Prime Magazine Sept 2015

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Celebrating Midlife and Beyond

September 2015

Cooking with Grandkids

PLUS: Capitol City Artists 7th Annual Showcase

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Bring the pain. www.primemontgomery.com | September 2015

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Prime

MONTGOMERY

September 2015, Vol. 6, Issue 6

PUBLISHER Bob Corley, primemontgomery@gmail.com EDITOR Sandra Polizos, primeeditor@gmail.com ART DIRECTOR Callie Corley, primemagdesign@gmail.com WRITERS Andrea Gross, Beth Levine, Sandra Polizos, Johanna Pruess CONTRIBUTORS Niko Corley, Mark Glass, Cathy Maddox, Kylle’ McKinney, Arlene Morris, Nick Thomas, Alan Wallace PHOTOGRAPHERS Irv Green, Bob Corley SALES Bob Corley • 334-202-0114, primemontgomery@gmail.com Wendy McFarland, • 334-652-9080 mcfarlandadvantage@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 2015 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.

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September 2015 | www.primemontgomery.com

EDITOR’S NOTE

A

n old friend recently sent me an unexpected package in the mail.

A lovely new journal, she said it was a memory book to write about my adventures, thoughts, and ideas encountered during retirement.

My friend and I share a passion for journals, especially beautiful ones. We both began keeping one during our early twenties. Different than pictures, films, or videos, journals offer insights into what you were thinking, not just how you looked. Judy’s gift sent me on a search for those weathered memoirs.

Looking through old papers and countless folders, I was searching to rediscover the 20-year-old me.

While I harbored hope my diaries would uncover the creativity of a Mary Shelley or the style of Emily Dickinson, the reality was more akin to Bart Simpson — sometimes entertaining, but generally not too illuminating. Looking back, I exhausted untold energy on things that, ultimately, never mattered. Don’t you sometimes wish you could be friends with the younger version of who you are now…and share the knowledge and wisdom your experiences have produced?

After reading her diaries, here’s some early advice I’d offer that very young, headstrong, well-intentioned girl: • Your best friends will be those who inspire you.

• Give the boy who makes you laugh an immediate second look.

• Worrying is a leech that sucks joy from your life. Toss that sucker out.

• Don’t stay too long at one job. When the thrill is gone, find out where it went and go there.

• Exercise more now. It’s way easier than it will be later.

• Stay in touch with your siblings and old friends.You have a history together. Remembering it makes your life richer.

• Put a muzzle on that paralyzing inner voice. Choose, instead, to hear voices that give you confidence, knowledge, and encouragement.

• Vulnerability is also a strength.

• You’ll never regret letting your parents know how much you love them.

Show and tell them, frequently.

• The best relationships, including marriage, are based on mutual respect.

• Don’t stress about doctor visits. There’s ample time to stress about those later.

• First cousins are God’s gift. Not close enough to share your family burdens, they understand them. They will laugh with you, cry with you, and raise you up.

• Appreciate meeting new people, exploring new challenges and the benefit of different viewpoints. If you learn something valuable, write it down.

• Occasionally chat up your highest-ranking boss. It never hurts to know the top dog.

• You can’t love your children too much. Sing to them, read to them, play with them, even when you’re bone-tired. Hug and kiss them long after they’ve passed the baby stage.You’ll be rewarded years later, when you see them as strong, self-assured adults, raising children of their own the very same way.

• Keep listening to the Beatles.

Would the 20-year-old me take my advice at such an early age? Not likely.

Except for that last one. We always agreed on that.

Happy September! Let’s make it a great month!

Sandra Polizos Editor

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

September 2015 Table of Contents Editor’s Notes

4

Quick Reads

6

Yard ‘n Garden

8

Montgomery’s Botanical Garden

A Gracious Plenty

10

Money Wi$e

11

History Mystery

12

Flossing & your health What you didn’t know

14

Tinseltown Talks

16

Cooking with Grandkids Why it’s important

18

Monroeville

22

In Every Life

25

Crossword & Suduko

27

A Matter of Art

28

Crossword/Sudoku Answers

30

Social Security

31

Calendar

32

Prime Diversions

33

Off the Beaten Path

34

Brisket over briquets

Need money? Bridge the gap.

Who ARE these people?

Shirley Jones remembers 9/11

There’s an artist in each of us, waiting to be unleased, on canvas, on paper, with a musical instrument, in song, dance, story-telling and more. Never held a brush? It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you begin.What matters, is art. (page 30)

A trip to Harper Lee’s hometown Stay ahead of flu season

Montgomery artists share their work

Prime FREE FOR YOU

Celebrating Midlife and Beyond

September 2015

Cooking with Grandkids

PLUS: Capitol City Artists 7th Annual Showcase

The kitchen can be a magical place, and not just for preparing food for family and guests.

It’s also a great place to bond with your grandchildren, offering them real-world life lessons in a fun, relaxed atmosphere. (page 18)

Manage your retirement on-line

Select September DVD releases Ol’ Pin Feathers

www.primemontgomery.com | September 2015

5

Quick Reads Kitchen No-Confidence Young people lack confidence and skills in the kitchen, with many considering a microwaving to be cooking, says a study published in the Journal of Public Health. Research was conducted by Lancaster, Newcastle and Durham Universities, UK. Researchers questioned young people16-20 to find out their attitudes to food and how this can lead to obesity. Most were living at home and attending school or college. Some believed they could not cook or expressed a lack of confidence with one young woman saying: “I can’t cook. I just can’t be bothered...I burn toast.”

Their parents mostly bought the food and the teenagers heated it up, with examples of food they cooked including pizza, chips, ready meals and cups of tea.

“Cooking tended to be described as ‘jar’ based,” said researchers.

Fixed meal times were not the norm, and food eaten at home did not always mean it was prepared at home, with the teenagers often ordering take-out.

— Lancaster University via Science Daily, www.sciencedaily.com (See feature on cooking with grandkids, page 18.)

Out-patient Surgery Riskier for Seniors Patients 65 and older who have out-patient surgery are 54% more likely than younger patients to be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days, regardless of their health before surgery, reports a new, large national Northwestern Medicine study. The likely cause, based on previous research, is difficulty understanding medication dosing and discharge instructions, as well as cognitive impairment among older patients. The problem is likely to worsen as economic pressures to reduce health care costs lead to even more complex surgeries in an ambulatory setting, the authors said.

The study found age is an independent risk factor for out-patient surgical complications, which was not previously known. According to the study, to prevent costly readmissions, seniors need clearer, more understandable discharge instructions and to be evaluated for their ability to care for themselves after surgery. The study was published in the August issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

— Northwestern University, via Science Daily. www.sciencedaily.com.

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September 2015 | www.primemontgomery.com

Group Walking Beneficial Do you have a hard time adhering to a daily exercise routine?

Consider joining an outdoor walking group.You’ll be less likely to quit and may see a dramatic improvement in your overall health, including cognitive wellbeing, says a British review.

Researchers analyzed 42 studies involving more than 1,800 people (average age: 58). They found those who walked outdoors in groups significantly improved their blood pressure, resting heart rate, cholesterol, body fat and weight. Walkers also saw improvements in lung power, overall physical function and mental health.

Group walking particularly benefited people with medical conditions like Parkinson’s disease, obesity, diabetes, arthritis, fibromyalgia, dementia and mental health issues.

The distance, intensity and number of walks varied among studies, and most fell short of international activity guidelines. But the researchers point out that even people who walked the shortest distances saw wide-ranging benefits. And while the merits of regular walking have been long known, this review highlights the benefits of group-walking dynamics. Participating in an outdoor walking group helps instill camaraderie and incentive among members, providing a social outlet and making them less likely to drop out.

— Scientific American Health After 50, www.healthafter50.com Southern-style Eating Bad For Your Heart Previous research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham has shown regularly consuming the “Southern-style” diet of fried foods, processed meats, foods high in fat and sugar-sweetened beverages, can lead to an increased risk of stroke and an increased risk of death for chronic kidney disease patients. The latest research, published in Circulation, an American Heart Association journal, finds regularly consuming the “Southern-style” diet could raise your risk of heart disease -- including heart attack and heart disease-related death.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the food you eat, along with the amount, is a risk factor.

The research team derived five dietary patterns using data from 17,418 participants. One pattern was the “Southern-style.”

“People who most often ate foods conforming to the Southern-style dietary pattern had a 56 percent higher risk of heart disease compared to those who ate it less frequently,” said study lead author James M. Shikany, Dr.P.H., professor in the Division of Preventive Medicine.

Shikany says no other dietary pattern was associated with heart disease risk.

“For anyone eating a lot of the main components of the Southern dietary pattern, I’d recommend they scale back on their consumption,” Shikany said.

— University of Alabama at Birmingham, via Science Daily, www.sciencedaily.com

Hold the Salt, Hold the Headache?

Can cutting back on salt curb headaches? Perhaps, says a recent study published online in BMJ Open (formerly British Medical Journal).

Researchers analyzed medical data in a large clinical trial comparing the effects of two dietary patterns on hypertension (high blood pressure). Participants were randomly assigned to either the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet (rich in fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products and low in saturated and total fat) or a standard American diet.

Sodium intake in both groups ranged from low (1,150 mg a day) to high (3,450 mg a day).

Participants on low-sodium diets (either DASH or standard) reported about onethird fewer headaches than those on medium-to high-sodium diets. Although evidence has already tied hypertension to frequent headaches, the researchers concluded that reducing salt intake may be independently associated with headache frequency. The high-sodium intake in the study reflects the average consumption among Americans.

Researchers couldn’t establish a direct link between sodium and headaches, but suggest reducing salt intake may help people avoid some headaches, especially non-vascular or tension-type headaches. Past studies have shown that foods and beverages like chocolate, coffee, cheese and alcohol appear to trigger vascular, or migraine and cluster, headaches.

— Health After 50, www.healthafter50.com 7 www.primemontgomery.com | September 2015

YARD ‘N GARDEN

Botanical Gardens Update

A

By Cathy Maddox

committed group from the Capital City Master Gardeners Association (CCMGA) and one from Elmore County Master Gardeners became the first volunteers to perform gardening/landscape tasks to develop the Montgomery Botanical Gardens (MBG) at Oak Park. While numerous volunteers will contribute over the years, this group will always be the first to contribute their gardening skills, time and effort to the development of the new botanical gardens.

On June 25, these vigorous, trained garden volunteers met at the site for Phase I of our botanical gardens to begin cleaning hedges and laying out pathways. With determination and diligence, they began removing weeds, vines, sprouting trees, dead limbs and overgrown bushes from the huge azalea hedge at the entrance to Oak Park, and laying edging for pathways. Later they worked on spreading stones for the pathway surface and soil to stabilize the edging. Care is being taken to ensure that future visitors with disabilities will be able to use these pathways to maneuver within and enjoy the gardens.

These first Master Gardeners to work on the community dream of botanical gardens are Cathy Maddox (Volunteer Coordinator for MBG), Carolyn Love-Dorsey, Karin Carmichael, Shou-Lih Chuang, Ann Oldham, Amanda Borden, Katie McLean, Betsy Coley, CCMGA President Margaret Cully, Maggie Stringer, and Janice and Andy Jackson. On Thursday, June 26, Master Gardeners Cary and Lynne Kuhlmann and Daphne Nations also joined in to contribute to the effort. CCMGA membership adopted the MBG as a major project for their organization and provide some funding and volunteers to ensure that the gardens become a reality.

On Thursday, June 26, Mayor Todd Strange came to the gardens to publicize the progress made over the last year toward creating the Montgomery Botanical Gardens. He also acknowledged the volunteers at work on Phase I and those who volunteer on the MBG Board of Directors. The media helped share the news of progress and inform all interested parties that their volunteer time and effort can be put to good use at MBG. Mayor Strange also expressed pride that even though the land is leased from the City, the Montgomery Botanical Gardens is a private, non-profit organization that can utilize private donations, grants and endowments and he encouraged 8 September 2015 | www.primemontgomery.com

generous contributions from everyone.

Others who have already contributed their time, knowledge and/or equipment to enable the work to begin are: Doug Woodruff, Zeb King, and Dick Madison. City Parks and Recreation staff have been supportive and helpful as plans have developed over the last three years.

You do not have to be an experienced or trained gardener to be a useful volunteer. To learn about future volunteer opportunities at MBG, how to become a member and/or how to make financial donations to MBG, you can follow Montgomery Botanical Gardens on Facebook, on their Web Page or email them at montgomerybotanicalgardens@gmail.com. The current officers of the MBG are Ethel Boykin, President; Heather Coleman Davis,Vice President; Cathy Maddox, Secretary; and Scott Williams, Treasurer.

Cathy Maddox, a Master Gardener in the Capital City Master Gardener Association since 2000, lives in Montgomery, AL. For information on becoming a master gardener, visit the web-site, www. capcitymga.org or e-mail capcitymga@gmail.com.

Master Gardener Association volunteers provide the sweat equity needed to create Montgomery’s Botanical Garden.

Capital City Master Gardener Association presents Lunch & Learn | Free Monthly Programs Sept. 2 Noon – 1 p.m.

“Cool Weather Veggies” Bring a Sack Lunch – Drinks Provided Armory Learning Arts Center 1018 Madison Avenue, Montgomery 36104 For more information contact the Montgomery County Extension Office (334) 270-4133

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www.primemontgomery.com | September 2015

9

A GRACIOUS PLENTY

Brisket Over Briquets

A

lthough brisket is generally regarded as a cool weather dish, you may be surprised how this ultimate comfort food works in delicious recipes that help you hang on to the fading days of summer.

A traditional Barbecued Beef Brisket

prepared low and slow over a charcoal grill is sure to be a crowd-pleaser for a backyard tailgate or a casual gathering with friends. And, there’s no dread of leftovers when you can look forward to a hearty salad/brisket-filled pita for a tasty midday meal.

BARBECUE BEEF BRISKET Makes: 8-10 servings Prep time: 30 minutes Cook time: 5-6 hours

1 beef brisket flat (5-6 pounds) 1 tablespoon beef bouillon base Dry Rub 1 cup beef broth Dry Rub: 1/2 tablespoon salt 1/2 tablespoon paprika 1/2 tablespoon black pepper 1/2 tablespoon sugar 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1/4 teaspoon oregano 1/8 teaspoon ground coriander 10

September 2015 | www.primemontgomery.com

As any grill master knows, achieving grilling greatness begins with a charcoal fire. This recipe, created by world champion pitmaster Chris Lilly, showcases how he achieves an authentic smoky flavor that will delight the taste buds of your family and friends.

Build a charcoal fire for indirect cooking by situating coals on only one side of grill, leaving other side void.

Cover entire brisket with beef bouillon base. In small bowl, mix dry rub ingredients and coat brisket with rub. When cooker reaches 225∞F, place brisket on void side of grill and close lid. Cook for 4 hours, until internal temperature reaches 160-170∞F. Remove brisket from grill and place in shallow baking dish or disposable aluminum pan. Pour beef broth over brisket and cover pan with aluminum foil. Place baking dish in cooker for an additional 1-2 hours, until internal temperature reaches 185∞F. Remove baking dish from grill and let meat rest undisturbed for 20-30 minutes. Slice brisket across grain and serve.

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Check us out online for a great recipe made with leftovers, Grilled Greek Salad Pita with Beef Brisket. Look for A Gracious Plenty on our website, primemontgomery.com.

Find more grilling recipes at www.kingsford.com. Courtesy: Family Features. Source: Kingsford Charcoal.

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MONEYWI $ E

Bridging the Gap A

dvisors recommend having an emergency fund because financial needs can pop up unexpectedly from time to time. Sometimes, though, that reserve fund may be insufficient or may have been depleted by an earlier need. What to do? If you cannot postpone the spending until you save the needed money, borrowing is the usual course of action.

Alan Wallace While gratuitous borrowing is a bad habit to get into, the use of debt is necessary for most people at some time or other. But not all borrowing is created equal. It makes sense, therefore, to wisely choose the lender and type of loan.

For those who qualify, a home equity line of credit (HELOC) can be a useful financial tool. Here are some things to be aware of in selecting a HELOC. n The amount of the credit line will depend on the value of your house, how much you owe on it, and how stable the lender thinks the value will be. n If approved, the HELOC will have a maximum amount that you borrow.You do not have to borrow the full amount. n Like a mortgage, a HELOC has closing costs, although these are generally lower than for a first mortgage, and may be fully or partially waived in some cases. It pays to shop around. n The HELOC carries a variable interest rate, so the cost of borrowing may change over time with the level of interest rates. n Unlike a traditional mortgage, a HELOC is flexible. You do not have to withdraw the entire HELOC balance at closing.You can borrow some of the money, repay some, borrow again later, repay some more, etc., all under the same loan. The unused portion of the credit

line is usually available whenever you need it. However, the lender can freeze a credit line, for instance, if it believes the value of your house has dropped. n Most HELOCS have a 20-year term, with no principal payments being required during the first 10 years. n Unlike auto loan or credit card interest, HELOC interest is deductible for taxpayers who itemize deductions.

Remember these cautions if you use a HELOC. n Borrow for significant situations when your emergency fund isn’t enough—replacing a roof or major car repairs.

Avoid using it like an ATM or to cover routine spending.

I used one to pay college tuition twice a year while two sons were in college simultaneously. n Repay principal as soon as funds are available, even though principal payments may not be required. I generally paid down the balance by the end of each semester. n Remember that a HELOC is a mortgage. Default can result in your house being foreclosed. Don’t presume on the future by expecting the value of your property to stay ahead of the HELOC balance by appreciating indefinitely. n Like other forms of debt, a HELOC can be a trap for the person unable to exercise self-control. If impulse spending or the overuse of credit cards is a problem, you may be better off without a HELOC. It might simply be a temptation to persist in self-destructive behavior and dig yourself into a deeper hole.

For the right people HELOCs can help bridge financial gaps that arise when spending requirements exceed available resources. Just be sure to shop for the best deal and use your HELOC with discretion.

Alan Wallace, CFA, ChFC, CLU, is a Senior Private Wealth Advisor for Ronald Blue & Co.’s Montgomery office, www.ronblue.com/ location-al. He can be reached at 334-270-5960, or by e-mail at alan.wallace@ronblue. com.

www.primemontgomery.com | September 2015

11

OUR HISTORY

C

History Mystery: Do you know these people?

ontinuing our partnership with the Alabama Department of Archives and History, we present three more photographs with unidentified people from the River Region. If you can help identify any of the individuals in these photos contact Meredith McDonough at 334-353-5442, or meredith.mcdonough@archives.alabama.gov, or e-mail Prime magazine at primemontgomery@gmail.com.

Above: Circa 1965-68.Waitresses standing in front of a bar at the Laicos Club, Montgomery, AL. Photo by Jim Peppler.

Below: October 24, 1974. Athletes, Goodwyn Jr. High, 209 Perry Hill Rd., Montgomery, AL. Photo by John E. Scott.

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September 2015 | www.primemontgomery.com

Above: Circa 1950. Prattville grammar school students on a float in front of Autauga Co. High School, Prattville, AL, sporting Autauga Co. 4-H shirts. Photo by Horace Perry, taken for the Autauga Reseeding Crimson Clover Association.

www.primemontgomery.com | September 2015

13

FEATURE

Flossing (Not Just for Your Teeth)

By Beth Levine, grandparents.com

I

f your dentist telling you to floss isn't enough, read this to learn the benefits of flossing, and how an unhealthy mouth may be linked to heart disease, diabetes and more.

DO YOU FLOSS? Whenever your dentist asks about your flossing habits, do you fib just a little? “Oh, yes,” you’ve been known to say. “All the time.” You leave the office, determined to be more mindful about flossing.You are—for a few days. And then you are back to your old ways of flossing occasionally, or maybe only when you feel like something is stuck between your teeth.You wouldn’t be alone.

According to the American Dental Association, only 50% of Americans floss daily, 31% floss less than daily, and 18% do not floss at all. If you are part of that 50%

who doesn’t feel flossing is a priority, you probably think brushing your teeth is enough. But flossing is a major component in good dental hygiene.

1. Flossing can keep your teeth from falling out Every morning when you wake up, you have a thin layer of bacteria on your teeth called plaque. For people who say they don’t need to floss because food doesn’t get stuck between their teeth: It’s not just the food, it’s the bacteria in your mouth that you have to scrape off. If that bacterial build-up is not removed, it hardens into tartar. When plaque and tartar make homes underneath your gums, they can cause gum disease such as gingivitis, an inflammation of the tissue.

If not treated, gingivitis can lead to periodontal disease, which is a disease of the bone and is the No. 1 cause

“…there is a relationship between higher risk of gum disease with heart disease…”

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September 2015 | www.primemontgomery.com

of tooth loss, says Kimberly Harms, DDS, American Dental Association Consumer Advisor. Flossing can remove the bacteria and protect teeth from disease and from falling out.

2. Flossing can get rid of dry mouth Saliva is a natural disinfectant in your mouth. Without it, bacteria get a better hold to cause gum disease and decay. With 90% of people over 65 on some kind of medication, and more than 500 common medications on the market that can cause dry mouth, many seniors are at high risk already for oral disease, says Dr. Harms. Regular flossing can help compensate for the lack of saliva by scraping off the bacteria that the saliva would have killed.

3. Flossing saves you money Though it's not technically a health reason, saving money can be an enticing reason to floss. How does it save you money? When bacteria build up on your teeth, they create tartar. Tartar essentially traps the bacteria underneath creating cavities. And those cavities can cost you a lot of money. The cost of filling a cavity is anywhere between $75 and $150 per tooth. That's just cavities. If you've got gum disease, treatment can cost hundreds and even thousands of dollars.

4. Flossing helps overall health While no definitive study concludes poor dental hygiene causes serious medical conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, several studies show a link been gum disease and these conditions.

“We have seen that there is a relationship between higher risk of gum disease with

heart disease, stroke and low birth-weight babies,” says Dr. Harms. “We’re not sure why, but we do know if your immune system is compromised, you don’t want live bacteria in your system.”

And the way live bacteria would get in your system would be through bleeding gums. Also, if you have diabetes, you are at increased risk of gum disease. All the more reason to be proactive in your oral hygiene and brush and floss regularly.

n

n

n n

n

TIPS FOR FLOSSING Tight teeth? Pick a floss made out of Teflon, which are specifically made to slide through tight teeth. If you have widely spaced teeth use floss tapes.

(Always look for the American Dental Association’s seal of approval.)

Too uncoordinated for regular floss? Try interdental cleaners, with the floss attached to little picks.

Waxed or unwaxed? It’s a matter of personal preference.

Brush or floss first? The American Dental Society points out that if you use dental floss before you brush, the fluoride from the toothpaste has a better chance of reaching between teeth. Other people prefer to brush first so they can see what’s left before they floss.

When to start? Children should start flossing as soon as they have two teeth that touch.

Grandparents.com is a lifestyle site that celebrates the grandparent community by providing trusted information about family & relationships, health & well-being, travel & retirement, and more. Follow the site on Twitter (@grandparentscom) and on Facebook (facebook.com/grandparentscom).

Healthy mouths. Healthy lives.

Be Healthy!

Carmichael Dental Care 4146 Carmichael Rd. Ste D Montgomery, AL 36106 www.myaldentist.com 334.270.9924 www.primemontgomery.com | September 2015

15

TINSELTOWN TALKS

Shirley Jones and Marty Ingels:

Remembering 9/11

By NIck Thomas

L

aughter is often cited as a key ingredient for a successful marriage. Shirley Jones and Marty Ingels would agree. In 1974, Jones (“The Partridge Family”) was leaving an art exhibit at Michael Landon's home when Ingels bumped into her. Literally.

“I was getting into my car and as Marty was arriving, he knocked me over onto a chez lounge,” laughed Jones from the couple’s home in Encino, Calif. “That’s how we met.”

Ingels, however, didn’t hit and run. The two actors became friends and were married three years later. “That was 38 years ago,” said Jones. “He’s still making me laugh every day.”

But there were few smiles on September 11, 2001 when, like the rest of the world, Jones and Ingels watched in horror as terrorist attacks left almost 3,000 people dead on American soil.

“Like everyone, we were devastated,” said Ingels “Just days before the attack, we had purchased some land in Fawnskin, on the north side of Big Bear Lake in San Bernardino County, Calif. We weren’t quite sure what to do with it, but after 9/11 decided to turn it into a park to remember the victims. Today, Fawn Park is still the only 9/11 memorial in Southern California.”

The couple had purchased a cabin in the area a decade earlier, and when a small parcel of land became available in the center of Fawnskin’s main street, they acquired it to prevent commercial development.

“It’s a very small town, only about 300 residents,” said Jones.

“They’re always nervous about anyone doing anything new and, coming from a small town myself, I understood that. It took a while to get things moving, but the park is now pretty much full with visitors on the weekends, which is wonderful.

Marty even contacted former New York mayor, Rudy Giuliani,

who sent a 600-pound piece of girder from the World Trade Center to use as a centerpiece in the park. There’s a fountain around it and photographs of people who died as well as first responders.”

In addition to providing the land for the park and contributing their own money to the project, Jones and Ingels have relied on donations to keep it running. “It costs about a thousand dollars a month to maintain,” said Jones.

Surprisingly, adds Ingels, government support for the park has been non-existent.

“I thought they would at least provide some grant money, but we’ve been on our own mustering funds,” he said. “Clint Eastwood, Charlton Heston, and other friends helped financially to get it started, and we’re always looking for more donations. Our coffers are often close to empty, but we’re keeping it alive.” (For more information, see www.shirleyjones. com.)

Visitors to Fawn Park will also see a collection of children’s

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Left: Shirley Jones and Marty Ingels. Above: Ingels and Jones at their 9/11 memorial park, standing in front of a 600-pound piece of girder recovered from the World Trade Center.

play structures, including a horseshoe pit and giant tire, picnic benches, and a collection of life-sized Americana statues including a fireman, policeman, Indian chief, and cowboy, as well as a sign reflecting Ingel’s sense of humor: “Children left unattended and running will be towed away at the owner’s expense.”

A comedian throughout much of his career, Ingels appeared in over 70 films and TV shows, including the short-lived but fondly remembered comedy “I’m Dickens, He's Fenster” from the early 1960s. His wife, however, has claimed more of the entertainment spotlight, being widely recognized for playing the matriarch in the popular musical sitcom “The Partridge Family” and winning an Oscar for her role in “Elmer Gantry.”

But Ingels takes his wife’s fame in his stride. Mostly.

“When people call me ‘Mr. Jones,’ that’s a little hard to take,” he laughed. “I tell myself they’re mistaking me for Tom Jones and I can live with that!”

As they continue to share humor in the everyday aspects of marriage, the couple hopes their park will remain a place to not only celebrate life, but remember a terrible tragedy that took it away from so many.

“It’s a small park with a big message,” says Jones. “We must never forget what happened on that September day.”

Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, Ala., and has written features, columns, and interviews for more than 600 magazines and newspapers. Follow him @TinseltownTalks.

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17

Cooking With Your Grandkids Matters

FEATURE

5 important lessons you can teach them about food — and life

By Joanna Pruess, Next Avenue 18

September 2015 | www.primemontgomery.com

I

f your grandchildren’s boundless energy, interminable bickering and sullen moods leave you little energy for preparing wholesome — let alone creative — meals, it’s understandable. And then, of course, those “Ick, I hate it” or “Ew, it’s weird” reactions before tasting something can further undo you. So what’s a well-intentioned grandparent to do?

Convenience foods are one obvious solution: They’re familiar, and thus nonthreatening, and the better ones aren’t necessarily a dietary shipwreck. But you don't have to go that route.You can cook easy meals that your grandkids will not only love but will love helping prepare.

Cooking a dish or even a whole meal from scratch with grandkids offers benefits beyond just the tasty results. It imparts all sorts of important knowledge (about math, science and basic cooking techniques); it teaches them about good food; it’s a great way to bond; it fuels creativity and builds their confidence in and out of the kitchen; and it gives them lifetime values.

You don’t have to be an expert cook to share these lessons.

You just need enthusiasm and encouragement — and maybe a few aprons.

Lesson #1: Chemistry and Math Before you even venture into actual cooking, make kitchen time appealing, says chef Janeen Sarlin, author of Princess Tea: Parties and Treats for Little Girls (Chronicle Books, 2009).

While having fun, kids can learn useful lessons that apply beyond the kitchen.

“Fill the sink with soapy water and let them play,” says Sarlin, who is a grandmother to two boys, John, 4, and Henry, 7. “Then, as they’re splashing and laughing, ask why a cup in water sinks when filled with liquid.

If they don’t guess, explain gravity,” she says.

Another suggestion: While making dough for pizza, let them see how dry yeast is activated when added to warm milk. The little bubbles that form on the surface are a chemical reaction that, along with your punching the dough down and kneading it, causes the dough to rise. “Scientific names aren’t so important at this point,” says Sarlin, “but kids will be ahead of their classmates when they encounter them later in school.” Meanwhile, they’re physically and mentally engaged.

Through cooking you can teach kids basic arithmetic before they formally learn it in school, says Sarlin, or "Neeny" as she's known to John and Henry. When, for example, a recipe calls for three-quarters of a cup of flour, using the half-and quartercup measures illustrates how fractions are combined and it helps them learn how to measure accurately. Pouring liquids into a glass measure and spooning and leveling dry ingredients in metal cups also teach hand-eye coordination.

Lesson #2: Food Comes From Farms For too many kids, mealtime means grabbing something on the fly — food comes off shelves or across a fast-food counter. Making “real” food can be a small antidote to our national fast-food mania, offering insight into the origins of ingredients and the cooking process. Barbara Josephson’s 17-year-old granddaughter, Danielle, wanted to make jam with her last summer to give as Christmas gifts. Josephson thought it was a good chance to teach her about where ingredients come from and how good preserves are really made.

Josephson grew up on a farm while her dad was in the service. Since the women of her family prepared everything they ate, farm-fresh meals were the norm.

“So off we went to a farm to buy a flat of strawberries and then to a hardware store for jars and lids,” says Josephson, who still uses her grandmother's canning pot and tools. “We spent an entire day preparing the jars and cleaning, slicing and cooking the berries before finally boiling and sealing them.

Although I don't think Danielle will be too anxious to repeat such a labor-intensive day with me again, she now appreciates what goes into making high-quality, store-bought strawberry jam."

Lesson #3: Family Matters Sharing kitchen activities along with recipes and stories helps bring together generations. Taking the lead comes naturally for many grandparents, who tend to have more patience than parents. They’ve seen fingers (perhaps of kids

www.primemontgomery.com | September 2015

19

who’ve grown into impatient parents) in the frosting bowl and flour on the floor before, so they can let kids feel like they’re getting away with breaking the rules without suffering any consequences.

Christine Agnini has three granddaughters, 14, 9 and 2, who live on an organic farm in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Because Agnini lives in New York City, she doesn’t see them as often as she’d like. “Whether I go there or they come here, [cooking is] always an important part of our time together. We make traditional things like Victoria sponge cake because my husband’s family is English, as well as recipes from my own mother and father.

For Christmas, I gave the girls a crêpe pan and wooden turner from Williams-Sonoma, and it was a huge hit.”

Everyone in one place creating a feast together is infinitely better than the grown-ups doing the cooking and cleanup while the kids stare at a computer or TV in the den. It’s also a great way for grandkids to learn about their older relatives, family recipes and heritage.

Lesson #4: Cooking Fosters Creativity The kitchen is a place where experimenting is not only acceptable, it's beneficial. It’s good for kids to learn that they

can play or try out new things and not be “judged” on their performance or need to achieve “perfection” in the result.

So what if the cake decorations or pizza toppings aren’t flawless? As long as they’re edible, the process encourages originality and the expression of personal style. And the wonder and pride of those “ta-da” moments — like when grandchildren see how ingredients they mixed in a bowl emerge from the oven as a cake and say “I made that!” — are priceless.

Lesson #5: The Kitchen Is a Place of Enrichment Finally, lessons learned while cooking with grandparents remain part of us even when we grow up and have children and grandchildren of our own. Soap star Colleen Zenk (Barbara Ryan on “As the World Turns”) spent a lot of her childhood on her grandparents’ small dairy farm in Barrington, Ill., where everyone, regardless of age, was expected to pull his or her own weight.

“My grandmother, Lillian Phelps Zenk Dittrich, was a professional baker, but she also prepared meals for the help," says Zenk.

"We were up before dawn, and just after breakfast we’d cook meals for six to 10 farmhands, then drive into the fields to deliver the baskets. I can still taste her fried chicken, potato salad, cookies and pie.”

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Zenk credits her grandmother with teaching her what commitment to one’s job means. “For most of my years at “As The World Turns” I lived in Connecticut, so I had to get up at 3:45 a.m. for my nearly three-hour commute. It’s just what you did.

While I don’t have my grandmother’s pastry-chef genes — my daughters do; they’re all gifted bakers — I did inherit her work ethic."

In the end, cooking with grandchildren can be a gift for the whole family. It builds kids’ trust in you so they might share “secrets” with you. While gaining useful knowledge, it instills confidence in their own skills and gives new meaning to “happy meals.”

Neeny's Corn Muffins Makes 12 My grandsons love corn muffins — as do most kids. This recipe is a good vehicle for teaching kids chemistry, math, hand-eye coordination and cleanup, and most of the steps are appropriate for children of all ages.

1 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (unsifted) n 2 teaspoons baking powder n 1 teaspoon sugar n 1 teaspoon salt n 1/2 teaspoon baking soda n 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled (best done by an adult) n 1 1/2 cups buttermilk n 2 eggs, slightly beaten n n

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Preheat the oven to 425° F. Grease a 12-muffin tin. This is a good job for kids to do with the paper and stick of butter — or with their fingers, if they don’t mind getting greasy.

Have kids measure out the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda, leveling off the tops of the cups/ teaspoons with a small spatula and adding these ingredients to a large bowl. (Kids love to add each ingredient individually, so allot plenty of time.) Mix well with a whisk or spoon.

Let the kids break the eggs into a small bowl and whisk until slightly beaten. (Kids love to crack and beat eggs. But you probably don’t love shells in your muffins, so have a teaspoon handy.)

In a separate bowl, stir the butter and buttermilk together, then pour in the eggs and mix well.

Pour the liquid mixture into the center of the dry ingredients. With a wooden spoon, beat just until the dry ingredients are completely blended — do not over-mix. Fill each muffin tin about two-thirds high, then bake until the muffins are golden brown on the edges and a toothpick stuck in the center of one comes out clean — about 20 minutes. Set on a rack until they are cool to the touch, then tap out of the tins and enjoy.

Joanna Pruess is the creator of the New Jersey-based Cookingstudio in Kings Supermarkets. Many of the more than 15,000 students who have attended the school were children. Joanna taught several classes for them, and also taught her own three kids to cook. www.primemontgomery.com | September 2015 21

Maycomb in Monroeville

FEATURE

The Mockingbird Connection Story by Andrea Gross | Photos by Irv Green

M

Harper Lee’s father tried cases in the Old Monroe County Courthouse.

onroeville, Alabama may be the most well-known small town in America. Millions of folks have read about it, seen a movie about it, and picture it as the archetypical Southern town, but comparatively few recognize its name. To them it is Maycomb, the place memorably depicted in one of the world’s best selling books, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, as well as in her recently-released novel, Go Set a Watchman.

Despite having similar themes (racial attitudes, moral certitude and family relationships) and featuring many of the same characters, there are important differences between the two books. Mockingbird takes place in the 1930s while Watchman is set in the 1950s.

The intervening twenty years have wrought changes in everything from political actions to

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The upstairs rooms are filled with exhibits pertaining to societal expectations, and the story is told from the perspecthe town’s famous duo. We read about Lee receiving the 1961 tive of an informed adult rather than an innocent child. But Pulitzer Prize, admire photos of Capote as a chubby-cheeked one thing remains the same: in a physical sense the fictional child, and pause before a giant enlargement of a postage town of Maycomb is strikingly similar to the real town of stamp featuring Gregory Peck.

Monroeville.

I find it strange that the postal Today Monroeville is almost service honored a movie star twice as large as it was sixty who recreated a character on years ago when Lee wrote both screen rather than the author of her books (Watchman was who created that character in the actually an early draft of Mockfirst place. ingbird), but with a population of But the real importance of just over 6,000, it’s still not much Monroeville, as well as the mumore than an outpost midway seum, is best represented by a between Montgomery and bronze sculpture on the courtMobile.Yet due to Lee, who has house lawn that depicts three always called it home, and Truman children absorbed by a book. The Capote, who vacationed there as Monroeville expects more visitors now that Go See a Watchsculpture is titled “A Celebration of a child, the state legislature dubbed man has been published.

Reading.” the town the Literary Capital of As we stroll the surrounding streets we try to imagine the Alabama in 1997. Twelve years later the 40-acre downtown town as it was when Lee was a child. Her home was only area was added to the National Register of Historic Places. two blocks from the Courthouse; the Faulk home in which My husband and I are eager to see what all the fuss is about. We stop first at the 1903 domed courthouse, a familiar Capote summered was right next door to Lee’s and the home of Alfred Boulware, who Mockingbird fans will recogstructure to those who have seen the 1962 film of Mocknize as the likely inspiration for Boo, was around the corner ingbird starring Gregory Peck or read the early works of near the elementary school.

Capote. We enter the courtroom where Lee’s father, as well These homes are gone now. An overpriced ice cream shack as the fictional Atticus Finch, practiced law. I shudder as I see occupies the site of Lee’s home, a rock wall is all that’s left the jury box where twelve white men convicted an innocent of the former Faulk house, and the Boulware home has been black in a pivotal scene in Mockingbird.

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23

replaced by a gas station. Many of the old buildings remain, although most have been repurposed. Circling back to the Courthouse, we pass the Monroe County Bank, where Lee’s father had his law office, and the RSVP building that now houses a charitable organization but used to be the town jail. Finally, behind the courthouse, the former La Salle Hotel, where Gregory Peck stayed when he was in town preparing for his award-winning role as Atticus, has been turned into the public library.

Then, because travel is as much about meeting people as seeing sights, we go to Radley’s Fountain Grille, where 92-year-old George Jones enjoys talking to visitors about days gone by.

“Nelle was four years behind me in school,” he says, referring to Lee by her first name, the one used by long time acquaintances. “She was a notorious tomboy, just like Scout (the main character in Mockingbird) and Capote was just like Scout’s friend Dill, who was a smart-alecky kid with a high-pitched voice.”

Before we leave, we visit Ol’ Curiosities & Book Shoppe, where we buy a

Only a rock wall remains from the house owned by Truman Capote’s relatives.

copy of Go Set a Watchman. It’s been embossed and certified as coming from the author’s hometown — the Maycomb of Scout and and the Monroeville of Nelle.

For more information about travel writer/ photo-journalists Andrea Gross and Irv Green and the places they have visited and written about, visit www.TraveltizersPlus. com.

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September 2015 | www.primemontgomery.com

IN EVERY LIFE

T

Flu Vaccine Primer

he beginning of fall is a wonderful n A/California (H1N1) time of cooler temperatures and n A/Switzerland (H3N2) harvests, but also reminds us that n B/Phuket it’s time for our flu vaccination. We may n B/Brisbane wonder if, when, and even what type of All of the flu vaccines available in the U. S. in 2015-2016 vaccine will be best. contain the first three types (trivalent), while some contain The Centers for Disease Control four (quadrivalent), by adding the B/Brisbane type virus. Vac(CDC) tracks cases of influenza (flu) cines can be administered as an injection into a muscle (IM), weekly (http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/). an injection just under the skin (intradermal), by a jet injector, The number and severity of flu cases or as a nasal spray. Trivalent vaccines are currently adminisArlene Morris vary from year to year and by regions of tered IM or by jet injectors. Quadrivalent vaccines are curthe U.S., usually beginning in October, peaking between Derently administered by nasal spray or intradermally. The CDC cember and February, and diminishing by May or June. In the will make more specific recommendations in early fall, based U.S., annually the seasonal flu vaccines are designed to contain on the expected timing and types of viral spread. (http://www. types of viruses that have been tracked globally to evaluate cdc.gov/flu/about/season/upcoming.htm). drift of the most prevalent viruses for the next flu season.

Discussion with your healthcare provider can help you New flu viruses continuously appear. determine which type of vaccination is best for you based on CDC’s recommendations, your age, and health status. At least o Type A viral changes are usually significant and are not two weeks are needed for your body to develop immunity to recognized by a person’s immune system; thus the person the viruses contained in the vaccine. develops an illness.

The challenge is to receive your vaco Type B viral changes are usually “The challenge is to receive more subtle mutations. A person your vaccine in time to develop cine in time to develop immunity, yet exposed to a virus similar to one immunity, yet late enough for late enough for your immunity to last the season. encountered in the past through your immunity to last through through Flu is spread up to six feet from either vaccination or illness is the season.” person to person – most likely by likely to have some immunity, and droplets during coughs, sneezes, or therefore be less likely to develop conversation – landing in a nearby person’s nose or mouth symptoms. then progressing into their lungs. Droplets can also be transThis helps explain why in some years some people referred when a person touches a surface on which droplets tain a bit of immunity to flu from prior year vaccinations or have landed, and then touches their nose or mouth. The flu infections, yet not in other years. An individual’s age, health, virus can be spread to others before you know you are sick and overall immune status also influence how effective a flu because the virus may be in your body one to four days vaccine will be at a particular time of exposure. Immunity declines over time, and is impacted by chronic or other illnesses, before symptoms appear, or you may not develop symptoms.

The virus can be spread for seven or more days after sympand even stress. toms occur.

Decline in immunity is the basis for annual vaccinations You can help protect yourself by getting vaccinated each to prevent influenza illness, hospitalizations and deaths. All fall, staying away from those who are sick, avoiding crowded people can contract and suffer from flu, but early childhood, older ages, and those with chronic conditions are at especially spaces, frequently washing hands (with soap and water or an alcohol-based rub), and avoiding touching your nose/mouth. high risk. (http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/high_risk.htm) The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Additionally, you can help decrease the spread of flu by staying home when you are sick, covering your cough or sneeze, and annually recommends the mix of viruses in vaccines to the assuring surfaces you touch are cleaned and disinfected (penCDC. For 2015-2016, the ACIP recommends vaccination for cils, pens, phones, light switches, dishes, glasses, etc.). everyone 6 months or older with EITHER a nasal spray vacHave a safe and healthy fall! cine (live Attenuated IV) or injectable vaccine (IIV), depending on an individual’s age, contraindications or precautions.

Arlene H. Morris, EdD, RN, CNE is Professor of Nursing, Auburn Current common circulating flu viruses are similar to influMontgomery School of Nursing. Reach her at amorris@aum.edu. enza: www.primemontgomery.com | August 2014

25

Vaccine is the best method to prevent influenza (flu), pneumococcal disease (pneu), and reduce complications.

FLU VACCINE

PNEU VACCINE

• Recommended for 6 months of age and older

• Recommended for 2 months to 5 years and 65 years and older

• Available types include: nasal mist, high-dose, under the skin, egg-free, or 3-4 strains

• Two vaccines protect against 13 and 23 strains of pneumonia

• Vaccine can be given from September - March each year

• Risk groups and all adults 65 years should receive both vaccines

For more information, contact your healthcare provider, county health department, or community vaccinators.

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September 2015 | www.primemontgomery.com

GAMES ACROSS 1 "Say it isn't so!"

5 Slick 9 Japanese poem with 17 syllables 14 More than simmer 15 Natural skin soother 16 Caravan stop 17 '50s-'60s Ramblers, briefly 18 Grand Prix series designation 20 Brings in, as salary 22 Geeky types 23 Controversial Vietnam War defoliant 26 Onetime Leno announcer Hall 29 Salt, in France 30 "__ we there yet?"

31 Add to the staff 33 Serving at Popeyes 36 Gutter site 37 Avon or Fuller Brush work, e.g.

42 Too 43 Country bumpkins 44 "I hope you've learned your __!"

47 Pro vote 48 Little white lie 51 "__-hoo! Over here!"

52 What Al Capone led 56 Collar attachment for Spot 57 "MASH" setting 58 "Shh! Don't tell!" and hint to what can precede the starts of 18-, 23-, 37- and 52-Across 63 Cheesy sandwich 64 Dance in a line 65 Actress Garr 66 Autobahn auto 67 Like a truck climbing a steep hill 68 Flower part 69 Tiff DOWN 1 White House family 2 Respect that's "paid" 3 Coin with a buffalo, once 4 Designer Mary-Kate or Ashley 5 Klutzy fellow 6 U.N. worker protection gp.

7 Doone of Exmoor 8 Red Sea republic 9 "Texas" poker variety 10 Very small batteries 11 Prefix with metric 12 Kith and __

13 Exploit 19 Hankering 21 Button that gets things going 24 Sandwich cookie 25 Raring to go 26 Airline with famously tight security 27 Symbol of peace 28 Hair colorings 32 Vegetables in pods 33 The "B" in TV's former The WB network 34 "Your point being...?"

35 Target city for Godzilla 37 Tyne of "Judging Amy" 38 Margarine 39 __ buco: veal dish 40 Scuba diving area 41 Not tight 45 Familiar adage 46 Evening, in ads 48 Inflame with enthusiasm 49 Marcos with a shoe collection 50 "Take a hike!"

53 Verifiable findings 54 "Snowy" wader 55 Sauce tomatoes 56 "Othello" conspirator 58 Here, in Le Havre 59 Truck weight unit 60 NBC late-night comedy hit 61 Before, in poetry 62 Tiny Dickens boy Š 2015 TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, INC.

Answers on page 30. www.primemontgomery.com | September 2015

27

Art Matters

FEATURE

By Sandra Polizos; photos by Bob Corley

“

Above and below: Art instructor Judie Hooks provides help for beginning painters as well as more advanced artists. Some have painted with Hooks since the the late 1980s.

28

September 2015 | www.primemontgomery.com

S

ometimes a picture truly is worth a thousand words,” says veteran Montgomery artist Brock Parker. “My art is a way to express and share myself to whomever is interested.” A retired area retailer and realtor, Parker is a member the Capital City Artists (CCA), a local art initiative founded by former Montgomery Public Schools art teacher Judie Hooks.

“My interest in art started with lessons when I was 12 and lessened when I disCapital City Artists Exhibit* and Reception covered girls and football,” “Times Gone By” Parker wryly adds.“But ten Sunday, Oct. 4, 2-4 p.m. years ago my wife decided I Armory Learning Arts Center needed to rediscover my love 1018 Madison Avenue for art. After a call to a local *Exhibit continues throughout October. gallery, she was referred to Judie Hooks and her classes.

For Christmas that year my wife gave me an easel, a gift certificate to Michaels, and three months of art lessons, and I have loved every minute since.”

Parker is one of the 23 artists who meet in three different classes held weekly at Hooks’ studio off the Atlanta Highway. Brought together by a desire to further develop their technique, the Capital City Artists will hold a public reception for their 2015 exhibit on Sunday, October 4 from 2:00pm - 4:00pm at the Armory Leaning Arts Center on Madison Avenue.

The show will continue throughout the month of October.

Montgomery realtor Patricia Spann Caldwell, who had no formal training in painting or color composition when she joined the group, says the value of the interactive experience of the classes is incalculable. “After I began working with this group there was no turning back. The instruction and peer relationships I have experienced have had a tremendous positive impact on my artistic growth and perspective.” Last year, Caldwell was selected to display her art in Montgomery’s City Hall.

“The people comprising the group come from all phases of life,” says instructor Hooks, whose drawer full of winning ribbons belies her own accomplishments. “The people taking my classes may have active careers, or they may be retired. They are parents, grandparents, married, single, male and female. The majority have been with CCA for years and a few have been taking classes from me since 1989. It is a very cooperative, congenial group.”

The area residents comprising the collective meet weekly to paint, experiment, and benefit from an exchange with others interested in further developing their skill.Though the artists run the gamut of experience, they all benefit from Hooks’ artistic and skilled creative eye. During the sessions tips on craft, inspiration, and creativity are shared.

“Some members of the class are beginners who have the desire to learn to paint,” Hooks says, “while others are advanced painters who’ve won a wide range of various awards for their work — and still others want to be a part of a group of people with the same interest in painting and who desire some instruction from me and positive critiques from the others.”

Artist Dale Marshall, a retired teacher and realtor, says the significance of the classes goes well beyond the results seen on a completed canvas.

For her, the classes provide benefits to mental, social, and physical well-being, in addition to development as a visual artist.

“The creative action of selecting, composing, and painting a subject keeps me mentally alert,” Marshall says. “Meeting with a group is stimulating and socially fun, plus new friendships are formed as the class continues to change.The physical activity of preparing for class — gathering canvases, paints, and supplies — as well as having a studio to go to gets me up and out of the house. All that, in addition to the pure relaxation and satisfaction of painting.”

“There’s a great joy in completing a work, and, especially, sharing that with my family,” Marshall adds.

“I love the way Judie Hooks can look at a painting and make a suggestion, such as straightening a line or changing a color,” says Judy Shepard, a retired reference librarian and more than 20-year veteran of the group. “Or, she’ll repeat her favorite line, ‘Make the darks darker,’ and it will make the painting right.”

The Oct. 4 reception, where works may be purchased as well as viewed, marks the seventh time the Capital City Artists have produced an exhibit for the River Region.

“The exhibit occurs once a year and gives all the artists an opportunity to share the previous year's paintings with family, friends and the Montgomery community,” Hooks says. “It’s a group effort, organized by committees. The public will see a wall of recent works, a wall of theme paintings, a wall of 10 x 10 paintings, and a table of miniature paintings. Because of the supportive, cooperative, enthusiastic, and positive personality of the group as a whole, the reception and exhibit are always pulled off without a flaw.”

The theme of this year’s exhibit, “Times Gone By,” required the artists to look at items from the past in a new, creative light. Previous year’s themes have included interpretations of Montgomery, doors, and the zoo, among others.

Above: Hooks works an one of her entries for the October Armory show. Below: Detail of another new work by Hooks -- a young guitar“The first year I participated in the Armory Art Show was ist playing by Montgomery’s Court Square fountain. pretty scary, as my work was quite basic,” Marshall recalls. “I'm so glad I’m a part of it because I look back at all our work and “The exhibit is a wonderful way to showcase our efforts see that we are all growing. We even have an artist who just and provide affordable art for those seeking completed a one-woman-show in her homeoriginal work,” Marshall continues. “There’s a town.” wide range of prices and sizes and subjects –– truly something for everyone. Or, you can just come and enjoy the beautiful art.”

“I’m glad the show’s become an annual event and is becoming a part of the artistic scene in Montgomery,” adds Shepard. “There really is just no such thing as too much art.”

Sandra Polizos is a first-year student in one of Hooks’ art classes. For more information on the Capital City Artists, contact instructor Judie Hooks at (334) 322-1615. www.primemontgomery.com | September 2015

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National Alliance on Mental Illness of Alabama “To make life better for those who suffer from mental illnesses.�

1st statewide NAMIWalk Sept. 26, Wynton Blount Cultural Park, Montgomery Call 334-396-4797 or visit www.namialabama.org for information on forming/joining a team and sponsorship opportunities.

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September 2015 | www.primemontgomery.com

SOCIAL SECURITY

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eptember 23 marks the first day of n Start or change your direct deposit fall. During this season, many peon Get a replacement Medicare card ple reflect on the gradual passing n Get a replacement SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S for tax of time as green leaves turn gold and season. pine needles blanket lawns.You are also Beginning the season of retirement can be exciting and slowly changing, and those golden years scary at the same time. At Social Security, we make it easier of retirement are one season closer. by providing the tools and information you can use to help We want you to be as prepared as you make the best decision for you and then apply for possible, and making applying for retirebenefits online. And, when you’re done, you’ll have more ment easy is one of Social Security’s top time to rake up those pine needles and leaves! Go to www.

Kylle’ McKinney priorities. In fact, applying for retiresocialsecurity.gov/retire/apply.html to start that new season ment benefits has never been easier.You in your life today. can do it all online. Unlike the leaves that take many weeks to change, you can complete Social Security’s online retirement Kylle’ McKinney, SSA Public Affairs Specialist, can be reached application in as little as 15 minutes. Better yet, you can apply by e-mail at kylle.mckinney@ssa.gov. from the comfort of your home or office. There's no need to drive to a local Social Security office or wait for an appointment with a Social Security representative. Simply go to www. socialsecurity.gov/retire/apply.html.

Most of the time, after your online application is submitted, you're done. There are no forms to sign, and we usually require no additional documentation. Social Security will process your application and contact you if we need further information.

Planning for retirement is much like preparing for colder weather — you want to protect yourself and your loved ones as best you can with the best resources possible. One important, but easy way to do this is to check your Social Security Statement using your secure online my Social Security account.

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31

September in the River Region Gardening Lunch & Learn Lunch & Learn. “Cool Weather Veggies.” Noon-1 pm, Sept 2. Free. Armory Learning Arts Center, 1018 Madison Ave, Montgomery. Bring sack lunch. Drinks provided. Capital City Master Gardener Assn. For info contact Mtgy. Co. Extension Office (334) 270-4133.

Wishbone Studio Grand Opening Sept. 7, 1-5 pm. Two bands perform an outdoor concert. Food provided. Millbrook, next door to Smokehouse BBQ. Singer/Songwriters Sept. 15. 7-9 pm. Joe Thomas, Jr. Guitar Pull, Cloverdale Playhouse, Old Cloverdale. Singer/songwriters perform/discuss their music. $10 (includes complimentary beverages). For info call 334-262-1530 or visit www.cloverdaleplayhouse.org.

Wetumpka Depot Players “Love Loss and What I Wore,” Sept. 17-19, 24-27, Oct. 1-3.

Lighthearted, witty play. For ticket info call 334-868-1440 or on-line at www.wetumpkadepot.com.

Learn to Square Dance Open House Montgomery Area Square Dance Assn. Free. Sept. 22, 29, 7:309:00 pm each day. Dress casually. 2200 Poplar St, Montgomery.

Classes begin Oct. 6. For info call 334-354-2854.

Newcomers Club of Montgomery Invitation for River Region women to attend monthly luncheon, Sept. 24, 11:30 am-1:30 pm, Arrowhead Country Club.

Guest speaker. Reservations $18, must be made by noon, Sept.

21. Contact Jan Burdette, 334-593-9266 or e-mail jan8410@ bellsouth.net.Visit www.newcomersmontgomery.com.

gmail.com.

Titus Bluegrass Festival Sept. 26, 10 am-6 pm. Bands, arts & crafts, barbecue, children’s activities.

Booths available. Admission 12 and older $5; children free. Titus Community Center, 10 miles N. of Wetumpka on Highway 231, then six miles N. on County Road 29. For info e-mail titusbluegrassfestival@

Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts Family Day, Sept. 27, 2-4 pm. One Museum Drive, Winton Blount Cultural Park, Montgomery. For info call 334240-4333 or visit www.MMFA.org.

Capitol Sounds Concert Band “Sounds of Autumn.” Sun. Oct. 4, 3 pm, City Hall Auditorium, Montgomery, AL. Free. Donations accepted at door.

For info contact Director John Jackson, 334-324-8661, musicjsj@gmail. com. For info on the band visit www. capitolsounds.org.

Volunteers Needed Montgomery Area Council on Aging (MACOA) coordinates volunteers for organizations/agencies. Current needs: — Respite Care: a few hours of companionship for hospice patients — Medical Outreach Ministries (M.O.M.): office help Mon, Wed, Friday — Habitat for Humanity: office help Mon-Thurs, 9 am-4 pm — Old Alabama Town: guides and reception workers — Baptist East & Baptist South: help at the reception desks — John Knox Manor: conduct activities with residents (quilting, entertaining, setting up a game of Bingo, etc.)

Contact Allison Shehane (Mtgy. Co.) 334-782-7254, e-mail ashehane@macoa.org, or Shirley Stewart (Autauga, Elmore Co.s), 334-595-0841, e-mail sastewart@macoa.org.

Jasmine Hill Gardens/Museum Fri, Sat, Sunday. Wetumpka. 20+ acres of year-round floral beauty and classical sculpture. Tours available for groups of 20 or more. For information call 334-263-5713 or visit www. jasminehill.org/.

EastChase Farmer’s Market Saturday through Oct. 10. Locally grown produce, gift items, entertainment, fitness classes, cooking demonstrations. For information call 334-279-6046.

Docent-lead History Tours Saturdays. AL Dept of Archive & History. Saturdays, 1-2 p.m.

No pre-registration required. Travel through Alabama’s past.

For information call 334-242-4364 or visit www.museum. alabama.gov/.

67th Annual Labor Day BBQ & Greek Pastry Sale Monday, September 7th • 9 a.m. until Sold Out

$10 Chicken or Pork Plate • $12 Camp Stew Quarts • $12 Lamb Plate Plates include Camp Stew, Slaw, Bread Greek Orthodox Church • Corner of Mt. Meigs/Capitol Parkway Call 334-263-1366 for tickets/info

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September 2015 | www.primemontgomery.com

PRIME DIVERSIONS

Recent dvd releases The D Train & Mad Max: Fury Road

The D Train (R) Remember when Jack Black’s manic comedic style seemed hip, edgy and hilarious? After watching this turkey, it’s hard to recall those days. Black stars as a former high-school nerd, still desperately seeking popularity among his peers years later by vigorously chairing the reunion committee. When no one seems interested in him or the event, he decides to track down the coolest guy from their class (James Marsden), who’d left the Rust Belt to try acting in Hollywood. Black spins a series of lies to his boss, family and others to get to the Left Coast, and do whatever he must to secure Marsden’s appearance, hoping to thereby bask in the reflected glow of the stud’s aura. When he lands the big fish, Black’s social stock soars...until the inevitable moment of reckoning.

Unlike Las Vegas, what happens in high school apparently follows you everywhere and forever, at least according to myriad movies – mostly comedies – about former teen idols trying to relive what turned out to be their peak years. Or, more frequently, all types of outcasts healing their psychic scars via combinations of payback and/or new insights about meaning in their lives. Why are these waters plied so often?

Perhaps the low end of high school’s social “food chains” tends to disproportionately produce screenwriters; same theory as so many shrinks being nuts because they chose that field to purge their own demons. Or it could be that audiences relate to these tales because hardly anyone in this culture escapes those seminal years with self-esteem intact. Even many of those high in the pecking order likely chafe at memories of failures, rejections, shortcomings, etc. that may not have blown their status at the time, but still left them feeling less entitled to it.

Regardless of the cause(s), this script stuffs Black’s character into an awkward, uncomfortable state of cinematic limbo. It’s not funny enough for farce, snarky enough for dark comedy, or credible in setting up empathy for its sentimental side to ring true. As Black flails through this painful (for his character and the audience) ordeal, the odds for anyone finishing the movie as a satisfied customer dwindle. Jim Carrey, Robin Williams and other high-octane comedians found worthy vehicles for age-appropriate transitions into other styles of comedy, and even dramas. Eddie Murphy has been noticeably less successful in that regard. Let’s hope Black will find his way to the former path, rather than bury his considerable gifts in duds like this.

Mad Max: Fury Road (R) Between 1979 -85, George Miller wrote and directed three post-apocalyptic adventures starring Mel Gibson as the titular Mark Glass protagonist, scrambling for survival in arid wastelands run by either brutal warlords or Tina Turner. Each was long on mayhem and short on other story elements. All were big hits. Now Gibson’s career could be described as rather post-apocalyptic, so this revival of his character features a younger avatar, Tom Hardy, in another struggle for freedom and justice against overwhelming odds. Max is captured in the opening chase. He soon gets the chance to join forces with Charlize Theron (who wouldn’t?) in a prolonged (at least 70% of the running time) escape through barren lands, zealously pursued by hordes of maniacal minions with surprisingly powerful and diverse weapons and vehicles for such resourcestarved environs.

Aye, there’s the rub. This one’s all about the adrenaline.Viewers who require heavy doses of plot, character development, etc. should look elsewhere.

Those simply craving a pinball/ video game-style start-to-finish slugfest, will emerge as happy campers. Since I watched the first three so long ago, I’m not sure if this is a revised origin tale, or a sequel. It really don’t matter, dude. Max’s periodic voiceovers provide all the backstory needed, even for franchise first-timers.

The f/x are stunning. In audiovisual terms, Cecil B. DeMille might be wishing he’d been born half a century later so he could have used today’s tech in his movies, though he’d still have diverted more attention to storytelling.

Soda sales probably spiked at theaters from two hours of empathic throat parching; easier and cheaper to slake that thirst at home. A big HD screen would surely make this epicscale escapist (by topic and genre) fantasy even more exciting.

Don’t bother with watching on handheld or desktop devices. In this context, size DOES matter.

Mark Glass is an officer and director of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. www.primemontgomery.com | September 2015

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OFF THE BEATEN PATH

S

Ol’ Pin Feathers

he dropped the dove in his hand, shook her head, snorted, and spit a wad of wet feathers on the ground, the moisture quickly wicked away by the chalky dirt.

“Pin feathers,” he said. “Eight seasons together and she still can’t stand ‘em. But, if you’re a dog, it’s just part of dove huntin’.”

He placed the warm bird into the cooler. It was not alone.

The dog took water from the squirt bottle readily, settled back into position at heel and awaited his next command. Occasionally she’d cough-hack, about the only protest she could make regarding the remaining and aggravating pin feathers on her tongue. He commented on the heat, how he’d been shooting doves 40 years and never seen a September this hot.

His partner patted the dog’s head in silence then glanced skyward, just in time to stand, fire and miss a high pair overhead bearing straight for the trees on their six.

“You were behind ‘em,” he said smirking, “again. Twenty seasons and you still can’t hit a high pair.You’re shooting like a girl today.”

She chuckled to herself. Her father was always good at giving advice but took poorly to receiving it. She’d hunted with him half those 40 seasons and the past few had seen his shooting and his complaining get worse.

“Will do on the next one, Daddy,” she said, scratching the crown of the dog’s head rhythmically. She had long ago dropped any offense to his gentle prodding; it was simply his way, faulted as it was, of pushing her to improve. She didn’t really need any advice however, as most of the birds in the cooler had fallen to her gun.The dog cough-hacked again and a few more pin feathers popped out.

“I think your new nickname is gonna be ‘Miss Miss’ if you keep shooting like that,” her father said.

To their left, a single dove crossed into the field. Three sets of eyes – hers, her father’s and the dog’s – tracked its movement in their direction. Otherwise motionless, her fingers slowly tightened around the grip and forearm of the sleek 20 gauge auto.

“Here’s your chance at redemption ‘Miss Miss’.”

She stood and took aim, fired and dropped the bird with a single shot. It landed in the middle of the field, a small dust cloud providing an easy mark for the dog.

“Fetch ‘em up,” she said, the dog taking off like a rocket. She returned with the dove, which quickly joined its contemporaries in the cooler.

“That was a good shot, a lucky one but a good one,” he said.

“Big words for a man who’s fired a dozen times and only killed a few birds,” she responded, becoming just a tad irritated.

“Keeps my average higher than average,” he grumped, and flicked a tick off his pant leg and back into the grass.

“Fourth one today. Dog’ll surely be covered in ‘em. But, that’s what you get around here in September Miss Miss; lots of heat, bugs and misses. I can’t remember the last time that …”

She cut him “You know, I’ve got a nickname for you – how about Ol’ Pin Feathers?’ Just like a bird’s pin feathers, you’re a mild irritant that goes along with dove hunting, just like heat, ticks and a few missed 34

September 2015 | www.primemontgomery.com

The dog cough-hacked again, but it could’ve been a laugh just the same.

“Daddy, if I wanted shooting lessons I’d be at the range. If I wanted to hear complaining I’d be listening to talk radio,” she said. “But I’m here with you and I’d like to shoot a few more birds before the day’s over.”

He began to protest, or maybe defend himself, but only got a few words out.

“Tell you what,” she interrupted. “Don’t like Ol’ Pin Feathers’? Put three shells in your gun and I’ll put three in mine. I’ll take the first shot, then you, then me. Whoever ends up with the fewest birds with those three shells gets stuck with a new nickname. Got it?”

He was resolute.

“Alright, I accept.”

“Good,” she said, “cause here come two birds.”

As had been agreed, the first shot was hers. She folded the rearmost bird, winked at her father, who then stood and dropped the other. Her eyes narrowed.

“One for one,” he said, smiling for the first time all day.

“Single out front!”

She turned, flicked the safety off and fired. The dove helicoptered down within a few feet. He looked at his dog, then at his daughter.

“You could at least make her work for it,” he said.

Down the field, someone hollered their names for them to look up as three dove darted over and straight away. He stood and fired, dropping the closest one. Several other birds entered the field on their right.

“Last ones,” she said. “Don’t miss.”

His daughter took her time, just as he’d taught her over the years, led the bird, pulled the trigger and swung through the shot. The dove hit the ground with a thud just as another single entered the field and headed their way.

He took his time, just as his father had taught him many years ago, led the bird but just before pulling the trigger glanced over at his daughter, whose eyes were glued with anticipation to the single dove closing in on them. He saw the same little girl he’d first taken dove hunting more than 20 seasons back.

He slowed his lead just before pulling the trigger and at the shot, the dove banked left and up and over the trees.

“Ha!” she screamed. “I never thought you’d miss that shot!”

“Guess it’s decided then – Ol’ Pin Feathers it is,” he said, smiling at his daughter. “We’d better get out of here. I think that last bird put you over the limit.”

Her eyes grew large, but just for a moment.

“That’s enough out of you Ol’ Pin Feathers, but we’d better get you out of the sun before you melt away and get your mutt off this field before every tick in the county catches a ride.”

The dog cough-hacked again, but it could’ve been a laugh just the same.

Niko Corley spends his free time in the woods or in the water, earning his charter boat license in 2012. Email: cootfootoutfitters@gmail.com.

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