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Phase Two of Your Life
A Mature News Magazine for Southeastern Wisconsin
VOL. 31 NO. 5
A Sport, a Team and a Man; Three Incredible Stories Rolled Into One
INSIDE....
SENIOR FEST Wednesday, June 14th
Italian Community Center See Page 11
W
BY JACK PEARSON
hat follows is an exceptional story from the world of sport, which I doubt you will ever read about or see in the major newspapers, television or radio. It is actually a combination of three stories. The first of the trilogy has to do with the sport of dartball. If you’re not a dartball enthusiast, you probably are not aware of the exceptional significance of the game. For starters, it is the most popular competitive sport for seniors ever devised. And not that it is for seniors only. The game is played by all ages, from early teens on up into the 90s. But here’s the key; unlike all other competitive physical sports, the best and most successful players are in their 50s, 60s, and 70s, even into their 80s. Think of that. In sports such as baseball, football and basketball, by the time an athlete is into his or her late 30s, he or she is considered over the hill. Gymnasts are considered too old for the sport when they reach their mid 20s. In the recently completed Wisconsin State Dartball Championship in Green Bay (the largest ever, by the way, in its 78year history), the winning team averaged just under 60 years of age, and one of the best playPEARSON continued on page 32
June 2017
FLAG DAY June 14th
APARTMENT& CONDOMINIUM
DIRECTORY
See Pages 15-29
Dartball’s Bob Leskovar with the tools of his sport.
“WINNING ISN’T EVERYTHING…” AGING ISSUES
By Tom Frazier
Although he may not have been first to say it, Vince Lombardi said “Winning isn’t everything; it is the only thing.” But, he was talking about football, not healthcare. As much as we Green Bay Packers’ fans might think so, football is not about life and death, but healthcare is. But for House Republicans who passed their version of “repeal and replace” Obamacare
on a 217-214 party line vote, it is not about healthcare so much as it is about winning and redistribution of income through tax cuts. You may remember that the original version of the euphemistically-called American Health Care Act (AHCA) didn’t have enough votes to pass the House because the “Freedom Caucus” (Tea Party conservatives) re-
fused to vote for it because it was still too generous, and moderate Republicans refused to vote for it because it was too punitive, especially the draconian cuts to Medicaid. So in the spirit of winning football, Speaker Ryan threw a bone to both groups in order to get the 217 votes he needed. To mollify the conservatives, he came up with an amendment to the
FRAZIER continued on page 3