Whistlestop Express

Whistlestop OCTOBER 2010

E PRESS

thewhistlestop.org

The Leading Information Resource for Marin's Active Aging Movement

Whistlestop Teams Up with Pacific Sun; New Express Hits the Streets in November b y J O H N B O W M A N

W

histlestop, Marin County’s leading center for older adults for more than 50 years, is partnering with the Pacific Sun, the county’s premiere arts and entertainment weekly, to provide more readers than ever with monthly news and activities of interest to older adults and their families.

The two prominent Marin institutions begin their partnership next month when copies of the Whistlestop Express (formerly the Silver Express) will be inserted into the Pacific Sun. The Sun has a readership of 80,000 throughout the county each week. The Whistlestop Express will appear inside the Sun in the last issue each month.

The Pacific Sun’s print publication, started in 1963, is available for home delivery by paid subscription and is distributed free to more than 400 locations throughout the county. The Sun has won

Zucchini is served at The Mystic Table. page 6

Best in Show

PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS Reception November 2nd at 6pm

numerous awards for excellence over the years and in 2010 won first place for Lifestyle Coverage in the California Newspaper Publishers Association (CNPA) competition. The Whistlestop Express Best in Show winner in the second annual Whistlestop was started as the Photography Contest was this shot of mysterious Silver Express in Race Track in Death Valley, by Keith Marsh, 60, of San July 2008 and was Anselmo. See all winners, pages 4-5. preceded by various publications dating "They are Marin’s premiere back to the 1950s. news weekly and they have the Joe O’Hehir, CEO of Whispublishing expertise we need. tlestop, said this partnership They are providing us with allows Whistlestop readers to a cost-effective solution that continue to receive the Express allows us to continue to deliver free and on a monthly basis. a valuable monthly information He added that residents who resource to Marin’s older adult still want the Express mailed community.” can donate an annual subThe new Whistlestop scription fee of $10. O’Hehir Express will be printed on less went on to say, “We are excited expensive paper and will not about our new partnership with the Pacific Sun. Continued on page 11

Join us at the Oktoberfest! page 9

Discover the Bird's side of Marin. page 12

Table of

Whistlestop

CONTENTS

PERSPECTIVE b y J O E O ' H E H I R New Partnership Means Continued Monthly News

3 4/5 6 7 8/9 10 12 13 14 15

Readers Write In Photo Contest Winners Mystic Table Mark Lindsay Recipe of the Month At Whistlestop Whistlestop Activities Calendar The Bird's Side of Marin Richard Pavek Financial Nuggets Jeff Stoffer Grand Mom Audrey Mettel Fixmer Puzzle/Survey Results

Marin Senior Coordinating Council, Inc. 930 Tamalpais Avenue San Rafael, CA 94901 Chief Executive OfďŹ cer, Joe O’Hehir Board of Directors President, Dennis Thompson Vice President, Terry Scussel Chief Financial OfďŹ cer, Jeff Stoffer Secretary, Michael Hingson +AREN !RNOLD s *ANE ,OTT s $EBBIE -ILLS $AMIEN -OROZUMI s -ICHAEL 2ICE The Whistlestop Express IS A PUBLICATION OF THE -ARIN Senior Coordinating Council, Inc. A 501 (c) 3 NOT FOR PROlT ORGANIZATION The Mission of Whistlestop: 7HISTLESTOP HELPS -ARIN #OUNTY S OLDER ADULTS AND INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES LIVE ACTIVE AND INDEPENDENT LIVES BY PROVIDING TRANSPORTATION NUTRITION

information and referral services, and an activity CENTER COMBINED WITH A MULTICULTURAL PROGRAM IN A COMMUNITY BASED SETTING Whistlestop Contact Information Main Number 415-456-9062 Whistlestop Fax 415-456-2858 www.thewhistlestop.org Information & Referral OfďŹ ce 415-459-6700 resource@thewhistlestop.org The Whistlestop Express Editorial, Art Direction & Sales John & Val Bowman Editors 916-751-9189 JOHN BOWMAN GMAIL COM Missy Reynolds Art Director mreynolds@paciďŹ csun.com Advertising Linda Black s 415-485-6700, Ext. 306 The Whistlestop Express is printed on recycled paper 4O BE ADDED TO OR TAKEN OFF THE EMAIL LIST FOR The Whistlestop Express, please call 415-456-9062, ext. 141. Or send an email, with your request, your name and address to INFO@thewhistlestop.org.

2 The Whistlestop Express

October 2010

I

if you want our newsletter mailed n the December, 2009 issue of the Silver Express, I shared to your home. In addition, the Sun with our readers the Âżnancial will be handling all aspects of our advertising. challenges we face publishing a Our second annual readership monthly newsletter, and mailing it to over 30,000 households with survey yielded over 300 responses and 76% of you told us you want a residents 60 and older in Marin monthly publication.

County.

Distribution of our newsletter During the past 10 months, our staff has been exploring options in the Paci¿c Sun will allow us so that we can continue to provide to reach more families in Marin, you with a high quality, monthly including many who have older newsletter that has become the adults as members of their leading information resource for households. We are hearing from more and more Marin’s Active Aging children of older movement. We are adults wanting happy to announce 76% of you information on that we have entered told us you services for their into a business want a monthly parents, so that partnership with the they can help them Paci¿c Sun that will publication. age successfully in allow us to continue their homes. I have on a monthly basis, in personally experienced this recently a more cost ef¿cient manner. because I needed to ¿nd home The Paci¿c Sun weekly health services for my 80-yearnewspaper was founded in old parents in Florida. It would 1963, and is available for home have been very helpful to have a delivery by paid subscription Whistlestop Express to identify and and distributed free at over 400 locate programs and services for locations throughout Marin them in their community.

County. The Sun also produces We help older adults in Marin get an e-mail product that contains around, eat well, keep connected, information about Marin people, and stay active in the community. news and events, and restaurant And, we know that the demand and and Âżlm reviews.

Our staff will continue to develop need for our services will continue to grow given the 65 and over the relevant news and editorial population growth projections. content that our readership wants on a monthly basis. The Paci¿c Sun That’s why we are committed to continue to provide this essential will design, print and distribute our information. ) newsletter to their locations along with their newspaper. We will be Joe O’Hehir is Whistlestop’s CEO. offering a paid subscription option

Readers

WRITE IN b y P A M E L A W I L D I N G At One with Nature On an Almost Run

A

lmost every day between 7:30 and 8:30 am, on doctor’s orders, I wake up to my alarm, groan myself out of bed, throw on my madras shorts or pants, support bra and camisole, and slather BioFreeze gel on my feet. I down a couple of ibuprofen along with my fizzy vitamin drink, do a few Jane Fonda warm-ups, don my sunglasses and straw hat, grab my water bottle, and go run.

In my soul, I am a runner. I walk the half block down to the marsh at the edge of San Pedro Bay. Then I run — a very slow jog, maybe a slightly fast walk, but in my mind I am a runner.

I make the one-mile loop around the levee as fast as I can. At first I feel like the Tinman from the Wizard of Oz, creaking and jarring on rusty joints, but after a while, I adjust to the morning pangs and roving aches of my overweight, over 60-year-old body. I chant Thich Nhat Hanh words:

Helping You Maintain Your Independence

“Breathing in, I calm my body.

Breathing out, I smile.

Dwelling in the present moment, I know this a wonderful moment.”

On many mornings, the wind has just swept the fog away across the bay and the sky is light blue and bright. The breeze keeps me comfortable, and I’m grateful for it.

I hear the cry of the Clapper Rail hiding in the reeds on the far side of Gallinas Creek.

Mockingbirds sing and doves softly coo. I see the peak of Mt. Tamalpais to the west and Mt. Diablo to the east over the water.

I try not to stop, but when I see a Snowy Egret gliding over the water channels in the marsh, I watch it float slowly down and gracefully alight.

The ease of its flight is a contrast to the gravity that pulls at my feet and tries to keep me pinned to the ground. We are both nature’s creatures, moving on the earth, breathing the fresh morning air with the sun on our heads. I sense our connection. It’s a good day. )

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415-451-0100 www.TheWhistlestop.org 3

Photo Contest

WINNERS TRAVEL CATEGORY

PEOPLE CATEGORY FIRST PLACE The White Hat, Marilyn Bagshaw

FIRST PLACE East Meets West, Linda Leach SECOND PLACE Moroccan Camel Driver, Ann Rivo

SECOND PLACE Peruvian Man from Pisac, Keith Marsh

THIRD PLACE Puerto Montt, Chile, Steve Morey FOURTH PLACE Antarctic Ice, Al Gufstason

THIRD PLACE Girl in Red, Pat Wall FOURTH PLACE Old Man at Moroccan Market, Ann Rivo

Mysterious Death Valley Rock Photo Wins Best in Show in Contest

D

ark rocks crawling their way across the floor of Death Valley were irresistible for San Anselmo photographer Keith Marsh.

He endured a long February night of freezing temperatures to capture the photo that was named Best in Show in the second annual Whistlestop Photography Contest.

More than 80 photos were entered and Marsh’s photo also won first place in the Nature category. Winning photographers will be honored at a 6pm reception November 2, co-sponsored by Whistlestop and Marin Acura.

Marsh, 60, took the photo with a Nikon D70 at f/11 at 1/400 4 The Whistlestop Express

October 2010

second, at Race Track in Death Valley, on a dry lakebed located in a part of the park accessible only by a 28-mile washboard road.

Marsh said, “These rocks fall from the hills at the south end of the lake and move across the mud flats, leaving trails. It is a mystery as to how and why they move.

Experts believe that when it rains, the mud becomes very slippery and high winds move the rocks.”

Other winners were: Nature Category: 2nd George Cunha, Zen Moment at Yosemite; 3rd Ann Rivo, Jellyfish at Monterey Aquarium; 4th Al Gustafson, Antarctic Guardian. People: 1st Marilyn Bagshaw, The White Hat; 2nd Keith Marsh, Peruvian Man from Pisac; 3rd Pat Wall, Girl in Red; 4th

Ann Rivo, Old Man at Moroccan Market. Travel: 1st Linda Leach, East Meets West; 2nd Rivo, Moroccan Camel Driver; 3rd Steve Morey, Puerto Montt, Chile; 4th Al Gustafson, Antarctic Ice. Animals: 1st Marsh, Sandhill Cranes Take Flight; 2nd Cunha, Song Sparrow Singing Songs; 3rd Rivo, African Elephants; 4th Gustafson, Nest Building. Third and fourth place winning photos will be published in the November issue.

Judges for the contest were two gifted Marin photographers, Mark Lindsay and Terry Scussel, Whistlesop Board Vice President.

Rebecca Lack, Executive Communications Assistant at Whistlestop, managed the judging session.)

ANIMALS CATEGORY

NATURE CATEGORY FIRST PLACE Race Track, Death Valley, Keith Marsh

FIRST PLACE Sandhill Cranes Take Flight, Keith Marsh SECOND PLACE Song Sparrow Singing Songs, George Cunha

THIRD PLACE African Elephants, Ann Rivo FOURTH PLACE Nest Building, Al Gufstason

SECOND PLACE Zen Moment at Yosemite, George Cunha

THIRD PLACE JellyďŹ sh Monterey Aquarium, Ann Rivo FOURTH PLACE Antarctic Guardian, Al Gustafson

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www.TheWhistlestop.org 5

The Mystic

TABLE b y M A R K L I N D S A Y An Abundance of Zucchini

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once worked with an avid in the checkered cloth at work gardener who, once a year, I accepted it out of politeness. came to work with an But then I went to Italy and enormous basket of zucchini. A learned the zucchini secrets.

In an earlier column, I fussy and fastidious woman, she always delivered her produce told a story of a cold day in a Bolognese trattoria wrapped in a lovely, where I watched blue, checkered a hungry college tablecloth.

“I’m Long ago I student devour a sick of the stuff,” hated zucchini plate of zucchini she would say. “I’ve and had no that was swimming sautéed it, grilled in a light, savory it, made zucchini idea what to broth with chopped bread with it. Now tomatoes. The you can have the do with it. zucchini were rest.” hollowed out like the skin of a Long ago I hated zucchini hot dog and stuffed with meat. and had no idea what to do For years I’ve wanted the with it. So when it showed up

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recipe for that dish but found nothing quite like it. This month, I concocted a recipe that I believe comes close. This hearty, unexpected meal might get you to love zucchini as much as I do. ) Mark Lindsay, MFA, is an artist, food writer, cooking teacher and former Whistlestop Board member. He learned to cook in Italy, studying for eight years.

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6 The Whistlestop Express

October 2010

415-884-4343

• www.HiredHandsHomecare.com

Call today for a complimentary Needs Assessment and Home Safety Evaluation

THE MONTH Stuffed Zucchini in Broth

Serves 6 Ingredients 12 Medium zucchini, as straight as possible 1/2 lb Ground beef, lean 4 tbsp. Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling at the table) 1 Egg 3 tbsp. Breadcrumbs Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste 3 tbsp. Extra-virgin olive oil 2 cups Meat broth, preferably homemade 6 Roma tomatoes (preferably fresh; canned are acceptable) peeled, seeded and cut roughly into large pieces 6 Basil leaves, torn into small pieces

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R o s s Va l l ey D e n t a l

oak zucchini in a large bowl of water to remove grit. Cut both ends off and cut the zucchini crosswise into two pieces. With an apple corer, hollow out the zucchini so they have a long tunnel cut into them lengthwise, end to end. Mix the ground beef, grated ParmigianoReggiano, egg, breadcrumbs, a large pinch of salt and several grindings of black pepper. Mix thoroughly. The mixture should be savory and well-seasoned. You can sautĂŠ a tiny bit of the mixture to taste it if you like.

Stuff the zucchini with the meat mixture. The stufďŹ ng will expand when you cook it, so leave some room at each end.

Put the olive oil in a large, wide pan that can hold all the zucchini in one layer. Heat the oil over medium heat and add zucchini. Brown the zucchini on all sides. Add the broth, a large pinch of salt and several grindings of black pepper.

Cover the pan tightly with a lid and cook the zucchini for about 20 minutes, turning them from time to time. Add chopped tomatoes, cover and cook for another 15 minutes, occasionally turning the zucchini. Add the basil, cover the pan and cook for another 5 minutes.

Place the zucchini pieces in shallow soup bowls, two pieces per bowl. Add some broth to each bowl, sprinkle on some extra Parmigiano-Reggiano and serve piping hot with some crusty bread. )

Recipe of

415 454.5667

915 Sir Francis Drake San Anselmo Dr. Constantine J. Karsant D.D.S. www.rossvalleydental.com

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(415) 457-2256 www.HealthCareConnectionLLC.com www.TheWhistlestop.org 7

A place to celebrate each moment.

“Residents are the heart of our community.”

Learn More at

WHISTLESTOP MARIN COUNTY SENIOR INFORMATION FAIR 0DUPCFS t BN UP QN Civic Center, Marin Exhibit Hall, 10 Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael More than 125 booths, flu shot clinic and more Visit www.marinseniorinformationfair.org

Assisted Living | Memory Care

515 Northgate Drive, San Rafael, CA 94903

415.233.6199

www.almaviaofsanrafael.org AlmaVia of San Rafael, an Elder Care Alliance community is cosponsored by the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas West Midwest Community & the Sierra Pacific Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. RCFE Lic # 216801868.

Thank You

for sponsoring our second Photography Contest and doing something good for an older adult!

LEVEL I COMPUTER CLASS 5VFTEBZT /PWFNCFS UP %FDFNCFS (No class on 11/23) 'SJEBZT 0DUPCFS UP %FDFNCFS (No class on 11/26) BN UP /PPO Instructors: Michael Kress (Tuesdays) and Letitia Sanders (Fridays) | Fee: $60 for 6-week course To register: call 415-459-6700 LEVEL II COMPUTER CLASS 5IVSTEBZT 0DUPCFS UP %FDFNCFS (No class on Nov 11 & 25) t BN UP /PPO Instructor: Ed Essick | Fee: $60 for 6-week course To register: call 415-459-6700 BEGINNING COMPUTER/ PICTURE CLASS 'SJEBZ 0DUPCFS t UP QN Instructor: Gene Dyer | Fee: $15 Pre-registration required: call 415-459-6700 Here’s your opportunity to learn how to share your digital photos with friends and family.

Learn how to set up your computer to receive photos and how to transfer them from your camera, CD or flash drive onto your computer’s hard drive. Once on the computer, learn how to send and receive them with your friends by attaching them to your e-mail program.

Sudoku

Answers

Michelle Moser, Best in Show 2009, Sunburst Forest

8 The Whistlestop Express

October 2010

ADVANCED COMPUTER/PICTURE CLASS 'SJEBZ 0DUPCFS t UP QN Instructor: Gene Dyer | Fee: $15 Pre-registration required: call 415-459-6700 An advanced class for those who have either taken the Beginners Class or already have experience with transferring pictures from their camera to the computer and sending/receiving them from others as attachments to e-mails. View various ways to display your pictures, on your computer, on your TV, and on other peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s computers using slide shows, Word or PDF documents, Power Point Presentation with text and sound and Movie format including text, fades and sound.

MOVEMENT AND MUSIC FOR THE OLDER ADULT A Universal Language .POEBZT 0DUPCFS UP %FDFNCFS BN UP /PPO Instructor: Diane Hain | Fee: $38 for 7-week course Registration required: call 415-456-9062 or register at the College of Marin This exercise class is created for older adults who have not been exercising regularly or have arthritis related problems.

It moves at a moderate, comfortable (yet progressively challenging) pace to meet individual needs. Chair exercises (to tone both upper and lower body muscles) will comprise a major portion of the class. Also included: joint flexibility, muscle strengthening, balance, breathing coordination and modified Tai Chi movements, combined with relaxing music, conducive to reducing stress.

DEUTSCHE GESELLSCHAFT .POEBZT t BN UP QN Wir haben eine neue Idee in Whistlestop wo wir eine Deutsch sprechende Gruppe Zusammen bringen und wir uns in Deutsch amusieren konnen. Wir freuen uns auf Ihr kennen lernen, bitte rufen Sie fur Auskunft.

OKTOBERFEST LUNCHEON 8FEOFTEBZ 0DUPCFS t /PPO UP QN Jackson CafĂŠ | Fee: $6 for older adults, $9 for under 60 Registration required: call 415-456-9062 Please join us for live entertainment and a delicious meal!

Menu: bratwurst with mustard and sauerkraut, German potatoes, red cabbage, soft pretzels, dessert, and raspberry iced tea.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO HELP WITH WHISTLESTOP TAX PROGRAM Whistlestop is seeking volunteers to help low-to-moderate income people with their 2010 taxes. Volunteers commit from February through April and must participate in the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) training (held in

January) to become certified.

For more information, email Debbie.benedetti@ thewhistlestop.org or call 415-456-9062 x124.

EDUCATIONAL PRESENTATION: MEDICARE AND YOU 5IVSTEBZ 0DUPCFS t QN Speaker: Suzanne Schneider, CEBS, CLTC | Free To register: call 415-456-9062 Learn about the various changes to Medicare as a result of the federal Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008, Medicare Supplement insurance, also called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Medigapâ&#x20AC;? insurance, the new Obama Healthcare Reform, new Part B benefits beginning 2011, Part D doughnut hole benefits and more.

ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S TEA DANCE TIME AGAIN! 'SJEBZ 0DUPCFS t UP QN Caboose Room | Fee: $2 to offset the cost of food Join Whistlestop for music and dancing at our next Tea Dance. If you missed our first dance, you wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to miss out again. Snacks, drinks will be provided.

EAT WELLâ&#x20AC;ŚAGE WELL 5VFTEBZ 0DUPCFS t UP QN Jackson CafĂŠ Speaker: Doris Bersing, PhD, President and Co-founder of Living Well Assisted Living at Home Nutritious food is an important part of a balanced diet.

Eating well contributes to living a long, active life and preserves your independence. A healthy diet means eating food which you enjoy, which will give you all the nutrients, and to sharing your food and meals with family and friends.

CHAIR MASSAGE SE 5IVSTEBZ t BN UP QN Lounge Therapist: Gail Orchier, CMT 10-minute sessions on a donation basis. First-come, firstserved, so arrive early to get on the waiting list. www.riverguidess.com/fluidhands.html

Transportation Numbers Scheduling Rides: 454-0964 Cancelling Rides: 457-4630 Eligibility Coordinator, Janet Van Rijsbergen

454-0964, ext. 160 janet.vanrijsbergen@thewhistlestop.org www.TheWhistlestop.org 9

Whistlestop CLASS

LOCATION

MISC.

COST

MONDAYS

8:45–10:45 AM 10:30–NOON 11:00–NOON 11:00–12:30 PM 2:00–4:00 PM 4:00–5:30 PM

English Conversation Senior Persian Group Computer Literacy Senior German Group ESL Citizenship

Caboose Lounge Computer Lab Box Car Caboose/Café Caboose

454-0998 for info 479-6020 for info Open Open Aug 16th-Dec 8th 454-0998 for info

Free Free Free Free Free Free

TUESDAYS

This Month at Whistlestop

9:15–10:30 AM 10:30–3:00 PM 10:45–11:45 AM 1:00–3:00 PM 2:00–3:30 PM

Exercisers Senior Asian Group Cardio Exercise Spanish Class English Conversation

Caboose Caboose Caboose Caboose Board Room

Open 454-1552 for info Open Open 454-0998 for info

$2 Free Free Free Free

FRIDAYS THURSDAYS WEDNESDAYS

ACTIVITIES TIME

9:00–10:30 AM 10:00–11:30 AM 10:00–NOON 10:30–NOON 11:00–NOON 2:00–4:00 PM

Tai Chi Qigong Seniors' Circle Computer Lab Senior Persian Group Corazón Latino ESL

Caboose Board Room Computer Lab Lounge Caboose Caboose/Café

Suggested Donation Open Open 479-6020 for info Open Aug 16th-Dec 8th

$10 Free Free Free Free Free

9:15–10:30 AM 10:30–NOON 10:30–3:00 PM 12:30–2:00 PM 2:15–3:15 PM 3:00–4:00 PM

Exercisers Art Class Senior Asian Group On Site Notary Chair Yoga Vietn.Citizenship

Caboose Lounge Caboose Arcade Jackson Café Caboose

Open Open 454-1552 for info Open Open 454-1552 for info

$2 Free Free $2/Signature $5 Free

11:00–1:00 PM 1:30–3:30 PM 1:30–3:30 PM 2:00-4:00 PM

Loom Knitting ACASA Spanish Club Friday Movie

Caboose Board Room Caboose Jackson Café

1st Fri. Arts & Crafts Peer Counseling Open Free Snacks/Drinks

Free Free Free Free

Jackson Café

Monday-Friday 11:30am-1:30pm Located in Whistlestop Active Aging Center

LUNCH MENU

The Caboose, Computer Lab, Board Room and Jackson Café are all located at Whistlestop’s Active Aging Center – 930 Tamalpais Ave., San Rafael.

UNDER 60 PRICES Main Entrée $6.25 Turkey Sandwich $3.25 Soup $2.25 Hamburger $5.00 Pizza $4.50 Salads $3.50

60+ PRICES Main Entrée Turkey Sandwich Soup Hamburger Pizza Salads

10 The Whistlestop Express

$3.75 $2.75 $1.75 $4.00 $3.50 $2.50

October 2010

OTHER ITEMS Tuna Salad Side $1.25 Fresh Fruit Cup $.75 Cottage Cheese $1.00 Desserts $.50 Beverages $.50-$.75

continued from page 1 be mailed free, thus reducing cost of publication significantly. The new Express will have more photos and more color than previously, at considerably less cost. The Sun will handle all advertising in the Express.

Pacific Sun Publisher Gina Channel-Allen said, “The Whistlestop Express has great content readers look forward to every month. The Pacific Sun has a business model to provide that It's a win-win great content to more people at a lower cost for everyone, to Whistlestop. It’s a but particularly win-win for everyone, but particularly for the the readers. readers.”

Readers may pick up Whistlestop Express at any of the 400 Sun distribution points throughout the county.

In addition, extra copies will be dropped off monthly at the following locations: Margaret Todd Senior Center, Kaiser Hospital Terra Linda, Villa Marin, Drake Terrace, Smith Ranch Homes Alma Via, Marin County Commission on Aging, Goldenaires, Downtown Kaiser, Pickleweed Community Center, West Marin Senior Services, Marin General, The Tamalpais, Kentfield Rehabilitation & Specialty Hospital, Aegis of Corte Madera, The Redwoods, Marguerita C. Johnson Senior Center, Belvedere-Tiburon Library, San Rafael Library, Cardiovascular Associates of Marin and San Francisco. )

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ĚũƵƐƚĂďůĞ ,ĞŝŐŚƚ ^ŝŶŬ ĂŶĚ ^ƚŽǀĞͲ dǁŽ ŽĨ DĂŶLJ &ĞĂƚƵƌĞƐ͙

Experience Corps Marin Needs You! Looking for a way to share your love of reading and kids while contributing some time and skills in your community? Experience Corps Marin offers free training for volunteers age 55+ to work as early literacy tutors and mentors in K-3 San Rafael elementary classes. It’s never too late to return to school as a member of our seasoned and talented team of tutors! Find out more about participating in our free training on Wednesday, October 13, from 10am-1pm. Stipends are available for tutoring commitments of 10 plus hours a week. To receive an application packet, contact Susan Kraemer at 415-464-1767 or via email @skraemer@ncphs.org. www.TheWhistlestop.org 11

Marin from

THE BIRD'S SIDE

b y R I C H A R D PAV E K

Welcome the Cranes Back

S

oon the Sandhill Cranes – these splendid birds move along with Tundra Swans, majestically through the air White-fronted Geese, and in small and large groups, other migratory birds – will their low-pitched gargling begin arriving at their winter conversations announcing their feeding grounds near Lodi. approach long before they sweep over you Just in time LODI CRANE FESTIVAL –taking your breath for the Lodi Nov. 5-7, 2010For with them.

Crane Festival information, visit For all their the weekend www.cranefestival.com size, the Cranes are of November or call 800-581-6150. extremely timid.

5 through 7.

They may be feeding Amazing how they timed that. Smart birds! half a block from the road but This is a great festival and easy will start moving away just for us Marinites to get to, being as soon as a passing car slows down. Please resist the urge to only a two-hour drive. follow them; you will only drive The Cranes are captivating. them off further.

Four feet tall with a six The Festival features good and a half foot wingspread,

12 The Whistlestop Express

October 2010

food, a popular art show, free informational programs, and an exhibit hall. Look for me; I’ll be there all three days. If you can’t make the Festival, email me and I will send you a map to the Crane area.

Join my photo conversations about birds and birdlife at www.RichardsBirdBlog. com. (Among the photo-posts you will find two on Sandhill Cranes and one on Tundra Swans.)

Would you like an interesting bird photo in your in-box every weekend? Just ask me: SHENmaker@MSN.com. ) Until next time, Richard

Financial

NUGGETS

by JEFF STOFFER, CPA, CFPÂŽ

No Easy Answer

W

hen President Obama took ofďŹ ce, he referred to the Ship of State as a massive vessel needing course correction. Likewise, our becalmed economy needs redirection. Are we headed for a â&#x20AC;&#x153;double dipâ&#x20AC;? recession â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a second slide following quickly on the heels of the ďŹ rst?

The problem: the economy needs renewed strength to pull out of the current slowdown.

Our options are limited in part by too much debt. At the onset of the ďŹ nancial crisis, the federal government spent huge amounts of money to avoid a full-blown depression.

The positive impact of stimulus spending is beginning to wane. Unemployment remains stubbornly high. Consumers wanting to reduce debt are not spending.

When countries take on too much debt, as Greece did, lenders become reluctant to reďŹ nance debt. They demand higher interest rates. The rising cost of borrowing makes the debt even more unmanageable. The U.S. is at historic high levels not seen since the end of WWII. How do we revitalize the economy and reduce the ďŹ scal deďŹ cit to reasonable levels?

The solutions: One: grow our way out of the problem. Economic growth would reduce unemployment and increase consumer spending. Further stimulus may be needed.

The economy will be lucky to post two percent growth in the fourth quarter. However, stimulus spending increases the deďŹ cit.

Two: exercise ďŹ scal austerity: cut government spending. Fiscal conservatives view our deďŹ cit as already excessive. However, cutting government spending in a weak environment is risky.

Three: increase taxes to ďŹ ght the deďŹ cit.

Unfortunately, this reduces demand.

Navigating these choices is like trying to drive a car while applying the gas and the brakes at the same time. )

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Jeff Stoffer is a Whistlestop Board member. www.TheWhistlestop.org 13

Grand

MOM

by AUDREY METTEL FIXMER

Payback Time

Visiting AngelsÂŽ is the premium provider of In-Home care services for Marin county and the surrounding areas!

s %MPLOYEE "ASED s 3CREENED s "ONDED s )NSURED

3ERVICES )NCLUDE s &2%% )N (OME #ARE !SSESSMENT BY AN 2. s /N #ALL 2. AND #OORDINATORS s )MMEDIATE RESPONSE TO SCHEDULING NEEDS s #OMPREHENSIVE 0ERSONAL #ARE s -EDICATION 2EMINDERS s ,IGHT (OUSEKEEPING s -EAL 0REPARATION s %RRANDS 3HOPPING s *OYFUL #OMPANIONSHIP s $AY OR NIGHT ,IVE IN OR ,IVE OUT CARE s 4EMPORARY OR ,ONG 4ERM CARE s 7EEKENDS (OLIDAYS s 2ESPITE FOR FAMILY CAREGIVERS s &LEXIBLE SCHEDULES

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R

emember when your kids were small and you were busy working as they played their little â&#x20AC;&#x153;pretend storiesâ&#x20AC;? in which one of them had the Mama role? Suddenly that character said something like, â&#x20AC;&#x153;And donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make me tell you that again!â&#x20AC;? (or worse) and you thought, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ugh! Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d better watch what I say. Little Sir Echo will repeat it!â&#x20AC;? What could be worse?

Well, I just found out. Broadcasting it to the world! I am immensely proud of our daughter, Elizabeth, whose ďŹ rst novel just came out last week. Trouble is, everyone knows that writers often base their novels on real life. In Elizabethâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s novel, Saint Training, the central character is 12-year-old Mary Clare, the eldest daughter in a big family, who is helping raise her younger siblings, while her overburdened mother does â&#x20AC;Ś I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know, lights another cigarette? Okay, everybody did it in the 50â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and 60â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s!

When I protested to Elizabeth, reminding her that I did all of the cooking, baking, laundry, and sewed everything the girls wore, she said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mother! This is ďŹ ction! Anyway, you always said itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a writerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s privilege to embellish the truth.â&#x20AC;?

She was conďŹ dent that readers would not think badly of the mother.

So how come, when Elizabeth was interviewed on public radio, the interviewer said he found it quite humorous, â&#x20AC;&#x153;But that mother! I was so mad at her!â&#x20AC;?

Last week we were in New Jersey visiting Rob, the journalist, and his family. As I confessed my concerns, I realized that Rob was nearing retirement and was almost sure to write a novel or two. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rob, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t you use your talents to write bad things about me. I wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just roll over in my grave, I will haunt you!â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mom!â&#x20AC;? he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;How can you say that? You have been writing about us kids all these years and embarrassed us over and over again.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yeah, Mom,â&#x20AC;? said Elizabeth, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s payback time!â&#x20AC;? ) Audrey, mother of 10, has been publishing her Grand Mom column in the Madison, WI, Diocesan Catholic Herald for the past 15 years.

Contact her at audreyďŹ x@yahoo.com.

14 The Whistlestop Express

October 2010

Easy Ways to Give to

WHISTLESTOP (Most of Which Won't Cost You Anything)

Y

ou can help Whistlestop do something good for an older adult in many ways. And, the effort is painless. Each month, in the Express, we will list some of the possibilies.

1. Donate a car through Car Donation Services: 888-686-4483.

2. Get involved. Volunteer your time to help us greet people as they arrive at the Active Aging Center, serve meals, prepare a mailing or set up for an event.

SUDOKU

Readers Give Silver Express High Grades

R

To solve the Sudoku, each square in the grid must contain a number between one and nine, with the following conditions: s %ACH ROW OF NINE CELLS MUST CONTAIN EACH OF THE NUMBERS FROM TO ONCE AND ONLY ONCE s %ACH COLUMN OF NINE CELLS MUST CONTAIN EACH OF THE NUMBERS FROM TO ONCE AND ONLY ONCE s %ACH OF THE NINE BY BOXES OF NINE CELLS MUST CONTAIN EACH OF THE NUMBERS FROM TO ONCE AND ONLY ONCE !NSWERS ON PAGE

3. Come hang out at the Active Aging Centerâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; by showing up you are helping to make the Center full of more positive energy.

4. Tell people about Whistlestop's Active Aging programs and services. Being an advocate really helps to spread the word.

5. Involve your community service organization to do a project or raise money on behalf of Whistlestop.

6. Make in-kind donations for income tax credit.)

espondents to the second annual Whistlestop Readership Survey gave the Silver Express high grades and offered numerous helpful suggestions.

Three hundred readers responded. They were asked to rank various features of the publication, with 5 being the high score and 1 the lowest in each category.

Some of the results: Readability: 74% ranked us at 5 and 21% at 4 for a combined 95% approval.

Looks & Layout: 65% and 27% for 92%.

Useful information: 55% and 33% for 88%.

Interesting stories: 51% and 35% for 86%.

Readers also said they like various features. Combined 5 and 4 rankings follow: Birdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Side of Marin (Richard Pavek), 80%; Whistlestop Perspective (Joe Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hehir and Board President Debbie Mills); 78%; Financial Nuggets by Jeff Stoffer, 72%; Mystic Table by Mark Lindsay, 68%.

Seventy-six percent said they want us to continue publishing monthly, 13% bi-monthly and 10% quarterly.

More than 200 respondents took time to offer personal comments. Some of those were: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We found an attorney to do our trust through two guest columns we liked and he was excellent!â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;I enjoyed Joe Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hehirâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s article about Spirit Rock.â&#x20AC;?

"It's always helpful to remind people (of all ages) about personal ďŹ nances and ďŹ nancial responsibility."

"It has been a subtle reminder to extend a hand to assist our elders."

Some reader suggestions: use less expensive paper; publish more articles on spirituality; also, tips on pet care for older adults; more news about changes in laws or pending legislation that affect seniors; run the bird pictures in color; bring back the Grand Mom column; more simple recipes for one or two people; an occasional article on gardening.) www.TheWhistlestop.org 15

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Whistlestop E PRESS Marin Senior Coordinating Council 930 Tamalpais Avenue San Rafael, CA 94901-3325 TheWhistlestop.org To subscribe to Whistlestop Express, please send $10 in the enclosed envelope.

Or send an email with your request, your name and address to info@thewhistlestop.org

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