides as needed. The goal is to foster as much independence as possible, while keeping everyone on the road safe.

Readers may send questions to Amy Natt, an Aging Life Care ProfessionalTM, certified senior advisor and CEO of Aging Outreach Services. She can be reached at amyn@ agingoutreachservices.com .

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We invite you to see our newly designed studio apartment, staged by Parker Furniture. To arrange a visit, call us at 910-266-5024.

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health

E Y E H E A LT H

What is Eyelid Cancer?

by Jeffrey White, M.D., Oculoplastic Surgeon, Carolina Eye Associates You probably know that skin cancer can affect different parts of your skin. But did you know skin cancer can also occur on your eyelid?

Known as an eyelid cancer, this type of tumor usually involves the skin or glands of the eyelid. Strong bony sockets called orbits encase and safeguard your eyes.

The thin tissue surrounding them, including your upper and lower eyelids, is extremely vulnerable to damage from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Because of that nonmelanoma skin cancers on and around the eyelids are common.

The most prevalent types of eyelid tumors are basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Other less common types are sebaceous carcinoma, Merkel cell carcinoma and melanoma.

The usual sign of an eyelid tumor is a new growth on the eyelid. Many people have benign (non-cancerous) growths, but malignant (cancerous) growths are characterized by asymmetry, bleeding and ulceration.

An eyelid tumor is usually painless. Also, there is often eyelash loss and sometimes a “notch” in the eyelid. People with fair skin (people with blue eyes and red or blonde hair) are more likely to develop an eyelid cancer than others.

Currently, the standard treatment is complete surgical removal of the eyelid tumor followed by reconstruction.

Surgery is performed by a specially trained dermatologist, called a Mohs surgeon. The procedure is done in stages, while the patient waits between each stage. After removing a layer of tissue, the Mohs surgeon examines the tumor margins under a microscope; if

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cancerous cells remain, the surgeon removes another layer of tissue from the location and reviews it under the microscope. This process is repeated until no cancer cells remain. This technique has very high cure rates, spares the greatest amount of healthy tissue and leaves the smallest scar possible.

Repair and reconstruction of the eyelid back to its normal function and appearance after surgery, known as Mohs repair, is done by an oculoplastic surgeon (an ophthalmologist who specializes in plastic surgery around the eyes). If you’ve been diagnosed with eyelid cancer, don’t wait to get treatment. The quicker an eyelid tumor is treated, the smaller the area of involvement and the easier the reconstruction. Eyelid cancer treatment is very successful.

Better yet, protect yourself from the sun. Wear a wide brimmed hat and UV-blocking sunglasses. Using sunscreen is a must if you are going to be out in the sun for a long period of time – just be sure to apply it around your eyes.

Jeffrey White, M.D. is an oculoplastic surgeon, an ophthalmologist who specializes in plastic and reconstructive surgery of the periorbital and facial tissues including the eyelids, eyebrows, forehead, cheeks, orbit (bony cavity around the eye), and lacrimal (tear) system. For more information on Moh’s Repair and other services offered at Carolina Eye call (800) 733-5357 or visit www.carolinaeye.com.

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life

CAROLINA CURIOSITIES

Finding a Historic Culture in Our Backyard

by Ray Linville

The chance to find an ancient culture seems like an adventure worth pursuing. Imagine exploring the political and ceremonial center of a complex society in our area that engaged in widespread trade, supported craft specialists, and built earthen mounds for spiritual and political leaders.

The mysteries of past centuries and an early civilization are hidden in plain sight, but visible if you venture to Town Creek Indian Mound near the town of Mount Gilead in southwestern Montgomery County.

The only state historic site in North Carolina dedicated to Native American heritage, Town Creek offers a glimpse into how people lived here well before the arrival of Europeans and Africans in an era known as “preColumbian,� or before Columbus first crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1492.

Several thousand years earlier, Native peoples began settling in permanent villages near rivers. When they stopped their nomadic lifestyles to search for wild foods, they planted plots of squash, corns, beans, and other produce and made pottery with clay from riverbanks.

Around 1100, these societies began building ceremonial centers, some surrounded by stockades. Town Creek represents such a center, although it has largely been reconstructed using archeological evidence. Scholarly research and archeology have been conducted here for more than half a century. Excavations first began in 1937, when the site was acquired by the state, and still continue today, although on only a limited basis. Because these people left no written record, archeology has been vital to uncover their history.

When I first visited Town Creek and saw the palisade, or fence of wooden stakes, that surrounds the site, it reminded me of stockades built in the 1600s at Jamestown and other colonial settlements. However, entering inside lets you know that you are experiencing a much earlier history when survival might have been even more difficult.

Archaeological evidence indicates that the palisade was rebuilt at least five times.

The open area inside Town Creek made me think of parade grounds in early U.S. coastal forts such as Fort Sumter in the harbor of Charleston, S.C., or open plazas typical of cities designed by the Spanish and best illustrated in the South by the one in Saint Augustine, FL. However, these sites don’t have a huge ceremonial mound as their centerpiece.

The mound at Town Creek was actually the site of three separate structures: first an earthen lodge, then a temple built over the lodge after it had collapsed with age, and finally a ceremonial structure that had a ramp leading to a large plaza or public area where societal meetings and ceremonial activities took place. Around the edge of the plaza, several structures that served as burial or mortuary houses containing graves of a clan were built.

Graves of the elite were decorated with treasured relics, such as copper from the Great Lakes region and conch shells from the coast, that reflected their status in society.

Some graves included medicine bundles as well as pots of food for the voyage to the afterlife. Learning that 563 burials have been found at Town Creek captivated me more than seeing the burial artifacts.

In addition to being a burial site, Town Creek was also where socially high-ranking members lived and important matters were discussed among collective clans of the society. It was also the scene of tribal feasts as well as important religious events, including annual purification ceremonies.

After extinguishing all fires in their homes, people from outlying villages came to Town Creek and participated in ceremonial bathing, took

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“cleansing” medicines, and ate corn to prepare for each new year. When the annual ceremonies ended, villagers returned home to relight their hearths with embers from a sacred fire to symbolize unity with each other. Sharing the fire fostered the idea that they were “people of one fire.”

Town Creek has several special events throughout the year that focus on archaeology and explore the lifestyle of the Native peoples, known as “Pee Dee,” who are not culturally connected to familiar regional groups such as Lumbee, Catawba and Cherokee but were influenced by a different tradition known as South Appalachian Mississippian.

Another popular event, because this rural location has no “light pollution” at night, is Town Creek Under the Stars.

Site telescopes are provided to observe constellations such as Gemini and Leo. The next two sessions will begin with an auditorium presentation “What’s Up?” on March 2 at 7 p.m. and April 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Town Creek was abandoned around 1400 when the Pee Dee adopted a more egalitarian social structure. Priestly temples atop mounds that reflected government by an elite fell into disuse. As large council houses were created to conduct government by consensus, burial practices changed as well.

Although many adults have yet to visit Town Creek, it’s a popular field trip for school children. “It’s fun to see how amazed they are when they walk through the guard tower and see what a village once looked like. It’s like stepping back in time,” says Rich Thompson, site manager.

on their visit and enjoyed looking at the many artifacts and learning why the Pee Dee lived so close to a river.

Self-guided tours of the rebuilt structures offer an authentic perspective of the Pee Dee culture. The reconstructed temple and mortuary are handicapped accessible as is the visitor center, which has interpretative exhibits, audiovisual programs, and a gift shop. Also at the site are outdoor monuments and several trails, which permit you to explore the edges of Town Creek along the west bank of Little River, a tributary of the Great Pee Dee (named for the culture that once lived here) that flows through the Carolinas to the Atlantic Ocean.

Town Creek Indian Mound, the oldest state historic site, is closed on Mondays and most major holidays. On Sundays it opens at 1 p.m. Otherwise, it is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Admission is free. For more information, call the visitor center at 910-439-6802.

Editor’s Note: With this issue, OutreachNC Magazine begins a new bimonthly feature to explore places in our area that would pique our curiosity if we knew more about them.

Ray Linville writes about local connections to Southern food, history and culture. He can be reached at linville910@gmail.com .

He estimates that about 12,000 children on school field trips visit each year, some from as far away as Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks and others from neighboring states.

Amy Ellington, a teacher at Troy Elementary in Montgomery County, says her students had a fantastic time Serving residents of Scotland, Robeson, Richmond and Hoke counties in North Carolina, as well as Marlboro, Dillon and Chesterfield counties in South Carolina.

www.ScotlandHospice.org MARCH 2019 |

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life

COOKING SIMPLE

Fish Tacos with Mango-Lime Crema

This month, as we head into spring and prepare ourselves for iced beverages of all kinds, Laura Buxenbaum was gracious enough to provide us with a recipe full of fresh flavors and healthy ingredients. As an ardent lover of fish tacos whenever I travel to San Diego, I am thrilled to now have a recipe I can prepare at home.

Also, is it me or does everyone else feel like a professional chef while preparing a meal that involves the word crema?

Crema · · · ·

Ingredients

2/3 cup nonfat Greek yogurt 2/3 cup chopped fresh mango 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro 1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest

Tacos · · · · · · · · · · ·

8 (6-inch) corn tortillas 1 pound firm white fish (e.g. mahi mahi or tilapia) 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon cumin 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 2 tablespoons canola oil 1 cup shredded red or green cabbage 1/2 cup finely chopped avocado 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion 1/4 cup diced mango

Instructions

1. To make crema, combine first four ingredients in food processor or blender. Puree until smooth (yield: 1 cup).

2. Cut fish into 24 similar size pieces. Combine flour, salt, cumin and pepper flakes and toss with fish pieces to evenly coat. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish and cook for 4-6 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking time, or until fish is opaque throughout.

3. To make tacos, warm tortillas in a dry nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until they begin to brown. Pile together on a plate; cover and keep warm until ready to assemble. Place three pieces of fish in each tortilla. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of crema and top with cabbage. Then add 1 tablespoon each of avocado and mango. Drizzle another tablespoon of crema over each taco and top with 1/2 tablespoon thinly sliced scallion. * The thick texture of Greek yogurt makes a good Mexican crema, particularly when it’s flavored with lime zest, cilantro, and fruits like mango or avocado.

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OutreachNC.com 17

health

N AV I G A T I N G H E A LT H C A R E

ER, Urgent Care & Primary Care Providers

by Melissa Kuhn, MA HEd, CCP, CTTS

You are not alone if you struggle with the decision “where should I go?” when you are sick. With an array of choices between the emergency room, urgent care, walk-in-clinics, and your own primary care provider’s office, the decision is not made any easier when you feel miserable and just want to feel better faster. If it is 3:00 pm and you are on your third day with nausea and loose stools, you may feel you need to go to the emergency room. However, a call to your primary care provider usually results in being seen the same day or the next with medicine for nausea relief perhaps called into your pharmacy. Your primary care provider (PCP) would get the necessary information from you to determine if your symptoms are an emergency. Sometimes, there are true emergencies, which are defined as “serious, unexpected, and often dangerous situations requiring immediate action or treatment.” Common emergencies that warrant an emergency room visit include: · Sudden chest pain · Broken bones · Head and neck injuries · Stroke symptoms · Severe bleeding · Coughing up blood or throwing up blood · Allergic reactions with trouble breathing and/or swelling · Deep wounds In situations when you’re not sure what to do, a call to your PCP will help you make that decision. Your PCP is the quarterback of your healthcare team - the leader for everything related to your health and the ideal person to help you navigate the system and assist you when you are ill. As the person who knows you best medically, he/she can help guide you toward the path to recovery. Your PCP usually can see you that same day or the next day depending on when you call. Many practices have extenders who work in concert with your provider, and they can also help by providing care when you are sick. Additionally, many practices have walk-in clinics where any patient can be seen without an appointment by simply arriving during the clinic hours.

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What do you do when you feel unwell but it is after clinic hours? You can call the doctor on call. Every clinic has a health care provider on call to answer questions that can’t wait until the next day when the practice reopens for regular office hours. At some clinics, the PCP shares calls among all providers, and they are available to their clinic population seven days a week. Dr. Kathleen Letizia, a PCP at Pinehurst Medical, states, “You may feel that it is a stranger answering your call, but all of the doctors here have access to their patients’ records via their home computer. So when you call, I can review your medical history and come up with a plan to treat your problem with often greater accuracy than outside providers who have no or limited access to your records.”

In order to contact your PCP, you need to know your physician’s office number and hours. There may also be separate office lines for triaging calls from sick patients. If a practice has a walk-in-clinic, it may operate different hours during the day and weekends. Finally, many practices have a patient portal electronic communication method, which can also be used to contact your PCP. Planning ahead is key. You need to have the information above ready so that when you are ill, you know what to do to get the best help possible. Most patients know to call 911 in a true emergency, but many don’t know what to do when their illness is not severe enough to call for an ambulance.

When in doubt, it is best to call your doctor. They are ready to take care of you.

Dr. Kathleen Letizia is an Internal Medicine Provider at Pinehurst Medical Clinic. Melissa Kuhn is a Wellness & Quality Program Manager also at Pinehurst Medical Clinic.

Both Dr. Letizia and Ms. Kuhn can be reached at 910-235-3347.

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OutreachNC.com 19

advice

SCAM ALERT

Local Scams

by Patty H. LePage

Scams, we hear about them more often than we would care to. There are a variety of scams across the country, all focused on stealing our hard-earned money. But what scams do we need to be aware of in our local community?

Unfortunately, there have been a large number of reported scams across North Carolina in the last year.

First Health of the Carolinas issued a press release warning patients about scammers posing as employees of the company. Calls placed by scammers posing as employees demanded information such as full social security numbers and bank account information. First Health is not the only medical facility whose name has been used to lure unsuspecting patients into divulging personal information.

Patients of Blue Cross & Blue Shield as well as the State Insurance Plan have also been affected. If you receive a call from your medical provider and the caller is asking for payment or personal information over the phone, do not feel pressured to divulge this information. You can hang up and call the patient accounts office at your doctor’s office to confirm the call is coming from your doctor. To reach First Health patient accounts you can call (910) 715-1010 or view your bill online at firsthealthmychart.org.

The Moore County Sheriff’s office reported scammers making calls posing as the sheriff’s department demanding money for outstanding warrants, missing jury duty, or other law enforcement related issues. The caller demanded money be loaded to a prepaid card and the number sent to them in order to avoid arrest. The Sheriff’s department will never call you and demand money over the phone.

These are just two of the many scams to have plagued our area over the last year. The North Carolina Department of

Justice has reported numerous alerts issued for fraudulent scams across North Carolina. There are ways you can protect yourself from these scams. Always remember the following when you receive a call: • Never give personal information, including date of birth or bank account information, to anyone you do not know or are not expecting a call from.

• Do not wire money, provide credit card information, or send pay cards of any type to anyone you do not know.

No legitimate agency or business will have you make a payment this way.

• If you are unsure at all whether the call may be a scam, find contact information for the company or agency calling you. Do not use the information provided by the person demanding money or payment. One way to do this is to ask for the caller’s agency or company name, find a number for customer service independently, and call to make sure the request was legitimate.

If you feel that you or someone you know has been the victim of fraud, contact the North Carolina Department of Justice Consumer Protection Division online at https://www.ncdoj.gov/Consumer/2-212-File-a-Complaint.aspx#Complain or call toll-free within North Carolina at 1-877-5-NO-SCAM. Patty holds a Bachelor of Science from UMUC, a Master of Social Work from the University of Southern California and is pursuing her Doctorate in Business Administration at UMUC. She also holds an executive certificate in the Principles of Leading Transformational Nonprofits from the University of Notre Dame.

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life

E AT R I G H T

Fad-Diet Fails, Quick-Fix Lies and the Beauty of Undieting

by Laura Buxenbaum, MPH, RD, LDN Americans are more confused than ever about what to eat to achieve optimal health. Much of this has to do with questionable information coming from a variety of sources from the hairdresser to the internet. While the hype around quick fixes seems alluring, the recommendations might not be based on science and the sources may not be credible. With resolutions still looming, it’s a good time to review options and take inventory of those top “food fails” in the headlines from a dietitian’s perspective.

Food fails are short-term approaches that seem promising to lose weight quickly or that sound healthy, but in the end aren’t sustainable. What’s more, food fails may be harmful to our health. The old adage of “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is,” is a good gauge for a major fail!

Let’s start with fad diets. Despite the U.S. weight loss market being a $66 billion dollar industry, 70% of Americans remain overweight. If a diet offers a quick fix, cuts out a whole food group (such as Paleo or Ketogenic) and is not based on science, it is a fad diet.

While it may not seem harmful to do a quick-fix fad diet, continually yo-yo dieting slows your metabolism and, according to research, most people gain the weight back, plus more! Cutting out entire food groups can result in a shortage of essential nutrients, which can cause serious health problems.

For example, cutting out dairy foods can result in under consuming vitamin D and calcium, which could lead to osteoporosis.

Instead, enjoy a variety of foods and adhere to a lifestyle, rather than diet. Think of it as “undieting.” Try the Mediterranean Diet, which was ranked the top diet by US News & World Report. Think of it as an eating style, not a fad diet. This food approach emphasizes fresh fruits, vegetables, fish and olive oil, as well as nutrient-rich dairy foods like cheese and yogurt.

The Mediterranean lifestyle is realistic, and it is easy to find on restaurant menus or cook at home.

Secondly, don’t fear foods, especially fat. Too often we assume foods containing fat are too high in calories and need to be replaced with low-fat or fat-free options. However, when fat is removed from foods, manufacturers often replace it with sugar to improve taste. Fat is important because it is a major source of

energy; it helps our bodies absorb certain nutrients and produce hormones. It also helps curb hunger. Maximize meals and snack time by adding foods with staying power like avocados, olive oil, nuts and fatty fish, and full-fat dairy products.

Dairy foods provide nutrients that are under consumed by most Americans, including calcium, potassium and vitamin D. People may shy away from fat in dairy foods because they are concerned about saturated fat, but recently, exciting research suggests saturated fat consumption is not linked to poor heart health. Furthermore, observational studies show that dairy food consumption, regardless of fat content, does not increase heart disease risk.

Last, be wary of any eating plan that calls for skipping meals. Intermittent fasting is a popular trend, which involves restricting the hours in which one eats. Most intermittent fasting schedules recommend not eating until noon. However, skipping meals can lead to over eating at the next meal and making poor food choices in between. If you have underlying medical conditions, skipping meals can be dangerous.

As a registered dietitian, I recommend smaller meals with planned snacks, which spread calories throughout the day, rather than during a restricted time frame—and that starts with a protein-rich breakfast. Many studies link breakfast eating with improved health, including reduced risk of diabetes, increased mental alertness, better heart health and better weight management.

While quick weight loss and the promise of increased energy is alluring, remember reducing body weight and keeping it off is hard, so stay grounded with evidence-base science. As you explore new frontiers this year, keep grounded in what is true: small changes that lead to a well-balanced and varied eating plan, regular exercise and a good night’s sleep are often the best prescription for a healthy mind and body.

Laura Buxenbaum, MPH, RD, LDN is the Assistant Director of Food and Nutrition Outreach for The Dairy Alliance. She received her Master of Public Health at UNC Chapel Hill and has been working in dietetics for over 15 years. She can be reached at lbuxenbaum@thedairyalliance.com.

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advice

M E N TA L W E L L N E S S

Navigating New Adventures: Embracing Change and Challenge in Retirement

by Denise O’Donoghue, Biblical Counselor

What now? This is a question I’ve been asking myself recently as I have come to the end of a lifetime of fulfilling work. I had a wonderful example in my father as I watched him complete a college degree and become an ordained minister in his later years of life. As I reflect on that, I realize those were some of the best years of his life. As a counselor, I know that staying active after retirement will give a much greater chance of maintaining physical, social, and emotional health and help stave off memory decline.

Volunteering is a natural outlet and there are innumerable opportunities for using our gifts and talents on a volunteer basis. But, what else? I decided to explore what other types of unique and perhaps unknown opportunities were out there. Here’s what I found… ◉ Go workamping. This was a new word for me and I’m guessing it is for you as well. Here is the official definition: A Workamper combines part-time or full-time paid or volunteer work with RV or tent camping. Workampers generally receive compensation in the form of a free campsite, usually with free utilities (electricity, water, and sewer hookups) and additional wages. Workamping positions can include working at campgrounds, RV resorts, mobile home communities, Christmas tree or pumpkin sales lots, amusement parks, motels/hotels, national parks, state parks, … and more.

If this sounds appealing to you, decide where you’d like to go, gas up the RV and head over to www.workamper.com to see all the available opportunities.

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◉ Take a class. Did you know that in North Carolina seniors can take a class at any community college for free? Just a few of the offerings at nearby Sandhills Community College include Baking Artisan & Specialty Breads, 3D Printing, Drone Technology, Photography Bootcamp, Bartending, and for the those who enjoy living on the edge, High Adventure Ropes Course. Also, for a nominal fee, you can usually audit a class at any of the NC universities as well. Taking a class will not only keep you mentally stimulated but also provide great opportunities for social engagement with classmates. ◉ Be a missionary. According to Paul Akin of the International Mission Board, retirement is an excellent time to consider how you can share your faith with those who live overseas. Akin states, “Christians who are retired or will be retiring soon have a unique opportunity to re-engage in the mission of God in the world in new and purposeful ways. As baby-boomers and others step into the retirement stage of life, may they embark on some of the most fruitful and productive work of their lives.” One concern with this might be funding. But Akin reminds us, “Uncle Sam, 401ks, and Roth IRAs can support a retired couple in Malaysia or Madagascar just as well as it could in Mississippi or Michigan.” I would add, in many places around the world, your money might actually go a whole lot further. ◉ Teach ESL. Maybe you like the idea of foreign cultures and peoples but would prefer to stay put. You can sign up to teach English as a second language to immigrants

and refugees right where you live. Don’t worry if you don’t remember what a dangling participle is or how to conjugate a verb. You can certainly teach the ABCs, days of the week, and how to fill out basic information on a form. Start by checking with local churches. They will often offer ESL classes for free as a ministry of the church. You could start simply by volunteering and if it is something that you become passionate about, you could seek ESL certification through your local community college. ◉ Work when you want. Perhaps you still like the idea of working, but would rather do so on your own terms doing something you really enjoy. Consider signing up on a service board such as www.taskrabbit.com where you can identify the type(s) of work you would like to do and your fees. Potential clients will describe the job they want done and you decide if you want to take the job, or not. Examples of services people offer through this site include things such as handyman, furniture assembly, organizing, personal assistant, etc. ◉ Be a seasonal employee. Want to tap into your sense of adventure? How about working on a dude ranch or a fishing boat? Or perhaps you’ve always dreamed of spending time in Alaska during the summer. You could be a covered wagon driver earning $9.89 hour plus tips and your housing would only be $15 per day.

Not feeling the wagon? How about a front desk clerk? www.jobmonkey.com is a great resource for finding exciting jobs you would do for a season of the year. ◉ Cruise for free. That’s right. Work on a cruise ship and pay nothing for the cruise itself. According to www.cheatsheet.com there are many opportunities for retirees to work on a cruise ship in exchange for free travel. Examples include arts & crafts instructor, golf instructor, photographer, bridge instructor or guest lecturer. Other examples, such as nurse, actually include compensation. According to my research, contracts for cruise ship employment is typically for a six-month stint. Maybe winter would be a great time to give this a try.

If you’ve discovered other interesting ways to spend the “second 50”, we’d love to hear from you. Drop a line to the editor and fill us in on your ideas.

Denise O’Donoghue is a biblical counselor in Raleigh and a former professor for Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

She is very blessed to have four living generations to share life with. You can reach Denise at mzdod@bellsouth.net

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health

B R A I N H E A LT H

Coping with Life-Phase Changes

by Taeh A. Ward, Ph.D.

Throughout life, we deal with changes in our roles, responsibilities, relationships, physical and emotional health, and in other areas that we do not always recognize. Around us, the world changes continuously such that we must adjust to social, cultural, and economic shifts. There are life-phase changes viewed as positive such as completing one’s education and having children; and there are sometimes negative changes such as the loss of loved ones and declines in functional independence. Coping with life-phase changes is a journey we all must take but which can evoke stress. Research indicates that feelings of control are related to positive outcomes in health and memory, but this sense of control over our lives, including aging, decreases as we get older. As such, it is important to develop strategies for adaptive coping to maximize sense of control and the potential for positive outcomes throughout life.

Perceived Control Perceived control is one’s perception regarding their ability to influence outcomes or events. One major life-phase change older adults sometimes face is moving to a retirement community such as assisted-living. Research shows that having a greater sense of control is associated with better health among older adults regardless of whether they live in a structured setting or in the community. For example, residents of nursing facilities tend to have better outcomes if they remain involved in selecting their daily activities and other choices. Retaining a good sense of control is associated with better general health, health-related behaviors, and longevity. For example, individuals with a higher sense of control are more likely to exercise regularly and therefore may have better health. So how does one maintain a sense of control when dealing with events such as retirement and other life-phases changes?

Strategies to Enhance Coping In any given situation, there is generally some element that can be modified or controlled. By finding what can be controlled, individuals are more likely to use effective strategies in their lives, which result in better outcomes. For example, fear of memory loss can lead to the perception that one is no longer in

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control of cognitive performance. However, by using strategies such as taking notes and repeating important information, one can enhance learning and therefore maximize control over memory. Physical activity is another means by which to maintain control. For example, a fear of falling can develop as individuals get older, particularly if they have fallen in the past. This can sometimes lead to restriction of activity and physical deconditioning, which can lead to additional falls. So, continuing to engage in consistent and safe physical activity (e.g. using assistive devices such as a cane or walker) can reduce the potential for falls and therefore increase control and ability to cope with changes in physical abilities.

Active coping is another positive strategy, which includes taking active steps to reduce or remove stressors and deal with stressors which cannot be eliminated. For example, remaining involved in activities such as exercise, reading, prayer, volunteerism, and socializing increases the likelihood of experiencing positive emotions even when coping with the loss of a loved one or other stressor. Creating a plan for dealing with potential stressors and thinking ahead about how best to cope can also be helpful (e.g. taking pictures of treasured belongings which cannot be kept when downsizing or moving to a retirement community). Additional coping strategies include positive reframing, acceptance, use of humor, religious faith, as well as seeking emotional support, assistance, or information from family and friends.

When it becomes difficult to cope with life-phase changes despite using these strategies independently, it is sometimes helpful to seek assistance from a mental health professional such as a psychologist through psychotherapy/counseling.

Asking for assistance is a way of maintaining control, and mental health providers have special training to help one identify stressors and learn specific strategies for dealing with life in a positive and effective manner.

Dr. Taeh Ward, a clinical neuropsychologist at Pinehurst Neuropsychology, can be reached at 910-420-8041 or by visiting pinehurstneuropsychology.com

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TUESDAY, APRIL 16TH, 2019 8:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M. DENNIS A. WICKER CIVIC & CONFERENCE CENTER 1801 NASH STREET SANFORD, NORTH CAROLINA 27330 The symposium is for family and professional caregivers as well as community members wanting to learn more. Discover current trends in dementia care, practical self-care suggestions, and information about legal issues and maintaining brain health.

Education sessions, guest speakers, interactive resource tables, health screenings, Virtual Dementia Tours, Rock Steady Boxing, door prizes and more!

REGISTRATION 8:00 A.M. | PROGRAM STARTS 9:00 A.M. KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY DR. KAREN SULLIVAN, PINEHURST NEUROPSYCHOLOGY

LUNCH PROVIDED. REGISTRATION REQUIRED: Please Contact Lisa Levine at: (919) 832-3732 or llevine@DementiaNC.org | www.DementiaNC.org Family Caregivers, Clergy, Students & Volunteers: $10 | Professionals: $40 Continuing Education Contact Hrs. 4.5 For Questions or to schedule respite care, Please Contact: Holly Hight, Senior Center Caregiver Specialist at The Enrichment Center (919) 776-0501 ext. 2230 | hhight@leecountync.gov

PRESENTED BY: MARCH 2019 |

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Five Healthy Reasons to Get - and Stay - Crafty

by Rachel Stewart

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One of the joys of retirement is having extra time to explore lifelong passions or pick up new hobbies, such as crafting. The options are numerous and can encompass knitting, quilting, jewelry making, scrapbooking, pottery making, playing music, or even woodworking. No matter what form of crafting is close to your heart, there are also multiple health benefits to delving deeper into your favorite - or newly discovered - pastime.

1. Crafting boosts brain health.

Having a crafty hobby may reduce cognitive impairment. A Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences study found that older adults who crafted were less likely to experience neurological decline.

Trying something outside of your typical skill set or wheelhouse can further strengthen your gray matter.

Don’t be afraid to try something new like decoupage, origami, or pressed flower craft.

2. Creative hobbies improve motor skills. When you were a child, arts and crafts time allowed you to learn new motor skills. Staying creative later in life can help you maintain these skills along with your independence.

Consider setting aside 10 to 15 minutes a day to paint, draw, color, or practice playing an instrument. Along with enhancing motor skills, many forms of crafting can be physical, which boosts metabolism and keeps joints from getting rusty.

3. Picking up a craft immediately expands your social circle. Honing a new skill is more fun with other people and staying socially active has its own

health perks. The National Institute of Aging considers relationships as a way to measure good health, so keep those appointments on your calendar or sign up for that art class you’ve been putting off. Don’t want to go it alone? Call up a friend or family member and see if they want to come over and work on projects together.

4. Staying busy with a crafting project can keep feelings of stress or sadness at bay. Projects like knitting, crocheting, or needlework tend to be repetitive in nature and, in turn, can be very soothing and serve as a way to bring more calm or mindfulness. This is because the brain produces dopamine during pleasurable activities and this neurotransmitter acts as the body’s natural anti-depressant. Once your project is complete, you’ll also feel proud and joyful at the tangible results that you and your loved ones can enjoy for years to come. Not sure how to get started? Pick a small project and work on it a bit each day until you’re more comfortable taking on bigger tasks.

5. Crafting can act as a form of creative communication. Sometimes words aren’t enough - and that’s where creating something comes in. Taking time to express your emotions through art can allow those around you to see another side of yourself or understand something that’s hard for you to talk about, and in turn, deepen or improve those relationships.

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OutreachNC’s 2019

Book Club

This month we’re reading Natural Causes by Barbara Ehrenreich. Here are some thoughts about a book that asks hard questions about the aging process, the wellness industry and how we should view death from both a personal as well as social perspective.

10 Thoughts on

Natural Causes: An Epidemic of Wellness, the Certainty of Dying, and Killing Ourselves to Live Longer 1. As this book opens, it seems compelling and positive.

Ehrenreich writes, “Once I realized I was old enough to die, I decided that I was also old enough not to incur any more suffering, annoyance, or boredom in the pursuit of a longer life” (p. 3). She goes on to describe her motivations, then, for eating well, exercising and maintaining good health. She writes, “I exercise – not because it will make me live longer but because it feels good when I do it” (p. 3). I have to say that as I get older myself, this philosophy resonates with me. I no longer exercise or eat well to attain a certain physical appearance but for the general good feels accompanied with treating my body well.

2. Ehrenreich’s writing often describes her own selfevolution. She writes, on page 15, “This, I should observe, is the moment I became a feminist in the fullest sense – a conscious woman, that is, and something other than an object or a moron.” She also suggests that doctors and the ritual of medicine overall are engaging in a power struggle with patients that pits one against the other (the doctors as the more powerful of the two). I wasn’t as compelled by some of these arguments/points.

3. In Chapter 6, titled ‘Death in Social Context,’ Ehrenreich explores the idea that we’re individually responsible for our health and, thereby, to be blamed when we develop illhealth, for example being diagnosed with cancer or suffering a stroke. Must we ask ourselves what role our diet, exercise, stress levels, sleep habits and any other measure of ‘wellness’ played in our illness, and are we attempting to ‘blame’ the victim when people become ill with ‘preventable’ disease?

4. Natural Causes might make you question your diet, exercise habits and new mindfulness app in a way that makes you feel a little silly for having ‘bought into’ wellness trends that may not be scientifically substantiated. But then, after some thought, you’ll continue eating Greek yogurt, eyeing the CrossFit gym and thinking about each of your individual steps because...well...what’s the alternative?

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5. In Chapter 11, and throughout the book as a whole, Ehrenreich asks the question: who is in charge? Are we truly in charge of our health and wellness? Can we tame our minds, or is this all just the wellness industry’s ploy to sell us shakes, fitness gear, self-help books, foam rollers and meditation apps?

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6. Throughout the book, Ehrenreich questions the medical profession as a whole and our relationship with doctors, fitness trainers, therapists and more. She debunks widely held beliefs (myths) and points out discrepancies, many of which we have heard before. She isn’t afraid to question popular ideas, as she does on page 87 when she refers to a study from 2014 that found, “...meditation programs can help treat stress-related symptoms, but they are no more effective in doing so than other interventions, such as muscle relaxation, medication or psychotherapy.”

7. Jeeves gives this book 3 out of 5 stars, taking off two stars for the sometimes negative tone of this book but realizing the importance of the topic overall.

8. If you’re intrigued by Natural Causes or love Ehrenreich’s writing/commentary, you might also enjoy some of Ehrenreich’s other writing including Bright-Sided: How Positive Thinking is Undermining America, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America and Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy. 9. We learned a new word in reading Natural Causes: elided (pg. 108). If you are already using elided in your daily vocabular, kudos. We had to look it up. Elide: to suppress or alter; to strike out (per Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary).

10. In the end, we found Natural Causes interesting, full of compelling questions but also sometimes glib, overly negative and certainly written with an agenda. We’ll let you read yourself to determine just what that agenda might be.

That’s it for us this month. Next month, we’re looking forward to The Little French Bistro by Nina George. Doesn’t that sound charming?

We love sharing books with everyone and anyone who’s got a review, comment, thought, critique or favorite quote to send along. Feel free to write to us at editor@outreachnc.com and let us know your thoughts on Ehrenreich’s message.

Now open a widow, let in some spring air and enjoy the turning of a crisp book page as you settle into some lighter-weight reading.

Assignment OutreachNC: Pet Pics Over here at OutreachNC, we're dedicating our upcoming June issue to pets, and we want to see yours - dogs, cats, birds, horses, bees and any other animal friend with a special place in your homes and hearts.

To be entered into the First Annual ONC Pet Pics competition, email editor@outreachnc.com pictures that show us what makes your pet one-of-a-kind. Please include your pet's name too.

(While judging will be based on the subject matter, the quality of the image file will be considered as well.)

You could win a fabulous prize! The GRAND PRIZE winner will receive a $150 PetSmart gift card.

2nd place will receive a $75 PetSmart gift card. 3rd place will receive a $50 PetSmart gift card.

The deadline for submissions is March 18th, so don't wait! Send your photos in today.

We can't WAIT to open our inbox!

MARCH 2019 |

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Taking Flight

LOCAL PILOTS PASS ON THEIR PASSION

by Amy Phariss, Photography by: Mollie Tobias

On any given weekend, particularly the lovely ones marked by blue skies and little wind, thirteen-year-old Maggie asks, “Can we fly today?”

As her mother, a woman who can barely make it through a commercial airline flight without becoming sick and who clutches the armrests as the massive plane finds the runway, I am in no position to fly anywhere, let alone high above the Sandhills in a tiny single-engine plane, with a teenager by my side.

Lucky for me (and more so for Maggie), we have a friend who not only flies without nausea or armrest clutching, but he has the time, freedom and passion necessary to sit beside a teenager and help guide her through the ins-andouts of literally taking flight. From the pre-flight check of the airplane to talking Maggie through a take-off, Larry Gebler passes on his life-long passion for flying to a

thirteen-year-old girl who otherwise would have thought flying was for someone else, if she’d thought of it at all.

On a bright, crisp Carolina morning, at Larry’s airstrip in Derby (Richmond County), we caught up with Larry and his flying buddies for a pre-flight chat and to watch the pair climb into the cockpit and take off, heading toward Moore County and eventually landing at the Pik-n-Pig for fuel in the form of smoked pork.

I asked Larry, an ER doctor with the military, what he loves about flying, why he enjoys sharing this passion with younger people and how retirement (or partial retirement) has enabled him to explore flying in different ways, charting new territory and broadening the way he experiences flight later in life, when some of the rules have changed but his love for aviation remains as strong as ever.

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Amy Phariss: What started your interest in flying? When did you first fly and when did your passion come about?

Larry Gebler: I grew up as an Air Force brat until age 14, so all of my early life was around high performance aircraft of the 1950s and 1960s. Following my father’s death 6 months after retiring from the Air Force, my mother moved the family to Michigan where I was astonished to learn that kids built models of cars instead of airplanes and there weren’t any military flight lines full of shiny jets to tour on Armed Forces Day. I took the first opportunity presented to join the Aviation Explorers of the Boy Scouts, where a (very small) group of teenagers who didn’t care much about cars would study ground-school, look pitiful at the airport fence until some pilot just gave in and said “get in” for a flight, wash and wax private airplanes to raise money to pay for some flying time, rebuild old WW II flight training equipment, and generally drool over and caress airplanes in the hanger.

Mostly, we wondered how on God’s earth we’d ever have enough money to really afford to be private pilots. Nobody worried about having enough skill or determination, if we only could get the chance!

I got a scholarship to the University of Michigan and started as an aeronautical engineering student, but after a year spent figuring out that slide rules don’t have flight controls went to pre-med after having a hospital summer job that year. Fast forward through medical school and a general surgery residency to the week I got out of residency into my first paying job as a physician. That Friday found me at the local flight school signed up for the Cessna Pilot Training program. The rest of the story (Commercial Pilot,

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Instrument rating, Multi-engine rating, Glider rating, Seaplane rating, etc) is all in the logbook. It all seems like yesterday and the “disease” rather than fading, only gets a stronger hold every passing year.

Amy Phariss: Why do you enjoy teaching younger kids to fly?

LG: Maybe the best answer is that the kid in the above paragraph just never grew up and stopped playing with airplanes. Unfortunately, the calendar makes no concession for that character defect, so most of us who cherish this flying passion are eager to pass it on to the next generations before time catches up with us. I think most of us want more than anything in our older years to see that legendary “kid at the airport fence” who, like we did, fantasizes about flying some day. We are sure that, given an iota of encouragement, she will put down her iPad and catch the fire, determination and self-discipline required to leave the ground and safely return by dint of her own brain and skills. More importantly, if shown the open door and the path, she will want to become one of a society that internalizes all at the same time the freedom of flying, all the personal responsibility of “Pilot in Command,” and the abiding belief that the sky is no limit to what she can achieve.

Amy Phariss: Tell me about your involvement in the Young Eagles program.

LG: The Young Eagles Program was started when members of the Experimental Aircraft Association realized (as did many pilot organizations) that aviation was becoming an older person’s game and that most kids in the U.S. viewed personal flying as too expensive, too hard, too technical, too unwelcoming, and just generally unattainable to them. That “kid at the airport fence” was gone because she was in the arcade at the mall, and really had been absent for years due to our ignoring her. The EAA decided to put together a

program designed to have its pilots introduce non-airline flying to younger generations. The idea was to have a peer group, led by a big-name chairman, who would get American kids once again “air-minded” and fired up about flying. The first Chair was General Chuck Yeager and the challenge to each member was to fly at least 10 kids per year in their airplanes. Our stated goal was to fly one million young people between the ages of 7 and 17 before the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brother’s first flight.

The Young Eagles has been the most successful program in the history of the EAA. The one millionth Young Eagle was flown by Mr. Rick Ellis of Freeport, IL, on November 3, 2003. Since then, YE has set itself a goal of flying 100,000 young people per year, and has introduced well over 2 million of them to flying to date. A 2011 study found that participants are 5 times more likely to become a pilot than someone who has never participated, and that 9% of those new pilots are female compared to 6% females in the general pilot population. Additionally, 2 of every 100 participants who were 17 years old continued on to earn their pilot certificate.

The Young Eagles program is entirely operated by over 43,000 volunteer pilots flying their own or rented airplanes, and by countless ground support volunteers, without charge of any kind to the participating youngsters. One of the proudest outcomes of this program is that EAA now has pilots who got their first flight as a Young Eagle giving flights to new Eagles.

Over 43,000 of us trying to pass it on! I guess it’s a symptom of the disease to try to make it contagious. The EAA records show I’ve tried to infect 442 individuals.

Amy Phariss: Has flying changed since you’ve semiretired? Do you have more time for flying?

LG: I think so, at least I’ve got a better chance of being able to fly on the bluebird days (clear skies, calm winds, sunshine). I also am a partner in a grass strip airport at Derby, NC, so I think I’m more likely to spend that retired time mowing grass, repairing buildings, hanging up a new wind-sock, or changing one or the other airplane’s oil or spark plugs than necessarily flying more. Of course, it is much more likely that I’ll just drop everything I’m doing to fire up the plane and fly to the Pik-N-Pig for lunch or up to Moore County Airport for mid-morning coffee than it used to be.

Amy Phariss: What makes aviation a good hobby for retirement?

LG: One of the greatest dangers of private flying is “get there-itis,” a pathological condition of having to fly in whatever dangerous weather or mechanical conditions may arise because one has to be at work tomorrow. Being retired pretty much removes any external pressure that could lead to ill-considered aviating decisions because it is much less often that a retired pilot HAS to be somewhere. It’s a lot easier to live up to that definition of a superior pilot being one that uses his superior judgment to avoid situations requiring his superior skills.

Amy Phariss: Do you look for a certain spark or skillset in kids that tells you flying might become a passion for that person?

LGI think of flying a lot like swimming or boating

in the ocean. Those who can think of themselves as PART of the atmosphere rather than powering or absolutely controlling their way through it seem to fly more smoothly and confidently.

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I think that’s why I like watching some young people fly--seeing if they are amenable to being part of their environment, guiding the aircraft rather than rigidly trying to control every aspect of it. Can they get comfortable with bouncing around in some moderate turbulence in return for the privilege of being in the sky? Anyone who’s never been anxious flying is a fool, but I look for an attitude of just preferring to be in the sky than on the ground. I also think that, while there is a lot of science, math, physics, chemistry, etc. to flying, there is an intangible artistry to flying well.

It’s in some ways a well-performed dance with the airplane in the atmosphere, so I like to see those who, if you will, have an aptitude both for the science of aeronautics and a motivation to “dance” well with the airplane.

Amy Phariss: What do you love most about aviation?

LG: Since I began taking flying lessons, the concept of Pilot in Command has been uppermost in my mind. In return for the freedom to soar around in the sky wherever and usually whenever I want, I am, as a pilot, the absolute master of and responsible for my own fate and those of any passengers.

There’s nobody to blame, no one to whom to hand the

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responsibility for anything I forgot to plan, check, or execute.

Even the Federal Air Regulations explicitly state that the pilot in command is “directly responsible for, and is the final authority as to, the operation of that aircraft.” That’s a pretty good metaphor for how to live one’s life.

Amy Phariss: How does it feel to own your own airstrip and hanger?

LG: Mostly, it feels like a natural extension of a lifetime of flying. I suspect it’s like a rancher feels looking out over his property--the culmination of what he spent his life trying to achieve. It is also a wonderful opportunity to go back in time to the country airstrip and to have “hands-on” to what it must have been like to try to keep aviation alive in the 1930s off their grass strips. It makes you know that there’s a lot more to aviation than moving the control stick.

Amy Phariss: If you could describe what it feels like when you’re up there flying, navigating, etc. — which three words/ adjectives would you use?

LG: Freedom, self reliance, and being part of/within something much greater than yourself.

Andrew “Drew” Steidinger, a retired United Airlines pilot with over 53 years involvement in aviation, was taking another friend flying the morning we spent at Derby. While we waited for preflight checks and watched the planes take off, I asked Drew a few questions about his own aviation history and what flying means to him having retired from commercial flight but never giving up his childhood dream of piloting an aircraft (he tacked airplane posters and hung models all over his room as a kid).

Here are 5 thoughts Drew left me with: 1. “Flying is the wave of the future,” Drew says. “It’s an interesting way to live a life. It’s a very heady experience.”

2. I asked Drew which characteristics or skills are necessary to make a strong pilot. He says a pilot needs an analytical mind, a good dose of common sense and fortitude. Taking responsibility for not only a plane but for the passengers on board is no small feat.

3. As the mother of a daughter, I’m often aware that some professions are deemed ‘male’ and others ‘female’ in our society. I’ve often thought of aviation as a male-dominated field and asked Drew if he has any thoughts about this. He noted this idea of aviation as male-dominated is a misconception that is going away. In the mid-80’s, women began entering the profession of aviation in larger numbers, and the trend continues. Drew himself received his instrument training from Emily Howell Warner, the first woman captain of a scheduled U.S. airline. Warner was the first woman to join the Air Line Pilots Association and was enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2014.

4. When I asked Drew what he feels is the greatest misconception about aviation, he didn’t hesitate in saying, “That it’s dangerous. It’s so much safer than anything you do – driving, riding a bike, walking across the street.” I went ahead and looked up the statistics on this claim. Sure enough, according to the National Safety Council (2019), the odds of dying in a motor vehicle crash are 1 in 114. The odds of dying in a flight incident are 1 in 9,821. In fact, the odds of dying from a pedacyclist incident, firearms discharge, motorcycle riding incident, unintentional drowning and by choking are all higher than that of dying in an air transport incident.

5. When asked what he loves most about aviation, Drew’s answer surprised me. I thought he’d talk about the rush of flying, the powerful feeling of being in control of an aircraft or the sense of freedom flying affords a pilot who travels among the clouds. Instead, Drew says, “It’s the people. It’s my aviator friends – the ones I’ve recently met and the ones I’ve had for years. I’m proud of being in the fraternity of aviators. As an aviator, you’re part of a select club. When you meet another aviator, you’re accepted.”

MARCH National Safety Council. (2019). What are the2019 odds |ofOutreachNC.com dying from.... Retrieved 35 from https://www.nsc.org/work-safety/tools-resources/injury-facts/chart

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Hidden

HOMETOWN HEROES:

DEPUTY DAVID SCHAU, SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER

by Crissy Neville, Photography by: Morgan Masson

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Some look at age as a barrier that stops them from doing the things they enjoy or from achieving a dream. On the other hand, others see age as a challenge but one that propels them to do greater things with each passing year. Whether you use your age to your benefit or loss really depends on your personality, attitude, and circumstances.

Sanford local David Schau was staring down the barrel of a career change at the age of 60 after a job loss in the IT sector put him out of work. He found success, and a new passion, thanks to his no-holdsbarred approach to goal setting that took age right out of the equation.

Today, at the age of 62, David Schau has two years in with the Lee County Sheriff’s Department and works as a School Resource Officer at Warren Williams Elementary Alternative School where he greets the students as they get off the bus and patrols the campus by car and foot each day.

In jest, Schau refers to himself as “the sheriff’s oldest rookie.” The journey to becoming a deputy after careers in both the Air Force and the computer industry was one filled with trials and triumphs, he said, particularly due to his decision to enter law enforcement in a less than conventional season of life.

Lee County Sheriff Tracy Carter is thankful for Schau’s decision and never gave a second thought to his age. “I didn’t realize he was old at all,” Carter said jokingly. “He’s a veteran, first of all, and just someone who decided to start a new career later in life. A lot of people are doing that these days.”

Carter sees Schau as an asset to the department and an encouragement to others. “The Basic Law Enforcement Training Program (BLET) in Sanford at Central Carolina Community College (CCCC) is one of the best in the state. It is a demanding course, both physically and academically, and I have known younger men to have to go through the program two or more times to pass. For Schau to go through it and do so well the first time is pretty remarkable. It says a lot about him.”

The sheriff also likes having a diversity of ages in his department, noting it benefits them all.

He likes to hire more seasoned individuals along with the younger ones due to their maturity and life experiences.

“Old is not old until like 100 now,” he quipped.

Schau sat down with OutreachNC to speak about his life and career changes. Our conversation has been edited for length.

Crissy Neville: Please tell our readers a little about yourself.

Deputy David Schau: I have been living in Sanford for about 15 years now. I grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania, joined the Air Force and have been in the south ever since. That includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and now Sanford. I really like it here in Sanford. Sanford has a real small town USA feel to it and I really like that.

CN: You entered the training for your third career at the age of 60 when many would be planning for retirement. How did that happen?

DS: After the Air Force, I held many different jobs working my way up to consulting roles in the Internet Technology (IT) industry and most recently, in my last computer career position I managed a global team of engineers and technicians to keep systems online. After ten years, the company I was working for merged and my global team was laid off one by one. I was pretty much the last one to go.

I WAS 60 YEARS OLD. I TRIED DILIGENTLY, AND APPLIED FOR MANY, MANY JOBS. I GOT A FEW CALLS BACK, WENT ON A FEW INTERVIEWS BUT NEVER GOT AN OFFER. MARCH 2019 |

OutreachNC.com 39

CN: This was when you decided to go into law enforcement?

DS: Yes. As I was trying to find an IT job, my wife and I were both praying that the Lord would open a door and let a job offer land in my lap, if I was supposed to remain in the IT industry. And if not, that I would start preparing for the Basic Law Enforcement Training program, and that is what happened. No doors were opened.

CN: What inspired you to enter the field of law enforcement?

DS: Ever since leaving the Air Force I have had the desire to return to public service. I filled that desire over the years with service on various city committees. I next ran for the school board in Lee County in 2014 because again, I wanted to do more. I was not elected but it was not a negative experience.

Also, my wife is a teacher in the county and I have had the opportunity to work in her classes many times over the years. This made me want to work with students in some capacity but I did not wish to return to school to become a teacher. More and more I began to think about becoming a “THE MEN School Resource Officer (SRO).

Next, I had a younger friend from my church, Andrew Holder, who was enrolled in BLET. Something just kept gnawing at me to ask him about that and to see if he thought a guy my age could do what he was doing.

He said yes, that he thought I could.

That gave me the confidence to try.

CN: What has been the biggest challenge of starting a career in law enforcement at the age of 60?

DS: The biggest challenge I met initially was the physical aspect. BLET was to start in August of 2016. In March of 2016, I had 12 inches of my colon removed due to repeated bouts with diverticulitis over the past few years. The recovery from that wasn’t without problems. I had a couple of setbacks in recovery. I did not get the full clean bill of health until the

OutreachNC.com | MARCH 2019

It took me until the 4th or 5th week of the program to really get dialed into where I wanted to be and then I did fine throughout the rest of the program. In fact, I became a squad leader and won the most improved Physical Training (PT) award.

CN: That is amazing! Other than the recent health issues and surgery, would you say you were in good physical shape prior to the start of the law enforcement training?

DS: Yes, I have always been pretty athletic and active. In BLET, during the 16 weeks, we did thousands of push-ups and quite a bit of running. Both of my shoulders and my hips blew up with bursitis and that was pretty painful. Ice Packs were my friends every evening after class. But I just worked through it; I knew it was only 16 weeks and it was just going to take a lot of hard work.

AND WOMEN I WORK WITH ARE A LOT YOUNGER THAN ME, BUT THEY JUST TREAT ME LIKE ONE OF THE GUYS.”

Finally, some months later our church held a security seminar led by the Lee County Sheriff’s Community Police Team.

Our church had a school on campus and we drilled an active shooter scenario using role play. The drills really hit home for me about the importance of school safety. After that, my heart quickened and I felt called to enroll in BLET and become an SRO.

40

middle of June. This takes a lot out you, plus I was 60 years old. So when BLET started I was not where I wanted to be physically but I knew as long as I gave 100% I was going to make it.

CN: Did you receive positive signs to reassure you that you had chosen the right path?

DS: There were so many positive things but I will describe some standouts. I was collecting unemployment during the time I was searching for a job in IT. When the time came for me to cut off the job search and enroll in BLET, I went to talk to my unemployment counselor to see if my training could count in lieu of my job search to satisfy their office requirements. She said okay, with certain conditions, which I always met. In addition to this, she also was able to find approval for most of the cost of my books. Through Sheriff Carter’s office I had tuition sponsorship. So, all these positives things happened to help me get started and get enrolled.

CN: This all sounds incredible but was there a realism to be faced - you could have done all this and still not been offered a job. Was the first job after BLET made readily available to you?

DS: Yes, but the sheriff treated me like any other graduating cadet. Many sheriffs start their new cadets in the jail. It is a good place to learn the teamwork aspect of law enforcement.

It is also a good place, especially for young people, to work with inmates from different walks of life they have never encountered in their lives. It is a good place for new cadets to start. I worked there at the jail for 13 months and then was transferred out to be a School Resource Officer at Warren Williams Elementary Alternative School. It is a wonderful job and I couldn’t be happier.

CN: With the age gap between you and your colleagues, how would you describe your relationship with your fellow officers in the department?

DS: Yes, the men and women I work with are a lot younger than me, but they just treat me like one of the guys. It gets brutal sometimes, the teasing and the razing; it is kind of like being in the military. And, they do not hold back on me at all, just because I am older. They like to give me the business just like everybody else.

CN: Can you describe what a typical day in the school looks like?

DS: The traditional role of the SRO in North Carolina is three-pronged. We provide law enforcement, law enforcement counseling, and law enforcement education. In my setting, I do not get to do a lot of education with the students; their day-to-day academics education takes up all of that. From the counseling side, I do not do formal, recorded counseling but when the students are having a tough time, I am here to talk to them, to help them to calm down and to ask them to try to turn their day around. My role is primarily monitoring for safety and security, and also giving positive encouragement and feedback to the children.

CN: How does your job differ as an SRO in an alternative school setting versus a traditional school setting?

CN: Did you ever consider retiring instead of starting a new career?

DS: No, not at all. I am still in good health and I plan to stay active. My wife is 11 years younger than me and will still be teaching for a long while, and I was not ready to retire. I wanted to continue working. It has been two years now since BLET and I still do not talk about it.

CN: What advice would you give our readers for following your footsteps into a career change after the age of 50?

DS: Before making this change, one thing I had to do was sit down and be honest with myself. I knew there would be challenges and I had to be realistic and ask, am I going through a late mid-life crisis or can I really do this? I had to sit and think about that. I decided I could do it. My advice is to strive for something you know you can achieve, but on the other hand, have confidence in yourself, knowing that there are doors you can go through that may not be readily apparent.

CN: That is good advice. Any closing words?

DS: Yes. I may not have a 20-year career in law enforcement but I hope to have a 10-year career. I now go back to every new BLET class and tell them if I can do it, you can too. You need to go for what you want.

TTRY TO HOLD YOU BACK, SO HE WORLD IS GOING TO

YOU DON’T NEED TO HOLD YOURSELF BACK, TOO.

DS: THE CHILDREN I WORK WITH AT THE ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL JUST NEED MORE. THEY NEED MORE ENCOURAGEMENT, MORE POSITIVE FEEDBACK, AND SOMETIMES MORE GUIDANCE, BUT THEY ARE JUST KIDS. MARCH 2019 |

OutreachNC.com 41

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Boxing with Sunshine: Local Legend Dale “Sunshine” Frye Whips ONC’s Publisher and Editor Into Fighting Shape

by Amy Phariss, Photography by: Mollie Tobias On any given Tuesday, around 4 PM, I pull into the gravel parking lot of a nondescript building in Aberdeen, NC. Parking next to my publisher’s car, we both get out and assess the situation: we wear yoga pants and running shoes, have our hair pulled back from our faces and look, well, scared.

We’re about to go into the kind of gym men work out in who have beards, bulging biceps and disdain for anyone who might be using 8 lb. weights to work their decidedly non-bulging biceps. These are men who jump onto wooden boxes, squat down and jump off again. They lift heavy weight and throw it onto the floor, sweating profusely and listening to heavy metal music. Occasionally women come into this gym and drag heavy weights across the floor or do legit, no-knee pushups in rapid succession.

What, then, are two middle-aged women doing standing outside the back door, in a yard full of enormous tires and other rogue workout gear? How do two women who have histories of Pilates, yoga and ballet find themselves pulling open the metal door and stepping into a room full of bars, kettle balls and boxing bags? Why, at our ages, do we think this is any place to start a new type of workout that we’ve never done, don’t fully understand and look downright ridiculous engaging in?

Why? Because life is short. Because the same old thing gets boring. Because we never know what might happen when we take on a new challenge, get out of our comfort zone or throw our bodies a giant curve ball.

But more than any of that…more than the challenge and going bolding into uncharted territory…the reason Amy 1 (Amy Natt) and Amy 2 (Amy Phariss) are willing to open the door and sweat for 1.5 hours in front of the kind of men who go after the world’s bad guys comes down to three words: Dale ‘Sunshine’ Frye.

When Amy 1 texted Amy 2 a few months ago and asked if she wanted to do some kickboxing classes, Amy 2 hesitated. Amy 2 takes ballet classes and stretches herself out on a foam roller and sometimes gets on a mini trampoline in her garage and dances around to Top 40 hits. Amy 2 doesn’t sweat a whole lot or lift heavy weight, so kickboxing sounded a little…well…taxing.

But then Amy 1 mentioned that said boxing classes would be under the tutelage of Dale ‘Sunshine’ Frye, local boy turned Hollywood stuntman and kickboxing champion.

Amy 2 said: Count me in.

When I first met Dale at the gym, he was both exactly what I expected and nothing like I’d expected. He met my expectations of being super fit, lithe, light on his feet and able to run up the side of a dirt hill without issue (Amy 1 could also run up that hill; Amy 2 could not). Dale surprised me, however, in other ways. He is full of smiles, motivating sentiments, jokes and laughter. He isn’t the serious, grim-faced boxing instructor I imagined, randomly hitting me in the ribs to toughen me up and asking me, “Do you want to be a victim?” (I might have had a horse trainer ask me that once, in the desert of Arizona, with a wild-horse coming toward me).

MARCH 2019 |

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Dale is all smiles. He’s a pat on the back, quick half-hug to get started, and he calls us all sorts of folksy, endearing names like “Baby Love” and “Hot Rod,” that make our workouts seems less like a suck-fest and more like an after-school special that just happens to involve bobbing and weaving and a proper boxing stance. He’s focused on form, doesn’t let us cheat and doesn’t dumb it down, but he’s never discouraging, overwhelming or negative. He’s the kind of trainer who inspires you to push a little harder, to face your fears and to reach for goals that seem entirely unattainable now but which, with consistent effort and determination, you will totally conquer.

In short, if there is anyone who can take a middleaged mom from Grade 1 (his words) to graduation, it’s Sunshine. We sat down with Dale Frye and asked him a few questions about his kickboxing days, his film career and what he thinks of training a couple of moms, neither of whom – at the time of this publication – can do a full pull-up.

This interview has been edited for length.

Amy Phariss: What do you think about teaching a couple of middle-aged moms to box?

Dale Frye: (smiles, pauses) You guys signed up for something that’s really hard. Boxing is very physical.

AP: Why do people train in boxing?

DF: Stress relief, a good workout and just the love of the game. I have some kids who just want to learn how to fight.

And I think there’s a bond with men when they work hard together, when they do something physical like boxing together.

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Also, all the boxing and MMA fighting on TV has struck a cord with a lot of people. A lot of girls like it. I referee fights now, and girls go together, just a group of them. At a UFC fight, girls will just get together as a group and go.

AP: What do you like about training people?

DF: Back in the day, when I was fighting, I never wanted to train. I’d help people but I never wanted to train. I was a fighter, not a trainer. But my friend owns a gym, so I got into it. I like that each person is different. They have different strengths and weaknesses and different personalities. I like the challenge of that.

AP: What do you dislike most about training people?

DF: There was a woman I trained for a while, and if she didn’t pick something up quickly, she’d start moaning and whining. It was hard for me to get over that. She wanted to be good but her attitude was stopping her.

AP: Do you think there is a difference in training men and women?

DF: Yes. But you know…on second thought, I think it’s just so individual. Each person is unique and trains differently. A lot of guys – but a lot of girls as well – have got a lot of preconceived notions. I’ve got a guy, been kickboxing for a long time, we used to spar some and work out back in the day. When I started training and he came under my wing, I realized he was very limited. He had a few things he did, and that was all he did. He was reluctant at first because he was used to doing things a certain way. He’s been open to changing it up, and that’s been refreshing.

“I like that each person is different. They have different strengths and weaknesses and different personalities.�

MARCH 2019 |

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AP: Let’s talk about your role as a stuntman on major films. What was your favorite movie you worked on?

DF: Cyborg with Jean-Claude Van Dam. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II and III. The Notebook.

They’re all pretty fun. You get to hang around with some pretty cool people. It was cool when I met Kevin Costner. I’d been watching him a good long time, and it was cool to meet him and shake his hand. Ryan Gosling – nicest guy I’ve ever met in my life.

AP: How did you get started in the movie industry?

I think it helped, sure. I did all the rehab and had family help during my recovery. You hear good stories and bad stories about hips, but my experience has been positive all the way around.

AP: Is there anything you did in your 20s that you can’t do now?

DF: (nods) I used to jump off stuff. Jump off houses and stuff. I’m somewhat limited now because of my hips, but just a little.

AP: What do you think it takes to be good at boxing?

DF: You got a lot going on right there. You have to not mind getting hit. Everyone wants to box until DF: Kickboxing opened up a big “Everyone wants to they get hit upside the head one door for me. My brother Bruce And as you’re starting to find was a musician back in the day. box until they get time. out, it’s physical. It takes a lot to He was playing music at a bar in hit upside the head box. Physical. A lot of people say Wilmington. A guy came in once to it’s 10% physical and 90% mental, the bar, and he was a special effects one time.” but I don’t believe that. It’s physical. producer, and my brother Bruce and You’ve got to be in shape. Fighters his friend got a part in that movie will lose a fight because one guy is in and told them about me. So I went down to Wilmington to audition for that and got the better shape than another guy. I noticed when I was training, mentally when you know you can go 12 part. Then it just went from there. rounds at full-speed, you don’t have to worry about AP: Do you still work on movies? it. So being in physical shape means you don’t worry.

DF: Yeah, I still do it. I’m not actively pursuing it but I still do it. Had to get two brand-new hips three I had one fight. I fought a kid in Fayetteville…he was the toughest fight in my life – and it was the only years ago. It’s like a new lease on life. fight in my life that I just had to lay around the next AP: Was it hard to recover from? day and do nothing. He just kept coming. He just DF: No. kept coming. I had to fight hard for 12 rounds. I had bruises. He was cut in several places. It was just a AP: Do you attribute that to being in shape? hard, hard fight.

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AP: Who won?

DF: I did. I was defending my title actually.

AP: Is there a loss that stands out to you?

DF: When I lost my title in Atlantic City, I was sick. I had to weigh in at 135, and I had to lose some weight.

That was hard. A week or two before a fight, because you’re doing everything you can to make weight, my whole immune system was weak. If I sat next to someone who had a cold, I’d get it. I would have to go a whole 24-hours without eating or drinking anything. It was hard for me to get to 135. As soon as I stepped off the scale, I’d start drinking. When I lost my title, we weighed in sooner, and I didn’t have that 24-hour period to recover a little.

I also won some fights when I was sick. But every fight I’ve lost, it’s been because I wasn’t 100%. I was sick. Had something going on. But that’s part of it.

AP: Before we go, can you leave us with one final thought? What is the biggest limitation people have in terms of being in shape or doing what they want to do physically?

DF: Probably their mental attitude. That’s the beautiful thing about working out. I like to workout. I enjoy it. A lot of people don’t. That’s probably why I did as well as I did kickboxing and am as healthy as I am now.

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Sunshine’s Tips for Getting Into Shape Even if You’re Starting in Grade 1 1. Don’t do any exercise that hurts.

There are plenty of alternatives, and work with someone who knows how to cater a workout for you. If we do an exercise that hurts your back, for example, there are a lot of exercises we can do to compensate.

2. There is always an exercise for everyone. Some people need to just swim. I’m a big fan of riding a bicycle.

Some people can do weights.

3. Build strength gradually. It takes time. Be patient and keep working at it.

4. Be consistent. When I think of how I worked up to 12 rounds of boxing, it’s amazing. I didn’t start out that way.

I thought going three rounds…well, I thought that was tough. But then I just kept going, and in the end, anyone who fought with me knew they had to go the whole 12 rounds.

5. Listen to your body. There will be things you can do and can’t do. Your body will tell you.

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First Bank Insurance Services is a proud member of the Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina and a Trusted Choice.

MARCH 2019 |

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OutreachNC.com | MARCH 2019

Burney’s

Sweets & More Photography by: Diana Matthews

On a regular ol’ Thursday morning, the door to Burney’s of Fayetteville rarely stops swinging.

A dog trainer waits in line for his usual pastries, a grin spread across his face in anticipation of the mid-morning treat. A woman comes in to pick up a pre-ordered cake for her son’s birthday party later that evening. A group of women huddles together near the bakery display, trying to choose between glazed croissants or apple fritters and end up making the perfect choice: both.

Behind the counter, the bustle of baking is on full display as bakers, decorators and kitchen staff hustle from one task to the next. One baker slathers coconut frosting over a multilayered, German chocolate cake. The head cookie decorator and cupcake designer frosts a dozen cupcakes, which are then neatly placed into a take-out box and stacked beside the dozen other orders ready for delivery.

And a young woman with a bright smile asks customers, “What can I get you today?”

Patrons place orders with the confidence that comes from having tasted and enjoyed Burney’s baked goods before. They don’t hesitate or waffle because they know whatever is boxed up and handed across the counter will be glazed just right, baked to perfection and taste as good as it looks.

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Favorites of this North Carolina franchise (the original bakery is in Elizabethtown, NC) include the glazed croissants, apple fritters and an old-fashioned, fifteen-layer chocolate cake that reminds one patron of the kind of cake her grandmother used to make.

The best part of Burney’s, however, may not be the cakes or pastries. As Head Baker Terri says, “People feel comfortable here. They’ve become part of our family.” Time and again, customers told us they come to Burney’s as much for the friendly welcome from staff and the family feel of the bakery as they do for the lemon cake. Customers Lloyd and Patty Horn come daily, weather permitting, to enjoy coffee and a treat together now that they’re retired. As Patty says, “We come and enjoy the fellowship and getting whatever we want each morning. It’s good.

It’s really good.” Lloyd chimes in, “Cold or hot, rain or shine, we come.

It’s our routine.”

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The Burney’s staff is so in-tune with customers they save the prettiest apple fritter each morning for one gentleman who comes daily for his favorite treat. Maybe Patty sums up what makes Burney’s so special when she says, just before putting the last of her apple turnover into her mouth, “It’s a nice feeling to walk into a place and they know who you are.”

Burney’s Sweets and More is located at 3319-B Raeford Road in Fayetteville. Hours of operation are M-F 6:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday 7:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Call ahead for special orders at 910-745-8975.

MARCH 2019 |

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OutreachNC.com | MARCH 2019

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OutreachNC.com 57

Hoke County Senior Services:

by Jonathan Scott

Patricia Monroe lost her husband when she was just 60-years old. Her five sons live in another state, so she was left virtually alone. But, like so many widows, she wasn’t ready to consider her life over. She had developed musical talent over a great number of decades. She had her religious faith. She also wanted to continue to learn whatever life had to offer.

Monroe is now one of the 57 folks who come regularly to the Senior Room, located in the J.W. McLaughlin in Raeford.| On a typical 58 Building OutreachNC.com MARCH 2019weekday morning,

Monroe enjoys a meal provided through the Department of Aging in the company of some of the new friends she’s made—most of whom share her faith.

Like so many in the room, she’s eager to talk. “I play the organ for our gospel group, The Senior Voices of Hoke,” she says, miming the activity to emphasize her point over the chatter at the table. Her eyes light as she thinks about it. “We’ve won a gold medal in the NC Senior Games the last two years. And I believe they’ve won several times before that.”

Betty Fuller, who sits at the next row of tables, claims she’s the youngest person in the room. At 70, she’s far from it, but she has plenty of youthful enthusiasm. “I like everything here,” she says. As if to prove it, she’s written down a list of activities that Hoke County Senior Services provides and is eager to talk about each one. She and her friend, Joyce Bostic, describe the annual Prom Event, where participants dust off their party clothes and come to dance with a possibility they might be crowned King or Queen of the evening.

Senior Services, as a part of the Hoke County Department of Aging, has been providing free meals and activities for over 25 years. Director of Senior Services, Mary Hollingsworth, likes to refer to their mission statement. “Two words really stand out to me,” she says. “We want our seniors to have meaning and purpose in their lives.”

pool table with a cue stick in his hand watching a final ball roll into a corner pocket. At 91, he’s one of the oldest there, even though he’s only been coming to the Senior Room a couple of years. He spent most of his life in New York but moved to Hoke County at age 86 to be with his son. He’s quick to admit he’s not the best pool player in the group of gentlemen at a nearby table. When asked what keeps him coming back, he puts down his stick and sweeps his hand in the direction of the table. “Guys like these guys,” he laughs.

“We want our seniors to have meaning and purpose in their lives.”

Brenda Mochan’s title is Activities Coordinator but, from watching her interact with the folks at the morning’s congregate meal, it’s clear they consider her a personal friend rather than a county employee. The number and variety of activities she provides for them seems to add up to more than what’s simply required for her job. It would be expected for her to know everyone’s name. What’s unexpected is her evident affection for all of them.

She chats with a number of the ladies who are insistent that their hot dogs are actually “sausage dogs.” In a few minutes she’s going to hold a spontaneous “raffle” for some spaghetti dinners that have just arrived. She’s not flustered. She just smiles.

“This is the best job I’ve ever had,” she says.

Go to just about any activities center for seniors in North Carolina and you’ll hear people repeating the word fellowship to explain why they attend. “Fellowship is our main goal,” says Molchan. “It’s our priority.”

But in Hoke’s Senior Room, some of the participants point out that as important as socializing is, they’re getting and giving something more.

Willie Rush, 68, sits down across from Angus McMillan and pats the table. “This is the Knowledge Table,” he boasts. “When anyone wants information about anything, they come over here.”

The men laugh at themselves, but there is something serious in Rush’s tone.

Patricia Monroe, the organist for The Senior Voices of Hoke, reinforces the idea. The ladies she sits with are older than her by many years. She looks at them and — as if it’s the most important thing she wants people to know — says, “There’s a lot of wisdom in here. A lot. All you need to do is approach them and you’ll receive it.

“More people need to come and get it.”

Over by the wall, Angus McMillan stands by the

There is currently a waiting list for applicants for the Congregate Meals.

Interested residents of Hoke County who are over 50 can apply at the Senior Service office in Raeford, by visiting www.hokecounty.org, or by calling (910) 875-8588.

Hoke County Senior Services is planning a field trip for participants to the Cape Fear Botanical Gardens sometime during April.

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GREY MATTER See Grey Matter Puzzle Answers on Page 62

Puzzle 15 (Medium, difficulty rating 0.59)

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GAELIC GOLD GREEN HARP HERITAGE HOLIDAY ISLAND JIG LEGEND

LEPRECHAUN LIMERICK LUCK MAGICAL MARCH MISCHIEF MOUNTAINS PARADE PATRICK

PATRON POTATOES RAINBOW RELIGIOUS SAINT SHAMROCK SHILLELAGH SNAKES TRADITION

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DOWN ACROSS 1. Chop or cut 4. Green veggie 7. Bar bill 10. Doctors’ group 11. One who buys and sells

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securities (slang) 12. Be in debt 13. Lively ballroom dance 15. Singer Charles 16. Polish city 19. Former

OutreachNC.com | MARCH 2019

21. Dismissing from employment 23. Minerals 24. Plotted 25. Consult 26. After a prayer

1. Czech monetary unit 2. Able to arouse intense feeling 3. Elk 4. Muscular weaknesses 5. Geological time

6. Depths of the ocean 7. Burns to the ground 8. Becomes cognizant of 9. Cause to shade 13. US political party 14. Refers to some of a thing 17. Single 18. Type of beer 20. Ancient Iranian people 22. Grocery chain 27. Gridiron league 28. English river 29. __ and cheese 31. Peyton’s younger brother 32. Long time 33. High schoolers’ test 37. Respects 38. Organize anew 39. Filippo __, Saint 40. Intrinsic nature of something 41. Cheese dish 42. Ancient Greek City 43. Patron saint of Ireland 44. Produced by moving aircraft or vehicle 47. Shock treatment 48. __ Jones 49. Things 51. Having wings 52. Panthers’ QB Newton 53. Third-party access 58. Satisfaction

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GREY MATTER ANSWERS

ASK THE EXPERT – Age with Success

CROSSWORD

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March 14 at 2:30 p.m.

Conversation with an Aging Life Care Professional Crystal Fowler, Aging Life Care Professional, AOS Care Management SUDOKU

Puzzle 15 (Medium, difficulty rating 0.59)

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April 11 at 2:30 p.m.

Relocating, Downsizing, and Moving into a Senior Community Penny Lachance, Aging Life Care Professional, AOS Care Management RSVP to Elizabeth at 910.692.4928 or email at elizabeth.ragsdale@elmcroft.com

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MARCH 2019 |

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SAINT PATRICK’S DAY

NOTABLE DATES IN THE HISTORY OF

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While there are many legends and traditions surrounding St. Patrick, here is a small sampling of notable events associated with the man and the Holy day that honors him.

385 AD

401 AD

Saint Patrick is born in England, not Ireland, to an aristocratic Christian family.

He is taken to Ireland as a Slave at the age of 16.

407 AD

He escapes captivity and becomes a priest.

He later returns to Ireland (after a vision) to Christianize the Irish people. He is credited with “driving the snakes out of Ireland.”

March 17, 461 AD Saint Patrick dies.

March 17, 1737

Boston holds the first Saint Patrick’s Day parade.

March 17, 1762

The first official Saint Patrick’s Day parade is held in New York City

March 17, 2002

The largest Saint Patrick’s Day parade in history with 300,000 marchers and 3 million spectators is held honoring the heroes and victims of 9/11.

March 1962

Chicago begins the tradition of dying the river green to mark the holiday. (Blue was the original color of the holiday.)

OutreachNC.com | MARCH 2019 YOURSITE.COM

OVER MY SHOULDER

‘Tis a blessing...

by Ann Murphy Robson

“Tis often said that on St. Patrick’s Day there are only two kinds of people: those who are Irish, and those who wish they were. Of course, that may be one of the many myths which the Irish have promoted for centuries.

As one who grew up in an O’Meara-Murphy household with aunts and uncles whose names were O’Brien, Houlahan, Ryan and Rowan, I believed this myth until I met a Robson. I was the first in my family to marry other than an Irish person.

I was the oldest girl in my generation and soon my cousins would follow suit and marry good people of varying nationalities.

My mother did love the non-Irish person I married but often chided him for not being one of us. He had the last laugh. When his cousin did the family history, it turns out that his great-grandmother had come to America from Waterford --- pretty hard to be more Irish than that and thus ended one small family feud.

All was forgiven when the first grandchild was born on St. Patrick’s Day. She almost waited too long, making her arrival in the Oswego Hospital at 11:04 p.m. She continues this “I’m running a little late” trait to this day. But since she was born that way, I usually don’t expect her on time.

There is much to cherish about growing up Irish. You learn early that you belong to a tribe that is very literate, quite lyrical and always ready for a good time. We seem to have a blessing or a toast for every life event from cradle to grave.

When the last of my mother’s generation died, her obituary started out with “May she be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows she’s gone.” Following her burial on a cold Canadian January morn, we retreated to my brother’s home

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Most of my cousins and some of their families were there and we began catching up with each other. Then the true Irish wake began when we started sharing stories first about our recently deceased Aunt Bessie, and then we branched out to stories about our respective parents. We spent hours together as we hadn’t done since the previous death. We started shortly after noon and long after sunset were still enjoying being together.

We had our number of funerals through the years – grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles from the O’Meara family of 10 – yet this one was special; it was the last of a generation. We’d been through more than a century and were now seeing the end of an era. No one wanted to leave. Now we were the elders and maybe we knew things would never be the same.

Yet, most of us have retained a good deal of the green blood with which we were born and raised.

We still knew how to laugh and cry together and tell stories in a lyrical way.

For those wishing they were Irish this month, I offer my favorite blessing: “May your day be touched by a bit of Irish luck, brightened by a song in your heart, and warmed by the smiles of the people you love.”

Ann Robson is the author of “Over My Shoulder: Tales of Life and Death and Everything In Between.” She may be reached at overmyshoulder@charter.net .

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Generations

OutreachNC asked adults and children our March question. Share your answer on our Facebook page.

If you could be any character in a book, who would you be and why?

E. Annie Proulx is my favorite contemporary writer.

When I read her novels there is no character I would want to be. Rather, I would like to be the voice of narration. I find her writing so richly evocative.

– Madison, 60 I’d be Annabeth Chase from the Percy Jackson series because she is wise, quick-witted, smart and knows how to fight. – Rachel, 11 I would choose to be the male protagonist in most Jack London stories like White Fang or Call of the Wild.

– Hamilton, 58 I’d be Ada in The War That Saved My Life. Ada is able to prove to everyone that she is a courageous girl who took care of her brother because her mother was never around. She had to learn to do so many things on her own even though she had a crippled foot. She was a hero. – Juliana, 11 I’d be Claire from Outlander. Two words: Jamie Fraser.

Enough said. – Amy, 43 I liked the book The Help. I’d be Minnie Jackson because she has a great sense of humor and stood up for what she believed in. – Emma, 14

Jacob de Zoet from The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. I’d be Jacob so I could see Japan in the 1800s, when it was still very much closed off to Europeans.

– Adam, 52 I’d be Hermione from the Harry Potter series because she gets to go to Hogwarts and be friends with Harry.

– Meghan, 13 I’d have to say Lucia from the Mapp & Lucia series because she’s smart, has Georgie, dresses beautifully, and she’s in charge! – Tina, 62 I’d be Jedidiah Smith because he explored the western part of the country and faced many stand-offs with Grizzly bears. – Timmy, 10 I just finished The Wife by Meg Wolitzer, and I definitely don’t want to the main character in that novel! I’d say I’d like to be the Saudi Arabian doctor in Dave Eggers’ A Hologram for the King. – Jane, 40 I’d be Harold with his purple crayon. He sneaks out of his house and his parents never find out! – Jacob, 6 I’d go back to my childhood and say Laura Ingalls Wilder. I’ve never forgotten her courage, hard work and commitment to her family. – Eliza, 72 Annie from the Magic Treehouse books because she’s brave. – Kate, 7

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Everyday Enrichment for Older Adults

“Mom’s really enjoying her visits to The Retreat.

She looks forward to the activities and conversations with her new friends while I am at work.”

Schedule a Visit TODAY! Explore The Retreat’s variety of activities & events! www.SandhillsAdultDay.com 165 Shepherd Trail|Aberdeen, NC 28315 OutreachNC.com 910.722.1035 MARCH 2019 |

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