Atlanta Senior Life - May 2019

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Book Clubs build communities of eager readers

By Joe Earle

On a recent sunny spring afternoon, a halfdozen people gathered in the community room of a Brookhaven senior apartment complex to talk about people and events in a much different place.

Most members of the group were residents of Hearthside Brookleigh, the apartment complex, but a few were neighbors who’d dropped by to chat. Myguial Chappel, an administrator with the DeKalb Library System, was on hand to lead the discussion. Soon, he had group members talking about the lives and thoughts of people in “Bear Town,” a community that itself lives in a book. This was, after all, a book club.

And reviews varied. “When I like a book, I just read it fast,” said Hearthside Ashleigh resident Lucille Walker, a 70-year-old former insurance company employee. “Why do these people do what they do? It was a very exciting, good book.”

“Talk about slow,” said James Poulin, who listens to CDs rendition of the books that club members “read” each month. “I don’t know how many times I fell asleep in that first disc.”

These days, whether a book’s a page-turner or nap-inducer, in metro Atlanta, someone may just be talking about it. Clubs of likeminded book fans gather about every day somewhere — in library conference rooms, the living rooms of private homes, church halls, bars, senior centers and just about anywhere else you can arrange a group of chairs for a chat.

Clubs organize themselves around all sorts of books and from all sorts of groups. Meetup, an online service that seeks to connect people with similar interests, lists clubs in metro Atlanta for women, for residents of particular communities, for graduates of certain colleges or universities, for empty nesters, for sci-fi fans, for mystery fans (see article on the Sherlock Holmes Book Club on page 6), for cooks, for vegetarians, for beer fans and for brunch fans.

And older adults make up a large part of the ongoing conversation about books.

Ginny Everett, branch manager of the Kennesaw Library branch in Cobb County, says most of the members of the branch’s reading group are older than 60 and other book club organizers agree that seniors make up a significant portion of club memberships. “I look at book clubs as a way to build communities and a way to build communities of interest,” Everett said. “It does bring together book lovers, that’s for sure.”

Because librarians like book clubs, they’ve made them easy to

organize. They offer book club kits and allow clubs to reserve blocks of popular book-club-friendly books so there will be copies for everyone in a club, and even provide library employees such as Chappel to keep things organized and to lead discussions.

Book club founder Martha Decker has seen how a club can build a community. She started the Greystone North Book Club among women in her north DeKalb County neighborhood in 2010 and has watched it become a neighborhood connection.

“It’s made us all friends,” said Decker, a 76-year-old retired accountant. “And it’s made us all supportive of each other. I know I could call on any one of these people if I needed them … This has become part of the community.”

Book clubs also can create their own communities. Linda Curry, a 66-year-old retired lawyer, joined a book club of neighborhood women friends in 1993. [Full disclosure: My wife is an active member of this club, which turns 30 years old this year.]

“I’ve always loved to read,” Curry said. “In ‘93, my kids were little, and I was not doing much reading or doing much hanging out with other women.” Over time, the club become much more to its members than just a reading group. “We became really close friends,” Curry said. “We’ve been through a lot.”

One member of the group developed ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” and club members rallied around her until her death. “We became more than a book club,” Curry said.

They also started to travel together. They went to Savannah to tour sites related to the book “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” by John Berendt. They traveled to the north Georgia mountains, and even further afield, to Germany and Maine. Now, the group, down to five and taking no new members, travels together to New York once a year or so to see Broadway plays and museum shows. And they still read a book a month.

“We look forward to seeing each other every month,” Curry said. “Depending on what’s going on every month in our personal lives or politics, we discuss other things, but we do get around to the book.”

The club, she said, “keeps me reading. It broadens my reading.”

Book clubs can be popular with writers, too. Some meet with clubs to talk about their books, both to sell a few more books and to find out what readers think of their work. “Those are the people who truly love books,” said George Weinstein, former president of The Atlanta Writer’s Club. “It’s almost like the Church of the Book to them. They

PHOTOS BY JOE EARLE.

James Poulin (left) and Lucille Walker are members of a book club that meets in Brookhavens.

really do enjoy books and they enjoy meeting authors.”

But in the end, various book club members said, the appeal of the book club gets back to the books. At Hearthside Ashleigh, Walker said the club has introduced her to new books she would not have found otherwise.

“It’s been an eye-opener for me,” Walker said. “I like that it carries me places. It shows me places I’ve never been. You wonder if other people have the same reaction you have. Then, it’s exciting, exciting to just read something.”

Joe Earle is a member of two book clubs.

A club for writers in its second century

By Joe Earle

Just as metro Atlanta readers have their clubs, so do the people who create the books they read, the writers. The Atlanta Writer’s Club, founded in 1914, meets monthly and claims hundreds of members who author mysteries, romance novels, historical novels and other types of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and even screenplays.

“It’s a club that serves many different subgroups,” said former president George Weinstein, who himself has written a mystery, a romance and a pair of historical novels. “That’s good. We have enough members to keep different groups engaged and to give them what they want.”

Weinstein, who’s 53, said he’s been writing his whole life. At age 6, he was scripting plays for his stuffed animals to act out for his siblings.

When he started attending Writer’s Club meetings about 2000, the organization was very different from what it is now. “It seemed to me I was a good 30 years younger than the average member,” the 53-year-old said.

“It was all very old-fashioned... They were lucky to get 10 to 12 people to come to a meeting. Everybody looked at me like, ‘What are you doing here?’”

It felt like the end of something that was stuck in a time when members gathered at a Midtown club and wore tuxedoes and gowns to meetings. At one point, he said, the writers’ group could claim only about 48 members altogether.

But since then, the club has reformed and remade itself, Weinstein said. The club opened its ranks to all sorts of writers. It started meeting in the suburbs – it now meets monthly at Georgia State University: Perimeter College’s Dunwoody campus – and began offering more things for members to do and more ways for them to learn about writing.

“Suddenly we were growing very quickly,” Weinstein said.

The group sponsors critique groups and regular workshops, publishes a newsletter, holds a writing competition and hosts two large writer’s conferences a year. Members pay $50 to join for 365 days and Weinstein says membership has reached nearly 1,000.

Now, he said, the club is working on developing a new generation of leaders “so this club that nearly died a few years ago can last another 100 years.” He thinks it can. “It’s got legs,” he said.

SPECIAL

George Weinstein

Not Your Regular Book Club

By H.M. Cauley

It started four years ago with an observation: My public library in Kennesaw had no print or audio

I was in the midst of writing a dissertation at Georgia State about the Scottish Enlightenment

philosophers who turn up in Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective stories, so the oversight stood out. Librarian Ginny Everett listened to my lament, and we

both saw the need for more Doyle works, given the enormously popular BBC “Sherlock” series that was reintroducing the character to a new fan base.

We both knew people who didn’t realize there was a Holmes before Benedict Cumberbatch, and even more who had not seen the BBC version. The inspiration struck to have a book group explore the Doyle texts and compare how they’d been adapted for the series.

Our “Irregular” book club (so named to distinguish it from the library’s “regular” clubs – and to reference the Baker Street Irregular urchins who show up in the Sherlock stories) first met in the spring of 2015 on four consecutive Monday nights. The debut of “Conan Doyle to Cumberbatch” saw about 25 attendees across a range of ages, some of whom had not seen the series, and some who had not read the texts.

And they came back energized for week two.

“I had no idea these stories existed!” younger readers exclaimed. “I binge-watched the Cumberbatch series!” others admitted.

We followed that session with another in the fall and yet another in the spring of 2016. After the third round, the consensus was we needed to meet monthly. Since

copies of Sherlock Holmes stories on the shelves.

PHOTO BY H.M. CAULEY.

Left to right, Jill Tempest, Anne Langan, John Camp, Marsha Faulkner, Jim Barham and Thomas Green.

then, we’ve come together every second Monday to discuss, debate and google historical aspects of two Sherlock stories linked with a theme: “Dastardly Doings!” “Creature Feature!” and “Damsels in Distress!” were some of the favorites.

“It’s a perfect group, whether you’re addicted to Sherlock Holmes, as some of us are, or if you are a novice and just want to know more,” said reader Nancy Naidu. “With the diverse group of people, there is always something new to learn. But don’t think we are a particularly ‘studious’ group. We have great fun and enjoy each other’s company.”

Eventually, we read through the entire Holmes canon, and last summer, we tried some Edgar Allan Poe, since Doyle credits the American author with much of his inspiration. We also added Agatha Christie, but everyone missed Doyle so much, we went back in Baker Street – even though some of the stories aren’t our favorites.

“We are not slow in identifying the good plots from the not so

good,” said reader Ken Hall, our only member who hails from the U.K. “But we do all this with a great sense of camaraderie. No comments or conclusions are frowned upon or dismissed. Hilarity can at times prevail over studious comment.

Oh, and to add icing to the book study cake, you must ensure that you have an English person in the group. This incredible resource helps American colleagues understand many of the bizarre British/Victorian expressions, mannerisms, weights and measures!

Along with learning, we’ve forged social ties outside of the library. Many of us head out for dinner after the discussion, and we’ve gotten together to play mystery games and enjoy potluck dinners. And everyone partied when I earned my doctorate in 2017.

Our mission to increase Doyle’s readership was honored in 2016, when the Beacon Society, part of the international Baker Street Irregulars who promote all things

Sherlockian, gave us $500 for the library to buy more Holmes materials. Later that year, I was awarded the Society’s annual recognition for promoting Doyle and his hero through the library as well as through a writing course I taught at GSU around deduction and observation.

“When we first started our Irregular group in 2015, I had no idea how deep and durable the interest in the Holmes canon is among so many of our patrons,” said Everett. “Our group has attracted teens, Millennials, GenXers and Baby Boomers, male and female, from every walk of

life. The common denominator is a love of Sherlock and unlocking a mystery.

“What is especially rewarding is that we have brought together people who would never have met outside of the group. Public libraries are all about bringing people together, and our Sherlock group has been a model for doing just that.”

Cyclorama is back, telling its story in a new way

By Collin Kelley

What famous work of art is 132 years old, stands 49 feet tall, is longer than a football field and weighs 10,000 pounds? That would be “The Battle of Atlanta” cyclorama painting, which is once again on view after four years of painstaking restoration at its new home at the Atlanta History Center (AHC). The painting is the centerpiece of “Cyclorama: The Big Picture,” a multimedia experience inside a newly finished addition to the Buckhead campus.

A fixture at Grant Park for more than a century, the Cyclorama – as it’s commonly known – was acquired by the AHC in 2015 in a deal negotiated by Mayor Kasim Reed. Atlantans Lloyd and Mary Ann Whitaker donated $10 million toward the desperately needed restoration of the painting, while AHS raised

$35.8 million for the project, including $10 million for an endowment that will ensure the ongoing care and safe-keeping of the artwork. The former Cyclorama building in Grant Park is now an event center for Zoo Atlanta.

“The Battle of Atlanta” is one

Left: A member of the restoration team works on The Battle of Atlanta canvas.

Opposite page: The Battle of Atlanta during restoration in the new Cyclorama.

color, three-dimensional illusion designed to transport the viewer onto the battlefield at the height of the 1864 Battle of Atlanta during the Civil War.

of only two cycloramas in the United States – the other being “The Battle of Gettysburg. When the painting was created in the 1880s, the gigantic Battle of Atlanta cyclorama painting was an immersive experience – the equivalent of an IMAX theatre today. The painting is a full-

Created at the American Panorama Company in Milwaukee by 17 German artists, “The Battle of Atlanta” took five months to paint before it debuted in Minneapolis in 1886. Painted 22 years after the Battle of Atlanta, the painting originally depicted the battle from a Northern perspective as a heroic Union victory so that it would appeal to Northern audiences. When the painting relocated to Atlanta in 1892 changes were made to make the battle seem like a Confederate victory, including repainting Southern soldiers so they appeared to be Union soldiers captured by Confederates. This early instance of “alternative facts” was eventually corrected in the 1930s,

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE ATLANTA HISTORY CENTER

but other changes to the painting caused more lasting damage that AHC has sought to correct. Mostly notably, three missing sections of the painting were recreated, adding 2,908-squarefeet back to the painting, returning it to its original size of 14,952-square-feet.

In an era where Confederate symbolism is being removed from public places around the country, the Cyclorama itself has come under criticism during its 127-year history. Some see it as a symbol of Atlanta rising from the ashes after it was burned during the war, but it’s also been interpreted as yet another glorification of the “lost cause” of the Confederacy, which saw Southern states secede from America to maintain slavery.

“History is messy. And it has a lot to teach us – if we let it,” AHC President and CEO Sheffield Hale said. “Facts are facts, but the way we view the past varies widely. Visitors to the Cyclorama exhibit will be encouraged to think critically about how art, entertainment and popular culture influence their interpretations of history.”

Through exhibitions, rare artifacts, historic images, immersive technology, digital resources, videos, and museum theatre, visitors are encouraged to look critically at a range of Civil War imagery and consider how images and entertainment can influence how we see history.

Guests enter the painting rotunda through a 7-foot-tall tunnel – passing underneath the diorama - before ascending an escalator to the 15-foot-tall stationary viewing platform. Here visitors immediately experience a full 360-degree view of the painting, enhanced by technology and a 12-minute theatrical, larger-than-life presentation projected onto the painting. Visitors will also have a chance to see the newly-restored Texas locomotive, famous for its participation in the “Great Locomotive Chase” during the war.

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For more than 35 years, Lenbrook has been recognized as Atlanta’s premier intown community for engaged senior living. And now we’re expanding your possibilities with the new addition, KingsboroatLenbrook, featuring new, luxury residences and amenities for all residents to enjoy.

We invite you to Experience the Lenbrook Difference. Call 404-800-9717 or visit lenbrook-atlanta.org

Tickets and more information, on the Cyclorama are available at AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.

A TV comedy pioneer joins a movie theater’s new era

backyard of his Pittsburgh home, even serving up popcorn.

“I think I watched too much ‘Little Rascals.’ They were always trying to start a business,” he says.

The changes made by Brandt Gully, who purchased the theater from George Lefont, are perhaps life-changing for people who want to go out for a movie experience but retain the comfort sitting in their living rooms, Tush says. “You can’t just show a movie anymore,” he said.

Cult figure status

Before there was an art house theater, though, there was WTCG Channel 17, a local station purchased by Ted Turner. Tush got a job in the 1970s at the new station, where he became a jackof-all-trades and Turner’s “yes man” and loyal “pal.”

By Dyana Bagby

Bill Tush became one of Atlanta’s beloved cult personalities in the 1970s with a late-night newscast that became the prototype for such shows as “The Daily Show” and launched the careers of such comedy stars as Jan Hooks.

Tush (the name rhymes with

“rush”) now is a manager at Springs Cinema & Taphouse in Sandy Springs, where he helped usher in a complete transformation of the former Lefont art house theater. Luxury, heated recliners have replaced beaten up and stained traditional movie seating. A full bar with a wide selection of craft beer and menu items including chicken

fingers have replaced a lonely hot dog warmer. The popcorn, candy and sodas remain, although with a wider variety.

Working at a movie theater is a natural choice for employment in his “twilight years,” he says. His love of movies dates back to his childhood when he would charge neighborhood kids to watch 8mm films in the

Turner filled his new station’s airwaves in the mid-1970s with Atlanta Braves ballgames and old sitcoms like “Gilligan’s Island” and Bugs Bunny cartoons.

During the weekends on Channel 17, Tush’s love for movies was put to use as the host for film broadcasts ranging from Academy Award-winners like “Giant” starring James Dean and Rock Hudson to Hollywood classics like 1935’s comedy “Ruggles of Red Gap” starring

Bill Tush, who garnered cult figure status on Ted Turner’s fledgling local TV station in the 1970s, is now a manager at Springs Cinema & Taphouse.

PHOTO BY DYANA BAGBY

Bill Tush, in rear, with Jan Hooks, at left, and the rest of the crew of the sketch comedy show “Tush” that aired on what is now TBS in 1980-81. The show helped launch Hooks’ career, including on “Saturday Night Live.”

Charles Laughten, who went on to star as Quasimodo in 1939’s “Hunchback of Notre Dame.”

“We ran the gamut … it’s like what TCM [Turner Classic Movies] does now,” Tush says.

Tush also started hosting a 3 a.m. newscast on Channel 17, where he and a few crew members incorporated silly skits into a regular reading of events

of the day.

There was the episode where Tush was literally dragged off the set by a “kidnapper” as part of a sketch highlighting news of diplomats being kidnapped around the globe, he said. “There was fake panic from the crew,” Tush remembers as he actually screamed while being forcefully removed from behind his news desk.

Then there was the addition of a new, award-winning weatherman from Cleveland, Ohio. Tush and his crew promoted his start date for a

Continued on page 12

Continued from page 11 Tush’s 1970s newscasts are considered by many TV pundits as a pioneer in late-night TV. In 2002, renowned Associated Press TV writer Frazier Moore wrote of Channel 17 and Tush’s brand of humor, “Here, a quarter-century ago, was Comedy Central’s ‘The Daily Show’ stripped down to raw abandon, on zero bucks.”

week.

On the day the new weatherman started, Tush said, he grabbed an older announcer who worked elsewhere in the station, positioned him in front of a weather map, and gave him his cue that he was on the air. The star weatherman introduced himself, then grabbed his chest as part of the gag and died on air, creating another fake panic on set.

“That was the joke!” Tush laughed. Nothing was written down other than the weatherman would die on air after a week of anticipation, he said.

Late-night viewers were instantly amused and Tush achieved a cult following of fans captivated by this new niche entertainment. The success led him to becoming a face of Turner’s media empire during its fledgling years. He still receives an invitation to Turner’s birthday bash every year.

“People always say it was ‘The Daily Show’ before ‘The Daily Show.’ But it wasn’t,” says Tush with a headshake. “It was a crazy, all ad-libbed, [a] whatever goes, goes show. There were no writers, no scripts.”

Tush says he still writes jokes and humorous musings on one of his six typewriters in his Atlanta apartment. He keeps the pages and pages of ideas, with nowhere yet to go, in boxes of stationery paper he finds at Goodwill stores.

The success of his newscasts led Turner to give Tush his own one-hour sketch comedy show aptly named, “Tush.”

The one-hour show aired from 1980-81 on what is now

the multichannel TBS network. The show helped launch Hooks’ career, as well as the careers of writers Bonnie and Terry Turner, who went on to create such massive hit sitcoms as “3rd Rock from the Sun” and “That ’70s Show.”

Hooks was a master of many personalities, Tush says. On “Tush,” her character Tammy Jean pleaded in a sugary sweet Southern accent for viewers to donate money to save humanity from the evils of hang gliders. She sang the song “I’m Commercial,” a satire of Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman,” with the chorus, “I’m inane, I’m an imbecile, I’m commercial.” She played Tootsie Plunkette, the diva of the popular “Captain Space” skit, where Tush and others wore weight loss sauna suits as uniforms and oversized water bottles as helmets.

Sometimes Tammy Jean was so convincing, people would send in $4 or $5, he said. Back then, that was enough for a lunch.

“She was the star of the show,”

Tush said of Hooks.

During a recent afternoon in the Springs Cinema lobby, Tush, 70, took out his cellphone and nervously played the last message Hooks left him, the date stamp showing March 2014. Hooks died Oct. 9, 2014, at age 57, of throat cancer.

“I’m deathly afraid of erasing this darned thing,” Tush said, visibly frustrated as he taps his phone’s screen.

After a few seconds, “Biiiilllll!” in Hooks’ familiar voice, although a bit scratchy, finally played.

“It’s Jan. You’re probably away across the ocean, but, um, I haven’t talked to you in a while and I just wanted to check in … and I’ve been thinking about you,” she says. “I hope all is well. OK. Bye.”

“I don’t know what to do with this,” he says of the message, which came when he was working in Nigeria as a consultant for a new TV network. “When I came back, she was already dead ... and I had this message.”

When “Tush” was axed after one season, Turner landed Tush a job as host of a new entertainment show, “People Now,” on CNN.

The new gig meant packing up and moving from Atlanta to Los Angeles. Tush and Hooks were roommates along with a former “Tush” writer; all three decided to take their chances and head to Hollywood together.

“She’s out there, doing her thing, getting nowhere. Then [“People Now”] is canceled, and I’m left drifting,” he says. “She’s struggling. And she’d call me and say, ‘I can’t take it anymore. I’m calling you to tell you I’m killing myself.

“I’d say, don’t do it! And meet me at Alan Hale’s Lobster Barrel,” he says of what became a tradition for the duo.

The two would meet at the small restaurant where Hale, the skipper from “Gilligan’s Island,” would come out every night at 6 p.m. and make an appearance.

“And we’d go there and drink and laugh,” Tush says with a smile. “And a week later, I’d call Jan and say the same thing, and we’d meet again.”

Tush then got a gig at CNN’s “Showbiz Today” in New York City

and Hooks called a few months later to say she was coming to New York to do “Saturday Night Live.” She also went on to do “Designing Women” and also “3rd Rock from the Sun,” a show created by former “Tush” writers Bonnie and Terry Turner.

“So, we went from Atlanta to L.A. to New York together. We were always together,” he says. “We’d call each other four times a week to talk about stupid things. And then I go to Nigeria and she gets sick.”

Hooks was a heavy smoker and Tush said he later learned she smoked right up to the end, removing her oxygen mask to take a drag and to drink her wine.

“We always had this running gag where she’d go, ‘Biiiillllll!’ he said. “We had so many crazy fun times together.”

A few months ago, another close friend and “Tush” alum, Bob Gillies, died. Gillies had starred in “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh In” in 1967 before becoming teaming up with Tush and Hooks.

Gillies is now in an urn on a

shelf in Tush’s apartment. Tush said he’s not sure what he’s going to do with him. Sneaking his ashes on an upcoming trip to London

on the Queen Mary luxury cruise ship and dumping them into the ocean may be a good idea, he says. “He’d like that,” Tush says. “He’s

got nowhere to go. Like me, I’ve got nowhere to go. Throw me over the side.”

for her for

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Millennial Medical Students Learn as They Teach ‘Seasoned Adults’

By Donna Williams Lewis

First-year medical students at Emory University are bridging the generation gap as teachers in Emory’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) for “seasoned adults,” ages 50-plus.

Through the medical school’s “Community Learning and Social Medicine” class, students are dispatched to a variety of locations they select. Four this year chose OLLI and, joined by a CDC Fellow, they put on a five-week class called “Modern Health: Policy, Medicine, and Science.”

Their topics arose from an initial “town hall” meeting and survey of the OLLI community to learn about the main topics of interest. OLLI Program Manager Jeffery Alejandro said OLLI’s two-year-old partnership with the Emory School of Medicine is all about giving millennials a chance to learn more about a population they may be working with in the near future.

“It’s also an opportunity to have some myths dispelled,” he said, during a recent followup meeting with the five presenters.

One of them, Robert Scheel, 29, kicked off the Modern Health class with a lecture on the

societal impact of disease and the allocation of medical research funding. He said he found it challenging to find “a middle ground” among people who have much more life experience than himself.

“It was a different audience than I was used to being around — all different levels, different backgrounds,” Scheel said. “A guy in the front row probably worked for a pharmaceutical company he knew so much. … It was interesting to find a way to teach people who know way more than us.”

A ‘win-win’ for all

Fred Glassman, a recent Atlanta transplant from Los Angeles, was one of 45 students in the class, which ended in March. A former president of the California Collaborative Practice organization, Glassman is also an OLLI instructor who teaches a course in collaborative law.

The Buckhead resident didn’t expect first-year med students to have extensive knowledge of their topics but did hope they would have a “particular passion” for them. He says he was pleasantly surprised. He also said the class was a “win-win” for the teachers

for him

and their students.

Glassman believes the potential future doctors were inspired to develop personal relationships with their patients. And, he said, “it was a win for the seniors to know that the new generation of medical students has that feeling of relating one-on-one with patients rather than relying solely on computers.”

Hannah Gold, 24, who lectured on mental illness and alternative therapies, said the OLLI students “were able to see a window into the way doctors are being trained these days.

“I think they’re really emphasizing the person,” she said, adding that their med school instruction includes classroom visits from people living with conditions they discuss.

Claire Castellano, 25, who lectured on “Aging Well,” talked about society’s “push and pull” of respect for the elderly but dislike for and fear of the aging process.

(Think anti-aging creams.) She made a case for 30 minutes of physical activity each day and presented findings that loneliness increases death risk and that those who feel younger live longer.

Castellano said interacting with seniors made her think of the needs of the whole person, beyond bodily functions that may break down. “I’m learning how much we can always gain from people as well as share with them,” she said.

Connie Lo, 32, is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Fellow among the instructors. She said students in her lecture on health policy “really pushed each other to think about each other’s perspectives.

“They were really engaged and most of them were really well informed about the different issues,” Lo said. “To be able to impart something to them felt really nice.”

Daquan Daly, 24, was a high school biology teacher for two years before going to med school. So he already knew a thing or two about making a lesson plan. Daly focused on the history of medicine

with an emphasis on the history of medical experimentation and its implications for medicine today.

He was moved by the realization that many of the people he was addressing had lived through the times and events he was talking about, such as proposals by elected officials to use a contraceptive as a means of population control. “We get to talk to people who have experienced these things on a visceral level,” Daly said.

Wrapping up their meeting, Alejandro said his program’s collaboration with the Emory School of Medicine “has a tremendous value to OLLI.

“Not only does it give [OLLI students] great information related to health and wellness, but … they can feel that they contributed to future medical practices and they gain a greater respect for those who will become their providers.”

School’s in!

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Emory offers a wide variety of educational courses and social programs for adults ages 50-plus in short and long sessions offered year-round.

Current term: OLLI is in its long spring session with classes from April 8 to May 29.

Upcoming terms: Summer short session is June 3 to June 28. Summer long session is July 8 to Aug. 23. Registration begins May 20.

Cost: Long sessions — $45 per class for members; $65 for non-members.

Short sessions — $25 per class for members; $45 for non-members.

Annual membership is $50.

Address: Emory Continuing Education, 6 Executive Park Drive N.E., Suite 100, Atlanta 30329.

Info: olli.emory.edu or 404-727-0600.

Fred Glassman was one of the students in an Emory University OLLI class taught by first-year medical students. (Special)

Four Easy Lifestyle Tips to Reduce Your Cancer Risk

If you’re anything like me, you’re probably trying to implement some healthy habits this summer to reduce stress, increase your happiness and live a healthier life. There is a good chance that these habits will also lower your risk for developing several types of cancers. Research has discovered some of the causes of cancer — like the sun’s ultraviolet rays and cigarette smoke — but many causes of cancer are unknown. While cancer is still a mystery, scientists agree that lifestyle changes play a role in cancer prevention.

In fact, the American Cancer Society shows that

one-third of the most common cancers can be prevented by implementing the lifestyle changes listed below.

#1 Achieve a healthy weight.

The latest cancer research says that being overweight or obese increases the risk for 13 different types of cancer. It’s unhealthy to try and achieve a number on a chart. Rather, “a healthy weight” can be defined as the weight you achieve and maintain with healthy eating and regular physical activity.

It’s also important to note that the fat around your waist is more dangerous than the fat on other parts of your body. Therefore,

women should aim for a waist size less than 35 inches and men should keep their waist size under 40 inches.

#2 Eat a plantbased diet. A plantbased diet simply means filling your plate with lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grains while also choosing plant-based proteins, seafood and poultry over other meats. Research shows that eating too much red and processed meats increases your chances of getting 11 different types of cancer.

There is a very strong link between a diet heavy in red and processed meats and colon cancer, specifically. Because of the risks, the American Cancer Society recommends eating less than 18 ounces of red meat (beef and pork) per week and avoiding all processed meats like bacon, ham and lunch meats.

#3 Drink little or no alcohol. Alcohol is associated with an increased risk for six cancers, and even drinking a small amount daily increases the risk of breast cancer in women. All types of alcohol seem to have the same effect on cancer risk. It’s recommended for women to have no more than one serving per day of alcohol and for men to have no more than two servings per day.

#4 Be active as much as possible throughout the day.

You can decrease your risk for 13 cancers just by increasing your physical activity. Remember to SIT less and MOVE more!

It’s recommended that adults have at least 30 minutes a day of moderate activity five or more days per week.

It’s easy to not think about cancer until someone receives the diagnosis. Let’s be proactive this summer and practice daily lifestyle habits that will help prevent cancer so we can live longer, healthier lives.

Kristen Sumpter is the Family and Consumer Sciences Agent for the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension in Fulton County. She provides programming on food safety, health and nutrition, financial literacy and the home.

Ask Rusty: Benefits for Disabled Adult Son

By Russell Gloor

Dear Rusty:

We have a 100 percent disabled son, disabled from birth. He is now 35 years old and receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI). My wife and I plan to retire in the next two years and start drawing our Social Security benefits; my wife intends to apply in January 2020, and I will apply later that year, probably in August 2020.

When can our son start receiving Social Security Disability benefits? Will it be half of the parent’s benefit? My wife’s benefit is less than mine, so will his be based on her amount or my amount? If we start his Social Security disability in January when my wife applies, will his benefit increase when I claim my benefits? What is our best strategy?

Signed: Anxious Father

Dear Anxious Father:

Your son is eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits as soon as either of you claim your Social Security benefit, and he will be entitled to 50 percent of the amount you are due at your full retirement age (subject to the Family Maximum). If your wife files for her Social Security benefit first, when she files her application (about three months before she wishes benefits to start) there is a section where she will be asked to list any dependent(s) who are either minors or disabled, and she should put your son’s full name in this section.

When your wife files, she should separately file an SSDI application on your son’s behalf. Even though it is a new SSDI application, your son will not need to go through the normal SSDI determination process;

they will adopt his existing SSI determination as evidence of his disability. But if his SSDI benefit is more than $770/month, his SSI will stop; if it’s less than $770/ month he’ll draw both to receive that total.

Then when you apply for your own Social Security benefit in August, you should file another SSDI application for your son to switch him to his increased benefit based upon your record.

As an FYI, the “Family Maximum” applies whenever two or more people are receiving benefits based upon the same worker’s record, which will be the case if your wife also will get a spousal benefit from your record

when you apply in August 2020. She will get a spousal benefit if 50 percent of your benefit at your Full Retirement Age (FRA) is more than her own Social Security benefit at her FRA.

The formula for the Family Maximum is somewhat complex, but to simplify, the total benefits from your work record for all beneficiaries can’t be more than 150 percent to 180 percent of your Primary Insurance Amount (or PIA – your benefit amount at your full retirement age). If the usual dependent benefits exceed the Family Maximum, the family maximum amount is proportionally divided among your dependents.

This article is intended for information purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. It presents the opinions and interpretations of the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) Foundation’s staff, trained and accredited by the National Social Security Association (NSSA). NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other governmental entity. To submit a question or learn more, visit amacfoundation.org/programs/social-security-advisory).

by calling 1-866-281-3501

Watch for Seasonal Trends of Theft and Fraud

By Steve Rose

Here’s a brief historical perspective of crime.

The first evidence of men goes back to the time when they were nothing more than dinosaur appetizers, running amok and occasionally into one another. Eventually, they banded together to hunt and share, and were known as hunters and gatherers. They compiled their goods, storing them in caves, grunted and then continued to hunt.

STAY SAFE

Steve Rose is a retired Sandy Springs Police Captain, veteran Fulton County police officer and freelance writer. He is the author the book “Why Do My Mystic Journeys Always Lead to the Waffle House?” and the column “View from a Cop.”

Other men, later known to us as thieves, also roamed the earth, stealing from the hunters and gatherers. They pillaged the caves, taking food, clothing and, sometimes, women, causing the hunters and gatherers to say “Hey! Where’s my food and clothing?” which did not fare well with the women, resulting in the earliest accounts of divorce and lawyers.

Eventually, men took note of the thievery and developed measures to prevent it. Those measures included traps, comprised of a hole in the ground covered with grass, sticks and an angry prehistoric warthog. In addition, when they hunted, men left a few of the guys back at the cave to protect the goods.

When the thieves arrived,

confident the area was clear of hunters and gatherers, they sauntered into the cave only to be ambushed by the left-behind guys, and thus, received what is known as the first recorded serious whoopin’ by man. The thieves absconded to a place now known as a safe-space, and never again returned to this particular cave. They learned to carefully choose only those caves they were certain did not contain the “guys.” This method became known as “old school,” and is now mostly outdated. What is clear, and has been for centuries, is that crime — like water, maybe electricity, but certainly like water — follows the path of least resistance. Here are a couple of springtime trends to look for. By now, most of you should know the IRS scam that involves a call to you informing you that you owe money. To resolve it, simply purchase pre-paid gift cards and send them to the provided address. I hope you know the IRS doesn’t do business that way. But what if you file your taxes and, later, you’re informed by the actual IRS that someone filed taxes in your name already and received your refund? Obviously, this is fraud, so what do you do?

First things first. The IRS

will not provide you with any information on the fraud until they receive a police report. Call your local police agency and report the fraud. Get the report, make several copies and provide the IRS with the information and case number (found on the top right or left on the report) to document the case as fraud so you can proceed with your tax filing.

Another seasonal crime involves burglars, working in tandem, committing quick hit-and-run thefts from homes. One thief knocks on the door and tells the occupant he’s with a tree or landscaping company, clearing trees next door or clearing an easement. He distracts the victim by asking

him or her to walk the property to understand the project that’s taking place next to it. The second man enters the home, stealing whatever he can find in five minutes.

Remember, every crime has what I call a “trigger,” or a clue to raise your mental alarm. In this case, the man insists the homeowner walk the property. It may be totally legit, but if you recognize the trigger, you can respond, “Okay, just a minute,” and then lock the back, as well as front, doors. Also remember, nothing is too insignificant to call the cops when you have that “feeling” something isn’t right. Stay safe this spring and enjoy the pollen!

Pet Pick

Meet Erwin! This handsome 8-year-old guy is looking for a very special forever home. See, Erwin has a grade 5/6 heart murmur. He may live 5 more wonderful years, or he may only live another 6 months, but no matter how much time he has left, Erwin deserves to be loved.

Right now, he’s happy and healthy, and he gets along very well with other cats. Erwin isn’t on any special medication, so he’s a pretty low maintenance guy who just wants to cuddle up in your lap and be your best friend.

Erwin is neutered, microchipped, up-todate on vaccinations and ready to go home with you! You can meet Erwin at the Atlanta Humane Society Mansell location, 1565 Mansell Road, Alpharetta 30076. Email adoptions@ atlantahumane.org for more information or visit atlantahumane.org for more adoptable pets.

Land and water shaped a local nature-protector

mowers they bring with them when they move into newly developed areas.

“I love nature. I think nature sort of makes us who we are,” he said one recent morning during a stroll through Lost Corner Preserve, a 24-acre woodland park near Toney’s present home in Sandy Springs. “If you live in an isolated world of buildings and air-conditioning, you just miss a lot. I think you’re unhappy, too. We need to make sure [nature’s] protected. Right now, it’s under siege …what you can do locally is really important.”

By Joe Earle

“They’re just pretty cool

little animals,” he said. “They just don’t handle cars or lawn mowers very well.”

His affection for the reptiles started when he was about 12. This was back during the 1950s,

in the days Lake Lanier was just filling up. His dad liked to take the family boating there. As the younger Toney watched Lanier’s water rise over time, he was startled by what he saw.

“I realized things were drowning,” he said. “Things like box turtles. We rescued 169 box turtles, my dad and brother and I. I ended up keeping about 20 of them.…

When I got to 14 or 15 and discovered girls, I let my turtles go.”

Toney grew up in Buckhead’s Garden Hills. He spent hours playing in the lake now known as the Duck Pond. He found turtles there, too. “I lived in the Duck Pond. I was there about every day,” Toney recalls.

At age 72, Toney now has a pair of dogs as pets. But he hasn’t given up on seeing the natural world up close and doing what he can to try to save it from disappearing beneath floods of people and the cars and lawn

Locally, Toney does a lot. He chairs the Fulton County Soil and Water Conservation District, which is charged with protecting soil and water resources; has been trained as a naturalist and lectures at Lost Corner on Sandy Springs’ natural history; serves as treasurer of the Friends of Lost Corner, which supports the preserve; and collects water samples each week for testing by the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper.

“He’s been of our most active volunteers with Chattahoochee River over the past eight years,” said Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Jason Ulseth, who’s also a member of the board of the soil and water conservation district and says he’s known Toney for about 15 years. “The amount of work Alan contributes has been invaluable for us in terms of getting data.”

Ulseth said that since 2012 Toney has collected more water samples – something like

JOE EARLE Alan Toney collects a water sample at Sandy Springs’ Lost Corner Preserve.

Sandy Springs naturalist Alan Toney admits to a fondness for box turtles.

We need to make sure nature is protected. Right now, it’s under siege …what you can do locally is really important.

ALAN TONEY

1,400 of them – than any of the Riverkeeper’s other 100-or-so volunteers. “It’s vital work for us,” he said. “Without people like Alan, we wouldn’t half of what we know about these waterways.”

Toney, who’s retired from a career in corporate finance, stays in close contact with nature in other ways, too. For five or six recent winters, he’s headed west to Yellowstone National Park to watch the ecosystem there after the re-introduction of wolves in the park. He enjoys studying ecosystems, he said, and learning how the animals interact. At Yellowstone, he said, he’s sighted wolves, eagles, bears, beavers, otters and bighorn sheep.

In Sandy Springs, his lectures about the local eco-system often start with a reference to Appalachiosaurus, a dinosaur that may have roamed the area millennia ago. But, he said, discussion often turns quickly to more familiar scary creatures, copperheads and coyotes.

Figure you have both in your neighborhood, he said. His advice: for the most part, leave them alone. They’re part of the system. They eat rats and other rodents. Besides, he said, most people bitten by a venomous snake were trying to kill the snake at the time. And coyotes? “If they’re not causing trouble, leave them alone,” he said. “If they’re not eating your cats or

harassing your dogs, they’ll keep other coyotes away.”

One recent Thursday, Toney carried a plastic bag down the hill to the creek that runs through Lost Corner. He wore a fisherman’s getup: Georgia Naturalist cap, shorts and a yellow rain jacket. The early spring sun shone brightly and birds carried on conversations in the trees. Toney said he was near a place he’d seen a turtle laying its eggs.

Falling Branches Creek was to be his first stop of the day. He planned to collect water samples from a half-dozen creeks and the Chattahoochee by day’s end. He takes the little bags of water to the Riverkeeper’s office for testing. It’s something he does every week.

It’s paid off. Samples he’s collected from local waterways have helped identify and locate four or five sewage spills that were damaging the creeks, he said. “Why do it?” he asked. “I don’t understand why people wouldn’t be concerned about water quality. Unless somebody’s doing it, water quality will suffer.”

And he wants these creeks to stay healthy. “My goal,” he said, “is to keep these creeks so my grandson can come play in them the same way I did.”

►Out & about

The

Arts

Meet the Master of Barbecue

Steve Raichlen

Friday, May 10, 7 p.m. The James Beard Award winning author and PBS star shares his handbook for mastering brisket, “The Brisket Chronicles: How to Barbecue, Braise, Smoke and Cure the World’s Most Epic Cut of Meat.” Free and open to the public. Books will be available for purchase and signing. A silent auction and refreshments will be provided by the Friends of the Library. Norcross Cultural Arts and Community Center, 10 College Street, Norcross 30071. Get details and learn about more events by calling 770-978-5154 or visiting gwinnettpl.org.

The Music of Chicago and the Beach Boys

Saturday, May 11, 8-11 p.m. The Georgia Players Guild presents the music of these two legendary bands. General admission is $20 in advance, $25 on the day of the show. VIP tickets are available. Earl Smith Strand Theatre, 117 North Park Square, Marietta 30060. Visit earlsmithstrand.org or call the box office at 770-2930080.

A Page from the Book Festival: Jill Biden, Where the Light Enters

Wednesday, May 15, 7:30 p.m. The former second lady of the U.S. from 2009 to 2017 and Northern Virginia Community College professor Jill Biden shares her

spirited journey of a woman embracing many roles in her new book, “Where the Light Enters: Building a Family, Discovering Myself.” Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody 30338. For tickets, more upcoming events and info, visit atlantajcc.org or call 678812-4002.

Robin Williams Tribute

Saturday, May 18, 7:30 p.m. David Born is an exact clone of the late Robin Williams in look, sound and style! A four time Las Vegas Award Winning Impersonator of Robin Williams, he is considered by many to be the best in the world. Tickets are $25.75 for seniors, $28.84 for adults and $20.60 for students. Chestatee High School Theatre, 3005 Sardis Road, Gainesville 30506. For tickets and more information, call 770-5342787 or visit TheArtsCouncil.net

A Raisin in the Sun Runs May 31-June 9. Marietta’s New Theatre in the Square presents Lorraine Hansberry’s classic play about dreams and family. The Younger family gets an insurance check from the death of the father, and tensions increase as each member of the family has their own idea how the money should be spent. Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and military. Marietta’s New Theatre in the Square, 11 Whitlock Ave., Marietta 30064. Get details and tickets at theatreinthesquare.net or by calling 770-426-4800.

LIVE! In Roswell presents Balsam Range with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra Ensemble

Saturday, June 8, 8 p.m. Balsam Range has become one of the bluegrass genre’s most awardwinning acts in recent years. In

2018, Balsam Range embarked on a collaboration with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra Ensemble to create Mountain Overture, an album that takes the band’s most-loved songs and elevates them. Tickets are $30; $25 for seniors, military and students. Cultural Arts Center, 950 Forrest Street, Roswell 30075. For more info, visit RoswellCAC.com or call 770-594-6232.

Learn Something

The Loving Approach Family Education Series on Dementia

Wednesday, May 15, 7-8:30 p.m. This dementia skills education series, begun in December, is still open to family members and caregivers of people with brain change. It offers invaluable knowledge while providing guidance and a forum for questions and discussion. Free; registration is required. Oak Grove United Methodist Church, 1722 Oak Grove Road, Decatur 30033. Register by emailing wecare@orchardseniorliving or calling 404-775-0488. More at orchardseniorliving.com/ brookhaven.

How to Write a Will

Thursday, May 16, 6 p.m. Join the

Gwinnett Chapter of the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers and Gwinnett Legal Aid for this will workshop. Attorneys will be on hand to go over the basics of estate planning strategies and assisting in filling out a will form. Free, but registration is required by emailing events@ gwinnettpl.org. Gwinnett County Public Library, Hamilton Mill Branch, 3690 Braselton Highway, Dacula 30019. Get details and learn about more events by calling 770-978-5154 or visiting gwinnettpl.org.

Chattahoochee River Crossings

Thursday May 16, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Join Friends of Lost Corner and local historian Clarke Otten for a lecture about the Chattahoochee River. For several centuries the river was part of the boundary of the Creek and Cherokee lands and has long presented a barrier and an opportunity to those who live on its banks. Many have made a name for themselves by meeting that challenge. Suggested donation of $5; pre-registration is requested, but walk-ins are welcome. Lost Corner Preserve Cottage, 7300 Brandon Mill Road, Sandy Springs 30328. For info and registration, go to friendsoflostcorner.org.

Services directory

Family Forest Walk and Craft at Big Trees Preserve

Friday, May 24, 9-10:30 a.m. Come see some of the tallest trees in Sandy Springs, including Tulip Poplar and American Beech with Sandy Springs Naturalist

Roseanne

Guerra Then, enjoy a short, guided walk through Big Trees Preserve. Free. Big Trees Preserve, 7645 Roswell Road, Atlanta 30350. Pre-registration requested at registration.sandyspringsga.gov.

Festivals

Decatur Arts Festival

Friday-Sunday, May 24-26. Friday, 5-10 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Downtown Decatur once again celebrates the arts with an event that includes an ArtWalk, Artists Market, Kids Art, music, even a Friends of the Library book sale at the Decatur Public Library. General admission is free. For

details on events and locations, click on decaturartsfestival.com.

Virginia-Highland Summerfest

Friday-Sunday, May 31, June 1 & 2. Friday, 8-11 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. The Acoustic Street Party on Friday kicks off Summerfest with the band Moontower as it performs favorites from the Beatles, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin and more. The music continues throughout the 3-day festival, and there’ll also a 5K road race, Artists and Maker’s Markets, KidsFest, and plenty to eat and drink. Admission is free. Virginia Avenue between North Highland Avenue and Park Drive and John Howell Park. Details at vahisummerfest.org.