Prime Montgomery

Prime Celebrating Midlife and Beyond

Montgomery

May 2012 FREE

Time to Downsize?

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n u F r i y) a F t e e ssa r e t o t S o (ph INside Sodas & Strokes n Luncheon Salad Trio n Prune Azaleas Now n Fleas & Mange? Yuck! n DVDs: Iron Lady n Go (Key) West n

Montgomery’s Space Pioneer

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May 2012 | www.primemontgomery.com

Features 10 Downsize me

Moving to a smaller home with fewer possessions is a physical AND mental challenge.

By Brenda Robertson Dennis

16 when chimps flew

Before the U.S. sent a man into space, chimps faced the G-forces and weightlessness of this new frontier.

By Willie G. Moseley

26 finding the key Jimmy Buffett’s music and Ernest Hemingway’s spirit contribute to Key West’s laid-back atmosphere.

By Andrea Gross

Columns 7

A Gracious Plenty — Carron Morrow

8

Senior Investment Protection - Joe Borg

9

In Every Life — Arlene Morris

13

Social Security — Kylle’ McKinney

14

Yard ‘n Garden — Ethel Dozier Boykin

15

Moving Free — Mirabai Holland

20

Off the Beaten Path — Niko Corley

21

MoneyWi$e — Alan Wallace

24 25

PetWatch — Steve Dale Medicare Q & A

32

DVD Reviews — Mark Glass

Prime Celebrating Midlife and Beyond

MontgoMery

May 2012 FREE

Time to Downsize?

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Fun t Fair Stree(photo essay) INSIDE Sodas & Strokes Luncheon Salad Trio Prune Azaleas Now Fleas & Mange? Yuck! n DVDs: Iron Lady n Go (Key) West n

n n n

Montgomery’s Space Pioneer

On the cover: Street Fair Aerialist.

Photo by Callie Corley

May 2012 www.primemontgomery.com | May 2012

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Editor’s Note It was good to meet so many of our readers at the Alabama Book Festival and Helicity’s Montgomery Street Fair in late April. Despite ominous threats of rain (I could count the drops) many persisted and came out to enjoy the day.

The Book Festival is always a treat, a terrific opportunity to hear Alabama writers in an intimate setting. With authors such as Rheta Grimsley Johnson, Homer Hickam, and Dr. Wayne Flynt, you couldn’t ask for a more pleasant way to spend a day.

As for the Montgomery Street Fair, it was refreshing to 1) see so much activity downtown and 2) see a young, energized group building on the Alleyway’s success and creating such an invigorating new initiative that included fire breathers on the square, aerial gymnasts on Dexter, and Chinese Dragons at the fountain! Although the event didn’t garner the thousands of onlookers drawn by its predecessor in 1899, it was a great start to a tradition Helicity organizers say they expect to continue.

Best of all, both events gave us the opportunity to have a two-way conversation with you. We know the magazines fly off the shelves in all 450 locations, but unless we put a camera at each stand, we have no idea who picks up Prime, much less what you like (or dislike) about our magazine. Thanks to all of you who stopped by our booths at both locations. Please continue the conversation by writing me at primeeditor@gmail.com. What would you like to see more of?

Less of? Is there a story idea or topic related to our “midlife and beyond” niche we need to know about? Drop me a line and I’ll definitely reply.

Speaking of readers’ suggestions, that’s exactly how we came upon this month’s feature story on local resident and U.S. Space Program pioneer Dr. Marvin Grunzke. In Making Space History (page 16) writer Willie Moseley gives us an absorbing read, detailing Dr. Grunzke’s task of training the chimps America launched into space in the early 1960s. A Prime reader alerted us to the presence of this Faulkner University professor and major player in the early days of America’s space race, and we thank her for the idea.

If you’ve looked around and found more empty than occupied bedrooms in your home, it may be time to consider downsizing. “What will I do with the living room furniture?” was my father’s seemingly silly reply when we’d posed the question to him. Turns out, that concern is far from silly and one many Boomers grapple with as more of us hit retirement age with each passing day. This month, in Downsize Me (page 10), writer Brenda Robertson Dennis talks with two couples who downsized, and how they reached their decision to move away from “home,” with additional insights from local realtors.

With May upon us (and if the gas prices quit soaring) it won’t be long before many of us hit the open road for a summertime adventure. Travel writer Andrea Gross suggests we consider heading east, to Key West. In her feature Finding the Key (page 26), Andrea describes the attraction – and attractions – of this Hemingway wonderland.

Happy May and Happy Mothers Day!

Sandra Polizos Editor primeeditor@gmail.com 4

May 2012 | www.primemontgomery.com

Prime

Celebrating Midlife and Beyond

If you’re 50+ and on Facebook, become a fan of PRIME Montgomery!

Montgomery

May 2012,Volume 3, Issue 2 PUBLISHER Bob Corley, primemontgomery@gmail.com EDITOR Sandra Polizos, primeeditor@gmail.com ART DIRECTOR Callie Corley, primemagdesign@gmail.com WRITERS Brenda Robertson Dennis, Andrea Gross, Willie G. Moseley, CONTRIBUTORS Ethel Boykin, Tina Calligas, Niko Corley, Steve Dale, Mark Glass, Mirabai Holland, Kylle’ McKinney, Arlene Morris, Carron Morrow, Alan Wallace PHOTOGRAPHERS Bob Corley, Callie Corley, Irv Green, Heath Stone INTERN Meagan Ashner SALES Bob Corley, 334-202-0114, primemontgomery@gmail.com Prime Montgomery 7956 Vaughn Road, #144 Montgomery, AL 36116 • 334-202-0114 www.primemontgomery.com ISSN 2152-9035 Prime Montgomery is a publication of The Polizos/Corley Group, LLC. Original content is copyright 2012 by The Polizos/Corley Group, LLC., all rights reserved, with replication of any portion prohibited without written permission. Opinions expressed are those of contributing writer(s) and not necessarily those of The Polizos/ Corley Group, LLC. Prime Montgomery is published monthly except for the combined issue of December/January. Information in articles, departments, columns, and other content areas, as well as advertisements, does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Prime Montgomery magazine. Items relating to health, finances, and legal issues are not offered as substitutes for the advice and consultation of health, financial, and legal professionals.

Consult properly degreed and licensed professionals when dealing with financial, medical, emotional, or legal matters.

We accept no liability for errors or omissions, and are not responsible for advertiser claims.

news you can use One in Five Americans Has Hearing Loss Nearly a fifth of all Americans 12 years or older have hearing loss so severe that it may make communication difficult, according to a new study led by Johns Hopkins researchers and published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The findings, thought to be the first nationally representative estimate of hearing loss, suggest that many more people than previously thought are affected by this condition.

retina in the eye are more likely to have problems with thinking and memory skills because they may also have vascular disease in the brain, according to a study published in NeurologyÂŽ, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Damage to the retina is called retinopathy. In the study, the damage was mild enough to not cause significant symptoms. According to researchers, problems with the tiny blood vessels in the eye may be a sign that there are also problems with the blood vessels in the brain that can lead to cognitive problems. This could be very useful if a simple eye screening could give physicians an early indication that people might be at risk of problems with their brain health and functioning.

No Bones About It: Eating Dried Plums Helps Prevent Fractures and Osteoporosis When it comes to improving bone health in postmenopausal women - and people of all ages, actually - a Florida State University researcher has found a simple, proactive solution to help prevent fractures and osteoporosis: eating dried plums. The researchers found that a group of women that consumed dried plums had significantly higher bone mineral density in the ulna (one of two long bones in the forearm) and spine, in comparison with a similar group that ate dried apples. Researchers noted this was due in part to the ability of dried plums to suppress the rate of bone resorption, or the breakdown of bone, which tends to exceed the rate of new bone growth as people age. The study was published in the British Journal of Nutrition. In the United States, about 8 million women have osteoporosis because of the sudden cessation of ovarian hormone production at the onset of menopause.

Is Meditation the Push-Up for the Brain?

Two years ago, researchers at UCLA found that specific regions in the brains of long-term meditators were larger and had more gray matter than the brains of individuals in a control group. This suggested that meditation may indeed be good for all of us since, alas, our brains shrink naturally with age. Now, a follow-up study suggests that people who meditate also have stronger connections between brain regions and show less age-related brain atrophy.

Having stronger connections influences the ability to rapidly relay electrical signals in the brain. And significantly, these effects are evident throughout the entire brain, not just in specific areas.

The study appeared in the online edition of the journal NeuroImage.

Eye Health May Be Related to Brain Health People with mild vascular disease that causes damage to the

Vitamin D Deficiency Linked to Higher Mortality in Female Nursing Home Residents The majority of institutionalized elderly female patients are vitamin D de-

ficient and there is an inverse association of vitamin D deficiency and mortality, according to a recent study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM).

Recommendations for dietary vitamin D intake in the elderly are higher than any other age group because vitamin D deficiency is extraordinarily prevalent in this population and is considered a causal risk factor for skeletal diseases.

Treatment involves the daily ingestion of up to 800 IU of vitamin D. Drinking Coffee May Protect Against Endometrial Cancer Long-term coffee consumption may be associated with a reduced risk for endometrial cancer, according to a recent study in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health, said coffee is emerging as a protective agent in cancers that are linked to obesity, estrogen and insulin. During the course of 26 years of follow-up of 67,470 women, researchers documented that drinking more than four cups of coffee per day was linked with a 25 percent reduced risk for endometrial cancer. Drinking between two and three cups per day was linked with a 7 percent reduced risk. A similar link was seen in decaffeinated coffee, where drinking more than two cups per day was linked with a 22 percent reduced risk for endometrial cancer. Coffee has already been shown to be protective against diabetes due to its effect on insulin.

Go Red for Better Sleep Americans seeking a better night’s sleep may need to look no further than tart cherry juice, according to a new www.primemontgomery.com | May 2012

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to a growing body of evidence supporting the benefits of tart cherry juice as a sleep aid, research indicates that tart cherries may help reduce inflammation related to arthritis, heart disease and exercise-related muscle pain.

study in the European Journal of Nutrition. An international team of researchers found that when adults had two daily glasses of tart cherry juice, they slept 39 minutes longer, on average, and had up to 6% increase in overall sleep efficiency (significantly less non-sleep time in bed), compared to when they drank a non-cherry, fruit cocktail.. The researchers attribute the sleep benefits to the melatonin content of the red Super Fruit – a powerful antioxidant critical for sleep-wake cycle regulation.

Tart cherries in juice, dried and frozen form are packed with other powerful antioxidant compounds, including anthocyanins – the compounds responsible for cherries’ bright red color. In addition

Soda Consumption Increases Stroke Risk Researchers from Cleveland Clinic’s Wellness Institute and Harvard University have found that greater consumption of sugar-sweetened and lowcalorie sodas is associated with a higher risk of stroke.

Conversely, consumption of caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee was associated with a lower risk.

The study -- recently published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition -- is the first to examine soda’s affect on stroke risk. Previous research has linked sugar-sweetened beverage consumption with weight gain, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, gout and

coronary artery disease.

“Soda remains the largest source of added sugar in the diet,” said Adam Bernstein, MD, ScD, study author and Research Director at Cleveland Clinic’s Wellness Institute.

“What we’re beginning to understand is that regular intake of these beverages sets off a chain reaction in the body that can potentially lead to many diseases -- including stroke.”

In sugar-sweetened sodas, the sugar load may lead to rapid increases in blood glucose and insulin which, over time, may lead to glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, and inflammation.

These physiologic changes influence atherosclerosis, plaque stability and thrombosis -- all of which are risk factors of ischemic stroke.

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May 2012 | www.primemontgomery.com

a gracious plenty

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ay is a beautiful time of the year for graduating, getting married and having a last ladies luncheon before families head off to summer activities at the beach or the Carron Morrow lake.

Our menu – a trio of salads – has been prepared in our kitchen thousands of times for the governor’s mansion, first ladies of the mayor’s office, and many of our state’s hostesses who want a pretty, preset table as guests arrive.

The food is enhanced with the addition of lovely linens, bouquets of spring flowers and personalized name cards, providing the opportunity for guests to feel very feminine.

Carron Morrow owns Personal Touch Events, a 35-year-old Montgomery-based company specializing in corporate and personal catering and event planning. Contact Carron at 334-279-6279 or by e-mail at carronmorrow@bellsouth.net, or visit www. onlinepersonaltouch.com.

Ladies Luncheon Salad Trio

Trio Salad Plate Fruit Salad — Fresh pineapple, strawberries, cantaloupe Cut these eye-pleasing color variations into squares or balls.

The fruit is delicious when soaked in Grand Marnier for several hours before serving.

A strawberry can be soaked up to 12 hours in a glass container before becoming weak.

Drain the liquid and prepare the plate.

Note: If you wash strawberries in

water and place them in an airtight con-

tainer, mold will cover every berry within 24 hours. Soaking them in alcohol prevents that.

Pasta Salad — Rotini, green olives, tiny green onions, white pepper, salt, grated cheddar cheese, Hellmann’s© mayo Prepare vegetable rotini according to the package and set aside to cool.

Clean florets of broccoli and cauli-

flower and blanch in hot water, then set aside to cool.

After cooling, combine rotini, vegetables, olives and onions with enough mayo to hold all ingredients together.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon about four ounces on the plate beside the fruit and sprinkle pasta with grated cheddar cheese.

Chicken Salad — Chicken, toasted pecans, salt, white pepper, hearts of celery sticks I love our chicken salad. We’re sharing

it for the first time because our Prime readers are very special!

Cut a whole chicken into pieces and boil with a little salt until the chicken falls of the bone.

Debone the chicken and set aside until cool, then chop into medium pieces.

Toast pecans by placing raw pecan halves on a baking sheet with pats of real butter at intervals atop the pecans, sprinkle with salt to taste and bake at 350 degrees for fifteen minutes. Let cool.

Combine chicken, thinly chopped heart of celery sticks, 1/2 cup thinly chopped toasted pecans, salt and white pepper to taste.

The taste of white pepper rather than black pepper in this dish is important for discriminating palettes!

Place all three salads on a plate with a lovely garnish, perhaps sprigs of parley.

You can serve this with banana nut bread, a croissant or gourmet wafers. www.primemontgomery.com | May 2012

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Senior security

Defending yourself against

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ost investment frauds involve individuals and/or companies who offer investment opportunities without being properly registered (licensed) with the Alabama Securities Commission (ASC). ASC estimates that unregistered people making illegal investment offers account for almost 90% of all crime and convictions for violation of the Alabama Securities Act. About half of the securities violations are committed Joseph P. Borg by fraudsters who are out of state. The Alabama Securities Act requires the registration, or specific exemption from registration, “...of anyone who offers to sell securities, who provides financial advice for a fee or who offers investment products to any Alabama citizen.” This includes broker-dealer firms, their agents, investment adviser firms and their representatives, issuer agents, and money transmitters.

The ASC’s Registration Division is charged with the initial and ongoing registration, licensing, audit, examination and statutory compliance of individuals and firms who market and sell securities and financial services within, into or from Alabama.

This division is also responsible for the processing of fees associated with registration and license applications and renewals. In FY 2011 registration fees, plus fines and settlements for violation of the securities law, produced $17,776,255 in revenue, allowing ASC to remain self-funded. For each of the last five fiscal years ASC’s average contribution to the Alabama General Fund, after all costs of operation, exceeded $9 million.

Your first defense against securities fraud is to check it out BEFORE you invest. Any Alabama citizen can contact the ASC’s Registration Division to inquire if a particular investment and the person or company offering it for sale - is registered to conduct securities business in Alabama. Citizens can also receive a free background check on any person who offers a security by calling 1-800-222-1253.

The system of licensure and registration promotes continued professionalism in the securities industry in Alabama for those offering and selling various financial products and services. ASC’s free service to our citizens is a crucial step to take before handing over their hard-earned savings to anyone offering an investment opportunity. Investigating with our 8 May 2012 | www.primemontgomery.com

Registration Division before investing is practicing excellent due diligence and can prove to be the best defense against investment fraud. Additionally, the ASC’s Auditing and Examinations Division conducts on-site auditing and examinations of all state-regulated investment advisers and broker-dealers and their branch offices domiciled in Alabama. The audit process aids in strengthening companies’ compliance programs to more efficiently serve and protect Alabama investors.

Contact the ASC at the number listed here with inquiries concerning securities broker-dealers, agents, investment advisers/representatives, financial planners, registration status of securities or debt management programs, and to report suspected fraud or to obtain consumer information.

The ASC website (www.asc.alabama.gov) includes free investor education and fraud prevention material, a link to request a free educational presentation, news releases about true crime stories in Alabama, and a Protect Alabama Troops link for active and retired military personnel, their dependents, and all veterans who served to protect our great country.

If you have questions, concerns or complaints about financial products, contact the ASC, www.asc.alabama.gov, or call or email Dan Lord, Education and Public Affairs Manager, 334-3534858, dan.lord@asc.alabama.gov (or at the toll-free number above). The ASC is located at 401 Adams St., Montgomery.

(This article is provided by a generous grant from the Investor Protection Trust, www.investorprotection.org.)

I LOVE IT HERE. BUT THE KIDS DON’T NEED TO KNOW THAT.

334.396.1111 Assisted Living | Memory Care 1775 Halcyon Blvd. | elmcroft.com

The Power of Memory

In every life

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emories are important! Spring cleaning or moving often involves going through old papers, pictures and other memorabilia, initiating a trip down “memory lane.” Such memories provide a history of our lives and interactions with others that can help evaluate who we are and how we fit into the world. Memories can help us gain greater understanding and insight about our emotions and patterns of behavior, by showing us how we responded to Arlene Morris life’s situations. This greater insight offers opportunities for evaluating our emotional strengths or needs, and is a step toward the development of wisdom.

Reminiscence Therapy1 is the recalling of past events, feelings or thoughts in order to promote pleasure, quality of life, or adapt to present circumstances This therapy can be used in health care, with a person reflecting on the past and helping recreate their life story through events that took place long ago. For example, pictures that include clothing from the 1940s may recall memories of World War II-era rationing of leather, cotton and wool, and remind the person of coping strategies used to overcome the challenges of that time.

Another example is from a friend’s account of borrowing

rationed sugar from church members in order to bake a wedding cake for a military bride. These examples illustrate how “simple reminiscence” provides the individual an opportunity to recognize how they adapted to trying circumstances and coped with difficult situations.

Recalling our reaction to a stressful situation in the past can help us handle a similar situation now, or in the future.

If our past coping method was successful, there is hope this same method will yield similar positive results. If our past coping method was not successful, we can strive to avoid that strategy in the future. Additionally, sharing stories with others who have had similar experiences can help strengthen our resolve and provide entertainment and pleasure.

Another facet of Reminiscence Therapy, “insightful reminiscence,” helps us consider life situations with a view across one’s own lifetime. This kind of therapy is useful in promoting forgiveness of oneself or others for unresolved conflicts --helping to decrease despair or depression. Resolution involves evaluation of both positive and negative life experiences.2 Sharing stories of perseverance and coping can also provide perspective for others, when they encounter similar stressful situations in their own lives. This “social reminiscence” can create an autobiographical legacy within a family. By allowing individuals to share their life experiences, they can provide historical context as well as moral or ethical guidelines for other younger family members. Adding photographs or letters to this personal perspective can be passed down, creating as an heirloom of valuable wisdom for future generations.

References 1. Dochterman, J. M., & Bulech, G. M. (Eds.) (2004). Nursing interventions classification (NIC) (4th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby.

2. Butler, R. N. (1963). The life review: An interpretation of reminiscence in the aged.

Psychiatry, 26, 65-76.

Arlene H. Morris, EdD, RN, CNE, is Professor of Nursing at Auburn Montgomery’s School of Nursing. She can be reached at amorris@aum.edu.

www.primemontgomery.com | May 2012

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feature

Off-site Storage: Nothing New Evidence indicates the ancient Chinese stored personal belongings in a communal area outside the home in clay jars for routine access. The business of self-storage has been around in the U.S. since the 1800s, with moving companies getting into the act in the 1920s as an offshoot of their transportation business. But things really took off in the 1980s and ‘90s, and today some surprising facts emerge about this business: • Nearly 1 in 10 U.S. households rent a self storage unit.

• There is seven square feet of self storage space for every man, woman and child in the country, making it physically possible for every American to stand, simultaneously, under the total canopy of self storage roofing.

• Nationwide, military personnel rent more than 700,000 self storage units, or 4% of all units in the U.S. In communities adjacent to U.S. military bases military occupancy can be from 20%-95% of all rented units.

Factoids courtesy Self Storage Association www.selfstorage.org 10

May 2012 | www.primemontgomery.com

Downsize Me! W

By Brenda Robertson Dennis Photos by Stone Images Photography

e spend much of our adult lives building a home for ourselves, a home that, through years of laughter, tears and growing children, can often seem like an additional family member. It is, after all, our familiar place. But what happens when the children leave home and retirement nears?

For some couples it can be hard to let go of an old friend. For others, it’s a new beginning.

Charles and Betty Robertson spent almost 37 years in their home raising their family before deciding to move to a retirement village on the northwest coast of Florida.

“We found ourselves constantly working to keep such a large house and yard up,” says Betty. “After I retired in 2003, we decided to apply to move into Teresa Village, one of three villages in the Air Force Enlisted Retirement Foundation. In 2007 we were informed that there was an apartment for us if we wanted it.This took us by surprise, as we did not expect to be accepted for another four or five years.”

Like many couples, the Robertsons made their decision in large part because they did not have children in the area anymore.

“We feel that the next best thing is the feeling of family, camaraderie, and friendships we have formed within the Village,” says Betty. Since Charles spent a good portion of his career in the Air Force, it has been like “coming home” for the couple. The community is similar to the neighborhoods they were used to on

the different bases where they lived from the 1950’s to the early 1970’s. But even through their excitement there were difficulties.

Mainly, figuring out what to do with nearly 50 years of accumulated belongings. Then there was the concern of their children. The Robertsons found themselves having to sell the idea to them.

“I think at first they were concerned about our decision,” says Betty. “Especially for our youngest, who was so young when we moved into the house. She felt it the most.”

Aside from that, the biggest challenge was deciding what would fit into a smaller place.

“We missed our newly renovated bathrooms, and the large fireplace,” said Betty.

“Selling the home took some time, and we had to make trips every four days to check the pool and to be sure the house was secure.”

Four and half years after the move, the Robertsons are happy with their decision and, though it was an emotional decision, they have never regretted the move.

Many realtors consider themselves “seniors specialists” with special training to better serve the needs of the mature segment of the market. Sandra Nickel is one. She and fellow Montgomery realtor Ann Michaud are very familiar with the benefits and drawbacks of downsizing, as well as the psychology that often plays into the process. Both work frequently with retired couples who are thinking about making a move to a smaller place.

“I receive calls several times a month from owners considering downsizing,” say Michaud. “Typical reasons are very individual to each person’s circumstances.

There may be stairs which are more difficult to maneuver as the years advance, therefore a single story home is appealing. Many times owners decide to move to a different city where their children are living.”

Other reasons include the death of a spouse and financial considerations such as lowering house payments and utilities.

“Most downsizers are realistic and know the day will come when they cannot care for what they have,” says Nickel. “Their desire is to downsize on their schedule and terms vs. letting circumstances force them into it later. Second thoughts increase with the age of the downsizer and the length of time they’ve been in their current home.”

Nickel says the idea of downsizing may not be the homeowners, but that of a well meaning child or relative. And at some point, it becomes emotional.

“We find the emotions to be strongest when a person is single and making their first “solo” move,” says Nickel. “They are also stronger when the moving person(s) have been in place a long, long time and the home consequently is the repository of a myriad of happy memories.”

Retired physician Roger Duggar and wife Judy have very happy memories from their time in the home they built in 1983 and in which they raised their three children. Even though they made the decision to downsize, those memories continue to grow.

“Our youngest son graduated from college in 2003,” recalls Judy, “so our house was lonely without children's voices.”

The Duggar’s oldest son joined his dad in practice in 2002. He and his wife had their first child in 2003, with three more within four years. The Duggars kidded them about what a perfect house they had for them and eventually the younger couple agreed and decided to buy it.

“We had discussed downsizing because we had made a major addition to our lake house,” says Judy. “Two large homes seemed unnecessary. We were thrilled when they reached their decision. The house had been built with children growing up and I had designed it for them being upstairs and we were down. We also had a guest room downstairs.”

Deciding to downsize wasn’t difficult, the difficulty was deciding how much smaller they wanted to go. Like the Robertsons, the Duggars never realized how much they had accumulated over the years.

Dr. Roger Dugger and wife Judy found a unique solution to their downsizing dilemma.

A Dozen Self-Storage Tips This list is far short of comprehensive, and those of us utilizing selfstorage have our own experiences. If you have tips to share with Prime readers e-mail them to primemontgomery@gmail.com and we’ll add them to our website. One thing we are all well aware of is our state’s high humidity. This isn’t a plug for using a climate control facility, but such a location does help protect sensitive items, and not only paper, artwork, furniture and clothing, but photos, slides, negatives and video tape as well, all of which we boomers seem to have in abundance and are unwilling (unable?) to throw away.

1. Label all boxes with their contents, and store with the label visible.

2. Place items you’ll need access to on a regular basis in the front.

3. If possible, create a center aisle for easy access.

4. If you can, remove legs from tables and furniture and store vertically. If not, place tables top-to-top and chairs bottom-to-bottom.

5. Garden tools can be stored in a plastic trash can. Store items with bristles pointing up so they don’t curl.

6. Use high-quality locks.

7. Fill the empty drawers of dressers, as well as empty suitcases, with small items to save space.

8. Stack heavier boxes on the bottom, with same size boxes together.

Beware of placing too many heavy items, such as books, in one box.

While you can enlist the help of family and friends to fill your storage area, they may not be available when you need to remove an item.

9. Shelving may help optimize storage space, depending on the number of small to medium size items or boxes.

10. Reduce the chance of mold and mildew in appliances by leaving the doors ajar.You can store items inside a refrigerator, microwave, washer, dryer, etc., but first be certain the appliance is clean and dry.

11. Keep an inventory as well as a location chart for all stored items.

12. Resist the tendency to place something in storage without labeling it and adding it to the inventory. www.primemontgomery.com | May 2012

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Don’t Forget Your Pet! There are a myriad of details to plan in any move, downsizing included. In all the planning and packing and sorting and storing, don’t forget your pet.

Some area veterinarians offer tips to help make your pet’s transition as easy as possible.

“A change of environment can be very stressful to both cats and dogs, especially cats as they are very territorial. Give extra attention until signs of stress go away. Try to keep their favorite bed or kennel and any toys or blankets from the original home.”

— Dr. Zeb King,Taylor Crossing Animal Clinic

“If the new locations is a condo or townhouse, with residences closer together, the interaction between pets may be a problem, as well as neighbors being closer than they were used to. Cats seem to adapt better to this than dogs.”

— Dr. Jeff Cavanaugh, Cavanaugh-Bradley Animal Hospital “Be sure your dog is trained to walk on a leash. Dogs, particularly large, high energy dogs, will need more planned exercise since they likely will have a smaller yard to run around in. If getting a new pet, match the size to your new surroundings.”

— Dr. Bill Van Hooser, Carriage Hills Animal Hospital Also, be sure to update the information on your pet’s ID with your new address and phone number.

Ann Michaud (above) and Sandra Nickel (right), like many River Region realtors, work with clients who are considering downsizing.

“It took me two months of daily working to clear out my belongings and decide what to keep, donate, throw away [or] give to the children,” said Judy. “We rented a storage unit to store the excess.We still have the unit, but slowly have shrunk our extras.”

The Duggars are happy with their decision to downsize, with the added benefit of being able to visit their old home as new memories are being created within their family. And while the outcome for both the Duggars and the Robertsons was positive, the emotional difficulty that came into play is something anyone considering downsizing will face.

“It is a hard decision to give up the old,” says Judy, “but there comes a time in our lives we need to move forward and enjoy what the future holds.”

“If there is no physical or medical reason to move,” advises Michaud, “owners should try to visualize living with fewer rooms in their home. This means fewer bedroom suites, no furniture needed for a formal living room which may mean giving up family heirlooms, piano, large display hutches, extra couches, even places to keep accessories.”

If the decision is being prompted by a death, Michaud recommends the surviving spouse, if financially able, wait two years before making any drastic changes.

“What I find after that two year period is that they have 12

May 2012 | www.primemontgomery.com

changed their mind and don’t want to move,” says Michaud. “It is still a comfortable setting knowing your surroundings and accommodating family guests.”

Nickel likes to remind those considering downsizing that they probably didn’t start adult or married life in a big house.

“That move was driven by the need for more space, usually the arrival of children on the scene,” she says. “If they can harken back to those relatively carefree days as young adults in an apartment or very small house, they will realize there are wonderful memories from those days.”

Those same kind of memories, says Nickel, can be created in a new, smaller residence, and that’s a valuable psychological point to consider. In the case of the Robertsons and Duggars, downsizing during their retirement years brought new friends and new experiences, helping both couples to look forward, rather than back.

Financial

Social Security For Those Who Served

O

n Memorial Day, it’s important to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. We at Social Security honor the heroism and courage Kylle’ McKinney of our military service members and mourn for those who have given their lives in defense of freedom.

It’s also important to recognize those service members who are still with us, especially those who have recently been wounded. They’ve served us; likewise we serve them.

Earnings for active duty military service or active duty training have been

covered under Social Security since 1957. Social Security has also covered inactive duty service in the Armed Forces reserves (such as weekend drills) since 1988. If you served in the military before 1957, you did not pay Social Security taxes, but we gave you special credit for some of your service.

You can get both Social Security benefits and military retirement.

Generally, there is no reduction of Social Security benefits because of your military retirement benefits.You’ll get your full Social Security benefit based on your earnings.

When you reach age 65, you’ll also be eligible for Medicare. If you have health care insurance from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) or under the TRICARE or CHAMPVA program, your health benefits may change or end when

you become eligible for Medicare.You should contact the VA, the Department of Defense, or a military health benefits advisor for more information.

If you’ve served in the Armed Forces and you’re planning your retirement, you’ll want to read our publication, Military Service and Social Security and visit the Military Service page of our Retirement Planner (see Resources). Finally, find out about expedited benefits for wounded warriors (see Resources).

Resources

Military Service and Social Security n www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10017.html Military Service Retirement Planner n www.socialsecurity.gov/retire2/veterans.htm Expedited Benefits for Wounded Warriors: n www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10131.html

Kylle’ McKinney, SSA Public Affairs Specialist, can be reached in Montgomery at 866-593-0914, ext. 26265, or by e-mail at kylle.mckinney@ssa.gov.

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6268 Atlanta Highway • Montgomery, AL 36117 334-356-4662 Saturday breakfast • 6 a.m. - 2 p.m. www.primemontgomery.com | May 2012

13

yard ‘n garden

Azaleas: After the bloom is gone...

N

o flower speaks Southern quite like an azalea. This time of year we’ve said good bye to the last of their blooms (I’m not speaking of the Encores), and rumors abound about when to prune, and how much. When done correctly pruning is positive, because God did not intend for an azalea to Ethel Boykin be a ball or a hedge.

However, on the Atlanta Highway near Bellehurst, a doctor’s office has an azalea hedge around its parking lot and it looks great, all pink and white, about four feet tall.

Most of us have them in a bed away from the house or as a foundation plant. Many older homes in Montgomery have the Indica Azalea in front of windows that can no longer be seen. These can be eight-byeight feet, and look wonderful in large environments. The way you know it is an Indica is its large leaf shaped like a feather.

When planting azaleas look at the space they’ll occupy before you choose.

Azaleas can be three to ten feet, so if you buy the right one you’ll be able to see out the windows. Older gardens have these in places that require pruning, so let’s prune correctly.

We’re all heard pruning should be done after they bloom. That’s true, but you don’t have to run outside and prune the day the last flower falls. Relax.You have until the 4th of July to prune without loosing next year’s blooms.

If your plants have bare limbs at the base, prune heavily and take off up to half the limbs. The plant will be naked for a few weeks, then flush out and you’ll be unable to see the trunk. If you prune lightly each year after blooming, you can keep the correct size plant for the area. If you 14

May 2012 | www.primemontgomery.com

don’t have monster azaleas prune off the antennas and go into the plant’s center to cut. That way, when you finish you don’t see where the cut was made. Hand pruners are a must for this job.

Once pruning is finished, purchase azalea fertilizer and FEED them. Feed at the same time you prune, using the correct fertilizer to provide the correct needs of the plant.

If your plants have yellow spotted leaves, chances are you have lace bugs. The good news is you can prune off the infected leaves and burn or otherwise dispose of them. Rake under the azalea after pruning to get diseased leaves away from the healthy plant. The bad news is, once you have lace bugs, you’ll have them forever. However, you can keep them to a minimum by spraying and using a fertilizer with a systemic insecticide.

Just as we stay healthier if we drink plenty of water and eat the right foods, to keep lace bugs away azaleas need to be well watered in summer, and fed each spring. A healthy plant is not likely to be a victim.

Even though they may still be blooming, Encore azaleas can be treated the same way. These plants are smaller and do not need such drastic pruning, but they do need feeding.

Hopefully you had a chance this spring to see azaleas around town in all their blooming glory. If you keep them watered over the summer, you’ll have great blooming next spring.

Ethel Dozier Boykin, a Montgomery native, owns Art in the Garden, a landscape design and consulting company in the Capital City. Contact her at 334-395-5949, or by email at etheldozierboykin@yahoo.com.

MOVING FREE ® WITH MIRABAI

Working Out Your Bones

M

ay again? Wow, has it been a year since my last Osteoporosis month article? Guess so. By now we all know that Osteoporosis makes bones so thin and porous they can break during everyday activities, like stepping off a curb or picking up a grocery bag.

We’ve all heard that estrogen protects women from bone loss and that we can loose up to 30% of our bone mass in Mirabai Holland the first ten years after menopause. And we’ve heard that we should do weight-bearing and resistance exercise to help prevent bone loss and promote bone growth.

But what IS weight-bearing exercise? What’s the difference between weight-bearing and resistance exercise? And what kind of exercise routine should I do to protect my bones? I hear this all year long. So, here are the answers.

Weight-bearing means literally making your bones carry weight. Standing makes your bones carry your body weight.

Standing with your grandchild on your shoulders makes your bones carry your weight plus your grandchild’s. Studies show that weight-bearing exercises like walking and jogging, that

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also apply impact to your bones, are even more effective.

Resistance exercise uses your muscles to apply mechanical forces to your bones, like pushing (compression), pulling (tension), twisting (torsion), and bending. So, the more weight, impact and resistance the better, right? No. Even if your body were a machine made of steel there would be a weight, impact and resistance that would break it. And we know our bodies are much more fragile than that. Common sense must rule.

Walk, jog, jump rope, dance, pull on a rope, push on a wall, wring out a towel, and bend bones with weight lifting exercises. But do it safely. Do it in moderation. Stay in your comfort zone. Start with a comfortable amount and build up slowly over time. Take breaks between shorter intervals of training. Studies show that those break times may be when bones get stimulated to grow. Studies also show that site-specific exercises are very effective.

Perform exercises that involve the three areas most at risk for Osteoporotic fracture; the spine, the hip and the wrist.

Walking loads your spine and legs, including hip joints. Wrist curls and wringing a towel work your wrists and forearms. Do weight-training resistance exercises every other day, because your muscles need time to recover. A starter routine might be 20 minutes or more of brisk walking every other day, with weight resistance training on the days in between.

Make sure you talk to your doctor about your particular exercise needs and limitations, as these vary greatly from person to person.

So why not use Osteoporosis month to set an example for the women in your family of any age, because it’s never too early or too late to start working out your bones.

Mirabai Holland M.F.A. is a leading authority in the Health & Fitness industry and a public health activist specializing in preventive and rehabilitative exercise. Her Moving Free® approach to exercise is designed to provide a movement experience so pleasant it doesn't feel like work (www.mirabaiholland.com). www.primemontgomery.com | May 2012

15

feature

C

When chimps flew

By Willie G. Moseley; Photos by Bob Corley, and contributed by Marvin Grunzke

alling Dr. Marvin Grunzke’s work in the early Officer Candidate School and was assigned to work days of the Space Race “monkey business” with personnel aptitude and training programs, is inappropriate, since the Montgomerian ultimately obtaining his college degree in the field of worked with chimpanzees, which are apes, not psychology. After completing his Masters at the Unimonkeys. versity of Texas, he was assigned to Wright-Patterson In the initial years of the U.S. space program, the Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, doing research with now-retired Air Force Colonel trained chimps for animals in unusual environments as a prelude to space flight before humans were sent aloft. space travel.

More than In October 1957, the Soviet Union launched half-a-century Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite, ignitafter Grunzke’s ing the Space Race between the U.S. and the most famous U.S.S.R. Landing “pupil”, “Ham”, on the Moon went into space, was the ultimate the genial colprize, but the lege professor, more immedistill teaching at ate competition the age of 88, was to launch a looked back on human into space how his miliand return him tary career had safely. Physiologiinvolved him in cally, chimpanzees a unique facet of are the closest space history. animals to humans, A Minnesota so it wasn’t surprisfarm boy, Grunzke ing the U.S. sought tried to enlist durto test the uning World War II as known environment a substitute for his of outer space on older brother, who chimps before hurlin e us r fo had been drafted. ing a human into the void. ke nz ned by Gru Equipment desig “I told the draft “We were sent from Wright-Patterson to r space flight. fo training chimps board I’d just Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico,” graduated from high said Grunzke, “to evaluate and train the chimschool, and they could take me, because panzees that would go into space before humans.” my brother was needed on the farm,” he recounted. He arrived at Holloman in 1958.

“They told me to go do the farming.”

Partnered with Air Force personnel as well as Grunzke joined the Air Force in the late ‘40s, and veterinarians, Grunzke worked in a previouslyhe and his wife Eunice married in 1949. Originally unexplored area of animal behavior that created a an enlisted airman, he garnered a commission via training regimen for the chimps. The program also 16

May 2012 | www.primemontgomery.com

Ham, America’s first chimp in space, strapped in his couch prior to liftoff. www.primemontgomery.com | May 2012

17

required him to design and construct electronic evaluation devices and other equipment from scratch. Part of his task was helping develop a couch and cocoon-like container to fit in the passenger compartment of a Mercury capsule, which was under development as this country’s first spacecraft.

Grunzke began with approximately 20 chimpanzees, topping out at around 50, and there was no gender discrimination.

“We had to try to train them all,” he said, “because we didn’t know who would be eligible, who would get sick, or who would be a problem.”

Designated for work in space instead of being mere passengers, the chimps were trained to pull levers on a primitive control panel, while sealed inside their container, to simulate what a human astronaut would be expected to do in space.

They were also subjected to centrifuge tests to prepare them for the extreme “G” (gravity) forces they would endure during launch and re-entry. Chimps were even taken aloft in jet planes.

Designated by numbers as well as nicknames, number 65, known as “Chang”, was the ultimate winner of the first space ride. However, his moniker was changed to “Ham”, an acronym for Holloman Aerospace Medical.

“Ham was one of those animals that was quickly responsive, and was tractable,” said Grunzke. “Some of those chimps were tough to deal with, but Ham immediately fit into the pattern.”

Grunzke was at the Cape Canaveral space center when Ham made his brief but historic flight on January 31, 1961. He was unable to monitor the chimp’s medical readings in real-time, but observed that the trajectory of the missile had gone awry.

Grunzke later learned that, due to the off-course flight of the 18

May 2012 | www.primemontgomery.com

booster, Ham had been subjected to approximately 16 Gs instead of the expected five to six Gs. However, the chimp came through with no ill effects.

“The spacecraft went about 200 miles farther (downrange) than it was supposed to,” said Grunzke, “and they moved fast to pick him up. We have a couple of pictures, with his arms outstretched, when he got back from space. He was glad to see us.”

Less well-known, but perhaps more important, was a chimp named Enos (Hebrew for “man”). In November 1961, he became the first chimp to make an orbital flight, a precursor to John Glenn’s legendary flight the following year. Enos’ personality, said Grunzke, was the antithesis of Ham’s.

“Enos was the most ornery animal we had, and the most difficult to deal with,” Grunzke recounted with a chuckle. “Everything we did with him turned out to be a big operation. It took four guys to put him in the (training) chair, when it usually took only two guys with the other chimps. The first time we put him there, he snapped off a one-eighth inch diameter steel lever on the control panel like it was nothing. He was tough, and I liked him. I was the one who got to pick Enos for the orbital flight, and I chose him because if anything went wrong, I knew he’d manage it.”

As it turned out, Enos’ flight experienced a circuitry malfunction that adversely affected the tasks he was trained to do.

“He kept on working,” Grunzke said proudly. “As he came over Australia, the guys down there who were tracking him said that he was eating and drinking his water, and they’d gotten some pretty good reports, so the spacecraft was brought

Far left -- Grunzke in his Montgomery home with a favorite photo of Ham. Left -- Working with Ham at Holloman Air Force Base.

Above -- Enos, the world’s first orbiting chimp, sits in the training chair Grunzke helped design.

Right -- Ham in a final preflight test, using equipment designed by Grunzke. Devices measured and recorded chimp responses during a rigid training schedule designed to test their capacity to complete simple tasks in the unknown environs of space.

down an orbit early. We didn’t want to over-challenge the program.”

Grunzke also remembers Holloman chimps who had shown promise, but didn’t make the cut.

“Bobby Joe was very, very smart, but he had a bad back, so he was disqualified for medical reasons. Big Mean was a female who was also very intelligent, and she had the right name, because she could be tough, but she was oversized.”

Both Ham and Enos went through extensive testing following their return from space to check for any aftereffects.

“There was absolutely no difference in their pre-flight operating records, and their post-flight records, which was tremendous,” Grunzke said.

A second orbital flight by a chimp was scheduled, but cancelled when the Soviets placed cosmonaut Gherman Titov

into orbit in August of 1961 (i.e., prior to Enos’ flight), and the U.S. space program moved up Glenn’s flight to an earlier time frame.

Grunzke received his doctorate in psychology after the Holloman program ended, with subsequent assignments taking him to the Pentagon and later Maxwell Air Force Base. Retiring in 1975, he remained in Montgomery and began a teaching career that continues to this day. At Faulkner University, Grunzke who plans to teach until he’s 90 - instructs students in Statistics and Physiological Psychology. He occupies a unique place in American space history, as do the chimps he helped train, and he sums up his memorable life simply.

“I’ve maintained a close relationship with God,” he said, “and I’ve kept my faith. People seem to appreciate that I recognize that I didn’t have much to do with it; the Lord took care of it.” www.primemontgomery.com | May 2012

19

off the beaten path

Cane Poles & Crickets

T

tember, Granny and I were perfectly content to sit on he orange and white cork darted a bream bed and catch as many shell cracker, copper beneath the surface of the water. nose and the occasional bass or catfish as we could fit “You’re gettin’ a bite,” Granny said. in a bucket.

I pulled up on the long, limber pole, Once back in the water my bobber did not sit still which bowed under the weight of the fish. long. It plunged downward in one long motion, disThe pole bent, almost touching the water, appearing toward the bottom. I pulled each time the fish made a back to set the hook and the rod bowed run for the cover of the sharply. I lifted up on the rod to hoist the brush pile where it had fish and was met with dead weight. No been hiding. A moment Niko Corley quick darting runs, no pulsing of the rod, later, a thick-shouldered just a strong, steady pull on the other end. shell cracker emerged from the surMoments later I had dragged a big face. moss-backed turtle from the water.

“That’s a nice one,” Granny said, Granny quickly cut the line and tossed dropping the fish into the five-gallon the turtle into another bucket. We took bucket that served as our live well. It the turtles to Rose - she was always glad joined a dozen other fish - bass, shell to get them. I re-baited with a cricket, repositioned my cracker and their bigger blue gill cousins the copper bait over the sunken brush pile, and commenced to nose - and swam a few laps around the bottom of the filling the bucket with bream. bucket, stirring up the other fish, before slowing to a As darkness closed in, we loaded up the fish and stop, suspending above the bottom.

Rose’s turtles and headed home. That night we picked “We’re gettin’ there,” I smiled to my grandmothfried bream until we’d eaten our fill - including Papa, er. “I’m gonna try a wiggler this time.” who was more content to eat bream than catch them She approved, and we exchanged the blue plastic - each enjoying the first fruits of bream season. It was worm tub with the a big “W” scribbled in marker on going to be a good summer. the top , for the wire-screened cricket box. I threaded Niko Corley spends his free time hunting, fishing and a worm on the gold hook, wiping its juice on the rag enjoying other outdoor activities. He can be contacted at tucked into my shorts for exactly that purpose, and cootfootoutfitters@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @ swung the baited hook, weight and bobber out over cootfootoutfitters. and into the water. The bobber gave the distinctive “plop”when it hit the surface.

It was May and the weekend of the first full moon, the beginning of bream season and the highlight of the year’s fishing for Granny and me.

From the fifth month of the year until September, at each full moon, the bream went back on the bed. With so many bream concentrated in 9350 Vaughn Road a small area, it’s the closest Pike Road, AL 36064 you can come to shooting (East of Chantilly Parkway) ©2008 PS Graphics & Promotions fish in a barrel.

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May 2012 | www.primemontgomery.com

Moneywise

The Money Side of Downsizing

P Alan Wallace

eople downsize their homes for a variety of reasons, not all of which are related to cutting their living expenses. But whether saving money is a primary or secondary reason for moving into a smaller residence, it is best to make sure that your expectations are based on facts. Not all smaller spaces will truly save you money. If you are thinking about downsizing to reduce expenses, here are some considerations to keep in

mind.

1) What will it cost you to transition from your current home to a new place? If you own your home, can you sell it now for a reasonable price after the real estate commission? Will the market improve if you wait to sell, or will it get worse? What will your chosen smaller space cost you to buy? Will you be able to buy a new place for cash or will you need to carry a mortgage? Would you be satisfied renting instead of buying? What will it cost you to move to a new location? Will the lower cost of a new place justify the moving cost? These are all questions with financial implications that you need to answer realistically.

2) How will the ongoing costs of your new residence compare with what you are paying now?

Clearly you need to consider utilities, property taxes, and insurance. In addition, will you need to store surplus household items, temporarily or long-term? What will maintenance and repair, yard work, pest control, security services, etc. run you in the new location vs. what you have paid in the past?

Will you face a difference in homeowner association dues, condominium fees, etc.?

3) Are there other costs, not directly related to housing, that could reduce or enhance the benefits of a change? Is the new location closer or more convenient to places you go—work, family, friends, church, shopping, the gym, medical care, etc? Is public transportation more readily available at the new location?

The important point with all such costs is to make sure that you are using realistic assumptions in preparing your analysis.You will be better served by determining the actual recent utility charges for the location, if they are available, than just assuming a certain savings based on a difference in square feet between your current and proposed housing. Are you (and your spouse) actually willing to get rid of enough “stuff” to fit into a smaller space, or will you wind up paying as much for storage as the monthly difference in other costs?

Is your expected selling price for your home a pipe dream or have you verified it with a knowledgeable realtor or appraiser? How much less will you really pay for that sparkling new garden home than you get for your older single family ranch?

One potential benefit of a bona fide move into smaller, less pricey quarters is the possibility of getting completely out of debt.

If you find a suitable and smaller place that will not require you to carry a mortgage, your closing costs for the purchase will typically be a good bit less than if you have to borrow to buy.

If you have mortgage payments now and can get into a smaller home with no mortgage, you will automatically experience an increased degree of financial flexibility and freedom.

That means that you can either use the extra monthly cash flow to do other things or that you can forego that much income without your lifestyle suffering.

Either way you are likely to feel pretty good about your new situation, assuming that the arrangement meets your needs in other respects.

One possible downside is that you may not have enough space for overnight visits by all of your children and other relatives, but then, that may have its upside as well.

Alan Wallace, CFA, ChFC, CLU is a Senior Financial Advisor for Ronald Blue & Co.’s Montgomery office, 334-270-5960, alan.wallace@ronblue.com

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Montgomery Street Fair Photos by Callie Corley, Bob Corley

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May 2012 | www.primemontgomery.com

www.primemontgomery.com | May 2012

23

PET WATCH

Controlling Fleas & Mange

By Steve Dale appear, treatment is discontinued.”

Q: My 12-year-old cat got fleas for the first time two Rubin is concerned about whether or not your dog’s months ago. She weighs about 25 pounds. I tried a flea powdiabetes is being effectively controlled, or if there’s another der, but no luck. Then I tried the cheap monthly treatment, health issue involved, such as early kidney disease or hypowhich didn't work, either. Finally, I broke down and brought thyroid disease. These problems and many others can coma $60 product, which did kill the fleas - but now my cat isn't promise your dog’s immune system, allowing the mites to eating much and has lost 10 pounds. Any advice?

A: Please see your veterinarian as soon as possible about flourish.

“I do worry about safety if Ivermectin is used daily for an your cat's weight loss. Unless your e-mail included a typo, extended period of time, or for the remainder of the dog’s this cat has lost nearly half her body weight. What you don't life,” says Rubin. “If the mange isn’t resolved, consider a visit indicate is how long it took for her to lose the weight, and to a veterinary dermatologist.” whether the weight loss was planned. Unless a cat is on a Steve Dale is certified as a Behavior Consultant by the Internaweight-loss program, steady weight loss is likely due to a tional Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. Contact him at medical issue - perhaps a serious one.

Tribune Media Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, NY. If you're inferring that the flea product is somehow related 14207, or by e-mail, petworld@stevedale.tv. Include your name, city to the weight loss, "It's very unlikely," according to veterinarand state. (c) 2012 Tribune Media Services, Inc. ian Dr. Ernest Ward, of Calabash, NC. "Like many pet owners, you threw good money after bad," he notes. "The good news is that flea products recommended by veterinarians really do an excellent job."

Ward says the problem with choosing a flea product • Physical Therapy • without veterinary input is that you're generally guessing that • Wellness/Personal Training • your choice is a good one.

"Some products simply aren't effective. Others may actually be dangerous if used under the wrong circumstances," Ward adds.

Q: My 13-year-old Silky Terrier is diabetic, and as a result developed demodectic mange. We tried everything topical, but the problem got worse until we began to use daily (oral) Ivermectin solution. This has worked wonders. The dog has been on Ivermectin for four months, and I’m told he should be on it for life. Have you ever heard of this treatment?- M.B., Cyberspace A: Demodex mange (caused by mites) usually occurs in very young or older dogs. Dr. Sheldon Rubin, a Chicago veterinarian, explains, “The mites are there and when the immune system is in some way compromised, the mites are no longer under control and become a problem. Ivermectin 3442 Eastdale Circle • Montgomery, AL 36117 works, but isn’t typically given daily. Also, after a few months (334) 279-5757 of treatment, dogs are usually tested. If the mites no longer 24

May 2012 | www.primemontgomery.com

medical

Marci’s Medicare Answers May 2012

Dear Marci, I know that usually Medicare covers outpatient mental health services at 60 percent. How does Medicare cover inpatient mental health services?

— Sarah Dear Sarah, Your out-of-pocket costs are the same in a psychiatric hospital as they are in any hospital. Part A covers the cost of your care after you meet the $1,156 deductible in 2012.You can get inpatient mental health care either in psychiatric hospitals (hospitals that only treat mental health patients) or in general hospitals.

Your doctor should determine which hospital setting you need.

If you receive care in a psychiatric hospital, Medicare helps pay for up to 190 days of inpatient care in your lifetime. After you have reached that limit, Medicare may help pay for mental health care at a general hospital.

If you enter a psychiatric hospital within 60 days of being an inpatient at a different hospital, you are in the same benefit period and do not have to pay the deductible again. A benefit period begins the day you start getting inpatient care and ends when you have been out of the hospital or skilled nursing facility for 60 days in a row.

Dear Marci, Will Medicare pay for my osteoporosis screenings?

— Jessica Dear Jessica, Maybe. Medicare may cover the full cost of bone mass measurement screenings every two years if your doctor says you are at risk for osteoporosis and one of the following applies: n You are an estrogen-deficient woman who is at risk for osteoporosis based on her medical history and other findings n You have vertebral abnormalities that were shown on an x-ray n You have received daily steroid treatments for more than three months n You have hyperparathyroidism n You take an osteoporosis drug Medicare will also cover follow-up measurements or more frequent screenings if your doctor prescribes them.

However, if you know you don’t qualify for Extra Help, there are other programs that can assist you. Many states offer a state pharmaceutical assistance program (SPAP) to help their residents pay for prescription drugs. Each program works differently.

Many states coordinate their drug assistance programs with Medicare’s drug benefit (Part D). If you do not have Part D, but qualify for your state’s SPAP, you will have the chance to sign up for Part D, and you may be required to enroll in a Part D plan. If a drug is covered by both your SPAP and your Part D plan, both what you pay for your prescriptions plus what the SPAP pays will count towards the out-of-pocket maximum you must reach before your Medicare drug costs go down significantly.Your SPAP may also help pay for your Part D plan’s: n premium; n deductible; n co-payments; and/or n coverage gap. (Many SPAPs give you coverage during the Part D prescription drug coverage gap, or doughnut hole.)

Many states have reduced their SPAPs in 2012, so they may not offer all of these services. However, SPAPs can still be valuable in helping you pay for high drug costs. Call your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) to see if you qualify for your state’s SPAP. — Marci Marci’s Medicare Answers is a service of the Medicare Rights Center (www.medicarerights.org), the nation’s largest independent source of information and assistance for people with Medicare. To speak with a counselor, call (800) 333-4114. To subscribe to “Dear Marci,” the Medicare Rights Center’s free educational e-newsletter, simply e-mail dearmarci@medicarerights.org. To learn more about the services that Medicare will cover and how to change plans, log on to Medicare Interactive Counselor at the Medicare Rights Center’s website at www.medicareinteractive.org.

Dear Marci, I have high drug costs but my income is too high for Extra Help. What can I do?

— Doug Dear Doug, Good question. Remember, you should apply for Extra Help even if you don’t qualify because some income is disregarded. www.primemontgomery.com | May 2012

25

feature

Finding the Key

By Andrea Gross Photos by Irv Green

I

immediately learn three things on our visit to Key West (www.fla-keys.com).

First, the ambience is seductive. As Jimmy Buffet sang in his hit song Margaritaville, all you want to do is sit on a porch swing and strum on a six-string.

Second, the weather is glorious most of the year. The average temperature is 78º, the coldest ever recorded is a balmy 41º and the warmest — reached on only a few occasions more than 30 years ago — is 100º.

And third, getting there is half the fun. The 128mile Overseas Highway, which leads from the Florida mainland to Key West, links the numerous keys [small islands] by means of 42 bridges. In 2009 it was named an “All American Road,” an honor that puts it in the top tier of national scenic byways.

We stop at the Kona Kai Resort, which has one of the few ethnobotanic gardens in the United States.

During a 90-minute tour of the small, densely-packed plot of land, we learn about the relationship between people and plants and gather enough fascinating facts to amuse our friends for a year.

For example, we see a moss that was responsible for 26

May 2012 | www.primemontgomery.com

the first automobile recall. It seems the moss, which was used as seat stuffing in the early Model T’s, was laden with chiggers, leading to a massive outbreak of itchy rears.

But the first part of the road near Key Largo is mostly lined with shops offering a variety of waterbased activities, restaurants featuring fish and key lime pie, and gift stores hawking sandals and seashells.

It’s not until an hour and a-half later, when we start across the Seven Mile Bridge that the road seems to open and…. Oh my, we feel like we’re driving on water!

To the right is the Gulf of Mexico. To the left is the Atlantic Ocean. In the distance there are small keys of green, but the overwhelming color is blue — the soft blue of the sky, the teal blue of the water.

It’s evening when we reach Key West, which is not only the end of the Overseas Highway but also the end of U.S. Highway 1, the approximately 2,500-mile long interstate that begins in Maine at the U.S.-Canadian border. There are a multitude of signs to commemorate this fact, as well as a big buoy to mark the town’s status as the southernmost city in the United States.

(L) A schooner takes passengers on a romantic cruise while performers (above) amaze and entertain during Key West’s Sunset Celebration, which takes place every night, weather permitting. (R) An oversized buoy reminds visitors Key West is the southernmost city in the U.S.

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27

Down on the waterfront the Sunset Celebration is in full swing. Performers are walking on tightropes, telling stories, doing dances, juggling torches. Juried craftspeople are selling everything from handmade scarves to palm-tree paintings.

And hundreds of people are watching schooners, catamarans, glass bottom boats and sailboats return to the pier, backed by the fading light. Here, I realize, is what differentiates Key West from the rest of the world. In most places, a carnival like this would be an annual event; in Key West, it happens every night, weather permitting, which it usually is!

The festive feel persists on Duval Street. Many people are shopping, intrigued by the mix of high-end crafts, mid-range souvenirs and fine Cuban cigars. But most are simply ambling and listening to the music that blares from the restaurants and bars.

The next morning, hoping to catch some inspiration, we tour Key West’s literary haunts.

This is the place where Tennessee Williams wrote his first draft of A Streetcar Named Desire, Robert Frost wrote The Gift Outright, and Ernest Hemingway wrote parts of Death in the Afternoon, For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Snows of Kilimanjaro.

Williams’ and Frost’s former homes are closed to the public, but we go into Hemingway’s, where we’re greeted 28

May 2012 | www.primemontgomery.com

(L) Forty-four cats make themselves comfortable in Hemingway’s house.

(Top) The Overseas Highway appears to float above the water as it links the Florida mainland to Key West.

(Above) Juried craftspeople line the pier during the Sunset Celebration.

by many of the 44 cats that roam the property, all direct descendants or close relatives of a cat given to Hemingway during his ten-year stay on the island. A guide regales us with tales of Hemingway’s escapades, some of which involved writing, many of which involved fishing, drinking and romancing.

Equally fascinating is the old naval residence that served as a Little White House for Harry Truman, who spent 175 days of his presidency in Key West.

Truman’s writings were of another sort.

They included memos that dealt with the use of nuclear weapons and postWorld War II reconstruction as well as frequent love letters to Bess.

We end our stay in Key West at a decadent dessert lounge enticingly named “Better than Sex.” Sitting in a lounge so dimly lit that patrons are given flashlights to see the menu and sipping cabernet from a glass rimmed in chocolate, we feel as if we’re miles away — not only from the mainland, but from reality itself.

35th

Anniversary Season

Montgomery Symphony Orchestra

FREE Jubilee Pops Concert Friday, May 25 • 7pm Archives & History Lawn • Downtown montgomery symphony.org

April 22–May 19

April 22–May 19

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April 19–May 20 l of FestivPala ys May 18-20 w Ne southernwritersproject.net

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montgomery, Alabama 1.800.841.4273 www.ASF.net www.primemontgomery.com | May 2012

29

MAY CALENDAR RECURRING EVENTS Exercise Class, Bible Study, Bingo.Various days, times, locales.

Mtgy. Area Council on Aging, www.macoa.org, 334-263-0532.

Gluten Intolerance -- 4th Thurs., 6-7 pm, Taylor Rd. Baptist Church. Speaker, research, symptoms, etc. Sample gluten-free food. 334-328-5942, http://gfmontgomery.blogspot.com.

Zumba. Tues. 5-6 pm, Jackson Hospital, www.jackson.org, 334293-8978.

Parkinson -- 4th Sun., 2 pm, Cloverdale School, Fairview Ave. 334-328-8702 or 334-322-6301.

Bluegrass Jam. 1st. Sat. 9 am-Noon. AL River Region Arts Center, Wetumpka. All levels welcome. 334-578-8594. FREE Jam Sessions. 2nd & 4th Sat., 9 am-noon, Old Alabama Town, www.oldalabamatown.com. 334-240-4500. FREE

THEATRE/MUSIC/DANCE May 4-6, 10-12, 18. Thurs.-Sat. 7 pm, Sun. 6 pm. 22nd Annual production of To Kill A Mockingbird. Courthouse Museum, Monroeville. Must purchase tickets in advance (phone or in person). 251-575-7433, www.tokillamockingbird.com. $

May 15, 7-9pm. 3rd Tues. each month. Songwriter’s Night, CloBluegrass Jam. 3rd Sat. (Mar.-Sept.), 9 am-noon. Perry Hill verdale Playhouse. 334-262-1530, UMC. 334-272-3174. FREE www.cloverdaleplayhouse.org. $ 23rd Annual Flimp Festival “Not Just Art”. Tues. 10 am, Perry May 5, 10 a.m. Montgomery Museum of Fine May 17, 8 pm. Weird on Top. Hill United Methodist Church, Arts. Hands-on art/craft making, interactive music Comedic improvisation. Eclectic www.perryhillumc.org, 334-272venues, treasure hunt, chalk drawing contest. Free Company Theatre. 818-508-3003, 3174. FREE for museum members, active and retired military www.eclecticcompanytheatre. and their families.

For information call org. $ Montgomery Bridge Club.

334-240-4333, or visit www.mmfa.org.

Lessons, games, tournaments.

May 17-19, 24-26 7:30 pm, 20, 2 There is an entry fee for the festival.

Mulberry St. www.montgomerypm. Agatha Christie’s Witness for bridgeclub.org, 334-265-2143. the Prosecution. Millbrook Theatre.

334-782-7317, www.millbrookDocent lead tours. Sun., 1-2 pm. theatre.com. $ Mtgy. Museum of Fine Arts. FREE Capital City Club Book Group, Martinis and Manuscripts, 2nd Thurs., 6 pm, Jan-Nov. 334-834-8920.

SUPPORT GROUPS Cancer -- Tues. 10-11 am, Mtgy. Cancer Center. 334-279-6677.

May 29-June 15. Three-week Fairytale Ballet Camp, Montgomery Ballet. For children 4-8 years old. One and two-week sessions available. Daily snacks. 334-409-0522, www.montgomeryballet.org. $ May 31-June 9. Wiley and the Hairy Man. Wetumpka Depot Players. 334-868-1440, www.wetumpkadepot.com. $

Alzheimer’s/Dementia -- 1st Thurs., 11 am, Frazer Church.

334-272-8622.

FLEA MARKETS/FESHerb Day, Old Alabama Town TIVALS/FUNDRAISERS/ Visually impaired -- 2nd Tues., Demonstrations, garden & herbal medicine experts, CELEBRATIONS 1-2:30 pm, Aldersgate United crafts, books, food, herbal teas & plants.

May 5, 7 am.Yard & Bake Sale. AlMethodist Church. 334-272-6152.

May 12, 8 am-3 pm. For info, 334-240-4500, or dersgate UMC, 6610 Vaughn Rd. www.oldalabamatown.com. FREE 334-272-6152, afrost@aldersgaHearing Loss -- 2nd Thurs., 4 pm, teumc.org. FREE .

First United Methodist Church.

Speakers, hearing screenings, May 10, 5-8 pm. Taste of the Garrefreshments. FREE caption-enabled telephones are available dens, Southern Homes & Gardens,Vaughn Rd. Benefit for the until June 30. 334-262-3650.

American Red Cross. Silent auction of works by local artists, food tastings, wine, music. 334-260-4014, hodgesk@montMay 14, 6-8 pm. National Alliance on Mental Illness program. gomeryarc.org. $ Church Annex, Dalraida UMC, 3817 Atlanta Hwy. Two mental health consumers discuss their journey to recovery. Public May 14, 7 pm, author Rheta Grimsley Johnson, Wetumpka invited. 334-271-2280.

Depot Players Theater. 334-567-1308. $ Fibromyalgia -- 3rd Tues., 6-8 pm, Frazer Church. 334-272-8622.

May 19. All day. A.W.Watkins Memorial Golf Tourney. Cotton30

May 2012 | www.primemontgomery.com

MAY CALENDAR wood Golf Course. 334-538-3961, www.revdrawwatkins.com. $

May 5-6. Heart of Dixie Cutting Horse. Garrett Coliseum.

334-356-6866, www.thegarrettcoliseum.com/. $

May 19, 6-11 pm.. Children’s Harbor, Lake Martin. AUM School May 26, 8 am-5 pm. AARP Driver Safety Course. Jackson of Education’s 5th Annual Hospital, Classroom 1. May Luau. Live music, dancing, qualify you for auto insurThe Alabama Silver-Haired Legislature is an elected outdoor games, auction. ance discount. Preregister. body representing constituents across the state, dedicated to Proceeds fund scholar334-293-8000, info@jackthe passage and implementation of legislation of benefit to our ships and special proson.org. FREE state’s senior citizens. They will hold a public meeting grams at the School of after the Alabama legislature adjourns. Attendees will hear Ed. 334-244-3642, www.

May 19, noon. Mills Thornupdates on progress made on senior issues, and priorities for ton presents The Freedom aum.edu/luau. $ next year. The meeting will be held Riders Come to Alabama. AL Wed. May 23, at 10 a.m. at Cara Vita Village, OTHER Dept. Of Archives and His4000 Fieldcrest Dr., Montgomery. For information contact May 1, 6:30 pm. Habits of tory. 334-353-4726, www.

Dr. John Bitter, 334-612-7624.

Highly Effective Spenders. archives.alabama.gov. FREE Seminar. MAX Credit Union, Eastdale CommuMay 25-27. Alabama Quarter nity Rm. Speaker Alan Wallace, Ronald Blue and Company, and Horse Assn. Garrett Coliseum. 334-356-6866, www.thegarPrime Montgomery columnist. Register by calling 334-260rettcoliseum.com/. $ 2600. FREE June 8-10. Bus tour of seven private daylily gardens in May 5, noon. William C. Davis discusses his book: A government Georgia, hosted by the Montgomery Area Daylily Society. of our own:The Making of the Confederacy. AL Dept. of Archives Deadline for hotel reservations is May 15. 334-288-6024, and History. 334-353-4726, www.archives.alabama.gov. FREE etbgoodson@aol.com. $

www.primemontgomery.com | May 2012

31

prime diversions

Recent dvd releases

A Dangerous Method, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Iron Lady A Dangerous Method (R) This fact-based drama about the intersecting lives of Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) and Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender), as each contributed to the beginnings of modern psychiatry is either a dark look at the human psyche - even among scientists delving into unlocking its mysteries - or a seamy exploitation of sexuality to which anyone may become vulnerable. While Freud writes his controversial academic treatises in Vienna, the younger Jung is trying to implement those ideas in treating mental patients at an isolated sanatorium. He begins seeing Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knitghtley), a brilliant young medical student who has become a raving lunatic, apparently due to sexual demons she can’t control, at a time when women weren’t supposed to even acknowledge any pleasure they derived from the act.

Well, the treatment plan helps the patient considerably, but getting her to understand and accept those urges leads to collaboration in Jung’s research, and with extensive handson implications the medical community frown upon. Jung and Freud are variably supportive of and opposed to each other, with Sabrina-related issues a significant factor in their own course. Knightley is challenged by having to portray her character’s dementia, brilliance and lust - sometimes with two or three of those facets of her persona simultaneously in play.

The film serves up considerable portions of titillation and dismay with its science, though the ration ultimately skews heavily toward the sordid, rather than the scholarly. Lovely sets and scenery, but not for the faint of heart.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (PG-13) In a laudable, if awkward, attempt to humanize the impact of 9/11 on the most intimate level for survivors of those who died in the attack, this drama focuses on a young boy who lost his father (Tom Hanks), and deals with his grief by continuing one of the elaborate quests that used to form the core of their relationship. In flashbacks, we see how dad set up little mystery adventures to challenge and bond with his son in a loving connection. Mom (Sandra Bullock) observed the fantasy machinations of her men lovingly and patiently.

32 May 2012 | www.primemontgomery.com

Some clues for their latest game remained undiscovered when tragedy struck. They lead the boy to many disMark Glass coveries in a plot that seems excessively romanticized until late in the proceedings. He finds a strange old man (Max von Sydow) who may be a previously-unknown relative, or a nut case, or both. His journey takes him to many strangers who may have known his father, touching all their lives in some surprising ways. There are bits of humor, considerable sentimentality, and elements of suspense in how this will turn out, especially about some secrets lurking in the background. Some will receive this production as emotionally satisfying, though more are likely to find it unsettling than cathartic.

Iron Lady (PG-13) Here’s another biopic Hollywood trotted out as a vanity vehicle for a star, regardless of other merit factors. Leo DiCaprio acted brilliantly, with fine support from makeup and wardrobe, in pointlessly chronicling a version of J. Edgar Hoover’s career.

Now Meryl Streep proves she can “do” Margaret Thatcher in another exercise of “who cares?”

Thatcher’s life and times hardly seem worthy of chronicling in this manner, at this stage of world events. She’s one of many powerful women who have led major countries, and wasn’t the first. Whatever impact her perspectives and actions may have had while rising through the political ranks, and during her tenure as England’s Prime Minister, the events and dialog seem dated, and out of touch with today’s global problems and needs. The result is a film of little historic interest, or current relevance, even before any partisan arguments begin over historical accuracy.

Streep, who won the Academy Award for Best Actress for this role, has already proven she can be brilliant in virtually any role. It’s hard to see why she felt this gig was worthy of her skills, unless it’s a warmup for squaring off with Helen Mirren, reprising her excellent 2006 take on Queen Elizabeth as they form a legion of superheroes, fighting villains like our ex-presidents in Robert Smigel’s usually hilarious ‘toons on Saturday Night Live. If so, that should be far more entertaining than either J. Edgar or this offering.

Mark Glass is an officer and director of the St. Louis Film Critics Association.

What a stroke looks like.

What recovery looks like.

Jackson Hospital is proud to be recognized by The American Heart Association and American Stroke Association for achieving 85% or higher adherence to all Get With The GuidelinesÂŽ Stroke Performance Achievement made possible by our specialized stroke team of emergency physicians, CT technologists, radiologists, pharmacists and neurologists.

Trust your treatment to the area’s first Gold Plus certified stroke program at Jackson Hospital. jackson.org

www.primemontgomery.com | May 2012

GAMES & PUZZLES Across 1 See 69-Across 7 Catch-22 14 Retro headgear 15 Quintessence 16 Breakfast option 18 Mountain Dew producer, informally 19 Slight winning margin 20 Not divided 21 Easy melodies 24 With 51-Across, Presley hit with "glue" in the lyrics 29 Mediterranean smoker 31 "__ Coy Mistress": Andrew Marvell poem 33 Uffizi display 34 "Big Love" actress Sevigny 36 Asylum seeker 38 "A Clockwork Orange" star 42 Gushed on stage 43 Massey of "Rosalie" 44 Talk with one's hands 45 Like days of yore 47 "Great shot!"

51 See 24-Across 53 Professional pitcher?

55 Edit out 56 Comedian Hartman 58 Excludes 60 End the chat room suspense,

in a way 66 Chaplin's tramp, e.g.

67 Boorish sorts 68 Non-specific 69 With 1-Across, spend time frivolously Down 1 Out of the picture 2 Start up after a fire, say 3 Dumbbells 4 Before 5 Tip for a writer?

6 __ gratiam habeamus: Kentucky's Latin state motto 7 Boehner's predecessor 8 Plays Simon says with 9 Harley outings 10 Got fed up?

11 Follow 12 Texting exclamation 13 Cancels (out) 17 Like this answer's position, and what can follow the starts of 16-, 24/51-, 38-, 60- and 69/1-Across 18 Macabre master 22 Tepid response to "How's this?"

23 Tower (over) 25 Home of Nationals pitcher

Chien-Ming Wang 26 Try to convince 27 PC key 28 Nautical spine 30 Passbook ID 32 Sonoran Desert resort city 35 Plot device?

37 Work wk. start 38 Prefix with -zoic 39 "The Last King of Scotland" tyrant 40 Lethargic 41 Skelton persona Kadiddlehopper 46 Not of the cloth 48 Standoffish one 49 Like Care Bears 50 "Avatar" extras 52 Ready and willing to do 54 Like a stick-in-the-mud 57 '80s tennis great Mandlikova 59 New Testament figure 60 Sticker stat 61 Shoe spec 62 Coastal raptor 63 Prufrock poet's monogram 64 Cable sta. for vintage films 65 "Gotcha!" (c)2012 TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.

Sukoku answers on page 9.

Crossword answers on page 25.

34

May 2012 | www.primemontgomery.com

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Phonak’s Naida ` S CRT hearing instruments have met stringent technical criteria involving water, sweat, moisture and dust resistance.* As a result of this testing, Naida ` S CRT hearing aids allow eight hours of exposure to dust and submersion in water up to three feet for 30 minutes without worrying about any damage. So now you can embrace the unexpected moments of life with confidence instead of planning your life around them!

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Director of Hearing Instruments